Light from the sun peered through the curtains to waken a certain Starlet who typically would have embraced the sunlight with gusto. However, that was not the case today.

Byulhee placed a hand to her forehead, which was pounding as if a thousand tiny hammers and needles were pricking at the inside of her skull. Groaning, she turned to her side, pulling up the covers over her head. It was of no use. The sun insisted on shining too brightly. She threw the covers off and sat up with another groan, cursing herself for staying up so late after drinking so much. Her eyelids felt heavy, and her body ached. 

Why did she stay up so late again? Byulhee asked herself. Oh, yeah. That's right. She was reading fanfic after fanfic. "D--" she cursed under her breath as she flopped back onto her pillow, groaning from the constant pounding in her head. She had hoped that reading all of those stories would have sated her desire for Eunhyuk for the time being. Nothing could be further from the truth. She felt a deep yearning, a burning desire to-- 

She tossed in bed, groaning again.

She wanted him. She wanted Hyukjae. 

Byulhee knew that Hyukjae was attracted to her. They were meant to be together.  She could feel it; it was almost instinctual. 

But--

--would Jaemi support her if she decided to--

No. 

Yes.

No.

Yes.

Byulhee turned over, punching her pillow in irritation. Stupid hangover! Her thoughts clouded over as she wondered if Jaemi would support her should the opportunity arise for her and Eunhyuk. "Stupid fanfics," she muttered, knowing that all the ridiculous scenarios of forbidden love and clandestine meetings had all but poisoned her mind. 

She sat up, taking a deep breath. Today, the Starlets would start phase one of Operation Monroe. She could not--would not--allow her thoughts (or this hangover) to distract her. Steeling herself, she bounced out of bed. She placed her hands on her hips in a heroic pose. "Yahooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" she cried in a rallying voice. "I will get through this!" 

In the dining area, Lìxúe, Nell, and Sijin sat around the table, coffee in hands and eyes dark from the previous night's ventures. 

"I will conquer this!" Byulhee's voice echoed through the house.

The three Starlets at the table moaned quietly. 

"How can she be this energetic already?" Nell said, rubbing her temples. 

"I will get through this!" Byulhee's voice cried out. 

The three Starlets at the table sipped their coffee, wondering just how they would get through the day.

****

Circumstances seemed to be in dire straights from Jaemi's point of view as she left the dressing room with Aeyeong. 

Jaemi bit her lower lip. How am I going to get through this? 

Aeyeong, sensing her best friend's thoughts, reached into her purse and pulled out a packet of sugar. "Here," she began, holding out the sugar packet. "A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down." 

Jaemi laughed, plucking the sugar from her friend's hand. "You have everything in your Mary Poppins' bag, don't ya?" She giggled, shaking her head. "Thanks. Well, bottoms up." She tore open the packet and dumped the contents into .

Aeyeong giggled. She did not think that Jaemi would actually eat the sugar, but her friend did have a playful streak. 

After swallowing, Jaemi chuckled, tossing the empty packet into a nearby trash container. "Hey, I've got an idea. You know how some of the guests go to the set beforehand and hide in the classroom?"

"You want to go do that after we drop our stuff in the green room?" Aeyeong asked. 

Jaemi's lips fell into a smirk. "Sorta. But let's not hide on the classroom set." 

"Where then?" asked Aeyeong. She paused in her step. "Wait, do you want to hide with the film crew?" 

Jaemi nodded. "It would be different. Let's go ask the crew and see if we can."

****

"No. No!" Nell cried. "I can NOT do this." 

"Yes, you can!" Byulhee asserted, clasping Nell's hands around her phone. "You're the only one who can do this."

Nell bit the inside of her lip. She detested being in this position. On the one hand, if she did ask for Siwon to tell her exactly which company vans Super Junior used when attending events, she was sure that he would support her. However, she did not wish to put him in an awkward position with his fellow members should they discover his help in the endeavor. 

"Just meet up with him and get him to tell us the information," Byulhee continued. "Sleep with him if you have to-- We can get you some slinky lingerie--"

"What? What happened to our original plan?" Lìxúe began, cutting off Byulhee from speaking. 

Nell's face flushed. "Byulhee, are you still drunk?"

Byulhee's face lit up as an idea struck her. "How about--mmpf!" 

Lìxúe placed a hand over Byulhee's mouth. "Are you sure you're okay, Byul? What was wrong with our original plan?"

"You seem a little..." Sijin trailed off, clicking her tongue. "You're not your usual self. You seem a little desperate or something."

"I'm fine. I'm fine!" Byulhee scoffed, waving a hand in dismissal. "I just want this mission to go as planned." Her eyes glinted. "We need to know which vans SuJu uses!"

The other members exchanged looks. Byulhee was always a little mercurial in emotion, but she seemed to have taken her feelings to another level. Her present state seemed to be more than just the after effects of alcohol. It felt like something was troubling Byulhee internally, but she was masking that by being more unusual than ever. 

As there was nothing to be done, Nell breathed out a sigh. "Fine, I'll call and ask him."

"Just casually ask him," Sijin suggested. "Don't worry about his reaction."

"Fine," muttered Byulhee, folding her arms in front of her. She heaved a sigh. She knew that this was different from their original plan, but-- Ugh! She felt so, so-- She bolted up from her spot and began to pace around the room. "Oh!" She paused, snapping her fingers. "I should call Jae's brother and make sure that he's still free this evening to help us." She sprang off toward her bedroom to get her cell phone. 

Lìxúe stared after Byulhee, wondering what was going on in her unnie's head.

****

A hush fell over the set of Knowing Brother as filming began. Soogeun and Sangmin entered casually. 

"Looks like we're the first ones today," Sangmin remarked, taking a seat at his desk. 

"I bet Janghoon will come in next--" Soogeun replied, mimicking Janghoon's habit of waving to the Jimmy Jib.

Sangmin chuckled as Janghoon entered, the latter sending a wave to the Jimmy Jib. Heechul came next, rubbing his hands with lotion as he did so. Kyunghoon and Yeongchul made their way onto the set shortly after. Hodong was the last one to appear, and he did so by throwing open the door with gusto as he cried out, "Yeongchul!"

Yeongchul whirled around in his seat. "Huh?"

"Eeesh. So loud," muttered Soogeun, crossing his hands in front of him as he chuckled. 

As the cast of Knowing Brother began chatting about this and that, Kyunghoon suddenly straightened up in his seat, eyes widening as he gazed across the set toward the film crew. "Huh?!"

"What?" Heechul asked, turning to see what Kyunghoon was looking at. His eyes widened. "Is that--?"

"Who is that holding the camera?" Kyunghoon asked.

The rest of the cast turned to see what they were talking about.

Heechul began laughing. "Is that Aeyeong?" 

Aeyeong smiled from behind the camera that she was manning as several of the other cameras turned to face her. She sent one of the cameras a wave. 

"Is it really Aeyeong?" asked Kyunghoon, standing up to get a better look. 

Sangmin stood up. "Whaaaaahhhh! It is!"

"Kyunghoon, how did you notice her at the camera?" asked Hodong.

Kyunghoon covered his mouth as a cheeky grin spread across his face. "I saw her legs," he said with a chuckle. 

The cast burst with laughter. 

Heechul continued to laugh as he got up from his seat, strolling closer to the film crew. "If you're there Aeyeong, then Jaemi must be around here somewhere." His eyes zeroed in one of the scriptwriters that were sitting on the floor. His lips curled into a smirk as he approached one who wore a hoodie over her head that failed to hide all of her curly red hair. "Found you, Jae." 

Jaemi chuckled and sent the camera a wave as the Knowing Brother cast began to talk among themselves.

"We've never had anyone hide with the camera crew before." 

"That's pretty clever."

"They must watch the show a lot." 

Jaemi stood up and took the hoodie off, handing it back to the crew member she borrowed it from. She and Aeyeong sent the camera a wave as they walked toward the set. 

Heechul scoffed as he sat back down at his desk. "Who do you think you are? So disruptive. You know how the show is supposed to go." 

"Thought I'd try something different," Jaemi responded, sending Heechul a wink as she and Aeyeong made their way to the podium.

"Go back and enter properly," Heechul retorted. 

As if on cue, the door swung open, Leeteuk and Donghae appearing through the doorway. 

Heechul groaned. "Can't I get away from you two?"

Donghae chuckled as he sidled up to Aeyeong. "Sorry, hyung, but you can't escape us that easily." 

Heechul scoffed. "You two are only here for selfish reasons." He eyed Leeteuk with a smirk. 

"Doesn't everyone come here to promote?" Yeongchul said.

"I'm here to see Hodong," remarked Leeteuk cheekily. He turned his attention to Hodong. "It's been a while since I've seen you." He bowed his head and sent him a smile. "It's too bad. I wanted to bring the Starlets on that show. I couldn't convince Ja-- the Starlets to come on before it ended." 

Hodong nodded with a saddened look in his eye. It certainly was a shame that Star King was no more. 

Over the next few minutes, things began to proceed as usual. The guests were introduced and then were seated among the class, except Jaemi, who stood at the podium, ready to ask her questions. She sent them all a smile. "Man, I've been wanting to be on this show a long time," she remarked with a chuckle. "It's so cool to be up here." Her cheeks tinted as she glanced at the cue cards in her hand.

Leeteuk tried to hide his smile. 

Jaemi placed the cue cards face down and leaned forward against the podium casually. "Alright," she began, clicking her tongue. "So, I'm an actress and--"

"Yeah, we know. Move on," Heechul said off-handedly.

"Pfft," Jaemi scoffed, pulling out the plastic hammer from beneath the podium. "Guess you're looking for trouble, huh?" She began to toss it up and down, throwing it up into the air and catching it repeatedly. 

"You look like Thor right now," Soogeun observed with a chuckle. 

Jaemi laughed heartily before striking a pose with the hammer, flexing her arms. "Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess of the power of Jaemi."

Kyunghoon's eyes widened. "Whoa. Are those real?" 

"Huh?" Jaemi dropped her pose, blinking, a confused look on her face. 

"Your muscles," Kyunghoon replied, his eyes still rounded.

Jaemi shrugged. "Yeah, so?" She flexed again, not knowing why he was so surprised. The class let out a series of surprised remarks.

"Whoa!"

"You've got some definition there." 

"You must train your body a lot," commented Janghoon, folding his arms in front of him.

Jaemi nodded. "Yep. Everyday. Weights. Kickboxing..." she trailed off. 

"You must be strong," Hodong observed.

Jaemi shrugged. "Yeah, a bit. I think my legs are stronger, but I've never lost at arm-wrestling before," she said with a chuckle. 

"That's true," remarked Aeyeong with a nod. "Byulhee wanted to have an arm-wrestling once in the dorms. Jae beat everyone."

"Do you think you can beat all of us in an arm-wrestle?" asked Yeongchul. 

Jaemi's eyes roved over the class. She clicked her tongue. "Almost. Everyone except Janghoon and Hodong."

"You don't think you could beat Hodong?" asked Soogeun with a chuckle. 

Jaemi chuckled. "Nah. I know my limitations."

"Do you want to bet to beat everyone?" Hodong asked, folding his arms in front of him. 

Jaemi scoffed. "I already know I can't beat you or Janghoon, but--" Her lips fell into a smirk. "I bet that I can beat everyone else. Besides--" She glanced at Heechul with a smile. "Heechul didn't seem very interested in the questions anyway." She laughed. "Might as well give the viewers something more interesting, right? How about guests versus Knowing Brothers? If we win, play our new music video at the end of the show." 

Heechul folded his arms and shook his head. "Nah. We didn't want to see your music video anyway."

"You know you have to work with me every day, right?" Jaemi said, cocking her head to the side as her eyes gleamed with mischief. She tossed the plastic hammer in the air again. "Alright. Me vs. the Knowing Brothers. So, who wants to go first?"

A desk was brought closer to the cameras, and two chairs were placed on either side. Jaemi sat in one while the Knowing Brother members debated over who was to go first. 

Aeyeong, Donghae, and Leeteuk gravitated toward where Jaemi sat to cheer her on.

Youngchul was up first. He sat down. "Let's get started," he said in English as he held out his hand.

Jaemi chuckled as she took his hand. "You know, I've always liked your English," she said back in English. "It's pretty good."

"Huh?" Youngchul's eyes widened in surprise at the compliment.

"Yep." Jaemi took advantage of his hesitance, winning him instantly.

The Knowing Brothers cast busted out laughing and clapping as Youngchul sat with a dazed and confused expression on his face. They jeered, telling him that he should have stayed focus.

"Sorry, Youngchul," Jaemi said sincerely with a bow. "I really do think your English is good though." 

 Next up was Soogeun. He approached Jaemi with an air of solemnity. He bowed. 

Jaemi stood up, mirroring his attitude. She bowed too. 

"Please go easy on me," Soogeun said, purposely sounding quaky.

The Knowing Brothers cast chuckled. 

The two sat down and began. Jaemi looked relaxed as Soogeun started to move her arm. 

"Please, let me win," Soogeun said desperately, causing everyone to laugh. In the next instant, she effectively pinned his arm down, winning the match. 

"My arm! I can't feel it!" Soogeun staggered away. 

Jaemi giggled at his exaggeration as Heechul sat down.

"Eeesh," he muttered. 

"Ready?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. 

He scoffed, shaking his head as they grabbed hands. 

It was over in moments. Next was Sangmin, then Kyunghoon. Both met with similar failure. 

Jaemi stood up with a small smile. 

"Wait a sec. Jae," Heechul said. "I wanna see you go against Hodong." 

"No, no." Jaemi waved her hands in denial. "I'm not that strong." 

"Avenge me," Soogeun said, bowing before Hodong. "Avenge me!" 

Everyone laughed at Soogeun's ad lib. 

Jaemi chuckled. "Fine, but this isn't part of the bet, right?"

"It is," Heechul said nonchalantly. 

"If you beat me," Hodong began, already taking a seat. "You get to show both of your music videos at the end of the show." 

Jaemi clicked her tongue. "Can I use a handicap?" 

"You can use both hands," Sangmin chimed into the conversation. 

Jaemi scoffed. "This is Thor versus Hulk, isn't it?" She giggled. "I'm so going to lose," she muttered as she took Hodong's hand. 

Hodong gasped. "Whoa! Look how small her hand is." He placed his palm against hers. "Look at that!" he called out as he showed the camera. 

"It's like seeing a bear hold hands with a child," Soogeun commented with a chuckle. 

The arm wrestle commenced. Jaemi could instantly feel his overwhelming strength. She bit her lower lip and threw all of her muscle into it. It was like a small Volkswagon bug trying to go up against a monster truck; impossible. She could barely budge his arm.  

"She's strong," muttered Hodong, his face scrunching up as he gained an advantage.

"Whoa!" Leeteuk's jaw dropped. 

Donghae stood with his mouth agape, chuckling silently. 

Within seconds there was a dull thud as an arm struck the table. Hodong stood up from the table, throwing his fists up in the air in victory. He made his way toward the camera, gloating over his achievement. 

At the same time, Jaemi slumped to the floor and closed her eyes, pretending that her failure had killed her.  

Laughter and jeers sprung up all around the room. 

"You killed a woman. Are you happy with yourself?" Janghoon commented, folding his arms in front of his chest. 

"Weeewooo! Weeewooo!" Soogeun squatted down and mimed that he was driving an ambulance. "Weeewooo!"

"I'll do mouth to mouth," Kyunghoon volunteered, raising a hand as his lips fell into an excited smile. 

Soogeun hit Kyunghoon as he passed by. 

"Ow," muttered the now injured party. 

Jaemi twitched, groaning. 

Leeteuk crouched down. "Jaemi, Jaemi! Are you okay?" he said in a deep, dramatic voice.

Jaemi's arms and legs began to twitch.

"Train to Busan!" Sangmin shouted.

"No! Don't! Please don't turn into a zombie!" Leeteuk cried, keeping up the dramatic countenance. 

"Unnnngh..."Jaemi got up, . She walked with her arms out in front of her as everyone either played along and ran away from her or laughed too hard to do anything. 

After things finally settled down, Jaemi finished up her questions and was followed by Donghae and Leeteuk. It was Leeteuk's last question. He glanced down at the card. "I met Jaemi when we were trainees."

Jaemi's eyes widened. She was surprised by the mention of her name in the question. 

"When I saw her I was surprised because of what she was doing. What was she doing?" His eyes met hers. "Do you remember?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I remember." She was shocked though that he remembered the incidence. 

"I know!" Heechul stood up and began to mime smoking a cigarette. 

Jaemi shook her head. 

Donghae and Aeyeong began to laugh at the absurdity. 

Leeteuk hit Heechul on the back of the head with the plastic hammer. "Wrong. You and I both know she doesn't smoke." 

Hodong glanced between Leeteuk and Jaemi and then Heechul and Jaemi. "Wait. Are you two--?"

"Was it at the SM building when you met her?" asked Sangmin.

"Yes, it was inside," Leeteuk answered.

Soogeun raised a hand. "I know!" He jumped from his seat and began to act the scene out. "You were going to use the facilities. You walked in. Ahhh!" He jumped back as if startled. "You were shocked because you saw a man dressed as a woman."

Laughter erupted throughout the room. Jaemi herself was clutching her stomach from laughing so hard. 

Hodong turned around, giving Soogeun a thumbs up. "That was funny."

Once things settled down again, Leeteuk gave them more hints. "When I saw met her, we were in a hallway at SM. She was doing something you wouldn't normally do in a hallway. It has something to do with our profession." 

"Dancing!"

"Break dancing!"

"Modeling!"

"Singing!"

"She was drunk and singing in the hallway!"

"Playing an instrument!"

Janghoon raised a hand. "I know it." He sent the camera a look of triumph. "She was writing music in the hallway!" He stood up, already waving at the jimmy jib in victory. 

Leeteuk's eyes widened. "That's correct."

"Really?" Hodong turned around in his seat. "You were writing in the hallway?"

Jaemi nodded. "I was writing lyrics. I had a tune in my head, and the lyrics were starting to come to mind. And I just had to stop and write those lyrics down before I forgot them." 

"Is that song one of the songs on your album?" asked Janghoon.

Jaemi shook her head. "Nope. I never finished it. Maybe I will finish it someday though." As her thoughts turned to her unfinished song, she wondered if she would perhaps finish it someday or not. 

****

Byulhee squealed. They were finally going to have the opportunity to show the world what the Starlets were made of. Things were going to work out after all! She just knew it!

Operation Monroe was going as they had planned. Tomorrow would work to their advantage. 

Thanks to the help of of Jaemi's brother, the four women had learned to siphon gasoline out of a car engine. There were now two vans that were used for Super Junior's activities that no longer had any gasoline in the tanks.

The Starlets had done what they needed to and were now taking a much-needed rest. Byulhee, Nell, Lìxúe, and Sijin were gathered about their dining room table, cards in hand and poker chips on the table. 

"I raise you two," Lìxúe said with a gleam in her eyes.

Byulhee flashed a smile. At this moment, she felt like she could take on the world. "I see your bid," she said, placing the chips on the table. "And I raise you five." 

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," advised Nell. "See that look in Lì's eyes. Devil Lì is there."

Byulhee sat back with a satisfied smirk. "Bring it on."

Sijin looked down at her cards hesitantly, biting her lip. "I fold." She placed her cards face down. 

"Me too," Nell said, following suit. 

"I see your bid, and I raise you five," Lìxúe said, placing the chips in the pile in the middle of the table. 

"I see your bid and raise you ten!" Byulhee said, throwing in her chips. She grinned, awaiting Lìxúe's reaction. 

As Lìxúe gazed at her hand, Byulhee could not help but bounce in her seat impatiently. She really felt as if she could bet anything and get whatever she wanted right now. The sure success of Operation Monroe loomed in front of her. She could taste it. It made her euphoric. 

Lìxúe tossed in the correct number of chips and then proceeded to add five more to the pile. 

Byulhee squirmed in her seat, unable to contain her excitement. "All in!" she squealed, pushing her chips to the center. 

Lìxúe acquiesced, adding in her chips. "Full house." She flashed her cards: two queens and three kings. 

Byulhee slumped in her seat. "I have two pairs. One pair of aces." She placed the pair on the table, her lips quirking a smile "And another pair of aces." 

"Awwwh." It was Lìxúe's turn to slump back.

"Mwuahahaha!" Byulhee snatched all the chips in the middle. "I win!" She threw some of the chips into the air. "It's raining men! Hallelujah!" She threw her head back, laughing hysterically.

"How much did she win?" asked Sijin. 

Nell tallied up the total on a piece of a paper. "Six candy bars." 

"Pay up tomorrow." Byulhee breathed a sigh of satisfaction. If she was having this kind of luck, then maybe--just maybe she should bet on something else tomorrow. 

Her mind turned to Eunhyuk--that y man that haunted her thoughts of late. 

She just might bet everything to see if they could be together. 

Her heart pounded in her chest. 

She--

A thought struck her.

What if Jaemi disapproved?

Her heart sank. 

"I need some time to myself," she said suddenly, her face dropping. A melancholy expression adorned her face. She turned to leave, heading out of the room. 

"Wait, where are you going?" Sijin called after her unnie.

Byulhee did not respond.

"Is everything okay?" Lìxúe asked.

The Starlets watched Byulhee leave with looks of bewilderment on their faces.

"What's wrong with her?" Sijin asked. "She was so bright and cheery a moment again." 

Nell shook her head with a look of concern. "I don't know. Is something bothering her?"

"She's usually not one to hold back her thoughts," observed Lìxúe. "I'm not sure what's wrong." 

Sijin sighed. "Well, I hope she feels better soon."

Nell nodded. "I wonder how Jaemi and Aeyeong are doing?"

****

Aeyeong glanced down at the last question on her cue card. "So, I used to live in Australia. While I was there, I picked up a hobby in high school. What was it?"

"Pfft." Kyunghoon chuckled as he covered his mouth. "Can I say it?"

Aeyeong eyed him with a cold look. "Get your mind out of the gutter."

Kyunghoon's expression froze over from Aeyeong's icy gaze. 

"I know," Soogeun said, raising a hand. "You became a crocodile hunter." He grabbed Donghae, who sat next to him, pretending to wrestle with one of those giant creatures.

Chuckles and giggles spread around the room. 

"I think he's more of a fish than a crocodile," commented Heechul.

Aeyeong laughed. "No, wrong. It has to do with high school activities."

Kyunghoon raised a hand. "I know!" he said with a confident expression. "Cheerleading."

Heechul sprang from his chair and pumped his arms in the air. "Goooo Heechul! Goooooo--" 

Aeyeong tapped the plastic hammer against his head, effectively ending his cheer. "I did cheer for a little while," she commented, turning towards Kyunghoon. "But that's not the activity I'm talking about."

A series of guesses were thrown out. 

"Softball!"

"Beading!"

"Beading? Her? Nah."

"Maybe rapping?"

"Theatre, like Jaemi?"

"Surfing?"

"Lobster eating contests!"

"What? What is that?"

"I want lobster. Lobster sounds good."

"Remember when we ate that lobster on that inflatable boat in the pool?" 

"Spying on people! She's actually a spy."

"Dumpster diving!"

As laughter and guesses flew around the room, Donghae pressed his fingers to his lips, thinking deeply. He turned around to face Jaemi, who sat next to Sangmin. "Do you know this one?" he asked curiously. 

Jaemi shook her head. "I have no idea."

The two exchanged a look. It was amusing. The two people who knew the most about Aeyeong were utterly stumped. 

"Rugby," Youngchul said casually.

"Correct!" Aeyeong said, flashing him a smile. "I was pretty good at it too." 

For a moment, Youngchul looked shocked that he had gotten the answer correctly. However, the shock quickly turned to triumph, and he started waving at the camera. 

"Hold up," Heechul said with a scoff. "We already had one Starlet show how strong she is. Now April is a rugby star?! What's next? Are you going to show us how to tackle?"

Aeyeong smiled. "Yes."

Donghae and Jaemi exchanged surprised glances. Neither one had suspected Aeyeong of being a rugby star. 

The production team cut filming and told everyone to go change into sweats.

Once everyone had changed, they gathered back on set where the desks and chairs had already been removed. Blue exercise mats covered the floor. The cast stretched, loosening up. 

"Alright," Aeyeong began. "I will teach you how to tackle the right way. First, we need to talk about safety. Make sure to always be aware of where your head is. You do not want to injure your head in any way. You don't want your head squished between the ground and whoever you are tackling." 

Kyunghoon raised his hand.

"Yes?"

"Can you practice tackling me?" he asked with a smile, his ears turning red. 

A series of protests flung out at him. 

Donghae could not mask the darkened expression on his face. 

"Hey!" Heechul said, hitting him in the arm. 

Hodong put his arms in the shape of an "X". "No." 

One of the PDs spoke up. "Jaemi is going to help April with the demonstrations. The men will practice on each other." 

Jaemi stepped forward. "Alright. I'm ready."

"First off," Aeyeong said. "You never ever try to tackle someone by grabbing their neck or their head. That's against the rules of rugby, and it is dangerous. I'll show you how to tackle from the side. Jaemi, start over there and run towards me." 

Jaemi crossed to the far end of the mat. 

"Ready?" Aeyeong asked.

"Yep." Jaemi nodded and then took off running towards Aeyeong. 

Aeyeong sprang to action, taking off quickly. In a matter of moments, she had her arms around Jaemi's legs, and the two were on the ground with Jaemi pinned beneath. 

The men clapped and whooped for Aeyeong's prowess. 

"That was cool!"

"She's like Wonder Woman." 

"Wonder Woman just tackled Thor! Haha!"

Donghae grinned in both surprise and pride at his fiancé's feat. 

Aeyeong stood up, holding a hand out to Jaemi. Jaemi accepted it and stood. "Ready for more?" Aeyeong asked with a slight chuckle.

"Bring it on," replied Jaemi light-heartedly. 

"When you're first heading towards your opponent," Aeyeong began. "You are going to crouch down and bring your head to about the same height as your opponent's hips. Use the power in your legs to push forward as you drive your shoulder into your opponent's thigh. As you do that, you'll wrap your arms around your opponent's legs. Preferably somewhere between their thigh and their knee. Squeeze their legs together, and they'll go down.  Like this." She demonstrated, once again tackling Jaemi to the ground. 

She showed them several more times, each time getting more and more praise from the rest of the cast. 

"April is the best!" Youngchul said, clapping his hands.

"Who's ready to try it?" Aeyoung asked, getting up from her latest tackle. 

The men began to take turns practicing until they were ready to compete against each other. After the competition--in which Hodong won-- the filming ended. The Knowing Brothers cast thanked their guests, expressing how fun filming was and telling them to come back again. 

As Aeyeong and Jaemi began to head toward Jaemi's car, Aeyeong chuckled. "Did you have fun?" 

Jaemi giggled. "Yep. I think the sugar helped," she joked. "Nah. It was really fun. I loved it. Though I think I may have a few bruises tomorrow." She chuckled. "How about you? Did you enjoy it?"

"It was fun," agreed Aeyeong. "I wouldn't mind coming on again. Though I was surprised when Donghae showed up." 

Jaemi laughed. "Did you see the look on his face when Kyunghoon volunteered to be tackled by you?"

Aeyeong shook her head. "No. What did he look like?"

"He looked so irritated and jealous." Jaemi giggled. "Don't worry. I don't think the cameras caught it. Even if they did, they would just think he thought the suggestion was inappropriate." 

Aeyeong shook his head. "That fishy." She glanced at Jaemi. "I wasn't expecting Leeteuk to be there. I didn't know that's how you two met." She paused, stealing a look at Jaemi's face. 

Jaemi kept a straight face. "Yep. I'm surprised he remembered it." She took out her keys from her purse and unlocked the car. 

"I remember you two used to be really close back when we were trainees," Aeyeong noted, getting in the car. It was odd that Jaemi never finished the song, she was writing back then. It was unlike Jaemi to leave anything unfinished. She wondered if there was a reason behind it. "Did you--pardon me for asking--did you like Leeteuk?" 

There was silence as Jaemi started the car. "Yeah," she finally said as she began to drive. "Yeah, I did. But that was a long time ago." 

Aeyeong nodded in understanding, though she wondered if perhaps somewhere down the line Jaemi would be able to open up her heart again.

*****

Byulhee lay in her bed, staring at the screen, once more engrossed in another piece of fanfiction. 

She groaned, tossing the phone aside. 

Her heart was bent on being with Hyukjae. She could think of nothing else. 

But would Jaemi open up her heart to allow Byulhee to have a relationship with him?

It wasn't Jaemi's place to come between her love life, but she wished for Jaemi's support all the same. 

Her thoughts turned to the way Minyoung left. Perhaps Jaemi had forced the two apart.

No, no. Jaemi would never do that.

Would she?

Byulhee's mind drifted to when Jaemi dragged her from her ex-boyfriend's apartment. 

She shook her head. No. Jaemi saved her from a bad situation. 

There was a knock on the door. "Byulhee, may I come in?" Sijin's voice came from the other side of the door. 

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I guess," Byulhee said, sitting up. 

"Are you alright?" Sijin asked upon entering the room. "It seems like something is bothering you." 

"I'm fine," Byulhee replied. 

"Are you sure? If you want to talk, I'm here for you," Sijin replied with an understanding smile.

Byulhee shrugged. "I'm fine. Really." There was a slight pause. "Wait. Do you-- do you think that Jaemi wants us to be happy?"

Sijin was taken back. "Of course! Why? Are you not happy?"

"I am, I am. It's just-- I feel like I'm not content," Byulhee continued as she looked down at her bed comforter and began playing with the material in her hands. "I'm just-- not satisfied. In more ways than one," she said with a small chuckle. 

Sijin was not quite sure what she meant. "Unnie, Jaemi wants all of us to be happy. I know she loves you. So much. If something is bothering you or going on between you two, don't you think you should talk to her about it?" 

Byulhee shrugged. "I'm not sure if I can. I don't think Jaemi would understand." 

"Still, don't you think you should talk to her?" 

"I don't know. Maybe. I don't know." Byulhee sighed. "I just want to have fun. Is that wrong?"

"No," Sijin began tentatively. 

"Exactly!" Byulhee almost shouted, causing Sijin to jump slightly in surprise. "There's nothing wrong with having fun. And why should there be? I'm a grown woman. I can do what I want!" Byulhee sprang from the bed with a gleam in her eyes. "Thank you, Sijin! I'm feeling much better! Yaaaaaaaaahooooooooooo!" she squealed. "Tomorrow's going to be so fun with Operation Monroe!" She ran out of the room, shouting with glee.

Sijin blinked. Was Byulhee feeling guilty about Operation Monroe? Or were her questions directed towards something else? She had no clue. 

****

The next day was bright and sunny, a good omen for the day that Operation Monroe was to see its completion. 

The Starlets were at the studio, dressing for their first performance. 

Jaemi looked down at her phone, a grave look on her face. "Minho just texted," she began. "It seems that Super Junior isn't here yet. They've had a situation with their company vans apparently." 

Nell kept a straight face as she focused on putting her high heels on. It was actually a bit of a shame. She had been looking forward to seeing Siwon wear the 1950's style leather jacket look. However, she needed the world to appreciate her choreography skills. Siwon was willing to help her with this, so that was all that mattered.

Byulhee turned away to hide her smile. Lìxúe and Sijin exchanged glances but kept their heads down. 

"I'm sure they'll be here soon," Lìxúe said casually. 

Aeyeong shook her head, looking at her own phone. "Donghae says that they will be late. What are we going to do?"

Jaemi clicked her tongue. "I don't know. The choreography of the first song requires them. We don't have time to change the order of the songs now." 

Nell spoke up. "You know our choreography for the music video?"

"Yeah?" Byulhee tried to keep her tone of voice in check.

"There's that part where we used the chairs," Nell continued calmly. "We'll just modify that part a bit, and we'll be fine."

"That's a good idea," Lìxúe added. "We can practice a couple of times in here." 

"Alright," Jaemi agreed. "Let's get to it then."

****

The performance proceeded without a hitch. By the time Super Junior arrived at the studio, the Starlets were already on stage with their first song. The Super Junior members proceeded to watch  the performances from the monitors backstage. 

Eunhyuk stood close to one of the monitors, his eyes transfixed on one member in particular. 
 

(Below videos are for reference for the two performances.)

 

 

****

Byulhee's phone chimed. She looked down at her phone. 

One new message.

Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the sender's name: Hyukjae.

Can we meet up to talk?

Byulhee quickly texted back: Yeah, are you still here?

Yep. :)

Byulhee grinned. Meet me in the dressing room in five min. after everyone else leaves. ;)

Alright. :D

As the Starlets began to pile into the company van, Byulhee bolted from her seat. "Oh! I forgot something!" she said, stepping out of the car. "Be back soon." She hurried off, heading back into the building. She made her way to the dressing room, her heart quickening in anticipation. 

She hurried past staff members, mumbling an excuse about how she came back to retrieve something that she forgot. As soon as she reached the dressing room door, she paused, her heart pounding in her ears. She flung open the door and found Eunhyuk leaning casually against the counter.

Hearing the door open, Hyukjae looked up from his phone and sent Byulhee a smile. His heart quickened at the very sight of her. "Hey, Byul," he said, trying to sound natural, though his nerves were trying to get the best of him. "You did great today! You guys were the best! It's a shame I missed part of it. I would have liked to see the whole thing."

"Thanks," Byulhee replied, her eyes glistening with joy. "So, what did you wanna talk to me about?" 

Hyukjae chuckled nervously, having been caught off guard by Byulhee's direct question. "Well, I uh--" He rubbed the back of his neck. 

Byulhee stared at the man. How could he be so adorable and so y at the same time? Her eyes fell to his lips. She wanted him now more than ever, and she was not one to hold back from temptation.

Hyukjae sent her a gummy smile. "I was wondering if maybe you would like to go out sometime. I really like y--" Before he had a chance to continue, Byulhee bounded over to him, throwing her arms around him. 

Her lips met his in a passionate kiss. 

 

 

 

 

Author's Note

Hey everyone! I'm so, so sorry it has taken me this long to ge this chapter up. I've re-written this chapter I don't even know how many times. My original ideas for Operation Monroe were just not working with me. Every time I tried to write what was going on with  Byulhee, Nell, Lìxúe, and Sijin during the course of  them enacting the plan-- well, it just . So, after re-writing countless times, I gave up. So, sadly,  the full scope of the plan is not in here and I can't teach you guys how to siphon gas out of a car. lol

Also, I'm sorry that Lìxúe, Nell, and Sijin did not have much screentime this chapter. They will have a lot more scenes in upcoming chapters. The next chapter is on the shorter, and then after that things are changing with the dynamics of the group. At that point, Lìxúe, Nell, and Sijin will have more screen time. 

Also, I haven't had any applications for the manager position that I posted in October. That was seven months ago... So, I have decided to scrap the idea of adding a manager. (hey, more screentime for the remaining members of the Starlets!) 

Thank you all for waiting so patiently for me! Thanks for reading! I hope you all have a great day!

 

P.S. Fun fact for you: Operation Monroe involved draining the Super Junior vans' gas tanks to prevent them from getting to the show on time. In the 1950 film All About Eve, one of the main characters drains a car's gas tank to prevent the actress Margot Channing (played by Bette Davis) from making it to a performance in order to allow another actress to perform the role. Incidently, this movie featured Marilyn Monroe's first on-screen role.