28 March 2017

Pledis Entertainment

It had already been a week but I still wasn't used to hearing, "Hello, I'm the princess of our house, I like adventures," and "Dazzling, my heart is crumbling. You're my super, super hero." There were those who criticised how different the song sounded from the teaser, and didn't like the blare of the sirens but our talents were undeniable.

A couple of weeks later, Mio eonnie escorted me to the boardroom where the CEO and Vice-President were waiting. Mr Kim began once we had taken our seats. "Every week, we looked at the comments left on the cover videos and there were favourable comments about your style of presentation. Comments so favourable that even MNet took notice."

Mr Han slid a contract down to us, the manager of Pristin explaining each term of the contract to me. I nodded, appending my signature at the bottom of each page. This was a huge step for me so I asked as many questions as I could. "Your partner will be Cha Eunwoo, of Fantagio's ASTRO," she gave a wink hidden from the men.

I kept my face as blank as he would: he was studying with acting as his major. Like me, he had starred in guest roles so we could discuss that. I surmised that we were chosen because we had dispositions and aesthetics as beautiful as sunflowers. "The other members will be your backup dancers," I smiled at that announcement.

I was given a tour of the studio, met the people who would provide support on the show, and practiced how to be an MC with the lenses of multiple cameras on me. Closer to my debut, the members and I practiced my introduction. The concept was "Cheerleader" and the song "Girlfriend" by Avril Lavigne.

I remembered the first time I saw the music video, admiring the punk princess as she played both the role of the popular girl and the role of the wallflower. When it was released, I was singing along to the catchy and easy lyrics. The choreography was much simpler than anything we'd ever done so I mostly focused on my facial expressions.

"Well done," my co-presenter clapped when we had the dance memorised and the performance made it seem more like a song released by Pristin.

"Thank you," I saw that he held a hand up and we high-fived. Maybe it was because I was fatigued but I could have sworn that I felt Cha Eunwoo's fingers curl around mine. I blinked and saw that his hands were wrapped around the plastic microphone we used during rehearsal. His face was marble while mine was more like just-blown glass, hot and red.

"Did you feel a spark when you held his hand?" Jung Eunwoo was lucky my water bottle was out of reach or the contents would have been on her face.

"I need to start calling you two eonnie and oppa instead of by your names," I mumbled, hiding the fact that the high five-turned-hand hold was witnessed by an objective party. When Astro debuted, one if my aroha friends had told me the reason he changed his birth name but I had forgotten. I had no idea if I was going to debut, let alone be on the same stage as him.

"Is he your type?" Yuha eonnie joined the discussion.

"No," I could have kicked myself for the knee-jerk response. "A deity has already chosen me for someone."

"Really, who?" she noticed the significance in the order I placed the words.

"One of the Chinese members of Seventeen," I saw her become more concerned. "But I'm not going to follow what someone else said, no matter who they are! I am the one in control of my life."

"That's the Princess of Pledis for you," Eunwoo eonnie patted my shoulder.

Days rushed by too fast for my liking as we did full rehearsals. The director kept the pressure on by continuously changing the mock line-up of performers and having the support crew pretend to be different boy and girl groups. She said this was because of how fickle the audience could be. Multi stans, especially, ignored the artists they had promoted the week before.

My co-host was already introducing the new MCwhen my cue was given. I had the outfit on and entered the stage, the signature"Hey hey, you you" carried me on winged sneakers. When Roa and Nayoung eonnies placed the letter jacket on me,I felt as if this were the regal cloak of days gone by. I had no time to besentimental as the dancing kicked up a notch.

The hyaline, sapphire, and ivory of my outfit complemented that of Eunwoo oppa. A similar dress was worn by the rest of Pristin, sans jacket. I enjoyed playing with the white pom-poms and linking hands with my members felt like a Broadway musical. Even if I had a decade, I would not find words pretty enough to describe these euphoric 180 seconds.

A few days after the Music Core debut, I ventured into the shark-infested waters that constituted K-pop forums and found- the most wonderful comments. From being called an "infant Nana" to followers wondering how on earth I hadn't debuted with IOI, I enjoyed these most beautiful moments.

There was a dinner at the end of the first week to celebrate my debut. I got to know the production crew better and was added to the group chat. A photo of oppa and I were the icon for this era of presenters, the CEO explained. Upon that proclamation, I followed Cha Eunwoo's lead and kept my face as cool as a cucumber. I wasn't as poker-faced when he DM'd me, asking if I got home safe.