CHAPTER TWO
Practicality
"When I look into your eyes..."
"They're here!"
A gold, diamanté-encrusted, high-heeled shoe pokes out from behind the car door, followed by a smooth, slim leg, and then the face of 4minute's leader, surrounded by a halo of perfectly-styled long dark curls. The sea of impatient journalists, photographers and fans spill forth at the sight of her, straining against the bars that keep them away from the red carpet. Jihyun steps out with effortless grace, greeting the crowd with a gorgeously innocent smile, before moving out of the way for the other members. Screams of excitement fill the air, and cameras flash away like an artificial lightning storm, desperate to capture as much footage of the artists as possible.
Hyuna slips out last, blinking a little to help her eyes adjust to the sudden brightness of the day and the photographers' flashes. She flourishes her trademark cover-worthy smile and pose, sending the crowd into a distinct frenzy with fanboys eager to get an autograph and journalists fervent to interview 4minute's infamously y rapper.
Her eyes sweep across the horde of people, before turning to focus on the group on the right side. The fans there squeal loudly in delight as she made eye contact with a few of them, hoping that they would elicit a positive response from her.
Hyuna, however, did not notice their cries of admiration at all. In her mind, she was focusing on the silvery-white van in her peripheral vision.
B2ST's van.
"Eonni," Sohyun gives her a gentle nudge and tilts her head a little to the side, signifying that they should go.
"Oh." Hyuna's cheeks flush a light rose colour. Hiding her face behind her hair slightly, she walked on, hoping that nobody caught her looking.
“I created this place to instill a sense of bravery in our artists to help the Korean entertainment industry become one of the best..."
Hyunseung bows his head as he stifles a silent yawn, secretly bored from listening to CEO Hong's seemingly never-ending speech. This is even worse than having dance practice all day long! He takes a quick peek at the white watch clutching onto his wrist.
3.25 PM.
Right now he could be having a break -- he could even be surfing the internet!
A yawn bubbles up again, and he just manages to suppress it in time before getting a little nudge from Junhyung, who was standing on his right.
"Don't fall asleep, hyung," Junhyung mouths slowly, with his head slightly bowed as well, "There's cameras!"
"Neh." whispers Hyunseung with a small nod in reply. He gives the younger member a smile, before allowing his eyes to travel along the line of Cube Entertainment artists.
He could see Hyuna, just a few people away, turn her head and whisper something to Gayoon, who giggles quietly in reply. She does as well, and her eyes flicker a little to the side, meeting directly with his.
Hazel-brown pours relentlessly into dark chocolate as their gazes linger on each other for a short moment -- a heartbeat -- before Hyunseung gives her a friendly smile and turns his attention back to CEO Hong.
Why do I feel so shy?
"Without communication, nothing can be achieved. I want this location right here to be a stepping stone in advancing the entertainment industry.”
Why is my heart going crazy?
Hyuna's cheeks flush a bright pink, and she quickly takes a small step back to duck her head behind Gayoon, who gives her a slightly suspicious look before their attention is stolen by CEO Hong's loud announcement.
"...and now, I am glad to announce that Cube Studio is officially open!"
Large sections of the ribbons, which was previously being upheld by the leaders of all the Cube Entertainment artistes, fall to the floor as pairs of shiny, golden scissors are brandished and snip away at the colourful streams of material, signifying the official opening of the company's new building.
Dozens of journalists rush forth almost instantly, waving their handheld microphones in front of the stars' faces in the hope of getting a response to the questions spilling from their eager mouths.
"4minute, what do you think about CEO Hong's decision to build this studio?"
"4minute, can you tell us more about your upcoming promotions?"
"4minute, can you give us a few words about your feelings for today's event?"
Hyuna blinks her eyes a few times, startled at the sudden barrage of questions. Jihyun steps forward towards the microphones confidently, with undoubtedly a well-formed answer in her head.
"By seeing more family members join and the company grow, I’m filled with thoughts of working even harder," she says, while stunning the avid crowd with an innocent-looking smile, "Please look forward to BtoB and 4minute’s broadcast activities."
She then gives a small bow. The rest of 4minute follows precisely, and the whole group begin to make their way towards another room where refreshments were being served.
"Hyuna-ssi! Is Troublemaker planning to make a comeback anytime soon?"
The young rapper stops in her tracks, surprised at the suddenness of the question as well as its unexpectedness.
Mwo?
"Can you give us more details?"
Troublemaker?
You mean with...Hyunseung?
The rest of 4minute also stop and look at her with funny expressions, while waiting for her response to their journalist. Hyuna's eyes flicker across the members before moving to rest on Hyunseung, who feels her gaze and returns it.
She could feel her stomach twisting with nervousness.
He should go over and help her answer that - after all, Troublemaker consists of the both of them...but why can't he move his feet?
"Ah, yeoreobun, jwesonghamnida," she replies, turning towards the reporter with a smile plastered on her face, "No news or information of a comeback for Troublemaker has been given to me so far."
Her eyes travelled over to Hyunseung again, and he gave her a small tense smile.
A crowd of cameras begin flashing away immediately, greedily capturing everyone's expressions, but they could not capture the unusual emotions fluttering deep within Hyuna and Hyunseung's heart.
mwo = what
yeoreobun = everyone
jwesonghamnida = sorry (formal)
(person's name)-ssi = polite way of addressing someone
[See, I'm helping you learn Korean as you read xD]
Sorry for the wait, everyone!
I've been working hard on my AS Level exams for the past few weeks - revising, flashcarding and all.
It's kind of embarrassing to say, but I finished my exams like a week ago and haven't been working
on 'Practicality' until very recently...and that's because I've been lazy... ~(T^T)~
I when it comes to controlling my procrastination habits, jwesonghamnida!
Nevertheless, this short chapter is online, up on AF now, so yeah.
YAY! :)
Now I gotta work on the third chapter, hehe ^^
Wish me luck!
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