Who would’ve thought this would happen to me?

Of all the people in my class… wait scratch that… Of all the people in the world. I, Choi Sooyoung, was the one to be put this situation. Maybe for some people, it’s not a big deal. Some might even consider me lucky for being here with these people. But in my head, this was a huge burden. I live a carefree life. I don’t want to be confined here every afternoon with some people who I barely know. Let’s just say I can live happily without experiencing all of this.

So yeah, as you’ve guessed, I’m at the dorm of the famous group Lyrics and if I was a huge fan, I’m probably dead by now.

Sorry. I’m not.

There was an unbearable amount of awkwardness filling the room as soon I as I stepped inside. I can feel them scrutinizing me and watching my every move. If I’m in a different situation, I would’ve probably told them off but for some reason, I had control over myself. I didn’t dare say anything.

I sat there quietly waiting for I don’t know what. The two girls who were sitting across from me stood up and met the semi-blonde girl at the kitchen. So they decided to have a group meeting while there’s a visitor in their house. Cool. I muttered to myself sarcastically.

After a few minutes, the three of them emerged from the kitchen, the semi-blonde girl leading the group.

“I’m so sorry for making you wait.” She said. She faced the other two and said, “Guys, this is Choi Sooyoung, she’s my partner for the subject I’m currently taking at the university.” I automatically bowed my head and said, ‘Annyeonghaseyo’, which they politely returned.

“Sooyoung-sshi, this is Tiffany.” The girl with the black haired smiled, acknowledging that she was the one being introduced. “And that one is Sunny.” The short haired blonde girl gave me a little wave, which I returned by raising my hand a bit and giving a tight smile. There was a slight pause but before I could stop myself, I blurted out. “And you are?”

“Oh!” She was taken by surprise. “I’m sorry. My name is Kim Taeyeon. Nice to meet you.” I nodded my head in understanding. Oh yeah, her name was Taeyeon… according to Jessica. My eyes widened at the thought. Jessica would kill me if she finds out. Then again, I am sworn to secrecy. So I’m safe for now. But who was that girl she said she liked?

“Sooyoung-sshi, you okay?” I heard Taeyeon say. I didn’t realize that I was still wide-eyed and I blushed slightly for being embarrassed. I dropped my head a bit. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just remembered something.” She nodded her head while pursing her lips. “Well… Uhhh…” Taeyeon began. I raised my eyebrows, urging her to go on. “Let’s uh… go to my room.”

“Oh, okay.” I said. I gathered my stuff and followed Taeyeon to her room.

Once she opened the door, she flicked the lights on and muttered, “I’m sorry my room is a bit messy.” My mouth fell a bit as I saw her room. Are you kidding? My room doesn’t even compare to hers. If her room was messy, then what do you call mine? A dump? She didn’t notice my little moment inside my head so she continued saying, “We have to study here because I don’t want to disturb Sunny and Tiffany. Is this setting alright with you?”

I was still mesmerized by her room so I didn’t respond immediately. I was snapped back to reality when I heard her say, “Sooyoung-sshi~”

“Uhh.. yeah, it’s fine.” I said hurriedly.

She made me seat down on a chair in front of her vanity desk. There was a huge mirror and I can see both of our reflections. She was so pretty and my skin wouldn’t even compare to her milky white complexion. I bet it was smooth too. I noticed that my face was sprouting a harder expression than hers. She’s like an angel. A kid angel. This girl… I wonder how she’s like?

“So shall we…?” She asked. Maybe she noticed that I was staring at her for a long time.

“Oh right.” I said, bringing myself back to reality. For the first time in my life, I didn’t quite know what to say. I, who was so talkative and loud, became so quiet and timid, in front of her. For now, I assumed that this was because she’s not a normal person. She’s a celebrity. Maybe I wanted to make an impression. But who am I kidding? I’m totally smitten by her and seriously, that came from the person who disliked this group for a long time now.

“Uhh, since this is the first time we’ve met, and also it’s only the first week back so there’s really nothing new. If you want, maybe we could have a brief introduction so that we could do something about this tension.” I suggested as I finally found the courage to use the words I’ve learned in all the years of my life.

She seemed convinced. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. So how do we do this?”

“Well, uhhh why don’t we try to like just talk. Like normal people do.” I said.

“Normal people?” Oooh, I’ve said the wrong thing. “You think I’m not normal?” She asked, with her voice slightly rising.

“No. I didn’t mean that. I’m just saying like, uhhh..” I said, running out of vocabulary. “Like what you do when you meet someone for the first time.” Really? Am I seriously saying all these things? What is wrong with me?

“Oh okay.” She said, her voice calmer. “Sooyoung-sshi. First of all, I’m not an alien. I know how to make friends. Second, I am just an ordinary person, like everyone else so you don’t have to be nervous around me.” It just hit me when she said it. She was right. I was nervous. I didn’t notice it. Damn it. What is this girl doing to me? I’ve never been nervous in my life or when talking to another person for that matter. Unless I did something wrong.

“Yeah… Right, I’m sorry.” I said trying to regain composure and confidence. “Let’s start over. I’ll go first. My name is Choi Sooyoung. I am a Performing Arts student from KNUA. My hobbies are dancing, singing, and acting but I have a passion for eating.” And with that, I heard one of the best sounds I have encountered in my life.

Her laugh.

It quickly became one of my favorite things to hear. I found it a goal to make sure I hear that laugh again.

“Seriously? You have a passion for eating?” She asked amused.

“If I can marry food, I’d do it.” There it is again. I smiled proudly to myself.

“But you’re so thin!” She exclaimed. “I don’t believe you like to eat.”

“Oh you better believe.” I can feel the tension lifting out on us. We’ve became slightly comfortable around each other. “Once when I was in middle school, I won a hotdog eating contest.” I bragged. Her eyes brightened and I can tell she was interested in what I was saying. So I continued. “I ate 35 hotdog sandwiches and I won 60,000 won.”

“No way!” She said. “It’s true. I have proof if you want.”

“No, it’s okay. I believe you. But how come you’re like that? How do you do it?”

“Well, I have a fast metabolism so…” I stopped, I don’t know what else to say so I just added, “Maybe it’s because I’m hyperactive almost all the time and as I’ve told you, I like to dance.”

She nodded her head in understanding. “Enough about me. Tell me something about you.” I said, feeling more confident than ever.

“Oh alright. I’m Kim Taeyeon. I am currently enrolled at KNUA as well. I’m also taking up Performing Arts.” I bobbed my head in acknowledgment. “My father is an optometrist. I have two siblings. I love to perform and dance but my passion is singing. My dream is to compose a song and sing it to the person I love in front of thousands of people.” She stopped, her gaze downwards like she’s thinking about something deep. But then she giggled and continued. “But first, I have to meet that person.”

I let out a small smile. “Wow. That’s pretty unusual.”

“Yeah.”

I noticed she didn’t say that she was part of the group Lyrics. I thought she would be proud to tell me that. Because she didn’t mention it, I started to have doubts. Maybe they just look similar. But how do you explain this not being able to come to school part? To make sure, I took out my phone and looked at the pictures I took from the fan signing event. There’s no mistake. She is the Taeyeon Jessica was talking about.

Since she wasn’t talking, nor did she showed any signs of continuing the conversation, I took courage to ask her the question that has been on my mind for the past 20 minutes I’ve been inside their house.

“Say, aren’t you a part of the group called Lyrics?”

She raised her head in attention and said, “Yeah I am.” She didn’t say anything further.

“Oh. Okay.” I said meekly. I sensed that she didn’t want to talk about it so I didn’t push.

There was a moment of silence but it wasn’t as awkward as the first ones. We got the hang of each other and she constantly laughs at my jokes. I never thought I was funny but for the sake of hearing her laugh, I could be the world’s biggest joke. Why I thought of that you ask? I didn’t know.

I glanced at my watch and I saw it was already after 6. Jessica’s waiting for me. Coz we always go and have dinner together unless we had other plans. And this doesn’t count as “other plans”.

“Uhm., hey.” I said to catch Taeyeon’s attention.

“Hmm?”

“I need to go now.” I said cautiously.

“Oh, okay.” She stood up. She didn’t say any thing else. I followed her outside and the two other girls were nowhere to be found. I assumed they went inside their respective rooms.

When we reached the door, I turned around and said, “So maybe I’ll see you next week?” I asked, trying to confirm and ask permission at the same time.

“Sure.” She said, while wearing a small grin.

“Alright, take care.” I said.

“You too.”

I went out the door and shut it close. I sighed deeply, feeling relieved. I was still wondering why I was nervous around her. Was it because I know she’s famous? I don’t think that was it coz I didn’t feel nervous around Tiffany and Sunny. I just felt a bit shy that’s all. But around Taeyeon… I don’t understand.

As I was walking down the hallway, I heard someone shout behind me, “Sooyoung-sshi!”

I whipped my head to the direction of the voice which unmistakably Taeyeon’s. I saw her sprinting towards me and I got ready for whatever she’s gonna say.

“I forgot to ask you your phone number. May I…?”

“Yeah, of course.” I said, a bit startled.

We exchanged phones and typed in our respective numbers. After that, she gave me another smile while she waved at me and started to head back to their room. I watched her disappear from the door.

The thoughts of what happened today kept bugging me. I got home in a blur. I’m even surprised I made it safely.

I was greeted by an annoyed Jessica and we had our traditional dinner together. She was telling me loads of stuff that happened in her day but I didn’t find it as interesting compared to mine.

After calling it a day, I’m laying here in the darkness. The only light was emitting from my phone. I’ve been staring at Taeyeon’s number until I felt my eyes getting heavy by the second. I set my phone down and let sleep take over me.

Earlier I said, I could live happily without experiencing all of these.

How wrong I was.

A/N: KNUA stands for Korean National University of the Arts in case you guys were bothered by it. I gotta ask.. is the story going too slow or too fast or what? Please let me know.. :)

your opinion matters. ^_________^