A/N: Good morning! I am back for another round of MiChaeng! Hope everyone stays safe from all the COVID-19 struggles. Some places around here in the US are on a lockdown and it is very concerning for everyone that got laid off and those that have small businesses. Stay strong!

PS: This two(maybe three)shot partly is a true story...  I just realized Mina remotely resembles one of my crushes way back then (and no she does not represent Mina in this oneshot)

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In a world full of prejudice also comes a world full of homophobics. What is a homophobic you say? They are the ones that dislike homoual people. They are the ones that don't like lesbians and gays. I despise those who spread the hate. In my school, you see a lot of homophobics... and ones that are 'in the closet'. There was one incident where a gay man confessed to his best friend here in school. The best friend was disgusted by this and he stopped being friends with the gay man. The gay man ended up getting jumped by the best friend's other friends in school and so he ended up moving to another school because of this. Does his parents know what happened? No idea. I just hope he is all well. Now, why am I babbling about this you ask? It's because I, a woman, am in love with one of my friends, a woman.

My friend is really pretty. I would say, I became friends with her because of that reason. I mean, that was the only way I could ever get close to her right? Step one, at least. I told the man above the heavens that if I became friends with her, it would be enough and I would be very thankful to him. For some reason, I became friends with her not too long after that. I could finally be close to her and just bask on her cuteness and prettiness. Her name is Mina and she's an exchange student from Japan.

Mina was actually best of friends with a girl named Jihyo, who was friends with one of my friends, Dahyun. Now, Dahyun is an obvious lesbian. She was well liked by everyone because she was kind, funny, and obviously attractive. Dahyun wasn't in a relationship with anyone else and even if she was a lesbian, she wasn't hated. I wish I could muster up my courage like her. I don't consider myself very attractive though. I know that if I do smile, it's very bright. Other than that, I don't do much with my appearance like everyone at this age does. My relatives are annoyed by the fact that I don't take care of my looks. What can I do? I just don't care as much. This is why I know I'm not going to have any chance with Mina.

I finally mustered up the courage to talk to Mina because she was finally in the same class as me at 5th grade. Since Dahyun was friends with her and Jihyo, it was also easy to slip in. From then on, we started hanging out more. I didn't make it that obvious that she was all who I wanted to hang out with but I did really try to get as close to her as possible.

"Chaeyoung, finish that up later! Let's go to lunch!" Mina called out. Jihyo and Dahyun was behind her chatting and laughing at whatever they were talking about.

"Coming!" I replied out loud as I put away my notebook. I got up from my seat and ran towards them.

We went to the cafeteria and got our tray of cafeteria food. I was sitting next to Dahyun and across from Mina while Jihyo sat beside Mina. I wonder if Mina could hear my heart beating loud. She's such a distraction. How can I possibly focus on my food when there's this angel sitting in front of me?

"What's wrong Chaeyoung?" Dahyun smacked my arm, "is the food not good? Why are you not eating?"

I shook my head and looked at her. I bowed my head to apologize and proceeded to eat. I hope Mina didn't catch me just staring at her like a creep.

I had actually told Dahyun that I had a crush on Mina. All she did after that was tease me about her... especially when I was close to her. At least she doesn't make it as obvious as it already is. I still hate her for teasing me around her.

The end of school was actually nearing. I feel like I wasted most of my 5th grade in a class together with Mina because I didn't become friends with her until months before school ended. I was still thankful for the times that I got to be close with her. The times of playing around in P.E. and the times of eating in the cafeteria together with her will sorely be missed during the school break.

When 6th grade started, sadly, I wasn't in the same class as Mina this time. But I guess I should be thankful because she eventually found out that I had a crush on her. How did I know? She started avoiding me. Jihyo kept giving me glares after. Dahyun was also in another class. My 5th grade times seemed to be a blur and a dream. It ended so quickly. Now, all I could do was stare at her from afar and keep the memories I had with her. It was nice while it lasted, I guess.

A year after, I was also in another class away from Mina, Jihyo, and Dahyun. I wasn't as close with Dahyun as I was before but I did gain new friends. I also started chatting with two other girls I was interested in. They seem to also be interested as they knew I liked them and kept on messaging me still. It all had to stop when I found out that we were migrating to the US and settle there. I said goodbyes to my classmates and I had one last look of my school to reminisce the memories, including Mina.

Going through school in the US, I was still in the closet. I haven't told anyone that I liked girls until it was nearing the end of middle school for me. I revealed to my close friends who I had a crush on. I even confessed to my best friend that I had a crush on her... but that also ended up in rejection. I still had a crush on her for a while. It was awkward between us for some time but it dissipated after a few years.

Now, I am standing tall as a famous Youtube dancer and rapper. My appearance have changed quite a bit and I actually care more about how I look this time. I've had a few offers here and there to be recruited in their entertainment company until I got recruited by JYP. I've researched quite a bit about them and they really seem to care for their idols hence why I decided to come back to South Korea and actually pursue my dancing and singing seriously. Korean Pop was becoming a pretty big genre all over the world, so why not take the chance, right?

Of course, upon arriving to South Korea, I still had to go through the auditions. All of us auditionees were standing in line, waiting for our turn. There were a lot of us men and women there, waiting to strike a luck for fame and opportunity. In the coming weeks, We were all slowly reduced and the auditions were becoming a bit faster but tougher. Everyone was attractive. I couldn't help myself looking at all these beautiful human beings, sitting and waiting for their turn. I recognized someone familiar, beautiful as ever, probably even more radiant than before.

I came up to the beautiful auditionee. "Mina?" I uttered.

The auditionee looked up and my heart just skipped a huge beat. It seems like my feelings for her were reborn... or never left. At first, she had a questioning look, not knowing who I was it seemed, but then her face brightened up as she seemed to come to her senses and recognize me.

"C-Chaeyoung? Is that really you?"

To be honest, I wonder if she remembers the fact that I had a crush on her way back then... and it seems like I still do. Does she remember avoiding me after finding out that I liked her back in grade school?

"Yes! It's nice seeing you here!" I told her with a brightened expression plastered in my face. To be honest, I'm a nervous wreck.

"I thought you went to the US? Since when have you been back?" she asked, "I couldn't recognize you at all!"

"I decided to audition for JYP Entertainment. I haven't been back since forever to be honest. I think I'm losing my Korean a little bit," I chuckled, "but yes, thank you?"

Mina got up from her seat and hugged me. She pulled away after a few seconds and smiled at me. "Well it's nice to see you again. We should catch up, maybe?"

I nodded. "Definitely!"

"Number 27!"

My number was called out by one of the staff. It seems like a miracle that I noticed Mina was number 28 so she should be autitioning right after me. Maybe I should wait for her after I get out and possibly hang out with her. Anyway, I proceeded inside the room to start off and showcase another part of my talent once again. This time, I had to sing and dance at the same time instead of just showing them a dance, rapping in front of them, or singing a song for them.

After the session, I got out and Mina's number got called. The moment as I stepped out, I already saw her standing up from her chair and walking towards the room.

"Goodluck!" I told her with a smile. I know she doesn't need the luck because she's good at dancing and she's also got a beautiful voice.

After waiting for her to get done, she finally came out from the doors and the next number after her was called. Mina was sweating a bit from working hard and, to be honest, I've never seen her ier than this. Am I even allowed to say that?

"How did it go?" I asked.

"Tiring, but I'm finally done aren't I? It's always pretty nerve-wracking in there," Mina pointed at the audition room, "but it seems like I still impressed them nonetheless. What about you? How did yours go?"

"It was fine. Nerve-wracking too as the comptetition gets slimmer but better," I answered, "anyway, what was your plan today? I'm pretty free. I haven't really planned anything ever since arriving back to South Korea."

"Did you want to see Dahyun and Jihyo again?" she asked, "do they even know you're here?"

"Only a couple of my other friends and relatives know that I'm back. I haven't really talked to Jihyo and Dahyun since 5th grade."

"I'll let them know you're here!" she smiled and proceeded to go through her phone to message them.

We both started walking out of the building. Us walking side by side was something that I never thought would happen again... but it's happening... and it's real. I thought I should pinch myself to see if this was real but I would just look like that typical character in a movie or book that would think it's all a dream. I'm just going to bask in this reality and enjoy my time with a beautiful angel next to me.

"Let's go to a coffee shop and warm up," Mina recommended. It was quite chilly after all.

We went inside a Caffe Bene and waited in line. I was looking at the menu and was thankful there were English words as I haven't been reading in Korean for a while now so I do need to brush up on that. I haven't been in a South Korean cafe for a while now too so it's interesting to see the different types of drinks and sweets they have to offer compared to American ones. Mina seem to know what to get already so I'm guessing she frequents in this chain.

When it was our turn to order, Mina went ahead and placed her order, "hot white mocha and strawberry cream cake please."

"Alright, anything else?" the cashier asked.

Mina looked at me and pointed at the cashier with her eyes, telling me to place my order.

"Uh... I'll have the berry strawberry tea and the strawberry castella cake please." I uttered to the cashier.

"Alright. Hot white mocha and strawberry cream for the first order and berry strawberry tea with stawberry castella cake for the second one. Is there anything else?"

"That will be it," I smiled at the cashier, confirming the final order. I saw Mina pulling out her wallet but I went ahead and gave the cashier my card before she could even pay it. Mina looked at me disappointed.

"Come on, let it be my treat since you just got back from the US!" she whined.

"But it's been a while since I've seen you. And since you're nice enough to spare some time for me, consider this my treat," I told her while the cashier accepted my card afterwards.

"Fine. I'll give you this chance only!" Mina smiled.

I waited by the order pick-up booth to take our order while I told Mina to find us a seat. As soon as she found one, she sat down and looked through her phone, seeming as if she's messaging someone. I was just staring at her from afar and I still feel like a creep for doing so. I mean, does she not remember what happened back then? Or is she just being oblivious. Maybe she just forgot all about it or chose to forget about it.

Soon as our order was ready, I brought the whole tray to our table and sat across from Mina. She put away her phone and smiled, looking a the food in front of her.

"Ittadakimasu!" she chimed with both her hands together and took the cup of hot white mocha upon her delicate hands.

"Careful, it's hot!" I warned her before she took a sip.

"It's cool, they warm it up to a temperature where it's not going to burn your tongue," she chuckled and proceeded to sip on her white mocha.

I, then, looked down at my drink and felt to see if it would be hot enough with my hands. I proceeded to take a sip and was surprised that it was warm enough but not enough to burn my tongue like Mina said. Back in the US, I used to worry about that.

"This thing is freakin delicious!" I exclaimed.

"Damn, what are they feeding you in the US?" Mina chuckled.

"Trash apparently," I sighed.

"So, what have you been up to?" Mina asked as she held her drink up to her face beside her right cheek with both hands, elbows on the table.

"I was wondering if you knew my Youtube channel," I told her, "but it doesn't seem like you do."

"Well, I did recognize you from one of the videos I came across to on Youtube that's why it was a surprise you even talked to me. Sorry, I haven't watched all your videos."

"Ouch," I chuckled, "so how is life for you anyway? I can't believe you stayed in South Korea after all!"

"I begged my parents to let me keep studying here and they were supportive of me. As long as I got good grades, that was all they cared about so I made sure I was on top on all of them. I was able to stay with Jihyo since her parents approved of me staying over. They said I was a good influence to her," Mina laughed, "my parents just gave them money monthly for letting me stay with them and visited me from time to time."

"Must be one heck of parents," I smiled.

I couldn't help but think if I should ask her about what had happened before. I mean, there was a reason why she avoided me. She must have been disgusted. But now she's all fine and dandy with me, for what reason specifically? She's acting like nothing happened back then. I mean, I'm thankful, but it still puzzles me. Maybe I should go ahead and ask anyway.

"Mina, do you remember around the end of 5th grade or the start of 6th grade you started avoiding me?" I finally mentioned to her, "why was that? It puzzled me as to why you just started avoiding me. But I get the gist so I didn't pay no mind and kept my distance as you didn't seem to want my presence."

Mina put her drink down on the table and looked down for a minute. She looked back up to me and smiled a little. "You might already know but I did find out from someone that you liked me. I mean, everybody knew. It was obvious for them but it didn't with me. It just seemed like we were normal friends having fun. Maybe I was a bit too harsh about it," she sighed.

"So... you're just fine about it now?" My curiosity is on the roof.

"Shouldn't I be thankful that someone appreciates me anyway?" she giggled. See, I was hoping for a better answer, but I guess that will do.

After catching up for a while, we both decided to part ways so we can take a rest in our respective homes. She hopped on the bus and I waived goodbye at her while the bus drove off, with her doing the same. I walked home afterwards. I'm currently staying with my aunt and uncle while I pursued idol life here. I'm thankful that my relatives are supportive along with my parents but it was a hard choice for them to do and so with me.

I also received Mina's number from earlier and now I'm just all over the place thinking if I should message her. What else should I tell her anyway? I shouldn't make it any more awkward as it have been before. Maybe I'll just hang out with her or plan something the next time I see her at the auditions. I'm just going to go ahead and post a video on my Youtube account to what I did at the auditions earlier.

The final audition was today and there are only ten of us men and women left. There are only five of us that will remain so I hope everyone the best. I do hope I get picked since I went here all the way from the US. I also do hope Mina get picked since she deserves it, although all of us here are all pretty talented individuals. We were all waiting anxiously and I can feel everyone's nervousness, especially Mina. She was rocking her leg so much while looking down on the ground.

"You're going to do great," I whispered to her. Mina looked at me, stopping her leg rocking, and gave me a slight nod.

We all have done our entries for today and it seems like forever for the judges to make a decision. I did a rap number combined with dancing, which I think I did pretty well but it's too early to say anything at the moment since the results aren't announced yet. I think Mina did sing in combination with dancing. I wonder if she did ballet or hip hop?

Finally, the doors opened from the audition room. One of the judges came out with a clipboard, attached was a paper with the results. We had gotten different numbers this time as the competition went slimmer.

"Alright, first, I would like to thank everyone who have entered our auditions. Judging was definitely hard as the rest of you are the top ten amongst hundreds that auditioned for the current auditions. Thank you once again for having an interest in joining JYP Entertainment and if your number is not called, JYP Entertainment would like to welcome you back and wish you luck if you do decide on coming back with a more powerful performance the next time auditions are open again," the judge paused for a moment and continued, "now, onto the numbers... I'll go in order."

Mina reached for my hand quickly and squeezed them tightly. I looked onto my hand then up to her, shocked that this is happening at the moment. I could see her nervousness even more through her sweaty hand and her tightly closed eyes. Her head was still down on the ground and her feet were restless.

"One..." the judge first announced and the finalist jumped for joy while some congratulated her. Some of us were still too nervous to react, "... two... four..."

Mina raised her head in shock. Her number was called. She turned to me with a smile and I felt a thousand arrows attack my heart just now.

"... seven... and nine! Goodluck to all of you that made it through the final auditions. To those numbers that were called, please standby as we will need for you to take home paperwork that needs to be signed. Again, thank you all for your participation," the judge clapped and went back inside the audition room, closing the doors behind him.

Lucky number seven I guess... seven was my number and seven being called had a nice ring to my ears. Mina opened her arms and hugged me tightly. She was full of joy as the both of us made it. I looked around and saw those that weren't called. Some of them were crying while one of them immediately walked out. He seemed very mad that he wasn't called but I understand. I would probably have a lot of emotions within me if my number wasn't called. Think about how much hard work you've put into auditioning, going to the finals, and not making it immediately... Everyone was pretty good and I hope they audition again.

"Hey! We should have a celebratory day out!" Mina suggested.

"Don't tell me we're going back to that cafe," I giggled.

Mina put a finger on her lip while she crossed one of her arms, "I mean... that's not a bad idea either..."

"Just call the others," I giggled, "I want to meet them again."

"Let me see if they're free..." Mina pulled out her phone and messaged Jihyo and Dahyun.

Not even a few seconds after, she received a message from someone. I looked over and Jihyo was the one to reply first.

"Jihyo said they're both free tonight," Mina read through the message.

"Do they both go to the same school together?" I asked, curious why Jihyo can say something in place of Dahyun.

"Oh, yeah. We all still go through the same high school together. Of course, we are inseperable!" she smiled.

I had a fuzzy feeling in my stomach and it wasn't really pleasant either. I remember when we were all in 5th grade. Jihyo and Mina avoided me at all costs because they found out I liked girs... but also the fact that I fell for Mina... while Dahyun and I just grew naturally apart. I wonder how this would all go through when we all meet up again.

We all agreed to meet up at a grill-your-own-meat place that night. Everybody knows, you can never go wrong with that type of place when you're celebrating! It's just a little expensive for my little highschool budget. We went to the well known Palsaek Samgyeopsal. I never tried it myself but my guess is that the others have been here before.

I got there first and Mina messaged me that they were going to arrive shortly. My guess is that they're going altogether. The restaurant seemed full so my guess is that it'll be quite a wait for us to even get a table over, especially if we can't make a name reservation just yet if we're not all here. A few minutes later though, they finally got here. Jihyo and Dahyun seemed to have changed a little bit at least. Dahyun looks the same while Jihyo matured quite a bit. And then there's Mina, looking lovely as ever.

"Have you placed a name yet?" Mina asked, "if not, let's go in!"

Jihyo came up to me with open arms and Dahyun followed after. They seem to be perfectly fine with seeing me. My guess is that I was nervous as heck that I predicted all these scenarios in my head thinking it'll be awkward. But I guess everything is fine and there's no need to worry about what happened in the past.

We finally got a table after half an hour, but within those, Dahyun and Jihyo explained everything that have happened since I left for the US. It was nice knowing about all the things that have happened in their lives, and even with what went on in South Korea while I was gone. Although I was a bit updated with what was happening through my parents watching the Korean channels, I mostly cared more about what was happening in the US... since I lived there obviously. So much have changed with South Korea definitely and I'm happy to see such progression.

The waiter soon came out with the dishes that was ordered. Jihyo decided we order the eight flavors that they had. It was the special one and what the restaurant was most famous for. It also came with a big bowl of seafood soup. When the meat was cooked, they let me try the first one first while they sat back and saw my reaction. It was wine flavor first which I wasn't sure if I should be eating it anyway because of my age but my guess is that it was fine. As I placed a slice in my mouth, my mind exploded. That was awesome even with the light taste. Now I'm just wondering what the other flavors would taste like.

"Where are you located in the US?" Jihyo asked, "my guess is that you haven't been in their US location."

"They have a US location? And we are located in New York. I'm guessing, if anything, the US location you're talking about is in California."

"More than likely," Jihyo chuckled as she prepared her slice of pork belly.

"So how's it been for you?" Dahyun asked me, "how's life been? I heard you became a Youtube content creator."

"Ah... yes," I nodded with a mouthful of samgyeopsal. I gulped the food down and explained further, "I do dance and rap covers on Youtube."

"What's your username. I might just watch some when I get home," Dahyun chuckled, "I'll give you a like and subscribe," she laughed further.

"So, Chaeyoung," Jihyo opened, "are you in a relationship with someone yet?"

I paused. I was taken aback by the sudden question. Everybody else were just staring at me as well. I looked at Mina and immediately turned my gaze back at Jihyo.

"What's with the question? What about you guys?" I chuckled nervously as I prepared another samgyeopsal for myself.

"Well, I've been seeing this guy..." Jihyo giggled, "... Dahyun has been focused more on her studies than anything else. She would like to do what you're doing on Youtube as well. Seems like you guys are a perfect match."

"Ya!" Dahyun pushed Jihyo aggressively, but playful.

"I'm kidding!" Jihyo was in joyful tears, "but for real, Dahyun wants to rap and dance online too. Mina on the otherhand... too focused with her auditions with JYP. Now that she's in, she's going to be single forever."

"Mina-ri here had a lot of people wooing her but she says she's got no time for falling in love at all," Dahyun explained further, "she even rejected the captain of the baseball team!!!"

"I would have accepted it, if it was me," Jihyo sighed, "but I'm definitely happy with who I'm with right now."

"Yeah because you're in a relationship with the captain of the soccer team," Dahyun scoffed.

"But he's so cool in the field!!!" Jihyo squirmed.

While Dahyun and Jihyo spat back at each other, I was more focused on preparing and eating meat for myself. I was about to grab the last piece of the wine flavored pork belly when Mina's chopstick reached for it as well. I stared up at her and so did she. My heart fluttered all of a sudden and I backed away from the meat to offer it to her.

"Go ahead and take it. I think I've been eating most of it anyway," I smiled at Mina and encouraged her to take the last piece.

"Ah... I've been eating this here and there with Jihyo and Dahyun for a while now. Maybe you should have it since it's your first time," Mina suggested.

"No, seriously, after you. I still have the rest to taste anyway and I might get full immediately," I retorted and started cutting the next flavor of pork belly.

Mina picked up the last piece of the wine flavored pork belly and prepped it up before she ate it. I smiled at her and prepared mine afterwards with the new 'original' flavor. I'm definitely not over my feelings for Mina and I wonder how long this would last. Maybe I should just seek closure before I hurt myself twice falling all over for her. I know she's not gay and she will never be gay, even for me. At the same time, it's been a while and I will be trainees with her at JYP Entertainment. Should I just push my feelings aside or should I try again?