【2】

Peony sat in the backseat of Jada’s white Chrysler 300 series sedan with her good friend Naomi Setsuko in the passenger seat. They were driving down a crowded street in Seoul.

There were so many people that it was difficult to discern where they were going.

Not that Peony would recognize anything even if the streets weren’t packed.

This was her first visit to Seoul to see Naomi.

It was her friend’s birthday and she’d had the day off therefore she decided to take a flight to South Korea from Japan to spend it with her.

Her J-pop girl group 原宿のかわいい女の子 Harajuku no kawaī on'nanoko (which translates to ‘Harajuku Cute Girls’) or “Hara Kana” for short, was currently on a short break from promotion of their latest EP “HANA NO HIME” that had immediately topped the Oricon charts for the month.

She’d flown in late last night and stayed over at Naomi’s apartment in Sinsa-dong.

Her flight back home was early the following morning.

But so far, Peony had enjoyed her trip and didn’t regret coming to Seoul.

Naomi, Jada and herself had spent the day doing one of her favorite activities—shopping!

They took her to COEX Mall and the Galleria department store.

Afterwards, they ate at a Korean BBQ chain restaurant then got pampered at a high-end spa.

It was the best day a girl could ask for.

Peony hadn’t gotten the chance to do things like that often since becoming an idol.

Her group was always too busy promoting and touring around Japan.

They didn’t get much time to do normal things.

That’s why she didn’t hesitate to take Naomi up on her offer to spend her 25th birthday together.

Naomi traveled back and forth between Tokyo and Seoul often for work purposes therefore they hadn’t seen much of each other lately.

She had been bummed because her basketball player beau was too busy to do anything with her.

Peony knew how difficult it could be dating a pro athlete.

She’d recently ended her relationship with Kenji Nagaa, a player for the Yomiuri Giants in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball.

They had been a couple for nearly a year.

Because she was almost twenty-five years old her agency Horipro allowed her and the two eldest members of her group to date. But they of course had to do so on the down low.

Peony just stared out the back window as the car sailed down the bustling streets.

“Are you sure it’s this way, unnie?” Naomi asked Jada who was driving.

Jada nodded, keeping her eyes forward. “Of course, I know where I’m going.”

Naomi just stared at her, not too confident.

She’d been saying the same thing for the past hour.

They were supposed to be headed to the COOL’S bar in Sinchon for drinks and live music but somehow Jada had taken a wrong turn and they’d ended up in Hyehwa instead.

They were currently on Daehakro’s main drag.

Naomi glanced at the GPS App on her Samsung S5 Neo mobile phone.

“According to this, you should make a right turn if we’re to get to Sinchon” she informed.

But Jada once again repeated “I know where I’m going.”

Then she made a left turn instead.

Naomi’s brows knitted together in confusion.

“Nanka atta no? (What’s happening?)” Peony sat up and asked from the backseat.

Even though she understood essentially zero Korean—she knew that they were a bit lost.

They’d been driving around for what felt like hours.

“Shirimasen (I don’t know)” Naomi replied back to her.

A look of concern came onto Peony’s face once she’d said that.

However, Jada shot her a smile in the rearview mirror.

“Don’t worry—everything’s fine” she assured her, speaking in English.

Although Peony understood her words—she was still apprehensive.

What was going on exactly?

Naomi was just as daunted by it all as she was.

A few minutes later, Jada pulled her Chrysler 300 into a space in front of Club F5.

It was the second nightclub that their boyfriends owned with their closest friends.

“What are we doing here?” Naomi was absolutely clueless.

She felt as if she was missing some vital information.

Jada turned off the engine and flashed a cryptic smile.

“You will find out when we get inside” was all she said.

Then she grabbed her Valentino fringed baguette and exited the vehicle.

Naomi broke out of her stupor to follow behind her.

“Ikimasho (Let’s go)” she said to Peony.

They stepped out of the car at the same time.

Peony looked over at all of the people standing on the sidewalk waiting to get inside.

She figured it must be a cool place if they were willing to wait in such a long line.

Jada led the way towards the entrance of the nightclub.

She wore a white Herve Leger bandage dress and Christian Louboutin D’Orsay pumps.

The dress hugged her curves perfectly and her chestnut hair was in a sleek side ponytail.

Naomi was dressed in a Roberto Cavalli floral print kimono style mini-dress with Jimmy Choo strappy heels and Jainsong bejeweled clutch bag.

On her right wrist was the white gold and diamond Bulgari B.ZERO bracelet that Yunho had gifted her for her birthday.

Her dark brown hair was pulled back in an elegant chignon.

Although Jada and Naomi were beautiful and stylish—Peony stood out due to her long wavy hair that was cherry blossom pink. She had recently dyed her hair and caused a sensation in Japan.

Peony and her Hara Kana group mates were renowned for being stylish trendsetters.

That evening she had on a sleeveless white and black polka dot Olympia Le-Tan Paris bodycon dress with a heart cut-out in the back paired with white Capucci t-strap heels and a mini black patent leather Chanel Classic 2.55 totebag.

She donned Ginza silver and pearl ball earrings and silver and pearl chained three-finger rings.

Her pastel pink hair fell nearly to her small waist with a black angora bow clipped to one side.

The cosmetics she wore gave her face a bright and pretty appearance.

Peony favored the “Cute-Dolly” look with her makeup.

She had in Pinky Paradise’s Geo Angel Brown-colored circle lenses that made her eyes appear bigger and brighter.

She put the chain strap of her Chanel tote on her shoulder and followed the girls.

It wasn’t long before the people queued up took notice of the stunningly attractive females.

The guys started with the suggestive whistles and cat-calls.

The girls shot them looks filled with jealousy.

Jada and Naomi looked unfazed by the reactions they elicited.

Peony kept her gaze forward but was a bit startled when she heard someone yell “Peony-chan!”

She looked over and saw two girls waving at her.

She smiled and waved back to them.

It was a big surprise to her that anyone in Korea would recognize her.

Though it was known that Hara Kana had fans throughout Asia—it was still unexpected.

Soon a muscular guard came out to the girls inside the nightclub.

Once they were inside, it was dark and Peony could barely see where they were going.

Strobe lights were flashing everywhere—loud dance music blasted from the speakers.

Peony and Naomi held hands as the guard led them towards a staircase.

Before they went up the stairs the guard exchanged words with another big guy perched there to keep away non-VIPs. Only authorized people were allowed to the second level.

When the men were done speaking—they proceeded up to the VIP area.

Jada went up first with Naomi and Peony picking up the rear.

The two of them were still in the dark about what they were doing there.

That was until they entered the VIP section and everyone shouted “Saeng Il Chukha Hamnida!”

It