SJ-M was having their last shooting at the Lohas Garden. The work was smooth-sailing, which posed a stark contrast to the matters of the hearts.

“Good work, Henry,” Tiffany complimented after Henry had finished his solo shots.

Henry beamed, “Thanks, Tiff. I looked cool, right?”

Tiffany scowled at him, “I just wanted to thank you for giving you guys' schedules to me. Remember why we're here?” Then she witnessed Henry's fell expression. “I did like that photo with you on the swing,” she added stiffly.

“Really? I'll send it to you later!”

Tiffany could not help but smile at Henry's animated face. Tsk. Is he serious enough for the work?

She cleared , “We're here to work, not to play. Operation IGAB doesn't look good so far. I haven't really seen Jessica and Donghae speak to each other much.”

“What's the plan, Captain?”

“It's too confidential for you to know,” smiled Tiffany slyly.

A cunning idea was sprouting in Tiffany's mind. She would execute her plan gracefully when it's time to strike.

***

It had been a few days since the SJ-M's photo shoot at Bangdari was over. The boys and Sung Ah had been extremely busy preparing for the sub-unit's comeback ever since then. Presently being in a Music Bank's waiting room with the members, Sung Ah's excitement was in plain view. In her fantasy, the top K-Pop groups would perform the songs produced by her someday. What if Donghae had a chance to sing one of her songs? She grinned foolishly and stole a glance at him. Donghae was putting on his own make-up.

He saw Sung Ah staring at him through his mirror. “Want to do my make-up?” he beckoned her over.

Sung Ah was no beauty expert. She obeyed him anyway, because the professionals were occupied by the other members.

She first tentatively applied the creamy foundation on his face. To her dismay, one side looked paler than the other. Donghae laughed at how badly painted he was.

“I'm so sorry!” Sung Ah apologized and quickly wiped away the excess powder.

“Why are you so nervous? We're the ones going to perform, not you.”

“This is your first comeback stage in a long time! I really want you to do super good.”

Donghae's smile illuminated his surroundings. “Thank you, Puffy. I won't let you down,” he took her hand and squeezed it.

Sung Ah shyly smiled back at him. His confident grin was frozen in her mind. She wished they could remain this close until eternity.

***

Where's the washroom? Sung Ah wandered in the labyrinth of corridors. As long as I find the woman’s one, I'm good. She smiled back at the time when Kyuhyun and she had been cornered in the men washroom.

She aimlessly ventured out of the standby area and entered the Music Bank recording studio. The stage was set up grandly with a massive flash sign of “Super Junior M” as the backdrop. There were already a group of fans waiting impatiently for their oppas to come out.

Sung Ah absorbed this snapshot of idols' lives in awe. The stage in front of her was Donghae's companion for almost a decade. She imagined him caressing the stage with smooth dance moves like “U” and “Sorry Sorry”. Starting from today, Sung Ah would cheer the star from below the stage with the rest of the sapphire blue ocean...

“Go change the light filter up there,” a woman interrupted Sung Ah and her reverie out of nowhere. “The show starts in ten minutes.” She shoved a blue screen into Sung Ah's hand. “Hey, you over there! What are you trying to do?!” She stalked away hastily before Sung Ah could react.

But I don't work here. Sung Ah contemplated the object in hand. Do I really look that random to everyone?

Sung Ah scanned the room for a legit staff who would do the job. Everyone scrambled by her, trying to finish their work last minute. She looked up at the row of lights above the stage. Changing light filters were familiar to Sung Ah.  She was part of her high school's theatre company back in Mokpo. I guess I should just do it. I don't have anything better to do anyway. Sung Ah resigned to her plainness and did what the woman had told her to do.

***

“My eyes are only on you, baby.

They never leave your side.

So come on, come on, come on.

Let's jump, run, and scream in this wonderful world.”

ELF were chanting along to the brand-new SJ-M's dance track. Sung Ah too was influenced by the blue light, the energetic dance, and the synchronized screaming. She swayed to the beats of the music and her heart. Her gaze, however, was focused on Donghae the entire time.

During the second chorus of the song, there was a crank. Then the entire studio fell into utter chaos.

A stage light had plummeted into the centre of the stage with a deafening crashing sound in the middle of the performance. White sparks shot out from the destroyed light to all directions. Black smoke swallowed the stage instantly. Sung Ah was too stunned to move. The chorus of screaming fangirls was no match for her own heart beats. The incident had occurred too fast for her brain to process what's going on.

Sung Ah faintly heard someone crying out, “Donghae oppa!”

Donghae! What happened to Donghae? Sung Ah thought frantically. She searched the stage for Dumbo, but she could not find him apart from all the other concerned members. She saw more staff members rushed forward to help. Sung Ah finally found some strength in her shaking body to walk up the platform.

“I'm okay, guys,” said a low voice among all the agitated bodies.

Sung Ah nearly broke down when she saw Donghae's bruised and bleeding arm. She murmured a prayer, thanking Him for only granting him a minor injury.

Jung Hoon demanded angrily, “Who's responsible for the lighting?!”

“I'm in charge of the light,” a young man came forth timidly, “but I double-checked them last night and this morning!”

“Obviously twice isn't enough!” Eunhyuk was incensed and looked ready to pound on the guy. Kyuhyun needed to restrain him from the back.

Sung Ah went into the midst of the circle. She held onto Donghae's good hand while a noona cleaned his wound. Her concerned eyes eased Donghae's pain. For a while, they stared into each others' eyes with no words spoken.

All eyes fell onto Sung Ah and Donghae. “It's that girl! She did something to one of the lights earlier,” an angry staff member shouted with recognition all of the sudden. He pointed at Sung Ah accusingly. The other staff members began murmuring in agreement.

Donghae now peered at her, dumbfounded. What does Sung Ah got to do with all this mess?

“What happened, Sung Ah?” asked Kyuhyun.

“I-I...” she took a deep breath. “Someone told me to change the light filter. I didn't do anything else with it.”

The producer of the Music Bank scrutinized her dubiously, “You're not our staff. Who are you?”

“I work for SM,” quivered Sung Ah.

“Why was a SM employee fixing the KBS' lighting?”

“She thought I was one of you!”

“Stop it,” Donghae begged. “Sung Ah will never hurt me. I trust her.”

Sung Ah looked at him gratefully. She was touched that he believed in her.

The producer persisted, “It doesn't make sense that she didn't tell our staff to do the work...”

“What are you implying?” Kyuhyun cut him short. “You think a big company like SM would hire someone suspicious? A lot of people come in and out of this place. Anyone could be the culprit.”

“He's right,” Sungmin complied. “It's best to let the police investigate this.”

“Do we have to go so far?” asked Donghae worriedly. He saw a flash of fear in Sung Ah's eyes. What if the police were inadequate? He would not survive the guilt if he got Sung Ah into trouble with the authority.

The producer pondered at the suggestion. “I agree with you. It's only fair to both parties.” The people on stage nodded their consents.

Donghae gripped Sung Ah's hand. His look conveyed the message that everything would turn out alright.

Sung Ah desperately wanted to ignore the gritty feeling in her stomach. Everything will be fine. She repeated the thought again and again, until it would actually come true.

Author's note: Congratulation to SJ-M for winning the Best Group in Baidu Award!  They're having a comeback next year and I can't wait for the actual thing! :D 

And dayum our girls in smtown like...

No wonder everytime I write about Jessica things seem to go ty... <.<

Anyhoo, Sung Ah is in trouble and who'll save her? Donghae? Kyuhyun? Jessica?

Nah.  It probably going to be me who can save her. ^.^ Subscribe and find out. :)

And thanks for the comments! :D See you all soon. <3