How often are they going to do this? Amber wondered as she and twenty-five other girls were lined up in front of a scale. 

She'd been in Korean only six months now and had been weighed nearly forty times already. The stress of not making weight took her appetite most days. She knew it was an important part of debuting, and she'd fought with her parents so hard to come here, promising them that she would make it as an idol and never regret her decision. No matter what. So she barely ate, she worked out more than she should, and she stood in line with a number of other SM hopefuls. 

When it was her turn to step up on the scale, she in a deep breath, regretting the baggy jeans she'd worn. They must be another pound or so. Most of the other girls had come in tank tops and safety shorts so as not to risk any chance of extra weight. 

Weighed forty times and I haven't learned, she lamented. But stress and other things constantly made her forget how important the right outfit was it came to being weighted. She was so used to slipping on comfortable clothes though. 

"45kg," the doctor said, marking it in his chart beneath the numerous other times Amber had been weighted. 

45kg?! she thought with shock. The last time she'd weighed so little had been nearly four years ago when she hadn't even hit puberty yet and had been two inches shorter. 

"Good job!" the doctor said, patting her on the back.

Still a little stunned by her low weight, Amber shuffled out of the little clinic, picking up a diet sheet absentmindedly. They were to grab one each time as it gave new diet instructions for each week. She could already hear her stomach protesting the amount of rice on the sheet. She just couldn't stomach so much of it yet. She was used to toast and pasta.

Her stomach rumbled happily at the thought of pasta. 

"These things only make me think about how much I want food," Krystal sighed, rubbing her flat stomach. 

It had been rumbling since she woke up that morning, but she hadn't wanted to eat anything since today was weighing day. 

"I know what you mean," a low voice beside her said on a sad breath. 

Krystal blinked from behind her curtain of hair, unused to people responding to her, especially not trainees, and especially not other girl trainees. They pretty much hated her guts. 

She stared when she could finally focus on the person who'd spoken to her. They had a short hairstyle that hid most of their face, a baggy flannel shirt, a black tank top, and some of the baggiest jeans she'd ever seen. At least two other people could fit in the leg space. In their hand was a copy of the same sheet Krystal currently held. 

"You speak English?" she asked, finally having taken in the physical form of the person and could focus back on what they said. She wasn't used to running into many other trainees who spoke English...or at least spoke it to her.

The person flicked their hair to the side, revealing large eyes framed by some of the longest eyelashes Krystal had ever seen. Real ones anyway. At least she assumed they were, this person didn't really give off the aura of someone who would ignore both makeup and styling and hop right to perfectly pasting on false eyelashes. 

"Oh...yeah," the person answered, holding out a hand which Krystal tentatively shook. The fingertips and palms were a little rough and Krystal was mildly surprised to find their hand slightly smaller than hers despite the person being a few inches taller. 

"I'm Amber." 

Amber...ah...girl's name. But still...Guess a big clue is her being weighed with the rest of the girls. Krystal felt like an idiot for not putting that all together to figure out Amber was a girl in the first place.

"Krystal," she responded as introduction, kind of surprised that Amber didn't already know who she was since she was pointed out by other girls on most trainees' first days.

A slight smirk appeared on Amber's face and Krystal wished she'd told Amber her name was SooJung instead. It was her real name anyway. Krystal was something SM was getting her prepared to use as a stage name since SooJung was too common. 

"Krystal..." the girl repeated, still grinning, making Krystal blush with embarrassment. "Pretty name for a pretty girl." 

The color in Krystal's cheeks deepened even further. "That's what my sister always says. You might know her. Jessica? In Girl's Generation?" She blurted out of nerves. She never knew what to do when people gave her compliments. The blush worked it's way up to her forehead now. Would Amber think she was bragging about being related to someone who'd already debuted? Would she start treating Krystal like a pariah like the other girls? 

"Really?" The girl asked, raising her eyebrows. "She must be able to give you some good tips on debuting, cause I gotta admit, I feel like I'm drowning here and most of the words I know in Korean are related to food." 

Krystal laughed, relieved Amber didn't make too much of a fuss about her sister. "Not really. She's so busy these days we rarely see one another." 

"Ah," Amber said, looking sympathetic. "I have an older sister too, but she's way back in California. We-" 

She broke off when Krystal gasped and grabbed her arm. 

"That's where I'm from too!" 

"Los Angeles?" Amber asked. 

Krystal chuckled and stepped back. "Oh, no. San Fransisco," she clarified, slightly calmer now. "But what were you saying about your sister before I tried to snatch off your arm?"

Amber shrugged, "Just that we didn't get along much back home, but I miss her now that we're not in the same space to bug each other. What about you and Jessica?" 

"Oh, we've always been really close. She's not the type to be bossy or pick on me. She gives good advice and is really sweet, gentle, and smart." 

Amber placed a hand over her heart. "The dream!" 

Krystal laughed bobbing on her toes. "So, how long have you been here?" 

Amber looked around the sterile building, the area housing the clinic not too much different than the hallways of their dorm rooms. "A few months," Amber said, shifting out of the way of another set of girls leaving the clinic. "It's been hard, but I've met a few people who've made being away from my family a little easier. My roommate, Victoria, is one. She doesn't speak English very well, but she speaks Chinese so we communicate like that sometimes when we're both struggling with our Korean. It reminds me of being back home with my mother." 

Krystal's eyebrows rose. This girl looked like a complete punk and her mom's definition of a slacker, but she sounded like a sweetheart and a hard worker. 

"You speak Chinese?!" 

"Not as well as I should, but I'm working on that too. My mom will be so excited the next time I call her." 

Amber's smile was so bright and sincere, Krystal kind of wished she could be there to see the phone call. Many of the trainees seemed to forget their family existed once the scent of fame was in front of them, talking about how they wouldn't let their relatives mooch off of them once they became famous. 

"What about you? How long have you been here?" Amber asked Krystal. 

"A few years." 

Shock registered in the other girl's face. "Really?! Did they bring you when you were a fetus or something?" 

"Pretty much," Krystal laughed. "Yeah. They wanted me when I was younger, but my parents felt I was a little too young, so they brought my sister on instead until I grew a bit. I was too young to know what I wanted then, so I'm glad they held me back for a bit." 

"You know what you want now?" 

Krystal shrugged and shook her head. "Not really, but this can lead to a lot of different opportunities and traveling. I've always wanted to travel more. Modeling, acting. I've already had one commercial." 

Now I really am bragging, she realized. No wonder the other girls hate me. She compressed her lips so she would alienate one of the few girls who spoke to her and seemed nice. 

"Wow, that's impressive," the other girl said instead, congratulating her. "You're really cute though. It's easy to understand why they'd want you for the commercial." 

Krystal herself squirming, wondering if she were being complimented or insulted. It wasn't just her looks that got her the commercial. She'd worked hard. Even if people accused her of cruising by on her face and her sister's name, she would make sure that they knew she never had. Most of the other girls didn't like her because they felt she was guaranteed debut and didn't have to work as hard as them though she made sure she didn't slack a day in her life. 

"I didn't just show up and do aegyo, you know. I had to audition for the commercial, just like everyone else. That's how it works here." 

Amber nodded. She doubted she would ever be wanted for a commercial no matter how hard she worked anyway. Yes, auditions were all well and good, but some girls were favored over others for obvious reasons. Half the time she wasn't even sure why she'd been cast in the first place when she looked at some of the gorgeous girls around her. So, Amber would work twice as hard as the other girls to make sure she debuted within the two year period her parents allowed her, or end up returning home to study Earth Science at the community college, though that now seemed dull compared to the possible life dangling in front of her now. 

"Must've been hard," Amber said, talking about the audition.

Krystal nodded. "Yeah, then there are the nerves you get afterward when you have to say your lines or act in front of the camera." 

"Wow, Princess. I don't think I've ever heard you talk so much," a girl interrupted in harsh Korean. "You tryna impress the freak? she asked, tossing her eyes in Amber's direction.

Krystal raised her chin in the air and linked her arm with Amber's. "There's some food carts a few streets over. I'm hungry." 

"Oh. Alright," Amber responded, a little off kilter with the change in conversation. "Is she coming?" Amber asked, pointing to the girl glaring them down.

Krystal shook her head, glad that Amber didn't speak Korean well yet, "No." 

"Ermm, my wallet's in my room..." Amber said sheepishly. 

"I'll buy for you," Krystal told her, pulling her down the hall. She was surprised by how thin the arm in her's felt. Amber just gave off an aura much larger than her actual size. Probably one of the reasons the company scout had picked her. 

"Have you tried many Korean dishes since you've been here?" Krystal asked as they took a side exit, immediately spilling them into a crowd so they'd blend in more easily. 

"I've had Kimchi, ddokbboki, fishcakes," Amber listed, counting them off on her small fingers. "But not much else. I really haven't had that big of an appetite." 

Krystal tilted her head to look up at her. She really had a unique face. Her lips made it look like she was pouting though they also arched up a bit at the edges, giving Amber a vulnerable look despite her presence.  

"Why are you staring at me?" Amber asked, feeling self-conscious. 

Krystal ducked her head, figuring Amber wouldn't appreciate being called "funny-looking." 

"Have you ever had Bingsu?" she asked, ignoring the question. 

"Ah, back in Korea Town. Does it taste different in Korea?" 

Krystal laughed and shrugged, her hair flying wildly in the wind. 

"I don't know," she said. "I've never had it in L.A."