Today was the day. In an hour, the music video for 'Flash" would be released on the YouTube. I felt like I was bathing in my own sweat because of how nervous I was.

The feedback on the concept images, and teaser were mostly positive. I had been in my usual regime for the past while, except for an interview with Jay on a program called Love Centre, another Korean pop culture show. I remember when we came home from that interview, because I was stopped by two boys who were absolutely ecstatic.

"eMpress! We can't wait for your debut! Already huge fans" beamed the two boys who couldn't have been older than 20

"Thank you, I hope you'll like the full video and song just as much" I politely replied, exiting the studio with Jay. Some girls soon approached him with cameras ready,  whisking him away to the rest of the fans.

"Could we have a picture?" eagerly asked one of the boys

I got a nod from our , making sure we had time. I stood between the two boys and smiled for the photo. They then took out a notebook, asking me to sign, which I accepted humbly.

"Thank you so much  noona" bowed the two guys, before scurrying off. As soon as they left though, a whole group of other people wanted to talk with me, get autographs, and take pictures. I eventually was dragged away from these new fans by Jay, since we needed to  go back to JYP for our schedule. We waved goodbye together, and drove away.

It made me think of how much impact and influence I had, and could have on these people. Maybe being an idol would mean I can make a difference, like how I had originally pictured it. The dream was still alive, the one I had carried before my mother died, before Bae died, and before I met Jay.

"eMpress, It is uploaded" informed one of the JYP executives

I kept refreshing the page, reading the fast moving comments on the video. The final product I was pleased with, and the fans seemed to think so too.

Ah! I am definitely apart of the eMpire! Mp for life!!!! <3

This comment had many thumbs up, pushing it to the top and to my attention.

"eMpire, Mp.......clever" I thought to myself.

  A day later, Park Jinyoung swung open the studio door where I was, rushing towards me with a frantic look.

"Wen, we have already gotten a request for you to perform! Musicbank wants you to sing Flash in three days, what do you think?"

I smiled at the how well the song was received, in a matter of just one a day.

"Of course, it would be great" I paused before continuing, "but, I would like Jaebeom to be there. You know, since we are 'together' " The last part I had added, trying not to seem so obvious. I probably was obvious anyways...

Jinyoung nodded his head, seeming to agree

"Yes, I will see what I can do about that "

"Thank you" I bowed deeply as Mr. Park left.

I finished my dancing, and luckily ran into Jay soon after. I bounded up to him, still on the high from JYP's news.

"Hey there stranger" I greeted, giving a hug to him

"You seem abnormally happy for 9 am" pointed out Jay

"Well I have plenty of reason. Musicbank wants me to perform in three days!" I yipped, using both my hands for a double thumbs up

Jay hoisted me up by the waist and spun me around, cheering "I am so proud of you. Congratulations!"

He set me down, grinning ear to ear.

"I have also asked JYP about you coming" I sheepishly looked down at my feet, presing my fingertips together, "Well.... If you want to come."

"I absolutely adore you Wen, you're my girlfriend. Of course; I will try my best to come and see your first official performance. You know I'm crazy for you" said Jay, holding my hand, interlocking our fingers.

"It would really mean a lot if you could. I'd invite the rest of 2PM, but I doubt you'd be able to all make it because of the final episodes of Idol Army" I sighed, walking with Jay to their lounge, the one I had painted

"We can at least tell them. They'd be pretty mad if we didn't" Jay opened the door for me, "Oh, hey guys. Exactly the people we are looking for"

Only four of the six other members were in the lounge; Taeceon, Chansung, Junsu, and Wooyoung.  Taec was sleeping in a beanbag chair, Junsu was on his laptop, and Chan was trying to get Wooyoung to play with  Jeongammie, aka. Sir Warmth, his beloved cat. 

"Hey lovebirds. Whats up?" Taec grumbled, rubbing his eyes and stretching his limbs.  He lumbered over and gave me a bear hug, leaving me gasping for air.

"Hi Tae- JEONGAMMIE!" Sir warmth came trotting over to me, weaving between my legs and rubbing his head against me. I scooped him up and scratched behind his ear,

Jay rolled his eyes as Chan came over, to brag about his pride and joy of a pet.

"See! Jeongammie is a nice cat!" Chansung shot a daggers out of his eyes at Wooyoung, while Warmth wriggled around in my arms, "Aren't you Jeongammie, you're a great cat, yes you are!"

Chan continued to baby his cat. Meanwhile, Jay got us back on topic.

"Anyways, Wen has major news for you guys, it's official. Her first-"

"Baby? " yipped Wooyoung, with open mouth and eyes. He began to clap, looking between the other members, "My first nephew!" 

I immediately passed off Sir Warm th to Chan, and flatly replied 

"Do I look pregnant..."

Wooyoung blushed, becoming extremely embarrassed.

"It's just that-..You see-.. Jay and-...Sorry. I'll let you talk. And you don't look pregnant at all, you're pretty as ever" rambled Wooyoung, slowly creeping closer to Junsu to hide himself.

"Back on track. I have been invited to perform on Musicbank!" I announced with a glimmering smile.

"That's my little singer! " congratulated Junsu, "Good job Wen, or should I say eMpress"

I winced at him using my stage name, "Stick with Wen, Panda" 

"So how are we all getting there?" asked Chansung, still cradling Jeongammie. 

"I really don't want to take away from your busy schedule, especially with Again and Again being such a huge hit now, not to mention Idol Army. JYP would have a fit if he knew all of you had ditched for Musicbank. "

Taec shrugged, "Than at last one of us will go . I haven't been out for a while an-"

"That spot has been filled Taec" interjected Jay,  protectively putting his arm around me. Whispering, for only me to hear, he breathed out

"I'll try my best to be there for you. Promise" 

I just gave a small subtle nod.

Glancing at the clock, I realized I had planned to meet my MBLAQ boys for lunch. I hurriedly excused myself, saying goodbye to all of them, before running out of the JYP building for a small  cafe around the block. 

In my mad dash, I ended of turning a few heads. A clan of girls mobbed me for a photo and autograph, to which I did do hastily, and than apologized for being in such a rush.
Finally I entered the cafe, instantly spotting Mir waving at me with the cutest grin.  

"Anyoung" I chirped, hugging Mir and also Lee Joon before taking my seat with one of my favourite maknaes.

"Hello Wen" awkwardly said Mir

I let our a tiny giggle, "Mir, you know I can understand Korean better than you can speak English"

Mir sighed in relief at this fact, and than began babbling on in Korean. 

I told them about my performance on Musicbank, which they were very happy about. 

"We will be the- No. We can't"  Joon, slapped his hand on the table in defeat with a big pout, "MBLAQ is filming that day" 

"We'd be there if we could. It just-"

"You have a schedule" I finished for Mir. "I understand" 

"Noona! We are matching today!" exclaimed Mir, pointing to our glasses. 

Before I could protest, Mir took out his phone and snapped a selca of us together. 

"Enjoying lunch with eMpress noona. And joonie hyung." stated Mir as he added the caption. 

The picture was quite adorable. I had puffed cheeks with a peace sign -original, I know- while Mir pushed his lips out for an exagerated kiss on my cheek.

"We're so cute' Mir beamed, putting his phone away. Joon just shook his head at his him.

The door swung open, and a trio of girls scampered -more so stumbled- towards our  table.

"You're eMpress! " squealed all three of the girls. They were quite pretty, which I think made Joon disappointed they hadn't come for him.

"Could we, maybe... have a picture?"

"Yes, for sure" I posed for the picture in the middle. The oldest looking of the three hesitated before giving me a hug. I wasn't expecting it,but it was adorable. They waved and bowed as they ran back on to the street.

There were hoards of teenagers. All of them had their phones and cameras out, trying to take pictures of us. I could hear screams of all three of our names, specifically the voice of a boy proclaiming he was 'the eMpires biggest Mp'.

One glance out the windows, and all of us knew we should leave before it got anymore congested. We wouldn't to be able to leave if we stayed any longer.

 "Mir and I should be heading back then. Hey- how about you come with us?"

Mir grinned wildly at the proposal, "Yes! You haven't met the rest of MBLAQ! They really want to meet you, especially with all we've said about you, and your debut"

It made me feel good that Mir talked about me to his fellow band mates. Hopefully they were all good things, and not embarassing stories of my Korean speaking failures.

"I do have the rest of the afternoon off, and don't have to be back until tonight... Why not" I replied

"Let's go then!" cheered Joon, standing up. Mir also got out of his seat and offered his arm for me to hold on to. I accepted and also took Joon's arm, as we all skipped out of the cafe. We pleasantly waved to the bystanders as we hopped by. I'm sure there would be some hilarious shots of us three arm in arm. We strolled down the street to the JYP building, where I got a hold of a company car. It was quicker just to drive to MBLAQ's house than walk, especially since there was a crowd. I asked if Mir or Joon wanted to drive, but Joon claimed he was the better driver to which Mir began to argue. They fought over who was worse, until I eventually said I would drive.

"Take a left here" instructed Joon

"No! You go straight and then a left!" objected Mir

Here we go again. I decided to let them fight, seeing as I was a decent navigator. I just followed the signs, and eventually ended up parked in their driveway.

"No hyung! it is the second lef- Oh. We're here" said Mir, surprised I hadn't gotten them lost.

We made our way into the building, and up the elevator to the fifth floor. Joon went ahead, squeezing into the room before us. I heard him yelling at the others, telling them to clean up and put on some decent clothing. I don't know what made people think they had to get all fancied up for me; I couldn't care less if you were in your pajamas actually.

Joon stuck his head out, giving Mir and I the ok to come in.

Seeing the living space of MBLAQ reminded me a lot of 2PM. Clothing was strewn all over the hall, along with empty bowls. Mir showed me his room first, being the closest.

I smiled like a little girl at Mir's Pororo bed sheets. My attention was quickly taken away by his giant bookcase of manga. I was drawn especially to his collection of the Death Note series, it being my personal favourite.

"So, do you like it?" chirped Mir, jumping on to his bed.

"Why yes. I wish my room was like this." I complimented.

"Mireu- aren't you going to introduce us to eMpress" called a voice down the hall

Mir rolled on to the ground, calling back "One minute SeungHo!"

I also shuffled off the bed to follow Mir, who was already prancing down the hallway. 

I approached the main room, hearing Mir addressing the other members with Joon

"Doong, G.O, and Thunder. Meet eMpress!"

"Wait, where did she go to?" questioned Joon

Mir came bustling out of the room, beckoning for me to come faster. Impatient, Mir just threw me on to his back and ran. 

Joon saw my grand entrance on Mir's back, and sang an introduction

"I present eMpress! Yah!"

I dismounted and bowed to the other three, 

"Please, call me Wen" 

They introduced themselves in return as Seungho, Cheogdoong, and G.O. 

"I heard from these two jokesters" Seungho pointed at Joo and Mir, "that you are a fan of ours"

I gave them a "why did you say that" look before replying 

"Yes. I guess I'm an A+. You're music was the first Korean pop I listened to when I arrived here."

"I have to say we were fans of you with what we saw on Strong Heart, and what we heard from Joon and Mir. Especially now with your song Flash, daebak!"

"Thanks Doong, or Thunder, am I right?" I wondered, tripping over Mir's legs. They all laughed, as I squirmed trying to get up. Big brother Joon thankfully pulled me up and leaned me against the wall. 

Still chuckling, Thunder answered 

"Yea, it's means Thunder. You're a native speaker?"

He said the last bit in English, with good pronunciation. I nodded a yes, glad that if my Korean failed me I had him. 

With MBLAQ, I yammered on about my past and what currently was going on. Being a fan, I had to surpress my over interest  when they spoke. It was weird meeting the people behind the music, I hadn't even seen an interview with them before. I knew their faces just from the Oh Yeah music video. 

"Ah! I think I should take you home noona, if you want to be back in time" Mir stretched out on the floor after being cross legged for a long time.

I agreed, "You're right Mireu. I don't want to keep people waiting"

I said goodbye to all the members. I really did like the other three a lot too; they were all so charming. Leader Yang Seungho wished me luck on my future performance as I left with Mir. 

"Doong is such a sweet guy" I stated, turning into the JYP park garage.

"I'm sweeter, and cuter though. Right Wen?" Mir unbuckled his seatbelt, giving me a goofy look.

"Bang Cheolyong, you are double the cuteness of Doong" I giggled, stepping out of the car. 

"Thanks for coming again, it was a lot of fun. The rest of MBLAQ really wanted to meet you."

I smirked at Mir, "Hopefully you told them good things, and not my dorky embarrassing ones"

Messing up my hair Mir replied, " No, I told them nice stuff. But maybe a story or two slipped out about our tricks during language class"

Punching him lightly in the shoulder, I said goodbye to my little brother Mir. 

"Later Wen. We definitely need to go out again next week" smiled Mir, wrapping his arms around me for a hug. He pulled back and gave me an innocent kiss on my cheek.

I thought Mir was absolutely great: so youthful and refreshing.  He reminded me a lot of myself before the incident .  It was thoughtful and touching how Mir had accompanied me home, even though he'd end up walking all the way back. 

I returned Mir's kiss, planting one on his left cheek. I could feel the spot instantly heat up on his face, and turn pink. 

"Bye oppa" I called, strolling into the building. 

When i returned to my room, I went online only to find articles everywhere about me; career and personal life. One of them caught eye, and not in a good way

New singer eMpress, serious girlfriend of 2PM's leader Jaebeom, has released her very successful debut song Flash. But is Jaebeom more serious about her, than she is of him? Here, she was spotted very close with Mir and Lee Joon of MBLAQ. Mir even uploaded a cute selca of them together. Later, another picture was taken at JYP,  with  Mir and Wen exchanging a kiss. Similar photos have been released also,  hugging Junho and with heartthrob Nichkhun (2PM) at her univeristy, pre-debut. Is eMpress trying too hard to iMpress? eMpress appears on Musicbank this Friday, so be sure to watch her first performance. 

Below this article were all the pictures, even the one from when Khun and I first met. I felt absolutely disgusted. My life being twisted beyond recognition. They didn't care about the truth, they cared about having a sellable story. 

Disgust simmered and then bubbled into rage. I grabbed the first thing in my reach and hurled it against a wall. The thing I had chucked was actually my sketchbook. All the pages fluttered out, escaping the ruined bindings. Why must my anger overpower my common sense. 

There was no hope in shoving all of it back in the floppy binding, for a third time. The only option was to post them on my far wall in my bedroom. It would take time, but it would be easier than repairing the book. The blank pages were still bound in, so I could at least use it still. 

I fell asleep, missing my night workout and Korean class. I know I might get in some trouble, but resting was worth it. 

The  images of the art in pinned on the walls swirled in my mind as I slipped into my crazy dream state, but the sketch of Jay stayed perfectly focused.