It’s been a week since _________ was dropped from AFF’s list of trainees and although she was let go off, ________ was at least happy to have learned that ‘Ceci’, the girl group she’s supposed to debut in, wasn’t affected by her sudden departure. She’s genuinely happy that Yoonji, E-young and SunMi were still going to continue towards the path that they already started working hard on. She’d be guilty and devastated if preparations for the group would be put on a hiatus just because of her. The girls promised to keep in contact with her no matter what happens.

After one last consultation with her close friends and family, ________ finally confirmed with Fluxus about her intentions to work for them. She explained why she needed a few days to think since she just left her first company, thankfully they understood her situation.

_________ has been sipping on her coffee to distract herself from the nerves that were eating her up. She couldn’t help but get nervous while waiting for the people from Fluxus to talk to her. Although she’s been through a similar process, the intimidation factor is still there.

_________ stood up as soon as the door to the meeting room opened. She was greeted by two seniors from the agency, Alex Chu and Horan from Clazziquai, one of the pioneer artists of the label, were the ones assigned to talk to ________ to examine and asses her. The two started with the usual introductions and asked __________ to describe herself more as they asked her the routine questions.

________ wanted to hit herself every time she heard herself stutter, and for every time she used ‘uhm…’ to fill her sentences. She needed to show herself off yet she feels that she’s probably turning them away.

“Don’t be nervous _________. You’re doing fine. Don’t say we told you this but this meeting is just for formality, you’re already accepted and I must say you impressed a lot of us here.” Horan told ________ in a friendly manner.

________ took a deep breath and nodded, thanking the two for being so understanding and nice to her.

“So can you tell us more about your past work experiences with music? How did you begin pursuing your art?” Alex asked her with a soft smile. ________ noted that he’s a handsome ‘ahjussi’.

________ mentioned how she started her career in music, she talked about her stint in Hongdae and how her videos went viral online.

“I’m actually shy to boast about myself. Do you need any references? I can give you the contact details of my bosses in the places I played in in Hongdae if you need me to.”

“Oh there’s no more need for that.  We take your word for it. Besides, we also trust the person who referred you to our agency. He didn’t oversell nor underestimate you, in fact, maybe D…he described you just right.” Alex responded and looked at Horan a bit weirdly.

“_________ has some pretty strong stage presence, she looks great on camera and has a great voice, I can definitely see and hear that. So tell me, what makes her stand out in your opinion?” One of Fluxus’ creative directors questioned him.

And this is when Donghae looked like he glowed, more so than when he was watching _________ on the screen, his eyes sparkled as he started to talk about ________ fondly.

“Her heart is really in the right place. ________’s talent goes beyond just her good singing voice. Her passion, her dedication to music, her talent in writing songs…it’s not something I see often hyungnim. She has this beautiful rawness in her that…I don’t know how to quite put into words but you really have to see her, hear her, be with her to really feel the connection she has with music. She can bring out emotions and doesn’t sing just to sing, she actually makes the songs relatable and puts herself out there to connect with the audience. She’s not a ‘generic’ singer, she’s one of a kind. She shows just how much she is in-tuned with music.” Donghae was proud and he didn’t make an effort to hide it. It was like the way he talked about her showed affection and attachment.

“She’s already got a good head start in your company Donghae. Why move her to our agency now?”

“Because I know she will grow here, she belongs here. She became an asset in AFF but in Fluxus she’ll become a true artist. Your company is known to have artists that think outsid the box, you let them experiment with different kinds of genres that result to creating a distinct sound. The diverse genre of your artists here appeals to a lot of people and I feel _________ perfectly fits that category. Her style will definitely blend in with the others right away, she can hold down her own uniqueness and stand out, I don’t think she can be completely compared to anyone else. I strongly believe that she won’t disappoint.” Donghae shared his true thoughts about ________ and Fluxus without degrading his own company. They were different and it didn’t make sense to compare them for the sake of competitiveness.

“Donghae, I don’t mean to pry into your personal life but from what I can hear and observe, it seems like you talk about her not like a manager and not just as a friend either. Is there something going on between the two of you?” The question shouldn’t come as a surprise since Donghae was obviously talking about ________ like he’s crazy about her.

Donghae chuckled before he revealed the truth. “Honestly, we’re actually on bad terms right now. I admit though that everything’s my fault, my approach in helping her build her career was a bit wrong. What’s going on between us is really bad, it went out of hand. But what’s going on within me, what I feel for her, also is out of hand but it’s not that of a bad thing I think. I plan to fix things soon between us, maybe after she settles down here.” Donghae wasn’t oblivious to the problems he caused. He knew he was the one to blame for her misery and his own heartache and he couldn't wait to clear out all the misunderstandings. He wanted ________ too see the real him, to know that Lee Donghae didn't mean any harm. He didn't want to hurt her and he's through with that. Donghae's committed and determined to show _________ how he truly feels. 

“Don’t worry Donghae, I understand. With the way you've handled things for her and with the time and effort you put out in recommending her to us, I bet she'll forgive you quickly. You’ve convinced me enough. I can see she’s a great girl, I can see how she charmed you. I will do my best to mold her to let her reach her best capabilities. We will be flattered and grateful to have her in our roster of artists. And she's a lucky girl to have you.” He shook Donghae’s hand firmly and thanked him for entrusting the young lady to them.

“Thank you hyung-nim. I really appreciate it. I know she is in great, creative hands here. By the way, I hope you don’t mind but can I also ask for another favor?”

“What is it?”

“Please don’t tell her I did this for her. Don’t mention my name. Don’t give her any hints at all that may lead her thoughts to me. I want her to discover on her own if I still haven’t manned up to confess. I just want her to focus on her craft first.”

“Oh what complicated love you’ve got.” The creative director commented but agreed to Donghae’s request. His statement was such a perfect description about the relationship of the two.

‘He?’ _______ was not sure who they were referring to. Who is the one she should be thanking? Who went through the trouble of setting her up with another great company? Who was looking after her? Who did all of this?

A knock on the door interrupted the meeting before _________ could even attempt to ask about her mysterious ‘knight’

“Hi! I’m Ailee. You’re the new girl, right?” The pretty, chirpy girl approached _________, happily extending her hand as she welcomed her to their company.

_________ introduced herself and was certainly happy to have made a new friend quickly, not to mention Ailee seems like a genuinely nice girl. Alex and Horan concluded the meeting and let Ailee take care of their new talent.

“I’ll show you around.” She replied in a hyper tone.

“You almost slipped Alex, you almost gave him away.” Horan whispered as she nudged her partner.

“I know. I was itching to tell her about him. Why did he have to make us and the big boss promise?! I just want to lock them up in the recording room.”

Fluxus was smaller and simpler than AFF, yet that fact only made the place feel ‘homier’ to ________. Most of the artists under the company were ‘experimental’ projects, indie groups like Clazziquai and Urban Zakapa. They also put out special solo works occasionally, but only Ailee and _________ would be the solo ones from the start. Although t hat was her true goal from the beginning, _________ already adapted to being in a group, she knew her weaknesses would be covered so now she’s a bit intimidated and scared on being all alone. She didn’t hide her fears and immediately voiced it out, asking for advice. ________ got some pretty good pep talk that re-instilled her confidence to pursue what she dreamed of doing, she needs to remove the doubt and face things head on.

After familiarizing herself with the location of the different functional rooms in the company, ________ tagged along to KBS to watch Ailee perform her current single. Her singing abilities were really something, she was able to balance out her strong voice and dance at the same time. Not to mention she had a good projection on stage, looking angelic while reaching low and high notes. Even though __________ has only personally known the girl for a few days, she already felt at ease with her. She wanted to introduce Ailee to the other three girls she already miss. _________ became ecstatic when Ailee won for the week’s countdown, unexpectedly beating Psy who seemed untouchable from the first place.

“I think you’re my lucky charm!” Ailee rejoiced in glee after getting down on stage and hugged her. They celebrated Ailee’s win and the staff and other singers also used that party to welcome _________ in Fluxus.

I'm back ^_^

Just a filler chapter, showing her move to the new company. 

Was it a bit boring? I hope not. Although I admit I feel like things moved slow for them. 

Wasn't able to proofread so sorry for the errors :) Nevertheless, hope you enjoyed

Oh and if you're not familiar with Clazziquai, here's a video of them singing one of my favorite songs. For those interested to start listening to K-indie, I sugesst listening to the artists I mentioned in this chapter, Clazziquai & Urban Zakapa. Just tell me if you want more ;)