At Nine thirty the following morning, I answered the door and found Wheein outside.

Hands braced on the doorframe and head hanging, she cast me the cutest simple smile showing her impossible to resist dimples as she looked at me from under those incredibly gorgeous lashes.

“Unnie…Still mad?”

I swallowed. The endless speech I had prepared for her the previous evening, including words like ignorant, idiot, and , had slipped from my mind.

“Elephant are cute but, never again call me an elephant,” was all that came out in a low grumble.

“Promise.” The silly girl pouted and even crossed her heart.

I smiled. “We’re good then.”

Wheein’s metallic green mountain bike leaned against our low picket fence. I grabbed mine from the shed, and we cycled to her dancing class building together. It was only a few block away. Close to hundred girls from high schools and college had gathered in front of the three levels building main doors. More are coming as we approach the group of girls.

As I got into the building, the lobby was crammed with people. It was so hot with the heat coming from the bodies and it’s was loud. They were like hundreds of them and I was told they only accept thirty students. Wheein was long gone, as she was a little short, it’s kind of hard to spot her in this crowd.

Soon I saw Sowon and Namjoo coming down the stairs with mics. They started giving instructions. We were divided into groups of four. Each were lead into a different rooms and will be evaluate by different Rainbow Grove’s team members. My group was ushered to the top level.

Rainbow Grove are not some kind of any other dance group. Was once five of them, now twelves members. They were on top five across South Korea. But ever since Byul joined them last year thanks to Seulgi who happen to know a friend who know a friend who know her, they managed to claim the title of the champ.

This year they came out together with a plan on opening a dance class. It was a hot topic on news and magazine for a whole week. Knowing this of course every single girls from all around South Korea won’t miss this golden chance. Being thought by especially the great Moonbyul apparently has a chance to become an idol’s backup dancers or even the idol themselves.

Byul walked over and gave me a sticker as soon as she saw me walked into the room, which I was supposed to pop on my chest, giving me her usual eye smiled. So far, I hadn’t seen Byul without her cap and face mask, except on television. But today, she decide to free her face, no make-up just her bare face, giving her a whole new appearance. Her unexpected good looks took me unaware. I always knew she’s beautiful but this is different, this is not a television screen. She’s real. I wasn’t the only one who captivated by her natural beauty. I could hear whispering behind me complimenting how she still look amazing with bare face. She caught me staring. Her matter of fact tone changed to a sly rumble. “Good luck, Yongsun-shi.”

When everyone got their numbers, she raised her voice over the chatting crowd. “Okay, everybody. For a little warm-up, I want you do some stretching. Eight minutes.”

Panic kicked me in the gut. “Stretching? What? I’ve never done any.” I turned around to look for Wheein hoping that she could help me but she was nowhere to be found. I swear I saw her followed me inside but where is she now?

Swallowing my retort, I tried to copy others moves. Impossible of course, when none of these alien so called stretching moves I have ever seen before in my life.

, I feel like a total idiot and I’m already running out of breath. Screw Byul and her warm-up. By the time I was done, I collapsed on the floor, hearing nothing but my own erratic breathing.

Wheein came out of nowhere and got me a drink while I mimed a dead frog for several minutes. My mouth and throat felt like the desert. As she stepped over me. I sat up, longing for the cup of water she held out to me.

But when I grabbed the plastic cup, my heart sank. “So little?” I held the mouthful of liquid, turning it this way and that, seeing if it would miraculously become more. “There’s something seriously wrong with your head.”

“Not at all.” She laughed. “But since you can hardly breathe right now, more water would make you sick.”

I offered her a sneer. I downed the little she granted me. The sip evaporated on my tongue in an instant.

“Yongsun-shi! Your turn!” That was Byul.

Wheein pulled me to my feet and gave me a pat on my shoulders as a way of her encouraging me.

The girls were sitting down on the floor in a big half circle facing Byul and Seulgi who was sitting on a chair side by side. So I bring myself to the empty space in the middle of the circle. Wiping the sweats on my forehead with my sleeve as I stand there, fidgeting not knowing what to do next.

“Err…So…should I start now? Or…”

“Did you bring your own song?” Byul cuts me.

“Oh, right!” shoving my hand inside my pants pocket, I took out my flash drive and hands it to Seulgi.

As I watched her working it on the laptop. I’ve keep chanting the word I can do it many times in my head.

Since my favourite girl group, Mamamoo had just released their last four season album recently, I’ve decide on their title song. I’m not going to lie, trying to copy their every moves are definitely not an easy task to an amateur like me. Yet I got this feeling at least I can dance as good as the leader, Solar. It took me all night to memorize all the moves.

As soon as the song plays on the loud speaker I moved my body just as I’ve practiced.

Yeap, I messed up. A lot. I’ve lost count on how many times I’m almost trip and fall down on my face. Not to mention I missed the beat and forgot a few steps here and there. Well, . And when the song finally end I was once again out of breath.

“Okay, next” she called for another candidate.

That’s it? No comment? No saying how ridiculous I look? Scratching my neck I bowed before I took an empty spot next to a girl in the circle.

Byul lean back in her chair, her arms crossed over her chest, intensely focusing on the current candidates, when suddenly her gazed falls on me and our eyes meet. I saw her lips curved to an amusing smile, which I find it really endearing and it was making my heart to skip a beat. Realising the fluttering feeling, which is so wrong, I quickly I turned away to look for Wheein.

Oh I found Wheein alright, she’s with Hyejin. Hands laced behind her back, they were whispering and chuckling. So lost in their own world.

“Hey, you did a good job” a girl pats me on my shoulder.

I turned to face her. I gave her my best smile trying not to be so obvious that I’m not in a mood on making new friend right now.

“Will you be at Byul-shi‘s party later?” she asked.

I gulped. Byul’s parties were legend. I could only rely on the gossip I’ve heard from my friends in the college of course, there were idols among the invited guest. Loud music, big mansion with big swimming pool. The closest I had been to her ten rooms mansion was when we drove by to get to the library, and it looked big enough to bear several halls. Getting an invitation to one of those parties meant stepping up into the cool league.

Not that I cared about hanging out with these party people. But Wheein had been to many of her parties, and she never told me much about the events behind those doors. That alone sharpened my curiosity.

She would go tonight for sure. The fact that Hyejin would be there too had my heart slipping to my pants. I put up a nonchalant face when I actually felt like bawling and trudged over to the fridge to get a drink larger than the fly pee Wheein had brought me after the warm-up.

The afternoon dragged on with a few more left over candidates. And currently it was Hyejin turn. Watching her dancing was a good idea. She was that damn good. Completely hot and y compared to my stiff and awkward moves. Loud cheers from time to time encouraged her even more. She was dancing to Twit by Hwasa. By the time she’s done. I had enough.

This was it. I was done with dancing. May all the freaking dance moves rot in hell and the dancers die of thirst. I didn’t give a damn if I made it or not. Moving your body weirdly to a music for morons anyway.

I wiped the sweat off my face with the towel Wheein had brought, then stuffed it back into her backpack, and stomped out of the room.

“Hey, where do you think you’re going?”

“Home.”

Wheein caught up with me by the stairs. “Unnie, you can’t. Byul unnie hasn’t announced the students’ name yet.”

“Like I care.”

She wrapped her arm around my arm and used my speed to propel me in the opposite direction. “Don’t you want to know if you’re in?”

Trying to wiggle from her, I gave her a hard stare. “Nope.”

“Where’s your spirit gone?”

“Where has your eyesight gone?” I stopped dead. “You saw what a miserable dancer I make.”

“Ah, I’ve seen worse. Actually, I’m pretty proud of you. This was the first time you dance and you are actually good. All you need is a little practice. Beside it’s a dance learning class. Use this opportunity to be better. Right, unnie?”

I found that hard to believe, but the expression in her eyes told me differently.

She meant it. Confused, I gave her a sideways glance. Unfortunately, Hyejin intruded my view as she walked over seductively to us, more like to Wheein actually. Both her arms wrapped around her neck.

“Come back to the room, quick. Byul unnie will name the students in a minute. She already told me that I was selected.”

“I’m not surprised.” Wheein allowed that she dragged her away from me. “You proved us before you’re a natural at dancing.”

“Only at dancing?” She winked at her.

My molars suffered from the hard grinding I did. The thing was, I needed to become one of the student, badly. How else could I fend off her?

I decide to follow them back into the room and dropped the backpack to join the group.

Byul held a list in her hands as she stepped in front of the expecting crowd.

“We only accept thirty students this year. We’ll call out the names of those who made it onto the class. If yours is among them, well done. If not, I’m sorry but hope you will try again next year. You’ve all shown great enthusiasm today.” She cleared and reeled off the girls.

 “Hyejin. Nicole. Jiyeon. Hani. Bomi. Yongsun. And Jia.”

My jaw hit the floor. I pivoted to Wheein. “Did she just say Yongsun?”

“Guess she did.” Her cute dimple made me want to slap some seriousness into her face.

“I’m going to be a dance student?”

“Yes,” she chuckled. “Now get your things, I owe you a sundae.”

I really made it, and she owed me ice cream. What a freaking fantastic day. I jogged to the end of a corner where I dropped the backpack and slung my backpack over one shoulder.

Certainly, I had the most stupid grin in the world pasted on my lips. It slipped as the word owe got stuck on repeat in my mind. What if she had asked Byul to let me be the student even if I was a miserable dancer? At the thought of depending on Byul’s mercy, I felt awfully embarrassed.

I had to know, and Wheein would spill, even if it meant I had to threaten to crunch her entire six months’ supply of cheese crackers, which she kept hidden under her bed.

Whipping around, I bumped into Byul.

“Congrats, Yongsun-shi,” she cheered. “You made it.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Pissed at something I hadn’t yet proof of, I shoved past her but then stopped. “What does Wheein owe you for letting me in?”

For a moment, she looked confused. Then she laughed out loud. “You don’t want to know.”

My hands fisted around the strap of my backpack. Hell, of course, I wanted to know.

Turning to leave, she glanced at me over her shoulder. Her eyes sparked with a glint of mischief. “See you at my house, Yongsun-shi.”

Holy . Did she just invite me to her party?