By some unspoken agreement, Moon Byulyi made it a habit to stay over at Kim Yongsun’s apartment whenever she returned home from filming an episode of WGM. The older woman would look forward to the excuses she would think of to justify her presence in her apartment at a late hour and another reason to stay over even though she could just walk home after their meal. The other habit was that neither of them spoke about the filming of WGM: it was the elephant in the room. Both women would rather let the conversation lapse naturally then to talk about the filming and they knew that they were deliberately avoiding the topic. There were also nights in which she did not return home, instead going to work straight from the set of WGM since she had officially moved in with Eric.

Yongsun took Byulyi’s advice to heart and tried to remain open-minded about Eric. She realised that they possess a mischievous streak especially since Eric tricked her about his surname in their first date. The kids, Ahn Hyejin and Jung Wheein, ruthlessly for a week when they had learnt that she had fallen for that prank. They could not believe how trusting their leader could be, but it was indeed a very adorable aspect of her that they liked to exploit too. However, the two kids helped her to devise a very elaborated prank to get back at the foreign-born Korean by exploiting that very trait. She was looking forward to that recording in which she could have her revenge on him properly.

Moon Byulyi checked her outfit carefully, making sure that her clothes were impeccable. It took her a while to realise that she had worn the only shirt that Yongsun had left in her apartment when she was at the studio. It was under her dark blue, slim three-buttoned jacket. Aigoo, it was not good that she was reminded of her when she had to keep up that façade of a supportive friend. She had been rehearsing for this filming for a long time, so long that she could feel bile in .

Byulyi paced back and forth in the corridor, working off the excess energy from her nerves. None of her members were here to distract her from the impending doom, she was here alone. And, somehow, she felt even more lonely.

She dropped into a seat and schooled a blank expression. The mild giddiness was starting to get to her. It felt like she was going to sit for a high-stake exam and her life depended on the performance.

“Moonbyul-ssi?” greeted a woman, her voice light. “Ah, there you are. We’ll need to set you up for the filming.” She wore a black baseball cap, which shield most of her face.

She greeted the staff with her usual smile before apologising formally. The sound engineer attached a fluffy microphone on the collar of her T-shirt, fussing about its placement for a while. She cocked a brow, staring at the woman before her. Her hands were trembling as she fixed the microphone, the reason for the delay.

“Wait,” halted the rapper, smiling lightly at her. Ah, this staff was no doubt new. “Why don’t you allow me?” offered the rapper. The sound engineer looked relief as she adjusted her face mask up. Byulyi waited for the woman to remove her hand before putting it on herself. Her hand drifted to adjust the wire when their hands came into contact suddenly.

“I’m so sorry!” bowed the staff, leaping away from her.

An amused smile stretched across her face. “It’s OK. I’ll let you handle it. Is that OK, Unnie?”

“Of course,” squeaked the sound engineer, lowering her head even more.

Huh. Was she that scary?

Byulyi dropped her hands to the side and waited patiently. She tilted her head slightly, running her hand through her blonde hair idly. The sound engineer finally mustered the courage to approach her again and adjusted the wire of the microphone so that it remained hidden from view.

Upon closer observation, this sound engineer looked familiar to her.

“Is Moonbyul-ssi ready to go?” asked someone from the production team, coming in to view. He was holding a script. “We are ready for her.”

“Yes! She’s ready,” answered the sound engineer hastily. She bowed at her quickly before bolting away.

Her brows narrowed in confusion. Huh, what was that? She blinked in surprise.

“Moonbyul-ssi, is something wrong?” asked the assistant, concerned.

She stared at the spot that the sound engineer sped off to. “No, Oppa. I am OK. You said that I need to be on standby?” prompted the rapper. The nerves that she had felt disappeared due to the strangeness of the encounter. She rolled her shoulder left then right as she wrapped her head around the situation. Maybe, she needed to thank this lovely, timid sound engineer for calming her down.

The assistant guided her to join the regulars before the camera. She took a deep breath, trying to disregard the strange way her stomach churned. This was it. Moonbyul held her head high as she wore a captivating smile.

Someone cued her.

She sunk into a bow politely. “I’m Moonbyul of MAMAMOO. Thanks for having me here.” She tidied her hair slightly before she took her seat with poise, her back straight. The rapper put her knees together as she tilted them slightly—the proper formal sitting position for women.

“How well do you know your leader, Solar-ssi?” asked one of the regular hosts, curious. “You’re her good friend, right?”

Moonbyul inclined her head politely, smiling beguilingly. “I’m close to Solar-ssi,” agreed she, her eyes brightening with mirth. “I can tell how Solar-ssi feels by just looking at her.” Her smile held a slightly wistful edge for a while before it resumed its usual charms. She clapped her hands on her thighs for emphasis. “Besides, I should be here since Solar-ssi is getting married.”

“Ah, so supportive of you to be here, Moonbyul-ssi. You’ll share with us how Solar-ssi feels, won’t you?” He gave her a cheeky smile.

“Of course.” She plastered a mischievous smile as she fastened the buttons of her jacket together, straightening it briefly. The absent gesture drew their attention to how wonderful she looked in jacket and trousers. “That’s what I am here for, right?” The rapper clasped her hands before herself, resting them on her lap so that she portrayed a collected and interested posture.

“How do you feel about Solar-ssi and Eric-ssi?” asked another male host, anxious to get an inside scoop from the rapper.

Moonbyul was going to disappoint him if he wanted her to share the feelings of Solar-ssi about Eric-ssi. The rapper scratched the side of her nose absently, her eyes fixed on the large screen in front of her, featuring the virtual couple prominently. The stomach of Byulyi sank at how happy they were together. It felt as if a boulder had crashed into her chest, stealing air from her lungs. Upon closer examination, the pain lesser slightly when she realised that this was Solar-ssi. She took her time to construct her response of a supportive and thrilled friend of Solar-ssi. “I think that they are adorable together,” gushed she, pressing her cheeks together for effect. Her nose crinkled a little as the corners of her lips lifted upwards in a wide smile. Then, she tapped the middle of her bottom lip with a finger, as if contemplating if she ought to share her opinion. “To be honest, I am surprised that Eric-ssi hasn’t gotten tinnitus from all her laughing.” She clapped her hand together as she chuckled impishly.

The rest of the hosts laughed warmly along with her.

“I know right—”

“Solar-ssi has a unique laughter—"

“—It’s amazing but it seems like Eric-ssi likes her distinctive laughter,” chuckled someone, nodding fervently.

Byulyi nodded and flashed a thumb-ups. “That’s a good start. That’s a good start since they will be living with each other.”

“Right. The couple will be moving in together in this episode after their date. Members of the idol group tend to live with one another first, so you would know how Solar-ssi is like?”

Moonbyul gave a charming smile, making it a point to look at the camera with the red-light blinking. “We do. We used to live with each other until we moved out to stay by ourselves recently.” She unfastened one of the buttons of her jacket so that the jacket sat nicely on her torso as she relaxed into her seat. “All I can say is that the members of MAMAMOO are blessed with wonderful vocals and unique laughter, especially Solar-ssi. I do hope that their apartment has some noise insulation.”

The rest of the host chuckled at her remark. “We’ll see.”

“We look forward to your thoughts,” concluded one of the older hosts professionally. That concluded the introduction for the episode. They were immediately treated to the recording of Solar-ssi and Eric Nam enjoying coffee in a small café, their second date.

It was not difficult to see why the production team had set them together. At first glance, they looked like a fetching couple.

Byulyi tried her best to repress the rise of bile at the way Solar-ssi looked at the man sitting across the table: that mild hint of mischief in her animated brown eyes. She barely masked that mischief with the constant look of child-like wonder as Eric tutored her English, his New York brogue heavy.

Byulyi suppressed the smile that threatened to grow on her face at the way Solar-ssi pandered to him, looking at him earnestly as he helped her with a simple introduction of herself in English. Atta girl! Secretly, she hoped that Solar-ssi was successful in her elaborate prank. She must have missed something because it was strange that Eric would be duped by her wide-eye wonder when her acting was so overexaggerated.

Was this staged? No, it didn’t seem like it.

Byulyi schooled her face to be impassive when she knew that the older woman was pranking her partner. And her heart fell. Neither Yongsun nor she had a good impression of one another at their first encounter but their impression of each other improved as they got to know each other over training.

When did the older woman first pulled a prank on her? It took her a while to recall. It was after they had moved into the dorm together to save living cost. The first dorm they shared, along with Hyejin, was quite run-down. She had exterminated her fair share of pests since hygiene was a problem with older apartments. This silly woman decided that fake plastic cockroaches might make a good prank despite their harsh living arrangement. Of course, no one reacted to it.

Was that a retaliation to a prank she pulled on her? Byulyi couldn’t remember the details vividly since she pranked her so often. How could anyone resist pulling a prank on her when Yongsun fell for every trick?

Her lips thinned into a smile.

Huh. Were they so comfortable with each other that Solar-ssi would take time to plan this elaborate prank? Her eyes narrowed as she analysed the prank coolly. No, their kids were probably involved in this plot. She could sense Wheein’s wicked humour in the play Solar-ssi played up her awe to hook Eric into tutoring her. There was a hint of Hyejin’s playfulness in the way that Solar-ssi had Eric tutoring her on a basic introduction for herself.

Byulyi covered with a hand. Her brows contracted slightly when she caught a mistake on screen. She shook her head, exasperated. Solar-ssi would be outed soon.

This Yeba.

The thick walls around her heart slipped for a bit before Byulyi yanked them up again. No, she couldn’t not allow herself to feel.

The rapper focused on the ways the prank could have been better objectively. If she wanted to act like a person who was poor in English, shouldn’t she struggle more with the spelling? It was true that she was working on a basic introduction, but to make it more believable, she ought to write in Hangul. She traced her fine brow with a finger absently, an act to look like she was paying attention to the video. She reached for the button of her blue jacket that she had buttoned and ed it as she forced herself to relax in her seat.

True to her prediction, Eric-ssi was quick to realise that Solar-ssi had pulled an elaborated prank on him. He was amused and impressed that the singer could deceived him so well. “Well played!” He flashed his thumb up and her as she chuckled freely, delighted that he fell for her trick.

It was clear that Eric-ssi was interested in Solar-ssi.

Moonbyul forced herself to fix a light smile on her face when ice slipped down her chest at the sight of faint fascination in the eyes of Solar-ssi who wore her heart on her sleeves. Their mingled laughter, fill the quiet studio. They were so grating on her ears. Moonbyul focused on her breathing, keeping it even: in, out, in, out. The suffocating feeling over her chest would not depart but seemed to be easier to live with its relentless burden with time.

Byulyi did not even know how she sat through the whole filming while pretending to be excited for her friend. She remembered making occasional remarks about their conversation, their apartment, and the proposal. She had to admit that it was quite a suave idea of proposing to Solar-ssi that way. It was so full of sincerity that it even left her impressed with Eric.

Eric did not get on a single-bended knee, the traditional pose of proposing probably because he was aware of their fictional status. After all, they barely knew each other, and this was more fabricated for the entertainment of the audience. She could tell that Yongsun, rather than Solar-ssi was very appreciative of his thoughtfulness.

Byulyi admitted reluctantly that she would be too if she were in her shoes.

The response of Solar-ssi or Yongsun was exactly how she would imagine the older woman to react: laughing aloud due to awkwardness and earnest bafflement to such an event.

Yongsun dated seriously in the past but she had never received a proposal, so this would be awkward for her to respond.

Despite her strange reaction to his proposal, Eric was more endeared with her because Solar-ssi had given a very sincere response. It was clear that he was enchanted by her honesty, just as she was appreciative of his kindness.

Her stomach coiled painfully.

They obviously had chemistry.

“Solar-ssi is pleasantly surprised by the proposal. Brother-in-law is quite good at this,” complimented Byulyi, giving a thumb-up. She was glad that Eric was respectful of her.

“Really? How can you tell from the way she laughed? I don’t think that it is a typical response to a proposal.” One of the hosts commended.

She kept her real thoughts to herself. “Ah, Solar-ssi can be very shy,” elaborated Moonbyul, brushing an imaginary dust from her jacket. “I can tell that she is exceptionally pleased with the proposal.” She nodded to herself, assured. “I am happy to know that.” She had to be glad that Yongsun was enjoying herself and that she had found a new friend in Eric—it was the most positive outcome given how unwilling Yongsun was to be part of the filming. Her cherry-red lips curled into a charming smile, ending that topic of proposal.

Everything felt like a whirlwind to her as the recording came to an end. Byulyi felt as if she was on auto-pilot, engaging in the motions that Moonbyul of MAMAMOO had to. If Solar-ssi was here, she would have been proud of how she upheld their image in the industry. The rapper took the time to speak to the older hosts, thanking them for their support before she excused herself politely. All Byulyi desired was to get out of this studio and forget about this nasty business.

The producer caught her at the set, approaching her regarding the filming of another episode, this time with the rest of the members of MAMAMOO. The producer wanted to give them a little more liberty so that they would enjoy themselves too. However, there was an objective, which was to provide what the audience needed: encouraging the couple to be closer. Moonbyul thanked him charmingly for the heads-up and persuaded the producer to inform their manager of the details since they needed to make time in their schedule for the recording.

That meeting left a nasty feeling in . She could not imagine playing any part in encouraging Yongsun to be affectionate with someone else. Bile rise to as she dropped a hand to her stomach instinctively. Now, she could make her getaway. She made a beeline for the backstage where a sound engineer was waiting for her.

Moonbyul removed the wire and her microphone before handing them to her. Automatically, she thanked her for her hard work with a short bow. Byulyi was going to walk away when the sound engineer suddenly grasped her wrist, halting her.

Huh?

The sound engineer pressed a familiar bar of chocolate into the palm of her hand.

Byulyi paused, blinking owlishly.

Her astounded gaze fell on that bar of chocolate and an image blinked in her mind. A younger and beautiful girl pressing the bar of milk chocolate in her hand. She wore a sweet smile that melted her heart as she smiled encouragingly at her. “Byul, I heard that eating chocolate helps when you’re upset.”

Please Subscribe to read the full chapter