Rachel Cooper was pulled directly into the fray, and then the battle inevitably escalated. In the end, all nine of them lay on the floor, clothes in disarray, staring at the ceiling and gasping for breath. Suddenly, everyone had the same feeling: as long as their sisters were by their side, then another Chinese version of the Black Sea didn’t seem like such a big deal.

“Click…” The practice room door was pushed open. Brian Bennett stared in shock at the sea of white underwear on the floor, swallowing hard. Uh… Julia Grant, is it really okay for your belly fuzz to be showing like that? And… Molly Thompson, your assets are more than half exposed—does your uncle know about this? And… Grace Howard, don’t say you’re young, you’ve actually got quite the figure…

Chapter 7: Faith

When Brian Bennett entered, the nine girls’ reactions were completely unexpected.

He had thought that even if they didn’t scream the roof off, at least they’d be blushing and flustered, right? Strangely, when the girls saw it was him, they barely reacted at all. Except for Grace Howard, who shrank back, too embarrassed to face anyone, the other eight calmly stood up and straightened their clothes. Ashley Carter even asked, “OPPA, are you alone?”

“Tsk, you’re all calling me OPPA now?” Brian Bennett chuckled. “Did I accidentally show off some divine skill that hypnotized and brainwashed you all?”

Ashley Carter let out a lazy sigh. “Yeah, the divine skill OPPA showed was taking a liking to a few of us. So now everyone’s just waiting for OPPA to pick his consort.”

Brian Bennett frowned, then turned and left the room, grabbed Tyler for a few questions, and returned with a serious expression.

“Listen.” Brian Bennett said sternly, “Even though this whole ‘waiting for the emperor to pick a concubine’ thing is kind of fun, I have to tell you, your current mindset is all wrong. Sure, you still have some fighting spirit, you’re not giving up, but you look like a bunch of idiots who’ve seen through the world’s illusions. You’re Girls’ Generation—do you know what it means to be a girl? Who can give me a definition? Do you think you’re Sarah Thompson, playing sexy and lazy? In this state, even if you’re given a hit song, I doubt you could perform it with any feeling. You know better than I do what the outcome would be.”

The girls all lowered their heads, and then, not sure who started it, someone began to sob softly. That sob was like a crack in a dam; all nine of them instantly had red eyes and broke down in tears.

After all, they were just a group of seventeen- or eighteen-year-old girls. The cruelty of reality had cut their hearts raw and bleeding. No matter how strong they pretended to be, no matter how much they joked around, they couldn’t hide the vulnerability and softness inside. At this moment, in front of someone they could trust and rely on, the so-called strong shell was already shattered, exposing their weakest side.

Brian Bennett closed the door, leaned against it, and quietly watched them cry, saying nothing.

After a few minutes, the sobbing finally subsided. Emma Clark wiped her eyes and gave an embarrassed smile. “Thank you, OPPA, for letting you see us like this.”

Brian Bennett sighed. “Why would I laugh at you? Seventeen- or eighteen-year-old girls—crying is your right.”

Ashley Carter said, “Then why did you hit me last night? Weren’t you afraid I’d cry?”

A sudden, random attack from the team. Critical hit!

The girls stared in shock, their strange gazes darting between the two.

“Pfft… cough cough…” Brian Bennett almost choked on his own saliva, coughed dryly, and said, “It was Tyler who hit you. Don’t blame a good guy.”

Ashley Carter shot him a sidelong glance. “Sure… good guy OPPA, just now Jessie even confirmed it, said she wants to be your crazy fan. So? Is Jessie one of the people you like?”

Jessica Reed blushed furiously. “Hey! Ashley Carter!”

Brian Bennett stroked his chin. “That’s a secret for now. But you’re probably one of them.”

Ashley Carter’s face turned even redder than Jessica Reed’s. Such a blunt, risqué comment was really too much for her age to handle. Especially with her sisters all looking on with gossipy satisfaction, going “Ohhh…” Ashley Carter just wanted to find a hole to crawl into.

“All right, all right.” Brian Bennett clapped his hands. “I’m glad to see you’ve recovered. But it’s getting late, let’s get down to business. Come on, ‘Into the New World’—Music, let’s go, show me your performance.”

Grace Howard ran to turn on the music, and the girls calmed themselves and lined up.

Brian Bennett leaned against the door again, waiting for the intro. Honestly, did he really need to go through all this trouble to write “GEE”? But this was a necessary gesture. He had just returned to the country, had never seen Girls’ Generation perform before, and only after observing them up close and feeling their energy could he create a suitable song. Otherwise, what was he, a monster?

He didn’t expect the girls to surprise him again.

They couldn’t dance!

And they couldn’t sing! Ashley Carter, who started, got stuck after just three or four words!

Looking at the girls, faces flushed with embarrassment, Brian Bennett straightened up in confusion. “What’s wrong with you all?” He pointed at Grace Howard, who had been frozen since the music started. “Grace Howard, you tell me.”

“I… I… I don’t know…” Grace Howard didn’t know where to put her hands and feet. “I just can’t do it…”

“And you, Ashley Carter? Don’t tell me you forgot the lyrics!”

“I… I don’t know either…”