Taeyeon pushed open the heavy door and entered the studio. “Sorry, I’m late, guys!” she exclaimed. The 11:11 Production team had gathered in a small studio at the School of Film, TV and Multimedia faculty block after lunch to brainstorm about this year’s project. But halfway through her lunch meal, she realised she had forgotten her notebook and had to stop by the dorm to retrieve it.

She quickly settled down her belongings and gathered her team, glancing around to see if there were any missing members.

Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sunny, Heechul oppa, Wendy, Kibum, Minho, Taemin, Kyuhyun oppa, Chanyeol, Suho. 

“Oh?” Taeyeon's brows furrowed. “Where’s Jinki?”

“Hyung has a workshop today, noona. He must’ve forgotten to inform you ‘cause he left the dorm in a hurry.” A voice responded. 

“Uhh, arraso. Thanks Kibum.” The said person whined when Taeyeon mentioned his real name and she immediately corrected herself. “I mean, thanks Key.”

She rolled her eyes playfully when the latter gave her a thumbs up. She was still not used to calling him by his new nickname. One fine day, he showed up and as per what he said to the team, ‘Kibum is too common, guys. Call me Key from now on okay.’

“Hmm, then just keep him up to date about today’s meeting, okay?” She reminded Key, Minho and Taemin since they were roommates. 

The 11:11 Production team this year was slightly smaller since some members had taken up overseas internships. Despite that, there were still familiar faces and new additions to the team to substitute for the missing members. 

Taeyeon had grown attached to this team because of how well they studied and executed their roles effectively, compromised when they should, and had fun while working, which led to a successful result, just like last year’s. Thus, she was overjoyed that she could work with this bunch of talented people again. 

Similarly to the previous year, despite her humble refusal, she was appointed to be the team’s director with Hyoyeon as the assistant director. The team felt that they were a much better fit because of the leadership abilities they possessed that complemented each other so well. They are both assertive, focused, determined and proactive, which could help the team in terms of guidance and support. 

Now, for the rest of the team, they were given the chance to select their preferred roles in the team. Since everyone, except for Chanyeol and Suho, had been trained in all aspects of the film industry, they were all very much capable of doing almost anything. Choosing to stick with their expertise, Yuri decided to do cinematography while Sunny chose scriptwriting. Heechul and Wendy were both working towards becoming camera operators because of their growing interests in photography.

On the other hand, Jinki wanted to do something different, which was lighting. He had been attending workshop courses during the school break and felt that it was his calling. Key and Minho decided to work with Jinki as his gaffer and key grip respectively with Taemin as the audio technician. 

Finally, Kyuhyun remained as the stage designer because he found it enjoyable to use the elements of history, architecture and culture to create a unique style of a film set. 

Meanwhile, Chanyeol and Suho were the new team additions and had just completed their first year of the degree program. Although they were inexperienced, Taeyeon and Hyoyeon wanted them to be exposed to different types of roles in the film industry, thus they were assigned to be the production assistants. From there, they hoped the boys could develop a sense of interest in whichever role they chose to help in. 

“Alright then.” Taeyeon flipped open her notebook. “We still have 3 more weeks before we present a draft to Professor Kang. So far…,” She scanned what she had written during their first meeting. “We’ve already covered everyone’s role and the responsibilities. If anyone has doubts, just look for Hyoyeon and me. For today’s agenda, it’s all about genre and the topic of the chosen genre. I have a few in mind but if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to share, okay?”

Multiple voices overlapped on top of each other as the 11:11 Production members came out with various types of genres they could think about.

“Historical romance?” 

“Horror!” 

“Crime.” 

“Comedy.” 

“Science fiction?” 

“Fantasy!” 

“Animation” 

“Action.” 

“Musical? Again?”

“Romantic comedy!”

“Documentary?”

Taeyeon paused her writing and turned to Hyoyeon who was sitting beside her. “When was the last time we did a documentary, Hyo? she clarified with the short pink-haired girl. 

Hyoyeon tapped her finger on the chin and thought hard. “Uhh, year 2 during our Degree program. Why?” She monitored Taeyeon’s body language.  Spinning pen, bouncing legs and the cheeky smile on Taeyeon’s face were tell-tale of when ideas were flooding her friend’s mind. “You think we should do a documentary?”

“Anni,” Taeyeon grinned. “but I do have a topic in mind if we decide to go for it.” 

“Sorry, but wouldn’t it be boring, Taeyeon noona?” Chanyeol commented to which Suho nodded.

“Yeah. Do people still watch documentaries these days?”  

Taeyeon chuckled at their bluntness. “A good documentary is all about capturing the reality, boys. They reveal the unusual, interesting and unknown angle of the world.”

“And it gives viewers some insight. They could be taking away key points after they watch the documentary.” Sunny continued. 

Heechul nodded. “Mhm. So if the documentary is boring, that means it was not engaging in the first place.”

“If it’s not engaging, viewers may feel detached and thus find the documentary boring.” This time it was Wendy who chimed in. 

Chanyeol and Suho marvelled in admiration as they listened to the team’s explanation. It was only their second meeting with the team but they already felt more comfortable and welcomed, unlike how they felt in the previous team they were in. They were disappointed that all they did last year was to fetch coffee for their seniors. Hence, when they came upon Taeyeon’s note on the school’s notice board, they didn’t hesitate to apply as a substitution.

Taeyeon leaned back in her seat and remained quiet as she watched the team advise their new members on the different ways to make a film engaging and how to apply it for future projects.

She recalled how she met the two new members and was surprised by their unfortunate experiences. She had seen their portfolio and their theses, and honestly, these boys deserve to showcase their talents. 

This year will definitely be a fruitful one. Taeyeon wondered before resuming the meeting. 

The rest of the team had already gone home and since it was a Friday, Taeyeon dismissed them earlier after delegating tasks to the team. Heechul stayed behind for a short while to inspect the new camera he had gotten and to check with Taeyeon if it could be used for their current project. 

He lifted his backpack, getting ready to leave. “You’re leaving soon, Taengoo?”

Taeyeon wagged her head as she continued her research. “Anniyo, you go on ahead first, oppa. I’ll help ya lock up the studio.” 

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