When the writing god commands me to write, I write. This was supposed to be longer, but I decided to split an uber-long chapter into two chapters. Enjoy! :)

Saera's POV

To: Sunggyu

Freakin Soso almost found out about you and it sounds like SM might change up our promo cycle... Asdfghjkl. T_T

From: Sunggyu

Awww... There there, jagiya, it'll be ok.

To: Sunggyu

I miss you. When was the last time we saw each other?

From: Sunggyu

Before Last Romeo promos, that's for sure. And it sounds like you won't have anymore free time...

To: Sunggyu

Ew, don't remind me. ):<

From: Sunggyu

It'll be ok, we'll get through this. Anyways, I gotta go, photoshoot time. I love you! <3

From: Sunggyu

By the way, control your lead rapper, Woohyun's throwing a temper tantrum over here. Something about 'Dr. Pabo' and 'Tree Boy'. I dunno. :P

To: Sunggyu

I love you too! Also, she can't be controlled, we've tried. :P

"Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for coming."

Everyone around the table obediently leapt to their feet as Kim Youngmin, the CEO of SM, and Baek Jaehwa, the head of PR, strode into the room. Sitting back down, I slipped my phone back into my pocket, allowing the smallest of smiles to reach my lips. God, he's amazing. Out of all the people in the world, he chooses me. The thought blew my mind, quite honestly.

"So," Youngmin said as everyone (the rest of the girls, Mimi, and handful of important looking people in suits) settled into their seats. "This meeting is to discuss further promotion activities regarding Zenith. I'll be turning over the rest of this meeting to Jaehwa, head of PR and Planning. Jaehwa, whenever you're ready."

"Thank you, Youngmin-ssi," Jaehwa said, opening up his briefcase and pulling out a stack of notes. "I'm going to get straight to the point; we were not expecting this debut to be so successful. In fact, we've estimated that over half of the expected earnings have been made in the first week of promotions, tripling what Red Velvet and Super Junior have pulled so far."

"You're kidding," Olivia said, hanging wide open.

"No, Olivia, I am not kidding," Jaehwa said, the slightest of smiles forming on his face. "We had chosen to focus on Super Junior this quarter, and although this group's success has come as a pleasant surprise, the fact of the matter is that more capital has been invested into Super Junior's comeback. So, we've decided to make some changes to the promotion schedule to compensate for your unexpected success.

"The group will cut First Love promotions short to give Super Junior a shot at winning first place, and we will be pushing up the release of a full-length studio album to try and meet the demands of the fans. In the meantime, they will continue to be in the public eye through variety programs and the continuation in Zenith TV, which has seen a tremendous spike in ratings. MBC has also expressed a lot of interest in recruiting one of the girls for We Got Married, Nature Republic has offered Danni a contract, as it is in Taeyeon's best interest to step down after the dating scandal, and there have been various offers for regular variety show positions, CFs, and dramas, all of which we are still reviewing."

...

"So... We're gonna be really busy." Miyoung said. I glanced around to see the rest of the girls looking at each other with blank expressions on their faces, trying to process all of the information that had just been thrown at us.

"Yes, you girls are going to be very busy," Youngmin chuckled. "Eunmi has informed us that this is your last schedule of the day, so go home and get some rest; you girls are going to need it. Are there any questions?"

The seven of us stared at each other blankly, a million questions racing through my own mind. Before I could open my mouth to say something, a tiny, pale hand slowly raised into the air, effectively cutting us all off.

"Yes, Ahkum?" Jaehwa questioned.

"My question is not about upcoming promotions, but more about this group in general," Ahkum said, taking a deep breath. "Why did you choose to debut us so soon after Red Velvet, and why are we the group that is doing so well? You obviously have a lot to deal with at the moment, with Super Junior's comeback, Red Velvet's debut, and EXO's concerts, among other things, yet you choose to present us to the world now. Two of our members were in one of the early Red Velvet line-ups at one point, and yet here they are, a part of a group that is rocketing to the top, beating out their former groupmates. Why?"

"Why Ahkum, I don't think I've ever heard you talk so much," Youngmin smiled as Ahkum looked away, biting her lip.

"Ahkum does bring up an interesting point," Jaehwa said, abandoning his notes. "We believe that the fans unhappy with Red Velvet's debut are favoring Zenith, as you are polar opposites in terms of concept. Both groups are indeed around the same age, yet fans believe that the members of Red Velvet are 'too cutesy' and should not be acting like so, even though it is simply a concept. It was a weak platform for them to debut on, I'll admit, and we will have to change our concept plans for that group accordingly.

"There is also the possibility that the pre-debut marketing for this group was stronger; none of you were in the SM Rookies line up, and you all stayed relatively anonymous, except for Olivia and possibly Danni and Saera. Although the SM Rookie program is a good way to introduce fans to the other trainees, we believe that this group has a stronger following because of your 'anonymous appearances'; fans that have seen you in pre-debut material are more likely to follow the group if they like what they saw."

"Ok, I get all of that, but why exactly did you choose a debut date so soon after Red Velvet?" Miyoung pressed, leaning forward in her seat. "With one new girl group creating buzz, did you really need another one to create even more? I mean, I'm not complaining or anything, but it seems like a strange PR move."

"Yes, this is something that I've been wondering about ever since PR came to me asking about the final line-up for this group," Youngmin said, looking at Jaehwa questioningly. "I would like an answer myself."

Jaehwa glared at us for being put on the spot before clearing his throat. "Well, it is true that Red Velvet was getting a lot of buzz, but as you may have been able to notice, a lot of the comments about the group were negative. Fans were questioning the overly-cute concept and their out-of-the-blue debut. Red Velvet was not meeting the minimum in terms of digital sales and fancafe following, and so we prayed that Zenith would be able to take their place and create the hype that we were trying to achieve. As much as I don't like to admit it, we will consider disbanding Red Velvet if they garner no further interest from fans."

"Seriously?" Soyu blurted out. "You'd seriously disband them?"

"Shut up, Soyu." Olivia growled as Mimi glared at the two of them. Jaehwa, however, completely ignored the two of them. Instead, he took a deep breath and shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

"We also decided to debut this group in hopes of covering up Jinri's various dating scandals and desire to leave f(x)."

...

Absolute silence. The whole room stared at Jaehwa in shock.

"Is it true? Is she really going to be departing from f(x)?" Jolie asked quietly.

"Yes. We have not decided on how to go about it, but she will be leaving."

"So that's it, then?" The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop myself. "We're just a publicity diversion to cover up all of Jinri's stupid mistakes?"

"Although it may not have started out that way, yes," Jaehwa admitted. "We created the two project groups at the same time as we thought one would prove to be stronger, even though they were presented with opposing concepts. When this didn't turn out to be the case, we tested the waters with Red Velvet, and when they showed to be unsatisfactory among fans, we decided to try again with this group. However, your original debut date was mid to late January, as we wanted to mimic the pre-debut technique used for EXO, as that garnered the most attention.

"When Jinri's various dating scandals and 'speculation' about leaving f(x) came up, we knew that we would not be able to keep this quiet. Too much evidence had cropped up, and we knew our only hope would be to try and mask the speculation over her impending departure."

"And that's where you ladies came in," Youngmin sighed, a look of realization on his face. "Your debut was simply pushed up, creating the hype needed to overshadow other evidence of Jinri's departure."

"Yes," Jaehwa said, running his hands through his hair. "We did not plan for it to turn out like this, but I guess it worked out in the end. You girls are on your way to the top and Jinri's scandal has been covered up. Everyone is, for the most part, happy."

"Well," Youngmin said. "I know that this has been a lot of information for you girls, so we're going to let you go now. Keep working hard, ok? We're proud of you."

The seven of us seemed to move on autopilot, bowing as we exited the room and headed for the van. It wasn't until we were halfway to the dorm when someone finally said something.

"You guys aren't mad at them for basically using us as a cover-up, are you...?" Danni said quietly, looking out the window.

"Surprisingly, not at all," Olivia admitted from the back of the van. "I mean, yes, I know this industry makes some shady decisions, but honestly, I think it worked out better this way. We got a kick- debut and they covered up a scandal... Like Jaehwa said, everybody's happy."

"Same here," I said as I fiddled with my phone. "And there are plenty of other things they brought up during that meeting. I mean, seriously, I'd get a kick out of seeing one of you guys on WGM, let's be honest."

It was like I had flipped a switch with my words; everyone instantly started chattering excitedly, unable to hide their excitement over the staggering amount of information they had given us.

"Oh god, what if one of you guys got paired with some ajusshi?" Soyu yelped, sending us into another round of laughter.

"I'm so excited, we've got so much lined up," Miyoung gushed, bouncing up and down in her seat. "Especially you, Danni, Nature Republic is such a huge deal, your face is going to be EVERYWHERE."

"Why is the youngest one alway the prettiest?" Soyu sighed playfully, Danni's cheek.

"It's 'cuz I'm not old and wrinkly like my unnies yet," Danni laughed, sticking her tongue out.

"Oh, shut up, you'll be like us one day."

"But Soso, you're never gonna age, you're made of plaaastic." Miyoung piped up.

"... You're lucky you're all the way over there, Miyoung, I would've ripped your face off."

"Yeah, I know."

A/N: So! Much has been revealed in terms of characters, including the fact that 1. Danni and Olivia were both in the early Red Velvet lineup (Olivia was pulled pretty quickly because she couldn't dance and Danni survived a bit longer but was eventually placed into Zenith), 2. Soyu has gotten plastic surgery (OOOOOOOOOH), and 3. Saera's boyfriend is Infinite's Sunggyu (OOOOOOOH). Lots of details about the two 'sister groups'.

PS: I'd like for you guys to start suggesting material for WGM! I haven't decided on a couple yet (you can request/suggest a couple in the comment section), but I'd like some suggestions on what you'd guys want in terms of how they first meet, missions, etc. :)