I mumbled in my sleep as I felt something tap my foot. I turned, but I didn’t wake up to see who or what it was. The tapping continued, and I quickly sat up. I still feel sleepy and, soon enough, irritated. I wonder who could have the guts to wake me up.
Before I could fully open my eyes, a bright beam of light came streaming into the room. Someone had drawn aside the curtains. I shielded my eyes with my hand and moaned as they started to water. They took a little time to adjust.
“Wakey, wakey, sleepy head,” came Collins’ voice. “I need all of you downstairs, pronto.”
“Right now?” I asked as I tried to rub away the sleep. I yawned. “It’s so early in the morning, and I’m still tired.”
“Early in the morning? This is close to noon,” said Collins, sounding surprised. “Just get your lazy bones out of bed and meet me downstairs. I’ll go and wake everyone else.”
“Okay,” I muttered.
I kicked away the bed covers and got out of bed after Collins left the room. I wore my purple sleeping gown over my matching purple pyjamas. My feet find their way into my purple bed slippers, and I slowly walk out of the room, heading downstairs. I find Lee in the living room, seated on the couch.
“Morning, sleepy head,” said Lee. “Or is it now afternoon?”
“Hi, Lee,” I said with a groggy voice as I sluggishly threw myself on the couch opposite where she sat. “Tell me you’ve come with good news.”
“Nah-ah, no way, young lady,” said Lee as she waved her finger at me. “You aren’t getting any news out of me before Collins arrives.”
I get the closet couch pillow and cover my face with it, moaning in frustration. I feel so agitated about knowing the board’s decision. Likewise, I had tossed and turned all night, thinking about what might happen if we didn’t go to Korea.
“Are we in Korea yet?” came a tired voice. Zoey. I remove the pillow from my face and see Zoey approach us in her pink sleeping gown, yawning loudly. Christine is right behind her, looking sleepy.
“We aren’t there yet, my friend,” I said with a smile as Zoey came to sit right beside me and Christine joined Lee.
“Please tell me we’re going,” said Christine.
“We’ve got to wait for Collins, because Lee here won’t talk,” I said as I folded my arms and looked at her.
“I’m just following orders,” said Lee.
A few minutes later, Mike and Daniel came downstairs with Collins. After everyone settled, we all turned to our manager, who remained standing, waiting for him to say something.
“As you all know,” said Collins, “I met with the board this morning, and we discussed the matter of you guys going to Korea to collaborate with BIGBANG. We confirmed with YG over their invitation and came to a conclusion.”
The atmosphere in the room changed as the five of us were now fully awake and waiting for the answer. My heart started beating so fast. I looked beside me. Zoey has her eyes closed and her fingers crossed. I look at Daniel, and he looks like he’s going to bite his fingers off instead of his nails. Mike looks calm, but I could tell by the tapping of his foot that he’s anxious. Christine seemed to be shaking as she hugged her body with her arms, rocking back and forth. I hated times like these when we were anxious about whatever decision the board made. Sometimes it felt life-threatening.
“You aren’t going to Korea,” said Collins.
“WHAT!!!” I exclaimed.
“NO!!!” screamed Zoey.
“NO FAIR!!!” Daniel exclaimed as he stood up from his seat.
“This isn’t right,” said Mike, shaking his head.
“Why?” Christine asked.
“I’m sorry, guys,” said Collins. “I tried convincing them, but they wouldn’t budge.”
“Well, you should have tried a little harder!” Zoey exclaimed. She’s on the verge of going nuts.
“But how can they not agree?” I asked, still confused. “That’s such a great offer!”
“We’re not going to Korea!” Zoey wailed, now on the verge of tears.
Mike leaned back on the couch, looking very disappointed. Daniel began pacing back and forth, looking as confused as me. Christine hit her face with the couch pillow over and over again.
“If you guys keep acting like that, I might send in a camera crew to film you,” said Collins.
The five of us look at him. Suddenly, he and Lee burst out laughing. They laughed so hard that they almost cried their eyes out. We all looked confused and stared at one another. Collins even pulled out his smartphone and took a picture of us.
“We got you guys good!” said Collins as he walked over to Lee and gave her a high five.
“Wait, all this was nothing but a joke?” Mike asked.
“Yeah, I had to admit, it was pretty funny,” said Lee.
“We’re so going to get you for this,” threatened Zoey. “You almost made me cry.”
“If all of this is a joke, then we’re going to Korea, right?” I asked as I looked at Collins.
Collins didn’t say anything as he nodded.
There was a silent pause.
“YES!” we exclaimed.
The five of us jumped and danced around the living room like crazy, screaming our lungs out. We were really going to Korea!
“Calm down, you hooligans!” called out Collins.
We stopped midway into our celebration to stare at Collins.
“Sit down, please,” he continued. “You’ve got plenty of time to celebrate, but first, we need to go through some things with you.”
We settled down calmly, but we still couldn’t hide the fact that we were really excited.
“Okay, so you’ll be leaving for South Korea this week on Friday,” said Collins. We almost cheered, but he held his hand up for silence. “But we have a lot to do before we leave, and that means we have to squeeze in some of this month’s schedule in this one week.”
“We can handle it, Collins,” said Zoey excitedly. “Don’t you worry.”
“I don’t think you will,” said Collins. “You already know you have two more concerts, and we have to squeeze in the photo shoot for The Black Kitty Clothesline. There’s also a photo shoot and an interview with Glamour magazine.”
“Wait, so you’re saying we have to fit all of that in one week?” I asked. “That’s going to exhaust us.”
“That’s what worried me,” said Collins. “If you can manage to do all of that before Friday, the board said we can go without any delay.”
“Oh, my goodness, these people are going to kill us!” said Mike. “For once, can they at least be a little considerate?”
“We don’t really have a choice now, do we?” Collins asked. “If you want, we can cancel the trip and tell YG that we can come another time. Maybe next year.”
“No!” the five of us exclaimed at the same time.
“We will manage, I know it,” I said. “Right, guys?”
“Right!” my group responded at once.
“Now I wish it was Sunday,” said Christine. “That way we would be ready for Monday.”
“Darn it! We’ve got to wait till Monday? Oh gosh,” said Zoey in frustration as she leaned back on the couch.
“Hey, look on the bright side,” said Lee. “We’re going to Korea.”
“That’s if we get to complete everything on our schedule,” said Daniel.
“So, I suggest you take this weekend to rest,” said Collins. “Tomorrow, Lee will take you guys through the schedule thoroughly.”
“That’s fine with me,” said Zoey. “I just want to go.”
“Me too,” said Daniel. “Wait until the fans hear about our trip.”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” said Lee. “We just posted the news all over social media.”
“Darn it!” said Christine. “I knew I should’ve checked my phone before coming here.”
Zoey, who already had her phone in the pocket of her gown, removed it and went on her Twitter app.
“Yeah, it’s true,” Zoey confirmed.
“And? What are people saying?” Mike asked.
“That they are excited and looking forward to our collaboration with BIGBANG. Even VIPs - BIGBANG fans - are saying the same thing!”
“That’s good,” I said. “Now all we’ve got to do is work throughout the week, and we’ll be home and dry.”
“Okay, well, Lee and I will be taking off,” said Collins. “You just do as I say and rest. Don’t do anything stupid that might get you in trouble.”
“Don’t worry, we won’t,” I said.
When Lee and Collins left, we cheered and jumped all over the place. We just couldn’t help ourselves. Zoey even put up the stereo, and we danced to whatever pop music played. The music wasn’t loud enough to disturb the neighbours. We had to be cautious. We didn’t have breakfast as we were way past that time, so we ordered 10 boxes of pizza instead to celebrate.
An hour after noon, we were so full and so tired from the celebration that the five of us were in the sitting room, seated lazily on the couch and watching TV. The empty pizza boxes and empty cans of soda were all piled up on the coffee table.
“I’ve never felt this full in a long time,” said Daniel, rubbing his tummy.
“You eat all the time,” said Mike. “I wonder why you aren’t fat yet.”
“It’s because I work out,” Daniel said, then he burped.
“Eww, seriously, excuse yourself,” said Christine as she frowned at Daniel.
“Excuse me,” Daniel said with a grin.
I shook my head at him when my phone suddenly beeped. I have a message. Likewise, I withdrew it from the pocket of my gown. A Twitter notification. I have a new follower: YG Entertainment. I quickly followed them back, and in a matter of minutes, I received a message from them. After reading it, I couldn’t contain my excitement any longer.
“Guys, I got a message from YG,” I announced.
In a matter of seconds, everyone surrounded me.
“What did they say?” Zoey asked.
“All they said is that they are happy that we accepted their invitation,” I said. “And they can’t wait to meet us, and BIGBANG is just as excited about the collaboration as we are.”
“Now I really want to go to Korea,” said Christine.
“I know,” said Mike. “But we have to do as the board says.”
“Don’t worry, guys, it’s only four days,” said Zoey. “What’s the worst that could happen?”
***
Monday came quicker than expected, and dealing with our schedule wasn’t as easy as we thought.
The first thing was the photo shoot for the Black Kitty Clothesline, and Collins made sure to get us out of the house early in the morning. If it wasn’t for me waking everyone up before he arrived, we would have all gone in our pyjamas. We were still sleepy when we got to the studio, but when the makeup stylists and clothing designers got to work, we were wide awake and ready to cooperate.
The painful part about the shoot was that it took almost three hours. We had to try on different outfits and, at the same time, change our hairstyles and make-up too. We were done an hour after noon.
Straight after lunch, we had to practise for the concert taking place the next day. And that took another three hours. Not only did we have to work on the dance moves, but we also had to go through how we were to appear on stage. By the time we were done, it was evening, and we were exhausted. We didn’t have the energy to prepare supper, so Collins ordered pizza instead.
On a Tuesday, we had to prepare ourselves for the concert, an open concert, at Miami Beach. We were there by noon, and there was a huge crowd of fans waiting to get on with the show. The concert lasted until the evening. And as usual, we were exhausted.
On a Wednesday, we had to prepare ourselves for the Glamour interview and the photo shoot. We first had the interview, which was mostly focused on our collaboration with BIGBANG. We had a few photos taken, and straight after that, we had to prepare for the next concert on Thursday.
When we got to Thursday, we were all impatient for Friday, and we seemed to be in a rush to get the concert over and done with as it took place in the evening. Instead of doing things in a rush, we actually ended up taking our time since it was our last day in the U.S. In the end, we sang a goodbye song to our fans, and they also sang along. It was a very emotional moment, but one that would be memorable for a lifetime.
Finally, it’s Friday.
“TGIF!” Zoey sang Katy Perry’s song TGIF (Thank God It’s Friday) in the car as we were headed for the airport. She kept bouncing up and down in her seat. Mike and Daniel, who sat on either side of her, growled in annoyance.
“May you please stop singing that song?” Mike asked. “Even Katy Perry would wonder what’s wrong with you.”
“I’m just happy that we’re finally going to Korea,” said Zoey. “We should all be happy.”
“We are,” I said. “Some of us are still exhausted.”
“I think I will sleep well when we get on the plane,” said Christine, who sat right next to me.
“I wonder why Zoey isn’t tired like the rest of us,” said Daniel. “It’s like she can’t stop bouncing.”
“Come on, guys,” said Zoey. “Let’s lighten up the mood. How about we sing Fantastic Baby by BIGBANG? Come on, I know we all like it.”
Despite the busy schedule we have had, we have always spared time to listen to BIGBANG’s greatest hits. So far, we all liked Fantastic Baby, and it has become more of our theme song.
“Really? Right now?” Collins asked, seated in the passenger’s front seat. “Haven’t you guys sang that song almost 100 times this week?”
“I hate to admit,” said Lee, on my other side, “it’s a very catchy song. I also like it.”
“Oh, goodness, Lee,” said Collins, shaking his head. “These Toxins have really intoxicated you into their madness.”
“Just admit it, Collins,” I said as I raised my eyebrows at him. “You like it too.”
“Nah,” said Collins as he waved his hand and turned back to face the front.
I looked behind me and gave a nod of the head at Zoey. Zoey winked at me and cleared her throat. She sang the chorus of the song:
“Wow, fantastic baby.”
“DANCE!!” The rest of us responded as we bounced on our seats. Collins looked at us with a surprised look on his face.
“OOOOOOOOH!” I wailed.
“I WANNA DAN, DAN, DAN, DA-DANCE! WOW, FANTASTIC BABY! BOOM SHAKALAKA. BOOM SHAKALAKA!”
We all bounced up and down in our seats as we sang, and all Collins could do was shake his head. Luckily for him, we were already at our destination. He let out a sigh of relief as the car stopped and got out immediately. We all laughed. It was so much fun when we had the chance to annoy Collins.
There was a loud cheer from the fans who had come to wish us farewell as soon as we stepped out of the car. It was so sweet of them to do so. They had banners with kind words of goodbye. I’m really going to miss them. They have been so supportive, and without them, we wouldn’t have gotten this far.
As I pulled my luggage with me inside the airport building, I knew in a matter of minutes I would be seated in a plane heading to a different place in a different environment. I took a deep breath. I am always scared of going to new places. Not only that, but I hope we reach there safely and enjoy ourselves.
As we approached the security checkpoint, Zoey gave a loud shout behind me. Her voice echoed all around the place, and it caught everyone’s attention.
“Korea, here we come!”
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