((a/n At least I make myself laugh))

Seulgi and Yeri had barely sat down outside of the Drama Club’s classroom when suddenly a tall redhead poked her head into the hallway.

“Next!” Joy called emotionlessly as she waited on the next sad sack wanting to try out for their play.

Seulgi checked her watch and stood up sheepishly. Yeri pushed Seulgi and she stumbled towards the door. Joy suddenly noticed the jock gave her a withering look, gesturing for her to come inside. Seulgi didn’t notice the icy glare, however, too focused on trying to remember the lines from the passage she had prepared.

No one had bothered to turn on the lights in the classroom, even as the sun had moved past its zenith and no longer provided a direct source of illumination. Yoona was leaning up against the classroom’s podium looking at a clipboard, while Krystal had her head on her arm, sprawled out on a desk. Moonbyul was texting and didn’t even bother to look up. The only girl who looked up at Seulgi as she entered the room was the Drama Club’s Arbiter: Bae Irene. They locked eyes.

Seulgi was so shocked, she paused in midstep, causing Joy to knock right into her. “What the- oh, good grief.” Joy didn't miss the way the jock was arrested by Irene's gaze.

“O-oh, sorry!” Seulgi blustered as she stepped aside, letting Joy walk around her to take a seat. She vaguely knew about Irene as a novelty - the yearbook committee were certainly fans of the girl - but she and Seulgi swam in different circles and had never had a chance to really meet. She was far prettier than any picture Seulgi had ever seen of her.

She was beginning to think that maybe auditioning wasn’t such a bad idea after all, although when Seulgi snuck another glance at the girl, Irene was giving her such a hard stare she was sure she was going to forget every single one of her lines.

“Kang Seulgi,” Yoona greeted, not unkindly. She pushed off the podium and nudged Krystal with the clipboard. Krystal grumbled as she sat up and accepted it. “You can come up here,” Yoona said, gesturing towards the front of the room as she took a seat next to her secretary. “Don’t be nervous.”

Seulgi released a breath at the admonishment. Why was she nervous all of a sudden? It had only taken a few short hours for her to go from mild disinterest to serious preparation for this audition. She had even downloaded the soundtrack onto her phone, though she hadn't been able to dig into too deeply yet.

She took her place at the front of the room and puffed her cheeks out awkwardly, rocking back on her heels. She tried not to crumple her copy of the script in her tight grip.

Irene had to admit, she was a little less than impressed. This was the charismatic Kang Seulgi? She was the reason why they had to ask for an extra full day off from classes to judge auditions? Irene was already anticipating the satisfaction she would feel when this girl got laughed out of the room for a poor display. Who did this jock think she was, signing up for their play with such casual indifference? She folded her arms across her chest and sat back in her seat, waiting.  

Yoona leaned over Krystal’s shoulder, watching as the secretary began to take notes. “And what part are you trying out for?” the president asked.

“Uh, Tony,” Seulgi replied.

All five of the council members blinked at her. Yoona grabbed a copy of the script and flipped through it in surprise. “Tony?”

“Is… that okay?” Seulgi asked, confused by their confusion.

“Oh, yeah, no, that’s fine,” Yoona said absently. There was a pause as she found the page she was looking for. “How about we start at page 24, then? Scene 4D, please.”

Seulgi hastily flipped through to the correct page. That wasn’t the passage she had prepared and she quickly scanned the lines to get an idea of what the scene was about.

“Irene, can you read for Maria please?” Yoona asked innocently. Irene turned her hard stare on the president and raised an eyebrow. What was she up to? Still, Irene couldn’t refuse since she had just tried out for Maria earlier that morning. She dutifully found her own copy of the script, criss-crossed with a purple highlighter, and came right up to Seulgi.

Seulgi swallowed.

“Alright, you’re meeting Maria for the first time,” Yoona explained. “She’s so beautiful, so unexpected, that you can’t help but go up and talk to her.”

Seulgi thought maybe this acting thing wasn’t going to be so difficult after all.

“From the top,” Yoona said.

Seulgi glanced down at her lines, then back up at Irene. It was like she was suddenly looking at an entirely different person; Irene was staring up at her in innocent wonder, a feeling of shy excitement radiating off of her.

“... You’re not thinking I’m someone else?” Seulgi asked breathlessly, surprising herself.

“I know you are not,” Irene returned.

“Or… that we have met before?”

“I know we have not.” Irene was smiling up at her faintly.

Seulgi had to glance at the script again, but she refused to take her eyes off Irene for more than a moment. “I felt- I knew something never before was going to happen. Had to happen. But this is-”

“My hands are cold,” Irene said suddenly.

Seulgi scanned the page suddenly, a little confused. Irene took Seulgi’s hands in her own and held them, preventing Seulgi from reading on.

“Yours, too,” Irene continued softly. She leaned in closer and put a hand on Seulgi’s cheek. “... so warm,” she whispered.

Seulgi didn’t know her next line, or if Irene was even reciting anymore. She felt Irene inch her closer, tugging Seulgi down gently as she slowly, shyly leaned up on her toes.

“Okay!” Yoona said suddenly, and they both startled. The rest of the room let out a collective breath. “That was great, but now we’ll need to hear you sing,” the president said, flipping back a couple of pages. Moonbyul tugged on her collar and leaned over to whisper something to Krystal.

Irene gave Seulgi one last look up and down before returning to her seat. Seulgi noticed that cold glare had returned to her features, but even in the dark of the room, she wondered if that was a hint of a blush she saw on the girl’s cheeks.     

“Seulgi? Do you have something prepared?” Yoona prompted, recalling Seulgi’s attention. There was a faint smile playing at the edge of the president’s lips.

“N-not yet,” Seulgi said, thinking of the soundtrack she had on her phone. “I’m not very familiar with the songs yet.”

Yoona shrugged mildly. “It doesn’t have to be one of the play’s songs. We just need to get an idea of your range. Sing anything.”

Seulgi brightened. Maybe she should just go with the song that won them the regional championships last year; she sang it often before practice.

“She got a body like an hourglass, but I can give it to you all the time~!” she began, unable to help making a small gesture that recalled the movements of the routine.

“She got a booty like a cadillac, but I can send you into overdrive, ohh~!” Reflexively, Seulgi dipped low and came back up.

“That’s fine-!” Yoona stopped her in a strained voice. “That’s good, I think we’ve got all we need,” she said weakly. Moonbyul was fanning herself slowly with a copy of the script. Krystal’s pen rolled off the desk and onto the floor.

“Thanks, you’re all set,” Yoona dismissed faintly. “W-we’ll post the part assignments at the end of the week...”

When she exited the classroom, Seulgi saw Yeri still waiting for her on the bench across the hall. Seulgi fell heavily into the spot next to her with a loud sigh, but Yeri immediately rose and dragged the dance captain back up with her.

“So… how’d it go?” Yeri asked curiously, as she led them away.

Seulgi groaned into her hands. “You didn’t tell me how pretty they all were!” she mumbled through her fingers. “When I first saw Irene, I was so shocked, I-”

“I meant how did the audition go,” Yeri prompted with a wry grin.

“Oh, I think it went fine. They didn’t say much. Actually, I couldn’t really tell what they thought about it, but they said they’d post the parts by Friday.”

Seulgi grabbed her arm suddenly. “But Yeri! I’m telling you, it was ridiculous! They were all so…!” she fell back a step, at a loss for words as she stared ahead.

“... So, I’m guessing you’re not still upset about the kissing thing.”