As the only members of Hearts2Hearts that were eighteen, Carmen and Jiwoo were privileged to have access to SM Entertainment’s Idol Lounge, a glorified break room that nevertheless was better than whatever the fuck cafes the competition had to offer. It was late at night, after dark, and the building was otherwise deserted save for the night shift (only present down on the ground floor), so Carmen was grateful for the opportunity to explore the lounge without any of their seniors, or, you know, boys, being around to make things awkward. She hurried along after Jiwoo, nearly outpacing her, and only an almost preternatural sense of dread kept her from running straight into her friend’s behind.
Instead, she grabbed Jiwoo by the hand and slowed her down. Someone was in the darkened lounge ahead of them, she could hear their murmurs and it would do the two rookies no good to burst in like some cacophonous cavalcade. As luck would have it, Jiwoo did not cry out at Carmen’s sudden arrest, admirably keeping her mouth shut and biting her tongue.
They huddled around the corner, out of sight.
“That girl looks like a flapper,” said Wendy, chuckling, and clutching her bottle. She took another hearty swig.
Irene was confused. “What’s a flapper?”
Wendy coughed and snorted. Seulgi took the chance to one-up her.
“About a hundred years ago, there was this modern women’s style, called flappers, I guess. Anyway, that girl must remind Wendy of it. I can only sort of see the resemblance.”
Wendy, shaking her head, set her bottle down and cleared her throat. “It was more than a style, it was like, a way of life. Here, let me show you.”
She brought up her phone, ran a search, and showed it off. Irene nodded.
“Hey, I think Taeyeon did that for, um…”
“INVU,” answered Seulgi. “Except she looked way better than these hundred year old bitches did.”
Irene and Wendy both laughed. Then Irene asked, “Speaking of new girl groups, what do you think of our company’s rookies?”
“I like them,” said Seulgi, flatly.
“They’re alright,” said Wendy. “Their song kind of sounds like some of our stuff, though.”
Carmen held her breath. Were they about to get negged?
“I don’t think that’s a bad thing,” said Seulgi.
“But it’s not a good thing, either,” blurted Wendy.
There was an uncanny pause. Carmen wondered: had Wendy interrupted Irene?
“I mean, they’re a different group, right? So they should have their own sound. People aren’t going to buy their music if it’s just like ours. Even if we disbanded, them being a copycat wouldn’t help them.”
“Don’t talk about disbandment,” said Irene coldly. There was another pause.
“Sorry,” muttered Wendy. Then she put her foot in her mouth again.
“The other thing is, they don’t really stand out visually, do they? I mean, I know that HYBE report was crazy, but it was right about this one thing, you know?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” said Seulgi, tonelessly, and Carmen’s heart soared when she realized her senior was defending her. Well, the eight of them collectively, at least.
“Really? You sure? Because other than that foreigner, none of them stick out. What’s her name again?”
“Carmen?” said Irene. (She knew her name!)
Wendy laughed again. “Yeah, her. Carmen. When I was still in North America, there was this old kids’ game show, ‘Where In The World Is Carmen San Diego?’ Ever since I heard that was her name, that theme song has been stuck in my head. Here, let me play it for you.”
“That’s just not necessary,” said Seulgi, firmly.
“Go home, Wendy,” said Irene. “And leave the bottle.”
Silence, meaning noncompliance. Carmen peeked just so around the corner, in time to see Wendy get up. That skinny bimbo. Weirdly, she seemed to be aging backwards. Not the other two, they were merely frozen in time, at their mutual point of perfection. Anyway, Wendy wasn’t leaving, and Seulgi and Irene were soon on their feet, too.
“I’m not going anywhere,” snarled Wendy.
“Drunk bitch,” said Irene. Seulgi snatched the bottle away, and Wendy was disarmed.
“Fuck you both. Oh, and one more thing about Hearts2Hearts,” she continued, in a mocking tone, “they’re definitely no aespa.
And off she went, out the opposite door. For a while, Seulgi and Irene stood there speechless, and Jiwoo pulled Carmen back slightly to give herself that hidden view.
“She’s getting meaner as she gets older,” said Seulgi.
“Oh, it’s just the alcohol. If I’d had that much to drink, I’d be a cunt as well.”
Seulgi snickered, and Carmen peeped once more, blocking Jiwoo’s sight. She had barely enough time before being pulled back to witness their seniors’ intimate moment. The gasp she let out alerted them both.
“They’re coming!” whispered Jiwoo shrilly. There was no cover, they’d be found in an instant.
“Carmen, follow my lead!”
And she buried her tongue in Carmen’s mouth.
Shocked and surprised, Carmen went limp. But then she found herself enjoying the strange sensation, the warmth and taste. She put her arms around Jiwoo and pulled her in close, and Jiwoo broke off the kiss to catch her breath, and it was at that moment that they heard pleasant giggles next to them. They both turned to see Seulgi and Irene smiling at them and blushing, and it was so wonderful, that feeling, that Carmen turned back and kissed Jiwoo on the cheek.
“You’re so cute together,” said Irene.
“Get a room, you two!” teased Seulgi.
“Congratulations,” added Irene.
Carmen couldn’t help herself; she looked the two of them up and down. God, they were fine ass women, curvy in a way that made herself feel inadequate in comparison. She clung tighter to Jiwoo in response, struggling to hide her plain girlishness.
She needn’t have bothered. Seulgi said, “Good night, you two,” as she and Irene moved on, and in a moment Carmen was alone with Jiwoo.
Neither of them let go.
“That was pretty wild, wasn’t it,” murmured Jiwoo.
“Yeah, it was,” said Carmen. She looked Jiwoo in the eyes.
“Are we a thing, now?”
Jiwoo screwed up her mouth. “I guess we are…if you’re okay with it…”
Carmen told her ‘yes’ by pecking her on the mouth. They tried several more styles of kiss, weighing the ups and downs.
“She was right, though,” admitted Jiwoo. “I’m a little worried about how long it’ll take for us to find our niche.”
“Don’t be,” said Carmen. “A group’s sound evolves over the years. Look at aespa, a lot of their early stuff was pretty schizophrenic. But their last couple of albums were fucking amazing.”
Jiwoo nuzzled Carmen lovingly. “I suppose you’re right.”
They stood there together for a while, until Carmen suggested, “So, maybe we should get a room for the night…”
Jiwoo laughed and pulled back just a bit. “One thing at a time. I love you.”
Carmen screwed up her face with all the feels. “I love you, too,” she whispered.
It was while they were walking home ten minutes later, holding hands, that Jiwoo had a new question.
“Back when we first heard them talking…who do you think they were talking about?”
“What, the flapper girl?” asked Carmen.
“Yeah, who’s that? And more importantly, which group?”
Carmen thought for a moment. It had to be a recent debut, right?
“Jiyu, from KiiiKiii. She’s got a unique look to her. People called it refreshing.”
“Huh,” said Jiwoo. “So they’re from Starship. IVE’s sister group. They’re so different, though.”
“Yeah…”
“Imagine trying to follow in Jang Wonyoung’s footsteps.”
Carmen nodded, then she felt a bit miffed. Weren’t they in the same boat? Or was she admitting Wonyoung was a much greater celebrity than anyone in their own company?
“Imagine following Karina’s footsteps…or SNSD’s.”
Jiwoo glanced at her quickly, then turned away. They were almost home when Carmen spoke up again, for the last time that night.
“The one thing that gets me, is that Starship was willing to take a risk with KiiiKiii’s first song, and our company wasn’t. I’m just worried our whole careers will turn out like that, us releasing songs considered ‘safe,’ and everyone else experimenting.”
Jiwoo stared at her. “‘And that fear haunted them for the rest of their lives.’”
Carmen laughed weakly. “Alright, I’ll stop. One day at a time. With you.”
“With you,” said Jiwoo.