Chapter Text
❀ Chapter 1 ❀
Upon exiting the shower, I heard a familiar laugh sound from downstairs followed by the sweet tone of my mother’s voice. Jungwon’s voice carried throughout the house as well while he was explaining his school, now my new school, to my mother. Not like she hadn’t already read every article and alumni list available already.
A sense of panic flooded my veins as I checked the time: 6:25 . I rolled my eyes before grabbing my robe and securing it around my waist before walking out of the bathroom and into my own room to get ready.
I could hear the gentle clanging of my mother making breakfast and an occasional chuckle at some joke Jungwon probably made.
Jungwon was my childhood friend. Our mothers worked together and became best friends. My father lived and worked in New York where I was born, but after he and my mother split up, my school year was divided between New York and South Korea. That is until I turned twelve and my parents decided it would be best for me to stay in one place for school. From then on, I stayed with my mother and visited my father over breaks. Since I was gone half the year, Jungwon was my only close friend growing up which made us inseparable.
We did practically everything together up until he started his training. A few years ago, Jungwon was scouted to be a trainee at one of the biggest entertainment companies in South Korea. A year passed and he was now a trainee at Big Hit Entertainment. He got busy after that with his practices and classes but somehow still managed to visit as often as he could and stay in contact with my worrywart-of-a mother.
The soft murmurs from downstairs where my mother was still chatting away continued. How she was so awake was beyond me and I could never understand how Jungwon was able to maintain his bubbly persona in the morning either.
Laying the clothing on my bed, I began to change starting with the white button up. After skipping the top few buttons, I pulled on the gray pleated skirt. I heard a small knock before the door opened allowing Jungwon to enter. I jumped in surprise before quickly pulling up the zipper to my skirt. He took a look at me and dropped into my desk chair spinning around once.
“It looks good on you,” he said truthfully. I played with the waist of my skirt and smoothed down the pleats.
“What would you have done if I wasn’t completely changed?” I huffed. He chuckled in response.
“Wait, come here,” he motioned for me to come closer. I followed suit and came to stand in front of him. “You have a tail,” he laughed while pulling the fabric lightly.
“Thanks,” I frowned, tucking the fabric into my waistband. “You don’t look half bad either.” Jungwon had looks that would attract any girl’s attention. His hair was a dark ebony styled to perfection and he had dimples that could melt anyone’s heart. His lips were full and when he smiled it reached his eyes creating the most precious eye-smile.
But, of course, that wasn’t all. He had a shy aura that drew most girls in and a polite personality that made them want to stay. He was the textbook definition of the perfect guy. Or so I’ve heard from more girls than I cared to admit.
I moved to my bed to grab my tie that was still on the hanger as I watched Jungwon tinker with the little paperweights on my desk. He was dressed in the gray slacks of the uniform making his legs look long and slim. He had yet to tuck his shirt in and his tie was loosely tied around his neck. Even when there was no effort, he still looked handsome. I could only imagine how many people would wish for that, me being one of them.
Before I realized I was staring, Jungwon had glanced at me several times. He gave me a playful smirk as he set down the little sea turtle all the while pulling his ankle to rest on his knee and leaning back in my chair. I knew that look.
“I wasn’t staring at you,” I paused, “but yes we both know you look good and will cause an eruption in the female population at school,” I admitted, attempting to tie the fabric perfectly. I tried once only to have the tie come out loose and crooked. I frowned and tried once more and, again, it came out sloppy.
Jungwon chuckled and motioned for me to come to him. I huffed and stood in front of him as he reached for the remaining buttons on my shirt. He took his index finger to push my chin up lightly and made quick work of the remaining buttons.
“Ya know, you’re going to have to learn how to do this yourself,” he said. His face was joking as he watched for my reaction while simultaneously tying the material. When he was done, he stood abruptly and pushed me lightly towards the mirror on the back of my door. I slipped my sweater over my head and flipped my hair from under its neckline.
“Now why would I do that when I have you to do it for me?” I smiled. I looked at my reflection, turning to the side every now and then. “Can you hand me my- “, I was cut off by him draping my blazer over my shoulder.
I chuckled in the mirror and turned to watch him retreat to my desk. He started shuffling through my new notebooks and textbooks. “Thank you.” I slipped the material over my shoulders carefully. The uniform really was cute. From the white-lined blazer to the pleated skirt, it was classic and radiated elegance. Even when I was trying it on in the store heads turned towards my direction.
He nodded before turning towards me. “You seem giddy.”
“Of course,” I answered, examining my uniform in the mirror. “Today is my first day at Hanlim Multi Art High School! Weren’t you pumped?” He shrugged.
“School is school,” he said nonchalantly, but not hiding his smile. We both knew he was lying. He was psyched for his first day because this school meant another step towards his dream.
Jungwon entered the school with all the other students at the beginning of the year, so he was pretty used to the school’s shiny atmosphere. As for me, I was entering a term and some weeks late as a transfer student. Honestly, I was still waiting for the letter saying that I was mistakenly accepted. It was one of the top performing arts schools in South Korea and, frankly, I wasn’t as confident in my abilities. I was a vocalist, but mostly kept my works to myself.
Jungwon on the other hand was more destined for this. He wanted to be an idol more than anything and he had the talent to back it up. He was also a vocalist, and his dancing and singing were quickly improving thanks to the classes and help at the company.
Despite coming into the industry as late as I was, the goal was to work hard, and both become trainees set to debut. We were halfway there, I guess. I had finally opened up to the idea of becoming a trainee a few years ago when Jungwon and I performed an original song in our middle school’s talent show. After receiving praise from the school and our classmates, we both seemed to break out of our shells more and more. As a result, Jungwon was scouted and I had decided to follow his lead.
However, every now and then I had my doubts of being too late and was anxious about my decision to try, but Jungwon and his infectious positivity never let the thoughts manifest further.
I turned back around and grabbed my socks before plopping onto my bed. I felt the bed dip under his weight as he came to sit next to me, flipping through my notes.
“You still need to do your hair, ya know.” He threw my towel over my head just as I was finishing. Luckily, I had naturally straight hair that, by now, was basically dry. I pulled it into a high ponytail and curled the ends quickly so they fell to my mid back.
“Time check,” I asked. He glanced at his phone.
“6:55,” he drawled. I nodded.
Walking over to the mirror, I realized I had not done makeup either, so I grabbed some eyeshadow and mascara and applied a light layer over my eyes. I looked at my reflection one more time and played with my bangs a bit. Once satisfied, I did a fancy little spin, something Jungwon taught me, and faced him confidently.
“Look okay?”
“You look the same,” he said, taking a short second to look up from grabbing his bag. I rolled my eyes and began packing all my supplies. I was about to leave the room with Jungwon in tow when I stopped in the doorway, looking him up and down. His eyes were big as he watched me.
“Tuck in your shirt,” I poked his stomach lightly. He chuckled and obliged to my order while I fastened the remaining buttons of his shirt and straightened his tie. When finished he looked at me and walked in a slow circle allowing me to inspect. “Good,” I breathed. He gave me a cute smile and followed me down the stairs.
When we emerged into the kitchen my mother squealed and hugged me tight. She looked me up and down.
“As expected, it fits you so well,” she gushed before passing us our lunches. “Sit and eat.” Jungwon smiled before sitting next to me and starting to munch on the breakfast my mother prepared.
“So, are you excited?” my mother inquired. I smiled nervously.
“So much so, I may throw up,” I joked. Jungwon stopped eating long enough to scoot farther away from me. Mom chuckled at his response. “Seriously though, I think I’m going to learn a lot at this school,” I admitted thoughtfully. “That is if they don’t send me away first.”
My mother rolled her eyes, “Oh, bite your tongue! You’ve been singing since the day you were born.”
“You’ll be fine, stop fretting,” Jungwon assured, taking a bite of his rice. “Besides, if you actually were rejected, they would’ve told you already.” I sent him a sarcastic grin and swatted his arm before returning to my breakfast.
As I’ve hinted to before, I wasn’t as confident with transferring and becoming a trainee much less an idol, but if Jungwon could succeed in his dream that would be enough.
Jungwon leaned into my line of vision, once again pulling me from my thoughts. He gave me a small but confident smile. He knew I was uneasy about it all, but he had the confidence that I would do well just as I had the confidence he would too.
“Hwaiting!” he said, pumping his fist in the air slightly. I smiled, feeling all my unease fading away.
“Hwaiting,” I repeated.
After we finished eating, we said our thanks to my mom as I grabbed Jungwon and my dishes and carried them to the sink.
“So Jungwon, have they given you any more information about I-Land?” my mom asked. It was leaked to Jungwon that he was a very real candidate to be featured on BigHit’s new male idol-creating reality show .
My mother loved Jungwon a lot and knew that this was a huge opportunity for him, so she supported him completely. We both knew that he was more than able to be placed in the final lineup and were eagerly awaiting the formal announcement from the company.
“Not yet,” he smiled, “but they’re holding a meeting for all the trainees today after school.” My mother got even more excited if that was even possible. He looked at me out of the corner of his eyes and casually spoke the next line. “Maybe they’ll talk about the trainee auditions next week.”
“Trainee auditions?” my mother asked while turning to face me. I rolled my eyes and glared at Jungwon who made his way to the door innocently.
Now you’ve done it.
“Maybe Sohee should audition,” Jungwon added.
“Do you think she’s ready for that?” my mother asked, surprised. Before Jungwon could reply I acted and threw my hand to his mouth.
“No, I’m not,” I spoke, “and we’ve already talked about this,” I added pointedly. That was less than seven days away and to even be a quarter as prepared for the audition as those trying out, I knew it would take a miracle.
“Miso,” he whined. I scrunched my nose at his use of his childhood nickname for me. Against all protests, he had called me Miso since we were young. After misunderstanding me when we first met, he thought my name was Miso Hee.
“You have the talent and the look. Trust me, they would accept you as a trainee.” I’m glad he had confidence in me because I certainly didn’t.
“There is no way I could be ready to be a trainee in a week,” I countered. “I don’t stand out and I’m still subpar in talent.” He rolled his eyes.
“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that,” he sassed. “I didn’t know anything when I became a trainee. You’re already more prepared than I was.”
“But you were scouted. An audition is different,” I pointed out leaning on the counter.
“Maybe you should give it a shot,” my mom encouraged. I gave her a pleading look. I couldn’t fight them both, it was unfair.
“I’m sure you could grab their attention,” he assured. I felt a slight boost in my confidence from his words but looked away realizing I didn’t have a comeback. My eyes landed on the wall clock over the sink, and I got up quickly.
“Oh, we need to leave.” I dashed towards the hallway grabbing Jungwon’s wrist and pulling my high tops from the shelf. Jungwon followed suit and slipped on his sneakers as my mother followed us to the door, handing us our coats.
“Stay warm, okay? You will do great,” she smiled. I reciprocated her smile with a more unsure look while Jungwon beamed and nudged me, placing a heavy arm around my neck.
“Yah!”
“I’ll tell you all about it later,” he saluted. My mother looked at us sweetly as I shrugged his arm from my shoulders.
“Oh, don’t be like that,” she teased. After giving a nonchalant wave, she focused her eyes on Jungwon again.
“Coming here for dinner tonight?” Jungwon politely declined as he had to practice after school.
“Take care of her,” my mom instructed. “Make sure she doesn’t do anything rash.”
“Mom,” I whined.
“I’ll watch her, I promise,” he assured. “Thanks again for breakfast.” He waved politely and followed behind me.
“Okay. Have fun,” she said a little louder.
“Bye mom,” I waved above my head.
Luckily, the school wasn’t very far. We began our walk as I grilled Jungwon with questions and pestered him for any last minute advice as we passed shops and my nerves began to build up. With each question I asked, I could feel the butterflies in my stomach grow. This was going to be a long day…