Some rules can never be broken

He tossed around his bed - unable to take his mind out of how she looked at the training room when he denied knowing the rap piece.He had never known such masked sadness. She was good in hiding it from YB but he knew better.“Gaho. Gaho. What do I do with her?” he asked his dog, who, unlike him was sleeping like a log. He grunted in envy.“I hope I could be like a dog” he thought “I’ll just wag my tail and everybody will think I’m cute.”Not HER though, a voice in his mind reminded him. Ahhhh. Yep. Dara had always been scared of dogs. Ji stood up from bed, giving up all hope that he’d be able to sleep. He headed for the kitchen, looking for something to eat. His mother had brought a lot of groceries last week and he hadn’t had a chance to eat anything because he always dined out.He settled for a bag of chips, the radio, and decided to sit up on his balcony and watch the night sky.He always calmed down whenever he looked up the sky. It was a good meditation exercise for him and maybe - just maybe - he could erase her image on his head.How long had it been? he asked himself. Three? Four years?He’d dated other girls - even thought that one of those flings could lead to something else. He had not thought of Dara much but on nights like this… her memory crept up on him like a bad case of flu.“Santokki, what seems to be your problem?” the DJ’s voice took him out of his reverie.Santokki? What a coincidence.“I - I can’t really sleep tonight -“ Ji’s insides froze as he recognized her voice.“Why is that?” the DJ asked.“You see… I have a friend, a really good friend from way way back and we’ve seen each other but he - he really doesn’t act as though he knows me.”“He doesn’t recognize you?”There was a deep sigh “Uhmmm… no. I don’t think so. I haven’t really changed that much physically, I think. And he already knows what my name is so I’m supposing that he should recognize me, even.”“But he doesn’t talk to you at all? Say Hi or anything?”“Well… he does. He talks to me. But - it’s as though he didn’t know me from before. He acts as though we’d just recently met.”“Are you sure he’s the same guy?”“Of course I am. I’d never forget him.”Ji felt his gut receive a punch at her words.“That is weird Santokki. Have you tried to talk to him about it?”“No… I - I’m afraid of being humiliated.”“Now, why would a guy do that? You’re just going to ask him about it.”The hesitation she felt was so palpable even if he couldn’t see her. He could with no trouble imagine her squinting her eyes or puffing her cheeks uneasily. “I - I’m not sure how he’s going to react. And I don’t really want to confront him about it… I just want to ask you, though, why do you think a friend would do that to another friend?”The DJ coughed. “There could be a lot of reasons why a guy would do that to a girl who has been his friend. He could be shy about other people knowing that you were friends…”Ji shook his head at the DJ’s answer. “Why would I be shy about her???” He hoped Dara didn’t believe that.“Really?”“It could be one of the reasons Santokki. Again, this is all guess work as I don’t really know much of what happened between the two of you. And thinking now… it could be something that happened between you guys in the past.”“Hmmmm….”“Did you by any chance do anything to hurt him before?”Dara gasped. “Hurt him??? We were really good friends.”“Well… it could be that Santokki. I can’t think of any reason why a guy would just suddenly treat you so indifferently.”“But I can’t think of anything” her helplessness at the situation was affecting him terribly. Ji felt from her voice that she was so lost in it and he wondered why. Didn’t she know?Didn’t she REMEMBER??? Or did she think that IT wasn’t that important at all?“I still think you should talk to him” the DJ reiterated “It might be difficult but it will give you the answers that you need. I’m not promising that it could be a very good talk and that you might patch things up but at least it could give you hints and not leave you in this state.”“I - I’m afraid to do that.”The DJ - even without actually seeing her - obviously shared her fear. She had a way with people, Ji knew. They liked her instantly. “I’ll pray for you then Santokki and hopefully, when you call next time, you can tell us good news.”“Uhmmmm… ok. Thank you as well DJ. It is my first time to call and you have been really helpful.”“You’re welcome Santokki and thank you too for calling. With that, I’m thinking of playing an old Japanese song that’s a favorite of mine… Distance by Utada Hikaru.”The song filled Ji’s apartment and he decided to just turn it off.“If she talks to me… will I tell her the truth?” he asked himself… “AHHHH!!!! How am I supposed to sleep now???”

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Gossip at the workplace

Dara felt herself spacing out again. She was trying hard to listen to their voice coach but her head really felt whoozy.“Dara-unnie” Chaerin looked at her “You don’t look ok.”She shook her head and smiled as bright as she could “I’m ok Chaerin-ah” and she looked at everyone “I am. I promise.”Their voice coach hesitated continuing with the lesson. “Maknaes, you all look tired. Maybe I can give you a break just this once?” their sunbae smiled “Why don’t you get some more sleep? You’ve all been practicing really hard and I don’t think Manager Teddy will be angry if I tell him I wanted you guys to rest some more. Go on!”Bom squealed in delight and hugged the sunbae. “Thank you sunbae! So so kind!!!”Their voice coach laughed at Bom’s enthusiasm. “Well, you go on ahead now and rest. Lay down the mattresses and I’ll lock this room so that no one else comes in. I’ll wake you guys up at lunch.”They all bowed gratefully. “Thank you sunbae. Thank you. Thank you.”He left the room just as Bom and Dara were preparing the mattresses.“Hah!!!” Bom said happily “I haven’t been able to sleep last night.”“Why?” Minji asked.“I really don’t know” Bom replied “I really felt tired but whenever I tried closing my eyes, I just couldn’t stop thinking.”“Maybe it’s all the pressure just building up” Chaerin slid down and covered her face with a towel “I, sometimes, can’t stop thinking too.”“It’s scary I have to admit” Minji replied “Have you seen the poster that Teddy-oppa has posted in front of the club?”“No” the other three answered.“I passed by this morning and there was this big poster of our shadows like “WE’RE COMING SOON!” and people passing by were looking up at it” she related in awe.Dara, despite feeling really sleepy, sat up excitedly “Did you take a picture?”Minji shook her head “I wasn’t able to Unnie. I only dropped Gong-ah there before going straight here.”“Hong!” Bom commented “Maybe I’ll try to pass by there tonight. And maybe I’ll even get to talk to all our friends.”“Ow! I just remembered! Bibi told me that she already resigned” Chaerin gossiped.“Bibi?!?!” Dara asked.“Why???” Bom edged closer.“I heard that from Gong-ah too” Minji confirmed the news “Manager Teddy learned that she and Yang Su have been going out.”“Oh no!” Dara gasped “I didn’t even know that.”“It seems like they started becoming serious right after we began training - that’s like two months ago” Chaerin explained “but they’ve already been texting for quite some time.”“How did Teddy-oppa learn about it?” Bom settled her head on Dara’s lap.“Teddy-oppa left early the night they got discovered” the leader began “You know Yang Su, he’s very playful and child-like - apparently, he was goofing around the kitchen and stole a kiss from Bibi. They were both thinking that they were alone…”Minji covered her eyes, Dara covered her lips, and Bom covered her ears.“… but Teddy-oppa had returned and was looking for Chef. He caught them right when they were kissing and was completely outraged. He ordered the whole crew to assemble and asked everyone to share what they knew” the three listeners held their breath “but of course, no one knew a thing. Manager, then, decided to fire both of them” Chaerin ended.“But… I thought only Bibi resigned?” Bom asked perplexedly.“From what Bibi told me - the sunbaes intervened.”“Big Bang?”Chaerin nodded “They explained that they didn’t want to go against Manager’s rules and that they understand that those were imposed to be strictly followed but they ask for leniency regarding the punishment as Yang Su’s mother is in fact at the hospital for treatment.”“I didn’t know that” Minji chimed.“Me too” the leader agreed “but it seems as if Ji-oppa knew all about it. In the end, Manager decided that one of them should resign. Bibi agreed to leave as she knew it would be easier for females to find a job than men.”“Wow” Bom said “that’s really kind of the sunbaes.”“It is” Minji approved “I admire how Ji-oppa made time to get to know the staff as well. He was always so kind to us.”They chatted more about the concern of the sunbaes and Ji’s compassion. Dara, on the other hand, couldn’t share stories about his kindness to her for ever since they worked together the only thing he had done for her was hand a customer’s order - which she was sure he would have handed to another had it not been that she was the only staff waiting at the time.“He treats me like a leper” Dara thought and eventually dozed off - pissed at feeling resentful.

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Under one roof

Manager Teddy had come in at dinner time to watch their training. He was full of praises for their improvement and gave each of them a bear hug.“Very good girls! I knew you can do it!” he told them, pride tinting his voice.“Thank you Manager” they all replied, positively glowing despite their aching muscles and tired brain cells.“I believe that you are now ready to take another step towards your trainings” he announced and they waited with bated breath “We will now intensify your training and strengthen your group as a whole - both harmonically, physically, and emotionally. I have decided that all four of you will be living together.”“TOGETHER?!?!” they asked in unison.“Yes” Teddy replied and gave a tiny cough “I think you are well aware that all of the artists under my tutelage train hard. That training comes full circle when they begin living together as they will now learn not only to work with one another on stage but off stage as well.”“When do we move Manager?” Chaerin asked.“You will be moving in a week’s time. I have left everything to your sunbaes to arrange for your move as you will be occupying the uppermost floor of their building. The reason, actually, why I am here is not only to watch you but to show you your new living quarters. After dinner, we’ll head out ok?”They all nodded, hiding the atomic bombs that sprang inside their heads.Living together with the sunbaes?!?! Chaerin was already thinking how she’d be able to survive seeing Seung-ri EVERYDAY!!! Minji was worried how she’d break the news to her grandmother. Bom was thinking about how all her stuff would fit in the new apartment. Dara was unable to think of anything at all - blanked out - in denial.