❝Chapter VI;

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( In Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul; January 9, 2014 )

In the backstage of M!Countdown, it was a flurry of movement and activities for everyone. K-Pop acts such as Girls' Day and the like were busy with their comebacks and could be heard in their respective dressing rooms, prepping for their turn in the spotlight. Producers and camera men could be seen checking their equipments, making sure there are no cracks on the lenses and that the videos it produces can be viewed in HD at all times.

All in all, it was an age-old routine that is viewed by with reverence. Idols prep their vocal cords, fix their make-up, and adjust their outfits while technicians prep their equipment, fix the mics and adjust the camera lenses. Simple as that.

However, in room number 143, it was obvious that its inhabitants had a different routine in mind.

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"This is ridiculous." Riso whispered the person at her right, which was CEE. Joo, who was at her left, and Sae, who was at CEE's right, didn't seem to have heard her comment. They were in a difficult yoga pose, being stretched to extreme degrees. Their leader, JunRi, had their back to them, also in the same pose as them, except that she was stretched out much more than them. Despite already wearing their white stage outfits, which was modified to make it look much more ethereal onstage, TZJQ's insane leader had them do yoga poses. 

"And shift." JunRi orders, shifting to another pose, one that reminds Riso of a leafless tree. The 4 ladies copies the same moves, albeit had slight difficulty in making their right leg twist around their left leg with their arms over their head and touching the curve of their back.

"Just get.... ouch... used to... it." CEE slowly mutters, twisting her arms to touch, at least, her back. "It's how she gets us unwinded for the performances."

"This is literally unwinding my organs. My body might malfunction and I might die onstage trying to reach a high note." Riso grumbles, shifting around so that she can stretch her legs much more easier. However, in the course of that action, her left elbow accidentally thumped the back of Joo's head. Joo cast a dark look at Riso and thumped Riso's head back in revenge.

"Dude, it was an accident!" Riso whisper-yelled, looking over at Joo with innocent eyes.

"Shh....." Both Riso and Joo looked over at their right side, and saw Sae with a finger to her lips, trying to shush them for the sake of peace.

"And shift." JunRi orders once again, this time dropping to the floor and creating a triangle with her body. The others just groaned and just resigned to follow their leader.

"My body is not made to bend like a pretzel!!" Riso whimpers, trying to lift her legs upwards. Sae casted a worried look at JunRi, who seemed not to hear Riso's complaints. Usually, JunRi had both the sight and hearing senses of a hawk and it was often used to catch any disturbances that might occur. But how come JunRi couldn't sense what was transpiring behind her back?

Joo read the expression on Sae's face and narrowed her vision at JunRi's head. Her jaw dropped when she saw a pair of earphones stuck in the ears of her leader. She looked at CEE, who also saw the earphones, and shook their heads at the tactics of their leader.

"It's because she can't hear us, hime." Joo tells Sae, who gives the back of JunRi's head a dumbfounded look.

Suddenly, Riso snapped her head up at the revelation. "She can't hear us? At all?"

CEE looked over at the earphones again and shook her head. "Nope.She's probably listening to something really loud. I think she's ignoring us on purpose." She pouted, feeling slightly insulted at the mention of the act.

"That's good." Riso said, slowly standing up. "No, it's perfect!" She shot her hands up in the air, doing a victory sign with her hands and prepared to bolt out of the room.

"Hey, where are you goin- RISO!!!" Joo screamed, watching in horror as Riso fled the scene, leaving them alone.

Joo looked at CEE helplessly, who just shrugged in response. Sae stared at the spot where Riso last stood, wondering where she was headed. All the while, JunRi hadn't noticed that one the prisoners' of her jail managed to escape.

"And shift."

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(Riso's POV)

As I sprinted away from the torture room of doom, I began worrying for the fates of my fellow prisoners. I searched for the nearest wall clock hanging around. Will they be safe for another 15 minutes?

'Okay, I'll go around for 10 minutes, and the come back to the dressing room after. Just enough time to do everything....' I thought a bit haphazardly, wandering farther from TZJQ's dressing room.

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(Riso's POV)

In the span of 4 minutes, I managed to meet Girl's Day's Hyeri, Younha-sunbaenim and one of the TASTY twin's, although I'm not sure if it was Soryong or Daeryong...

Ah well, both of them are equally hot.

They were all really nice and funny. They also seemed to know TZJQ, even though we just debuted almost two weeks ago. Maybe that's what happens if you're connected to the biggest boy band in Asia, I guess.

The best part is that I have pictures with them! This is the best day ever!!!

As I browsed through the selcas I took with them, I paid no attention to my surroundings as I walked along the path. I looked at my phone's clock and saw that only 6 minutes has passed since I escaped the clutches of the jail.

"Only 4 minutes to go..." I said trailing off, resigning to looking ahead instead of looking at my phone. Maybe I have enough time to sneak into a pantry and eat something?

Looking ahead, I saw a mammoth of a guy standing in the middle of the hallway, carrying what seems to be a bouquet of flowers. He was really tall, like a giant, but I'm not sure who he is because he had his back facing me.

I walked up to him until I was only three steps away from touching him, just so that I can gaze at his height. 'Damn.... the only tall person I know is Changmin-oppa, and I don't want see him around yet. He'll probably tease me about somethin