I check my schedule again and see that I have three hours of Intermediate Dancing next, starting in half an hour. I ask the nutritionist for directions, and head to the dance studio immediately. There’s a few trainees already there, stretching and working on their moves. I nervously enter and put my stuff along with everyone else’s at the back of the room. I start stretching in preparation for the workout I’m sure I’m about to get. A girl who looks like she’s my age approaches me, and starts stretching beside me.

         “Hi, I’m Lee Shi-yeon. Are you a new trainee?”

         “Yes, my name is So Jung Min. Today’s my first day here.”

         “Are you a dancer? Which specialized class are you taking?”

         “Actually, I’m training to be singer.”

         “Oh. I assumed you were a dancer because non-dancers usually have to work their way up from Basic Dancing. You must have really made an impression at your audition to be put into Intermediate right away!”

         “Actually, I auditioned to be a dancer, but Lee-Sajangnim said I would do better as a singer, so here I am.”

         She looks really surprised, and I’m not sure it’s in a good way.

         “You mean Lee Soo Man? He was at your audition?”

         “Yes…” Why is she so surprised? “They said he had free time so he was present.”

         “Wow! I can’t believe you got to actually see him! It’s harder to see him than some of the idols at SM, especially since he started getting less involved in the company affairs.” Well, that at least explains why she was so shocked, but it isn’t that big a deal, right? I’m sure it was just a coincidence, though I’m still not sure whether it’s a lucky or unlucky coincidence. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything about it to her… Anyway, I have other things to worry about right now.

         “Any tips for the new trainee?” I ask, hoping she’ll give me some useful inside information. 

         “Don’t be late for lessons, ever. They take tardiness very seriously. And practice as much as you can, I guess. The instructors here are mostly nice, so you can always ask for help if you need it. They do get grouchy if we don’t seem to be working hard or showing improvement, though.”

         I nod, pretty much what I already knew or had guessed. I smile at her in thanks. She runs off to a group near the door with a quick “See you later!” and starts talking a mile to a minute. The others all crowd around her, probably to get the gossip about the latest recruit. I’ll have to remember not to tell her anything important in the future, unless I want it spread all over the trainee center.

         A very fit middle-aged man walks in, dressed somewhat similarly to all the trainees in comfortable clothes. He walks to the front of the room, and I guess he’s the instructor. He nods at me quickly when he sees me to acknowledge me, but thankfully I don’t have to introduce myself to the class or anything. He starts talking about what we will be working on today, and soon we are all dancing away. After about an hour, he gives us a ten-minute break and we all fall to the floor, panting. He calls me over to the front, and I reluctantly get up.

         “I was surprised when they wanted me take a singer in, but you did quite well for your first day. I think you need to work on a few things, though.” He goes over some of the mistakes I made, and also breathing techniques to practice while dancing so that I’ll be able to sing and dance at the same time in the future. He lets me go after that and calls someone else over. I use the few minutes I have left to grab my water bottle and take a few sips. And all too soon, we are dancing again. This time, I try to follow the instructions he gave me. It takes me a few tries, but I think I manage well enough. At the end of the session, he gives me a thumbs up from across the room, so I guess I was okay.

         I have a half-hour break now for lunch, so I head to the small cafeteria to grab a quick bite before my first one-on-one singing lesson. I find Jun there, at one of the tables, an empty lunch tray in front of her. I quickly go grab a sandwich and plop myself at the table in front of her.

         “Hey, roomie,” I greet her.

         “Hey, Jung Min! How was your day so far?” she asks, putting the juice carton down.

         “It was okay. I’ve only had the dance lesson so far and it was good, but I’m worried about the singing lesson I have next.”

         “But didn’t you say were training as a singer? How can you be less confident about singing than dancing?” she asks curiously.

         “I originally auditioned to be a dancer, but it somehow ended up being this way,” I mumble, not wishing to explain the whole scenario again. She nods distractedly, looking at the cafeteria clock. “I want to practice one of the routines for the next lesson I have, so I’m going to go first, okay?” she says. She quickly drains the juice carton, and stands up with the empty tray in hand. “I’ll probably be home around eleven or twelve. See you then, if you’re awake. Good luck with the singing lesson!” she says and hurries off to practice.

         Whoa, is she going to train until that late? I thought that I’d be able to have some free time since it’s summer vacation… It’s probably better to forget that idea. I’ll have to practice at least as hard as the others if I don’t want to be left behind! I quickly finish my sandwich and decide to get to the vocal lesson early, so that I can at least mentally prepare myself for it.

         When I arrive at the room though, the instructor is already present, going over some papers. She waves me in as I pause at the door, unsure. She puts the papers aside and introduces herself with a smile. I’m relieved because she seems really friendly.

         “So, Jung  Min, I see that you’ve never been formally instructed in singing. Is that correct?”

         “Yes, ma’am.”          

         She laughs and tells me to just call her In Na Eunni, “Being called ma’am makes me feel so old! And music is very personal, so I like to have close relationships with my students.”

         I like her already. I’m very, very slowly starting to think that I might just get through this lesson alive…

         “So since we have some extra time, tell me a little about yourself. What do you like or dislike about singing? Since when have you been singing? Is there anything that you are not comfortable with when singing? What do you feel when you’re singing?”

         I’m a little overwhelmed at all the sudden, not to mention personal, questions. I try to organize my thoughts and answer as best as I can. “I’m not really sure about my singing ability. I was told that I have a horrible voice once, so I feel very conscious singing in front of others. I used to like singing a lot before my mom died and I’d always be humming something or the other, but after she died, that habit just went away, I guess...”

         She nods and makes some notes on one of the papers she was holding earlier and I see that it’s my info. She asks me, “How do you feel about singing again?”

         “I’m really nervous and apprehensive. I was actually aiming to be a dancer, but I was told all of a sudden that I’d be a better singer than a dancer, so I’m really not sure what to think,” I say, still a little frustrated at the situation.

         “Don’t worry about it too much. We will work together on your singing and I’m going to make sure you’re comfortable with it before we proceed. I need you to trust me to know what I’m doing and give your all during the lessons, okay?”

         “Yes, Eunni!” I give her a big smile.

         “Good. Let’s start with the basic warming up exercises.”

         We spend the next two hours doing the warm-up, then just learning to recognize and sing different notes. She explains pitch, and tempo, and other basics. She also gives me a book that has really basic information about music and singing. When we have about forty minutes of the lesson left, she tells me, “Music can’t be taught through books like scientific information. It’s best learnt by practicing it, and feeling how the sound changes depending on your every breath, every movement, the vibration of your vocal chords. So for the rest of the lesson, I want you to just sing. Pick a song that you like and sing it best as you can. It will also give me a chance to learn your strengths and weaknesses.” I start singing the song I’d practiced for the audition. When I’m done, she plays it back to me on her recorder. I frown at the device. That doesn’t sound very good, almost seems like I ate up half the words, not to mention the tone, pitch, etc. She smiles and asks, “Not impressed with yourself, eh? But it’s not that bad. We can work with this.

         “First of all, you should take care to enunciate the lyrics properly. You’re still singing self-consciously. You need to open your mouth more and let your voice out. The technical stuff we can sort out slowly. Now sing it again.”

         I do. Again. And again. And again. I spend the rest of the lesson singing the song over and over with In Na Eunni giving me feedback after every time. Finally, just when I’m getting sick of that damn song, she lets me know that our time is almost up.

         “But before you leave, I want you to sing the song that you sang for your final audition. I heard the judges were very impressed. Try and remember what you were feeling when you sang that  song.”

         I sing the song for her, trying to think of my memories of my mom and how much I missed her. When I’m done, Eunni is quiet for a moment, and then she says, “I can see why they selected you. Your singing has soul in it. It makes the song so much more than just a birthday song. I’m glad I get to work with you. Now if only we can get you trained in the technical aspects of singing, and deal with your self-consciousness, you can go rock everyone with your singing!”

         I know she’s just saying that to encourage me, but it still brings a smile to my face. I blush, and she ruffles my hair like I’m a little kid. “Aigoo, you’re so cute when you’re all shy like that! Now get going, and don’t forget to do the voice exercises everyday, and take care of your throat. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

         I have the Acting & Modeling lesson next - A&M for short. But that’s from next week, I remember. So, I guess that means I’m free for now. I decide to work on the dance routine we learnt today and head to one of the empty practice rooms. After three hours, I can’t take it anymore and head home, buying some groceries on the way. I’m not sure if Sun Mi Eunni had a chance to go to the mart, and I’m not in the mood for more triangle-kimbap.

         I had always thought I’d be good at cooking, but because I wasn’t comfortable at home where stepmom was always around I didn’t really cook much before. Now that I have free reign over the kitchen, I decide to make lots of healthy, non-fattening food that we can reheat later for convenience’s sake. By the time I’m done making all the food, Sun Mi noona is home. She makes an ‘Oops’ face as soon as she sees me.

         “I forgot the groceries,” she says from the doorstep, “I’ll just go get some stuff now!” She starts to turn around, but I stop her, “It’s okay, I went grocery shopping already. I had some free time today, so I made some food for all of us. If you don’t mind, you can just reheat it whenever you’re hungry.”

         “So that’s what smelled so amazing! I was envying whoever got to eat that,” she says, coming over to take a look at what I’m doing. I plate the food for both of us, and put the rest in boxes I can store in the fridge after it’s cooled enough.

         We settle in front of the TV with our food. There’s a re-run of Weekly Idol that I insist we watch. Infinite’s on, and they’re bullying the poor leader, Kim Sunggyu, again. I am a big Infinite fan! I love their music, and their choreographed dance moves even more! And I love them on Weekly Idol. Especially Sunggyu and Hoya. One always gets bullied and the other just adds oil to the fire. As if the MCs need any more help in bullying Gyu! That’s one group I’m looking forward to seeing in real life. You know, if it ever happens...

         Sun Mi Eunni tells me about her day - she had to deal with a really touchy-feely partner for an acting assignment today, and she regales me with an exaggerated version of how she dealt with him. As we are talking, a girl I haven’t seen before comes in, stopping suddenly when she sees me. She has a deer in headlights expression, and looks back and forth between me and Sun Mi Eunni. Eunni introduces us, “Hee Won-ah, greet her, this is the new trainee, So Jung Min. She’s an year older than you. She’ll be living with us from now on.”

         “I-I see. Hello, my name is Kim Hee Won. Please call me Hee Won.”

         “Ah, yes, pleased to meet you, Hee Won-sshi,” I say, standing to bow.

         She looks flustered as she says, “No need to bow, Eunni!” She looks even more panicked as she realizes she used informal language. “Sorry! I’m being so rude!’ She bows again.

         I laugh it off saying, “Please be informal. We will all be living together so let’s get along well!” She’s so cute, I can’t help but try to make her relax.

         “Okay, Eunni! Glad to meet you too…” she says softly, looking down at the ground.

         “I made food for all of us. It’s on the counter,so help yourself. And if you ever get hungry, just heat up whatever you like from the fridge, okay?”

         “Ah, thank you so much, Eunni. I’m happy to get to eat home-made food after so long!”

         “Not at all! I’ve always wanted to try cooking, so it’s my pleasure. Though I can’t guarantee the taste!”

         Sun Mi Eunni gives me two thumbs-up, saying, “The taste is awesome! If SM had a cooking section you’d probably be the first in it!”

         Hee Won and I laugh at her. Hee Won gets some food too, and joins us in front of the TV. Just as she’s about to start eating, Jun comes home.

         “I see you guys are having a party without me,” she says.

         “Jun, didn’t you say you would be home late?” I ask, “Grab some food and come join us!”

         “Did you cook, Jung Min? I know there’s no way the other two did.”

         “Yep, I did. I made lots of extra food, so reheat it whenever you’re hungry.” I say, with a smile.

         “Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you before, we are given an allowance for food per dorm, and a personal allowance too, though it’s not much. We put the grocery receipts in the jar in the kitchen and at the end of the month, we will split the allowance accordingly. Okay?”Sun Mi Eunni informs me.

         “That’s good. I won’t go bankrupt, at least,” I joke, making them laugh.

         “Yah! Are you saying we all eat too much?” Jun says, acting affronted, while trying to hide her smile.

         “Nope. Just you,” I say, “Merong!”

         She pretends to throw her plate at me, and I duck, laughing.

         “But how come you’re home early?” I ask, remembering what she’d told me earlier in the day.

         “Just wanted to have a proper welcome for you today! I thought it would be nice to take some time off for a change. See, now I get to enjoy this delicious meal with you guys!” she winks cheesily at us. We all burst out laughing. After we’ve all eaten, I decide to shower and head to bed and catch up on my beauty sleep. After doing all the skincare routines I was told to, of course!