Hyosung hummed softly to herself as she picked the freshest onion leaves from the bunch. She gingerly placed it in her basket, which was almost full with a lot of groceries ranging from eggs to ramyun and tomatoes. Dressed comfortably in a hugging, denim ¾ pants with an oversized green hoody over her pink t-shirt, paired with matching coloured sneakers, she set out from her dorm early in the morning when everyone was still fast asleep and hit the nearby market on her own.

Everyone in the group today were excused from any schedule since they were preparing for their next comeback, and the main producer for their album had been down with fever for the last few days, and the manager had been coaxing the management to let the girls take this chance to rest a bit, since that very producer had been very hard on them, locking them up in the recording studio for more than 24 hours at a time.

Adam Kim. The 27-year-old talented, enigmatic, American raised producer who was introduced to them a month ago. His works were top notch and the song he gave them will surely be a hit, Hyosung herself had high hopes for their comeback this time. It wasn’t like their previous albums had been a flop, but they had never yet experienced the kind of song which became phenomenal, which got hummed by three-year-olds and grandmothers and grandfathers alike. She had a feeling that that could happen to her group, Secret this time. If they did things right, that is.

Apparently, Adam Kim wasn’t the nicest or easiest producer out there. He didn’t mind yelling at the girls to the point they shed tears, and he didn’t give a damn what people would say about it. Hyosung remembered having a very bad impression on him. When they first met, they were introduced by their manager so he didn’t even bother to part his lips to introduce himself. As the leader of the group, Hyosung tried to create a nice first impression and being friendly to him, offering her hand for a shake but he coldly brushed it off and jumped straight into business. The girls about it at home, at her rejected handshake offer, but the next day, Sunhwa were sobbing and whining to her at the dorm when Adam called her ‘useless’. As a leader, she tried to confront him about it.

1 month ago...

“Ehem.” Hyosung kept a staight, somewhat haughty face as if telling him not to ‘mess with me’ as she entered the empty recording studio. It was seven in the morning and the sun was barely out, but Hyosung was surprised to see Adam already there, doing his stuffs on the computer. She, on the other hand, purposely woke up earlier than the others to practice on her lines at the studio because she had been away a couple of days ago for a tv recording.

Adam stayed focused on his work, barely sparing her a glance, and kept his mouth shut.

“You’re early today.” Hyosung said something, for the sake of breaking the silence.

“Everyday,” he corrected.

Hyosung nodded. So he was always the first to come, and the last to leave. She still disliked him, but she had a new respect for him.

“So...” Hyosung pulled out a swivel chair from under the desk, and plopped herself right beside him. Her eyes glued to the monitor he was looking at as well. “I heard something happened yesterday.”

As always, her words were left there, dissolving in the air. Hyosung secretly made a face behind his head; sticking her lips out, mimicking the bad words she wanted to say to him in her head.

“Do you always do that?” He suddenly asked, which immediately set Hyosung straight and proper again.

“Do- Do what?”

“That ugly face when people isn’t looking.”

Hyosung’s eyes widened. Her thought were quick to wonder if he had eyes at the back of his head while she stared at his thick, straight, black hair on his head. But then, she realised the CPU placed right beside the screen monitor was partly cased in reflective materials.

Adam sighed and turned the chair around to face her. “So?”

“S-So?”

“So, you want to talk about something, right?”

“Right, um...” There was something about his eyes; his sharp, piercing gaze which gave her cold shudder. It was like he was skinning her with his stare, it was nervewrecking. She took a deep breath and decided that she needed to say it right now. He had been bullying them girls and things have got to stop.

“Yeah, so,” Hyosung started again, this time with more confidence, “I was just wondering, if you could please, refrain yourself from using such crass manner of speaking with us girls? I mean, you’re not helping us with those words.”

“So, you’re complaining now.” He stated flatly, with such poker face.

“N~not exactly,” Hyosung said slowly, making sure that she picked the right words. After all, he was directly imported from America specifically for their comeback. She didn’t want to irritate him or anything, even though he might already have been.

“I’m just trying to bargain with you right here. You see, if you could be a little nicer to us, I’m sure we will be motivated to perform better, and we can understand you better too.”

“This is how I work. If I’m irritated, I show it. If you guys , I just tell you that.”

His lack of interest nor concern displayed in his demeanor slowly got to her nerves. How can anyone work with him, honestly? He just get worked up with everyone and expected everyone to achieve what he wanted without offering a solution. He was just impossible!

“But don’t you think calling someone ‘useless’ for a common mistake a bit unprofessional? I mean, how does that helps her-”

“How am I not professional? I treat everything like business and I only state facts. I produce the best music for you guys, but you aren’t doing your job as a singer. If she doesn’t want to get called useless, all she has to do is to stop being one.”

For some reason, Hyosung’s limb gone stiff just from hearing his words. He was harsh, his tone sharp, his deep voice threatening, but he had a point. If they made mistakes, it was all their fault. If he refused to help them out with their mistakes, no matter how inefficient that was, he was not one to be blamed for.

Hyosung rose from her seat, her face flushed from anger and embarrassment.

“I... I’ll relay that to the members.” She said timidly, raising the white flag after only a few seconds into their discussion, bordering argument. She turned to leave, thinking she would just use another studio, a smaller one for her personal practice. She paused a bit after she turned the door knob, right before she stepped outside the boundary of the room. Still, she hadn’t make her point clear.

Hyosung looked at him, even when his attention was now back on his work on the computer. Picking up back all the courage and pride she had that were all shattered to pieces on the floor, she pressed her lips into thin line as she drew yet another deep breath.

“Anyway, as a person, you real bad.” She said, loud and clear, each syllable emphasized. She left the room, and slammed the door close.

“Who’s the unprofessional one, now?” Adam muttered under his breath.

To her pleasant surprise, though, the recording that day went better than she thought. Adam didn’t yell at Sunhwa. He did poined out her mistakes and guided her on correcting it. He spoke in short sentences, straightforward and emotionless, but he controlled his temper well. The girls did performed better than before, and the recording went by smoothly this time. They get to be home before dinner, but as always, he stayed there when everyone else gone home. Hyosung wasn’t sure if something good happened to him that day or if it was because of their conversation that morning. But she decided to leave him a little reward. Who knows? He might soften up a bit for the rest of up coming recording sessions. So, Hyosung left a small bottle of banana milk outside the recording studio, right in front of the door. When he pushed the door open, it will send the bottle rolling and caught his attention.

“Perfect,” Hyosung clapped her hands excitedly as soon as she gave her little gift a finishing touch; a ‘Thank you for being nice to us’ message on a piece of post-it, complete with flower doodles and cutesy emoticon on it.

She easily lost track of time whenever she listened to music. She had been listening to her Ipod as she walked to the apartment building. Well, she could always took a cab, but she didn’t want to waste her money for the expensive fare. It took 40 minutes by walking but she could use a little exercise, and she liked it when she had all the time to herself for her to daydream or just simply thinking about what to cook for lunch.

Just like that, 40 minutes flew by and she was already standing in front of the door. She pushed the doorbell, but after a few moments passed by, there was still no answer. She knew he was home though so she continued to annoy him with the the doorbell until he opened the door for her.

“What the he- YOU?!” Adam blurted as Hyosung welcomed herself into his apartment with her default cheerful, gummy smile on her face.

“Yes, me! I’m here,” and Hyosung turned slightly around to show him her bagpack, stuffed with the groceries she bought just now, “And I’m here to make you breakfast!”