four

I looked at her through the mirror when my choreographer was speaking to me. She sat stoically on a black couch at the back of the room and stared into space the whole time. My heart ached for her seeing how distraught she became. Her eyes were puffy from too much crying and her cheeks still looked damp. I put my hands on my waist and tried to listen to my choreographer, even though my eyes kept wandering to her from time to time.

Practice ended at around two in the morning and I was dead tired. Sweat trickled down my forehead even though the room was fully air-conditioned. My chest rose with every breath I took and I finished a bottle of water within seconds. When I looked back at Seulgi, she laid gracefully on the sofa with her eyes closed. I walked slowly towards her and heard soft snores coming from her. She looked very peaceful at that moment, yet completely vulnerable at the same time.

I felt bad that she had to wait for me all these time until she succumbed to her sleepiness. I brushed a few strands of hair away from her face and examined her. Her eyelashes were long and she had a sharp nose. was a little open and her eyes would twitch one in a while.

I went to one of the cabinets to obtain a quilt I often used whenever I slept in the practice room. I put it gently over her small body and used an extra pillow to raise her head so she wouldn’t get a headache when she wakes up. I was cautious because I didn’t want to wake her up. I sat on the other end of the couch and propped my elbows on the armrest, resting my head on my palm. I glanced at her from time to time, still feeling worried for her.

I noticed that there was a blue clipboard peeping from underneath the quilt at the foot of her leg. I recognised it was the one she was holding onto earlier when I met her near the lift lobby. Curiousity sparked and I stealthily pulled the board out, and there was a significant amount of paper clipped onto it.

The header wrote: [CONCEPT IDEAS FOR JB] in small, cute and neat letters. The characteristics of her handwriting suited her very well.

I flipped through the papers rather carefully and attentively. My eyes scanned the words written on each and every single piece of paper, and I admired her sketches which substantiated her ideas.

There was one of a man (presumably me) wearing a fitted silk shirt (she labelled), as well as lace designs on the shirt to accompany it. There was a tick next to the numbering on that particular design, so I assumed it was the one people at the pantry were talking about. Flipping through the rest of the document, I could barely count the number of ideas she had written, but I took heed that only the first one was ticked.

Seulgi— her idea was crap. How did she even get into the team when she could only brainstorm such basic ideas?

Exactly! I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought her concept was . She needs to improve otherwise she’s just wasting space.

I don’t even think she’s that talented. Her drawings are mediocre. And now she just proved that she lacked fresh ideas.

I was passing by level three when I heard those words coming from a few girls at the pantry. I stopped in my tracks and was fuming with anger when I heard Seulgi’s name rolling out of their filthy mouths. I clenched my fist tightly and was tempted to barge into the pantry to stop their gossip session. I was about to take a step forward but stopped in my tracks when I saw a familiar figure hiding behind a wall. Her hair which fell prettily on her shoulders and old pair of white shoes allowed me to know who she was immediately. My heart dropped to my stomach and I was frustrated at the fact that she was present at the scene. I held back my urge to go inside the pantry.

Did you guys remember her first day? She screwed up so bad that JB shouted in her face.