“Everyone! Welcome to the Chuseok special episode of Happy Together!”

“In line with this, our guests today will present to us their Chuseok song. Please welcome Raya and Jine of ShijieShou; Onew of Shinee; Seohyun and Sooyoung of SNSD; and Yunho and Changmin of TVXQ!”

This was one among the many variety shows that we appeared in along with our fellow SM artists since the SM Town Chuseok album was released. Surprisingly, it has been a hit. Not only in Korea but also in other Asian countries were there were fans of our fellow SM artists. As for me, I was able to coerce two of my cousins to buy copies aside from the ones my father and my brother bought.

I was grateful that today seniors Seohyun and Sooyoung were with us, not Taeyon as Jine would have wanted it. For the previous shows it was always either us with TVXQ or with Shinee. That means I was always the only girl in the group. Not that I am too girly that I can’t connect with the guys, but we all know how crazy it could get if they would all turn into jokesters at the same time.

“Woooh~ that was an enjoyable performance! Take your seats here now. We are glad you all made it here today.”

“Wah~ I’m excited as to how our program will go today. We have TVXQ!”

“Let’s have them introduce themselves first.”

“Annyeonghaseyo~ I’m Seohyun. I’m Sooyoung from SNSD. We are from ShijieShou, I am Jine. Hello, I am Raya. I’m Shinee’s Onew. I’m Yunho. I’m Changnmin.”

“You have revealed early this month your works in SM Town Chuseok album. What is the idea behind this album?”

“In this album we wanted to sing songs that would express our gratitude to the people who have been supporting us for the past years until now,” Yunho explained.

“And it seems your thanks are being received with very much enthusiasm. It’s been almost a month but we heard that thousands of orders are still pouring in.”

Seohyun and Sooyoung consecutively answered, “We are thankful. We hope that they would really listen to the songs. We dedicate it to them.”

“I’m sure it was fun doing this album. What is one specific thing that you enjoyed the most while working in this one. Let’s hear from ShijieShou first.”

I elbowed Jine to answer, “We were glad to have an opportunity to work closely with our sunbaes.”

“Ah that is right. Among them you are fairly the new ones, right?”

“Yes,” Jine answered.

“You worked in one song with TVXQ, how was it working with Yunho and Changmin?”

This time Jine looked at me as if saying he won’t answer so I better do so, “It was great working with them. We got to know the kind of music that TVXQ likes and they were really very considerate of us. We are thankful for that.”

Changmin suddenly butted in, surprisingly for he seldom speak before Yunho does, “We were actually a fan of them so we were honoured to work with them. They simply have amazing musical skills. I often envy them for being able to play the guitar.”

“Really? Do you want to learn playing the guitar Changmin?”

“You should have no problem asking them to teach you, you’re a senior,” Onew said to Changmin. Everyone laughed at his sudden comment.

“We’ve actually worked well together that we became very comfortable with one another. We’ve became friends through this,” Yunho shared.

Onew spoke again, “We often see them eating together and we heard that just last week they were all together at Changmin’s house having dinner. They may not know this but they’ve become so close that our staff began to joke about ShijieShou becoming the new members of TVXQ, but that there are only four gods and one goddess.”

“Omo.Hahahaha,” we all laughed at it.

“Is that true? Did you know about this?”

“I only heard about that now,” I, Jine, and Changmin said.

“I think I’ve heard about that. But we are just glad we’ve become friends with them.”

“And besides we still very much love to be known as ShijieShou,” I answered sincerely with a wide smile.

“Right, right,” Changmin commented.

The program continued on and ended.  However, the same topic and question had been brought up again on the next shows that we appeared in. We didn’t really think it as a big deal.

Cassiopeia didn’t make a big deal out of it, too. Instead they were expressing their awe at TVXQ for being such good seniors to their juniors and for being very kind people to be making friends with other groups. They didn’t mind TVXQ to be always together with ShijieShou since Haru and Jine are guys.

Some, not even a tenth of members of the fan club, thankfully, had the thought, and posted it in the internet, that I may be especially enjoying the closeness of our group to TVXQ. Good thing I was never asked about it during interviews.

But that doesn’t mean my members, especially Jine, never asked me about it.

“Really, Raya, deep inside you is a screaming TVXQ fangirl, right?” Jine asked me while we were having a midnight dukbokki at some random store near our apartment.

“I am sure it is not a screaming fangirl,” I had to be careful about my answer because fortunately, having the snack with us three were Yunho and Changmin. It has been normal for us to be together like this at this hour when our rehearsal or recording schedule at the company ends at the same time.

“But still a fangirl?” Haru joined in while Yunho and Changmin are already laughing at me.

“Yah, oppadeul, would I rather say I’m an anti-fan?”

“Did you just call me oppa?” Jine asked.

“No. I was only talking to the three of them.”

“Bad maknae,” Jine commented. Yes, I was the maknae of the group. Both Haru and Jine were born in the same year as Changmin while I was born the year after them. Good thing that I was not only the maknae but also the only girl in the group, so that makes them treat me well.

“We’d rather have you as a fan,” Yunho said in a low voice. Memories of his experience with an anti-fan probably popped up in his mind.

“Don’t worry. I won’t be one,” I quickly said. “Hey, I remembered, are you guys free on Saturday next week?”

“We’re having a break next weekend, why?” Changmin answered.

“Good. We’ve no schedule on that day, too. I want to invite you guys at my aunt’s place. They are my family here and I know you guys would like to meet them, too. How about dinner there next Saturday?”

“Are you going to cook Filipino food for us?” Jine asked, always excited about food.

“Sounds like a good idea. Will you cook many Filipino foods? I really want to try it,” seconded Changmin, another eating-monster.

“Okay okay. I’ll help with the cooking.”

Yunho and Changmin walked with us towards our apartment—all of us in comfortable scarves and beanies or caps to hide our faces. When we arrived, they went to their car which was parked nearby. Changmin drove them home.

Dinner on Saturday came.

Yunho and Changmin came minutes before Haru and Jine arrived. They were ushered in by my uncle. As they came into the living room my uncle was laughing, “They look surprised that I am Korean.”

“Ahaha. We are sorry about that. We thought both her aunt and uncle would be Filipinos,” Yunho shyly explained.

“It’s okay, really. My dear niece here probably just forgot to tell you about that. I met her aunt in the Philippines where I lived in for 10 years before I got married. My business made us move back here again and so our daughter was born here”

“And I think that is a good thing because if not I will not have a family here.”

“She’s always like that here at home. Anyway, my daughter will be joining us in a while. She’s still busy preparing herself for our dinner with you.”

Yunho and Changmin awkwardly laughed.

“She’s a fan. But not a wild one, so don’t worry. She won’t harass you or anything..” I assured them.

“We didn’t even think about that.” Yunho said.

The moment Haru and Jine arrived, the dining table was ready and so we proceeded with the dinner. My 17-year old cousin has also joined us wearing a baby blue sundress complete with light make-up. Her parents just smiled.

The only Filipino food we prepared was sinigang na hipon. The rest were the usual Korean side dishes. My aunt and uncle apparently wanted a Filipino-Korean dinner. We all enjoyed it. Changmin and Jine most especially did. Good thing uncle can afford to buy lots of shrimp for the sinigang and so it didn’t fail to fill the two guy’s unbelievable stomach.

We had tea after dinner—tamarind tea because, according to my aunt, it is Filipino and because we are, well, singers.

This time my family gets to hear straight from the four guys our random escapades including that one night when we went out to eat wearing school uniforms complete wide-rimmed glasses and backpacks. We did it for Changmin because we knew he missed most of his supposedly school life. So we decided that night to go out as “classmates who went to eat after class.” Yunho and Haru were amazingly good in bringing up conversations about school. They also had a lot of stories they told us.

At past 11, the guys had decided to go home. As their cars disappeared from my view from where I was standing, my uncle called to me.

“Raya-ah, they were very wonderful people. I’m glad you got to find real friends in the field you chose to be in.”

“I am glad, too, uncle.”

He motioned me to sit with him on the couch. “I have something to tell you.” I nodded to tell him he could go on and tell me.

“Tonight’s dinner isn’t really just for us meeting your friends. We are celebrating something good that has happened to me.”

“Really? What is it? But why didn’t you mention it at dinner so we could have congratulated you?”

“Well, your aunt and I thought that it might be something too sensitive for Yunho and Changmin to know.”

“Oh. What is it uncle?”

“You know what kind of business I have, right?”

“Um. You’re in printed and web-published media business, right? VisuPrint and Media, Inc.?”

“Yes, but that’s only one.”

“Oh, you started another business? Congratulations!”

“It isn’t a new company. It’s a company I and my friends established many years ago. Since then I’ve left in their hands its management but this time they’ve given me enough valid reasons to step in the company.”

“Okay. So what is with all the suspense now, uncle?”

“I’ve just become the Executive Vice President of C-JeS Entertainment.”

“That’s great—” the shock came seconds late.