I open my eyes to a dim room and my head resting against cold concrete. My body aches as I had been sleeping very uncomfortably; it seems that I was in a chair that’s fallen over onto the hard ground. I slowly get up and stretch my limbs. It feels like I was sleeping for a hundred years. I groan as I look around the room. I am basically in a concrete box. There are a few fluorescent lights hanging from the ceiling, a medium sized mirror on one of the walls, and a metal door on the opposite wall. Suddenly, I fixate on the figure staring at me on the opposite side of the room. There is a strangely effeminate boy sitting in a chair just staring at me. What the ?

“Who the are you?” I ask, my manners nonexistent as my fuzzy mind starts to clear.

“I should ask the same for you. But I honestly don’t know who I am. I don’t remember how I got here, why I’m here, or anything really. Do you remember anything?” The boy sits with crossed legs on the chair like a girl would. He seems very proper or something, but he has this air about him that whispered diva in my ear.

“I… I remember vaguely being chased by someone. But that’s it. I don’t know who I am either. We should check our pockets in case they stole our ake. I’m gonna freak if they touched my sh*t. I must’ve had a phone or something.” I check the pockets of my leather jacket and find only a slip of paper.

NAME: Lee Chaerin
STAGE NAME: CL
BIRTHDATE: 2/26/1991
PERSONALITY: You can be fierce and strong if you want to be, but you are also cute and reserved. People sometimes call you a diva. You know what you want and you get it.

“My name is Lee Chaerin, but my stage name is CL. Why do I have a stage name? And this thing tells me my ing personality. Apparently I’m a ‘diva’.” I scoff at the piece of paper. No one needs to tell me my personality.

The boy reads through his piece of paper before throwing it on the ground and grinding the heel of his shoe into it. “They called me a ‘diva’ too. My name’s Kim Kibum and my stage name’s Key.” He then looks me directly in the eyes. I get chills from his stare. “Call me Key. By the way, you look like a train wreck.”

I rush over to the mirror to check how I look at the same time he does. I quickly smooth down my messy long blonde hair and realized that I have a ton of smudged black eyeliner on. There’s no use of getting it off now. I look over to Key in the mirror as he tries to fix his already perfect hair. His hair is so dark it’s almost black, but with a few purple highlights. His eyes remind me of a cat’s, and he as a bit of perfect eyeliner on. His cheekbones are high, and he reminds me of a girl. He catches me staring and gives me a disgusted look before rolling his eyes at me and walking back to his chair. I follow suit just as the door opens.
A man in a black suit walks in and locks the door behind him. He looks scary as . I notice a bump in his suit jacket pocket. He’s got a gun. Sh*t. I look up at him as he starts to speak.

“I’m Mr. Kang. I saw you two checking out yourselves in the double mirror right there.” He chuckles like we’re stupid. “You are certainly the same people. Anyway, you have been brought here for a TV show.”

“Why did you have to kidnap us for a TV show?” Key and I both say flatly.

“It’s complicated, okay? I can’t get into the details. But anyway you will stay with us for the duration of the filming and you cannot leave-"

“What kind of show?” Key interrupts, seeming to be genuinely serious.

“A sit-com, rom-com thing. Now-"

“What’s it called?”

“It’s called ‘The Life’. IT’S FOR MY DAUGHTER OKAY? She’s my princess and she ships ChaeKey and she wants to see you two together. She knows I’m a mobster and she would be really disappointed if I didn’t do this since she knows I can. Anyway, you will stay here and you cannot leave. If you do this, we won’t kill you. Deal?” Mr. Kang looks at us earnestly. His daughter’s got him wrapped around her finger.

“Deal.” We both say it at the same time. I sigh, fearing what’s to come. Being kidnapped by the mob is a big deal, and also very dangerous. Key and I both look at each other saying that we need to get out of here right before some guy handcuffs me and leads me out of the room.