We've all worked very hard this summer. Jihoon's finished creating the title track with our other producers, as well as teaching me how to sing. He says I have a good, strong voice, but that's mostly down to him. Is it really my voice if he found it? With all our songs for the new album now ready, we'll start recording next week.

I've been with Pinky and the other female trainees to hone my skills for the comeback. They've all been very supportive and helpful, just a fun bunch to be around.

With our schedules being so busy, today's the first time in weeks we're all free to have a break. So we're going our separate ways to run some errands and tasks before reuniting for a triple-unit bowling showdown.

Vernon, Joshua and I have banded together to go to town. Really, I'm just tagging along, since I've got nothing to do in particular. 

On the subway, I'm sat between the two. Joshua plays candy crush and Vernon plugs in to some music. 

"What do you like to listen to?" I inquire.

"K-hiphop obviously, but classic American rap too. You know, Chance, Drake, Kendrick." He lists.

"Yeah, American rap is cool and all but London Grime's the best."

"You wanna bet?" He challenges.

We enthuse over our favourite artists for most of the journey. I recommend him some good mix tapes and he introduces me to some new artists. 

"Can we go to the music store?" Joshua suggests when we come off at our stop. "I need a new guitar pick." Vernon and I have no objections, so we head there first. 

"He doesn't need a new guitar pick." Vernon whispers to me while Joshua leads the way in front of us. "He's got a pile of like 30, I've seen it." 

"Then why is he getting another?" I ponder with him. The mystery is soon solved when Vernon and I watch Joshua's unneeded purchase from outside the music shop. 

"It might have something to do with her." Vernon deduces that the girl at the counter is the reason for Joshua's frequent visits. We both giggle watching him flustered, trying to drum up a conversation with her. 

We try to put on our best straight faces when he comes out, but they're to no avail as he immediately shoots us a questioning look.

"What is it?" He interrogates us. 

"Nothing!" We reply suspiciously in unison.

"Really?" Joshua prods further. 

"Do you like her?" Vernon blatantly reveals that we know his secret. Joshua fails to deny the accusation, babbling attempts at words instead of actual sentences. 

"You're so cute!" I coo, pinching his bright pink cheeks.

Nothing of interest happens afterwards, except a bit of window shopping. The three of us settle in a milkshake bar just before we go to meet up with everyone else. 

"Do you guys ever miss it?" I look up from my drink to my two friends. "You know, America?"

"Not really, I lived in New York until I was 5, so I don't remember much. I'd like to go back one day though." Vernon explains.

"It's the little things, like snacks you get there but not here." Joshua speaks. "Or getting used to speaking Korean most of the time."

"Seungkwan woke me up a few weeks ago, but I was so out of it, jet lag and all that. He was talking to me and I replied, but he wasn't understanding parts of what I was saying, I didn't get it. Turns out I was subconsciously translating his words and answering in English." I laugh at the memory. "I don't know." Swirling my half empty cookie dough concoction with a striped straw, I begin to open up. "This idea's been in my head that, since I was used to Jeju and London, Seoul wouldn't be a big deal since it's essentially just a combination of the two. It's one of the things that made me feel less afraid about coming out here. But I feel like such a stranger in my own country."

"Well, you're still getting used to everything, it's only natural with such a big change in your life." Joshua reminds me. "But eventually you'll see you deserve to be here as much as anyone else."

I smile, taking his words to heart.

Reunited with the rest of our friends outside the venue, we book two lanes to ease the waiting time between the 14 of us. 

Seungkwan approaches me with a proposition whilst I tie the laces of my clunky pair of bowling shoes. "Why don't we make this game a little more interesting?"

"Go on." I take interest in what he has to say. 

"If your team gets less points than my team, or vice versa, the loser has to buy the winner ice cream." 

"Alright, we've got a deal." Agreeing to his terms, now Seungkwan and I have more initiative to score well.

We start the match after entering our names into the scoreboard. For the performance and vocal units, the person with the lowest score won't be added to the team's total, to make it fair for the hip hop unit.

No one in our team is a bowling superstar, but at least having played a few times prior, we've got a good chance. 

I pick a ball while Jun has his shot, getting used to the weight so I can have a good throw. Stepping up, my eyes focus directly down the lane. Building momentum, I walk quickly, swinging my arm forward at the end and releasing the ball. Five out of ten pins fall over and with my second shot, three more join them. A good go overall. 

With the number of us playing and only 2 lanes, a lot of time is spent watching rather than playing. While waiting for our turns, Soonyoung and I decide to visit the arcade section of the bowling alley. After perusing the many options, we both look at each other, then back to the dance game in front of us.

"You sure you can handle it?" Soonyoung taunts while putting some coins in the machine. 

"Don't underestimate me, Kwon. You have no idea what I'm capable of."

We agree on a difficulty level of hard and choose a few songs. Our steps are perfectly matched, never missing the machine's instructions. But at the end of it all we... draw?

Looking at the screen in disbelief, it's revealed that we got the same amount of points. 

"Let's go again." Hastily I conclude, inserting more coins in the game.

Same difficulty level, different song, result: another draw.

This isn't one of those cheap arcade games you find in the grimy corner of your local shopping mall, no. Judging by the make (and how much it costs for one go), this is as good as dance machines get. So for us to draw not one, not two, but FIVE times? 

To accompany the hilarity of the situation, a small crowd has surrounded us, hoping to see a winner too. We probably would have given up around the third time if not for them.

"This ends now." Soonyoung selects the highest level, ultra-uber-hyper-xtreme. Some members of our makeshift audience gossip about how people have injured limbs on this mode, great.

Everyone counts down with the machine, then the finale begins.

Considering how many rounds we went through before, it's a miracle we both manage to keep up with the arcade game's outputs. My legs move so fast I start to lose feeling in them. After a few extremely exhausting minutes, it's all over. I hold onto the bar behind me for support and watch the screen in anticipation of the score. 

With a ten point difference it's... me who wins the match, and claims the No.1 high score ever on the game. Some people cheer while others hand people money. A little boy mutters while placing a note in a girl's hand and she sticks her tongue at him with a triumphant "Told you she could do it."

"Good game." Like a good sport, Soonyoung offers me his hand and I shake it energetically. 

"You too." I reply.

We go back to the bowling game, but everything is already wrapped up.

"There you are!" Minghao is the first to comment on our reappearance. "You guys were supposed to be gone for 5 minutes tops, what happened?" 

"We got caught up with the dance machine, sorry!" I apologise.

"What place did we get?" Soonyoung asks.

"Second." Jun tells us.

"Who was third?" I follow up.

"Vocal unit." Chan says.

"Ha!" My finger points in Seungkwan's direction. "I don't even have to be there to be better than you!" I gloat. "No disrespect to the rest of you guys." Addressing an apology the other members of the vocal team afterwards.

"That's not fair!" He points out. "You were gone for half of the game!"

"Lies!" I object. "I was there for most of it, now get me my ice cream!"

Walking home from the bus stop, I merrily my three scoop strawberry wonder, smirking smugly whenever Seungkwan makes eye contact. 

"You can have a bit if you want." It's slightly sad to see his disgruntled expression, so I give in. 

He walks beside me slowly, having a small , before taking a huge bite out of my treat and running away. 

"Come back here, you weirdo!" I screech, swerving past Seungcheol and Mingyu and chasing after him. "How can you even bite ice cream, what's wrong with you?!"