WORLD TOUR
That Saturday morning, the sun happened to be up quite early. Judging from how bright the beautifully decorated room was, one could think the rising sun was just at their doorstep.
“My head hurts really bad,” Jennie said as she lazily rang a bell by the bedside. Minutes later, a short petite woman neatly dressed in a uniform came in.
“Can you please make us a cup of coffee?” Jennie asked.
“Sure,” she replied, walking towards the kitchen.
All four girls were fully awake, and as they waited for their coffee, all they could think of was their upcoming tour. The thought seemed like what they needed to cure their hangover as they reminisced on the challenges, they had faced climbing the ladder of success. It was their first-ever world tour and thus was a milestone worth celebrating. Their adrenaline spiked at the thought of performing on the same stage as other renowned K-pop artists. Engrossed in their conversation, the lady walked in, put the coffee tray on the glass table right in front of them, and walked out. The young ladies couldn’t stop talking about all the fun things they would do on their trip. It was time to give the world a taste of Pink Generation, and they were out to savor every step through it.
The girls had spoken to Ye Ji earlier, requesting they have the weekend to themselves to unwind from the stress of the previous week. It seemed like too much time to spend just idling around as there were lots of preparations to be made towards the next big thing. You guessed right—the upcoming tour. After a long conversation and going back and forth, Ye Ji agreed and moved all pending preparations to the next week.
“Why don’t we have a girl’s day out to celebrate?” Sunny said.
“Mmmmm…I love the sound of that. Seems like a great way to spend the weekend,” Julie replied.
“I mean, we’ve put in so much work and effort into Pink Generation. This is a level lots of young aspiring artists don’t get to. This is a milestone we’ve reached, and it calls for a celebration,” Sunny continued.
“I agree. You know my mum always talks about how important it is to celebrate every achievement. It always keeps you aware of what you’ve achieved and shows you how much more you could achieve if only you keep at it. We definitely need to celebrate.” Jennie added.
“Sue, what do you say?” Sunny called out, as she seemed quite engrossed in her phone, with not much interest in the conversation.
“What?” Sue responded, seeming rather lost as she sipped her cup of coffee.
“What do you say about having a girl’s day out to celebrate? You seem quite distracted. Are you okay?” asked Sunny.
“Of course, we should celebrate, and yes, I’m fine. What could possibly be the problem?” replied Sue, wearing a rather weird smile.
“So, what’s the itinerary?” Sunny asked with an expression that screamed anticipation.
They all agreed to first go to the spa, make a stop at the mall to shop for a few things, and then head to the beach. At about noon, the ladies stepped out, looking all glam. It was quite a memorable time together as they had a remarkable day.
“I hope your unwinding was successful. We’ll have a meeting at 8 am. Don't be late,” the message read as a notification popped up on all four ladies’ phones at 6 am. Sunny was quite punctual as she arrived at about 7:55 am. Sue and Julie arrived three minutes later, and Jennie arrived at about 8:10 am, making a magnificent entrance and looking all elegant as the two young men already seated for the meeting couldn’t stop staring.
“You’re late, again,” Ye Ji said, looking towards her direction as she walked into the room with the stiletto heels of her red glossy Louis Vuitton shoes making the click-clack sound.
“My apologies, please excuse my behavior,” she responded gracefully as she sat, winking at her other three friends with a smile.
The office assistant walked in with cups of coffee and water and then carefully placed them before each attendee. In a hurry to begin as a lot of things had to be put in place before the tour, Ye Ji began by giving a brief into the forthcoming Pink Generation’s music tour, outlining the expected outcome. It was their first-ever world tour and would set a standard for subsequent ones, and as such, it had to be perfect. The meeting lasted for hours as they deliberated on target regions across each continent and possible venues for each region, and examined different date ranges, promotions, and budgets.
At about 1 pm, they went out for their lunch break to continue the meeting in the more relaxing restaurant. All four ladies also headed out for a lunch break in Jennie’s car and returned to the studio for their voice training with Seong. After the day’s rehearsal, Ye Ji informed them of their photo session the next day.
“Do well to have your beauty sleep, ladies. You’d be having a photo session tomorrow; we must start promoting as soon as possible. In two days, your faces will be on all the billboards in Seoul, all the social media platforms, radio stations, everywhere,” she said. “The K-pop industry had better be ready for Pink Generation,” she added with a bright smile on his face.
As the concert drew nearer, the pressure on the young artists increased tremendously. Sue had found a way of easing her tension as she found solace in playing online games; it became a habit as the time she spent online increased by the day. She was often distracted and would lose focus in the middle of very important activities and most times found it difficult to control herself in public.
“I’m not doing anything wrong,” she would often say to herself in a bid to justify her behavior. “It’s just a game.”
Laying on her bed, captured by her newfound love, Sue was startled by the sound of her alarm. Rather confused, she peeped outside her curtain and the cloud looked a little bright. Still not convinced, she checked the time, and it was about 6 am.
“Oh my God,” she exclaimed in shock. “How is it morning already?”
“Oh no, I have to be pretty today, but I look so worn out, my eyes look so heavy, how did I stay awake all night?” she continued.
“Okay, take a deep breath, calm down, Sue, you got this. You just have to place an ice bag on your eyes and you’d be absolutely fine.” She raced to her fridge, put ice cubes in an ice bag, and placed them on her eyes for about 20 minutes.
“It’s not working, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do?” she muttered.
“I guess I should sleep for a while, maybe 30 minutes, that’ll work.” So she laid down on her bed and closed her eyes, but she was too anxious and couldn’t sleep.
Already running late, Sue dashed into the bathroom, took her bath, got dressed, and then wore a pair of sunglasses all in an attempt to cover her eye bags.
She arrived late, looking all clumsy and quite strange. The others were already present and prepared for their fitting and makeup session. She moved very quickly and had her sit by the girls to avoid attracting any more attention.
“What's up with the sunglasses?” Jennie asked, looking confused.
“You look like a clown,” Sunny added, teasing her, and the girls giggled.
“Nothing’s wrong,” she responded, looking away.
Julie, sitting right by her, pulled off the glasses, causing Sue to look down.
“Why do your eyes look swollen? Have you been crying or didn’t you get any sleep?” Julie said as she put forth her hand and lifted her chin.
“Please give back my glasses,” Sue said in a low tone as she sounded rather offended.
“No, I won’t,” Julie replied, still trying to keep the tone down. “You seem quite distracted lately. What is wrong with you?”
“We are your friends; you should tell us if you’re having a problem,” Sunny said.
“And I said I’m fine; nothing is wrong with me. Mind your business. I don’t pry into your personal lives, and so you have no right to question me,” she said loudly, causing everyone in the room to turn in their direction. Sue snatched her glasses from Julie and walked away.
Sue walked really fast to the reception. She brought out her phone and began playing her online game to calm her nerves as she felt really tense.
Julie walked straight to the bar, very furious.
“Two shots of tequila, please,” she said to the bartender.
“I’m sorry, it’s working hours, and you’re not allowed to drink,” the bartender replied.
“How dare you, you lowlife? Who are you to tell me when to and when not to drink? Now, can I get two shots of tequila, or do you want to find out what I can do?”
Julie had developed a very bad habit of alcohol addiction.
“I’m sorry, ma’am,” he muttered, as he served her two glasses of tequila.
She drank and headed out for the scheduled makeup session.
After a few minutes, everything was set for their makeup session, after which they would go for the photo session. The ladies were called in to have their makeup and hair done; thankfully, makeup was able to cover Sue’s eye bags. Before long, the photo session came to an end, and the ladies went out for their lunch break, after which they headed back to the studio for their rehearsals. In the course of the rehearsal, Seong felt a tense atmosphere between the ladies, but she didn’t pay much attention. As their voice class teacher, Seong became worried after the tense atmosphere lingered for days and drew Ye Ji’s attention. On one of those days after rehearsals, the ladies headed out of the office.
“Sunny…” Ye Ji called out. “Can you spare me two minutes of your time, please?”
“Sure,” Sunny replied as she waited while the others went ahead.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“I’m sorry, I don’t quite understand,” she replied.
“You don’t have to tell me sorry. I’d make this very quick, so listen carefully,” she paused and then continued. “The success of Pink Generation is highly dependent on your unity and ability to work together as a team. People are watching. I want Pink Generation to succeed as much as you do. I hope you understand. Think about it,” she said and walked away.
***
Sunny was lost in thought as she walked slowly towards the parking lot to get her car. Quite worried as she got home, she kept thinking and couldn’t sleep. She needed to talk to someone, and so she called up Jennie and told her what Ye Ji said to her.
“Those girls must have told her,” she said, rolling her eyeballs.
“But she has a point; we need to do something about it. This little argument could be dangerous for our career.”
“Right, so what do we do?” Jennie replied.
“I have no idea, that’s why I called you,” Sunny responded.
“Look, I don’t know,” Jennie replied. “Everything will be fine, don’t worry.”
The girls exchanged their goodnight greetings and disconnected the phone lines.
The four arrived at the office as they had to prepare for another interview on TV and on air with a celebrity host the next day. Sunny was quite scared as she didn't know what drama Sue and Julie would cause if they went for the interview without settling their differences. All attempts on both Sunny's and Jennie’s side to reconcile the two girls weren’t producing any positive results, as both were adamant and too proud to apologize.
Sunny was quiet, and Jennie was silent. She went ahead to walk down the street, wishing the little quarrel would be resolved. Sunny seemed quite uneasy but had to put herself together. She missed her friends and the good relationship they all had working together.
***
It had been a few hours, and Sue and Sunny were nowhere to be found. At first, the others thought they had gone sightseeing, but now it was getting worrisome.
“Oh, my dear Sue and Sunny, where could they be, and what could be happening to them? I hope we are going to see them again,” Jennie said as tears rolled down one cheek.
“Shhh...don’t say that, we'll definitely see them again. Nothing will happen to them,” Julie said softly, also crying and comforting Jennie.
“I have to apologize to Sue,” Julie said as she stood up from the couch. “I spoke to her rudely; I must apologize.”
Jennie just wanted this to be over with. At about 6 pm, there was still no call. They became more anxious, not sure of the next step to take, but Jennie stopped them from calling the police. She advised they all went home and kept their phone lines on. If they didn't get any news, then they could involve the police. The idea was bought by everyone, and they all departed. Julie was too scared to go to her house, so she asked to sleep over at Jennie's house, and Jennie accepted. Throughout the night, Jennie couldn't sleep as thoughts of her two friends kept coming to her mind mixed with the feeling of fright, as she struggled not to think of the worst.
Julie, on the other hand, just kept praying to God to give her another chance as she would love to see her friends again and apologize to Sue for all the hurtful things she said.
The next day, while Julie was asleep, Jennie placed a call to a friend. She was as brief as possible. She was in desperate need of support from anyone close. Thankfully, her friend assured her that everything would be fine.
Truly, everything did turn out well. The ladies were dropped off by a man who saw how lost they looked. Sue and Sunny had gone out to have a private talk about some issues going on in the group. They deliberately chose not to go with a car because they wanted to go out without calling much attention. At the time, the streets were busy, and the roads were confusing. They had been walking and trying to find their way back. Somehow, their phones had died, and they were trying hard to stay unnoticed by the crowd. They had to stay put until they could find someone to help. They needed someone who wouldn't turn it into a case of celebrity gossip. So when they saw the young man looking so reserved and unassuming, they knew they had to take their chance to ask him for help.
The man was happy to help and offered them a ride. Once the ladies were dropped off, he zoomed off. The ladies ran into the office, and with great joy, the production manager and all the other members of the Pink Generation crew got to the office early and were elated to see them. Everyone had questions, but the ladies seemed tired and had to rest. At the time, Sue and Sunny were not aware that their friends had been found. It was late, so the crew didn't want to call to inform them till morning.
They asked permission to leave and that they’ll talk to everyone when they’re fit. Ye Ji sent them off with a driver.
“Take all the time you need,” she said to Sunny and Sue as they left.
***
“Go back to work everyone, we have a world tour coming up, and we shouldn’t waste any more time,” Ye Ji said to the rest of the crew. “And yes, not a word of this to anyone. We can’t afford a social media scandal at this time,” she added.
“Julie, Julie!” Jennie screamed loudly after ending a call. “They’ve been found, and they’re on their way. Sunny just called me.”
Struggling to free herself from the shackles of alcohol she drowned herself in, Julie managed to open her eyes as she jumped from the couch. She had been drinking again because she was depressed. Jennie gave her a cup of coffee as she sat there eagerly waiting for their arrival. A few minutes later, the car arrived at Jennie's apartment.
Julie ran out to meet them as the sound of the steaming engine announced their arrival. She hugged Sue really tightly and began to apologize to Sue for speaking to her rudely as tears rolled down her cheeks. Sue also apologized for the hurtful things she said to her and the rest of her friends. The four hugged each other and then walked into the house to freshen up, rest, and catch up. The ladies considered the upcoming tour and decided to go back to work after two days of rest. It wasn’t time to sleep as the concert drew closer each day.
***
All four of them showed up at work looking glamorous. Ye Ji was rather surprised to see them, as she wasn't expecting them, and invited them to her office. She asked why they were at work so early after such an ordeal. The ladies responded that they had a tour to prepare for and there was no time to hide like scared cats. They added that they would just be more careful as they moved forward.
“You can’t be too careful,” Ye Ji said as she called in four well-built men, introducing them to the ladies as security personnel. “They’ll be your personal bodyguards until the tour is over. If you decide to keep them afterward, it's up to you,” she added.
“We don’t need bodyguards,” Jennie snapped.
“That’s not up to you. Please don’t be selfish. We cannot afford any of our rivals in this industry sabotaging our efforts thus far. With the feedback we’ve gotten from publicity, you do need bodyguards. So, as I said, until the end of the tour, they’re staying, and that is final,” Ye Ji replied.
She then scheduled their interview for the next day and reminded them to deny any rumors about their disappearance, as an internet scandal might harm their tour. After the interview, the girls' fame spread throughout Seoul like wildfire. It was a level of attention they had never experienced before. It became increasingly difficult for them to go out freely. There was always someone requesting an autograph, a selfie, or even paparazzi taking pictures.
***
On one occasion, Sunny went out and got really frightened by the crowd of paparazzi in the mall and found a way to escape to the convenience. Breathing quite heavily, she hardly noticed the presence of another young lady, tall, slender, and well-put together.
“Hey,” the lady said with a stick of cigarette in her hand, staring at Sunny. “I know you.”
“You must be one of those pretty faces everywhere. You seem really tensed.”
Sunny remained quiet as she watched the person talk.
“This is just Seoul, what would you do when you’re on your tour around the world? You’d definitely face more stress. I guess you’d go into a coma then,” as she smiled mischievously. Sunny still didn’t speak a word.
“Here,” she stretched forth the cigarette towards Sunny.
“You like to ease your stress right, take,” as she placed the half stick of cigarette in Sunny’s hand.
“That’ll help, I’m Moon, Moon Jo,” she said as she dropped her complimentary card and asked her to call if she needed more nicotine, and she walked away. Sunny tried it after a lot of thought and she didn’t do badly for the first time. She quickly put the stick of cigarette off and slotted it by the side of her bag. She then called her friends and met them up at the parking lot. While all three struggled with the stress of having to deal with all the preparations for the tour, the crowd, and finding ways to adjust to the changes that came with their status, Jennie seemed to be basking in the euphoria of the new level of their stardom. She seemed to be handling it with enthusiasm. She couldn’t just stop smiling at the cameras, posing for pictures, signing autographs, and talking about how she loved the whole new experience.
To keep up with appearances, Jennie tried her possible best to be on top when it came to fashion trends. She was always purchasing luxury bags, shoes, clothes, and jewelry. I mean, she was part of the next big thing in K-pop culture, and she had to be at the top of her game, even if it meant having to be identified as the most luxurious member of Pink Generation. Little by little, her love for luxurious items became an obsession and even found it difficult to go out if she didn’t purchase any new luxury item to put on.
After a long day of rehearsals, Sunny headed home all tired and stressed. While searching her bag for her car keys, she stumbled on the half-cigarette stick she had carefully slotted into the side pocket and the young lady’s complimentary card. On getting home, she was determined to try. She lit the cigarette and began smoking. She didn’t know what it was, it didn’t smell like the usual kind of cigarette, but it calmed her nerves and helped her relax. She woke up feeling all good.
Sue’s addiction to her video games increased simultaneously with the stress and pressure from her daily activities. Julie found solace in her alcohol, it helped her ease stress and tension. As long as she was able to purchase luxury items, Jennie was fine. All four were careful to hide their newfound habits from each other.
***
As preparations continued towards the tour, the publicity team suggested they find a way to engage their international fans more. After a long session of deliberating, they decided that their fans would decide which countries Pink Generation will perform in, and that would be done by voting online over a period of three days. At the end of the third day, nine cities with the highest vote will be announced.
This was quite a strategy as their social media followers and fan page interactions peaked, as the fame of Pink Generation increased internationally through the help of the internet. At the end of the three days of intense competition, nine cities were announced in an official video that went viral. The winning cities were: Paris, London, New York City, LA, Chicago, Cape Town, Singapore, Mexico City, and Tokyo, touching five different continents. After the cities were unveiled, the crew started booking venues for the concert in each city, they started working towards fixing a date and time for performance in each city.
Pink Generation’s manager, Ye Ji, was just what any fast-rising brand needed. She had the drive and passion for results. For these young artists, the tour was mostly about traveling the world and doing what they love most: singing. They didn’t really consider so much what a gold mine the tour could be for their career. She was out to grab all the local and international attention she could get and build one of the largest concert audiences in the world. With a lot of effort and calculated strategies from the publicity team, this was perfectly coming together.
Her next agenda was building some tangible industry connections before they went for their tour as she considered the possibility of collaboration in their future albums. This was quite a walkover, as most of the job had been done by their publicity. Every other celebrity wanted to identify with them. They started getting invitations to exclusive parties and dinners, opening ceremonies to sing, elite celebrity interviews, etc. The invites just didn’t stop. The pressure just became worse by the day, and all four girls didn’t seem to have the right approach to handling it. Sunny had long found out how to source her cigarettes, with the help of her new friend, and would always take a small container of body spray in her bag which makes the smell of the smoke unnoticed. Julie had stepped up to always having her hip flask in her bag. It happens that when all four are out, Julie and Sunny took turns to visit the restroom. Seemed rather weird, but the other two were too engrossed in their individual stress-relief habits to think something could be wrong.
Concerning the album for the world tour, it had to be perfect. They needed a perfect blend, and so suggestions came to feature an American, French, and African artist on three selected songs in the album, which would be included in the setlist. It seemed like a good plan; they’ll get to establish a working relationship with international artists and also get help maneuvering through the barrier of language and culture during their concert.
“That’s a brilliant idea. Excellent,” Ye Ji said to her crew. “Submit a list of the most eligible artists for the collaboration in 24 hours, and I’ll take it from there,” she added.
Logistics were already working day and night, making local connections in the chosen cities to aid their precision and make sure nothing was left out.
The opening ceremony was slated to hold in the Accor Arena, Paris, while the closing ceremony was scheduled for Tokyo at the Tokyo Odaiba Ultra Park, to mark the first and last leg of the tour.
Pink Generation world tour was scheduled for two weeks, to ease pressure on the side of the young artists who will be having their first tour. It promised to be a lot of fun but could be ruined by being overexcited and trying to squeeze the activities into a very tight schedule. Ye Ji then decided to distribute all 9 concerts into those two weeks, allowing them some time to relax and see a few places in order to make their tour a memorable one.
By this time, they had gotten the artists they needed for the collaborations and rehearsals toward the album, and onstage performances were in full swing. As the proposed date for the concert drew nearer, it was necessary to dot the I’s and cross the T’s.
The dates for each part of the tour were marked on the calendar, and all hands were on deck to make sure everything went smoothly. Logistics were reviewed; this was to make sure both international and local transportation was taken care of, while the transportation of equipment to the concert venue was covered. The technical team for setting up the sounds, lighting, etc. was ready. Hotel reservations for all nine concerts were ticked off the list. The costume review was also checked. The health team and emergency team were checked off the list as well. The set list was finalized as they made sure to have a good mix of songs. The set list comprised some original songs by Pink Generation music group, some old hit songs, and a few new ones from the ready-to-launch album, and the three collaboration songs for some respective regions.
And finally, security is one of the most important. This was critical and needed to be detailed, after long scrutiny, it was approved and checked off the list. Ye Ji still kept her mind open to welcome more creative ideas as they still had about 2 weeks to the concert. She also made sure to put his eyes on the ground not to leave anything out.
The girls, though pressured and stressed, were happy and eagerly anticipating their long-awaited tour. Each one had individual goals to achieve. They looked forward to both personal and team growth and experiences, as the tour was going to expose them to a wealth of knowledge for a successful career path, give them the opportunity to see and explore other cultures, and also open them up to the power of true music and its impact on humanity. This and many more were the expectations of the quarter.
***
“As we all know, the grand opening of Pink Generation First World Tour has been scheduled for Sunday night,” Ye Ji said, addressing the crew. “Do well to pack your bags, as we depart for Paris a day after tomorrow. Modalities have already been put in place, and our technical team is already in Paris. So I’d specially request that you all bring your A-game along, there is no room for mistakes.”
Staring outside the windshield of the plane as they took off from Incheon International Airport (ICN), Seoul, memories of her return from Australia begin to flood Sunny’s mind as she remembers sitting also by the window with an economy ticket only being hopeful that Seoul will be the place to chase her dreams.
“How time flies,” she said to Julie, sitting right by her side. “Dreams do come true,” she added as she smiled.
Soon, Sunny fell asleep, her neck tilted towards Julie's shoulder. Julie then leaned over to ensure Sunny’s head gained balance, as she read ‘Little Dream Girl’ by her favorite author. Sue was overwhelmed with her video games, deeply engrossed. The young lady kept grinning from cheek to cheek as she completed each milestone in her game, barely conscious of her environment.
Jennie, on the other hand, seemed most excited, and she just couldn’t stop capturing the moments. She kept taking pictures and making videos, flaunting her newly acquired luxury jewelry, from her wristwatch to her bracelets, to her earrings, to rings, and then took to her Instagram with the caption “#ALLICE #PINK GENERATIONWORLDTOUR.”
After about 14 hrs. of flying, Pink Generation finally arrived at Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), Paris, to kick off their long-awaited tour. As the airplane came to a halt, the door of the airplane was opened, and the four alighted as they walked gracefully in a straight line. Flowers were handed to them, as an excited crowd of fans cheered and clapped. Their Paris fan base was massive, individuals from the crowd pressed to receive autographs, as the flashes from cameras were unending. Security was there to restrict close contact with the guests and also ensure their safety. Along with a few other members of their crew, Seo-Jun was also there to receive them; he exchanged handshakes with Ye Ji as they walked towards a convoy of two tinted cars. The ladies were made to sit in a black glossy Rolls Royce with a beautiful interior of black leather chairs, lined with red velvet. Meanwhile, Ye Ji and the rest of the crew sat in a black Limousine and led the journey to their hotel to check in, rest, and prepare for the grand event.
***
It was a few hours to the grand opening. Ye Ji had to make sure everything was in place and ready for that evening, so she left for The Accor Arena just after checking into her hotel room. She was quite impressed at the sight as everyone was working tirelessly. The sound and lighting were perfect. She went around asking a few questions, even though she was quite satisfied with what she saw.
“Impressive, everyone. Well done! But we can’t relent till after 2 weeks,” said Ye Ji.
After about 2 hours of rest, the girls arrived at Accor Arena for their final rehearsals.
“Antoine.” A feminine voice called out softly, as a tall, well-built young man turned in the direction of the voice.
“Hello, ladies. Good to see you,” he responded with a smile as he gave all four ladies a warm hug.
“Are you ready?” he asked, smiling.
“We were born for this,” Jennie responded, sounding very confident, and then gave a sassy walk. Julie, Sunny, and Sue followed with a smile as they walked into a room backstage, led by Jin, their assistant for two weeks.
The ladies had a final test for their costumes and then went on stage for a short on-stage rehearsal. As the time drew nearer, Sunny began to feel anxious, and so she excused herself to use the restroom. She brought out a stick of cigarette and began to puff the smoke, not expecting Jennie to walk in on her. Out of shock, she dropped her bag and stared at Sunny. Sunny tried to hide the cigarette, but she had already been caught. She was scared Jennie was going to tell the rest of the girls.
“You always hated the smell of smoke. What happened to you?” Jennie said in confusion.
“It just helps me relax when I’m tense,” Sunny said shakily while she twisted her fingers. “Please don’t tell the rest, please Jennie,” Sunny said as she began to cry.
“Come here, I won’t,” Jennie responded as she gave her a hug and tried to comfort her.
***
Captured by the entertainment news from the TV on the wall of the lobby, Ki-Taek, CEO of Blue-Sky Entertainment, stopped and turned to look at a photograph of his former trainees displayed by the side.
“All roads lead to Accor Arena for a highly anticipated and exceptional music concert as Pink Generation, a fast-rising group of K-POP artists, will be live tonight to delight the city of Paris as they arrive for their first-ever world tour and launch of their third album—IDENTITY REBORN….” He walked towards the door to a parked vehicle as the sound faded gradually.
“Accor Arena,” he said as he sat in the back seat of the vehicle and closed the door.
“Yes, sir,” the chauffeur responded as he turned on the ignition and drove off to their destination. Ki-Taek arrived at Accor Arena but was refused entry by the security guards as he had no ticket or VIP entry permit. At this time, the event had started with dance performances from France-based popular dance groups as the crowd cheered loudly. He quickly turned to get himself a ticket and bumped into Seo Jun.
“Master Ki-Taek, you’re here,” Seo Jun called out, quite surprised.
“I just arrived,” he answered, smiling. “I’m here on a business trip, so I thought to stop by to show my support before leaving.”
“That’s quite thoughtful of you, sir. Ye Ji would be happy to see you. This way, sir,” Seo Jun replied as he led him to Ye Ji.
“Master Ki-Taek.”
“Ye Ji.”
The two called out to each other as they smiled and respectfully acknowledged each other’s presence.
“You’re doing a great job here. I’ve always known you for perfection. You brought your A-game, I can see. You’re doing a really wonderful job with Pink Generation. Well done, Ye Ji,” Ki-Taek said with a smile.
“Thank you, sir,” she responded.
“I must take my leave now,” said Ki-Taek.
“Really? But you just got here.”
“I’m sorry I can’t stay longer; I have to catch my flight in 45 minutes. Extend my warmest congratulations to the ladies.”
“Goodbye, see you when you get back,” Ki-Taek added as he walked out.
Ye Ji became the manager of Pink Generation on Ki-Taek’s recommendation after the high level of competence and expertise she showed in a job they did together. Since then, both of them had maintained a highly professional relationship.
***
It was time for Pink Generation to perform. Julie ran to a corner, quickly brought out her hip flask, had a sip of her alcohol, and quickly followed the rest as they went on stage for their performance.
The lights went out and came back on in a flash, shining on the four in their costumes as they mounted the stage. Their costumes depicted perfectly the theme of their new album. They started out with a costume typically worn by high school teenagers: short skirts with a pair of boots, a shirt, and a tie. Their hair was tied into buns as they did a dance that left the crowd wowed. You could literally see the adrenaline rush as their fans cheered, danced, and sang along.
The onstage red curtain covered the girls as the music changed. The beat of the next song introduced the track, and their fans cheered even louder as it was a hit song from their previous track. At the first word of the lyrics, the curtain unveiled the ladies in a different outfit, looking all glam and stunning. They gave some sassy moves as they moved toward their fans, singing harmoniously. At this point, the tension was off, and the girls were simply enjoying themselves and entertaining their fans. They moved ahead to singing a cover of a popular French song. This really thrilled their audience as they sang along.
The final transition happened unexpectedly. All the lights went off, leaving a bright red light cast on Sue from an angle as she did a wonderful choreography. The other three ran backstage to change their costumes. Sue’s choreography was spectacular. What she called her signature dance had never been seen before, as that was the first time she did the dance in public. As her dance drew to an end, the other three ladies descended slowly on a carriage as the lights came back.
Their fans kept shouting and cheering as they started singing. The melody of the song serenaded the arena as their fans were wowed by both the song and the presentation. The lyrics of the song were powerful and relatable to just everyone, from teenagers to younger adults to even older adults. Sunny, the lead singer, sang wonderfully as her voice echoed strongly all over the arena, expressing the emotion needed to grasp everyone's attention. Even Ye Ji began to tear up. She was overwhelmed with emotion, just like their fans.
They wrapped up the Paris Concert with a song they did in collaboration with Antoine, one of the most celebrated artists in France. He happened to be the ladies' man and the young men's motivation.
“Hello, Paris! Are you having fun?” Jennie screamed as the crowd responded cheerfully. You could feel the energy. The atmosphere was charged, and the energy level kept increasing.
“We are about to unveil a huge surprise. Are you ready?” she added.
Gabriel Antoine, one of Paris’s most loved artists, came on stage as the music began. The fans couldn’t contain their joy as they just kept shouting. The performance was wonderful.
“MERCI PARIS!” the artists screamed as they exited the stage.
***
The turn-up was massive. Pink Generation concert in Paris was enlisted top across all social media platforms and in the mouths of all who watched and attended. It was a perfect blend of sweet and spicy. With the news all over, the remaining eight cities anticipated even more.
The Crew boarded their flight the next morning to London and toured all the European cities first, then moved to North America, toured Africa, and lastly Asia, with Tokyo hosting the closing ceremony that'll mark the last leg of the Tour. The standard had already been set in Paris as they moved to each of the other cities. Pink Generation left each a story to keep them talking.
After they had toured 8 cities, they moved to Tokyo for the last leg of the tour. As they arrived in Tokyo, Jennie needed to buy some more items. She refused to tell her friends because she was sure they'll try to talk her out of it and complain she has been buying too many things. On arrival at their hotel, she sneaked out and left for the mall. She didn't have any specific thing in mind she wanted to shop for, so she moved to the Jewelry section. The reflection of a beautiful piece of diamond necklace forced a second glance, which made her move towards it. It was sleek but screamed luxury at the same time, so she decided she'll have that. She moved down to the cashier at the pay point, and a salesperson followed her with the necklace. She was allowed to try it on and was given some preferential treatment.
“It’s gorgeous,” Jennie said. “I don’t have to take it off. I love it, and I’ll keep it. Here’s my card,” Jennie said as she handed out her credit card. As the cashier swiped the card through the machine, it declined due to insufficient balance.
“I’m sorry, your balance doesn’t allow you to purchase that,” the cashier said politely.
“What does that mean?” Jennie responded.
“Your bank balance is insufficient; we can show you a less expensive one,” the cashier replied.
“Excuse you, that’s not possible,” Jennie said.
The cashier went over the transaction one more time just to let her see for herself. “You can please take off the necklace, ma’am,” she added. Jennie froze as she wondered how that could even be possible. What could she do? She thought to herself as there were people watching. She just couldn't find the courage to take it off.
“Security,” the cashier called out. “Please take off the necklace.”
“Don’t you dare touch me!” Jennie said, feeling quite embarrassed as she tries to take the necklace off.
“You can keep it,” a masculine baritone voice said behind Julie.
“Here, use my card,” as he hands his credit card to the cashier.
“Thank you, and we are sorry for the inconvenience, ma'am. We are just doing our job,” the cashier said.
Jennie looked down feeling ashamed as she thanked the stranger that came to her rescue and asked his name and how to reach him so she could pay him back. He told her not to worry about it and consider it a gift to a beautiful lady. She smiled and then hurried back to the hotel before anyone noticed she was out. What she didn't know was that she was going to meet the surprise of her life.
***
Unknown to her, someone was filming. The video of her insufficient balance was let out, and the news spread like wildfire. Bloggers magnified the situation with the caption, “Is Jennie Lee of Pink Generation really broke, or are they all just clout chasers?”
She walked into her friends, and they were all sitting quietly. She asked what the problem was, and they said nothing, and told her that Ye Ji wanted to have a word with her. She headed straight to see her. She first showed her the video that seemed to be the topic of every conversation, and she was surprised as to who would have done that.
“You’ve created this mess, Jennie, but you’re quite lucky because tomorrow is your last concert. In essence, you still have a few hours to clean up your mess, do that, or sit back and watch all your years of hard work go down the drain. You may leave,” Ye Ji said in a calm but straight tone.
She ran out of the room in tears. She couldn’t control her tears as she thought of what her addiction to luxurious things was about to cost Pink Generation. The other three went out to look for her as she seemed to have stayed too long.
They saw her sitting and crying in a corner. As they walked up to her, all she said was, “I’m sorry. I'm so selfish. My addiction to luxury items is about to cost us our entire career,” she said repeatedly while she cried uncontrollably. They hugged and comforted her as they told her it could have been any of them, assuring her they’ll find a way out.
They were finally able to take her into her room to rest for a while. She couldn’t still rest as she kept thinking what impact her actions would have on the last concert. Before long, it was time for the final rehearsals for the grand finale of the tour. She didn’t leave her room as she felt so ashamed and couldn’t face anyone. “They all must have seen the video,” she thought to herself.
Her friends went to her to cheer her up and make her come out, but she wouldn’t change her mind. Julie found the courage to tell her friends she had been drowning herself in a lot of alcohol of late as a way to ease her stress. Sue finally opened up about her unhealthy attachment to her phone and how playing video games was her way of getting her mind off the pressure that kept building up at work daily. Sunny told them how she had picked up the habit of smoking cigarettes as it helps ease the tension and anxiety that she started feeling lately.
Just hearing about each other’s bad habits, they tried to explain to Jennie that they’d only be victorious if they supported each other through it. They reminded her of all the hurdles they had to face so far and assured her they’d get through it together. Jennie finally had the courage to go with them to rehearse and fit their costumes.
***
The concert began with the usual dance performances by renowned dance groups in Tokyo, as it was the closing ceremony. It seemed the internet scandal had influenced the turnout of fans negatively, as the Tokyo Odaiba Ultra Park didn’t have the expected audience. The Tokyo artist they were supposed to collaborate with called to cancel, as he didn't want to be a part of any scandal.
Before it was time for Pink Generation to perform, Jennie came on stage, unsure of what she wanted to say. Everyone, including her friends and manager, listened anxiously. That wasn’t part of the plan, they thought to themselves.
“What is she doing?” Julie muttered.
“I’m sure you all have a question for me,” Jennie said. “I’d like to answer it. Who would like to ask a question?”
No one was willing to put their hand up and ask the one question on everyone’s mind. Then, an interviewer raised her hand. Jennie recognized her face from the mall and thought to herself she must have been the one.
Jennie stood still, tense as she listened. While live streaming, a journalist asked in a sarcastic tone, “Is it true that you and your friends are broke? We saw how you couldn’t pay for your jewelry in the video. The video was real, right?”
Jennie took a deep breath and then answered. “Were my friends with me at the mall?” Jennie asked.”
“No,” the journalist replied, rather confused.
“Good, so you can’t be asking if my friends are broke,” Jennie replied. “Did I run out of money at the mall? Yes! Or aren’t celebrities allowed to run out of money?”
The interviewer remained quiet and couldn’t answer the question.
“Am I breaking? No darling. Broke people don’t tour 9 cities on 5 different continents in 2 weeks,” Jennie continued.
The crowd couldn’t stop clapping and cheering. She looked into the crowd and gave a wide smile as she felt the energy level rise slowly.
“See you soon,” she said as she gave a sassy walk and moved backstage. Her friends all gave her a high five and hugged her tightly.
As it was time for the girls to perform, they went on stage ready to thrill their half-filled audience but met a surprise instead. The place was filled up, with more people trooping in, in less than an hour after Jennie's little speech. With so much joy, they sang and danced their hearts out. The closing ceremony was one to remember, as it recorded the highest number of attendance and social media engagements compared to all the other 8 cities that performed, as they flew back to Seoul the next morning.
It seemed the scandal turned out to be effortless organic marketing for them. An accident that turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
The world tour was all it promised to be and more. Pink Generation’s success kept increasing as their third album, ‘Identity Reborn,’ was a hit and made them globally recognized. The lives of each girl were back on track. They supported each other by dropping their individual habits and finding better ways to ease their stress and pressure when the need arose. Their bond of friendship became stronger as they focused on their career as a group and kept doing what they knew best.
Piercing through the thin white curtain hanging lazily, the rays of the rising morning sun brushed the skin of the quartet on that beautiful Saturday morning. Each lying on one part of the wide bed, they agreed to sleep over at Jennie's after a long night of clubbing. “My head feels so heavy,” Jennie said, partially awake.