Chapter 1

July 2010,

            You had been in Cube Entertainment for a few months now, and you were working as hard as you could to achieve all of the goals that your coaches had set for you. Even if the schedules were incredibly packed and tiring, you still concluded all the practices, classes and activities without skipping a day.

            You were supposed to debut with 4 other girls, your band name still in discussion. You and the girls went along nicely, and after almost a year together, you were practically family. That happened not only with the girls, but also with your sunbaes. The whole company was bonded deeply, but of course, some more than others. There were some girls you didn’t get along with, but you still respected them. The worst case was Hyuna, You never showed your dislike for her, since the respect for the older spoke louder and it was also of great importance in your business.

            As there are bad impressions and connections with certain people that mark stages of your life, there are also ones that go beyond our comprehension, for these are instant and very important to us. That was what happened. You were at your first practice with B2ST, where you had to dance to ‘Bad Girl’. It was sort of a ritual, dancing to your sunbaes group choreography in front of them. It was meant to be an evaluation of your skills, but it ended up being as more of a get-together, in order to establish a better mood between employees. And that’s what you were in the end, an employee. But your rank was only of a trainee, which meant you did not have a definitive future.

            One of the rules for the ones in your category was that no relationship was allowed, not even inside the company. But you just couldn’t help the strong feelings that dominated your heart. At first, you just couldn’t help the strong feelings that dominated your heart. At first, you thought it was just admiration and strong respect, but every time Jang Hyunseung’s eyes met yours, you knew it wasn’t that. You felt attracted to that 4D personality of his. And the outside wasn’t anything but perfect to your eyes. He was strict, but when you needed help, he would do it with a dedication unique to him, and that probably came from his perfectionist side, which you looked up to.

            About half a year after you had that first practice, he asked you to join him for coffee. Though your heart went wild with expectations and started to create numerous scenarios, your brain took the lead and rationally told you that it was nothing but an after work coffee, nothing uncommon for colleagues.

            As you entered the coffee shop, you sat on the farthest table, in order to avoid gathering attention towards your idol sunbae. To your luck, there weren’t that many people in the coffee shop, probably because it was already past 11 P.M., and it was also a Monday. Even far from the window, you could still hear the drizzle of the rain hitting the glass, and every time a customer left or the waitress went outside to fix the sign, the earthy aroma of the rainy air filled the shop, soothing the ambient between you too, making you more at ease. You absent-mindedly fidgeted with the menu card and avoided looking directly into Hyunseung’s eyes. The silence went from comfortable to awkward, and as our order arrived, you still couldn’t think of something to say.

            ‘Peculiar taste I guess’ Hyunseung muttered, barely loud enough for you to hear.

            ‘What?’ you immediately replied, blowing softly on your hot coffee in a pinkish mug, decorated with smiley clouds.

            ‘Caramel mint cappuccino.’ The minty smell rising from the cup filled my nostrils as he said that. ‘But I guess that was to expect from a person like you, ________ -ah.’ He smiled softly, sipping his macchiato.

            ‘What do you mean, like me?’ you blushed softly at the closeness he had attached to your name. You could feel the blood pulsating on the veins of your cheeks, madly heating them. You wanted to run away from the situation, but you couldn’t simply turn away from him.

            ‘You are kind of like me. You aren’t on my level, but you almost have a 4D personality too. I like that actually.’ He flashed you with his million dollars smile, and you could swear that your heart melted, imploded or simply sunk to the ground. You took a sip of your sweet beverage and started fidgeting with the plastic covered menu again. Focusing on your hands, you tried to overcome your nervousness and embarrassment.

            Suddenly, his warm hand reached for yours, and he intertwined his fingers with yours, and started to massage the back of your hand.

            ‘You know, ______-ah’ he said, making you look straight into his eyes, capturing your complete attention. You could see a strange nervousness in his eyes, but he still strongly showed burning confidence in his stare. ‘ I don’t usually ask anyone to come and have coffee with me to this café. It’s my private little place where I can relax and get away from all the stardom life and pressure.’ With your free hand, you put the falling strands of hair behind your ear. ‘ Why did you invite me then?’ You asked, truly curious about this little confession, since your brain had won the fight with your heart earlier, making reason prevail and hope locked deep into your mind.

            ‘Because I like you. I… I’m in love with you, ___________-ah.’

End of chapter 1.