Byulhee sat in the living room of the dorms, her eyes grazing over the newspaper in her hand. She always enjoyed keeping up with the latest news. It helped kick-start a lot of interesting conversations and debates. Her lips curled into a smirk, thinking of some of the debates she had gotten into because of how informed she kept herself.

Footsteps padded down the hallway.

Byulhee lowered the newspaper to see whom the newcomer might be, though she was pretty sure she knew exactly who it was.

She had not guessed wrong.  

Jaemi entered the room, already dressed with her makeup and hair done. "Morning!" she said cheerily.

Byulhee smiled. "Mornin'."

"Want some coffee to go along with breakfast?" asked Jaemi, heading toward the kitchen. 

"Sure," she replied. "I'll help with the breakfast." She stood up, following Jaemi. 

"Thanks," Jaemi said, as she opened the pantry and took out a bag of rice. 

"Fried rice?" asked Byulhee.

Jaemi shook her head as she began to rinse off the rice. "I'd love to, but we don't have a whole lot of time this morning. We're just going to do a simply breakfast--fry up some eggs to put on the rice. And cut up some apple slices."

"Need some help?" a sweet voice asked.

Jaemi and Byulhee turned to see Lìxúe, who had just finished her daily yoga , judging by the fact that she wore yoga pants and a comfy looking racerback top. "Sure!" replied Byulhee. "You can help me fry up the eggs."

"Alright." Lìxúe opened up the cupboard and pulled out two frying pans. After placing them on the stove, she took some olive oil and poured it onto each of the pans. 

A moment later, the click of nails against the wood floors announced the arrival of another resident of the dorms. Nick--a five year old Belgian Malinois that Lìxúe's deceased boyfriend had left behind--entered the kitchen, his presence immediately eliciting an excited squeal from Byulhee. "Hey there, boy!" She dropped the spatula in the sink and fell to her knees, hugging and petting the large dog.

Lìxúe smiled at the interaction. Nick was a veteran army dog, who struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder and became vicious after his master's death. Lìxúe had taken him in and cared for the dog. He had come a long way since then. Though he still flinched with certain loud noises, he had recovered quite a bit. She had been a little nervous to bring him to the dorms, but he was an instant hit among the members. He was often doted on and given lots of treats and belly rubs by his new fanbase.

"Want some coffee or hot chocolate?" asked Jaemi as she added water to the rice cooker and turned it on.

 Lìxúe  smiled. "Hot chocolate," she replied as she began to crack the eggs into the frying pans. 

"Coming right up," Jaemi replied, gathering the ingredients for both coffee and hot chocolate. 

"Is Manager oppa coming early for breakfast too?" asked Lìxúe, holding another egg at the edge of the frying pan, unsure whether to crack it or not.

"Yep," replied Jaemi as she began to ready her professional coffee machine. "He wants to make sure that we're  there bright and early for today's schedule." She poured the milk into the steamer.

Byulhee chuckled as she continued to pet Nick. "You can say that again." She glanced at the clock. "It's not even 6:15 yet."

"This will be late compared to some of our schedules," responded Jaemi with a chuckle, measuring out the coffee beans.

They turned as the sound of the front door opening and closing reached their ears. A few seconds later, Aeyeong appeared in the doorway. "Good morning!" she said in a singsong voice. 

"Good morning," the other three responded, smiling.

"Need any help?" asked Aeyeong.

"Sure. There's some apples in the pantry," replied Jaemi, nodding her head toward the pantry. "If you want to cut some up?" she said questioningly as she began to take out mugs from the cupboard.

"Of course," Aeyeong said, walking up to the sink to wash her hands. "So, anyone else up yet?"

"Nope," replied Lìxúe. "The other three are still sleeping."

"Not for long," responded Jaemi. "Anyone wanna wake 'em up?" 

"Oooh!" Byulhee exclaimed, raising a hand. "I volunteer as tribute!" 

Jaemi chuckled. "Thanks, Byul."

Byulhee ceased petting Nick, bolting up from her spot on the floor. She washed her hands in the sink and proceeded to head toward the bedrooms. She entered the room that Nell and Sijin shared. "Good morning!" she called, throwing the door open. She stuck her lower lip out in a pout, when neither one stirred. She walked over to Sijin's bed. "Sijin!" she called in a singsong voice. "Time to get up!" 

Sijin continued to sleep peacefully.

Byulhee stuck her finger out, poking Sijin in the cheek. "Wakey, wakey!" 

Sijin's nose scrunched up at Byulhee's touch.

"Wakey, wakey! Eggs and Baekhyunnie!" She poked Sijin's cheek again. 

Sijin's eyes fluttered open, blinking quickly. "Mmm..." she mumbled groggily. She sat up slowly, yawning. She looked at Byulhee as she blinked her eyes repeatedly. "Wh-what time is it?" she asked in a tired voice.

"Time to wake up!" replied Byulhee brightly, throwing up her arms in excitement. 

Sijin nodded slowly and got out of the bed as Byulhee took her arm in hers. 

"Breakfast is almost ready and we have a biiiiig day ahead of us!" Byulhee said, ushering the bleary-eyed maknae out of the room. As soon as they were out in the hallway, Byulhee let go of Sijin. "Jae unnie is making some coffee. You should go get some." She slapped Sijin on the behind and then turned to go back into the  room. 

Sijin shuffled down the hallway slowly towards the kitchen. 

Byulhee marched over to Nell's bed. "Wakey, wakey." She poked Nell just as she had done with Sijin. "Time to wake up, Sleeping Beauty. We've got breakfast for ya!" Her brows furrowed when Nell made no motion of waking. Suddenly, an idea struck her of how to awaken this princess. Her eyes lit up and she leaned forward, hovering over Nell's face. "Time to wake up, my Belle-erina," she said in a deeper octave. As her face was just inches from Nell's face, her body began to shake with laughter at the silliness of her idea. She began to laugh harder, accidently spitting a bit on Nell. 

Nell's face scrunched up and her eyes flickered open. "Wha--!"

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty!" Byulhee kissed Nell quickly and pulled back laughing at Nell's astonished expression.

"Wha--" Nell touched her face. "Wha--" She turned to Byulhee with an irritated expression as Byulhee doubled over in laughter, clutching her stomach. "What are you doing?" glowered Nell as she grabbed a tissue from the box on the nightstand by her bed. "Why did you do that?" she said, trying to sound calm though she was rather irritated by the older member's behavour. She wiped her face. So gross, she thought, wiping the drops of saliva from her face. She pulled the tissue away with a sigh. She would find no solace until she had completely scrubbed her face with soap and lots of hot water.

"T-time to g-get up," Byulhee said between laughs. "Breakfast is almost ready." She stumbled out of the room, still giggling over her triumph.

Nell's chest rose and fell with a frustrated sigh as she stood up from the bed and shut the door behind Byulhee.  

Byulhee skipped down the hallway, satisfied with her accomplishment of having woken up two of the members. She hurried into the next room and found Minyeon still fast asleep. "Wake up, Minnie!" she called. "It's time to get up!" 

Minyeon slept soundly. 

A mischievous gleam sparkled in Byulhee's eyes as an idea struck her. "Wake up!" she screamed joyfully, running up to the bed and pouncing on top  of Minyeon.

"Uhnn..." Minyeon groaned, but other than that did not stir. 

Byulhee blinked. She pulled out her phone, and a song. "Baby!" rang out through her speakers as SHINee's "Ringdingdong" began to play. "I've fallen for you, why are you like this to me?" She held the phone up to Minyeon's ear, hoping the music would coax Minyeon out of slumber. "Don't be scared and back away, how about just leaving it to me? My lady."

Minyeon just buried her head deeper in the pillow, but continued to breath evenly.

Byulhee's eyes widened at the elder's ability to stay asleep. 

"Ring ding dong ring ding dong ring diggi ding diggi ding ding ding." 

Byulhee shut off the music when that seemed to have no affect on her unnie. "Huh..." She glanced about the room, looking for anything to inspire her. She glanced at the water bottle on the nightstand and her eyes immediately lit up. Snatching it, she unscrewed the cap and then dumped the water over Minyeon's head. 

Minyeon groaned and slowly sat up. "Uhnn..."

"Wakey, wakey! It's almost breakfast time, unnie," she said before skipping out of the room and back into the kitchen. 

She found that manager Minho had arrived and was busying speaking to Jaemi about some of their upcoming schedules as she was busy pouring steamed milk into one of the hot chocolated mugs, creating a heart design. 

Sijin stood, leaning against the counter nearby, staring blearily at nothing in particular. 

Jaemi handed Sijin the finished hot chocolate mug as he nodded at something that Minho said, before starting to pour steamed milk into a coffee mug. "I agree. I'm a little nervous how the show is going to portray us."

With her hands wrapped around her mug, Sijin sipped the hot chocolate slowly.

Byulhee turned her attention to Aeyeong and Lìxúe, who were chatting away quietly. Aeyeong had finished cutting the apple slices and had set them on a plate. They had eight bowls of the cooked rice lined up and were dishing out a friend egg onto each one.

"Hey Byul," Jaemi said, holding out a fresh mug to her.

"Thanks," Byulhee said, taking the mug in her hands. She looked down and her lips curved up into a wide smile at the the heart design on her coffee. Jaemi once told her that coffee with latte art usually was not quality coffee; however, Byulhee was familiar with Jaemi's barista skills and knew her to be an exception to that statement.

"No problem." Jaemi flashed her a smile and then returned to her conversation with Minho. 

Byulhee gingerly placed the mug to her lips, pausing to take a whiff of the sweet aroma. 

"Breakfast is done," stated Aeyeong as she and Lìxúe began to carry the bowls and utensils to the table. 

As the women began to gather about the table, Jaemi and Minho hung back in the kitchen momentarily, continuing to speak in hushed voices. "After what Ae told me about how their vocal practice went, I'm just not sure what SM is thinking. There has to be a reason behind that. He only left after Sijin started crying. Ae said that he told them he would be back, but he never did. Something is just fishy about that. Something is not right."

Minho nodded his head. "You think maybe they were trying to get a stronger reaction from either Aeyeong or Sijin to be cut and edited later in the  show?"

Jaemi shrugged. "I don't know, but it seems as good a hunch as any." She finished the last mug and then proceeded to take the remaining hot chocolate and coffee mugs to the table, placing them in front of the recepients. 

Nell entered the room and took one glance at the remaining available seat. It was in between Lìxúe and Byulhee. Her jaw stiffened slightly. She did not mind the model, Lìxúe, but Byulhee was not quite on the same page with her. She stiffled a grimace, thinking about how rudely she had been woken up. She held her head up high and walked over to the table.

"Good morning, Nell," Aeyeong said from across the table, sending her a sweet smile. "How did you sleep last night?"

"Fine, thank you," replied Nell with a polite smile in return. "However, I do not appreciate being woken up in the manner that I was," she stated, her eyes darting toward Byulhee. 

Byulhee was too busy eating and sharing a story with Sijin to notice the contemptuous gaze being thrown at her. 

Aeyeong tilted her head in concern. "What do you mean?"

"She--"

Minho stood up from the table, clapping his hands. "Good morning everyone, can I have your attention for a couple minutes?"

Nell ceased speaking, her jaw stiffening at the sudden interruption. Couldn't he tell that she was in the middle of talking?

She gently pulled her chair out and took a seat primly, adjusting her skirt neatly.

"So, we've got a full day ahead of us," began Minho. "We're heading down to JJE today to begin photoshoots for the album. Filming for the show will be done there, since the SJ members will be coming for that as well. So eat up and get ready. We have to be in the studio in about forty-five minutes." He sat back down and everyone settled into eating and chatting. 

*****

Zhoumi stood in front of the JJE building with the cameras facing him. "Hi, I'm Zhoumi!" he said with a bow to the camera. "I'm here at J.J. Entertainment where the Starlets will be having their photoshoot for their album." He gestured to the building behind him. "We're going to take some of the pictures in and around the building." He made his way to the front doors of the building and opened them, the camera crew following behind him. "Since, I like fashion--" Zhoumi continued as they s their way down the corridors. "--I got to help choose the clothes that the girls are going to wear for the photoshoot. Well, some of them. Heechul helped pick some of them too. He and the rest of Super Junior will be here soon. But for now, let's check on the Starlets. Let's go!" He gestured for the cameras to follow him as they turned down another corridor. 

They stopped in front of one of the doors, which Zhoumi proceed to knock on. 

Lìxúe opened the door. "Hi Zhoumi!" she said cheerily with a wave of her hand.

"Hi Seolmi!" he replied with a polite smile. "Is everyone ready?"

"Almost. Just finishing up with makeup and hair. Come on in," she said, holding the door open for Zhoumi and the camera crew. 

"Hi!" the Starlets sang out in unison as Zhoumi and the camera crew entered. 

Zhoumi grinned and waved to them all. "Hi!" He turned to the nearest Starlet, Minyeon, as she sat in a folding chair, ready to go. "Mineyeon looks ready," he said in a cheery voice. 

Minyeon stood from her folding chair and smiled to the camera. "Hello!" she said with a small bow of her head.

Zhoumi sidled up next to Minyeon so they could both face the camera. "Do you want to explain how today's photoshoot will work?"

"Sure," she replied. She looked at the camera. "So, each of us--The Starlets and I-- will first have our main photoshoot which will be featured in the photobook of our album. Then we'll all be divided between the members of Super Junior, who will be helping us take photos for the second version of our album."

Zhoumi nodded. "But to get our groups for this, we're going to play a game once the rest of the members arrive."

"Cut!" the production director said. "Very good. You can relax until Super Junior arrives."

The room began to bustle with chatting as they now could do so freely without disrupting the recording. 

Zhoumi made his way over to Lìxúe . "Hey!"

"Hey," she replied, adjusting the sleeves on her dress. "What kind of game are we supposed to play?" she asked, glancing around the room at the other members. "Most of us are in dresses."

Zhoumi shrugged. "They didn't tell me." 

Lìxúe giggled at his response. "So, I take it we can't just choose our groups."

Zhoumi shook his head. "I don't think so. Though I'd like to." He smiled.

"Oh? And who would you choose to be in your group?" Lìxúe  asked in a  slightly teasing tone. 

"Hmm..." Zhoumi tilted his head and pretended to be contemplating seriously on the question. "I don't know..."

Lìxúe laughed, though she secretly hoped that he wanted to be in the same group as much as she did.

The production director clapped his hands to get the attention of everyone. "Come on, everyone. Let's get the photos started!"

Everyone filed out of the dressing room and headed down the corridor to another room. The room was expansive with a set of the interior of a house. Cameras and lights were set up for the photoshoot. The front half of a car was set off to the side as another part of the set. 

The Starlets went up one by one to take their photos, Zhoumi commentating on the concept and design of each member's outfit for the shoot. As one member finished and returned to the dressing room to don her next outfit, the next one would take her turn. As the second set of photos were almost to a close, Minho glanced down at his watch. 

Jaemi sidled up to him, having just finished dressing in her third outfit, a short black dress with long sleeves. "What time were they supposed to get here?" she asked under her breath.

"Almost an hour and a half ago."

"Crud." 

Minho scoffed. "That's putting it gently."

Jaemi glanced at him sideways. "How in the world do they expect us to get all the photos done if they're not here? Should we just do it without them?"

Minho shook his head gently. "I don't know. And here I thought that we would be running behind just because hair and makeup usually takes a long time." He scoffed. 

Jaemi glanced around, her eyes zeroing in on Zhoumi as he pulled his phone from his pocket, an anxious look on his face. "It seems like we're not the only ones who seem to be in the dark about this," whispered Jaemi, nodding toward him. 

"Hmm." Minho hummed, turning his gaze toward Zhoumi.

Suddenly, the doors opened and Super Junior came in through the doors with their managers and another camera crew behind them. A look of relief washed over Zhoumi's face. 

Jaemi's eyes darted from Zhoumi's expression to the Super Junior members' faces. They all had smiles and were laughing and chatting carelessly. Her eyebrows knit together. Something was not adding up.

Sijin finished the last of her photoshoot and then all the Starlets gathered about, facing the camera.

The production director spoke as crew members brought out two boxes and set one in front of the Starlets and the other in front of Super Junior. "We're going to be playing a game to decide who will be on whose team for the rest of the photoshoots. Each group will stand in a circle and pass the items in the box as music plays. When the music stops, you have to find the others who have a matching item as yours. This will be your team. Does everyone understand?"

Everyone answered in acknowledgement as they began to take the items from the boxes. 

As Super Junior's "Sorry, Sorry" began to play, they passed the items quickly. A blue feather boa, a pink crown, white sunglasses, another pink crown, a yellow wig, another blue feather boa, and another pair of white sunglasses flew from one set of hands to another. Over and over. 

The music stopped. 

Jaemi looked down at the yellow wig in her hands and then up towards the other members of her group. No one else had a yellow wig. She turned toward the direction of the Super Junior members. Her heart dropped.

Heechul and Leeteuk were currenly dancing some strange dance, both adorned with matching yellow wigs. 

Crud.

She took in a deep breath, preparing herself for the long day ahead of her. 

She headed toward the two as a familiar face rushed past her heading toward Siwon.

"Siwonnie!" Byulhee called, throwing her blue feather boa over her shoulder. "Siwon!" She stopped in front of him. "I'm glad that we're in a group together. It's been so long since I've had a chance to see you. I've been wanting to say hi. But we didn't get a chance to talk last time we all filmed together. So, how are you doing?" she said in one long breath. She smiled up at him.

He tilted his head, raising an eyebrow. "I'm sorry. I don't think we've met." 

Byulhee's eyes widened. "What? You don't remember me?"

Siwon shook his head. "No."

"Are you--" Byulhee began, but was cut off by the appearance of several others.

"Looks like we're all on a team," said Henry with a grin as he, Eunhyuk, and Nell appeared each with a blue feather boa.

Byulhee's eyes lit up. "Belle-rina! We're on a team! Yay!" She turned back again to Siwon, lightly grasping his arm. "Are you sure you don't remember me?" 

Nell's eyes darted from Siwon to Byulhee, but did not comment on the scene in front of her. 

Byulhee looked up at Siwon with her eyes wide with sadness. "Did you forget about me?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't remember you." Siwon bowed, his palms clasped together. "I'm Siwon. It's nice to meet you..." He trailed off as if expecting an answer from her. 

"Oh." Byulhee's shoulders dropped, a crestfallen expression falling upon her face. "I'm Byulhee."

Suddenly, Siwon lifted his hand and patted her on the head, a wide smile spreading across his face. 

Byulhee's eyes widened at the familiar gesture and she glanced up at him, questioningly.

"Good to see you again," Siwon said a grin. 

Byulhee's face lit up and she punched Siwon playfully in the arm as she began to laugh. "You do remember! Silly Siwon! Tricking me!" She grasped onto his arm as she continued to laugh over his prank. "I was so worried for a moment you had forgotten about me after all this time!" 

"Excuse me," Nell said in a polite, yet brusque manner. "The PD is talking." 

Everyone turned toward the production director. "Now that you all are organized into teams, each team will receive one camera for taking pictures and another for filming. Each team will have to take photographs that can be used in the Starlets' album. There  must be at least three wardrobe changes per Starlet member. And each Starlet member must take at least two different photos with the Super Junior members on their team. You can take as many or as little as you want. However, this is a game. Points will be awarded according to the number of quality photos taken, how much time you have left over, and if you met the other requirements. Whichever group has the most points will receive a prize." The production director paused for a moment, a smile playing across his lips. "You only have an hour and a half to complete this assignment."

The room filled with several gasps as different ones exchanged glances. It would be a challenge to do all those different looks and make sure the photographs still had enough quality to be featured in an album photobook. 

The production director continued, glancing around. "Who has the yellow wig?"

Jaemi, Leeteuk, and Heechul raised their hands. 

"Ah!" The production director nodded. "Since your group only has one Starlet member, your group has an advantage. To make this fair, you will not be able to start until forty-five minutes have passed. Do you understand?"

The group nodded and agreed to the rule. 

"Everyone may shoot their photos anywhere--" the production director continued. "--on the set, outside the building, inside--anywhere where others are not working. You cannot interrupt another group's photoshoot." He paused, waiting as crew members passed out the cameras to the groups. Once every group had received the cameras, the production director turned to one of the crew members, who had a timer ready. "Start!"

The room erupted with noise as the game began.

Lìxúe  turned to her fellow teammates: Aeyeong, Zhoumi, Donghae, Ryeowook, and Kyuhyun. She glanced toward Ryeowook, who held a small recording camera in his hand. She turned to the camera, her eyes gleaming. 

Zhoumi chuckled. "I've seen that look before," he said with a grin. "Devil Lì has arrived."

Lìxúe leaned closer to the camera, cupping her hands as if she was telling the audience some special secret. "I have an idea that will give us a head start." She winked. "Follow me!" She gestured for the rest of the group to follow her before hurrying off in the direction of the dressing rooms. They passed by Minyeon and Sijin's group who were currently trying to finalize their plan of action.

Shindong held the camera as Kangin spoke, his gestures animated. "So, what you two can do is change into a bunch of layers and bring extra shoes and sweaters and jackets and hair things and then we'll just swap them all around for your different wardrobe changes."

"You mean you want us to layer all of the clothes on top of each other?" Minyeon asked with a raised eyebrow. "The problem with that is the clothes underneath will make the outer layers all bunched up. It won't look nice for the photos."

"She's right," Sungmin muttered. 

Kangin's face fell. "But this will make it easier to move around and use different places for the shoot."

Yesung spoke up, "I think that they should just go ahead and change and while they're getting ready we figure out where we want to start taking photos."

Shindong nodded from behind the camera. "I agree."

"Let's go then," Minyeon said, looking at Sijin. "We'll meet you guys back here and we'll bring several other wardrobe pieces just in case." She and Sijin hurried off for the dressing rooms, neither feeling very good about the 'game plan'. As they neared the dressing room, they stopped.

Nell and Byulhee's group sat and stood by the wall, a series of irritated and amused expressions marked their faces as they watched Aeyeong and Lìxúe's group. Lìxúe stood in front of the dressing room door, wearing a black dress with a deep v-neck that almost went down to her naval. Her hair was pulled back into a bun. She struck a series of poses as Zhoumi filmed and Ryeowook snapped the pictures, Donghae adding his input every now and again. 

Kyuhyun leaned against the wall, an amused smirk on his face as he watched the other groups stuck waiting, since they were not allowed to interrupt each others' photoshoots. 

Zhoumi turned the camera, filming the other groups' reactions for a moment. 

Lìxúe pulled her hair from her bun as Ryeowook continued to snap away more photos. 

There was a knock from the other side of the dressing room door.

Lìxúe stepped away from the door and Aeyeong slipped out as Lìxúe went inside, quickly switching places. Ryeowook never ceasing to snap photos. Aeyeong posed for the camera as several clicks snapped.

Byulhee chuckled. "That's not fair," she said in a whiny voice, though her eyes betrayed that she was indeed amused by her younger members' ingenuity. 

Nell pursed her lips together as she watched the spectacle in front of her.

It was indeed, not fair. She would already being doing her photo shoot if it was not for this prank.

She felt an arm gently press on her shoulder. She glanced up and saw Siwon give her a small, reasuring smile before pulling away discreetly before anyone could notice. With her face tinting a darker shade of pink, she sent him a small smile in return, thankful for the comforting gesture. 

Sijin tugged awkwardly at the hem of her shirt. It was already nerve-wracking to do the first photoshoot, but having to do the rest in front of the Super Junior members wearing clothing that she was not very comfortable with just made her all the more nervous. She glanced at Minyeon as her unnie glanced down at the time on her phone. Sijin glanced around, trying to focus on anything other than her own discomfort. However, it was hard to focus with the wait being long and the anticipation every mounting. 

The tension only grew when the production director sent a camera crew to where they all were after hearing about Lìxúe's sneaky idea. They filmed everyone as the other Starlet members waited about, hoping for a chance to maybe get into the dressing room. 

After another rotation between Lìxúe and Aeyeong, Lìxúe turned to the others with a polite smile. "Thank you for being such a gracious audience," she said with a playful tone. Her group burst out in laughter as they hurried away, partially worried that the other groups might retaliate and excited for the rest of their photo shoot. 

Byulhee threw open the door to the dressing room. "We'll hurry and be right out!" she called to the guys, a wide smile on her face.

Nell let out a sigh as she followed her fellow member inside. 

Minyeon and Sijin quickly followed, hoping that they could change quickly enough so that they could get back to the rest of their group sooner than later. 

****

Meanwhile, Heechul, Leeteuk, and Jaemi found a few empty fold-up chairs and sat down. 

Jaemi glanced at her team, wondering how she would survive spending forty-five straight minutes alone with Leeteuk and Heechul. Heechul she was sure she could handle, she could always use a good banter, but Leeteuk... that was another story. She was just going to have to put her acting skills to good use with him. Plus, she might just be able to do a few things for her group's sake.

Heechul scoffed. "Too bad we weren't on Lìxúe's team."

Jaemi chuckled. "Why? Because you had the stylists give her the most revealing clothes and you want to see the fruits of your labor?" She smiked.

Heechul threw back his head and laughed. "You haven't changed a bit."

"You didn't record that did you, Leeteuk?" Jaemi asked. "Otherwise, we would have to edit that out."

"Camera's not on," Leeteuk replied, glancing down at the camera on his lap as if to verify that he did not turn it on by accident. 

Jaemi turned back to Heechul. "Well, at least you're not as bad as Kyunghoon," she said, hoping that he would take the bait. 

"You watch 'Knowing Brother'?" he asked.

"Yeah," Jaemi replied with a nod. "I've been watchingit since it started. It's so funny. It looks like it would be a lot of fun to go on."

"Do you want to come on the show?" Heechul asked.

Jaemi grinned sincerely. "I'd love to. Maybe I could bring one of the other members with me."

Heechul smirked. "That would be cool. I'll talk to the producers."

"Thanks! I'll talk to Minho and see what we can arrange with them," she said with a warm smile, thankful that things were looking good so far. She really did have hopes for going on that show. 

"You should also come on Star King," Leeteuk said, jumping into the conversation. 

Jaemi shifted her attention to him, unprepared for his input. "Oh, yeah. I'll have to talk to Minho about that."

"You know I'm a co-host on there, right?" Leeteuk continued, a smile on his face.

"Yeah," Jaemi said with a polite nod. 

"Do you watch it?" he asked, tilting his head slightly. 

Jaemi shook her head gently. "No, not really to be honest." She used to watch it, but had actually ceased watching it all together once Leeteuk became a regular co-host on there.

Leeteuk looked slightly deflated by her response. "Oh, I--"

He was interrupted by the sound of laughter as Aeyeong and Lìxúe 's group entered the room. The trio watched as the newcomers walked over to the nearby set, laughing and chatting. By the looks of it, it seemed as if the group must have an advantage over the others in some way. 

****

Byulhee and Nell's team was on their last set of photos. Nell finished posing with Henry and then began to put a sweater on over her dress and then a hat on over her head as Byulhee began to pose with Siwon. Her lips pursed together as she watched Siwon and Byulhee strike a series of goofy poses. She knew and trusted Siwon, but Byulhee on the hand was just a little too impulsive for Nell's comfort. Byulhee was just too carefree, too comfortable around others. From what Nell had seen, she was unsure whether Byulhee was just overly friendly or if she indeed had an interest in Siwon. She could not tell. 

Henry took over the camera for taking pictures as Eunhyuk traded places with Siwon. 

As Siwon began to put on a nice coat, Eunhyuk stood next to Byulhee. 

Byulhee felt her heart quicken, but ignored it. "Ready, Hyukkie?" she asked with a chuckle. 

"Yep," he replied with a gummy smile. 

Byulhee swung an arm around him comraderie. "Good! Say 'cheeeeeeeese'!" she said, turning to the camera in a goofy pose. After the camera clicked, she was suddenly struck with an excellent idea. "Hey! We should do like a fast camera thingy. I'm tired of doing the same thing."

"What do you mean?" asked Henry, lowering the camera. 

"You should say 'click' and we suddenly have to pose in a different way. But you have to be quick. And we can't do the same pose." She glanced between Eunhyuk and Henry, her eyes wide and a cute pout on her lips. "Pweety, pwease...."

Eunhyuk's grin only grew wider. "Sure." 

"Yay!" she threw her arms around Eunhyuk in a tight squeeze. "Thank youuuuuu." She released him and turned to look back at the camera. "Come on! Let's do it." 

"Click," said Henry.

Byulhee threw her hands out in front of her, making her hands into little bunny ear shapes.

Eunhyuk put his fist out like a super hero.

"Click."

Byulhee punched a fist out.

Eunhyuk made a 'peace sign'. 

"Click."

Byulhee poked Eunhyuk's cheek.

Eunhyuk stuck his hand out in the classic 'five' shape. 

"Click."

Byulhee threw her arms out to the side, effectively smacking Eunhyuk in the face. 

"Ow."

Henry burst out laughing, doubling over. 

Byulhee's eyes widened. "Oh! I'm so sorry! Are you ok?" She glanced down at the floor where Eunhyuk was sprawled out, his hands over his stomach as he laughed over the ordeal. 

Henry continued to chuckle. "I think you guys are done." He turned to Nell and Siwon. "Your turn." 

As Nell stepped up with Siwon, she could not help but recall the day that they had met. It was twelve years ago on a photoshoot for a magazine cover. A faint smile crossed her face as she remembered how she had been so awe-struck that day, but he had treated her so nicely and made the shoot go both quickly and smoothly.

As the camera clicked, Nell glanced up at Siwon, her eyes twinkling softly at the remembrance of how they had exchanged numbers that day. She was thankful to have him in her life. 

He sent her a warm smile as the camera clicked again.

"Wah..." Byulhee said, watching the exchange.

Nell's shoulders stiffened. Had they been a little too obvious in their affection?

"You guys are so good at this," Byulhee continued with a tone of reverence in her voice. "This looks like a real photoshoot."

Eunhyuk chuckled. "It is a real photoshoot."

"I mean they look like they're playing a couple." Byulhee let out a sigh of admiration. "They're really good at this."

Nell felt her face heat up.

Siwon scratched the back of his neck. 

Eunhyuk covered his mouth, trying to stiffle a laugh. It was no secret between the Super Juniors that Siwon and Nell were dating, but it was rather funny to see them try to hide it from others at times. 

Henry continued to snap a  few photos as the couple changed poses. He pause, looking back at his handy work. He grinned. "These look great! I think we're done." 

****

Sijin shifted uncomfortably. She was currently wearing a dress that was both low-cut and way too short for her tastes. 

"Now strike a y pose," Kangin said from behind the photo camera. 

Sijin placed her hands on her hips somewhat awkwardly and forced a smile for the camera. 

Kangin burst out laughing.

Sijin's smile fell. 

She knew that she was not y in any way. She recalled her mother's constant berating from when she was younger. She glanced down awkwardly, remembering how 'fat' she used to be. She felt her eyes brim with tears.

Oh, no!

Not here. 

They were trying to film and take photos for their album. 

Now was not the time to cry.

She had gotten through the other photos, but why couldn't she just do this one?

She blinked, hoping her tears would vanish, but to no avail.

Minyeon's eyes flashed in sympathy as she noticed the sudden change in her dongsaeng's eyes. She opened to speak, but Yesung stepped forward.

"Don't worry. Photoshoots aren't easy," he said with a sympathetic smile. "You did really good last time for the magazine, Sijin. And you've been doing really good so far today. You can do this," he continued in a gentle voice. 

Shindong stepped forward, asking Sungmin to hold the filming camera for him. He sent her a warm smile. "Do you know what we do when we get nervous for photoshoots?"

Sijin blinked, trying to hold back her tears. She nodded. "You joke around..."

Almost instantly, both Yesung and Shindong broke out in silly dances; Yesung doing his classic octopus dance and Shindong dancing in a manner that was both seductive and silly at the same time.

Sijin broke out in laughter, her eyes crinkling with joy. 

After a few moments, the men ceased dancing and the shots resumed. 

After several shots as Sijin began to put on a turquois blazer, Minyeon stepped up, having just finished braiding her hair for her last set of shots. She sighed inwardly as Sungmin stepped forward. He was to be her last partner for this as she had already taken a picture with Kangin earlier.

"Ready?" Kangin said.

"Yes," Minyeon responded nonchalantly, striking a pose as she gave the camera a disarming smile. 

The shutter of the camera clicked several times.

"Hey!" Shindong said from behind the filming camera. "Hyung, you're not smiliing."

Minyeon turned her face to see that Sungmin was just posing with a rather bland expression on his face.

"I didn't know we were supposed to be smiling," he said with a shrug.

Minyeon shifted her attention forward. "It's alright. I'll change my expression." She gave the camera a more sultry look. 

Several clicks of the shutter sounded.

"Hyung!" Shindong pulled the camera away from his face. 

"What?" Sungmin asked, raising his eyebrows. "I was smiling."

Minyeon turned to face him. "What? Didn't you just hear me say I would change my expression?"

"Sorry," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "I wasn't paying attention." His phone began to vibrate in his pocket, his ringtone blaring. He pulled the phone out of his pocket, glancing at the caller ID. "Sorry. Gotta take this." He stepped away from the group.

Shindong turned off the filming camera, so that Sungmin's privacy would not be disturbed. 

Sungmin answered the phone, placing the phone up to his ear. "Hey babe," he said in a low voice. "What's up?"

Minyeon felt her chest tighten. She turned her attention to Kangin and Shindong as they perused over the last few shots. "Are those last ones good enough?"

Shindong looked them over. "Yeah. You two look good despite the fact that your expressions don't match. 

"Then let's call it a day for mine. Sijin should finish up so that we can end on time." She stepped away and to the side, folding her arms gently across her chest. 

"Alright," Shindong said with a nod. "Let's make this one look a selfie," he continued, glancing at Sijin with a smile. "It'll look great with the theme for the album book." He crouched down with Sijin, looking up at the camera in Kangin's hands. He leaned closer to the camera, turning his body slightly as he reached a hand up to the camera, giving his body the perfect angle to appear as if her were taking a selfie. Sijin leaned in closer to him, falling into place in the view of the camera.

Kangin took several shots. "These look good," he said, pulling away from the camera and viewing the last few pictures. 

"Then we'll do the last one," Minyeon said, coming forward as Sijin began to her blazer. Minyeon handed Sijin a light pink shirt to put over her v-neck dress. 

As Sijin slipped the shirt on over the dress, Minyeon could hear Sungmin talking on the phone.

"I told you; I can't right now," Sungmin said in a low voice. "I'm filming right now... Yeah, I know... Mmhmm... Yeah... Alright. I will..." He chuckled. "Sure... I'll see you tonight. I love you."

Minyeon felt her chest tighten again as she assisted Sijin in adjusting the straps of the dress so that they would not be seen from under the shirt. She tucked them out of sight and then stepped away from Sijin. She felt her heart ache as Sungmin's words echoed in her mind. 

She would never hear him say those words to her ever again. It hurt.

For years, she and Sungmin had dated secretly on and off. Within a month after their last breakup, he had announced he was engaged. It was all so sudden... and public. No shred of secrecy. He announced publicly that he had fallen in love with the girl of his dreams and would marry her within months. 

To make matters worse in the midst of unsupportive fans and the publicity, SM discovered Minyeon and Sungmin's past relationship. In order to avoid more of a scandal lest their previous relationship ever came to light, she was removed as Red Velvet's manager. After working a year just as a song writer, Minyeon finally decided to leave SM. She could not take seeing him so much after his marriage. Her heart was broken, but she still loved him so. Her heart could not heal working there any longer. So, she left SM and worked as a freelance songwriter until the day Jaemi contacted her.

Minyeon held in a sigh.

She was thankful that she was able to be with the Starlets once again, but it was still just as painful to be around Sungmin again.

****

"Time's up!" the production manager called as runners brought back the last group to finish, Jaemi's group. They entered the room with different expressions across their faces. Jaemi's expression was almost unreadble while Heechul looked as if he were about to laugh at any given moment and Leeteuk had a sheepish look stamped across his face. They turned in their cameras and then the camera crew began to download the files onto computers.

"What's this?" asked one of the crew members, referring to the camera used for filming. 

Heechul burst out laughing. "Dogteuk here didn't know how to work the camera. He turned it on when we weren't filming and turned it off when we were." 

Leeteuk scratched the back of his head. "Sorry about that."

Several of the crew members snickered.

The production manager shook his head. "Oh, well. At least you got the photos, right?"

Jaemi nodded. "Yep."

"Alright," he said. He turned to the rest of the Super Junior and Starlets' members. "Take a break while we tally up the points."

Jaemi brushed past Leeteuk, who looked as if he wanted to say something. Ignoring the look on Leeteuk's face, Jaemi hurried over to where Aeyeong and Lìxúe were sitting with the rest of their group. 

After a few minutes of chatting, the production director asked for everyone to return to their group as the winner was announced. He cleared his throat. "The winning group is Lìxúe and Aeyeong's team!" 

The room erupted in a series of claps and whoops of congrats, squeals of excitement, and groans of protest. 

"Here's your prize," he said as runners brought in several boxes and handed them to each member of the team. "Fuzzy slippers!"

The members took out their prize of fuzzy slippers. Kyuhyun immediately began to use his a weapon as he began to attack Sungmin with them. 

The production director continued. "Good work today. Let's hope that you all continue to work hard in the days ahead. There is still a lot to do."

The Starlets gathered together and bowed to him and the rest of the production team. "Thank you!" They turned to the Super Junior members. "Thank you!" 

"Thank you for taking care of us again!" Minyeon said.

"Thanks!" The Starlets said again.

Leeteuk stepped in front of the camera. "Thanks for joining us again! See you next time on Super Junior's--" He held out his hand in the classic 'five' shape. "--Hindsight!" 

Everyone stuck out their hand in the 'five' shape.

There was a pause for several moments before the production director said, "Cut! Alright. Good work everyone."

The Starlets bowed once more to the procution team and Super Junior. "Thank you!" They straightened up as the crew began to disperse. 

Donghae turned to Aeyeong, his voice falling to a whisper. "This was fun." He smiled widely.

Aeyeong nodded, her eyes twinkling slightly. "It was."

"See you at home," he mouthed before turning away.

Aeyeong nodded gently and then made her way toward the dressing room, a bright smile on her face. It had indeed been a good day. She was excited though for what lay ahead. She smiled to herself, recalling that the next day was Sunday, which also happened to be their day off and the showing of their first episode.