mama gossip

kwon misook. twenty-five years old. manager of GOSSIP. former mk ent model. @mkmisook

[mkjeonminah-blog]

Running a hand through her hair she smiled at the elder woman. “No not offensive in the least, just brain dead for a few minutes.” she said chuckling mostly at her own stupidity.

[mkmisook-blog]

“Then you have nothing to worry about,” she flashed what she hoped was a comforting smile.  Being in the spotlight was definitely not her thing, so she could only imagine how stressful it could be to make a mistake while in the public’s eye.  “They’ll probably edit any mistakes out of the final cut anyway, so nobody will even know.”

[mkjinsoo-blog]

“Hey! You are not a grandma; If anyone at the company is, it’s Sarang noona. Or Ginny noona….don’t tell her I said that, though. She’s mean. She’d probably bake me into a pie and murder me and feed me to her fans because she’s so mean,” Jinsoo said with a little giggle.

[mkmisook-blog]

“Well, thank you, but all of you young folks are making me feel otherwise.”  His comment elicited a snort from the manager, who quickly covered her mouth in embarrassment, “Oh my God.  She’d probably eat the pie herself.  Have you seen how much she eats?  I wish I had a stomach like that.”

[mkjeonminah-blog]

“I can’t believe I completely blanked out during that interview. I’m such an idiot.” Mina said to no one in particular. She shook her head before letting out a small whine and letting her head fall to the table top.

[mkmisook-blog]

“Don’t beat yourself up over it, hun,” Misook offered, looking up from her phone to offer a gentle smile. She might not have any experience with interviews herself, but she had sat through enough to know something about them.  “As long as you weren’t offensive, people won’t really make a big fuss over it.  Being tired won’t upset anyone.”

[mkjinsoo-blog]

“Yep, twelve! They debuted four years before me…..wait, that means I’ve been active for three years. That’s a long time too. I must be getting pretty old myself….” Jinsoo teased, grinning. Sure, he’d been performing for three years, but he debuted when he was sixteen–he wasn’t old.

[mkmisook-blog]

“Don’t you dare call yourself old,” despite her stern tone of voice, she still let out a chuckle at the end. She knew they were both just kidding, but man, did it make her feel old.  She had been working at MK for five years now, and she could hardly wrap her mind around that.  “You’re making me seem like a grandma, kid.”

[ikchaoxing-blog]

He was just being nice. That was it. No strings attached. She wanted something, and he was just a nice guy and got it for her. Or, that’s what he liked to tell himself. Namjin wasn’t good with his feelings. This was not his forte. Pretending like nothing was happening was easier than confronting what was going on. “I didn’t do anything. You’re just making stuff up. Whoever got you that probably heard how much you like it and decided to treat you. Just drink it–don’t think too much of it,” he grumbled, crossing his arms and glaring at the ground. “The alternative is throwing it out, and that’s wasting it so….enjoy it.”

[mkmisook-blog]

This hadn’t been the first time she had tried to confront the idol about the not-so-mysterious gifts, but she still found herself frowning when he refused to own up to it.  Misook understood that he had a difficult time expressing himself, and she never wanted to push him into saying something he didn’t want to, but that didn’t make her any less confused.  She couldn’t understand why; why her, why the effort, why act oblivious?  It nagged on her in the back of her mind, curiosity eating away at her, but she refused to force him to speak up.  “I’m not going to throw it away, that would be rude.  I’m going to enjoy every cup that I can.  I just hope that whoever left this for me knows how much I appreciate it. And that they don’t have to give me gifts to be nice.  I’m sure their company is plenty.”

[ikchaoxing-blog]

“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” Jin said grumpily, glaring and leaning back in his chair. He was referring to the can of coffee he had very clearly bought and left for her, but Lee Namjin was stubborn and he’d never admit it. Admitting it was embarrassing and it showed weakness. Leaving it in the first place was childish. He’d never own up. “You’re just making stuff up. You probably just bought it for yourself and wanted to see what I would do if you accused me of giving it to you.”

[mkmisook-blog]

Misook could be a lot of things, but an idiot was not one of the options.  Staring down a the can in her hand, her eyes narrowed at the younger’s words.  This was not the first present that she had received, and it didn’t take much to put two and two together.  One day, she would mention something that she liked or needed to Namjin -- a certain type of coffee, for example --, and within the week she would find that very same item waiting for her.  At first, she had assumed it was merely a coincidence, finding cold medicine just after falling ill, but then she had found a certain Chinese snack after mentioning that it was her favorite, immediately following a UNION trip to Hong Kong, and she quickly was able to figure it out.  And as much as she appreciated it, she knew that it was wrong to take advantage of someone’s kindness.  “Jin, you obviously bought this for me.  I told you that I was craving it two days ago, and now here it is.  And I really am thankful, but I’m not sure if I deserve such a nice gift.”

[mkahki-blog]

“A few days ago. He said I wouldn’t. Which solidified his fate and meant I had to. I bit Seokjung too. Both of them deserved it for doubting that I would,” Ahki replied, shrugging a little. “I won’t get in trouble. That would require them telling people that a cute little seventeen year old girl bit them, and that’s not going to happen.” Besides. She’d done worse to Brandon without him telling anyone. One time, she was pretty sure she broke one of his toes (although that had been accidental). “I don’t want to do that. Yejin hates me. Joonki is grumpy. Haejin is too happy and it pisses me off. I don’t want to ask any of them,” she grumbled, listing them off on her fingers. “I’ll still probably have to do something cute. I hate it. How long is practice today? Do you know who is running it? Or do we have free reign?”

[mkmisook-blog]

“Okay, well, we need to stop biting people.  Even if you feel challenged by them,” as much as she tried, she couldn’t hold back the small giggle that formed at the thought.  She didn’t think that this would be a conversation that needed to be had, but here she was, telling a teenage girl not to bite someone.  “That doesn’t matter, Ahki.  You really do need to stop doing it.  I know you hate being treated like a child, but that is something a kid would do.  If you want people to treat you like a young adult, you have to start acting like one.”  Misook knew that it might not be what the younger wanted to hear, but it was true.  She was always sure to treat the maknae as she would any other adult, but other people didn’t seem to get the message.  If she just stopped some of her childish behavior, the manager was certain that other people would treat her as she wanted them to.  “Well, I guess you’re stuck with the long hair, then,” the elder shrugged her shoulder, brushing off the conversation.  “Look on the bright side: you won’t have to do something cute constantly.  Just a few hours today, not very long.  I believe it’s a group practice, so just the four of you.  But I still expect you to actually practice.”

[mkhyosang]

He stood up and cleaned up the now-empty lunch box, patting her arm as he went to put it away, non-verbally thanking her because he was difficult and ridiculous and wasn’t about to do it out loud. He collapsed back in his work chair after that, adjusting a few settings on his laptop and listening to what it did to the track. He pulled the headphones down around his neck and rolled his eyes at her, smiling a little. “I’m mostly right. You just can’t admit it,” he replied, laughing. A wry smile played at his lips and he shrugged–it was a good call on her part. He could barely manage his own, very flexible schedule, let alone the schedule of four people. “It’s not really hiding if you’re here, you know. Everyone knows this is where you come to hide.” He laughed. “Oh, come on. I’m definitely not a brat. I’m a gentleman. The biggest gentleman the world’s ever seen.”

[mkmisook-blog]

Despite the minimal effort he put into thanking her, Misook still smiled brightly at him.  She never really expected much, so even just the soft touch was enough to show his gratitude.  Leaning back in her seat, she took a moment to actually relax as he messed around with his work.  However brief it was, she was thankful for the minute of silence.  She let out a small hum in response, a smirk settled on her lips, “Whatever you need to tell yourself, pal.”  The manager let a yawn slip out of her, curling up on the couch as she watched him tinker with settings on the screen that she could never make sense of. “That might be true, but they’re less likely to try and come get me if they think you’re busy working.  It’s like I’m the princess in the tower and you’re the dragon that they have to get through first.”  With a scoff, she shook her head, “That’s such bull.  When’s the last time you were a gentleman toward me?  And holding my hair after a night of drinks does not count.”

[mkjinsoo-blog]

Jinsoo grinned, humming along with the music blasting from the stereo as he laid facedown on the practice room floor–Haven’s debut song. He sighed, flipping onto his back as he muttered, “I was twelve when this song came out. twelve. Haven really are legends, aren’t they?”

[mkmisook-blog]

Misook hadn’t meant to stick around, only stopping by the practice room to pick up a bag that one of her girls had left a few hours before, but at the sound of the familiar song, she just couldn’t help herself.  She hummed along to the lyrics, nostalgia flooding her system, “Twelve?  Do you really need to make me feel so old?  I was eighteen!”

[mkhyoji-blog]

Because of her choice of career and when she had chose to begin it, Hyoji grew up pretty fast. Sometimes she felt like she was kind of stuck in a perpetual adolescence because of it,. Sure, she could be professional and mature and grown up when she needed to be, but whenever she got the chance, she was lounging around and goofing off–maybe that’s why she got along with Wonderland so well. Deep down, she acted exactly like they did. She was happy Misook was someone she could be a dopey not-teenage girl with. It was refreshing.

“Touche. I mean, some of my best ideas have been spur of the moment and everything. I think the trick is just to not think about it too hard.” Hyoji stretched her extremities, shaking her head as she went to the sink to finish the dishes off, pushing up her sleeves as she went. “I think I stopped being a guest about the billionth time I came over. Now I practically live here in my spare time. Don’t worry about it. I want to help out,” she replied, starting on a second bowl and trying to shrug her hair out of her eyes as she washed. 

[mkmisook-blog]

Misook had always been mature for her age.  For as long as she could remember, she had been an older sibling, diligently looking after others before herself.  Even as a teenager, she was told by friends that she acted twice her age, always on top of everything in her life.  And she believed that perhaps that was the reason why she felt the need to act out when she could, to go out and have fun with her friends every now and then.  It gave her the chance to live the life she had, in a way, missed out on when she was younger.  So when the two managers had met, they seemed to fit each other perfectly; Misook being the more organized side of their relationship, and Hyoji giving her the chance to cut loose and express herself.

“See, that’s why I don’t come up with the plans.  I think too hard about everything,” the younger replied with a grin.  She watched her friend approach the sink, waiting for a moment before feeling confident enough to tear her eyes away and back to her phone.  “Yeah, you’re right.  I don’t see why you don’t just move in here with me.  Split my rent and give me a bit of company,” she wrinkled her nose with a laugh, trying not to think too much about how nice that arrangement sounded.  After a quick search, she was able to pull up the hours to an art class: one that started in just forty minutes. That would give them enough time to finish up and walk over to the center.  “Okay, we’ve got forty minutes until the next class.  Does that sound good?”

[mkhyosang]

He loved to bug her more than anyone, and that was saying a lot–he really liked messing with people. She knew not to take it seriously, though; on one hand that was good, because it meant their relationship was okay, but on the other hand it was less fun, because her reaction were less huge. Nothing he could do about that though. “Okay, so me saying I’m right is me being arrogant, but you saying you’re right isn’t? I smell a double standard and I’m havin’ none of that,” he said with a laugh. “Oooh, nap in here. I’ll go be Gossip’s manager for the day. See what it’s like. For science.” He shrugged. “I mean, fair enough. How did that glitter shit even get started? Why glitter of all things. Remind me to ask Zhen next time I see her.”

[mkmisook-blog]

Leaning back into the comfort of the couch, Misook gave herself a moment to breathe.  Although she would never admit to it out loud, her friend’s presence brought out a state of ease for the manager.  It gave her the chance to close her eyes, to take a deep breath, and to savor the small sense of serenity that she felt around him.  After a moment, she peeked open an eye, soft laughter passing through her, “Well, yeah, because I’m actually right.  You’re only right maybe a quarter of the time -- half, if you’re lucky.  The rest of the time makes you seem conceited.  That’s just how it is.”  For a moment, she actually considered taking up his offer.  Lord knew she needed a nap right now.  But then she realized just how much of a disaster it would be to have Hyosang act as the group’s manager, even for a day, and was quick to shake her head, “Science will have to wait.  I’ll be fine. Just let me hide in here while the girls practice.”  With a deep sigh, she shrugged her shoulders lazily, “Don’t ask me.  It’s just some aspect of their relationship that I never understood.  Kind of like our relationship.  I’m sure everyone wonders why you’re always a brat toward me.”

[mkahki-blog]

“I didn’t get sick when I bit Brandon…” Ahki mumbled, crossing her arms before she realized the other woman was joking and scowled a little. She was in a bad mood and she just wanted to curl up in her bed and watch trashy movies on her iPad. “Choa has short hair. So does Jungyeon from Twice. Why can’t I have short hair too?” Ahki asked, sighing deeply. “Yeah, Seojin told me that. He said I get to sing too. But as soon as I come back to Gossip, it’ll be back to the ribbons again. “How much longer……How much longer until we’re done?”

[mkmisook-blog]

“When did you bite--?” The manager stopped herself, shaking her head with a light laugh, “Actually, I don’t want to know.  Just, you know, don’t bite people anymore if you can help it.  I don’t need you to get in trouble for something that could easily be avoided.”  Misook liked to believe that, aside from the packed schedules and constantly making sure that her girls were doing what they should be (aka, her job), she was pretty easy going.  She didn’t like to punish them when they stepped out of line, didn’t want to anger or upset them in any way.  She was certain that there were worse managers at the company, even if she was one of the more strict ones.  “As cute as I think you would look with short hair, again, it isn’t up to us.  Ask your stylist what they think, okay?”  Reaching over, she gave the girl a gentle pat on the shoulder, flashing a small, sympathetic smile.  “That’s not entirely true! Your comeback is going to be much more mature; not a pigtail or ribbon in sight.  Kind of like Automatic, you know?”  There was a pause as she glanced to her phone, “Half an hour.  Then we can go grab some dinner before practice.”

[mkhyoji-blog]

She liked watching movies and stuff with Misook, but her favorite part about their friendship was the spontaneity that came along with it. While they had their more peaceful, laid back moments, one of them could suggest something crazy at any time, and the other was thrilled and went right along. They were both responsible grown women and of course they acted as such, but it was nice for an opportunity to let her wild side out, and Misook gave Hyoji that opportunity. There was no judging and disapproving glared, just giggles and more chaos, and it was fantastic.

Standing up off the chair and shaking her bright purple hair back in place, Hyoji grinned. “It does, doesn’t it. I come up with my best ideas when I’m bored,” Hyoji replied, feigning arrogance with a little laugh. “Yes, awesome! I can finish up with the dishes if you want to check? There’s not many left. Besides, I feel bad for sitting on my lazy ass while you did all the work. Let me do a little bit, yeah?”

[mkmisook-blog]

Despite being young adults themselves, the job of a group manager meant that the pair had to act mature for ninety percent of their time.  They were professionals, and of course they acted as such while on the job, but even in their time off, they had to look after their groups.  They were responsible for quite a lot, and as a result, they had to be very careful of how they behaved around others.  But when they were together, Misook and Hyoji were able to let loose, to put down their walls and set aside their maturity to just have fun.  And as a result, the two had a record of acting like dumb teenage girls when they were together.

“You always have the best ideas, bored or not.”  With a nod of her head, the blonde set aside the dishes, drying off her hands as she moved to collect her phone off of the table.  She gave the other a small smile, feeling a bit guilty, “But, you’re the guest... I mean, if you really want to, I won’t stop you from cleaning for me.  Just know that you don’t have to.”  Peeling her eyes away from her friend, she quickly began researching classes at the local family center.

[rvteddy]

It’d been so long since she had been in the presence of a manager, so long since someone who had authority over her (however distant and technical it was) had conversed with her. She was surprised she hadn’t made a fool of herself (besides the actual incident that brought them together) so it was only natural to her that the tension would fluctuate. She nodded, smiling, “And one of - if not the most - successful companies going. I only wish I auditioned earlier.”

[mkmisook-blog]

There was something about the soloist that brought out Misook’s protective nature.  She felt like coddling the younger, keeping her safe from any harm that she might face in the industry.  If she had to put her finger on it, she would guess that it was the shy personality that Kieun had portrayed so far. She seemed almost too delicate to be an idol.  “Well, I can promise you that we’re all happy to have you here now.  Even if it took you a bit to get here, what matters is that you’re in our family now.”

[mkhyosang]

“Oh. Is that what I was thinking? I take it back then. Yeah, not that,” he muttered, smiling a little. He was a brat–how she put up with him was beyond Hyosang, but he was glad she did. His life would be a lot more boring without his best friend. “Of course it could be. I’m always right, you know. Always. You should know that by now,” he said with a laugh. “Oh, shush. I’m always curious. I’m a super nice guy who’s interested in his friends’ lives and wants to know how their days are going. So how is your day going, you little shit?” He said with a laugh, jumping away in surprise at her poke and sticking his tongue out. “Make her clean it, then. She’ll learn not to do it pretty damn quick, yeah?”

[mkmisook-blog]

“Yah, you’re so annoying,” Misook couldn’t hold back her laughter, kicking out her foot to tap his leg. She was used to it, of course.  He liked to tease her, to make things a little difficult, but that was how their friendship had always been.  Joking around and getting on each other’s nerves was quite literally the foundation of their relationship.  “I think you’re mistaken.  I’m the one that’s always right. You’re the one that likes to think you’re right, but you’re usually just being arrogant.”  Another bout of giggles escaped her, “Yeah, of course you are.  If you’re really curious, I feel like a dead woman walking.  If I didn’t have caffeine in my system, I would be unconscious right now.”  With a small shrug, the manager let out a sigh, “I can’t help it.  It’s in my nature to try and help out the girls.  Even if they kill someone with glitter.  It’s a maternal instinct.”

[hsxjiyeon]

“I’m not sure, honestly. I haven’t seen or heard about them before. Her children can only be but so young, if that’s the case, so she’s had plenty of time  for the baby exhaustion to wear off. But the point is, I’m not going to listen to her criticisms and ‘advice’ if she’s not willing to do it herself.” Minjung ended her rant with a quiet huff, then turned to smile at her friend. “He’s been a lot better with that since starting day care. I’ve heard he was such a handful for the teachers; I can’t imagine which of you had it worse.” She could only shake her head at the memory. Misook’s first few times at babysitting only ended in chaos and Minjung coming home early, and though it was nearly two year ago, she still felt bad for the trouble she had no way of preventing. “Maybe not! Maybe he’ll be boring just like his mommy,” she joked. “Right. Well, just let me know when you two go again and I’ll try to join you. Maybe I’m amazing, or maybe the ten years was a lost cause. You’ll find out some day, I bet.”

[mkmisook-blog]

“I totally understand that.  Like, if she won’t help you out every now and then, she has no room to criticize your parenting or his behavior or anything.  At least watch him for an afternoon, you know? Or play with him while you’re around.  Something.”  Misook found herself nodding her head in agreement, annoyed for her friend.  A small sigh passed through her lips before she put on a smile, “I would argue that the teachers had it worse, just because they had him longer.  Once you came home, he would also stop crying.”  She couldn’t help but let out the lightest chuckle at the memory, her running around like a maniac while trying to calm down baby Leon.  It felt like only yesterday, but he was so grown up now in comparison.  The idea was ridiculous; he was still so young and yet she had known him for almost half of his life now.  Her heart swelled with fondness for the boy and his mother, glad that they had been blessed by becoming coworkers.  “Oh, please!  There’s a difference between being boring and being one of the most hardworking people in the company.  Don’t sell yourself short,” she leaned over to give Minjung a playful nudge.  “You’re being a voice tease, you know that?  I’m really looking forward to it now.  Might have to clear my schedule this weekend to take you out.”

[mkhyoji-blog]

Hyoji was half hanging off of one of Misook’s chair in boredom. She had a day off and so did her best friend, but here they were sitting in her kitchen. “Let’s do something,” Hyo finally said, grinning a little in Misook’s direction. Leave it to Hyoji to come up with something spontaneously to avoid the boredom, right?

“We did karaoke last week……We’ve been on tons of walk….we’ve been to eighty billion take-out places…..we’ve seen so many movies,” Hyo listed, trying to think of something new. Finally it came to her, a giant grin appearing on her face. “Oh, god. Misook, we have to take an art class. I want to paint a picture of your face and I can’t paint for shit, so therefore we have to. It’d be so much fun! What do you say?”

[mkmisook-blog]

Flitting around her kitchen, cleaning up after quite the large lunch that she had prepared for the two of them, Misook let out a soft hum in agreement.  She couldn’t imagine anything else for the pair to do in her apartment, unless it happened to be taking a nap or watching television.  And they had already watched television an hour ago.  

She busied herself with washing out a bowl, listening to the elder ramble about their limited possibilities.  Every chance the two of them got, they were hanging out together.  Hyoji was her best friend, and they couldn’t help but goof off when they were around one another.  Over the years, since they had met, they had tried out just about everything under the sun, aside from maybe sky diving and art classes... which just so happened to be what the elder came up with for today.

A wide grin graced her features, the younger manager glanced over her shoulder with an enthusiastic nod of her head.  She hoped that her face wasn’t completely flushed by the comment her friend had made about wanting to paint her.  One of her younger sisters was an artist, but she had never actually tried her hand at it herself.  Maybe she would find that she liked it.  And even if she didn’t, it still gave her a reason to spend an extra hour or two by Hyoji’s side.  “Yeah, okay!  I think it sounds fun! There’s a family center a few blocks from here.  They have classes all the time.  Want me to look and see what they have for today?”