Frivolously typing at a pastel-capped keyboard, Joy Lozada wore a smile looking at a paragraph of article she had written.
'ASCEND's Joon-Woo: Poor student or hard worker?'
Attached was the gem of a photo she had stumbled across thanks to her supernatural helper. The buzz of her small staffed office was immediate upon the discovery of Park Joon-woo's middle school report card.
Her co-workers, as they did everyday, crowded her desk at her daily discovery. Yesterday she had found the story the famed Japanese-Korean actor Kim Sungmin seducing many of his female co-stars in the form of HR requests sent in by the female actor's agencies. The day before she leaked the faces of the virtual idol group W_AVE.
Joy was the journalist that saved her company from falling under water.
"Joy-ssi? How's the article coming along?" Her co-worker, Saeri(?), she could care less about memorizing her co-workers names.
Joy wore a smile on her tan face, and looked at the taller and more pale Japanese at her side. "It's going great! We'll definitely get many hits on this one…" She expressed, with her high pitched and Filipino-accented voice.
Jang Saeri nodded with an expression hopeful and sure, "We'll definitely get the good bakery cakes from CEO Lee, right?"
Joy nodded, not caring too much for the luxuries of this life. She had lived it all before, afterall, as one of the most notable yet despised journalists of her past life. She was Henrietta Dudek. Who had connections internationally in every industry. Bollywood? K-Pop? Hollywood? Aggro social media dwellers knew her name like a mantra.
She was the cliche villain of every entertainment company to breathe. It had reflected in her real life, her coldness and lack of care for the world around her.
Maybe that was why she ended up how she did. She didn't treasure her life because everything was just a straight-faced game to her, and she wanted to win.
But when everything was said and won, and her name was worth millions of dollars, she lost meaning. It was abrupt, but she had satisfied what she wanted to. And after one too many pill bottles ate into her heart, there was no way life could've been anything better than how she lived it.
A small hiss rang from under her feet. A speaking snake looked up to her to ask, "Aren't you curious why I'm asking you to target K-Pop now?"
Joy shrugged, thanking Jang Saeri for her words, and turning back to her document of trash talk. "There's plenty more dirt in this industry than in others'." She expressed, "Why?"
The snake, a small (almost too small) cobra, hummed as if debating his words, "Spot on. Your name will be almost as popularized as in your first life at this rate."
Joy smiled at the praise, she loved praise. Her co-worker's, boss's, and even the cobra at her mercy.
"I hope so." She said, crossing her arms to the last sentence she typed.
'For the member known to be the quick-witted and smartest of his group ASCEND, it's a shock his in-school grades would reflect such a lack of effort and bad example for his younger fans.'
–+–
"[Yes, yes, yes!]" Emily cheered, as the familiar beat to ASCEND's upcoming single played.
The stomping movements of each step were loud, but relatively insync when they needed to be. A chorus.
"1, 2, 3, 4–" She led, smile wide on her face.
On the third day of practice is when ASCEND had their first perfect run of their new song; Call Me Yours.
"Last part!" Emily shouted as the last fifteen seconds of the song came about.
The formation shifted closer, closer, and closer, until Reggie and Joon-woo were centered in the odd embrace of Reggie offering one of his knees as a seat and Joon-woo sitting on it. Mi Yong and Ryeo Hyun did the motion of shooting their hand under their own shirts and onto their chin, pulling their shirts up enough to reveal abs.
Carre watched with intrigued eyes.
"This is quite the sexy rendition…" She commented, no Kite beside her weight.
Emily clapped loudly, whooping as the member's ASCEND fell onto the practice room floor beneath them.
"That was great guys! The best take all day!" She smiled wide, "So much more energized and polished…"
Jung Hyun-Ok wiped beats of sweat from his mixed features and smiled, "Thank's Emily Noona–!" He teased.
Emily rolled her eyes, "Do you wanna do the whole song again?"
Playful fear rang across their faces, especially Baek Du-Ho and Joon-woo with less stamina.
"No, no–" Jung Hyun-Ok insisted, "I'm all worn out and hungry now…"
"Me too…" Reggie replied, leaning his head onto Joon-woo's shoulder as a dramatic act. "I bet even Jo-ah is hungry, right?"
Joon-woo rolled his eyes at the nickname, but did in fact feel his stomach grumble almost painfully below him. The problem was, he only had two hundred more calories today, as part of the pre-comeback diet.
"A little bit." Joon-woo lied, blocking out the hunger with a familiar ease.
Reggie seemed satisfied with that, and turned to the group, "Let's get chicken! I can ask my mom to send me money!" He exclaimed like a broke middle schooler.
Mi Yong, their very leader, was the first to agree. Joon-woo only sighed as he watched excitement grow in the faces of his bandmates. Wouldn't Emily stop this? He looked at the instructor with careful eyes as he always did, but she only smiled at him with a slight surprise in her eyes. Joon-woo never looked at her directly. Like he was scared.
"I can chip in a little too." Emily instead said, disappointing Joon-woo whatever crumbs of trust he had placed in the dance instructor.
A few days without a manager, and these guys were already slacking off?
–+–
"Hyun Hyung! Didn't Jae Hyung get interviewed today?" Reggie asked the chicken-eating buff man in front of him.
Ryeo Hyun nodded, "He said it went well." The small smile that crossed his face could only be described as cute, though drenched in sauce from the boneless chicken he had downed as a whole.
Joon-woo was silent, spectating as Mi Yong even brought out cans of lightweight beer. He could drink in hindsight, but he was watching his weight, he needed to most. He brushed his hand through his hair, letting the natural action of a few too many strands falling out happen.
He had eaten a few bites out of the smallest piece he rummaged for.
Jung Hyun-Ok nudged the younger on the shoulder, though Joon-woo had noted his hyung's eyes on him for a long while before then. Joon-woo met Jung Hyun-Ok's eyes in question, only to be faced with a large piece of chicken being shoved towards his mouth.
"Hyung-ah!" Joon-woo cried grabbing the older's wrists and pushing them the other direction.
"Joonie… I know you're hungry…" Jung Hyun-Ok teased, pushing against Joon-woo's efforts with ease.
Joon-woo's small pride took a hit. For a while he knew his body was no more than a stick in terms of strength, but feeling it in play only sent small chills down his spine. Didn't that make him too vulnerable?
Joon-woo shook his head, looking at the congregating ASCEND just a yard or so away.
Baek Du-Ho and Reggie were reading a Webtoon together, Ryeo Hyun and Mi Yong watching Spirited Away attentively on the screen. Well, now everyone was looking his way, watching him struggle.
"I ate already." Joon-woo insisted, his stomach in a large amount of pain, "Plus we have a comeback very soon!" He flailed, using his leg to kick Jung Hyun-Ok away by the thigh.
Jung Hyun-Ok rolled his eyes, "That's why we will diet every day after this. Don't you ever crave food like this?" He gestured towards the fried chicken in his hand.
Joon-woo shook his head, fast, already knowing his answer. He had learned to block out cravings after his life as Ha-rin, they were only cravings after all.
Jung Hyun-Ok at Joon-woo's refusal, he sighed and stopped pursuing the other with the fried calories.
"What if I made it a salad, huh?" Ryeo Hyun questioned, still looking at the TV.
Joon-woo felt his face redden with all these efforts. He had to maintain his figure the most. He was the shortest and by company rule was the smallest one of the group. Unlike a 9-5 worker, an idol's body and face were their money, not work hours.
Joon-woo wanted to scoff, but he knew it would come off as disrespectful. He was just tired of everyone on his ass about when he last ate, or what he planned for his next meal. It was like his bandmates wanted him to get fat…
He crossed his arms, slightly knowing of Carre's glare from across the room. He had aimed to mind his business, but Kite's lack of presence was getting more and more evident as the third day passed.
"I'm okay, Hyung. Thank you, though." He replied, realizing Ryeo Hyun was waiting for his reply.