YB Fanfic, Ch. 5
Previously:
Chapter 1: Hello I Love You
Chapter 2: My Brave Face
Chapter 3: Temperamental
Chapter 4: Million Dollar Smile
Disclaimer: The A.N.JELL-verse belongs to the Hong sisters, creators of You're Beautiful. The KWBL (Korean Women's Basketball League) belongs to itself, and Andre Kim to himself. The paintings in the museum are actual works by an artist whose name I forgot to take down. Sorry.
Author's Notes: Thank you to jay_ed, lilivanilla1 and dawnfarie for reviewing!
Chapter Five - Heart Messenger (Rocket Diary)
It seemed to Ha-neul that the artist was hungry, because if their titles were any indication, a lot of the paintings in this exhibition were inspired by food.
She was standing in one of the galleries of Seoul's National Museum of Contemporary Art, staring at a painting that was supposed to be of chili peppers, but looked like a crowd of dancers tangled across the canvas. Director Lee had instructed her to look fascinated by the painting, and just wait for Shin-woo's entrance into the scene.
Even though she had the chance to prepare herself, she was still startled when a pair of hands covered her eyes. "Watch those elbows," she heard Shin-woo murmur behind her.
Turning, Ha-neul gave him a shy smile. "Hi."
He smiled back. She hoped that he wasn't just pretending to be happy for the camera, but that he was at least partly glad to see her. "Hi."
"Now, look at the painting together," Director Lee told them. "Shin-woo, if you can move in beside her...?"
Keeping his hands on her shoulders, Shin-woo did as he was instructed. "What are we looking at?"
"Black and purple peppers," Ha-neul answered, pointing to the small sign next to the painting. "Except that I think it looks more like a nightclub dance floor."
He tilted his head appraisingly. "Hmm. I think you're right."
The director then told them to walk along the gallery, looking at the other paintings and pretending to have an "intimate conversation," while the camera filmed them from a distance. When the cameras were safely out of earshot, Ha-neul ventured to ask, "How are you feeling?"
"Better," Shin-woo replied, "even though I have a big bruise right here." He placed a hand on his chest. ("Nice!" said Director Lee, thinking that he was indicating his heart.)
"I'm sorry I hit you," she said, glancing away and at a painting that looked like eggs spattered with green paint. "It was instinct."
"Instinct?" he repeated.
"Well, it's one way to get away from a defender - especially one who's doing illegal things himself," she added a bit pointedly.
Shin-woo had the grace to look slightly embarrassed, but said, "So you've done that to other people before? Tsk tsk. That's not being a good sport, Ms. Olympic Athlete."
"I've had worse done to me," Ha-neul told him. "That's the way it is in competition. You do what you have to do in order to show the other team who's boss."
"I guess so." He smiled at her as they walked past a large canvas featuring an explosion of red. "You looked great out there, though. It was obvious that you really like to play basketball."
"Thanks. I do love to play." She blushed, looking away again, then turned back to him with an impish grin on her face. "Now I guess we're even."
"Even?"
"Yes. You told President Ahn that I wanted to audition for this video even before I even had time to think about it, and I elbowed you in the ribs and beat you at basketball. We're even!"
Shin-woo laughed. "Who said you beat me at basketball?"
She arched an eyebrow. "Well, we were leading when you and Jeremy resorted to cheating."
He was saved from having to answer that by the realization that Director Lee was calling their names. You two can stop talking now," he said. "We have enough footage of the gallery. Shall we move to the gift shop?"
"Is the coast clear?"
Tae-kyung scowled over his water glass at the blond head peeking cautiously in the kitchen doorway. "What are you talking about, Jeremy?"
"Is Shin-woo hyung in there?"
"He's upstairs," Mi-nam answered. "Can't you hear him?" Through the ceiling overhead, they could hear someone strumming random chords on an electric guitar. Since he and Tae-kyung were in the kitchen and Jeremy was right outside it, by process of elimination it had to be Shin-woo upstairs. (Unless Jolie had some hidden talents.)
Satisfied by his bandmates' answers, Jeremy bounced into the kitchen, the stubby ponytail at the top of his head waving like an antenna. "Did you see what happened at the museum today?" he demanded. "Director Lee had to call Shin-woo hyung three times before he heard!"
"So?"
"So... that's never happened before! Whenever the director has an instruction for us, he's usually the first to hear. I think he was really distracted by talking to Ha-neul. He could barely take his eyes off her."
"They were probably arguing about the basketball game. I think Shin-woo would feel strongly about it after what happened to him."
"But arguing about basketball doesn't make your face look like this..." The blond boy put on a comically dreamy expression, complete with saccharine smile and batting eyelashes.
"I don't think he looked like that," Tae-kyung said.
"She was looking at him like that, too!"
"Well, that was what the director wanted, right?"
"Director Lee wanted them to have an intense conversation," Mi-nam recalled, "or something like that. I guess that was easy for them because they're old friends. It also helps that Shin-woo's the nicest of us all," he added with an amused smirk.
"Maybe they used to date back in school!" Jeremy exclaimed.
Tae-kyung looked pained. "Not so loud!" he hissed. "Do you want Shin-woo to know you're talking about him?"
"Sorry, hyung."
"Anyway, they were in elementary school together," Tae-kyung told him. "That's too young to be dating. This is Korea, Jeremy, not England."
"Ah, but you're never too young when it comes to the love of your life."
Chuckling, Mi-nam went to get himself a soft drink. "Sorry, Jeremy," he said as he turned back from the refrigerator, "but I think you're imagining things. The way I see it, Shin-woo and Ha-neul are just old friends, nothing more than that."
"Maybe," he replied, "and maybe not. To make sure, we must conduct some experiments."
"Experiments?" Mi-nam shot Tae-kyung a puzzled frown. "Do you know what he's talking about?"
The vocalist shook his head and took another drink of water. "I'm not sure I want to know."
Despite Tae-kyung's concerns, Shin-woo remained unaware that his bandmates were talking about him. Upstairs in his room, he was deeply absorbed in trying to frame the ideas whirling around in his head into chords and lyrics; unfortunately, all his attempts thus far had been futile.
At least using an electric guitar instead of his usual acoustic one felt like a step in the right direction. Shin-woo knew that he wanted to compose something different from his usual contributions to A.N.JELL's albums. The handful of songs he had written for the band so far had been well-received, even though they still took a backseat to Tae-kyung's work. Although all the members of the band were talented in their own right, it was Tae-kyung who was recognized as the musical genius.
Shin-woo didn't have a burning ambition to be seen as a musical genius, but he did want to try new things. He felt that he had changed, especially over the past year or so, and wanted, as Ha-neul had once pointed out, to use his music to express that. However, he didn't even have an idea of where to begin trying to give voice to everything that was inside him.
I don't want to turn into him, but... how does Tae-kyung do it?
On the day that AN Entertainment announced the impending release of the new A.N.JELL music video, fans all over the world logged on to the band's website to view the teaser trailer for the video.
The officers of A.N.JELL's fan club were, of course, the first on the scene. They gathered together in one of their favorite Internet cafés and watched avidly as the rumors and speculations played out in living, breathing color. "There's the baking scene!" Hyun-jae exclaimed as a snippet of it flashed onscreen. She giggled with delight. "Jeremy oppa is so cute! And look, his dog is there, too!"
Sayuri frowned thoughtfully. Although they always enjoyed the band's videos, there were other important things that demanded attention, particularly any females that appeared in the videos with them. "That girl was in Mi-nam oppa's scene, too," she observed.
Ae-sook gasped. "I think she was in the video with all of them! Should we hate her?"
The fan club president considered it for a moment before declaring, "No. If she's paired up with all of our oppas, then she's not the girlfriend of any one of them. Besides," Sayuri added, "I got to speak to her, remember? I have to say that even though she's a model, she didn't seem snobbish, not like Yoo Heyi." She scowled, remembering how nasty the girl called "Korea's fairy" had been to them.
"But that was before she made this video," Hyun-jae pointed out. "The press releases are mentioning her, too, and talking about how So Ha-neul is an up-and-coming model. I bet she's going to become really famous after this."
"Well, if she does, we'll probably see her again. Maybe she'll make more videos with A.N.JELL. We know what she looks like now, so we can see if she'll still be nice to us."
If she hadn't been so busy watching and re-watching the video teaser, Sayuri might have noticed a very familiar, very tall girl walk past the cafe entrance. "I still feel like my head's been shaved," Ha-neul said to Su-jin, who had taken her to Su-jin's favorite hair salon to get a haircut.
"Arnaud didn't cut off that much," Su-jin answered, patting her own new hairstyle. (Of course she had to treat herself to a new haircut, too!) "He just gave you bangs and some more layers, that's all. You look very chic, sort of like Cleopatra!"
"Cleopatra's not chic, she's ancient."
"OK, dramatic, then," she amended. "It gives you a more unique look, which will help all those top media people remember you at the launch party for the music video." Su-jin paused and gave her friend a winning smile. "I'm still invited, right?"
Su-jin was definitely still invited; in fact, she even went with Ha-neul and her father to the press conference where the video would be officially launched. "If it's possible," Ha-neul told her friend as they entered the theater where the video for "Can't Wait" was to be unveiled to the media, "I'm not going to another one of those things without you!"
"Don't worry," Su-jin promised. "I'll protect you from that bitch, Heyi, if she decides to show up again. Now, can you let go of my arm? You're going to leave bruises."
Mr. So, who had been walking ahead of the girls, now turned to speak to them. "Ha-neul, your Uncle Sung-chan said he's sending someone to get you. You'll be sitting with the band, answering questions at the press conference. Su-jin and I will meet up with you again afterwards."
Ha-neul froze. "I'm going to be interviewed?"
"Why shouldn't you be?" Su-jin asked. "You starred in that video, too!"
"AN Entertainment is doing us a very big favor by mentioning your name in the press releases," Mr. So said. "They're promoting you almost as much as the band. Be sure to thank them for giving you this opportunity."
"I hope I don't make a fool of myself in front of everyone," Ha-neul mumbled. Now that she knew that she was expected to speak, the crowd of reporters in front of the stage seemed to be awfully large, and growing by the minute.
"You've faced the press before," her father reminded her.
"And at least this time they'll be asking you about something nice," Su-jin added. The last time Ha-neul had spoken to reporters was after the Beijing Olympics, when she had been dealing with her injury and the team's elimination in the quarterfinal round.
Mr. So saw Stylist Wang striding purposefully towards them and, correctly guessing that she was the staff member sent by the A.N.JELL manager, patted his daughter's hand. "You'll do great. We'll see you later."
"Ha-neul!" the stylist exclaimed as she came near. "I almost didn't recognize you! I love that jacket. And that haircut!"
She smiled shyly and drew herself up a little straighter. "Thank you, unni."
"Is your father here?"
"Yes, he went to find seats with Su-jin. He said Uncle Sung-chan might be busy with organizing the press conference, so they'll see each other later."
Stylist Wang scrunched up her face thoughtfully and then nodded. "Good idea. Now, I'm supposed to bring you somewhere to wait with the boys. You'll all come out at the end of the screening."
The older woman led Ha-neul to a small inner room where the members of A.N.JELL, dressed in matching red-and-gray outfits, waited with their manager. "Ah, Ha-neul, you're here!" President Ahn greeted her. "Excellent, excellent! Are you ready for the press conference?"
"I think so," she answered truthfully.
"Well, you don't have to be afraid," he advised. "A.N.JELL will be out there with you, and you'll take care of her, won't you, boys?"
"Of course," Shin-woo assured the band's manager. He smiled at Ha-neul, blissfully unaware that Jeremy was violently nudging the other boys right behind him.
They stayed in that room until Manager Ma came to get them. Ha-neul and the band took their places on the darkened stage in time to hear the audience laughing over the video's final scene, which had all four band members showing up at the airport to discover that they were there to meet the same girl. She was relieved to hear the positive reaction; she had thought it was a clever surprise ending to the story that the video was trying to tell, but was afraid it would make her look like a two-... make that four-timer.
The house lights came on as the audience applauded, revealing the people seated at the long table onstage. Almost immediately, reporters began shouting out questions. Ha-neul tried to find her father and Su-jin in the crowd, but it was hard to pick them out with all the flashbulbs popping in her face.
President Ahn kicked off the press conference by thanking everyone in attendance for coming, and officially launching A.N.JELL's latest single. "We hope you enjoyed the video," he concluded, "and that you will continue to support A.N.JELL. Now, we will take some questions from the press."
Ha-neul listened to the band, particularly Tae-kyung, who wrote the song, field numerous questions about what the group was doing now, especially about the upcoming album. No, A.N.JELL didn't have a concept for the new album yet; the band was still writing songs for it. "Can't Wait" was the first one to be finished, and no, Tae-kyung was not suffering from writer's block.
Suddenly, attention shifted to Ha-neul. "Ms. So," said a young man in a smart black suit, "you're a former member of the national women's basketball team, correct?"
The press release had mentioned that fact, so Ha-neul nodded. "Yes, sir."
"Why aren't you playing in the KWBL?"
A large figure looming in the back, over the heads of the clustering reporters, caught her eye. Ha-neul's father gave her an encouraging nod. "Unfortunately, I suffered a serious knee injury while competing in the Beijing Olympics," she told the reporter, her voice calm. "My knee healed, but I was unable to play as well as I used to, so I had to find a different path. And I'm very thankful to A.N.JELL and their management for giving me this opportunity," she remembered to add. Mr. So gave her an approving smile.
"You never played basketball again?" asked another reporter.
"Oh, no, I still play with my friends." Ha-neul grinned as she thought about the last game she had played. "It's good exercise, and I love the game."
"Do you have a boyfriend?" asked a woman with a rather shrill voice.
She hoped it was all right to look surprised at that question, because she hadn't been expecting the press to be so interested in her. "No."
"Now that you've had a chance to work with all the members of A.N.JELL," the same reporter asked, "can you tell us which one is your favorite?"
"Um..." Ha-neul knew that this was a tricky question, and even if she didn't, she wasn't about to say just anything in response.
Suddenly, there was a movement at the corner of her eye and everyone laughed as Jeremy raised his hand and waved it wildly, as if begging her to choose him. Mi-nam tried to force Jeremy's hand down and raise his own, and soon the other boys were vying for her favor, even Tae-kyung, who pointed to himself and arched his eyebrows meaningfully.
Ha-neul knew that they were keeping their promise to their manager and trying to ease the pressure on her, and laughed appreciatively. She knew just what to say. "I enjoyed every minute of the shooting, so it's hard to choose a favorite," she told the reporter with a smile. "All of the members of A.N.JELL were great to work with, and I think I've become pretty good friends with all of them."
"That was a really professional answer," Jeremy congratulated her at the private party following the press conference. "But, tell the truth - I'm your favorite, right?"
"Get real," Mi-nam told him. "If you were her favorite, she would have said so the moment she saw you raising your hand. I'm her favorite, except you and brother-in-law here kept her from saying so." He nudged Tae-kyung. "Why should you care if you're Ha-neul's favorite? You're already my sister's favorite."
To Ha-neul's surprise, Tae-kyung looked flustered at the mention of Mi-nam's sister. "Go Mi-nam, shut up."
As always, Shin-woo stepped in to defuse the situation. "All the talking at the press conference made me thirsty," he said. "Why don't we all get something to drink and relax?"
"That's a good idea, hyung!" Jeremy agreed enthusiastically. "But... you guys go on ahead. I see someone I want to say hello to first."
That "someone" turned out to be Su-jin, who was standing off to one side, watching a performance onstage. "I come in peace," Jeremy told her when she eyed his approach suspiciously. "There's something really important that I have to talk to you about."
"What is it?" she asked, still frowning.
She stiffened as he leaned in close, but he didn't notice, focused as he was on murmuring, "It's about Ha-neul and Shin-woo hyung. I think they like each other."
Su-jin gasped, and a delighted smile spread over her face. "Really?" she asked, craning her neck to find them in the crowd.
"I don't know it for sure," Jeremy cautioned her. "Tae-kyung hyung and Mi-nam both think I'm imagining things. I thought I would run an experiment to see if I'm right."
"What kind of experiment?"
He shrugged. "I was thinking of getting them alone together somehow and seeing what happens, but I don't know how to make that happen."
Su-jin thought for a moment. "Maybe you and Shin-woo can cook dinner for us, as our prize for winning the basketball game," she suggested. "We can disappear from time to time and give them lots of chances to be alone."
He frowned. "What are you talking about? You didn't win that game."
"We were in the lead when you guys started cheating," she reminded him. "Do you want help doing this or not?"
Jeremy knew that Ha-neul's pesky little friend had him over a barrel and snarled. He had to admit that her idea was a good one (certainly better than his idea to just lock them in a closet and let nature take its course), but he wasn't about to tell her that. "Fine."
With her self-proclaimed bodyguard otherwise occupied, Ha-neul was alone when Yoo Heyi stalked up to her. "Congratulations on a great video," the pop star said.
"Thank you," she answered, although she remained on guard. She now knew better than to believe that Heyi was being friendly.
"I've been reading the press releases about it," the other girl went on. "I didn't know you played in the Olympics."
"Well, I did."
Heyi tilted her head quizzically. "The press releases mentioned you a lot."
Here we go. "I had a rather big role in the video, if I do say so myself," Ha-neul told her evenly. "And Uncle Sung-chan," she added, emphasizing her name for the AN Entertainment president, "was kind enough to help me with my career by getting my name out to the media."
"Really?" Heyi arched an eyebrow. "That was very nice of him. Are you sure that's all he did?"
Ha-neul was about to ask the other girl what she meant when their discussion was interrupted by the arrival of a willowy older woman. Her stylish appearance and take-no-prisoners demeanor marked her as someone of importance - or, at least, someone you didn't want to cross. The woman charged right up to Ha-neul without sparing Heyi a second glance. "So Ha-neul?" she asked briskly.
"Yes?" Ha-neul answered, giving the woman a polite smile.
"I'm Nang Eun-hee."
Her jaw dropped. Ha-neul wasn't a fashionista like Su-jin, but she had heard the name often enough to know that this woman was a big name in the fashion world, with celebrity clients and shops in expensive districts all over the world. Fortunately, Ha-neul recovered before things got too awkward. "I'm pleased to meet you, Ms. Nang," she answered, sketching a bow.
"I was just speaking to your father," Nang Eun-hee told her. "I want you to model for me when I debut my next collection. He told me to come speak to you and see if you were interested."
Ha-neul's jaw dropped again. The A.N.JELL video was barely out, but here she was, already receiving modeling offers!
The older woman looked at her impatiently. "Well? Will you do it or not?"
"I-I'm very interested," Ha-neul admitted, "but I've never done runway modeling before." In fact, she had just learned how to walk in high heels without falling, but she wasn't going to say so out loud in front of Heyi.
"No problem." Ms. Nang waved a hand. "I'm still finishing my collection, and of course the fashion show won't take place until I'm good and ready. You have some time to learn."
Heyi, of course, refused to be ignored. "Ms. Nang?" she ventured with a sweet smile. "I'm Yoo Heyi. I think my manager also contacted you about being in your fashion show?"
Finally, the designer acknowledged her presence. "Yes, I think I remember coming across your name earlier this week. You're a singer, right?"
Heyi nodded, her smile widening. "And I've done a lot of runway modeling before," she said. "I would have done Andre Kim's fashion show last season if I didn't have so many commitments."
"Whom Andre Kim gets for his shows is none of my business," Ms. Nang replied. "I just care about what I need.
"And I don't need a fairy," she declared, referring of course to Heyi's nickname. "I need a goddess."
Chapter 1: Hello I Love You
Chapter 2: My Brave Face
Chapter 3: Temperamental
Chapter 4: Million Dollar Smile
Disclaimer: The A.N.JELL-verse belongs to the Hong sisters, creators of You're Beautiful. The KWBL (Korean Women's Basketball League) belongs to itself, and Andre Kim to himself. The paintings in the museum are actual works by an artist whose name I forgot to take down. Sorry.
Author's Notes: Thank you to jay_ed, lilivanilla1 and dawnfarie for reviewing!
Chapter Five - Heart Messenger (Rocket Diary)
It seemed to Ha-neul that the artist was hungry, because if their titles were any indication, a lot of the paintings in this exhibition were inspired by food.
She was standing in one of the galleries of Seoul's National Museum of Contemporary Art, staring at a painting that was supposed to be of chili peppers, but looked like a crowd of dancers tangled across the canvas. Director Lee had instructed her to look fascinated by the painting, and just wait for Shin-woo's entrance into the scene.
Even though she had the chance to prepare herself, she was still startled when a pair of hands covered her eyes. "Watch those elbows," she heard Shin-woo murmur behind her.
Turning, Ha-neul gave him a shy smile. "Hi."
He smiled back. She hoped that he wasn't just pretending to be happy for the camera, but that he was at least partly glad to see her. "Hi."
"Now, look at the painting together," Director Lee told them. "Shin-woo, if you can move in beside her...?"
Keeping his hands on her shoulders, Shin-woo did as he was instructed. "What are we looking at?"
"Black and purple peppers," Ha-neul answered, pointing to the small sign next to the painting. "Except that I think it looks more like a nightclub dance floor."
He tilted his head appraisingly. "Hmm. I think you're right."
The director then told them to walk along the gallery, looking at the other paintings and pretending to have an "intimate conversation," while the camera filmed them from a distance. When the cameras were safely out of earshot, Ha-neul ventured to ask, "How are you feeling?"
"Better," Shin-woo replied, "even though I have a big bruise right here." He placed a hand on his chest. ("Nice!" said Director Lee, thinking that he was indicating his heart.)
"I'm sorry I hit you," she said, glancing away and at a painting that looked like eggs spattered with green paint. "It was instinct."
"Instinct?" he repeated.
"Well, it's one way to get away from a defender - especially one who's doing illegal things himself," she added a bit pointedly.
Shin-woo had the grace to look slightly embarrassed, but said, "So you've done that to other people before? Tsk tsk. That's not being a good sport, Ms. Olympic Athlete."
"I've had worse done to me," Ha-neul told him. "That's the way it is in competition. You do what you have to do in order to show the other team who's boss."
"I guess so." He smiled at her as they walked past a large canvas featuring an explosion of red. "You looked great out there, though. It was obvious that you really like to play basketball."
"Thanks. I do love to play." She blushed, looking away again, then turned back to him with an impish grin on her face. "Now I guess we're even."
"Even?"
"Yes. You told President Ahn that I wanted to audition for this video even before I even had time to think about it, and I elbowed you in the ribs and beat you at basketball. We're even!"
Shin-woo laughed. "Who said you beat me at basketball?"
She arched an eyebrow. "Well, we were leading when you and Jeremy resorted to cheating."
He was saved from having to answer that by the realization that Director Lee was calling their names. You two can stop talking now," he said. "We have enough footage of the gallery. Shall we move to the gift shop?"
"Is the coast clear?"
Tae-kyung scowled over his water glass at the blond head peeking cautiously in the kitchen doorway. "What are you talking about, Jeremy?"
"Is Shin-woo hyung in there?"
"He's upstairs," Mi-nam answered. "Can't you hear him?" Through the ceiling overhead, they could hear someone strumming random chords on an electric guitar. Since he and Tae-kyung were in the kitchen and Jeremy was right outside it, by process of elimination it had to be Shin-woo upstairs. (Unless Jolie had some hidden talents.)
Satisfied by his bandmates' answers, Jeremy bounced into the kitchen, the stubby ponytail at the top of his head waving like an antenna. "Did you see what happened at the museum today?" he demanded. "Director Lee had to call Shin-woo hyung three times before he heard!"
"So?"
"So... that's never happened before! Whenever the director has an instruction for us, he's usually the first to hear. I think he was really distracted by talking to Ha-neul. He could barely take his eyes off her."
"They were probably arguing about the basketball game. I think Shin-woo would feel strongly about it after what happened to him."
"But arguing about basketball doesn't make your face look like this..." The blond boy put on a comically dreamy expression, complete with saccharine smile and batting eyelashes.
"I don't think he looked like that," Tae-kyung said.
"She was looking at him like that, too!"
"Well, that was what the director wanted, right?"
"Director Lee wanted them to have an intense conversation," Mi-nam recalled, "or something like that. I guess that was easy for them because they're old friends. It also helps that Shin-woo's the nicest of us all," he added with an amused smirk.
"Maybe they used to date back in school!" Jeremy exclaimed.
Tae-kyung looked pained. "Not so loud!" he hissed. "Do you want Shin-woo to know you're talking about him?"
"Sorry, hyung."
"Anyway, they were in elementary school together," Tae-kyung told him. "That's too young to be dating. This is Korea, Jeremy, not England."
"Ah, but you're never too young when it comes to the love of your life."
Chuckling, Mi-nam went to get himself a soft drink. "Sorry, Jeremy," he said as he turned back from the refrigerator, "but I think you're imagining things. The way I see it, Shin-woo and Ha-neul are just old friends, nothing more than that."
"Maybe," he replied, "and maybe not. To make sure, we must conduct some experiments."
"Experiments?" Mi-nam shot Tae-kyung a puzzled frown. "Do you know what he's talking about?"
The vocalist shook his head and took another drink of water. "I'm not sure I want to know."
Despite Tae-kyung's concerns, Shin-woo remained unaware that his bandmates were talking about him. Upstairs in his room, he was deeply absorbed in trying to frame the ideas whirling around in his head into chords and lyrics; unfortunately, all his attempts thus far had been futile.
At least using an electric guitar instead of his usual acoustic one felt like a step in the right direction. Shin-woo knew that he wanted to compose something different from his usual contributions to A.N.JELL's albums. The handful of songs he had written for the band so far had been well-received, even though they still took a backseat to Tae-kyung's work. Although all the members of the band were talented in their own right, it was Tae-kyung who was recognized as the musical genius.
Shin-woo didn't have a burning ambition to be seen as a musical genius, but he did want to try new things. He felt that he had changed, especially over the past year or so, and wanted, as Ha-neul had once pointed out, to use his music to express that. However, he didn't even have an idea of where to begin trying to give voice to everything that was inside him.
I don't want to turn into him, but... how does Tae-kyung do it?
On the day that AN Entertainment announced the impending release of the new A.N.JELL music video, fans all over the world logged on to the band's website to view the teaser trailer for the video.
The officers of A.N.JELL's fan club were, of course, the first on the scene. They gathered together in one of their favorite Internet cafés and watched avidly as the rumors and speculations played out in living, breathing color. "There's the baking scene!" Hyun-jae exclaimed as a snippet of it flashed onscreen. She giggled with delight. "Jeremy oppa is so cute! And look, his dog is there, too!"
Sayuri frowned thoughtfully. Although they always enjoyed the band's videos, there were other important things that demanded attention, particularly any females that appeared in the videos with them. "That girl was in Mi-nam oppa's scene, too," she observed.
Ae-sook gasped. "I think she was in the video with all of them! Should we hate her?"
The fan club president considered it for a moment before declaring, "No. If she's paired up with all of our oppas, then she's not the girlfriend of any one of them. Besides," Sayuri added, "I got to speak to her, remember? I have to say that even though she's a model, she didn't seem snobbish, not like Yoo Heyi." She scowled, remembering how nasty the girl called "Korea's fairy" had been to them.
"But that was before she made this video," Hyun-jae pointed out. "The press releases are mentioning her, too, and talking about how So Ha-neul is an up-and-coming model. I bet she's going to become really famous after this."
"Well, if she does, we'll probably see her again. Maybe she'll make more videos with A.N.JELL. We know what she looks like now, so we can see if she'll still be nice to us."
If she hadn't been so busy watching and re-watching the video teaser, Sayuri might have noticed a very familiar, very tall girl walk past the cafe entrance. "I still feel like my head's been shaved," Ha-neul said to Su-jin, who had taken her to Su-jin's favorite hair salon to get a haircut.
"Arnaud didn't cut off that much," Su-jin answered, patting her own new hairstyle. (Of course she had to treat herself to a new haircut, too!) "He just gave you bangs and some more layers, that's all. You look very chic, sort of like Cleopatra!"
"Cleopatra's not chic, she's ancient."
"OK, dramatic, then," she amended. "It gives you a more unique look, which will help all those top media people remember you at the launch party for the music video." Su-jin paused and gave her friend a winning smile. "I'm still invited, right?"
Su-jin was definitely still invited; in fact, she even went with Ha-neul and her father to the press conference where the video would be officially launched. "If it's possible," Ha-neul told her friend as they entered the theater where the video for "Can't Wait" was to be unveiled to the media, "I'm not going to another one of those things without you!"
"Don't worry," Su-jin promised. "I'll protect you from that bitch, Heyi, if she decides to show up again. Now, can you let go of my arm? You're going to leave bruises."
Mr. So, who had been walking ahead of the girls, now turned to speak to them. "Ha-neul, your Uncle Sung-chan said he's sending someone to get you. You'll be sitting with the band, answering questions at the press conference. Su-jin and I will meet up with you again afterwards."
Ha-neul froze. "I'm going to be interviewed?"
"Why shouldn't you be?" Su-jin asked. "You starred in that video, too!"
"AN Entertainment is doing us a very big favor by mentioning your name in the press releases," Mr. So said. "They're promoting you almost as much as the band. Be sure to thank them for giving you this opportunity."
"I hope I don't make a fool of myself in front of everyone," Ha-neul mumbled. Now that she knew that she was expected to speak, the crowd of reporters in front of the stage seemed to be awfully large, and growing by the minute.
"You've faced the press before," her father reminded her.
"And at least this time they'll be asking you about something nice," Su-jin added. The last time Ha-neul had spoken to reporters was after the Beijing Olympics, when she had been dealing with her injury and the team's elimination in the quarterfinal round.
Mr. So saw Stylist Wang striding purposefully towards them and, correctly guessing that she was the staff member sent by the A.N.JELL manager, patted his daughter's hand. "You'll do great. We'll see you later."
"Ha-neul!" the stylist exclaimed as she came near. "I almost didn't recognize you! I love that jacket. And that haircut!"
She smiled shyly and drew herself up a little straighter. "Thank you, unni."
"Is your father here?"
"Yes, he went to find seats with Su-jin. He said Uncle Sung-chan might be busy with organizing the press conference, so they'll see each other later."
Stylist Wang scrunched up her face thoughtfully and then nodded. "Good idea. Now, I'm supposed to bring you somewhere to wait with the boys. You'll all come out at the end of the screening."
The older woman led Ha-neul to a small inner room where the members of A.N.JELL, dressed in matching red-and-gray outfits, waited with their manager. "Ah, Ha-neul, you're here!" President Ahn greeted her. "Excellent, excellent! Are you ready for the press conference?"
"I think so," she answered truthfully.
"Well, you don't have to be afraid," he advised. "A.N.JELL will be out there with you, and you'll take care of her, won't you, boys?"
"Of course," Shin-woo assured the band's manager. He smiled at Ha-neul, blissfully unaware that Jeremy was violently nudging the other boys right behind him.
They stayed in that room until Manager Ma came to get them. Ha-neul and the band took their places on the darkened stage in time to hear the audience laughing over the video's final scene, which had all four band members showing up at the airport to discover that they were there to meet the same girl. She was relieved to hear the positive reaction; she had thought it was a clever surprise ending to the story that the video was trying to tell, but was afraid it would make her look like a two-... make that four-timer.
The house lights came on as the audience applauded, revealing the people seated at the long table onstage. Almost immediately, reporters began shouting out questions. Ha-neul tried to find her father and Su-jin in the crowd, but it was hard to pick them out with all the flashbulbs popping in her face.
President Ahn kicked off the press conference by thanking everyone in attendance for coming, and officially launching A.N.JELL's latest single. "We hope you enjoyed the video," he concluded, "and that you will continue to support A.N.JELL. Now, we will take some questions from the press."
Ha-neul listened to the band, particularly Tae-kyung, who wrote the song, field numerous questions about what the group was doing now, especially about the upcoming album. No, A.N.JELL didn't have a concept for the new album yet; the band was still writing songs for it. "Can't Wait" was the first one to be finished, and no, Tae-kyung was not suffering from writer's block.
Suddenly, attention shifted to Ha-neul. "Ms. So," said a young man in a smart black suit, "you're a former member of the national women's basketball team, correct?"
The press release had mentioned that fact, so Ha-neul nodded. "Yes, sir."
"Why aren't you playing in the KWBL?"
A large figure looming in the back, over the heads of the clustering reporters, caught her eye. Ha-neul's father gave her an encouraging nod. "Unfortunately, I suffered a serious knee injury while competing in the Beijing Olympics," she told the reporter, her voice calm. "My knee healed, but I was unable to play as well as I used to, so I had to find a different path. And I'm very thankful to A.N.JELL and their management for giving me this opportunity," she remembered to add. Mr. So gave her an approving smile.
"You never played basketball again?" asked another reporter.
"Oh, no, I still play with my friends." Ha-neul grinned as she thought about the last game she had played. "It's good exercise, and I love the game."
"Do you have a boyfriend?" asked a woman with a rather shrill voice.
She hoped it was all right to look surprised at that question, because she hadn't been expecting the press to be so interested in her. "No."
"Now that you've had a chance to work with all the members of A.N.JELL," the same reporter asked, "can you tell us which one is your favorite?"
"Um..." Ha-neul knew that this was a tricky question, and even if she didn't, she wasn't about to say just anything in response.
Suddenly, there was a movement at the corner of her eye and everyone laughed as Jeremy raised his hand and waved it wildly, as if begging her to choose him. Mi-nam tried to force Jeremy's hand down and raise his own, and soon the other boys were vying for her favor, even Tae-kyung, who pointed to himself and arched his eyebrows meaningfully.
Ha-neul knew that they were keeping their promise to their manager and trying to ease the pressure on her, and laughed appreciatively. She knew just what to say. "I enjoyed every minute of the shooting, so it's hard to choose a favorite," she told the reporter with a smile. "All of the members of A.N.JELL were great to work with, and I think I've become pretty good friends with all of them."
"That was a really professional answer," Jeremy congratulated her at the private party following the press conference. "But, tell the truth - I'm your favorite, right?"
"Get real," Mi-nam told him. "If you were her favorite, she would have said so the moment she saw you raising your hand. I'm her favorite, except you and brother-in-law here kept her from saying so." He nudged Tae-kyung. "Why should you care if you're Ha-neul's favorite? You're already my sister's favorite."
To Ha-neul's surprise, Tae-kyung looked flustered at the mention of Mi-nam's sister. "Go Mi-nam, shut up."
As always, Shin-woo stepped in to defuse the situation. "All the talking at the press conference made me thirsty," he said. "Why don't we all get something to drink and relax?"
"That's a good idea, hyung!" Jeremy agreed enthusiastically. "But... you guys go on ahead. I see someone I want to say hello to first."
That "someone" turned out to be Su-jin, who was standing off to one side, watching a performance onstage. "I come in peace," Jeremy told her when she eyed his approach suspiciously. "There's something really important that I have to talk to you about."
"What is it?" she asked, still frowning.
She stiffened as he leaned in close, but he didn't notice, focused as he was on murmuring, "It's about Ha-neul and Shin-woo hyung. I think they like each other."
Su-jin gasped, and a delighted smile spread over her face. "Really?" she asked, craning her neck to find them in the crowd.
"I don't know it for sure," Jeremy cautioned her. "Tae-kyung hyung and Mi-nam both think I'm imagining things. I thought I would run an experiment to see if I'm right."
"What kind of experiment?"
He shrugged. "I was thinking of getting them alone together somehow and seeing what happens, but I don't know how to make that happen."
Su-jin thought for a moment. "Maybe you and Shin-woo can cook dinner for us, as our prize for winning the basketball game," she suggested. "We can disappear from time to time and give them lots of chances to be alone."
He frowned. "What are you talking about? You didn't win that game."
"We were in the lead when you guys started cheating," she reminded him. "Do you want help doing this or not?"
Jeremy knew that Ha-neul's pesky little friend had him over a barrel and snarled. He had to admit that her idea was a good one (certainly better than his idea to just lock them in a closet and let nature take its course), but he wasn't about to tell her that. "Fine."
With her self-proclaimed bodyguard otherwise occupied, Ha-neul was alone when Yoo Heyi stalked up to her. "Congratulations on a great video," the pop star said.
"Thank you," she answered, although she remained on guard. She now knew better than to believe that Heyi was being friendly.
"I've been reading the press releases about it," the other girl went on. "I didn't know you played in the Olympics."
"Well, I did."
Heyi tilted her head quizzically. "The press releases mentioned you a lot."
Here we go. "I had a rather big role in the video, if I do say so myself," Ha-neul told her evenly. "And Uncle Sung-chan," she added, emphasizing her name for the AN Entertainment president, "was kind enough to help me with my career by getting my name out to the media."
"Really?" Heyi arched an eyebrow. "That was very nice of him. Are you sure that's all he did?"
Ha-neul was about to ask the other girl what she meant when their discussion was interrupted by the arrival of a willowy older woman. Her stylish appearance and take-no-prisoners demeanor marked her as someone of importance - or, at least, someone you didn't want to cross. The woman charged right up to Ha-neul without sparing Heyi a second glance. "So Ha-neul?" she asked briskly.
"Yes?" Ha-neul answered, giving the woman a polite smile.
"I'm Nang Eun-hee."
Her jaw dropped. Ha-neul wasn't a fashionista like Su-jin, but she had heard the name often enough to know that this woman was a big name in the fashion world, with celebrity clients and shops in expensive districts all over the world. Fortunately, Ha-neul recovered before things got too awkward. "I'm pleased to meet you, Ms. Nang," she answered, sketching a bow.
"I was just speaking to your father," Nang Eun-hee told her. "I want you to model for me when I debut my next collection. He told me to come speak to you and see if you were interested."
Ha-neul's jaw dropped again. The A.N.JELL video was barely out, but here she was, already receiving modeling offers!
The older woman looked at her impatiently. "Well? Will you do it or not?"
"I-I'm very interested," Ha-neul admitted, "but I've never done runway modeling before." In fact, she had just learned how to walk in high heels without falling, but she wasn't going to say so out loud in front of Heyi.
"No problem." Ms. Nang waved a hand. "I'm still finishing my collection, and of course the fashion show won't take place until I'm good and ready. You have some time to learn."
Heyi, of course, refused to be ignored. "Ms. Nang?" she ventured with a sweet smile. "I'm Yoo Heyi. I think my manager also contacted you about being in your fashion show?"
Finally, the designer acknowledged her presence. "Yes, I think I remember coming across your name earlier this week. You're a singer, right?"
Heyi nodded, her smile widening. "And I've done a lot of runway modeling before," she said. "I would have done Andre Kim's fashion show last season if I didn't have so many commitments."
"Whom Andre Kim gets for his shows is none of my business," Ms. Nang replied. "I just care about what I need.
"And I don't need a fairy," she declared, referring of course to Heyi's nickname. "I need a goddess."