“Excuse me! Excuse me!”

The subway platform was swarming with folk of a variety of shapes and sizes, all impatiently awaiting the next train to whisk them off to their respective workplaces. In the middle of this impenetrable crowd, a bespectacled young lady with her textbooks in one hand and Starbucks grande peppermint tea in the other was trying to make her way to a more opportune spot on the platform.

“Shucks I’m going to be late AGAIN!” She snuck a quick glance at her watch, “Professor’s going to kill me this time…”

This tardy young lady is Shen Xue Qin, a twenty-two year old teacher-in-training at the Singapore education institute. Like every other heroine in storybooks, she is youthful, eager and filled with boundless enthusiasm for the life ahead. Till this very moment, her life has gone perfectly as planned. Her grandmother, her only living relative, is healthy and well. She had just graduated from university with flying colours and gained entry into the post-graduate course that would lead to her to her dream career. The man of her dreams was slowly but surely coming round to the fact that she was the one for him! Life could not be any better (except perhaps being on time for her first class of the week).

As the train rolled into the station, the hordes of people jostled hurriedly for a spot on it. With a whistle and a couple of beeps, the train doors closed behind them and the train was on its way. Once again, Xue Qin found herself stuck in a sea of bodies in a confined space that was way too small for the number of people it now contained. As she surveyed the colourful crowd, she noticed an elderly grandma at the other end of the carriage carrying two massive bags of fruit, clearly struggling under the weight. No one in the carriage appeared to be giving two hoots about the poor old lady’s plight. Seeing no one willing to give up their seat to the old granny, Xue Qin inched her way slowly towards her direction. When she reached the other end of the carriage, Xue Qin gave the student seated in front of her with his headphones blasting music in his ears a sharp nudge and an evil glare, not-so-subtly hinting to the boy that there was someone who clearly needed the seat more than he did. He ignored her.

“Hey.”                

He ignored her again.

With a flash of annoyance, Xue Qin ripped the headphones away from the boy’s ears, leaving the loud music blaring in the background.      

“Get up.”

“What the hell do you want!” The boy shouted in retaliation.

“Get up! What on earth does a young person like you need this seat for??”

“It’s ok miss, I can stand, I don’t need the seat…” The old granny said.

“See?! She said she doesn’t need the seat! Why are you such a busybody!” The boy refused to budge from his comfortable position.

“What do your teachers teach you in school?? You punk! Now. Get. Up.” With that, Xue Qin gave the insolent boy a sharp stab on the foot with her low heels.

“ARGH!” The boy leapt out of the seat in pain, “What was that for woman!”

“Now get lost,” Xue Qin smiled at the boy hypocritically before turning to the old lady to usher her into the newly vacated seat. To her surprise, the old lady had been replaced by a frizzy haired middle-aged woman who was staring at her in disapproval.

“Where did she go??” Xue Qin scratched her head in confusion, “Did she get off the train already?”

“You made me get up for nothing!” The boy stuck his headphones back in his ears and sat down in a grump.

As the boys made their way backstage, they were evidently exhausted from the exertions and in dire need of a break.

“That was so. Freakin’. Tiring. Let’s go to the sauna! Or should we go for a full body massage?” Jae Wook, the second youngest member of the band chirped cheerfully.

“I told you you should have done more exercise, if you listened to me you wouldn’t be this tired,” Joon Shin chided.

“Hyung, I only have 24 hours a day. In that 24 hours I need to rehearse, do recordings AND entertain my fans, where on earth am I supposed to get time to exercise??”

“If you spent less time chasing skirts then you would have time to exercise,” Henry, the group’s maknae replied with a smirk.

“You kiddo, how dare you make fun of yours truly!” Jae Wook playfully smacked Henry on the head, “Where’s Min Woo hyung?”

“Probably gone off to ring Hye Na, you know he always does this after performances,” Joon Shin replied calmly.

“Who would have ever expected, our ice prince is actually such a doting brother…” Jae Wook clasped his hands together and fluttered his eyelids in a joking manner.

“Alright that’s enough, you know about Hye Na’s condition…if Min Woo caught you joking about it the volcano is going to erupt,” Joon Shin warned, “Come on, get changed. We’ll have a drink or two when we get home.” With that, he grabbed his bag and walked out of the dressing room.

“WHAT?? No sauna??” Jae Wook whined in disapproval before hastily packing his things and chasing after Joon Shin and Henry, “Hyung, kiddo, wait for me!”

 ----------------------------------------

The next day, at the headquarters of Solar’s management company M entertainment, Solar’s manager Seo Young was giving the boys a de-brief of their concert tour and a run down of their up-coming schedule. Solar was one of Korea’s most popular up-and-coming boybands and they usually had barely a day to rest in between schedules. The band comprised of four members: Leader Kang Min Woo, Lee Joon Shin, Hwang Jae Wook and Henry Park. With their wildly different looks and dispositions, the boys were much loved by female (and some male) fans all across the country, much to the delight of their record company.

“Boss, do you reckon there’s time to take a quick vacation? I was thinking maybe Japan? Hawaii? They say the girls there are pretty hot!” Jae Wook lounged on the sofa, daydreaming of the sun, sand and sea of Hawaii.

“You are always thinking of having fun… Sure, you can have a vacation, how about Singapore?” 

“Singapore?”

“The producer and I have discussed it, for your next album, we are planning to include not only Korean songs but also English and Mandarin songs. This would allow Solar to expand beyond Korea’s shores and truly become a force to be reckoned with in the Asian music industry! So next week you guys will be headed to Singapore to begin work on your new album.”

“What?? So soon?” Min Woo jumped out of his seat at the mention of them having to head out of the country next week.

“Of course! We have to strike while the iron’s still hot! The company thinks that it is crucial for you boys to release your new album as soon as possible while your popularity is still at it’s peak after the concerts.”

“Then why are you only telling us this NOW?!?!” Min Woo hollered, his voice and facial expression displaying the entirety of his displeasure.

“Hyung, calm down…” Joon Shin grabbed Min Woo’s shoulders and tried to get him to sit down. It failed terribly.

“Why are you so agitated kiddo? I’m sorry I didn’t have time to tell you this earlier, but I wasn’t about to let it disrupt your tour schedule.”

“Why Singapore?” Joon Shin queried.

“Because this time we are collaborating with a Singaporean record company to produce your new album. As you know this is our company’s first venture out of Korea, and we need all the help we can get. They will be helping us with promotions outside of Korea as well as providing us with the non-Korean tracks that we’ll be including in the album.”

“I can jolly well write my OWN songs without the help of any foreign company,” Min Woo retorted angrily.

“Look, I know you are fluent in all three languages and I am not doubting your song-writing capabilities, but you are definitely not an expert in what types of music people outside of Korea like. We are going to need all the help we can get,” the manager responded in a resigned manner.

“This is ridiculous,” Min Woo’s face was as black as thunder by this point.

“How long do we need to stay there for?” Henry piped up.

“Our estimates stand at about three to four months, maybe longer. It really depends on the speed of our progress. After all, your next album is projected to hit the markets by early next year.”

“THAT LONG? Oh man…my Sophie, Selina and Susie are going to forget me!” Jae Wook wailed.

“Could you please stop thinking about women for one second and focus some more energy on your music?” Manager Seo raised his eyebrows at Jae Wook’s frivolous comment, “Go home and pack your bags, we leave in three days.”

“But…” Min Woo started.

“No buts, I am pulling rank here, the company’s decision is final. Now go home and prepare for our departure.” Manager Seo looked Min Woo straight in the eye and gave him the look that made it obvious that there was no way Min Woo was going to get around this. With that, Manager Seo turned back to the work on his desk and Min Woo stormed out of the office, slamming the door behind him.

In the car, the boys sat in complete silence for a large part of the journey, no one daring to prod the volcano that was on the brink of eruption. The aura emanating from Min Woo was so intense that it sent shivers down Henry’s spine. It took a good half an hour before the icy silence was finally broken.

“Hyung, what do you intend to do? Should we bring Hye Na along? Three to four months is not a short period of time…” Joon Shin placed a comforting hand on Min Woo’s shoulder.

“I don’t know. She graduates from high school in a month, she’s not going to want to transfer schools now. Stupid company!” Min Woo smashed his fist into the seat in front of him in exasperation.

Keeping as far away from Min Woo as possible, Jae Wook was on the phone with one is many fair-weather girlfriends.

“Honey baby you know I really really really really REALLY can’t bear to leave you…It’s only three months I’ll be back before you know it!... Ok it may get extended to four months but that’s only a maybe!... I know it’s a long time, I’ll call you every week ok?... What present do you want? Handbag? Necklace?... Alright alright, I’ve got to go now, I love you darling!” With a loud smooch into his mobile phone receiver, Jae Wook smirked as he hung up the call, “Right, that’s Susie down… now Sophie…” Jae Wook calmly searched for the next number in his phone directory.

“Hyung, when are you going to introduce those girls to me?” Henry winked.

“Come on! You are a member of Solar. Based on that point alone you can have any girl you want! I don’t think you need me to introduce any to you… But stay AWAY from my 3 S’s ok?” Jae Wook dialed the number and placed the phone back at his ear, “Sophie darling! It’s me! Have you heard the news…”

“Stop the car.” Min Woo suddenly shouted.

“Hyung, why don’t we discuss about this when we get home…” Joon Shin tried to intercept Min Woo’s imminent departure. With a stony glare, Min Woo shook his head and pushed Joon Shin’s hand off his shoulder. As the car came to a screeching halt, Min Woo flung open the door and went storming off into the distance.   

“Where’s he going to go?” Henry asked.

“Probably to look for Hye Na… this is the first time we are going to be away from home for such a long period of time, I really don’t know what we’re going to do about her…” Joon Shin shook his head in resignation.

“Hye Na’s already 18, and her condition has stabilized hasn’t it? It should be fine…”

“You know Min Woo has always been extremely concerned about Hye Na’s condition, I’m sure he won’t be at ease leaving her here alone.”

“But she won’t be alone will she? There’s still Hye Shin!”

“Hye Shin… to be honest, even I would not feel completely at ease leaving Hye Na with Hye Shin… What a dilemma…” Joon Shin sighed and stared out the car window, lost in his own thoughts.