« chapter two »

•••

When the bell rang that evening to signal Chaeyoung’s arrival, Jisoo seemed more panicked than Lisa.

“Wait, what did you say her name was again?” Jisoo asked quickly, following Lisa to the door.

Lisa laughed at Jisoo’s nervousness. “Chaeyoung,” she answered.

She didn’t usually have friends visit since Jisoo was always busy, so when Lisa had told her that Chaeyoung was going to coming over, Jisoo had put her work on hold to make sure the living room was immaculately clean and some snacks were prepared.

This is why she’s like a mother, Lisa thought affectionately.

Reaching the entrance, Lisa unlatched the lock and pulled open the door to see Chaeyoung standing outside, hands clasped together in front of her nervously. Hearing the door open, Chaeyoung looked up.

“Come in,” said Lisa with a smile, making way for Chaeyoung to enter.

Once inside, Chaeyoung was able to properly greet the two. “Ah, hello,” she said, bowing slightly to both of them.

“This is Jisoo,” Lisa introduced, gesturing to the brunette, “Who is my roommate and basically my mother. And Jisoo, this is Chaeyoung, the new dancer at the academy.”

Jisoo playfully elbowed Lisa. “Hey, I should be an older sister! I’m not that old ...” Both Chaeyoung and Lisa burst out laughing.

Feeling satisfied, Jisoo turned and smiled at Chaeyoung. “Welcome, and I wish you the best of luck in your preparations for the showcase! Let me know if you two need anything, I’ll be in my room.” With a small bow, Jisoo left to return to work.

Lisa turned to Chaeyoung and gestured for them to start heading toward the living room. “Well ... let’s start, then!”

«•••»

Lisa had had teaching experience before: back when she held a summer job at the dance academy, she taught the beginner levels, which generally consisted of younger teens. Chaeyoung, of course, was much less difficult to work with, and working one-on-one, Lisa was able to really appreciate her dance style. Whereas Lisa danced with fluid movements that were sharp but appeared effortless, Chaeyoung put a lot of power into every move, and it was hard not be drawn to her dance.

An hour and a half later, both girls were tired, of course, but definitely happy. Chaeyoung had—for now, at least—mastered the first third of the dance, and she knew the basics of the rest of the choreography as well, though she still had a while to go before memorizing it. However, Chaeyoung felt significantly more confident and already felt much better about joining the regular class the next week.

As the song came to an end, Chaeyoung plopped down onto the sofa. “Okay, no more. I’m going to be so sore tomorrow,” she panted, her breathing still fast.

Lisa laughed, and she realized that her cheeks were starting to hurt from the way she had been smiling and laughing all day. “All right, all right ... so what should we do now?”

Chaeyoung checked her phone for the time. “Well ... There’s still half an hour left before the time I told my parents I’d get back.” Pulling her hair away from her neck, she sighed, thinking. “Oh! Do you want to get ice cream or something? My treat, kind of as a thanks?”

Lisa frowned. “There’s no need for a thanks, I’m just—”

“Ah, okay,” Chaeyoung quickly interrupted. “Not as a thanks then ... how about as friends?” She looked at Lisa hopefully.

A smile crept onto Lisa’s face. “Ah, fine,” Lisa gave in. “Let me tell Jisoo.”

«•••»

Though it was almost seven and it had been quite a while since the sun had set, there was still some light visible in the sky, giving it a faint glow. Still, it was too dark and cold to walk, so Chaeyoung—who had driven to Lisa’s house—had to drive them. They finally stopped at a nearby ice cream parlor that had only recently opened up in the neighborhood. Despite its recent opening, though, there was still a line, even this late in the evening.

Lisa was looking intently at the sign with the available flavors. “Hmm ... what do you like?” she asked, turning to Chaeyoung.

Chaeyoung tilted her head, twirling a strand of hair between her fingers as she thought. “I actually haven’t been here before ... but I guess you can’t go wrong with vanilla?”

“True,” Lisa laughed, nodding. “I think I’ll get strawberry, it’s been a while since I had that.”

Getting their ice cream, the girls chose a table closer to the street, away from the busy nature of the parlor itself.

“So,” Chaeyoung started, scooping up a spoonful of ice cream.

“So,” Lisa mimicked, copying the other girl’s actions with a grin.

Chaeyoung seemed to hesitate, before she took a deep breath, making up her mind. “Okay, I’m curious. How old are you?”

“Twenty-two.”

“Whoa,” Chaeyoung said, mouth agape. “Me too!”

Lisa leaned back in her chair. “No way! When’s your birthday?”

“February 11th.”

“Damn it, I’m younger,” Lisa said, with playful disappointment. “Mine is March 27th.”

“Whoa!” Chaeyoung cheered, delighted at being older, almost like a child.

Lisa rolled her eyes. “Anyway, what made you come to Korea? You said you were from Australia, right?”

Mentioning Australia was a bad move, Lisa noted. Immediately, though Chaeyoung tried not to be obvious about it, she stiffened, and her smile, which had been genuine just a few seconds ago, suddenly appeared forced.

Lisa tried to backtrack. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have—”

“It’s fine,” Chaeyoung said, waving it off. “It’s just ...” She exhaled loudly. “I used to live there with my grandmother, and she passed away recently. Instead of continuing my education there, I decided that I’d rather come to Korea and stay with my family.”

“Ah,” Lisa said, her face solemn and eyes sad. “I’m sorry.” She offered a small smile, trying to cheer up the (slightly) elder girl. “I suppose she’s in a better place now.”

Chaeyoung nodded, sniffling slightly. Shaking her head as if to shake away the memories, she returned a small smile to Lisa. “What about you? How’d you come to Korea?”

Lisa sighed. “Well,” she started, “My family wasn’t very well-off, so if I had stayed there I know for a fact that I wouldn’t have continued school; I would’ve had to start working to help out since I had no other siblings. My mom had been in my position when she was younger though—she was forced to quit schooling to work—and didn’t want that to happen to me too ... so my parents worked together and raised enough money over a few years to send me to Korea for university.

“Since then, I’ve been working part-time to help pay for tuition, and I’ve also gotten scholarships for dance. One day, though, I want to be able to pay my parents back for everything they’ve given me, and give them a better life too.”

Chaeyoung nodded in understanding. “That was so sweet of them,” she said, smiling sadly. “I’m sure you’ll be able to do just that,” she added, her smile widening. “I mean, you even got into such a prestigious dance academy, so you’re already on the way!”

Lisa quickly ducked her head. Not with embarrassment, as Chaeyoung thought, but to hide the incoming tears as she tried to divert her mind. Anything to avoid thinking about how she had gotten into the dance academy.

«•••»

The next few days progressed much the same way. Lisa spent the duration of the speed dating activities in the practice room with Chaeyoung, and then they would meet at one of their houses in the evening for extra practice. Through these constant interactions, the pair became close friends.

Though Chaeyoung would attribute her quick learning to Lisa’s teaching skills, Lisa would rather credit Chaeyoung’s natural dancing ability; either way, by Thursday evening, Chaeyoung was at pace with the rest of the class in terms of knowing the choreography for the showcase. Now, all that was left was integrating her into the formations and such, but that would be Taeyang’s job as their choreographer.

Chaeyoung joined the class on Friday since she was already caught up, and Lisa was glad that she was able to adjust quickly. On Friday evening, as a sort of welcoming for Chaeyoung into the class and a celebration of her being more or less caught up with the showcase preparations, the entire class organized an outing to the amusement park.

Lisa tried hard to control her excitement as she bounded up the stairs to the entrance of Chaeyoung’s house. Quickly ringing the bell, she stepped back, and glanced behind her at the rest of her class members, who were waiting in the van they had rented for the occasion. She turned back around when she heard the door being unlocked.

“Hi,” Chaeyoung said, slightly breathless. “Sorry, I had to run to get gloves, I didn’t realize how cold it would get later till my mom pointed it out.” She stepped outside, closing the door behind her, and suddenly shivered as she quickly put on the gloves she was holding.

Lisa chuckled at her actions. “Yeah, it was Dino’s idea ... that kid can honestly get excited about anything, and I guess the rest of us got too carried away by his excitement to think about the weather.” She sighed.

Chaeyoung laughed. “I think I’m excited too ... I’ll probably forget about the cold soon.”

«•••»

The park was relatively empty, which wasn’t a surprise since it was actually rather cold. But that didn’t matter to the dance group.

“I CALL FRONT ROW!” Dino shouted out as he raced against Ten and BamBam to reach the line for the roller coaster first. Momo and Hyoyeon followed them slowly, talking about some new concept ideas for a solo dance competition, and Lisa, Chaeyoung, and Seulgi were at the end of the procession, with Lisa and Seulgi trying to get Chaeyoung more accustomed to the dance academy.

“Wait, which one is that haunted wing?” Chaeyoung questioned, a hint of incredulity in her voice.

“South Wing,” Seulgi answered, speaking with a grave seriousness. “The ghost is usually seen in the practice rooms more than the hallway, but it’s better to just steer away from the whole wing in general.”

“Right,” Chaeyoung nodded slowly, still disbelieving.

Lisa, who was walking on the other side of Chaeyoung, was giggling at her incredulous expression. “It sounds ridiculous, but trust me, when you see the ghost you’ll understand.”

“Oh god, not you too,” Chaeyoung groaned, and Lisa and Seulgi burst into laughter.

“It’s real though, believe me,” Seulgi said when they had quieted down, back to being serious.

«•••»

Dropping Chaeyoung off at her home proved to be a lot harder than picking her up, namely because there were a series of police cars, a fire truck, and an ambulance parked along the street of her house.

Hyoyeon, who was driving, let out a low whistle as she drove slowly along the street. “Damn, what happened here?”

Lisa and Chaeyoung, who were the last ones that needed to be dropped off, had their faces glued to the window, eyes wide. They were speechless. Eventually, Hyoyeon stopped the van at the end of the street. “There’s no actual room to park, or I’d get out and walk down with you to make sure everything was okay ...”

Despite her pounding heart, Lisa spoke up without hesitation. “I’ll go,” she said to Hyoyeon. “Just park a bit further down and stay in the car so that one of those cops won’t ticket you.”

Hyoyeon did as Lisa suggested, and put the van into park. She then turned around to face the two younger girls. “Be safe ... and let me know what happened if you guys find out! I’ll be waiting here for you, Lisa.”

“Got it,” replied Lisa, getting out of the van first. Chaeyoung was still unable to say anything, stepping out of the van silently.

Realizing just how shaken she appeared, Lisa grabbed her hand as she got out, and closed the door for her. “Come on, I’m sure everything’s fine,” she said as comfort despite not being sure herself.

Holding Chaeyoung by the hand, Lisa led them to her house, and as they got closer, Lisa realized with a sinking feeling that there were cops standing outside the entrance to none other than Chaeyoung’s house. She felt Chaeyoung tighten her grip on Lisa’s hand, and Lisa squeezed her hand back in response. “It’ll be fine, don’t worry,” she said softly, though she was more confused than ever. She did realize, though, that Chaeyoung seemed to know what this matter could be about.

As they approached, one of the officers looked up. He was tall and lanky, with a mess of brown hair. Lisa noticed that he wasn’t wearing a police uniform like the others; rather, he was dressed more casually, with black pants and a tan trench coat. He smiled in recognition as the two girls reached the house.

“Hello, I presume one of you is Chaeyoung Park?”

Lisa glanced at Chaeyoung, and was relieved that she seemed a bit better now. Chaeyoung had slightly raised the hand that wasn’t gripping onto Lisa’s. “That’s me.”

“Nice to meet you, Chaeyoung,” said the man, and he held out a hand for a handshake, which Chaeyoung weakly returned. He then turned to Lisa. “And you are ... ?”

“A friend,” Lisa said quickly. “We go to the same dance academy ... my name is Lisa.”

The man nodded. “I’m Detective Chanyeol Park,” he said. He gestured to the officers surrounding the house. “There’s been a break in, but no one was injured and nothing was taken.” A call for Detective Park sounded from his walkie-talkie, and he held up a finger. “Just give me a minute, I’ll be right back.”

As the detective left, Lisa slowly pulled her hand out of Chaeyoung’s, and the redhead turned to her in alarm. “Don’t worry,” Lisa calmed her down. “I’m texting Hyoyeon that this may take a few more minutes ... is it okay if I tell her there was a break in?”

Chaeyoung nodded. Clearing , she answered verbally. “Yeah, that’s fine.”

Just as Lisa sent the text, the detective came back out, followed by Chaeyoung’s parents. Chaeyoung quickly stepped forward, and the three gathered each other into a hug. Lisa took that moment to discreetly glance at her phone, which had vibrated with Hyoyeon’s reply.

H: Yeah, that’s fine ... wow, that’s scary! I wouldn’t want to stay there right after that ...

Lisa looked back up when the detective resumed talking. “We’ll probably have to discuss some more things pertaining to details of the crime with you,” he said, gesturing to Chaeyoung’s parents, “But I don’t think it’s necessary for your daughter to be present, unless you or her want her to be.”

At that instant, Chaeyoung lifted her eyes to meet Lisa’s, and Lisa made a decision. “Um,” she interjected, wondering why she was so inelegant with words when everyone turned to stare at her. “She can come over to my house if t-that’s okay!” she said, stuttering slightly.

Chaeyoung’s parents looked to Chaeyoung, and quickly whispering a few words amongst themselves, Mrs. Park turned to Lisa hopefully. “That would be amazing, is it really okay?”

Lisa nodded quickly. “Yeah, of course!”

Mrs. Park smiled gratefully. “Thank you so much, dear. Please call us if you guys need anything, all right?”

“Do you need a ride there? I can drop you off,” Mr. Park offered.

“Oh, it’s okay. Another friend from our dance academy is waiting down the street, and she’ll drop us off at my house before she heads home!”

Detective Park smiled supportively. “That’s a good idea ... you guys should head to your house before it gets any later, then,” he suggested.

Chaeyoung’s parents gave their daughter a slight push forward when she remained frozen, and Lisa reached forward and took her hand again. Chaeyoung finally met her eyes again, and Lisa’s heart lurched at the fear in them. There was more to this than a simple burglary attempt. “Let’s go.”

•••

Author’s Note:

well since this week is thanksgiving, i should be able to update more but i still have so much work so maybe not? idk

also, do you guys like the poster? i'm not too good at graphics (meaning i have zero experience) but i wanted to try something new ... lol i hope it doesn't

i’ve changed the description and foreword to better reflect the story, since i think they were much too light and lightness and plot development don't work well for me oops

thank you so much for all your comments and support!! even if i don't reply because i'm still new to how this website works, i read everything :)

~ thana