Standing in the front of the bathroom mirror, Hyo Jin silently cursed herself for not applying a few extra layers of make up over it. Heck, BB cream was literally all over Korea. She could've gotten one, whether cheap or expensive any time. 

"Hopefully this doesn't get out when I debut." She mutters in English. "Assuming that I will debut." Ever since she graduated elementary school, she knew for certain that she wanted to become a singer. And now that was in South Korea and a trainee under NH Media, she could most definitely see that her dream was to come true soon. At least she hoped so.

The South Koreans were so good at up keeping their youthful looks and with all the junk food lying around America, she had to drop a few kilos before she would be able to debut. 

Rubbing her neck with light eye shadow (it was all she had in her backpack), she sighed and flung her bag over her shoulder. The hallways were quiet as everyone was still horsing around in the cafeteria or stuck inside a classroom or a library, trying to get last minute notes. Her soft footsteps bounced off the walls and quickly disappeared as she moved about the school, enjoying the time she had alone.

The sudden slam of a door at the end of the hall grabbed her attention as she tried to turn around subtly. With loud and quick footsteps, she saw AJ stalking towards her, angrily brushing past her. Without thinking, she latched onto AJ's arm to stop him from moving quickly.

"Adam, what's wrong?" Feeling the tension in his body, her eyebrows knit together to show her worries as AJ flung her arm off of his.

"You. You're the problem. Happy?" He spits out, his fists turning white from his grip. "So leave me alone." Even though Hyo Jin understood the words that came from his mouth, she wasn't going to. Realistically speaking, Kevin and AJ were the only people she knew at this school and she didn't want to lose a potential friend. Maybe she could solve any misunderstandings between them. And might as well talk about the hickey.

"Listen, I don't know what happened between us- but I hope we can resolve this-" Before she knew it, she was slammed against the school hallways, her shoulders pinned to the wall and a very angry AJ glaring at her.

"Do you not understand Korean?" He hissed in English. "I said, you're the problem. And I clearly said leave me alone."

"I won't." Hyo Jin answered, gathering all the courage she had left in her body. "I understood what you said the first time around. But you and Kevin are my only friends in this school and in all of Korea. I don't have any other friends."

"Well isn't that too bad?" AJ mocked, feeling undeniably frustrated with everything. From Hyo Jin to Kevin he had to admit he hated the both of them this very instant. "I'm not your friend and I never will be. That hickey I gave you, did you think it would be just a coincidence that someone happened to spill water on you? Did you think those freshmen would just bully you? Did you even believe they could've notice such a small hickey?"

"What are-" Hyo Jin's eyes were wide as she tried to comprehend everything. It wasn't in Korean, yet it was so hard to comprehend.

"In other words, this so-called friend of yours did this to you. So just shut up and stop pretending to be my friend. You're not my friend nor do I want to be your friend." AJ wanted to throw a few more words at her, that weren't meant for her. In that instance, he could've sworn he was talking to Ha Eun.

"He doesn't love you. Can't you see?"

"What are-"

"The so-called boyfriend of yours did this to you. He gave all of them the same necklace. Yours isn't custom made." He blurted out angrily at the poor girl who was shivering in front of him. The rain was beating down and it was far from being sunny. In fact, he didn't know when he'd be able to see the sun again.

"So get this through that thick skull of yours." He repeated as Hyo Jin felt her shoulders ache from his grip. Letting her go, he turned and was about to take off until he felt her grip of his arm once again.

"I won't. Everything needs a reason to why things are done. Life is a huge science and math course. You must provide reasoning and work to why something is something." Hyo Jin refuted, grabbing his hand. "And that's what you need to do. Provide reasoning and show your work. Why do you hate me so much? Why am I your problem?"

"My reason is as simple as I hate you, yet you act as if we're friends." He sneers, pushing her away. Hyo Jin is taken aback by his bluntness and steps back to give him so space. He takes off and heads to the rooftop, to which the school never locked only on the occasion that a DOE representative came to inspect the school.

Minutes passed and they became hours. Lying on the rooftop, he could hear the bell ring as he dismissed it and closed his eyes. He wasn't in a rush to get anywhere. 

His eyes snapped open when he felt something poking his check and he sat up. Looking to his side, he saw Hyo Jin crouched next to him, with a lollipop in her hand. Without saying anything, she held the lollipop out to him as he scoffed at such a gift. Ignoring her and closing his eyes once again before laying down, he was once again bothered by the poking.

"What do you want?" He hissed at her. 

"I'm sorry if I've done anything for you to hate me. This is my way of apologizing." Hyo Jin held out the lollipop as AJ rolled his eyes, slapping the lollipop out of her hand without having any intentions of receiving it.

"Well, that's a pretty useless gift. I could easily buy one from literally anywhere." Brushing his pants off, he stood up and was about to leave when Hyo Jin picked the lollipop up and brushed the dirt of the wrapper. Sliding it into the palm of his hand, she didn't say anything else and disappeared.

Hyo Jin wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel about AJ. Shouldn't she be the one that has the right to remain angry at him? After all, that incident was totally uncalled for. Maybe it was because she stayed and helped him even though he clearly didn't want her help. It made her feel all the worse that her stay in Korea was just so short, yet already someone had hated her. Or rather developed some unsavory feelings for her.

Suddenly, she felt a harsh tug on her arm as she was pulled aside into an empty classroom and three girls surrounded her. Feeling the odd atmosphere, Hyo Jin crossed her fingers, hoping that she had interpreted their facial expressions wrong. It had read complete hatred and immense... jealousy? In any way, Hyo Jin couldn't understand why they'd be jealous of her so she naturally assumed that she had the wrong assumption.

"What are your names?" Hyo Jin questioned, trying to be polite. After all, she didn't know them and needed to make new friends.

"Shut up. You're not worthy of being introduced to us," one of them spat at her. Taken aback from the insult, Hyo Jin could only stand there with a bewildered look. The girl who had just insulted her had her hair dyed a light blonde, a streak of blue running through her hair. Her hair was styled in waves and her makeup certainly concealed the devil-like personality she held. With an innocent look, she'd be able to fool anyone. Only, if she didn't talk too much.

"That's not all though. You're not worthy to be in the presence of AJ and Kevin." Another one of them sneered. She was very pretty as she had her hair dyed a caramel kind of brown and straightened to give it the silky look any girl would've died for. Her makeup was a bit heavier than the others, but nevertheless she still looked great.

"Wha-"

"Min Seo, say something! This girl is obviously trying to steal your man!" It felt kind of odd hearing these words in Korean as Hyo Jin had never expected that these words would ever be directed at her. The last girl was quiet for the most part and she was absolutely beautiful. Hyo Jin envied her beauty as she had her hair dyed to a shade of reddish brown with her long hair in curls that gave off a sophisticated look. Her makeup was pretty heavy, but was nothing compared to the second girl's make up.

"Listen, I'll be nice and say this one. I like AJ. And I don't ever hope to see you with him again." Hyo Jin couldn't help but notice how the girl's big brown eyes subtly darted to the other girls around her as they were seemingly urging her to say more. "So stay away from him or else."

"You're too nice, Min Seo." The blonde girl criticized. Turning back to Hyo Jin, she glared at her. "In other words, stay away or we'll make sure your time at this high school is living hell." Hyo Jin flinched at the words as she couldn't help but blurt out one last question.

"Why can't I interact with-" Hyo Jin paused trying to remember his name. Only able to remember his Korean name, she continued her question. "Jaeseop? What makes him so worthy and makes me or anyone else so unworthy? We're all human beings. I don't see why one has to be superior than the other."

"What?" The blonde one seethed angrily. "Did you just call AJ but his Korean name?"

"Jinah, calm down." The second girl wrapped her hand around what Hyo Jin presumed to be 'Jinah' as if to warn her. "Listen, you're new to this school and this country which is why we're letting you off so easily. Consider yourself lucky. Next time, we won't hold back." They turned to leave and Hyo Jin stopped them with another idiotic question of hers.

"Why can't I call him by his Korean name?"

"This sl-" The blonde one growled, advancing towards her. The girl known to be 'Min Seo', darted towards Hyo Jin and pulled her aside. 

"Dayoung, take Jinah outside for a moment. I think I need to teach this girl a lesson about talking back." She snarled as Dayoung nodded, forcefully pulling Jinah out of the classroom. As soon as the two had left them be, the atmosphere immediately eased up.

"Listen new girl, AJ hates it when he's called by his Korean name. he can only endure it when it comes from school officials, but from other people- he can't. The last student that called him by his Korean name was forced to transfer schools." Min Seo hissed as Hyo Jin let the words sink in. "It wasn't pretty I'll tell you that. And I can only hope you heed my words. My friends-" Min Seo pauses. "Aren't easy as you can see. Do anything against their words and you'll transfer schools just like the last student did." Min Seo ended her words with a sharp glare and slammed the door shut.

"Well so much for new friends." Hyo Jin muttered.

"Nega pillyohae neombeonain neombeonain neombeonain. Nareul tteonaji marayo. Nal ijeonnayo neombeonain neombeonain neombeonain.Geudae eomneun na." A trainee named Mi Rae sang.

"Bame jamdo mot jayo." Hyo Jin followed as they focused on perfecting the famous Number Nine dance from T-ara.

"A na neomu apaseo geuraeyo. A na neomu apaseo geuraeyo." Another trainee, In Hye took the 'lead' in the dance as Yoon Ji faltered a bit in the dance.

"Nae mam da gajyeogan geudaeneun eodi innayo. Dorawayo neombeo nain." Hyo Jin was singled out during this part of the dance while the others were in an organized group off to the side.

"We have snacks!" The newest trainee, Ji Hee announced with a couple of plastic bags in her hands. "I originally wanted to go for pizza, but the CEO wouldn't allow it." She frowned, pulling the knots out of her hair.

"Hey, if we really want to debut soon we have to watch our weight." Mi Rae commented, pulling her hair back a bun as In Hye stopped the music.

"I heard the CEO is planning out a girl group. We could all try to audition and fit into the same group." In Hye pulled kimbap out of a plastic bag. She groaned just looking at the food. "This again."

"We might have an advantage over the other people auditioning. After all, we were trained in this company." Ji Hee nodded. Hyo Jin was mildly surprised at how young Ji Hee was. She was expecting to be the youngest of all the trainees, considering how small the company was. They would surely pick the ones who were fast learners wouldn't they? But nevertheless, Ji Hee had proven to have talent. Heck, she was a great dancer, a terrific rapper, and her vocals weren't bad for someone who specialized in rapping and dancing. Compared to Hyo Jin's rap and vocals, Ji Hee was a far better rapper and was catching up with her vocals.

"No offense, but I think I'd want to audition for the top companies. Hmmm... maybe SM Ent? But I shouldn't even start dreaming about it yet. Maybe YG or JYP. Any of those three sounds good. Or maybe even Cube and Woolim Ent." Minyoung sat on a chair, resting her chin on her hand as she sighed. "Will I even make it big?"

"I'm sure we all will. No matter what company we sign and debut with." Akane straightens herself out and nods. In any case where you've just met Akane, you would've thought she was a Korean from her standard Seoul accent. However, don't be fooled because she came from Japan. Her name meant 'red' in Japanese and that was just about her favorite color as she had dyed her hair a nice rich burgundy color. In any case, Hyo Jin thought it had fit Akane well as she thought about her rather plain and common dark brown hair.

"That's easy for you to say!" In Hye whines as she jabs Akane with her finger. "You and Minyoung are both great singers. Heck, you guys could become solo artists!"

"Hey, you know I don't like to fly solo!" Minyoung shoots at In Hye as In Hye shrugged.

"Who knows? Maybe you'll debut in a group with tons of solo activates. If I was the CEO of a company, I'd send you off to do solo activities." In Hye comments as she bites in the soft kimbap. "Hyo Jin, what about you?"

"Eh? Me?" Hyo Jin fiddles with her fingers as she thinks long and hard about it. "I suppose I'd audition to debut in this company. After all, I am the most comfortable here. I haven't got any other plans."

"Well, you could always become a doctor or a teacher. Your grades are the best of the best. If anything goes wrong or you feel tired of being an idol you have a backup plan." Mi Rae points out. "Oh, you could become a dance teacher. Even better."

"You know dancing isn't my thing." She says thoughtfully. "I'm more of a vocalist and a rapper kind of person. I think if I had to choose a different job, it would be... opening my own cupcake shop?"

"Why? You literally have the best of best grades! You're just going to do that with your hard earned grades?" In Hye comments in disbelief. Yoon Ji is sitting in the corner of the room munching on two kimbaps at once, enjoying her own space. "Yoon Ji, stop pigging out in the corner."

"What else can I do? All of you guys are just sitting around and talking about the future. To be honest, I don't or won't have one." Yoon Ji shrugs as she resumes to eating her food. Ji Hee sends her an odd look as Yoon Ji dismisses it.

"But I can't help it. I like baking more than books in the end. If worst comes to worst, I'll probably become a scientist or what not." Hyo Jin answers, which reminded her that she needed to pick a major for college. 

"Ji Hee, Yoon Ji, Hyo Jin, and In Hye. Report to the main dance studio now." A manager popped his head into the room and ushered the four of them to the main dance studio as they quickly followed, Yoon Ji stuffing the last of the kimbap into along the way.

Walking into the room, Hyo Jin came face to face with the BigStar members. Fooling around, the BigStar members came to a stop when the four girls had set foot in the dance studio. Clearing his throat Feeldog gave them a slight bow as to address them formally.

"You guys must be our female back up dancers for our new song." Feeldog comments as the four of them are taken by surprise.

"The CEO is offering you four a deal." Their manager steps in. "There will be auditions in the future for the new girl group they'll be releasing. You four- if you guys decide to take up this project as the backup dancers- you'll be granted a special audition."

"Meaning that?" Yoon Ji boldly asks, cocking her head to the side with a questioning look.

"The chances of debuting in this new girl group will be significantly higher. After all, you guys will be put in the same schedule as BigStar. As you might have been informed, an idol's schedule is extremely packed and you know how tough it can be. This will put your diligence to the test as well as your dancing. This will also offer you some experience on the stage, which will look great on your resume if you decide to audition for another company." The manager explains. "Either way, there will be something you'll gain from it. If you feel as though you don't have enough experience to stand on the stage, you may leave this offer. You don't have to take it."

"So, are you guys up for it?" Rae Kwan asks. Exchanging secretive looks, In Hye clears to answer.

"I think we're all up for it." In Hye answers as the manager claps his hands together.

"Well in that case, why don't you four get to know these fools a little better? You'll receive individual contracts tomorrow." The manager says promptly. "Feeldog, show them the song so they get a feel of how the dance should be or at least, will be."

"Sure," Feeldog nods towards them as he pulls out his phone and plugs it into the speaker in the corner of the room. The song plays and it gives off this fun or rather active vibe. 

As Hyo Jin stood, listening to the song, her heart fluttered. 

One step closer to my dream. One step closer.

A/N: Sorry T^T This was like a filler chapter. So if it was boring- I'm extremely sorry. But hey- at least I managed to do two chapters within a month! Yay! Accomplishment! However, this due to the fact that I had decided not to update Arranged Marriage to... Which I should update soon? I don't know when soon is, but it will be within the next month or so? Sorry to those that follow that story as well! T^T. But enjoy~