I would still remember, from time to time, how her hands enchanted me. It was, first, how she waved her hand on one afternoon day. Three years ago, when time moved too fast that I felt swaying around restlessly, her hands stopped the time.

We were too busy preparing for the first evaluation on Produce. The staffs ran around and the trainees were busier than ever. I was put in the same class with her, and I got to know her a little bit more than I was planning to. She was charming, for sure, she was. The friendliness, the brightness, it blinded me somehow. People would say, “Her lips would be her charming point, I guess?”, and I remember agreeing effortlessly. Oh, girl. I guess, I agreed too fast.

We managed to befriend each other, a little bit too fast, thanks to her easy-going and friendly side. I, even in another universe, would never be the one who aggressively befriend someone in the span of one week. For the time when we were together in the class, I always managed to catch her looking at somewhere around me. I did not want to assume, but­ then again, I caught her red-handed through the mirror of the practice room.

Well, in that situation, she should be the one who panicked. God, no she was not, but I was. She did not avert her gaze for almost a minute, and suddenly we had this staring contest that I lose on. Here is the thing, we never really talked about the staring session. We became comfortable, in a way, between those times. Moving on, the staring contest happened more often, sometimes I won, but mostly lose.

When we were practicing, we split into several small groups. I could see how such a talented and hard-working person she was. How funny and warm-hearted she was. Sometimes she would offer to help me and my group on memorizing the steps, and other times she would joke around me and gave me the brightest smile when I let out a laughter. She would come to have small talks with me or passed me a bottle of water. The other time, she would drag Yujin to the cafetaria and sat down at my table, which I would never reject. She was mostly around me, not too close, just enough.

Things got better, but that was the calm before the storm.

So, I dropped from class A, right to the very bottom, the F class. I was devastated, I could say. The practices, the all-nighter that I pulled, all the energies and efforts. Those things became nothing in no more than five minutes. I still let out a big sigh remembering that one memory. So, yeah, I was interviewed for my failure. Then, when I went out from the interview set, I saw her.

She was waiting for me. Well, I did not know at first that she waited for me. Until she waved her hand while taking little steps closer to me. That hand, her hand.

“Yuri,” I could hear her voice low and deep. Oh, how calming.

“Oh, hey, Yena unnie. Are you here for the interview?”

She gave me a smile, I wished that she did not. It made me feel things, and I was not prepared how to react properly. Why would I feel things, though? It was the biggest question with no immediate answers, which I needed, and Yen