Loving A Triple Threat

The room was dark, dingy and smelled of smoke. Computer parts were strewn across tables, chairs and even the floor. Sena tiptoed his way across the room to his destination trying not to breathe through his nose or step on a circuit board.

He threw three phones on to the desk next to the hacker.

"These are glitchy," he said, "I can't get into their kakao chats."

The hacker ignored him. He was bent over while soldering a tiny wire to a board which connected to a comm port on an old laptop.

"Ahem," Sena cleared his throat.

"Busy," the hacker stated.

Sena waited patiently for ten minutes while the hacker inspected the firmware code from the circuit board.

"Still here?" the hacker asked.

"Yes," Sena said, "this is important."

He swivelled his chair to face Sena. The hacker was in his early twenties but had a haggard appearance.

"Just install the app on them. One of us will trawl the contents for anything juicy," the hacker said.

"How long does that take?" Sena asked.

The hacker grabbed a phone and deftly installed the app and hid the icon. It would also install on its counterpart. He then reset the clone.

"See," the hacker said. "Only a minute."

"You reset it!" Sena exclaimed. The clone was now lost.

"App is on the real one - idiot," the hacker said.

"Yeah but you have access to that data. Not me," Sena stated.

"What does it matter?" The hacker asked.

Sena was stuck. He couldn't tell the hacker why it mattered. "Just give me the juice so I can extort them. They are my marks."

"Sure. Sure," the hacker said but Sena wasn't convinced. There wasn't much he could do. If he pissed the hacker off he would never get anything, and on the contrary it was like taking his own life in his hands. The last thing you wanted was one of the hackers hating you.

Sena added the app to the clones and hid the icon like the hacker did. He then left the clones on the hacker's desk. They all came out of here in the first place and since these were glitchy - it was the best place to leave them.

As he left he hoped the hackers came through. He liked being in control, but when they were involved, they were the ones in control.

It was their last year. Misha, Suzie and Gi had been rivals but eventually they formed a bond. Suzie and Misha finally accept their place. While it was difficult for Misha and Suzie to admit Gi was the top girl, they could no deny it in their hearts.

Ms Moon and Ms Ling were working them as a group for their last year of the YG Academy.

"Okay girls, from the top," Ms Moon ordered.

They were learning all the songs from 2NE1 Crush. With Crush itself being the first and main song to master. 2NE1 were a former YG girl group which meant all their songs and choreography were owned by YG. It was typical of a company like YG entertainment to reuse assets to get the most out of them.

There was no way they would give the Academy group new material and they also would not allow them to create their own. This was how the maintained control in case something unexpected happened. Like sudden popularity and or an opportunity to monetize the young academy students.

It would be a failure on managements part if they missed an opportunity and a mortal sin if the girls created something of their own and it became popular.

Gi was in the front with Misha to her left and Suzie to her right. It was easier for Gi because they had to match her movements and friction only arose if Gi's rhythm was out. Which was rare, she had excellent rhythm.

2NE1 were a strong vocal group and Crush was one of their best songs. It had a mix of hip hop and pop singing. Ms Moon had to enhance the choro, it was lacking what was common from the current trends.

"Come on girls. You need to be able to belt this out and dance," Ms Moon lectured as Suzie's breathing interrupted her flow.

Ms Ling approached Suzie, "Don't make me revisit line distribution. You won't like it."

"Again!" Ms Moon called.

The two teachers prowled. Ms Ling listening to the singing and Ms Moon watching the dance.

They finished the song with both teachers shaking their heads and frowning.

"You will not win with this," Ms Ling said.

"Should we choose another song?" Ms Moon asked.

"No," Ms Ling stated, "this is by far the best song. But it is also the hardest."

Ms Moon nodded and addressed the girls, "Legs need to come together." She went and picked up her cane. "I see gaps with all of you. Precision is key, you know this." She lectured. "Next time we run through with just dance and I do not want to see low arms, heads out of position nor gaps between your legs when you snap them together. And you need to smile."

Suzie let out an exhausted sigh. Gi hung her head feeling all the criticism was directed at her and Misha was stunned wondering how much she had to improve to please Ms Moon.

"Ms Moon," Ms Ling asked, "We have much work to do on vocals as well. Can I suggest we separate the two for a week and combine again next?"

Ms Moon nodded, "But do not get lazy!" She warned to girls. "You will have to sing when dancing. Remember this."

Suzie would have accepted a reduction in lines for the first time in her life. This was going to be difficult. All of 2NE1 were great singers and only Gi was managing to match them.

After the torturous session ended the girls collected together for commiserations. They packed their gear and walked towards the cafes in the shopping district.

"When do you need to leave?" Misha asked Gi.

"Soon," she replied, "I can't stay long. It's a long train ride to my place."

"You should get an apartment in the city," Suzie said as if that was an option.

"I will move into a dorm next year," Gi replied.

"With YG?" Misha asked.

Gi nodded, "Do you have an offer?"

Both girls shook their heads.

"We will have to crush crush and impress Mr Tong then," Gi declared.

They all laughed. Their voices merging like archipelago singers.

"Yes. We will crush it," Suzie said. She sounded determined.

Misha nodded.

"Like Seok," Gi said referring to Misha's on again off again boyfriend.

Misha laughed. "Yes, like my hero."

Seok had turned into a basketball star. He was now the leader of the team who had progressed to the regional final. Which was no small feat as their region was half of Seoul.

"Pfft," Suzie said. "Hyuk is the main player. Seok only assists."

"It's a team game," Gi said. "Like our group."

Gi put one arm around Suzie and the other around Misha. "Let's do our best and all get signed to YG."

Misha and Suzie both smiled as they walked with Gi's arms around them.

"Yes," Misha said determined. "I will practice my singing on weekends."

Suzie sighed, "Okay. Okay. I will work hard too."

The three beautiful girls' broke ranks and ran the rest of the way to the café. They had to finish their snack quickly. They had work to do.