Jisoo nods. “I did, too.”
Haneul looks at all of us. “Well, we’re already taking a risk with a co-ed group. Let’s do it.”
We all nod in agreement and then eat until Haneul’s phone goes off.
It’s actually the first time in a long time that I don’t start counting the calories before putting the food into my mouth and it feels good. I have Ryan to thank for that; for making me feel braver, and beautiful. For kissing me and feeding me, two things I never knew I needed.
Frowning, he looks down at it. “It’s our manager.”
I’ve yet to meet him; not that I care since we aren’t really doing any shows or anything yet.
Haneul answers it, and I can see his skin visibly pale as he listens.
When he’s done, he puts the phone down and rasps. “Seems SWT might have a surprise release coming up or something. If we want to release our first single, we probably need to do it in the next week or wait for two months.”
I jump to my feet. “What? Why?”
“Because,” Ryan says next to me, “when SWT releases or does anything, it saturates the market. Not just with their music but backlist music and merch, too. We need to be seen, so…”
“Shit,” Jisoo cusses.
We all look at her.
She shrugs. “What? It’s shit. We all know it. And it sucks.”
“We’ll do the song,” I say. “The one we just did. We’ll do that one first. We can do a teaser MV, right? How long does that take?”
Ryan runs his hands down his face. “We have the concept already, but we have to get production ready and—”
“I can do it,” Jisoo suddenly says. “My mom’s dating CEO Siu. I bet I can get them to swing it this week. I’ll ask.”
Stunned stupid, I just stare at her. “Your mom is dating the CEO of our label?”
She frowns. “I didn’t think it was necessary to share.”
Haneul bites back a curse while Ryan laughs. “Anyone want soju?”
“Cheers.” I join him in laughter. “Looks like we’re doing a teaser MV this week. No pressure. Who the hell is even going to edit that?”
“Me,” Haneul says. “I’m good. As long as we have the manpower to get a teaser and MV done, I can edit and direct the entire thing.”
It’s not just risky; it’s unheard of. I mean, other than Stray Kids and a handful of other groups.
Then again, look at them now. Stray Kids just hit number one on the US billboard charts for their latest album, so maybe this is the right move to make.
So, I just nod my head and agree.
And when I go to bed later that night…
I dream of dancing with the guy who used to taunt my nightmares, only to enter into my dreams.
Chapter Eleven
Ryan
Two Days Later
The CEO of the entire label is clapping for us. He nods his head at me and winks. “I hope this works. I really do.”
“Me, too.” I feel like puking. “Me, too.”
It takes me a minute to get out of hair and makeup. By then, I’m exhausted, and everyone else has decided to go their separate ways to take a nap.
Everyone but Ah-Ri.
I follow her out of the building and watch her get into the van that will take her back to the trainee dorms, even though I know they’re close.