Byulyi squints at the title of the article on her computer screen.  It had been sent out by email en masse to everyone in the office.   

 

 

MMTG’s Moonstar meets her match with Red Velvet’s Irene in the latest episode of Civilization Express

 

 

“Did you edit me badly?” mutters Byulyi as she peers over her desktop to meet Wheein’s nervous gaze.  The other girl quickly looks away, clearly pretending to be preoccupied with her computer screen.

 

 

“Ya, Jung Wheein.”

 

 

“Hey, don’t be mean to her.  It was a team effort.  How is it her fault you couldn’t keep it together in front of a pretty girl?”  Byulyi glances over and sees Heeyeon observing the exchange, her smile evident despite the mask covering the bottom half of her face. 

 

 

“I-I keep it together for plenty of the pretty idols!”

 

 

“Unnie, you weren’t that bad.  People were just a little surprised by how easily you gave into her requests.”

 

 

Byulyi rolls her eyes as she starts to click through her browser to get to youtube.  She types in the name of the youtube channel she produces and hosts, MMTG, and finds the newest video.  Byulyi had tried to watch the episode on the subway ride to SBS but the morning commute was crowded and focusing on her phone screen had given her a headache.  Clearly when her phone had blown up with teasing texts and screen shots of article titles, she should have just braved the possibility of throwing up on a businessman to understand just what the hell was everyone’s problem.

 

 

“We did our usual Chisa line gimmick where we pretended to try to join Red Velvet.  We looked stupid.  They laughed.  End of story.”

 

 

“Uh huh, well watch the video and come to your own conclusions then.  Maybe the reporters are just blind.”

 

 

“Whatever,” Byulyi mutters irritably as she shifts in her ergonomic chair.  She slips her EarPods in and presses play on the video, crossing her arms petulantly as she waits for the ad to finish. Of course it has to be Irene drinking a shot of soju, scrunching her beautiful face with eyes tightly shut. 

 

 

A taste as fresh as me.

 

 

Byulyi cringes at how easily she softens at the sight of Irene staring prettily at her from her screen, not even bothering to skip the ad.

 

 

“Maybe the writers weren’t making something out of nothing,” Heeyeon teases before turning to look back at her own computer.

 

 

Byulyi says nothing, just curls a strand of her long silver hair around her finger and petulantly watches the video play.

 

 

The segment starts in an empty SM office with Wheein and herself stretching exaggeratedly in their pseudo trainee outfits.  Their matching orange vests have their fake trainee names: Wheerun and Moonstar. 

 

 

“Wheein-ah, are you seriously going to try to do a splits stretch right now?”

 

 

“Unnie, you know we need to get into a group sometime.  This is like our tenth time trying to break in.”

 

 

Byulyi starts laughing, glancing over her shoulder at the camera. 

 

 

“Look what you’ve done to her , Seu-beu-seu News!  You’ve brainwashed a perfectly good assistant director into thinking that she needs to get into a girl group for a youtube video.”

 

 

“Unnie, don’t be like that! I heard you warming up your ‘Rising Sun’ rap in the car.  Don’t act like I’m the only one who takes this seriously!”

 

 

Wheein, who has a jump rope tied to her waist, starts to get ready for a sprint in earnest.

 

 

The video cuts to Red Velvet in the practice room, sitting in chairs as they gaze at the door.

 

 

“Should we be mean to them?” Joy asks with her head tilted, a playful smile curling her lips.

 

 

“Yeah, let’s be all,” Yeri excitedly crosses her arms over her chest and glares in the direction of the door.

 

 

“You do whatever you want,” Wendy says helplessly, plopping down on the couch next to a grinning Seulgi.  Irene is joining in with Joy and Yeri, giggling excitedly at the prospect of a prank.

 

 

Cut to Wheein running around the room with her jump rope in earnest.  Byulyi’s gaze speaks volumes more than words ever could.

 

 

Heeyeon’s amused laugh can be heard in the background, slightly muffled from her face mask. 

 

 

“You’re lucky that the day we drew straws, I was the one who had to be the host,” Byulyi gripes at Heeyeon. 

 

 

“You love being Moonstar.  Also they’re ready for you to come downstairs.”

 

 

“Wait, I didn’t warm up my vocals yet!” 

 

 

“I think our show broke Jung Wheein.”

 

 

Byulyi stands and the camera follows the backs of the two “trainees” as they exit, cutting to the cameras facing them entering into the SM practice room holding Red Velvet.

 

 

“Hello!”  Byulyi and Wheein say enthusiastically.  Joy, Irene, and Yeri remain stone-faced, watching them with barely any interest.

 

 

“I almost peed my pants,” Wheein confesses in a voiceover that shifts to an interview.  “They’re all taller than me, especially Joy.  She looked like a beautiful scary tree glaring down at me.”

 

 

“Um hi we’re uh Chisa Line.  CROSS!”  Byulyi and Wheein cross their right and left arm together to make an X and hold up their free hands in cute peace signs.

 

 

For a moment there is dead silence.  And then Wendy and Seulgi burst into laughter.

 

 

“You guys couldn’t keep it together for 30 seconds,” Joy complains in the interview cut, petulantly whining as she glares at Wendy and Seulgi who are guiltily smiling.

 

 

“I’m not good at being mean and doing pranks.  That’s your and Irene-unnie’s specialty,” Wendy retorts, gesturing vaguely at the two of them.  “I’m not a plotter.”

 

 

Seulgi gives her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder in consolation.

 

 

The next second has everyone in the practice room sitting on the couches except for Byulyi who is standing with her cue cards.  She starts to pull her hair into a pony tail and her gaze obviously flicks toward Irene before moving vaguely between Irene and Seulgi’s heads.

 

 

“Okay, okay, well I hope you all are ready for us to join the group.  We are definitely the monster trainees of our company.”

 

 

Irene giggles again and the camera trains on how her eyes curve with her smile.

 

 

When the camera cuts back to Byulyi, she is clearly blushing.

 

 

“We brought a contract today!  Whoever wins today’s competition gets free ddeokbokkie and a deal with SM.”

 

 

“But we already have a contract with SM,” says Wendy, head slightly tilted in confusion.

 

 

“Then you get ddeokbokkie and applause.”

 

 

The camera trains on the very dry look Joy gives Byulyi from her spot on the couch.

 

 

Byulyi pauses the video and of course it stops perfectly on Irene grinning up at Byulyi approaching the group.  She remembers the stupid games they’d done involving making the Red Velvet members correctly name six different shades of red and test taste five different types of red velvet cake.  During the last competition of accurately guessing which fabric was 100% velvet, Irene had lost to Byulyi. 

 

 

She sighs as she fast forwards to the part.

 

 

Irene is standing too close to Byulyi, tilting her head with a very wide smile and eyelashes fluttering.  Byulyi has a plastic hammer over her shoulder.  She’s poised to strike but she’s hesitating.

 

 

“Please don’t hit me.”

 

 

“There’s no aegyo allowed on this show, Irene-ssi,” Byulyi growls and she hits the plastic hammer loudly against the ground.  Yeri bursts into boisterous laughter at the terrified way Irene’s eyes widen.

 

 

“Give me one chance? Please?”

 

 

Byulyi rolls her eyes and glares at the camera.

 

 

The next cut is of Irene joyously winning the next round and without hesitation smashing the plastic hammer against Byulyi’s temple.  She falls dramatically to the floor and Wheein rushes to her side, pressing a hand against her forehead.

 

 

“Moonstar! Moonstar!”

 

 

Byulyi groans and pauses the video.  She looks incredibly stupid, prone on the ground and staring up at Irene in shock.  But the flush in her cheeks in unmistakable.

 

 

As if on cue Byulyi feels her phone vibrate with a text.  It’s Yongsun of course.  She just glances at the top message.

 

 

Next time you want a girlfriend, just ask me to set you up with one of my friends… Instead of broadcasting your pining on youtube.

 

 

“Jeez.”  Byulyi angrily sends back an emoji in reply and exits out of youtube.  It’s just a stupid spur of the moment crush.  Sure, she’s idolized SM groups since she was a child and even had been in an SM training camp for a stint.  But then she’d grown up, realized idol life wasn’t for her, and gone to a good school.  Floundered for a few years but found a stable job working for an affiliate media company of an established broadcasting network.

 

 

It isn’t like Byulyi would be seeing Irene anytime soon anyway.

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

“What do you mean I have to go to SM right now?”  Byulyi practically yells.  She already is on edge from the morning’s shenanigans.  Leaving late from work would really send her over the edge.

 

 

“Don’t worry.  Wheein and Heeyeon will be going with you, too.  You can get dinner on the company card.”

 

 

Byulyi glances over at Wheein who glumly stares at the ceiling, eyes bereft of any sign of life.  Heeyeon is similarly staring blankly at her computer, freedom just out of reach.

 

 

“Why do we have to go back there for filming? We were just there two weeks ago for the Red Velvet video.  SM got their promotion on our show and we got our million views.”

 

 

Team Manager Kim narrows his eyes, knowing full well that Byulyi has several photo cards and stickers of various SM idols plastered all over her work station.

 

 

“Is this attitude because of the articles?  Apparently SM thought you did a great job taking care of Red Velvet.  Especially since you got Irene out of her shell.  She’s hard to get comfortable in an interview.”

 

 

“Yeah I got her comfortable by letting her hit me with an inflatable hammer three times in a row,” Byulyi mutters.  “Even though I was winning the game.”

 

 

“You were trying to be chivalrous.  The bond between interviewer and interviewee is a lost art.”

 

 

“Team Manager, you know I’m a PD, right?”

 

 

“So you three, head over to SM and let me know when you finish, okay? Just get the company car keys from the lobby and put it under my name.”

 

 

“Fine,” Byulyi mutters with a scowl, eyes landing by pure coincidence on an old sticker of the SM family.  Irene is smiling up at her with blonder hair.

 

 

“Wait.  Wait why are we even going over there?”  But when Byulyi looks up, Team Manager Kim has scurried away.  He probably is rushing to get down the elevator and away from her complaining. 

 

 

Byulyi leans back in her chair and sits in silence. 

 

 

“Unnie, can we get beer afterwards? I know it’s Thursday but I really think I need it.”

 

 

“Sure, Wheein-ah.  We can go to that chicken place around the corner,” Heeyeon replies kindly with a sympathetic smile.

 

 

“But what is the meeting about?”

 

 

“Oh, SM is interested in doing a series with us.  They’ll give us access to their groups, songwriters, and choreographers.   They wanted to pitch us a few ideas.  Today’s meeting is supposed to be really short.”

 

 

Byulyi frowns as she starts to put her work in her bag.

 

 

“Why didn’t Team Leader Kim just say that?”

 

 

“Because he knows how you like having creative liberty of your show.”

 

 

“The segment on the hairstyle bill was interesting! And I got a congresswoman’s business card!”

 

 

“But the idol videos are more popular,” Heeyeon states matter-of-factly.  “Plus you like SM.  Wasn’t that your dream company?”

 

 

Byulyi scoffs as she shoulders her bag and waits for Wheein to finish packing before walking toward the elevator.

 

 

“Yeah well, now I’m living the glamorous lifestyle of being a part-time celebrity.  Even though I get paid and apparently can’t have a say in what my show will be about for the next few episodes.”

 

 

Heeyeon sighs exasperatedly, giving Byulyi an encouraging shoulder squeeze on her way to the elevator.

 

 

“Maybe you’ll be grateful for the opportunity! You’ll probably get to see Irene again!”

 

 

Byulyi’s glare makes her nearly drop the half-empty coffee cup she’d been aiming to throw in the trash.

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

Of course SM would call for a meeting and then have their team be nearly an hour late.  Byulyi is stewing in the hallway, chewing on the edge of a paper cup to calm her irritation.  She’d stopped checking her watch after 7:30 PM.  She can only imagine Wheein and Heeyeon sitting silently at the long table, staring morosely at their phones as they wait for the people they were supposed to be meeting with.

 

 

“,” Byulyi mutters as she nibbles a little longer on the cup before bending over to get some more hot water.

 

 

“Bad day?”

 

 

“A little.”

 

 

Byulyi glances up and nearly jumps.

 

 

“What are you doing here?”

 

 

Irene blinks slowly and then twists into a wry grin.

 

 

“I work here.  Shouldn’t I be asking you why you’re here?”

 

 

“I guess SM liked my work so much they invited me to a meeting and then decided to not show up.”

 

 

Irene frowns and checks her phone.  Byulyi notices she’s in minimal makeup, a mask covering her chin.

 

 

“Shouldn’t you be heading home?”

 

 

“Yeah.  But I’d need to have dinner first which won’t be happening anytime soon.”

 

 

“I see.  I’m sorry about that.”

 

 

Byulyi sighs, rubbing her neck with her hand.  It isn’t Irene’s fault that she’s working overtime and waiting at SM for some s to treat her with respect.

 

 

“It’s not your fault.  What are you doing up in the business section of SM?”

 

 

“I finalized a new project.  I was just going over the contract with my manager.”

 

 

“Congratulations!  What’s the new project? A new ad for the plastic hammers you hit me with the other week?”

 

 

Irene smiles cheekily, tilting her head a little.  Byulyi tries not to swallow too noticeably at the sight.  It’s strange how easy their rapport transfers to real life.  The hours of research she’d done for her interview seemed to indicate Irene would be quieter with much less banter.

 

 

“I didn’t hit you that hard.  Didn’t it feel like a massage?”

 

 

“Yeah if your idea of a massage was getting headbutted by a wall.”

 

 

She is too slow to jump away from Irene’s playful slap to her arm. 

 

 

“Did you like the video?  We’ll be posting the actual interview segment next week.”

 

 

“I think I liked that part the best.  You researched us a lot.  We could tell from your questions.”

 

 

Byulyi shrugged as she finished her cup of water.

 

 

“It’s my job as the host.  Well actually my job is to be a PD.  But I have a hard time saying no.”

 

 

“I noticed.”

 

 

“Well,” Byulyi mutters, rolling her eyes at the playful smile pulling at Irene’s lips again.  “Maybe if you played by the rules, Irene-ssi, I wouldn’t have gone to the hospital to check if I had a minor concussion.”

 

 

“Don’t lie.”

 

 

“No, I’m not!  Here.”  Byulyi leans down a little so that Irene can see the crown of her head better.  Without thinking she reaches for one of Irene’s hands and presses her palm against the existent bump.  The other woman jumps at the contact and an apology is on the tip of her tongue but she realizes how close they are.  Irene’s face s right there.

 

 

“Um, I-”

 

 

“Oh.  There is a bump.”

 

 

“S-see!  I only exaggerate professionally.  Not in real life!”

 

 

“I don’t think you went to the hospital though.”

 

 

Byulyi pouts at the dry tone but she can’t quite hold the expression for long at the tentative way Irene her hair.  She doesn’t have the heart to mention that the bump is actually just the natural shape of her head.

 

 

“How’s your hair still so soft even though you dye it silver?  I dyed my hair a few times and now it feels like straw.  I think I’ll have to stay with black hair for awhile.”

 

 

“I just go to the hairdresser and do a treatment once a month.  You shouldn’t worry about your hair though.  It looks really pretty like this.”

 

 

Irene pulls back her hand and Byulyi belatedly realizes she’d been holding it in place.

 

 

“Why do you dye it silver?  We do it because we’re idols but…”

 

 

“Well my whole concept is part-time idol, right?  Plus it’s more memorable if I have colored hair.  Otherwise I don’t think I’d stand out.”

 

 

“Well that’s not poss-”

 

 

“Joohyun-ah, what are you doing over there?”

 

 

A tall man pokes his head from the end of the hallway.  It’s one of Red Velvet’s managers.  He squints at Byulyi before recognizing her. 

 

 

“Oh, Moonstar-ssi.  What are you doing at SM? Filming?”

 

 

“Oh no, I’m actually waiting for a meeting to start.”

 

 

“At 8PM?”

 

 

Byulyi just shrugs in exasperation, sharing a wry smile with Irene.

 

 

“Well, good luck with your meeting!”  The man smiles and starts to turn away, heading back down the hallway.

 

 

“Oppa, I’ll be right there! Hold the elevator for me.”

 

 

He silently gives Joohyun a thumbs up before continuing around the corner and disappearing.  Byulyi forces herself to watch him go instead of focusing on Irene who is still standing close.

 

 

“Well, I better get back to wait for the meeting that probably isn’t happening anymore.  I’ll see you around, Irene-ssi.”

 

 

“You can call me, Joohyun.  I don’t really like being called by my stage name outside of work.”

 

 

Byulyi’s smile is a little lopsided as she nods in understanding.

 

 

“That’s actually why I made my fake idol name for the show.  I prefer the nickname when I’m a host.  It helps with getting into my work persona.”

 

 

“And it’s distance, right?  There’s space between the people who call me Joohyun and the people who call me Irene.”

 

 

“Then why would you want me to call you Joohyun?”

 

 

“Why didn’t you message me after I gave you my kakao ID?”

 

 

Byulyi swallows at the question, face unintentionally feeling very hot.

 

 

“I-I didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.  I’m sure there must be a lot of people who make you feel forced to exchange contacts with them.  I didn’t want you to feel pressured.”

 

 

The other woman frowns at the admission, head tilting.  She stares at Byulyi for a long moment, eyes narrowing as she seems to be deciding something.  It makes Byulyi’s stomach flip.

 

 

“I don’t give my name to people I don’t think I can trust.”

 

 

Byulyi nods, smile wry.

 

 

“Okay, Joohyun-ssi.”

 

 

“Does this mean I can call you by your name?”

 

 

“I think you’ll have to earn that.  I haven’t quite forgotten the hammer incident.”

 

 

“Maybe I can make it up to you sometime.”

 

 

Byulyi swallows at the suggestion that has to be unintentionally thick on Joohyun’s tone.  There is no way Red Velvet’s Irene is fluttering her eyelashes at her on purpose.

 

 

“Sure.  I’ll message you about it.”

 

 

“Good.”

 

 

Byulyi watches dumbly as Joohyun takes a step back, satisfied.

 

 

“I’ll see you around, Moonstar.”

 

 

“Maybe sooner than you think, Joohyun-ssi.”

 

 

“I hope so.”  With that Joohyun turns around and glides away, her long dark hair swinging loosely with her graceful steps.

 

 

Byulyi stays standing rooted to that spot for a bit longer than she’d like to admit.

 

 

 

---

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

 

 

 

Byulyi steeples her fingers in front of her face as she stares at the white board the intern, Naeun, has drawn on.  Her bobbed hair bounces as she crosses out something hastily.  Wheein and Heeyeon chat amicably as they enter the conference room, sitting down in mid-conversation.  Junghwan chimes in with something in response.

 

 

“So just to make sure I have this right, SM is offering to help give you access to their songwriters and choreographers for a series on MMTG?”  Naeun clarifies, crossing her arms over her chest.

 

 

“Right.  They don’t care so much about the content of the video as long as we can ensure it’s SM heavy.  I think they’re seeing the fall of YG and the rise of BigHit as market potential so they’re trying to shore up their offense.”  Byulyi pushes up her glasses as she points at the part of the board labelled IDEAS.

 

 

“So obviously this has to be a musical concept.  Anyone have ideas?”

 

 

“Well our content since COVID-19 has been heavy on idol promotions since filming can involve less people.  Things seem to be getting better though so maybe we can do something like the ‘songs you secretly listen to’ segments?  We just need a new theme!” Heeyeon announces.  Naeun dutifully nods and starts jotting down notes.

 

 

“Songs you listen to after a break-up?”

 

 

“Songs you listen to on the toilet?”

 

 

Wheein and Naeun share giggles at Junghwan’s stupid suggestion.  Byulyi rolls her eyes and glances at her phone.  One new message from… Bae Joohyun.

 

 

“Uh, right idea but maybe something that’d make SM happy to partner with us?” Byulyi mutters absentmindedly as she swipes her phone open. 

 

 

Do you actually like red velvet cake or was that just for the show?

 

 

I like it!  Just can’t eat a lot of it in one sitting.

 

 

Hmm… I see.

 

 

“Unnie, do you have any ideas?”

 

 

Byulyi jerks up, realizing that everyone is looking at her expectantly.

 

 

“Um… well… I think the early ideas are good but maybe too specific.  I think those sorts of songs can differ a lot depending on the person.  I like listening to sad songs when I’m upset.  But Wheein likes to listen to heavy rap.  There can be too much variance in songs tied to emotional responses, I think.”

 

 

“Hmm, that’s a fair point,” Junghwan observes.  Naeun tilts her head and taps her marker against her chin in concentration.

 

 

Byulyi glances down at her phone.

 

 

Are you going to trade red velvet cake for the privilege of saying my real name?

 

 

… would that work?

 

 

Do I look like a ten year old to you?

 

 

“Wait!” Byulyi exclaims, excitedly sitting up in her seat.  “What about favorite nostalgic songs?”

 

 

“Wouldn’t that be too restricted by age group? We sort of have a similar concept with the show we do comparing two different generations.”

 

 

“You’re right… maybe not nostalgic then.  A special on favorite songs?”

 

 

Heeyeon frowns as she starts flicking through her iPad.

 

 

“How would we measure that? The top charting song at the time? Most bought albums or CDs for the year?”

 

 

“I mean a level of subjectivity is what keeps things interesting.  If we had a straightforward and predictable list of songs, people wouldn’t be as intrigued.”

 

 

Naeun squats in front of the whiteboard, trying to bend down to cram the last of her notes to fill the space.  Wheein sighs and wordlessly exchanges places with the taller girl.  She has no trouble jotting down the notes, barely leaning down to write.

 

 

“Okay, so we do a segment on songs that have been really well liked by who? The general public? Teenagers?”

 

 

“Maybe it’d be interesting if we did a contrast?  We can pool favorite songs from idols, song writers, and choreographers.  Mainly from SM.  See what are the most common songs from that sample.  Then contrast that with the general public,” Byulyi explains, tapping her pen on the table for emphasis.

 

 

“Wouldn’t the songs be similar?  Idols probably like similar songs.  Also most of them went to high school and listened to the same songs as their peers.”

 

 

“That’s fair.  Let’s change gears a little bit.  I like the idea of the contrast between the general public and the entertainment industry.  Let’s refine that idea a little.”

 

 

Naeun nods and starts typing furiously on her phone.  Byulyi glances down at her phone and starts to go through her melon app, trying to see the biggest hit songs. 

 

 

“We could do a dual panel format?  Like the two generation segment but have them asked questions about a wide range of topics.  Favorite dance songs.  Favorite songs for coin noraebang. ”

 

 

“I like the idea of doing a comparison panel.  It requires less movement for us in and out of the studio.”

 

 

 

“But,” Heeyeon interjects, “that’d require more camera crew and staff.  Is that a good idea right now?”

 

 

Everyone in the room sighs.  Byulyi leans back in her chair and mulls this over.

 

 

“I think,” she begins, feeling everyone turning to look at her, “Heeyeon’s right.  Maybe getting a bunch of people packed in a room for several hours isn’t the best idea.  Plus I enjoy outside street interviews the most.”

 

 

“In that case we could just stick with the hide and listen song format.  Interview a few industry insiders for perspective and then do broader interview with idols and the general public.  But we still need a type of song to cover.”

 

 

“Love songs,” Byulyi blurts out.

 

 

“Oh?” Wheein asks, wide grin framed by her hands on her cheeks.

 

 

“Everyone has a soft spot for that one ballad or love song to listen to right?  Instead of hide and listen how about … pine and listen?  It’s something everyone has an opinion on.  And it can give us some interesting overlap and differences based on age demographics and lifestyle.”

 

 

Everyone starts nodding along and Wheein and Naeun both are scribbling furiously on the white board.

 

 

“I like that.  I think we would definitely have a ton of material for the topic,” Junghwan mutters as he peers over Heeyeon’s shoulders as she quickly taps at her tablet.

 

 

“We’ll have to pitch it to SM and Team Leader Kim but I think I’m on board with going through with this idea.”

 

 

Byulyi smiles as takes another look at her phone.  It’s simply an address to a café.

 

 

Would you be free tomorrow for an after dinner snack?  Moonstar?

 

 

She glances around at her team happily chatting about their favorite love songs.

 

 

Sure.  But you’re buying.