Chapter 8: Training

~Five months has passed since the audition~

Sounds of shoes squeaking the wooden floor are heard as loud music plays, in front of the large mirror were six girls drenched in sweat. Observing them from afar like an eagle was a scary instructor who was with them since day one, making sure their steps are perfect. It was just the start of the day but already, the girls were exhausted and gasped for air.

"Eunji." said the instructor with a deep, stern tone as she stared at her, pointing at her position.

"How many times have I told you that you're not supposed to lift the right arm but the left? Are you focusing?" 

"I'm sorry, teacher." Eunji said quietly as she quickly changed her position.

Practice continued, with breaks in between where at least one member was scolded for forgetting the steps. There was rarely breaks in between and the girls were put under a strict diet, this was especially hard for the glutton, Bomi. She was caught several times by the teacher for stealing bites so punishments were normal. Perhaps this may be why Bomi has drastically improved in her dancing as these punishments were supposed to help her. The girls were no longer living in the small basement but a dormitory that Acube had provided.

They couldn't complain about their harsh training because of the new, furnished home they were given. It was warm during winter, equipped with proper ventilation and even air conditioners during summer. They were already thankful to the company and worked harder instead. They had a schedule to follow every day and towards the end of the week was progress report, where they had to show their improvements in weak areas.

During the morning was dance lessons, afternoon were singing and vocabulary lessons, evening involved supplementary training to make them into better trainees like proper etiquette, language classes etc. But that wasn't the end of it, the girls had to return to the dance studio until 2am where they could finally go home. This routine repeated again at 7am, averagely the girls had only 3-4 hours of sleep.

It was tough on them, but the will to reach their dreams drove them harder. Diets and training slowly changed each girl and brought their relationship closer.

~One day in the summer~

At the dormitory, all the girls gathered today as it was a rare occasion. It was a public holiday and the company gave them a one day break. It was better than nothing, they could rest and take time to catch their thoughts.

"Is it hard?" asked the eldest, Chorong who was concerned over her sisters. 

"I wish I could eat food that I want...." mumbled Bomi as she stared at the plate of fruits on the table.

"Yah! You want to get punished again?" said Eunji as she playfully hit Bomi's back.

"Let's all die together! Can't we just eat whatever we want just for today?" pleaded Bomi.

"I want meat...." said Hayoung.

"Yeah, meat! I haven't tasted it in so long!" protested Namjoo. Naeun quietly gulped at the thought of meat being barbequed.

Chorong sighed but later, smiled.

"Let's go eat meat." said Chorong. Getting scolded didn't matter to her, all that matters were her sisters.

"Oh? Really unnie?! We're gonna eat meat?" asked Bomi as her eyes widened, excited at the thought.

"Who cares about the instructors, it's a holiday anyway! They won't catch us!" grinned Eunji.

~X~

Just outside their dorm was a small barbeque restuarant, the owner knew them as they often dropped by but couldn't buy it. The girls were like the happiest people in the world as they watched their meat being grilled in front of them, in a flash they ate 10 servings of meat. It was as if they starved for days, the owner watched them with jaws open, surprised as the meat dissapeared one by one.

Watching her sisters eat was already enough to make Chorong smile, among them she ate the least. 

"Unnie, this is for you" smiled Bomi as she gave a wrap to her sister. She noticed Chorong eating lesser than usual and offered her some.

"This too, eat it filled with my love." said Namjoo cheesily as she too gave a wrap.

"Not fair, me too!" said Eunji as she made a wrap. Soon, the two other sisters made wraps. In front of Chorong were five wraps filled with love.

"Yah! There's no way I can eat all that in one go!" said Chorong.

"Are you saying you won't accept our love unnie?" pouted Bomi.

"That's not what I meant..."

"Then, eat it." smirked Eunji.

"Here!" said Hayoung as she stuffed her wrap into Chorong's mouth first.

"Not fair! I'm second!" laughed Bomi as she shoved hers into Chorong's mouth. Everyone laughed as Chorong struggled to eat the wraps, the girls playfully joked with their sister as some of the wraps accidentally fell. Some stuffed the food back into while Chorong tried to whack her sisters for making her suffer.

"Yah! Don't waste food!" said Eunji as she picked up the food.

"Stop!" said Chorong as she laughed while eating.

Laughter filled the restuarant as the girls joked around, having fun like normal girls. Moments that will rarely happen in their lives, moments they will remember together.

~X~

-25th July 2010-

"All six of you will be part of an idol girl group. We plan to debut you somewhere in 2011 so be ready. Album details will be finalised soon." said Choi Jin Ho.

"Woah?! Really?" said Bomi, excited.

"What's the name of our group?" asked Chorong.

"That hasn't been decided yet. Anyways, you are a team now and I've assigned a manager to look after you." said Jin Ho as he opened the door, where a plump lady walked in.

"Hello, from today I will be your manager. Call me Kung Fu Panda, cause i look like one." smiled the lady.

"Hello." bowed all the girls.

"Oh and I didn't tell you that she will be living with you from now on." said Jin Ho as he left the room.

"Eh?" said the girls in surprise.

The road to their debut, begins now.

~Chapter 8 End~

----------------------------------------------------------

This kinda brings me back to the Apink News times T_T thank you for reading & subscribing! Let's witness the birth of Apink later hehe