“Now, that’s what I call an introduction,” said JooHyun as she exhaled. They all understood that she meant that everyone had introduced themselves with a song. You can introduce yourself with a smile and a handshake, and still not know the person.

  But, when you sing, that is an entirely different sort of introduction. Your eyes, your posture, what you do with your hands, all of these things tell much about the person singing. All of these things say as much about the person as the singer’s voice, inflection, vibrato, how well they can sustain a note, etc.

  All of these things will tell another singer more about you than all of the words in the world.

  ‘It takes one to know one’ also applies to singers. Especially when it comes to divas and soloists. All of them were, to a lesser and greater degree, divas. They all had the potential to be soloists, too.

  The other four agreed that this was probably the best way for them to actually introduce themselves to each other. They shared their base personalities through music. They did not share everything about themselves, but enough for them to have a pretty good idea of who each other were. And what they were capable of, sonically.

  And that was enough to get things started. And started they did.

  They started off as one collective, talking about music and what they like to sing, and how they liked to sing it. Then they started programming songs so they could show examples of what they were talking about. The songs got cut shorter and shorter as everyone had something that they wanted to share or compare.

  They compared notes both logically and sonically. There were several choruses of notes being shared.

  There was also talk of philosophy, and theory, that how when people interpret things in that what something means to one does not mean the same to someone else. They brought up some particurly obfuscated lyrics in a difficult song. All five had different ways of interpreting the song. And the beautiful thing was as the lyrics were intentionally difficult, they were all subject to their own interpretation, so all five were right in what they thought it meant.

  Even a more simple song came under the same scrutiny and again, each had their own interpretation as to what it meant.

  Something odd happened during the discussion. Even after all of the food, drink, and snacks that Seulgi had that evening, she had a very visceral reminder of what will happen when she gets home tonight as she pulled a cat hair out of her mouth. Suki was going to read her the riot act and inquire about her activities today.

  Everyone looked at her like a magician, pulling a single, long white hair out of her mouth. First, they looked at the meals and snacks that they were eating. Everyone’s meals – including Seulgi’s – were perfectly fine. The hair was just one of those things that happened to cat owners. Even those who avoid kissing their furry companions still manage to get the fur everywhere. Including in their mouths.

  Fortunately, Suki was a prissy prima donna, so kept herself very tidy. There was no need to worry about being dirty. That and being over 12 floors up in an environmentally sealed apartment, there was not much opportunity to get herself too dirty. She would still find a way, of course. She was a clever cat, after all. Most of the dirt she gets herself into has nothing to do with the pnts, so it confounds Seulgi where she can find it. It’s not the dust from under her bed or couch, and the cat cannot get behind the fridge. Not from a ck of trying, either.

  Focusing back on the people in front of her, Seulgi got her mind back on the music.

  Seulgi made a significant contribution to the conversation. Everyone had their own thoughts as to what was good and what wasn’t.

  They tried to do some songs both individually and collectively. They started out pretty rough, to be honest. Everyone had their own color and style and it would take time and practice to get to a point of unconscious harmony. They already knew that they could mesh well. They would harmonize well enough for having never practiced together.

  Before they could make significant progress, time flew by and the responsible adults had to end the evening because they had to get to work in the morning. None of them were children anymore – even the youngest, Katie, was mature enough to know that she needed enough sleep to be functional the next day.

  The fact that they all had met, gotten together, and made some inroads was within itself a miracle. What they didn’t know was that this was just the beginning of the miracles. What they were able to accomplish in a very short time would astound not only themselves but everyone fortunate enough to hear them in the future.

  While everyone was reluctant to let the evening go, even the manager and other patrons who had been lucky enough to listen in en passing. Everything eventually wound down and they started dispersing. Katie surprised everyone by gathering everyone into a group hug. This might be the first, but it won’t be the st.

  JooHyun and Soo-Young went out together so Soo-Young can bum a ride home.

  Wendy went to her car with Katie so the younger girl could get a ride home as well. It was convenient that so many of them knew how to drive. And even more, that they actually had cars to drive. Oddly, not everyone with a license had a car.

  Seulgi got into her car and headed back home, too. The wonder of wonders, she made it home without mishap. She was pnning on getting a fore and aft driver camera because she recently read how unethical taxi drivers started to watch people leaving bars, get into their cars to go home, and then deliberately bump them to bckmail them into paying them off so the taxi drivers don’t call the cops and get them charged with a DUI.

  She was neither intoxicated nor impaired, but it would still be a hassle.

  She got parked in her assigned parking space. With all of the adventure and excitement from the day, she was quite sluggish getting out of the car park and dragged herself and her gym bag across the lobby to the elevator. There was no way she’d try the stairs tonight. She was bedraggled and hoarse from singing bad enough that the security guards did not begrudge her for having only the briefest chat before heading to the elevators.

  Successfully reaching her floor, she exited the lift. Her gym bag dragged behind her, she made it to her apartment. She rested her forehead against the door frame. She entered the manual key into the lock and twisted it. She stumbled and nearly fell while the door opened because she was leaning against it. She managed to get inside without falling or neighbors looking at her to make scandalous rumors about her drinking habits.

  Keys are pced on the sideboard. Shoes kicked off near the door. Jacket on the hook next to the door. The gym bag is left in the middle of the floor. Scenting like a skunk from the mixture of gym, bar, restaurant, bar, and exhaustion.

  A furry seal-point shark fin waved its way out of the bedroom and on the way over to her.

  The sinner knew that the interrogation would now begin.