Chapter 3: Cat Ears (Monday POV)
First Posted On: 29th June 2021
Last Updated On: 29th June 2021
T/N: This takes place on 24th February 2020.
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Monday. The start of a new week and continuation of pre-debut activities. Lately, the members and I have been showing a lot of behind-the-scenes footage of our practices and interactions. Since we are an aspiring girl group that the public (fans) are already aware of, our company, PlayM, thought it would be a good idea for us to record some VCRs of us to release on our Youtube channel.
I used to hate Mondays...I mean who does not? But lately, I have come to embrace it because this is the concept for our group. There are seven of us and each member represents a different day of the week. An interesting concept if I say so myself, but I'm still trying to figure out why I am assigned to cure people's 'Monday blues'.
And if you were wondering, Monday is not my actual name but my prospective stage name. My real name is-
"Kim Jimin!" a certain dance leader named Park Soeun entered the company while calling my name. She is a fellow same-aged groupmate. For our debut, PlayM assigned us as main dancers, but while she is a lead vocal, I am a main vocal.
Yes, the fans know me for my vocals.
"Did you see our recent VCR 'Spin-Off'?" Soeun asked me. "It's getting a little more views than the other videos due to Jihan fangirling LOONA sunbaenim."
Jihan is also a fellow pre-debutee and a certified Orbit, which is LOONA sunbaenim's fandom. Her real name is Han Jihyo. I particularly remember her being shy with us at first because she used to train with a famous entertainment agency before joining PlayM. Thankfully, she has settled in well with the members.
"역시, Han Jihyo," I gave a thumbs up and I made a mental note to treat her something from the convenience store later.
Next to arrive was our group's prospective leader, Lee Soojin unnie. Both of us have a good working relationship and have performed at various stages and festivals during our pre-debut. Even though she is a 01-liner, her December birthday means she is only a few months older than me.
"Ah unnie," I went up to her. "Bogoshipeo."
"Nice try Kim Jimin," Soojin laughed, "but I'm not letting you use my air-con tonight."
"Eyy...I was not here for that. Besides I will still do it anyway..." I teased her.
"Yahh~" she whined, which made Soeun chuckle.
Since Soeun had come from school, she wanted to change into something more comfortable, therefore while she went to the washroom, Soojin and I entered the practice room first. There, we were greeted by fellow member Jo Hyewon, or better known by her prospective stage name, Zoa.
"Hello, it's Hyewon cam today~!" she announced sweetly. Seriously, its making my heart melt.
"Why did you come so early?" asked Soojin.
"I prepared early today. I'm diligent!" Zoa answered confidently.
Meanwhile, I took off my mask and asked Soojin unnie to act adorable like how Zoa did in the dorm. To Soojin, it probably felt embarrassing, but Zoa and I relished her '대장 강아지' personality.
The other members soon arrived one by one, with Zoa filming their entrances. Jaehee and Jihan came in chuckling and then our composition genius Shin Jiyoon was joined by Soeun, who had just returned from the washroom. In her typical entrance, Jiyoon was carrying a guitar, which probably meant she was going to compose another song towards her 100 song goal today.
After the members went about their activities, Soojin and I remained in the practice room because we were preparing for a dance cover release. It will be for TWICE sunbaenim's 'Feel Special', a song both of us have come to like recently. Maybe one day we can aspire to be as successful as them.
But if you ask me, my ultimate favourite is APink and I will always stay loyal as a Panda. I cannot believe I am now training in the same company as my role models since elementary! It truly is a dream come true. Hopefully I can meet them face to face, especially Eunji sunbaenim!
After our practice was done, we were feeling rather confident that our dance cover will hype our fans up for the debut. Soojin, Jihan, Jiyoon and I have already gained a lot of attention for our '1theK Music Circle' mashup cover, so there were a lot of expectations for the group as a whole. Bear in mind, we were yet to share our official group name to the public.
I was expecting it to be a normal Monday (pun pun) and was eagerly looking forward to returning to the dorm and catching up on my homework (since I was still a student, duh). Little did I know that was about to change.
"Jimin ssi?" someone opened the practice room door. It was a PlayM staff member in charge of fan gifts. Odd.
"내 나 여기있어~" I answered cheerfully.
"You got a fan gift I think. They say it is to support your upcoming debut," the staff handed me a parcel before heading out of the practice room.
"Hmm..." Soojin unnie looked at the brown parcel I was clutching in my hands. "It is rather early for a fan gift if you ask me."
She had a point. Maybe this fan saw our 'Music Circle' cover and fell in love with our vocals. Both of us thought the gift itself was suspicious, but given its size there is really no way it could harm us that much.
Oh how wrong I was...at least not at that moment.
"Anyway," Soojin patted my shoulder, "I need to do a self-cam recording now. See you later for the group outro in the practice room!"
I, on the other hand, went into a recording studio because I wanted to practice the piano. It is my favourite musical instrument and since I can sight-read, I have grown to become a professional player if I say so myself.
Before I started though, my eyes were drawn to the fan gift. It was square shaped and probably meant it was a box containing the actual gift. Feeling the parcel around, there seemed to be something like a letter in it. Gingerly, I unwrapped the parcel, and I was right about its contents.
"Dear Monday ssi," I read the letter out loud, "All the best for your debut! I saw your video where you sang 'Hello' while playing the piano. You are so talented. I wanted to gift you this accessory which I think suits your personality based on the Youtube videos I watched with you in them. 회이팅~! ㅐㅇ"
Those are strange initials to sign off with, but I guess some fans choose to be anonymous. Of course I would know; I am a Panda.
Now I decided to open the box. I was quite expectant about its contents. What could it be?!
Oh~ it is a hairband with cat ears! Adorable~!
But...something felt off about this cute gift. It looked...used? Aged? Or maybe like mistreated? Either way I couldn't place it, but I knew it was not a newly-bought gift.
At this stage, I was starting to question the legitimacy of this fan, especially since that hairband was the only thing in the box. Come to think of it the box was also shallow and a little bit worn. Surely it wasn't damaged on transit right?
Oh well, the hairband is cute and something I would wear if I cleaned off the dust and stains on its ears...hang on...!
Upon closer inspection, I got a shock. For the stains are the unmistakable mark and smell of...dried blood.
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A/N: Oh no! Is Monday in trouble?! Who would send this gift(?) to her just months before her debut?!
Ok I reluctantly had to end the chapter this way for the sake of the storyline. I know, Monday is my bias and I hate putting her character in this dire situation. But trust me the way this story plays out it might be worth it.
That aside, I am finally writing a chapter about Weeekly! This is so refreshing overall since I was scrolling through their predebut content and managed to find a 'Spin-Off' recording that fits well with this timeline. Yes, I did lift some of the captions from that video.
Another Weeekly chapter is on its way. Stay tuned~!
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