Two months later.

It was a Sunday, and Seomin had just returned from taking a brief walk in the park. When she passed by the front desk, the man waved two envelopes for her. Seomin glanced at the addresses and grinned. They were from Hyeyoung  and from her mother. When she arrived at her floor, she quickly scanned her card and ran into her house, dropping everything else, and jumping onto the couch. Seomin ripped the envelopes open, and read her mother’s letter first.

Seomin,

I’ve missed you everyday. The basement is so empty and quiet without you here, but I always feel happy, knowing that you’re getting close to your dream. Don’t practice too hard honey. I want to see you alive and well on the television at work. Is there any news about you yet? Don’t be afraid of anything or anyone. Seomin, don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself. You’re my strong daughter!

            Mom

Seomin ran her fingers across the letter, absorbing every word written in her mother’s scrawly English letters. “I will do my best!” Next, Avery took out Hyeyoung’s letter and immediately she laughed. It was covered in stickers and doodles.

Seomin! Seomin!

New York is so big! I bet LA is just as big too. Do you see a lot of stuff there? No, you’re busy practicing and working hard right? I really like my school, but coming up with so many drawings is so tiring. Let’s be tired together! How hard do you work? Your email last week sounded tiring. I’m so proud you’ll be learning Korean, my white-washed best friend! Do you think I should too?

By the way, I think Donghae and Jeongwon sound so adorable. You’d be lucky to date either one! Come on, just do it for me! Don’t you like one of them? Seomin, open your eyes okay? Don’t let those two boys slip away, or you’ll be single forever! Don’t even worry about the no dating policy. Celebrities do it all the time! Anyways, this letter is so short, but this is all the paper I have left. Don’t forget to tell your mother about going to Asia. Dream big!

                                                                                    Love Hyeyoung

She scoffed and shook her head. “Hyeyoung, I’m not dating anyone.”

“Dating who?”

Seomin jumped to see Donghae sitting across from her. “Stop abusing that card of yours! Geez! I’m not dating anyone.”

Donghae eyed her suspiciously before standing up and motioning for her to follow him. He walked into her room and opened her closet. “It’s October, so the Fall Celebration is this Saturday. I need to know if you can fit any of those dresses we bought last time.” He grabbed all the dresses they had bought and placed them on her bed in a neat pile, one on top of the other. “Try each one on.” In her bathroom, Seomin gulped as she looked at the first dress, a simple black dress with a low back. She had been exercising and eating well for three months now. If she didn’t