The Slap Scandal and Audition Ambitions
Myeongjeon scratched her head. Such a thing had really happened? She stared at Dain's face, wondering if it was even a joke, but Dain didn't look like she was kidding at all. There was a hint of amusement, but it was more pity than humor.
"For real?"
"You really don't remember, huh? I wasn't there, so I don't know the details. But I think Chaerin was... though she wouldn't give a straight answer when I asked."
At Dain's suggestion to call her, Myeongjeon nodded.
"Yeah, Chaerin! What're you up to? Can you come out? Got something to talk about. Nah, it's not super serious—or well, it is serious, but not about you~"
After some back-and-forth, Dain hung up.
"She lives nearby, so she'll be here soon."
Myeongjeon felt a surge of genuine gratitude. This girl had been a victim of the bullying too—why was she being so nice?
"...Anything you wanna eat? My treat."
"Ooh, where'd you get money, Suyeon?"
"I earned it... well, it's from something that happened recently..."
"I'm here!"
A girl burst into the cafe like she was tumbling in, grinning brightly as she lunged at Suyeon and Dain. She nuzzled them like a golden retriever showing affection, then headed to order coffee. Suyeon blocked her path.
"I'll get it. What do you want?"
"No way! Suyeon's buying? Gimme a salted ainshpehner~"
"...Salt in coffee? What's an ainshpehner?"
Suyeon muttered in confusion as she walked to the counter. Watching her go, Chaerin whispered to Dain.
"So, why'd you call me?"
"Suyeon'll explain in a bit."
"Ooh... something serious?"
Then the chit-chat began. What've you been up to? Where'd you get that outfit? As they swapped stories, Suyeon returned with three coffees, a financier, and cheesecake.
"Chaerin, here."
"Whoa!! How'd you know I was hungry? Thanks a ton~"
As Chaerin scarfed down the pastries and chugged her coffee, Dain dropped the question.
"Chaerin. Remember what happened that day?"
"Mmf?"
"The day Suyeon slapped Senior Joohee."
Chaerin spat out a mix of coffee and bread with a pfbbt!, her eyes going wide as she alternated stares between Dain and Suyeon.
"Th-that... can I even say? Didn't you tell me never to tell anyone?"
"Suyeon says that's what happened..."
"Actually, I've been thinking recently..."
After hearing the explanation, Chaerin nodded. She got the gist.
"Yeah, after you wrecked everything like that... no way you could've just shown up on TV as is. If you'd done nothing and gone on air, our school kids probably would've issued some statement like, 'She's a total psycho bitch.'"
"Not that bad... uh, can't deny it though."
The two nodded to themselves, fully convinced. Myeongjeon had no idea how to react and just twirled a strand of hair awkwardly.
"Anyway, I think Dain's right—the stuff with the other kids can be handled like she said. Buy some nice gifts or whatever. That shouldn't be an issue... but the problem's that incident. It's the first time I'm telling anyone else. You clamped down so hard on us not talking."
"I did that?"
"If you hadn't, the story would've spread everywhere by now. How often do you get gossip that juicy? But you and the seniors kept it shut tight, so it just became 'something happened~' and blew over. Anyway, here's what went down..."
Chaerin rambled on haphazardly, and Myeongjeon summarized it like this:
End of the school year—a combined senior-junior drinking party to scout promising kids early and send off the third-years. That's when Seong Joohee, the girl who ruled the girls in Jongno-gu, showed up. A second-year high schooler back then, she had the widest network and toughest rep among the party crowd.
"So Senior Joohee's like, 'Even after you seniors graduate, us underclassmen gotta show respect,' lecturing the first-years and middle school third-years. 'If you're smart, bring graduation gifts early.' That kinda thing."
"Extortion?"
"Exactly! I was there getting shaken down too. It all fizzled out after that blew up, but Joohee told you and Kaisoo to pay up later."
"She hit up Suyeon too?"
Dain gawked at Chaerin, who barreled on regardless.
"Anyway, no idea where you were, Suyeon, but you stroll in smoking alone. You were totally wasted, I think. Joohee sees and goes, 'Ah, you fucking bitch,' calling you over."
Chaerin's vivid reenactment followed. She mimicked the senior's gestures and scowl, dropping her voice to a gravelly rasp.
"'Hey, you think high school's easy? Middle school third-year thinks she can get drunk? Crazy bitch~' Shoves your shoulder a couple times. She was sloshed too, probably. You hang your head, sigh big, and she's like 'No, fuck~' Then boom!—you slap Senior Joohee's cheek! Her head snaps, she hits the floor, blanks out for a sec, then 'You fucking—!' But you're just puffing your cig, sip, exhale~ I swear, it felt like a movie. Chaos erupts, Joohee slaps you back, 'You wanna die, bitch?!' But you're waiting for it—soon as she hits, you clock her jaw. She drops out cold."
Chaerin relived the scene with gusto; Dain yelped "Eek!"
"How do you even clean up that?" Dain muttered.
But Myeongjeon felt like she had an answer.
"Senior Joohee? The one doing the extorting?"
"Yeah, she was infamous for it. Kids probably lost a few hundred thou to her back then."
"Did she ever shake me down?"
"Uh... probably not."
Chaerin hemmed and hawed. Myeongjeon started fleshing out a plan.
The incident happened—no changing that. You can't erase reality, not even for the powerful, let alone a startup CEO's daughter like Ha Suyeon. But twisting the truth? Totally doable. Most people crave entertainment over facts.
"First, for the other kids—apologize like you thought. As for that senior... Chaerin, remember who was there?"
"Yeah, why?"
"We gotta convince the ones with decent reps—people we can sway."
"What for?"
The two eyed her curiously. Myeongjeon said,
"If we can't fix what happened... we'll just make something up."
On handling the past, Myeongjeon decided to take it slow and steady. It wasn't a one- or two-day fix anyway—and didn't need to be. Her solution required the scandal to break first. She couldn't act now, but she could steer the flow once it did.
So she set that aside and summoned the band for the first time since break started.
Ding-dong. Myeongjeon glanced at the intercom. As expected, three high school girls stood there.
"One sec."
She buzzed them in. The trio shuffled awkwardly inside.
Why so stiff? Whatever, probably nothing.
"Is it okay we just showed up? Shouldn't we bring something?"
"Don't worry about it. Come sit."
That was it. At Iseo's fussing, Myeongjeon pointed to the table. The three sat primly. She brewed coffee from the machine and joined them.
"Where'd you learn to pull shots like that?"
"At Mom's company cafe—part-time gig. I'm exhausted."
Besides lessons for office workers, there were other tasks... so a few days ago, Myeongjeon had tagged along to Lee Hyein's startup. Next thing she knew, she was part-timing at the company cafe a few days a week. Low pay, but "Mom" insisted—she was doing it grudgingly.
"Anyway, forget the barista stuff. I called you all because... I have stuff to say and decisions to make."
"Next gig scheduled?"
Iseo jumped in. Myeongjeon shook her head.
"No firm gigs yet... but we should talk about it. Our current setlist? Nothing glaringly wrong, but not versatile enough for all kinds of shows."
"True," Seoha nodded.
The other two looked less convinced.
"If we stick to our vibe, it's fine... but I don't think we'll keep doing your 'otaku music' forever."
"What's wrong with that?"
"Seems fine to me..."
True to their anime fandom, the two defended it. Myeongjeon glanced at Seoha instead.
"It was fun trying something fresh. But do we need to again?"
"What about you, Suyeon?" Iseo pressed, expectant.
"Eh, no real need."
"...No way! We killed that show. Otaku or not! Everyone had fun. I can even book more—might be mostly guys, but..."
Hyeona winced slightly. Despite Iseo's pitch, Myeongjeon shook her head.
"Another otaku-themed gig? Sure, experience is experience. If it's what we can do now, why not. But I think we should pivot the band's direction."
As Iseo opened her mouth, Myeongjeon held up a hand.
"Hear me out. Since we're a band... how about trying a band audition show?"
"Band audition show?"
"Oh, like... I've heard of that. Bands perform, compete—right?"
Seoha clarified; Myeongjeon nodded.
"Yep. Or other formats, whatever. Point is, trying TV could be good. Since we're doing this."
The three pondered. Myeongjeon continued.
"We can think on it—it's not a snap decision, especially 'TV.' But before that, there's something worth trying. Like a dry run and a solid opportunity..."
She pulled out a pamphlet. Clean design, government-backed program. It offered performance slots, album production support. Prize: 3 million won, 2 million for recording. Collab with pros, indie fest slot. Even Myeongjeon thought it was prime—for a band's launchpad.
"What if we go for something like this?"