Haru bowed at the door as the middle-aged man - Teacher Lee, her newly assigned tutor – left after their first lesson together. After realizing she had been discovered as being a YG trainee, Haru’s Dad organized a tutor to come into the training building every other day to teach her instead.

Today’s lesson has been math, Haru’s least favourite subject, and she returned to her desk in the practice room to slump down exhaustedly in her seat. Haru checked the clock on the wall and remembered she’d agreed to a rehearsal with Bobby in five minutes time. Haru stood up, her head hurting from two hours straight of derivatives, and began packing up the textbooks and exercise books on her desk with her uninjured hand. Her left wrist was bandaged and strapped up in a sling temporarily and Haru struggled to lift up the pile of books from the table. The one thing I have learnt recently is that I should never overlook the importance of having two mobile arms and hands, Haru thought to herself as she slowly returned her pens to her pencil case.

“Want some help?”

Haru turned towards the voice that came from the entrance of the room. Hanbin was leaning against the doorframe; an iced coffee in one hand and his earphones draped around his neck.

“I’ll manage,” Haru quickly responded, avoiding eye contact with him. She tried not to give away the fact that she had replayed their last conversation a day ago in her head countless times, and that his presence right now caused her to fluster just like she did that day.

Hanbin watched Haru cradle her books with much difficulty with her right arm and sighed. He came up beside her, put down his drink and swiftly took the books from her. Haru opened to object but instead watched him place her books into her backpack, pick up the remaining pens on the desk to return them to her pencil case and put that into her backpack too.

“Thanks, I’ll-” Haru reached down towards her backpack but Hanbin had already lifted it up and slung it over his own shoulder.

She blinked at him, surprised by his help since both of them knew that Haru was perfectly capable of carrying her own bag.

“Where are you off to now?” Hanbin looked at her expectantly, the straw of his drink between his teeth.

“Um… I have a rehearsal with Bobby,” Haru told him before quickly adding, “You know, I can carry my own bag. You don’t need to-”

“Which room?” Hanbin had already started towards the door and Haru couldn’t do anything else but to follow him out.

“Just a few rooms down,” Haru matched her pace to Hanbin’s as the two headed towards the practice studio.

“How’s your wrist?” Hanbin reached across Haru’s body to prod lightly at her sling with one finger.

Haru recoiled slightly until he withdrew his arm, “It’s fine. I still have to wear this sling for a few more days though.”

After their last encounter with each other, Haru couldn’t believe Hanbin had returned to his nonchalant self. She was both annoyed at him and herself. Him, because of his vague and confusing pseudo-flirtatious actions and comments, and herself, for being so affected by them, to the point that Hanbin poking at her arm caused her to feel rattled.

I’m not being weird right? Any girl would feel slightly sensitive and confused after that kind of encounter… Right? Haru watched Hanbin through the corner of her eyes as he walked beside her. She felt stupid but couldn’t stop thinking about why he chose Dahye… instead of… yes, herself, if he wasn’t angry at her. And she couldn’t get his last words out of her mind either. What on earth does he mean by asking me to “take responsibility” for him?

Haru was still swimming in her thoughts when Hanbin’s voice cut through, “Which room are you going to? You haven’t said anything.”

Snapping back to reality Haru realized they had walked past the room. Embarrassed, she muttered she must have forgotten and spun around to head quickly towards the practice room a few doors down. Haru opened the door and walked inside, Hanbin followed after.

“Bobby, I’m here. Sorry, I’m a few minutes late,” Haru greeted Bobby who was sitting against the opposite wall with his iPod.

He immediately stood up as Haru walked in, “Haru! Oh, and Hanbin-ah,”

Hanbin nodded at Bobby as he came through the door with Haru’s bag on his shoulder, “Haru, where should I put this?”

Before Haru could respond, Bobby had already stepped forward to pull the backpack from Hanbin, “I’ll take it. Thanks Hanbin,”

Hanbin stared at Bobby for a brief moment but quickly snapped his head away, “It’s fine. Practice hard you guys. I’ll catch you later Bobby,”

Bobby patted Hanbin on the back and nodded at him.

“Thanks Hanbin,” Haru added before he left. Hanbin gave Haru a final glance from over his shoulder before wordlessly leaving.

✼ ✼ ✼

A few nights later, Haru was practicing her part in her room by herself. She paused the music and decided to go buy a drink from the vending machines. On her way over, she stopped outside another practice studio where she saw Hongseok inside, rehearsing the dance. She watched him throw his hat on the ground in frustration, his shoulders drooping.

Haru was going to leave him alone but on second thought decided to knock on the door, before opening it.

Hongseok looked up in surprise at Haru before recognizing her with a tired smile, “You’re Haru right?”

“Yeah that’s me,” Haru returned the smile. “Can I come in?”

Hongseok stood up and nodded, “Sure,”

Haru closed the door behind her and walked up to Hongseok, the two of them exchanged greetings and sat down on the bench.

“How’s your arm? You took a pretty bad fall yesterday,” Hongseok gestured towards Haru’s injured wrist.

Haru shrugged, “It’s not too bad, just a sprain. But it means I probably won’t be able to participate in the dance routine this month though…”

“I don’t want to say you’re lucky but you’re lucky,” Hongseok let out a groan as he leant back against the wall.

Haru laughed, “Having trouble with the routine? Where’s Jinhyeong?”

“He’s at the dorm having an early night, I’m just doing some individual practice,” Hongseok responded, lifting his head away from the wall behind him.

The breeze of the air conditioner blew through the room and the door opened slightly.

“I shouldn’t have picked this room, the door is loose so it opens by itself if the AC is on,” Hongseok told her.

“You seem upset,” Haru commented. “That’s why I came in,”

Hongseok let out a sigh, “I think I’m going to cut from YG,”

Haru remembered the grim words of warning Hongseok and Jinhyeong had received from President Yang at the last monthly assessment. She tried to give him her most encouraging smile and said, “You shouldn’t take President Yang’s word to heart like that. I mean, he’s just being tough on you guys because he wants to see more improvement.”

“The thing is, I’m upset, but I’m also kind of relieved,” Hongseok continued. “I don’t think I suit the whole YG style… Perhaps I’ll be better off at a different company.”

Haru kept quiet for a moment before carefully responding, “I think you’re doing a really great job here. And I’m sad that you think you’re going to be cut. But I am less worried when I hear that you’ve got future plans if the worst does happen,”

Hongseok nodded, “The reason I’ll be upset is that I would have wasted nearly a whole year here,”
“Don’t be,” Haru replied firmly. “Experience and practice is never a waste. You’ve improved so much since you first got recruited, so I wouldn’t call this year a waste at all,”

Hongseok offered a wider smile at Haru, “You’re a pretty optimistic person aren’t you?”

Haru chuckled sheepishly, “Sorry… I guess I’m not the one to tell you to cheer up but I’ll still try,”

“I suppose getting cut also means I won’t have to deal with Hanbin’s wrath everyday too,” Hongseok added with a small shrug.

“Hanbin’s not the easiest person to deal with,” Haru looked at him sympathetically. “I can’t imagine how strict he would be on you guys,”

“I’m angry at myself for being scared of him. He’s so good at everything you can’t call him out on errors, and he’s the leader as well. I have a lot of respect for that guy but he infuriates me to no end,” Hongseok continued with defeat. He looked up at Haru before adding urgently, “Don’t tell him I said that, he’d have my head,”

Haru laughed. She didn’t realize Hongseok was such a relatable person, especially on the topic of Hanbin.

“I understand how you feel about Hanbin,” Haru said with a smile. “Yes he can be a prick. God, he can be a really, really big one. But in my opinion, and I know you’ll agree with me deep down, Hanbin is a remarkable person. He cares about you guys more than he does about himself. He comes off cold and unyielding but I think he’s just setting himself as an example to everyone else as the leader. I feel sorry for him because I can’t imagine the amount of pressure that rides upon his shoulders, being the leader and the one composing songs for a group on the verge of debut…”

“You really are an optimistic person,” Hongseok grinned at Haru.

Haru scratched her head with a laugh, slightly embarrassed by her tall words of praise for Hanbin, “It’s not always a good thing I promise,”

“You’re also no push-over. I love the way you stood up for yourself in front of Eunbi, that was one of the highlights of my time here and I only wish I saw it for myself,” Hongseok laughed.

Haru covered her face with her hands, “I’ve earned myself a reputation here and I hate it,”

The two talked for a while longer before Haru finally bid him goodbye and good luck, leaving Hongseok to practice.

✼ ✼ ✼

One week after Haru sprained her wrist, she made a trip to the hospital with a manager to get her injury reassessed. She was joyous to be told that she no longer needed the sling and that her wrist should be fully healed within the next few days. Even though Haru asked earnestly, the doctor still disallowed Haru to participate in the dance routine this month, telling her it would not be ideal to exert that much pressure on it right after it had healed.

Back in her own practice studio that evening, Haru despondently began to rehearse her parts in the song for the millionth time. The phone in her pocket vibrated and Haru relocated to the corner of the room to make sure anyone peeking through the window on the door wouldn’t catch her with a phone.

The text was from Donghoon: Ya, famous person. Wanna come to Hongdae tomorrow night?

Haru blinked at Donghoon’s text in shock before responding: Are you crazy? Why would I do that?

Donghoon’s response came immediately: Because you’re making yourself a prisoner in a place that’s easily escapable, and you want to see me.

Haru scoffed: I don’t want to see you.

That’s rude. But fine, if that doesn’t work then, what if Hyemi also thinks you should come?

Haru warily looked towards the door before texting back: Is she coming as well?

Donghoon replied: Of course stupid. I’ll get her to text you about it, since she’ll probably have more luck convincing you.

Before Haru could respond, there was a knock on the door and she hastily shoved the phone back into the pocket of her slacks before the door opened.

Hanbin walked inside whilst removing the earphones from his ears one at a time casually, and slinging them around his neck.

“What’s up?” Haru stood up, confused about the reason behind his visit.

Hanbin shut the door and pulled up a chair from the side of the room, flipping it around so that he sat with his legs around the back of the chair, and his arms resting on top of the backrest.

“I’m hurt,” Hanbin told her matter-of-factly.

Haru knitted her eyebrows together in confusion, “What?”

“For two reasons,” He continued. “Firstly…” He began to take off his jacket causing Haru to instinctively look away after their day in Tokyo.

“I’m not taking my top off, relax,” Hanbin’s voice was tinged with exasperation.

“Yeah well last time you took off your jacket, your top came off too,” Haru returned defensively, her head still turned away from Hanbin.

“Would you turn around? I promise I’m still wearing my top,” Hanbin’s voice was softer this time.

Haru turned around, relieved to see him still fully clothed. But her relief only lasted a minute when her eyes landed on a large patch of blood seeping through the sleeve of his t-shirt that was torn around his left shoulder.

She gasped out loud and immediately came up beside him to examine the area, “What the hell have you done?”

Hanbin let out a low and soft grunt as he winced at Haru’s touch, “Like I said, I’m hurt,”

“I can see that you idiot. You’re bleeding!” Haru stepped back in shock to look at Hanbin.

Hanbin’s eyes flicked up to meet Haru’s and he stared at her through his eyelashes before saying, “You should stick to your word… And take responsibility,”

Haru’s jaw slackened and she gaped at him, “What did-”

“The first aid kit is in the main area, in the cabinet beside the vending machines,” Hanbin looked away, resting his head against his arms and closing his eyes.

Incredulous, Haru continued to stare at Hanbin. He could have gotten the first aid kit himself on his way in but instead he dumped himself helplessly in front of her and told her to… what? Take responsibility?

“Wait a minute, I’m hurt too,” Haru lifted her bandaged wrist.

Hanbin opened his eyes briefly but shut them again before responding, “You’re out of your sling. And you’ve hurt your wrist not your fingers, I’m sure you can still clean up a wound and put a bandage over it,”

Haru opened to retaliate but remembered that Hanbin was still bleeding out. She ran out of the room, collected the first aid kit from the cabinet and raced back to Hanbin’s side. Pulling up a seat beside him, she took out a roll of tissue paper, tearing off a large chunk to bunch up in her hand. She hovered above his wound before realizing something. Hanbin, whose eyes were still shut, must have felt her hesitation because he reopened his eyes to look at Haru before calmly but knowingly saying, “You can ask me to take my top off you know? I won’t think you’re a ert,”

Haru’s face reddened and she blinked at Hanbin irritably before snapping, “Can you just hurry up and do it so I can stop the bleeding?”

Hanbin straightened up against the back of the seat. He grabbed the collar of his top behind him with his right arm and tugged his top over his head. Haru heard him wince as his shirt brushed over his wounded shoulder and she quickly reached over to help him pull the material over the wound and off his arms. Hanbin tossed the bloodied shirt to the side and repositioned his right arm over the top of the backrest on the chair.

Haru grimaced at the large gash on