The room was basically the same as the one earlier. Just as ugly colors, and the same tacky carpet, the only really good thing was the slightly rger TV to dispy the lyrics of the songs that they were going to be singing on. It had a pleasantly colored fractal design background on dispy at the moment while waiting for input on the next song.

  Soo-young headed over to the songbook to start picking songs. She was gently stopped by her unni and they all went and sat down to start the session with talking first. First, they needed to start by getting to actually know about each other. JooHyun was the lynchpin in this as she was the only one who knew both sides. There were no ‘sides’ per se, but she was the one who knew the three girls and Soo-young separately. So, she took the lead in introducing everyone and what she knew of the strengths of each person.

  Seulgi was pretty much an all around’er. She can do up-tempo, balds, and pop, and though she had not seen her do it, she knew that Seulgi would be able to do anything that was thrown at her. She tried to rap a few times, but it was not her forte. She also had a vibrato to make opera singers weep. Her high notes were as solid as granite. Her low notes were soft and sensual.

  Wendy could do everything. She had a four-octave range. She could sing every style. She was a born vocalist. People made jokes that she would sing a full opera to do a warm up. The funny thing is that she probably could. If anyone ever asked “Can Wendy sing…” the answer would be a simple: Yes.

  Katie was an interesting dichotomy in that she had a slightly husky lower range, but a crystal clear upper range. Listening to her slightly raspy voice transitions into a bell-like crity within just a few measures widened everyone who witnessed it happens eyes. She was also a credible rapper. But what stood out was the complete joy when she sang. She smiled with her whole body while singing. Combined with her rge eyes and urchin grin, she’s going to break many hearts. And she was probably already immune to the suffering of the pile of broken hearts behind her as she went about her daily life.

  Then JooHyun turned to her younger friend and quasi-protégée. They had all seen the beginnings of what she was capable of at the restaurant. Her incredibly rich tones had an incredible mixture of jewel bright honey sunshine and a sensuality that could wake the dead. She might not have the octave range of Wendy, but she could match Katie note for note. She could also add just that right amount of extra oomph when a song needed emphasis. If a song needed extra sensuousness, Soo-young was the girl you needed.

  As a side note, one of the reasons that Soo-young was always welcomed at this karaoke was she usually came straight from work. The scent of the restaurant clinging to her was as pleasant as she was, making her just that much more welcome. This included both staff and patrons alike.

  Everyone already knew what JooHyun was capable of. The three might not know as well or as fully as Soo-young, but they were about to learn. Everyone present has been blinded by her mere smile, has become enamored of her voice, and is aghast by her wicked sense of humor. Everyone started off by getting startled by her going from her tiny voice to her belting out a song.

  Katie had a mischievous thought that she could annoy JooHyun enough to get her to be loud. Turns out that she was right. Prodding her verbally just the right way will result in a very loud and uncharacteristic “HEY!” from her victim, scaring everybody in the vicinity. Granted, everyone could and would eventually become a victim of her 'tender ministrations', but JooHyun was the primary target. This was a game that would be annoying to the target, amusement for everyone else watching, and extreme fun for Katie.

  There would be a betting pool in the future for just what would happen if the older woman would do to the younger when caught after chasing her. The choices would not be too serious as it was 90% in good fun. A) Katie would be beaten. B) JooHyun would inflict a tickle torture so bad that Katie pees herself. Or C) Nothing would happen as she would never be able to catch the girl who was seven years younger than her. But that would be for the future.

  JooHyun had some ideas that she went over with the others as to what she thought, what sort of sounds they could expect, and what sort of songs they would be good at, both individually and collectively. They put out some ideas of what they would like to try. Some are simple, some more complex.

  JooHyun deliberately kept things slow because of the earlier excursions. Also, whether Soo-young knew it or not, she was exhausted from working as well. It was a busy night for everyone. So, taking control of the evening, she decided to enforce her will and keep things light and fun.

  She asked everyone to pick a song to do solo so everyone would get a better idea of what they were capable of. More like songs to show off their chops to impress the others. The older two look thoughtful. The younger two looked devious. JooHyun sighed internally. There was no way to stop them from being competitive, but it was inevitable she supposed.

  She took the scraps of paper with the songs on them and put them into the song choices. She raised an eyebrow at a couple of them. She started with the youngest first, Katie – the most daring. Then pced the next, Soo-young – the most raucous. Next would be Wendy – the most technically difficult. Followed by Seulgi the most stolid. Finally – she was going to surprise everybody with her choice.