two

Lugging bags and bags of miscellaneous items, I walked from door to door just to check that it wasn’t locked. Sadly, luck seemed to not be on my side that day (since when did it?) when all the hallways were empty, indicating no sign of life.

I should have guessed. It was 4 A.M, the darkest time of the night. Not even trainees were there to practice.

Putting my hand on my last hope; the door knob of a practice room at the far end of the building gave off a click sound as I pushed it down gently. It lifted weights off my chest, knowing that I would have sufficient space that night to personally make some of JB’s outfits. I pried the door open, and felt the side walls with my palm until I could touch the switch. The lights and I suddenly felt a sense of familiarity, but I couldn’t ignore the guiltiness either. The practice room was like any other I’d seen that depicted life in JYP Entertainment. However, I felt like the place only belonged to aspiring stars in the K-pop scene, of which, I was only a nobody, an unnamed stylist trying to find refuge to complete some work.

I ignored those thoughts in my head and walked to the corner of the room, tugging my belongings behind me. I poured everything onto the floor, instantly regretting it after seeing the mess I’d created. I made a space in the middle of everything and sat cross-legged. It was ten minutes past four and I sighed. I was positive I wasn’t going to get any sleep but nonetheless, my optimistic mind took over and got down to task immediately.

Papers of my sketches lay sprawled on the floor. Picking a specific cloth material, I constantly referred to my research papers and sketches to start sewing pieces and pieces of cloth together. A box of brand new plasters sat quietly beside me to save me whenever I pricked myself in the finger. It was the third piece of plaster I’d used that night. By the end of the day, I was sure each and every one of my fingers would have a band-aid as a companion.

I was so engrossed that I lost track of time. The silence in that room engulfed me but the atmosphere made me not lose focus and instead, made me more motivated to tick off my to-do list.

***

I was bewildered when I saw the lights of my practice room from a distance. I immediately brisk walked towards it, curious as to who was inside when there shouldn’t even be anybody using my room. I peeked through the gaps of the translucent door frame. A petite girl dressed in all black sat unbothered at the corner with her legs sprawled out. Piles and piles of fashion materials accompanied her, circling her. It took me a few seconds to register who it was. Her green highlights on her fringe helped to confirm her identity. I gently opened the door, hoping she would at least sense my presence when I took steps closer to her. However, I was greeted with quietness. I stood with my hands on my waist, staring at her in disbelief. I observed that a sigh would escape her lips once in a while, and she would scramble for a box of band-aids before wrapping it around one of her slender fingers.

I cleared my throat to get her attention and she finally whipped her head up to look at me in response. She looked astonished to see me, but I still expected a greeting from her, at least.

“What are you doing here?” Her confused tone and unconventional reply made me scoff.

Was she asking me why I was here? When the practice room belonged to me?

“I should be the one asking you that question. Why are you here?”

“Ah,” she said, looking around and avoiding eye contact with me. “I needed a place to work on these.”

She pointed to a heap of papers on the floor.

I crouched down, reaching my hand to take one of the papers. She remained silent and only observed my actions. The paper was a sketch of a man in a white silk dress shirt and loose pants. The details were very intricate, like how there were floral patterns on the sleeves, so fine that I could make out the lines of her pencil lead.

“Are