Waiting for HoWon to be done with his audition was what Sara imagined husbands feel as they wait for their child to be born into the world. Does the baby have all of its toes and fingers and does the dancer with a dream have all of his ducks in a row? Sara kept repeating to herself that he was a shoe in for the company and that they needed a dance group to balance out their indie band Nell and their controversy making rap group Epik High. As she sipped on the over-priced Seoul smoothie, Sara saw a figure walking out of the Woollim building. Upon closer inspection she could make out the sweaty head of her best friend turned boyfriend. "HoWon!" Sara ran up to him and stopped right before colliding with his exhausted body. "How'd it go? When do you start?" She was sure he made it. 100% no 200% sure he would make it in. The look on his face however, told a different story.

 

"Looks like I won't be packing my stuff anytime soon when we get back to Busan." His eyes were unreadable and his voice monotone.

 

"What do you mean? They don't want to take you??? That's insane you're one of the best dancers out there! How could they not take YOU! I mean c'mon that's so stupid. I need to go in there. I need to go in there and give them a piece of my mind. Somebody has to teach them what real talent is!" Howon grinned at her reaction and couldn't hold his laughter in much longer. When he saw her actually make her way to the building he quickly caught up to her.

 

"I'M JOKING! I MADE IT! I REALLY MADE IT IN!" He was holding on to her arms so she could face him when he told her. She blinked back some tears before they just started rolling out in waterfalls. "What? Why are you crying. I said I made it!"
 

"Don't do that you big jerk. My heart broke for a second there. Do you know how much I stressed over this? You're just uggghh Lee Ho WONNN you are so irritating sometimes-"

 

"I'll take that as a congratulations then?" He interrupted.

 

She sighed before wrapping her arms around his waist, "Yeah, congratulations. You really really deserve it."  

 

As they rode the train back to their guesthouse he clarified what he meant by not needing to pack soon. Woollim wanted him to make sure he had all his paperwork ready and that his parents were aware of his decision. So they gave him a few months to handle everything at school and at home. Meanwhile they would send him some choreography and he would need to practice it and send them a video each week to show that he was improving. Sara smiled at the idea of having him around just a little bit longer, but there was one thing that was still biting at her, "What about your parents? When are you going to tell them that this was what you've been working towards all this time?"

"I don't know. I don't want to tell them right now. I want to wait until the preparation period is over and Woollim calls for me to come back to Seoul permanently. I feel like it's more secure that way." He explained as he tapped his train card to exit the subway station.

"I don't know, I'm more worried about your dad than your mom. I know she's strict about your studies, but in the end she'll understand. You're dad though... I don't know how he'll take this."

The rest of the walk was quiet until they reached the house they would be staying in. An older woman greeted them at the door. "OH YOU'RE FINALLY HERE! Here, Here, let me take your bags and I'll show you to you're room. How was the train ride? Did you see any schools while you were here. You got here a bit late, I thought you're train arrived around noon, it's nearly 8 already."

 

"I'm sorry about that Mrs. Kim!" The two bowed respectfully. "We were just so caught up in how amazing Seoul looked. I haven't been here since I was very small and barely remembered what was what. Its changed so much since I moved away." HoWon looked at Sara in bewilderment. Although she was originally from Seoul, Sara had taken up a Busan accent quite quickly, but now that she was back it's as if a Seoul accent was the only thing she knew.

 

HoWon awoke from his thoughts and continued Sara's explanation, "We really just walked around for hours and ate at a few shops. We'll be looking at universities and police academies tomorrow."

"Oh that's great dear! You're parents will be so proud to see you graduate!" Howon felt a rock in his stomach when she said that but smiled none the less and thanked the woman before finding they found their way to their room. "I hope you two don't mind sharing, your mothers said it would be fine."

 

"Umm... yeah it should be fine. We've been sharing the same room for sleep overs for years." Howon said. Mrs. Kim smiled as she exited the room and shut the door behind her.

"You forgot to mention the fact that we haven't shared a room since 9th grade, I assume it's for the same reason that you wouldn't hold my hand. Hmmm?" Sara was just teasing, the embarrassed look on Howon's face earlier was enough to tell her, he felt more than nervous being in the room with her. "Why Howon, do you see me as THAT attractive?" She laughed leaning against his side.

 

"Sara! Stop it. Here you take the bed and I'm sleeping on the floor. The years of sleeping together in the same bed are put on pause for now got it?"

 

"Why?"

 

"Be-because... YOU KNOW WHY!! Aish... i'm going to change in the bathroom. Be back in a bit." He puffed his cheeks out and marched out of the room to the bathroom. Sara had a good laugh and decided to change in the room while he was out because she really wanted to get out of her clothes and into some pajamas already.

 

She was almost done slipping on her pajamas, she just needed to toss her top on when the door swung open. "Bathroom's read-YYYYYYY? WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Howon yelped out and the smallest glimpse of her back.

 

"HOWON WHAT THE HECK YOU'RE SUPPOSE TO KNOCK!"

 

"IT'S A SHARED ROOM I DIDN'T KNOW YOU'D BE UNDRESSING IN HERE! WHAT IS THAT ABOUT?"

 

"Aish, whatever. It's not like you've never seen me in a sports bra or something. Beside the shirt was almost completely on when you walked in. Let's just go to bed weirdo."

 

"Right.. i'm the one who leaves the room to go change out of curtisy and I'M the weirdo. Here, gimme a pillow for the floor." She tossed him one and an extra blanket before snuggling into the sheets of the bed herself. He shut off the light just as she the lamp and he made his little nest on the floor off to the side of the bed.

 

 

Just like they use to as kids, they talked in the shadows about everything that worried or excited them. "You know," Howon started," I can't wait to move to Seoul and start training! We can rent out a two bedroom place or if they put me in a dorm a small one bedroom place for you. Whenever I have free time we'll go out and you'll make every hard training day better."

 

"Wait... who said I was moving here weirdo?"

 

"Well you can't expect me to go on this adventure alone! We're always together remember!"

 

"Yeah and i'll always be your loudest cheerleader! But you're going to have to hear my cheers from Busan Wonnie, atleast till I start coming to culinary school here."

 

"Are you really still on about that?" He didn't mean for it to sound so bitter, but really there was no other way Howon felt about her baking. The day Sara realized how much she liked baking was the day she started liking Howon less and less. It was irrational on his part, he know that, but he still couldn't help to hate the idea of her working to be a passtiser. That was the true reason that he wouldn't, or couldn't as he saw it, eat anything she made no matter how much she asked him to.

 

"What is your deal with me and baking? I supported everything you've ever done Howon."

 

"Yeah but everything I do we both do. With baking you suddenly changed that. It's the reason we're not as close anymore." This caused her to sit up from the bed.

 

"What are you even talking about? First of all, everything we did together I did because you liked it first. I promised to let you teach me and to be you're playmate. Yes I liked it in the end but it's not like I had much say in the activities we took up together. Second of all, baking didn't make me spend less time with you. As I recall you didn't want me to stay in the studio while you DANCED. My baking was just an after effect of that. And third of all, we're dating right now Howon. How much closer do you want us to be? You're the one always feeling distant not me."

 

"So you're blaming me and dancing then is that it?"

 

"Lee Ho Dong! You know very well that's not what I'm doing!" She threw the blankets off of herself and switched on the light. "Am I really that easy for you Howon? Do you even realize how hard I've had it all these years? I put up with everything because it was you and me together. Because everything we did put a smile on your face. And the one thing that I want to do you can't cheer or me? Howon you are an amazing and talented person, but you are also selfish." She picked up her jacket from the floor and grabbed a pair of shoes before heading out the door. Howon was frozen in his spot. It wasn't until he heard Ms. Kim calling out Sara's name and the front  door closing that he snapped out of it and went after her. When he made it to the street outside the house she was no where to be seen. Howon wanted to search for her but she knew Seoul better than he did and it wouldn't take much for her to evade him if he was at all successful in figuring out where she went. He stayed in the house for the night and waited for her to come back. He waited on the floor of the bedroom facing the door until sleep over took him and his head dropped to his chest.