“Beauty is but a flower, which wrinkles will devour.”

–Thomas Nash

Jaelyn’s POV:

                We arrived to Seoul by 6:00 A.M. We went separate ways afterward to prevent any rumors. I went straight to the studio. I slammed the door open a bit too loudly and everyone stopped practicing and stared at me.

                “Sorry for being late.” I apologized to Miss Kim.

                “What’s with those clothes?” Eunhee snickered.

                I notice I still have my plain t-shirt and shorts on.

                “Okay girls, resume to your practice.” Miss Kim yelled. “And Jaelyn, I need to talk to you.” I followed her to the hallway.              

                “Jaelyn, starting from tomorrow, you don’t need to come to Studio B anymore.”

                “What? Why? Was it because I was late?” I started throwing questions at her.

                “Calm down, Jaelyn!” She started laughing. “You’re going to be transferred to Studio A.”

                “Studio A?” Isn’t that where all the rookies or trainees to be debuted go?

                “Yes, Studio A. You should go to speak to President Choi right now. He’s waiting for you in his office right now.”

                “Miss Kim…”

                “Hmmm?”

                “Thanks. Even if it was only for two months, thanks for being a great teacher.”

                “Oh, Jaelyn.” She gave me a hug. “Okay, you should get going now.”

                “Good bye, Miss Kim.”

                “Bye, Jaelyn.”

                I took the elevator up to the twelfth floor and took a deep breath before entered President Choi’s office.

                “Oh Jaelyn, you’re here! I’ve been anticipating you.” President Choi got up from a leather sofa. A woman in her late twenties was sitting across from him. She smiled at me so I did the same. “Come over here.” He gestured me to go over.

                “This is Miss Yeon. And this is Song Jaelyn.” He introduced.

                “It’s nice to meet you, Jaelyn.”

                “Me too, Miss Yeon.”

                “Just call me Hyuna.”

                “Okay.”

                “Starting from now, Miss Yeon is going to be your permanent manager.”

                I couldn’t help but put on a big smile.

                “I’m sure you’ve heard from Miss Kim about the transfer. You know what does that mean right?” He asked. I nodded. “And I’m going to tell you right now that it’s not going to be easy.”

                “I know.” I said.

                “It’s good that you know.” He patted my shoulder. “I have something else for you.” He handed me a set of keys. “Tonight, you’re going to move to your new dorm.” I knew this was going to come but it didn’t expect it to come that soon.

                “Thank you so much President Choi!” I exclaimed in gratitude.

                “Now, now, of course all these aren’t for nothing. You have to work hard to pay it off.”

                “I will give you my best effort.”

                “Good to hear, Jaelyn. Go back and pack your things right now. Manager Yeon will help move your things to your new dorm.”

***

                “Woah! Be careful.” Kikwang appeared in front of me catching the box of things that I almost dropped. Then he took it from me and carried it to the van.

                “Thanks.” I said.

                I went back into my dorm and get the remaining stuffs I needed to move. Kikwang followed along.

                “Thanks but you don’t have to help anymore. There isn’t much stuff left to carry.”

                “I saw you at the airport yesterday morning.” I stopped walking for a moment then resumed. “Hyung went to Jeju Island yesterday. Don’t tell me you went there too.”

                “What if I did?” I asked.

                “That means you really did?”

                I didn’t answer him and continued packing things into the box.

                “Dang… are you trying to make him fall in love with you or something?”

                “Something like that.” I said frankly.

                “Then that’ll a big problem for me if he really does fall for you.” He scratched the back of his head.

                “How so?”

                “You know that I like you right?” He grinned.

                “Yeah and? Doesn’t mean I have to like you back.”

                “Well if hyung likes you too, what should I do?” His expression showed that he was deep into his thoughts.

                “Gosh, when are you going to stop talking?” I finally finished packing. I eyed him strangely before I left the room. He continued following me.

                “When are you going to stop following me? People will talk. I’m not a star yet, but you are.” I said as I walked across the street.

                “Then let them talk.”

                “Hyuna, I’m done packing.” I said as I hopped into the van. Kikwang hopped in as well and sat real close to me. I moved toward the window. Then he shifted closer to me again. He wouldn’t stop smiling. I rolled my eyes and sighed. Then, I faced the window. How could there be a person like this? Hyuna started driving.

                “So why are you in here again?” I asked while we were still in the van.

                “Because you’re going to your new dorm.”

                “I know I am going to my new dorm, but what are you doing here?”

                “Nothing. I’m just bored.”

                “Do you really have nothing better to do? I thought you’re a star and yet your schedule is not packed?” He didn’t answer me.

                I the T.V. in the van. There was a live talk show airing.

“And our next guest today is… Lee Kikwangshi.” The MC said.

“Kikwangshi…?” She repeated.

Someone appeared from the back stage and whispered something into her ears.

“Sorry ladies and gentlemen, but Lee Kikwangshi won’t be appearing in today’s show.” Her face flushed in embarrassment. “Okay let’s continue to our next guest…”

                I turned to Kikwang and found him chuckling.

                “Did you just ditch your schedule?” I stared at him in amusement.

                “Missing one or two activities won’t hurt.” He said.

                “Geez, I’m glad I choose to get close to Junhyung instead of you.”

                “Well, I feel that you’re closer to me than Junhyung. Don’t you feel that too?” He tilted his head toward me and whispered. “Because I know your secret.”  I pushed him away in disgust.

                “Ah, it’s hyung!” Kikwang pointed to the screen after he changed the channel. I watched.

“Yong Junhyungshi, there has been a lot of talks about your recent MV. The fans are curious about the girl, Song Jaelyn, in it. She’s getting a lot of recognition lately. I heard she’s still a trainee under CUBE.” The host said.

“Yes she’s a trainee under CUBE.” Junhyung responded.

“Well, that’s a bit strange, because there were rumors that you changed your partner six times! At the end you decided to choose a less experienced dancer. How’d that happen?”

“I think that she has potential.”

“Woah, fans, is it just me or did Junhyungshi praise someone? That’s a really unusual occasion.”

“Actually it’s decided by the company that she’s going to debut in this upcoming fall.

 “Omo, I’m really excited, are you? Hmm… it seems that our time is over soon. Any message you want to deliver to your fans?”

“Since Jaelyn is going to debut soon, please support her as much as you support me.”

“Thank you very much for making an appearance today, Junhyungshi. I’m sure your fans…”

                “Well aren’t you glad that you were mentioned on the show.” Kikwang whispered.

                “Jaelyn ah, we’re here.” Hyuna parked the van in front of a grandiose building. I smiled at the look of it. Welcome to my new life.

                There were already furniture and commodities in my dorm. We finally finished moving my things inside.

                “Jaelyn, I’m going to go now. If you need anything, just give me a call.”

                “Thanks for the help Hyuna, bye.”

                “No problem, I’m your manager after all. Bye.” Then, she drove away.

                I went back upstairs and saw Kikwang sitting on my couch drinking a can of something. I went up to him and took it away from him.

                “That’s mine.” I snapped. He got up and went into my room. “Hey! We are you going?” I ran after him. He jumped onto my bed and laid flat there.

                “Ahh, this feels so comfortable I can fall asleep.” He said.

                “Get off my bed.” I said in a frustrated tone. He didn’t respond. His eyes were closed and he was still smiling. “Hey! Are you really going to fall asleep here?” I tried pulling his legs but he wouldn’t budge so I went for his arms. Suddenly he grabbed onto me and pulled me closer to him. I almost fell over him but I managed to balance. I quickly pulled away.

                “Are you going to continue fooling around?” He still didn’t talk. “Fine, do whatever you like.” My voice got lower.

                He sat back up immediately. “Are you upset?” He frowned.

                I ignored him and started taking my things out of the boxes.

                “Fine, I’ll leave. Have a good rest today.” He shut the door silently trying not to anger me more.

                God, why’d I have to be involved with such a person? His face was hard enough to resist.