XIYEON 8

7 January 2017

Pledis Studio


While waiting to debut, I had a reading requested from a male idol. The identity surprised me: Aron was a Catholic and I was pretty sure fortune-telling was one of the taboos. On the other hand, he was in an alliance with someone he should have hunted, Wen Junhui, so I shouldn't have been shocked.

"It was rumoured that Raina would have had a comeback this month but- something happened last August- to prevent that," this side of him startled me. The loneliness he must feel from the absence of his girlfriend and one of his members could not be underestimated. He looked in my eyes before answering the question I didn't ask, "It's not like the OVERCOME era."

GOOD GOODBYE, and every comeback after that, was expected to be the disbandment song of Nu'est. During the era mentioned, the rapper had become overly dependent on alcohol. The words of OVERCOME must have been a promise he made to himself to not become addicted to the poison from the agave plant.

"You don't have to speak," I whispered, pushing the wooden object in front of him. "Touch the casket, but no further contact." Once he complied with the order, he returned the cards to me. Just like the encounter with Joshua, his skin leaving an imprint on the conduit was enough for me to see into the past.


The hunter had made plans to meet his girlfriend after the Eve's mass. A small box, with an exterior of blue baize, was nestled in his linen trouser pocket. I tried not to gasp at the implication: Aron was going to ask Raina to marry him. He waited at the gates of the church. Minutes passed and he started pacing.

His texts and phone calls went unanswered. The rapper felt for the crucifix around his neck before reciting a prayer. A glow was emitted and he ran in the direction it led him: an abattoir in the industrial parts of the town. Because the hunter had control of his memories before pouring them into the box, I knew he censored most of the fight.

All I could see once the veil was lifted was him cradling his girlfriend's head, blood streaming from his ears. There were three vampires in his wake, stakes made of silver pinning them to the floor. As he ran to catch a cab, Aron's blood mingled with hers on the ground. He ignored his own injuries to ensure that her life was saved.

The rapper visited her in the hospital every day but the singer was in a deep slumber for months. She had woken up in late December: a Christmas miracle of sorts. A montage of dates blurred before me: drinking coffee at the café where eonnie was a barista pre-debut, going to a movie, and eating dinner. The only things that changed were the movies watched and the seasons.

Raina's outfits, the café, and the restaurant were always the same. The conversations held between the two were the same. In January, February, and March, their conversations were about the current events of December. To me, it seemed that she was unable to retain any new memories, leaving the two of them stuck in a loop.


"Baekho, Ren, and JR were already disappointed with how things turned out on the moon so I didn't want to bother them," the rapper confided in me.

"I hate the thought of you feeling alone, my friend," I patted his arm, all the way across the round table.

"There was someone else I discussed it with," he looked sheepish. "Since the attack was perpetrated by vampires, I figured Jun would be able to stop the cycle."

"I would have done the same," I nodded in sympathy, distancing myself from thoughts of the jiangshi.

"As it turns out, he was able to identify the wavelength used, which was helpful. Unfortunately, his pitch wasn't low enough to end the loop so he contacted a friend," the hunter continued.

"Was it Victoria?" I tried to keep my voice devoid of emotions but when I caught Aron's gaze, I saw that he sensed the green-eyed monster emerging from me.

"Yes," he chose not to comment on the jealousy I had exhibited and for that, I was grateful. "She sent over instructions to build a machine that would replicate and then reverse the wavelength."

"Don't doubt your intelligence," I thought of how he had been placed in the top 0.5 percentile of the USA's SAT results. "The instructions were probably faulty, despite your tinkering."

"While the scientific and mathematic aspects were correct," the hunter ignored my second dig, "I realised that I hadn't factored the supernatural element in."

"The machinations of the device will probably go over my head but I will try my best with the cards," he smiled at my determined promise.


I wound my hair into a bun and put on a baseball cap over that. Choosing the baggiest hoody to pair with the track pants, I was a wallflower. The only makeup I wore was a clear lip gloss. Sure, my height would attract attention, but my appearance would lend to the suggestion that I was an athlete, keeping attention away.

After twenty minutes of walking, I arrived at the parish the rapper had mentioned. When I mentioned my appointment with him, they directed me to the set of descending stairs. Aron wasn't joking when he said that his invention hadn't seen the light of day. I touched the wall and felt the votives made from a few centuries ago.

He greeted me with a tray of refreshments, from which I partook. During the small talk, I looked at the apparatus strewn everywhere. "This takes me back to my childhood," I looked at the video cassette tapes and the ancient desktop on the table. "And that one looks like a pachinko machine, not that I ever played one before," I hastily added the caveat.

"The Vatican is currently transferring the data onto DVDs and Blu-Ray so I decided to work with these," the hunter patted the computer and was rewarded with an aggressive growl. "I didn't like hearing that they'd be thrown away." A genius child could easily see that he was alluding to Pledis' neglect of Nu'est. He then started explaining his process.

"The pachinko machine, as you have dubbed it, has replicated the vampire frequency that I heard. I had a hell of a headache, similar to a hangover, without lasting damage. The computer analyses it and suggests the reverse wavelength, which is then recorded on the video tapes. I modified a VCR player so it functions without a TV but I haven't been successful yet."

Nodding, I decided to clear my mind of the excess detail the rapper mentioned and identified which five key points I'd interrogate when reading the cards. I sat down at one of the tables and removed the wooden cube from my pocket. Taking the cards out, I decided to extend the same courtesy of explanation to him.

"The Queen of Swords, reversed, and the Knight of Cups, reversed, show that her intention, although from a bitter heart, due to the recent decimation of her coven, has resulted in precise results. The Nine of Pentacles show that you followed the results correctly and will soon enjoy the fruits of your labour. Justice, reversed, shows that there is a flaw in the machinery."

"I was sure that I followed the instructions to the tee," Aron shook his head.

"You've been working on this project for a long time so you were bound to make a mistake or two," I tried to console him, to no avail. "I will act as a talking checklist for you."

"You have my gratitude," he bowed slightly. "What about the last card?"

"Two of Wands show that eonnie is trying to leave the loop she's trapped in. She knows that she's stuck in her memories so she's doing exercises to improve her memory. Let's work hard so that we help our tireless seonbae!" I read Victoria's instructions and we found the errors. I watched the hunter fix the parts and soon, he was rewarded with a "success" message on the screen.

"Now, all we have to do is wait," the hunter grabbed his keys, indicating that we would leave, soon. "I'm paying for the cab home since you sped the process up." Nodding, I followed him up the stairs, feeling a great sense of accomplishment at today's activities. As we waited for the cab, he complimented me on how well I did my part as an MC for the cover songs the Pledis Girlz did.

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