“Are you practicing?” Han Bin asked as the door shut behind him. We both stopped laughing and turned to him. He looked surprised and a look came over his face as if he's processing what just happened; I imagine he thought he walked in on us fooling around in the practice room. I looked back and forth between my sneakers and Han Bin as Ho Jeong tried to explain, “We were... I was doing vocal training. I hit the high note and I was so excited that we...” I looked up at Han Bin as he traveled across the room to only grab a mic from the cabinet beneath the computer. He slightly bowed to us and walked to the door. He made one last comment.

 

“When you sing louder don't bring the mic close to your mouth.” he said to Ho Jeong. He looked back at me making eye contact and left. I continued to stare at the spot where he stood. Ho Jeong exhaled loudly. “Waah! He's so intimidating! How can you like him so much after that! He didn't even greet us properly!” She whined plopping down into a chair.

 

“That's the reason why I like him. He's focused on his work and dedicated. Who else am I supposed to like?” I questioned walking to the door, opening it, looking down the hall, and wondering what room he was practicing in. She snickered and numerous beeps resonated throughout the room. Ho Jeong and I searched inside our jackets to find our phones; we both had received texts. We both looked at each other and our respective phones.

 

“Han Bin messaged me,” I admitted. “Who messaged you?” Ho Jeong said it was producer Kim. I guess Han Bin couldn't talk to my face, but it was okay to text me I thought sourly. He must have told iKon and producer Kim what we were doing in the practice room. I gazed down at my phone.

 

Han Bin: How long are you staying?

Vicky: Till 2

 

I waited for him to reply. Ho Jeong was now on the other side of the room waiting for another message.

 

HB: Don't fool around

VW: The same goes for you.

 

I clicked the screen off and went to the computer. I picked out the song we sang for evaluations and went to work on correcting my accent. Ho Jeong joined me as we sang and dance to the song for the rest of the night. She kept practicing her high notes as well. During the practice I noticed that Bobby and Jin Hwan were peeking through the door watching us practice. It was probably Han Bin's order.

 

Around 1:40 we took a much needed break. We were both soaked in sweat and I seriously needed a hot shower. “What did Han Bin want?” Ho Jeong asked. “He wanted to know what time we were leaving and he told me not to fool around during practice.” I replied staring at my phone I even forgot was in my hand.

 

“What did producer Kim want?” I proded smirking in her direction. She shyly smiled and said, “He told me not to stress myself and to drink hot tea with honey before I go to sleep.” I looked amusingly at her as she wiggled around on the phone clutching the phone close to her chest.

 

“Let's get ready to go.” I advised springing up and stretched. I wonder if iKon finished practicing whatever they were doing. She pouted, upset I had interrupted her moment, but bounced up anyway. We grabbed our things and I took out my cell.

 

Vicky: We're heading out now

Han Bin: Meet me outside

Vicky: Ok. But why?

Han Bin: Manager can drive you home

 

I shook my head. We only lived a few blocks away from the building; we could just simply walk. I turned to Ho Jeong, “Han Bin wants us to meet him outside because he wants his manager drive us home. Hopefully there's enough room for us.” She agreed, but not before calling manager Nam to tell him we were on the way. We headed outside. We walked past one room and saw that three of Han Bin's members were still inside. Chan Woo, Dong Hyuk, and Yun Hyeong were going over some sort of choreography. We stalled for a second and continued down the hall.

 

A black van was parked in front of the building presumably waiting for us. We saw the rest of iKon outside and hurried to meet them. “We're here.” I said opening the door for Ho Jeong. We both bowed to them and Bobby motioned to the van. We thanked him and I heard Jun Hoe mutter, “We could have been to the dorm by now.” I grimaced and waited until Bobby climbed in. I took the second row seat and sat by the window. Ho Jeong was in the back with Jun Hoe and Jin Hwan. Bobby was sitting closet to the door and Han Bin sat next to me.

 

As we sped off I looked at the gleaming lights through the van window. Since we lived a few blocks away it was going to be a short ride. I felt Han Bin staring down at me and I looked over at him. Continuing to look at me he took one of his head phones out his ear, shifted towards me and whispered, “We're performing in Tokyo.” I smiled at him although I was little surprised.

 

“Really? With Big Bang?” I asked as we pulled up to our dorm.

 

“YG will tell FEMME tomorrow. Sleep well.” He smiled at me and I smiled back.

 

“Hopefully we get to come and watch.” He shrugged and motioned for me to climb out. I playfully rolled my eyes and waited for Ho Jeong to get out first. She climbed over the sleeping boys. Once on the sidewalk we waved back to the van. “Don't stay up!” I heard Bobby and Han Bin yell effectively waking up the rest of the members. We laughed and waved them off until the van was no longer in sight.

 

As we walked inside the dorm I noticed something while taking off my shoes. One pair was missing: I recognized them as Mori's shoes. Mori Namiye's our Japanese member; our rapper. She's tanned skin and has wavy brown hair that fell down her back. “Where would she be going at two in the morning?” I muttered.

 

“Who?” Ho Jeong asked. I pointed to the empty spot where a tattered pair of black Addias would sit. She gave me a confused look and pointed to Mori's room. Her eyes widened. I nodded and asked, “Should we wait up for her?” Ho Jeong mouth shaped into a hard line. She shook her head and headed to her room.

 

Opening the door to my room I saw Na Na curled up in bed with her textbook on top of her chest. I smiled at the girl, picked up the textbook, and placed it on her desk. My phone vibrated.

 

Han Bin: Did you get in safe?

Vicky: Yeah. And you?

 

I quickly changed into my pajamas and climbed into my bed. My phone went off again.

 

Han Bin: In bed now. Only one awake

Vicky: Same here. Go to sleep

Han Bin: Ladies first

 

I chucked my phone behind my pillow and hid my face into it. For all I know Han Bin could have been texting anyone else, but it felt nice to think I was the only one at this time at night he was texting. Going to bed that night there were three things on my mind: where in the world Mori had gone, why Han Bin texted me so late and what did YG have to tell us tomorrow.

 

I woke up hours later to the sound of the front door clicking open. The faint sound of the chime echoed throughout the dorm. I rushed out of bed thinking it was Mori, but it was only manager Nam. He looked at me confused, but I only gave him a sheepish greeting. I went back into my room to get ready. Once dressed I woke up Na Na and made sure she was ready. “Today we have a meeting with YG.” I told her as she came out of the shower. She squinted her eyes as she thought this over.

 

“You don't know what it's about?” She asked. I shook my head.

 

“I have no idea.” She pouted and began to get dressed.

 

Heading out into the living room manager Nam was chatting with Mori. Despite not being in bed last night she didn't appear as tired as she could be and she didn't have bags under her eyes. I waved to her as her eyes landed on me.

 

She smiled and manager Nam turned to us as I approached them. “What's our schedule today?” I asked standing next to Mori. “You have a meeting with YG first and that's all I can tell you for now,” Mori gave him a questioning look, but I remembered what Han Bin and Ho Jeong told me last night. “Finish getting ready because we're leaving in five.”

 

Manager Nam left us to get the others and I turned to look down at Mori's feet. She was wearing her worn Adidas sneakers. When she noticed I was staring at her sneakers she raised her eyebrow at me. “Is there something wrong with my sneakers?” she asked.

 

“You might want to get a new pair of sneakers if you're gonna walk in them all night.” I said crossing my arms and giving her a smirk. She gaped at me and affirmed, “I don't know what you're talking about.” The disbelief on my face stayed and Mori knew she couldn't fool me. By this time most of the members were out and putting there shoes on.

 

She huffed and finally whispered, “You wouldn't believe me if I told you... One of the ANON boys wanted to meet with me last night.” My eyes almost popped out of my head! These boys were trainees like us and as far as we know, were somewhat close to debuting.

 

“But which boy is‒?” I was interrupted by Manager Nam shooing us toward the door. I gave her an apologetic look and she nodded towards. I guess our talk will have to wait after the meeting.

 

This would be our third time meeting YG this month. He was constantly checking in on us if we wasn't watching over iKon. As we walked into his office and sat down at the long table, I could see how nervous the members were: Some were staring forward and others were checking to the door to see if YG had walked through.

 

We heard the door open. Immediately we all stood up and bowed as YG stood in front of us on the other side of the table. He gave us a once over and sat down. We shuffled into our seats and waited for him to talk. “Big Bang is having a show in Tokyo a week from now and iKon is going to be the opening act,” He said. That's what you must have meant Han Bin. “You're going to be the back up dancers for the boys. You'll now learn the choreography starting today and practice with the iKon boys.” Inside I know we were all smiling, but YG could tell us bad news at any time.

 

He continued, “ANON is also going to be back up dancers for Big Bang and iKon. They'll also be practicing with you,” At this we were all tense again. “Yeo Yeong Woo, since you are the leader, learn the choreography first. Understand?” Yeong Woo nodded. Yeo Yeong Woo was the oldest amongst us. She has long wavy black hair, dark brown eyes, and lightly tanned skin.

 

“Yes I understand.” She said nodding at us and YG. He leaned back and took one final look at us. “Now start practicing. Work hard.” After saying those words he stood up and left. We bowed after him and waited for him to exit. Manager Nam came in and said, “FEMME now has practices in the larger dancing rooms next to 2NE1.”

 

“Alright lets go.” Yeong Woo said leading the way. I small talked with Na Na on the way down to the basement. The elevator reached the basement and we heard the track playing. The closer to the room we got, the more we could feel the vibration of the dancing. Manager Nam opened up the door and we began bowing to everyone.

 

“Hello everyone.” We greeted to the guys in the large room. They also greeted us and bowed. The music stopped and manager Nam said his greetings and then his goodbyes. “Work hard everyone.” We were now alone with iKon and ANON.

 

“We should introduce ourselves,” One of the tall boys said. Five boys walked in front of us and bowed.

 

“I'm Guem Jae Man and I'm 18 years old.” The first tall boy said. His dark brown hair was parted on the side and combed to the top of his head.

 

“My name's Joon Dal Hwan, 19.” The second boy said. He was the tallest of the boys and had dark brown hair hidden under a snap back.

 

“Poong Heung Ki, 17” The cute boy said. I'm guessing he was the youngest. He had a cute hair cut and light brown hair. The next set of boys were twins.

 

“Our names are Tan Joon Sang and Tan Seong Ryong, we're both 18.” Joon Sang pointed to his brother as they introduced themselves. Seong Ryong was slightly taller, but they both sported five by five hairstyles. It was time for us to introduce ourselves. Yeong Woo went first.

 

“Yeo Yeong Woo, leader, 19.”

 

“My name's Pan Ho Jeong, 18”

 

“I'm called Park Yi Na, 19.”

 

“My name is Namiye Romi and I'm 19.”

 

“I'm Victoria Woods, but you can call me Vicky. I'm 18 years old.”

 

“Seo Na Na, 16.” After our introductions we bowed to the boys whom again in return bowed to us. Han Bin and Bobby walked over to us. “Since we know each other now, how about we get to work. Han Bin will go through the dance with the boys first and then he'll go through it with you.” I nodded and motioned for Ho Jeong to sit down on the side to watch the boys dance. The rest of the girls sat down beside us.

 

“What song are you performing?” I asked out loud.

 

“Just Another Boy” Han Bin answered passing out the mics to the boys. I nodded and waited for them to get into position. As soon as the music started the boys started to bounce and rock to the beat. ANON was in sync as they maneuvered around the floor and didn't miss a beat. Some of the moves the boys were doing suggested that at one point we would have to partner up. The iKon boys were swaying from side to side playing off of each other as the song played. As the song came to an end all of the boys posed coolly.

 

I applauded along with the girls and some of the guys jokingly bowed. “Let's get started!” I said picking myself up from the floor and getting situated in front of the mirrors. Na Na excited bounced over to my right and took a stance. Ho Jeong pulled Yeong Woo up from the floor as Yi Na stood by us. “All of the girls are first in the back and then you'll all come up in front of ANON,” instructed Han Bin demonstrating the move. We nodded and copied his movements. He seemed please with the results and continued. The next set of moves required the use of partners.

 

The cute little Heung Ki was my partner. He walked over and I smiled at him. He returned it and turned his attention back to Han Bin. Na Na was having a hard time with keeping up with Joon Sang. When they came together to dance, she couldn't keep up with the counts. While dancing I noticed that she would occasionally step on Joon Sang's foot. She would apologize but he would nod his head and continue to follow Han Bin's directions. As we practiced Han Bin' eyes moved over to Na Na. I had noticed this for most of the duration of our practice.

 

When her and Joon Sang were pulled to dance their part alone everybody saw her fall behind in the moves and he motioned for them to stop. His hand moved up to rub his temples. “Do you not like your partner?' he asked turning towards Na Na. He was sitting on the floor, but had now stood up looking a little ways away from her.

 

“He's fine,” She replied stuttering a bit looking at her partner who hands on his hips displayed his impatience. She hesitated before she continued, “But it's harder to continue when my partner puts no effort in correcting me.” Han Bin looked between them, but kept more of his focus on Na Na. I could feel the tension in the room shift. Joon Sang, who's back was turned, looked at Na Na. He didn't say anything. He just stared at her. My stomach dropped and hers probably did too.

 

“Because you're partners you two need to work together. I shouldn't have to be even saying these words,” Han Bin asserted. I gazed at him as he took role of leader, “Joon Sang can you not help Na Na?” he questioned. Joon Sang remained silent and took such interest at the floor. Han Bin continued, “Yeong Woo did you not notice Na Na falling behind?” Yeong Woo, not expecting to be put on the spotlight, shook her head.

 

“I'm sorry...I didn't notice.” She answered looking at him. Han Bin, fed up with the lack of teamwork, closed his eyes and tilted his head up at the ceiling. Not even ten seconds later he walked out of the practice room. I bit my lip and looked at Henug Ki; He was tripping in sweat and his eyes were so wide. He turned towards me and I'm guessing we both had the same expression: Shock! I looked at iKon and noticed how awkward they were standing. Most of the members were looking at us and had unreadable expressions on their faces. Bobby ran out of the room to go after Han Bin and Jin Hwan stood in front of us.

 

“You guys can just sit for a second... we're going to bring him back.” Jin Hwan explained. Yet, it wasn't a second nor a minute, but a half hour later that Bobby brought Han Bin back. When he walked back in we immediately went back to practicing and nobody had any faults. During our “half hour break” FEMME and ANON went over the moves together, especially Na Na and Joon Sang. They were able to put aside their differences and she was finally able to keep up with the count.

 

The final practice went perfectly in my opinion. Heung Ki and I were in synch, Han Bin had cooled down, and the managers decided to treat everyone to dinner. Now it was time to decided who's sitting next to who.