Chaeyeon was late.

She was definitely going to miss the meeting with the company’s CEO that was starting in, oh , five minutes. And after, Chaeyeon was probably going to come in late to the dance practice too.

She’s so screwed.

Chaeyeon briefly thinks of blaming her neighbor for making her late, for staying up until the brink of dawn just because they couldn’t stop talking to each other. But then again, it had been Chaeyeon who suggested opening more bottles of soju while they conversed the whole night. And it was Chaeyeon that called Eunbi even when they parted ways and convinced her neighbor to keep talking.

Eunbi did try to be the voice of reason, but still agreed to drink some more after a little begging on Chaeyeon’s part, and also stayed on the phone as they watched the same movie until Eunbi fell asleep.

So technically, it was Chaeyeon’s own fault that she’s in this predicament. But in her defense, they both needed it. They deserved to unwind after the bad day they had.

Chaeyeon still doesn’t know what was bothering Eunbi, but for Chaeyeon, she blames her problems on Trainer Kwon.

Yesterday, the dance teacher’s words cut through Chaeyeon sharper than a knife. Not because it was wrong or off-based. But because everything she said was every insecurity that has ever ran through Chaeyeon’s head, all her life as a trainee and now as an idol.

Chaeyeon remembers how each and every praise that came from dance and vocal trainers also came with a suggestion to “take it down a notch” and to stop standing out. After awhile, those so called suggestions piled up, and at one point Chaeyeon really started to believe that she wasn’t standing out because she was as special as she used to think. Having a dance teacher like Trainer Kwon to have said those things to her after only less than a day teaching her, however flattering it sounded, had hit her hard. Because it was absolutely true.

But Chaeyeon couldn’t afford to start thinking about this again, especially not now––not when she’s incredibly late already.

Waiting for the lift to reach the ground floor, Chaeyeon adjusts the face mask she was wearing under a hoodie. The cap was a bit redundant, but she didn't have time to put on makeup today, so this disguise would have to do for now, at least just until she gets to the company building.

The door opens and Chaeyeon immediately sprints through the lobby, and leaves through the entrance, her mind completely miles and miles away. Chaeyeon was so distracted that she didn’t see a person right ahead of her and bumped into them. Hard.

.

“Sorry!” Chaeyeon yelled out behind her, but didn’t stop running towards the bus stop. She had two minutes before she missed the bus. And while Chaeyeon’s first instinct was to stop and apologize to the stranger, but obviously she was running late and she couldn’t afford to be late to a dance practice, more importantly a practice with Trainer Kwon. 

Come to think of it, the person she bumped into looked slightly like said trainer. But that’s impossible, Chaeyeon convinces herself. It’s a trick of the light. It was only because Chaeyeon was thinking of Trainer Kwon that her face was the one she saw just now. Guess the dance trainer really did get to her.

Half an hour later, Chaeyeon finally shows up in the company building, sweaty and her heart still pounding. She heads over to the practice room instead of the meeting room. Chaeyeon was late already, and the meeting was going to end in less than 5 minutes anyway. She’ll just have to apologize to the CEO later.

Chaeyeon was stretching her legs in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirrors when her members walked into the practice room.

“Unnie!” Yuri exclaims.

Wonyoung practically runs inside to plop herself on top of Chaeyeon. “Why weren’t you in the meeting just now, unnie?”

Chaeyeon sighs. “Sorry, I was up late last night.”

“Doing what?” Chaewon piped up.

“Practicing all night long?” Minju questions.

“Why didn’t you reply to my text then, unnie?” Nako asks, crossing her arms.

“Were you watching a match on TV? Is it time for the World Cup already?” Yena says.

“That was one time,” Chaeyeon rolls her eyes. “And why am I being interrogated?”

“You’re not, unnie. We were just worried. You’re rarely ever late,” Wonyoung replies, peppering kisses on Chaeyeon’s forehead.

Hyewon walks into the room with a box of pizzas. “Pre-practice snack. Don’t tell CEO Kim.” All the girls exclaimed happily and told their manager how much they love her for providing food when they were supposed to be on a diet. “Looks like it’s not just you who’s late, Chaeyeon. Trainer Kwon was supposed to be here 10 minutes ago,” Hyewon comments, which made all the girls curious.

But the curiosity didn't last very long when the pizza was gathering much of their attention. Soon enough, the practice room became a small party for the idols. Which had boosted Chaeyeon’s bad mood from last night, and any leftovers from this morning, significantly.