« chapter thirteen »

•••

It was almost a pity that Lisa was once again saved by a knock on the door. Lisa was grateful that she had another chance of escape, but she was also worried that maybe this time, her luck had finally stretched too thin. Jennie took an extra few seconds to gather herself together, and those few seconds seemed to be longer than normal.

When Jennie called for whoever it was to come in, her voice was still a bit strained, but it would’ve been hard to hear that bit of roughness through the door.

To Lisa’s surprise, it was Dino that stepped through the door.

“Um, hey,” he said, glancing between Jennie and Lisa carefully.

Lisa doubted he had heard anything through that door, since Jennie would not have been as careless as to speak her mind if there was a risk that someone else could hear it. Any hostility implied by Jennie standing up had been covered up when Jennie pulled her emotions under control, and Lisa’s surprise had certainly changed her hostility into confusion.

Dino cleared his throat. “Well, we—uh—need Lisa in class. Kind of an emergency.”

Jennie rolled her eyes, but she accepted it. Besides, it would have been best to avoid upsetting Taeyang, who became very irritated if someone messed with his planning. Jennie dismissed both Dino and Lisa, but not before glaring at Lisa with a level of animosity that made her shudder.

When they had gotten a considerable distance away from Jennie’s office, Dino glanced behind them to make sure the coast was clear and then gestured for Lisa to stay silent and follow him. Lisa did as he said, still confused, but some of the confusion disappeared when they turned the corner to the East Wing and a brunette in a ponytail almost pounced on her.

It never did make sense that Dino would get her out of such a situation.

“Are you okay?” Seulgi asked, quickly pulling Lisa into one of the practice rooms. She said something quietly to Dino, probably instructing him to go back to class, before she closed the door and the lights.

Lisa nervously wetted her lips. “I—I’m fine, but you—how did you—”

Seulgi glanced once toward the closed door, as if expecting it to open at any moment, and then leaned closer to Lisa to whisper. “I ... I saw what happened. With Chanyeol.” She gave Lisa a careful look. “You two ... you’re not actually dating, are you?”

That caught Lisa off guard, and she wordlessly gaped at Seulgi, not knowing what to say or how to even begin explaining.

Lucky for her, Seulgi continued. “I don’t know about you, but even though he looks model, he doesn’t act model, if you know what I mean.” She shrugged. “He was observing everything too closely for that, and besides, I investigated the spots he was looking at once you guys and Jennie were gone, and there were security cameras there. I’m sure models have a variety of interests, but this seemed too strange.”

Lisa finally got her thoughts in order to the point that she could articulate something understandable. “How did you ... but how did you know today?” She waved her hands toward the door, which was enough to convey the meaning of Jennie.

“You’ve been really out of it lately,” Seulgi said, a sad half-smile on her face. “I always wait outside your house so we can walk to class together, remember? You were in an unusual rush today, so I followed you instead of catching up.”

Lisa opened but couldn’t find anything to say, couldn’t find the words to express herself. It was because of Seulgi that—that she had escaped whatever Jennie had had in store for her. Seulgi, and her cleverness, and her stupid, ridiculous loyalty, all in the name of friendship—

She pulled the other girl into a hug, her first time initiating contact since she had joined the academy. “Thank you.” Seulgi hugged her back with just as much strength, as if helping to hold Lisa together, and Lisa buried her face into the other girl’s shoulder. “Thank you.”

They stayed like that for a few moments, and Seulgi didn’t let go until Lisa made a movement to pull away.

“So,” Seulgi started, glancing at the door again. “What happened?”

Lisa swallowed tightly and quickly shook her head. “I think we should—”

“Lisa,” Seulgi said, and though her voice was soft it had a sense of finality that left no room for argument. “Taeyang excused us, I talked to him before dragging Dino into this. He thinks I needed Dino to help find you, and now he thinks I’m taking you home so you can relax. No one expects us to be here.”

“But Jennie—”

“If she goes to the classroom to ask where you are, Taeyang will explain only what he knows. That’s as good a cover as we’ll ever get.”

Lisa took a deep breath to try to steady herself, but her strength left her, the morning finally taking its toll. She unsteadily sat onto the hardwood floor, shifting into a pretzel position, and Seulgi followed. Lisa looked at Seulgi, wordlessly asking where to begin.

“From the beginning.”

«•••»

Even before graduating from university, Lisa knew that the only choice for her was J. Kim Dance Academy. It was the most prestigious dance school in the Seoul area, so it was a perfect jumping off point for aspiring dancers to make a living in the professional industries, whether as a dancer, choreographer, or as was the typical trend, an idol, though the last path required training in other areas as well. And she knew that if she actually wanted to help her parents back home, she would have to get into that very academy; the industry was not so welcoming to foreigners, so the academy would help her reputation.

But getting in was difficult to begin with, and near impossible for a foreigner, especially an 18-year-old with zero professional experience. Which was why she was on the verge of biting her nails while waiting for her turn, and her anxiety was only increased by the fact that she was the last to go.

“Lalisa Manoban,” a student volunteer called out. Lisa’s head snapped up. The volunteer gestured for Lisa to enter, and with her heart pounding in her chest, Lisa followed.

It was a normal practice room; in fact, it was the same room that Taeyang now used for classes. “Director Kim,” the student said upon nearing the desk. “The last audition.” The director dismissed the student with a wave of her hand.

Lisa shuffled awkwardly from one leg to the other, not knowing what to do as the director flipped through some paperwork before singling out one page and putting it in front of her on the desk. “Lalisa, correct?” she asked without looking up.

Despite knowing the director couldn’t see her, she nodded. “Yes,” she said, her voice surprisingly steady.

“Well, let’s see what you—” The director paused when she glanced up and took account of Lisa. In that time, Lisa noted that Director Jennie Kim looked rather young for a director of a dance academy. Director Kim cleared . “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

Lisa got into position in the center of the room, and waited for the CD she submitted the month before to start playing. As soon as the familiar beat started, Lisa forgot the anxiety she felt about the audition and quickly lost herself in the dance. Before she knew it, the song had ended, and her audition was over.

She looked to Director Kim for a reaction, but the director showed no sign, whether positive or negative. Instead, after staring for a few long seconds, she twirled the pen in her hand once and set it down on the table. “Not bad, but I’d like to see that last part again. Before you come forward for the ending position.”

Lisa chose to take that as a positive sign—maybe the director had liked that bit? She repeated the sequence, this time with no music, and as soon as she stepped forward for the ending the director stood up, grabbing the CD player remote. Lisa stopped mid-step, confused.

“No, no, keep going.”

“I—that was it,” Lisa said, pushing her bangs out of her eyes. She should’ve gotten them cut, they were getting too long.

“Right. You choreographed this, correct?” she asked, and Lisa nodded. It must’ve been a rhetorical question though, since all applicants were required to submit original choreographies, and the director paid no attention to Lisa’s response.

“I think that portion of the routine would look better with a partner. It would add more ...” she paused, searching for the right word. “Dimension. It would give that extra depth, since right now it looks rather flat.”

Lisa cleared . “I’m sorry, Director Kim, but aren’t the auditions supposed to be so—”

“Yes, but put the audition aside for a second.” The director stepped closer to Lisa, and Lisa reflexively took a step back. She mentally berated herself—the director was only trying to help her, and here she was, feeling threatened.

“I don’t understand,” Lisa said finally.

Director Kim nodded. “That’s fine. I can help.” Without hesitation, and without permission, she took Lisa’s hand and pulled her back to the center of the room. Lisa was so surprised that she stumbled slightly on the way.

When the director pressed play on the remote, the music started from the beginning, and Lisa restarted the routine. She realized that Jennie Kim, despite being young, was a skilled dancer—as was expected of a director. With only one performance of the audition, she was able to replicate the entire choreography to near perfection, almost able to keep up with Lisa.

And then that part before the ending came, and Lisa looked to the director, unsure of how she wanted to proceed. The director continued the choreography, but with the idea of a duet in mind, and slowly Lisa was able to envision it too—when only she had been dancing, she covered the right side and then the left side. With both of them, they covered the opposite sides at the same time, giving a mirror effect, and Lisa was able to appreciate the subtle difference in what Director Kim had referred to as “dimension.”

Until the director came too close for comfort. As Lisa stepped forward for the final few moves before the song ended, the director stepped right behind her, but Lisa didn’t notice until the director had grabbed her by the waist. Lisa nearly lost her footing as she jerked away from the touch, but while the director lost her grip on Lisa’s waist, she shifted to grab Lisa’s wrist. She yanked Lisa closer, and Lisa was not balanced enough to hold her ground, falling forward into the director.

Lisa began apologizing automatically, though she barely understood what had just happened. “Sorry, I just—I tripped, I didn’t mean to—”

Director Kim silenced her by tilting her chin up. Lisa, despite trying to stay calm, felt a shudder pass through her. The director was focusing on her too intently, and Lisa weakly tried to pull her wrist away. Director Kim’s grip was too strong.

“Has anyone told you how pretty you are?” Director Kim said softly, and Lisa immediately stiffened. She didn’t have much experience in such situations—zero experience, in fact—but at least she knew this was not normal conduct during an audition.

“I’m sorry, Director, but I—”

“Because you are stunning.” The director accentuated her statement by tugging Lisa closer with the hand still gripping her wrist, and then rested her other hand on Lisa’s waist, effectively trapping her.

Lisa was leaning away as far as she could with her limited mobility. Jennie Kim was attractive, yes, but this situation was nothing but uncomfortable. The director’s eyes weren’t friendly enough, and she wasn’t smiling; rather, her lips were slightly parted as her eyes raked over Lisa’s figure.

This time, Lisa pushed her off with a panic-fueled strength, and then wrapped her hands around her middle. “I’m sorry, Director Kim, but I think I should leave.” Lisa turned to do just that, but was stopped by what the director said next.

“Are you rejecting your offer of admission?”

“Excuse me?” When she turned around, disbelief coloring her face, the director was sitting on the desk, twirling the pen with her fingers.

“I said, are you rejecting your offer of admission?”

“What offer?” Despite her limited fluency in Korean, Lisa pieced together the kindest way to word her statement. “With all due respect, Director Kim, I don’t think this is the appropriate way to—to—”

“And what will you do without this academy?” The director cocked her head to the side, tapping the pen against one cheek. “Lalisa Manoban.” The unnatural way in which she pronounced her name made her point. “You’re in South Korea now, doll, not Thailand. And you’re here as a dancer. Try to think of one way this could go right and doesn’t involve J. Kim Dance Academy.”

She paused, waiting, but it was only for dramatic effect. When Lisa swallowed nervously, the director continued. “There isn’t a way. You need this academy.” Pushing herself off the desk, she stepped around to quickly mark a few things on the paper she had taken out earlier. Signing it, she handed the paper to Lisa, who reluctantly took it with trembling hands. “You passed your audition,” she said, a small smirk on her face. “And if you’re smart, I’ll see you at the formal orientation session next month.”

«•••»

Whatever Seulgi had been expecting, it had not been that. She stared at Lisa, open-mouthed and utterly shocked. Lisa waited, giving her time to process.

“Lisa—I—does—does Jisoo ...?”

Lisa shook her head slightly, not needing Seulgi to finish the question. “I cried that night, but she thought it was because I’d been accepted. And quite frankly, my parents don’t need anything more to worry about.”

A few beats of silence passed, where the only sound in the practice room was their breathing. Then, Seulgi scrambled forward, falling onto Lisa and almost knocking the girl onto her back. Seulgi hugged her tightly, pressing her face into the other girl's shoulder.

“You should’ve told someone. You should’ve told Jisoo, you should’ve told me ... but Lisa, I’m so, so sorry,” she whispered, her voice on the verge of cracking. She sounded like she was about to cry. “No one deserves that, and I’m so sorry you had to go through it alone ... that you’ve been going through all of this alone ... but now you have me. Please, please remember that.”

Lisa didn’t realize she was crying too until she buried her face into Seulgi’s shirt and realized it was damp.

•••

Author’s Note:

um so i guess i went there?? also i really like seulgi so i needed to add more seulgi ... everyone needs a friend that can both annoy and support them ~ hope you liked the update even if you hate me for doing that to lisa whoops at least it's a longer update than normal?

~ thana