The girl whom Hyunae was addressing lifted up one of her feet and stared at her heels before squatting down in defeat, pulling the shoes in question off her feet. Puzzled, the others looked on as Hyunae quickly exited the room and returned with a similar pair of shoes in her hands. Setting it gently down on the ground in front of the intruders, Hyunae placed her arms around her in a choke stance.

 

"Yah! I designed these shoes! Do you take me for an idiot huh? Aigoo! PARK SOYEON UNNIE! Paboya?!"

 

"Yah! Unnie! How can you be stupid?!"

 

The other intruder burst out in laughter as she fell to the ground. Sunjung's eyes widened as she too, recognised the voice. As Soyeon tore off her cap with a loud exclamation of displeasure, Sunjung walked over and pulled off the cap of the other with an enormous grin.

 

"Park Jiyeon! Do you think I will not recognise your voice?! Your goofy laughter haunts me even in my sleep!"

 

Now it was Soyeon's turn to laugh. With a loud yelp, Jiyeon lifted both her hands to hide her face as Sunjung tussled her hair affectionately. Heaving sighs of relief, the members of Super Junior moved forward to greet the two girls from T-ara.

 

"Annyeonghasaeyo!"

 

"Oh! Annyeonghasaeyo!"

 

Soyeon and Jiyeon hurriedly got to their feet and greeted their sunbaenims with a proper 90 degree bow. They had only planned to pop by out of the blue to surprise Sunjung, and had no idea that a secret birthday party had been planned for the day. After removing their shoes and putting them by the screen door, the girls picked up the two pizza boxes that they had brought with them and approached Sunjung, who was getting food at the table.

 

"Sunjunggie…"

 

"Sunjung unnie!"

 

"Oh! Come and have some food! Hyunae has ordered too much food!"

 

"Arasso! Unnie, happy birthday!"

 

"Aigoo… Jiyeonnie, you should have just passed it to me the next time we meet! We’re seeing each other for the filming of Heroes in a couple of days…"

 

"And this is mine, Sunjung! May all your wishes come true!"

 

"Thank you so much Soyeon unnie… You too? You should have just asked Hyomin to pass it to me! But… Please don't tell me you two bought pizzas as my birthday presents!"

 

Sunjung teased as she stared down in bemusement at the two pizza boxes that Soyeon and Jiyeon had just passed to her. With T-ara’s love for food, especially pizza, well-known to both their fans and close friends, she could completely imagine them gifting her with food as presents. The two girls simply exchanged a conspirator's grin and walked away to join Hyunae, who was busily cutting up Sunjung's birthday cake. The birthday girl hurried to set T-ara's gifts together with Suju's gifts before getting some food.

 

After having rushed through her hectic schedules for the most part of the day, exhaustion was setting in. While she was touched that they had planned such a surprise party for her, Sunjung could not help but feel that it would have been better if it was held on a different day; one with a less busy schedule. Hoping to hide her fatigue from the rest, she mustered up her usual bright smile and joined in the bustling conversations for a short while before escaping with a plate of food to the living room where it was less crowded.

 

She found Heechul and Kyuhyun having a discussion about Star Craft while Ryeowook was engrossed in a cooking TV program that was showing on the huge plasma TV hitched onto the wall of their living room. Since the couch was taken by Ryeowook and Heechul, Sunjung sat down on the remaining armchair opposite of Kyuhyun, leading to her facing him directly.

 

Enjoying the way her body sank into the soft armchair, Sunjung started eating silently, alternating between listening to the boys' discussion and watching the TV. She had just declared that she could not fit anymore food into her stomach after her third helping when Ryeowook got onto his feet to get more food, followed by Heechul who needed to go to the washroom.

 

A sudden awkwardness descended as Sunjung and Kyuhyun sat there silently without any exchange of words. Feeling uncomfortable, Sunjung turned her attention to the TV, feigning interest in the program while Kyuhyun pretended to be absorbed with the intricate design of the carpet. It had been quite a while since the two of them were alone with each other, having split up not long after Apollo's second scandal.

 

Aish, why did the two of them have to go away… If I moved away now would that be too apparent? Maybe I could pretend to get more food? But I had just declared that I was too full, that would make it too OBVIOUS that I'm avoiding Kyuhyun!

 

Her eyes glued determinedly to the screen of the television, Sunjung reached up and rubbed her neck absently as her brain raced frantically to devise means to ease the uncomfortable atmosphere. On the other end, Kyuhyun was having similar thoughts as he finally gave up his purported interest in the carpet and fixed his gaze on the ceiling instead.

 

Cho Kyuhyun! Say something! You knew you won't be able to avoid her forever! But… What should I say? Would it make things worse if I say the wrong thing? Maybe I should just move away instead? Then again, she might think that I'm avoiding her…

 

It had been almost two years since the day that they broke up, but the awkwardness between them since then had carried on till now. After all, they were so in love with each other once. As much as they might deceive themselves and others, both of them knew that it was completely impossible for things to return to how they were before they got together.

 

Even though they only got to know each other in 2006 after Kyuhyun joined Super Junior, given the close relationship between Apollo and Super Junior, it did not take them very long to get acquainted. However, they had started off purely as friends with neither considering to develop the comfortable relationship further. The catalyst that led to the change of their relationship was actually Super Junior's car accident in April 2007.

 

Actually, it would be more accurate to say that their matchmaker was actually Ryeowook. Before the car accident, which involved Shindong, Eunhyuk, Leeteuk and Kyuhyun, the usually gentle and forgiving Ryeowook got into an argument with the maknae of their group, sparking off a cold war between the two men. Thus, when the news of Kyuhyun being seriously injured reached him, he did not dare to visit for he was filled with guilt.

 

However, it did not stop Ryeowook from being worried about Kyuhyun. Being too embarrassed to let his other members know about his feelings, he pleaded with Sunjung to do him the favour of visiting Kyuhyun on his behalf. Hence, during the two and a half months when Kyuhyun was hospitalised, Sunjung often visited him with Ryeowook's specially prepared meals.

 

The frequent contact they had caused love to blossom between the duo and they soon became an item. Sunjung's matured demeanour was a perfect complement for Kyuhyun's mischievous personality, and all their members were very happy for them. With the dating ban imposed upon both groups, the members of both Apollo and Super Junior kept mum about it, although they did make fun of the two as much as secrecy would allow.

 

Unfortunately, such happiness was short-lived. The careful attitude that the female held throughout their courtship often became a subject of argument, for Kyuhyun did not understand why Sunjung could have meals openly with the parents of Leeteuk and Ryeowook but not his.

 

The breaking point finally came when Soohei's scandal was brought to light. Having undergone the extreme misery of having the whole group suffering for the mistake of a single individual, Sunjung was forced to face the harsh reality of the entertainment industry. It was a place which can tolerate no mistakes, a hellhole where its members are placed under extreme scrutinisation. The effects of anything that happened within it would be magnified, and then blown out of proportion.

 

Sunjung was afraid that Super Junior might have to undergo the same sufferance if the relationship between Kyuhyun and her was to be sniffed out. It was a problem that her member had created, and no other innocent people should be entwined into it. Having her other members submitting to the cruel scrutiny of the public and the extreme media pressure was already bad enough. There was no need for Super Junior to be implicated too. Their love was no longer something that only concerned the two of them. It would be too selfish for her to hold on to it, bringing the man she loved and s into the chaos that had already ensued in her world. Rather than having the boys in Super Junior to suffer in the same manner in which Apollo had, Sunjung made a decision.

 

The most agonising decision she had ever made.

 

"Kyuhyun, let's just… Let's just end it here,"

 

Kyuhyun was dumbfounded. He simply stared at the back of Sunjung's head in disbelief as her cold words echoed in his emptied mind.

 

End it here… End it here…

 

I'm sorry, Kyuhyun. I rather you hate me now than hate me and blame yourself after we've hurt the hyungs you loved so much…

 

Sunjung had chosen to back-face him. She was afraid that if she was to look into the eyes of the man she loved so much, she would lose the courage to say the cruel words. Those soulful eyes that were filled with love every time they fell on her. Those midnight black orbs that she had drowned in endless times before as they exchanged sweet nothings in each other's arms...

 

Sunjung… Sunjungie… Is this what you really want?

 

The painful words were edging into Kyuhyun's heart, cutting it into ribbons with its razor-sharp ends. The excruciating pain that he felt in his heart was working its way into his nerves, causing every single part of his body to tingle with a sore throbbing. He reached out in an attempt to turn Sunjung around, but his fingers halted merely millimetres away from her arm.

 

The burning words that were scalding the tip of his tongue seemed to have sizzled and gone cold in the freezing winter wind that was blowing around them. Kyuhyun swallowed hard past that lump in his throat, but the words were still stuck when he opened his mouth again.

 

"Yah! Did you hear me? I said we're over. We're done,"

 

Sunjung forced the venomous words out from , trying her best to keep her voice steady so she would seem resolute. But she could never be. How could one be determined when speaking against their will?

 

"Is that really what you want?"

 

Kyuhyun finally managed to whisper softly as he choked on his own words. Sunjung's heart broke into a million pieces as she caught the anguish in his usually pompous tone. Biting her lips to seal in the sobs that were threatening to escape, Sunjung nodded once as a burning sensation grew behind her eyes.

 

"Why?"

 

"There's no why."

 

"Nonsense,"

 

“Must you always be such a child? Up to the end? We're done, finished, over!"

 

Sunjung managed before the tears that were b in her eyes finally slipped out and flowed down her cheeks. Her heart was hurting so bad. She never thought that such pain was even humanely possible. It was all she could do to stand there stiffly, with her fists clenched rigidly by her sides, trying her best to ignore the wrenching ache within her.  She was going to burn in hellfire for uttering such cruel words, but she knew that she would fall apart if he continued to probe. The more he asked, the harder it was for her to hold on to her resolve. No longer able to control her tears, Sunjung pulled hard on the bill of the baseball cap she was wearing to hide her tear streaked face before turning to leave.

 

"Is this about Soohei?"

 

Kyuhyun asked as he grabbed hold of her arm when Sunjung walked past him. Sunjung cringed at the familiar touch, faltering in her steps. Kyuhyun was speaking in an unusually calm manner, similar to that before the coming of a huge storm. Sunjung did not fling his hand away. With the dangerous mood that he was in, she knew that he would do more than just grab her if she did. He might take hold of her shoulders and forced her around to meet his gaze and where would that leave them then? One glimpse at her tear streaked face and he would sense her wavering heart. There was no way he would agree to the breakup after that.

 

"If it is, then I refuse! This is between us! How can you let that affect us?"

 

Kyuhyun was stubbornly trying to force Sunjung to take back her words. However, he knew that the possibility was very slim. Sunjung rarely retract her decisions because she only made them after deliberate considerations.

 

"Do you want Super Junior to end up like Apollo?"

 

Swallowing past the lump that had formed in at the hurt she could detect in his voice, Sunjung asked in a composed manner, her voice betraying none of the turmoil in her heart.

 

“When has this ever been just between us? Kyuhyun ah, neither of us are selfish people… We can’t… It won’t work for us.”

 

Kyuhyun's grip loosened slightly at her words as the severity of the situation hit him. Her heart ripped into two ragged pieces – one for the man and one for the love that she was not able to protect. She turned her head aside, willing the bitter wind to dry her irrepressible tears. Hoping that he would not make this anymore difficult than it already was, she used her free hand and gently slid Kyuhyun's hand off her arm. Once freed, Sunjung  walked away without hesitation, leaving Kyuhyun to stare at her retreating back with only his thoughts as the only company.

 

He listened to her receding footsteps. This, he knew, was what it felt to have his heart shattered into a million pieces. This emptiness, this emptiness that was too huge for grief. Left standing alone, he remained motionless, waiting for the decapitating pain to dissipate.

 

If it ever would.

 

The cold winter wind roared loudly, as if laughing at their bleak situation.

 

"Sunjung ah! Come and open your presents!"

 

Leeteuk's loud voice broke her from her reverie. Sunjung blinked rapidly as the rest of the room came back into focus, she was startled to see that the cooking program had already ended. Sitting up in surprise, she realised that Kyuhyun had already left his seat and had joined the others at the table.

 

Just how long had she been spacing out?

 

"Unnie! Hurry! Come and see what Soyeon unnie and I had gotten for you!"

 

The hyper Jiyeon ran over and pulled Sunjung to her feet, pointing to the huge pile of presents that sitting at the corner of the living room. It was only then that Sunjung noticed a huge paper box wrapped in red wrapping paper, complimented with a huge black bow at the top. Having no recollections of receiving it, she guessed that it must be from either Hyunae or Minhee.

 

Maybe it's a huge box of ddeokbokki.

 

Smiling inwardly at her droll thought, she allowed herself to be dragged by an excited Jiyeon to the present pile. Everyone started crowding around her, urging her to open their presents first. Sunjung chose to start with Suju's presents as they were the smallest in size as compared to the girls' presents. In fact, Suju's presents appeared to be of similar sizes as they were each placed in a small brown paper bag bearing the same shop logo.

 

"Yah, did you guys open a new shop or something? Why are all of your presents from the same shop? Please don’t tell me that all of you got me the same item…”

 

Sunjung shot them a questioning look as she picked up the first paper bag. A quick glance at the tag showed that it was from Heechul. Without looking, Sunjung reached in and pulled out a plain ruby red cap. She was delighted as the design was just how she liked her hats- sleek, simple and stylish.

 

"Wow! This is stunning! Thanks Heechul hyung! I love hats!"

 

However, Sunjung's happiness soon turned into surprise and finally annoyance as she opened the rest of the paper bags, pulling out from within the same hat in different colours. Staring at the various hats in front of her, Sunjung did not know whether to laugh or to cry.

 

From checkered, white, and grey to purple, black and pink, Sunjung was certain that she was staring at the entire colour series of the particular hat. There was even one with a huge glittery skull situated right in the middle panel, and one that contains so much bling on it that Sunjung was sure she was capable of turning into a walking disco light if she stepped into any places with lights while wearing it.

 

"Unnie! I swear it wasn't me!"

 

Hyunae raised both her hands in mock surrender as Sunjung shot a murderous look in her direction. Sunjung then turned her attention on Minhee, who simply pointed at Eunhyuk. The latter was staring at her accusing finger in horror.

 

"I told only Eunhyuk that you like hats,"

 

"I-I..."

 

"Yah! Eunhyuk hyung! Were you the one that bought all the presents?"

 

"Ani! I-I... I just told the rest of the members..."

 

"YOU TOLD ALL OF THEM THAT I LIKE HATS? HOW MANY HEADS DO YOU THINK I HAVE?"

 

Sunjung’s arm shot out and grabbed the sputtering Eunhyuk, wrestling him to the ground while the latter pleaded for mercy. Sitting on him, the exasperated birthday girl motioned at the array of hats lying before her.

 

“What am I going to do with so many hats?”

 

There was complete silence in the house as everybody stared at one another. Then, they all broke into laughter at the same time as the hilarity of the situation set in. Her lips twitching upwards reluctantly as the humour of the situation was not lost to her, she joined in the laughter even while she placed the various caps into their packaging resignedly.

 

With that set aside, she moved on to the two pizza boxes that T-ara had given to her. After the unpleasant surprise Suju’s gifts had given her, she was more tentative with the unfathomable pizza boxes she was beholding. Squinting at them doubtfully, Sunjung poked cautiously at the boxes. Hyunae sneaked a look at the two girls and they gave her a big smile in return. Taking their smiles as assurance, Hyunae had her fingers crossed that Sunjung would like their presents.

 

Meanwhile, Sunjung picked up one of the pizza boxes and shook it gently. The object in the box clanked softly as it rolled around inside. Soyeon gave an audible gasp as she involuntarily squeezed Hyunae's arm, feeling worried for her present.

 

“Did the two of you have no time to wrap it? Using a pizza box as gift boxes? Really? Wait, if it’s really pizza and it’s rolling about in the box… Yah! Please tell me that the two of you didn’t eat the bulk of it on your way here! It’s not leftovers I’m shaking right?”

 

The extremely suspicious Sunjung demanded, staring at the box in aghast as the horrifying thought entered her mind. Being notorious big eaters and knowing their penchant for pranks, she would be unsurprised to find half-eaten pizzas within it.

 

“Unnie!”

 

“Sunjung ah!”

 

The protests from the two T-ara members did nothing to mollify Sunjung’s unfounded fear. After casting another cautious glance at the two boxes, the birthday star finally opened up the box.

 

"This is from… Soyeon? Daebak! Kamsahamida! I really love it!"

 

Sunjung flashed a grateful smile towards Soyeon as she picked up the object from within. It was a pair of stylish black framed spectacles. There was rhinestones embalmed by the temples of the spectacles, one side reads Sunjung while the other was the Hangeul writing of her name. The other pizza box contained a pair of sunglasses, from Jiyeon this time. As Sunjung took off her glasses and put on each of the eyewear, she was surprised that the lenses were of the correct degrees.

 

"How did you know my measurements?"

 

Sunjung looked enquiringly at Soyeon and Jiyeon, who simply smiled back at her before pointing at Hyunae simultaneously. Hyunae had a contented smile on her face as she scratched her head absentmindedly. Sunjung had eye surgery done when she was younger, and it resulted in her having very sensitive eyes. Being unable to either wear contact lenses or undergo lasik, Sunjung had to stick with spectacles for her myopia.

 

"Unnie, open the last present! It's from Minhee and I!"

 

Hyunae urged as she pointed excitedly to the huge box that had caught Sunjung's attention previously. Beside her, Minhee also had a rare excited look on her face. Nodding, Sunjung replaced her glasses before putting Soyeon's and Jiyeon's presents back into their boxes.

 

"What did you buy? Did you really need such a hug- Oof! It's rather heavy!"

 

Sunjung was surprised as she tried to lift the huge box, her arms stretching to its maximum as she hugged the gigantic box. Tugging hard at the big bow at the top, Sunjung then proceeded to rip off the wrapping paper. When she finally got the box opened, she reached in and pulled out a black guitar case.

 

Looking at the expectant faces of her fellow members, Sunjung sent them an elated smile on her flushed face. They had gotten her a guitar, knowing that it was Sunjung's favourite instrument. They were aware that she was considering to purchase an electric one to complement the acoustic one she already had in her room. However, understanding her thrifty character, the steep price of a good one would deter her. Hence, the two sweet dongsaengs decided to get it for her.

 

"Daebak! Jinja daebak! This is so gorgeous!"

 

Sunjung emitted a rarely heard girlish shriek as she ped the case, pulling the cover back to reveal the gift within. A loud "wow" went around the room as the others caught sight of the object that had caused Sunjung's out of character behaviour. The body and the neck were ebony with golden outlining while the pickguard was ruby red. The shiny golden strings formed a stunning contrast against its darker counterparts. A large silver cartoon that depicts a goofy girl holding a guitar with the words "Dorky-Jung" below was also printed on the body

 

Many hours later, with food all polished off and presents all unwrapped, the three Apollo girls were the only people left in the house. They spent another hour or so cleaning up the entire apartment before they were finally able to get a much-earned rest. They all had the same thought as they laid their heads on their pillows- that the day would probably be the most exciting day they had ever since the hiatus of Apollo. However, none of the girls expected that day to be only the start of their excitement.

 

"Minhee! Unnie! Have you two read the newspapers?!"

 

Hyunae asked as she burst in through the screen door still wearing her shoes, waving a set of newspaper frantically as her face flushed red with excitement. Her hair was hanging messily all around her and she was still holding on to her car keys in the other hand while panting heavily, suggesting that she had ran up all the way from the car park.

 

"What newspapers? Today's?"

 

Both Sunjung and Minhee were surprised when Hyunae suddenly burst into the room without any warning. They were having their dinner in front of the TV, watching Hyunae's first lead drama- Absolute Boyfriend. Sunjung answered her while Minhee stared incredulously at Hyunae's feet, amazed that she had actually worn her shoes into the house.

 

Hyunae threw her handbag and car keys down on the ground before running over to them. Holding the set of newspapers out to Sunjung, she made no attempts to mask her dishevelled state. The older girl took the papers from her with an amused look.

 

Still in the game? Ex-popular girl band Apollo takes the world by wonder once again!

 

Sunjung's heart skipped a beat when she saw the word "Apollo" in the headlines. The previous bad experiences she had with the band name being featured in the headlines had made her very touchy about the issue. With shaky hands, she forced herself to continue reading the article despite the groundless fear in her heart.

 

The article was on the short performance that the girls had done on Strong Heart almost a week ago. Apparently, the clip had caused a storm online when an unnamed source posted it on Youtube, hitting almost 500000 views within the first day it was put up. As of the time of the article, it had already hit more than 2 million views.

 

"Unnie! I found the clip!"

 

Hyunae's keyed up voice rang out from within her room as she ran out with her pink laptop in her arms, kicking off her heels in the process. She pushed the dishes that were on the table aside and set the machine down on the table. It was a clip on the impromptu Pretty Boy performance that Apollo had done.

 

"Look at the comments unnies!"

 

Minhee pointed as she scrolled down the page, bringing the many comments into view. Sunjung could hardly believe her eyes as she skimmed through the opinions of the viewers.

 

"I can't believe that I finally can see Apollo on stage again!"

 

"Aren't they on hiatus? Or did I miss the news of their comeback?"

 

"Anyone feels like going to SM to kick whoever put them on hiatus?"

 

"How can they put such a great band on hiatus? This is such a waste of their talents!"

 

"Olympians want Apollo! We want our goddesses!"

 

“Someone correct me if I’m mistaken. Everybody knows Minhee can sing, but when did Hyunae and Sunjung became such good singers? Why didn’t have more parts in the past?!”

 

"Olympians still remember us! Unnie! Minhee! Olympians still remember us!"

 

Hyunae was choking on her sobs as she gave her two members a huge hug each before burying her face as she hugged both her legs tightly, her body convulsing with tears. Sunjung and Minhee merely stared at each other wordlessly. There was no need for words for all three of them shared the same feelings.

 

Minhee proceeded to clear the table of the partially empty dishes while Sunjung knelt down and slipped an arm around the heaving shoulders of Hyunae. The eldest girl gave her member a one armed hug, sliding her hand up and down Hyunae's back in a comforting manner murmuring soft words of support. Just then, the house phone started ringing. Minhee motioned for Sunjung to stay as she got onto her feet and went to answer the phone.

 

"Yoboseyo? Ah. Manager oppa? Wh-What? Tomorrow? Arasso. I will let unnie know. Yes. Yes. Okay…"

 

Both Hyunae and Sunjung stared at Minhee as she slowly replaced the receiver. Then, she turned around with agonizing speed as she stared back at them with a stunned expression. Sunjung glanced at Hyunae before turning back to their maknae.

 

"Minhee, what did Manager oppa want?"

 

"What did he want to let unnie know?"

 

"Mananger oppa… H-He… He said that Lee Soo Man seonsaengnim wants to meet us in his office tomorrow at 9 am,"

 

Silence reigned in the room as Minhee dropped the verbal bomb. Both her unnies were staring at her dumbfounded. It was too much of a coincidence that Apollo made the headlines and then they got called in for a meeting with the CEO.

 

"Are…Are we going to be in trouble?"

 

Hyunae's small voice broke the silence. She had a scared look in her eyes as she sniffed loudly, face all blotchy from her previous crying.

 

"Ani… Don't be worried… Why would we be in trouble? Relax…"

 

"Well… We were supposed to be on hiatus,"

 

"They can't blame us if we didn't have a choice… Come on Hyunae, get a grip. If you continue crying, your eyes are going to be swollen when we meet seonsaengnim tomorrow. You have to uphold your visual position okay?"

 

"Arasso… But unnie… I'm really scared…"

 

"Don't worry. Everything will be fine. What else have we not gone through?"

 

"What if seonsaengnim wants to tell us that Apollo is going to be dis-"

 

"Minhee!"

 

Sunjung sent a warning look at their maknae before shaking her head subtly, tilting her head slightly in the direction of Hyunae. Comprehension dawned on the maknae at the unspoken words in that single glance, and Minhee held her tongue.

 

"Hyunae-ah, don't worry… If the company wanted to do something to us, they would have done so eons ago. Besides, we didn't do anything bad right? We just sang because they wanted us to. It's not as if we had much of a choice,"

 

"But Unnie-"

 

"No more buts! Come on, go take a shower and go to sleep. We have to be in the company by 9 am tomorrow! You too, Minhee! Get up and go to sleep!"

 

Sunjung started issuing orders as she pushed Hyunae towards the direction of the washroom. Motioning for Minhee to get onto her feet, she grabbed the remote and turned the television off.

After making sure both her members had gone to bed, Sunjung finally started on preparing herself for sleep. Sunjung's heart was still palpitating at the news of the scheduled meeting with Lee Soo Man. It had been ages since she last stepped into that office, and the last time she was there, things did not turn out very well for Apollo. With an uneasy mind, Sunjung laid her head on her pillow and forced herself to sleep.

 

"Unnie… Unnie! Get up! We're gonna be late!"

 

"Urg… Just let me sleep a while more…"

 

"Come on! Unnie! It's going to be 8 am soon!"

 

"I don't have any schedule for today… Just 5 more minutes…"

 

"SUNJUNG UNNIE! Aish! Minhee! Come in and help me wake her up!"

 

"Arasso! I'm coming. Unnie, unnie! Get up!"

 

"It's not working! Why must our leader have this bad habit! Yah! Paek Sunjung! Get up!"

 

"Hyunae unnie, we'll have to use that again,"

 

"Jinja? Aish… You do it, I'm going to call Manager oppa to let him know we're almost done.

 

"Arasso,"

 

With that, Hyunae left the task of waking Sunjung up to Minhee. Sunjung is good in almost all aspects with one single exception, that she is almost impossible to wake up, especially when she did not have at least two to three hours of sleep. Since they had a meeting today, Minhee guessed that Sunjung probably did not managed to catch much sleep due to of her anxiousness. Pulling the covers off the sleeping bundle on the bed, Minhee leaned in close before yelling in a frantic tone.

 

"SUNJUNG UNNIE! WE'RE DEAD! WE HAVE A MEETING WITH LEE SOO MAN AT 9AM AND ITS ALREADY 8.55 AM! WHAT SHOULD WE DO?!"

 

"MWO?!"

 

Hyunae could hear Sunjung's astonished yell coming all the way from her room despite having her one of her ears pasted onto her phone. The next thing she saw was her leader dashing out at record speed into the washroom before slamming the door shut. Minhee strolled out casually moments later with a satisfied look on her face. Hyunae was about to praise her for the good work when the phone connected.

 

“Oppa, we’ll be ready in half an hour’s time. Unnie? She’s already up and showering...”

 

At 5 minutes to 9 am, the three girls were standing nervously outside the solid oak doors leading to the CEO room. All three of them had unanimously chosen to wear black for the occasion. After a soft group cheer, Sunjung took the lead and rapped twice on the door before being given clearance to enter the room.

 

"Good morning girls,"

 

"Good morning seonsaengnim,"

 

Apollo replied with a synchronized 90 degrees bow, before taking their seats with a heavy heart. Lee Soo Man had two files opened up in front of him as he began typing into his laptop before turning it around to show the girls whatever was on the screen. It didn't surprise them when they discovered it was the clip in which they had sang.

 

So this is about the performance after all… I wonder why had he call us in this early over it. Maybe… It's for other things? Maybe… He just wants to let us know that he saw the video? Gosh. I wish he would just hurry up and get it over and done with!

 

Sunjung's heart was pounding so hard it felt as if it had jumped into and was now thumping in her oral captivity. Shifting in her seat in discomfit, she slanted a discreet glance over at her two other members and discovered that they too had uneasy look on their faces. Minhee had a tight smile on her face while Hyunae had gone completely white as they watched a replay of the clip.

 

I knew it! We're in deep trouble… Seonsaengnim must mean to scold us for performing publicly despite the hiatus forced on us… He's gonna punish us! Oh god… What should we do?

 

Hyunae's mind was in a whirl as the many thoughts crashed around in her jumbled mind. Being unable to calm down despite having tried her best to, Hyunae knew that her face must be drained of all colours as she felt as if all her blood had flowed into her heart, judging by the speed that her heart was racing.

 

So Lee Soo Man did see the video… I wonder what he thought of it… Hmm… It's impossible to tell anything from his face… Since our performance was well received, it's only logical that he lift the hiatus off Apollo right? Please let it be so! If this isn't going to make him give us another chance, nothing would!

 

Minhee's usually accurate instinct was telling her that they were going to receive good news. She felt that Apollo had already undergone a lot of hardships, and the light at the end of the tunnel must be approaching soon. She sneaked a look at her other members, and saw, to no surprise, that Hyunae was freaking out while Sunjung's forced composure was cracking little by little.

 

"So… What did you girls think about the clip?"

 

"Eh?"

 

All three girls jumped at the sudden question. The younger ones did not dare to answer the man and simply looked to their leader for guidance. Swallowing past the lump in , Sunjung cleared nervously before answering croakily.

 

"We… We saw the clip only yesterday."

 

"How do you girls think you have fared?"

 

"We… I think we've done pretty well…"

 

"Hyunae? Minhee? What about you two?"

 

"I think we did rather brilliantly for an impromptu performance…"

 

"I agree with Hyunae unnie,"

 

At the girls' replies, Lee Soo Man gave them a warm smile. Throughout his years at the company, he had never seen another group like Apollo. He deemed them as a treasure trove that was waiting to be explored. Having shown their potential at the tender age of teens when they debuted, he thought it would be a huge waste to disband the group when their first scandal came out. That was the main reason why he placed them on hiatus instead of dissolving the group, planning to let them comeback after the whole thing died down.

 

And then another scandal comes popping right out again… These poor souls…

 

Lee Soo Man shook his head and sighed audibly, causing the three girls before him to exchange apprehensive looks. Then, picking up the two closed folders, he placed them down in front of them before starting to pace around the room. Apollo looked puzzledly at one another before leaning forward at the same time to take a closer look at the files.

 

"Oh In-Hyeon"

 

"Ohng Joo-Ree"

 

The girls stared at the two names that were printed on each file respectively with similar perplexed expressions. Being unsure of what Lee Soo Man wanted, Minhee took the initiative to voice their confusion.

 

"Seonsaengnim, we don't understand… Who are these people?"

 

"After watching your performance on Strong Heart, and after taking in all the comments and views, the company has come to a decision,"

 

Lee Soo Man paused at the end of his sentence and turned to walk back to the office desk where the three girls were seated. There was a tight tension in the air as the suspense of his previous statement hung heavily in the atmosphere. Hyunae was gripping the hands of her two members who were seated on her either sides while they sat there with their breaths held

 

"We have decided it's time to give Apollo back to your Olympians,"

 

The girls could hardly believe their own ears. With tears b in their eyes, they were too agitated to say anything and could only tightened their clasps on each others' hand. All their waiting had finally paid off. However, Lee Soo Man had another surprise in store for them.

 

"Also, the company will be adding in two new memb-"

 

"MWO!"

 

The three girls exclaimed simultaneously as they jumped to their feet at the same time. Sunjung and Hyunae started talking almost immediately, attempting to dissuade their CEO of the idea while Minhee simply stood there with her arms crossed, looking like a defiant child. Taken aback, Lee Soo Man allowed them to ramble on for moments before he regained his composure holding up a hand to silence the intelligible duo before gesturing for them to return to their seats.

 

"You girls have been in the company longer than many others. You know how thrilling it is to be given a chance to debut. Why not give some of your hoobaes the chance to live the lives you have?"

 

"But Seonsaengnim, you're talking about adding in two new members. Like you said, we've been in this company longer than many others. We don't even really know any of the trainees now. How are we going to cope with two new members?"

 

Sunjung tried her best to fight for their case. But all three of the girls know that they were just making pointless struggles. At the end of the day, they can only accept the company's decision. Furthermore, the company was being very kind to Apollo by giving them a third chance to get back onto their feet.

 

"You three started off as strangers too, didn't you? The company is now giving you two options. One is to accept the two new members and start preparing for your comeback. The second option is to for things to stay as they are. You should know how short a celebrity's star-span is. You have already wasted almost 3 years. Are you girls sure you want to pass on this chance?"

 

The severity of his last statement hit the girls hard. They understood that they were now facing the final crossroad of Apollo - to accept the insertion of the two members, or to let Apollo go forever.

 

The choice was pretty obvious.

 

At two o'clock in the afternoon on the same day, the three girls were now sitting on the big leather chairs in the meeting room. Having made the decision to accept the new members earlier, they were now waiting for their first meetings with the two new girls. They had already read through their profiles over lunch, and had a general idea of who they were meeting - two 18 year old trainees who had been with SM for 4 years and 5 years respectively.

 

How are we going to fit in on stage? We're already in our twenties and they are basically just kids! What style are we going to adopt? What should the team formation be? How should our roles be reassigned? Sigh. I never thought I will have to go through this again…

 

Sunjung was holding her head using both her hands. Being the team leader, she was most worried about the team dynamics. When Apollo was a six-member group, all six of them had decided on pre-defined roles, and there were very little clashes among themselves as each was very clear about their duties. Not to mention the between the members were much smaller than now. She really hoped that their comeback this time would not be affected because of any hiccups in the team dynamics.

 

Will we be able to get along? There are four rooms in our apartments, but there're five of us now… How should we divide the rooms? Maybe we should empty out the largest room and change it into their bedrooms… Since they are of the same age… They might feel more comfortable sleeping together?

 

Just beside her leader, Hyunae were harbouring similar thoughts about having to stay with two new people after having just the three of them in the apartment all these years. She stole a look at Minhee and found their maknae deep in thoughts.

 

Why do we have to add in new members? And they are going to be staying with us! Our house is going to be so cramped now! There were only three of us when we're a six-member group! Why must we stay with them! What if we won't get along?

 

Minhee had a small frown creasing her face as she grouched about having to accept new members into Apollo. She never really enjoyed having changes in her life as it upset the balance in her perception. Besides, it was very hard for Minhee to really open up to people, and having strangers around in the house simply meant that she would not feel comfortable even at home anymore.

 

Just then, there was a soft knock on the door before their manager oppas entered the room, with two young girls following closely behind them. The three original members of Apollo stood up almost immediately and greeted their manager oppas as they took a closer look at the two girls.

 

One of the girls was wearing a black hoodies with black jeans with white sneakers. She was shorter than Hyunae, who stood at 160 cm. She wore no expression on her face as she stared blankly at the three older girls. As if unsure of what she was supposed to do, she turned around to look at their manager oppas with a confused look. It was only when they prompted her to make a greeting that a look of realisation finally crossed her face and she hastily made a 90 degree bow before her proper self-introduction.

 

"Ann-Annyeonghasaeyo! Ohng Joo-Ree imnida!"

 

At Joo-Ree's hasty greeting, the other new girl simply shook her head in an uncaring manner before clearing to bring Apollo's attention to her. She was wearing a low cut slimfit T-shirt with mini shorts. Being the taller among the two, she radiated confidence all the way down to her toes. After a proper 90 degrees bow, she pulled off her sunglasses and introduced herself with a tight smile.

 

"Annyeonghasaeyo sunbae-nims, Oh In-Hyeon imnida. 18 years old,"

 

With that, Sunjung, Minhee and Hyunae returned their greetings. However, as Sunjung welcomed the new members and began introducing the other two current members to them, Minhee noticed that Inhyeon was not even paying attention. Instead, she was looking at Hyunae critically, from head to toe, as if judging a beauty contestant. It was only when she caught Minhee's eyes then did she paste a sweet smile on her face, feigning an  interest in Sunjung's words. Minhee was struck by a sudden ill-boding feeling.

 

This girl feels like trouble...