Standing there in front of her, was her boss, and 6 guys which she assumed to be 2pm. They were all sweaty from their dance practice. She stood up and bowed courteously, greeting each of them in bits of broken Korean. Her boss nodded briefly and pointed towards each of them respectively, introducing the weary group members. Chansung stood on the very left, tall and fit, looking about twenty four or five. He had a certain cool aurora towards her and didn’t seem friendly at all when he shook her hand. Wooyoung and Junho, on the other hand, who were standing next to Chansung respectively, seemed quite eager to meet her though, and Junho even sent her an eye wink while shaking her hand. Emile returned a courteous smile.  Nickhun was quite prim and very polite, shaking her hand and bowing in a refined manner.  Junsu seemed a little too eager and wouldn’t let go of her hand. She laughed at his comical manner. He seemed embarrassed as the other members stared at him, finding it extremely hard to hold back their laughter.

“Junsu hyung’s like that. Don’t get him wrong, he’s weird but a nice person.” said a tall guy next to him, extending his hand towards him, flashing a smile. She was slightly taken aback by the fact that he spoke English so well, in a flattering American accent. “You must be Taecyeon-ssi.” She said bowing.  His smile was dazzling and there was something in his eyes that made her cringe, but in a good way.

She liked 2pm right away, they were the only friendly and passionate young people she had met all the time since she came to Korea. She hoped she would have a nice time working with them. She introduced herself according to her boss’s instructions sheepishly. “From now on, you will be working with them and I am expecting impressive results.”  The boss turned to look at 2pm. “ I hope that you will coordinate well and should you have any inquiries, please feel free to ask for my help. My office, as I have told you, will be the first room you see after you turn left at the corridor.” And with that she left, the sound of her high heels clicking loudly.

Emile didn’t know what to do. She glanced at her schedule. She was supposed to have a meeting with 2pm and talk about what they should do in their next performance. She hesitated as she picked up her list of instructions. Since her Korean was so very poor, all she could do was to turn to Taecyeon, the only one who knew English. ‘Umm...Taecyeon ssi, we’re supposed to have a meeting right now and we’re going to talk about your current album, Genesis.” Nickhun looked to another direction, sort of sheepish. “Hey hey.” Taecyeon smirked, his eyebrows waving furiously. “Look who’s there. Well in case you didn’t know, I’m not the only one who knows English here, Nickhun also does. And guess who’s the sour one?” She gave a small “oh” sound, afraid to have offended anyone.

“Gwenchanah, Khun hyung is like that, always afraid to let his feelings be known, always acting proper and formal. He’s a terribly sensitive person though and he’s forever secretly sour. If you put him on a sheet of paper, his sour acidity would corrode the sheet!” Joked Woo-young, sticking his tongue out. Emile decided that she would make good friends with Woo-young, he was so cheerful and his character had a certain bubbly sense which made the people around him smile. She couldn’t help but give a light laugh. His babyish face looked unexpectedly funny.

Taecyeon led the rest of them towards the meeting room, opening the door first for her. She smiled as she greeted him with thanks. She sat down promptly, arranging the few documents when she heard a slam. She turned to see the five members covering their mouths to compress their giggles. Through the glass door was Kim Junsu, banging his fists lightly, yelling “Yah Taecyeon! Aish jinjja! How can you open the door for everyone and  then slam it in my face! Let me in!” It wasn’t soon before the whole room was erupting with laughter. After what seemed like centuries to Junsu, someone unlocked the door and in he crashed, sulking like a five-year old. “Michin salam!” muttered Junsu.

After an hour of serious discussion, the meeting ended and everything was settled. She walked out, satisfied.  Then it was lunch and Emile went back to her office and put her packed lunchbox into the microwave. The day passed very quickly and night soon arrived. She was shown to her new accommodation, which was...next to 2pm’s...

“Yah Chansung-ah!” the five members yelled to the maknae, throwing glances at each other. Junsu knocked again. “Chansung ah! It’s hyung!” No reply. In there, Chansung lay on his bed, arms crossed, staring at the blank ceiling. He noticed a bug crawl on the ceiling and a surge of frustration hit him all of the sudden. He took a nearest magazine and hit it with all his force in annoyance. The five guys silenced when they heard the loud bang. “Aish, this kid.” sighed a playful Junsu, pulling numerous faces at Chansung’s door. The rest of them couldn’t help but laugh. Junsu always managed to speak like an 80 year old elderly. His voice sounded so grandmother-ish that nobody could resist their laughter. “Something’s wrong. Dude c’mon, since when did Chansung start acting all cool and mean in front of girls.” said Jun-ho, twirling to the living room. “Hajiman!” yelled the rest of them, it was completely annoying for Jun-ho to always practice his ‘Feel’ dance moves at all times, even if his album had been completely over. Jun-ho, on the other hand, rolled his eyes and snorted, he didn’t get why nobody appreciated his cool dance moves. Girls usually drooled over his moves, screaming “Junho oppa!!!” at all times. Woo- young bounced next to him, patting him on his shoulder, “Don’t always think of impressing girls. We are guys and we don’t appreciate that.”

Everyone laughed, it was typical of Junho, considering how desperate he was to have a girlfriend. “Hey guys, it’s serious now. I’m not saying he’s a playboy, but he just never seems like that, you know, like absolutely NEVER.” Nickhun pointed at his room, crossing his legs on the sofa. “At least he smiles all innocent and takes candy out of his pocket and eats it like a kid. You know how girls all like that.”  Taecyeon nodded in agreement, “And then when he talks his eyes widen and go really large so girls are gonna think, ‘AH! NEOMU NEOMU KYEOPTA!’ Right, guys?”  Woo-young smirked, puffing up his cheeks, imitating Chansung, “And then sometimes the aegyo.”

“Nae! Exactly! It’s not like he’s a flirt, but who here doesn’t wanna be popular among girls and get a good image!” yelled Junho, clapping his hands. “Seriously, we’re idols, but that doesn’t stop us from being boys at heart!” Wooyoung snapped his fingers. “Hey talking about girls, what do you guys think about the newbie?”

“WHO?”  The other members leaned forward, eager. “Our new fashion designer. We’ve always had male designers. So how do you think she’ll work things out?” Junsu stared slyly at the rest of them, “Don’t tell me you guys like her. Uh-uh you’re not all gonna date her right?” Junho and Wooyoung shoved Junsu hard while Taecyeon punched him on the shoulder. Nickhun bashed him with a cushion.“Seriously, hyung!?” “I know right! What on earth’s got you!” “Having a girlfriend would be nice but that doesn’t mean we’re totally HUNGRY for one!” “Yah! Hyung! Are you out of your mind?”

The boys took a long while to settle down.

“Hey back to our topic, you think she’s pretty?” Junho whispered, glaring cautiously at the four others. “No, I mean yes. But not what you think.” said Nickhun, stuttering. “I think she is. She might not be totally down- right glamorous or hot or whatsoever, but hey, she’s quite pretty. More of the sweet kind.” Junsu cackled evilly at the sight of Wooyoung talking nervously about the girl. “Wooyoungie~” He tapped the younger one’s shoulder, poking him. “You sure?” Junsu asked again.  Wooyoung glared at Junsu as if he was going to kill him.  “For me, I’d say yes.” said Taecyeon hesitantly.

Deep down, deep in his heart, something stirred. And he recognized it. He decided to ignore it.