Funnily enough, having each other’s phone numbers doesn’t stop them from talking on the balcony.

Three weeks later, and they’ve only called on one other occasion—that was only because Eunbi couldn’t sleep through Chaeyeon’s very loud singing and she called Chaeyeon to tell her to go to sleep as well. Chaeyeon’s voice was beautiful, of course, angelic even, Eunbi easily admits. But it was also 4 a.m. and Eunbi wasn’t as much of a night owl as Chaeyeon was. They had talked for a few hours before Eunbi had to call it a night, needing a good night's sleep for the day after.  

Come morning, on a very rare occasion unlike before, Eunbi was glad to have exchanged words with Chaeyeon before going to work. Eunbi had woken up early and made coffee and breakfast for herself, enjoying both on the balcony, watching the clouds float about the sunny sky. Eunbi didn’t know how Chaeyeon knew she was on the balcony, but Chaeyeon came out and immediately bid her a good morning. Her neighbor didn’t stay for long, though, saying she had an early start for today, but the short exchange was able to put Eunbi in a really good mood for the rest of the day. 

And a good mood really was something Eunbi needed to teach the girl group, WMG, the choreography she just created for their new comeback title, Rumor.

Unfortunately, her good mood didn’t last for very long.

The group’s manager, Hyewon, had led Eunbi through the building, making their way to the studio. The moment she came into the studio, seven young girls had greeted her with bright smiles on their faces. They did their greeting, introducing themselves by their stage names,  and Eunbi had to physically stop herself from cringing at their display of preppiness.

She bows back politely and introduces herself, “Hello, I’m Trainer Kwon. It’s nice to meet you girls.” Eunbi doesn’t know if it was a last second decision to use her professional title, the way she did with her students at the dance studio. 

Distance, always. It was Eunbi’s one compulsion––a strategy she clung to so that she doesn’t lose herself like she did years ago.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Yujin, who was there to help her teach, rolled her eyes at Eunbi’s display of ‘professionalism’, before greeting the girl group herself.

+++

They were hardworking, that was for sure. Even when Eunbi said they could take a break, the seven girls insisted on continuing for another part of the choreography. Eunbi couldn’t deny their determination, the fiery dedication to their job. That wasn’t the problem. It was their attitude.

They were such nice people.

And usually Eunbi wouldn’t complain, but at this moment it was really getting in the way of expressing their new concept. Eunbi wanted them to get down and dirty, to seduce the audience with just a look, be a bit messy even. But what Eunbi got was innocence, purity, and overly careful movements.

Suffice to say, Eunbi was getting impatient. She was halfway from yelling at them, but caught Yujin’s warning look, telling her to cool it. “Again,” she bites back venom. “From the top, and this time put more power into it. Like a lot.”

She expected them to do better this time. They did, but only slightly. Only one person stood out—the girl Eunbi had appointed as center—The girl whose stage name was ‘LEE’, likely their surname, which Eunbi found ridiculous.

LEE was the leader of WMG, and the only person who caught onto the choreography almost immediately. Eunbi has to admit that she was very impressed with her, but also very disappointed. Eunbi could tell that the girl is an amazing dancer, and to an untrained eye, she was perfect. But Eunbi could see how LEE was holding back so much of her power, and how she was diminishing her style to accommodate her other members. And it frustrated Eunbi more than anything.

By the end of their session, the girls had memorized almost half of the song, but wasn’t anywh