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And his English is in fact, perfect.
I detest him even more since I still get nervous with mine.
I can understand it nearly perfectly now, speaking is another story. I get jittery and I feel like I’m stuttering and my thoughts get jumbled, so it’s just easier to pretend I have no clue what people are talking about, that way in interviews they don’t target me. I get to keep my image of innocence and youth. I just nod my head and smile when the rest of the guys answer. That’s not so hard to do. Everyone, except Kai and me, are completely fluent, though Kai’s really close, he just speaks a bit slower.
The mystery guy pulls out a chair next to Ari and Solia sits on the other side of him, while the owner of our label, Siu, walks in. He’s wearing black sunglasses, a black suit, and smiling from ear to ear. He’s in his early fifties and his hair is graying in places—I’m sure some of it can be attributed to the stress of the business all the idol scandals.
Siu, looks around the room and addresses us. “Sorry about the changes in schedules but we had a marketing meeting and TestME were already here for another meeting with producers.”
Yeah because they can’t self-produce to save their asses.
I keep my mouth shut and smile.
“No problem.” Rae’s smile is so forced I’m surprised his face doesn’t break in half from the pressure of holding it together. “What’s this about? Is everything okay?”
“More than okay.” Siu leans forward. “I know both of you are on strict production schedules, but we think you’re going to love this idea. And the more we think about it, the more we believe it’s going to be great for the brand. It’ll be a good promotion for both groups—we decided to have ZL taken off the project for various reasons.”
Jay actually has the nerve to cough while Kai elbows him.
ZL was, past tense, a new girl group that got caught in a shit ton of school bullying scandals. There’s no way are they doing any group activities right now, the press would lose it.
“We’ve decided to shift gears and try something new.” He nods before telling us. “Filming will start in two days. We’ll use the footage for promotions and we know this will really resonate with the fans. We’ll film every day and upload twice a week to the labels YouTube channel.”
Lucas leans forward and asks the question we’re all thinking. “What exactly are we filming?”
We’ve done our own reality show and variety show leading up to a comeback, so while stressful, this kind of marketing angle is normal. Still, it’s just another thing I have to worry about.
“A dating show.” He grins wide.
Horrible idea.
I immediately start sweating, while Kai curses under his breath and gives Solia a look out from under his beanie.
She’s staring straight ahead but her face is so pale it’s like she saw a ghost.
“A dating show?” Jay repeats.
“Yes.”
Jay presses.
“So we’re guests on the show? Judging it? What exactly are we doing?”
Rae takes that moment to pour a glass of water and take a large sip. All eyes flicker to him, momentarily distracting us before Siu speaks again.
“Your producer will fill you in with more details and the needs of the Network and label. But, in transparency and to save time, I’ll give you some explanation…”
Rae’s already on his second glass of water. I’m pretty sure he wishes it was alcohol. Hell, so do I.
“You’re not guests. And you’re not judging anything. You’re the main attraction. You’ll be dating eligible single fans from your most popular fan clubs for two straight weeks.”
Rae starts choking.
Lucas pats him hard on the back while Rae tries to get a grip. I’m surprised, really. This is the first time he’s shown such emotion in front of executives, let alone the president of the label. His melt down is definitely helping me prevent one of my own.
“We think it’s going to be unprecedented for the brand,” Siu begins and his eyes take on an almost fanatical look. I can see how excited he is. “This has never been done before. Fans dating their idols? For the first time, they’ll be able to live their dream and get up close and personal to you all. They’ll learn your taste and who you are in the privacy of your home.”
Ummm… this sounds awful.
