Constant and Changing (kryber)

Chapter 69: Cowboy

Krystal, Amber, Victoria, and Luna stood on stage in Yokohama and tried to catch their breath. They had just finished performing "Diamond" during the first of their two encore concerts in Japan.

It felt good to be back at Dimension 4. The last performance of their first solo concert was in late February earlier this year, over eight months ago. Krystal had forgotten some of the choreography during the long break between concerts, but a week of rehearsals brought the familiar dance steps back to the foreground of her memory--after a lot of mistakes.

"It's not quite like riding a bike after all, huh?" Amber laughed, watching Krystal falter on her hands movements during their final "Diamond" rehearsal the day before the first encore concert. Krystal cast her girlfriend a playful glare. She performed the motions correctly after a second attempt, and then elbowed Amber in the side triumphantly.

"It's just like riding a bike," Krystal said smugly. "Besides, aren't you the person who screwed up the opening dance four times this morning?" she asked the older girl pointedly.

Amber feigned ignorance and pointed at Luna, who also danced Dimension 4's opening along side her and who had also messed up the opening dance repeatedly that morning.

"I only messed up twice," Luna protested, seeing Amber attempt to shift the focus onto her.

"And how many times did you screw up?" Krystal asked teasingly, undeterred.

"Fine, four times" Amber conceded. "But why did Jaewon-oppa make that dance so confusing? Every time I think I've memorized it again, I still screw it up."

"Yeah," Luna agreed. "I don't know why, but it's so confusing for me too," she admitted. "I'm still worried that I'll forget it tomorrow."

Krystal smiled sympathetically. Even though she didn't participate in the opening dance, she had learned the choreography anyway and she agreed that it was confusing. The maknae reached up and patted Luna on the head. "Oh well, not everyone can expect to memorize choreography like Vic-unnie."

The trio of younger f(x) members gazed across the practice room to where choreographer Jang Juhee was teaching Victoria the choreography to "Cowboy" for the first time. "Cowboy" was their newest song and first ever original release in Japan. Krystal, Amber, and Luna had been practicing the choreography all week as well as relearning the steps for their other songs, but Victoria had only joined them last night due to her rigorous filming schedule in China. The eldest f(x) member was unspeakably tired and sickly from the stress of travel and from being overworked, and yet she worked tirelessly during this one day of rehearsals to catch up with her members.

Everyone knew that after being shown the steps and running through the song three or four times, Victoria would memorize Cowboy perfectly. This was more or less how long it normally took their leader to learn a new dance, a skill she displayed during every comeback preparation and during the Dimension 4 preparations. Despite knowing that she had this talent, the three younger members were in awe of Victoria, and at the same time they felt sad for her as well.

It was no secret that the Chinese entertainment industry was a lucrative market. SM was always looking for ways to make money in China, whether it was Super Junior-M, EXO-M, or sending their idols over to act in Chinese dramas. But with the political game as it was, Korean entertainers had been banned from performing in China, leaving only Victoria and Lay to bring in yuan for SM.

"How long do you think it'll be before we get to have a proper comeback?" Amber murmured softly as they watched their overworked Victoria wipe her sweaty brow and continue studying the new dance steps.

Krystal was startled that her girlfriend had been thinking along the same vein as her, but it shouldn't have been a surprise given that this was always on their minds when they thought of their beloved Vic-omma. Victoria's income in China outweighed the income f(x) made in Korea or Japan combined, so there just wasn't any incentive for SM to focus on f(x) in the near future. Even with Victoria leading the demands for an f(x) comeback, money spoke louder than words for SM.