[A private meeting room on the 4th floor of WHISTLE Entertainment HQ, three days later, at approximately 9.00am]

“You really shouldn’t have come down all this way to Whistle,” a stunning woman with a commanding presence pushes through the door, settling opposite the blonde coolly, “I could’ve met you at La Rouge.”

“You’re helping me, it’s only fair, Ms…”

“You can just call me Jennie, Manager Son.”

“In that case, you can just call me Wendy.”

“Cute name.”

Seungwan chuckles, “Thanks... Jennie’s a cute name too.”

Jennie smiles in return, setting her bag away on the table.

She checks the silver timepiece on her wrist, “Now, I know you haven’t got much time until your next schedule with…Irene. So let’s jump straight to what you need to talk to me for. You said you wanted to know more about my trainee life at La Rouge?”

“Yeah,” Seungwan nods, “I heard from Choreographer Lee about you since he was the dance trainer for Joohyun, Haneul and you?”

Jennie seems to freeze at the mention of Haneul’s name, which Seungwan notes with curiosity.

“…Yes, he was,” Jennie clears , “What did you want to know?”

“What was the relationship like between you and the other two?”

“Before I answer that, may I know what you’re really trying to get at? Just so I know what I’m getting myself into…with you.”

“I understand if this may make you uncomfortable, but,” Seungwan begins, apprehension flooding her chest, “I’m currently looking into La Rouge’s previous CEO, Jang Hajoon. It seems his practices then may have been less than legal and have had terrible repercussions on our artistes—”

“And by artistes, you mean one artiste in particular,” Jennie sighs.

“I—”

“I’m not blind, Wendy. I saw the broadcast. I can tell that you care about her a lot.”

Seungwan looks down at her clasped hands, feeling a little guilty all of a sudden.

“Look, I don’t know what you did to get her to open up to you so quickly because she’s a private person who’d rather bottle all her up and implode than to talk to anyone about her problems, but! I’m gonna trust my gut about you, so listen up,” Jennie takes a deep breath and folds her arms, “It’s been a long time since I last heard that prick’s name. And no one certainly has ever come around searching for ways to have him locked up in prison where he belongs. Not until you.”

The manager is pleasantly surprised by the fire burning in the girl group leader’s eyes.

“The three of us had a competitive…thing going on,” Jennie continues, “But by no fault of ours.”

Seungwan frowns, “I’m not…sure I understand. Could you clarify?”

“It was all Jang Hajoon,” Jennie explains, “At the start, he started sitting in during our practices, and by 2013, it seemed like he was aiming for three of us to debut as a group. By the way, are you recording this?”

“Eh?”

“I’m asking you to record this,” Jennie answers, “So that when you finally do drag his to court, you’ll have as much of the evidence ready, duh.”

“O-Oh,” Seungwan fumbles with her phone and takes it out, bringing up her voice recorder app, “It’s uh, it’s recording.”

“Good. Now, as I was saying…”

Seungwan slumps back in her chair, looking entirely flabbergasted, “I knew he was messed up, but not that messed up.”

“Hah! Wait till you hear how he actually talks,” Jennie scoffs, “You’d think he’s either got a couple of screws loose or he’s an actual psychopathic genius, seeing how he’s managed to get away with all this for so long.”

“No offence, but…why didn’t you report him back then?”

Jennie chortles mirthlessly, “Whose word would they take? A CEO who wants to bring out ‘the best’ in his artistes? Or a disgraced ex-La Rouge trainee who seems disgruntled about not getting to debut?”

“When you put it like that…it makes sense. Sorry.”

“Don’t be. Just take it as a warning,” Jennie grows serious, “His reputation makes it impossible to pin any of these accusations on him and have them stick. Hell, even this recording won’t be enough, even if I’m no longer a ‘disgruntled ex-trainee’.”

“If I were to…ask Haneul, what are the chances she would help?”

Jennie hums in thought, “I haven’t seen or spoken to her since that showcase, so I don’t really know. But it won’t hurt to give it a shot, I guess. If there’s anyone who’d hate him more than I do, it’ll probably be her.”

Seungwan twiddles her thumbs in embarrassment, “About that… I’m not sure how to contact her.”

“Don’t you have her file in La Rouge’s database or something?”

“It got wiped.”

“I bet that bastard has something to do with it,” Jennie hisses in anger, only to remember she ought to keep her composure in check, “Guess it can’t be helped. I can’t remember her exact address in Daegu, but I can give you a general idea of where she lives. Pen and paper please.”

[On the way to Joohyun’s apartment, at approximately 10.30am]

The light is currently red. Seungwan sinks deep into thought as her mind processes everything she’s just learnt from Jennie. She frowns, pouring over each detail again. Each time, the cycle adds yet another to the painting that is her understanding of Jang’s character. by , the picture comes closer to completion.

Then, it finally hits her.

She lets out a disbelieving laugh and snaps her fingers, before slamming her hand on the steering wheel in excitement, “Of course!”

The sound of a car horn resounds and she looks up to find the light has turned green. She holds up her right hand in apology and presses on the gas. She chuckles to herself, unable to control her elation.

[A studio in GGBC Radio Station, at approximately 11.45am]

“Wendy! Good to see you,” Seohyun extends a handshake to the blonde.

The younger manager takes the offered handshake firmly, “Good to see you too, Manager Seo.”

“You seem to have adjusted well,” Seohyun tips her head to a certain soloist settling her belongings down in the studio.

“Yeah, took some time, but well,” Seungwan’s eyes land on Joohyun, “I think we’re good now.”

“Woah, it’s the cute and hot badass manager!”

The yell surprises all the studio occupants, as a tall woman bounds over to the blonde like an excited beagle.

She takes the confused manager’s hand in hers, her eyes glowing with fascination, “Nice to meet you! Do you know me? I’m Park Sooyoung! From Blue Lemonade! What do I call you? Manager Son? Wendy-unnie? Cute, badass manager-unnie?”

“Slow down, Sooyoung,” Seohyun sighs, “You’re scaring her.”

“W-Wendy-unnie is fine…” The blonde stammers, taken aback by the ball of energy in front of her.

“Please ignore her,” a shorter individual enters the studio right after, “Sooyoung-unnie knows nothing about social norms.”

“Hey! Quiet, squirt!”

“There you go again with the height jokes,” Yerim rolls her eyes, “Come up with new and better insults please.”

“Kim Yerim, you—”

Seungwan feels amusement crawl over her at the exchange between the members of La Rouge’s youngest and newest group. Somehow, this all seems pretty uncanny to me…

“Girls,” Seohyun grounds out, “Behave.”

“Ah, it’s Blue Lemonade.”

Seungwan whirls around to find Joohyun exiting the studio into the rack room. The soloist’s eyes flicker down to the blonde’s hand still clasped in her junior artiste’s hands.

The manager instinctively yanks her hand out Sooyoung’s grasp and clears nervously, “A-Ah, Joohyun, your j-juniors are here.”

Joohyun narrows her eyes suspiciously at her.

“What’s up, Irene-sunbaenim!” Sooyoung flashes a playful grin at the soloist, waving energetically.

“Yes…hello, Yeri…and Joy,” Joohyun smiles at the youngest and gives the other a curt nod, before turning to Seohyun, “I see you’ve got your hands full.”

“It is definitely…different,” the older manager chuckles tiredly, “How have you been?”

Joohyun takes a deep breath and nods, “I’m doing well.”

“That was a really fun broadcast you did with Wendy-unnie!” Joy pipes up, clapping her hands together.

Joohyun shoots an accusing look at the blonde next to her. Wendy-unnie?

Wendy-UNNIE?!

Noticing the soloist glaring daggers at her, Seungwan tries to dispel the tension, “T-That’s great, S-Sooyoung-ah…”

Joohyun continues to glare threateningly, tilting her head, as though her stare is a knife she can twist into her manager’s being. Sooyoung-ah?

SOOYOUNG-AH?!

Son Wendy… You’ve only just met her and you’re already on a first-name basis?!

Knowing she’s just messed up even more, the blonde scrambles for another topic to switch to, when—

“Great! You’re all here!”

Sunny comes through the door, a confident hop in her steps, “We’re going on air in five, so my dear guests, let’s head on in and get ready!”

The DJ bows in greeting to the two managers before gesturing for the three artistes to follow her into the studio. Seungwan lets out a loud sigh of relief after Joohyun and Blue Lemonade leave the rack room, the door shutting behind them.

The older manager next to her lets out an amused chuckle, “What was that?”

“I don’t know,” the blonde grimaces, “We get along fine but then again, she can be really scary at times.”

“Looks like you’ve got a lot on your plate, Manager Son.”

“Don’t remind me, Manager Seo.”

“And welcome to Sunny’s FM Picnic! How is your afternoon going? Because it’s about to get better! Today is our sunbae-hoobae special, and with me are none other than La Rouge’s very own sunbae-hoobae pair, Irene and Blue Lemonade! Please welcome them!”

A cheering sound effect plays for two seconds, before Sunny speaks up again, “Thanks for joining me today, ladies. Since we’re on viewable radio, could you introduce yourselves to our listeners and viewers, starting from the youngest? Make sure to include some fan-service please!”

Yerim waves peace signs at the camera and with the most baby-like voice she can manage, “Hello, I’m Blue Lemonade’s Yeri! Nice to meet you!”

“Wow, that’s refreshing! Up next is Joy!”

The older of the pair sends her most sultry gaze at the camera, running her hand through her luscious locks as she whispers in a husky voice, “Hey there… This is…Joy, from…Blue Lemonade. Nice to…meet you.”

Sunny lets out an awkward laugh, “Coming on strong there, Joy-ssi.”

Sooyoung wraps up her introduction with a wink. Yerim lets out a snort.

Sooyoung throws an annoyed glare at her friend, “Kim Yerim! Don’t laugh!”

“You did a great job, Joy! Let’s move on!” Sunny signals for the camera to shift away from the bickering pair.

Unaware that the camera has panned to her, Joohyun bites her bottom lip as her mind scrambles for an introduction that would beat Sooyoung’s. Hands-down.

What should I say?

Hi, it’s your number one sweetheart, Irene?

Ugh, that’s so boring. It's..not fresh anymore.

“Oh! Irene-ssi is already biting her lip… Ready your hearts, our listeners and viewers!”

Joohyun snaps out of her thoughts and glances up, almost yelping when she finds the camera already trained on her face.

What do I say?!

Almost like second nature to her, her eyes swivel to the window behind the camera, her gaze landing on her manager. The blonde notices her stare and sticks her tongue out at her. Joohyun feels a static of annoyance snap inside her.

The audacity.

Then it occurs to her. What she should say.

With her softest doe-eyed look and the sweetest voice she can muster, she looks straight into the camera, “Made of the best dating material, this is Irene Bae. Nice to meet you.”

Seungwan shudders upon watching Joohyun’s introduction through the monitor in the rack room. The familiar words strike at her heart like a flash of lightning. She lets out a cough and looks away, her cheeks feeling a little warm.

The blonde manager’s reaction to the soloist does not go unnoticed.

Yerim feels a strong tug at the corners of her lips and she nudges her fellow member’s foot under the table. Sooyoung nearly snaps at her again when she realises that her friend is signalling her about something. She follows the younger girl’s line of sight and smirks, giving Yerim a discreet nod.

“Beautifully done, as expected of a veteran celebrity like our Irene!” Sunny cheers, “I hope our listeners and viewers have not fainted?”

Sooyoung wonders if the soloist had witnessed her manager’s response. She turns to look to her right, only to find Joohyun’s eyes already trained on her, chin tilted up with newfound confidence.

Oh?

A light bulb flickers on in Sooyoung’s mind.

I see how it is.

Two can play this game, Irene-sunbaenim.

“All right, we’ll be taking two more questions from our viewers before we move to our callers! Let’s see…what are some interesting questions…” Sunny scans the screen in front her, her eyes darting expertly across the rush of questions coming in.

“Ah! Number 5971 asks, ‘Irene-unnie, if there’s one timeless piece of advice you’d give to your Blue Lemonade juniors, what would it be?’”

Joohyun ponders for a bit, her eyes training on the ceiling as she assesses her experiences thus far, for the most helpful titbit of wisdom.

“When you answer, make sure to look at your juniors, Irene-ssi,” Sunny remarks, her tone light.

Joohyun thinks hard, her thoughts inevitably travelling back to what a certain blonde manager had told her that night during their picnic at the river. Inhaling sharply, the soloist turns to face her expectant juniors, who watch her with eager eyes, ready to take in everything she has to say.

Even though I keep forgetting…I hope they never will.

“A…friend reminded me of this just recently, and I think it’s important that you remember it too,” Joohyun begins, slow and careful as she recalls those words from memory, “Wherever you are in your journey as an artiste, as a celebrity…you’re still human. Learn to pause and enjoy the simpler things in life.”

Seungwan’s eyes widen in recognition of those familiar words. She looks up from the monitor in shock, meeting Joohyun’s waiting eyes. The soloist sends her a small smile. The blonde returns the smile, bashful. Her heart doesn’t quicken, but she feels it beat a tad stronger, simply from the simple exchange of glances and smiles.

“To remember that you’re a person too and you need time to relax as well, that’s great advice!” Sunny remarks, clearly impressed, “Take note, our Blue Lemonade kids!”

“Thank you, Irene-sunbaenim,” the pair both speak into their mics at the same time, gratefulness obvious in their softened countenance.

“What an honour to observe this heartfelt moment between sunbae and hoobae,” Sunny lets out an appreciative sigh, “How about calling your sunbae ‘Irene-unnie’ instead? Maybe you can grow even closer after this radio programme~”

“C-Can I?” Yerim is first to speak, her eyes darting nervously between Sunny and Joohyun.

Seohyun raises a brow, a little surprised by the sudden shy disposition the youngest is wearing now. However, it shouldn’t come off as a surprise if she really thinks about it. Yerim has always been vocal in the practice room about what a huge fan she is of Irene after all.

Joohyun acquiesces with a nod, “Go ahead.”

“…Irene-unnie?” Yerim softly tests the new term.

She instantly covers her face abashedly and lets out an excited squeak, overwhelmed by the vindication of finally being to call her idol more familiarly. Sooyoung bursts out laughing at the younger girl while Joohyun blinks, having not expected such an animated reaction.

“It’s your turn, Joy!”

Sooyoung regains her composure and clears , flashing a bright grin at the soloist, “Irene-unnie!”

“M-Mm,” Joohyun murmurs into her mic, an embarrassed sense of awkwardness washing over her.

It’s different from when…Seungwan says it.

“Okay, last question! Number 6312 asks, ‘Was trainee life different for Irene-noona and Blue Lemonade?’” Sunny reads out from the screen.

The radio DJ looks up to regard her guests with a curious look, “Could you ladies share with us a little bit about your trainee lives?”

Joohyun feels an iciness creep up the back of her neck, growing to wrap itself around . She swallows thickly as she tries not to follow her haunting memories down the rabbit hole. She blinks in rapid succession, attempting to rid her mind of the pain that gripped her wrist, and of harsh words that plunged themselves into her chest like daggers. Her vision blurs a little and she squints, trying to regain her focus.

Seohyun senses her fellow manager stiffen next to her. She casts a worried glance at the blonde, noticing the downturn of Wendy’s lips and the furrow of her eyebrows.

“Everything okay, Wendy?”

“W-Wha—?” The manager blinks once and turns to look at her, relaxing her face immediately, “Oh, uh, e-everything’s…fine.”

“Really? Because right now, you look—”

“My trainee life was…challenging,” Joohyun’s voice interrupts the managers’ conversation in the rack room, “The trainers were strict, but it’s only because of their hard work and discipline…that I can be where I am today.”

Seungwan’s hands ball into tight fists as angry disbelief floods her lungs.

That’s not tr