Idol Pursuits, page 21
“I saw you with it,” Heather fibbed.
That response seemed to suffice. “Tell everyone! Emergency over,” shouted Mi-ok to her assistant. Then, to Heather, she said, “Got it,” and proceeded to close the door. Before it completely shut, however, she tucked in a curt, “Oh. And this never happened. Okay?” Despite the absence of any expressed gratitude on Mi-ok’s behalf, Heather was pleased with the outcome. She hadn’t done it for plaudits, after all.
Mi-ok appeared calmer the next day as teams were allocated time to work on their songs. The high-profile duo had yet to decide what music to pick. It did not bode well for the pairing that this first simple step proved so troublesome. Both singers selected 20 candidate songs, hoping to find at least one in common. No such luck. In fact, they were light years apart.
Meanwhile, other teams could be heard rehearsing their duets already. Heather and Mi-ok sat dejected, not speaking, pressure building slowly. Suddenly, the Glimmer Blue singer broke the silence with a question. “Did you see what was on my phone yesterday?”
Heather frowned and nodded.
“You could’ve ruined me. You know that, right?”
Heather remained silent.
“It’s your do-the-right-thing mantra again, isn’t it?”
“You once told me you wanted a fair fight. How would a tabloid scandal be fair to anyone?”
Mi-ok chuckled and shook her head. “My parents made me promise when I started this business to never trust anyone, especially those who claimed to be my friend. Perhaps they’d change their minds if they met you.”
This admission startled Heather. She felt inclined to share an insight of her own. “Believe it or not, in a strange way, sometimes I feel you’re my number one fan.”
“You’re not the same girl I once knew. You’re rising to the challenge.” Mi-ok paused a long while. “I assume Vanessa shared our conversation with you?”
“She did, though you could have told me yourself.”
“I couldn’t, though. That’s the thing.”
Heather knew better than to expect an apology from Mi-ok. It was not in her character. Rather than prolong the discomforting conversation further, she changed the subject. “This will be our first time on stage together. Let’s make something people will talk about for ages.”
“Yes!” responded Mi-ok, sounding grateful for the diversion. “The other teams chose weepy ballads. Let’s do something bold and brash.”
Willing to suggest anything to dislodge the logjam, Heather asked, “Are you familiar with “Sugar” by 15&?”
Mi-ok’s devilish smile was the only response necessary.
Admittedly, the retro-funk song was not the easiest to tackle. Heather found the original “Sugar” track to be hectic, almost to the point of jarring. Her experience working with Kimmie Green, however, proved invaluable. She used her newly enhanced skills to rework the arrangement, smoothing it to sound more like classic Motown. This alteration gave the team more room to breathe as vocalists and more opportunity to inject their personalities into the performance.
Much to their mutual surprise, once they committed themselves to the collaboration, Mi-ok and Heather seemed to understand each other innately. Without even discussing the matter, they ironed out problems late into the night, long after other pairs had gone home. Driven to exhaustion, they sat on the practice room floor, trying to decide whether to grab something to eat (they skipped the official dinner) or simply retire for the night.
“You know something?” asked Mi-ok. “I work so hard to grasp things you seem to know instinctively. I find that intimidating.”
Heather grinned at this admission and offered one of her own. “You have this unbelievable ability to provoke tension and release. That’s the sign of a true natural. I wish I could do it half as well.”
For the first time in memory, Heather witnessed a smile from her rival that didn’t feel tailored to provoke a reaction. “That’s not going to stop me from beating you, you know?” said Mi-ok.
“Are you actually harboring doubts?”
The stage performance of “Sugar” proved unpredictable. Heather sang more freely during the show than in rehearsals, improvising in ways she had never attempted before. This threw the more rigidly set Mi-ok off balance. But only briefly. Relying on well-tuned professionalism, she picked up on Heather’s spontaneity and responded in kind. Their presentation was energetic, capricious, and, most of all, fun. The audience heartily approved of this morsel of goodness. With broad smiles, both singers spontaneously grabbed hands and held them in the air as if jointly proclaiming victory.
The aftermath, though, told a different story. Mi-ok was upset. “Why did you do that?” she asked angrily as they exited the stage.
Heather was dismayed to hear this question. Before she could respond, the stage manager called all three competing teams back on stage. The results segment immediately followed. During the by-now-standard interview, groups were asked to share their impressions of each other’s performances. 2NT praised Mi-ok for her perfect technique and intensity. Mint Nitty noted Heather’s impressive musicality and likable appeal. Together, the “Sugar” team easily carried the round in voting.
Once the taping had concluded, Mi-ok seemed much calmer. “We put on a good show,” she admitted afterward. “It was difficult singing with you at first, but I haven’t felt that accomplished in a long time. You made me approach that song in ways I’ve never considered. I’m still flush from the experience.”
* * *
The next day, a production meeting was held in Made in Heaven’s makeshift agency to discuss the third of five performance rounds. Gyeong explained the format. “Six groups pair off. Each is to cover one of the other’s songs. You’ve been matched with 2NT.”
“We have completely different styles,” said Grace.
“That’s probably intentional,” suggested Mindy.
2NT’s most famous song was “Stroke of Midnight. The accompanying music video was gothic horror-themed, with the idols playing vampires. The music relied more heavily on a hip-hop-influenced sound than anything Made in Heaven had ever done.
“What are we going to do with that?” asked Sun-hee.
“I just don’t see us excelling at direct imitation,” said Grace. “Though I do like the raps.”
“Which of our songs did they pick?” asked Heather.
“Brand New Day,” responded Gyeong. “I’m not supposed to know this, but I’ve heard a rumor that they’re planning a zombie-themed version.”
Heather was shocked. “Why? It’s a bright, happy song.”
“Trying to be different, I guess.”
“I have an idea,” said Erin. “What if we just flipped the script on them and did something like a magical girl, Sailor Moon type of thing? Kicking ass in all our finery.”
“Everything’s better with sparkles,” agreed Mindy.
“That’s not a bad idea. Beyond horror, what does “Stroke of Midnight” suggest to you?” asked Grace.
“Cinderella,” responded Vanessa.
“Exactly. We could be like fairy godmothers or something. Making dreams come true.”
“Visually, that would work, but what about the music? Apart from you, Grace, hip-hop is not our strong suit,” said Heather.
For research purposes, they replayed the 2NT video. Halfway through, Sun-hee paused it. “Do you hear that nice backing vocal? It reminds me of what we tried to do with ‘Celestial’ way back when.” She sang the melody to illustrate her point.
“So what are you saying?” asked Grace.
“I’d like to bring the band back one more time. We could fuse 2NT’s song with elements of ‘Celestial’ and turn it into a rock anthem.”
“Certainly unique on this show,” said Gyeong. “Nobody else is even attempting a band.”
In the following days, preparations were made accordingly. The main focus was on the music, specifically the arrangements. Many liberties were taken with the material to make it work. Eventually, the group struck a balance that everyone was happy with. In the meantime, work had started on the outfits. The staff-produced sketches looked simple, classy, and sexy, exactly as ordered. The proposed design consisted of hip-length, double-breasted, black leather coats cinched at the waist, black shorts underneath, and black leather boots extending to the knee.
“I’m worried we’re playing it too conservatively,” said Mindy. “Everybody else is doing these elaborate productions, and we’re just playing instruments. Visually, we need something more memorable.”
“It’s pretty late to change now,” said Grace.
“What if we cosplayed?”
“That sounds fun,” said Erin.
“I was thinking something like famous heroines from action movies. We could each dress like our favorite.”
Much to the staff’s chagrin, this new wrinkle emerged only two days before showtime. After an anguished debate over who would be Princess Leia (June picked paper over Sun-hee’s rock), the roles were finalized, and the costumers furiously went to work.
For her part, Mindy chose to wear The Bride’s yellow jumpsuit from Kill Bill, which was the main reason she proposed the idea in the first place. Grace went as Ellen Ripley from the Alien franchise. Sun-hee recovered nicely by choosing Marion Ravenwood’s white dress from Raiders of the Lost Ark, complete with strategic rips.
Vanessa was the Invincible Sword Goddess Jen Yu from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
“Technically, she’s not the heroine, you know?” argued Grace.
“Yes,” Vanessa responded with a wicked grin and a fire in her eyes. “Exactly.”
Erin had to justify her choice. “How is Dorothy an action heroine?” objected Mindy.
“She killed two evil witches, didn’t she?” replied Erin.
“By accident,” noted Grace.
“Results matter. And besides, Dorothy’s the only character who can sing.”
“Oh, the irony.”
Eventually, the opponents ran out of arguments, and Erin won her case through sheer determination. The final choice was Heather’s, who opted to go as Babydoll from Sucker Punch. “Blondes kick more ass” was her only statement regarding the role. Of course, this meant having to re-dye her hair back to platinum blonde so soon after turning it blue, though this time, she kept the length.
“Aren’t you worried about hair damage?” asked Erin.
“This team knows what they’re doing. I could pick a new color every day and wouldn’t worry.” To add a nice finishing touch, staff even scrounged up a last-minute katana to strap to Heather’s back for the occasion.
“I bet you these outfits will be popular in the Toy Box,” surmised Mindy when they tried them on for the first time.
“At least have the decency to wait until after the show,” warned Grace.
And so it went. Made in Heaven fashioned a unique “Stroke of Midnight” performance that barely resembled the 2NT original. The band setup allowed their stage to stand out from all the others. This was evident inside the studio, where the live audience appreciated the variety. It did not go as well as Heather had hoped, though. She took issue with some of the musicianship (truthfully, they’d been neglecting band rehearsals). Still, since the song was radically altered, she ultimately concluded that the mistakes went largely unnoticed.
As MIH made their way to the dressing room afterward, they passed by 2NT, who were preparing for their number. The professionally-applied makeup made them look ghastly, especially in the stark lighting of the hallway.
“Interesting stage,” said Mishil, 2NT’s main visual, upon assessing Made in Heaven’s cosplaying. “Now step aside for the pros.”
Heather smirked and shook her head. The irony of trash-talking zombies was not lost on her. Still, the group’s unnecessary taunting made it clear that not everyone was willing to play nice.
The television viewers were unambivalent. Comments that circulated during and after the episode indicated a positive reaction to MIH’s band idea. People appreciated the group’s inventiveness and ability to pull off radically different concepts from week to week. They enjoyed the fun take on cosplaying and even debated alternate character choices.
June shared a representative sample of the posts she found:
Zalapeno: whoever decided to book MIH on this show deserves a raise.
Kindaman7: MIH is single-handedly saving K-Pop.
Sneakymame: Where did they come from? Why am I only hearing about them now?
Teddyblade: That sounded nothing like “Stroke of Midnight,” but tbh, I don’t mind.
Reactions to 2NT’s cover of “Brand New Day” were mixed. Their staunchest fans hailed it as the best performance of the round, but neutrals responded with lukewarm indifference:
Floodphilter: Enuf already with horror concept. For reals.
Shantyheart: ngl, I’ve seen better from them
9thlevel_boi: Meh, not feeling it
Kkoah08: zombies r so played out.
In the all-important public opinion vote, MIH finished second, an eye-opening outcome. 2NT, in comparison, finished fourth. “We took the safe bet,” said Heather when the results were announced. “Action beat out gore.”
However, this unexpected turn of events produced a crisis in Dominion’s executive ranks. Whispers began circulating of an upset in the making. The show’s producers decided something had to be done.
* * *
With Dominion’s production crew juggling six different group schedules and call times starting as early as 6:00 a.m., downtime became more plentiful as the weeks progressed. When Silk Summoning took the stage for their tech rehearsal, Erin knew she’d be free for a while. While the others wandered, she remained in the dressing room with Mindy. It seemed like an opportune time to talk about something that weighed on her mind. “I didn’t mention this earlier, but I might have found my birth parents.”
That statement forced Mindy’s eyes open. She sat up from her aborted nap and said, “Already? That’s great. I mean, if you feel it’s the right time.”
“I haven’t told my adoptive parents, though.”
“How do you think they’ll react?”
“They said they’d be fine with it, but I don’t want to push too hard. Since my coming out, they’ve been on edge.”
“Maybe it’s not my place to say, but it’s not like you’re replacing them.”
“They can be pretty sensitive.”
“That, I believe.” Mindy barely stifled a chuckle, no doubt recalling memories of meeting them in person.
“I don’t want to give them any reason to think I’m betraying them.”
“What if you met your bio parents first and then decided whether to tell them?”
“That’s a good idea. No sense in worrying Mom and Dad over a big nothing.”
“Makes sense.”
“I’m nervous, though. I’ve always wondered why my birth parents gave me up in the first place.”
“Most of the time, it’s financial, I imagine.”
“What if it’s me, though?”
“How could it be you? You were a baby.”
“Maybe something was wrong with me, or I did something that made them unhappy. I don’t know.”
“I’m sure they had a good reason that has nothing to do with you personally.”
“I hope you’re right.”
The next morning’s drive to the studio was more eventful than most. It was Vanessa’s turn in the front seat. Exhausted from the hectic schedule and with little sleep, she dozed off before the van left the apartment building. On the way to the studio, they stopped at a traffic signal. Immediately before them was a tow truck hauling a semi-trailer truck. The load was arranged so that the semi was being towed backward. This forced the illusion that the van was about to engage in an imminent head-on collision.
Erin saw the opportunity she had been waiting for. Without warning, she shouted at the top of her lungs, “Look out! We’re gonna die!” This caused Vanessa to wake suddenly. As the semi appeared to be heading right towards them, she screamed and tried to bolt into the backseat but was immediately restrained by her seatbelt. The van’s occupants immediately erupted into prolonged collective laughter as Vanessa gradually realized she was in no danger.
She was, however, enraged, her dignity bruised. “Why in the hell did you do that?” she shouted.
“It’s fun,” responded Erin calmly. “You always, always react. Guaranteed entertainment.”
“You can’t say it’s undeserved,” said Mindy, tapping Vanessa’s shoulder teasingly. “She owed you one.”
Vanessa shook the last remnants of sleep away, then turned to face Erin. “I’m begging you, please leave this group.” She was only half joking.
Later that morning, Erin received a text message from her birth mother, whose name was Iseul. They had been conversing through email but had only recently agreed to meet in person. That date was still three days away. Iseul’s message sounded desperate. She stated that Erin’s birth father, Shin, had been in an accident with his work truck. The at-fault driver’s insurance didn’t cover the total cost of a replacement. Appa needed extra money to buy a new one. Erin, wishing to get into her good graces, offered to help. Being tight for cash, however, she could only afford the $10,000 they requested by securing an advance on her share of the Dominion payment.
Grace was incredulous upon hearing the news. “You wanna give complete strangers $10,000? Is that what I’m hearing?”
“It’s a loan. They’ll pay it back.”
“How do you know that?”
“They’re my birth parents. They won’t screw me over.”
Grace looked like she wanted to speak frankly but hesitated and eventually thought better. Instead, she said, “Don’t you think you should at least meet them first?”
“I intend to. But I want to have the money ready. My father can’t work without a truck.”
