บท 56: Unexpected
"Yes way." PD-nim's voice echoed throughout the room as it was still engulfed with the silence from our disbelief.
"Ya… Jeong Do-hyung… pinch me right now. I need to wake up from this." Zee said as Jeong Do didn't hesitate to pinch him hard. He yelped from the pain and spoke in English, "I guess this isn't a dream then."
As soon as the organizers heard that they laughed. "You're pretty much awake right now, Mr. Yang. I hope that you guys would consider this. We'll handle the accommodations, travel expenses, food, and other expenses. All you need to do is to go there and perform your hearts out."
"JayB-ya! What are you waiting for?" Jeong Do said.
I snapped from my trance and immediately extended my hand to shake his. He gladly shook my hand and the deal was made. The rest of the members cheered still unable to believe that this happened.
"I guess, we'll be seeing you soon in America, Mr. Kim." Michael said.
I gave him a smile. "We're looking forward to it, and please… call me JayB."
After the short visit, we were able to finalize the details about the event and how we were going to add it to our schedule especially when I'm busy with the drama, the promotions for the Christmas album, and preparations for the year-end award shows.
"This is going to be challenging." Jiwoo said. I could feel his energy slipping away just by thinking about it.
I patted his back. "Don't worry. We'll be fine. I'm pretty sure that everyone will do well. We're done with the practices for the year-end shows anyway. All that's left is to master it."
The rest of the members of Alpha were happy to hear that from me. They were starting to be burnt out from all the schedules. It was thanks to my drama and the Christmas album that Alpha was not that busy compared to the rest of our labelmates.
We finalized our calendars and schedules for that month and decided to head out to practice. PD-nim then approached me and decided to talk about the album. "The promotions are in a few days. Are we good to go?"
"I sent you the file a yesterday. We're supposed to practice the songs today. Right?" I addressed his concerns.
"I understand, JayB-ya. And we plan to release 3 songs per week. As for the group songs, we plan to release 1 MV per week." He told me.
"Wow! That's actually a great plan. Not only will the album be properly promoted, but the artists involved won't be bothered with their schedules. It would also give the listeners a chance to really absorb the song." I replied in excitement. Looks like I was thinking too much about being exhausted during the promotion period. I guess not.
But PD-nim suddenly frowned which made it look like he had something to say. I didn't wait for him to say it. "What? Why are you making that face? What is it this time, PD-nim?"
He scratched the back of his head. "You see… Remember when we opened the company's online forum as to which artists in JYP the audience wanted to collaborate?"
"Yeah? What about it?" I asked.
He sighed. "There's one collaboration that earned 60% of the approval ratings of the people."
"Then why didn't you say so? We should record a song for the artists that the fans voted for right away!" I responded in excitement. I mean, who gets 60% of our fans approval ratings, right? That's just amazing.
PD-nim however was nervous and was hesitating to tell me who it is. I had to force him to tell me. In the end, he gave in. He started to speak slowly as if he was afraid to offend me or something. "JayB-ya… This is hard on my part… so the choice is still yours to make… the audience wants… you and IU-ssi to have a duet in the upcoming album…"
"Let's do it…" I told him.
Surprised?
Me too.
But here's the thing. It's still business. We would end up getting a lot of approval ratings and love from our fans. There were also a lot of IUxJayB fans out there that would contribute to the sales. This would be a great time to use this to our advantage. I had to be a professional and keep my personal feelings aside.
"JayB-ya…" He tried to change my mind.
I sighed. "PD-nim. Don't worry about it. I promised you that we would break up if ever something happened to her. And we did. I know you care about her more than I do. So don't worry. This is purely for music and business."
He gave a sigh of his own. "Alright. I trust you. But you have to be the opening promoters for the company. So that you won't have much to think about once your done. If you know what I mean."
I nodded. "I understand. I'll send you the file tonight. Let her study the song. We'll record tomorrow night, and have the MV shoot and the photoshoot the day after tomorrow. I still have to leave for America for my drama after the promotions anyway."
PD-nim patted my shoulder. "I'm grateful for you."
"It's nothing, samcheon. If there's nothing else, I'm going now." I bowed to him.
"Thank you, JayB-ya. Take care. And oh… I'll send you the files for the sub company's soon to be girl group." He said which got my attention.
I raised my eyebrow at him. "Didn't we just debut I.O.I. recently? Is it JYP's turn to arrange the next girl group? My sister's going to be pissed at you again if you release a new girl group when they are still there."
He chuckled. "Yeah. But this is for late next year. I want you to check out the list. After Twice's and I.O.I's success, I decided to trust you in terms of the line-up of members in the future."
His words made me smile. Finally, I can bring the line-up from the previous world to this world. I'm looking forward to it.
__________
[White snowing is falling
Snow that I've waited for every day
I wanna dream and sing a love song with you all night
I'll lightly and shyly go to you like a snowflake
Then I'll softly whisper to you, I'll confess everything
I love you (Always Be Mine)
I'll give you white love]
After 4 days of recording, awkward filming, funny photoshoots and heart-warming promotions, our week-long promotion for "White Christmas" was finally coming to a close. This song was sung by Kyungri and Jeong Jinwoon in the previous world. I thought that this would fit us perfectly so I decided to use it.
When the teaser for the MV came out, our company's forums and social media platforms exploded with questions and excitement from our fans. Although there were haters, it was ultimately drowned out by the positive comments that were flooding the net. When the MV finally came out, it trended worldwide. I got a call from my friends in the industry as they asked about me and IU-sunbae. The first day of our live promotions came out, and our song soared to the number one spot in all music charts. It was the first time that a Christmas Song made its way to the top of the charts. It's still October after all!
Though we were performing, it was still awkward for the both of us to be all lovey-dovey on stage. It was hard to keep a straight face while holding hands with her. It was even weird because ti was like IU-sunbae and I were playing a game of "Who gets thrown of first?". It was practically annoying. She would lean closer as if she wanted to kiss me. I would get my revenge by leaning in and almost brushing my lips on her cheek or shoulder. The fans went mad and hysterical when they saw this. They absolutely loved it. They didn't even know how awkward it was after the performance.
Now, it was finally our last day on stage together and we just finished our costume rehearsal for our performance. It was time for our camera rehearsals. Before we knew it, we were finally back to our dressing rooms getting ready for our last show together.
"Finally… we're almost done." I muttered.
"You're that eager to get rid of me?" She said as she bumped her shoulder into mine.
I chuckled. "You know that's not what I meant."
She laughed as she sat down her chair while looking at the mirror. "Well, whatever. I've been wanting to take a week off if it wasn't for this sudden promotion."
"Yeah. You need to rest. Have you been eating well? You look like you've lost weight." I told her without thinking much about it.
She suddenly stopped and turned around and glared at me. "Don't do that."
I was shocked at her reaction. It was as if she was really angry. We can't have that now when we were about to perform. It would ruin our chemistry. "What's wrong? What do you mean?"
She then stood up and angrily gestured around her. "THIS! Don't do this!"
I didn't know what she was talking about so I just sat there and kept myself quiet. She then scoffed at my reaction. "You have no idea do you? Well let me give you a hint. You can't act like you care about me, JayB-ya. Not when you just said those things to me a week ago."
I could not believe that I was hearing this from her. "Noona… before you became my girlfriend, we were friends. It's hard not to care."
"Please just don't." She suddenly said.
There was silence in the room before one of the show-runners knocked on our door and peeked her head. "Hi guys! You're on in 10 minutes. Please start heading out for your interviews now."
And just like that, we pretended that we were in good terms. That's what we were both good at…
Pretending…
_________
"Ah! Will you stop?!" I yelled at Shinhye who poured a cup of ice cubes on my back.
It's been almost a week since our promotions ended and we were now in Miami, Florida waiting for our filming to start. According to the director, it was for the first few episodes. I can't believe that we shot the later episodes first before the scenes for the first part of the drama. It's really weird. But I can't do anything about it since he is the director after all.
I was sitting at the beach just contemplating about this year since it was about to end. It was even the last few days of our filming here. A lot of things were ending. But what never seems to end was the constant thought of IU-sunbae during our promotions. It was the first time that we fought like that. I just didn't know what to say.
"I will if you stop brooding over there." Shinhye said.
I sighed. "Ya… if I knew you were a prankster, I would have treated you differently in that blind date."
She rolled her eyes. "Ya! Kim Jinbo! We both know that you're not capable of pranking a woman. You're too much of a gentleman to do that."
"But not enough to not be able to hurt a woman." I muttered under my breath.
Apparently she heard it which made her sigh. She sat down beside me and bumped her shoulder onto mine. "Is it IU-ssi again?"
I didn't reply and just nodded at her. She patted my back before she started playing with her necklace. "JayB-ya. Love's a messy thing. You can't love a person without hurting another."
"You sound like you've been where I am." I told her with a small smile on my face.
She chuckled. "People tend to woo you a lot when you're in this industry. Especially when you're fame is skyrocketing."
"I'm sorry for asking." I told her sincerely.
She shook her head. "It's okay. I know how miserable you feel right now. It's hard to choose. Sometimes, to please everyone, you have to let go of your own happiness to protect other people's smiles. And I'm pretty sure that's not what you want."
She looked really sad as if she was recalling a painful memory. I tried to put myself in her situation. It must have been lonely battling it alone. I'm just glad I have friends and my members with me. An actress' path is also lonely.
I bumped my shoulder to hers lightly. "Is there really no other way?"
"There is, actually." She said.
I turned towards her expectant of her answer. She then turn to face me and said, "You form a harem. But it'll make you look like a pervert."
"Ya! I was serious!" I said as I stood up. I still couldn't believe that came out of her.
She laughed so hard that she almost fell down from her chair. "Relax! I was just kidding! You should see the look on your face!"
"Ya! Park Shinhye! Are you crazy?!" I yelled at her.
"Ya! What are you guys doing over there? We're about to start filming! Let's go!" Jiwoon called us. She must have finished filming her parts already.
With that, we ended our bickering and rushed to the set.
__________
"Well that was fun." Jiwoon said.
"Speak for yourself. We got scolded for being late." I complained.
Shinhye rolled her eyes. "All you did was laugh behind the camera Jiwoon-ah. It was the first time I've seen the director like that though."
"Well, whatever. At least we have the rest of the day off. Want to go somewhere?" Jiwoon asked.
"Yeah. How about we try their food trucks? I heard that it's a must try here in America." Shinhye said.
I chuckled. "That's a myth. Not all food trucks are good. You ladies enjoy. I'm heading to the hotel to rest."
Just then, Shinhye linked her arm onto mine. Jiwoon did the same. They gave me this huge grin giving me the chills. Jiwoon then drew small circles on my arm. "JayB-ya… you know we can't speak English well. So… will you be our translator?"
"No way. I'm too tired. I'm not even hungry." I rejected their offer.
"Please, JayB-ya. We just want to try some American food." Shinhye added.
When their gripped loosened, I took that as a chance to escape. "Listen, guys. I just want to rest. There are plenty of translators in the team. We hired them for a reason."
"Ya. Kim Jinbo. This isn't just about us." Shinhye angrily said as she placed her hands on her hips.
I turn to them in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"JayB-ya… Every time you're alone, you think about all the bad stuff that's been happening to you. It's just sad to see." Jiwoon answered.
Shinhye then walked over to me and gave me a hug. "We're your friends, JayB-ya. Alpha might be your closest friends, but we also care about you. Please, just go with us."
I thought about what they said. Without saying anything more, I turned around and started heading to my car without sparing them a glance. After turning around and seeing them standing there in disappointment, I smirked. "Well? Don't just stand there. Let's go."
As soon as they heard that, they immediately rushed towards me while giggling. They were really excited to go around and see the sights.
I smiled at them. "I'll take you to my favorite food truck place. You'll love it there. Plus, it's near my house."
They all turn towards me in surprise. Shinhye's jaw dropped. "You have a house… in Miami?"
I just shrugged at them which made Jiwoon shake her head. "At this point, I'm not even surprised anymore. Alright, JayB-ya. Lead the way."
I stepped on the gas which made the car go faster. They were also enjoying the drive since I opened up the roof exposing us to the cool beach-side breeze. We soon arrived at the place that I mentioned We started ordering... a lot. While waiting for our orders, we talked about some of the great things that happened on set. It helped us pass the time in waiting for our food. Once our food arrived, we started stuffing ourselves, and believe me, I was surprised at how much these girls were able eat. With that body, where does all the food go?
After stuffing ourselves with food, we were finally full. We all leaned back on our chairs and just let the moment sink in. Our work was finally over, we were able to enjoy driving around, and as well as eat to our heart's content. It was a satisfying day.
"You're right." I suddenly said which got their attention. "I'm glad that I went with you guys. It got my mind off on a few things."
"See? We told you. Eating helps." Shinhye joked.
I laughed. "It does, doesn't it?"
We all laughed and stayed like that for a while until someone suddenly covered my eyes and asked in English, "Guess who?"
"Hey… whoever you are… stop playing games. Who is this?" I said in a cold tone.
Shinhye and Jiwoon just stayed quiet and didn't answer for me. The girl on the other hand let go, and went over to my side giving me a full picture as to who it was.
When I realized who it was, I was shocked and a little bit flustered when I saw her. She gave a smirk as she crossed her arms. "Ya… Kim Jinbo. Is that how you treat your ex?"
"Ex?" Shinhye said before she snapped her head towards me.
I tried to speak and finally, my mouth opened. "Kim Jiyeon… what are you doing here?"
__________
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