"Okay girls, you can take a five-minute break. We will run through the choreo one more time and you guys will then meet the singing teacher."

The dance teacher dismisses us, all of us girls groaning thankfully as we slump over to our water bottles before slinking down onto the floor. I take a grateful gulp of water, thinking through my moves. I mentally note all of the tiny details I needed to make this great choreography even greater. A flick of the finger here, a slight head tilt there. All of these tiny moves are what make the choreo breathe and look amazing. 

Only a small amount of girls talk to each other. Even Annabelle and Yuna, who usually have their heads together every break time we get, aren't speaking. They're near each other but they only drink water and stare into the air, no doubt thinking about how to improve. 

"Okay girls, back on your feet. Time to go through the choreo. We'll go through slowly and then at tempo. Make sure to ask questions," the dance teacher says, making sure that we are in position before counting us off and going through the moves slowly.

 I follow through slowly, my eyes flitting from my reflection in the mirror and the teacher, going through the moves. We stop every now and then when another girl asks a question but the teacher makes it into a teaching moment, kindly showing and explaining how to do certain moves. 

"Perfect ladies," The dance teacher comments when we finished our slow run-through of the choreo, "Now to do it in tempo. Don't worry if you skip a few steps or miss a few details. As long as you guys do the base moves and keep practicing, you will be okay when the three weeks are up."

All of us girls nod our affirmative and the teacher starts the song again, this time in the correct tempo. I count off the beats in my head and start dancing, focusing only on my reflection in the mirror and making sure to hit all of the point moves and tiny details. As soon as the dance ends, I'm slightly panting but I feel good. I could just feel in my bones that I will just master this choreo. 

"Good job ladies," the dance teacher exclaims, visibly happy with the amount of progress we were all able to make during the time frame, "Rest for ten minutes, and then you all will be dismissed for a vocal lesson from the teacher there."

Annabelle and Yuna make their way to me and we all sit down, taking the time to do a proper stretch routine. We're silent for the first few minutes, taking the time to calm down and really feel the stretches we were doing. 

"You were really feeling yourself there Jinah," Yuna comments, stretching her body towards me. 

"Thank you," I say, smiling at Yuna, "I was just focusing though."

"If that's how you look focusing on the choreo then I don't know if I want to see you when you're on stage performing. It's honestly kind of scary."

"Scary as in good or scary as in bad?"

"Definitely good." Yuna gives me a smile before standing up to do more stretches. 

I stretch my legs a bit more before following Yuna and stand beside her, placing my arms above my head to stretch my arms. 

"Two more minutes," Annabelle says to us both before walking away to pack her things, Yuna and I following soon after.

I feel a chill go down my back, making me immediately turn around. I meet eyes that seem to be shooting sharp glares in my direction. My eyes widen as I recognize the girl to be the same girl who was shooting me glares during audition announcements. I quickly turn around, purposely putting myself close enough to Annabelle and Yuna so no one else would hear, "Do you guys know that girl? The one who you guys thought would pass the audition, is apparently wealthy, a natural at everything, and is gorgeous?"

"Her," Annabelle questions, discreetly pointing at the girl.

"Her name is Ahn Hana," Yuna says after glancing at the girl, "I learned her name during audition announcements."

"I see," I mumble, "I just feel like she hates me. She always sends me glares whenever we make eye contact."

"That's crazy. You guys have never met each other."

Before I could respond to Annabelle though, the dance teachers tell us it's time to leave and that whoever is out of the door last to shut off the lights and close the door. We all make our way out and while I was satisfied with the progress I made with my dance today, my singing is not on par with my dancing. 

I've improved obviously since the start of my training period but compared to other trainees, I'm still lacking. I can't belt out high notes like Annabelle and I don't have a delicate tone like Yuna. My vocal tone is somewhat average in the Kpop world and I'm not even sure it fits the vibe of this song. Nonetheless, it was the song chosen and I must follow through if I want a chance of debuting.

We make it to the floor where the studios are located, where the voice teacher is waiting for us but her face is filled with worry and guilt. "I'm so sorry to abandon you guys but my son is in a compromised situation. I've tried to get other trainers to come help but they're all booked so you guys will have to do some self-study today. Make sure to use this time wisely and I'll be there the next time we do lessons. Bye!"

As soon as the vocal trainer leaves, girls began to swirl around Annabelle, asking her if she could listen to them and give them advice. "Sorry," Annabelle politely laughs out, "I'm no professional and I don't want to risk ruining your voices by giving the wrong advice. Maybe in a few years."

Annabelle gives Yuna and me the, 'let's go,' look. We nod at her, weaving our way effortlessly in the crowd, grasping onto Annabelle's hand before running to an empty studio room and locking the door. The girls are persistent and begin knocking on the studio door politely. We wait them out for a few minutes before they give up and head elsewhere.

"I knew you had a fanbase but I never knew you were that much in demand," I gasp out.

"Me too," Annabelle says simply, "Now, let's practice."

Yuna volunteers to go first, which suits me fine as I take the time to put in my earbuds to calm myself. I'm freaking myself out over my singing abilities but I just know that if I put in the hard work and practice as I always have, I'll make it out okay. Maybe even great. 

Phonecart by 10cm fills my ears as I close my eyes and go through some breathing cycles. I relax enough to let my mind wander. I go through past memories such as when I first landed here in Korea with Annabelle, doing my first ever audition to enter Big Hit, and more. My eyes snap open, my relaxed rhythm broken when V suddenly pops into my mind.

Why am I thinking of him?

~~~~~~~~~~

Wow, two chapters in a day! I never thought that a day like this would come if I'm being honest. But fear not, with summer almost here, I can legit dedicate most of my time to finish writing the books I have planned. This chapter isn't as exciting but don't worry as I'm building up to it. A few more chapters and that's when the real drama begins. Nothing like a slow burn drama right?

I hope you all enjoyed the two chapters!

Song is Phonecart - 10cm

Don't forget to vote, comment, and I'll see you all next time!

An extra thing: if you're into kpop, trading/selling specifically, I have a trade/sale account at queenanna_trades if you wanna follow!