Chapter 11 'I'm so Unique, No One Understands Me'
“Victory.......... I’m out of cash, I can’t wait to ask my mom for more.” Sierra said, with her usual smile that befriended everyone, nowhere to be seen. “Sierra, I know you’re a foodie, but money don’t grow on trees. Enjoy your food, and learn to save a bit next time, hehe!” Victory gave a sweet smile, while putting one arm on Sierra’s shoulder. “I wanna go home already..........” Sierra pouted with a sad tone, while shaking Victory’s arm off of her shoulder. “Girls! Time for media training! Let’s go!” The judge said, as both girls rushed to the other room.
All the girls finished the media training interviews, then Dyane and Yang rushed towards Sierra to give her a hug. “It’s okay, Sierra, we all love you!” Dyane said. “You’re so much fun to be around! You’re gonna be okay, just learn to save money, and you’ll be a star!” Sierra nodded while in the hug of two girls who cared for her, the rest of the girls watched her as well to comfort them with their warm eyes, except for Qianting. “Girls!” The judge said. “Before you all go home, today is the BIG ANNOUNCEMENT day! Gather up!” All the nine girls stood up in front of the judge, giving a 90 degree bow before lifting themselves back up to listen to him. “Alright girls, let’s not waste any time. VICTORY! You........... WILL OFFICIALLY DEBUT! SEORINA! You........ ARE DEBUTING! QIANTING! YOU ARE DEBUTINGGGGG! DYANE! .........Congratulations! REBECCA! ............YOU’RE IN!” JANE! .............Welcome aboard! SIERRA..................... You............. Have been ELIMINATED!”
“WHATTTT??????” All the girls SCATTERED around the room, some were busy hugging her, others just turned around and power walked aggressively, holding back their tears, because the entire room, loved Sierra. “I am NOT finished!” The judge said. “YANG! YOU ARE IN THE GIRL GROUP! And finally, the youngest girl, 15 years old, HANNA! You.................. Have made it! Congratulations, everyone!” Dyane shouted. “NO! YOU CAN’T LET HER GO! WE ARE NINE! DON’T YOU DARE!” The judge walked out of the room while talking. “THE DECISION IS FROM HIGHER COMMAND, IT IS FINAL.” The room was full of hysterical cries, as Qianting put her circular glasses back on in the corner of the room, watching them all cry and get angry for Sierra. Qianting simply drank from her water bottle , before calmly packing her bag, going past all her future members and Sierra herself, being completely unnoticed because they were all busy comforting Sierra.
The eight girls returned to the dance studio, where the trainer suddenly entered the room dramatically. His footsteps was making an echoing sound, his black cap was covering his eyes, and he looked at a paper as the girls bowed 90 degrees for him. “Girls! We’re now deciding something exciting, before we decide for you, we’ll let you decide for yourself. Now, we ask you, which position in the Girl Group do you think would fit you the most?” All the girls started raising their hands. “MAIN DANCER! I WANNA BE MAIN DANCER! MAIN DANCERRRRR! I’M THE MAIN DANCERRRRRRR!” All the girls screamed after another, and the trainer’s friendly smile, suddenly disappeared from his face. “Are you............. even serious about debuting????” He said. “What did you think this is, TIKTOK??? CAN ANY OF YOU EVEN SING, OR RAP, OR WRITE SONGS???” The whole room went silent, all the girls’ smiles disappeared from their faces, as they were all replaced by fears for their careers.
“HUHHH?????” He shouted. Rebecca broke the silence. “No, I can’t sing or rap. I don’t think any of us do.” He leaned his arm against a table while standing, his cap faced downwards, making an even more sinister look. “You guys have no idea just how absolutely SCREWED you are, IF YOU DON’T TRAIN TO SING AND RAP RIGHT, NOW! SINCE YOU’RE SO OBSESSED WITH DANCING, NONE OF YOU ARE GETTING A DANCE POSITION! THERE! NOW, TRAIN TO SING OR RAP! IF I DON’T SEE A PROGRESS BY NEXT WEEK, YOU’RE ALL FIRED!” Everyone bowed in unison. “Yes, Oppa!” Everyone rushed out to the vocal training room.
Rebecca and Yang stayed in the vocal training studio when everyone else had gone home. “I was in high school not too long ago.” Rebecca said. “And......... There was a cute guy who was loud, funny, and just really got my attention. So one day, I was lucky enough to sit right next to him, but he........... Just totally ignored me. His eyes was....... On the teacher.” Yang crossed her arms on the table while staring at her. “Oh, come on, we think he was just, we guess, focused on the lesson!” Yang said with her North Korean collective language when referring to herself. Rebecca looked down while talking in a louder voice. “NO! HE HATES ME! It’s clear as day he HATES me! Literally every guy in the world treats me like a royal princess, but the one guy I want doesn’t even acknowledge my existence!” Yang looked away, looking at the mirror, at herself. “Bro, we don’t think he hates you. But for now, you can just let it all out. It’s tough, you come all the way from Russia to here, and get a tough experience with your crush. But you’re here now, we got you, alright?”
Later on, the two were looking at some papers, and found a paper that promoted a debut performance. “What the...........” Rebecca said. “That’s............. Us! Our names!” Yang scrunched her nose. “What the hell??? Trainer-Oppa shouted at us, and wanna debut us this early???” The studio went silent for a bit, until Rebecca broke it. “Or maybe.......... THAT is why he was shouting. We’re actually 2 weeks away from our debut right after New Year’s Eve 2019, but he didn’t have the heart to tell us about it, taking all the pressure himself. When he found out none of us liked singing or rapping, it burdened him even more because the time he has to prepare us is limited. You’re not gonna like me for saying this, but............ He is stressed, understandably.”
Yang’s jaw dropped a bit. “Rebecca....... Don’t be a company sympathizer, why should we care?” Rebecca wiped her nonexistent tears and put on a serious face. “Oh, okay, so doing that is “cringe” nowadays, huh? I’ll put it this way then, I’m not interested in embarrassing myself on stage, which is what trainer-Oppa is trying to prevent here. If you wanna cringe at your debut stage forever, go for it, I won’t stop you.” Yang got off of her seat. “Oh my god, Rebecca, we can’t believe you’re okay with this! We need more time.......... We are off to home, seeya.” Yang left and shut the studio’s door. Rebecca stared at herself in the mirror. “We won’t let you down, trainer-Oppa. Two weeks from now, we’ll kill the stage.” Rebecca then stared at another paper before heading home, which had a list of all the members of her girl group.
1. Victory /빅토리
Born: 2000
Nationality: American
Native Language: Hangeul한글
2. Seorina /서리나
Born: 2001
Nationality: American
Native Language: Hangeul한글
3. Qianting /치엔팅/芊婷
Born: 2001
Nationality: Chinese
Native Language: Mandarin普通话
4. Dyane /다연
Born: 2003
Nationality: American
Native Language: Hangeul한글
5. Rebecca /레베카/ Ребекка
Born: 2003
Nationality: Russian
Native Language: Russian Русский язык
6. Jane /제인/简
Born: 2004
Nationality: South Korean
Native Language: Mandarin普通话
7. Yang /양/杨
Born: 2004
Nationality: North Korean
Native Language: Mandarin普通话
8. Hanna /한나
Born: 2005
Nationality: American
Native Language: Hangeul한글
Jane returned to the studio with Dyane, who was in the singing room, struggling to hit the right notes. Jane talked to Victory. “God, I really hope someone’s gonna sing right soon, cuz I don’t wanna sing. I’m staying right here, the center and main dancer, the girl owning the dance spotlight!” Even Victory giggled. “Jane, no one’s getting a dance position, didn’t you hear trainer-Oppa? I’m going home since I did my part, good luck.” Victory calmly shut the door. Jane suddenly smiled from ear to ear, hearing that Dyane had just hit the right notes. “OH MY GOD! DYANE, YOU DID IT! It seems......... WE FOUND HER! WE GOT OUR MAIN VOCALIST RIGHT HERE! WOHOOOOOO! YOU KILLED IT, MISS MAIN VOCALIST!” The smile faded from Dyane’s face. The insult was felt through her whole body. The building was clearly filled with people who want to be the best dancer, that what Jane said felt like congratulating someone for becoming the driver in a weekend of big parties, doing the boring work while everyone else would get all the fun.
Dyane took her headphones off furiously. “JANE!” She screamed. “I have told Oppa that YOU’RE NEXT in this vocal recording session. I don’t know if you’ve heard, Oppa has declared, not only that NO ONE will be the main dancer, sub dancer, or lead dancer, but also that EVERYONE must be a main vocalist. Everyone has accepted that except you, so tomorrow morning, it’s YOUR TURN. If you can’t convince Oppa that you’re also a main vocalist, your ass is so SCREWED.” Jane stood up and snapped. “WHAT??? EVERYONE MUST BE THE MAIN VOCALISTS? THAT IS SO STUPID! I DON’T WANNA SING-” Dyane held the door and screamed louder than her. “YES. GOOD LUCK TOMORROW MORNING. BYE.” And she SHUT the door, leaving Jane and her delusions crushed, being forced to do the one “boring job” that she had insulted others for doing.
It was January 1st, 2020, and Seorina sat on the floor with the trainer. “Oppa, I know what’s going on. You can tell all the girls about it. It’s time.” The trainer stood up, and greeted all the 8 girls. “Good morning. What I am about to say, is upleasant, but necessary. I am here to confirm that YES, by next week, you girls are DEBUTING. On the stage.” All the girls went quiet, fear was smelled all over the room. “Now!” The trainer said. “Is our debut song tape done? Unfortunately......... No. I would really hate to say what everyone else is saying, that this generation is screwed. Your job isn’t even to sing difficult songs, it is simply to hit the right notes in a simple song. Your obsession with dancing has crushed your potential.” The trainer looked down, his cap covering his eyes once again. “Fear not. Today......... We’re finishing that damn song. Like it or not, we are NOT going home until you can all hit the right notes, and finish the song.” The trainer said, and then all the girls spoke in unison. “YES, OPPA!
“Oh my god, Jane, you’re doing so good, main vocalist!” Dyane said to Jane, who was being treated strictly by the trainer to finish the song. Jane shook her head while mouthing to Dyane. “Save me..........” And Dyane laughed so hard. “ANOTHER TAKE, COME ON!” The trainer said, and Jane took a deep breath before singing once again. “So....... Close. That last part, you just can’t sing the right melody for ONE MORE SECOND, huh??? COME ON! SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT!!!” Jane took a long deep breath, then the music started, and she sang once again. The final second felt like an eternity, as her lips moved, and the note......... Was the right one. The trainer exhaled in a long awaited relief, as all the other girls exhaled as well, making a loud breathing sound all over the room, as Jane left the recording booth. “Congratulations, the recording for our first single, has wrapped.” The trainer said. “But........ Because there are some minor singing mistakes here and there, I have to do some extra work to edit this whole thing. It’s okay for now, but my message is, don’t ever let this happen again, okay?” All the girls bowed 90 degrees, then Seorina walked closer to him. “We assure you, we won’t make your job so difficult next time.”
The day of debut had finally arrived, and in the Music Video, all the girls were dressed in fully white, donning a white T-Shirt, white Skirt, and white pom poms, entering a sport field. Dyane took center stage, smiling at the camera with both her hands behind her, then she moved away, and Qianting was there and started singing, getting the first line of the debut single. The American line continued the song, which were Hanna, Seorina, Dyane, and Victory, and then Yang took center stage to open the chorus, as the girls danced a simple, cheerleader choreography with their pom poms on their hands. In the bridge, all the girls stepped to the sides, while Rebecca sat on the ground, her eyes barely on the camera, seemingly daydreaming about a boy, while singing the quiet bridge. And then all the girls went to the third chorus, with Yang, Jane, and Qianting mostly taking all the spotlight as the local Asian line. The song about teenage school romance, ended with lots of friendly, innocent smiles, and became a new year’s eve hit among the youth.
That night, on the same day, the girls were on stage, finally performing their debut song live. “Give it up for.......... LOZANNA!” The girls were wearing all white, exactly like in the MV. The vibes of teen girls’ high school curiosity and high school crush were felt all around the room, even by the adult fans. The crowd cheered LOTS when Rebecca’s part came in, sitting and singing in the bridge romantically, before the cheerleader dance continued in the third chorus. Social media’s comments were in, and they were mixed in terms of who conquered this song. “The local line killed it! Qianting, Yang, and Jane are just IRRESISTIBLE!” And others disagreed. “Dude, Rebecca ACTUALLY looks in love in that bridge part, this is HER song! Who is she thinking about?”
Qianting exhaled a long breath after the debut performance, about to leave the building, until someone patted her from the back. “QIANTING!” Hanna said. “Something happened backstage! We need your help! Only you can solve this!” Qianting rushed back to the backstage area, and saw Jane pointing at Victory. “YOU are always on your phone, watching MileRunnerz content.” Jane screamed. “YOU COULD HAVE SCREWED UP YOUR LINES! THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN DISASTROUS, YOU KNOW??? GET OFF YOUR PHONE!” Qianting got between them. “What’s going on???” Jane continued. “VICTORY! While we were training to sing right before going on the stage, she was on her phone, going “Awwww he’s so cuteeee” while scrolling through MileRunnerz content! I swear we were a milisecond away from a big screwup on stage!”
“Hey, hey, slow down.” Qianting said, patting on Jane’s shoulder. “You gotta remember, she’s also the only member here who is nerdy enough to help our staff with paperwork and counting money. She’s not as lazy as she seemed!” Jane scrunched her nose. “Yeah, but it’s PRE-PERFORMANCE, come on, humble her, Unnie!” Qianting turned around to Victory. “Okay, I’ll do it.” Qianting cleared her throat. “Victory-Unnie, I want you to not be on your phone next performance, and vocally train for your parts, so Jane and the rest are not paranoid, okay?” Jane was smiling, but Qianting turned to her, wiping her smile. “AND IN RETURN.....” Qianting said. “I don’t want to see you scolding a member again after the performance. This is our debut day, it’s supposed to be happy and celebratory, we have no time for drama, okay?” Jane looked a bit stunned, but she ended up putting her head down. “Okay, Unnie.”
Qianting headed back to the exit door, while Dyane followed and talked to her. “You’re the best, Qianting Unnie! We knew we can always count on Unnie whenever something happens!” Qianting put her circular glasses on. “Yeah, yeah, you’re welcome. Have a good day, careful on the way home!” Qianting left, and walked through the parks of Seoul to her dorm, all alone, while talking to herself. “Why don’t........... The girls befriend me??? I’m obviously at the bottom of their list, I’m just there when there’s problems to solve. I’m clearly not their MAIN friends, the other members are. I just wish someone actually chooses me and invest time in me, y’know? That’d be nice. To just be......... At the top of someone’s priority list. “Oh, Qianting, you’re so drama free, we all like you!” It’s not a compliment! I’m nobody’s friend, in this group of mentally CHILDREN girls, I’m just a ghost who only exists once a week when there’s problems. Sometimes, I’m just......... Kinda tired not being anybody’s main friend, y’know?”
LOZANNA went to their second stage, dressed in very light pink, then their third promotional stage dressed in very light yellow. It was late-January, and the eight cheerleaders rode off to the sunset, as the first single’s promotions had wrapped. All the girls simply packed their bags, and walked past the trainer to go home, except Seorina, who bowed down 90 degrees. “Thank you, Oppa. This was all thanks to your hard work.” The trainer looked surprised. “Oh....... Thanks for spending the time to say this, I suppose. You may go home, congratulations on the debut, despite getting no wins, it’s a hit for a debut’s standards.” She nodded her head and gave a professional smile. “Yes, Oppa. Good night.”
“Seorina-ssi?” Victory said, speaking through the phone, while Seorina was in her bedroom. “Yeah, what’s up? Did anything happen?” “No, I’m safe, no worries. I was just looking up our company’s website, and.......... All our positions are written as “N/A”???” Victory said, as Seorina pulled out her laptop immediately. “Huh??? Oh, what the- We’re all positionless? I thought we are all Main Vocalists!” Victory shouted back. “Yeah! We trained so hard till we’re at the top of the “F-” Tier! None of us are “F” Tier yet, but we’re all at the very top of “F-” When it comes to vocals! But we got no vocal positions?” The two chatted angrily on the phone for a bit, until Seorina pushed the brakes on herself.
“Ohhhh.......... Wait a minute, I get it. Trainer-Oppa was just pushing us so we can sing before the stage. Without the “Everyone is a main vocalist” push, none of us would be able to sing in the end, therefore we would embarrass ourselves on stage.” Victory fixed her glasses in disgust and annoyance on the other side. “EWWWW! Why are you such a corporate boot licker, Seorina?” “I’m NOT! It’s just.......... None of us wants to sing badly on stage and disband later with a HUGE debt from a failed idol career, right?” Seorina said, as Victory exhaled. “Argh......... You’re...... Kinda right. You’re still annoying, though. At least try to SOUND like you don’t enjoy licking corporate boots next time, aight?” Seorina fell on her back on the bed while laughing. “Hahahah, gotcha, gotcha.”
It was the beginning of March, 2020, and all the girls were back on the stage, dressed in bold pink with white skirts this time, performing their second single ‘Birthday’. Hanna, the maknae, opened up the song, showing her innocence and her cute aegyos, and then followed by the fierce Jane, looking excited for the house party. The local line, which are Jane, Yang, and Qianting continued the song, with Qianting opening the first chorus, taking the center, and then Rebecca took on the second half of the first chorus. The song was shorter, only having 2 verses and 2 choruses, lasting just a little over two minutes. The MV was also released that day, while the title was ‘Birthday’, the song lyrics isn’t exclusive to birthday parties, it was more about sleeping over at a friend’s house during high school, having house parties together till the entire house became a confetti mess. The girls laughed together, laying on the carpet, sitting on the sofa, and even jumping everywhere inside the house in the MV.
“Girls......... You’re free for almost the rest of the year.” All the girls were shocked hearing what The trainer said. “Because I won’t see you next month when you girls are turning, I will say it right now, happy early birthday!” The trainer said, causing smiles all over the members’ faces. “Now, you girls are positionless. Near year’s end, during your comeback, give it your all, because that will be where positions are up for grabs! Starting with......... “Sub Vocalist” position. All of you will compete during the comeback’s promotions for this position. And yes, after 2 singles this year, next year’s comeback will be your First Mini Album! Have a great rest of the year!” “Yes, Oppa! Thank you so much!” All the members said in unison.
Time had passed, it was late April 2020, most of the girls have had their birthdays, and all 8 of them met at the cafe. “I’m so bored, guys, wish there’s something to do.” Victory said. “Hmmm...... Let me think.” Rebecca said. “ANOTHER TRIP! TO JEJU ISLAND! Wouldn’t that be fun?” “WE LOVE THAT IDEA!” Yang said, and Victory tilted her head at her. “Yang, you’re becoming like that girl that got eliminated. You’ve spent too much money already, another trip is just not it. I think we’re all tired of trips anyway, we’ve overspoiled ourselves.” Jane looked down, leaning back on the chair with her arms crossed, the skin from her elbow to her hands are exposed due to her only wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans. “Is this really how it feels to be “mistreated and overworked” K-Pop idols? Damn, they lied to us, I thought we’d be working all the time.”
Seorina leaned closer to Jane while crossing her arms on the table. “Yep, I guess it isn’t as hard as idols say. But....... Don’t say this in front of a camera, alright? We got our media training for a reason, either pretend our life is so hard and we’re always mistreated by the company, or just..... Talk about something else. People thinking we have it the hardest translates to MONEY for us.” Jane kept her bored face. “Can’t argue with that. What if our next activity is to hunt for more cash???” Qianting spoke for the first time while fixing her circular glasses. “Boom, I’m in. What do you got in mind?” Jane uncrossed her arms and opened her hands in confusion. “Dude, I just thought about it, slow down.” Qianting looked around at everyone calmly. “Got ideas, people?” Hanna leaned to the table. “Let’s just BEG people for money.” And all the 7 unnies broke into laughter.
The girls recovered from laughing, and Qianting looked at the window. “What about....... A fansigning? LOZANNA, the first fansigning! That’s gonna make some CASH, ain’t it?” Victory put her hands up in the air. “Our drama-less, temper controlled queen, everyone! Always got the best ideas! Let’s do it!” And with that, on early July 2020, the girls were backstage getting ready for their first ever fansigning event. Victory lowered her phone to peek at Seorina’s phone screen, which had MileRunnerz edits on it, and she put it down instantly. “You didn’t see anything.” Seorina said with a strict face, and Victory gave a giggle. “You stan MileRunnerz too??? Who’s your bi-” “None your business, shut up.” LOZANNA was called on stage, so they stepped out of the curtains, and took their 8 seats.
Jane looked around the fans in the room, noticing that none of them were going crazy. She even noticed some fans in the room were talking about MileRunnerz, the senior boy group, and she frowned a little bit. The fans got in front of the members, and the fanboy in front of Qianting posed a question. “So........ WHO are y’all? I heard you guys....... Sing?” Qianting was stunned, and looked away for a bit, before she turned her face back to him. “Oh, that’s right! We do sing on stage, and we dance too! Singing while dancing! We have....... Two songs, so far! We’ll release more next year! My name’s Qianting, from China!” Qianting shook his hand, and he didn’t smile one bit. “Great, but......... How come we never heard of y’all? If you’re a singer, we would have heard of you, no? Are you like a....... Not famous singer?” Qianting scrunched her nose and her entire face, unable to believe what he said, and she gripped the table’s sheet covers, then released a laugh. “Hahah......... No! We ARE famous! I think........ The problem is that we’re in Seoul, the home of all the BIG K-Pop groups! You know MileRunnerz, right? The boygroup with Jimin, Ondae, Jaehoon, and Eddie in it???”
Just when Qianting mentioned MileRunnerz, the fangirls in the arena screamed and started chatting about them loudly. “Yes!′ The fanboy said. “They’re so good!” “Exactly!” Qianting said with a thumbs up. “We share the same city with them, so sometimes, MileRunnerz overshadow us! They got the bigger starpower, deservedly, they made K-Pop GLOBAL!” The boy looked unphased, and Qianting brought out a giftbox. “Well, here’s a gift for ya, it has my photocards in it, it’s for you, for free! Y’know what photocards are? Basically, it has my photos on it, my selfies. Take it! Have a good day!” Meanwhile, on the left side of the room, was Jane, greeting a fanboy. “Hi!” The fanboy sat down across her, looking bored, barely making eye contact with her. “Ummmm......... WHO are you guys, again???” The fanboy said.
Jane leaned her stomach against the table. “What did you just say???” The fanboy looked at her fearlessly. “WHO ARE YOU........? YOU’RE NOT MILERUNNERZ!” Jane raised her hands and dropped the pen aggressively. “You know what, get out. I’m not signing anything, GET OUT.” The boy looked so relaxed and even smirked. “You mad, girl?” “That’s it.” Jane said while aggressively standing and pointing at him while staring at all the fans in the room. “LOOK! THIS IS A DISRESPECTFUL FAN RIGHT HERE! SHAME ON HIM! HE SHOULD GET OUT OF HERE, YOU ALL AGREE??? GET OUT, BOY! GET OUTTA HERE!” To Jane’s shock, none of the crowd booed him with her, as everyone in the room also didn’t know who LOZANNA was. Shortly, the security asked him to leave, but shortly after he left, Jane saw the fans at the back of the line, leaving instead of waiting. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING??? JUST WAIT FOR 3 MINUTES, IT’S NOT THAT LONG!” And after Jane said it, there’s even more fans at the back of the line leaving, refusing to wait.
Jane confronted 6 of her members backstage. “Great, we made some cash, now LET’S TAKE THE WHOLE GODDAMN YEAR OFF! It’s plenty of time to rest to refresh ourselves! I’m going home, bye!” Jane walked to get her bag, but someone aggressively powerwalked into the room, QIANTING. “Unnie, what do you want???” Jane said with an angry tone, and Qianting PULLED her white T-Shirt upwards. “WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, HUH???” Qianting said. “Where’s your media training? WHERE IS IT??? DO YOU HAVE A FUCKING CLUE WHAT YOU JUST CAUSED??? I’M MAD AS HELL TOO, BUT THESE FANS. PAID. FOR THIS!” Jane breathed heavily. “H- Hey, Unnie, slow down, I just wanna talk.” “WE LOST DAMN NEAR HALF OUR FANS IN THE ROOM, JANE! WE’RE WAY PAST TALKING!”
The entire room was silent, all shocked seeing Qianting screaming. Qianting let her T-Shirt go, but never took her serious eyes off of her. “How the fuck do you think our company is gonna react to this, huh? This shit, can kill your fucking career. You just saw FIRST HAND, how fans are gonna react to meanness. Use your media training, Jane, matter of fact, you don’t even have CLOSE to enough media training. Unnie is dead fucking serious about this.” Qianting pointed at her, then looked at all the other members around her. “You know what, guys? I am DONE being your problem solver. I’m not your fucking problem fixer tool anymore, if Jane, or any of you, do this shit again??? I’m not gonna stop it. Me getting mad at you right now, is mercy, you better know that. I’m not scolding you next time, I’ll let all of you get fired, not my fucking problem.” Everyone was frozen, unable to look at Qianting in the eye, and then she grabbed her bag and walked out of the room, leaving all her members in a silent, echoing room.
LOZANNA was still hiding in the shadows, while on the internet, videos of Jane snapping on a fanboy kept spreading. The company’s plan to let the controversy die down, had clearly failed. Seven members were taking singing lessons, waging a war for the “sub vocalist” position, but one member, Jane, hadn’t entered the war yet, as she was too busy taking more media training. Jane finished her interview roleplay of the day, and stared at LOZANNA’s photo on her phone. “I swear, I’ll get out of here real soon, that sub vocalist position is MINE. You guys got a headstart, so consider yourselves lucky.” Jane said to the LOZANNA group photo.
The 7 girls were seated on the floor in a dance studio, with the trainer standing in front of them. “Do you all know, what would happen, if MileRunnerz did exactly what Jane did? They wouldn’t be cancelled, they wouldn’t even get any controversies. The fans in the room would have booed the fan in unison, and all over social media, fans would defend them. Maybe, what Jane did was wrong, but does it matter? It was your first year, if that incident happened during your third or fourth year, fans and the media would do all the work for you, and none of us would have to worry one bit. So what she did......... WAS TOO EARLY. YOU are all rookies, behave, you’ll be given shields one day, but not now.” Then suddenly, JANE entered the room, turning the entire space into a quiet, echoing basement. “Hello! Media training was fun, but I’m here now! I’m gonna start meeting with my vocal coach tomorrow, okay? What’s up, guys?” Jane said, and Qianting immediately grabbed her bag, left the room and gently closed the door.
“Jane, sit down.” The trainer said. “Our comeback will be on September 2020. You’re releasing your First Mini Album on that day, and will perform your first stage on the same day. We’ve received questions that concerns, how could people enjoy our songs during Valentine’s Day, because most people would likely buy the album the day after Valentine’s Day, well, we will introduce a limited, early release for some lucky fans, from February 10th till February 13th! That’ll secure some extra cash, and ensure they’ll be listening to your songs during Valentine’s Day! Valentine is a legendary day for K-Pop releases, it’s been a major K-Pop release day since the very beginning of this industry, so we’re continuing this tradition.” Jane stood up to smile and bow down. “Yes, Oppa, I’ll do my best tomorrow.” As Jane was about to leave, Seorina leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, teasing while staring and grinning at her. “..........Who taught you to smile?” Jane stared back at her with a bland face. “Myself, I’m not a baby.”
It was February 10th, the mini album’s early releases were out, and the 8 girls were rehearsing their performance together. “Hey, Jane, did you just mess up??? That was not the right note! Don’t mess up 4 days before the comeback!” Seorina said. Jane pointed back at her. “Hey, you messed up the lines too, get the lyrics right! Does that mean I get to scold you too when you mess up?” And shortly, the girls all argued with each other, and Qianting just stayed invisible in the corner. About 5 minutes later, they continued their rehearsal. “Guys........ Cooperate, okay?” Victory said with her soft voice, and Dyane stepped to her. “Look who’s talking. You don’t cooperate either, being on your phone all the time.” Yang looked down while leaning against the wall. “We just wish you all would stop arguing all the time........” As soon as the session ended, Qianting was the first to leave, almost not saying a single word during the whole session.
February 14th finally came, and all the girls stepped on stage, wearing a high school formal white collared shirts, with black ties, black suits, black short skirts, white long socks, and black shoes. “Heyooo....... Back to school!” Hanna said innocently, with her hands behind her back. “I wonder......... What’s his name???” Then she moved away, and Dyane walked to rap while waving her hands. “I’m done being lowkey, what’s your name, boy? Game date? Cafe? Just name the place!” Then she turned, and switched places with Yang, who took the center. “Don’t wanna mess up, let’s study together! Mathematics? We got ya, but literacy? Better teach us!” Then, the members moved away, and Rebecca crouched in the center, staring at her nails while delivering some easy vocals to start the pre chorus. “Makeup, ready, shoes gonna shine, lookin’ pretty, you’ll be mine.” Then Victory joined her, putting her arm on Rebecca’s shoulder. “It’s love season, join the ride.” Then the music stopped as Victory kept singing. “Be my valentine.”
“I’M YOUR CRUSH!” Jane KICKED to the center front, opening the chorus with the catchy, title mentioning hook, while the electric guitar, rock sound plays in the instrumental. “Can’t do this anymore, boy, I know you’re so bored, oh god, come here, let’s have some fun.” “I’M YOUR CRUSH!” Seorina STOMPED on the floor, beginning the second half of the first chorus. “Your blood boils to the core, keep your secrets no more, oh god, I know that I am your..... Crush......” The “Your...... Crush....” Part at the end had both syllables held for about 2 seconds, Seorina getting LOZANNA’s first note that is hold for a while.”
Then all the members danced on the sides, while Qianting took center stage, circular glasses on, both hands in the air, rapping. “Who’s getting on my sleeves, yeah? Who’s weakening my knees, ya? (you)” Qianting then crouched down while pointing to the front. “I ain’t holding back no more, boy, come here, come here, cuz I want you too.” Then Jane stepped next to Qianting while singing some vocals. “It’s the exam season, what’s your answer?” And Jane was about to put her hand on Qianting’s shoulder, but Qianting moved away, making her touch the air instead, as Jane continued her lines. “Is it yes, or yes? It’s now, or never.”
The second, rock heavy “I’M YOUR CRUSH!” chorus was sung by Seorina, then the second half was sung by Dyane, giving a less edgy twist to the line’s delivery. Then, Victory and Yang sang the bridge with quiet, soft vocals, before Qianting started the third “I’M YOUR CRUSH!” Chorus, kicking to the center of the camera. Then the second half was sung by Jane, and after the third chorus, was a post chorus, where Jane sang “I’m your crush......” Holding her note for about 2 seconds, while Hanna screamed in a rap hyping up voice. “HEY! HEY! HEY! COME ON! WHAT UP? AYE!” And Jane continued. “I’m your crush.....” And Hanna did it again. “AYE! AYE! YEAH! HEY! HEY!” And Seorina crossed her arms and stood in the center with the final, singing line, with the last word being held for 2 seconds. “I know I’m your crush......” And the crowd screamed like crazy.
The girls were all celebrating backstage, laughing so hard with each other, and Seorina decided to stand up. “Guys, don’t forget......... ‘YOUR CRUSH’, the song with that heavy ass dance with pretty heavy vocals? We’re gonna perform it......... AGAIN. THREE MORE TIMES, actually???” All the smiles suddenly disappeared, followed by some laughs, both nervous and teasing ones. Seorina grinned at them. “You guys once worried that we won’t have a single activity when Hanna is 16 and Victory is 22, so the company is giving us A LOT of activities! AND, we’re not just gonna perform and promote ‘YOUR CRUSH’, we’re also gonna promote one of the b-sides, which means not only performing, but making the MV for that song as well!” Complaints from the girls started echoing around the room. “OH MY GOD! ARE YOU KIDDING ME???”
But Jane was surprisingly chill, laying on the floor and on the wall while snacking. “Yeah...... I’m actually the one who asked the company for this. But I’m not complaining, maybe it’s gonna save my career, I think my ass won’t be fired after this.” Rebecca rolled her eyes at her. “Jane, I swear to God, don’t ask for more schedulels!” Jane muched on a piece of chocolate bread, and spoke unclearly while eating. “Bro, if you don’t want to sing on stage for like, at least 4 months per year, why you pick this job?” And Rebecca just stared at her, not having an answer, before looking away. “Whatever, Jane.”
Nights after, Qianting was in a dark room, with a corporate employee of LOZANNA’s company. “You know why we’re here?” “Tell me.” Qianting said, confidently. He pointed to the back with his thumb. “I saw what happened backstage. The girls were fighting amongst each other. And you? Did nothing. Did you think we’re not gonna call you out for doing nothing? It’s YOUR job to keep the peace.” Qianting looked so uncomfortable, looking away, causing the room’s lights to reflect on her circular glasses, blocking her eyes in his vision, before she looked back to him. “I don’t want to. I have kept the peace for so long, since the Christmas of 2019, and they’re still misbehaving. It gets to a point-” “I DON’T CARE!” He cut her off, shouting. “If we get caught fighting backstage, your careers are OVER. Jane’s outburst on July is the LAST TIME we’re gonna have problems. NO MORE! BE THE PEACEKEEPER, it’s NON-NEGOTIABLE!”
Qianting looked down on her own thighs and her blue jeans, her eyes started wetting, becoming teary, and her hands started to shake. In her head, she wanted to say “No” so badly, but the strictness kept her lips from moving to say what it willed to say. “I......... I’m.............. I’m not sure...........” “I am NOT asking, I am TELLING. Be the peacekeeper, or your ass is fired. NOW, GET OUT!” Qianting grabbed her bag, and left the room, as tears finally started falling from her eyes, while she was walking to leave the building. The reflection of the lights on her circular glasses managed to protect her tears in the eyes of employees passing by, so she was able to leave the building without getting caught crying.
The girls returned for ‘YOUR CRUSH’ performances in their second, third, and fourth promotion stages. The crowd’s support never wavered, and all the 16 ears couldn’t even process hearing them. Seorina and Jane walked outside the building, and Seorina put her hands inside her unzipped hoodie’s pockets. “Y’know something, Jane? I noticed......... I haven’t ran into ‘Jane shouting at a fanboy’ videos on social media recently...... Ever since our ‘YOUR CRUSH’ performances. Jane was seen almost smiling, but she held her mouth down. “Hmm........ Trying to get my hopes up, I see....... Don’t. I don’t think it’s going away, let’s focus on work.” Seorina gave a teasing grin. “.........Look at you.” Jane rolled her eyes while keeping her mouth down. “Stop it.” And the two entered a room where boys in audition uniforms bowed and greeted them.
Zhangmin, Rian, Ren, Taolin, and Bayeon started showing off their vocals and dancing skills to Jane and Seorina. “Good job, if you wanna debut and be like us, you gotta.........” Jane said while clapping, but stopped in confusion. “I don’t know what to say, you do it.” Jane said to Seorina. “Alright, boys!” Seorina said, clapping one time to get their attention. “Your singing and dancing, is fine. But another important thing, is media training. Don’t ever shout and get mad on camera, especially in public, because that will be disastrous for your careers. So don’t skip your media training!” “Yes, Noona!” The boys said in unison, and then Jane turned to her. “You really gotta side-diss me like that???” Jane said, and Seorina scrunched her nose. “I’m not taking shots at you, you just happen to be here. Media training IS important.” Jane turned her feet to Seorina’s. “Can’t you just wait till I’m NOT in the room?” Seorina exhaled. “Ugh...... I can’t do anything if you always take the phrase “media training” so personally.......... Don’t visit the boys next time? I guess?”
Jane took a deep breath for a while, and exhaled to relax herself. “............You know what, it’s fine. Forget it, I’m all good.” Meanwhile, Qianting was at home, sitting on the floor, her arms on her knees, her head on her arms, bawling her eyes out. She shortly removed her head from her wet arms that were full of tears, and stared in the mirror. “Why the fuck does no one befriend me? I BET, my members aren’t home right now. They’re hanging out somewhere, having fun and all that. What’s so hard about saying hi, and asking if I wanna come? God, I’m so bored.” Qianting said. She then took her formal white shirt off, revealing herself the black, sleeveless basketball jersey she had on, and set out to a nearby basketball court to shoot some hoops.
As she started jumping around the court, making the dunks, voices showed up in her head. “You know what, get out. I’m not signing anything.” She missed, as the ball hit the net and bounced off of it, while another voice replayed in her head. “BE THE PEACEKEEPER, IT’S NON-NEGOTIABLE!” She head to the other side of the court, and dribbled the ball while heading to the imaginary opposing team’s side, while hearing more voices. “We knew we can always count on unnie whenever something happens!” And she SCORED the first ball by a slam dunk. She heard another voice in her head as she kept practicing, this time, a lyric from a song. “I’M YOUR CRUSH!” And after she made a distant 3-point shoot several times, the voices started disappearing, her head was lighter. “Done bawling, Qianting?” She said to herself, before she looked at LOZANNA’s discography on her phone, which has ‘Cheerful Leader’ as the debut single, ‘Birthday’ as the second single, ‘YOUR CRUSH’ as the 1st Mini Album’s title track, and she read the b-side that will be promoted, while holding the neck part of her basketball jersey, as Qianting read the title out loud. “Guess I am. But I ain’t done ballin’. Cuz our next stage......... is ’Girls Be Ballin″”
The eight girls stood on the MCountdown stage, all dressed in sleeveless basketball jerseys. None had their glasses on, with Seorina’s hair down but wearing a bandana, and Qianting simply had her hair down. “Ayo......” Victory started the song, walking to the center. “Check it, check it. Wanna play?” Seorina showed up, rapping beside victory. “LOZANNA, at your door, how you doin? We gonna rock some more, yo!” Then she switched to vocals. “We do just what you like, ain’t gonna mess around.” Then Yang jumped to the center to rap. “Come hit the field, girls, try to own the day! This game’s so fun, but we don’t play!” Then she switched the flow to a faster rap tempo. “Come and see who’s gonna top it forever, we never waver, we gonna win win breaking the records that you could never!” Jane then delivered some vocals in the prechorus, before Qianting took center stage to sing. “Get the ball..... I’m gonna reach you! It’s my style, I’m gonna beat you! Who’s this, new girl? Whatever, you ain’t got a chance!”
Then, Hanna continued the chorus. “We gon’ ball....... It’s so funny! We gon’ ball....... Sorry not sorry! We gonna ROCK this game, DO this again!” Then Seorina took the center for the last part of the chorus. “We Girls Be Ballin’” Then it cuts do a dance instrumental as the girls showed their dance moves, with Seorina in the middle. The song continued with the second verse involving Rebecca, Victory and Dyane, Then Qianting took the prechorus, before Seorina and Rebecca did the second chorus, and the “We Girls Be Ballin’” line before the dance instrumental was sung by Qianting. Qianting ended the dance part and the song itself, having the center. All the girls sweat so much in this dance heavy song, that their dripping sweat on their exposed bare arms were visible. The girls panted and breathed heavily, with Seorina getting the ending fairy, her exhausted face forced a smile and blew a kiss to the camera cutely before she waved.
“Wait, so you’re telling us.......” Yang said backstage with her North Korean collective language. “That all of us, after the vocal lessons, are no longer “F-” tier, but “F” tier now???? WE LEVELED UP!!!” The girls celebrated for a while, before Yang looked confused once again. “But......... How is the company gonna choose who the sub vocalist is, if we keep ending up in the same vocal level??? We, Yang, is F tier, and all of you are also F tier, what are they gonna do???” Seorina put her arm on Yang’s table. “I’m taking it, it’s OBVIOUS! I’m the new sub vocalist, mark my words!” Hanna gave a big smile. “Enlighten me, Miss wannabe leader!” The members laughed because of her bravery, and Seorina pointed to the ceiling. “That’ll be easy to do. First of all, NONE OF US can do a high note, we can’t even do an extremely strained, easy high note. So understand none of us are full blown vocalists! We’re all just F tier, which is basically level 2!”
“Now!” Seorina continued. “If all 8 members are F tier in terms of vocals, how one determine who gets to be the vocalist, is the most charismatic voice there is! The voice with the most personality! You guys sing like NPC’s, I sing like I’ve been through breakups and problems! I’M THE SUB VOCALIST, MARK MY WORDS.” All the girls scrunched their faces, giving Seorina a look. “Yeah.......... No. Not buying it.” Hanna said. Then Victory stood up. “Guys, I got word from our company that we gotta attend the rest of September 2020′s music shows even though we’re not performing anymore.” Jane slapped her own thigh. “Meh, what’s the point??? We got ZERO wins, I don’t wanna watch to cheer for other groups or even congratulate them! Since we got no wins, I don’t wanna be there!”
“Well, it’s kind of an order though, so we have to.” Victory said. “Y’know, maybe the company does want us to be polite to other groups who are performing and those who get wins. But...... Maybe, just maybe, there’s a chance.......... That we get a win. Voting for ‘YOUR CRUSH’ is still going till late September, y’know??? If we don’t attend these shows, then if we win, we wouldn’t be able to personally receive the trophy! We wouldn’t get our encore, either! Someone’s just gonna deliver it to us, which is........ Pretty dishonorable, wouldn’t you want hundreds of people congratulating you at the exact moment your win was announced???” Hanna crossed her arms. “You know what, we’re not gonna win, but we’ll come cuz we don’t have a choice anyway.”
“Greetings!” The trainer entered the room, causing all the girls to bow 90 degrees to greet him. The trainer looked at all the members. “As you can all see, the 4 performances of ‘YOUR CRUSH’ and 4 performances of ’Girls Be Ballin″ is over, and I just have to say, congratulations! Give it up for yourselves!” The girls clapped at each other for a minute, some even hugged each other, which made Qianting stare for a bit as no one was hugging her. “Now.” The trainer said. “We’re crowning the sub vocalist. QIANTING! Come here.” Qianting moved closer, stopping in front of the trainer. “Your vocals are memorable, it stays just stable enough while you were dancing. We’re grateful to have you as one of our artists, truly. But you are not the sub vocalist.” Qianting scrunched her nose, and walked back to the girls. “SEORINA!” Seorina walked to him. “You do have a personality in your voice. You sound brave and unapologetic. However........ We all know you’re quite a lowkey, professional person, and anyone in the audience could tell from your vocals. Even while you’re singing, you don’t let your feelings out, and that has never in history, succeed in capturing the audience’s hearts. You are not the sub vocalist.”
Seorina frowned, and walked back. “JANE!” Jane walked to him, and all the girls grinned, ready for what they were about to hear. Seorina even rubbed her hands together, waiting to see Jane get the same treatment she had gotten. “We got to say...... ‘YOUR CRUSH’ really showcased your vocals.” The trainer said. “You’re so fierce, so girl crush, exactly like the song itself, like this whole mini album itself! And you’re stable too despite making that kick while you were singing the chorus. I think.......... ‘YOUR CRUSH’ is your song.” Jane’s hands started to shake, as she lifted her head, barely making eye contact with the trainer, as he continued. “That is correct, you are Miss Valentine herself. You’re that song’s hypothetical boy’s crush. Congratulations....... You............ Are LOZANNA’s sub-vocalist!” The trainer opened his arms, and Jane JUMPED right into it, hugging him tightly. “Thank you, Oppa.........” And behind Jane, all the girls were totally quiet, disgusted, and jealous, refusing to cheer or clap at all. But Jane didn’t turn her head one bit, she’s only focused on the trainer, and herself for finally achieving a K-Pop position.
LOZANNA sat on the audience in a music show, Jane was all smiles, while the rest clearly didn’t want to be there. “I can’t believe.....” Seorina said to Jane. “They’re making us equals with ordinary citizens. I’m never gonna cheer for another group, that is just insane.” Meanwhile in the other corner, Qianting talked to herself while texting the company’s employees. “Yeah, I haven’t scolded anyone, cuz so far, no one’s been fighting. I’ll do the peacekeeping job if someone fights, alright?” The K-Pop groups were done performing, and they all stood on stage, with LOZANNA watching in the audience. “Alright, our winner today is.......... Drum roll......................... ‘YOUR CRUSH’ by LOZANNA!!!” The 16 eyes grew wide, as the 16 legs of LOZANNA stood up instantly in shock, jumping around like children. They stepped on stage, and all the fans were SHOCKED that LOZANNA is in the building, and they started screaming nonstop. The encore for ‘YOUR CRUSH’ started.
Jane enjoyed her time singing without dancing, then passed the mic to Seorina. “Hey, learn to feel yourself while singing, come on!” And Seorina sang the next lyrics. Hanna hyped up the crowd, and Qianting suddenly joined her to wave her arms with the crowd. Qianting asked Hanna a question, then she got Hanna’s adlibs part in the outro, and had her fun with the crowd. Qianting let out a smirk, unable to hide that she had a little fun tonight. “THANK YOU, EVERYONE!” Qianting said while bowing 90 degrees to the fans in the crowd. Later, Qianting happened to saw some male trainees walking together outside, so she decided to follow them in the building to greet them.
“Oh! We got a K-Pop idol here! Ma’am, you may take over, please!” Qianting willingly took a trainer’s spot, and read the papers. “Hi everyone, my name’s Qianting, I am a rookie K-Pop idol that debuted last year, I am 20. Let’s get started, shall we? Zhangmin!” He stood up, as she continued reading. “So........ You ditched college at 17 for this, and now you’re 19, a golden trainee, more than ready to debut. Your vocals and rap skills are sharp, it says, you dance well too. But I’m not easily pleased, how’s your media training???” Zhangmin looked confused. “What’s..... Media training???” Qianting tilted her head at him, then he talked. “Oh! You mean the interview, thingy, yeah! It’s good!” Qianting looked unsure. “Well, I suggest we put that to the test later today.”
During a break, Seorina passed by, so Qianting rushed to her and confronted her in the hallway. “SEORINA!” Seorina looked unphased despite being cornered and having her back laying on the wall. “What’s up?” Qianting calmed down, and took a breather. “Our company gave me a stupid, unofficial role, and since you’re close to the company, DID YOU KNOW?” Seorina looked away for a bit, then looked at Qianting. “......No. I didn’t know anything about you and them.” Qianting sighed. “They’re....... Forcing me to be the peacekeeper again. Y’know, breaking up fights, scolding, comforting two fighting members, keeping everyone focused on the tasks.” “Well that’s good-” Qianting cut her off. “NO, IT ISN’T! I am DONE doing that. And you got nothing to do, right? Since you’re skipping training the trainee boys today, I’m telling you to TALK to the company about this, and try to get them to change their minds, cuz I don’t wanna be the leader of LOZANNA, I don’t even wanna break up fights, not even one.”
“God, you’re always so desperate, you know that?” Seorina said. Qianting turned her head back to her. “Aren’t you afraid....... Of being boring?” Seorina looked stunned, as Qianting continued. “Yeah, you sing so lifelessly, Hanna can deliver more feelings than you. Keep this up, and no matter how much you kiss the company’s ass, your career is done. You like making money, right? If the company likes you, but you have zero fans, you’re not making money, dear.” Qianting crossed her arms. “I think......... We’re the same person, we just choose different paths. You’re afraid to look ridiculous and emotional, I’m not. But I’ll give you this, you’re able to handle hearing the harshest news life has to offer, and I’m not. Get me out of this, and I might get you a position. I know you want one, no matter how tough you act.” Seorina put her hands inside her unzipped brown hoodie’s pockets.
“Meh, that’s not enough.” Seorina said. “If it’s true that I’m not gonna have fans, then you’re gonna have to make sure I WILL have fans. Teach me how to sing, talk, whatever it takes. If I see signs that I’m gonna end up with no fans, and you haven’t helped, I’ll talk to the company and get your ass in trouble. Cuz I don’t like you talking to THE Seorina like that.” Qianting giggled. “Hahahah....... EASY. I’ll GLADLY educate your prideful ass. That will be a lot of fun! Good day, Seorinanie.” Qianting returned to train the boys, where they were all taking media training interviews.
“I’ve beaten the guy like 4 times in dance battles.” Zhangmin said while pointing at Rian. “I’ve won many dance trophies since I was a kid, while this guy has won none. I’m just overqualified and ready to debut at this point.” Qianting walked to him. “Wait a minute, you know you’re....... Debuting WITH this guy, right? Talking like that is bad for business, it’s only gonna hurt the cash flow. You make one member look bad, you make yourself and your whole group look bad. You understand that?” Zhangmin doubled down. “I gotta promote myself, duh! This is how you do business!” “No, it ain’t! How long has he talked like this?” Qianting asked a trainer. “A long time, he self promotes a lot.” “That can be good.” Qianting said while turning to him. “But not promoting yourself while putting the other members down. Hell, you can’t even put other groups down since it upsets other fandoms, let alone putting your own group down!”
Qianting left the room after the session ended, while Zhangmin gave her a death stare. A month later, she was in the studio, recording the song for their third single that will be their February 2021 comeback, as Seorina took the time to stop singing and wave at all the members. “By the way, guys, we have 7 songs so far, and this 3rd single, will be our eighth! And how many are we??? EIGHT! Isn’t that cute?” The room started talking after realizing the coincidence, becoming less tense, and even Qianting was surprised by Seorina’s ability to get the room to start talking. Seorina continued singing at the booth, while Rebecca scolded Yang. “What do you mean you’ve spent MY money, that’s for our dinner!” “Sorry, Unnie, we were hungry.” “STOP SPENDING TOO MUCH MONEY FOR ONCE!” Rebecca shouted to continue scolding her, and as the others tried to talk her out of it, Rebecca argued with them as well. Qianting saw her members fighting yet again, and instead of engaging, she knocked on the booth’s glass, making Seorina look at her through the glass.
Qianting didn’t say a word, simply pointed back at the fighting members with her thumb, and Seorina left the booth and put one hand inside her pocket, and the other one holding her phone, recording her members that were arguing loudly. “Guys! Guys! What are we arguing about today? What’s the drama? Come on, spill the tea!” The members suddenly went quiet after realizing they were being recorded. “Can you put it down?” Rebecca said. “No! Not until you guys would stop acting like children! I don’t know if you’re aware, but I’m close with the company’s employees! And my patience is running thin, I might as well SNITCH on you guys at this point!” Then all the girls, except Qianting, started shouting in panic. “NO! NONONO! DON’T!” Seorina raised her high pitched voice. “So BE QUIET, STOP FIGHTING, AND LET’S GET THE JOB DONE, OKAY??? Rebecca, you still haven’t done your part, you’re going in the booth next!” The room became quiet. “.........Sure.” Rebecca said, as all the girls went back to work.
“Qianting, you’re in trouble.” A trainer said the week after the recording day, and she looked at the papers. “What happened?” “So this upcoming boygroup that is scheduled to debut on May 2021, had just took interviews from different companies, and Zhangmin specifically, has been talking nonstop about our company and you. Check it out.” Qianting looked at the written comments he made during the interviews. “This company sucks, I should have debuted already! Also, there’s this idol, named Qianting, and she’s so disrespectful! She’s guilt tripping me for being proud of my talents, like what??? Come on, be better. What’s her vocal tier anyway? I’ve trained for 2 years, which is longer than her whole career, I can easily outsing her. She shouldn’t be an idol, whoever wants to meet K-Pop idols, don’t meet her, she’s just a bully.” Qianting looked at one of the trainers. “”Bully” is a BIG accusation, I’m not tolerating that.”
Qianting talked to some employees of that company about the situation, with a common interest of saving their respective careers, and then she went back to the room of the trainees. “Hi boys, there will be new trainees coming in to try to debut as well, so you have more competition. Zhamgin smiled and snapped his finger. “Hah! EASY!” Qianting looked at Rian, Ren, Bayeon, and Taolin with a sarcastic face. “He does this a lot, doesn’t he?” And those boys nodded. “Alright, I think you boys really need to sharpen your media training skills, so even if your music talent is lacking, you’re still professional. That’s my final message.” Qianting would talk to the boys one by one to motivate them, then when it was time to talk to Zhangmin, she suddenly turned around to grab her bag, then walked to the door, then while holding the door before leaving, she pointed at Zhangmin. “You are so FUCKED.”
LOZANNA entered February 2021, with their 3rd single, 8th song, ‘SPLASH’, which had beach vacation as its song concept. They re entered their innocent cheerleader roots, this time becoming young girls on the beach celebrating either a high school graduation, or just having many day offs during the summer. This marked their first activity while their age range were 17-23 years old. They didn’t get any music show wins, but it was a smooth 3-week promotion without any major problems. LOZANNA would unexpectedly release their 4th single, as a Christmas ballad song, sung by Jane and Hanna, mixing the charismatic, emotional vocals of Jane’s and Hanna’s innocent, young voice. The trainer joined the girls backstage, as Qianting whispered to Seorina. “Thanks for breaking up the fights, I really appreciated it. I’ve tried my best to get the company to give you a position, so we’ll see.”
“As promised, we’re crowning the LEADER of LOZANNA today.” The trainer said. “But before we get all celebratory, you must know, a new boygroup is debuting in May. It had over 10 hungry trainees waiting to debut, we don’t know if any had been eliminated yet. We must see this rookie as a new threat to our success, so focus, and EMBARRASS them in the charts, got it?” “YES, OPPA!” The girls said in unison. “Now, without further ado, congratulations, to the newly crowned leader of LOZANNA........... SEORINA.” Seorina stepped to the stage, her smile looked real, but she still held back from smiling, her lips remain tight, not showing her teeth. She gave the trainer a hug, and surprisingly, all the girls were clapping for her, with Qianting clapping the hardest, almost as if being a leader isn’t a position that everyone wanted. “NOW, WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY, LEADER-NIM?” Qianting shouted. Seorina took the stage in front of all her members, talking with her big, confident smile. “WE GONNA SHOW THESE ROOKIE BOYS WHO RUN THIS PLACE! LOCK IN. 2021, IS OURS.”
END OF CHAPTER 11
