❝Chapter VII;
        

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                           "Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny"

- CS Lewis

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( SM Entertainment; February 1, 2014 )

The room was tense as they looked at each other warily, suspicions rising. They were still promoting ‘Love in the Ice’, which became a moderate success. They didn’t win an award, YET, but they had made a rather significant mark in the charts. Critics were calling them “K-Pop’s Singing Saviors”, highlighting that the five girls each had vocal prowess that was yet to be outmatched. Each brought a distinct flavor to the harmonies, as the latest article about them said. With all the y choreography appearing left and right, ‘Love in the Ice’ was a breath of fresh air for any K-Pop fan who wanted something new. That and coupled with the fact that a ballad managed to beat different dance tunes with catchy choreography, was rather impressive feat for a rookie group.

They could have placed higher on the charts on the third week, but JYP just had to debut his newest boy group, GOT7.

Not that they were resentful or anything...

Not really.

Okay, maybe just a tiny bit.

I mean, it’s not every day that a rookie group is in the list of every chart in South Korea.  

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( Flashback: January 26, 2014; Ingkigayo )

“YAH!!! Park Jinyoung!!”

Various idols whipped their heads at the screamer. They saw TZJQ’s Joo, looking rather angry and red-faced from her screaming. She wore an immaculate all-white blouse with pants in a darker shade. Three of the TZJQ members were behind her, looking embarrassed at the sudden attention. Unlike Joo, they all wore different types of dresses and heels, making Joo stand out in their group.

Joo sprinted towards a guy in a gray jacket and black pants, making her fist connect with his head. Said guy just rubbed his head in pain, while the boys around him just looked at Joo in confusion.

“Aishh....” The guy mumbled, still searching his head if there were any signs of a forming concussion. He was still searching for possible permanent injuries when he lifted his head to meet his attacker. His eyes widened when he saw her, and then narrowed when his head gave him a reminder that there was a bruise on his head.

“Yah, Park Yoonjoo, why did you hit me?” He asked calmly, ignoring the nudges and suggestive glances he received from his friends. He swatted the hand that was aiming to jab him in the waist as he waited for her answer.

“Why did I hit you?! Why did YOU debut?!”

Now he was really confused. “Yah, what’s wrong with me debuting?”

“Everything! You just had to debut just when my group had a chance of winning anything!”

He shook his head in amusement, trying to will away the headache approaching. He glanced over Joo’s shoulder and saw the three members talking amongst themselves. They seemed to have reached an agreement and proceeded to walk towards the merry duo. His eyes drifted back to his fuming friend, realizing that she was still talking to him. He began nodding his head, pretending that he listened to every word she said.

“It’s not every day rookie groups get to be on the charts at all!”

“Yes, Yoonjoo.”

“And ‘Love in the Ice’ was doing fine, until you seduced the fans with your ‘Girls, Girls, Girls!’”

“You poor thing.”

“I mean, girl groups have it way harder than boy groups! The mortality rate is really high for us girls.”

“Yes, Yoonjoo.” He answered automatically, watching as the three members of TZJQ stand behind Yoonjoo. He gave them a bright smile, which they all reciprocated, save for one member, who was busy laughing at Yoonjoo’s ramblings.

“BUT, even though boy-” Yoonjoo was about to continue her statement when she noticed that Jinyoung wasn’t even looking to her. “YAH! You’re not even listening to me!”

“You just noticed?” Jinyoung asked, patting Yoonjoo’s head. “I thought you knew me better than that.”

Shrugging his hand away, she grumbled silently as she tried to fix her hair. Jinyoung just smirked at her as she glared at him. The rest of the TZJQ members just looked at each other, and then they proceeded to prod Yoonjoo with their elbows.

Said girl just looked at them, annoyance obvious on her face. One of the members then made motions with her hands, pointing to them, then to Jinyoung’s friends.

Only an idiot would not understand what they were talking about.

And Park Yoonjoo was no idiot.

“Ah!” Yoonjoo exclaimed, and then her expression changed into one which held both smug satisfaction and pride. “Who would have thought that you guys were social butterflies?”

“We are not social butterflies.” The tallest one said.

“That’s right.” The girl that was laughing a while ago voiced out, readily agreeing.

“Well, except for this one.” The last one said, jutting her thumb out to point it at the direction of the laughing girl.

“Tha- YAH!” Said girl was about to agree when she realized that she was given a backhanded compliment.

Waving her hands at them to shush the girls, Yoonjoo motioned at Jinyoung, even going as far as snapping her fingers at him.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Yoonjoo asked, her eyes glaring at her friend (?).

“I don’t know. I thought ladies were supposed to introduce themselves first.” Jinyoung said offhandedly, deciding to rock on his heels to give the impression of nonchalance.

“Not in this conversation. Now get to it. Chop-chop.” She exclaimed, clapping her hands to give emphasis to her previous statement.

“Arasso...” Jinyoung sighed, looking dejectedly at one of the members. He had short silver hair, as opposed to the dominant dark hairstyles his companions sported. He nodded his head towards Jinyoung, and then gave the rest a quick look. They proceeded to stand in a straight line, like military men.

“Come and get it!” The silver haired member started, while the rest of the group followed.

“GOT7! Annyeonghaseyo, GOT7 imnida!” They all proclaimed, their hands positioned to form the number ‘7’ with their thumb, index, and middle finger. They then bowed to the 4 TZJQ members, to which the girls clapped their hands at the enthusiastic greeting.

After their group introduction, they decided to introduce themselves individually.

“I’m JB, the leader of GOT7, who’s in charge of being y and chic.” The silver haired member, now known as JB, said as he bowed in their general direction.

“I’m Mark, the member who dominates the stage.” The guy with dark pink hair said, smiling all the while. He reminded them of a dumpling....

“I’m... the mother Jr., who’s in charge of the soft and bright energy of the group.” He said, cringing when he heard Yoonjoo snort from amusement.

“I’m Choi Youngjae, the powerful main vocalist of GOT7.” The guy with the narrowest eyes said, his eyes becoming smaller when he smiled.

“I’m rapper and martial artist, Jackson. I’m the wild and y one.” The guy with the backwards snapback cap said, smirking at his self-made statement.

“I’m BamBam, the cute member of GOT7.” The guy, or boy, with the blond tuft of hair in front of his face said, giving them a ‘peace sign’.

“I’m Kim Yugyeom, the innocent member of the team, who looks young but isn’t.” The tallest member if their group said, giving them a slight eye smile.

Looking pleased at his group’s introductions, he gestured his hands towards the girls, giving them the silent universal sign ‘Your turn’

Yoonjoo nodded and proceeded to meet the eyes of Jinrae, who was missing in action. She looked at the other members, who in turn, shrugged their shoulders.

Sighing exasperatedly, she decided to start the introduction herself.

“One, two, three...” She counted of for the group. The others automatically did the greeting that they practiced so long ago.

“Annyeonghaseyo, TZJQ imnida.”

Starting with their eldest member, she smiled at them sweetly.

“I’m CEE, the kind main vocalist of TZJQ. I’m in charge with acting like the eonnie of the group and making sure they are showered with love and sisterly affection.” Looking at the members, she made a heart with her hands.

“I’m Riso, the middle-high notes vocalist of the group. I’m in charge of the pranks and childishness of the group. Also the girl who loves a good drama.”

“Wait, what?” Jackson said, surprised at what Riso had just said.

Ignoring the looks the GOT7 boys gave the TZJQ version of self-introduction, Yoonjoo continued what the others started. “I’m Joo, the middle-low notes vocalist of the group. I’m in charge with having the best cheekbones in the group and having one of the foulest mouths.”

“Ain’t that the truth.” Jr. admitted, high-fiving Yoonjoo’s hand.

“I’m Sae, the high notes vocalist of TZJQ. I’m the one who is the most well-mannered and one of the more polite members of the group. The other one is CEE-eonnie. The others are... well...” She left her statement hanging, but it was obvious from her tone what she was implying.

Yoonjoo smiled at her member’s willingness to play along, and then she remembered why they were talking to the GOT7 boys. Oh yeah, she was supposed to be pissed at them...

Looking back at the guys, her eyes met Jinyoung’s eyes, and they seemed to remember why the two groups were talking. He gave her a smug smile, while he folded his arms in front of him. “You were saying, Park Yoonjoo?”

“What I was saying, Park Jinyoung, was that even though boy groups have an obvious advantage over girl groups in terms of everything under the sun, we won’t lose to you. We will win against you guys.” With her rather bold statement, the rest of the TZJQ girls stood with shock on their faces. A single thought ran through their minds: Is she insane?

The smile on Jinyoung’s face got bigger. “Wanna bet?”

“You bet I do. Let’s make it something so that anyone can participate in it. You know the show, Weekly Idol, right?” She asked, not backing down on his challenge.

“Of course. Who hasn’t? The only people who haven’t heard of that show are probably living under a rock.” He shrugged, his actions giving him a cool image, but his eyes suggested otherwise. They were as fierce and determined as Yoonjoo’s eyes.

“Good. Groups that debut in our companies have a high chance on appearing on that wacky show. Let’s make that show the battle ground for our competition.”