If You

Emily Carter followed the stage manager through the bustling backstage area, trying to keep up with his rapid walk as they weaved around stagehands. The chattering around her was mostly in Korean and reminded her how far from home she was, but she rallied herself as they slipped past the chaos and arrived at a door in a cramped hallway. The manager knocked twice, then opened the door and waved Emily into the room.
She found herself in a dressing room full of people, all of them talking or packing things into cases. The entire right side of the room was a fully stocked makeup counter, and racks of costumes were neatly lined up on her left, all in plastic bags and labeled in Korean characters. No one seemed to notice her, except for the group of men sitting on couches in the middle of the room. The one on the far right had bright red hair swept up into a huge mohawk and was wearing an obscene amount of black leather, but he didn’t return her smile and looked away disinterestedly.
A stocky man wearing glasses spotted her too and squeezed through the crowd to shake her hand. “Miss Carter, I presume,” he said in English.
“Yes, and you must be Mr. Sagowa. It’s nice to meet you,” she said with a smile.
“The pleasure is all mine, Miss Carter. Come, I’ll introduce you to the members.”
Mr. Sagowa led her over to the men on the couch. “This is Miss Emily Carter, the writer I told you about. She flew in from America this morning. Miss Carter,” he said, addressing Emily, “this is BIGBANG.”
Emily had spent the last month familiarizing herself with KPOP, especially the legendary BIGBANG. They were the Kings of KPOP, five of the most talented and sought-after stars in the industry, and the world wanted to know everything about them, which is why she was there. Her editor had explained the merits of writing BIGBANG’s biography, both for her own career and theirs, but seeing them in person made her wonder if it was the best idea. “Hi, it’s nice to meet you,” she said, looking at each of them in turn.
“We’ve got a few minutes before the car arrives, so why don’t you get to know the band a little before we head out?” Mr. Sagowa suggested. He snapped his fingers and the entourage filed out of the room behind him until it was just her and the band.
The room was awkwardly quiet after the door closed and Emily felt nervous, so she sat in a chair across from them and crossed her legs. “I’m afraid my Korean is limited, but Mr. Sagowa assured me you’re all fluent in English. I’m a little disappointed that there won’t be any hilarious misunderstandings,” she said with a wry smile.
Two of the men chuckled and Emily’s heart lifted a little. “I’m Seunghyun, but you can call me Seungri,” said the one on the far left. He wore a black and white suit and had short black hair, and he looked a little younger than the rest of the group. He seemed the most relaxed, and definitely the most eager to talk to her. “This is Daesung,” he said, nudging the guy next to him. Daesung had on a white leather jacket and thick-soled platform boots, which were propped up on the ottoman, and he tossed his white-blonde hair out of his eyes as he smiled politely at her.
“Next to him is Youngbae,” Seungri said, moving on to the next man. Youngbae was shirtless and wore the tightest black pants Emily had ever seen, and his black hair fell in his eyes, which were a surprising shade of green. That’s right, a lot of them like to wear colored contacts, she remembered. He exuded sex appeal and she glanced down before she blushed too much.
“I’m Seunghyun too,” the next one said preemptively, his deep voice startling her. His hair was blue and combed into neat waves around his face, and he wore a neon pink jacket that seemed to glow and pulsate rhythmically. He had a kind expression on his face and Emily immediately liked him.
Seunghyun looked over at Mohawk Man and raised an eyebrow. “Jiyong,” he said finally, giving her a smile that clashed with the almost suspicious look in his eyes.
“I’m excited to be here,” she offered, but Jiyong just looked at the floor and Seunghyun cleared his throat. “I think we should be honest with you,” he began. “This isn’t an arrangement we’re comfortable with. The idea of a writer living with us and writing about us is... invasive.”
Jiyong shifted in his seat and Emily sensed that he shared these feelings. “You’re right, Seunghyun,” she said decidedly. “You’re all already under a lot of scrutiny by the public, and having a stranger spend every moment with you eliminates what little privacy you still have. I fully understand if you feel resentful or angry towards me.”
“Then why accept the job?” Jiyong demanded, jutting his chin out.
“Because you deserve someone who will write a respectful tribute, not some sordid exposé,” she replied evenly. “I want you to have some control over what’s published. If you choose to share something personal with me, I swear it won’t be in the book unless you approve it. In return, I hope that you will all be honest with me, and I’d like to think we could become friends.”
The members mulled over her speech for several moments. “That’s very kind of you,” Daesung said finally, speaking for the first time.
“It’s only what I would want someone to do for me,” Emily replied. “Does that sound fair?”
One by one each member nodded, but Jiyong only gave a slight jerk of his head, as if it pained him to do it. What’s his problem? Emily wondered, but Mr. Sagowa suddenly came in to announce that the car had arrived, so Emily followed the band outside and watched them get into their limo.
“Aren’t you going to ride with them?” Mr. Sagowa asked.
Emily shook her head. “They need time to talk,” she said. “This isn’t going to be easy for them.”
“Not for Jiyong, you mean,” Mr. Sagowa interjected. “He fought the executives endlessly about this and was pretty unhappy when he lost. The others will come around, but you may have to work on him for a while.”
Another car pulled up and Mr. Sagowa opened the door, gesturing for Emily to precede him. “You’ve made a big commitment, Miss Carter,” he said as the car pulled away from the curb. “It could take years to write this book, but your editor assured me you’d be up for the challenge.”
Emily stared out the window, remembering the look on Jiyong’s face. “I hope so,” she whispered.

Notes

I obviously took some liberties with the guys as far as appearance and personalities, but this is just my imagination at work :) Would love to hear what you guys think!