The Starlets were all gathered at JJE in one of the dressing rooms as several stylists bustled about, grabbing clothing from several metal racks and handing them to the members to try on.

Sijin shifted uncomfortably, stepping from one foot to another as she stood in front of one of the stylists. She was clothed in high-waisted skinny jeans and a white, sleeveless, crop top. She gulped discreetly, wrapping her arms around her bare midriff. 

"Put your arms down," the stylist commanded. "I need to see the whole thing."

Sijin nodded, obeying immediately, but not without wishing she did not have to.

The stylist spun her finger around, motioning for Sijin to spin for her. 

Sijin complied, gently turning around in a circle.

"Hmm, good. Looks good. How does it feel?" the stylist asked once Sijin was facing her once more. 

Sijin glanced down at her outfit, though she was hesitant with showing so much skin, the clothes themselves were comfortable. "They're fine," she replied, lifting her head up.

The stylist smiled. "Good. We'll have you try on the shoes." She handed Sijin a pair of red high heels. "These should be your size, but let's make sure. We can't have you dancing on stage in shoes that will either give you blisters or fall off your feet." 

Sijin slipped out of her flats and into the high heels. As she stood up straight in her heels, she felt her legs teeter slightly. She gasped, realizing she was loosing her balance. 

Nell, who was passing by to grab a different pair of heels, noticed Sijin's plight and grabbed her by the arm, helping her fellow member regain her footing. "Are you alright, Nabi?" she asked sweetly. 

Sijin nodded. "Thanks, Belle."

The stylist frowned. "Do you think you can dance in heels?"

Sijin felt the color drain from her face. It had been a long time since she had danced in heels. They had practiced in heels years ago when they were training at SM before they were disbanded, but she had not worn them since. She gulped. "I uh..."

Byulhee, who stood nearby dressed in only jeans and a red bra, turned to Sijin and the stylist. "Of course she can dance in heels!" She grabbed her white crop top and began putting it on over her head, still talking as she did so. "She just needs to get her sea legs again." Her head emerged from the top of the shirt. "There!" She adjusted her shirt over her torso and glanced at her reflection in the mirror. "Wow. I look gooood." 

Nell, ignoring Byulhee's last statement, turned to the stylist as she felt the need to stick up for their youngest member. "We're going to practice dancing soon anyway. I'll make sure that we spend some of the practice in heels." 

The stylist nodded. "Very well." She surveyed Sijin's look and gave a firm nod. "Looks good." She gestured to a box on the counter. "Grab some gloves that fit you. When you've found 'em, take off this outfit and try on the next set. Be sure to label your clothes and accessories before putting them back on the rack."

Sijin nodded. "I will."    

The stylist turned to Lìxúe. "Now, let's take a look at you."

Sijin moved toward the box and pulled out a small package of gloves. She opened up the package and began to put them on. They were strange, leather gloves. Not only were they fingerless, but they only covered half the hand. 

Byulhee chuckled. "These look like pole dancing gloves!" 

Sijin looked over at Byulhee, eyes widening. "Pole dancing gloves?"

Byulhee held out her own gloved hands, turning them around. "Yep. Definitely pole dancing gloves."

Jaemi scoffed from where she sat nearby, her arms crossed in front of her to cover her bare midriff. "They are not. I've worn these kind of gloves before for a show."

"Oh? What kind of show, unnie?" Byulhee asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

Jaemi shook her head and tossed her own gloves at Byulhee. "Not the kind you're thinking of."

Byulhee threw Jaemi's gloves back at her. "Then you were in a dirty musical then?"

Jaemi groaned as she caught the gloves. "Will you quit it?" She turned to look at Sijin. "Don't worry. These are not pole dancing gloves," she said, shooting Byulhee a pointed look. "We're wearing these outfits to match Super Junior, who will be dressed in white shirts, cuffed jeans and leather jackets. Kinda like Fonzie from Happy Days or Danny from Grease." 

"Were you ever in Grease, unnie?" Byulhee asked with a sly smile.

"No," Jaemi replied simply. "I actually don't like that musical. Too dirty." She sent Byulhee a smirk. 

"Pfft," Byulhee scoffed.

"Anyway--" Jaemi said, turning back to Sijin. "These gloves will work with the concept. So, don't worry."

"Oh, okay," Sijin replied with a nod.  

"I know!" Byulhee shot up from where she sat and turned to Jaemi with a triumphant grin. "You were in Chicago!" 

Jaemi slapped a hand against her own face. "Really, Byul?"

Aeyeong, hearing Byulhee's statement, scoffed. "Jaemi in Chicago? She would probably die first."

"Thank you, Ae!" Jaemi said, holding out her hands toward her friend in a gesture of gratefulness.

Byuhlee scoffed as she sat back down. "I'm going to catch you one of these days, Jaemi." She waggled a finger. "Mark my words."

Jaemi laughed. "I swear, you and my brother would get along so much. He can't wait for the day I actually--"

"Get it on?" Byulhee offered with a cheeky grin.

Jaemi stared at Byulhee unamused. "I was going to say 'have a boyfriend'." She shook her head gently.

Sijin stared at her unnies, eyes wide and mouth agape. 

Jaemi caught the expression on her dongsaeng's face. "Oh, I'm sorry Sijin. I hope we didn't make you too uncomfortable."

"No, no. It's not that," Sijin replied, shaking her head gently. "I just thought I was the only one here." 

"The only what?" asked Byulhee, cocking her head. 

Sijin blushed, glancing down at her feet. "You know--uh--"

Jaemi's mouth formed an "o" shape. "Oh! No. You're definitely not the only around here." She smiled sincerely.

"That's obvious," Byulhee said, slapping Jaemi against the thigh and causing the older member to shoot her a glare. Byulhee chuckled and then snapped her fingers. "But I do know something that you've done that we haven't."

Sijin raised her eyebrows. "What's that?"

"You are the only one with a tattoo," said Byulhee, eyeing the little inked butterfly on the inside of Sijin's wrist. "So, you're one up on us in that department." She chuckled. "It's cute." 

"Thanks," Sijin said with a smile. 

"Did it hurt?" asked Byulhee curiously.

Sijin nodded. 

Jaemi shivered. "Yeah, I could never do that."

Byulhee chuckled. "I've tried not to want one, because if I'm too tempted to get one, I'll just get it. Then I might want another. And another. And then be covered in them and hate them all."

Sijin did not doubt the truth of Byulhee's words. From what she'd seen of her unnie, that woman had no self-control whatsoever. 

Byulhee cocked her head. "So, did you ever have a boyfriend, Nabi?" she asked suddenly. 

Sijin seemed a bit taken back by the question. "Well--yeah," she replied finally. "But it didn't end well." A sad expression fell over her face as she remembered when she saw him with another woman.

Byulhee nodded in understanding. "Another jerk, huh?"

Sijin shrugged. "He wasn't so bad at first, but then he cheated on me." 

Byulhee pursed her lips in sympathy. "Poor thing!" she said, wrapping her arms around her dongsaeng. "You deserve better than that idiot." 

"Byulhee," one of the stylists called the Starlet over. "Let's check out your outfit." 

"Coming!" Byulhee released her grip on Sijin and bounded over. 

Sijin turned away, taking the gloves off her hands and the heels off her feet so that she could try on the next outfit. 

Aeyeong, already dressed in her next outfit, took a seat next to Jaemi. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror. Donghae would probably die if he saw her in it. She wore a red crop top bustier and a small, form-fitting black and white striped skirt. She never wore anything like this at home. He was probably going to pout once he saw their wardrobe, lamenting over the fact that she does not even wear similar clothes at home.

She glanced over at Lìxúe, who was equally dressed in a provocative manner in a black bustier crop top with white polka dots and a red skirt. 

Sijin, noticing their outfits, let out a breath. "I'm glad that this is the only crop top I'm wearing." 

Jaemi chuckled. "I was just thinking the same thing."

Lìxúe shrugged, walking over. "It's not so bad. I'm used to wearing all sorts of things from modeling."

"Ah." Sijin nodded. "That makes sense."

"Glad I'm no visual though," Jaemi said with a chuckle.

"What's it like modeling?" asked Sijin. 

"It's fun," Lìxúe began with a smile. "Actually," she continued, tilting her head slightly. "I would like to start a fashion line someday with my twin brother, Zhihuán."

"That would be cool," Aeyeong said with a smile. "Are you and your brother pretty close then?"

"Yeah," Lìxúe replied. "I'm close with my older half-brothers too." 

"How many siblings do you have?" asked Sijin tilting her head towards them as she began to undress behind one of the clothing racks. 

"Three," responded Lìxúe with a smile. 

"That must be nice," replied Sijin with a small smile. She had never had any siblings growing up. She was an only child. Being in the Starlets was the closest thing she had been to true sisterly comradeire. 

"You're also pretty close with your cousin, Zhang Yixing, aren't you?" asked Minyeon, joining the conversation as she gathered the clothes for her second outfit. "I remember seeing you and Lay around SM a few times." She chuckled quietly. "I think there were a couple scandals that came out of that too, if I remember right." She sent her dongsaeng a wink.

Lìxúe giggled. "Yeah. There was a whole rumor about how Lay was dating an ESteem model." She shook her head, laughing softly. "We had to show everyone our childhood photos before that rumor died down." Her chuckle faded and a wide smile drifted across her face. "That was right after I had come back here from living in New York." Her smile faded a bit as she recalled both the lovely times she had had there and the sadness she had experienced over the loss of her lover.  

"You lived in New York?" asked Nell as she began to change outfits, slipping her top over her head.

"Yeah," Lìxúe replied with a nod. "I studied at Parsons with Zhihuán."

"You studied at Parsons?" Nell asked with eyes slightly dialated. "The Parsons?" 

Lìxúe nodded again. "Yeah."

Nell stared at Lìxúe for a moment, slightly impressed that her fellow member had attended such a prestigious school as that. 

"Is that where you got Nick?" asked Byulhee turning around suddenly with a grin, much to her stylist's dismay. 

"Turn around, Byulhee," the stylist said, heaving a sigh.

"Nick was my old boyfriend's army dog," responded Lìxúe with a warm smile.

"He was?" asked Byulhee, eyes sparkling. "Ooooh! Tell me the details! Was he cute? How long did you two date?"

"Turn around," the stylist repeated, pursing her lips.

Byulhee continued to talk, completely oblivious to the stylist's commands. "Was it love at first sight? Did you meet at school? Or was it like a love-hate relationship? Like urrrrrgh--" She scrunched her face in an angry pout. "And then like, aauhhhhnn--" She sighed contendly as she clasped her hands together and looked up dreamily.

Lìxúe giggled over Byulhee's display. "Not quite." She chuckled.

"Um, Byul?" Minyeon spun her finger around, motioning for Byulhee to do a spin.

Byulhee's eyes widened. "Oh, yeah." She spun around quickly on her heel. "Sorry about that," she said as she faced the stylist once more. "So, tell us about him," she said, tilting her head to glance at Lìxúe briefly. 

Lìxúe sat back in her chair, crossing her arms in front of her as she looked up towards the ceiling, a small smile dancing across her lips. "Adam was..." She paused, choosing her words as she thought about her former lover.

She had went to New York after graduating high school, still crushed by the disappointed hopes of the disbandment of the group. Her lost dreams had left her with a broken heart and her confidence crippled. But things changed after she met Adam. He was the one who helped rekindle the passion for life within her. Their time spent together was a blazing passion; their relationship one of an intense desire for life and love. 

"He was vivacious," she said finally, her eyes glossing over in recollection. "Full of life. And love." She looked down, smiling softly.  He had taught her so much. She learned not only to appreciate the life she led, but live it with an ardant desire. She had regained her confidence in herself and her abilities again. She had become more secure with herself, and found the urge to work as hard as she could in whatever life held in front of her. Even in troubled times... which came soon enough.

He had been a soldier; deployed to Afghanistan. 

"I really am grateful that I had him in my life for as long as I did," she said softly as she recalled the day she received the letter stating that he had been killed. She looked at the sympathetic faces around her and knew that there was no need to explain in detail what had happened to her  former boyfriend.

It still pained her a bit to think of his death, he had been a good friend and lover, but even if he had lived, it would never have lasted. They had been young and naive; their relationship purely made of fire and passion. There was nothing truly substantial between them; they would have broken up eventually. 

Though his death had brought sadness unto her life, the memories and lessons acquired from their time together left her with more joy than grief. 

She could not deny now that even more joy was beginning to bud within her soul as her feelings for ZhouMi continued to grow. 

She let out a contented sigh. Things had a way of working themselves out. 

Sijin sniffled, wiping a tear from her eyes. 

"Oooowwwhhh!" Byulhee sprang over to Lìxúe, ignoring her stylist's protests. She threw her arms around her. "Waaahhnn! You poor thing! That's so sad, my dongsaeng!" 

Lìxúe gave Byulhee a squeeze. "Don't worry. I'm fine." 

"Still," Byulhee began, pulling away, her face downcast. "It's sad you had to go through that."

Aeyeong nodded. "It is sad, but I'm sure that Lìxúe became an even stronger person because of it," she said, observing Lìxúe's countenance. "Trials are not easy to deal with when we're going through them, but they always make us stronger and more intune with ourselves once we've overcome them." 

The rest of the members nodded in agreement at Aeyeong's little bit of advice on life. 

The stylist that had been assisting Byulhee cleared . "Byulhee..."

"Oh, yeah!" Byulhee sprang back to her stylist. 

Minyeon's mouth quirked into a smile, as she sat down to await her turn, now fully dressed in her second outfit-- a black and white bodycon dress that outlined her figure perfectly. She glanced about the room towards her fellow colleagues. It was nice seeing them interact so nicely with each other. For the most part, everyone seemed to get along really well. There was some tension between Nell and Byulhee that she had observed on several occasions, but for the most part, they were acting like a team; which is exactly what they needed if they were going to survive in the industry. She had observed; however, that some of her fellow membeers were still shy or rather hesitant about their wardrobe for their upcoming music video and live stage performances. They would have to either learn to be more comfortable about their wardrobe, or simply learn to act like it was not an issue. 

She stood up and crossed the room over to where Nell sat as she slipped on a pair of slick black heels. 

"Hey," Nell said, noticing her unnie approach. 

"Hey," Minyeon replied, taking a seat next to her dongaseng. "I want to talk to you about what we need to do for dance rehearsals."

Nell nodded with a knowing smile. "If you mean that we need to practice in heels, I've already got that planned." 

"Good." Minyeon smiled. "But I think we'll need more than that."

Nell tilted her head and raised her eyebrows up as she waited for Minyeon to continue. 

"Some of the others..." Minyeon trailed off, glancing between a few of the members as she lowered her voice. "Don't seem very comfortable in their outfits. It might be a good idea if they practiced in their wardrobes."

Nell nodded in understanding. She knew how some of her own students at the dance studio struggled with that same issue when it came to recitals. "I'm just worried with amount of hours and practice we'll be doing, the clothes would be ruined." She shook her head. "I think we should find a better way." Her thoughts turned to her dance studio. If only they had some sort of uniform that they could wear to dance practice. Her eyes lit up and a smile crossed her face. "I have an idea."

 

****

 

"You've got to be kidding me," Jaemi said, surveying the box of child size T-shirts that Nell had brought back to the dorms from her dance studio. She held up a black shirt with the name of Nell's dance academy--Rise Dance Academy-- emblazed in silver glitter. "You want me to squeeze into this?" she asked, holding the garment up to her figure, the hem barely going past her rib cage. "This is almost as bad as wearing just a sports bra. What is this? A toddler's shirt?"

"It's for the grade school students'," Nell replied, stifling a smile with her hand as she watched Jaemi's reaction from her seat on Aeyeong's bed. 

Minyeon chuckled from where she sat on her bed in their room. "Well, we need to get the group comfortable with wearing revealing outfits on stage."

Jaemi blinked, turning her attention to Minyeon, her jaw set. "I can fake being comfortable."

"But the rest of the members can't," Minyeon reminded Jaemi. "We're not all actors."

Jaemi shook her head.

Minyeon stifled a giggle by clearing . "So stop being stubborn about this."

There was a brief pause, followed by a groan. "Alright, alright," Jaemi said with a sigh. "You win." She turned the material over in her hands."Although--" she broke off speaking as she began to tug the shirt on over the clothes she was wearing, struggling to get her arms and head in through the holes. After several moments of wrestling with the fabric, she finally had it on. She tugged at the hem of it, attempting to loosen its tight fit as it clung to her.  "Two questions-- One how is everyone going to get into these each time without struggling? And two--" She turned to look at Nell, who was sitting on Aeyeong's bed. "--Are there different sizes in here?" she asked, gesturing to the box. "Because I know I'm on the small end of the bust scale, and I don't think Aeyeong or Lìxúe could fit into this as easily." She tugged on the fabric on the left side of her s, but little fabric gave way, thus, proving her point.

"There are a few shirts that are a little bigger," replied Nell with a nod. "But we were also thinking of cutting all the shirts up a bit to adjust them."

"Well, that would make them looser," Jaemi said as she began to work the shirt off of her arms and back over her head. "Especially if we cut out the neckline a bit. Make an off-the-shoulder top or something." She let out a breath as she finally freed herself of the shirt. 

"And make them a little more revealing," added Minyeon off-handedly. "So we could get used to that aspect."

Jaemi shook her head, tossing the shirt onto her lap. "I can't believe you're talking me into this," she muttered as she raked her hands through her now disheveled hair. She let out a breath. "Just one thing: we are not--" she paused, clicking her tongue quietly. "--wearing these in front of the cameras or when we're rehearsing with Super Junior. We don't want our show to become ." She said the last part in a teasing tone to disguise the irritation and worry she was feeling over the idea. There was no way she wanted to be seen in a such a small skimpy shirt in front of a bunch of guys , let along her own fellow members for that matter. The idea made her stomach churn.

"Of course," Minyeon replied off-handedly with a shrug. "We weren't even considering wearing these for the show."

"We'll mostly just be wearing these when we practice for SJ's anniversary party," Nell replied. "Or when we're at the dance studio before filming begins."

"We'll all bring our own back-up shirts for dance practices," Minyeon added. "So, when it's time to film or SJ comes to practice, we can just change."

Jaemi shrugged. She did not like the idea, but she understood her fellow members' reasoning behind it. Though she also knew that no matter what measures they took to make everyone feel comfortable in revealing clothes, there was no way they could cure her of her self-consciousness over showing her abdomen. However, she knew she had to support this decision. "Alright," she said finally. "Let's get started then."

 

****

 

The living room in the Starlets dorm was abuzz with chatter, laughter, and the sounds of rips and snips from hands and sewing shears.

Nell sat staring at the T-shirt in her lap. She had never done this type of thing before. She had just assumed Jaemi would do all the shirts, since she would often cut her own graphic T-shirts. She glanced over at the elder's clothes. Even now, the redhead was wearing an off-the-shoulder Star Wars shirt that she had cut herself. Shouldn't she be doing this instead? She clearly enjoyed doing it. Besides, Nell had provided the shirts, so why should she have to do her own? Jaemi should have just offered to do her shirt for her.

Nell glanced at the pair of scissors nearby on the coffee table. It's not like she could even use those anyway. Hadn't anyone thought to buy a left-handed pair of shears for her? 

Aeyeong, who had just finished her shirt, glanced in Nell's direction. "Do you need any help with that Nell?" she asked, noting that Nell's shirt remained untouched. 

"Yes," Nell said with a sweet smile. "I can't use the scissors." She wiggled her fingers. "Left-handed." 

Aeyeong held out her hands. "I'll take care of that for you."

Nell smiled. "Thanks," she replied graciously as she handed her shirt to Aeyeong. 

Aeyeong placed the garment flat on the carpet.

Nell's lips stiffened. She would rather Aeyeong use the coffee table so that her shirt wasn't on the floor, but Byulhee and Sijin were currently using it. Oh, well. She would just have throw it in the laundry bin and have one of the other members start a load of laundry. 

Aeyeong cut off the hem of the shirt and then picked it up off the floor to begin stretching the bottom of the shirt. "So, how would you like it to look?" she asked, still stretching the fabric. 

Nell glanced around the room, her eyes falling on Lìxúe's design, which had several horizontal cuts made along each of the sleeves, revealing Lìxúe's skin beneath. Siwon would probably like that on her, though he would probably never see it on her, since they wouldn't be wearing their shirts in front of anyone. "I like Lìxúe's," she replied. 

"Lìxúe's?" Aeyeong turned to Lìxúe's direction. "Oh, sure. I can do that," she replied as she set to work on cutting the sleeves just so. 

Minyeon finished cutting her own shirt and then turned to survey how the rest of the girls were doing. Most were either done or close to completing their shirts. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves too. She smiled gently. It was good to see everyone working so well together, but there was still so much work to do in the days ahead. As her thoughts turned to their schedules for the next few days, her lips pursed together. "Hey," she said, standing up to get everyone's attention. "I think that we should practice a couple of our songs before tomorrow's recording. What do you think?" she asked, glancing around the room. 

"That's a great idea!" Byulhee exclaimed. "It's like having a karoke party in the living room!" She threw up her hands as she jumped up, dropping her shears with a loud clatter onto the coffee table.

"Be careful," Aeyeong said, moving the shears to the middle of the table, away from where Byulhee might knock them off. "You don't want to hurt anyone."

"Oops," Byulhee replied sheepishly, looking pentinant. 

"Which one should we practice first?" asked Sijin, looking up towards the leader as she paused in her cutting. 

"Oooh! Ooh! Oooh!" Byulhee jumped up and down excitedly, raising her hand. "How about 'Piano Man'?" she asked, her eyes gleaming. "That's one of my favorites." 

Minyeon nodded. "Sure. That's a good idea." She pulled out her mp3 and plugged it into the nearby speakers, located beneath the TV, on their "entertainment box"--as Byulhee had dubbed the black little cabinet where their DVDs and Blu-ray disks were organized. She pulled up the demo song and then held her finger above the play button. "Ready?" 

Her fellow members nodded and replied, "Yeah."

Her eyes met Aeyeong as the latter paused from working on Nell's shirt. Aeyeong gave the elder member a nod, indicating that she was ready to begin. 

Minyeon waved her finger like a baton, silently counting down the beats.

"I'm ready for some action," Aeyeong began to sing, as the music began to play. "Are you ready for perfection," she continued, her normally melodic voice low and sultry. "Hey piano man."

"Hello, mwuh," Lìxúe blew a kiss to the air.

"Heeeyy" everyone harmonized together.

"Such boring conversations," Jaemi sang as she stretched out the hem of the shirt she was working on. "Such senseless guys."

Nell, who had already choreographed the dance, had stepped off the sofa and was already demonstrating the dance moves for the song. "My high heels and carefully applied lipstick," she sang. "They don't even notice, how boring," she continued, sending an imaginary camera a flirtacious look. 

Byulhee's eyes widened in excitement and she flung herself over to Nell, placing herself beside Nell, already eager to learn the moves as Lìxúe began to sing. 

"I think it was then you walked in," Lìxúe sang, her voice clear as crystal. "A piano man who doesn't fit in this place." She looked toward Sijin with a smile, sending the younger an encouraging nod.

"When his white fingers touched the keys," Sijin sang, her voice low just as they had rehearsed. "My eyes were wide opened." 

Byulhee squeeled in delight at how sultry her dongsaeng had sounded and immediately rushed over to her, completely forgetting about trying to learn the dance and instead gave Sijin a big hug.

"Bumppappara bumppappara bumppappara bum." As they all joined together to sing, they could all feel the excited tension in the air. They definitely had something special together. 

 

****

 

"Oh swing, let's groove, singing! Oh swing, let's groove, my babe! Oh swing, let's groove!"

The recording studio was packed with both the Starlets and the members of Super Junior as the Starlets finished the last of their recording. The Starlets were all in front of the microphone, recording the last bit of their final song. The Super Junior members watched from inside the control room along with the camera crew, spellbound as the women sang. It was obvious to the members of Super Junior that they were watching something truly amazing. The camaradie amondst the members and their pure, raw talent was powerful to behold. They had recorded every song thus far with relative ease.  All of their individual recordings had went fairly smoothly and this had translated to their last bit of recording as a group. True, there had been a few hiccups along the way, but the women had held their own through it all and were almost complete with the entire album. 

"Hey piano man," Jaemi and Sijin sang together, their voices powerful and strong. "When this song ends, come to me."

"Come to me piano man," the other Starlets sang in unison.

"The piano man," Minyeon and Byulhee sang, their beautiful voices carrying through the expanse of the recording studio. "The conversation is now over."

"The last melody," sang Lìxúe and Nell together, their lovely voices ringing powerfully through the room. "I want it to be just you and me."

"Just you and me," the other Starlets rang out. 

"I want to listen to it," Aeyeong sang, her strong melodic voice sending chills up the spines of the Super Junior members as they listened.

"Tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, wanna keep meeting," rapped Byulhee.

"Ye ye ye ye ye ye ye!" all seven Starlets sang out, ending with a powerful finish. They all froze, holding their breath. 

A voice came over the intercom. "Well done! That was perfect!" Donghae said, looking out through the window of the control room with a lopsided grin. He felt a sense of pride as he peered out the glass toward his girlfriend. His eyes glistened slightly, remembering the day when he had come home from a tiring day of schedules and she told him the news that she would be part of an idol group again. He was so excited. Of course, he had at first mistaken her "big news" as something entirely different; perhaps a little Hae or baby Ae on the way, but that was not the case. His eyebrow twitched ever so slightly. He really needed to get on that...

He continued to smile, catching Aeyeong's lovely eyes. He was truly happy that he was able to go on this journey with her. Part of him wished he could run in there, sweep her off her feet, and spin her around and give her a kiss in congratulations, but he could not.

Not with everyone here.

Darn. He really needed to say something soon.  

Sungmin shooed Donghae out of the way as he pressed the intercom. "Why don't you all come back in? And we'll listen to the track to see if it needs to be recorded again." 

"Alright!" Byulhee called back as she began to skip towards the door.

The Starlets entered the room, several of the members drinking from their water bottles to hydrate themselves after singing so much. 

As the small chatter amonst themselves began to fade, Sungmin cued up the music. 

The women waited with bated breath, straining their ears for any sort of mistake or flawed note.

The song came to one of Minyeon's parts. "When your fingers brush against the keys," her voice played, beautiful and clear, laced with a rather sensual quality. "I keep getting naughty thoughts. My heart beats staccato."

Sungmin paused the song and rewound it several seconds, replaying the lyrics again. He sat with his jaw firm and brows set, unreadable.

"When your fingers brush against the keys, I keep getting naughty thoughts. My heart beats staccato. Hey Mr. Ambiguous. Play my body like a piano."

Minyeon stared in Sungmin's direction, her face suddenly becoming warm, though her cheeks showed no evidence of such. She felt her heart race and run dry. Why did he have to replay that part of all things? 

Sungmin clicked his tongue and replayed the same lyrics over, his face still set as stone.

"When your fingers brush against the keys, I keep getting naughty thoughts. My heart beats staccato. Hey Mr. Ambiguous. Play my body like a piano." 

Kangin chuckled. "Do you like that part, hyung?" 

Sungmin's eyes widened and he shot Kangin an irritated look. "Hey! It just doesn't sou--"

"What are you talking about?" Eunhyuk asked before Sungmin could finish his sentence. "It sounds really good."

"No," Sungmin said slowly, taking a breath. "It's--"

"I think it's perfect," Siwon gently interjected, bowing slightly in apology for interupting his hyung.

"Agreed," added Shindong. "If you have her record it again, we might all end up with nosebleeds." 

Everyone began to chuckle, laughing quietly as Shindong's joke softened Sungmin's expression. 

"Fine," Sungmin said, turning to the controls in front of him, blinking. He took a deep breath and began to play the music once more. 

Minyeon watched him, her eyebrows raising slightly. Sungmin's eyes were a tad more moist than usual and the corners of his mouth twitched to a downward position for a just the faintest moment, before his face once more set itself into an indecipherable expression. 

She stared at him for a moment more, trying to understand what was going on through her former lover's mind. Before several seconds had lapsed, she turned her focus back unto the song playing, determined that she would not let him detract her from her working on the task at hand. There were more important things to do than to cast any more thought toward him. She deserved better, even if her heart still yearned for him. 

If only time had healed her love for him.

If only her heart could grow cold toward him.

 

****

 

Minyeon felt her heart sink and her hands chill as she and the other Starlets sat around the living room of the dorms, faces turned toward the coffee room where Jaemi's phone was placed.

"I'm sorry," she heard Minho's voice on speaker. "But I think you girls will have to find something else to do for Super Junior's anniversary."

"But we've already been working so hard on rearranging the songs," Byulhee whined, her face downcast.

"And I've been working on the choreography for them," Nell added. "Surely we can do something."

They heard Minho sigh from the other end of the line. "Look, JJE loves the idea, and tried to work with SM on this one, but--"

"I don't see why JJE even had to bring it up to SM," muttered Byulhee as she fell back against the sofa cushions with a groan.

Jaemi sighed. "Since we were going to air the covers, we had to get permission to use their songs," explained the co-manager. 

"Yes," continued MInho. "And SM said that you are not allowed to rearrange the songs in any way. They did say that you can may do covers of their songs. However, there are some stipulations. First of all, you are only limited to three songs. Second, you may not change the main bulk of the choreography--"

"What?" Nell stared at the phone, her eyes ablaze. Who did they think they were? Once again SM was minimizing her talents. 

Minho continued. "--unless it is purely a dance cover."

"So, you're saying that we can change the choreography all we want if we don't sing? Just play the track?" Minyeon asked.

"Yes," Minho answered. "Any songs you sing though have to be within the choreography of the original song."

"That ," Byulhee mutted.

"So, what are we going to do?" asked Lìxúe, dabbing her eyes with a tissue.

"It's up to you," Minho replied. "I'll support you in whatever you decide and inform JJE and SM of your decision."

Minyeon let out a breath. It was not fair. She had come up with an idea that would have given them not only a chance to shine, but would have also lessened the hate the public had for them. Once again, SM had trampled upon her ideas. "I think we should take a few minutes to think about this," she said, keeping an even tone. "Minho, we'll call you back."

"Alright. Let me know." With that the call ended.

Jaemi reached over to the coffee table, and turned off her phone. "What do you guys think?"

"Well, we could still sing their songs," Aeyeong said. "It would still be good publicity for us."

"I agree," Byulhee said, sitting up and raising a fist. "And we need to show everyone just what we can do!"

Sijin nodded shyly, drying her moist eyes with her shirt sleeve. "We can still do our own dance, right? It would be a shame if Nell worked to make the dance steps."

Byulhee slammed her fist against the coffee table. "Yeah! We can't let our Nell's choreography go to waste!" she shouted as if she were a soldier rallying the troops. "I say we do the songs!" She raised her fist in the air with a triumphant look upon her face. 

A couple of the Starlets giggled over Byulhee's zealous determination and immediately the atmosphere in the room became more lively and comfortable. 

"Oh!" Lìxúe began, her eyes gleaming mischievously. "This really could be our chance." Her lips fell into her smirk. "We'll play by their rules, but they're going to regret it," she said, her eyes dancing with myrth. "And I have an idea. There's no rules about not performing one of our own songs after and promoting our original music."

"I like the idea," Aeyeong said with a nod. "It would be a good way to show off our range too."

"SM won't know what hit 'em," Lìxúe said, continuing to smirk. 

Byulhee threw her head back and laughed. "Mwuhahahahaha!"

The Starlets broke out in laughter as they began to shoot ideas back and forth. 

"Nell, can you make the choreography more daring?" asked Minyeon.

"What do you mean by daring?" asked Nell.

"Like bold!" Byulhee chimed. "y! Or just different. Not what they're expecting!"

"Why not?" Nell shrugged.

"Yet still with a vintage flare," added Jaemi.

"Of course."

"Which one of our songs should we do?" asked Aeyeong. "We need to do something that SJ hasn't seen us perform."

"I agree," Lìxúe chimed with a nod. "Maybe 'I Did It'? Or 'You're the Best'?"

"Or should we do one of our ballads?" asked Nell.

"That's a good idea. And we'll also have to figure out which Super Junior songs we'll sing and which one we'll dance to," remarked Aeyeong.

“I still really like your idea of having ‘Sorry, Sorry’ in it,” Sijin began softly. “Since we’re doing a few songs, maybe we could start off with it.”

"It is the song that made them famous," Lìxúe added. "It seems like we have to do it."

“Agreed. I think fans would be upset if we didn't use it,” Minyeon said, fishing her phone out of her pocket. “Here, let’s get these ideas down.” She pulled up her note-taking app and began to type on it, her fingers flying across the buttons as the Starlets began to come up with more and more ideas of what to do for the anniversary that would not only raise their image, but perhaps even best SM at their own game.

 

****

The dance room that the Starlets were using in the JJE building was brightly lit from the florescent lights on the ceiling, the light reflecting slightly on the wooden floor. A mirror lined the wall on one side of the room. Opposite the mirrored wall, was a wall lined with windows that went from the floor to the ceiling. The windows--which normally would allow plenty of natural light into the room and boast a rather decent view of the street below -- were closed off, blinds shut.

The Starlets were currently learning the choreography for one of the songs they were going to perform for Super Junior's anniversary party. All of them wore their self-designed custom cut shirts that Nell had brought from her studio. They all stood, facing the mirrored wall, following Nell as she instructed them. 

"Let's stop there for a moment," Nell said, shaking her head slightly as she noticed that one of the members made a misstep, yet again. "We'll take a quick break."

The other Starlets voiced agreement. Several members walked over to their duffel bags, taking out their water bottles. A few others took a moment to stretch their limbs. 

Jaemi chuckled, stretching out her arms. "You know, we all look like Nell's students who had been in her class since we were seven, and never moved up to the next level. And now we've outgrown our clothes."

As the rest of the members giggled over the word picture, Byulhee threw her head back and laughed. "Either that or we've all 'Hulked out'! Raaaaaarrrrr!" She flexed her arms and roared as if she was transforming into the Hulk.

Giggles and laughter sounded through the room.

Nell let out a silent sigh, still thinking about what Jaemi had said about looking like students of hers. She had seven year olds in her classes who were at a higher callibar of dancing than a couple of her fellow members. She could not really blame them though. Most of her fellow members had not done this sort of dancing in years. Only Minyeon and Jaemi seemed to be able to hold their own at this point. That was no surprise though. Minyeon had stayed on at SM training for years until she was too old to train, so she had plenty of dance experience under her belt. Jaemi, on the other hand, was a stage actress and had to learn various choreographed dances for the many musicals she had played in. The others however, had no such practice to keep them up to date. She was thankful that all of the members had kept up a good routine of exercising, otherwise, they might be in worse straits.

Nell took a sip of water, pondering over the situation. She had to get her group prepared for this. They were doing alright, but if they wanted to impress their audience and prove their worth, it was going to take a lot more work and hours to get them to where they needed to be.

 

****

The early morning light began to seep through the windows of the dance room, the rays casting a pinkish hue on the Starlets as they were all splayed out across the floor, stretching and sipping water. They had been practicing since 4 o' clock and were taking a break as they waited for Super Junior to arrive to practice the choreography of "You Don't Love Me" for the live performances.

Aeyeong took a deep breath and glanced about the room. All the members were looking rather tired and worn from dance rehearsals. If they didn't get some food--and perhaps some coffee-- soon, their performances and their health would suffer. She fished into her purse and brought out several protein bars, which she proceeded to pass around to all of the members. Then she she turned to Jaemi. "Hey Jae, let's go get some coffee for everyone," she said. 

Jaemi glanced around the room, noting the worn expressions on their faces. "I think that's a good idea." She took her phone out of her pocket and glanced at the time. "We've got time anyway." She reached into her duffel bag and pulled out a light jacket to wear.

Aeyeong glanced at the mirror on the wall and straightned her clothes before turning to head to the door. "Hey everyone, think about what kind of coffee or tea you want and text either Jaemi or me. We're picking up drinks."

The two left the JJE building and headed for a nearby coffee shop, chatting the whole time. 

"So, I think I scored us a hot date with 'Knowing Brothers'," Jaemi said with a laugh as they walked along the rather empty sidewalk. 

"Really?" Aeyeong asked with chuckle.

"Yep," Jaemi said with a nod. "Heechul seems to be onboard with idea," she continued in a low voice. "Leeteuk wants to get us on 'Star King', but I don't think that's going to happen."

"It sounds like you're maybe starting to get along with them," Aeyeong said in a slightly questioning tone as she tilted her head to regard Jaemi. Her eyes searched her friend's face to gauge her feelings. It would truly be a godsend if her friend could actually come to like Super Junior, instead of  just tolerating them. Eventually she wanted to be able to tell her friend about her and Donghae's relationship without feeling like her friend would be betrayed by the news. She wished that when the time came, they could all be great friends together. 

Jaemi scoffed. "Sleeping with the enemy doesn't mean actually liking them."

Aeyeong kept an even expression, masking her disappointement. "Don't say that in front of Byulhee," she said, cracking a smile. "Otherwise, Byulhee might mistake your meaning and think you're actually sleeping with a one of them."

Jaemi smacked a hand across her face as she laughed. "Oh, goodness. She would. And I'd never hear the end of it."

They both began to laugh as they approached the coffee shop.

"So, how is Berlioz doing?" asked Jaemi, changing the subject. "Does he miss you being gone so much?"

"Oh, he's fine," Aeyeong replied. "He's--" She broke off speaking as her eyes met with a familar figure, walking towards the door of the coffee shop from the direction of the adjacent parking lot. Her eyes widened.

"Hey!" Donghae called out, waving. He began to walk over to them, his eyes beaming from behind his glasses. 

"Hey," Aeyeong replied good naturedly with a small smile. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, but she let out a small breath to keep herself composed. 

"Hey," Jaemi said with a slight bow of the head. "How are you?"

"I'm good, thanks," he replied, his eyes darting to Aeyeong. "What are you doing?"

"Getting coffee for the other members," Aeyeong responded. 

"Ah," Donghae said with a nod. "Then why don't we all go together?" He walked over to the front door of the coffee shop and held it open for them.

"Thanks," Jaemi replied with a nod as she slipped passed him.

Donghae sent Aeyeong a friendly wink as she entered. 

Jaemi turned to Donghae, looking at him questioningly.

Donghae's eyes widened.

Aeyeong almost wondered if Jaemi had somehow caught that little exchange.

"How can you go out in public without people noticing?" Jaemi asked in a hushed voice.

Donghae shrugged. "I don't know. People don't recognize me much. Comes in handy. It's easy to live an ordinary life, like go on dates and things like that."

"Oh, ok," Jaemi replied with a nod. "That's nice." She smiled before fishing out her phone to see what their members wanted to order.

Donghae shot Aeyong a cheeky grin.

Aeyeong shook her head ever so slightly. "Why don't you go ahead of us in line. We have a big order."

Donghae shook his head. "No, let me order for you. My treat."

Aeyeong held her gaze. "No, it's alright," she replied politely. 

Jaemi looked up from her phone, her eyes darting between the two.

"No, I insist," Donghae said, an earnest smile playing across his face. "As your sunbae, let me treat your group," he said quietly.

Aeyeong felt Jaemi's gaze on her. "Alright," she said warmly. "We owe you though, thank you." She made a show of bowing her head in politeness.

Donghae grinned and after taking Aeyeong's order and getting the remaining orders from Jaemi, he hurried off to the line, the two women following after.

Jaemi cocked her head to the side, drawing close to Aeyong's ear. "Hey Ae, have you and Donghae gotten closer since you've been working with him?" she asked in a hushed voice.

Aeyeong raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean?" she asked in an equally quiet tone.

"I think he likes you," Jaemi replied, keeping her voice low.

Aeyeong glanced between Donghae and her friend. "What do you mean? I think he was just trying to be nice."

Jaemi raised an eyebrow, a smirk forming across her face. "I'm not so sure about that." She chuckled as they neared Donghae as he was about to get up to the counter.

They placed their order and soon left the building. Donghae offered them a ride in his car, so they would not have to walk to JJE building carrying the whole order. 

Donghae hopped into the driver's seat and Aeyeong stepped into the passanger seat. Jaemi slid into the backseat of his car. Donghae suddenly felt his heart race. He really had to watch his actions with Jaemi so close. It would be easier if Aeyeong would just tell her best friend already about their relationship. Then he would not have to worry about her finding out and he could just act normal.

The ride to the JJE building was rather uneventful, Donghae and Aeyeong acting as casual as possible the entire time. As soon as they entered the dance practice room, however, Donghae immediately knew that his troubles were far from over. 

Quite a number of the Super Junior members were already there as soon as they saw Aeyeong walk through the door, several of the members eyes immediately fell on her. 

Donghae felt his pursed his lips. He knew that the choreography for this dance required dancing with a partner during certain times of the song. There was no way he was not going to dance with her. But how he could he manauever matters in such a way to make them partners?  

Nell stationed herself directly in front of the mirror, so she could assume command over the dance practice. Eunhyuk and Shindong followed. 

Kangin snickered. "You look kinda tired, Nell. Did you get any sleep last night?"

Several of the members shot him look, while a couple tried not to crack a smile. 

Siwon sent him a glare.

Nell rolled her eyes. Sometimes those boys were just too immature. "We've all been up since 4 a.m. today practicing the choreography for 'Piano Man' and the beginning of 'You Don't Love Me'," she said. "So we all might have raccoon eyes."

"Wait, you've been up since four?" asked Ryeowook wide-eyed. 

"Wahhh..." Leeteuk let out a breath. "You are working hard already."

Yesung nodded. "That's really good."

Nell continued, "We should start. We'll need partners for this dance, so--"

"Can I be Aeyeong's partner?" Henry called out, raising a hand. 

Donghae pursed his lips as he shuffled his weight from one foot to the other, crossing his arms. He really did not want anyone having his girlfriend as a partner. He thought about what her wardrobe would be like for the live performances and he immediately felt a knot in his stomach. 

Kangin glared at Henry. "No, I want to be Aeyeong's partner. We should pick partners based on groups. So, I get her. Or Lìxúe."

As everyone began shouting ideas of who wanted which partner, Donghae felt his patience wane. The idea of her in some skimpy little outfit dancing with either Henry or  Kangin or Shindong or anyone else made his blood boil over. Only he should be allowed to dance with her for these perfomances. 

No one would be hitting on his girlfriend if they knew that--

Before he could really process what he was doing, he had already crossed the room to where Aeyeong was standing.

Aeyeong's eyes widened slightly as he stood in front of her. He had a look about him that only she had ever seen in private.

"Aeyeong," he breathed out, his voice hoarse and  barely above a whisper. His eyes peered into hers with a look of intensity that revealed how deeply his soul was craving for this. His body subconciously leaned ever nearer hers. "I have to ask you a question."

The commotion around them came to a jarring halt, the members of Super Junior and the Starlets staring, wide-eyed.

Donghae dropped down to one knee as he pulled a small velvet box from his pocket.

Excited squeals erupted from several of the Starlets. "Oh my gosh!"

"Is he--Eeep!"

"Oh my!"

A door opened and closed as a redhead exited the room. 

"So cute!"

Donghae looked up at his beloved girlfriend of ten years, the woman of his life. A nervous smile crept over his face as his eyes shined with glee. "Will you marry me?"

 

 

 

 

 

Author's Note
Hello my dear readers! I'm sorry that it's taken me so long for this chapter. This chapter was actually waaay longer, and then I decided that it was just too long, so I've divided it into two parts. So, the next part is already partially written. And I promise that there are a lot of interactions between each girl and her guy in the next chapter. Seriously. Lots of moments and tension and all that good stuff and maybe not-so-good stuff. ;) 

Anyway, thank you all for reading! I hope you liked this!

Oh, hey. I forgot to mention, I kinda need your help. Does anyone know of a good site to use to rip videos off of YouTube? (I can't believe I'm asking this.) But I need it for what I'm doing for the Starlets performances for SJ's anniversary. If anyone has any ideas, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!

And who else is super excited for SJ's comeback?! "Black Suit" is already giving me nosebleeds and the MV hasn't even been released yet! I think it's safe to say I've already sold my soul to Super Junior. lol