Chapter 21

            “When a fan looks at you, you want to make their day.”

            Boram, Minyoung, Minjin, and Hyekyeong stood in the practice room with Serang, listening carefully to every word she said.  It seemed as if Serang was skilled in every single type of art imaginable.  She knew a bit of dancing, a bit of singing, and a lot of acting.  It was hard to imagine exactly what she did for the military before coming to Chrome Entertainment. 

            “When they look at you, you look right back at them and smile,” Serang continued, making eye contact with each one of them.  “If you can make them feel special, they’ll fall in love with you immediately.”

            “Do we really need training for this, unnie?” Boram asked cautiously.  “I mean, of course we’ll want to make their days.  We’re entertainers.  And if they support us, we owe them a lot.”

            “Boram-ah, if you really appreciate them, won’t you want to know how to make their days in the very best way?” Serang questioned with a smirk.  “There’s an art to everything you do.  Hyekyeong-ah, you already have the most fans here, if I’m not mistaken.  Won’t you show us some of your day-making tricks?”

            Hyekyeong grinned bashfully, but she eventually walked next to Serang and looked back at her members.  Putting her hands right underneath her chin, she gave a bright smile and tipped her head to the side.  Boram beamed with pride and giggled gleefully, while Minjin and Minyoung grimaced in disgust.

            “Aish, do I really need to do something like that?” Minjin asked.

            “That’s such a maknae thing,” Minyoung insisted spitefully.

            “Just try it, you two,” Serang sighed.

            Taking a deep breath, Minjin looked down at the ground and tried to think of a cute pose.  She slowly made a gun-like shape with her fingers and placed it within the v-line of her chin.  One corner of rose awkwardly as she stared at her other members for approval.

            “Ah, unnie…”  Hyekyeong shifted uncomfortably as she looked at Minjin’s face.  “I don’t know about that one.”

            “I think it’s pretty good.”  Minyoung attempted to imitate Minjin’s expression while leaning forward in an active pose.

            “What about you, Boram-ah?” Serang inquired, helplessly peeking back at Minjin and Minyoung.

            “I…don’t know,” Boram chuckled clumsily.  She raised both her hands and made v-signs as she grinned happily.  “Can’t I just be myself?”

            Serang frowned as if the very world around her was crumbling.  “Aigoo, I won’t take responsibility for your lifeless responsibilities onstage.”

            “You’ll be debuting with us, right, unnie?” Hyekyeong proposed hopefully.  “At least we’ll have your genius with us onstage.”

            “Yes, but probably not for long,” Serang admitted with relief.  “I have many other secret missions to attend to.”

            “How in the world will you leave life as an idol to be a secret agent again?” Minjin questioned.  “Everyone will be able to recognize you as Serang from Hurricane Pop.”

            “Who says my real name is Serang?” she replied with a smirk.  “And who ever said this was my real face?”

            The four members stared at Serang in awe.  Even with all they thought they knew about her, it seemed as if they would never truly know who she was.  Hyekyeong slowly held out a finger to Serang’s face, but before she could touch it, Serang smiled and danced away.

            “By the way,” Serang continued, skipping to the other end of the practice room.  “All of you have been listening to the song the Captain chose for you, right?”

            The four girls nodded simultaneously, and Hyekyeong gave an excited grin.  “It’s sort of…funky,” she smiled.

            “But it doesn’t seem like a Kpop hit,” Minyoung suggested reluctantly.  “It’s very unique, and I really like it.  But it’s nothing like what people are listening to right now.”

            “Bing Bing isn’t meant to be a hit,” Serang explained plainly.  “The Captain wants you to be just on the edge of success.  Your small fan base will help fund your Girls’ Generation duties and help you reach certain venues at which you must perform.  I thought he mentioned this to you.”

            “Well…he did,” Minyoung sighed.  “I was just hoping…he was kidding.”

            “Ah Ba is preparing choreography for you,” Serang continued as Minyoung sulked quietly.  “In the meantime, he has a vocal instructor coming today to help you learn some singing techniques.”

            Before Serang could finish speaking, the Captain stepped into the practice room with an uneasy look on his face.  He looked back into the hall, then at Serang.  Many words of warning seemed to be on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t bring himself to say them.

            “Is something wrong, oppa?” Serang asked curiously.

            “It’s…um…”

            “This place could use some remodeling, Hwang,” a strange, smooth voice remarked from the hallway. 

            Everyone stood in silent awe as Bumkey waltzed into the practice room.  He wore a bright red snapback and dark sunglasses, only enhancing his enduring swagger.  Looking around at each of the five girls, he smiled and gave a small wave.

            “Hi there,” he said casually.

            “Bumkey sunbaenim?” Hyekyeong exclaimed excitedly.

            “I’ve asked Bumkey to be your vocal coach,” the Captain explained reluctantly, staring at Hyekyeong with wide, nervous eyes.

            “Wow, I had no idea!” Hyekyeong squealed happily, running up to Bumkey and taking his arm.  “Bumkey subaenim, how do you know the Captain?”

            The Captain quickly walked up to Hyekyeong and grabbed her arm.  “Ah, Hyekyeong-ah, please don’t…”

            “How do I know him?” Bumkey asked.

            “Yeah,” Hyekyeong smirked, raising herself on the tips of her toes to lean closer to his ear.  “I mean…like…what mission were you on together?”

            “Hyekyeong-ah,” the Captain called sternly, finally pulling Hyekyeong away from Bumkey.

            “I only just met Hwang yesterday after he asked to meet with me,” Bumkey explained, eyeing the Captain and Hyekyeong inquisitively.  “What mission are you talking about?”

            “I’m sorry, sunbaenim,” Minyoung told, looking over at Hyekyeong mischievously.  “Our Hyekyeong-ah has a slight drinking problem.”

            “Stop it, all of you!” the Captain cried helplessly.  “Bumkey-ssi, I’m sorry.  There’s no mission.  There’s no drinking problem.  Minyoung-ah, please apologize.”

            Minyoung looked up at the Captain with wide, remorseful eyes.  She looked down at the ground in embarrassment before finally turning to Bumkey.  “Sunbaenim…I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have said that.  You must think we’re a mess.”

            Bumkey chuckled quietly and took a few steps toward Minyoung.  He used his finger to push her chin up and face her towards him, and she anxiously gawked at him.  “Your name is Minyoung, yeah?  You must be the visual.”

            “Visual?” Minyoung questioned in bewilderment.  “I’m not the visual…Boram unnie is probably the visual.”

            “A visual shouldn’t lack confidence!” Bumkey urged sternly.  “Hwang, if I ever have my solo debut, I want this girl in my music video.”

            “Um…okay,” Hwang replied quickly.  “I’m sure they can be arranged.”

            “All of you are very pretty, though, don’t get me wrong,” Bumkey grinned charmingly, looking around at the other four members.  “Is Minjin here?”

            “That’s me,” Minjin called shyly.

            “Hwang tells me that you have some very powerful vocals,” Bumkey admitted excitedly.  “I’m looking forward to working with you.”

            “Ah, really?”  Minjin looked down at the floor bashfully.  “I…I hope I live up to the hype.”

            “Alright, I want to hear all of you sing!” Bumkey announced merrily, sending a chill through Minyoung’s spine.  “Please give it your best, and I’ll do my best to help you improve.”

*          *          *

            “I don’t know why we have to practice signing our autographs.  The way the Captain wants it, we’ll never have a real fan base.”

            Boram and Minjin nodded in agreement as the three of them practice signing their newly assigned stage names on pieces of paper.  They sat at a table in the practice room, signing their names over and over.  It was already midnight, but they remained dedicated to this less strenuous training.

            “Unnie, what is that?” Minjin asked in confusion, looking over at Minyoung’s paper.  “…Elln?  It’s Ell-in.  Ellin!  You forgot the ‘i’!”

            “What?”  Minyoung looked down at her paper and sighed in frustration.  “Aish!  That’s what I’ve been writing all night!”

            “Minyoung-ah, you also messed up ‘hurricane’,” Boram informed with a laugh.  “You wrote ‘hurrcane’.”  She pronounced the word with a perfect, distinct ‘r’ sound that the others couldn’t achieve.  Her laughter increased as she repeated the funny pronunciation over and over again.  “Hurrcane.  Hurrrrcane.”

            “Stop it, unnie!” Minyoung cried, leaping up from her chair.  She fiddled with the zipper on the front of her black track jacket before finally being able to it.  “It’s this stupid tracksuit that the Captain wants us to wear!  It’s so constricting and uncomfortable!  It’s messing with my mind!”

            “Ah, Minyoung-ah, you don’t need anything to mess with your mind,” Boram insisted, rising from her chair and helping Minyoung take off her jacket.  “It’s already a little screwed up in there.”

            “Aish.”  Minyoung threw her jacket on the ground, revealing a pink tank top underneath.  “Hey, where’s Hyekyeong-ah?  She said she had something to do at eleven, but she hasn’t been back yet.”

            “I was getting a little concerned myself,” Minjin admitted, rising from her seat as well.  “Should we ask the Captain if he knows anything?”

            “Hi, everyone!” Hyekyeong greeted, walking into the practice room with several gift bags in her hands.  A girl with long, dark hair followed behind her, carrying just as many gift bags.

            “Hyekyeong-ah, where have you been all night?” Boram asked in concern, rushing to help her carry some of her gift bags.

            “I had a fan meeting,” Hyekyeong informed happily, placing her gift bags on the table with the autographs.  She looked down at the papers curiously.  “Minyoung unnie…does this say ‘hurrcane’?”

            “The name has too many letters!” Minyoung insisted angrily.  “If we change our name, I promise I won’t misspell it!”

            “Hello,” Boram smiled at the new girl.  “Hyekyeong-ah, won’t you introduce us to your friend?”

            “Ah, yes, unnie,” Hyekyeong grinned, taking her friend’s gift bags and placing them on the table as well.  “Everyone, this is my friend Yeom Jina.  We were in a duo together a little while ago.  I convinced Hwang to bring her on to our team.”

            “Oh, you’ll be the one replacing Serang?” Boram suggested excitedly.

            “Ah, no,” Jina assured with small, shy eyes.  “I’ll just be assisting you with promotions and such.”

            “Um…what’s your clearance level?” Minjin asked reluctantly.  “I mean…how much do you know?”

            “Way to be discreet, unnie,” Hyekyeong sighed.  “Jina has full clearance.  She knows everything.”

            “Hyekyeong unnie has taught me a few self-defense techniques,” Jina smiled innocently.  “But I’ll just be assisting you with promotional things.”

            “Speaking of promotional things,” Minyoung interrupted suddenly.  “Hyekyeong-ah, did you say you were at a fan meeting?”

            “Yep,” Hyekyeong smirked.  “I haven’t been to the street fights in a while, and my fans were getting a bit worried.  So I held a little fan meeting to greet them all.  I told them I would be debuting in a pop group soon, and they promised to show us full support.”

            “Is this what the Captain meant when he said your fan base would become our fan base?” Minjin questioned in amazement.

            “Our fan base will be a group of underground street fighters?” Minyoung exclaimed.  “This is insane!”

            “They actually aren’t street fighters,” Hyekyeong corrected.  “They’re more like…gamblers.  Some of them would bet on my street fights.”  Hyekyeong smirked impishly.  “But now they just love me because I’m cute.”

            “They’re actually really kind ahjussis,” Jina reassured enthusiastically.  “I wouldn’t be afraid, unnies.”

            “Are these gifts from them, Hyekyeong-ah?” Boram asked, peeking into some of the bags.  “There’s a lot of food in here.”

            “Food?”  Minyoung rushed over to the bags and dumped one’s contents out onto the table.  “Oh my gosh, look at all this food!”

            “There are some fan letters and beauty products,” Minjin noted, looking over each bag.

            “See!” Hyekyeong cried cheerfully.  “They really take care of us!”

            Minyoung opened a bag of chips and started munching on them.  “Perhaps I’ll give them a chance…”

            “Ah, our Hyekyeong-ah,” Boram smiled, pulling Hyekyeong into her arms.  “What would we do without your maknae charm?”