Charm is a member of the idol girl group, Cherry, managed by the Japanese company, Make It Entertainment (MINT). A chance encounter with her co-member, Lily, opens a Pandora's box that reveals what happens behind the camera, off the stage and beyond...
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It was already the month of December and our plates were full of events and guestings as Christmas was around the corner. If Tier B was busy, A-listers were twice as busy as they were also promoting our third single and most of them would fly abroad for international events and shows. This was the reason why some parents went to the office as they needed to sign some documents for the minors. I saw the mom of Zoie in the office lobby talking with Ms. Anya. I overheard their conversation when I passed by the lobby.
"Sorry Ma'am but we're not allowed to have direct communication with the girls outside our classes. Coaches and mentors are also employees so we are covered by the rules. You can direct your concerns to the RMs." said Ms. Anya to Zoie's mom. I was not sure what the concern of Zoie's mom was but I presumed that she was trying to get Ms. Anya's contact number.
MINT employees, except the road managers and authorized Talent Management staff, were not allowed to have direct contact or communication with us members. Even the former employees who left the company were not allowed to have any interaction with us. This was to prevent any issues or scandals that could arise as we needed to protect our image and reputation as idols.
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It was a few days before our Christmas concert and my birthday. The thing about having your birthday in December was that your birthday celebration and present would be hand-in-hand with Christmas especially if your birthday was just a few days before or after Christmas. This would not be the case for me anymore because we had this mini-event called Birthday Mini-Concert wherein members and trainees whose birthday falls under that month would be celebrating their birthdays with their fans. The birthday girls would conceptualize and prepare their production numbers, and they would have games with their fans. December celebrants would have their Birthday Mini-Concert a few days before the Christmas concert. My parents told me that they would attend the event to celebrate my birthday with me as I could not fly out to our home due to my work commitments. This would be the first time my father would be able to watch me perform live as an official idol and a Cherry member.
We were in the midst of preparing for the Birthday Mini-Concert and the Christmas concert when one day, the Management called for an urgent meeting. All sixteen members were called to attend the meeting in the office. The agenda of the meeting was to reiterate the rules and regulations of the Management to the members particularly the one wherein the members could not directly communicate with any unauthorized person and receive any form of gift and gratuity without the consent of the Management. They also brought up the golden rule and enumerated the sanctions and consequences should any of the rules be violated such as warning, suspension and worst, termination from the group.
After the meeting, most of us wondered why the Management suddenly called for an urgent meeting just to discuss the rules and regulations. We speculated that a member or members violated the rules and regulations, and wanted us to be more cautious of our actions and behavior. From that day forward, we were more mindful of our interactions with other people, especially with fans and staff. There were hearsays of which members violated the rules. Some said there were members who were called to a closed-door meeting and they could not divulge what was discussed in the meeting. Some dropped names but there was no clear evidence or sound reasoning for the accusation.
