Chapter 8: More

“Congratulations, girls! Keep up the good work and we will be seeing you again,” said Ah Min Woo sshi.

They all stood up after that, leaving us staring at the board with our mouths hanging open.

I couldn’t believe it. We are officially a group now. And we have screen names. This is it. My dreams are finally coming true.

AMBER POV

Manager Kim has made it the number one to call each other with our screen names at all times. We did not have any problems with that, we were all too stoked about the news that we still had smiles plastered on our faces hours after the meeting.

The rest of our day was spent in dance practices and language lessons. It was a tiring day but all of us seemed too high on happiness to notice how wiped out we were. The fatigue hit us when we finally got home.

“Hey Sulli…you should go sleep in your room. You’ll get a neck ache from sleeping on the couch,” Vic eomma told Sulli who is now fast asleep on the couch.

“Hmmm…” was all Sulli replied.

Luna who was nearest to Sulli shook her lightly and told her to go to her room to sleep. She opened one eye then another, stood up groggily and headed to her room like a drunk person.

As soon as her bedroom door shut, we all burst into laughing fits.

“Omo. Sleepy Sulli is too cute!” Luna said in between laughs.

“She looks too adorable…” chimed in Krystal.

Vic eomma seemed to have something to say but just started laughing all over again. We could not seem to stop, but when we found ourselves out breath, we finally stopped all the ruckus and tried getting some rest.

That night, I had the most restful sleep in 2 months. No nightmares, no fitful tossing under the covers. I even woke up before the alarm clock, which was a first for me.

I was getting ready for the long day ahead when something popped in my mind. Today was Saturday, and we have no training on weekends. Well, so much for a restful weekend.

I decided to not go back to sleep and just start breakfast early. I cooked the only think I know how to cook – pancakes and bacon.

While cooking, I thought about how I should spend the Saturday. I could go sight-seeing or maybe thrift shopping. Or I could ask one of the members where I should go, somewhere I could be alone and enjoy Korea and relax. The sound of soft conversation got me off my own personal bubble.

“Hey…that smells good...” Vic eomma said as she entered the kitchen.

“Good morning, Amber-unni…what’cha cooking?” asked Luna.

“Some pancakes and bacon. It’ll be done in a few,” I said.

Not long after I’ve put the breakfast on the table, Sulli and Krystal came in and we all started to dig in.

“Hmmmm…this is good. Did you cook this, Amber-unni?” Sulli asked over a mouthful of pancakes.

“Yeah. It’s actually my mom’s recipe.” I blushed over the compliment.

“Guys, do you have anything to do today?” Krystal suddenly asked.

After a chorus of no’s, she clapped her hands excitedly and said that she has something planned for us today.

“Guys! This is the perfect moment to go to an amusement park! There’s a really good one just a few minutes’ drive away! I would love for us to go to the beach, but Manager will probably not approve. So let’s just go to the amusement park, please, please, please!” Krystal had stood up in her excitement.

“Oooh! That will be fun! I’m in!” Lunua beamed.

“Count me in too! I’ve never been to an amusement park in 10 years!” Victoria squealed in delight.

“I can’t wait! Let’s all get ready and head out in an hour!” Sulli all but ran to her room.

All the girls did the same, leaving me alone on the table laughing at their adorable eagerness to go to an amusement park. I wanted a quiet outing alone, but I wasn’t going to complain. An outing with all the members do seem to be really fun. Plus, we’ll get to bond even more.

I put all the dishes on the sink and debated whether I should wash them now or should I just leave it and do them later. I chose the latter and ran to my room to get ready for our group’s first outing.

KRYSTAL POV

I knew the girls would love my idea. They were all itching to get some fresh air and get to see the outside world. All we’ve been doing is train, practice, eat and sleep. It’s not that we’re complaining, we love what we’re doing. It’s just that we want to do something fun and relaxing even for a day.

When I was sharing my idea to the girls, I noticed that Amber looked quite disappointed with my plan. She just nodded through my whole monologue and smiled when I asked if they were game. I did not know what to make of that, but she did not say no, so I guess that means she’ll go.

However, I did not want to take the risk of pushing her in to doing something she doesn’t like. So I hurriedly got dressed and headed to Amber’s room.

I knocked twice and waited for Amber to open the door. When she did not answer, I knocked again, but she seemed to have not heard it so I just opened her door and let myself in.

The shower was running when I came in her room and I decided to wait for her on her unmade bed. Resisting the urge to fix her bed, I focused my attention on the photographs scattered on her desk. There were some of our group during practice and some of the polaroids Luna loved to take during break time. I also saw a couple family photos, some with her friends back in LA and a few individual shots of her playing basketball and soccer.

Picking through the photos, I noticed one that was slightly hidden under the pile of papers on the desk. Pulling it from under the pile, I saw that it was a photo of younger Amber and a very pretty girl, both in cute swimsuits with grins plastered on their sun-kissed faces. Amber’s arm was around the pretty girl’s waist, pulling her tightly to her side.

This is my first time seeing this side of Amber – happy and looking carefree. In the time I had spent with her, all I see is serious Amber. She rarely laughs, and just smiles occasionally.

Who could the girl in the photo be? How can she make Amber smile like that?

“How did you find that photo?”
 

“GAH!” I exclaimed in surprise.

“Krystal, where did you get that?” Amber repeated.

“Ummm…I was waiting for you. I got bored…and I looked through the photos on your desk. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to go through your stuff,” I stammered.

Amber took the photo from me and stuffed it in one of her drawers.

“Don’t do that again.” She walked to her closet across the room, effectively ignoring me.

“Hey, Amber. I’m really sorry I went through your things. I promise I won’t do it again.” I apologized.

She took a deep breath and faced me. “It’s okay. I just overreacted. I just did not want you to see that photo.”

“Why?” I asked before I could stop myself.

“Because it brings back memories I’d rather not remember,” she said as she put on a shirt.

“Is it okay if I asked who that girl was?”

Amber hesitated before answering.

“That girl’s Nicole.”