Third Chapter: Together

“You want me to what?” Lee SeoEun exclaimed.

“You will co-manager Gold with Minseok until I find a replacement,” her sister calmly stated.

SeoEun’s eyes widened. “Why?”

“I think it will force you not to practice in secret. You actually need rest. I believe those girls can also beneficiate from your experience. And, it’ll show you how hard it is to manage, maybe you’ll gain something from it.”

Lee Seoyoung seemed to have thought of it all. In fact, she was quite happy her sister had gotten such a minor injury. Although it delayed comeback and was a mess to handle, it forced SeoEun to actually rest. Seoyoung believed there hadn’t been a single day where SeoEun didn’t practice. Frankly, she was a little bi scared of what could have happen to her. She had heard stories about how trainees and artists had fainted because lack of sleep. That didn’t only put the artist to shame, but also the company. It sent the message that the company was cruel and overworked its artists while the artist in question wasn’t able to take care of himself. Then again, it could have been even worse. What if the sleep deprived SeoEun fainted while crossing the street? What if she fell off the stage? What is she hit her head on an amp, or a light, or even her microphone? Then, Seoyoung believed her sister could have been in much more danger. All her big dreams would disappear.

No, definitely, getting a sprained ankle was not such a bad thing.

“Don’t I have a say in all this?” SeoEun whined. “I don’t even know these girls or like them that much!”

“Kiddo, trust me. I know what’s good for you,” the older Lee replied. “Now, you said you don’t know them, shouldn’t you go meet with them, then?”

SeoEun’s brows furrowed and she got up. “Managing a group isn’t hard at all. It’ll be easy breezy!”

Maybe she had talked too fast after all… As Seo Eun pondered the thought, Minseok was standing next to Jihye who had excluded herself from the rest of the group. Good thinking, because they were still looking unhappy about how things ended up. Seo Eun could feel some glares’ exchanges that were not really friendly, some of them even being cast her way. It seemed like this group was physically incapable of getting along. Maybe because they had too much pent up frustration? Seo Eun glanced around, taking notice of Chaeseo who was still arguing with Yeonjoo. Funny, she thought both girls were friends…  Seo Eun sighed.

“Stop!” she practically screamed, making use of her trained ribcage. Seo Eun always had been praised for the power of her voice. Everyone turned her way, Baekhui jumping from the suddenness of the action. Minseok raised a brow as she took control of the situation. He never considered himself a manager anyway, he would much rather give her the role. Beside, it made him happy to see she was on the job with him. He thanked Seoyoung for her choice in sending her with him.

“Gather around,” Seo Eun said as the members of Gold did exactly what they were told. “I’m sensing this isn’t working out so well. So, I had an idea.” She turned to Minseok: “Do you remember the place where I go when I want to be alone?”

He nodded slowly, wondering how that was relevant, but sensing she had an idea…

“We’ll go there. Meet us in the parking lot in exactly 30 minutes. You can go change and shower.”

She made a sign with her hand indicating they could proceed and earned herself some glares. Some of these girls really didn’t like being ordered around. As soon as they were all gone, Minseok turned to her with a stern expression. She held his gaze and, after some awkward silence, he indicated her leg with his index. She winced, as she knew what was coming.

“I thought I warned you. That’s definitely the proof you don’t listen to me…”

Seo Eun was surprised. He sounded less mad than she would have thought, and she could even sense disappointment in his voice. All of sudden, she felt bad.

“I am sorry! But I had no choice,” she tried to justify herself. “I had to be perfect!”

“Pefection?” he snorted. “Do you see where that leads you?”

She looked down, slightly ashamed. But, she soon realized that he had no basis to scold her and that she was her own person. He didn’t have to judge her for giving her best. She raised her eyes to look at him defiantly but was shocked by his expression. Although his words were harsh, his expression was soft and he looked genuinely worried.

“Beside,” he mumbled, “I think you’re already pretty perfect…”

Gawking, Seo Eun took three seconds before snapping out of her trance. She had seen Minseok flirt with thousands of girls before, but he never acted that way with her. Today was a first and it stupefied her to no extent. She lowered her face as she walked pass him, hoping he wouldn’t see her reddening cheeks.  Well, that was awkward…

Minseok wasn’t waiting for an answer, but it definitely would have been nice, instead of this heavy silence. He sighed and ran his finger through his hair. He was now alone in the gymnasium. That’s when he realized that material was still hanging a little bit everywhere. He lightly kicked a yoga ball and sighed again. Of course he would have to clean it all up by himself…

Naeun was in the shower, thinking about how this day was so far. She thought the emphasis would be put on singing and actual training. It wasn’t like she hated training; she just wasn’t good at it. Among many other things, apparently. She still thought they had better things to do as a group. Maybe they should have a group therapy or something…

Two stalls further in the same locker room, Chaeseo was thinking about the same thing. Why was it so hard to get along? Okay, she had her part to play in all the mess that had happened. She was the one that started it, too. How exactly had it happened? Sure, she sometime thought that girls were annoying, even if she was a girl too. She mostly had guy friends, growing up. But, she wasn’t the type to go out of her comfort zone like that. It must have been her short temper acting out on its own. Sometimes, Chaeseo thought she had the weirdest personality…

Yeonjoo was fuming; scrubbing her arm so much it was actually becoming red. Noticing how it hurt a bit, she stopped and yelped. Turning off the shower tap, she took time to squeeze water out of her hair before wrapping herself inside a bath towel. Exiting the shower stall, she walked into the ‘changing’ part of the locker room and noticed how almost everybody else was done. Jaelyn was all dressed, hair dried and loosely braided, brushing Jihye’s hair. Yeonjoo raised a brow. At least, some people seemed to get along. As she went to unlock her locker, her eyes met Chaeseo’s and she turned away. She was still pissed that her friend had dared to yell at her that way.

Soon, everyone was down in the parking lot, way earlier than the actual set time. Seo Eun made them go inside the black van that belonged to the company but was assigned to them. Jaelyn who initially wanted to sit in the passenger seat frowned when Seo Eun took the place. She nonetheless went to sit beside Baekhui. It didn’t even seem to hold any importance because she quickly fell asleep on the blonde’s shoulder. Baekhui giggled but let her do what she wanted. Digging her phone from her pocket, careful not to wake up the older girl, Baekhui began texting her brother.

Somehow, the girls had no idea where they were heading but never asked. The half hour long trip actually seemed twice as long because of the silence that was reigning in the car.

As they arrived at a small mountain, the car slowed down and engaged itself on a sinuous road that looked like it had not been made for cars. With all the shaking, Jaelyn woke up and Jihye lifted her eyes from the new song she was working on. Her eighty pages notebook was starting to look full and she considered getting another one when they’d be back to civilization.

The car stopped after parking in a small yard in front of a huge wooden habitation. Baekhui, looking out the window, wondered if by any chance Seo Eun had come her to kill them and drop their bodies somewhere in the woods. Otherwise, she did not see how being here was useful to the group. Were they going to hike?

Seo Eun exited the car with difficulty and ordered the girls to follow her. At one point, Minseok tried to help her get up the stairs, but she kindly told him to back off. The inside of the cabin looked much more luxurious than the outside. Jaelyn took time to appreciate the delicate crystal chandelier that hanged from the ceiling. This place looked pretty…

Without bothering to notify anyone of her presence, Seo Eun made the group enter the cabin. That’s when they ran into Lali, clad in a black blouse and leather pants that showed off her long legs. She stared at the newcomers with an interested look, nodding as they bowed. With a smile, she turned to The two wannabe managers.

“How nice to meet you here. Both of you, together,” she said while putting emphasis on the last word. Her smile quickly turned into a smirk and she winked at Minseok who blushed and waved his hand in front of him.

“It not like that, Lal,” he tried to explain himself. But Lali just gave him a knowing grin and turned to Seo Eun.

“Playing manager, I see…”

When Seo Eun just huffed and refused to comment, Lali turned her interest to the girls.  “Gold… I love gold. I’ll be looking forward to seeing you grow as a group. Maybe one day we’ll even get to perform together on the same stage. The next House of Frost concert should be in few months, you should be okay to participate in it.”

Lali gave another smile and went for the door. But as she reached for the door, she turned around and loudly declared: “If there is something you want and it’s just in front of you, you should grab it and get it over with. Right, Minseok?”

As soon as Lali closed the door, Seo Eun turned to the dance instructor. “What was that crazy woman talking about?”

“I have no idea,” he lied while looking away.

Seo Eun shrugged and led the girls toward a big room. On three of the four walls, smaller rooms were accessible and the last wall was in fact a glass window that showed a bigger room. “Recording room!” exclaimed Jihye, her eyes widening.

“Right,” confirmed their wannabe manager. “This is the recording studio Frost uses for their artists. Sometimes, other groups would come here to. You know how we’re close to SM Entertainment, right? Well, I know for a fact that f(x) once recorded here. For all I know, you might be walking the same floor as your favorites idols…”

A whisper seemed to circulate between the members of Gold leaving Seo Eun satisfied because of her drama tendencies. She went to each of the smaller rooms’ doors and opened them, urging the girls to go in one. 

Naeun walked into the room, noticing how there was a microphone, headphones and even a small console in case they wanted to listen to their singing and tweak with it a little bit. Some rooms, Chaeseo’s for what Naeun could see of it, even had some musical instruments. She quickly understood that room was an individual practice room. Its usage was similar to the one they had at Frost, but this one was much more professional. The ones at Frost were only cubicles but this one was soundproof, Naeun guessed after lightly patting the walls. Then, as she turned around she noticed how the door was closed. Through the glass window, she could see all the other members of Gold were alone in one of these rooms too. Naeun tried to open the door by fiddling by the doorknob, but it seemed locked. Frowning, she gazed at their two managers in the middle of the room. Seo Eun was wearing headphones that included a microphone, sitting in a leather chair with wheels, while Minseok just stood near, holding a set of keys in his hands.

“So girls,” Seo Eun started explaining. “I’ve noticed you all have some pent up frustration. Now, from my years of experience, the better thing to do in these case is let it all out. As you’ve probably noticed, the room is soundproof. I can hear you if you speak in the mike, but I can easily tune you out…”

With a smile, the blonde artist pointed at some buttons on the console in front of her.

“I’m going to kill her,” Yeonjoo thought, before glaring at Seo Eun. They had known each other for a while, now. The two girls had trained together, but not really in the same fields. In fact, every trainee that was in the company knew Seo Eun and thher myth: She had gone from knowing nothing about singing and dancing to a full fledged artist in less than 2 years.

Three years ago they both had been in the same classes as both were only beginners in dancing and singing. While Yeonjoo had built a friendship with Chaeseo, Seo Eun was always on her own… Yeonjoo remembered thinking that this girl was nothing special, and just after that, she debuted as an artist. Next thing she knew, Seo Eun was getting more and more popular and rumor circulated around the trainees that it was only because of her sister. Yeonjoo, seeing someone rise so quickly had decided to do even better and try to debut next.

And now, her dream was so close… Just a few more weeks of training and they would debut after eight long years of waiting. Few more weeks and she would be able to held her head up proudly when she’d meet her mother. Few more weeks and she’d be on the same level as her first love. Maybe, just maybe, she’d have the courage to tell him it was she, the girl he liked back in elementary school…

Closing her eyes, Yeonjoo began screaming, trying to release every bit of all her pent up emotions. All of it coming out as a single loud cry like the one a warrior would do before going to fight. Yeonjoo would be ready to face the world. That being done, Yeonjoo sat on a chair and waited to see what would happen next.

Jaelyn was thinking of a way to get out of there. Knocking on the glass, she tested its solidity but nothing moved. With her luck, it would be bulletproof glass… Noticing Minseok was the one holding the keys, she tried to make him open the door by making movements with her hands. He noticed her, looked at the keys and then looked away. Frowning, Jaelyn exhaled loudly before looking around. There were instruments in her room. With a smile, she noticed a keyboard. It wasn’t her favorite Grand Piano, but it was still pretty good. As she sat in front of it, Jaelyn felt her fingers tingle, urging her to play. She happily obliged and aligned random notes one following the other. Smiling, the girl let the years of piano lessons she had taken flow in her body and invade it as she started improvising a tune.

Jihye wasn’t one for screaming. She wasn’t really loud and would much rather do her own thing than overexert her voice for something so silly as screaming her frustrations. Jihye had no frustrations. Well, that was not exactly true, but instead of just starting to scream, she began singing. She had a whole notebook full of songs with her and she wasn’t afraid to use them. Beside, singing was the true way she released tension.

Seo Eun was starting to get annoyed. These girls were doing everything but what she asked them to do. Of course, Baekhui, Yeonjoo and Chaeseo had screamed, but not for a really long time. Now, they were all doing god knows what. Brooding, Seo Eun glanced up at Minseok when he took on set of headphones and pushed one button on the console. Smiling, he pushed it off again and did the same thing with another one, and another one, and another one... At this point, he was giggling like a five-years old. Surprised, the blonde raised a brow and he felt the need to explain: “These girls are really something…”

Putting her headphones on, Seo Eun did exactly what he just did minutes ago. Jihye was singing lyrics from an unknown source, but they were good, Jaelyn was improvising on a piano, Yeonjoo was beat boxing a rhythm, Baekhui was tapping her fingers on a metal music stand, Naeun was humming Secrets by IU and Chaeseo, and this was the most impressive according to Seo Eun, Chaeseo had somehow created herself a drums. She always carried sticks, but she was using the walls, the music stand, the plastic part of a keyboard and a book about music that was lying in a corner. Impressed, Seo Eun tried to listen to all of it at the same time before removing her headphones. The mix of it all was horrible! That’s when she had an idea.

Smiling, she made a sign for Minseok to put on his headphones, promising him something interesting.

Baekhyeon was tapping her finger everywhere, not having anything to really scream at anymore. She blamed her own weakness and the fact that she couldn’t stand for herself, her name, her sickness that took away some precious time, and after some time, decided it was time to stop feeling sorry for herself. That’s when she realized that she was bored and hungry. What wouldn’t she had given for banana milk… Sitting on a chair with her knees up her chin so that her feet would lay flat on the seat, she looked around. There was a keyboard, so she could try to play, even thought she didn’t know how. Maybe she could sing… As she pouted, uninterested by all the things that came to her mind, a song began playing through the room’s speakers. “Jihye?” she said as soon as she heard the girl’s voice. Seconds later, the voice was met with a piano tune. Both seemed to match so well… Looking outside the room, Baekhui noticed that in a room, Jaelyn was playing piano, nodding her head along. Then, a beat made its apparition in the song, transforming it a little. Chaeseo. And were those books she was drumming on? At the same time, Naeun’s voice started harmonizing as Yeonjoo’s beat box added spunk to the mix. She had to give it to Yeonjoo, the girl was impressive. Baekhyeon couldn’t beatbox to save her life… Clapping her hands to the beat, she started humming the song, which soon turned to scatting. She couldn’t stop the smile that crept up her face.

This was fun.

That was also Seo Eun’s impression. She had wanted to obtain that result, but she would have never thought it’d be this good. In fact, as she blasted Jihye’s song through the speakers, she was scared nobody would play along, but Jaelyn stopped her own song and quickly came up with a melody that matched the lyrics. Then, Chaeseo joined in followed by everyone else. It all added up together quite well. Maybe she wouldn’t sell it, after all, Jihye had hesitated once she heard the piano, Chaeseo improvised drums was not loud enough and the girls had made mistakes here and there, but for something improvised, it was astonishing. Amazed, Seo Eun nodded her head along the song until the end. Worryingly opening her eyes, she wondered how the ending would go. Jihye stopped singing and both Chaeseo and Yeonjoo continued for one bar, letting only Baekhui, Naeun and Jaelyn. Baekhui was the next to stop, followed by Naeun and soon, only Jaelyn’s piano could be heard. She ended her melody on three dramatic notes and lay back a little, as if she was contemplating what she had just done. Smiling, Seo Eun pushed another button and told Minseok he could let them go. As soon as the rooms were opened, the girls started coming out, breaking the magic moment that had linked them all. As if she was feeling it, Yeonjoo shuddered as she crossed the threshold. Picking something from the console, Seo Eun told them they were done.

Quietly, Gold followed her outside, Minseok closing the march. They entered the car in silence and the silence lingered for most of the ride back. Sighing, Minseok looked through the rear-view mirror and noticed how all the girls were looking different ways, head turned so they wouldn’t face the others. He made a head sign for Seo Eun to take a look and as she did, she rolled her eyes. Picking up something from her pocket she opened a case a inserted a CD into the player. As soon as she pressed play, eyes seemed to widen in recognition and head turned her way. It was the song they had just played. Their song!

Seo Eun noticed some smiles and Yeonjoo looking at Chaeseo and giving her a high-five. Baekhyeon praised Jihye for her lyrics and Naeun was clearly impressed with Jaelyn’s piano skills.

“Good,” thought Seo Eun. It seemed to be getting better. They were not quite there yet, as it was a little bit too polite to be really considered a group, but at least she didn’t despair. Other groups like SHINee made it look so easy to be friendly outside the stage, but in fact it was something really difficult. Living with the same people 24/7, through good and bad days, good and bad moods, hardships and opportunities, that was not easy. A group had to learn to get to know each other, to be able to communicate and appreciate each other’s qualities just as much as their flaws… Gold was getting there. It was better to make everything clear from the beginning than to have resentment linger inside the group. Once they would get to know each other, they’d be incredible. Seo Eun turned her head to watch the girls, feeling a pinch of jealousy, as she would never be part of such a group. Sure, solo artists tried to become a family, but they weren’t as close as a band could be.

“That, girls,” Seo Eun said as soon as the song ended on Jaelyn’s three notes, “is what you can do when you act together, as a real unit. When you’ll feel like you don’t belong together, listen to this and you’ll see you clearly do.”

“So, you recorded us?” Yeonjoo asked.

“I did.”

“Could we please hear it one more time?” Naeun asked with a little smile.

Laughing, Seo Eun hit the replay button.