"You're late."

It was only the second week after the rather blunt revelation of the upcoming rookie group was made public, and it was only the second week of practice for the co-ed group's first mini album. Within the next week, the six trainees will finally debut as one after numerous years of stressful training and intense preparation. 

It was also the second time that one of the young members was late to practice.

"I'm sorry," Sujin apologized. She stood in front of the female manager, who was in charge of the three girls of the co-ed group. 

"This is already the second time Ariel-ssi, and you didn't even debut yet. Why are you late this time?" the exasperated female manager, Jung Sanghee, scolded.

"There was traffic. Something about a car accident. I don't know. I'm sorry."

With a deep sigh, Sanghee pointed a warning finger at Sujin, ignoring the broken sentences that escaped from the young girl's mouth. "Don't let this happen again. Now go join the rest."

"Yes ma'am."

Sujin walked into the practice room with her head down. She dropped her gym bag beside the other members' belongings at the corner of the room. She quietly sighed while zipping her bag open and grabbed a water bottle and towel. She joined her group members silently, avoiding eye contact.

"Ok, we're all here. Let's start," Seulgi ordered awkwardly after a minute of silence. Daniel ran his fingers through his hair before stepping his way toward the stereo. In no time the music began playing, and the trainees took their places, instinctively lip syncing their lines and counting the steps.

After two minutes into the song, Hyukkyu had trouble keeping up with the beat. It was a slow song from the start, yet he just couldn't get the steps right. After several trials and errors, Seulgi began stumbling with her parts as well.

Really, it was just a boring day with nothing interesting, besides the pressure of mastering the dance by tomorrow for the filming of their music video. The members were awkward, Sujin could sense it, and no one besides a few were able to communicate very well.

By the time it was 6 o'clock, the members were exhausted, not just from practice, but going through the same routine every single day until the day of their first performance. Everyone was packing up, and just when Jaehyun was about to lay a finger on the door handle, someone else pulled the door wide open, and cameras were staring at his face. He backed away in confusion while the other members were startled, except for Daniel, who was eying the managers that made their way to the front.

"You all have been working very hard," says the male manager, Lee Woosung. "There is still a short, very short, week left before the big day. The CEO has decided to gift everyone with a small dinner party."

Saera gasped in delight, smiling wide at the sudden news. Jaehyun broke a smile and glanced at the other members. The two cheered while Hyukkyu clapped and Daniel forced a tired smile. Seulgi couldn't help but release a breath and exchange smiles with Sanghee. Sujin did nothing but watch her group members have a silent happy moment. She really just wanted a nice shower and a good rest that night.

"He also decided that you will all begin filming your lives with KindleTV!" Sanghee added, shocking more than half the group.

"KindleTV? Wait, so does that mean we have our own reality show?" Jaehyun butted in, eyes darting back and forth between the managers and the cameras.

"Yes, and the first episode will be released the day after your debut. The staff will be filming and interviewing you all for the rest of the week, and record your life at the dorms. After the debut, they will be with us to record almost everyday for the weekly episodes," Woosung explained.

"We also think this would be beneficial for everyone," Sanghee cut in. "It's already been two weeks, but you're all still awkward with each other. We think if you have a reality show to film, then everyone will become closer."

"So starting from now, this very minute, you guys will be doing the talking, and we will be recording," the PD ended simply, sending everyone a reassuring smile.

"Now," Sanghee clapped her hands to gain everyone's attention. "Let's get back to the dorms, shall we? We have a dinner to get to."

With that, the cameramen watched the rookie idols gather their belongings and shuffle out of the practice room.

"Since we're opposite genders, we have two dorms," Seulgi explained to the camera.

"But they're right across from each other, so it doesn't make too much of a difference," Saera added in.

"And we have access to each other's dorms, but it's a rule that we cannot go in without permission unless absolutely necessary," Hyukkyu assured.

Kindle and the staff were at the dorms. Seulgi and Saera were friends before Kindle was formed, so they got most of the attention, but Jaehyun joins in quite frequently, easily communicating with the two girls. Daniel and Kaye would often speak up as well, but Sujin hasn't spoken a word.

"We'll have to split up here, but we'll be back in an hour," Jaehyun said with a reassuring smile to the camera as if promising the fans that they won't be apart for too long. The Lumen girls entered their dorm, and the Fervid boys entered theirs.

The girls put their shoes neatly away, and the staff followed.

"Let's give a quick tour!" Saera said excitedly.

She led the camermen to the living room, which was basically a small white room with the front door, and two firebrick red couches and a rosy brown coffee table in the center. There was no TV whatsoever (to the girls' dismay). A tall lamp was found at the corner. The room can be recalled empty because of the lack of furniture (once again, the TV makes a difference to the girls), but it was neat and clean.

"It's not much, but it's okay. We'll brighten the place up later on," Saera said optimistically. Seulgi followed Saera and the staff quietly. She mentally noted to tell Sujin to join them next time so she could have her share of the camera time too.

"This is our our manager's room. We can't show you her room though, it's off-limits," Saera said, pointing at the white door with her thumb and scrunched her nose.

"But we can show you our room! We all share, so we have bunk beds and a single bed," Saera cheered, opening the door to their bedroom. Sujin was found sitting on one of the beds, brushing her hair. She glanced at the camera and slightly waved before getting up and left the room.

"That's Sujin unnie's bed," Saera pointed at the single bed. "Seulgi and I sleep here! She let me take the top!" she said, diverting her attention to the bunk bed that was on the other side of the small room. Seulgi sat on the bottom and glared up at Saera playfully.

"I didn't let her take the top. She stole it!" Seulgi said accusingly. Saera climbed the ladder and sat on her bed.

"I didn't steal it! I called dibs!" she retorted innocently, hugging her pillow.

Saera pointed out the picture frames on her nightstand beside the bunk bed with pictures of her family in it.

"I'm from America, and I left my family there," Saera admitted.

"Do you miss them?" Seulgi asked sympathetically. Saera nodded with a sad smile on her face.

"I really miss them."

Seulgi hugged Saera, petting her head. "I'm sure they're proud of you."

"Yeah," Saera agreed, smiling at the thought of how her mother would pet her hair the same way whenever she was feeling down.

Later, the two girls ushered their way in to the room next door, proclaimed it to be their dressing room. When Seulgi opened the door, the girls and the cameramen found Sujin sitting in a chair with loose clothes on, blowdrying her hair.

"Oh, unnie, did you take a shower?"

Sujin simply nodded, and for the first time ever, she spoke up. "You two need to hurry and use the bathroom. We have about half an hour left."

With that, Seulgi ordered Saera to head first into the shower.

"This is our dorm!" Jaehyun declared proudly. He held out his arms and spun in a lazy circle, as if publicizing to the world his greatest secret.

"Our dorm is better than the girls'," he stated matter-of-factly, waving his hand as if it is something that cannot be argued.

The white living room consisted of a cream-colored coffee table in the center with two black leather couches lined against the walls. There was a plasma screen TV opposite of the couches, and the was a brown rug in the center of the room. There were two tall lamps at the corners and dark brown curtains.

"It's better because we have the TV and more furniture," he explained like it was the most obvious reason in the whole world. Daniel smirked.

Hyukkyu spoke up defensively. "But the color choice for the girls is better than ours. Ours is plainly dark, their's is more comely."

"So what? TV beats all."

With that, Jaehyun escorted the cameramen to the bedroom. "This is where we fall into wonderland!" he daydreamed, flailing his arms around.

"You're such a dork," Daniel commented, making his way in without a care. He grabbed his towel and some extra clothes before leaving the room, calling from behind his shoulder, "I'm heading to the shower first! Don't touch my bed!"

The cameras watched Jaehyun as the boy waited to hear the bathroom door close before heading over to the single bed in the room and poked it. He glanced up at the camera and covered his mouth, whispering, "When someone tells me not to do something, and it's something trivial as this, then I just have to do it without them knowing. He'll find out and kill me later though, I'm sure of it."

A good forty minutes passed by, and the two subgroups finally exited their dorms and gathered at the lobby. The girls were dressed in formal outfits, and the men were in suits. Saera had a knee-length black dress with white, cuffed sleeves. Seulgi had a mid-thigh black, sleeveless dress, paired with a black netted bolero. Sujin went for a spotless white blouse and a short, floral skirt. Hyukkyu wore black dress pants, a red blouse, and spiced up the look by rolling up his sleeves up to his elbows despite the chilly evening (even though he knows he will regret it later, so he brought a brown blazer along). Daniel asked for a few suggestions from the staff's stylists, and decided to go for black dress pants, a white blouse, and a black sweater pulled over the blouse. Jaehyun simply wore his black dress pants and black blouse, sunglasses, and let's not forget the polished shoes.

"We're all dolled up!" Saera exclaimed cheerily. Sujin broke a smile at the maknae's outburst, and the boys mentally palmed their faces.

"I guess you can put it that way, but we're all decked out quite nicely," said Hyukkyu, who was a bit red in the cheeks from embarrassment.

"Oh wait!" Jaehyun suddenly called. Everyone eyed him curiously. "We forgot to introduce ourselves to the fans!"

Everyone gasped at the sudden realization dawning above their heads.

"We sincerely apologize for forgetting this very important matter. We'll each give our individual introductions. We have to state our stage names and position!" Kaye said, easily handling the situation.

"Ladies first," Jaehyun declared, and the camera's attention rolled over to Seulgi. She nervously smiled before bowing politely and waved.

"Hello everyone. I am the leader of K-Lumen, Soul. I'm also the main vocalist."

"Hi! My name is Saera, and I'm the maknae! My role is to handle the rapping!" the youngest cheered happily with a wide grin plastered on her face. She waved to the camera, which then directed its attention to Sujin.

Sujin simply stared for a second before bowing politely. She had a visibly small smile that disappeared right after her really short introduction. "Hello, I'm the visual Ariel."

After the girls finished their greetings, Hyukkyu had started off for the boys. "Hello everybody, I am the leader of Kindle and K-Fervid, Kaye," he said shyly with a charming smile.

"And I'm the main rapper and visual, Danny," Daniel picked up smoothly, giving a heartthrobbing smile to the camera.

"I'm J.AE! I'm the main vocalist and dancer!" Jaehyun announced with a toothy grin.

After the end of the introductions, everyone loaded into the black van and drove off to the restaurant.

"Everyone, I'd like to thank you all for attending this small and warm dinner party I am hosting! This is my congratulatory gift for all your hardwork throughout the years and becoming the first official idols signed under Tea Entertainment!" The CEO, Shin Chaerul, voiced proudly. The CEO, the managers, Kindle, and KindleTV's staff were in a private room in a fancy restaurant.

"We are all proud and very honored to present you as our idols. Even though Kindle has not yet debuted and it may take a lot of hard work to become popular, I know you will all succeed. Each and every single one you are talented, and we will make sure that not only will you be popular in Korea, but internationally as well. This is merely the least I could do show my gratitude for devoting your training years at Tea Entertainment. Let us spend this time to become closer and bond, for this will be useful in the long run," Chaerul continued, his speech touching the young members.

"For tonight, I will ignore your diets. You can order and eat whatever and however much you want! The bill is on me. Only for tonight! If the debut goes well, I'll see what I can do for then," he finished, ushering everyone to sit and open the menus with a beam.

Ariel smiled at Chaerul, silently thanking him through her brown contact lenses. The others thanked him with a cheer.

"Whoa! There is so much to choose from!" J.AE exclaimed, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

"Quiet down, we're in public," Kaye hushed, but smiled at the hyperactive boy anyway. He looked down at the menu and his eyes scanned the pages, searching for anything that would give him an urge to order. His eyes easily spotted the patbingsoo near the bottom in the dessert section and mentally noted to order that after his main dish. He was particularly eying the bibimbap section.

"Hey Kyu," someone called. Kaye glanced up to find Danny putting his menu down and pointed at one of the meals.

"Have you tried the barbeque beef bulgogi?" Danny asked. Kaye nodded.

"Is it spicy? Do you recommend it?" he asked once again. Kaye nodded once again.

"It's very appetizing, but I also recommend the bibimbap with beef stone pot. They are both really, really good," Kaye said. "That's what I'm going to order anyway. You?"

"I'm going to give the bulgogi a try. I happen to like spicy food," Danny replied, quite satisfied with his decision. He leaned back on his seat and decided to look at the drinks section, mentally hoping the bubble tea of the restaurant would be delicious.

"Then make sure to request for them to add red pepper, because some restaurants don't add it," Kaye advised. Danny nodded in response, ending the conversation there.

J.AE was lost in his own world, commenting every now and then on the dishes to no one in particular. He silently wished that most of the food didn't have pepper in it. He nudged the person sitting beside him, who happened to be Ariel.

"Hey Ariel, can you recommend me something that doesn't have pepper in it?" he said, completely lost. Ariel scratched the back of her neck, unsure of what to say.

"I would, I honestly would, but I'm a foreigner like you Jae," she said in English. J.AE gasped the moment he heard her accent. His thoughts of being polite and mannerly to the girl disappeared.

"Wait a second, are you British? Dude, I never met a British person before!" he gasped in delight and awe. Ariel merely smiled in amusement at his reaction.

"Yeah, I'm from Manchester. My Korean isn't very good, I'll assure you that. I'd prefer it if you just spoke to me in English. Half of us are foreigners anyway."

J.AE gasped again. Ariel raised a brow in utter confusion. He was pointing at her with a dorky grin on his face.

"What?"

"You're talking!" he said like it was the biggest surprise in the whole world.

"And?"

"You're talking! You're finally talking to us!" he cheered and did a little victory dance in his seat. Ariel rolled her eyes but kept her smile anyway.

"I'm not shy, I'm just naturally quiet. I generally don't talk. I'm only talking because you're talking directly to me," she explained, shrugging her shoulders like it was no big deal.

"Well I'm just glad you're talking to us- well no, me, technically, but yeah. You get what I mean!" he huffed in annoyance at his jumbled words.

"Anyways, do you-"

"No, no I don't know any meal in this menu at all. I'm not used to eating Korean food, so I don't know what any of them are. Therefore, I can't recommend any dish that does not have pepper in it," Ariel interrupted quickly, not bothering to let J.AE finish his sentence. The said boy's shoulders dropped. He sighed before looking at his menu again.

"I guess I'll just annoy the waitor today with many questions," he finally decided with a goofy grin and shrugged innocently. Ariel couldn't help but chuckle a little.

At the other side of table, the two girls were discussing their meal plate amongst theirselves. Although Ariel didn't bother uttering a word to them, she still payed attention to the conversation between the female leader and the maknae.

"What are you going to order?" Soul asked Saera, who was staring at the menu with hesitation written all over her face.

"I'm not sure. You?"

"Same. I don't like eating spicy food, so I'll probably go for jajangmyun. Nothing too special. I'll feel bad if I order something really expensive anyway," she replied, eyes never leaving the menu.

"Why feel bad?"

"There's a lot of us here and he's going to be paying for everyone, so it would be a pretty long receipt, don't you think?"

Saera shrugged and looked back down at the menu. "I'll order the doenjang jjigae. I think I ate a similar dish in America before, but I'm not sure. My parents took me to Korean restaurants several times, but I don't remember the names," she said, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly.

"You're so lucky you can speak English! I'm probably the only one out of the whole group who has broken English," Soul praised.

"Well you can study English!"

"I tried a bit, but my English is still non-existant," Soul joked, and Saera couldn't help but snicker.

"Maybe one day unnie, maybe one day."

Soul eyed Saera suspiciously. Saera innocently stared back with a slight smirk on her face. They both guffawed, and Soul lightly punched Saera's shoulder.

"Yah, I'm your leader, be more respectful!"

"Nah." The two continued to cackle, earning weird looks from the other four members.

It was a fun night. Everyone ordered and ate whatever they wanted. They were chatting and bonding, teasing each other, asking each other questions, and just talked, really. The managers were relieved that the members were finally opening up to each other more, and could sense that they were more comfortable around each other.

"Good thing we had this dinner party, look at them!" Sanghee smiled. Woosung nodded, watching the female leader and maknae tease each other, J.AE bothering Kaye a few times, to which Danny silently wondered if J.AE really was the oldest. Ariel simply watched her new friends, snickering at the members from the sidelines. It was a good day, it really was.

Soul thought back to the day after their dinner party. The filming for their music video had gone surprising well, and her and Kaye didn't make too many mistakes. It was pretty difficult for her and the other members to dance and act in front of the camera while everyone else watched, but they all did well. And now, here she is, backstage of Music Bank, waiting for a couple more groups to get on with their performances before Kindle can go up and finally, finally, debut. They can finally sing on stage in front of a thousand fans. Did they even have fans yet?

Most of all, it was New Years Eve, so this stage had to be special. KindleTV's cameramen were filming J.AE and Saera, who were goofing around a bit to ease their agitation. She could sense the anxiety from her group, and silently thanked the CEO for having her debut in a group, not solo. If she went solo, she might not have been able to go up on stage and sing all by herself.

"Next up is VIXX!" the MC announced through his microphone, snapping Soul back to reality. VIXX? THE VIXX?

"Oh. My. Gosh," she silently gasped to herself, seeing six handsome boys walk out of the waiting room. Among them, she found the tan leader, N. Immediately, she looked away, breathing in and out, trying to prevent herself from fangirling in front of all these idols.

VIXX! I need to meet them! I want an autograph! I really, really want to meet them!

She pulled out her small journal that she always carries around from her bag, and searched for a pen. She left the waiting room without telling her manager and was hoping she would bump into VIXX after their performance ended. She looked around the dark backstage, holding in her breath as she continued walking.

But then, she dropped her notebook clumsily. Mentally cursing herself, she bent down to pick it up, but then felt arms wrap around her. Thinking it was Saera, she turned her head and looked over her shoulder. She froze. Hugging her from behind was a stranger she never met, but like her, was dressed up like an idol. When he saw her face, his eyes widened in shock and he immediately pulled his arms back, face red in embarrassment.

"I'm so sorry! I thought you were one of my group members!" he bowed apologetically. 

"Oh, um, it's okay. I understand," Soul, too, bowed apologetically, blushing from the touch and embarrassment.

With that he awkwardly walked away, covering his face with his hands, nearly tripping on his way. Soul fanned her face with her hand to cool her cheeks, but it didn't help. She could feel her face burning from the heat that rised, and she just couldn't stop forgeting about that incident.

Not only that, she didn't even notice that VIXX had gotten down from the stage. They left and another group went up, to her dismay. She groaned in disappointment, and walked back to the waiting room. She sat down on the couch beside Ariel and covered her face with her hands.

"Are you okay?" Ariel asked, her voice tinged with concern. Soul lightly nodded her head before leaning back on the couch.

"I'll tell you what happened later. Right now, I need to cool down." Ariel nodded in understanding.

And then something else happened. In fact, something really, really shocking happened. From behind her hands, she heard a familiar voice. Peeking through her hands, she saw the one and only Ken, chatting with Ariel.

"Oh, hey! How are you? I didn't know you would be here!" Ariel gasped in delight as she stood up. Ken embraced her, and she hugged back.

"I didn't know you would be here! You never told me you were finally debuting!" Ken accused playfully, a cute grin visibly stuck on his face.

"I wanted to surprise you, but I forgot to call from all the hectic chaos of preparing for the stage," she replied sheepishly. Soul never saw Ariel smile so radiantly before.

"Let me introduce you to one of my members. This is Soul," Ariel said all of a sudden. Soul's eyes widened in surprise. She quickly stood up and bowed, and Ken bowed back awkwardly in return. She stared at Ariel. The visual only snickered at her.

"She's a big fan of VIXX," Ariel added, continuously teasing Soul.

"Oh really?" another voice spoke from behind Ken. N slung an arm over Ken's shoulders.

"Who's your favorite member?" he asked with a cute and charming smile. Soul was so glad that her face was already red, otherwise they wouldn't know how much she was blushing at the moment, except for Ariel, who is internally laughing at Soul.

"I, uhh, I l-like all the members," she said shyly with a nervous smile. By then Soul had already straightened her back and fixed her posture. She couldn't wait to kill Ariel and thank her at the same time after this.

"Oh, really? Are you just saying that to be nice to us?" Hyuk asked, popping out of nowhere. 

"No! No, I really do like all of you, and your music," Soul defended. But then she turned to Ariel to change the topic.

"How do you know each other?"

Ariel and Ken sheepishly laughed at bit, smiling at each other. "It's a long story," Ariel replied.

"It was before our MyDol filming," Ken began. "She had recently came to Korea at the time, and I think it was on February. So her Korean wasn't the best, and she didn't act like the usual citizen here. I was in a hurry and bumped into her on the street. She was holding coffee, and..." he trailed off, looking at Ariel.

"My coffee spilled all over my clothes. It was hot too, because I had just left the café. I was moody that morning, so I was really angry," Ariel laughed a bit at the memory. "As an apology, he got me a cup of coffee and left. We were both trainees at Jellyfish Entertainment at the time, so we happened to cross paths again. And then we just became friends. But I transfered to Tea several months ago."

"It was a really weird meeting, but now we're best friends," he said, and hung an arm around her shoulder. She just rolled her eyes and smiled. Soul watched the two and how they interacted, silently wondering if they were dating.

"I'm having a hard time believing their friends," Hyuk blatantly said.

"Why?" Ken questioned, eying him suspiciously.

"I never thought you can make friends with a girl," he answered unashamedly, to which Ken punched his shoulder in return.

"Of course I can! My proof is her!" he whined like a little kid.

In the midst of the conversation, Soul had no idea what to do. She left her notebook in her bag, but she still had her N collectible card with her. The problem was, she didn't know how to ask for his autograph after half-lying by saying that she likes every member in VIXX (which is true, but she lied about not having a favorite member). Soul clutched the card behind her back tightly, mentally cursing herself for not having enough confidence.

"And now, we present to you a new rookie group! They are a co-ed group consisting of three girls and three boys! Everyone, let's welcome, Kindle and their song Time!" the MC announced, breaking Soul's train of thoughts.

"Good luck Ari, I'll see you backstage, okay?" Ken cheered, and hugged her. Ariel hugged back and nodded.

The members of Kindle gathered around and were leaving the room when Ariel spotted Soul's collectible card in her pocket. She sneakily snatched it from her and turned around.

"Hey Ken! Come here for a second!" she called. Soul hadn't noticed and watched with confusion on her face along with the other members.

"What is it?" he asked as he ran up to her. She leaned in and whispered into his ear, handing him the collectible card that Soul couldn't see from her angle. He nodded with a smile and waved, and then Ariel caught up.

"What was that about?" Soul asked suspiciously. Ariel shrugged and kept mouth shut.

The members had entered the venue, their stomachs pulled into knots. They went up the steps in the dark stage and took their places. They couldn't see the fans, but they could see the glowsticks and posters waving everywhere. They could hear the excited chatter. Kindle breathed deeply, waiting for the music to begin.

"Starting in three... two..." and then the lights flashed. Some of the members held their breath. They were excited, but they were also really agitated and edgy. This is it. It is finally... time.

And then the music played. Soul began humming along to the music as practiced, managing her expression as best as she could.

"Oneuldo bami gipeoseoya nuneul ttuego sesureul hada geoureul bogo bueoinneun du nun ipgae sseunuseumeul jieo," she sang softly, moving in rhythm with her dance partner, Kaye.

"Bojido anneun tvneun gwaenhi kyeonoheun chae nado moreuge ttara utgo geureoda tto nungae nunmuri goyeo," J.AE picked up smoothly from the other side of the stage, moving along to the music gracefully with Saera in their chairs.

"Geudaewa gachi gatdeon got geudaewa gachi geotdeon got," Ariel crooned, puting her head softly on Danny's shoulder like practiced.

"Modeun ge neomuna naegeneun da seonmyeonghandeyo da geudaerondeyo," Kaye sang softly, all thoughts leaving his mind completely.

"Geudaewa hamkke bwatdeon geot geudaewa hamkke deutdeon geot," Ariel continued, losing herself in her acting as she continued synchronize the dance with Danny. "Machi eoje ilcheoreom modu Gieongnayo na neomu apayo."

"Time goes by," Soul chorused, and everyone danced in sync gracefully. Ariel repeated the line softly as an echo. Their eyes were only at the audience when they were not looking at each other, and they could feel a wave of confidence flowing around them.

"Doedollil sun eomnayo," J.AE belted out, hitting the notes perfectly.

"Geudae eodil gannayo," Kaye echoed his notes softly after.

"Time goes by (time goes by), doral ol sun eomnayo," Soul vocalized emotionally.

"Wae nal hollo dwoyo," Ariel sang softly after, her voice slightly echoing.

"Na jigeum apayo (apayo), maeumi seoreowo ureoyo (eotteokhaeyo), urin tto haru deo meoreojigetjyo. Time goes by," J.AE intoned. They calmly formed into a line, and Danny slowly walked out when it was time for his rap.

"Sigyetbaneureun nunchido eobsi jakkuman heulleogago," he rapped softly, unlike his usual rapping tone to match the delicacy of the song. 

"Neoneun naege," Soul crooned in time.

"Jeoldae doraoji anheul georan geol almyeonseodo nan," he continued in tone.

"Gidaril ppun," J.AE picked up steadily.

"Naegen ojik igeotppuniya," J.AE and Daniel whispered in sync.

Quickly after that, it was Saera's go, and Ariel, Soul, and Kaye stepped out to dance along with her. "Geureoke johahadeon eumsikdo geureoke jeulgyeo deutdeon eumakdo naegen," she rapped softly, easily catching the beat.

"Da soyongi eobseoyo," Soul echoed.

"Deoneun da jaemiga eobseoyo," Saera rapped, wrapping up her lines with a whisper near the end.

The performance was very successful. The members all lost their agitation halfway through the song and didn't make any major mistakes. They enjoyed singing and dancing on stage, and the audience loved their song. Even in the last chorus with the high notes, the main vocalists kept their voices steady and stable. After the song ended and the throng of fans cheered, Kindle walked down the stage, a bit exhausted, but each member had a gleam in their eyes.

"That. Was. Amazing," J.AE whispered to himself, heaving a deep breath. His radiant smile never left his face even though they left the stage. Danny was in his own world, acting cool like as if it was just a performance, but on the inside, he was relieved everything went well. They walked slowly to the waiting room, chatting quietly amongst theirselves about the stage. When they reached it, Ariel was pulled aside by Ken, yet none of the members noticed.

Ken held out Soul's collectible card. Ariel stared at it when she suddenly remembered. "Oh, thanks!" she said. She was still having trouble transferring anything through her mind, She didn't even hear Ken congratulate her.

"Ariel, Ariel... Ariel!"

"Huh?" she blinked.

"Ariel, your managers are calling for you," Ken said, ushering her away from him.

"Oh, okay. Um, I'll see you later," she said and blankly away. Ken couldn't help but laugh at her.

When she reached her group, she tapped Soul's shoulder.

"Yes?"

Without a word, Ariel held out the signed collectible card with a smirk. Her mind was slowly returning back to reality, away from the stage. When she caught Soul's astonished expression, she snickered sinisterly.

"You're welcome," she said, and Soul lightly punched her shoulder in return, hanging her head to hide her flushed face.

❝author's note