her mind had no time to wander with the pop dance music playing in the training room. she didn’t try to turn the music off when she reached for her phone to check the time. she sighed as the numbers on her lockscreen showed, 01:27 AM. yue wiped away her sweat. just when she sensed her heartbeat stabilizing, there was a knock on the door. who, in their right mind, would be in the sm training center at this hour? she could only let out a flustered smile. qian kun’s head peeked in. “ah, i knew you were still at it,” he said in his quiet voice that was almost drowned with the dance music. he came in and the first thing she said was, “and, why, in the world, would you still be here?” her question was left unanswered as he put her favorite yuja tea drink next to her. she gave him a thumbs up and he gave her an ‘okay’ sign. he waved her goodbye as he said, “jiayou, mei mei” to which she could only wave back. he left the room and she was alone again, left to drown herself in her sentiments as the pop dance music continued to play in the background. ah, i can't believe i'm at my limit already.

"chae, make sure to shower and go to bed quick, you have school tomorrow!" dalbit waved off her cute little dongsaeng as the younger trainee heaeded back to the trainee's dorm. after chaeyeon was out of her sight, dalbit walked back to the practice room as she wanted to do just a little bit more before calling it a day. even if the clock showed 01:43 AM, this has been her routine ever since she was twelve, she was used to it but sometimes, the late nights can be so lonely without anyone in the practice room with her. it scared her to be alone, vulnerable to her demons in those hours. she became one with her demons, dancing to the lyrics of ariana grande's into you. she felt alive, being one with the music as she depicted herself as a flirtatious, whimsical lady. she couldn't be more contrasting with her character than she already was but that was the beauty of dance; to become something you are not. she finally perfected the dance, after a whole day. she kept a smile as she packed up and walked out of the practice room, only to meet the eyes of the na jaemin. he smiled back at her, uttering a simple greeting, "hey, moonlight." so simple yet dalbit could already feel the butterflies inside her stomach take over.   

dao woke up to the aroma of eggs and supposedly bacon. she checked her phone, it was only six in the morning. was it time for the youngsters to go to school? was this their breakfast? she walked out of her shared room half-awake to go to the toilet and as she walked out of the toilet, she was met with th usual sight; the mom of the dorm cooking breakfast for the youngsters. "guys~ if i may~" dao hummed as she managed to snatch a piece of french toast. she forgot she had her phone in her pocket when suddenly the conversation of the table was interrupted by the video call dao got. chimon. the other girls could see the hesitation in dao's eyes, who sheepishly walked back to her room to take the call. "you're interrupting our breakfast, chimon!" dao said in a whisper. chimon didn't seem to care as he showed off the amazing scenery of snowy new york behind him. it was 6pm there. dao knew she couldn't fight him. "have a great day today~ good luck, p'dao~" he said with the same -eating grin dao's heart always skipped a beat for.