Chapter 15

Jae

“Here are your scripts,” Sunggyu hands them to me. I hand one to Saela who’s sitting next to me and we both start to read through it. Sunggyu and Woohyun sit across from us in the conference room, reading their script through as well. Sunggyu texted me yesterday during lessons to tell me that all of us made it into the second round. I ran into Saela’s piano lesson down the hall to tell her, but she didn’t seem as excited as me. After yesterday’s auditions, she been zoning out. She even had a nightmare last night and I had to rub her back until she fell back asleep, still crying a little. I know what’s wrong with her but she’s refusing to agree; she adamant. Now in the conference, she’s adopted a strangely happy and bubbly attitude. It seems normal to the other two, but I can tell it’s forced.

“This sounds like a good movie!” she says, her voice excited. “There’s a body switch! Those are always hilarious.”

“Like Secret Garden?” Woohyun asks, equally excited but his is definitely normal. Saela and I both laugh because we didn’t expect him to watch dramas. Of course we knew he was into girl groups, but not dramas too. “What?” he asks. “They’re good!”

“He really likes girl groups too,” Sunggyu tells us behind his hands; Woohyun can hear him and shrugs because he’s right. “Him and Sungjong learn all the dances together,” Sunggyu adds and Woohyun’s eyes widen threateningly at him when we laugh again.

“We know all of them too,” I confess. “And now everyone knows because of Weekly Idol.”

Sunggyu smiles at me; remembering what I said probably and I quickly look back down at my script. Cursing myself for bring up something so embarrassing, I continue to read. Woohyun and Saela continue to talk about Weekly Idol; how she got picked on and how funny the MC’s are. Woohyun talks about how much funny stuff actually happened that they couldn’t fit in the show; all of them involved him. What a surprise. I remember watching them and watching Sunggyu get picked on. He was so cute when he got exasperated, I thought, sneaking a quick glance up at him and smiling before looking down again.

I read through the packet, my brow furrowing farther with every scene. It seems like a good movie from the bit I got to read, something that if I read a summary I’d definitely want to see. I pick out a few characters I’d like to be if I could be anyone.

The two main characters are both male and they’re the ones who switch bodies. Before I realize what I’m doing I start to see Sunggyu as one of them named Beom DaeHyo and I’m picturing myself as his ex-girlfriend who he’s trying to get back together with while stuck in someone else’s body. I know it’s weird, but it’s already stuck in my head. I put Saela as his little sister, AeChan, (which is also weird to think about) and Woohyun as the other body swapper Sa SangMin. I don’t have anyone for the Guide, KyuYa, who was the one who got their souls switched in the first place, so she’s a nameless girl with long dark hair. They have three scenes in the script packet; one where DaeHyo wakes up in SangMin’s body, one in which SangMin tries to pick up girls in DaeHyo’s body, and one where KyuYa and AeChan discover that they know each other. It’s confusing because the scenes are random, and I hope the movie explains it well enough. Cause hell I was confused.

“Do you want to read through it out loud?” Woohyun says after we’ve all become quiet. I look up from my packet, my eyes and forehead hurt from starring at the page for so long. I yawn and lean my cheek against the cool table. It’s getting late since we finished with lessons and had dinner before meeting them here. But we promised to stay as long as possible, Unnie agreed because we would be practicing for the auditions.

“Sure,” Saela says, finally answering him. She stands up and stretches and as I watch Woohyun, his eyes wander more than I’d like them too. She doesn’t notice. It reminds me of the way his hands wandered over her the other day during auditions. I’m a little weary of his motivations, but since Saela is obviously fighting it, I don’t think I have anything to worry about. My eyes shift to watch Sunggyu, who’s still looking down at his script, having ignored Woohyun’s suggestion. I smile; his face is so concentrated. He moves his hand up to his face and rubs his eyes. How can a 25 year old look so cute? I wonder.

“Oh Jaaaeeee,” Saela sings my name from right next to my head and I snap upright. She and Woohyun are both laughing at me and Woohyun’s knowing smile makes me think he knows again.

“Yes?” I ask her, sitting up and pretending that hadn’t just happened. Thank god he’s so focused, I think and glance back over at him just to check. He’s still looking down, but I could have sworn I saw the corner of his mouth twitch.

“What part do you want to read?” she asks, “We’re gonna do the second one.” I look down and check; it’s the one where SangMin tries to pick up the girls. I laugh; already knowing that this was Woohyun’s idea.

“I don’t care,” I shrug. The girl parts in this one are virtually the same. “I’ll do the one who talks first.” Saela agrees to do the other one and sits down again. We start, trying out different characteristics for each person and different personalities. Sunggyu, finally wrenching his eyes from his own script, gives us pointer and suggestion. Soon we’re on our feet with the scene, Woohyun perfecting the perfect swagger for a ladies’ man and Saela and I really getting into our roles of pretty girls with little to no brains.

“One last time,” Sunggyu says from his place sitting on the edge of the table. We go again, and Sunggyu claps when we’re done. With approval from our stand-in director, we move on the next two scenes. Saela and I take Sunggyu’s job; directing them both in the scene where they wake up as each other. It’s pretty funny at first; Woohyun makes fun of Sunggyu’s eyes and Sunggyu getting back at him by wondering if his body requires a daily dose of aegyo to survive. After leaving the directors in stitches; without using the scripts, they really try and it goes well. As Saela fires off opinionated directions, I watch with my head on her shoulder. I’m taking advantage of my excuse to stare at Sunggyu. When he messes up, his eyes crinkle as he laughs and he throws his head back when Woohyun tells him he screwed up again.

Saela falls off the table once, waking me up from a sleep I never knew I fell into. I look around bleary eyed and see that the other two are still standing in front of us. But as Saela gasps for breath, I realize that they’re performing the last scene together; both acting as girls.

“I thought they were acting weird!” Woohyun says triumphantly, his voice high and as girl-like as it could get for him. I smile sleepy-eyed at them, glad I was awake to witness this.

“Now I’ve gone and gotten another live human involved,” Sunggyu sighs, his voice even higher and it crack halfway through his next line. I laugh with them, rubbing my eyes and trying to wake up. Saela finally recovers, sliding up on the table next to me.

“Oh you’re awake now?” she asks and I nod, not really awake. “Am I really that comfortable?” she asks, attempting to put her own head on her shoulder and looking stupid. She in a spazzy mood because it’s so late now. She doesn’t even seem to mind when Woohyun puts out his hand to help her off the table. I nod at her, not remembering when I fell asleep. “Do you want to try the scene now?” She asks me as she drops his hand.

“Aw, but we’re so good at it,” Woohyun protests, and I wonder if he more sad about dropping her hand or stopping with the girl voices. Of course he still looks just as awake as he did when we got here, while I yawn instead of answer.

“My throat already hurts,” Sunggyu laughs and picks up a water bottle that appeared sometime when I was sleeping. “I think I’m done with that scene.”

“I didn’t get to see the whole thing,” I tell him, pouting. I wanted to record it. He shakes his head and sits down in one of the chairs next to me. He leans forward, resting his head on my legs that are stretched out on the table in front of me. My eyes widen as he sighs, trying to stay completely still.

“I’m tired,” Saela says as the time hits her suddenly, yawning widely without trying to cover it up. She was never one to last very long without dying. “Should we sleep for a little bit and then start again?”

“Yes,” Woohyun agrees, sitting in one chair and rolling over another one to put his feet up on. Saela sprawls out on the floor, using her bag as a pillow, next to Woohyun’s chairs. “Goodnight,” Woohyun sighs, leaning back and closing his eyes. Saela and I respond, but Sunggyu stays silent and I think he’s already asleep. I’m afraid to wake him, so I stay as still as possible. The pain in my arms which are propping me up from the back, keeps me awake. I gingerly move to take my phone out of my pocket to distract myself from it and begin scrolling through all of my social media apps. As I flick quickly through Instagram, my eyes catch on several pictures of the same thing and I scroll back up to look at them. There are multiple pictures of the auditions today. One of all of the people milling about in the big room, one of Sunggyu, Woohyun, Saela and I all standing in our introduction line smiling at each other, one of me grabbing onto Sunggyu’s arm and pouting, one of me crying on the floor that I frown at, and the last picture is of Saela and Woohyun kissing; her arms around his neck and his hands gripping her shirt tightly.

“Crap,” I whisper to myself, knowing that this is not a good thing. I look at the comments, most of them about supporting and shipping SaeHyun but some of them are vicious. I get instantly pissed, reading one that calls Saela bad words and click out of the stupid app. They were just acting, I huff to myself although I wonder if they actually were. I look over at Saela sleeping soundly on the floor, with open and one her hands in her pants and decide she doesn’t need to see this. I look at Woohyun and wonder what he would do if he read them. Or if he saw the picture. I scoff, thinking he would probably save it and put it as his background. Or use it for other things, I think suddenly and shudder. I refuse, I think, glaring at him even though he hasn’t done anything wrong yet. That I know of.

Suddenly, Sunggyu jerks awake on my leg, looking around slowly. I wave at him when he looks at me, gladly moving my legs and standing up. I wince as the blood circulates again, wiggling my toes inside my shoes and stretching towards the white ceiling.

“You could have moved me,” Sunggyu whispers, stretching in his chair and watching me walk around gingerly with a sleepy smirk on his face. I shake my head and smile; it was definitely worth it. “Have you slept?” he asks, looking at the time on his phone and I shake my head. He puts his phone on the table and stands up slowly. Then moves towards the wall and slides down it to sitting. “Your turn,” he says to me, smiling and beckoning me over to him. “Mak-Jae needs her beauty sleep,” he tells me, when I hesitate. I go over to him and sit down next to him, careful not to touch him. He chuckles at me and then pulls my arm down until my head it resting on his lap. I’m glad I’m facing away from him because my face burns and turns bright red. My heartbeat, suddenly audible, scares me and I curl up. “Sleep,” Sunggyu commands from above me and I resist the urge to smile like an idiot in case he can see me. Instead I nod slightly and squeeze my eyes shut, wondering self-consciously if my head is heavy. I’m never going to be able to sleep like this, I realize as my heartbeat doesn’t quiet. He makes it worse when he moves my hair out from under my gentle, arranging it behind me and patting my head. I have no idea what I’m supposed to do right now, so I just let him and hope that he can’t feel the tension in my entire body. I realize how close I am to him and how much heat is radiating from one of us. Or maybe both of us. I can’t tell. It’s just hot. I decide finally to break the silence and ask him about what he thinks of the movie.

“Sunggyu?” I say, opening my eyes and turning to look up at him. But he’s already asleep. I smile up at him, relieved my heart can beat as loud as it wants now and I can look as much as I want. So I fall asleep when my tired eyes can’t bear to look at his perfectness anymore.

“Welcome to the second round of auditions!” Our new friend Shin Il says to the severely reduced amount of people present. We moved into the smaller room first thing, Woohyun and Saela well rested and already messing with each other. Sunggyu and I are a little more tired. When we all woke up to Saela’s phone alarm, those two recovered quickly. It took us a lot longer to actually wake up. We were both so reluctant to get up that we didn’t even notice that sometime during the night, Woohyun had ended up next to Saela on the floor. I watch him with tired as he and Saela laugh, narrowing them at how close he walks next to her and how his swinging hand brushes hers. But Saela shoves him lightly and I know she’ll be able to handle herself.

When we all sit down in chairs facing the judge table, I’m too exhausted to look at the people around me. “Today, we’ll be splitting you up into groups for you and then you’ll perform your scenes with that group. Please come up to meet your group when I call you up and take your scripts. The sample we gave you last night was just to help you get a grasp for the characters, so you’ll be receiving a new one today.” You can tell the people who made it through are a little more professional because there’s no hushed talking. Shin Il continues by reading off the groups. I listen to the names, listening for anyone I know. Sunggyu is called up in a group and I feel disappointed, but logically we wouldn’t be in the same group since we auditioned together. Next Saela is called up for her group and in her group is Krystal from f(x). I see Saela make eye contact with her and smile before they leave through the door into the big room; we never thought we’d see her here. Next Woohyun is called up and he waves bye to me before joining his group; leaving me all alone.

I hear my name as Woohyun leaves and stand up, looking around for the other people in my group. I look around and only see empty chairs. Shin Il laughs and comes over to me, the last one left. “We had an odd number of people in groups,” he says when I give him a confused look. “So we’re having you do a monologue!” he smiles his usual smile, and this time I’m not so sure I like it. An overwhelming sense of fear floods through me. “Here’s what you have to say,” he hands me a script and I wonder if he’s possibly a sadist. How could anyone normal do this? “Good luck,” he says with a genuine smile. I hate him for not being a sadist.

 I take it slowly from him, too frightened to speak and go out through the door. Looking out in the big room, groups are spread out all over already on their feet with their scripts. I see Saela and Krystal and I stare for a second to make sure it’s them because they’re already laughing with each other. I feel really lonely suddenly, looking down at my monologue. Looking around for Sunggyu’s group, they’re all on their feet, and I smile at his concentrated facial expression which is as cute as ever. I see Woohyun and his group and he’s laughing with one of the guys that came up to Saela and I yesterday to talk to us. The lonely feeling only festering the longer I look, I find myself an empty piece of wall and slide down to sit.

Reading through it, I realize they’ve given me a really challenging scene. It says that in the scene the sister, AeChan, won’t be speaking allowed but there will be a voice over. I have to accomplish getting across the physical and the vocal emotions without getting too caught up in either. Wow her life , I think after finishing I figure out what’s going on. And she’s so nice about it, I realize that she probably will give up her life for her friend that she thought was dead for a long time. She’s going to sacrifice herself so that her friend can stay with the one she loves. I shake my head, knowing that would be the hardest thing to do for anyone.

I keep working, getting on my feet and scribbling in notes to myself; when to stay still and when to breathe. One by one, the groups get called inside and when I hear Sunggyu’s group I smile at him as he passes even though he keeps his focused gaze forward. As I feel more and more comfortable with the words in my mouth, Saela’s group is heading through the door. She points to me and waves, showing Krystal where I am. I wave back and watch her and Krystal disappear through the door. As I feel a little hollowness inside me, I recite the lines again. All the groups go inside, I hear Woohyun laugh as he passes through to the smaller room. Then Shin Il comes out to get me.

“It’s really lonely in here!” he remarks, looking around at the barren and empty room around me. I nod to him, smiling sadly but accepting my fate. “Good luck,” he says again to me when we pass through the door. I realize why he says it sympathetically this time because all of the people that already auditioned are sitting on the ground in front of the long table, all watching me. They clap when I come in and I can feel myself cowering already. I pick out Saela in the crowd, sitting by Woohyun, Sunggyu and Krystal and give her a look of pure terror that only she would see as that. She gives me a smile and mouths to go for it. I square my shoulders and walk as towards the center of them room. Turning on the spot, I take a deep breath and with all the eyes staring back at me and try to feel the never ending love for her friend that AeChan feels in this scene. As I let it sink in, the artificial pain fills my veins.

“She’s not dead,” I say simply, staring across the room to a little spot on the wall in between two of the table members. “But she’s not alive either. She’s stuck in between; before not having one thing pulling her in either direction. Now she has him. I can see she’s being pulled so much by him to stay here. It makes me sick to think I’m here without problems and she must suffer through it alone.” I take a shaky breath and look down at my shaking hands. “What am I doing in this body?” I scoff at myself. “Nothing.” I feel tears drip down onto my open palms and squeeze them shut, trapping them inside. “She’ll do much better in it,” my voice breaks and I don’t even know if this is really happening to me or not. “But she can’t know,” I tell myself, wiping away the tears on my face fiercely, “No one will know. I’ll do this by myself. This will be my last deed inside of my body.” I look up again and make eye contact with the first girl in front of me; it’s Saela. “Use it well, KyuYa,” I force the corners of my mouth into a smile that doesn’t reach any other parts of my face. “Love him until your… or my…,” I choke on the last words as my throat closes. I breathe, the air rasping down my throat. “Until our heart bursts.” I let the last few droplets fall, staring at Saela. She has tears in her eyes too. She slowly moves her hands up and starts clapping, the rest of the room joining in. The noise swells to a roar as I wipe the tears from my face. I bow until I’m dizzy, the lonely feeling from before replaced with a warmth that spreads through me like wildfire.

“That was a spectacular way to end our auditions!” Shin Il, joins me in front of all the people. “I think you just snatched that role without any question!”

“Thank you,” I smile and consider him for a moment. “Have you ever considered being an MC?” I ask him, feeling like that would be the perfect job for him. He laughs at my sudden question and nods his head.

“I’ll keep it in mind for after this movie,” he smiles and turns back to the table members. “How long will you need to decide the roles?” he asks and I wonder if I’m supposed to go sit down or not.

“Not long for her,” a portly old man laughs heartily from behind the table. “We could vote right now and I’m sure it would be anonymous!” I blush and bow again, now wishing I had sat down.

“Shall we?” Shin Il asks, wide raised eyebrows. The table nods and he laughs. “This is a first,” he adds to me before turning back to them. “All in favor of giving the role of AeChan to Jae raise your hand,” as I watch, the whole table slowly raises their hands. My mouth drops open as people sitting on the floor adds their hands to the count. Sunggyu raises his hand, smiling at me proudly. I cover my mouth, overwhelmed. I never thought I would do this well. Maybe Saela, but not me. “Congratulations,” Shin Il says, and I like his smile again. He shakes my hand and I bow a few more times, stuttering out thank-you’s in mixed up English and Korean. “Everyone will be contacted about your roles by the end of the day by one of the staff,” he says turning to the people seated in front of us. “So please wait patiently and have a good rest of the day.” Every stands up, clapping and yelling thank you. Saela runs towards me, almost tackling me with the force of her hug.

“That was amazing!” she screams, but it’s already become so loud in there that it doesn’t bother me. I just laugh and hug her, amazed at myself. “I’m pretty sure that was the best thing I’ve ever seen; I was crying at the end!”

“I was crying too,” Woohyun laughs from behind her. “It’s been awhile since I’ve cried.”

“Great job, Mak-Jae,” Sunggyu messes up my hair and smiles so gladly that you can’t tell if his eyes are open. “Do you know what this means?” he asks and I look around at the other two; I have no clue and it looks like they don’t either. I look back at him shaking my head and he laughs, pulling me into a lose headlock. “We’re going to go party!” Saela and Woohyun both cheer.

“Is that allowed?” I ask, slipping out of his easy hold. He shrugs with a big smile on his face and Woohyun laughs at my question condescendingly.

“Have you forgotten that we usually do things that aren’t allowed?” he reminds me, making running away from their managers to go shopping sound so much cooler that it is. Saela gives him a sad pat on the head.

“If only you were as cool as you think you are,” she sighs, but then smiles when Woohyun protests that he is cool. They bicker back and forth, my head turning to look for the retort like people at a tennis match.

“Since their busy,” Sunggyu says with a sly smile at Woohyun, “we can decide what to do for your party. What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know,” I tell him, “I’ve never partied in Korea before.” I say it honestly, but Sunggyu burst into laughter.

“Woohyun!” Sunggyu breaks up their spat and Woohyun looks over in mid defense; his hands are gripping Saela’s wrists so she can’t hit him. “We have to show these two foreigners how we party in Korea! Do you know what I mean?” Woohyun’s smile that spreads across his face makes me a little anxious and he and Sunggyu nodding at each other with the same looks of pure delight on their faces only makes it worse.

“Let’s go!” Woohyun says to Saela who’s frozen in his grip, pulling her towards the door. Sunggyu smiles at me, urging me to follow them and I’m unable to go against his smile. I reluctantly fall in step behind Woohyun, prepared to blame him for anything bad that might happen. I couldn’t blame Sunggyu, even if it was his idea. While walking and riding the bus to wherever it is we’re going, Sunggyu begins to question me about partying in America.

“I only know about it from what I hear,” I tell him. “I’ve never been to a real party.”

“I should have known,” he laughs, “Little Mak-Jae’s an angel.” He teases and I stick my tongue out at him. “What did you do for fun then?” he asks and before I can answer, he laughs. “Wait, don’t tell me if it’s staying at home with Saela watching dramas and shows with idols in them.” I open my mouth, but then close it because I can’t deny it. He laughs again, this time it’s a different laugh. It’s kind of harsh, like he’s looking down on me, and I don’t expect it. He doesn’t ask me any more questions and stares out the window. My mouth opens and closes, I probably looked like a fish, but I never ask him what’s wrong. My voice won’t work. So I stare out the window too, listening to Woohyun and Saela ramble on about random things; the subject of their conversation jumping around so much that after a while it’s better to not listen. I try to hear Sunggyu’s harsh laugh again, to find out what’s different, but in my head it sounds normal again.

“This is our stop,” Sunggyu tells me, smiling like normal again. Maybe I just heard it wrong, I think reassuringly. I smile back and get off the bus with the rest of them trailing behind me. I look around trying to figure out where we are and what we’re doing, but it just looks like we’re on another street full of shops and cafes and restaurants. “This way, Mak-Jae,” Sunggyu calls from behind me and I jog to catch up to them. When I reach his side, Sunggyu reaches over to ruffle my hair absentmindedly before continuing down the street. I definitely imagined it, I smile to myself, relieved by his usual touch. I join into Saela and Woohyun’s conversation; unable to stay put since they’re talking about soccer. Sunggyu stays quiet next to me and I resist the urge to ask him why he doesn’t like sports. I already know it’s because he’s not very good at them. When Saela starts to explain Lacrosse to Woohyun, Sunggyu and I are both able to laugh at her failed description of the game. None of us understand what she’s saying.

“Ok,” she sighs, looking at us like we’re stupid. “I’ll start over.” I groan. It’s not because we’re stupid, it’s because she’s bad at explaining it.

“We’re here!” Woohyun says, looking just as relieved to stop the conversation. Saela and I whip our heads up to see the sign above the building in front of us. The bright neon lights burn the words for Karaoke Bar across my vision and I feel a relieved sigh escaping through my mouth. “What else would we do?” Woohyun asks when Saela looks at him questioningly. “Come one they’re all already here,” he says, grabbing her wrist and pulling her inside after him.

“This is how we party,” Sunggyu says before stepping inside.

Inside, we have our own room with a big screen and a couch. The room has its own little disco ball in the ceiling and it equipped with a small raised platform in front of the screen which serves as the stage. The rest of Infinite is already inside; Sungjong and Woohyun already looking through the songs on the tablet, Myungsoo and Sungyeol playing rock paper scissors over something, Dongwoo and Hoya both looking down at their phones. Saela has taken a seat on the edge of the couch and is looking around the room with am impressed face. I know she always wanted to come to one of these.

“Let’s get started with the party!” Woohyun yells unnecessarily into the mic, the noise hurting my ears. I go to sit down as the rest of them to watch; the lights dim and the disco ball begins to spin above us. Woohyun and Sungjong start with an upbeat song by Girls’ Generation, both of them executing the dance perfectly. We laugh as they do an embarrassingly good body roll without hesitation, making equally embarrassing faces. Saela’s up on her feet by the last chorus since she knows the dance too. I can hear her voice a little bit as she sings along. Next Sungjong and Saela do another girl song together, embarrassing again, but it’s fun. Woohyun watches from the couch with a look halfway between satisfied and hungry. Everyone’s laughing and joking; the music so loud we have to yell to each other. When Saela, Myungsoo, Sungyeol and Sungjong all do the Brown Eyed Girls choreography together, I slide next to Sunggyu so I don’t feel left out. I’m done with feeling alone today.

“Don’t you want to do a song?” he asks me, leaning close so I can hear him. I shake my head, watching is enough fun as it is and I think I’ve had my fair share of attention today. “Come on, let’s do one,” he urges, the current song is almost over.

“What song?” I ask, giving into his smile. He and I both go over to the tablet and scroll through the songs, both pointing out several that we like. But when we both see the same song and look over at Saela at the same time, we laughing and realize we have to pick it. As the song starts, Sunggyu and I break out terrible disco-like moves. Saela turns to look at us slowly in her seat, eyes wide. She’s sitting already so close to Woohyun and his hand is on her knee. Although I’m not sure if she feels it. Sunggyu and I try not to laugh as we sing through Kissing You by Girls’ Generation and here eys flash down to the hand on her; scooting away as quickly as possible. Saela stares at me murderously as Sunggyu and I form a huge heart with our arms and send one first to her and then to Woohyun who’s finally caught on to what’s going on. He throws his head back laughing and I can already tell the other guys are making fun of both of them. I know I’m going to regret it later, but Sunggyu is smiling so much that I can’t stop. We receive a standing ovation from everyone but Saela when it’s over and we slip back into our seats. We laugh and avoid eye contact with her, talking about noodles to make it look like we aren’t paying attention. I feel the heat of her glare leave my face finally and collapse against the back of the couch clutching my sore stomach, incapable of stopping my laughter. My abs are burning as the songs pass and I talk with the guys. I’m saved from the burning though when my phone rings in my pocket and I take it outside to answer it.

“Hello?” I answer as soon as the door shuts off all the noise behind me. The response sounds so quiet to my ears I have to ask the person on the other end to repeat what they said.

“Where are you?” Unnie’s voice finds my ears and the switch for the guilt in my system. I swallow before I answer.

“We’re at a karaoke bar,” I say, hating how sheepish my voice sounds. “But we can leave as soon as possible. I’m sorry, we got carried away and forgot about our schedule-”

“It’s fine,” Unnie sighs through the phone and I can see her disappointed expression without being near her. “I’ll just count this as your one free day that I reschedule all of your stuff.”

“What?” I ask, not sure what she’s talking about. I don’t think she hears me because she keeps talking without explaining herself.

“I got a call from the movie staff,” she says, her voice changing tones quickly. I forget about my questions as she continues. “You should have told me that you were casted on the spot!” she says, her words angry but her voice sounding proud. “That never happens! It’s a huge accomplishment for you two to be in your first movie as lead roles!”

“The two of us?” I interrupt her, my own tone changing drastically. “Did they call you? Saela made it? What role is she?” Unnie laughs at my rapid questions.

“She’s been casted as KyuYa, the Guide,” she tells me and I hear paper rustle where she is. My mouth drops open. “I have the list of the cast right here,” she says, even though I can’t see what she means by “here”.  “The lead roles are all new actors,” she says but I don’t care about their experience, I want to know who they are.

“Who’s SangMin?” I ask, wondering who will be my brother. Then I remember two guys will be playing my brother, kind of. “Who’s DaeHyo?” As I wait in anticipation, I hear Unnie laugh in my ear.

“The people who got you your free day,” she says. I clamp my hand over my mouth to keep from gasping. “Kim Sunggyu and Nam Woohyun have been cast as the lead roles.”

“Really?” I ask breathlessly, unable to think of anything else to say. We’re all in a movie together. We’ll spend all day together. The smile that comes to my face isn’t enough to express how happy I am. “Unnie, is it ok if we stay here for awhile?” I ask, edging my way back towards the door. “I’ll call when we’re done and coming back, Ok?” I tell her, not wanting to wait until after she sighs and then agrees. Since I already know what she’s going to say, I hang up and yank open the door to the room. My eyes take a second to adjust to the dim room and then I see the shapes of everyone sitting on the couch drinks in their hands.

“Jae’s back!” Sungjong points and yells. “Now we can toast to her role!” I go over to them quickly, the news in my mind wanting to be out as soon as possible. My mouth is open when he stands up, his bottle raised to me, I’m not sure when but everyone has something to drink, but he talks before I can. “Have a successful movie!” he says, but I hold up my hands to stop them before they all repeat it.

“Wait!” I yell. “I just got a call from Unnie and it’s not just my movie! We’re all lead roles!” Saela’s mouth drops, Woohyun just stares at me and Sunggyu jumps up out of his seat. The whole room explodes, the guys clapping Woohyun on the back, Woohyun laughing, Saela asking me if I’m lying or not, and Sunggyu runs up to me and hugs me. I gasp as his arm envelope me and he squeezes. He’s laughing in my ear and as he picks me up and swings me back and forth.

 “To the movie with all of you in it!” I hear Dongwoo correct himself behind Sunggyu above all the laughter and cheering. But I can’t see him because my eyes are locked on Sunggyu’s. He lets me down slowly and goes to grab his drink, still smiling at me. I watch as everyone clinks their bottle together, unable to move. Sungyeol hands me a drink and I reach out to take it, but Sunggyu snatches it before I can.

“Not for you, Mak-Jae,” he shakes his head, puts it down and grabs a coke from the table. “You’re not 19 yet,” he reminds me and Sungyeol laughs at me. I look around and realize it’s all alcohol. My eyes widen as I watch Saela take a drink. This is so not legal, I think but then correct myself, In America. I drink my coke, watching everyone else with curiosity instead of jealousy. I’d never had an interest in drinking. As I observe, I notice things about everyone.

Sungjong becomes sassier and more girl like with the passing of time; wanting all of the attention on him as he dances and sings. Sungyeol can’t keep his hands off Myungsoo, always touching his shoulders, arms or legs. Myungsoo gets louder and gigglier, even removing some his clothing with Sungyeol’s help. Dongwoo mellows out, regarding everything with a cool gaze and a smirk to match. He and Hoya actually switch completely. Hoya is now the one laughing wildly with his head thrown back, cracking jokes and messing with everyone else. I think it’s more entertaining to watch than do, I tell myself as Saela takes the mic and sings the cheesiest song about love and ice cream. Woohyun doesn’t drink much, just watches Saela. His eyes never stop smiling as they talk and sing. How does she not see it? I wonder, watching them for awhile. I want Sunggyu to look at me that way.

“How’s my little Mak-Jae doing?” Sunggyu asks, sitting next to me and resting his arm behind me on the back of the couch. I smile at him, he even looks cute drunk too.

“I’m fine,” I tell him and he chuckles.

“I’m really glad we’re going to be working together,” he says, staring at me. I feel my chest constrict and I force myself to nod. “That means we can spend every day together.” He reaches up and pinches my cheek. “You’re gonna be my little sister. Isn’t that perfect?” the way he says perfect sends pangs through my heart. He sounds almost disappointed. Does he not want to see me every day? He chuckles again and ruffles my hair. “What’s with your expression, huh? You should be having fun!”

“I am,” I assure him and he looks at me, regarding me with suspicious eyes. Then he smirks and leans against me, his head hitting my shoulder none too gracefully.

“Good,” he mumbles and soon, I can tell he’s sleeping. His head falls into my lap and I look down at him with wide eyes, praying he doesn’t wake up. When he doesn’t and I’m positive he won’t wake up from small things, I touch his face. I poke his nose, smiling at my own surge of rebelliousness. I touch his slightly parted lips before the surge disappears and then take my hand back quickly. He smiles in his sleep and snuggles into my leg. I feel like throwing my hands up in the air and look around me to see what everyone else is doing. Myungsoo and Sungyeol are dancing, Myungsoo has lost his shirt somewhere, and Sungyeol’s hands hold greedily onto his skin as Woohyun approaches and ask him a question. Myungsoo laughs and nods, pointing over to Sunggyu in my lap. I wave shyly at them and they all agree, Sungyeol less willing than the other two. Woohyun comes over to me next, flicking on the lights behind me.

“It’s time for us to go,” he says and I nod. I shake Sunggyu lightly, but realize he won’t wake up and resort to pushing him up to sitting and yelling his name at him. He wakes up eventually, and stands up, wobbling like a drunken sailor. Before he falls on his face and hurts himself, I grab onto him. He chuckles sleepily and accepts my help.

“You’re a good little sister,” he mumbles as I help him out of the room. We’re the last ones out and I meet everyone outside. I laugh when I see the assembly of people waiting for us; Hoya has jumped on Dongwoo’s back, Myungsoo, shirt back on, has his arms around both Sungjong and Sungyeol and neither of them look happy about their current arraignment. And Saela’s head is drooping over Woohyun’s shoulder from her place on his back, she lifts it up to poke at Woohyun’s face and giggle.

As we walk back, she mumbles in English and it’s lucky that I’m the only one who can understand her. I keep close to her and when Woohyun laughs and asks what she just said, I revise it for him to keep her safe.

“Woohyun’s back is comfortable,” she says, looking at me with her head sideways. “And he smells really good. And he’s warm. Is that a bad thing?” I shake my head at her, not really sure how to respond to her.

“She said my name again,” Woohyun laughs, trying to look at her. “What is she saying?”

“She says that she thankful that you’re helping her,” I lie, smiling at him when he regards me suspiciously. She giggles and looks at Woohyun, slapping his cheeks none too gently.

“She doesn’t have her own little sister so she needs someone like you,” Sunggyu explains with a laugh. I smile up at him; even though is voice sounds harsh again I assume it’s because he’s a bit drunk. We split up with the rest of Infinite, Woohyun volunteering to just take Saela all the way home which means I have to take Sunggyu with me. We continue down the street and Woohyun leads, trying to get Saela to talk in Korean the whole way back. Luckily for her, his attempts are unsuccessful; all she does is laugh and say more in English.

“Why can’t he understand?” She whines to me and I try to explain it to her. She looks at me with a pissed off look and then slaps the top of Woohyun’s head. “He needs to learn English already! Hey!” She yells into his ear, her lips dangerously close, as he laughs, “Are you stupid? Oh wait, you are Woohyun. Stupid.” She presses a slight kiss to his ear, giggles to herself and then rests her head on his shoulder again.

“Wow I wish I could speak English,” Woohyun sighs, sneaking a glance at her to make sure that actually happened. I hope he comes to the conclusion that it didn’t, because Saela will hate herself for that one.

“No you don’t,” I laugh, shaking my head at him.

“I wish I spoke English too,” Sunggyu says sounding like a child left out of the conversation.

“Well then you should work hard during lesson,” I tell him and he chuckles.

“I get too distracted by you,” he confesses. “I really need to stop that.” I laugh at his serious drunk expression; everyone gets distracted so it’s nothing to really beat himself up over. Plus he’s not as bad as Sungyeol. I just pat his head gently and the seriousness melts a bit.

“We’re here Saela,” Woohyun says to her as we near Unnie’s house. She mumbles something into his shoulder and even I don’t catch it. Woohyun stops at the door step and looks at me. “I think I understood that one.”

“Good job,” I tell him, untangling Sunggyu’s arm from my shoulder, even though I don’t want him to let go, and helping Saela off of Woohyun’s back. She resists a bit, wrapping her arms around his neck, snuggling into him. “Sarah,” I hiss as she holds on, “You’re going to hate yourself for doing this.” She releases her arms reluctantly and lets me bring her inside. After she collapses onto our bed, I sneak back down the hallway to the front door. “Thank you for helping me with her,” I smile at Woohyun. He nods, taking charge of Sunggyu who’s saying something to him. “Will you be ok going home?” I ask, wondering how far their dorm is from here. Woohyun smiles and slips his hand into Sunggyu’s pocket.

“Goodnight little sister,” Sunggyu sings and I feel my heart clench. If only he loved me this much when he was sober, I think wistfully. “Sweet dreams and sleep tight even though we should be sleeping together!” I cough and laugh out loud at his improvised lyrics, wondering what really was going on his drunk brain.

“We’re taking a taxi,” Woohyun laughs and waves as he walks back toward the busier streets. When I go back into our room, Saela’s sitting up and stares at me when I come in.

“You should have told them to stay,” she says, pouting at me. “I like them. A lot. And our bed is big enough right?”

          Oh drunken Infinite would be so much fun TT.TT But hey. I'd take sober Infinite any day as well!!! Just hands down I love them. 

Next Chapter things get heated and I'm actually pretty damn excited. Woohyun as a ladies man, greesy as ever just gets me all excited!! But I won't elaborate any more. ;)