Hana Yoon sat nervously in the studio waiting room, tugging one or the other of her ponytails out of habit. Her hair dyed a darker shade of pink. Black capri's, white tanktop, patent leather shoes and knee socks, showing off her perfectly curated curves and allowing her to dance like a ballerina. She felt the audition had gone well. Then again, she always thought the auditions went well. This was the third one for this group.
Aera Cho had been one of the brightest stars to burst onto the Korean music scene three years ago. Along with four other girls she'd formed Luck Star, and had virtually ruled the Girl Band scene until two of the girls had gotten themselves knocked up. Animosities festered, shouting matches erupted. Band members stormed off stage in the middle of concerts. In a few short months the band had gone from the apex of the Korean music scene, disintegrating into irrelevance as quickly as they'd waxed.
Aera was determined that if she could get back on top, it wouldn't happen again. Fame was hard enough to attain. She would not relinquish control so easily this time. That had been a hard-won lesson, and something she didn't expect to experience again.
One of the studio engineers had stuck his head through the door. "Miss Yoon? Aera will see you now."
Aera sat on a floral couch, her long shapely legs crossed. Five-inch spiked high heels of Italian leather bedecking her feet. She had cute toes, Hana thought, apropos of nothing. In a matching chair, sat a middle-aged man who Hana recognized as Luck Star's old manager. She guessed correctly that Aera had managed to recruit him back into the fold. He was the first to speak.
"Sit down Miss Yoon. Make yourself comfortable." He said motioning to an empty canvas director's chair. "As you might imagine, we've come to a decision regarding you."
Hana nodded curtly and waited for one of the two to go on.
"Aera has chosen three other girls for the band. You are to be the fourth. We like your voice. It sounds young and sweet, and you hold pitch quite well. Not that that can't be fixed with studio tricks, but it's always nice when you don't have to. You're dancing? Well, we can improve on that." He said in earnest.
Hana regarded Aera. Dark hair, intense eyes, dressed in a manner that was both elegant and revealing, she had a stature and figure that closely resembled her own. In fact the two of them could easily have been mistaken as siblings. She was to learn that this wasn't by happenstance upon meeting the remaining band members.
"Welcome to Love Planet, Hana." She'd said extending a hand, which Hana took. Aera gave it a tiny squeeze before continuing. "We'll be starting rehearsals in three days. We have some rough demos and charts you'll be expected to have down by then. We'll be working with one of the best choreographers in the business once we get the arrangements down. Your parts are all marked in the charts. We're depending on you to come through for us...for the whole group."
"I'll do my best Miss Cho!" Hana replied.
