New Trials
Blinding white light pulls Hana out of her slumber. She opens her eyes to look for the source; a large window across her bed. For a second, she is confused and looks around the studio apartment she woke up in. This isn’t my dorm… oh, wait. She shakes her head, remembering she didn’t fall asleep in her dorm last night… which was not even her dorm anymore. She was at Rika’s apartment.
Puffing out a breath, Hana gets up from the mattress-- queen-sized and memory foam, easily the most comfortable mattress Hana has ever slept in-- and goes through the motions of her morning routine. Dazed and half-alive, she moves carefully as she brushes her teeth and prepares herself breakfast. Every move feels somehow wrong as if she shouldn’t be here, doing this… she still can’t wrap her head around everything. She could barely sleep last night, mind ablaze with doubts, and now she’s woken up to another day of uncertainty.
She sits on a couch next to a window to drink her coffee and try to ground herself. Today was her first day as an official member of a group-- well, not yet quite official, they still needed to go through all of the motions of a contract, but she was living in the previous leader’s secret apartment so this was as official as it got-- and she tensed, thinking of what lay ahead of her. What would her group be like? Would she be able to keep up? Hoping to ease her nerves and satisfy her curiosity, Hana decides to reach for her phone, open Metube, and look up Mystic Messenger. It wouldn’t hurt to see what the group was up to.
She finds herself watching a performance of their debut song, Mysterious Messages. It’s good, though average for a debut song, Hana thinks. Upbeat and charming. The lyrics talked about falling in love with someone over messages while solving a mystery. They’re cute, though with a hint of something darker between the lines. Hana chuckles, thinking of how much the song mirrored her current experience. Their performance as a group was flawless, all of them executed the upbeat dance to perfection, and their synchrony was like nothing Hana had ever seen. Was there any place for her? They all just fit together, moving like pieces of an impossible sculpture, balanced to create something nearly magical.
The blonde kid’s fun, innocent expressions rivaled dark-haired Jumin’s allure, which in turn complimented the charming aura of the silver-haired man Hana guessed was Zen. Then, there was one red-haired member who was particularly playful in his moves, adding color to the performance. Rika was something else entirely, performing with the largest smile on her face, joy exuding from every move she made. She was truly worthy of that center position. Hana couldn’t help but be drawn by her, she moved in a way in which only those who truly loved what they did could. And then there was Jaehee, movements steady and precise, not really in the spotlight, but holding the group like a foundation. Hana wondered for a second why she was singing only the minor vocal parts, she knew how versatile her voice was. Until the final chorus’s adlibs came, that’s when Hana went oh. That woman had insane vocal control.
After the performance was over, and the camera had gone through each member’s ending fairy (Zen winked in a way that made Hana’s stomach tingle, and the redhead’s tongue sticking out made her laugh), Hana decides to look through the comments. Most are in English, others in Portuguese or Spanish or French. Their international fanbase must be huge, she thinks, maybe I should press harder on my language-learning… The idea didn’t excite her in the slightest.
She decided to take a look through their official Youtube channel, too. There’s the usual dance practices, covers, and vlogs. Hana frowns, seeing the last video is from five months ago. “Strange,” she thinks out loud. It’s the dance practice for Jumin and Jaehee’s subunit song, a choreography she knew by heart after having to do it for one of her evaluations. There was nothing after that.. maybe they were active elsewhere? Or had they gone on hiatus? V did say the group needed a creative voice.
A ding distracts her from her musing, coming from Rika’s phone. It’s a notification from the messenger app, alerting her Jaehee opened a new chatroom. Startling, she unlocks the phone, only to be bombarded by texts.
Jaehee Kang: Hello
Jaehee Kang: I got the message from V. He told us you’ve decided to become a member of Mystic Messenger. Congratulations and welcome.
Jaehee Kang: I heard that you’ll be taking over Rika’s work.
Jaehee Kang: I believe it would be for the best to explain your responsibilities as a group member, but I’m worried because, frankly, I’m not sure if you are a trustworthy person or not. It’s only yesterday that you’ve stumbled upon our group.
Jaehee Kang: I hope you do not take this offensively.
Hana jumps at the quickness of the messages. She gets where Jaehee’s coming from, she is wary of the group, too, but the woman isn’t giving her any time to adjust. Her hands fidget as she thinks of something to say. She loses focus when someone else enters the chatroom. Hana’s brows furrow. Who is it this time?
ZEN: Jaehee’s only saying that because she’s a meticulous person lolol.
ZEN: Shall we change the mood with my handsome face?
Zen sends a selfie in what looked like a cafe table, hand resting in his chin with his face slightly tilted. Hana’s heartbeat quickens, he must be one of the most beautiful men she’s seen in her life. His face is sharply angled, with soft eyes and perfectly sculpted lips. He is indeed handsome, Hana thinks.
Jaehee Kang: :eyesemoji:
Jaehee Kang: Welcome, Zen.
Jaehee Kang: Zen’s selfies are always lifelong keepsake-worthy photos.
ZEN: Thank you, Jaehee.
ZEN: They call me the “otherworldly visual” for a reason.
ZEN: :winkemoji:
Jaehee Kang: Rightfully so, your beauty is quite otherworldly.
Hana snorts, a little flustered. They were just going to flirt like that, in the chatroom? Someone new enters then. It’s Jumin.
Jumin Han: Ah, here you are.
Jaehee Kang: Were you looking for me?
Jumin Han: Yes.
Jumin Han: I needed to discuss some things with you before leaving for the company, about the comeback plan.
Jumin Han: I heard that Hana will be joining the group as the creative director.
Hana’s eyes jump out of her sockets. Comeback? V had never said anything about a comeback… though she supposes they have to have one at some point. He also never said anything about her being the creative director of anything… What was this about?
Yoosung has entered the chatroom.
Yoosung: Hello!!
Yoosung: Huh, is everyone saying their hellos…?
Hana takes a look at his profile picture. He’s the blond guy, and quite attractive. Though, if she thinks about it, everyone in the group is very attractive…
Yoosung: Wait, we’re having a comeback?!?
Yoosung: Is that true?!
Yoosung: :shockemoji:
Jumin Han: Actually, we were going to call up a meeting today to discuss that.
Jumin Han: Everyone, please head to the practice room by 9:30
Hana’s heartbeat quickens, and she brings a hand up to her mouth. So they’re really having a comeback… With shaking hands, she starts to type a response before being stopped by Jaehee.
Jaehee Kang: Hana, can you come to our office by 10 A.M.?
Jaehee Kang: If you can come to the address I’m about to send you, head over to the reception and they’ll guide you from there.
Jaehee Kang: Once you meet the members, we’ll discuss how we’ll go about preparing the comeback.
Jaehee Kang: Address
Hana bites her lip. This was all maybe just a little bit surreal, and likely a prank of some sort, but she’d come this far already. With shaking fingers, she types a response.
Hana Kang: Okay.
Hana Kang: I’ll be there.
She smiles, reading the stream of messages that follow.
Jumin Han: Then I’ll see you soon.
Yoosung: I wonder if Seven will be there. See you soon, Hana!!
ZEN: I’ll drag him out of bed if I have to lol.
ZEN: see you at 10, my lady.
ZEN: :winkemoji:
After leaving the chatroom, Hana puts the phone aside and presses her palms to her knees. She’s pretty sure her heart will explode out of her throat any moment. Her nerves are rising by the second, making it difficult to think… she’s really about to go to the Cheritz building, to meet with a group. Her group.
Hana takes her time getting ready, mixing and matching her small set of clothes to find the outfit that will give off the best impression. She needed to come across as someone prepared, diligent, ready to give it her all. She had already come into the group in a less than ideal way, she has to make them trust her. She will make herself worthy of her position.
___________
As she approaches the Cheritz Ent. building, Hana has to remind herself she isn’t dreaming for what feels like the hundredth time in twenty-four hours. She looks up at the iconic cherry logo stamped on the skyscraper, takes in the multiple ad screens surrounding it, advertising the company’s artists and their projects. Zen’s new play called “Zorro.” A comeback teaser for Eri, one of their soloists. The largest billboard, the one right next to the entrance, has a picture of Mystic Messenger, sans Rika. Giddy, and perhaps a little flustered, Hana enters the company.
It doesn’t take her long to find the reception desk, but she finds herself speechless when the lady there asks her if she needs help with anything. She looks around, thinking of what to say. Should she say she’s here to meet with Jaehee? Or V, since he’s their manager?
“Excuse me, miss Hana Kang?” someone says to her left.
Hana is even more speechless at the sight of Jaehee Kang approaching her. Seeing Mysme’s female member, a renowned performer in the industry, her groupmate, just brings it all to reality for Hana. “Yes… it’s Jaehee, right?” is all she can say.
“Indeed. It’s a pleasure to meet you in person,” she says, giving Hana a small bow. Flustered, she returns it. They both start walking to the elevators. “Welcome to Cheritz. The other members are all waiting upstairs, and they’re quite excited to meet you. There’s… a lot for us to discuss before proceeding.”
Hana finds herself quickening up her pace to keep up with her, face heating up in what she decides is a mix of anticipation and awe at the woman now guiding her through the office. As a trainee, it was not strange for Hana to see other idols, as it was pretty common to see her fellow trainees go to debut, but encountering seniors-- experienced performers-- was always flustering. Meeting Jaehee is no different. She carries herself with an air of both cold professionalism and fiery confidence, asserting her presence with every step she took. As if she owns the ground she walks on, and nothing or no one could tear her down. The thing that shocks Hana the most though, is that she is only a year older than her, yet looks like she’s got life wrapped around her pinky finger… Hana could never imagine being so confident at such an early age. Jaehee Kang is a hall-of-fame idol, with gracefully sculpted muscles and an aura that could forge steel. She is the ideal woman, everything Hana wishes to be.
Jaehee gives her a quick tour of what’s on each floor as they go up the elevator. Floor two has a dining hall, with “all sorts of options to keep the company’s artists in the best health.” Floor three was mostly trainee rooms, and some studios used for livestreams. Floors four and five are artist studios, and six to ten are offices and meeting rooms (“the room where it happens,” Jaehee called them, Hana didn’t know if she was deliberately referencing a musical or not). Floors eleven and twelve were for production and mixing.
“Luciel has promised to give you a proper tour later on,” she says as they exit on the fifth floor, “but for now, we need to get to business.”
“Luciel?” Hana asks, frowning. They walk past multiple practice rooms, some of them busy. Hana tries glancing at them, but Jaehee’s pace doesn’t slow.
“707’s real name,” she clarifies. “It’s rather… strange, but it’s the most normal one he has.”
Hana ‘oohs’ as they turn a corner, approaching a large practice room. Music is blaring out from a speaker, loud and upbeat, and voices sing over it. Hana can’t help but smile, are these the Mysme members? Then, a deeper voice reprimands them, and the music turns off. Huffing out a breath, Jaehee opens the door.
“You guys really couldn’t keep things calm for two whole minutes… are you serious?” Jaehee reprimands as they enter. The room they’re in is impossibly wide, with white marley covering the floors and a floor-to-ceiling mirror to their left. The wall opposite to that holds a light-up cherry logo. Across from it sit Mysme’s other four members, which Hana can’t help but smile at. They return the gesture, Yoosung giggling a bit while Zen smirks in a way that makes Hana tingle. Jumin doesn’t pay her any mind, focusing instead on Jaehee and Seven’s bickering.
“Come on… we were just having some fun! Getting into it, y’know?” the redhead retorts, to which the brunette just rolls her eyes before going to lean back in the mirror, next to Zen. “Plus, we have a new member…” he says, facing Hana. “Isn’t that a cause for celebration?”
“We will celebrate once we’ve finished her assessment,” Jumin says, holding up a hand. His speaking voice is just like his singing voice, Hana notes. Deep, with an edge of cold to it. It makes her tense.
Seven pouts. “You’re such a party pooper, Jumin.” He goes to sit next to Yoosung.
“Agreed, and also, you should be a little bit less of an emotionless prick to our new member. She’s looking like a scared puppy right now,” Zen says, in a rather accusing tone. Hana swallows, embarrassed, before attempting to relax her face. Did she look that nervous?
“Don’t worry, Jumin’s usually an ass like that,” he says, facing Hana. She snorts, hoping the man can’t see her reddening cheeks. Embarrassment is not a good look for a newcomer.
“It’s alright, I’ve had worse bosses,” she chastises. Jumin raises a condescending brow to Zen, who just frowns at her.
“Is that even possible?” Jaehee mutters, earning a small chuckle from Yoosung, and a sigh from Jumin. Hana tenses, rolling on the balls of her feet. Is Jumin that bad?
As if answering, he looks over to her, brows turned up slightly, before saying, “First of all, Zen, this is not the time for you to be immature, I’m trying to discuss business here. We came here to settle things with Hana and that’s what we will do.” He turns to Hana, who straightens. “Now, Hana, V told us you’ve been a trainee for over two years now.”
She nods. “Yes, I entered my old company in early 2018, but have had to take leave yesterday.”
Yoosung gasps lightly, eyes pained. Hana quirks up a brow. “You left your company? I’m so sorry about that…”
She smiles, glad for his compassion. “Yes, it’s very unfortunate… which is why I am so glad for this opportunity.”
Jumin’s lips quirk up the slightest bit. “Two years is usually enough time for a trainee to debut… most members here have had three or four years, I myself had eight before debut, but we have some who’ve trained for short times too. Zen had been training for seven months before joining and Jaehee for around three, I believe.”
Hana’s eyes nearly jump out of their sockets. “You trained for only three months?” she says to Jaehee.
“Professionally, yes. For three months and one survival show season,” she states, as if it’s something every person does.
Hana gasps and Jumin continues. “Which means, you’ll have something to bring to the table. So, tell us, please, what can you do? Did you train for a certain position?”
“I was a dancer,” Hana says.
“Ooh, awesome!” Zen exclaims, “finally someone to do freestyle duets with me.” He looks over to Jaehee. who huffs with a little “come on.”
Hana purses her lips, not knowing how to react. “I mean… I enjoy freestyling, so if you wanna do that…” she says. Though doing it with someone she barely knows will be very awkward. Zen just smiles.
“Well, continuing,” Jumin says, “we’d like to see you perform something, to assess your skill.”
Hana’s brows rise, and she blinks a few times. She had expected some sort of… demonstration, but maybe later on, not as the first thing she did with Mysme. But Jumin was the down-to-business type, it seemed. “Well, uh… I can freestyle if you’d like--”
“Actually, before anything else, what style do you think is your strongest suit?” Jumin interrupts.
Hana frowns, thinking on the question for a second. “I feel most confident in street jazz, I’m very familiar with girl group choreography.” This earns a brow raise from Seven and a lick of lips from Jaehee, who then looks to Jumin. Quickly, Hana adds, “but recently I’ve been more into jazz-funk and hip hop and such, which are more in tune with fourth-generation choreography.”
This time, Jaehee talks. “Do you perhaps have anything you can show us right now?” Se uses the same business tone as Jumin.
Hana perks up. She does know a handful of choreos and starts counting them on her fingers while bobbing in her toes. “I know Blue Velvet’s ‘Crazy,’ Once’s ‘Elegant,’ Monthly Girl’s ‘What about it,’ Eye Zone’s ‘Party’...”
“Actually, uh,” Jaehee interrupts, “we do have a… particular style to our choreography. Are you familiar with any of our repertoire?”
Hana stops, thinking for a second. She doesn’t know any of their group choreographies…
“You are familiar with our music, right?” Yoosung says, in a rather condescending way, which gets him bad looks from the other members.
“I am,” Hana says. “And I don’t know any of your group choreos… the only one I know is Vogue.”
Jaehee and Jumin both startle at the mention of their song. They catch each other’s eyes, perhaps communicating something Hana can’t catch. Then, after a nod, Jumin says “Although it’s rather a different style from what the full group does, we’d like to see you perform it. Luciel, connect the sound, please”
Seven jumps up from his seat, heading over to a corner of the room. Hana licks her lips, heart racing at the prospect of performing the song in front of the artists who sang it. How heavily will they be judging her skills? “Alright,” she says. “Just the dance, right? I’m afraid I’m not super familiar with the lyrics”
“Just the dance for now,” Jumin says, right as Jaehee brings a chair over to her. Hana is now breathing heavily, hands leaning over the chair. Evaluations of any kind never failed to shoot her nerves up to the roof, and surprise evaluations doubled that. And now, she was being evaluated by potential groupmates. But this song was a trial she’d already passed. She could do this again. She ran over the steps through her mind quickly, symbolizing the moves with her hands.
“All done,” Seven said. “Just tell me when you want me to start the music!”
Carefully, Hana goes to sit in the chair, legs crossed, and face resting on the back of her hand. She tries to make her face as coy as possible, although she doesn’t feel the mood of the piece as much without the blazer, part of the costume.
“You can play it now,” she tells Seven and takes one deep breath.
“All riiiiight then, show us how you grind!” he says and presses a button on the radio.
The music begins, slow, heavy beats kicking Hana’s muscle memory into action. She moves sharply, smoothly, like wine swirling on a glass, contorting and stretching her legs on the chair before getting up with a complex leg cross move. She walks forward, sulking in the sultriness of the song, hips swaying with each step and eyes fierce and wanting. The music speeds up and so does her footwork, feet crossing and sliding, arms moving like waves from her back. A sharp note hits, kicking off a series of arpeggios, setting Hana’s blood on fire. This is her favorite part of the song, the sharp, fierce poses, and she loses herself completely to the movement, arching her back and playing with her hair, eyes narrowed, saying “come and get it.” This is her element.
The members’ eyes don’t move from Hana, each of them amused in their own way. Yoosung is openly gaping, blinking rapidly. Zen leans forward as if he can’t look at Hana close enough, like he wants to see deeper, see more. Seven has his brows raised and mouth pursed, clearly satisfied with her performance. Jaehee’s eyes are wide and her mouth is ever so slightly quirked up, she almost looks proud. Even Jumin reacts, brows raised and mouth slightly agape. Seven catches this look and giggles, to which Jumin retorts with a hushed “cut it.”
Hana pays their reactions no mind, focusing entirely on the dance, now on the chorus which is significantly less moved, hand gestures complemented by simple footwork allowing her to smile and even lip sync a bit. The second verse begins, and Hana glides back to the chair, dramatically stepping one foot on it. She taps it twice, pure sass, before bringing her other leg in to stand in a crouch on the chair. From there, she decides to place her whole focus on not falling, executing the complicated chair tricks with little flare, but still earning a “Woah” from Yoosung. Then comes the second chorus, which she manages to make even sexier than the first, adding a little wink at the end. Zen whistles at that.
Retreating to her chair for the bridge, she sways her shoulders, turning the focus of her movement inward as if she’s dancing for herself. This is the slow part, the clam before the fiery dance break where she once again emerges with a hair toss and a coy smile. Every dance move then lands like a blade, sharp and nearly defiant. The last chorus is pure bliss, Hana drowning in a confidence she can only ever feel when performing. Briefly, she remembers this is what she loved so much about Vogue: it made her feel untouchable, all-powerful, infinite.
The song ends, and Hana is panting, but she’s strangely satisfied. This went way better than she thought it would. The Mysme members seem to agree, all of them clapping, Seven even woos. She smiles, a warm sensation filling her up. They are satisfied, they are happy. She did well. She does a small bow, before clutching her hands together and eyeing the members, expecting their next move.
Jumin takes a step closer to her. “That was quite satisfactory, Hana,” he says, “You certainly managed to… add your own personality to the piece.”
Hana frowns, not knowing if his words are a thinly veiled insult or a badly worded compliment. She still gives him a “thank you” with a small smile.
“Oh my god, don’t be like that,” Zen says, then turns to Hana. “Hana, that was… it was revolutionary. It was incredible!” He splays his arms wide for emphasis. “You are literally a goddess.”
Hana giggles at his compliment, cheeks hot. “Oh wow, thank you so much… I haven’t done this piece in a few weeks, so this was nerve-wracking.”
“Oh wow, really?” This time it’s Seven, frowning. “didn’t look like it!”
“Yeah!” Yoosung exclaims. “You’re so good, you could even replace Jaehee!”
Hana raises her brows at that, flustered, feeling the heat spread to her neck. She looks over to Jaehee, who just sighs before turning to Hana, ignoring Yoosung’s comment.
“That was a wonderful performance, Hana,” she says, and Hana feels her stomach flutter, Somehow her comment hits differently… after all, she was the one who Hana studied so thoroughly to get the piece right. “Your style is quite unique, I’m glad we have such a talented dancer in our group.”
“That’s… Thank you, really.” Hana feels like she’s going to melt at any moment, she’s not used to such flattery. “And thank you too, Yoosung, though I doubt I’d be able to sing as well as Jaehee.”
“Oh, I’m sure you can,” he chides, which makes Hana’s back tense. “Good dancers are usually good singers, too.”
Hana turns her eyes away from him, rolling her feet. “I’d say singing is my weak spot, actually. I have always been more of a dancer.”
“Hm, that’s understandable,” Jaehee says. Then, eyeing Zen, “Not all of us can be aces.”
He snorts. “You’re absolutely right. Tough I bet your voice is still lovely, Hana. Pretty girls usually have pretty voices.”
Hana shakes her head. Why is this boy so flirty? She’s flattered by the compliment, yes, but also wishes they’d all stop prodding on the subject of her voice. She didn’t wake up ready for a vocal evaluation.
“I suppose…” Jaehee continues, “but the goal, in the end, is to keep improving. To exercise your weaknesses and use your strengths.”
Hana nods. Jaehee’s right. Jumin the cuts in. “If you’re having trouble with anything, we will help you with it,” he says. “Jaehee can help you with vocal technique and Zen with dance. Though you seem quite experienced in that department.”
“Oh, that’s good,” Hana says. She’s definitely going to need some vocal coaching, and Jaehee seems like she’d be a good coach. Hana turns to her, who is frowning lightly at Jumin.
“So… we have a new main dancer?” Seven says after an instant of silence. Hana frowns, shoulders tightened slightly. She wasn't expecting something as big as the main dancer.
“Woah…Seems like I’ll have to share positions,” Zen says to Hana. She snorts to mask her discomfort.
“Oh come on, Zen!” Yoosung whines. “You’re main dancer, center, visual, lead vocal… you deserve to share!”
Zen opens his mouth to retort, probably with a snarky comment, Hana thinks, but then Jaehee speaks up. “What’s the problem with his positions, if he’s clearly worthy of every single one of them?” Zen raises his eyebrows at that, giving Jaehee the reason. “And I think having two main dancers is a great idea, it will allow for some interesting partnering in choreos,” she says with a slight smile at Hana’s direction. She returns it, thinking partnering with Zen won’t be bad…
“Actually, I was thinking to appoint her as the lead dancer,” Jumin says. All eyes turn to him, Zen’s expression defeated. Something stirs in Hana at his anticipation of working with her... “At least, for now, until she is more experienced as a performer,” Jumin continues, pulling her from her thoughts. “As well as a sub-vocalist, as it will do us good to have another female voice.”
Hana nods. This sounds reasonable… and exciting. She finds herself smiling, things are finally starting to come together. “That sounds great, actually,” she says.
“Excellent,” he nods, “Jaehee, could you message V and tell him to put that arrangement in the contract, please?”
“Will do,” she says, pulling out her phone. Briefly, Hana wonders why Jumin doesn’t just do it himself, but then she finds Seven standing in front of her.
“Soooo, I think now we can finally say ‘Welcome to Mystic Messenger!’” He has the widest grin on his face, and Hana laughs, infected by his joy.
The other members do the same, all smiling brightly. Yoosung sprouts out a cheery “Welcome!”, while Zen adds a “lovely lady” in a flirtatious tone to his. Jumin and Jaehee are both more formal, saying they look forward to working with her. She thanks them all in kind, asking them to take good care of her. Their smiles say they will.
For a moment, Hana is enveloped in the safety she so yearned to feel since last morning. Her life doesn’t seem like such a loss anymore, now that she’s found them. They’ve got her back, and for now, things will be alright. Maybe in the future, Hana thinks, they’ll all become something like a family.