It was a strapless gown. It was gold that faded down to white. Its length swept the ground when you wore it and it hugged you in all the right places. It was perfect. You looked at your reflection behind you; your friends were in awe at how perfect this was.

“Yah! How come we didn’t see this earlier?!” Soomi shouted.

“Yeah! It could have saved us so much time!” Ah Ri sighed dramatically.

You shrugged and looked at the price tag. “Huh, it’s on sale…”

“THIS IS FATED TO BE YOUR DRESS!!” Yoohye exclaimed. At this point, some of the workers looked like they wanted to kick the three of them out.

“Yah...calm down…it’s just a dress.” You bowed apologetically to the sales people and shushed your friends.

You bought the dress with your friends and left the mall feeling excitement over the fact that you were happy in that moment.

Soomi and Ah Ri wanted to go eat ice cream so the three of you ventured into an ice cream parlor that was down the street from the mall.

“Yah, the fundraiser is this weekend…”Yoohye was stressing because of the fact that her family was hosting it.

“It’s okay! We’ll have a great time!” You tried to sound as supportive as possible.

“I won’t get to have any fun because my parents are trying to bring me into their world.” She pouted and you felt bad.

“We all have to go through that, but don’t worry.”

You were all bonded because of that. The fact that all of your parents were entrepreneurs that strived for the best in their children’s lives was riveting. You four have an understanding that no one else could have and you were all grateful that you had someone to share it with.

Leaving the mall was relieving to you. You wanted to be home in your bed, where you could doze off and not worry about anything.

“I’m home!” You open the door to your house and step into the large mansion. Your voice echoed off the walls, and your maid came running out to greet you.

“Miss, have you had a good day?”

You nodded at her and smiled. Your eyes searched for the two people that you wanted to see.

“Where are my parents?”

“Ah…they left for another trip. They wanted to tell you, but they did not want to ruin your shopping with your friends. There are places in Spain that want to collaborate with your parents for a new hotel.”

Hearing that did not surprise you. They did this all the time. It was just too good to be true, having them at home for even a few weeks.

“Oh, okay. Well, I’ll be up in my room.”

“I will call you when dinner is ready.”

You nod, and slowly make your way to your room. You would think that you would have so much freedom to do what you want, but in reality, you just wanted to live the way your parents wanted you to. You did not want to go against their wishes, no matter how many urges you had.

Homework was a bore because you were months ahead and finished within an hour. Mindlessly, you watched some dramas on TV, but none of them caught your attention. You were bored and dozed off.

The week at school was dulling. It gave you no enjoyment, but you sat through each and every day. Your friends continued with their sports, and you went to your swim practices again.

Your body felt out of it. You hadn’t swum in weeks, so it felt good and refreshing for your body. You gained all the muscle mass that you had lost back, and you were happy that the dress would look better with your toned body.

“Unnie! Let’s go out again today!” Your team shouted when you were almost done changing.

“Sure, where should we go?”

“We wanted to go eat somewhere…we just haven’t decided where,” one of the girls stated. She and a few of the others laughed thinking about it.

“Hmm…maybe we should go to a little restaurant. I’ll pay.” You say. They all looked at you with wide eyes.

“Unnie…really? You do realize that there are about twenty girls right? Girls that eat…a lot.” Yoojin said.

“I’m sure. I want to pay. I haven’t done much with you guys, which is not acceptable, considering I am the captain. I also was gone for a few weeks because I was in the hospital. Can’t I do this?” You smiled at the girls and called your driver to bring others so that they girls would have rides too.

Your team was in awe about how much you were doing for them. You had a lot to fill your plate, and yet you were willing to spend time with them and took care of them with so much detail.

You arrived at the restaurant that you wanted to eat at. When you entered after all the girls, the owner recognized you right away.

“What are you doing here? I have not seen you in so long!” Soomi’s mom hugged you.

“Ah, I was busy with school.” You rub your neck, in an embarrassedly.

“Not to mention that terrible incident that happened to you!” She hugged you again and you awkwardly pat her back.

“Oh..yes…well…my teammates and I are here for dinner!”

“Oh, right this way!” She led you and your team to a back room where there was privacy.

“Unnie! This place is so expensive…”

“I know; it’s the least I could do for my favorite team.” You beam at the girls staring at you while they look at you with admiration.

Mrs. Yoo came in with her chef and she introduced you to him. You smile and he looks at the table full of girls.

“I have the best food and I will be happy to serve you ladies tonight, as long as your captain is willing to win the rest of the season. My family loves swimming.” He grins at you and you bow your head, thankful for what he just said. Your teammates cheer and chat excitedly around you.

Glancing around, you are happy that you finally get to spend time with these girls. You felt like you had not seen them in so long that it broke your heart a bit. What kind of captain left their team for months?

Sighing, you glance around. It was lucky that you ran into Soomi’s mom tonight. She has thousands of restaurants that she travels around for, and you did not think that she would be here. Her chain of Italian food was famous, mainly because it seemed like authentic Italian food. Soomi’s mom lived in Italy for the majority of her life and her father worked in a kitchen of a really famous restaurant. Mrs. Yoo followed her father to the kitchens when she was a teenagers and the chef took her under his wing.

You felt something tugging at your sleeve so you glance at the hand that was calling for your attention.

“Unnie! Look!” You glance at what Yoojin the maknae was pointing at and your eyes widen at the food that was coming out.

The pasta that was being taken to your table looked mouth watering. There were dishes that you never imagined existed and you look at Mrs. Yoo grinning at you next to the kitchen. You smile at her and mouth thank you to her. She smiled and motioned for you to eat. You excitedly pick up your utensils and feast away.

After leaving the restaurant, you have your driver call cabs for all the other girls and make your way back home after each one had a ride home.

You fall asleep right away and wait for the ball. Your heart sped up with excitement and you could not wait for the night to pass.

A/N:

There really is not excuse as to why I haven’t updated in months. The only excuse I can give is that I had writer’s block and could not find the inspiration that I had before to write this. I just got the courage today to finally finish this chapter which I started months ago.

I thank you for all the people who have stayed with this story. I really do appreciate you all, and I hope that you all understand that I am human and that I do get the bump in the road that many other people get.

All in all, I am so glad that I am able to share this chapter, although it is a filler chapter, with you all. As we speak, I am in the process of writing up the next chapter, so please look forward to it!

Xoxo,

Jaime T.