"I DON'T think she will be coming to join us."

Minjoo's sudden comment just voiced out whatever the other members' feelings. It's just a few more minutes before the start of the live broadcast but Seulgi was still nowhere to be found. Joohyun already told them that Seulgi was under her mother's care and they actually thought that she would be coming back soon but it seemed like Seulgi had other plans in mind--one of them is abandoning her place in the band.

"Are we going to be fine without a bassist?" Jimin worriedly asked.

The others remained silent for a moment until Seungwan broke the silence with a sigh.

"It's fine. We're not up to win the contest anymore. Having someone else play the bass now could not only mess up our performance but it may also send a different message to Seulgi. I know she's out there watching us."

"That's right." Yujin seconded. "Let's just put her bass up there and show her that we're really waiting for her return."

"I agree with that." Minjeong said with a smile. "I feel really bad about not getting the prize money to be really honest with you all... But I'd be more hurt if we don't manage to bring Unnie back."

"Right." Ryujin was busy securing her guitar strings with her heart also out there looking for Seulgi but she knew she had to do something to lift this mood up. "We can earn more than the prize money once Seulgi-unnie is back. Maybe we can continue promoting as a band."

Everyone's eyes widened.

"I was about to say that Minjeong's stingy-ness somehow got rubbed on you but you actually got a good idea." Yujin commented.

"I don't know if I am allowed to say this now but a lot of love calls actually came before all the drama." Everyone turned to Minjoo with those sparkling eyes.

"W-What do you mean love calls?" Minjeong gulped.

"You know, different brands asking the band to be their model. There were even entertainment agencies trying to fish you all off from the Chairman."

"Entertainment agencies!?" The members asked in chorus, which was answered by Minjoo with an innocent nod.

"There were like five of them--wait." Minjoo pulled her phone out and showed them the picture of the calling cards that reached the Chairman's desk. "These are the agencies that actually tried to scout you."

"Oh my goodness…" Ryujin dramatically fell to her knees. "Are you saying that we actually had the chance to debut as an official band!?"

"Oh man, did I really just saw **, ***, and **** calling cards?" Yujin would've already pulled her hair if only Minjoo wasn't glaring at her since her hair was already set.

"Why didn’t you tell us about this earlier?" Minjeong asked.

"Ah, the Chairman told me not to. He was afraid that you guys would actually abandon the competition for a better offer. He didn't want you to be distracted." Minjoo answered in a matter-of-factly tone.

"Well, he does have a point. He really wants to win this competition so he won't afford to lose any of us." Ryujin sighed. "If only Seulgi-unnie's identity didn't get leaked."

After the public confession that Sangwoo made, the revelation after revelation didn't end there. A lot more things were revealed in the public since people started doing their own research. A lot of information that no one even knew back then was revealed to the public.

People from the same neighbourhood as Sangwoo and Hanna actually showed proof of the two's special bond. Since it wasn't the digital age back then, they showed developed film photos that were really hard to fake. They were like the gem of their neighbourhood.

On the other side of the spectrum, actual victims of Kim Jooyoung's power tripping started to come out from the shadows one by one. Her manager, who was her accomplice when she drugged Sangwoo that one fateful night, came out to the public to wash his hands knowing that he is in danger. Jooyoung's fans were turning their backs on her one by one, faster than what she expected.

The truth about Hanna's company not giving her family any rights to whatever she's earned also got out and the public was in fury. If only they didn't let their greed take over, Seulgi's grandmother would've received proper treatment and she won't be sent to the Kwons. It was also their right to receive Hanna's earnings as her immediate family. The fans were raging and were threatening the company that they will file a case if they don't do what's right.

Now that more and more controversies are coming out, everyone knew that it would be better for Seulgi to stay out of the spotlight though they couldn’t really deny the fact that they are sad that she won’t be there for their final stage. 

With everything out in the open, it doesn’t seem like they would have the chance to perform as a whole once again.

“I think the Chairman was also just protecting our bond.” Jimin commented with that assuring smile on her face. “We all know that if you all become signed musicians, you won’t be needing us, your backup team. As the muse of the company, I’ve talked to him quite a few times and I can see that he’s a sentimental person.”

“You got a point there, Jimin.” Seungwan winked at her disciple which made Minjeong raise an eyebrow. The leader took a deep breath and looked at everyone’s face. “It was quite a ride though, everyone. I’m really thankful to all of you.”

Ryujin stood up from her seat and the rest followed. She put her hand in the middle.“I am really happy we are able to play music in front of other people once again.”

Yujin nodded, her eyes were smiling with her. “I am also really thankful for the experience! Thank you so much, everyone!” The drummer then put her hand on top of Ryujin’s hand.

Minjeong hasn’t even said anything but she was already sniffing. Jimin just snickered at her cuteness before helping her stretch her hand out. With that, both of their hands joined the cheer. “T-Thank you, everyone. For the past months, I felt like I was back in college again. I was really happy. Thank you for the free food too!”

“Thank you for warmly welcoming me into your circle.” Jimin said with a blush. “It’s really my honour to be part of this project and this friendship.”

Yujin then turned to Minjoo who was already bawling in tears. “Come here now, baby.” She called gently. The secretary then slowly joined the circle and extended her arm towards the cheer. 

“T-T-Thank you. I-I really wish we can continue doing more of this in the future.”

Minjoo’s wish somehow made everyone teary-eyed. They all looked at each other before laughing.

“Let’s continue making music even if it’s just with our YT channel.” Seungwan said with a comforting smile. “For now, let’s just do what we can do best.”

The others agreed to her with enthusiastic nods. The leader’s smile widened. “OVERTIME!!!”

“NOW PLAYING!!!”

With that shout, they hit the person to their right like a tradition. Right after that, the door flung open and everyone froze when they saw their band manager’s betrayed face (in full makeup).

Joohyun gave them a menacing smile. Her eyebrows were twitching together with the side of her lips. “Why are you doing this without me? Are you kicking me out?”

“I-I-It’s not like that, Unnie—OUCH!”

Seungwan shrieked in pain when Joohyun smacked her . Knowing how heavy hitters those little arms were, the others didn’t even try to run away and just waited to be hit by their drill sergeant. Running away might double the punishment.

“There you go.” Joohyun dusted her hands and she finished all the smacking. She picked her jacket up and cooly wore it. Her eyes were burning in determination. “Let’s go, team!”

“L-Let’s go!!!” Said the dongsaengs with teary eyes (not because it was the last but because they were hit by Joohyun)

THE backstage was filled with nervousness that time while the Overtime Band was on standby for the final round. During the first round, which is the Revival Quest, they performed [Goodbye] of Girl’s Generation which received a very good review from the judges despite the lack of a bass player.

During the fans’ choice quest, the band gave their own rendition to a ballad song, [Let’s Stay Well] by Roy Kim. It seemed like it was chosen by fans because of the band’s current situation. Seungwan sang it flawlessly and pretty emotionally. During the performance, there were times that Seulgi’s bass would be shown on screen and one could clearly gasp from the live audience when it was first shown. 

And now, the final round has finally come. Everyone welcomed them back on stage with cheers and applause. The band members waved at the audience as they went back to their own instruments. The lights then dimmed and they saw a silhouette of a lady who walked towards the main vocalist mic placed by the centre. 

Everyone had their necks stretched up as they tried to see who that was. The lady seemed to be carrying what seemed to be the bass guitar by her back but everyone knew it wasn’t Seulgi (because of the height). 

When light was finally shown at the main vocalist for that song, the whole studio erupted in cheers. Those who were watching at the comfort of their own homes were all in shock as well. Those who watched the program for the first time would surely be confused on why everyone was reacting like that including the judges of the competition.

Overtime Band’s manager, Bae Joohyun, took her first step on the stage on their final performance as a band. 

Joohyun was overwhelmed at the cheers that she was receiving. She’s indeed really nervous. She couldn’t believe that the first time she would be singing in front of other people would be this grande. But Joohyun only has one purpose. She’s doing it for only one thing.

Now that everyone is ready, the lights dimmed once more and a VCR started playing. It was a video about the story of the song that they composed and the instrumental of the song was actually playing in the background. People cheered when Seungwan was shown doing the interview. She was asked about the main theme of the song that they wrote and the band leader answered, 

“It’s about longing.”

The interviewer asked her about which longing she was talking about. Seungwan then just gave a meaningful smile and answered. 

“There’s this one friend who is like a teddy bear for all of us. Ask anyone around her of what she reminds you of and everyone would answer the same thing—she’s a teddy bear.”

The other members’ part of the interview was then shown quickly.

“She’s a very comforting presence,” said Minjoo, the team’s hair and makeup head. “Just her smile is enough to make someone else smile too.”

“She’s the very soul of the group,” said Jimin, the operator of the SNS activities and clothing coordinator. “It’s just so weird without her around.”

“She’s my role model.” said the drummer, Yujin. “I respect her a lot and I treat her like my own real sister.”

“I believe she’s the kindest person that I’ve ever met.” the rhythm guitarist, Ryujin answered. “There was never a time that she thought of herself first.”

“She’d make sure that we have our favourite chicken parts and eat the most hated part.” the lead guitarist, Minjeong, answered. Her eyes were misty. “I can’t do that…”

“Are you still trying to be a comedian even at the end, Sneezy Pinocchio?” Ryujin teased.

“Shut up, house fly!” Minjeong hissed.

“I am a butterfly, for goodness' sake!”

“She’d be hurting but she won’t say anything. She’d be in pain yet she would be tending to other people’s wounds.” Seungwan, the all-rounder of the group, answered.

Cheers filled the studio again when the manager, Joohyun, was shown last. She looked rather shy because of the sudden interview.

“She’s my peace…” Joohyun said with a gentle smile on her face. “Just having her in line of sight makes me feel at ease. Just like the teddy bear I used to have when I was young. Without that teddy bear, I couldn’t sleep well at night.”

“You’re basically saying you want her in your bed every night.” Seungwan whispered as she teased Joohyun. The others heard it and couldn’t help but snicker. Joohyun just gave them a glare before mouthing, “That’s kinda true.” and then just casually looked back at the monitor. 

“So yeah, we wrote this song for her.” Seungwan continued. “...and it turned out that we aren’t the only ones who think that she’s a teddy bear.”

The video dimmed and what seemed to be a very old video. It was literally old because it was salvaged from a VHS tape. There was even a date written on the lower right corner. It was taken on December 12, 1993. The main character of the video? It was none-other than Kang Hanna herself.

Hanna was seen organising the clothes of her baby, all of the little clothes having bear prints on them. Vlogging wasn’t a thing back then but the singer was ahead of her time as she recorded herself lovingly preparing the things that her baby will use. 

“Gomdolie-ya~” The singer called, it was her nickname to Seulgi back then. The whole studio fell silent, eyes were getting teary. “I am not really sure if Omma would be able to meet you but I am making sure that all your things are ready once you’re out.”

A sniffing sound was then heard from the background. It was actually Hanna’s trusted manager who helped her record the video. The said lady was also kicked out of the company when Hanna couldn’t promote anymore. She was also the one who gave the video to Joohyun and the others. 

Hanna just smiled. Even if the video’s resolution was bad, the sadness in her eyes were very evident despite the wide smile on her face. 

“Gomdolie-ya~ You have to live a happy life, okay? This is everything that Omma can prepare for you. You better choose good clothes for yourself. Your Omma was known to be a fashion icon.” Hanna chuckled at her own words. The singer then looked at the camera as if she was really talking to her daughter. “Don’t worry about Omma. No matter what happens, you are my child and I don’t have any regrets about keeping you. If there ever is one then that would be not being even able to hold you longer… Wait, who knows? A miracle might happen, right?”

Joohyun took a deep breath. She looked back at the audience and tried to look for Seulgi. “I wonder if this is how you feel when you search for me in the crowd, Seulgi.”

“I really hope you get good friends, Gomdolie. I’m very sorry for the family background… Don’t worry, I will make sure to help you in finding good friends and maybe a good spouse as well~ I love you, my dearest Gomdolie~”

The video ended with that and Minjeong started with a slide and then the other instruments joined the intro of the song. The instruments died down a bit at the verse where Joohyun started singing.  (A/N: This is [Dear. Teddy bear] by BOL4)

🎵 Hey teddy bear, are you doing well? The world without you is like winter to me.🎶

🎵 Hey teddy bear, I want to see you. I dream of you while I lie next to you as you sleep🎶

No one was playing the bass. Even the instrumental of the song that played during the VCR had no bass sound on it. The band was clear in telling Seulgi that the song is waiting for her to play the bass for it. 

🎵 During the times you aren’t here I would make a wish 🎶

🎵 That breath would be breathe upon you🎶

🎵 During the times I am asleep, you came to me softly and said goodbye🎶

The chorus entered and the other members went closer to their mics to sing for backup. 

🎵Hey teddy bear, hi, are you doing well? 🎶

🎵 The me that doesn’t have you still misses you from time to time 🎶

🎵 Hey teddy bear, hi, I might be doing well 🎶

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