“That concludes the meeting, we will finalize the schedules and send it to you as soon as possible. Thank you for coming.”

SM was planning another Red Velvet comeback and the girls were excited. SM had promised them more control over the next album and their excitement could barely be contained. The scooting of five chairs echoed through the quiet room before all five took turns sharing their enthusiasm and ideas they had for their upcoming project. Wendy was trailing the other four and right before she exited the room, their managers called out to her.

“Actually Wendy, we have something to discuss real quick, it won’t be long.”

Silence befell the girls and this was an unusual way of addressing them, so they weren’t quite sure what the solo meeting meant. The four showed concern in their eyes for Wendy, but she shined a bright smile telling the others everything will be okay. They were hesitant at first, but slowly their minds went back to their albums and they continued their conversation right outside while they wait for Wendy.

“You don’t have to sit down. We just got a request for you to audition for a show and we think you should do it.”

“Oh?” Wendy breathed a sigh of relief, she thought she was in trouble, but it turned out to just be a solo schedule opportunity. She was curious about why this was kept from the others.

“What kind of show? A show about music or maybe one requiring an english speaker?” Those were usual the two topics Wendy specialized in and she was quite proud of it.

“It’s a drama actually. They had you in mind for one of the side characters, but they aren’t opposed to seeing what you can do first.”

“A drama? I’m Seungwan, did you mean to call in Sooyoung? Maybe Joohyun or even Seulgi?” Those three are the ones with any kind of acting credits to their name. Wendy was at disbelief at what her manager just said.

“You are Red Velvet’s Wendy, right? That’s who they asked for. It will be good for you. Your audition is in a couple of days, we will send you everything sometime tonight. If it’s so unbelievable, you can ask them yourself then.”

“Thank you.”

Wendy bows ninety degrees before she turns towards the door. It was her usual pattern of being strictly respectful, but this motion had an act of hiding her anxiety. She gripped the doorknob, but before twisting it, she took a deep breath to calm her heart. Once she felt confident in a smile that would fool the others, the door clicked open and four faces were anticipating her return.

The scene might as well have the four falling down as they backed from the door opening and one with an empty glass in hand pretending like she was drinking from it instead of using it to ease drop.

“Is everything okay?” Irene was the first to speak up as the leader. She wasn’t always the most talkative in a public setting, but she fit every definition of the word ‘leader’ in any behind the scenes scenarios.

“Uhh yeah. Apparently, I have an audition for an upcoming drama.”

Four pairs of eyes lit up similarly to Wendy’s did just a few moments ago. Wendy was sure she was showing a smile, but from their reactions, she started to doubt herself until Seulgi spoke up.

“Wow! That’s amazing! You will do a great job!” Seulgi always had a lot of confidence in Wendy’s abilities and thought she would do great at anything she did. Most of the members actually felt that way as Irene and Yeri mimicked Seulgi’s words in their own way. Irene pulled her in for a hug and jumped with excitement while Yeri found some witty words that both insulted and congratulated the vocalist. Although, there was one member who was quiet through it all. Wendy was sure Joy would have something to say, but after the others finished, Joy only offered a simple congratulations without her marquee smile.

On the ride home to their brand new dorm was filled with talk about album talk. They have had some say in previous albums, but the company was allowing them to control in everything. Of course, they would have to convince the company that it was the right path to take, but if they did a good job, they could even pick the concept, take part in the direction of the music video, and even how to promote it. Wendy may have been the most excited about the creative freedom as her interest in the 'behind the scenes' dwarfed the others. The talk helped her forget about other things she wasn’t as excited for.

The members knew they couldn’t let this opportunity pass and went all out. They got their manager to drop them off at an office supply store and bought everything they could need for a proper presentation. They still had a few weeks before SM even expected their first presentation, but their motivation was at an all-time high and they weren’t going to let it escape.

Their new dorm had a giant dining table that was always a little depressing with how little it was actually used, but now there were papers strewn about and multiple laptops ready to take notes. Yeri was standing at the head of the table in front of a giant standing whiteboard they had just purchased. On the board was a list of different concepts and wishes they had for the album. No idea was turned down at first indicated by the “Whole MV is shot underwater”. To the untrained eye, the whole situation seemed perfect, but the tallest member spotted the grain of sand in the shoe. It wasn’t much, but there was something gnawing at her side that something didn’t feel right.

Everyone was happily sharing their ideas. At times a few members got a little riled up and started yelling before they had to be calmed down as the night continued on. One consistent was their reliance on Wendy when it came to the topic of music. They all had the genres they loved, but it was undeniable that Wendy’s opinion on anything music was invaluable, yet here she was giving non-answers like “I’m not sure” and “Maybe? Why not?”. She was still smiling and throwing out her own suggestions and teasing other members as she likes doing. But to Joy, her tone was just off and speech manner seemed subdued, she wondered if anyone else caught on.

As the morning hours started to count on, Irene forced the group to get some sleep as they had a group schedule the next morning. The halls of their abode were mostly silent to Joy’s ear, but there was someone she wanted to check up on before the night ended. As she approached Wendy’s room, the only ounce of sound she could hear was coming from the room in