Road to MAMA and KBS Song Festival

"What's up with him?" I heard Seiji-hyung ask Dominic.

"I don't know. He's been out of it since earlier." Dominic replied.

It's been a week since my "hang-out" with Lisa and the incident with Yuna. We were in our dance studio and were having a break from our morning practice. It was 12NN right now and most of the members were out having lunch. We were going to have our practice at 1:30PM.

"I've never seen him brooding like that." Dominic said.

"Me neither." Seiji-hyung confirmed.

Zee came in with Woo and they joined in with Dominic and Seiji-hyung in the corner.

"Still brooding?" Woo asked.

The both of them nodded.

"I've never seen him like that before. I've never seen him make ANY mistakes in any of our previous dance practices before. It's really weird to see him make so many mistakes during practice this morning." Zee said.

"Yeah. He could copy a move just by looking at it. I wonder what happened." Dominic said.

I could over hear them and I stood up from the ground and went for the door.

"I'm heading out for some air." I replied before grabbing the handle of the door.

"Everything okay, Jinbo-ah?" Seiji-hyung asked.

I turned to him and smiled. "It's nothing, hyung. Just stressed out."

I closed the door and went for a walk, but before I could close it completely, I heard all of them say, "It's a girl problem."

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Man… I feel like I'm cheating on HER even if we're not together yet.

Lisa and Yuna obviously have feelings for me. But I can't reciprocate them. I've already set my heart for someone else.

Is this so wrong? Or should I just date and wait for my time with her?

Aish!

I ruffled my hair in anger and confusion. I plopped down on one of the benches outside JYP Entertainment's building.

Suddenly, I felt a cold item touch my cheek. Someone was offering me a drink.

I turn to her and saw a familiar face. She spoke before stopping and realizing that she was speaking in Japanese.

"Oops! I mean everything alright, sunbae?" She giggled as she spoke. This time in Korean.

"I'm fine. It's nothing. I just have a lot on my mind." I replied to her in Japanese.

"Oh right. I forgot that you could speak Japanese." She replied.

I smiled at her and ask her to sit next to me. "What are you doing here, Sana-chan?"

She sat next to me and answered. "Well, some trainees were asked to be the back-up dancers for the GOT7-sunbaenims in the upcoming KBS Song Festival."

"You guys, huh? Let me guess. 'A'?" I asked.

She nodded. "Of course! It's the only music video I'm in."

It's the only music video you're in SO FAR.

Gosh… if you only knew.

"Oh by the way! I heard you were the one who wrote that song!" She happily said.

"Yeah. I did. It was a gift for them." I told her.

She clapped sarcastically. "You even wrote the entire album for them. Wow! Just wow!"

I lightly pushed her which she pretended to be pushed hard. "Ah! That hurts, sunbaenim!"

"Hey! I didn't push you that hard! And stop calling me sunbaenim. We're not at work here." I told her.

"Okay, oppa. By the way, are you going to write an Album for me when we debut?" She asked while cutely batting her eyelids at me.

I rolled my eyes and flicked my finger on her forehead. "You should focus on training first. Besides, you know how PD-nim 'handles' the girl groups in this company."

"Aish! I know! I sometimes find it creepy." She replied.

I chuckled at her words, "Trust me. He means well. He loves all of us. You know him too well. He wants to be called an artist first before a CEO."

She chuckled and agreed with me.

Sana is one of the trainees who were always bullied by other trainees because she was a foreigner. She already had a hard time learning the language and coupled with the bullying, it became more difficult.

She was often treated as an errand girl to some of the trainees before. They would ask her to approach me and ask for my number or to give me things. When I first saw her, I didn't mind it at first. But when I saw a couple of bruises and even swelling under her eyes as if she was crying, I had enough.

I asked her what those ladies were doing to her but she denied it and decided to stay quiet. Soon, I decided to be the first one to approach her and decided to be close to her. Whenever I see her after her debut training, I would talk to her and ignore the girls who bullied her. This was a bad move because she got bullied all the more.

Knowing this, I finally snapped. I asked Sana to join me and PD-nim for a discussion and to see if she could remember all the times that she was bullied. Together we worked with the security officer to see the CCTV placed around the building.

Soon we discovered the culprits. Days later, we asked these ladies to come to the conference room. PD-nim then told them that he discovered it on his own in order to protect Sana. He then banned them from being a trainee and were asked to leave the building immediately. The girls begged for PD-nim to make them stay but he already made up his mind.

He told them that he was even thinking of sending them to prison for this. It was because of Sana pleading on their behalf that PD-nim changed his mind. In the end, the girl that they bullied ended up saving their lives.

Ever since then, the rest of the trainees treated each other with respect, especially Sana.

"I'm heading to the convenience store. Want to come with?" I asked her as I stood up.

"No, I'm good. I need to get to the practice room now anyway. Maybe next time." She smiled.

I waved at her before heading for the convenience store.

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"Banana milk… banana milk… banana milk… oh! Here it is!" I exclaimed when I saw what I was looking for.

After grabbing a few pouches of banana milk, I headed towards the counter to pay.

"Where is it? I'm pretty sure I brought it." I was patting all over my clothes to look for my wallet. I'm pretty sure that I didn't leave it.

I already placed my stuff on the counter and was still frantically looking for my wallet. "Oh well, I guess, I'm paying with e-money today. Do you acce-"

The moment I saw the cashier, I was stunned.

What is SHE doing here? I thought she would be training by now?

What's she doing working in a convenience store?

And… she why does it seem like she's way younger than me?

Could it be? Could the age be different on this earth too?

Well… Joy is almost the same age as me when she was supposed to be younger. Even IU-noona was not that older than me. I guess I can't really say who's older and younger than me anymore.

"Excuse me, sir? Are you okay?" She asked.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah! Sorry. I'll be paying with e-money." I stammered.

She smiled and nodded at me.

Honestly, I really found most of my friends from the previous world in strange places. I chuckled mentally. I can't believe she'd be here of all places.

"Okay, that would be KWN 5,000, sir." She informed.

Well, it wouldn't hurt to ask right?

"Excuse me. But aren't you a trainee somewhere?" I asked.

She slightly got defensive. I would understand. A stranger wearing a black mask and a black cap wearing a black hoodie asking for her personal information? I would be scared too. Besides, we were alone in a convenience store right now.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." I said as I removed my cap and mask.

The moment she saw who I was, her eyes widened and she bowed deeply. She apologized for the misunderstanding which got me all flustered.

I chuckled. "So… are you? A trainee?"

"Ahh! Yes! I'm currently a trainee under Pledis Entertainment!" She replied.

"Really? That's great! Well, I hope you'll be able to debut soon. It's not easy in this industry so do your best." I told her.

She thanked me as she bowed very deeply. I waved goodbye and headed for the exit.

"Excuse me? JayB-oppa?" She called out again.

"Yes?" I turned to see her holding out a notebook and a pen.

"May I ask for your autograph?" She asked, shouting in excitement. It was obvious that she was getting really nervous.

It would have been the other way around if it was the previous world. She might not know me in this world, but we used to hang-out because I was friends with other 2000 liners and they often hang out.

"Sure. Do you want to take a selca too?" I asked with a smile

"Really?! Thank you! Thank you!" She exclaimed.

Geez Nancy… you haven't changed a bit.

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"What? Seriously? Does it have to be before MAMA?" I was talking to Jiwoo on the phone while I was slowly heading back to the practice room.

"Hyung, I know we're busy and all, but PD-nim came in just now and told us that it would be best if we discuss it now." He replied.

I sighed. "But we're practically going to die of exhaustion if we're going to start now. It's the end of the year. And we're preparing for MAMA and the KBS Song Festival."

"I told PD-nim that too. But he insisted that if we won't do it soon, we might be get left behind by the new groups. He told us that most companies would be launching 4 idol groups next year." Woo said.

I pinched the bridge part of my nose and exhaled deeply. "Alright, we'll talk about it when I get there. I'm already on my way."

After hanging up I immediately jogged to the practice room.

When I opened the door, PD-nim was with the members and were telling them about MAMA.

"Ah! Look who's finally here." PD-nim said.

I bowed to him. "Sorry for not being here earlier."

"It's fine. It was your break anyway. I just came here to drop the news." He replied.

Before he could continue speaking, I tried to reason with him. "PD-nim, it's practically impossible to release a full album in just a month. We have to rehearse the song, record it, choreograph the song, practice the choreography and shoot the MV. All of these while preparing for MAMA and the Song Festival."

"JayB-ah. I know that it looks overwhelming, but I know that you guys can do it. I've already weighed everything for you." He said.

We were still not convinced on how we were able to pull this off.

One of our managers came in and was carrying a bunch of folders. He handed one of them to PD-nim before handing the rest to us. PD-nim then said, "In 3 weeks, MAMA will begin. But before that, you will be focusing on your schedules."

We all turned and saw how hectic it was. I think I'm going to die again at this point.

He then continued to giving us our schedule. "So In the morning starting tomorrow at 7AM up 12 noon, you will be practicing for your set piece in MAMA. You will be solely focusing your time on rehearsing for your personal performance for the said event. In the afternoon from 1PM up until 7PM you will be rehearsing with IU-ssi and with your GOT7-sunbaenims. Since MAMA comes first, we won't have any problems if we don't prioritize your performance for the KBS Song Festival with your sunbaenims. In the evening at around 8PM, you will be focusing on writing and producing your songs. You can go home after you are done at 12MN or 1AM."

I nearly collapsed at the announcement. This was simply too much! But then again, this wasn't the first time that we had to go through this.

"But what about the photoshoots and commercial shoots?" Zee asked.

"Yeah? And what about the TV show appearances?" Seiji-hyung also asked.

"In terms of your TV show appearances and guesting, we cancelled all of them for now. We also asked the sponsors to push the shoot after MAMA." PD-nim replied.

Everyone in the room turned gloomy the moment he said that. We were practically going to exhaust ourselves to death.

Basing on the schedule. We only had one day off before MAMA starts.

I sighed. "Are there anymore instructions you want to add PD-nim?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact, I do." He replied.

When the rest of the group heard that, they gave me a glare. It was like they were saying "You had to ask?"

What?

He was going to tell us either way. I was just hastening it.

"Bring it…" Yo Chul said.

"As you can see, you only have one day off before MAMA and another one before the Song Festival. Use it wisely. We will respect that. Even if there are emergencies, we promise not to call you." He said.

We were relieved to what he said. I think we deserve that upcoming break, right?

"Oh. And after MAMA, the schedules will change. By then, we would have finished and mastered the choreography for the Song Festival. So the rehearsals will be at 7PM to 10PM. In the morning, you can start rehearsing for your Album songs. You'll have the TV guest appearance, and sponsorship deals and commercial shoots done in the afternoon." He continued.

We groaned in response and he just chuckled. Seriously, is he a drill master? Is he trying to get us killed?

"The shoot for the MV for your album songs would start after KBS Song Festival. I want the promotions to happen on the second week of January. So you have to finish by then." He said which made me plop to the ground.

It's getting me exhausted just by thinking about.

"How many songs do you want?" Zhang asked.

PD-nim placed his hand on his chin as if he was contemplating about it. After a few seconds he finally responded. "Hmm? 10 songs at most, I think?"

"10 Songs!" We all yelled in shock.

"Don't worry. It'll all pay off in the end. To summarize the important events, MAMA is on December 3, KBS Song Festival is on December 26, MV Shoot will be on the 28th, and Promotions start on the 13th of January the following year. Also, we would be having your comeback before February." He said.

After that, we had a series of clarifications and questions about the schedules. We actually wanted this to happen anyway, but it just wasn't sinking in just yet.

So I'm finally feeling closer to being a real superstar.

"So now for the good news." PD-nim announced.

"There's more?!" Seiji-hyung complained.

PD-nim chuckled. "Don't worry. You're going to love this one."

"You usually say that, but it ends up being bad news." Zee said.

"Don't worry, this is definitely good news." PD-nim assured.

He showed us his phone and said. "Your Twitter and Instagram accounts are now verified. So you can start posting already. We will give you the username and password later on. We still have to brief you with the rules on how we can go about this one. And lastly, your VLIVE just got verified as well. Again, we'll give the account details later. You'll have your first VLIVE on Jiwoo-ah's birthday since Matt-ah and Jiwoo-ah's birthdays are just a day apart. Then we'll schedule the individual Surprise VLIVE later on."

All of us celebrated when we heard that. I'm pretty sure what comes next. A Fan Signing Event! This usually happens when we get our VLIVE accounts verified so we were really excited.

"That's it?" Only Yo Chul-hyung was not that happy with the announcement. But I knew deep down he's really enjoying this.

"I'm not yet done, Yo Chul-ah. There's still more." PD-nim replied.

We all quieted down and listened to him.

He turn to look at us and smiled widely. "You don't know how proud I am of you guys."

We all raised our eyebrows.

Was that supposed to be the good news?

He laughed and said, "No, that wasn't it boys. The good news is, you got nominated for some of MAMA's awards. And many of them at that!"

The room then grew quiet.

"Say that again, PD-nim. I think my ears are busted." Dominic said.

He then smiled at us and told us that we have indeed been nominated in multiple categories for MAMA.

All of us rejoiced and some even cried out of joy.

"Don't get your hopes up. You haven't won yet. The other nominees also have a strong fan base. But the fact that you guys got nominated means a lot." He continued.

We agreed with what he said. We can't celebrate too early. It's still a long shot but it's still an amazing feat. I actually thought that we'd only be nominated for "Rookie of the Year" but it turns out that there were more. JYP PD-nim wasn't allowed to disclose it yet so we just remained patient.

After the discussion, IU-noona and the rest of GOT7 arrived in our practice room. They were really punctual. We greeted them and had an exchange of pleasantries.

The reason why we're using our practice room is because we currently have the largest dance studio in the whole building. Even 4 groups of 9 members would fit here. We were the ones who paid for the renovation when we were out promoting.

We also had a secret studio in Gangnam just in case we would be practicing… well… in secret. It was like our club house. Only a few people know about it.

____________

"WAA! We're finally done!" Seiji-hyung complained while he plopped down on the dance studio floor.

"You said it!" Bambam sat next to Seiji-hyung and handed him a bottle of water.

After 3 weeks of practicing, we finally we're able to master our routine for our individual groups and our joint performance. We were also halfway done with our songs for the album. It was a long journey but we're almost done.

"Hah! Even I had a hard time catching up with you guys! Hah! The trainees did well though." IU-noona said.

Yeah… the choreography is a little funky and groovy though.

"Why did you even write that song for PD-nim, JayB-ah?" Jackson-hyung said.

"Well… because he asked for one…" Everyone groaned because of my reply.

I just chuckled. "Well… at least we're done now. It's finally our day off tomorrow." Jinyoung-hyung said.

We all jolted up at the idea that tomorrow was finally our day off again. I could see the excited faces of everybody. I then turned to my members. Since we don't have anything else to do tomorrow and it's already 9PM, I know what we're going to do after we freshen up today. The members and I smiled at each other.

"What? Why are they smiling like that? What are they smiling about?" Mark-hyung asked.

"I have no idea…" Yugyeom-hyung replied.

I then turned to Yo Chul-hyung who I know would love the idea. "Hyung? Are we good?"

He gave me a thumbs up. "Call!"

We all stood up and started packing our stuff. The GOT7 sunbaenims and IU-noona looked at us in curiosity.

"JayB-ah? Mind telling us what's going on?" Mark-hyung asked.

"Hmm? Oh! Right! Want to join us for some barbecue? It's our treat." I smiled at them.

They really like the idea because they automatically started packing their stuff. IU-noona just crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

"You boys really love your barbecue." IU-noona said.

"Why don't you join us, noona?" Zee asked.

IU-noona shook her head and said, "I'm trying to lose weight for the KBS Song Festival and I already ate a lot today. So I'll pass for now."

"How about you ladies?" Jiwoo, being the lady's man that he is, invited the girl trainees including Sana to our barbecue night. They happily agreed to the offer.

As soon as we were about to leave…

"JayB-ah!" IU-noona called out.

"Yes, noona? Can I help you with something?" I asked.

She shook her head and said, "I just wanted to ask if you've got plans tomorrow."

I looked up and tried to think if I had anything to do tomorrow. "None actually. Why? Do you need help with something?"

"Not really. I just wanted to ask you out on a date." She replied.

My jaw dropped and now words came out afterwards…

Another date… with IU-noona at that.

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AN:

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