Wen Dong performed as best he could. Manager Quang and Manager Ling were going to finalized the group today. Although he told Shun he made it into the group, it wasn’t the final group, so he had to do really well or it would end up being a lie. He couldn’t be a liar!
Finishing up with the potential group, he paused on his last pose before grinning over at Ping. That cute pinkette was huffing from exertion, but grinned back at him. Since the boy returned, Wen Dong worked hard with Ping to be part of a group. Their dream was still alive and they would reach it no matter what! He looked over at Tee and nodded to the young dancer. The boy had grown a lot as well, he was a proud brother.
“Alright!” Manager Quang nodded rubbing his stache, “Ling Mei, let’s announce who is in the group.”
“You’ve all done so well, so it was difficult but we finally figured out which we would debut with, but don’t worry! It is a possibility that we would make another. Manager Quang and I are still deciding.”
‘Ah, that is a bit of a relief,’ Wen Dong told himself.
“Okay. So we will be making a 4 person group. Ping, Tee, Marik, and…”
Wen Dong felt his heart dropped. Again, he would not make it. It hurt him, it truly did that sometimes he figured he would just give up becoming an idol to be a contractor or something. Exhaling deeply, he smiled at his dear little Ping Ping who had shimmied over to stand beside him.
‘To comfort me when my name isn’t-’
“Wen Dong.”
“…”
“Ah Dong!” The little pinkette cried estatic, “You made it!”
Wen Dong felt the shakes, heard the congratulations, but he still couldn’t believe what he heard. He made it. He finally, finally made it. He looked down with tears in his eyes at Ping, who was teary eyed as well. Picking the boy up, he spun him, laughing and holding his friend close.
“I made it,” he tucked his face into Ping’s neck.
“We made it!”
“Yes, we made it,” Wen Dong laughed and took a deep breath, “We did.”
==
Manager Bon took a look at the photos and nodded with approval. She smiled and watched the boys posing and doing exactly as the photographer asked. Her eyes looked over at Shun, the favorite of the group, according to the web. The silver haired male had a large following and there were many fan accounts and fan pairings of the boy with his friends.
She wasn’t the best manager for nothing.
Making sure that Shun posed extra with each member, she hummed to herself. She noted on her phone that it would be a special gift for those who preordered their debuting album. It took her a long time to convince Donny Wang that right now, supernatural theme was the current trends, not retro. The man fought her for a while but gave in when she wasn’t backing down.
“Trust me. I know what I am doing.”
“You better!”
The experienced idol snapped and mumbled about having to change the aesthetic of the music. It was not her fault that the stubborn man wasn’t in the trends like she was! Sending a thumbs up to the boy’s, they smiled and went to pose in front of another area of the forest.
Some wore suits, others wore blouses, but they all had skin showing. The one with the most fanservice was Taemeng. The dancer had a nice body and Bon knew the fans would love to see those abs! She smiled and noted down to schedule a meeting with a videographer. Her cellphone rang and she stepped away to pick it up.
“Bon here.”
“Ah, Senior Bon,” the voice of her assistant spoke with relief, “There is trouble. I tried to fix it, but it seemed to be worse. I don’t know what to do.”
“What is it, Ah Gong?”
“I…”
Bon waited and heard the notification from her assistant. She opened the link to see the headline, “Shinny Dolls Fight! Is Jenell Leaving the Group?!” Bon’s lips turned into a frown and her eyes narrowed. She saw a picture of Jenell with her face scrunched up with a smear of frosting on her face. Star and Kola were laughing, as if they were the bullies.
Letting out an exhale, she placed her phone to her ear as she continued to scroll on her tablet, reading the rumors on the article. Allie. That nasty reporter again! She listened to her assistant telling her what happened and she hummed, glancing over at the boys getting ready to change to head to lunch.
“Bring the girls to the Gonju Restaurant in an hour,” she stated and her assistant said he would.
“Manager Bon,” Shun smiled at her, “Why were we taking so many pictures? I feel like I am blind from all the flashes.”
She laughed and patted his shoulder.
“For your fans. We’ll be putting a photobook and photocards for them to collect,” Bon grinned when she saw the grimace from the silver haired boy, “Eh, don’t worry Shun. I will handle it!”
She laughed and they thanked the staffs. Heading into the car and being taken to the restaurant, Manager Bon spoke up.
“Boys, Shinny Dolls will be joining us at lunch today.”
“Oh Really! How do I look?” Mikey questioned Heeang and breathed on his palm and took a sniff.
Heeang rolled his eyes and tiled his head at his manager.
“Oh, are they not fighting, Manager Bon? I read the article while I was waiting to get fixed up.”
Manager Bon ran her fingers through her hair and hummed. Leaning back into her seat, she glanced at the new group.
“They are still a group. If one of them want to leave, they should speak with me. Just like if any of you want to go solo, tell me first.”
“Pssh, I won’t even go solo,” Mikey threw an arm over the youngest male, “I need someone to hold me back when I see someone beautiful.”
“Control yourself, Mikey,” Taemeng frowned, “If you do anything to lose face, we will need to speak.”
“…”
“Ah Tae,” Kaiden smiled calmly and patted the dancer’s arm, before looking over at Manager Bon, “If any of us were to change direction, we will tell you, Manager Bon. You have managed us really well. We thank you.”
Kaiden bowed and Shun, along with everyone, followed. The female laughed with a shake of her head.
“Eh, why did Mr. Wang not make you the leader?” She questioned and the raven haired male offered a smile.
“Guess I don’t have what it takes.”
“Yeah right,” Shun sighed and crossed his arms, “I have no idea what I am doing. You are the leader Kaiden. I just have the dang title…”
“Who is the visual, according to Mr. Wang?”
“…”
“He didn’t say?”
The boys didn’t answer and she let out a deep sigh. She glanced at them all and visually, Taemeng has the look internationally, but here…
“It doesn’t matter,” she smiled, “You all fit for what his goals are. Ah, we are here. Behave yourselves,” Manager Bon glanced back at Mikey, “Especially you.”
They all filed out of the car and, surprisingly but not really, fans were already there waving and smiling. Symmony smiled and took pictures with their fans as they headed into the restaurant. Shun inwardly groaned with their packed schedules for the past days. From taking lots of pictures, too much in his opinion, preforming on stage, changing outfits, changing makeup, was so tiring.
He sat with his back straight and a smile just like his mother would tell him to do at his kingdom, as a prince should. He made sure to place the tablecloth on his lap and cut his meat. He ate slowly and swallowed before speaking. He made sure to wipe his mouth and patiently listen to his team.
Like a prince should.
Until he saw the beautiful man, the one who’s lips he could not remove from his mind, the one with eyes of gem and hair of a rose. His heart stuttered and his mouth parted. His body wanted to lurch up and attached itself to the man who glanced over.
Green meets blue.
Shun watched the idol prince, so perfect and beautiful, stroll to him. Suu Jin must have some sort of magic because he felt like his body was melting where he sat. His eyes felt heavy and his heart was singing. His cheeks were hot and no… his entire body was hot and he didn’t know if he stood or not, but Jin was so close. Just a little more…
“Congratulations again. I know you will all do well,” Suu Jin smiled and beside him was… a girl.
‘Eh? Who… WHO IS SHE?!’
***
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