Chapter 23

            “We’re preparing for our very first mission, girls.”

            Boram, Minyoung, Minjin, and Hyekyeong stood before Captain Hwang in the Chrome conference room.  Serang stood beside him, carefully examining the girls and their demeanor.  On the other side of the Captain stood two of his friends, Jung Buin and Kim Kinam, who had been hired as managers and assistants in Hwang’s plan.  In the corner of the room, behind the members, Jina stood by timidly, wondering why she even needed to be a part of this important meeting.

            “From here on out, we will address each other by our chosen names,” the Captain explained.  “Our small fan base already knows all of your real names.  But it’s best if we try to separate ourselves from our personal lives as much as possible.”

            “What do we call Serang?” Hyekyeong asked with a slight hint of spite.  “Is ‘Serang’ her stage name or her real name?”

            “Honestly, it’s neither,” Serang smirked devilishly.  “It’s really just another name I’ve pulled out of my jar of aliases.  It’s safe to call me by that name, though.”

            Hyekyeong glared at Serang suspiciously, but Boram tapped her head lightly and pulled her out of her trance.  “Hyekyeong-ah…Ah, Soyul-ah.  Stop being so paranoid.”

            “Good job, Geummi,” the Captain smiled.  “By the way, all of you know my associates Jung Buin and Kim Kinam.  They have new names as well.”

            “Wifi Jung,” Minyoung chuckled quietly.

            “What did you say?” the Captain asked in surprise.”

            “We hardly use the word ‘buin’ anymore,” Minyoung laughed.  “We just use the English word, wifi.”

            “I think you mean ‘wife’, Ellin,” Geummi corrected swiftly.

            “You can’t even pronounce the word correctly,” Jung replied bitterly.

            “I like it,” the Captain grinned mischievously.  “Wifi Jung.”

            “What?  Hwang, this isn’t what we agreed on,” Jung insisted.  “My name was supposed to be-”

            “I think it’s the best thing for this mission,” the Captain said matter-of-factly.  “And Kinam…I’m not sure about you.”

            “Manager Kim flew jets and helicopters in the military, yes?” Hyekyeong asked.

            “Since we’re going with English nicknames, what do they call those people in the U.S.?” Boram began slowly.

            “Is it… Ear men?” Minjin suggested hesitantly.

            “Choa-yah is really good with English,” Boram told excitedly.  “It must be ear men!”

            “Okay,” the Captain grinned.  “Kim, you’ll be Earman Kim from now on.”

            Earman Kim, though usually a man without expression, stared at his friends with distrust.  He locked eyes with Minjin who still appeared unsure of her words.  But after looking over at Wifi Jung’s depressed face, he figured he ended up with the better nickname, and he finally smiled.

            “Anyway, we’re going to China on a red eye flight tonight,” the Captain continued.  “You girls have been practicing hard these past few months.  This performance in Hangzhou will be filmed for a television program.  Perhaps that intimidates you…But I’m fully confident in your abilities.  You’re going to do fine.”

            “You’ll have the whole day to prepare for your performance,” Earman Kim explained.  “Girls' Generation will be preparing to arrive in Hong Kong, so Jung, Hwang, and I will fly there immediately after you’re comfortable in Hangzhou so we can prepare for their arrival.”

            Wifi Jung nodded in confirmation.  “Immediately after your performance, you’ll catch another red eye flight to Hong Kong.  You’ll check into the hotel where the rest of us are, and then you can rest a little before The Nine arrive."

            “If you’ll be in Hong Kong during our performance, will we be alone in Hangzhou?” Hyekyeong questioned anxiously.

            “Jina will be with you,” the Captain assured.  “And if my friend gets here any time soon…”

            Suddenly, a tall, handsome man with short hair and large, smiling eyes entered the doorway.  As the four Hurricane Pop members, Serang, and Jina stood stunned by the man’s appearance, the Captain smiled amiably.

            “I’m sorry I’m late,” the man said breathlessly.  As he wiped the sweat from his forehead, Jina and Minyoung finally closed their gaping mouths and attempted to look elsewhere.

            “You’re still the same, Park,” the Captain chuckled.  “Do you at least have your luggage?”

            “I have it all at the front desk,” he smirked charmingly.

            “I suppose you’re in adequate shape then.”  The Captain looked at the girls and laughed at their still shocked expressions.  “Girls, this is Park Dohyun.  I helped train his division.  He’s agreed to assist us in this mission as well as future missions.”

            “It’s nice to meet you all,” Dohyun greeted confidently.  “I’m eager to work with Hurricane Pop.”

            Minjin heard Minyoung mutter something under her breath and she could already notice the excessive aegyo in Hyekyeong’s expression.  Serang and Boram remained the calmest, while little Jina appeared paralyzed by Dohyun’s presence. 

            “We’ll be in Hangzhou…with Dohyun-ssi?” Minyoung finally asked, choking on her words.

            “Yes, he’ll be accompanying you to your performance, your flight to Hong Kong, as well as your presence at The Nine’s show.”

            “Oppa, let me help you bring your luggage to one of the company vans,” Hyekyeong said suddenly, rushing up to Dohyun and taking his arm.  “We’ll be leaving soon, right, Captain?”

            “Well, we have some time,” the Captain admitted reluctantly.  “But I suppose it’s best to be prepared.”

            Hyekyeong gave her classic impish grin.  “Thanks.  Let’s go, oppa.”

            “Hyekyeong-ah!” Minyoung shouted suddenly.  She awkwardly observed Hyekyeong and Dohyun as they waited for her to speak.  “Um…I mean Soyul-ah…I can help too!”

            “There’s no need, unnie,” Hyekyeong insisted, rushing Dohyun out of the room.

            “There’s plenty of need!” Minyoung cried, quickly following the two of them out of the room.

            After Hyekyeong urgently led a flustered Dohyun and Minyoung out of the conference room, Jina hurried over to Boram as if she had encountered a dangerous villain.  Boram chuckled quietly and wrapped her in her arms.

            “Captain, what is with that new manager?” Boram asked, patting Jina on the head softly.  “He seems sort of dangerous to our group.”

            “How so?” the Captain asked in confusion.

            “All the members will be torn apart because of him,” Serang laughed darkly.  “There was really no one else you could have picked for the job?”

            “I mean…I knew he was handsome,” the Captain began anxiously.  “But I didn’t think he would cause such chaos.”

            “I’ll keep everyone in check,” Boram promised, hugging Jina even tighter.  “And, Jina-yah, I will protect you from him and his devastatingly good looks.”

            “Ya, unnie,” Jina pouted helplessly.

            “Anyway, our flight leaves in a few hours,” the Captain interrupted.  “We’d better leave soon.  We’ve booked four rooms with two beds each.  Choose who you’ll be rooming with as soon as possible so you can get to sleep as soon as you get there.”

            “Dohyun will be all alone?” Serang questioned with a smirk.

            “Yes,” the Captain assured sternly.  “Now, let’s go load our own things into the vans.”

            As the Captain left the room, Boram looked at Minjin and smiled.  “Ah, our Choa is blushing.”

            “What?”  Minjin put her hands to her cheeks and shook her head.  “I’m not.  I’m not!”

            “Is that so?” Boram chuckled.  “Well then…we’d better work on your complexion before our show tomorrow.  We can’t have your skin so red during our first performance.”

            “Ah, seriously,” Minjin sighed, patting her cheeks in frustration.

            “Come on, let’s go help the Captain,” Serang insisted.  “I need to talk to him about our group name…”

            As Boram and Jina began following her out of the room, Jina reached out and took Minjin’s hand.  Minjin reluctantly followed them, taking deep breaths as she walked, hoping her blushing would cease before encountering Dohyun again.  Stumbling out of the room, she closed her eyes and wished for Dohyun to quickly disappear from the universe.