Jihyo walks down a corridor. The earpiece in her right ear keeps falling out no matter how many times she tries to adjust it. As she gets to a door that has a white sign, she turns the handle and walks in.

It’s mayhem.

It doesn’t matter if they wake up at 3 am and have professionals taking care of them, they always end up running out of time. She doesn’t think that it’ll ever end. This is their life now. Running from one thing to another, only catching small glimpses of the outside world and normal life.

She glances at a clock on the wall. They still have an hour before the pre-recording.

Jihyo has been ready for a while now, but there isn’t enough time to do anything particularly important when there’s only an hour left. She takes a seat by the wall and tries to empty her mind for a minute.

It doesn’t work, because Mina walks past her.

Jihyo admires the way Mina carries herself, sliding past people and objects as if they were part of Mina’s individual choreography. She wishes she could be little like that herself, but instead she appears more like a shieldmaiden than a ballerina.

Mina goes to the other side of the room and sits down next to Chaeyoung all the while Jihyo’s eyes travel with her. Jihyo feels like she is made of air, but the difference is that if the air was out of the room, Mina would notice.

The Japanese girl shows something on her phone to the rapper next to her and they both laugh.

Jihyo picks up her own phone, just to pretend that she is doing something. On the lock screen is a picture of her group on the beach. Most of them have gotten their hair wet, or at least their clothes. They are smiling freely and the sun is shining. Jihyo stands behind Mina, almost pressed against her back.

Jihyo can still remember the way wind was blowing Mina’s hair on her face, tickling her cheek.

She puts the phone back.

Can we just start filming?

-

“I think Mina and Jihyo have fought,” Nayeon whispers, hunched over her meal.

“Huh?” Jungyeon utters, mouth full of food and clearly not paying attention.

“They’ve been fighting.”

“Who?”

Nayeon sits up straight, slightly annoyed.

“Jihyo and Mina.”

“Jihyo and Mina?” Jungyeon says, looking puzzled.

“Yes.”

“Mina and Jihyo?” Jungyeon repeats and stares at a wall on the other side of the room.

“Never mind,” Nayeon mutters and goes back to her meal. What’s the point of talking to this dimwit?

“Mina…” Jungyeon says, as if she is trying to solve a particularly tricky equation. “And Jihyo…”

Nayeon rolls her eyes and continues to chew forcefully.

“But that’s like…” Jungyeon says and tires to find the right expression.

“Like… trying to make fire with two blocks of ice.”

Nayeon blows air through her nose.

“But they are so tense! Have you not seen it?” she says and uses a fork to punctuate her words. “Mina won’t look at Jihyo. And Jihyo… She stares at Mina every time she thinks no one is looking.”

Jungyeon’s eyes go wide.

“You’re right!”

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Nayeon scoffs.

“But what could they have fought about? The whole thing seems impossible.” Jungyeon says, this time giving her full attention to the older girl.

“I don’t know, but I’m going to f