Minji sat on Chaerin’s couch waiting for her to finish making a drink for herself. She picked up a Cosmopolitan off the coffee table and the magazine fell open to the “50 Best Positions” section. She tried to flip the pages but some of them were stuck together; she immediately threw the magazine back on the table and grabbed the hand sanitizer out of her purse. She doused herself in it and violently rubbed her hands together while trying to get the thought of Chaerin and Kris doing it out of her head. Moving out was a good decision.

“Okay, so I tried to make something called an Incredible Hulk. That was not a good idea,” Chaerin said while sitting next to Minji.

“Could you please not put your ‘used’ magazines on the coffee table for unsuspecting guests to touch,” Minji complained.

Chaerin picked up the magazine and noticed that the pages were stuck together. “Oh yeah, on one of these pages it said to use the magazine for—”

“No.”

“You would not believe how much of a freak Kris is.”

“I don’t wanna know.”

“Like we do things I didn’t even know was possible.”

“Stop.”

Chaerin grinned, “So tell me about your second date with Kai.”

“Not a date. I just went to eat with him and his friends. By the way, could you put this chicken in your fridge?” Before Minji left Mr. Cluck Cluck’s, she ordered enough chicken to last her a week.

Chaerin put the chicken up and came back with a bag of powdered donuts, Minji’s favorite. She tried to tell Chaerin that she didn’t want any, but then took five out. A few minutes later, Kris walked through the door. He came over to the couch and gave Chaerin an unnecessarily long kiss filled with tongue and moans. Minji threw a donut at them.

“Rude,” Chaerin said.

Chaerin looked at Kris and Minji, “Speak to each other!”

“Hello Kris.”

“Hello Minzy.”

Minji glowered at Kris and Chaerin raised her eyebrows at him.

“Minzy?” Chaerin questioned.

“Uhh, Minzy, yeah. I think I ate something that I’m allergic to. My tongue seems swollen. It’s making me pronounce things really weird.”

Chaerin’s look of confusion turned into concern, “Aww, baby, go take some Benadryl. That was just weird that you called her Minzy. Haven’t heard anyone call her that since high school.”

“Yeah, weird,” Minji mumbled.

Kris left the room and Chaerin went back to eating her donut, “So tell me about your date— gathering of friends.”

“Everything was fine up until Kai gave me some of his chicken.”

Kris bursted back into the room. “Kai gave you his chicken?!”

“Yes.”

“One time I got up to get a piece of his chicken, and he told me to sit my five dollar down before he made change. I don’t even know what that means. Anyway, you must mean something to him if he’s giving you chicken.”

“Why does everyone keep saying that…” Minji said.

“Because the man is protective over chicken.”

Chaerin laughed, “See? I knew you meant something to him. Anyway, I’m gonna need you to do me a favor.”

“What?”

“So Kai’s birthday is on the fourteenth right? Well Kris is throwing a surprise party at his friend’s high rise on the fifteenth. He needs you take him there.”

“What am I supposed to say?”

“We’re telling him it’s just a party, and you’re invited too.”

“Fine. But my birthday’s in a few days too,” Minji said sticking her bottom lip out.

“Yeah I’ll take you to Burger King or something.”

28Dolls had dwindled to just 15Dolls in a couple of days. The CEO had gone on some sort of power trip and did drastic lineup changes, removing girls left and right and even replacing some. A whole new mini album had to be recorded, new photoshoots had to be taken, and the routine had to be modified and taught to the new ones. And the CEO refused to change the debut date from March 1.  An enormous amount of stress had been placed on Minji, Hyoyeon, and especially Kai’s back. The CEO personally told him that if he couldn’t make this work, he’d be out of a job.

They all had come to the studio at seven in the morning to teach the girls the dance and didn’t let them go till six, three hours after their usual ending time.

Hyoyeon rested her head on Minji’s lap, “This is so bad.”

“I don’t understand how he thinks this is gonna be doable,” Minji groaned.

Kai looked around the room, “And I kind of enjoyed this job too.”

Minji grinned, “Maybe he just said that to make you work harder.”

“Those eyes said ‘I will end you’ though,” Kai joked.

Hyoyeon jumped up. “Well it least we get to go to a party tonight, and there’s no work tomorrow, so we can get drunk!”

“You never told me how you know Kris, Hyoyeon. Where do you know two meet each other?” Minji asked.

Hyoyeon looked up at the ceiling as if contemplating and whispered, “SM…”

“What?”

“What?”

“What’d you say?”

“I don’t know. Come on! Let’s go use all the water in the company shower before we get fired!”

They all took thirty minute showers to spite the CEO and, unintentionally, the environment. Kai finished getting ready in ten minutes while, an hour later, Hyoyeon and Minji emerged from the dressing room. They all ran out to the parking lot and into Hyoyeon’s car and tried to find the high rise. After getting lost three times from Hyoyeon’s lack of knowing her left from her right, they finally found the place, only two hours late to arrive.

They reached the seventeenth story of the building: the penthouse. It was a long hallway covered in deep navy blue wallpaper, with a few mirrors decorating the hallway.

They all went up to the door and knocked. It opened, but no one was there but darkness.

“Well this is terrifying,” Hyoyeon said. She clapped twice.

The lights in the room all came revealing people that all yelled, “Surprise Kai and Minji!”

Minji turned around to see Hyoyeon beaming, “You knew?”

“They told me everything.”

Kai looked down at Minji and grabbed her hand, “Happy Birthday.”

Minji smiled, “Happy Birthday.”