Yewon pushed herself up on her elbows, concentrating on keeping the rest of her body in a straight line. Her muscles screamed in protest, begging her to release the tension, but she held the position and slowly counted to sixty. One day the work would pay off, no matter how much she hated her routine. Her body would be thankful.

A trickle of sweat ran down her spine as her body started to tremble. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to not count any faster, even though everything in her wanted to get this over with. One day it would pay off. She only had to repeat this mantra in her head and continue. It would all pay off.

After she finally reached 60, she slowly lowered herself onto the mat, allowing herself a moment of rest as she leaned her forehead against the floor. She didn’t know how long she had been working out. It didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was getting her body in shape.

She owed it to the other hardworking members who had gone through years of intense training to be where they were now. And here she was, Kim Yewon, the intruder. The one who didn’t belong. Who had never entertained the thought of becoming an idol until a stranger had walked up to her and asked if she wanted to audition.

She owed it to the members to do her best and work hard, to not let them down. She would not be the reason why their ultimate dream, the one thing they had tirelessly worked years on to achieve, would not come true. She would do anything in her power to not slow them down. And she wanted to prove them that she was more than just an emergency solution.

Yewon sighed and set her chin on her folded arms as she watched the girl she wanted to prove herself to the most. Hwang Eunbi was a real mystery to her. She remembered meeting her for the first time, how closed off and cold the girl had been. How she had rarely spoken a word to her.

It was not as if Eunbi was ignoring her. No, it was far from that. Yewon was well aware that Eunbi had been watching her since she stepped foot inside the building for the very first time. Every move she made was scrutinized and during every team practice she had felt her eyes on her.

She knew Eunbi had been the least impressed of the girls when it was revealed how she had come to be a part of the training program. However, the occasional jab into her direction did not stop Yewon from feeling an enormous gratitude towards the girl. Eunbi had given her a chance to prove herself. She had approached her and asked whether she wanted help in dancing. She had stayed longer by her side to teach her and Yuna when she could have spent the time for practicing by herself.

Eunbi was on a different level than all of them, but she never pointed it out. She never bragged, she never used it to make others feel inferior. It was the opposite. She never mentioned it. Instead, she carefully corrected the mistakes they made, pointing it out in such a gentle way that they never felt bad or embarrassed.

Yewon watched in fascination as Eunbi moved across the floor to the beat of the music, her moves so precise and smooth that it almost seemed impossible. It took years and years of dedication and hard work to reach this level of skill, even she could see that.

The dance looked absolutely perfect in her eyes, but she did not miss the frown on Eunbi’s face after the song ended for the umpteenth time. Growling in frustration, Eunbi tilted her head back and ran her hands through her hair.

Hesitating, she wondered whether it was smart to address the agitated girl in front of her. But after hearing another groan, she threw the caution in the wind. She had never been good at seeing others hurting – may it be physically or emotionally. “Is everything okay, Eunbi-ssi?”

“I keep making the same mistake over and over again,” Eunbi said with such exasperation that Yewon’s heart ached. “I just can’t do it properly! It’s useless, my body doesn’t listen to me, I just… God, I’m going to fail!”

Yewon raised her eyebrows. It always astonished her how hard Eunbi was on herself. Although she supposed the level of skill had to come from somewhere and a certain attitude was only helpful. “You’re not going to fail, Eunbi-ssi. It looked perfect to me.”

“That means a lot coming from someone with no experience.”

The sarcasm was loud and clear, but Yewon remained unbothered. Those comments were nothing new to her and they definitely didn’t hurt her. Especially since Eunbi was obviously not feeling well. She calmly met Eunbi’s eyes in the mirror and saw the glare fading away. “Want some snacks?”

“Snacks?” Eunbi looked confused at the sudden topic change, but Yewon only nodded with much enthusiasm. “Didn’t you just work out?”

Yewon smiled broadly. “Exactly, I think I earned a snack or two. As do you.”

“We’re on a diet.”

“I know.”

“We need to lose weight.”

“You’re sounding an awful lot like Sojung-unnie right now,” she and laughed as Eunbi shuddered. “It’s just a snack, Eunbi-ssi. We’re not gaining weight from that.”

“Aren’t you usually the one who always follows orders?”

“I am, but going against the rules one time with something as ridiculous as this is barely worth mentioning,” she waved off. “What the unnies don’t know –”

“What don’t we know?”

Yewon’s head snapped around to the door of the practice room. Yerin and Yuna had just come through the ajar door and set their bags against the wall. Both were still wearing their school uniform. “Uh, nothing? How was school?”

“I think I passed the math test. I have a good feeling about it,” Yerin answered with a bright smile before sitting down beside her. “So, tell me. Since when has our little maknae been trying to corrupt our other maknae? I have never felt such disappointment, Yewon-ah. My heart is breaking. Who would have thought?”

Somewhere behind Yerin, she heard Yuna and Eunbi snorting as she blushed. “Yerin-unnie...”

“Honestly, Yewon-ah. You wanted to buy Eunbi-ya a snack and not me? You even wanted to keep it from me? That is just cruel! What did I do to deserve such punishment? Have I ever not treated you with love?”

Yewon groaned as Yerin threw her arms around her, fighting to keep herself from smiling. “I’m sorry, Unnie!”

“You better be!”

“Where’s Sojung-unnie?” Eunbi asked before turning off the song that was still on repeat. “Doesn’t she usually come at the same time?”

“She’s with CEO-nim again,” Yerin answered, refusing to release her from the hug, but at least she had loosened her grip somewhat. “It’s probably about that girl.”

“The other Eunbi?” Yewon sat up. “Did she audition? Did she pass? Is she going to join us now? Is that why Sojung-unnie is with CEO-nim?”

Yerin shrugged. “I think she auditioned. I heard the team leader talking about her when we passed his office.”

“He was complimenting her voice,” Yuna added, looking just as intrigued as she felt.

“That means she’s good, doesn’t it?”

“Don’t get too excited,” Yerin cautioned. “I heard something else too. Apparently she’s a quitter.”

The practice room became silent at the mention of the last word and Yewon glanced from one member to the other. Surely it was not that bad. “What do you mean?”

“How long?” Eunbi asked instead, frowning deeply.

“Over two years, if I heard correctly.”

“So what, she had training before that, didn’t she?” Yewon asked, feeling a bit uneasy about the sudden mood change. “That’s more than I can say about myself. She might need some time to get used to everything again, but she’ll probably be better than I sooner or later.”

She did not miss the looks the other three exchanged. Was this another thing of the industry she didn’t understand?

“It’s not that easy,” Yerin said eventually. “Training is difficult, we all know that. But it is like that for a reason, Yewon-ah. It’s more of a test run to see who is able to handle the real world out there. It will not get easier once we debut, it will become even harder. If you can’t deal with the training period and have to quit – especially if you’re going against the contract like that – you just aren’t cut out for the life of an idol. It’s as simple as that.”

Yewon looked at the others, but they avoided her eyes. “What are you saying?”

“If she becomes a trainee… I’d not get too close or used to her, if I were you, Yewon-ah. She might not last.” Yerin gave her a tiny smile and a last soft squeeze before standing up again. “Eunbi-ya, how is your dance coming along? Ready to nail it and to leave everyone speechless?”

She watched as her group mates joked around, acting as if the conversation had never taken place. It felt wrong. She knew Yerin was only trying to protect her from the heartache she and the other members had felt again and again through the years, but wasn’t it wrong to give up on someone who had not even started yet? Didn’t this girl need even more encouragement from them because of her past?

Yewon nodded to herself. She would not let the girl down. She would give her a reason to stay and to keep going. Everyone else was only focusing on how the other Eunbi had given up and walked away – no one was seeing it from the other point of view. She had come back. After two years of living a normal, peaceful life, she had decided to come back, fully knowing what was ahead of her. She had known how hard the training was and still wanted to come back. That alone said a lot about her determination. She really hoped the girl had made it in the audition. No matter how confusing it would be to have two Eunbis on the team.