This story starts with an unfulfilled bet and ends with a bold claim. Feel free not to trust the gambler who hasn’t paid off the first loss, then tosses his ante into the next pot. If you’re wondering what this has to do with a possible SES comeback, and are excited about such a comeback occurring, you should probably read on, because there may be a few talking points.

I bet my friend Emily one month ago that I would sing SES’ “Just a Feeling” in nigh-perfect Korean the next time I saw her. We have scheduled a vaguely weekly language exchange over boba milk tea and fried buns with sweetened condensed milk: I help her with her conversational English, she teaches me how to say “an nyeong ha se yo” without it sounding like “a neon hussy yolk.” Needless to say, making the braggadocio claim that I could belt the trio’s K-pop classic proved an act of folly; I showed up that week, but conveniently lacked the lyrics in hand “needed” to make an attempt on the song.

My complete inability to speak Hang guk mal is not the only reason I chickened out of the bet. It’s the fact that Shoo, Eugene and Sea, bring completely unique vocals to the table. Sea, but better known as Bada (now Vada₁ ,) is regarded for her powerful voice and range, able to belt it low or push forward high pitch notes with such amplitude it really makes you wonder if her diaphragm isn’t a cybernetically enhanced internal sound amplifier.

These were the same ladies that over a decade ago in 1998 sparked the girl group craze in Korea. It was their upbeat R and B pop that transformed the Korean mainstream music scene, the first batch of women to jump aboard the Seo Taiji and Boys popularized, American influenced “K-Pop” scene. They performed choreographed dances to uptempo beats, harmonized during the refrains, let out random “oohs” and “aaahs” and in general promoted themselves as fun and sophisticated to a teenage audience.

Alongside other big acts like Fin.K.L and Baby V.O.X, they proved to be contagious, setting a precedent that would be followed by…well, every group of dancing, alternatively cute then leathery-clad female groups going today, from T-ara to Kara, from SNSD to 2NE1. It was Shoo’s jumpy, silly retro-80s big hair, Eugene’s expressive, sassy demeanor and Bada’s crazy (or is it “Mad” now?) primeval force of personality that made their appeal undeniable.

Why do I think they’re coming back now, after all these years apart? Well, as I’ve shown, I’m a betting man, and I’m betting that the events of the last seven months are an indicator that S.E.S is gearing up a promotional precedence for a comeback.

Any die-hard S.E.S fan can tell you that it has only been within the last two years that the members have gotten together with any consistency. The group broke up in 2002, and immediately afterwards, Eugene and Bada went off to launch their solo careers outside of the big corporate backing that SM Entertainment had provided them in their hay-day. Shoo, meanwhile, had disappeared from the industry entirely.

With the launch of Bada’s See the Sea Vol. 4, she did a promotional performance for her single “Mad” at MBC Music Core in August 2009. Eugene, two thirds of the way through the routine, made an appearance from behind the background structure, and danced front and center with Bada for the remainder of the performance.

This, of course, seemed like a show of appreciation between old friends. Shoo had fled the industry altogether, and didn’t seem interested in returning. But for Bada’s end of the year concert on December 30th and 31st, the entire SES crew shared the stage.

On January 8th, 2010, Shoo came out with her first solo album, a five-song mini-album, Devote One’s Love, which contains “With Me,” a collaborative effort with Bada and Eugene. It’s got a solid bass-line, some acapella styled snapping and a Spanish guitar strumming alongside the melody all the way through. It’s thoroughly mid-90’s American R and B influenced late 90s S.E.S, but with a crispness that has aged like a cellar enclosed Napa Valley Shiraz. I guess I’m saying I dig it.

So maybe I’m taking this too far. Maybe, just maybe, Eugene is just in this to promote her acting stint as a lead for the drama “Creating Destiny.” Maybe Shoo, randomly, decided to get back into the music scene. Maybe Bada saw the opportunity to do a few things for her friends, and took it.

Or, maybe even if all of those things may be true, an S.E.S reunion in 2010, complete with at least a mini-album is inevitable. In fact, that’s the wager I’m willing to make. We will have new S.E.S tracks, there will be a mini-tour, and even if there are copyright/intellectual property issues that halts them from using that name, Shoo, Bada and Eugene will produce music together.

Unlike my wager with Emily, I will make sure to pay off this bet before I continue another one. Therefore, I will wait until this bet has played out before another edition of Ante up is written. We’ll just wait and see if my foot is destined for my mouth or not.

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