chapter eleven
zenith - sm entertainment's newest girl group! // discontinued...A/N: It seems about time for an update. ^^
To clarify, Luhan is still with EXO at this point. I lied in the last chapter, I'm actually gonna push back the Red Velvet debut. Pushing up the Tao thing by a week or so. And the Choi Siwon CEO thing (ing hilarious, btw). Yeah.
Soyu's POV
"Ulkeok niga bogo sipeun geureonnal
Ulkeok nae mami nae mamdaero an doen nal
Ulkeok ssodajineun naui nunmuri
Haru jongil geudaereul butdeulgo..."
"Ughhh, why does the maknae sound the best?" I whined, nearly throwing my phone across the room in frustration (nah, I'd never do that, my phone is my baby). After returning from Japan, we had spent the past two days in recording studio, finalizing the songs for the album.
Danni was currently in the booth recording her solo, a song we all knew would be in the album no matter what, while Ahkum, Miyoung, Saera, and I all lounged around, waiting for everyone else to show up. Jolie got called for a last-minute cameo on 'Roommate' and Mimi was out tracking down Olivia... She probably just fell asleep somewhere strange, so none of us were worrying.
"Y'know, I would love to be in a scandal just so I could read all the Allkpop comments and laugh," Miyoung mused, her eyes glued to her phone. "Seriously, some of the comments on these threads are hilarious."
"Did you see the 'Choi Siwon should be the CEO of SM Entertainment' thing? That was so ing hilarious!" Saera snorted, turning around in her rolling chair. "Jeez, what would this place be like if he really was the CEO?"
"There would be photos of Siwon's derp faces everywhere," I said, laughing. "In the practice room, in the cafeteria, in the dorms..."
"Even in the girl's bathroom?" Danni laughed from inside the booth.
"Especially in the girl's bathroom."
"Well, and Kris and Jessica and Sulli would be back, we wouldn't have ing ridiculous schedules..." Saera said, counting on her fingers. "We would actually get sleep, we'd be paid a lot more, we wouldn't need to perform if we were barfi-"
We all jumped as the door to the recording studio slammed open and a very pissed Olivia stormed in. Slamming a pile of papers on the table, she took a deep breath before looking at the four of us, who were all frozen in shock (and fear). Even Danni stopped singing, staring at Olivia in shock.
"We can still put suggestions in for the album, right?" Olivia growled, glaring at us.
"U-uh..." Saera stuttered, fumbling for the tentative tracklist. "We're at 15 right now, and SM said they wanted us to put our First Love/Thunder mashup into the alb-"
"Put this one on the list," Olivia said, tossing the thick stack of paper at us. "I'm going to the roof to go blow off some steam."
And with that, she her heel and stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind her. The four of us looked at each other, wondering what the had just happened.
"Um... That actually happened, right?" Danni said, slowly emerging from the booth.
"What the was up with her?" I said, flipping through the stack of paper she had thrown at us. "It takes a lot for her to blow up, so she must be seriously pissed about something."
"It's a guy," Saera declared.
"How'd you come up with that?" Miyoung said, peering over Saera's shoulders.
"Because only a guy can make our Ollie go from writing a love ballad to writing an angry break-up song," Saera said as she sight-read the music. "It seems pretty good, though, and we don't have anything like this on the album right now... I think we should add it."
"Lemme see that," Danni demanded, grabbing one of the papers and reading over the music.
"Neon hangsang ppeonhage daechung daechung naege malhae..." Saera muttered, scanning over the rap. ", this is intense. Who's the dude?"
"I think I know who it is... Poor Ollie..." Ahkum mumbled, staring at her phone.
"Who is it?" I demanded as the four of us scrambled over to her to read the Allkpop headline off her phone.
"... Shut up." Miyoung gasped as we all read the headline.
... Damn.
BREAKING: EXO's Tao seen kissing a woman by Chinese media
Ahkum's POV
Although we all wanted nothing more than to hang out in the studio, Mimi walked in an hour after Olivia stormed out and told Miyoung, Soyu, and I that we were going to go film something. Some group CF or something.
After piling into the van and being on the road for the past hour, however, I was starting to go a bit stir crazy; Soyu and Miyoung would not stop chattering in the backseat and I could definitely feel a headache coming on.
"Mimi, I don't want to sound like a child, but... Are we there yet?" I moaned, leaning my head onto the window.
"Haha, don't worry, Ahkum, we're here." Mimi laughed as she turned down a long road.
"Are we at... Lotte World?" I said, squinting at the huge castle in the distance.
"LOTTE WORLD!" Miyoung shrieked, pressing her face to the window in excitement.
"God, Miyoung, don't do that," Soyu snapped, rubbing her ears. "You just blew out my ing eardrums."
"Sorry."
"So, what are we filming here, Mimi?" I asked as we got out of the car. It wasn't as crowded as it was during the holidays, but there were still a lot of people that started pointing and taking pictures. I smiled meekly and waved, which caused some of the girls in the crowd to start shrieking. The crowd grew larger and larger as people started to crowd us, trying to see three members of SM's newest girl group.
"Ok, just come over here, and we'll get you guys somewhere less crowded," Mimi said as some of the fans started to swarm us. We were quickly ushered away by some burly security guards, and soon found ourselves in a more secluded corner of Lotte World.
"Whoo, that was fun," Soyu remarked, fanning herself. "Let's not do that again, ok?"
"Well, at least we got some good footage," Mimi said as a camera crew suddenly materialized around her. "Just act natural, ok?"
"Act natural? What's going on?" I said, but was soon cut off as the director handed an envelope with a pink bow wrapped around it.
"Open it and read it aloud, please," He said as the cameras continued rolling.
"Um, ok..." I said, untying the bow and opening the letter. My heart started racing as soon as I saw the words 'Congratulations' and 'Virtual marriage', but I managed to keep a composed face as I cleared my throat and began to read the letter aloud.
"'Congratulations!'" I said in my best 'idol voice'. "'One of you has been chosen to be one half of a new couple of Season 4 of We Got Married.'"
"Wahhh!" Soyu and Miyoung shrieked at the same time, jumping up and down in excitement. "One of us is getting married!"
"Yah, you two act like the maknaes sometime, seriously," I said, scanning the rest of the letter. "'Your husband is waiting to meet you somewhere in the park. The name of the new bride is under this pull-away tab. After you find out the name of the new bride, you will recieve something your new husband wants you to have.'"
"Ooh, moment of truth," Miyoung said, bouncing up and down. "Who wants to pull it?"
"Cilla, you do it," I said, handing the letter to her. "I'm too nervous."
"Ahaha, alright," Soyu said, eagerly taking the letter. "On three, ok?"
"Just do it already," Miyoung said, shaking Soyu's shoulders. "The suspense is killing me!"
"Alright, alright!" Soyu laughed, gently pulling on the pull-away tab. "One... Two... THREE!"
Soyu ripped away the piece of plastic covering the name of the bride in one swift motion. Peering at the hangul, one name stared back at us:
'Shang Ahkum'
"Ahkum's getting married! Ahkum's getting married!" Soyu and Miyoung sang, dancing around. I simply buried my face into my hands. Mimi, the PD-nim, and the camera crew all assumed it was from excitement or embarrassment, and they all laughed at my actions. I knew, however, that Soyu and Miyoung knew exactly what was going through my head right now, and their happy demeanor was simply masking their shock or worriedness.
"Ohmygod..." I mumbled into my hands. What the hell was I going to do? How would I tell Jonghyun? How would he react?
"Ahkum-ah, congratulations," The PD-nim said, handing another envelope to me. "Your husband wanted you to have these, they'll help you find him in the park."
"Bwoh? What are these?" Soyu said, peering over my shoulder as I opened the envelope.
"They're... photographs." I said, leafing through the packet of photos I had just recieved. There were a lot of shots of the Han River, a couple on a playground, and a few others from places I didn't recognize.
"Yeah, they're nice," Miyoung said. "Hey, that one's from here!"
"Hmmm?" I said, pulling out the one Miyoung had singled out.
"Yeah!" Soyu chimed in. "That's the Giant Loop ride on the first floor."
"Hmmm..." I said, inspecting the photo. I flipped the photo over and was surprised to see a note written on the back.
"Oh, hey, look at that!" Miyoung said. "Read it, Ahkum."
"Yah, I was going to, hold your horses," I said, poking her. "Ahem... 'Annyeong! This is your new husband. I'm very excited to meet you and I hope you are as well. ^^ This photograph is your clue as to where I am hiding. I'll give you one hint: my hobby is photography. Aigoo, that's not a very good hint, is it? I'll give you another one: I'm a singer! <3'"
"Awww..." Soyu cooed. "That's adorable. Do you recognize the handwriting?"
"Nope..." I said. "So, I guess we're off to the Giant Loop?"
Tucking the rest of the photos back into the envelope, I linked arms with Soyu and Miyoung. The three of us began walking towards the giant loop, my stomach churning the entire way there.
"Hey, is that him?" Soyu said, pointing at a figure loitering near the Giant Loop. As we drew closer, he turned around and spotted the three of us walking towards him and smiled.
"Ahh, annyeonghaseyo!" He said cheerfully, bowing. The three of us immediately bowed back as Miyoung and Soyu started getting excited once again.
"Wahhh! You're Boyfriend's Hyunseong!" Miyoung said, clapping her hands. "I loved your MV for 'Obsession'!"
"Ah, thank you so much," Hyunseong laughed, rubbing the back of his head in embarrasment. "I loved your debut MV, you girls really are something special. Are you the new wife?"
"No, that's this one," Soyu said, shoving me forward.
"A-ah... Annyeonghaseyo..." I said, bowing again. Hyunseong smiled before noticing the photograph in my hands.
"Oh? What's that?" Hyunseong said, motioning to the photo.
"It's something you sent me...?" I said, looking up at him. "Isn't your hobby... photography?"
"Haha, sorry, it's not," Hyunseong said apologetically. "My hobby is reading books."
"Then that means..." Soyu said, putting two and two together. "You're not the husband?!"
"Bingo," Hyunseong said, producing another photograph from the pocket of his jeans. "Sorry for not telling you, Ahkum-ssi, but I was just a decoy. Here's your second clue."
"Oh man..." I moaned as I accepted the second photograph. "How many more decoys are there?"
"Sorry, but I can't tell you that," Hyunseong said. "Even I don't know who the real husband is. I've gotta go know, but good luck with your marriage, Ahkum-ssi."
"Thank you," I said, smiling. The three of us bowed once again as Hyunseong waved and walked off with his manager.
"He was sweet," Miyoung said. "I wouldn't have minded having him as my husband."
"Yah, who's the one getting married here?" I said, playfully poking Soyu on the cheek as I read the note on the back of the photograph. "'I guess saying that I'm a singer was too broad of a hint... Sorry. ^^ Here's my second clue: I'm the leader of my group!'"
"That means he's an idol!" Soyu chirped.
"Or he could be in a rock or indie band," I said.
"Yeah, but an idol is way more likely," Miyoung objected. "Pairing up a famous idol with another famous idol is like gold for the ratings, right, PD-nim?"
"Haha, that's true," The PD-nim laughed from where he was standing.
"Anyways, where to this time?" Soyu said, flipping over the photograph once again. "Is that... A shark?"
"A shark..." Miyoung said, tapping her chin thoughfully. "Where do they have sharks here? I haven't been to Lotte World in such a long time, I don't remember..."
"Oh!" I said, snapping my fingers. "The Jumping Fish attraction! Remember, you have to jump over that shark to get out of there?"
"Nice one, Ahkum!" Miyoung said as we high-fived. "Well, c'mon, let's not keep your husband waiting."
"Or decoy husband," Soyu said as we set off for the Jumping Fish. "Who knows how many more decoys there could be?"
As we approached the Jumping Fish, there was once again a man standing outside, waiting for something (or someone). As he turned towards us, I got a glimpse of the messy brown hair and cute eye smile signature to the leader of Woollim's most famous boy group before Soyu sprinted towards him, nearly knocking him off his feet.
"Whoa, Cilla!" Sunggyu laughed as she barreled into him. "Are you my new wife? You're so enthusiastic, it's amazing."
"What's your hobby?" Soyu demanded as Miyoung and I approached the two of them, bowing. "Is it photography?"
"My hobby?" Sunggyu said, an imaginary beard. "Hmmm... Well, I could call a lot of things my hobby, but I guess my hobby would be sleeping."
"Ohhh," Soyu sighed, attemping to hide a look of relief. "You're not the husband, are you?"
"Nope, sorry," Sunggyu said, producing another photograph. "But your real husband wanted me to give you this. Good luck on your marriage, Ahkum-ssi, and congratulations on your debut. Infinite will be cheering you girls on, ok?"
"Thank you!" We all chorused as Sunggyu waved and walked away, whistling.
"Oh god, my heart cannot take this," I gasped, clutching my chest. "Can we just go home, please?"
"What, and leave your new husband hanging?" Miyoung said. "No way, we're gonna meet this guy. C'mon, what does the photo say?"
"'You girls are really having a hard time, aren't you? I thought I was giving good hints.'" I read. "'Alright, this is your last hint: I am signed to a company that is a part of the Big 3.'"
"Ohmygod!" Miyoung gasped, reading the note over my shoulder. "That means he could be from SM!"
"Yeah, but what are the odds that'll happen?" I said, flipping the picture over to inspect the actual photo taken. "Everyone knows that SM would never let me get virtually married to one of our 'brothers', the members of Super Junior are a bit too old for this show, and SHINee's already been super prominent with WGM..."
"So it's got to be a YG or JYP artist," Soyu concluded. "Who do you think it could be?"
"Probably WINNER or GOT7, quite honestly," I said, a knot growing in my stomach. "Which means... It's either Seunghoon or JB."
"Well, don't go jumping to conclusions, young lady," Soyu said, playfully waggling a finger at me. "We won't know until we meet him. Are you ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be," I said. "To the merry-go-round?"
"To the merry-go-round!" Soyu and Miyoung declared, grabbing my hands and pulling me towards the large merry-go-round in the center of Lotte World.
"Ok, whatever you do, don't freak out," Miyoung said, speaking softly so the cameras couldn't hear what we were saying. "You need to look happy with whoever you're marrying. Worry about Jonghyun later, ok?"
"Ok," I said as we closed in on our destination.
"I see him," Soyu said, pointing towards a lone figure standing near the merry-go-round. "Go on."
"Aren't you two gonna come with me?" I said, panicking.
"You should meet him by yourself," Miyoung said. "We'll come over later."
"Ok," I said, taking a deep breath. "Well, here I go."
Walking towards my new husband, my thoughts were not on my new husband but on Jonghyun. What was I going to do? He was going to get so pissed seeing me with another man, especially if it was-
"Ah, hello, Ahkum."
... Him.
"H-hello, JB."
For Cosmos who have been wondering about the We Got Married rumors, the wait is finally over! Zenith's leader, Ahkum, has been paired with GOT7's leader, JB, for the newest couple on We Got Married.
SEE ALSO: BREAKING: EXO's Tao seen kissing a women by Chinese media
SM Entertainment reported that they were able to keep Ahkum's participation a secret from everyone, including Ahkum herself, up until the day of the filming, a remarkable feat. Ahkum, along with groupmates Cilla and Miyoung, spend the day at Lotte World, using photographs and handwritten notes to find Ahkum's husband, JB. Netizens have already been dubbing the new couple 'The Leader Couple', 'The Jaekum Couple', and 'The Rookie Couple'.
Check out the episode here if you haven't already watched it. Are you excited for this new idol couple?
Comments