Based off the song Mirror by Fiestar :) 

The world did not favor those who failed in social situations. 

Soojin found this out the hard way. 

Despite looking approachable, her life at school quickly deteriorated when she realised she'd never know how to keep upholding a conversation. 

Most of her high school career was spent locked in a dance room, practicing to ignore the empty well in her chest. 

It wasn't like she hadn't tried to make friends… But no matter how much she wanted to befriend someone, they always just assumed she was cold and uninterested in them.

It was one of those lonely nights spent dancing, when her phone chimed with a notification. 

She raised an eyebrow at that - notifications were a rare occurrence. It was probably her parents wondering when she'd be home. 

Soojin paused the music and picked up her phone, eyes staring at the Instagram DM she'd just received. 

Her heart suddenly sunk. This was probably someone messaging to make fun of her dance videos. 

Nevertheless, she hastily opened the message, wincing as if someone would jump out of the screen and yell at her. 

"Hello!" she read aloud. "I've been watching your videos and you're so amazing. My name is Shuhua and I live in Taiwan." 

"TAIWAN!" Soojin exclaimed aloud. Someone from a different country enjoyed her content? She read onwards. 

"You're really beautiful. Do you want to be friends?" 

-

Soojin's life improved suitably after that. 

She didn't have to feel bad for not being friends with classmates - any spare moment she had she spent chatting to Shuhua. 

The younger girl was always full of questions, never being afraid to say exactly what was on her mind and chasing after Soojin even if the Korean did have trouble matching Shuhua's conversation level. 

-

Over the next few years, they grew into best friends. 

During Soojin's high school graduation, Shuhua was on the other end of her messenger, saying how proud she was, filling Soojin's stomach with warmth. 

"Can I call you Jin?" Shuhua messaged that night. 

It was late, but Soojin suddenly wasn't tired. 

"Okay." Came her short reply. 

Her palms grew clammy and her heart thumped as her ringtone started. Although they had been friends for years, somehow they hadn't had a phonecall. 

She reached over and swiped the phone icon to the right, moving the phone to her ear slowly. 

"Hello?" 

Shuhua's voice was soft and kind. 

"Are you there Jin Jin?" 

In that moment, Soojin froze up. She didn't know what to say. 

It was her worst nightmare come true. She'd put all of her faith in a friendship that she would inevitably fail at. 

Her slow breathing was all Shuhua could hear, but that didn't discourage her. 

"You don't have to talk. I know you're shy, but I'm not. You don't have to reply, but I'd like to talk to you. Is that okay?" 

"Yes." Soojin mumbled, falling back into her pillow, smile starting to stretch over her face. 

"That's good. Because I have a lot to say." 

-

It was Soojin's 20th birthday. She wanted nothing more to spend it listening to Shuhua's stories all day, but her dance manager had insisted she come into the studio. 

She was early as per usual, but was greeted to a rather different scene than usual. Inside the small studio was 3 men in suits, all seated in the corner of the room. 

She was peering through the window when her manager approached. 

"Soojin! Happy birthday!"

"Thanks." She smiled in her reply to mask the nerves that plagued her inside. "Why are those people here?" 

He smiled at the question. "Consider this your birthday present. They're agents. I've shown them your audition video and they all want you!" 

She stopped breathing for a moment, eyes widening - almost expecting it to all be a big prank. 

"Really?..." She gasped. 

"Yes." He patted her on the shoulder. "That's Cube, FNC and Pledis. It's up to you now." 

-

Her life changed dramatically after that. 

Soojin worked at Cube now, training to debut in a new girl group at the end of the year. 

She tried to keep talking to Shuhua - she really did. 

However, between her dance and vocal practices, she was working in the studio recording most of the day. 

It was a relief at the end of her day to get home, ready to sleep at 3am but she would always call Shuhua first. 

Most of the time she fell asleep during the call, but at least she could hear her voice to calm her down until she slipped into slumber. 

4 months to her debut however, she had stopped sleeping at home. She would practice until she fell asleep in the studio, going home to shower every day, failing to notice the messages and missed calls building up. 

It wasn't like Soojin had forgotten about her. She thought of Shuhua all the time. 

Whenever she watched herself dance, she'd the Taiwanese girl's voice in her head, telling her how beautiful she was. 

Anytime she listened to her recordings, Shuhua's sweet voice would tell her how y she imagined her singing would sound.