The first group dance rehearsal started with the Shinhwa members all greeting each other after being separated for so long, followed by a lot of lumbering around as they attempted to remember all their old dances and stage positions.

                “YAH!!! WHOSE SONG IS THIS?!” Eric curled up on the ground, having a mental breakdown as he watched Jun Jin and Hyesung mirror each other’s movements, one of them going in the wrong direction.

                After about an hour of missteps, laughter, and general craziness, Eric finally broke down and resorted to looking up YouTube videos of their old performances to figure out their dances. Hyesung hovered close behind him, following along with the videos. Since he had practiced beforehand, he was one of the more prepared members, but he was still rusty on some of them.

                “So, we’re all lined up here, right?” Andy and the others were also gathered around, feeling strange as they watched themselves from the audience’s perspective and not from their usual positions on stage.

                “Oh, so I’m on the other side…” Dongwan burst out laughing, half-amused and half-nervous that he couldn’t even remember what side of the stage he had been standing on during their last concert.

                “All right, I think I’ve got it.” Minwoo stood, taking his role as choreographer seriously and heading back towards the dance floor.

                “Really, Minwoo-yah?” Eric gave him a skeptical look.

                “Yah, no way.” Minwoo grinned sheepishly at him. “But let’s try Hey! Come On! out anyways. Just try and remember the feel for it so we can get started.”

                The back ground dancers—Mi Young included—were finally called to stand behind the Shinhwa members and once everyone had gathered, the real dance practice began.

                After a couple of productive hours, the group took a short break to eat food, relax, and discuss the choreography for Shinhwa’s new dance and title track—Venus.

                Mi Young was leaning back on one of the mirrors, taking small sips from her water bottle and stretching out her legs. Minwoo was thrilled with all of the background dancers; since all of them had either worked with Shinhwa before or knew what they were doing and had practiced, he didn’t have to worry about them and could focus on Shinhwa’s parts.

                Mi Young found herself assigned to dance as Hyesung’s partner—something that was both wonderful and terrible at the same time. She knew how shy the main vocalist could be, and the rumors that he and Dongwan were the worst dancers in the group worried her.

                “Okay, so I worked on the female dancer’s parts for the chorus of the song…” Minwoo looked at the members of Shinhwa, who were all lying around on the floor. “Do you all remember the steps I told you about before?”

                They all responded in the affirmative.

                “Well, here’s how the parts work together.” Minwoo took his place in the center of the floor, making sure all of the dancers were watching him before cueing the music.

                Mi Young tried not to look at Hyesung as Minwoo and another female background dancer demonstrated for the rest of the group. She could feel the embarrassment radiating off the main vocalist, mirroring her own emotions as the woman’s hands shifted lower and lower to the beat of the music until they were on Minwoo’s hips.

                Hyesung exhaled softly, muttering a soft curse. He was almost convinced Minwoo choreographed dances to be purposefully… unreserved just to spite him.

                Beside him, Andy gave him a look, an amused smile on his face. No doubt he—and all the Shinhwa members—would find pleasure in his discomfort. Hyesung sniffed and bumped his shoulder lightly, annoyed.

                After going through the dance slowly a few times, everyone lined up and the music began. Mi Young could see the tension in Hyesung’s shoulders as she stood at the side. She felt as uncomfortable as he looked, but kept counting the beats in her head until it was time for her to walk up behind him at the chorus.

                “You’re my lu-uh-uh-uh-uh, uh-uv Venus!” Mi Young reached around placed her arms on Hyesung’s chest and he stiffened, but both of them kept dancing, trying not to let the awkwardness get too overwhelming.

                “Eoreobuteo beorin nae—Aaaiyah!” Hyesung bent his knees down along with the other Shinhwa members, following Minwoo’s instructions. However, he rocked backwards dangerously as he did so, caught off balance. Startled, he threw his weight forward to compensate for his unsteadiness. With Mi Young studiously following Minwoo’s choreography, her hands were hovering over Hyesung’s waist—he was too self-conscious to have her actually touching him that closely—and his rough movement coupled with her hands shifting back into place meant that the palms of her hands hit his hips much harder than either of them had intended.

Hyesung reacted immediately, exclaiming and distracting the others.

                “Yah! Jung Pil Gyo,” Minwoo cut the music off, looking annoyed. “What’s going on?”

                Hyesung shook his head, half trying not to laugh and half-embarrassed out of his mind, kneeling on the ground.

                Strangely enough, Andy—who was on the other side of the room—was already on the ground laughing. Perhaps he was too hyped up for the dance practice, or was amused at something completely different. Maybe he had seen the spectacle in the mirror rather than focusing on his own dance, but he reacted almost immediately to Hyesung’s outburst.

                Mi Young was covering with her hands, mortified. “I didn’t mean to hit you so hard!”

                Hyesung waved his hand, covering his cheeks with one hand to hide the unmistakable blush on his face. “No, I lost my balance, that’s why.”

                “Black hole Hyesungie.” Eric complained, resting his hands on his knees. “How do you mess up on such an easy part?”

                “I’m not,” Hyesung protested, getting back to his feet. “This was just an accident.”

                “I dunno,” Dongwan joked, looking pleased. “I didn’t mess up on the dancing that time, so maybe you are the black hole.”

                “No, really!” The main vocalist objected fiercely to being labeled the worst dancer in Shinhwa. “Let’s try again, and I won’t mess up.” He got to his feet again and gave them a determined glare, ready to give it his all.

                Shinhwa’s schedule went from busy to insane as their comeback loomed over them, just weeks away. With the new album release, their concert, and the filming of Shinhwa broadcast happening all at once, each of their individual schedules had to be carefully monitored to ensure everyone was where they needed to be at the proper time. Despite having earned a spot on stage as a background dancer, Mi Young began working overtime and helping the other desk receptionists and managers handle the paperwork and organization, still assisting with her old position as well as practicing dutifully for her new job.

                She was busy typing up a schedule in Minwoo’s office one day when he received a phone call.

                “This is Lee Minwoo.” He spoke softly, professionally. His voice was vastly different from the cheerful, sometimes whiny voice he used around the Shinhwa members. “The violinist? Yes, she was supposed to play during the introduction for the concert. The song is called T.O.P. and it had a violin part arranged for her.”

                Mi Young looked up, noticing how he sounded worried.

                “No, I understand… Yes, thank you for telling me.” Minwoo hung up shortly after, looking stressed.

                “What happened?”

                “Our violinist just dropped out due to a death in her family.” He answered, running a hand through his hair as he pulled out his cell phone to text Eric the troubling development. “She was going to play for T.O.P. and open the concert for us…”

                “T.O.P. has the melody from Swan Lake in it. Were you thinking of an electric violin, or were you going to attach an amplifier to a regular violin?”

                He gave her a curious look. “We have an electric violin, since that will be able to carry sound in the stadium much easier than a normal one. You know a lot about violins?”

                Mi Young replied. “I’ve played since I was young, yeah…”

                Minwoo raised his eyebrows and Mi Young blinked, realizing that she might have just bitten off more than she could chew. “Well, Shinhwa is in need of a talented musician now. If you’ve played since you were little, then your skill must be no joke.”

                She sighed, knowing that if the charismatic man wanted to ask her for a favor, she probably wouldn’t be able to refuse. “…Will I get paid extra?” She joked half-heartedly.

                “Ah, Mi Young-ah, you’re a lifesaver!!” Minwoo clapped his hands in delight.

                The date was March 24^th, 2012. It was the first day of Shinhwa’s comeback concert, The Return. Mi Young arrived early to the stadium where they were performing, double checking the sound on the electric violin and making sure it would be ready for the opening of the concert.

                One by one, the members trickled in, each looking nervous and excited. Dongwan was one of the first to arrive, greeting everyone before disappearing into the hallway to warm up his voice. Mi Young was busy with one of the stylists, getting her hair pinned up and her make-up done.

                It wasn’t until she peeked out of one of the windows in the hall and saw a long line of woman and girls in orange standing outside the stadium in lines that she became incredibly nervous. Had she not been employed under Shinhwa Company by ESP, she probably would have been one of them, eagerly awaiting the return of the oldest idol group.

                Jun Jin hovered close behind her, looking a little somber. “Ah, I feel so strange,” He gave her an uneasy smile. “After so long, it really just doesn’t feel real.”

                “You guys will do great.” Mi Young reassured him. “You’re legends, after all.”

                He laughed, feeling more at ease after hearing her lame joke. “Yeah, we’ll be all right.” He gave her a light cuff on the shoulder before turning at the sound of Eric calling his name.

                “Park Choone Jae, come here!” The leader said enthusiastically, waving at him as his outfit coordinator tied the straps to his white boots. “Come watch and see how they put on my boots.”

“Oh, that’ll be fantastic!” After winking at the young woman, Jun Jin walked over, pulling along Andy so they could both gawk obnoxiously at the oldest member, who eventually shooed them away in response.

                Mi Young began tuning her electric violin for the umpteenth time, becoming fidgety as the minutes ticked closer to the concert’s start. Beside her, Hyesung was leaning on his dresser, a distant look in his eyes. She gave him a look. “Nervous, Hyesung-ssi?”

                He nodded. “A little more than I normally am, I think.” He was aware of the camera recording him not too far off and gave a sheepish smile, ducking his head and hiding his anxious expression behind his bangs. “We haven’t been on stage in such a long time, I hope we’ll do good and not get hurt.”

                She nodded in reply and Hyesung shoved his hands into his pockets, pulling out his cell phone and scrolling through it, giving himself something to entertain himself with in place of his nerves.

                Mi Young blinked and reached for her bag, also thirsty for some sort of distraction. “My phone…” She frowned, realizing that in her rush to leave her apartment early that she left her cell phone on her kitchen counter. “Damn…”

                “Oh,” Dongwan heard her last part of her comment, waving his cell phone at her. It’s screen was blank. “Is your phone out of battery too?”

                “No, I left mine at home.”

                “Ah… That’s too bad.”

                “Yah, Dongwannie-ah, come here.” The rest of Shinhwa was gathered around, ready for the start of the concert. They proceeded towards the stage together, each commenting on how the other members looked nervous and laughing half-heartedly.

                Mi Young watched with the other background dancers, the stylists, the managers, the outfit coordinators, and the rest of the staff in the room as each member held out one hand, stacking them on top of each other as if they were a sports team finishing their huddle. Hyesung shouted briefly into his microphone and they all glanced at one another in shock as the crowd erupted into cheers, deafening even behind the stage.

                “We came back after four years.” Eric raised his voice so they could hear him.

                “Now, don’t get hurt,” Hyesung added.

                “Have fun, be happy, enjoy…” Jun Jin had an exhilarated smile on his face.

                Andy held up his other hand. “Wait. Am I the one shaking?”

                They all moved their hands in sync. Mi Young could see the nervousness, the anxiety, the excitement, and the anticipation on their faces, echoing her own emotions. She always figured she would be on the other side of the curtain, staring up at the idols. But here she was, clutching the beautifully decorated electric violin in a short elegant dress and preparing herself to perform with them. It was exactly like Jun Jin said: It didn’t feel real.

                “Okay, let’s go.” Dongwan said, interrupting her thoughts.

                “Begin.” Minwoo gave the final cue, and a hand tapped her on the shoulder, telling her to start heading towards the platform for her opening performance. She lingered just long enough to hear the six members who stole her heart finish their hurrah.

                “Shinhwa, Shinhwa, SAN!”

                The concert was a terrific success. The group, the managers, and the other staff—with Mi Young included, of course—despite being exhausted, went out for food and light drinks to celebrate their first night back on the stage. Towards the end of the merriment, when all the managers decided it would be wise to get the idols back home to sleep, the group called together a short meeting to discuss the preparations for the second day.

                “Yah, we can improve our performance for tomorrow. There’s always room to improve.” Minwoo said, finishing off his glass and making a face.

                “I think we did really well though.” Hyesung was pretty quiet, sleepy from the small amount of alcohol he had allowed himself. “We’ll just have to do as well as we did today and we’ll be fine.”

                “Yeah, hyung’s just all hyped up. We did great.” Jun Jin ruffled Minwoo’s hair and had another shot of soju, cheerful but not overly drunk.

                Jong Hyun—who was recently promoted to Shinhwa Company Executive—was checking his watch. “I think we should start heading back.”

                “Aww…” Dongwan had his arms around Eric. “I guess you’re right.”

                Eric raised his glass. “Here’s to another day like today.”

                Everyone followed suit and after saying their goodbyes, stood to leave.

                Mi Young—who wasn’t much of a drinker—quietly tapped Eric on the shoulder. “Uh, I need to call for a ride back… Could I borrow your cell phone?”

                Eric blinked. “Andy-ah has my phone, but here, you can borrow Dongwannie’s.”

                Mi Young gave him a look. “Are you sure it’s all right?”

                Eric laughed, pulling it out of his jacket pocket. “Yeah, he won’t mind. We all switched phones for fun earlier.”

                “Okay, thanks.”

                Mi Young didn’t arrive back at her apartment for another hour. Before she crashed on her bed, she stuffed her cell phone into her purse so she wouldn’t have the same issue the next day.

                It wasn’t until she was curled up, drifting off to sleep, that she remembered something strange: Wasn’t Dongwan’s cell phone dead before the concert?

                ‘Hm, that’s odd… Maybe Eric had a charger on him or something...’

[Hi everyone!! I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far… There isn’t so much going on yet, but maybe some of you noticed little quirks or occurrences that hint at what might happen a few chapters to come… ;)

You also might be able to tell that I took a lot of my dialogue and the events of the concert and the rehearsals from Shinhwa’s DVD for The Return and episode 6 of Shinhwa Broadcast (the latter of which covers parts of the backstage prep). I wanted to keep everything as accurate as possible, so I hope I did a good job. /w\

I wanted to post this longer chapter as a Christmas/holiday present for all my lovely subscribers, so I hope everyone has a good holiday and I’ll see you on the flip side for 2014!! :D]