"Alright, Lady'S you guys are up next for the rehearsal." The performance director in-charge for this year's SMTOWN, Lim Kwangwook, said as he entered our dressing room. "You will go right after Red Velvet's performance. Please get ready with your microphone headset on and follow me to the stage for your rehearsal. You will only have once chance to rehearse so make sure you do it well. F(x) will be performing immediately after your group."

"Yes, Kwangwook oppa!" Sona greeted him happily like a 16-year old teenage girl with a crush on him. It was so obvious to any other onlookers that her eyes were shooting hearts at him when she smiled. Kwangwook oppa was the next biggest performance director in SM after Jaewon oppa. At the age of 35, he still looked very young and capable. His daily gym routine had proven to be very productive as his chest muscles were threatening to tear his thin shirt anytime.

"You girls heard what Kwangwook oppa said right? Come, let's follow him out to the back of the stage." She said cheerfully without taking her eyes off him.

Jieun turned and whispered to me, "are Kwangwook oppa and Sona unnie an item? Why is she looking at him like what?"

I whispered back, "I doubt so. From what I observed, it's more like a one-sided love. Besides, I heard that Kwangwook oppa has a long-term girlfriend in another field already."

"Huh, are you serious? I feel sad for Sona unnie, she's such a nice lady. I mean, we all loved her very much, right? Because she had been so kind and lovable to us." Jieun said sadly.

"What a term to use over there, young lady." Sona unnie said as she overheard her last sentence. "So what about me? Why do you feel sad for me? Explain yourself. Now."

"No-Nothing unnie!" Jieun said frantically before dashing on to the stage for the rehearsal.

"Tsk." Sona said before turning to me and giving me a questioning 'I-expect-you-to-answer-me' look.

"So-" She began.

"Don't ask me anything! I have no idea!" I cut her off mid-sentence before running to join Jieun on the stage, escaping any interrogations from her.

It had been nearly 3 hours since we had arrived at the concert venue for our pre-concert rehearsal and I have yet to see Chanyeol anywhere. I searched around the audience area, in hope that I would find him sitting amongst the other SM artists who were monitoring the rehearsal but I couldn't find him there either.

"Chaeyeon, you will be running along the left side of the stage during the second song with Ashley and Jieun while the rest of you will go to the right side. Remember to interact with the audience as you do so. There will be a labelled white platform at the end of the stage on both sides to bring you down after your item. Clear?" Kwangwook asked after instructing us on the directions.

We all nodded before getting into our dance position for our title track, 'First Love'. Our songs have been slowly and finally gaining some form of popularity after nearly four and a half months since our debut. Once we were done rehearsing with our items, we went back to our assigned holding area.

"Alright, it's your free time now. You can do whatever you want. You can stay and watch the rest of the performance or you can go ahead and explore the rest of NYC but please remember to get back to the hotel by 11PM. I want all of you to get sufficient rest before the concert tomorrow. Do you girls understand me?" Sona instructed when she met us at the holding area.

"So we can just roam the streets freely now?" Ashley asked. "Can I go and find my friends?" Ashley, who was born in the States, was the most excited for the trip because she could finally return to her hometown.

"Yes. But, I will assign you a bodyguard in case some fans sneaked up on you when you are not ready." Sona said plainly.

Jieun turned to me and asked, "unnie, do you have anywhere that you want to go?"

I shook my head. "No. I think I will stick around and watch the rehearsal. And maybe. Just maybe I will be lucky enough to bump into Chanyeol oppa."

"What? You are really going to waste this trip on Chanyeol?" She asked in disbelief.

"Why not? I haven't seen him for three full months and I never even get to say goodbye before he left. I have to do this. I am just doing this as a friend. He was my closest friend before he left."

Jieun shook her head in disbelief. "I thought I was your closest friend and I thought you are doing this because you like him."

I glared at her in shock. "No! Of course I don't like like him.