chapter fifteen
〈 ♞ 〉NIGHT CIRCUS03 NOVEMBER 2015
03:04 AM CST
03:04 AM CST
THE FIFTEENTH CHAPTER
Walking through the streets in Beijing at three in the morning is considerably different than walking through the streets in Seoul at three in the morning. There are less people wandering the streets at this time, most of them young adults by the looks of it, and there are fewer restaurants that are open to allow for late night snacking– or maybe they’re walking down the wrong streets. It creates a different type of ambiance, one that allows for some deep thinking, and Jaesun thinks this current video they’re filming is a little boring compared to the others they’ve uploaded to their YouTube page previously. Right now, he’s trailing after Hyemi and Suhwan. He can’t tell if they’re talking to each other or not, but they’re huddled in close together like they are.
For this recording, their mission given by their managers is to film a video in their every day lives. It’s to give a glimpse of their true selves to their future fans and Jaesun isn’t sure if he’s excited about it or not yet. None of them are overbearingly funny or loud. More than half of them are the quiet types, letting their actions speak louder than their words, and he’s starting to think that, maybe, this won’t go well for future promotions and variety shows.
But he continues to film them, as they turn a corner, and he’s surprised to find Lu Han’s face plastered to the glass window of what looks like a cell phone store. It’s a fairly large picture, making him sidestep and bump into Seungheon’s shoulder right next to him to see it clearly, and he does a double take between his friend and the picture of his other friend. This is possibly the fourth time he’s seen Lu Han’s face somewhere in Beijing. “What in the world?” he mutters, before he’s looking over his shoulder to try and catch Min’s attention. She’s too busy fighting off Jiwool’s excited fingers, resorting to hiding behind Sookhyun next to them, and, well, maybe he can ask her about it later.
“I didn’t think he was that popular around here,” Seungheon says, catching Jaesun’s attention easily. He lifts an arm to rest around his shoulders, hand gripping on loosely to his shirt to keep it from sliding off, and he takes one last look at the retreating picture before sighing and leaning so his head rests against Jaesun’s shoulder instead. “He looks like a normal guy every time I see him.”
Jaesun laughs at the comment, still holding the camera up to record Hyemi and Suhwan. The managers will probably delete this part of the conversation. “Don’t we look like normal people?” he asks in turn, hearing Seungheon grunt in response. “It is strange though. He has some weird supernatural power when it comes to China.”
Seungheon hums, noncommittally, probably confusedly, before falling into silence. Jaesun side-eyes him, not really able to see him completely from how close they’re standing next to each other, but he does turn the camera away from the two in front to record themselves. He makes sure to flip the side-camera to monitor their appearances.
“We’re still wandering the wonderful streets of Beijing,” Jaesun comments, giving the camera a smile. “Seungheon here looks a bit tired, but that could also be his normal appearance.”
Seungheon scoffs, though he does throw a peace sign up against his own cheek. “It’s a bit late, but nothing we’re not used to.” He smiles then, dropping his hand. “Don’t we look cute together?”
Without realizing, Jaesun flushes a soft pink, laughing, as he shoves Seungheon away. It only causes his friend to laugh before he’s rushing back into the view of the camera. “You’re going to give them the wrong impression,” Jaesun says anyways, wonders how this is going to affect the video and everybody who watches it. He turns back to the camera, losing his giddy expression almost immediately. “I take up about ninety percent of that cute,” he says seriously, before he bursts out laughing again when Seungheon shouts, “Hey!”
Seungheon turns to the camera next, grabbing it out of Jaesun’s hands. “As you can tell, I am just as attractive as everyone else on the planet. Jaesun, here, does not take up ninety percent of our cute combined.” He turns the camera to Jaesun who’s laughing and trying to move out of the camera’s line of sight. “He’s one of our shy leaders. Although, I didn’t think he’s shy to begin with,” Seungheon muses, before turning and walking backwards to film the crew behind them. He smiles when Jaesun keeps a hand on his back to keep him from running into anything. “Our other leader is right there,” he introduces, zooming in on Min who’s returned to walking between Sookhyun and Jiwool. Her arm is looped with Sookhyun’s, who’s looking down at his cell phone, but she’s talking to Jiwool. “Min-noona is the quieter of the two leaders, even Jaesun think so, and can seem super serious, but she has a good way with people. She’s super nice and kind–”
“Wait,” Jaesun cuts off, Seungheon turning the camera to face him next. “What about me?”
“You’re the one who’s cute,” Seungheon answers easily, before turning the camera back to Min who finally notices them. She’s staring at them confused, before she’s waving, making the other two next to her smile and wave excitedly in turn. “She’s the super pretty one though.”
“Your love for me is so strong,” Jaesun deadpans, before they’re both laughing and Seungheon is adding in, “Jaesun is like my brother. I can speak English with him– Did you know he has an English accent when he speaks in English?”
Jaesun snorts, before he’s speaking in English. “Wouldn’t I have an English accent if I spoke in English?”
“Did you hear it?” Seungheon asks excitedly, before he’s calling Jiwool over. “His accent is like the British kind. While our main dancer Jiwool here also speaks English, she doesn’t have an accent like his.”
Jaesun looks over to Jiwool, where they both share a confused expression, before they’re speaking in English to each other. “I don’t know what he’s talking about,” Jaesun comments, though, he really does understand what Seungheon is talking about. He just wants to make it a little difficult for him.
“I don’t have an accent,” Jiwool confirms, though she’s poking Jaesun in the back too. “You obviously do, oppa.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jaesun repeats, laughing, before they accidentally run into Hyemi and Suhwan who’ve stopped walking to stare at them confused. He offers them a wide smile as he takes the camera back from Seungheon to focus the video on them too. “What were you two up to?” he asks, watching as Hyemi shrugs and Suhwan stares at all of them briefly before settling on a point behind them.
“We were just enjoying the walk,” Hyemi answers, before she’s turning and smiling at Suhwan. “Beijing is a really nice place.”
“It is,” Suhwan agrees, before he’s walking past them to go straight to Min and Sookhyun.
Jaesun chuckles, at Suhwan’s actions, because he’s found that’s what he’s been doing recently. If he’s uncomfortable or wants some type of attention that’s not meant to be out in the open, he tends to go to Min and Sookhyun. “A lot of people may know Hyemi here from the underground rapper scene, along with Seungheon–“
“Oh, did you know Hyemi and I actually bumped into each other once or twice before we met again in the company? We would have shows that would run into each other’s slots, but we didn’t know much except for each other’s stage names,” Seungheon discloses, smiling, as he holds up a fist and he and Hyemi casually bump the sides of their knuckles together. “A lot of us actually knew each other before we joined the company.”
“Anyways,” Jaesun stresses, causing laughter to erupt from all of them. He points the camera to Min, Suhwan, and Sookhyun again, all of them hovering back so they’re not right in front of the camera. “Suhwan is the quietest amongst us,” he introduces, trying to point up at Suhwan in front of the lens so it looks like he’s poking his cheek instead. “He doesn’t speak much, but he’s trying. It looks like he’s our maknae, but he’s actually a year older than Sookhyunnie over there.”
There are another round of waves and smiles, before Jaesun is turning the camera back to himself. He loops an arm around Jiwool’s shoulders, bringing her in close, before Hyemi and Seungheon are trying to make it into the shot too. “Well, I think that covers everybody?” he says, before he’s pointing to everyone next to him and poking his and her cheek. “Our sun, Matilda. Our empress, Hyemi. Our fool, Kieow. Our magician, Jae,” and then he turns the camera to the other three. “Our lovers, Sookhyun. Our strength, Suhwan. And our sun, Min, whose hometown we’re in and she’s having fun.” He turns the camera back to themselves, bright smile on his face. “I guess that’s it. We hope you like our completely random and introductory video! Look forward to our upcoming projects!” Jiwool winks at the camera. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he calls, out, laughing when the three surrounding him shout out their greeting with him. Min, Suhwan, and Sookhyun laugh, copying them a beat too late. “We’re Night Circus!”
When Jaesun wakes up the next morning, he’s tired. He doesn’t want to open his eyes or move from his bed, but he hears quiet shuffling in the room. It’s like the other person is fixing his things and he actively listens in next to hear Suhwan is softly singing something underneath his breath. It sounds like he’s singing their song Light and Jaesun can’t help but groan, flip over in bed, so he can open his eyes and see what his roommate is doing so early in the morning.
“Hyung, it’s seven-thirty,” Suhwan murmurs, staring at him curiously. Jaesun doesn’t know why, since Suhwan doesn’t really hold eye contact for more than a few seconds, but then the time clicks and he jolts up in bed, eyes widening and watching as Suhwan starts to dissolve into a bunch of laughter and giggles. “It’s time to get up. Noona said we have to go for an interview soon.”
“It’s seven-thirty?” Jaesun repeats, quickly searching for his phone to find it on the charger. His little alarm clock symbol is gone from the screen and he looks to Suhwan, confused and still not ready to take on the day quite yet. “What happened to my alarm?”
Suhwan frowns before turning to put on his jacket and find his ear buds. “I was in the shower when I heard it go off. When I turned off the water, it was quiet again. I thought you turned it off.”
Within seconds, Jaesun is groaning and rushing out of bed. He grabs whatever he thinks looks good before he’s hopping into the shower and making sure his appearance is somewhat presentable before leaving the bathroom again. His hair is wet, still a little damp after he towel dries it the best he can, and hopes Seungheon is willing to fix his hair by the time he’s leading Suhwan out of their hotel room to meet the rest downstairs. Seungheon isn’t there yet but everyone else is and he winces when Jeanne gives him a judging look.
“I can’t believe you came down here with your hair all over the place,” Min comments, once she’s turned around from talking to the managers to see whom else have arrived. When Jaesun gives her a sheepish smile, he walks up next to her before leaning over so she can help fix his hair for him. “And you’re late. You’d think I’d be the late one, English boy.”
Jaesun gasps, mostly for dramatic effect. “I can’t believe you’re calling me that again, Minnie.” He laughs when she smacks him on the arm. “Nice to see you again.” It’s supposed to have a hidden meaning, trying to let her know that he knows she’s been acting weird lately, but Min just grumbles nonsense next to him. He turns his attention to the two amused managers in front of him. “What have I missed?” he asks, suddenly feeling more hands in his hair. He tries and looks over to see Jeanne helping Min fix it for him and now he doesn’t understand why it takes two people to fix his hair. Did he mess it up that badly?
“We were just discussing what might pop up in the interview today,” Sunyoung informs, laughing when Jeanne pulls on a few strands of Jaesun’s hair, making him flinch. “They might ask about your pre-debut experiences or what you feel now that you’ve actually debuted. They might ask about your relationship with each other or know of any others outside of the group.”
“They’re definitely going to ask about the company,” Hyunchul adds in, giving each of them a pointed stare. “We can’t reveal the identities of the CEOs yet,” he reminds, “You’re allowed to give general information about the company and the rest of the board, but other than that, you’re not allowed to reveal their identities.”
“Oh,” Jaesun mumbles, feeling Min gently pat his head, before he’s standing up straight again. He winces as he twists and turns to loosen up the muscles in his back before sharing a look with Min. “We understand.”
“Yeah,” Min echoes, giving them a small smile. “We understand.”
Their managers give them a look, seeming to assess their reactions, and Jaesun doesn’t really get what’s happening before they’re smiling and appearing pleased with their answers. Though, they really haven’t given any answers. In fact, they should know that if all of them were able to keep their secrets as a trainee for so long, then they could still keep their secrets of the CEOs’ identities.
Suddenly, Jaesun feels a hand wrap itself around his elbow before he’s being pulled away. He looks over to see Min dragging him back to the rest of the group and he notices belatedly that she looks abnormally taller than the day before. She’s wearing her special Nike shoes again and he wonders when they’re going to change into their outfits needed for this interview. Wait, are they already…?
“Let’s do a quick recap,” Min announces, once Seungheon and Sookhyun finally walk up to their group. The rest of them are still standing, uncertain whether they can sit or not, but Jaesun suspects it’s to help them stay awake. They didn’t get back to the hotel until four in the morning and even then, getting ready for bed and actually falling asleep took another hour.
“If there’s a question we’re unsure of, we deflect it to you or Jaesun-oppa,” Jiwool immediately answers, trying to stifle a yawn behind her hand.
“If a question is solely directed on us and we don’t know how to answer it, we’ll send a look your way or try our best to answer it,” Hyemi adds in, shifting slightly from foot to foot where she stands. “They’re going to ask each of us a question, probably.”
“Yeah,” Jaesun says, catching up quickly with the conversation. He looks to each of them briefly before he wracks his brain for some of the questions they’ve been asked routinely over the years. “We’ve heard that KB Entertainment is considered a new company, started within the last few years, and that you’re the first artists to debut under this brand. Have you felt pressured because of this?”
“Honestly, I have at times,” Seungheon answers, the tired lines of his face disappearing almost immediately, the light in his eyes returning as he sheds most of his off-stage persona. “We’re considered the role models in our company. Jaesun, Min, and Jiwool were there when it first started, so I’ve imagined they have more pressure than we do trying to set a positive example for the rest of us and the rest of the trainees. Especially, for Jaesun, he’s the first ever trainee with KB Entertainment. Min was the second and Jiwool was the third, and they’re all foreigners starting up this company together by being the first trainees.”
The answer shocks Jaesun, staring at his friend amazed, because he never thought this was going through Seungheon’s mind. He doesn’t even know if this answer is okay to say in an interview– their first interview. Next to him, Min is looking at Seungheon, similarly and simultaneously confused and amazed at once.
But Seungheon only smiles at them, nodding towards Jaesun next. “He’s better suited to answer this question, I’d think.”
Sookhyun smiles next, sharing a look with Hyemi and Suhwan who’re staring at them curiously. “According to what Seungheon said, it sounds like you were indeed under some type of pressure. Have you felt any while training under KB Entertainment?”
Jaesun wants to ask when did the youngest start questioning him like this, so open and so sure of himself, but then he remembers that this is a mock interview and they’re all staring at him expectantly. He hasn’t really thought of this being asked as a question. “KB Entertainment had been in discussion and in various stages of planning for a couple of years before it officially became a company in 2012. Back then, the company only had the board members. They knew how to scout for trainees, but I was surprised to be recruited as the first one. I personally didn’t feel pressured, but it was strange meeting Min for the first time and then Jiwool. Together, I felt like we concentrated on working hard and improving ourselves rather than seeing it as an opportunity to feel pressured in any way. It’s the same as it is now. I believe the role model status intrinsically becomes a part of all of it.”
Suddenly, someone lightly slaps his arm and he looks over, surprised, to see Min and Jiwool smiling brightly at him. “How strange was it meeting us?” Jiwool asks, staring at him expectantly, slightly amused.
“Well, first of all, I didn’t know Min knew Korean,” Jaesun answers with a laugh. The rest of the group bursts into laughter as well, even Min, staring at him amused. “So, I tried talking to her in broken Chinese and mostly English.”
“And then I spoke to you in flawless Korean,” Min interrupts, laughing when Jaesun pushes her back.
“It wasn’t flawless, you liar,” he says, face flushing hot in embarrassment. “Your Korean was as broken as my Chinese.”
“Now, who’s the liar?”
There’s more laughter, with Jaesun and Min poking fun at each other, and Jaesun can’t help but laugh some more when Jiwool tugs on his arm, demands that he answer her question. So, he smiles at her as he places a hand on her head, letting it slide down until he’s gently cradling the back of her neck. “I heard you would’ve debuted with Red Velvet if you stayed with SM. With Min, I was told she auditioned for two companies before being recruited for KB. With you, I was told you were specifically with SM for about five years and that you were born in Canada though you were Korean. I was a little intimidated but also intrigued.”
The smile that blooms on Jiwool’s face is satisfaction. She’s pleased with his answer and she laughs to try and brush it all away. “I wouldn’t have debuted with Red Velvet, oppa,” she says instead, trying to correct him. “They said I was supposed to debut with f(x), but I didn’t. Then EXO debuted.”
“And then Red Velvet,” Jaesun adds on, smiling, even as Hyunchul and Sunyoung are calling their attention because their van finally arrived. “I’ve heard some things from back then,” he informs, mysteriously, pleased that Jiwool is looking at him surprised. Apparently, she didn’t know. “It was you, Irene, and Seulgi who were the best dancers then, right? You would’ve probably made it into Red Velvet, especially with Wendy being Canadian too.”
“Really?” Sookhyun asks, looking over to Jiwool curiously, and Jaesun simply smiles before he starts chuckling. He tries to gather the rest of the team into going with the managers and it’s only with Min physically pushing Jiwool and Sookhyun that they get going and get settled in the large van.
Behind him, Sookhyun and Jiwool are discussing what it would’ve been like if they stayed with their respective companies, how he and Sookhyun could’ve made it into VIXX if they stayed long enough and proved themselves worthy to be in the group. But then, they start talking about how they might not have met otherwise and become good friends. If Jaesun didn’t leave, maybe Min would’ve been the first trainee at KB Entertainment. Maybe the group would’ve consisted of Min, Seungheon, Shinsuke, Kisumi, Hyemi, and Suhwan. Maybe they would’ve been a six-membered group instead– maybe four.
Jaesun takes the chance to look around the van, to see Min quietly talking to the driver so he can concentrate on the road, and then Hyemi who is trying to talk around him to get the managers’ attention about something he can’t focus on right now. Jeanne is trying to fix Seungheon’s hair because something is apparently out of place and Yongha is minding his own business with Suhwan next to him. He wonders what it would’ve been like if it wasn’t this group debuting with him, if he debuted with VIXX instead in 2012. It would’ve been fun, but this group wouldn’t be Night Circus without all of them.
“What are you thinking of?” Hyemi asks, finally settling down in her seat next to him and giving him a curious look. “It’s like you’re in deep thought.” Her words catch Seungheon’s attention next and he looks over from Jeanne messing with his head, staring at them as if trying to figure out the situation.
Jaesun shrugs noncommittally, settling back in his chair, and waits for Min to sit down and relax too. She’s a habitual cell phone user, always checking it whenever she has the chance in private, and he thinks it’s because she’s been away from home for so long. She likes to check to make sure everything in her home city, with her family and friends, is going well. It looks like she might’ve received messages too, if the way she’s tapping away at it with her thumbs is any indication.
“Anything you want to talk about?” Hyemi ventures further, making sure.
“It’s just strange,” Jaesun answers, catching Min’s attention easily. “How we all came together as Night Circus. Just last week, we were simple trainees with the promise of debut. Now, we’re new idols singing a song you created, singing Light as a b-side track to give back hope.”
It takes a moment for the words to sink in, but then the corners of Min’s lips twitch upwards, almost as if in a smirk, before she speaks next. “It is, right? Just yesterday, I was meeting you for the first time and amused you couldn’t get the right words out. I was just auditioning with JYP and SM Entertainment and was told I couldn’t continue because my voice wasn’t right, my rapping was subpar, and I couldn’t dance very well.”
“I couldn’t even sing correctly,” Jaesun muses, staring at her for a moment, before looking out the window. “There was a lot we couldn’t do before.”
Min hums, agreeing with him, and he doesn’t mean for it to happen, but the entire van starts to go silent after that, not noticing Jiwool’s frown from seats over. He gets lost in his thoughts, thinking about his time with Jellyfish Entertainment, about his parents wishing he quit the trainee life because he wasn’t getting anywhere with it. He couldn’t help support his parents or his brothers, but he spent so much time training already. And then he auditioned for Kpop Star 2 and couldn’t make it to the finals because he couldn’t sing.
But as fate would have it, he did have something someone was looking for. The CEO of KB Entertainment approached him, surprising him more than the judges saying he wouldn’t make it if he competed with the others around him, and offered to help him become a better singer. He was told he would be given a spot in a future group with a pending name. All that the board knew at the time was that the name would have to do with tarot cards and, well, Jaesun wanted his dream.
Now, he’s here, waiting inside the van with the rest of the group as Hyunchul and Min go in and check with the staff of the Sina building. They don’t have enough money for a translator–they don’t even have enough money to be properly paid–so he assumes the KB board is ecstatic Min is willing to translate for them. It’s probably one of the reasons why she was recruited since she worked as a university translator part-time while training. He just hopes she doesn’t become overwhelmed with the extra workload. They only have another day and a half in Beijing anyways– Oh, has she even had time to see her parents yet?
By the time they come back, Jaesun has changed his shirt and his jacket. Thankfully, he was already wearing his black jeans since that morning, sending Suhwan a grateful look when he realizes he laid it out for him earlier, and all he had to do was change his upper garments. For the rest of the group, he’s surprised to see they’re all already wearing what they’re supposed to be wearing: a mixture of red, silver, and black. All they had to do was switch jackets to help all of them coordinate a bit better. When he realizes what’s happened, he’s the last one getting out of the van with Jeanne and Yongha looking mighty proud of themselves.
“All we need to do is put some makeup on all of you and you’ll be good to go,” Jeanne murmurs quietly, before Sunyoung and Min are leading the way into the building. Hyunchul stays behind with the van, to make sure their items are secured, and Jaesun follows the rest of the guys into the men’s bathroom where Yongha is pulling out all he needs to make them look more presentable.
In the women’s bathroom next door, it’s practically the same. Jeanne is putting makeup on Min first, to be able to finish faster and stand outside for the rest of the group, and then it’s Jiwool. Jiwool closes her eyes to allow the magic happen, feeling light pats and drags of brushes and liners against her face, before she feels a pat on her arm and she’s moving aside. Makeup always does wonders, in her opinion, and she can’t help but stare at her reflection as Jeanne finishes putting makeup on Hyemi last.
Their makeup is modeled after their first performance. It’s simply toned down and Jiwool is relieved to see that Jaesun only has the black diamond around his eye and not the bright pink lips. Though, it still does look strange on him even after everything’s happened.
The room they entered in looks familiar. Jiwool can’t place her finger on it, but she knows she’s seen this room before. With the large screen television off to the side, colored walls, and the high white chairs, it pulls at a memory within Jiwool she can’t tug completely free. Well, that’s strange.
“Jaesun,” Min quietly calls, catching all of their attention, because this is her territory and Jiwool doesn’t know enough Mandarin for this. “Sit on the other end. I’ll sit here closest to the MC.”
If this is the arrangement they’re going to go, then Jiwool definitely knows where she needs to be. They’ve had to go through three whole days of trying to get all their positions correct, switching it up last minute if they needed to, and she takes her spot in the middle of the group. From Min to Jaesun, left to right, it should be Min, Suhwan, Sookhyun–because it brings most comfort to Suhwan apparently, in unknown situations–, Jiwool, Seungheon, Hyemi, and Jaesun. It’s a strange formation, but the managers and board members found it works best to help cover every language and obstacle being flung into their paths.
So, Jiwool waits. She waits and watches as staff members flutter about and Jeanne and Yongha come up to them to give last-minute touch-ups under the different lighting. She listens in to everyone around her, tries to recognize the foreign words being spoken next to her, and she looks to the group on both sides of her.
Min is currently talking to Suhwan and Sookhyun, trying to distract them by talking about food and sports–or what little she knows of it, thanks to Lu Han–and Jaesun is talking to Hyemi and Seungheon about more music and practicing to make sure everything is okay. They’re all busy and she thinks about what’s going to happen later, how long will this interview last, because she’s pretty sure she’s already received a couple of text messages from Junmyeon and Chanyeol since early that morning. She just hasn’t been able to check with how busy they’ve been since yesterday.
Before she knows it, she’s watching as a different woman from the usual staff members walk up to where they are. She quickly follows her leaders as they stand and bow and she automatically follows Min when she says, “Hello, we’re Night Circus!” She can understand the woman thanking them for their smile and returning their gestures and Jiwool smiles in return as the woman sits in the MC’s chair first before they follow her lead.
There’s small talk between Min and the MC before they’re officially starting. Automatically, Jiwool straightens her back, her entire posture, like the rest of her members. They do their proper greeting after the MC makes hers, making sure to keep eye contact with the camera, before settling in their seats again. She smiles and nods when appropriate and she’s surprised she understands a little more of the conversation than she initially thought.
“After a long trainee period and reported delay with debut, how does it feel to be performing on stage for the first time?” the MC asks, and Jiwool looks over to Min as she answers for them, surprised the MC knows they actually did have a delay with their debut and that they did have a long trainee period compared to some.
“We haven’t had a proper showcase yet,” Min answers. “But after our first stage ended, it felt exciting and worrisome, because it’s the first of many. We still have a long way to go, but we’re definitely going to be worker harder to improve ourselves every day.” She looks to them next. In particular, Sookhyun, Jiwool, Seungheon, and Jaesun, and Jiwool nods as she adds in slightly accented Mandarin, “It is exciting to finally be on stage. Though, we agree with Min-jie. We will continue to work harder to produce better stages.”
The MC nods, pleased with the answer; though, she looks surprised with Jiwool and her Mandarin. “Your Mandarin is very good,” she comments, shocking Jiwool into paying more attention to catch her words. “How have you studied? Are the other members able to speak as well?”
“I get a lot of help from Min-jie,” Jiwool answers carefully, slowly, as she looks over to Min who’s smiling at her encouragingly. “I self-study also.”
“Our members have a diverse language scope,” Min adds in, gesturing to Seungheon down the line. “They are all diligently learning Mandarin to better communicate with our fans. Most of our members are also able to speak English, so we have more opportunities to create wonderful connections with those all around us.”
“So, who’s Chinese is the best amongst all of you, except Min?”
“It should be Jiwool,” Jaesun pipes up in Korean, causing Jiwool to gape and look to her other leader surprised. It only causes laughter amongst the rest of them.
“But really, Min-jie’s Chinese is the best,” Jiwool sputters out, only causing more laughter.
“You’ve completed your first week of activities,” the MC continues with a smile. “Do you have much more planned? Do you plan to promote in China as well?”
Jiwool instantly looks to Min, wondering how she’ll answer that question, because she still doesn’t know how one promotes in China. It didn’t go well with EXO-M, and all the other groups she knows is popular in China never actually did promote. The only person she knows has been successful is Yixing.
“Yes, we have a lot more planned,” Min answers, looking around all of them to Jaesun before translating the question. Jiwool watches as Jaesun’s mouth falls open the slightest bit before he nods in understanding and starts speaking in Korean next.
“We plan to have several more weeks of promotions for our debut and to be as active as possible. At the end of our promotions, we have a special secret in store for those who have discovered us and those who are just finding out about us then, as an introduction and thank you.”
Jiwool turns and they all watch as Min takes the time to translate what Jaesun just said. The MC is nodding and agreeing, smiling, and then Min is saying something else that Jiwool barely understands.
“We plan to promote in China as well,” Min says. “We have recorded all of our songs in Chinese and have also decided which tracks should exclusively be in Chinese or in Korean.”
“Will you have any plans to be guests on any shows in China?”
That catches Jiwool’s attention, looking to Min curiously while trying to translate to Sookhyun and Seungheon what the MC just said.
“If the producers and actors and actresses are willing to have us as guests on their shows, then we will accept with a thankful heart and work hard to produce great results.”
Min doesn’t say anything about going on shows by herself, and Jiwool doesn’t know if she should feel relieved or not. She knows one of the only reasons EXO is so popular in China is because Yixing is a constant figure in Go Fighting! She doesn’t know about other groups. The other groups are usually more popular in Japan.
“Do you have any plans to act or do any musicals in the future?”
“If the opportunity arises, then I will take the challenge,” Jiwool automatically answers, only realizing what she’s just said when Min and Sookhyun quietly agree with her with nods. “But we just hope to continue to better ourselves and improve more with our music.”
“How do the members bond together? This is a strange set-up for a group, so I imagine bonding for all of you might be different than other groups previously.”
“If you are talking about the genders of our group, then we really don’t see a difference,” Min says with a soft laugh. “We still hang out, talk, and practice together as much as we can like with any other group.” She turns then, to translate the question and comment to the rest of the group, and Jiwool smiles as Seungheon pipes up in Korean next to her.
“We don’t live in the same dorm because of obvious reasons. We still live in our separate apartments with family members or friends, but we like to spend our time in the practice room of our company. We tend to spend more time there than anywhere else because we like being in each other’s presence. Even if we have the day off, we’ll show up in the practice room and text the others where they are.”
“Sometimes, we do go out and hang out at cafes owned by our family members,” Jaesun adds on, “Or we’ll go for walks throughout the city or along the Han River.”
“It’s rare when we become tired of each other since we don’t actually live together,” Min continues, after translating what Seungheon and Jaesun said. Jiwool wonders if it’s difficult to translate like that. “During these times, we also just talk. Open communication is important between all of us to have good performances since we tend to do a lot of stunts and rely on each other to be where we need to be while dancing.”
Jiwool tries not to hum at that, because just last night something was obviously going on with Min and only Lu Han knows about it. She’s thought about asking Minseok about it, but she’s too scared to. She doesn’t know if he knows anything about it and if he doesn’t, he’s going to freak out and demand her to find out. She’s not going to be all up on that anytime soon.
“In your company, you are considered the seniors. You are the first group to debut, but your manners are commendable.”
“The traditions between Korea and China are a little different but also similar,” Min answers. “In Korea, we are taught manners are important. It’s become ingrained in us to have great mannerisms and polite greetings every time we meet someone new.”
Sookhyun suddenly raises his hand, and Jiwool looks to him curiously before the MC is laughing softly and gesturing for him to speak. “Yes, Sookhyun?”
Sookhyun smiles then, his cheeks turning pink, and Min laughs as she nods at him encouragingly. “We’ve also learned that respect is important in China, so we try to keep a mindful outlook every time we travel or go somewhere new.”
The MC gives him a small smile and Jiwool guesses that’s a good thing. Well, she hopes.
“All of you have heard and seen all the end-of-the-year music and award shows in past years. Are you excited about it? Would it be too late for you to join into the newcomer award category for this year?”
“It is rather late to join in the newcomer award category,” Jaesun answers, letting Min translate all that he says. “We’ve recently debuted and not many people know about us right now. It’s rather late and also too early at the same time, but we’re excited for those who have debuted before us. We’re eager to work alongside them and to be as hardworking as all of them.”
“Ah, I see,” the MC says, nodding in understanding. “How will Night Circus look like after ten years?”
“Night Circus will be doing a world tour,” Min immediately answers, looking to the rest of them, eyes bright. “All over the world and still be a family together.”
“I hope we stay together,” Suhwan says, louder than he normally speaks.
“I hope we will still be giving to the world with our voices,” Sookhyun says, smiling.
“Oh, same here,” Suhwan adds on thoughtfully, causing them to laugh.
Jiwool takes a few seconds, before she’s smiling as well. “I hope that we will be better than we are now. We will be continually growing and performing for every single one of our fans.”
“I hope we will still be together,” Seungheon answers, before he laughs. “But I think that’s what we all want, right? So, in ten years, I hope we will be learning new things and contributing positively to the name Night Circus and KB Entertainment as well as contributing to society around us.”
“I hope to compose more music for Night Circus. I wish for Night Circus to always be hardworking and together in ten years,” Hyemi says, staring at the MC before looking to the camera as well. “I hope Night Circus will be well known in ten years and that we can stand on a stage together with the fans.”
Jaesun is smiling by the end, trying to share a look with all s and Min who is openly translating for all of them. “Hopefully, we will still be standing on a stage together as Night Circus, providing the world with a music unique to our own and that we’ll be tackling various aspects of entertainment that suits us best.” There’s a pause before he continues. “We will still be a family then, in ten, twenty, thirty years from now.”
The words shock Jiwool, now wondering what their lives will be like thirty years from now, and she immediately pictures Junmyeon standing next to her but still with a group called EXO. She wonders if Night Circus will gather a crowd that big, big enough to fill the largest stadiums in the world, and wonders if they really will be together that long. She turns to Min when she hears the MC hum, watches as the MC smiles, before she turns to the camera and closes out the interview.
They wait to stand, watching as all of the staff members start to move around again, and Jiwool stays quiet the entire time. The MC is talking to Min again, but she hasn’t moved from her spot yet. Their managers are off to the side monitoring the footage again with the producer, but they all know they can’t really do anything without the MC making the first move. It’s disrespectful otherwise.
But then a few more minutes pass and then the MC is standing. Min follows suit and the rest of Night Circus follow her lead. They turn to the MC and they bow, not entirely in sync, but it’s ingrained in them since all their training in Korea. Min thanks the MC along with Jaesun and the rest follow just as easily again. And then they’re finally walking off of the set.
“Wait,” the MC suddenly says, causing all of them to pause immediately and look to her curiously. A smile blossoms on her face before she’s calling over somebody with a camera. “Let’s get a picture together.”
It catches all of them by surprise, Jiwool can tell by the expression on Min and Jaesun’s faces, and she turns to see Sunyoung smiling at them encouragingly. “Come on,” Min says quietly, with a small smile, and they all gather around the MC, confused but hoping they look good enough for a picture.
It takes several shots, where the MC wants them smiling and posing with their hands over their chests–their group pose, but then it’s done and Jiwool is hurrying off the stage as fast as she can with Sookhyun and Hyemi behind her. She usually doesn’t mind many pictures, but she wasn’t expecting the MC to want one so soon when nobody really knows them in the first place. When she turns back to Min though, it looks like they have a good friendship blooming already– well, that, and the MC is asking to taking a separate picture with just her next to her, which is probably okay by the way Sunyoung is staring at them curiously too.
“Good job, everyone,” Sunyoung congratulates, giving all of them warm smiles and quiet claps when they regroup. Next to her, Hyunchul is still monitoring the last few minutes of what the producer is allowing him to see but he still hums approvingly. “That was great,” she turns to Min next who’s drinking from a water bottle. “Thank you, Min, for all your hard work.”
“Oh,” Min gasps, bowing, before giving her water bottle to Jiwool who drinks from it next, though she’s not as thirsty as her. Those lights are hot. “You’re welcome. It was no problem.”
“Still,” Sunyoung says with a laugh, before she’s trying to gather them to head out of the studio. “Cover your faces as much as you can, okay? We need to go to your next schedule.”
Hyunchul suddenly stops them and they wait around a few minutes longer, talking to the producer as well, before he’s letting them all leave to get ready to go to the next venue. Min is the only one who stays behind to help translate, so Jiwool stays behind with her. She waits and listens, watching the expressions of all three people next to her and smiles when Hyunchul just gives her a curious look.
They talk about their professionalism and how refreshing it is to see a group member actively translate for the MC and her own group, about how strange their group actually is, and also about how natural their strange group acts like together. It’s a bunch of complicated words Jiwool doesn’t understand but can get the gist of when Min translates it for Hyunchul to know what’s going on easily.
Several more moments pass by before the director is finally shooing them away and Jiwool latches onto Min’s arm. It makes Min laugh in relief, sending her an amused smile, but then she’s talking to Hyunchul still, in quiet, hushed voices because there are still a lot of people around them.
“We’re thankful for your ability to translate, you know,” Hyunchul murmurs, though his expression doesn’t change as he leads them out of the building. “It’s pretty flawless.”
Min laughs, “I still have a lot to work on. It wasn’t flawless.”
Hyunchul shrugs, a hint of a smile on his face. “It was pretty good, though,” he says, opening the door for them, to see Jaesun waiting around outside the van with a black facemask on. “Well, doesn’t that guy look suspicious.”
When Jiwool turns her attention away from them and to her other leader, she almost bursts out laughing. Jaesun still has his eye makeup on, with his red, black, and white clothes, and he actually does look like a suspicious individual. “Oppa, what are you doing?” she calls out, making Min cover a laugh behind her hand.
“He does look suspicious, doesn’t he?” Min teases, making Hyunchul laugh with her.
In response, all Jaesun does is glare at them before hopping into the van next. Min follows when Hyunchul gestures her to before Jiwool, and then they’re all getting in and settled before going to the next location.
The magazine shoot location is about twenty minutes away. It takes too little and too much time, but it’s enough for Jiwool to ask and grab her phone from Sunyoung, who tries to hand it to thin air before it slips out of her hand and Jiwool scrambles to save it from hitting the ground. “Oh, sorry,” Sunyoung mumbles, distracted. Jiwool doesn’t know with what, but she can’t even complain when she sees she has four new text messages waiting for her: three from Junmyeon and one from Chanyeol.
‘woolie-ah i hope you’re having fun in china’
‘i miss you. so far nothing has come up next week for schedules’
‘you still hate that nickname don’t you woolie-ah kekekeke’
‘oh my god what did you and hyung do why is he like this yooji make him stop’
The messages make her want to laugh but she stifles it into a small giggle instead. She doesn’t really know who to respond to first–really, Chanyeol deserves first for everything he’s put up with her–, but then she feels someone looking over her shoulder. When she turns, she’s surprised to see Jaesun staring straight at her, mere centimeters away from her face, and looking into her soul. She squeals–which she vehemently denies she did, “Oppa! What are you doing?”
Without skipping a beat, all Jaesun says is “family meeting” before turning to stare at the rest of the group. “Family meeting in the airport tomorrow after the concert.”
Min sends him a curious–dazed?– glance before she nods and shrugs. “Family meeting sounds like a good idea,” she says absentmindedly, scrolling through something on her phone. “We have to be quiet about it though.”
“Can’t it wait until we’re in the safety of our–”
“We don’t have a dorm, noona,” Sookhyun interrupts Hyemi, sending her an apologetic look when she realizes that too.
“Well, we have the hotel room,” Seungheon offers, before Suhwan is nodding along too.
“It can be later tonight.”
“Who knew you guys were so eager to talk even more with each other,” Hyunchul deadpans.
Jiwool only gapes.
“Family meeting,” Jaesun repeats with a shake of the head, dismissing all the other suggestions. “In the airport, tomorrow, after the concert.”
Min shrugs again, before she stills and stares at Hyunchul. “When will this magazine photoshoot be done?”
Hyunchul stares back at her, caught off-guard, before looking to Sunyoung who appears thoughtful for a moment. “Maybe a couple of hours?” they answer together, turning to look back at Min who stares at them before she nods.
“Is it possible for me to see my parents after? They don’t get off of work until later tonight, so it’ll still be a while but I don’t know if there were other planned schedules or not.”
Jiwool’s heart aches at the expression on Min’s face. There’s a slight hint of hope in her eyes but otherwise, it looks like she doesn’t care, like she’s been told too many times that there isn’t enough time or money to go home and visit family. She wonders if that’s why she clings to Lu Han like she does, to the friendship they have together, especially when she hasn’t seen Yifan since before he left.
“There should be time,” Sunyoung says, voice sounding distant and thoughtful after. “Yeah, you could probably go and eat dinner with them or something. That won’t be too much.”
“Can the group go meet them?” Min continues to ask, the hope growing brighter in her eyes. “They’ve really only met Jiwool. It’d be nice if they could meet the rest of Night Circus too.”
“Wait,” Jiwool cuts in, glaring playfully at Min. “Are you saying that my presence alone isn’t enough to fill the entire room?”
At that, Min rolls her eyes, the hopeful expression gone from her face. “Please, your presence could take up the entire city if you wanted.”
“I don’t have that big of an ego.”
“I didn’t say anything about your ego,” Min retorts, but a smile is cracking the stern line of her lips. “But if we’re talking about your big ego–”
“Who said anything about my big ego?” Jiwool suddenly exclaims, causing Jaesun and Suhwan to flinch at the sheer volume she said it in. She gives them all a sheepish smile afterwards, before she simply returns to texting back replies to Junmyeon and Chanyeol, the entire van falling awkwardly silent once more.
“Well,” Seungheon pipes up, after a few solid, quiet minutes. “That was strange.”
“They’re both strange,” Hyemi comments, agrees.
Jaesun hums. “Yeah, I don’t know. I’m just here.”
Sookhyun and Suhwan start to laugh at the strange outburst, and the following comments, and Jiwool can’t help but laugh with them when Min starts to, smiling at all of them.
‘you’re so funny, oppa, really’
‘why woolie-ah i still don’t understand’
‘i don’t think we have anything nov 10’
‘so maybe then?’
‘i love you yeollieeeeee’
‘wow’
‘yeollie and woolie kinda rhyme in english’
‘that’s cool’
‘wait what’
‘you’re in china?’
‘arE YOU AND HYUNG TOGETHER AGAIN YOO JIWOOL’
‘did i even know that yooji what is going onnnnnn MY BEST FRIEND DEBUTED LAST WEEK,’ courtesy of Chanyeol.
The photoshoot lasts for more than a couple of hours. In fact, it lasts close to five hours and Seungheon isn’t entirely sure why. The photos they’re taking aren’t going into a physical magazine spread. Instead, they’re going to be online and he figured they were going to photoshop something into the pictures anyways.
So, when it hits close to four-forty in the afternoon, his stomach is grumbling but he can’t take his mind off of monitoring all the pictures flittering across the computer screen in front of him. Jiwool is doing her solo photos last, but after a mishap with Suhwan and his pictures, they’re trying to take care in posing and making sure there aren’t any stray wires laying about. It was a staff member’s fault with leaving an unhooked wire lying next to the floor, but nobody expected Suhwan to completely miss it and trip onto the set.
But even after all that, the photos have still turned out okay, enough to get their managers’ approval, and now Seungheon is standing next to the monitor with Jaesun and Min. He swears he can hear the faint rumbling of someone else’s stomach but Jaesun keeps drinking water and Min keeps biting her lower lip. She winces when she tastes the gloss spread over her lips but it doesn’t stop her from gnawing at them until Sunyoung comes over and lightly taps her chin to get her to stop.
“Chew gum when we get to the van,” Sunyoung whispers in her ear, loud enough so Seungheon can hear it too. “We sent Yongha out to get snacks.”
That makes Min spin on her heels. “Wait, does he know where to go? Is he okay?”
The worry makes Sunyoung smile and Seungheon laugh, reaching out to gently turn her around to face the monitors again and he can lay an arm around her shoulders to keep her in place. “It’s okay, noona,” he says, catching Jaesun’s attention. “You don’t have to keep an eye on everybody right now.”
Min still tries to look over her shoulder anyways, to connect gazes with Sunyoung, and Seungheon can’t help but look to Jaesun for help. “But unnie,” Min calls, watching as Sunyoung smiles.
“It’s going to be fine. He said he’d call if something comes up.”
“Come on, Min,” Jaesun interrupts, going to her other side and trying to block her view of their manager. “Check out these photos with us.”
Min still mumbles something in response, returning to biting at her lip, and she flinches when Sunyoung reaches around them to tap at her chin again. “Sorry,” she mumbles, “I’ll work on it.”
Seungheon watches as Sunyoung nods in approval before stepping away again to monitor Jiwool’s posing personally. So, he goes back to watching as the photos automatically load into the computer screen in front of them. There are several of them, more than ten, but only about four will be chosen for each one. They’ve already removed their makeup from earlier to go for a simpler look to match their song Light and Seungheon hums to try and cover up another rumble from his stomach.
Every time he sees Min starting to chew on her lip again, he takes it as his responsibility to tap her chin just like Sunyoung did earlier. It’s been a bad habit of Min’s he’s noticed for a while now, probably helpful for the many years they’ve trained together, but she can’t chew gum any chance she gets, not when they’ve just debuted. Though, she’s been acting weird this whole trip.
Seungheon doesn’t dwell on that thought though, preferring to try and look around all the photography equipment to see Jiwool trying to communicate with the photographer in her accented Chinese. It doesn’t seem to bother Min but it impresses the staff members hovering around to hear a Korean singer attempting to speak their language. He catches her eye as she’s trying to say something and he smiles encouragingly at her, despite her lack of response towards him in turn.
If Jiwool is there, then where are the others?
Seungheon takes the time to look around while monitoring the edits the computer man is doing. He’s surprised there isn’t much photoshop going into the pictures, like the slimming of their waists or accentuating areas that don’t need to be accentuated, but he does expect the lightening of their skins and the overall quality of them. It’s sad to think of the stigma against darker skin, considering half of their own group has darker skin than what’s considered generally normal, but he still thinks they all look good. Suhwan looks handsome and Min has always been pretty. None of them are extremely pale anyways, so he hopes they can help break that stigma sometime soon in the foreseeable future.
He heaves another small sigh, when he feels his stomach growl, and another puff of air escapes his lips when Min pokes his stomach. It’s not enough to actually affect him, but it’s enough to distract herself from messing with her lips.
“Why do you look like you’ve been wronged?” Hyemi suddenly asks, walking over to join them. She’s still wearing the clothes she wore last for her session, still with the same light makeup, but she’s staring at them curiously.
“I have been wronged,” Seungheon murmurs, before he’s dramatically putting a hand to his stomach and doubling over the slightest bit. “By my own stomach.”
“Oh, the travesty,” Hyemi deadpans, before she’s laughing with Min and Jaesun. She looks over to Jiwool who’s finally finished, walking over towards them to see the end product. “Oh, let’s see her photos.”
Suhwan and Sookhyun join them as they come back from the bathroom. They all watch as the photographer gets into the main chair before he and the editor are flipping through all of the pictures taken so far. Seungheon finds none of them get to give much input into which photos make it into the last stage, but he relies on Min, Jaesun, Sunyoung, and Hyunchul’s judgment with which photos are chosen. They quietly ask permission from them every time a set is picked and he thinks that’s enough for him.
Before long, they’re walking out towards the van. They’ve changed into more comfortable clothes, an outfit they normally wear everyday, and by the time the van door has shut behind the last person, they’re digging into the bags of snacks Yongha managed to find and buy for them.
Bags of chips are passed around before bottles of Gatorade and water. Seungheon hums as he shares a bag with Sookhyun, talking about their recent schedules and if they’ve heard any news with any other groups around them. He hasn’t heard much from Hyunah in a while, but he guesses it’s because she’s busy with her own group, traveling and performing like most of their other friends. Jaejoong is still doing his military service, so it’s difficult to contact him until he’s on some type of break. He hums when Sookhyun knocks shoulders with him, still eating some chips– Oh, how’s Kyehoon doing? He should probably find out sometime soon.
“Are we really going to meet Min-noona’s parents?” Sookhyun whispers. His crunches are louder than his voice, and it’s going directly into Seungheon’s ear.
“I don’t know,” Seungheon tries to murmur back between his own crunches, watching as Min asks Jeanne if she should keep her current makeup on or take it off. “I haven’t heard much about it since earlier. Isn’t it too early to meet up with them anyways?”
“Are they working? I haven’t heard much about her parents.”
Seungheon shrugs, catching Hyemi’s glare in their direction, to which he returns with a sheepish smile. “They’re both working parents, but I’m not entirely sure what they do,” he answers. “They work all day, so they don’t have much time except maybe on weekends or something.”
Sookhyun frowns, as he finally leans away and continues to nibble on a chip he’s holding. “So,” he drawls, thinking. Seungheon hums to let him know he’s still listening between all the chewing he’s doing. “Do they know we’re here? I think noona informed them we’re in Beijing?”
Next to him, Suhwan leans over, crowding into Sookhyun’s space where the youngest sits between them in the back seats. He has one ear bud in, but his other ear closest to them is free. “Noona told me she called them the morning we came here.”
Seungheon and Sookhyun gape at him, shocked. “What?” Sookhyun asks, looking back to Min who’s now talking to Jiwool and Hyemi. “Weren’t we all asleep in her room that day?”
Suhwan shrugs before taking a chip from the bag. “Her talking woke me up from sleep,” he mutters, cheeks tingeing pink in embarrassment. “I couldn’t understand what she was saying though. She fell back asleep after talking to them.”
“How did you know she was talking to her parents and not Lu Han?” Seungheon asks, curious.
“She said mama and papa.”
Everything curious in Seungheon screeches to a stop, before he scrunches his face up in distaste. “Yeah,” he concedes, slumping back in his chair, and watching as they’re all turning back into the hotel. “That shouldn’t be Lu Han.”
Sookhyun spills into laughter next to him so Seungheon takes the bag of chips away to eat it for himself. It should be enough to last them until dinner, whenever that is, but until then, he wonders what’s going to happen next.
“Or she could’ve said something similar to it,” Suhwan adds on, looking thoughtful for a long moment. “I don’t know Chinese very well.”
“Well, pretty sure she still wouldn’t call Lu Han any of those terms.”
At that moment, Min turns around, confused and curious. “Call Lu Han what?”
“Nothing!”
For this recording, their mission given by their managers is to film a video in their every day lives. It’s to give a glimpse of their true selves to their future fans and Jaesun isn’t sure if he’s excited about it or not yet. None of them are overbearingly funny or loud. More than half of them are the quiet types, letting their actions speak louder than their words, and he’s starting to think that, maybe, this won’t go well for future promotions and variety shows.
But he continues to film them, as they turn a corner, and he’s surprised to find Lu Han’s face plastered to the glass window of what looks like a cell phone store. It’s a fairly large picture, making him sidestep and bump into Seungheon’s shoulder right next to him to see it clearly, and he does a double take between his friend and the picture of his other friend. This is possibly the fourth time he’s seen Lu Han’s face somewhere in Beijing. “What in the world?” he mutters, before he’s looking over his shoulder to try and catch Min’s attention. She’s too busy fighting off Jiwool’s excited fingers, resorting to hiding behind Sookhyun next to them, and, well, maybe he can ask her about it later.
“I didn’t think he was that popular around here,” Seungheon says, catching Jaesun’s attention easily. He lifts an arm to rest around his shoulders, hand gripping on loosely to his shirt to keep it from sliding off, and he takes one last look at the retreating picture before sighing and leaning so his head rests against Jaesun’s shoulder instead. “He looks like a normal guy every time I see him.”
Jaesun laughs at the comment, still holding the camera up to record Hyemi and Suhwan. The managers will probably delete this part of the conversation. “Don’t we look like normal people?” he asks in turn, hearing Seungheon grunt in response. “It is strange though. He has some weird supernatural power when it comes to China.”
Seungheon hums, noncommittally, probably confusedly, before falling into silence. Jaesun side-eyes him, not really able to see him completely from how close they’re standing next to each other, but he does turn the camera away from the two in front to record themselves. He makes sure to flip the side-camera to monitor their appearances.
“We’re still wandering the wonderful streets of Beijing,” Jaesun comments, giving the camera a smile. “Seungheon here looks a bit tired, but that could also be his normal appearance.”
Seungheon scoffs, though he does throw a peace sign up against his own cheek. “It’s a bit late, but nothing we’re not used to.” He smiles then, dropping his hand. “Don’t we look cute together?”
Without realizing, Jaesun flushes a soft pink, laughing, as he shoves Seungheon away. It only causes his friend to laugh before he’s rushing back into the view of the camera. “You’re going to give them the wrong impression,” Jaesun says anyways, wonders how this is going to affect the video and everybody who watches it. He turns back to the camera, losing his giddy expression almost immediately. “I take up about ninety percent of that cute,” he says seriously, before he bursts out laughing again when Seungheon shouts, “Hey!”
Seungheon turns to the camera next, grabbing it out of Jaesun’s hands. “As you can tell, I am just as attractive as everyone else on the planet. Jaesun, here, does not take up ninety percent of our cute combined.” He turns the camera to Jaesun who’s laughing and trying to move out of the camera’s line of sight. “He’s one of our shy leaders. Although, I didn’t think he’s shy to begin with,” Seungheon muses, before turning and walking backwards to film the crew behind them. He smiles when Jaesun keeps a hand on his back to keep him from running into anything. “Our other leader is right there,” he introduces, zooming in on Min who’s returned to walking between Sookhyun and Jiwool. Her arm is looped with Sookhyun’s, who’s looking down at his cell phone, but she’s talking to Jiwool. “Min-noona is the quieter of the two leaders, even Jaesun think so, and can seem super serious, but she has a good way with people. She’s super nice and kind–”
“Wait,” Jaesun cuts off, Seungheon turning the camera to face him next. “What about me?”
“You’re the one who’s cute,” Seungheon answers easily, before turning the camera back to Min who finally notices them. She’s staring at them confused, before she’s waving, making the other two next to her smile and wave excitedly in turn. “She’s the super pretty one though.”
“Your love for me is so strong,” Jaesun deadpans, before they’re both laughing and Seungheon is adding in, “Jaesun is like my brother. I can speak English with him– Did you know he has an English accent when he speaks in English?”
Jaesun snorts, before he’s speaking in English. “Wouldn’t I have an English accent if I spoke in English?”
“Did you hear it?” Seungheon asks excitedly, before he’s calling Jiwool over. “His accent is like the British kind. While our main dancer Jiwool here also speaks English, she doesn’t have an accent like his.”
Jaesun looks over to Jiwool, where they both share a confused expression, before they’re speaking in English to each other. “I don’t know what he’s talking about,” Jaesun comments, though, he really does understand what Seungheon is talking about. He just wants to make it a little difficult for him.
“I don’t have an accent,” Jiwool confirms, though she’s poking Jaesun in the back too. “You obviously do, oppa.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jaesun repeats, laughing, before they accidentally run into Hyemi and Suhwan who’ve stopped walking to stare at them confused. He offers them a wide smile as he takes the camera back from Seungheon to focus the video on them too. “What were you two up to?” he asks, watching as Hyemi shrugs and Suhwan stares at all of them briefly before settling on a point behind them.
“We were just enjoying the walk,” Hyemi answers, before she’s turning and smiling at Suhwan. “Beijing is a really nice place.”
“It is,” Suhwan agrees, before he’s walking past them to go straight to Min and Sookhyun.
Jaesun chuckles, at Suhwan’s actions, because he’s found that’s what he’s been doing recently. If he’s uncomfortable or wants some type of attention that’s not meant to be out in the open, he tends to go to Min and Sookhyun. “A lot of people may know Hyemi here from the underground rapper scene, along with Seungheon–“
“Oh, did you know Hyemi and I actually bumped into each other once or twice before we met again in the company? We would have shows that would run into each other’s slots, but we didn’t know much except for each other’s stage names,” Seungheon discloses, smiling, as he holds up a fist and he and Hyemi casually bump the sides of their knuckles together. “A lot of us actually knew each other before we joined the company.”
“Anyways,” Jaesun stresses, causing laughter to erupt from all of them. He points the camera to Min, Suhwan, and Sookhyun again, all of them hovering back so they’re not right in front of the camera. “Suhwan is the quietest amongst us,” he introduces, trying to point up at Suhwan in front of the lens so it looks like he’s poking his cheek instead. “He doesn’t speak much, but he’s trying. It looks like he’s our maknae, but he’s actually a year older than Sookhyunnie over there.”
There are another round of waves and smiles, before Jaesun is turning the camera back to himself. He loops an arm around Jiwool’s shoulders, bringing her in close, before Hyemi and Seungheon are trying to make it into the shot too. “Well, I think that covers everybody?” he says, before he’s pointing to everyone next to him and poking his and her cheek. “Our sun, Matilda. Our empress, Hyemi. Our fool, Kieow. Our magician, Jae,” and then he turns the camera to the other three. “Our lovers, Sookhyun. Our strength, Suhwan. And our sun, Min, whose hometown we’re in and she’s having fun.” He turns the camera back to themselves, bright smile on his face. “I guess that’s it. We hope you like our completely random and introductory video! Look forward to our upcoming projects!” Jiwool winks at the camera. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he calls, out, laughing when the three surrounding him shout out their greeting with him. Min, Suhwan, and Sookhyun laugh, copying them a beat too late. “We’re Night Circus!”
When Jaesun wakes up the next morning, he’s tired. He doesn’t want to open his eyes or move from his bed, but he hears quiet shuffling in the room. It’s like the other person is fixing his things and he actively listens in next to hear Suhwan is softly singing something underneath his breath. It sounds like he’s singing their song Light and Jaesun can’t help but groan, flip over in bed, so he can open his eyes and see what his roommate is doing so early in the morning.
“Hyung, it’s seven-thirty,” Suhwan murmurs, staring at him curiously. Jaesun doesn’t know why, since Suhwan doesn’t really hold eye contact for more than a few seconds, but then the time clicks and he jolts up in bed, eyes widening and watching as Suhwan starts to dissolve into a bunch of laughter and giggles. “It’s time to get up. Noona said we have to go for an interview soon.”
“It’s seven-thirty?” Jaesun repeats, quickly searching for his phone to find it on the charger. His little alarm clock symbol is gone from the screen and he looks to Suhwan, confused and still not ready to take on the day quite yet. “What happened to my alarm?”
Suhwan frowns before turning to put on his jacket and find his ear buds. “I was in the shower when I heard it go off. When I turned off the water, it was quiet again. I thought you turned it off.”
Within seconds, Jaesun is groaning and rushing out of bed. He grabs whatever he thinks looks good before he’s hopping into the shower and making sure his appearance is somewhat presentable before leaving the bathroom again. His hair is wet, still a little damp after he towel dries it the best he can, and hopes Seungheon is willing to fix his hair by the time he’s leading Suhwan out of their hotel room to meet the rest downstairs. Seungheon isn’t there yet but everyone else is and he winces when Jeanne gives him a judging look.
“I can’t believe you came down here with your hair all over the place,” Min comments, once she’s turned around from talking to the managers to see whom else have arrived. When Jaesun gives her a sheepish smile, he walks up next to her before leaning over so she can help fix his hair for him. “And you’re late. You’d think I’d be the late one, English boy.”
Jaesun gasps, mostly for dramatic effect. “I can’t believe you’re calling me that again, Minnie.” He laughs when she smacks him on the arm. “Nice to see you again.” It’s supposed to have a hidden meaning, trying to let her know that he knows she’s been acting weird lately, but Min just grumbles nonsense next to him. He turns his attention to the two amused managers in front of him. “What have I missed?” he asks, suddenly feeling more hands in his hair. He tries and looks over to see Jeanne helping Min fix it for him and now he doesn’t understand why it takes two people to fix his hair. Did he mess it up that badly?
“We were just discussing what might pop up in the interview today,” Sunyoung informs, laughing when Jeanne pulls on a few strands of Jaesun’s hair, making him flinch. “They might ask about your pre-debut experiences or what you feel now that you’ve actually debuted. They might ask about your relationship with each other or know of any others outside of the group.”
“They’re definitely going to ask about the company,” Hyunchul adds in, giving each of them a pointed stare. “We can’t reveal the identities of the CEOs yet,” he reminds, “You’re allowed to give general information about the company and the rest of the board, but other than that, you’re not allowed to reveal their identities.”
“Oh,” Jaesun mumbles, feeling Min gently pat his head, before he’s standing up straight again. He winces as he twists and turns to loosen up the muscles in his back before sharing a look with Min. “We understand.”
“Yeah,” Min echoes, giving them a small smile. “We understand.”
Their managers give them a look, seeming to assess their reactions, and Jaesun doesn’t really get what’s happening before they’re smiling and appearing pleased with their answers. Though, they really haven’t given any answers. In fact, they should know that if all of them were able to keep their secrets as a trainee for so long, then they could still keep their secrets of the CEOs’ identities.
Suddenly, Jaesun feels a hand wrap itself around his elbow before he’s being pulled away. He looks over to see Min dragging him back to the rest of the group and he notices belatedly that she looks abnormally taller than the day before. She’s wearing her special Nike shoes again and he wonders when they’re going to change into their outfits needed for this interview. Wait, are they already…?
“Let’s do a quick recap,” Min announces, once Seungheon and Sookhyun finally walk up to their group. The rest of them are still standing, uncertain whether they can sit or not, but Jaesun suspects it’s to help them stay awake. They didn’t get back to the hotel until four in the morning and even then, getting ready for bed and actually falling asleep took another hour.
“If there’s a question we’re unsure of, we deflect it to you or Jaesun-oppa,” Jiwool immediately answers, trying to stifle a yawn behind her hand.
“If a question is solely directed on us and we don’t know how to answer it, we’ll send a look your way or try our best to answer it,” Hyemi adds in, shifting slightly from foot to foot where she stands. “They’re going to ask each of us a question, probably.”
“Yeah,” Jaesun says, catching up quickly with the conversation. He looks to each of them briefly before he wracks his brain for some of the questions they’ve been asked routinely over the years. “We’ve heard that KB Entertainment is considered a new company, started within the last few years, and that you’re the first artists to debut under this brand. Have you felt pressured because of this?”
“Honestly, I have at times,” Seungheon answers, the tired lines of his face disappearing almost immediately, the light in his eyes returning as he sheds most of his off-stage persona. “We’re considered the role models in our company. Jaesun, Min, and Jiwool were there when it first started, so I’ve imagined they have more pressure than we do trying to set a positive example for the rest of us and the rest of the trainees. Especially, for Jaesun, he’s the first ever trainee with KB Entertainment. Min was the second and Jiwool was the third, and they’re all foreigners starting up this company together by being the first trainees.”
The answer shocks Jaesun, staring at his friend amazed, because he never thought this was going through Seungheon’s mind. He doesn’t even know if this answer is okay to say in an interview– their first interview. Next to him, Min is looking at Seungheon, similarly and simultaneously confused and amazed at once.
But Seungheon only smiles at them, nodding towards Jaesun next. “He’s better suited to answer this question, I’d think.”
Sookhyun smiles next, sharing a look with Hyemi and Suhwan who’re staring at them curiously. “According to what Seungheon said, it sounds like you were indeed under some type of pressure. Have you felt any while training under KB Entertainment?”
Jaesun wants to ask when did the youngest start questioning him like this, so open and so sure of himself, but then he remembers that this is a mock interview and they’re all staring at him expectantly. He hasn’t really thought of this being asked as a question. “KB Entertainment had been in discussion and in various stages of planning for a couple of years before it officially became a company in 2012. Back then, the company only had the board members. They knew how to scout for trainees, but I was surprised to be recruited as the first one. I personally didn’t feel pressured, but it was strange meeting Min for the first time and then Jiwool. Together, I felt like we concentrated on working hard and improving ourselves rather than seeing it as an opportunity to feel pressured in any way. It’s the same as it is now. I believe the role model status intrinsically becomes a part of all of it.”
Suddenly, someone lightly slaps his arm and he looks over, surprised, to see Min and Jiwool smiling brightly at him. “How strange was it meeting us?” Jiwool asks, staring at him expectantly, slightly amused.
“Well, first of all, I didn’t know Min knew Korean,” Jaesun answers with a laugh. The rest of the group bursts into laughter as well, even Min, staring at him amused. “So, I tried talking to her in broken Chinese and mostly English.”
“And then I spoke to you in flawless Korean,” Min interrupts, laughing when Jaesun pushes her back.
“It wasn’t flawless, you liar,” he says, face flushing hot in embarrassment. “Your Korean was as broken as my Chinese.”
“Now, who’s the liar?”
There’s more laughter, with Jaesun and Min poking fun at each other, and Jaesun can’t help but laugh some more when Jiwool tugs on his arm, demands that he answer her question. So, he smiles at her as he places a hand on her head, letting it slide down until he’s gently cradling the back of her neck. “I heard you would’ve debuted with Red Velvet if you stayed with SM. With Min, I was told she auditioned for two companies before being recruited for KB. With you, I was told you were specifically with SM for about five years and that you were born in Canada though you were Korean. I was a little intimidated but also intrigued.”
The smile that blooms on Jiwool’s face is satisfaction. She’s pleased with his answer and she laughs to try and brush it all away. “I wouldn’t have debuted with Red Velvet, oppa,” she says instead, trying to correct him. “They said I was supposed to debut with f(x), but I didn’t. Then EXO debuted.”
“And then Red Velvet,” Jaesun adds on, smiling, even as Hyunchul and Sunyoung are calling their attention because their van finally arrived. “I’ve heard some things from back then,” he informs, mysteriously, pleased that Jiwool is looking at him surprised. Apparently, she didn’t know. “It was you, Irene, and Seulgi who were the best dancers then, right? You would’ve probably made it into Red Velvet, especially with Wendy being Canadian too.”
“Really?” Sookhyun asks, looking over to Jiwool curiously, and Jaesun simply smiles before he starts chuckling. He tries to gather the rest of the team into going with the managers and it’s only with Min physically pushing Jiwool and Sookhyun that they get going and get settled in the large van.
Behind him, Sookhyun and Jiwool are discussing what it would’ve been like if they stayed with their respective companies, how he and Sookhyun could’ve made it into VIXX if they stayed long enough and proved themselves worthy to be in the group. But then, they start talking about how they might not have met otherwise and become good friends. If Jaesun didn’t leave, maybe Min would’ve been the first trainee at KB Entertainment. Maybe the group would’ve consisted of Min, Seungheon, Shinsuke, Kisumi, Hyemi, and Suhwan. Maybe they would’ve been a six-membered group instead– maybe four.
Jaesun takes the chance to look around the van, to see Min quietly talking to the driver so he can concentrate on the road, and then Hyemi who is trying to talk around him to get the managers’ attention about something he can’t focus on right now. Jeanne is trying to fix Seungheon’s hair because something is apparently out of place and Yongha is minding his own business with Suhwan next to him. He wonders what it would’ve been like if it wasn’t this group debuting with him, if he debuted with VIXX instead in 2012. It would’ve been fun, but this group wouldn’t be Night Circus without all of them.
“What are you thinking of?” Hyemi asks, finally settling down in her seat next to him and giving him a curious look. “It’s like you’re in deep thought.” Her words catch Seungheon’s attention next and he looks over from Jeanne messing with his head, staring at them as if trying to figure out the situation.
Jaesun shrugs noncommittally, settling back in his chair, and waits for Min to sit down and relax too. She’s a habitual cell phone user, always checking it whenever she has the chance in private, and he thinks it’s because she’s been away from home for so long. She likes to check to make sure everything in her home city, with her family and friends, is going well. It looks like she might’ve received messages too, if the way she’s tapping away at it with her thumbs is any indication.
“Anything you want to talk about?” Hyemi ventures further, making sure.
“It’s just strange,” Jaesun answers, catching Min’s attention easily. “How we all came together as Night Circus. Just last week, we were simple trainees with the promise of debut. Now, we’re new idols singing a song you created, singing Light as a b-side track to give back hope.”
It takes a moment for the words to sink in, but then the corners of Min’s lips twitch upwards, almost as if in a smirk, before she speaks next. “It is, right? Just yesterday, I was meeting you for the first time and amused you couldn’t get the right words out. I was just auditioning with JYP and SM Entertainment and was told I couldn’t continue because my voice wasn’t right, my rapping was subpar, and I couldn’t dance very well.”
“I couldn’t even sing correctly,” Jaesun muses, staring at her for a moment, before looking out the window. “There was a lot we couldn’t do before.”
Min hums, agreeing with him, and he doesn’t mean for it to happen, but the entire van starts to go silent after that, not noticing Jiwool’s frown from seats over. He gets lost in his thoughts, thinking about his time with Jellyfish Entertainment, about his parents wishing he quit the trainee life because he wasn’t getting anywhere with it. He couldn’t help support his parents or his brothers, but he spent so much time training already. And then he auditioned for Kpop Star 2 and couldn’t make it to the finals because he couldn’t sing.
But as fate would have it, he did have something someone was looking for. The CEO of KB Entertainment approached him, surprising him more than the judges saying he wouldn’t make it if he competed with the others around him, and offered to help him become a better singer. He was told he would be given a spot in a future group with a pending name. All that the board knew at the time was that the name would have to do with tarot cards and, well, Jaesun wanted his dream.
Now, he’s here, waiting inside the van with the rest of the group as Hyunchul and Min go in and check with the staff of the Sina building. They don’t have enough money for a translator–they don’t even have enough money to be properly paid–so he assumes the KB board is ecstatic Min is willing to translate for them. It’s probably one of the reasons why she was recruited since she worked as a university translator part-time while training. He just hopes she doesn’t become overwhelmed with the extra workload. They only have another day and a half in Beijing anyways– Oh, has she even had time to see her parents yet?
By the time they come back, Jaesun has changed his shirt and his jacket. Thankfully, he was already wearing his black jeans since that morning, sending Suhwan a grateful look when he realizes he laid it out for him earlier, and all he had to do was change his upper garments. For the rest of the group, he’s surprised to see they’re all already wearing what they’re supposed to be wearing: a mixture of red, silver, and black. All they had to do was switch jackets to help all of them coordinate a bit better. When he realizes what’s happened, he’s the last one getting out of the van with Jeanne and Yongha looking mighty proud of themselves.
“All we need to do is put some makeup on all of you and you’ll be good to go,” Jeanne murmurs quietly, before Sunyoung and Min are leading the way into the building. Hyunchul stays behind with the van, to make sure their items are secured, and Jaesun follows the rest of the guys into the men’s bathroom where Yongha is pulling out all he needs to make them look more presentable.
In the women’s bathroom next door, it’s practically the same. Jeanne is putting makeup on Min first, to be able to finish faster and stand outside for the rest of the group, and then it’s Jiwool. Jiwool closes her eyes to allow the magic happen, feeling light pats and drags of brushes and liners against her face, before she feels a pat on her arm and she’s moving aside. Makeup always does wonders, in her opinion, and she can’t help but stare at her reflection as Jeanne finishes putting makeup on Hyemi last.
Their makeup is modeled after their first performance. It’s simply toned down and Jiwool is relieved to see that Jaesun only has the black diamond around his eye and not the bright pink lips. Though, it still does look strange on him even after everything’s happened.
The room they entered in looks familiar. Jiwool can’t place her finger on it, but she knows she’s seen this room before. With the large screen television off to the side, colored walls, and the high white chairs, it pulls at a memory within Jiwool she can’t tug completely free. Well, that’s strange.
“Jaesun,” Min quietly calls, catching all of their attention, because this is her territory and Jiwool doesn’t know enough Mandarin for this. “Sit on the other end. I’ll sit here closest to the MC.”
If this is the arrangement they’re going to go, then Jiwool definitely knows where she needs to be. They’ve had to go through three whole days of trying to get all their positions correct, switching it up last minute if they needed to, and she takes her spot in the middle of the group. From Min to Jaesun, left to right, it should be Min, Suhwan, Sookhyun–because it brings most comfort to Suhwan apparently, in unknown situations–, Jiwool, Seungheon, Hyemi, and Jaesun. It’s a strange formation, but the managers and board members found it works best to help cover every language and obstacle being flung into their paths.
So, Jiwool waits. She waits and watches as staff members flutter about and Jeanne and Yongha come up to them to give last-minute touch-ups under the different lighting. She listens in to everyone around her, tries to recognize the foreign words being spoken next to her, and she looks to the group on both sides of her.
Min is currently talking to Suhwan and Sookhyun, trying to distract them by talking about food and sports–or what little she knows of it, thanks to Lu Han–and Jaesun is talking to Hyemi and Seungheon about more music and practicing to make sure everything is okay. They’re all busy and she thinks about what’s going to happen later, how long will this interview last, because she’s pretty sure she’s already received a couple of text messages from Junmyeon and Chanyeol since early that morning. She just hasn’t been able to check with how busy they’ve been since yesterday.
Before she knows it, she’s watching as a different woman from the usual staff members walk up to where they are. She quickly follows her leaders as they stand and bow and she automatically follows Min when she says, “Hello, we’re Night Circus!” She can understand the woman thanking them for their smile and returning their gestures and Jiwool smiles in return as the woman sits in the MC’s chair first before they follow her lead.
There’s small talk between Min and the MC before they’re officially starting. Automatically, Jiwool straightens her back, her entire posture, like the rest of her members. They do their proper greeting after the MC makes hers, making sure to keep eye contact with the camera, before settling in their seats again. She smiles and nods when appropriate and she’s surprised she understands a little more of the conversation than she initially thought.
“After a long trainee period and reported delay with debut, how does it feel to be performing on stage for the first time?” the MC asks, and Jiwool looks over to Min as she answers for them, surprised the MC knows they actually did have a delay with their debut and that they did have a long trainee period compared to some.
“We haven’t had a proper showcase yet,” Min answers. “But after our first stage ended, it felt exciting and worrisome, because it’s the first of many. We still have a long way to go, but we’re definitely going to be worker harder to improve ourselves every day.” She looks to them next. In particular, Sookhyun, Jiwool, Seungheon, and Jaesun, and Jiwool nods as she adds in slightly accented Mandarin, “It is exciting to finally be on stage. Though, we agree with Min-jie. We will continue to work harder to produce better stages.”
The MC nods, pleased with the answer; though, she looks surprised with Jiwool and her Mandarin. “Your Mandarin is very good,” she comments, shocking Jiwool into paying more attention to catch her words. “How have you studied? Are the other members able to speak as well?”
“I get a lot of help from Min-jie,” Jiwool answers carefully, slowly, as she looks over to Min who’s smiling at her encouragingly. “I self-study also.”
“Our members have a diverse language scope,” Min adds in, gesturing to Seungheon down the line. “They are all diligently learning Mandarin to better communicate with our fans. Most of our members are also able to speak English, so we have more opportunities to create wonderful connections with those all around us.”
“So, who’s Chinese is the best amongst all of you, except Min?”
“It should be Jiwool,” Jaesun pipes up in Korean, causing Jiwool to gape and look to her other leader surprised. It only causes laughter amongst the rest of them.
“But really, Min-jie’s Chinese is the best,” Jiwool sputters out, only causing more laughter.
“You’ve completed your first week of activities,” the MC continues with a smile. “Do you have much more planned? Do you plan to promote in China as well?”
Jiwool instantly looks to Min, wondering how she’ll answer that question, because she still doesn’t know how one promotes in China. It didn’t go well with EXO-M, and all the other groups she knows is popular in China never actually did promote. The only person she knows has been successful is Yixing.
“Yes, we have a lot more planned,” Min answers, looking around all of them to Jaesun before translating the question. Jiwool watches as Jaesun’s mouth falls open the slightest bit before he nods in understanding and starts speaking in Korean next.
“We plan to have several more weeks of promotions for our debut and to be as active as possible. At the end of our promotions, we have a special secret in store for those who have discovered us and those who are just finding out about us then, as an introduction and thank you.”
Jiwool turns and they all watch as Min takes the time to translate what Jaesun just said. The MC is nodding and agreeing, smiling, and then Min is saying something else that Jiwool barely understands.
“We plan to promote in China as well,” Min says. “We have recorded all of our songs in Chinese and have also decided which tracks should exclusively be in Chinese or in Korean.”
“Will you have any plans to be guests on any shows in China?”
That catches Jiwool’s attention, looking to Min curiously while trying to translate to Sookhyun and Seungheon what the MC just said.
“If the producers and actors and actresses are willing to have us as guests on their shows, then we will accept with a thankful heart and work hard to produce great results.”
Min doesn’t say anything about going on shows by herself, and Jiwool doesn’t know if she should feel relieved or not. She knows one of the only reasons EXO is so popular in China is because Yixing is a constant figure in Go Fighting! She doesn’t know about other groups. The other groups are usually more popular in Japan.
“Do you have any plans to act or do any musicals in the future?”
“If the opportunity arises, then I will take the challenge,” Jiwool automatically answers, only realizing what she’s just said when Min and Sookhyun quietly agree with her with nods. “But we just hope to continue to better ourselves and improve more with our music.”
“How do the members bond together? This is a strange set-up for a group, so I imagine bonding for all of you might be different than other groups previously.”
“If you are talking about the genders of our group, then we really don’t see a difference,” Min says with a soft laugh. “We still hang out, talk, and practice together as much as we can like with any other group.” She turns then, to translate the question and comment to the rest of the group, and Jiwool smiles as Seungheon pipes up in Korean next to her.
“We don’t live in the same dorm because of obvious reasons. We still live in our separate apartments with family members or friends, but we like to spend our time in the practice room of our company. We tend to spend more time there than anywhere else because we like being in each other’s presence. Even if we have the day off, we’ll show up in the practice room and text the others where they are.”
“Sometimes, we do go out and hang out at cafes owned by our family members,” Jaesun adds on, “Or we’ll go for walks throughout the city or along the Han River.”
“It’s rare when we become tired of each other since we don’t actually live together,” Min continues, after translating what Seungheon and Jaesun said. Jiwool wonders if it’s difficult to translate like that. “During these times, we also just talk. Open communication is important between all of us to have good performances since we tend to do a lot of stunts and rely on each other to be where we need to be while dancing.”
Jiwool tries not to hum at that, because just last night something was obviously going on with Min and only Lu Han knows about it. She’s thought about asking Minseok about it, but she’s too scared to. She doesn’t know if he knows anything about it and if he doesn’t, he’s going to freak out and demand her to find out. She’s not going to be all up on that anytime soon.
“In your company, you are considered the seniors. You are the first group to debut, but your manners are commendable.”
“The traditions between Korea and China are a little different but also similar,” Min answers. “In Korea, we are taught manners are important. It’s become ingrained in us to have great mannerisms and polite greetings every time we meet someone new.”
Sookhyun suddenly raises his hand, and Jiwool looks to him curiously before the MC is laughing softly and gesturing for him to speak. “Yes, Sookhyun?”
Sookhyun smiles then, his cheeks turning pink, and Min laughs as she nods at him encouragingly. “We’ve also learned that respect is important in China, so we try to keep a mindful outlook every time we travel or go somewhere new.”
The MC gives him a small smile and Jiwool guesses that’s a good thing. Well, she hopes.
“All of you have heard and seen all the end-of-the-year music and award shows in past years. Are you excited about it? Would it be too late for you to join into the newcomer award category for this year?”
“It is rather late to join in the newcomer award category,” Jaesun answers, letting Min translate all that he says. “We’ve recently debuted and not many people know about us right now. It’s rather late and also too early at the same time, but we’re excited for those who have debuted before us. We’re eager to work alongside them and to be as hardworking as all of them.”
“Ah, I see,” the MC says, nodding in understanding. “How will Night Circus look like after ten years?”
“Night Circus will be doing a world tour,” Min immediately answers, looking to the rest of them, eyes bright. “All over the world and still be a family together.”
“I hope we stay together,” Suhwan says, louder than he normally speaks.
“I hope we will still be giving to the world with our voices,” Sookhyun says, smiling.
“Oh, same here,” Suhwan adds on thoughtfully, causing them to laugh.
Jiwool takes a few seconds, before she’s smiling as well. “I hope that we will be better than we are now. We will be continually growing and performing for every single one of our fans.”
“I hope we will still be together,” Seungheon answers, before he laughs. “But I think that’s what we all want, right? So, in ten years, I hope we will be learning new things and contributing positively to the name Night Circus and KB Entertainment as well as contributing to society around us.”
“I hope to compose more music for Night Circus. I wish for Night Circus to always be hardworking and together in ten years,” Hyemi says, staring at the MC before looking to the camera as well. “I hope Night Circus will be well known in ten years and that we can stand on a stage together with the fans.”
Jaesun is smiling by the end, trying to share a look with all s and Min who is openly translating for all of them. “Hopefully, we will still be standing on a stage together as Night Circus, providing the world with a music unique to our own and that we’ll be tackling various aspects of entertainment that suits us best.” There’s a pause before he continues. “We will still be a family then, in ten, twenty, thirty years from now.”
The words shock Jiwool, now wondering what their lives will be like thirty years from now, and she immediately pictures Junmyeon standing next to her but still with a group called EXO. She wonders if Night Circus will gather a crowd that big, big enough to fill the largest stadiums in the world, and wonders if they really will be together that long. She turns to Min when she hears the MC hum, watches as the MC smiles, before she turns to the camera and closes out the interview.
They wait to stand, watching as all of the staff members start to move around again, and Jiwool stays quiet the entire time. The MC is talking to Min again, but she hasn’t moved from her spot yet. Their managers are off to the side monitoring the footage again with the producer, but they all know they can’t really do anything without the MC making the first move. It’s disrespectful otherwise.
But then a few more minutes pass and then the MC is standing. Min follows suit and the rest of Night Circus follow her lead. They turn to the MC and they bow, not entirely in sync, but it’s ingrained in them since all their training in Korea. Min thanks the MC along with Jaesun and the rest follow just as easily again. And then they’re finally walking off of the set.
“Wait,” the MC suddenly says, causing all of them to pause immediately and look to her curiously. A smile blossoms on her face before she’s calling over somebody with a camera. “Let’s get a picture together.”
It catches all of them by surprise, Jiwool can tell by the expression on Min and Jaesun’s faces, and she turns to see Sunyoung smiling at them encouragingly. “Come on,” Min says quietly, with a small smile, and they all gather around the MC, confused but hoping they look good enough for a picture.
It takes several shots, where the MC wants them smiling and posing with their hands over their chests–their group pose, but then it’s done and Jiwool is hurrying off the stage as fast as she can with Sookhyun and Hyemi behind her. She usually doesn’t mind many pictures, but she wasn’t expecting the MC to want one so soon when nobody really knows them in the first place. When she turns back to Min though, it looks like they have a good friendship blooming already– well, that, and the MC is asking to taking a separate picture with just her next to her, which is probably okay by the way Sunyoung is staring at them curiously too.
“Good job, everyone,” Sunyoung congratulates, giving all of them warm smiles and quiet claps when they regroup. Next to her, Hyunchul is still monitoring the last few minutes of what the producer is allowing him to see but he still hums approvingly. “That was great,” she turns to Min next who’s drinking from a water bottle. “Thank you, Min, for all your hard work.”
“Oh,” Min gasps, bowing, before giving her water bottle to Jiwool who drinks from it next, though she’s not as thirsty as her. Those lights are hot. “You’re welcome. It was no problem.”
“Still,” Sunyoung says with a laugh, before she’s trying to gather them to head out of the studio. “Cover your faces as much as you can, okay? We need to go to your next schedule.”
Hyunchul suddenly stops them and they wait around a few minutes longer, talking to the producer as well, before he’s letting them all leave to get ready to go to the next venue. Min is the only one who stays behind to help translate, so Jiwool stays behind with her. She waits and listens, watching the expressions of all three people next to her and smiles when Hyunchul just gives her a curious look.
They talk about their professionalism and how refreshing it is to see a group member actively translate for the MC and her own group, about how strange their group actually is, and also about how natural their strange group acts like together. It’s a bunch of complicated words Jiwool doesn’t understand but can get the gist of when Min translates it for Hyunchul to know what’s going on easily.
Several more moments pass by before the director is finally shooing them away and Jiwool latches onto Min’s arm. It makes Min laugh in relief, sending her an amused smile, but then she’s talking to Hyunchul still, in quiet, hushed voices because there are still a lot of people around them.
“We’re thankful for your ability to translate, you know,” Hyunchul murmurs, though his expression doesn’t change as he leads them out of the building. “It’s pretty flawless.”
Min laughs, “I still have a lot to work on. It wasn’t flawless.”
Hyunchul shrugs, a hint of a smile on his face. “It was pretty good, though,” he says, opening the door for them, to see Jaesun waiting around outside the van with a black facemask on. “Well, doesn’t that guy look suspicious.”
When Jiwool turns her attention away from them and to her other leader, she almost bursts out laughing. Jaesun still has his eye makeup on, with his red, black, and white clothes, and he actually does look like a suspicious individual. “Oppa, what are you doing?” she calls out, making Min cover a laugh behind her hand.
“He does look suspicious, doesn’t he?” Min teases, making Hyunchul laugh with her.
In response, all Jaesun does is glare at them before hopping into the van next. Min follows when Hyunchul gestures her to before Jiwool, and then they’re all getting in and settled before going to the next location.
The magazine shoot location is about twenty minutes away. It takes too little and too much time, but it’s enough for Jiwool to ask and grab her phone from Sunyoung, who tries to hand it to thin air before it slips out of her hand and Jiwool scrambles to save it from hitting the ground. “Oh, sorry,” Sunyoung mumbles, distracted. Jiwool doesn’t know with what, but she can’t even complain when she sees she has four new text messages waiting for her: three from Junmyeon and one from Chanyeol.
‘woolie-ah i hope you’re having fun in china’
‘i miss you. so far nothing has come up next week for schedules’
‘you still hate that nickname don’t you woolie-ah kekekeke’
‘oh my god what did you and hyung do why is he like this yooji make him stop’
The messages make her want to laugh but she stifles it into a small giggle instead. She doesn’t really know who to respond to first–really, Chanyeol deserves first for everything he’s put up with her–, but then she feels someone looking over her shoulder. When she turns, she’s surprised to see Jaesun staring straight at her, mere centimeters away from her face, and looking into her soul. She squeals–which she vehemently denies she did, “Oppa! What are you doing?”
Without skipping a beat, all Jaesun says is “family meeting” before turning to stare at the rest of the group. “Family meeting in the airport tomorrow after the concert.”
Min sends him a curious–dazed?– glance before she nods and shrugs. “Family meeting sounds like a good idea,” she says absentmindedly, scrolling through something on her phone. “We have to be quiet about it though.”
“Can’t it wait until we’re in the safety of our–”
“We don’t have a dorm, noona,” Sookhyun interrupts Hyemi, sending her an apologetic look when she realizes that too.
“Well, we have the hotel room,” Seungheon offers, before Suhwan is nodding along too.
“It can be later tonight.”
“Who knew you guys were so eager to talk even more with each other,” Hyunchul deadpans.
Jiwool only gapes.
“Family meeting,” Jaesun repeats with a shake of the head, dismissing all the other suggestions. “In the airport, tomorrow, after the concert.”
Min shrugs again, before she stills and stares at Hyunchul. “When will this magazine photoshoot be done?”
Hyunchul stares back at her, caught off-guard, before looking to Sunyoung who appears thoughtful for a moment. “Maybe a couple of hours?” they answer together, turning to look back at Min who stares at them before she nods.
“Is it possible for me to see my parents after? They don’t get off of work until later tonight, so it’ll still be a while but I don’t know if there were other planned schedules or not.”
Jiwool’s heart aches at the expression on Min’s face. There’s a slight hint of hope in her eyes but otherwise, it looks like she doesn’t care, like she’s been told too many times that there isn’t enough time or money to go home and visit family. She wonders if that’s why she clings to Lu Han like she does, to the friendship they have together, especially when she hasn’t seen Yifan since before he left.
“There should be time,” Sunyoung says, voice sounding distant and thoughtful after. “Yeah, you could probably go and eat dinner with them or something. That won’t be too much.”
“Can the group go meet them?” Min continues to ask, the hope growing brighter in her eyes. “They’ve really only met Jiwool. It’d be nice if they could meet the rest of Night Circus too.”
“Wait,” Jiwool cuts in, glaring playfully at Min. “Are you saying that my presence alone isn’t enough to fill the entire room?”
At that, Min rolls her eyes, the hopeful expression gone from her face. “Please, your presence could take up the entire city if you wanted.”
“I don’t have that big of an ego.”
“I didn’t say anything about your ego,” Min retorts, but a smile is cracking the stern line of her lips. “But if we’re talking about your big ego–”
“Who said anything about my big ego?” Jiwool suddenly exclaims, causing Jaesun and Suhwan to flinch at the sheer volume she said it in. She gives them all a sheepish smile afterwards, before she simply returns to texting back replies to Junmyeon and Chanyeol, the entire van falling awkwardly silent once more.
“Well,” Seungheon pipes up, after a few solid, quiet minutes. “That was strange.”
“They’re both strange,” Hyemi comments, agrees.
Jaesun hums. “Yeah, I don’t know. I’m just here.”
Sookhyun and Suhwan start to laugh at the strange outburst, and the following comments, and Jiwool can’t help but laugh with them when Min starts to, smiling at all of them.
‘you’re so funny, oppa, really’
‘why woolie-ah i still don’t understand’
‘i don’t think we have anything nov 10’
‘so maybe then?’
‘i love you yeollieeeeee’
‘wow’
‘yeollie and woolie kinda rhyme in english’
‘that’s cool’
‘wait what’
‘you’re in china?’
‘arE YOU AND HYUNG TOGETHER AGAIN YOO JIWOOL’
‘did i even know that yooji what is going onnnnnn MY BEST FRIEND DEBUTED LAST WEEK,’ courtesy of Chanyeol.
The photoshoot lasts for more than a couple of hours. In fact, it lasts close to five hours and Seungheon isn’t entirely sure why. The photos they’re taking aren’t going into a physical magazine spread. Instead, they’re going to be online and he figured they were going to photoshop something into the pictures anyways.
So, when it hits close to four-forty in the afternoon, his stomach is grumbling but he can’t take his mind off of monitoring all the pictures flittering across the computer screen in front of him. Jiwool is doing her solo photos last, but after a mishap with Suhwan and his pictures, they’re trying to take care in posing and making sure there aren’t any stray wires laying about. It was a staff member’s fault with leaving an unhooked wire lying next to the floor, but nobody expected Suhwan to completely miss it and trip onto the set.
But even after all that, the photos have still turned out okay, enough to get their managers’ approval, and now Seungheon is standing next to the monitor with Jaesun and Min. He swears he can hear the faint rumbling of someone else’s stomach but Jaesun keeps drinking water and Min keeps biting her lower lip. She winces when she tastes the gloss spread over her lips but it doesn’t stop her from gnawing at them until Sunyoung comes over and lightly taps her chin to get her to stop.
“Chew gum when we get to the van,” Sunyoung whispers in her ear, loud enough so Seungheon can hear it too. “We sent Yongha out to get snacks.”
That makes Min spin on her heels. “Wait, does he know where to go? Is he okay?”
The worry makes Sunyoung smile and Seungheon laugh, reaching out to gently turn her around to face the monitors again and he can lay an arm around her shoulders to keep her in place. “It’s okay, noona,” he says, catching Jaesun’s attention. “You don’t have to keep an eye on everybody right now.”
Min still tries to look over her shoulder anyways, to connect gazes with Sunyoung, and Seungheon can’t help but look to Jaesun for help. “But unnie,” Min calls, watching as Sunyoung smiles.
“It’s going to be fine. He said he’d call if something comes up.”
“Come on, Min,” Jaesun interrupts, going to her other side and trying to block her view of their manager. “Check out these photos with us.”
Min still mumbles something in response, returning to biting at her lip, and she flinches when Sunyoung reaches around them to tap at her chin again. “Sorry,” she mumbles, “I’ll work on it.”
Seungheon watches as Sunyoung nods in approval before stepping away again to monitor Jiwool’s posing personally. So, he goes back to watching as the photos automatically load into the computer screen in front of them. There are several of them, more than ten, but only about four will be chosen for each one. They’ve already removed their makeup from earlier to go for a simpler look to match their song Light and Seungheon hums to try and cover up another rumble from his stomach.
Every time he sees Min starting to chew on her lip again, he takes it as his responsibility to tap her chin just like Sunyoung did earlier. It’s been a bad habit of Min’s he’s noticed for a while now, probably helpful for the many years they’ve trained together, but she can’t chew gum any chance she gets, not when they’ve just debuted. Though, she’s been acting weird this whole trip.
Seungheon doesn’t dwell on that thought though, preferring to try and look around all the photography equipment to see Jiwool trying to communicate with the photographer in her accented Chinese. It doesn’t seem to bother Min but it impresses the staff members hovering around to hear a Korean singer attempting to speak their language. He catches her eye as she’s trying to say something and he smiles encouragingly at her, despite her lack of response towards him in turn.
If Jiwool is there, then where are the others?
Seungheon takes the time to look around while monitoring the edits the computer man is doing. He’s surprised there isn’t much photoshop going into the pictures, like the slimming of their waists or accentuating areas that don’t need to be accentuated, but he does expect the lightening of their skins and the overall quality of them. It’s sad to think of the stigma against darker skin, considering half of their own group has darker skin than what’s considered generally normal, but he still thinks they all look good. Suhwan looks handsome and Min has always been pretty. None of them are extremely pale anyways, so he hopes they can help break that stigma sometime soon in the foreseeable future.
He heaves another small sigh, when he feels his stomach growl, and another puff of air escapes his lips when Min pokes his stomach. It’s not enough to actually affect him, but it’s enough to distract herself from messing with her lips.
“Why do you look like you’ve been wronged?” Hyemi suddenly asks, walking over to join them. She’s still wearing the clothes she wore last for her session, still with the same light makeup, but she’s staring at them curiously.
“I have been wronged,” Seungheon murmurs, before he’s dramatically putting a hand to his stomach and doubling over the slightest bit. “By my own stomach.”
“Oh, the travesty,” Hyemi deadpans, before she’s laughing with Min and Jaesun. She looks over to Jiwool who’s finally finished, walking over towards them to see the end product. “Oh, let’s see her photos.”
Suhwan and Sookhyun join them as they come back from the bathroom. They all watch as the photographer gets into the main chair before he and the editor are flipping through all of the pictures taken so far. Seungheon finds none of them get to give much input into which photos make it into the last stage, but he relies on Min, Jaesun, Sunyoung, and Hyunchul’s judgment with which photos are chosen. They quietly ask permission from them every time a set is picked and he thinks that’s enough for him.
Before long, they’re walking out towards the van. They’ve changed into more comfortable clothes, an outfit they normally wear everyday, and by the time the van door has shut behind the last person, they’re digging into the bags of snacks Yongha managed to find and buy for them.
Bags of chips are passed around before bottles of Gatorade and water. Seungheon hums as he shares a bag with Sookhyun, talking about their recent schedules and if they’ve heard any news with any other groups around them. He hasn’t heard much from Hyunah in a while, but he guesses it’s because she’s busy with her own group, traveling and performing like most of their other friends. Jaejoong is still doing his military service, so it’s difficult to contact him until he’s on some type of break. He hums when Sookhyun knocks shoulders with him, still eating some chips– Oh, how’s Kyehoon doing? He should probably find out sometime soon.
“Are we really going to meet Min-noona’s parents?” Sookhyun whispers. His crunches are louder than his voice, and it’s going directly into Seungheon’s ear.
“I don’t know,” Seungheon tries to murmur back between his own crunches, watching as Min asks Jeanne if she should keep her current makeup on or take it off. “I haven’t heard much about it since earlier. Isn’t it too early to meet up with them anyways?”
“Are they working? I haven’t heard much about her parents.”
Seungheon shrugs, catching Hyemi’s glare in their direction, to which he returns with a sheepish smile. “They’re both working parents, but I’m not entirely sure what they do,” he answers. “They work all day, so they don’t have much time except maybe on weekends or something.”
Sookhyun frowns, as he finally leans away and continues to nibble on a chip he’s holding. “So,” he drawls, thinking. Seungheon hums to let him know he’s still listening between all the chewing he’s doing. “Do they know we’re here? I think noona informed them we’re in Beijing?”
Next to him, Suhwan leans over, crowding into Sookhyun’s space where the youngest sits between them in the back seats. He has one ear bud in, but his other ear closest to them is free. “Noona told me she called them the morning we came here.”
Seungheon and Sookhyun gape at him, shocked. “What?” Sookhyun asks, looking back to Min who’s now talking to Jiwool and Hyemi. “Weren’t we all asleep in her room that day?”
Suhwan shrugs before taking a chip from the bag. “Her talking woke me up from sleep,” he mutters, cheeks tingeing pink in embarrassment. “I couldn’t understand what she was saying though. She fell back asleep after talking to them.”
“How did you know she was talking to her parents and not Lu Han?” Seungheon asks, curious.
“She said mama and papa.”
Everything curious in Seungheon screeches to a stop, before he scrunches his face up in distaste. “Yeah,” he concedes, slumping back in his chair, and watching as they’re all turning back into the hotel. “That shouldn’t be Lu Han.”
Sookhyun spills into laughter next to him so Seungheon takes the bag of chips away to eat it for himself. It should be enough to last them until dinner, whenever that is, but until then, he wonders what’s going to happen next.
“Or she could’ve said something similar to it,” Suhwan adds on, looking thoughtful for a long moment. “I don’t know Chinese very well.”
“Well, pretty sure she still wouldn’t call Lu Han any of those terms.”
At that moment, Min turns around, confused and curious. “Call Lu Han what?”
“Nothing!”
co-author’s note: THIS MONSTER IS 10K WORTH OF WORDS. i was going to write more to try and finish the day, but, uh, that'd make this chapter super long and it might be a little too much ;u; i was also going to include what shinsuke and the others are doing back at kb entertainment but i'll save that for the next chapter ;u; ANYWAYS-- i feel like there's not enough jiwool recently and i am noT SATISFIED.
question of the day: so while i was checking apps because i am a forgetful person with details, it has come to my attention that suhwan's creator deactivated recently. i'm in constant contact with jaesun (my sister) and jiwool (my friend who now spams my phone with messages *side glances <3*) so they're aware and we've been discussing possibilities of suhwan's departure from night circus, eventually. though, i like to hear what the other members have to say. jaesun says 'don't do itttttt' while jiwool says 'whY NO STOP,' so what do you think??? it could provide drama within the story and/or other things and nobody will really know what'll happen until after i write it so *smirks* what would you like?
updated: 30 march 2017
question of the day: so while i was checking apps because i am a forgetful person with details, it has come to my attention that suhwan's creator deactivated recently. i'm in constant contact with jaesun (my sister) and jiwool (my friend who now spams my phone with messages *side glances <3*) so they're aware and we've been discussing possibilities of suhwan's departure from night circus, eventually. though, i like to hear what the other members have to say. jaesun says 'don't do itttttt' while jiwool says 'whY NO STOP,' so what do you think??? it could provide drama within the story and/or other things and nobody will really know what'll happen until after i write it so *smirks* what would you like?
updated: 30 march 2017
created by -catalyst
〈 ♞ 〉i swear i'm going to spam this entire story with new chapters by september/october! ( 1 aug 2017 )
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