May 2014

Eunjung's stomach felt like it was tying itself in knots. Her Sigma counterpart, Bokyung, was currently sniffling, attempting to hide the tears that were spilling from her eyes as they made their way towards the building that housed the PoleStar dorms. It was important that they not give anything away about the two groups while they were in public, their managers had told them, so the two girls tried to keep their faces clear of any emotions, but it was hard, especially with the knowledge of what they had just been told weighing on their shoulders like boulders.

Once they had made it into the common room area where the two groups could hang out while Sigma was in Korea, Bokyung burst into tears. Eunjung immediately grabbed the older girl in a hug.

"It's okay, Bokyung-ah," she murmered. "It'll be okay. We'll work something out. It's not like they're dropping Sigma completely."

"But you heard what Young-Min-ssi said, Eunjung. If we're not ready, they might drop us."

"What's going on?" a voice from behind them asked. Eunjung turned around so fast that her head spun. It was Subin, the eldest member of Polaris and their lead rapper. As usual, she looked stoic, but she frowned at Bokyung. "And why is Kyungie crying?"

The Polaris leader sighed, putting her arm around Bokyung's shoulders. "Come on, we'd better go and tell our members the bad news. Subin unnie, you go ahead and gather the others, we'll be there in a minute."

Once the lead rapper had nodded and left, Eunjung placed her hands on Bokyung's trembling shoulders. She had never seen her friend this down in the two years that they had known each other, and all she knew was that she had to calm her down before they informed PoleStar of the decision that had been made by their management. 

"I don't mean to seem so cruel, but we need to pull ourselves together, Kyungie. We can't appear this upset to our members; we're the leaders, and they'll be looking to us to help keep everything together. So, come on," she told the shorter girl, swapping to English for the first time in months. "Chin up, kid. We can do this! It's just a minor setback and in a year's time, we'll look back and laugh at how dramatic we were. Let's get this over and done with, yeah?"

Bokyung took in a shuddering breath, smiled weakly and wiped her eyes. "You're right, Jung-ah. Let's go."

And with that, the leaders opened the door to the Polaris sitting room and faced the ten artists in front of them.

"What's going on? Subin said you have an important announcement to make," Jimin demanded, whiny as usual. Eunjung pinned the lead rapper with a smirk.

"She said that, huh?"

"Well," Subin replied, unfazed. "It looked important."

Bokyung sighed, leaning against the wall. "It is, you are right. Listen, this is going to be very hard for us all, so before we tell you, I just want to say that this is not the end. It's just a minor setback." 

There was a chorus of 'what?'s and confused glances were exchanged. 

"Kim Min-Young has just informed us of a big decision. Polaris will debut as planned, with our music video airing  on July 7th, but Sigma's debut will be postponed," Eunjung explained, hands spread in front of her as if offering the explanation up to her members.

"WHAT?" Chaerin, ever the drama queen, exploded, standing up from her perch on the arm of the sofa that the ten girls had somehow managed to gather around. "Why?!"

"Well, the managers seem to think that we aren't going to be ready in time. It was always bound to happen, what with Minjungie coming in so late. Not that it's your fault, of course it isn't," Bokyung quickly added, appealing straight to the main vocalist. "Rather, it's SM's fault for expecting so much of you so quickly."

"Does this mean that we won't be getting our showcase like EXO?" Kin piped up. Unlike when they had first met three months earlier, the Chinese member's Korean had improved drastically. 

Eunjung nodded slowly. "It does mean that our showcase is cancelled. However, our teasers will go up as planned. It just means that Sigma's promotions will be later than ours."

"How much later is 'later'?" Akemi asked, her arm still firmly around Minjung's shoulders. The redhead had been silent since she had heard that Sigma would be postponed, which was unlike her - she and Chaerin were usually the first to start talking. 

"We... Don't exactly know just yet," Bokyung answered reluctantly. "Whenever the managers are satisfied with us, I suppose."

"But that could take years! You know what Daseun manager-nim is like - he's a slave driver!" Hyojin complained from beside Jimin. 

"All we have to do is try our best, unnie, that's all we can do," Akemi encouraged. "We can do it! If they thought we were a lost cause, they would have just dropped us, and that hasn't happened, right?" The last question was aimed straight at the leaders who shook their heads firmly. 

"Sigma's debut has not been cancelled," Eunjung said. "Just postponed - that's what we were told."

"So you six will debut in July and we'll work even harder than before so that we can join you quickly!" Bokyung added, determined. "We can do it!"
With that, the meeting was over and the  two leaders moved to sit with their members.

"You okay, Minjungie?" Eunjung asked the vocalist quietly as she sat beside Akemi. 

She shrugged. "I guess. I always knew that I was holding  everyone back,"

"No, unnie, you aren't holding anyone back!" Akemi told her, upset. "You're working really hard!"

"She's right, Minjung," Eunjung told her. "The managers are never happy. Just carry on trying your best and Sigma will debut in no time,"

Minjung smiled a tiny smile, just the corners of turning up. "Thanks, you two. You're the best." With that she stood and clapped to get the attention of the rest of the girls. "Anybody want fried chicken? I'm buying!"

Just like that, the negative atmosphere faded and the twelve members pulled on jackets and shoes, ready to go out and forget their worries and stress, if just for that night. 

ARGH ZHANG YILIN'S 'AGAPE' MV CAME OUT AND MYSELF, MY MOM AND MY BEST FRIEND WERE ALL CRYING. HOW DARE YOU, SM. FIRST YOU GIVE US AN AWFUL EXO FANDOM NAME AND THEN REDUCE EVERYBODY TO TEARS WITH THE SONG!