Suga & Spice

Chapter 3: From 25 to 4

Yeonjun, JR, and Suga were requested to attend a short meeting with Mr. Bang and his other staff members to inform them of the four boys who had been selected for the group. They sat around the meeting table and Mr. Bang put up a slide show that had the portfolio photos of the four members he picked. Mr. Bang then shared his reasons behind picking each member.

"For starters, I picked Kwan to be a rapper, visual, and dancer. He had energy while performing and he is exactly what I want for this group. Then, Sung-Ho will be the main vocalist but also a dancer. Then we have Jason who I think would make for a great leader because he is versatile in everything and is trilingual. Not only does he speak English and Korean but he also knows Japanese which will help when they release their first Japanese album. Lastly, we picked Ashton. Ashton wasn't the best dancer, rapper, or singer even when we first watched his audition but we let him come because of his looks. He will learn along the line."

Everyone looked around in agreement except for Suga who was kind of annoyed. Mr. Bang noticed and asked him to give his opinion.

"Mr. Bang, with all due respect, I don't think Ashton should be in the group. He clearly lacks talent and we can't bring someone in just for a pretty face."

"We did it with Jin and look where he is now."

"Yeah, but that only worked because there's seven of us, so while he was learning to get to the level he is at now, the rest of us could kind of cover for him in the meantime but in a group so small, that won't work. Even with us covering for Jin, people still gave him a hard time! I don't think you would want to put Ashton through that."

Mr. Bang took Suga's opinion into consideration but wasn't fully convinced.

"Who do you suggest take Ashton's place?" Mr. Bang asked him.

"I think Alan should take his place. Alan is exactly what this group is missing and you don't have to teach him how to dance or rap since he already knows how to do that. You could have them debut faster."

"Pull up Alan's file for me," Mr. Bang told his assistant.

The assistant pulled up Alan's file and displayed it on the projecting screen. Mr. Bang took a few seconds to read it.

"Ah, Alan. I liked him but I didn't pick him because he's a little too...how do I put this nicely...he's a little too feminine to be in a boy group."

"Jimin is very in touch with his feminine side and some of us have even dressed up as girls and worn skirts, myself included, and the fans love us for it! I think Alan would be an amazing addition. Please give him the spot. He deserves to be there."

"What do you two think?" Mr. Bang asked JR and Yeonjun.

"As someone who has been an idol for nine years, I agree with Suga. Alan would be an amazing addition to the group. Ashton would be better off as a model or an actor here in Korea. I think we should refer him to a modeling agency instead," JR told them.

"I agree with them both," Yeonjun added, "If they, who have way more experience than I do, think Ashton would be better off doing something else, then I second their opinion."

Back in the dorm room, Alana was chilling on her bed awaiting the results of her audition and she knew that she would hear back from them anytime that day. While waiting, she got a knock on her door. When she opened it, she saw Suga standing in front of her.

"May I come in?" he asked her.

"Oh my god Suga! Please come in. Sorry it's kind of small."

He took a seat on the chair in her room and she sat on the edge of the bed.

"To what do I owe this honorable visit Suga?"

"I wanted to personally congratulate you on being one of the four audtioners selected to join the new boy group!"

"What?! Oh my god! I can't believe it. I was so sure I wouldn't get in!"

"Seems like you should have some more faith in yourself Alan."

"I guess I should."

She took a few seconds of silence to realize what this meant for her life. She now had to pretend to be a boy in front of millions of people for god knows how long and she would have to leave her life back home behind, including Luke. Her joyful expression diminished.

"What's wrong Alan? You don't look that excited anymore."

"I am, it's just...I don't know if I can tell you."

"Anything you need, I can help you. But I can't help you if you don't tell me."

She knew she couldn't reveal her true gender or else she would get in so much trouble for auditioning so she decided to hide it and told Suga half of the truth.

"I'm worried about my friend Luke. He's the only family I have back home since we're both orphans and being in the group now means I have to abandon him."

"Ah, I see what you mean. It was hard for me to leave my family behind too when I joined BTS but at least they're here in Korea. Luke is in a different country so I can see why that's tough on you."

Suga stopped to think for a minute before speaking again.

"Tell you what, I will cover the cost of Luke moving here. I'll also find him a cheap studio apartment to move into. What is his career field? I could write him a job recommendation letter."

"Oh! Suga I can't accept that. That's far too much to ask for."

"Don't worry about it, I want you to succeed in the group and if having Luke here helps you with that, I want to help. I know how hard it is to be new in the industry and I didn't have help, so I want to be that help for you."

"I really appreciate your kindness Suga. About Luke, he works from home so he can be anywhere and still work. It means so much to me that you want to bring him here to help me."

"If you ever need anything else, here's my number."

He grabbed the notepad on the nightstand and wrote down his phone number and handed it to Alana.

"Are you sure you can share your phone number with a fan?"

"You're not a fan anymore Alan, you're an idol now. I can share my number with other idols."

"Oh right, I guess I haven't adjusted to the idea that I'm an idol just yet."

"Trust me, I didn't believe it until my debut so I know it takes time to get used to it."

"So, what happens now?"

"Tomorrow morning, the other auditioners will be sent home and you will be picked up in a limo with the other three members and you will have some bonding exercises."

"Will you be there?"

"No. From here on out, I will not be involved in your group's activities so that's why I gave you my number."

"Thank you for everything! I will contact Luke and get back to you."

Suga excused himself and once he left, Alana called Luke and told him everything that happened. Luke was excited to get to move to Korea but he wouldn't be able to move until he got released from their rent contract and he prepared his paperwork to transfer over. She texted Suga that Luke would need some time to prepare before moving to Korea to which he replied with "You tell me when." The following morning, she headed off to start her new life as an idol.