"What's going on?" Amber asked, getting into a van with a bunch of other girls, a female manager, and even a female driver. 

Half the girls around her shrugged while a few didn't even acknowledge she'd asked a question. She folded her hands in her lap and decided to just wait and see what happened. Seemed to be what she'd been doing since she'd become a trainee. 

"Today we're going to be learning about personal hygiene." 

Amber blushed. She didn't like talking about things like this in public, it was so embarrassing. She remained red while the manager talked about skin cleansing, blemish control, hair, period management. 

God, she wanted to hide in a hole somewhere. 

"You're all going to be getting laser hair removal," the manager said as they pulled up to a clinic. "And skincare to take care of your facial issues. I see a few pimples on some of you girls."

Amber stared out the bus window and wanted to die. "Getting what?"  

"Hair removal," the manager said, gently, having heard her. "Legs, armpits, bikini area." 

Amber nearly choked on the blood that rushed to her head at that. "I-" 

"It's in the trainee contract you signed. Today's the day it's happening." 

The contract had been in Korean and apparently the guy her dad had hired for her had glossed over that information. She got out of the bus on shaky legs, uncomfortable that someone would see her practically today.

She felt a hand slip into her own clammy one and let out a tiny breath of relief to see Krystal. 

"I was in the back. I had no idea who was coming today or I would've saved a seat for you." 

Amber clung onto her arm as they went into the building. "They're taking hair from our bikini area today," she said in disbelief.

Krystal laughed and brushed the hair out of her eyes. "It's fine."

"I don't like," she blew out a breath so she could finish, tears gathering in her eyes. "I don't like for people to see me undressed. I don't-" 

Krystal pulled her into a quick hug then dragged Amber after her to find the manager. She said some things to her in rapid Korean, pleaded a bit, holding onto her friend. The manager just shook her head, talked to one of the clinic attendees, then said something back to Krystal. Amber couldn't keep up, they were speaking too fast. She wanted to go home. 

 "They said I could go in with you to everything, but they won't let you skip out on this. It's in the contracts." 

"I can just shave..."

Krystal continued to her hair, hoping to calm her down. "I know. I explained it to them, but they kept saying stuff about the contracts. I'm sorry." 

Amber leaned forward, resting her head on Krystal's shoulder. She felt silly relying on the younger girl, but Krystal didn't seem to mind. 

"Thanks for trying." 

When Amber learned the laser hair removal couldn't all be completed in a day, she wanted to tear her hair out and hide under her bed, but Krystal would be there with her for each treatment, so it at least made it bearable. It was awful that so many people were seeing her in her underwear though. 

When she got back to her dorm, she just curled up on her bed, trying to wish the day away. It was a little better when Krystal curled up behind her, wrapping her arms around her waist. Despite the early hours, they fell asleep like that. 

"Where were you all day?" Sulli asked when Krystal finally returned to the dorm. "Your sister dropped by. She's hanging out in your room." 

"With Amber. She's shy but had to do laser hair removal today." 

Sulli winced. "Must've been hard for her." 

"Yeah." She grabbed an apple off the table and darted into her bedroom. She flung herself at her sister. "Jess!" 

Jessica laughed her glittering laugh and cuddled her baby sister close. The age difference always made her see her more preciously. "Hi. I don't have much time. My group has to head out soon. I just wanted to see you for a bit." 

Krystal leaned up and delivered small kisses to her cheek, making her sister laugh more. "I missed you." 

"I know," Jessica said, tapping her on the nose. "Are things still going okay for you? You've seemed happier the last few times I've seen you." 

"Yeah. It's nice having a good friend in most of my classes and someone to just hang out with. And I love rooming with someone close to my age. Things are good." 

Jessica her hair. "That's good to hear. Now give me one last squeeze, the van is waiting for me." 

Krystal made sure to put a lot of strength into her hug, nearly winding her tiny older sister. 

"You're getting strong," Jessica gasped.

Her little sister flexed for her and got her cheeks squished for her effort. "Hopefully we'll get to be on stage together soon." She kissed her nose. "Bye, SooJungie." 

"Bye," Krystal waved, then flopped back on her bed. 

Thinking about actually being on stage was kind of scary. She hoped it turned out to be everything she'd dreamed. 

"What now?" Amber wondered, being shuttled into another room full of girls, like two weeks ago when their numbers had been thinned. Now there were only fifteen girls. She recognized Krystal, Victoria, the short girl who was the best dancer in the room, and this pale girl who clung to Krystal a bit. She'd met her once when she visited Krystal's room but they hadn't talked long since they were just there to get Krystal's purse before heading to the convenience store. 

Like last time, a woman came into the room and started teaching them choreography. 

Amber was glad she ended up being called out a few more times this time and worked hard. Her muscles felt like jelly after a few hours, but they still weren't done. 

They were asked why they were there, what they felt they would get out of idol life, what skills they'd learned during their time as trainees, what they would do with those skills. 

Amber had a hard time with the rapid-fire questions in Korean, but Krystal helped her a bit since the panel of watchers didn't seem to mind. 

"Alright, you're all done for the day," a man dismissed them, immediately turning to the people at his side. 

They all filed out of the room, feeling tired and stressed. 

The next day, Amber woke to a knock on her dorm room door telling her that she was to pack her things.