“Yujin-ah!”

Yujin looks up from her cubby, hands zipping up her backpack. It’s been a long day of practice, and honestly, as fulfilling as it is to make progress on memorizing a routine, she can’t wait to go home and scrub away the grossness accumulated from hours and hours of dancing.

(She has a math assignment she needs to complete as well, but she shoves that thought as far away in her mind as she can.)

Gahyeon lightly jogs over with a bounce in her step, leaning comfortably against the adjacent lockers once she reaches her destination. She leans in close, hiding with her hand as she whispers, like what she’s about to say is some sort of life-changing secret, and she absolutely has to tell Yujin right now or else she’ll like, die or something. Yujin holds her breath and tilts her head down, angling her ear closer to Gahyeon.

“I heard we’re getting a new trainee soon.”

Yujin blinks, subtly exhales as she leans back. 

That’s it? 

Gahyeon stares at her expectantly.

“...Oh, really?” is what she responds with as she slings her backpack over her shoulders, adjusting her jacket hood presentably over the straps. She gently closes her locker, moving away as she takes a step in the direction of the building exit. Gahyeon pushes herself off the lockers, stepping in line with Yujin.

“Yeah,” she continues, “I heard she was streetcast. Apparently she’s really tall.”

God, I’m so ready to shower. 

...

I wonder what we’ll have for dinner tonight. Should I get tteokbokki to eat on the bus? Oooh, that sounds so -

“Ya, did you hear me?”

Oh. Oops.

“I'm really tall.”

Gahyeon snorts, playfully bumping into Yujin as they walk. “Yeah, I know. Everyone can see that.”

“Do you know when she’s coming in, if there really is a new trainee?”

“No clue. I only overheard from the managers that she’s like, thirteen and really tall.”

“Thir- whoa, she’s younger than us. We won’t be the youngest anymore?”

“Yeah... I wonder how pretty she is, if she really was streetcasted…” Gahyeon’s voice trails off until it’s quiet enough to mutter under her breath. “Wonder how long she’ll last before she quits.”

Ah. Yujin pretends like she didn’t hear Gahyeon, like she doesn’t notice the way Gahyeon’s eyes shroud with skepticism and mistrust. 

(She wonders how many trainees quit during the time Gahyeon has been at Starship, wonders how many Gahyeon considered a friend, a teammate, how many left - 

Maybe she should think about her math homework instead.) 

“We’ll just see,” she says lightly, optimistically, and pats Gahyeon on the shoulder. A new trainee, a younger trainee would mean - “Hey! We’ll be the cool sunbaes for once!” Yujin’s smile grows, and she shakes Gahyeon’s shoulder playfully until her friend is smiling, too. “The cool unnies!”

“Shut up, you’re like, two months old!”

“That’s still two months more experience than the new kid!”

“Let’s see how qualified you’ll feel after this month’s evaluation -”

“Pssh,” Yujin rolls her eyes, smiling with the confidence of today’s successful practice, “I’ll be fine. The new girl will be totally impressed and in awe of me.”

-

A few weeks pass, and Yujin almost forgets that conversation with Gahyeon.

Almost, because when she hears a manager say, “... and it’s this way to the main practice room,” she looks over her shoulder and spots what appears to be a mother, a father, and, oh -

Wow, this girl is tall. Yujin stands a tad straighter, swings her backpack over her pink hoodie, adjusts her hood. 

“This is where our trainees store their belongings,” the manager explains as the group approaches. He gestures over to the wall of lockers beside Yujin, and her eyes catch the auntie’s. She looks young, looks regal, almost, and it’s instinct that takes over as Yujin immediately bows as deep as she can.

“Hello! My name is Ahn Yujin, and I’m a trainee here at Starship Entertainment!”

She remains in her position for a few seconds before moving back up, neatly tucking her hands over her stomach. She makes sure to smile, makes sure her dimples are on full blast as she makes eye contact with everyone.

The manager nods approvingly (Yes! she thinks), the parents smile, and the girl, whose gaze meets her at eye level -

- is cute, wow. She shyly smiles at Yujin, bowing gently in return, and her eyes are b with excitement, with nerves, with happiness, and Yujin thinks Gahyeon has nothing to worry about.

-

It’s early morning, and everyone’s stretching to prepare for the day’s dance lesson. 

Yujin feels the burn in her calves as she bends over, fingers stretched out and desperately straining to touch her shoes, because come on, it’s been months and her flexibility has not improved at all, come on, I’m so close to touching them oh my God please -

She hears the practice room doors open, footsteps approaching the center of the room, and Yujin sadly stares at her fingers hovering just barely over her worn sneakers. Maybe if I just - ow owowow okay, no - tomorrow… tomorrow I will touch my toes when I do this stretch. She heaves a sigh and slowly rises, ready to greet their dance instructor.

Except it’s not their dance instructor.

It’s one of the trainee managers and the girl from days ago, the one with the bright eyes and the round face, the one whose eyes meet hers easily without Yujin needing to look down, who’s - already staring at her? And kind of smiling? And, uh, it’s kind of cute-

Yujin’s cheeks heat up with the realization that the New Girl definitely saw her struggling to touch her toes. 

(“We’ll be the cool sunbaes for once! The new girl will be totally impressed and in awe of me.”

Yujin wants to smack past Yujin for jinxing her.