Chapter 3

The two girls are sleeping soundly. Yuqi had kicked her blanket to the foot of the bed during the night and is lying in fatal position. The dim morning light shining through the gingko outside, revealing the small giraffes covering her favourite pajamas. On the opposite side of the room lies Minnie sprawled out on her bed, with her arm hanging onto the floor. She had somehow managed to turn 180 degrees while tossing around while asleep. It was early morning and the birds started chirping outside.

A careful knock at the door can be heard. Since no one answers the knocking becomes louder and more insistent. After a series of loud, hard knocks, that must surely hurt the knuckles of the person doing the knocking, Minnie jolts awake. With a sleepy grumble she pulls herself out of bed and towards the door. “Yes?”, she asks groggily after pulling the door open just a crack.

“Good morning. Sorry to wake you up, but… I wanted to take Yuqi jogging this morning”, Elkie explains on the other side of the door.

“Oh. Go right ahead. I’ll go back to sleep”, Minnie yawns and with a loud thud throws herself right back into her bed. Alarmed by the sudden noise Yuqi awakens and looks around disoriented. Her eyes widen as she sees Elkie grinning at her from the door frame.

“Oh ”, she swears in Mandarin. “I mean… I am so sorry. What time is it?”

“Uhm. It’s 20 minutes past five. Do you still want to go jogging?”, Elkie answers in a kind voice.

“Yes sure. I don’t have a phone yet and I didn’t bring an alarm clock. I’m really sorry. I just have to dress and wash up and we can go.”

“Don’t worry about showering or anything like that. You’ll just have to do it again when we come back. Throw on some comfortable clothes and take some money with you and we can go”, Elkie instructs.

“Money? Are we buying something?”, Yuqi asks carefully. She doesn’t have much money with her, and her budget won’t allow for big expenses.

“20.000 won will be enough”, Elkie points at the door. “I’ll wait outside. See you in a bit.”

Yuqi changes into sweatpants and hoodie and takes her wallet with her.

She finds Elkie outside the dorms stretching in the yard. The cold morning air cuts into her face and she starts with the warm up exercises. She is still tired and doesn’t feel like initiating a conversation, so she just repeats Elkie’s movements beside her.

“We’ll just take my usual route and go shopping on the way back. Is that fine by you?”, Elkie asks.

“Sure. Sounds great”, Yuqi replies timidly. “What are we buying?”

“You need a new phone, no?”, Elkie looks at her questioningly.

“Oh, yes. I almost forgot about that. Is 20.000 won really enough?”, Yuqi wonders.

“The company doesn't allow smartphones. So, we have to do with calling and SMS. On the bright side pre-paid phones are cheap and you can get them everywhere. That's enough stretching. Let's go.”

Elkie leads the way off company grounds and the two jogs through the neighbourhood in a relaxed tempo. They pass small trucks delivering goods to the tiny shops lining the streets, store owners noisily lifting the shutters and a few other pedestrians that are up early to go to work or go after their own morning rituals. After a while they reach a small park. From behind the fence Yuqi can see large groves of trees and a basketball pitch in the distance. On it are a handful of seniors doing Qi Gong. Seeing them Yuqi feels a sudden stab of homesickness. The scene reminds her of her daily bus drives to school in Beijing.

I miss home. But I guess I miss home ever since I boarded the plane. Yuqi sighs. I should just get a grip. Think of something else, Yuqi! I like this time of year. It's not too hot and not too cold. All the plants become so colourful and my birthday also is in autumn. Hmm… my birthday. I’ll just say nothing. Better to not have anyone - or worse no one, make a fuss about it.

“Come. I want to show you something”, Elkie says and directs her onto a path through the park. To their left is a bench with a bronze figurine sitting on it. It depicts an old shoemaker with a hammer in hand, going about his work.

“Let's rest for a bit”, Elkie suggests and sits down next to the craftsman. “I'm not sure why he was put up here. But I also never asked”, she remarked while patting the statue on the head.

“How are you holding up?”, she asked Yuqi in a concerned tone.

“Oh. It’s alright. Yesterday was just exhausting. But that’s what everyone has warned me about. And I know I must be diligent to make the debut team”, Yuqi replies with conviction. “Also, I already got to know Minnie and Soojin. I like them and if I can become friends with them all this will become way easier. At least I hope so.”

“Seems like you have it figured out”, Elkie smiles, reassured. “Yeah, friends are the most important thing here. Without them and their support you can’t possibly make it.” She pauses and the two of them sit in companionable silence for a few minutes. “Well, let’s buy you a phone!”, Elkie exclaims and jumps up. Yuqi, startled by the sudden movement, follows her after composing herself.

With an out of breath Yuqi on her heels, Elkie reaches a small shop selling its goods through a window looking out onto the street. It is located in the labyrinth of small pathways and streets behind the company building. An old man leans on the window sill and smiles as he sees the young women approaching.

“Hello. I see you have brought someone with you on your morning route”, he greets Elkie in a jovial tone.

“Yup. And today we also need a phone”, Elkie announces pointing at Yuqi. 

“Yes, yes. Let’s see”, he mumbles and walks into the back of his shop in search for the article.

Yuqi takes a peek into the shop. It seems impossibly deep and narrow. Which is most likely due to the shelves on both sides of the room, reaching from the floor to the ceiling. There are all kinds of items. From food and drinks to electronics, handkerchiefs, flashlights, cigarettes, a myriad of different magazines and books, DVDs and dried fruit in glass jars.

After rumbling around in the depths of his shop the vendor comes to the store front again and puts a box containing a simple Samsung cell phone in it on the counter. With it come two cups of yogurt and very thin drinking straws.

“What is your favourite food, young lady?”, he asks Yuqi with a warm smile.

“Uhm. I don’t know. I like sour things”, Yuqi replies uncertainly.

“Ah. Let me see what I have in the back”, the old man says and disappears between the shelves again. A moment later he returns with a small plastic container. “This is pickled radish. I sell it together with the instant ramen. Go ahead, it’s on the house”, he offers her the radish with a set of chopsticks.

Yuqi graciously accepts the gift with a polite bow. Her eyes light up with the first bite as she tries the radish. This is delicious. I could eat this all day long. I wonder how much it costs. “Hmm. Thank you. This is really good”, she says happily. With a happy grin the old man nods.

“This’ll be 18.000 won”, he declares and looks expectantly at Elkie. Yuqi hastily pulls out the two 10.000 won bills she stuffed into her pocket. “I’ll pay for it”, she interrupts as Elkie tries to fish out some coins.

“Thanks. But next time I’ll pay”, Elkie declares in a playfully threatening tone. “You should unbox your phone so you can take it with you more easily.” After she did just that Yuqi keeps it in the zip pocket of her sweatpants, and the two go on their way after saying goodbye to the kind old man.

As they close in on the company Elkie stops Yuqi and gives her the yogurt. “How do we eat this?”, Yuqi asks confused.

“Now the real sport begins”, Elkie grins. She takes out one of the straws and pokes it through the aluminium foil of the yogurt cup. Then she starts drinking the yogurt through the straw. With great effort she the viscous fluid out of the yogurt cup. And Yuqi can’t help but giggle seeing her struggle. “Quit laughing and drink yours. If you do it this way your muscles will get trained and your singing improves”, Elkie glares at her.

Yuqi sniggers and starts to drink. After a few seconds she hasn’t even gotten the yogurt halfway up the straw and her cheek muscles burn. With a determined scowl she continues and, while she can’t eat the yogurt as fast as Elkie can, she has emptied half the cup when they reach the company building.

Twenty minutes later she has showered and is on her way to breakfast, her new phone secured in her pockets. Just as she wants to walk past the water basin Minnie and Soojin approached her. “Yuqi! We brought you some breakfast”, Minnie calls to her.

“We thought you wouldn’t make it in time”, Soojin explains.

“Thanks!”, Yuqi happily replies and takes the offered plastic bag containing a tin box with rice and vegetables.

“Let’s go inside. It’s freezing out here”, Soojin says with a shiver. The three head back into the dorm and huddle together in Yuqi’s and Minnie’s room. Minnie turns on the heater and they all sit down on Yuqi’s bed. “I can’t wait for the party tonight”, Soojin blurts out. “I brought extra clothes from home to wear. Do you want to see them?” Since she seems very eager to present her outfit Yuqi nods at her, while chewing on her rice. Soojin pulls a pair of shorts and a tank top out of her handbag. “Are you insane?”, Minnie cries out. “You’ll die wearing that while it’s this cold outside. Also, don’t you think that’s a bit… I don’t know.”

“A bit what?”, Soojin asks her with a raised eyebrow. Minnie is right this outfit is a bit too skimpy. Soojin doesn’t look like that bothers her though. “Give her something to wear under it”, she suggests towards Minnie. Grumbling, Minnie pulls a pair of tights out of her closet and, with a sour expression, drops them into Soojin’s lap. Soojin rolls her eyes and tries to reject the lend clothing.

“How many trainees are there in the company right now?”, Yuqi asks trying to change the topic and calm the situation.

“I am not sure, but I think around 20 female trainees”, Soojin answers. “It’s hard to keep up since many are gone after a month or two and many join every month.”

Wow, that are a lot. And if I want to debut, I’ll have to be better than most of them. That reminds me I don’t even know when my first evaluations are. “Uhm, by the way. When are the monthly evaluations? No one told me a time or place.”

“Urgh, don’t remind me”, Minnie sighs. “As if I’d be able to forget them. They’re at the first Friday of the month. And they’re coming closer. I really need to improve my dancing if I want to stay here.”

“Well that’s what the practice is for. Don’t worry if you know what to work on you can always pass the evaluations. It gets hard when you need to actually be good. Like expressions, stage presence and all that stuff. I am working on that for a while now and just can’t nail it down”, Soojin complains.

“I have finished eating”, Yuqi declares. “Uhm, I bought a phone this morning. So, if you guys want to have my number…”, she announces in a shy voice.

“That was fast. Give me your phone”, Soojin says and enters her number into the phone. She passes it on to Minnie who also enters her number.

“Great. Let’s go to practice”, Minnie says and opens the door. As they’re halfway out of the room Soojin’s phone buzzes. “You don’t have to send me a text Yuqi. I already sent your number to my phone”, she says in an amused tone and turns around to her.

Yuqi raises her hands in dismissal. “I didn’t text you.”

With a confused look Soojin pulls her phone out of her pocket. She squeals as she reads the text message. “Soyeon is back!”, she yells excitedly. After a quick reply, she runs towards the exit.

Yuqi and Minnie look at each other in amusement and slowly follow her. As they approach the doors and can see into the yard, they spot Soojin sneaking along the outer wall. She’s trying to get behind Soyeon, who is sitting under the large tree at the far side of the basin.

She seems so happy that Soyeon is back. And the way she’s sneaking up on her to scare her. I hope I can also find good friends to be silly with. Why do I feel sad because of Soojin's happiness? Sometimes I’m just strange. Yuqi giggles as Soojin’s plan is ruined by her inability to hold in her laughter. Soyeon turns around and Soojin throws herself into her arms. Urgh. Talk about feeling lonely. This doesn’t make it better. Yuqi thinks to herself.

Minnie pulls her towards the two other girls. And they step under the tree just as Soyeon puts a paper bag with pastries away. I just had breakfast, but I could really eat one of those. They look yummy. Maybe I should just ask politely. But no. I can’t do that. I just met her and she’s my senior. Also, she seems to like them a lot too. And I wouldn’t want her to feel bad about either giving one away or refusing to. She looks a bit intimidating.

Soyeon introduces herself in a formal way and Yuqi replies just as formal and adds a compliment for good measure. Maybe that was a bit much. She might think I am a fan of hers. That’d be awkward. Why is she looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong? Yuqi gets a bit nervous and blushes slightly under the inquisitive gaze of Soyeon. She has a bit of powdered sugar in the corner of . Should I tell her?

“Soyeon!”, Soojin yells at the still staring girl and Yuqi gets startled slightly. Why is she screaming like that? Soyeon was just looking. Not like it bothered me or anything. Hmm they’re talking about dance practice now. I really hope we can have those together with Soyeon. She’s pretty good and has a great aura. Duh. Now I do sound like a fan.

“We’re not very advanced and we don’t want to hold you back”, Minnie throws in as the topic comes to Yuqi and Minnie joining into the nightly practice.

Why is Minnie making excuses for our dance skills? I am not that bad. She’s probably just trying to be polite and give Soyeon a way out if she doesn’t want to train with us. Oh, that was a very direct answer. Yuqi thinks as Soyeon very clearly tells Minnie that she likes to train with people that are not as advanced as she is. She’s not beating around the bush. That's for sure. I am the polar opposite. I wish I would speak my mind more often.

The conversation moves towards the anticipated party this night. I hope those parties are actually allowed. I wouldn’t want to get into trouble in my first week. But it seems like they did this many time before. And I also don’t want to be the only one not going. But I still don’t know what to wear. Why do I even care about that? But I guess since it’s a party I should look the part. I have to start saving money. I really shouldn’t spend too much. My parents are already burdened enough with me being in Korea instead of with them.

“I assume you guys are also coming?”, Soyeon asks Minnie and Yuqi regarding the party. “Sure!”, Minnie answers for the both of them. Yuqi is a bit hesitant. It’s not like she doesn’t want to go. But she really doesn’t want to turn up in her old jeans and hoodie. Finally, after Minnie promises to take her shopping she agrees. Well, it can’t be helped, I guess. And the money is for spending anyways. But I should try to find something nice that I can wear more than once. I wonder if there are any nice shops around. I should ask Soojin. She seems like she’d know about that. Anyways time to get to practice. Yuqi follows Minnie towards their beginner’s dance class.

It’s just before 10 o'clock in the evening and Korean class is about to come to an end. Yuqi and Minnie sit opposite to each other and do small talk. The mock fan meetings are Minnie's favourite part of the class and, since they’re only done once or twice a week, it’s Yuqi’s first time having one. Her Korean is not all that good, and she struggles with pronunciation and keeping the flow of the conversation.

The teacher calls everyone to attention: “Alright. We are done for today. Tomorrow we’ll go over future tenses and talk about what you want to achieve in the coming years. For next Tuesday we’ll have another fan meeting and I want you to write 200 words on what your ideal conversation and meeting with an idol of your choice would be like. This is due on Monday, so I can read over them before we have class. Remember to check for spelling mistakes and keep in mind that I only accept handwritten assignments.” With a nod the teacher dismisses them, and the students bustle out of the room.

“Alright we have to hurry up. The shops around here close soon”, Minnie urges. “Where do you want to go?”

“I’m not sure. I don’t know good clothing stores around here. I thought I’d ask Soojin”, Yuqi replies. And pulls out her phone to send Soojin a text message.

“Well, I could also show you around, but still ask her. She probably knows more than me.”

YQ: Do you know any good clothing stores near the company?

As they reach ground level and step out of the elevator Yuqi’s phone buzzes.

SJ: Can I come with you?! :D

“Do you mind if Soojin joins us?”, Yuqi asks Minnie just to be polite.

“No of course not”, comes the cheerful reply.

YQ: Of course. We’re waiting at the elevator. 

SJ: Can I also ask Soyeon if she wants to come?

YQ: Yes.

Yay! I can’t wait to go shopping. Yuqi squeals quietly. “What’s up?”, Minnie looks at her expectantly.

“Uh, nothing. I am just looking forward to the shopping.” Yuqi evades the question. I look forward to hanging out with Soyeon. Maybe I should ask her to help me with learning Korean. Then again, she is already helping with the dance practice. And I can’t ask her to help me with everything.

The two trainees take a seat on a bench near the elevators. After a short while Soojin walks towards them from the cafeteria.

“I just have to get my bag out of the locker. I’ll be with you right away”, Soojin greets them and walks straight past them to the locker room.

“What kind of clothes do you have in mind?”, Minnie wonders.

“Nothing too expensive and I want to be able to wear it more than once. Just something simple but pretty,” Yuqi answers.

“Hmm. That should be manageable. The fashion here is really great. I had a hard time finding nice clothes back in Thailand but here I really have to hold myself back, so I don’t buy too much.”

“I’m back!”, Soojin announces as she joins them on the bench with her bag slung over her shoulder. “Soyeon should be here soon. I hope you like the smell of sweat though.”

“What?”, Yuqi asks confused.
“Soyeon didn’t have time to shower. I forced her to come with us anyways”, Soojin laughs.

Hmm Soyeon, doesn’t seem like someone who’d go shopping unless they had to. Even though she has a certain style and sense for fashion.
“She really doesn’t have to come with us if she doesn’t want to”, Yuqi says carefully.

“Don’t you want her to come?”, Soojin asks in a confused tone.

“No! Of course, I want her to come with us. Just” she shouldn’t feel forced to join”, Yuqi says quietly.

“She’ll survive a bit of social contact”, Soojin sniggers. “She tends to hole up in a practice room and train or write rap. If it weren’t for me, she’d probably not go out at all.”

“We don’t have much time”, Minnie urges with a look on her phone.

Just at this moment the elevator rings and Soyeon steps out. “Hurry up Soyeon. We don’t have much time”, Soojin greets her and drags her out of the elevator.

Soyeon has an annoyed look on her face and tells Soojin that Hui asked after her. She shows an evil smirk and her mood improves as Soojin gives her the stink-eye but otherwise ignores her.
Hui? Who is that? Soojin seems to be on bad terms with him if she reacts like that. I should ask Minnie what this is about.

“Where are we going?”, she asks the group. Minnie mentions a shop close by and Soojin nods in agreement. The four trainees walk out into the cold evening air. Isn’t this party supposed to be on a roof top? They really want to sit outside for hours while it’s this cold outside. I better make sure to wear all the clothes I have.

After a short while they reach a pedestrian zone with multiple clothing stores to both sides. Soyeon eyes a store window with comfortable-looking, colourful onesies on display. Soojin and Minnie keep on walking with determined steps. Yuqi not knowing what else to do follows them and soon after they’ve left Soyeon behind.

“Uhm. I think we lost Soyeon”, Yuqi chimes into the heated conversation Minnie and Soojin are having over the appropriate attire for a nightly roof party.

Soojin turns around and spots Soyeon who is still glued to the shop window. “Soyeon!”, she screams loudly and without restraint.

Soyeon throws her hands in the air. With a frustrated yell that can even be heard by the three waiting girls she runs after them.

“I was just looking. Isn’t that what we’re here for?”, Soyeon says with an annoyed sigh as she rejoins the other girls.

“We’re here to search and buy clothes for Yuqi and we don’t have much time”, Soojin reprimands Soyeon.

“Watch yourself!”, Soyeon grumbles.

“Pff, what are you going to do? Start a rap battle? She used to do that a while ago. Now I know better than to accept the challenge, but she only ever pulls that card when she's losing an argument”, Soojin tells Yuqi and Minnie mockingly. Why are they fighting? And all the screaming. I hope no one is bothered by us. Yuqi carefully looks around. She catches the disapproving gaze of an old woman passing them by and feels the heat creeping up her neck. Why do they have to be so embarrassing?

“Whatever. Come Yuqi we’re going shopping”, Soyeon declares and walks ahead. Yuqi is on her heels and trying to keep up with the fast pace Soyeon is dictating.

As they reach the end of the pedestrian zone Minnie stops them from walking right past their destination. “Hey! It’s this one”, she exclaims.

Hmm this looks a bit too fancy for me. I hope I can afford the clothes. Uhm, that blouse is so pretty. I love this kind of sky blue. And the sleeves are super cute. She excitedly points at the piece of clothing. The next moment her attention is already caught by a coat in mustard colour. In Yuqi’s opinion it has a very interesting cut but regretfully she doesn’t have the budget to buy clothes she doesn’t need.

Let’s go inside. I need to find out how much this blouse costs. Let’s pray it’s not too much. I really like it. I’ll look and feel great in it!

Without further ado she rushes into the store and walks straight up to the display. Hmm no price tag on it. Oh, this shop is bigger than it seemed from the outside. I wonder where the blouses are. Maybe I should just look around. I also need trousers or a skirt. Trousers are probably the better choice in winter. Especially since I don’t have any nice leggings to go with a skirt.

Soyeon suddenly grabs her arm and pulls her away to a display of blouses. Urgently she asks Yuqi for her clothing size. Luckily, I looked up clothing sizes before coming here. Otherwise I’d have to estimate it and try on a whole lot. So around 45 depending on manufacturer. She tells Soyeon her clothing size and she immediately starts pulling blouses off the display.

“Looks great. Now we need trousers”, Soyeon comments. She is really in a hurry. This won’t even take 10 minutes. Minnie already went to the right section. I think I never bought an outfit this fast. Yuqi giggles quietly. Her giggle turns into a quiet squeak as Soyeon takes her hand and pulls her through the shop. She’s really touchy. It’s kinda nice though.

When they reach the trousers section of the store Soojin throws one towards Yuqi. Will I even fit in there? This is probably one of those body fit ones. Not like I ever wore something like that. My is too flat anyways.

Yuqi protests and tries to talk Soojin out of making her try on the clothing. But Soojin brushes her off and points towards the changing rooms. Before she can even enter Soojin comes running with another piece of clothing. “I won’t try that on. Forget it!”, Yuqi dismisses Soojin’s selection. I want to look cute and classy and not like I am in dire need of a boyfriend. Yuqi shakes her head in amusement. Well here goes nothing. She takes the original two pieces with her and enters the changing room. This trouser is not that easy to get into. And why does it sit so low on my hips. Yuqi sighs. My mother wouldn’t let me out of the house if she saw me in this. But I guess there’s no way Soojin will let me pick anything more modest.

With a worried expression Yuqi steps out of the changing room.
“Perfect. This looks great. I love the blouse”, Minnie comments.

“Heh. We better hide you away or some guy will fall off the roof staring at you”, Soojin jokes. Urgh as if this wasn’t mortifying enough. I really didn’t need that imagine in my head. Yuqi looks at her with a sour expression. Soojin shrugs apologetic but can’t quite hide her smirk.

Yuqi realizes that Soyeon can't take her eyes of her. Why is she staring at me again? And why am I flustered by it. She really shouldn’t stare.

Soojin whispers something into Minnie’s ear making her laugh out loud. The sound brings Soyeon back to reality and she quickly closes and looks at the floor before her feet. Soojin and Minnie grin widely at her and even though Soyeon tries to keep her calm she is visibly flustered. Abruptly she stands up from her seat. “Alright. Let’s pay and get back to the company we have half an hour left before the party begins.”

Soyeon asks the store clerk for scissors. She simply cuts the price tags off Yuqi’s clothing and hands them over at the register. Then they’re out the door and on their way to the company.

Minnie shudders: “Are we really going to stay on a roof tonight? It’s pretty cold.”

“Don’t worry we always borrow heaters from the neighbour. But you should wear warm clothes, maybe take a blanket with you. And if push comes to shove, we can still huddle up for body warmth”, Soojin answers and waggles suggestively with her eyebrows. I think I’ll choose warm clothing and blanket.

“Alright! We’re good to go!”, Kino says. Or was it him? Yuqi wasn’t sure. He definitely was some Pentagon member.

A rope is thrown over the wall from the other side. “All safe!”, a voice yells softly and Soyeon walk up to the rope to pull at it. This feels like a prison escape. I hope we don’t get caught. Also, this rope doesn’t look safe. The wall looks higher than before. This are at least 3 meters. Yuqi looks around the yard. It is mostly illuminated by the two lamps. But they’re in a dark corner executing their escape plan.

Kino climbs up onto the wall first. Sitting on it he helps the others climb up, by offering them a hand as they reach the top. After Soyeon successfully climbed the wall – she refused to take the hand offered at the top and pulled herself up on her own – it’s Yuqi’s turn. “Come on, I got you”, Soyeon encourages her and offers her a hand.   

Why did I agree to this? I am climbing up a wall to go to a party on my first week here. I must be insane. With a heavy sigh Yuqi grabs the rope. She carefully braces her feet against the wall, her weight supported by the firm grip on the rope. Oh . I don’t like this at all.

Soyeon looks down at her with a wry smile. “It’s not that high. And I’ll grab you as soon as I can.” Well, it’s too late to turn back now. Here goes nothing. And she starts her ascend. After not even ten seconds, that feel like an eternity to Yuqi, Soyeon grabs her by the elbow and pulls her up on the wall.

The wall is broader than Yuqi imagined and it’s easy to stand on top of it. Especially since a thick branch, of the tree growing under her in the yard, is protruding towards her. Yuqi holds onto it while walking the three steps towards solid ground. She can already hear voices beyond the ridge of the roof. A faint light is shining in the distance and Soyeon is pulling her towards it. “W-where are Soojin and Minnie?”, Yuqi asks while shaking in the cold breeze blowing over the roof.

“Soojin is already there and she convinced Minnie to join her. You’ll see why.”

Why is she smirking again? And why would Soojin want to go earlier and bring Minnie with her? It’s not like I took that much time to get ready. We could’ve just all went together.

Kino leads them over small metal steps installed along the roof. I guess these are for the chimney sweeper.

The first thing Yuqi sees as they reach the highest point of the roof are the numerous floor lamps standing between the gathered Cube trainees and artists. They colour everything in a soft yellow light. The party is taking place on a flat strip of concrete connecting two relatively steep roofs. Everyone is sitting on a variety of garden furniture and around them are a few electrical heaters, set up to keep the party as warm as possible in the cold September air.

“Finally!”, Minnie hurries towards them. “Dammit, I should never have let her persuade me. Just look at her!”, she says in an accusing tone and points at Soojin. Oh. So that’s what I was missing.

Soojin is sitting in a rocking chair with Hui. They’re cuddling closely and Soojin seems like she doesn’t mind at all. “I know almost no one here and she just left me on my own after asking me to join her! Well at least you guys are here now”, Minnie complains. “I hate parties.”

They are welcomed loudly as they approach the group. Yuqi shyly waves at no one in particular. “Let’s find a spot to sit”, Soyeon suggests and directs them to a wooden bench. “Hey, Kuanlin. Are those taken?”, she asks the trainee sitting there and points at the remaining seats. “No. They’re free”, he answers with a smile.

Hmm. It’s warmer than I thought. Those electrical heaters are great. All I need now is my blanket and I’m happy. “Could I have my blanket?”

“Sure”, Soyeon answers and pulls their blankets out of the backpack she brought with her. “Stand up.” Soyeon puts her blanket over the bench and sits down on it and pats the seats on her left and right.

Minnie and Yuqi sit down next to her and they throw Yuqi’s blanket over all of them.

“I’m tired”, Yuqi announces. “Sorry. I don’t think I’ll be very entertaining”, she excuses herself with a yawn.

Minnie and Soyeon start a conversation about the upcoming evaluation and Yuqi doesn’t feel like joining in. This is comfortable. I’m so tired. But I can’t fall asleep on this bench. She adjusts her position. There this is better. The warmth and the soft background noise of the conversation around her lull Yuqi into sleep. Her head sinks on Soyeon’s shoulder and she feels a hand hesitantly her hair before sleep overcomes her.

__________________________

Once again thanks to Angie for beta reading!

And I want to apologize for taking so long to update. I'll try to be less lazy in the future :| Next chapter is once again a Soyeon chapter.

As you might've realized I am not a native speaker. So if you have any corrections regarding grammar or such things just shoot me a comment. I am more than happy to make corrections. Also if you have suggestions, feedback or requests I'll gladly hear all of it.

Thanks for reading!