“Omma-nim!” Nick yelled, running over to the woman.

I guessed that the lady was his mother and that the man downstairs was his father.

“Who is this pretty young lady?” She asked him.

“This is one of my coworkers, Park Mai.” He answered.

“I should have guessed, this girl is really pretty.” She said, nudging him with her shoulder.

I bowed. “Annyeong haseyeo. Mai Park imnida.”

“You’re not from Korea, correct?” She asked me.

“Yes, how did you know?”

Nick laughed. “Your accent is something else. Anyone can tell.”

“Really? I thought I was getting the Seoul accent down…” I said embarrassed.

“I made breakfast. Let’s eat.” Nick’s mother said. “Your father will be up as soon as he washed up.”

We sat down and said a prayer. Nick and I were both Christian.

“How’s work, Nick?” His father asked.

“Well, we’re on hiatus right now. The president is having me work on CF production. He says that I should focus on the small screen until our next comeback. He has plans for big screen acting later.” Nick answered.

I didn’t know about that stuff. No wonder the president is so busy, He has so many plans.

“What about you, Mai, honey?” Nick’s mother asked.

I was caught off guard. My mouth was full. I quickly swallowed and attempted to answer.

“Oh, um, I haven’t yet debuted, so I am in the process of debuting.” I answered.

 “Ah, is this the ‘MVP’ that I’ve been hearing so much about?” Nick’s mother asked.

“Who have you been hearing about it from?” Nick asked, astonished.

“Nickie, you’ve been with Diamond for how long? Of course I have people in there too by now.” She giggled.

“Mai has been in South Korea for less than a month.” Nick added.

“Is that so? Where were you before here, if I may ask?” His father said.

I pretty much told them my life story. I told them about how I was born in Shunyi, China, then moved to California where I stayed until I finished middle school. I told them about my high school in China and how the president had to pull some strings to pull me out of high school there and get me into a good one here.

“I’ll be returning to school once the school year starts again. He’s racing against the clock to debut us and finish promotions before spring starts so that my co-member Tola and I can return to school on time.” I explained.

The rest of the breakfast conversation, they asked me more questions about my past and told me a little bit about Nick’s. His parents told me the story of how they met. They were both really nice. Both of Nick’s parents are half Korean and half American, which makes Nick the same.

I was the last one to finish eating. Me and Nick helped his mother clean up the table and they bid us goodbye. They bid was good bye and we got going. As soon as we got in the car, I lightly punched Nick in the shoulder.

“Why didn’t you tell me I was meeting your parents, babo?” I said, continuing to punch him.

“What’s the big deal, babe? You look nice and I think they liked you.”

I was caught off guard by him calling me babe, but I was not going to let him off that easy. I started yelling to prevent my cheeks from going red.

“Oh no. Do not ‘babe’ me.”

He pinched my cheeks.

“Aw, is Mai mad at me?” He said in a baby voice, mocking me.

“Shut up and drive.” I said to him when he let go of my face, crossing my arms to try and pretend like I was actually mad.

Nick’s phone rang. His ring tone was one of SML4’s old songs. I didn’t know any of their songs, but I could recognize their voices.

“Mai, can you answer it for me, please?”

“Ah, sure.” I said, answering the phone.

“Oh, HyunJae-oppa? Yes? Hmm? Yes, he’s right here, do you want to speak to him? Oh, okay. Yes, I understand. Bye bye.” HyunJae hung up.

“What did he want?” Nick asked.

“He said to check the #1 story on All Kpop. I don’t get it.”

“All Kpop is the most popular international K-Pop news website. It’s bookmarked on Safari on my iPhone, can you check it. The top story should be the first thing to show up.”

I did as he said.

“OMO!” I yelled.

“What? What? It’s the curse isn’t it? See I told you it was gonna happen? Didn’t I say it was gonna happen?” Nick kept rambling on about the trainee curse.

I kept reading the article while Nick freaked out. I was scared he was going to crash the car or something.

“Oppa, calm down.”

“How can I calm down when…” I felt that he was going on another rant, so I stopped him.

“It’s an article about me and JD.” I yelled.

He stopped the car abruptly. “WHAT!?!”

Luckily there were no cars on the road at this time, or else someone would have definitely rear-ended us.

“First the kiss, and now this? What did I do to deserve this?” Nick said, throwing his hands up in the air. His face after he said it suggested that he knew exactly what he had done to deserve it.

           Nick pulled over to the side of the road and took his phone. He quickly read the short article. I couldn’t help but chuckle a bit watching his expressions change when reading it. Surprisingly, his expression after reading the article was the same smirk that I’ve come to know and love.

“I was going to say ‘Look on the Brightside’.” I said in English. “But it looks like you already found it.”

“It wasn’t me! I don’t get the punishment! YES!!! I’m still mad about this… but at least I’m not the one whose is gonna get kicked when the president sees it. I bet JD is in his office right now.”

***

            As a matter of fact, JD was talking to the president as we spoke, however, he is in Japan for the weekend and had to video call Jaehyo personally.

“Did I or did I not warn all of you to watch out for the Trainee Curse?” The president yelled to the webcam.

Jaehyo nodded. “Yes, you did.”

“And what did you do?”

“I didn’t watch out.” Jae replied.

The whole conversation consisted of President asking rhetorical questions and Jae replying with the obvious answer.

“As I have done in the past, the two offenders will serve a punishment. However because A-Bomb is preparing for her debut and Aqua is in the middle of promotions, I will postpone the punishment. You are lucky that I’m catching a plane back to Korea in half an hour or I would continue to chew you out. I must go now. Don’t think you’ve gotten off with this Jaehyo-sshi. Tell Mai what I have just told you and tell her to be more careful in the future. Good bye.” The president left the room abruptly and his assistant turned off the webcam after him.

Jaehyo burst out in laughter as soon as the screen went black.

***

            By this time, we had reached the Music Bank building. I followed him into the building, where we were seated. I watched Nick get his make up on, I took a video of it for laughs.

“Maaaai, stop it!” He laughed.

“Don’t move.” The makeup artist scolded.

I laughed and stuck my tongue out at him, getting me a light hit on the head with a comb from the makeup artist.

“Now you’re free to relax, just don’t smudge your make up before the taping starts. You have a little less than half an hour until you’re up, okay?” The coordinator explained.

We nodded.

“What are we going to do now, oppa?” I asked Nick.

He shrugged. “I don’t know, you can go watch the others sing.” He told me. I shook my head.

“I’m only interested in seeing one person sing.” I said. Nick smiled.

“Jang Hanbyul.” I said jokingly. He raised his hand, pretending like he was going to slap me.

“Just kidding, oppa...” I said. “I want to see Jung Yonghwa.” I whispered in his ear.

We both laughed. He pulled me into a hug.

“There’s only one person I want to be hugging right now… Kim Hyuna.” Nick teased.

I playfully punched his shoulder and stuck my tongue out.

My phone vibrated on the table. Before I could get check, Nick grabbed it.

“It’s Mei-lein-sshi. She said she saw our pictorial in Vogue Korea for Uniqlo, and she loves it.” Nick said, reading the text.

“Oh, can we check the pictures on your phone, Nickie?” I whined.

“Sure.” He said, handing me his phone.

            I went to Vogue Korea’s website and searched our names in the keyword search. A bunch of old pictures and articles about Nick popped up. The first choice was our pictorial. I looked through the pictures.

“Oh, they used your favorite one.” I told him.

“Really, let me see.” He half-asked, grabbing the phone from my hands.

He scrolled through the pictures.

“What? Hey, Mai, check this out.” Nick said, showing me a few pictures from the pictorial.

            They were pictures from when we were eating sushi before the shoot. It was funny that we looked the most happy in these pictures. Luckily, they had told us to wear their clothes to the shoot, so the candid pictures they took of us worked.

“Did they have hidden cameras or something?” I laughed.

“You look beautiful even when you don’t know it.” Nick said, kissing my forehead.

“No way, you look handsome every day.” I replied, kissing his cheek.

All of a sudden, I heard the door open.

“Nickieeeeeeeeeee!” A female voice screamed.

I struggled to get out of Nick’s arms and sit up.

A skinny girl with light skin and long brown hair jumped onto Nick. I surprisingly knew her face. It was Miss A’s Suzy, whom I recognized since Miss A has done a lot of Chinese promotions since they started with ‘Touch’ in 2012. Though it’s been 4 years, she looks exactly the same with her radiant beauty.

“Nick dongsaeng. I missed youuuuuu.” She said, giving him a noogie.

He laughed. “Me too, noona.”

“Waah,” She whined. “Don’t call me noona, it makes me feel old. Call me unnie!”

“That makes me sound weird.” He replied. “Anyways, when is your turn to sing, unnie?” He asked her.

“You didn’t see me on the screen? I just went. I sang ‘I’m Your Lady Tonight’ by BoA.” She continued to whine.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t, Suzy.”

“I’m not going to watch you then.” She said, crossing her arms and sticking her tongue out.

A coordinator walked through the open door.

“Nick-sshi. It’s your time to get ready. After two more performances, it’s your turn. Come with me.”

Nick nodded and followed her.
“I’ll be back, Mai. I’ll meet you in the crowd wearing my disguise, okay?”

I nodded. Nick left me and Suzy in the room alone. I got up to get in the audience to watch Nick’s performance, but she stopped me.

“Wait, stay with me awhile.” Suzy said, jumping in front of the door.

“What’s your relationship with Nickie, huh?” She asked, raising her eyebrows.

“I wanted to go see oppa sing…” I said, lowering my voice.

“Oh yeah? Why do you care so much about ‘oppa’?” Suzy continued.

“He’s just my sunbae. I’m a trainee at Diamond and he’s just showing me around. You probably don’t know me since I’m only getting ready to debut in Diamond’s new girl group.” I explained at record speed.

“A-Bomb?” She guessed.

I nodded, clutching my purse. She’s beautiful, but really scary.

“So you’re in A-Bomb with Tola-sshi?” She asked with a brightened face.

I nodded again. “Okay, I’ll let you pass, but only because you want to see your oppa sing so badly. Let’s talk again sometime, okay?”

She was less scary when she was smiling, but she didn’t stop being intimidating.

“Thank you, Suzy-unnie.” I bowed.

            I hurried to the crowd to watch. Luckily, only one performance had passed. Sistar’s Hyorin had just finished singing ‘Blue Rain’ by the old popular girl group, Fin K.L. I actually knew that song, since I love Lee Hyori. I was even more excited when I found out who was singing next. I got into the crowd right as CN Blue’s Jung Yonghwa began singing. I’ve been his fan ever since I watched You’re Beautiful. I loved him even after he went solo when CN Blue broke up last year.

            Soon enough, it was Nick’s turn to sing. He got up there with his guitar. I recognized it from fancams I’ve seen of Cologne’s concerts. Nick always sings something acoustic, which is probably why he was chosen for this.

            I swayed to the music like the rest of his screaming fans did. His voice mesmerized me. I’ve never heard him sing live, and I wish I had because it was making me melt. Suddenly, butterflies rushed into my stomach. It had just hit me that I was dating Nick. I’ve gotten to know him before I really knew him as an idol, so I never really realize that he actually is one. All these girls were screaming for my… boyfriend. I giggled to myself, then continued to listen to his voice. For some parts of the song, it felt as if he were looking straight at me.

“We probably, with a complicated fate

have an entangled love with each other

every day I, as much as I can't pay you back

increase my debt to you.

like lovers, otherwise like strangers

is it okay if we keep living like this?

even with as many wrongs and

frequent separations, you are always there.

I know that you are the only person in the world

that will make me live life right.

if I want to go on living without regrets

I probably have to hold on to you, but…

with my rough thoughts and the insecure light in my eyes and

the you that has to keep watch over this

that is probably a war-like love

because I’m dangerous, because I love you

I’m going to depart from you.

 

you are the only person in the world

that will help me live life right.

if I want to go on living without regrets

I probably have to hold onto you, but

with my rough thoughts and the insecure light in my eyes and

the you that has to keep watch over this

that is probably a war-like love

because I'm dangerous, because i love you

I'm going to depart from you.

for you, I'm going to leave.”

            He found me after he sang. I was surprised that no one noticed him, but how could they? Infinite’s Sunggyu was on stage singing a song I didn’t know. I did know Sunggyu himself though. Starting from last year, Infinite did a lot of Chinese promotions to spread the Hallyu Wave after making a huge name for themselves in Japan.

“Are you ready to go?” Nick asked me.

“Um… about that… can we stay to watch Lee Junho and Jang Hanbyul, pleeeeeeeeease? Jebaaaaaaaaaaaal?” I begged.
He laughed.

“Only if we stay until Ailee sings.” We agreed.

I fangirled so much for the two that Nick was obviously getting jealous. I stopped in the middle of 2PM Junho’s performance, but I couldn’t help but scream when LED Apple’s Hanbyul sang one of Seo Taiji’s old songs. Of course they’d give the modern day rocker one of Seo Taiji’s songs.

            We went together back to the car. As soon as he got in, he hooked up his iPhone to the CD player and played one of Hyuna’s newest solo songs.

“Since 4Minute has been on a long hiatus since ‘Volume Up’, Hyuna’s gotten the chance to do more solo stuff.” Nick explained. He sang along to the lyrics.

It’s so cute that he wanted to make me jealous.

“You know she was doing promotions for her newest album when Cologne was promoting our last one. We were able to take a selca together. Some fans said we would make a perfect couple for the fifth season of We Got Married.” Nick bragged.

“Yeah, if you were five years older.” I laughed. “Anyways, oppa, your song was good. I lost myself in your voice.” I said, blushing.

We went back and forth about people we thought were attractive. I was totally winning the mock argument though.

“Really?  It didn’t look like it. You were so obsessed with Lee Junho, I didn’t really notice.” He pouted.

“Can you blame me? Junho-oppa has been promoting in China sing 2012. What can I say?”       

            I felt the car go a bit faster. I was just joking, I wanted to calm him down before we crashed. Plus, I didn’t want Nick mad at me for the rest of the night. I laid my head on his shoulder.

“Nickie, don’t be like that, baby.” I said, then kissing him on the shoulder.

“Now you want to call me baby, huh?” He said.

“Are you really mad at me, oppa?”

“Yes.” He said sternly, which surprised me.

“What do you want me to do?” I whined.

Suddenly I felt the car stop. Nick got out. He came around to open the door for me. I looked around. We were at the park I took him to last night. He took my hand and led me to the same swing where he sat down.

“You have to do whatever I say.” He said seriously.

“Oppa. Really?” I whined.

“Yeah, now push me.” I did as he said.

“Tell me how handsome you think I am.” He ordered.

“Nick-oppa, you are so handsome, you give me butterflies whenever I look at you.” I answered sarcastically.

“What do you like about my looks?”

“Oppa, your hair is so smooth and dark and I love the way it falls perfectly no matter what you do. Your jaw line is so sharp and y. Plus, your muscles are so toned and rugged.” I said, trying my hardest not to laugh.

“How good is my voice?” Nick asked.

“Nickie, when I heard your voice today, I felt completely relaxed. It was like there was no one else in the room with me. When you looked at me, I felt like we were the only two people in the world. Your voice makes me feel like I’m safe. It feels like a deep embrace on a windy night.” I said. This time, I wasn’t joking.

He got up and turned to face me.

“That’s what I was waiting for, babo.” He laughed.

We leaned into a deep embrace. My head fit comfortably on his shoulder. We stood there in the hug, until a little girl tugged on my skirt.

“Unnie, can you and ahjussi move so I can swing, please?” She said in a cute voice. The way she spoke was so formal. It was adorable.

We nodded and moved.

“I think it’s time to go, ahjussi.” I laughed.

“Oh shut up.” Nick said, laughing with me.

            We moved to the park bench and watched the little kids play. Since Nick was still wearing his disguise, we didn’t have to worry too much about attention.

“One last thing.” Nick said, tapping his pointer finger on my nose.

“What, ahjussi?” I giggled.

“Tell me that I’m more handsome and talented then all the guys you’ve named today.”

I sighed. This is gonna be a long list.

“Nick Han, you are a million times attractive and ten million times more talented than Jung Yonghwa, Im Jaebum, Jang Hanbyul, Kim Soohyun, Nickhun, Jay Park, Dong YoungBae, Kim Woohyun…” the list went on and on… now I realized why he had been mad.

“And you, Park Mai, are infinite times more beautiful and double infinite times more talented than Hyuna, Sulli, Krystal, Jessica, Tiffany, Taeyeon, Hyorin, Suzy, Fei…” the list seemed almost as long as mine, but at least I was a good enough fan to know all their last names.

            Together we sat on the park bench, talking about random things and admiring the children and their parents. It was peaceful and refreshing, just sitting there without a worry. I couldn’t help but think about what tortures my members were going through. The serenity was ruined with Nick’s loud ringtone blaring from his jacket pocket.

“Yes, president. I understand. I will be right there, yes.” Nick said into his phone. He turned to face me. “The president got me a walk on role for this new drama. He told me to head over there. It’ll only take about an hour. Do you want me to take you back to your dorm?” Nick asked me.

I shook my head. “No, we’re on a date. Let’s go together.”

“Okay.” He said, smiling, and then taking my hand.

            We got into the car. Nick put the address that President gave him into the GPS, and we drove to the destination. When we got there, I realized that a drama shooting is way different than a CF shoot. There were a lot more people working and a lot more lights, speakers, and stuff of that sort.

“Ah, Mai-sshi!” A familiar voice called. I turned around to see Jake sprinting towards me and Nick.

He gave me a big hug, picking my whole body off the ground.

“How’s you and JD?” Jake joked, earning him a punch in the shoulder and a stern look from Nick. “Shut up, hyung.”

“Nick, I’m just joking. Calm down.” Jake laughed. He turned to me. “So how is your ankle? Has Nickie here been taking good care of you?”

“Yes, of course.” I replied nodding. “But what are you doing here?” I asked Jake.

“Oh, you don’t know? I’m a main role in this drama. I play Kwon Siwoo, a college student down on his luck who meets Lim  Seo-Yoon, a library keeper, and falls in love with her. Nick’s just here for a small role.”
 

“Hello? Speaking of Nick, what am I going to be doing?” Nick said sarcastically waving his hands in the air.

“Dude, you were sent the script. Did you even read it?” Jake laughed.

“Yeah, but the filming schedule changed. I don’t know what scene we’re filming today.” Nick answered.

 “Oh, well you’re going to be a guy who helps the female main character look for her younger sister who has just run away. The younger sister has been cast by one of the actor trainees from another agency. I think the character’s name is SeoYoung” Jake explained.

“Who is playing your opposite, Jake-oppa?” I asked.

“One of Diamond’s own acting trainees. The president is planning to debut her into the acting scene with this drama, her name is…”

He was interrupted by a young lady popping onto his back like a koala. She put her arms around his neck into a piggyback position.

“Jang Noli!!!” The girl squealed.

“Yeah, this is her.” Jake finished.

“Oppa, who is this?” Noli asked Jake, still on his back.

“I’m Park Mai, also a trainee at Diamond. I’m making my debut as an idol soon.” I answered on my own.

“Oh, nice to meet you.” She said, jumping off of Jake’s back and coming to hug me.

“Why haven’t I met you yet?” She asked rhetorically.

            The director called off the five minute break, and soon I was sitting alone watching the shooting.

“CUT!” The director yelled. All the red lights on the cameras turned off.

“Next scene! Where is Yoon Su Ah?” The director called.

A sheepish intern walked up to the director.

“Umm, director, she has the flu and won’t be coming today.” The intern whispered.

“Why was I not informed of this earlier!?” The directed screamed.  The poor intern tried to walk away, but the director immediately called her back.

“Get the president of Diamond Entertainment on the phone. We need another actress right away. We have this place reserved only for another couple hours.” The director’s screaming was scaring me and Noli, but the boys weren’t fazed at all.

“We’re used to directors with anger issues. It’s all about being in the business.” Nick whispered into my ear.

“Director-hyung!” Jake shouted while raising his hand like a grade school kid.

“What, Jake-sshi?!” The director answered with a tone.

“There is another Diamond trainee here who is about the same age as Su Ah-sshi.” Jake told him.

“Really? Well let’s use her. her to the makeup department, quickly!!”

I slapped Jake’s shoulder. “Oppa, what did you do that for? I’m not an acting trainee at Diamond!” I said, freaking out.

“I didn’t say you were. I said you were a trainee… which is true. Plus, don’t you have acting experience? You’ll do fine. The president will definitely thank me for this. It will help get you more attention for your debut.” Jake explained.

“Don’t I have enough attention?” I whined, trying to justify not going.

“You can never have enough attention, babe.” Nick said, nudging me. “Learn from the master."

A coordinator came to me. As she walked me away, I shot Nick a scared look.

“You can do it. Fighting!” He mouthed, putting up his two thumbs.

            Soon enough, I was escorted to get my make up done and had moved sets; they even made me wear a wig so that I would look more like the sister of the main character. I guess that’s show biz.

            We shot on site at a candy store where my character was supposed to be hiding. Nick’s character came in, suspecting that I’d be there. The store was dark and we were the only two there. The cameras were rolling and the pressure was on. Luckily I had only two lines for this scene, which made it easy to remember.

“Ya, Lim SeoYoung. I’ve been looking for you everywhere. I knew you’d come back to this candy shop. You haven’t changed since you were young. Whenever there’s a problem, you come here and buy a lollipop. You can’t keep running from your problems. Here, come back with me.” He reached out his hand.

“I don’t want to go. I never want to see my sister again.” I yelled.

He picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. I kicked and screamed in response, unwilling to go.

“ByungHyun-oppa! Let me go!” I screamed.

            After the first take, they gave the both of us feedback and made us retake it. We got it on the second shot. I was dismissed after that short scene, but Nick had to keep working. Noli came to sit next to me on the floor where I was sitting.

“You’ll have to come back tomorrow for shooting. We have to finish shooting the scene that you started today, but since it takes place in a separate place, we’ll shoot all the scenes that take place at the prop home tomorrow.” Noli explained to me.

            I nodded my head, but inside I was afraid. What am I going to do? I’m only off for today. Tomorrow I have to start learning all the dances. The president is going to want to have a long chat with me. I sat there and spoke with Noli until the shooting was over. She was really kind.

            When the shooting was over, we thanked the staff and left. Noli came over and gave me a hug. “See you tomorrow, sis.” She said.

“Off to ice cream!” Nick said, taking my arm in his.

“I’m gonna have to take a rain check. The president called and he wants to see me. He said that he sent a car over and it should be here any second.”

“Darn, and he said you had until 11:59. I was gonna get you to his office right at 11:58. He loves punctuality.” Nick laughed. “Babe, why don’t I drop some off at the dorm for you and the others?” He suggested, putting his arm around me.

I shook out from under his arm and slapped his hand.

“Nick-ah, use your manner hands when we’re in public. You’re not even wearing a disguise. You’re the one who told me to be careful. What about you? We can’t let anyone know about our relationship… well except our members. Don’t call me babe, and don’t engage in any skin ship, okay?” I scolded.

“Aishh, fine… but can you at least call me oppa? Don’t call me Nick-ah. I’m two years older than you, kid.” He said, playfully pushing me shoulder.

“’Kid’? Ha, you’re 18. You’re not even old enough to drink alcohol, kid.” I said, sticking out my tongue.

“Yeah, but at least I’m out of school.” He smirked back. I couldn’t beat that one.

Jake came up from behind us and gave us a group hug. He completely startled me.

“Good job today, dongsaengs.” Jake said, ruffling both of our hair.

“Thank you, Jake-oppa.” I smiled.

“Yeah, yeah.” Nick shrugged, blowing him off.

“Where are you headed?” Jake asked us.

“I’m heading back to the company building.” I answered.

“Manager sent me my schedule for this week. So I’m gonna head home, check my email, and work out when I’m free to head to the gym.” Nick replied.

“Oh, you’re heading back, Mai-sshi? So you mind if I accompany you? I have an interview later on tonight there and I have to get ready.” Jake asked me.

“Oh, yes, oppa. The president sent someone to pick us up. They should be here momentarily.” I replied.

“Mai-sshi, you don’t have to speak so formally to him. It just blows up his ego.” Nick joked.

“Hey, shut up, dongsaeng.” Jake replied, pushing Nick back. They laughed together, making me wish that A-Bomb had a little more skin ship.

After a few moments of idle chatter, a red car pulled up in front of us.   

“Jae-sshi!” Jake called excitedly. I think their hyung-dongsaeng relationship is just so adorable.

“The president told me to pick up, Mai.” JD said as he got out of the car. He casually slipped his sunglasses of his face.

“You’re taking me too, Jae-sshi.” Jake said, jumping into the passenger’s seat.

“Ah, Jaehyo-sshi.” Nick called. “Good to see you again.” He smirked.

“Yeah, you too, Nick-hyung.” Jae replied.

They did some weird handshake. I’ve seen all the oppas do that same handshake. From SML4 to G2Y to Cologne to Aqua, all the guys knew this handshake.

“Shall we head out?” Jae said, opening the back seat door for me.

I nodded and got into the car. Nick waved to me, and the three of us waved in return.

            The car ride was fun. Jake took out his iPod and hooked it up to the stereo system. I laughed as they sang together. They sang many female songs, causing me to die of laughter.

“Sing along with us, Mai-sshi.” Jake invited. I did as he said.

            I asked if this was Jaehyo’s car, and they explained to me that after each group’s debut, they get one car for every three group members.  This was Aqua’s car. Since they have the three members, they only get one. Cologne has two and A-Bomb will get two also, because our number of members is odd. The fun car ride didn’t last long since the company building was nearby. I rushed up to the president’s office, escorted by JD.

“Good luck.” Jae said as I closed the door behind entering the office.

As the door closed, the president rose his voice. “Is that Jaehyo I hear out there?” He asked already knowing the answer.

“Yes, hyung.” Jae answered from behind the door.

“I was meaning to talk to you, boy. Come on in an take a seat.” The president called.

JD came in, dragging his feet. He took the seat next to mine.

“I called Mai in here to talk about her hectic schedule, but an opportunity for the both of you recently arose with the chaos of Mai’s schedule. As I’m sure the sunbae have told you, Mai, there is a superstition we have here at Diamond, called the Trainee Curse… and as I know you both know, you have furthered our belief is said curse. Each offender of the curse has received punishment, which you know from Justin after your debut, am I correct?” The president said to Jae. Jae nodded.

“Since Mai here has taken up an acting role, I thought that the set might need a little extra help. Therefore, instead of postponing the punishment until after Aqua’s comeback promotions and A-Bomb’s debut promotions, JD will work his schedule around the filming schedule. It’s a good thing the role you took was small, Mai-sshi.” He said. “So you won’t need to film so often, which means Jaehyo won’t be doing all of the work.”

He took a pause to drink some water. Jae looked at me with a worried face.

“Speaking of work, Ms. Mai…” The president started. Jae sighed, causing President to shoot him a cold look.

“Speaking of work, since you will be filming, I am assigning a dance teacher to follow you around. Mei-lein & Akie share a dance teacher for now, since they are also working on other pre-debut promotions. This teacher will follow you to filming and help you learn the dances and songs that you need to learn for your pre-debut stage. I’ve decided that A-Bomb’s debut stage will be at the annual Diamond Entertainment fan meeting showcase. You will be able to work closely with your sunbae for this showcase.” He said with enthusiasm.

I was very excited myself.

“Well, it’s time for you to go. See you both later… well, you’ll be seeing each other later. After shooting tomorrow, you both will clean the sets, even if you shoot on location. Don’t think I won’t know if you do it, because remember, I employ half the people there.” He said winking.  The president let us out of the room, then closed the door behind us. In a second, he opened it again and popped his head out.

“Oh, since I didn’t get to discuss with you your schedule, Mai-sshi, I’ve tasked the manager to send you an email. Ask Akie for help if you need it. Good bye both of you.” The president said as we walked away.

“Want a ride back to your dorm?” JD asked me.

“Sure, thanks.” I nodded and smiled.

            We walked back down to his car. He complained about the punishment the entire way down. As soon as we got in the car, Jae continued complaining. As Jae drove away, I saw Akie running into the building. I wonder what she was going in there for…

***

Akie knocked on the president’s door.

“You may enter.” She heard from the other side of the door.

“President, do you have time?” She asked, sitting down.

“I always have time for my children.” He replied, meaning everyone under his label.

“I have something very important to talk to you about, concerning Mai and my future, as well as A-Bomb’s as a whole.” Akie said sternly.

“Go ahead.” The president said, leaning back in his chair.

“Don’t you think she’s getting a little too much attention?” The president started to interrupted, but she stopped him. “President, just hear me out okay?” He nodded. “I know you have promotions lined up for all of us in the future, but aren’t you taking this “MVP” nickname a little too seriously? She gets the main singer position, two CF shoots, A-Bomb’s first scandal, and now, a small role in a drama. Mei-lein is the only A-Bomb member who has even started individual promotions besides Mai, and the rest of us are wondering when our turn is.” Akie whined.

The president cleared his throat. Akie prepared for a long lecture.

“Well yes, Mai is the ‘MVP’ as I call her, but Akie, you are the leader. I know Mai has been getting more attention, but I’m trying to get all of you promotion opportunities, but it is really hard. I’m lucky I was able to book these for Mai. I have more lined up in the future, you just have to be patient.” He explained.

“Look at other groups in the Korean music industry. In every group, there is at least one person who stands out. Kahi was the face of After School before she ‘graduated’. Many said that After School would die without her, but look, After School is still together today, but with mostly newer members. What about 4Minute?  Before they disbanded, Hyuna was the most popular in 4Minute. She was in the group, a soloist, and in a sub-unit group called Troublemaker. Hyuna and Kahi still sing today as soloists, but so do other members in disbanded groups. I know you really like Cube Entertainment’s group, Beast, so I will use them as n example. Yoon Doojoon, the leader, get the least amount of singing time in the group, but he is the most prominent in the acting scene. The rapper, Yong Junhyung has done collaborations, wrote and composed songs for, and worked with many artists, such as Baek JiYoung and Hyuna. He even recently wrote one of the songs that is going on Cologne’s upcoming mini-album. Yang Yoseob is the main singer in Beast, but also works a bit solo. He gets pulled by many rappers to feature in their songs, like Bang Yong Guk, who is another example of an MVP. Bang Yong Guk is like Hyuna, a solo artist, and in a sub-unit and group, Bang & Zelo and B.A.P. Beast’s HyunSeung is in the popular sub-unit that I mentioned before with Hyuna, Troublemaker, and Dongwoon gets the most film time in Beast’s music videos and is 2^nd most prominent in the acting scene within Beast. Kikwang was a solo artists before debuting with Beast, and after Troublemaker’s success, Cube decided to make him a solo artist again just last summer. See, I bet you’re thinking of other examples in your head right now. Each group is a group, and though you don’t feel this way now, later on, you will all be as close as sisters. The only thing I ask from you girls is that you try your best at whatever you do and don’t go all “TVXQ-JYJ scandal” on me, okay?”

By this time, Akie was tearing up. She nodded her head as she wiped the almost-tears from her eyes. The president let her out of his office, then continued with his work.

***

Jae dropped me in front of the dorm.

“See you tomorrow, beautiful.” He said with a wink before he drove off a top speed.

It was flattering, but a bit weird for me to hear that from him.

            I went up the elevator, though I usually used the stairs. I was so exhausted from today. When I entered the dorm, all the girls were sitting around the TV I their work-out clothes with bowls of ice cream. Another sunbae was sitting on the couch with a bowl of ice cream.

“There you are, Mai-sshi.” Nick smirked from the couch. “You said that you wanted me to drop of a tub of ice cream since you couldn’t come with me.”

I laughed at him. “You said that.”

“It’s almost done anyways.” Mei-lein said. “We saved the last of it more you.

“Aren’t you supposed to be practicing?” I asked.

“Well yeah…” Tola started, “, but Akie left to run an errand, then Nick-oppa showed up with ice cream, so we decided to take a break.”

“Have you been here long?” I asked Nick, grabbing a bowl.

He shook his head. “Nah, I’ve been here for like 15 minutes. Oh, how’s your leg by the way. What did the president want?” Nick asked concerned.

“He just wanted to talk to me and Jae about our punishment.” I explained.

“For what?” Chai asked.

            Me and Nick explained to them about the Trainee Curse, then I told all of them about our punishment. The girls asked us about the filming today, so Nick and I explained in full detail about the drama and our roles. When we were done eating the ice cream, Nick decided to let us get back to our practice.

“I’ll walk you out.” I said as he got up.

We walked outside the door, then paused.

“Did you have fun today?” Nick asked me.

“Of course I did.” I smiled. “I was with you.”

He did his embarrassed pose. “Yeah, same here.”

“Hey, can you do me a favor?” Nick asked.

“Hmm, what?”

“No, say yes first.” He demanded.
“I don’t want to. What if it’s something weird.” I whined.

“Please.” Nick pleaded, doing bbuing bbuing.

I couldn’t resist his aegyo.

“Fine, yes.” I agreed. “What is it?”

“Don’t fall for Jaehyo.” He finally said.

I was shocked at this sudden demand, but this was something that I could definitely promise. Well of course Jae is sweet, and talented, and good-looking, but we just don’t click the way that Nick and I do.

“Why all of a sudden? Is it because of the scandal? Nick that was an accident on my part.” I said to him.

“Well… yeah, it’s a bit about that, but also, it seems like he’s interested in you. I mean, who wouldn’t be? Plus, the president paired you together for the tours, and I still don’t know the reason why. It wouldn’t be the first time he paired a future couple. Just look at Shin-hyung and Minami-noona. To make it even worse, you’re going to be together more often at the shooting.” Nick complained.

“Yeah, serving our punishment.” I laughed, trying to lighten up the mood.

“I’m not going to be shooting with you all the time, we have different schedules. Plus, the president is already starting promotions for Cologne’s upcoming mini-album, so I’m going to start getting busy pretty soon, and that punk Jaehyo and his group are ending their recent promotions, which means they’re going to have more free time.” Nick continued.

“Babe, it’s getting late, stop worrying, okay? We’ll cross that bridge when it comes, okay?” I said, kissing his forehead.

He took a deep breath.

“Sure.” He sighed.

            As I attempted to open the door, Nick pulled me into a hug. His arms came around me tightly. It took me a few seconds to realize that he was hugging me. I returned the embrace. We stood there together for I don’t know how long. He was silent for the first time since I met him. I don’t know why he’s so afraid of JD. I could never fall for a guy like him. As long as Nick is by my side, I’ll be fine.