The next morning, Nari awoke to the smell of pancakes and butter. She welcomed the smell but she knew she could never eat them. Unlike the other YongKi members, she gained every calorie she ate, which especially living surrounded by so many delicious dishes in SK. She brushed her teeth and combed her hair before she entered the kitchen area. The girls werearound the island in the kitchen eating their pancakes and sipping on orange juice.

Around 9am, Max arrived at their apartment, teeming with anxiety. He rushed in and sat us down.

“Ok, the CEO knows that you have songs written and ready to go,” he said, speaking directly to Nari, the songwriter and producer for the group. “He wants you to give one of your songs to CNBLUE for their comeback.”

Upon hearing the band name, Nari immediately thought back to the elevator incident, and dreaded the thought of having to be in the same room with Lee JongHyun again.

“Do I have to? Doesn’t the company have songwriters for them?” Nari asked, hoping to get out of the task.

“They do,” Max responded, “but they want to let the public see that you’re working together with the other members of the company for the good of the industry.”

Nari thought and gave in, knowing that if the order came from the CEO, she had no right to deny the request.

When the Manager left, Nari went to her room and searched for her folder of songs. She always kept draft songs in her stash, just in case there ever came a time when she had writer’s block. She browsed through them until she found one that she believed would fit CNBLUE’s style.

~~~

After Nari bathed and got ready, she headed to the FNC building to meet with the band. When she located the room, she realized that it was a dance room, instead of a recording studio. She thought nothing of it and entered confidently.

The boys all turned their heads towards the door as it opened. When Nari entered, YongHwa waved in greeting while MinHyuk and JungShin smiled friendly. JongHyun was the only one who turned back to what he was doing, which was tuning his guitar. As the door closed, the silence fell heavily in the room.

Nari joined the boys on the ground and handed them the song.

“This is the best song I could find in my files that seemed suitable for a band,” Nari started.

YongHwa accepted it and scanned the lyrics. He nodded along with the rhymes and a smile seemed to be forming on his face. MinHyuk and JungShin watched their leader anxiously. “This is fantastic!” YongHwa exclaimed suddenly. He passed the song onto MinHyuk and faced me, smiling broadly.

“Whoa, this is perfect for us!” MinHyuk said, giving Nari a thumbs-up.

Nari blushed, and thanked them for the praise.

After JungShin was pleased with the song, JongHyun grabbed the paper from them and scoffed as he read.

“This is what you’re all getting worked up about?” he said, smirking at Nari.

“Jong, it’s pretty good, you have to admit,” YongHwa said, trying to remove the tension that grew with JongHyun’s words.

“Well, I guess it’s okay, coming from a girl group songwriter.”

Nari’s smile disappeared completely and she began to second-guess her choice for them.

“Do you even have an idea of a beat to go with this?” JongHyun continued.

Feeling the challenge, Nari responded, “yes, I actually came up with it when I wrote it initially.”

JongHyun seemed taken aback by her answer and continued to smirk.

They agreed to go to a recording studio to see what beat Nari had in mind.

When the other boys left the room, JongHyun pulled Nari back forcefully.

She faced him in utter shock and fear. She had never been touched so roughly by a man before. As she glanced from his hand grasping her arm tightly to the stern expression on his face, JongHyun ignored her silent screams of pain.

“If you think that you can give one of your crappy songs to us, it won’t work. We’ll make the song better than you ever thought it could be. You may have been successful on your little YouTube channel, but this is Korea and in this country, the people will only support local talent. You’re nothing but a trend, and all trends come to an end.”

Nari could not control the look of sheer terror that came across her face. She didn’t even feel the tears fall from her eyes. The next thing she knew, she was left alone in the room and the door banged shut.

She crouched to the floor in disbelief. She hated how JongHyun spoke to her and how rough he was with her, but more than anything, she feared that he was right. What if the Korean fanbase only liked them now because they were a different type of band? What if their being foreign would only leave them guest starring on Variety Shows in a few years? She couldn’t bear to think that she made the wrong decision in coming to Korea. She just couldn’t. The more she thought, the more tears escaped.

Suddenly, her ringtone sounded and she answered without checking the caller ID.

“Yoboseyo?” she answered, sniffling.

“Nari-ah? It’s JooHyuk oppa. Are you…are you ok?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” she lied. “I’m sorry, oppa, but can I call you back? I’m not in a good place right now.”

“Nari-ah, where are you now?”

“In the FNC Building, why?

“I’m near there, I’ll be there in 10 minutes. Meet me in the basement, okay?”

“But, oppa…” Nari didn’t know what to say, but she had to tell CNBLUE she couldn’t make it.

“No ‘buts’. Be there.” And with that, he hung up.

Nari stood up and headed for the recording studio. When the boys saw her face, they became concerned, all except for JongHyun. However, JongHyun did seem to flinch a little when she entered. Was that a little guilt she saw in his face? No, it couldn’t be.

When she said she had to leave, they agreed and sent her off.

Now, she had to find a way to not look like a crying mess in front of JooHyuk oppa.