Secret Patterns

13. Soft Questions, Sharp Edges

The rehearsal floor still smelled like heat and hairspray when the interview risers rolled in.

Assistants swarmed, taping a backdrop with both logos—Huntr/x in bright silver, Saja Boys in a candy-red script that matched the Soda Pop palette. Two rows of stools appeared, a scatter of little tables with beaded water. Microphones were clipped, cables tucked, a ring of softboxes bloomed like tame moons.

"Everyone, center!" a producer sang, syrup-smooth. "We'll do a couple rounds—group, then pairs, then fun questions. Keep it light. Think sparkle."

Zoey whispered to Rumi as they took their stools, "Every time they say sparkle, I die one year faster."

Mira, sliding into her seat with surgical posture, murmured, "Conserve years."

Rin's smile fit on like a glove she had worn thin. Romance took the stool just left of her—polite distance, camera-friendly proximity. Abby sat two down from Mira. Jinu ended next to Rumi by invisible logic. Baby planted himself where he could grin the widest at Zoey; Mystery chose the end like a guardrail.

"Speed check," the audio tech said. "Name, group, pronounce your own name."

They went down the line. Rumi's voice warmed the air; Mira's clarity cut clean; Zoey sang hers like a jingle. The boys' names folded in—Abby steady, Baby bright, Jinu cool, Mystery low, Romance velveted.

"Fabulous!" The host perched on a director's stool facing them, cards in hand, smile laminated. "Congratulations on the collab. The energy in rehearsal was—" a glance to the producer's monitor, "—electric."

Rin felt the word press against her ribs. She inhaled through the edge of it and set the exhale down where no one could see.

"First question," the host said. "What surprised you about each other?"

Camera A's tally LED flicked red. They were live-to-tape.

Rumi's hand found her mic first. "Their work ethic," she said, looking down the row at the boys with the kind of sincerity that played on lenses. "It's easy to be distracted during a collab, but they were focused."

Jinu didn't shift, but his nod granted the compliment legitimacy. "Likewise," he said. "Huntr/x doesn't waste takes."

Mira: "We rehearsed into the details on day one. It saved us time today."

Abby's smile lived in the corners of his mouth. "I like details."

Zoey spun her mic. "I like Baby."

Laughter, natural; the room relaxed. Baby clutched his chest. "Thank you for this validation. I will never forget it."

The host seized the opening. "Chemistry seems to be a word fans will use a lot when they see this. It's so natural—" the smile sharpened a degree "—how do you build that so quickly?"

Romance's chuckle landed exactly where the sound designer wanted it. "We're professionals," he said easily. "But I also think some voices just like each other."

"Voices," Rin repeated, neutral, and set hers down like a pebble skipped across still water.

"Is there a pair that surprised you with their synergy?" the host pressed.

"Rumi and Jinu," Abby said without looking down the row. "Their blend is...unexpected in a good way."

Rumi smiled into her lap. Jinu's mouth twitched half a millimeter (Mira would later replay it frame by frame and confirm). The host lit up. "We love a stoic melts for sweet story!"

"Don't oversell it," Jinu said, deadpan. The room laughed more.

"Speaking of pairings," the host continued, card shuffling with purposeful casualness, "we're seeing a lot of fans already rooting for matchups." Her eyes glittered; the phrase ship wars hovered unspoken. "Does that add pressure?"