_I was attracted to her since the first time I saw her_

"You have such a pretty face I thought you were younger than me."

Yongsun felt her entire face turn red at the unexpected words. The annoyance at being addressed in such a brash manner by a younger girl suddenly disappeared when she took in the compliment.

She still didn't like this girl. How could she? But she figured she would be the bigger person, act maturely and let it go. 

The chances of the other girl actually debuting with her weren't even that high. So she just let out a huff, took back the heels she graciously handed her and left the girl behind her with no intention of wasting more time on her.

~~~

Byulyi watched her walk away, feeling a bit embarrassed by her misstep.

She couldn't really be blamed when the older girl had such a youthful face though. Those squishy cheeks and that round face were incredibly cute and babyish. And her answer, even if greasy, had clearly placated her enough to let the incident slide. 

Byul let out a sigh and scratched the back of her neck nervously. She really hoped that this would not be an issue for her in the future. The idea of trying for another company, after the scams and the issues she had to go through in the past, sent her spiraling a little. 

"Unnie, everything okay?" Wheein's sweet voice brought her back to reality, interrupting her thoughts.

Byulyi grinned a bit and turned around towards the younger trainee, not surprised in the slightest by seeing her best friend next to her.

"Don't worry Wheein-ah. Everything's good." She put a hand on the younger girl's shoulder and gave a smile to her friend, turning them towards the practice room's door so they could get out.

"Do you want to go eat somewhere together?"

"If you are paying for lunch, we can't possibly say no, unnie" said Hyejin with a cheeky expression that Byul couldn't refuse.

On their way to the small food place near the company they usually went to, while the younger duo talked her ear off and played around, Byul's eyes fell on a solitary figure on a corner of the street. 

Immediately she recognised Yongsun and for a second, she thought the other girl did too, but her gaze went past her and back to her phone, so she let it go and went back to focus on the conversation.

~~~

When they were called to do a photoshoot with other trainees, Yongsun felt a bit awkward but she decided to push it all back and put on a confident face. 

She may not know the other girls all that well or at all, but she was not going to let anything stop her from achieving her goal. Acting friendly with people she had only exchanged a few words with may be a huge struggle for an introvert like her, but if there was one thing Yong was, it was determined.

When the photographer asked them to  get closer, she put her arms around Byul's waist, a bright smile already on her face. She didn't think anything of it. She held the pose until the shutter of the camera went off and immediately dropped her arms after. Focusing on doing what was asked of them. 

Byul looked back at her with furrowed brows. Unused to the sudden contact and taken aback by the action.

~~~

This unnie is weird.

Byul debated letting the other girl know that she had not enjoyed the sudden contact but in the end, she decided to push back the weird feeling for the sake of the shoot.

We really don't get along I guess.

When the shoot was over and they were sent back to practice, she looked at the other trainee one last time. Kim Yongsun really was someone she didn't understand. Part of her though, couldn't help but feel a certain pull towards her that she really couldn't explain.

~~~

Yongsun was a passionate individual. 

She may not have dreamed of becoming a singer since she was a child. She may have changed her life path to follow this unsure and hard road when many had considered her already too old to start but Kim Yongsun was not a quitter and now that a company had given her a chance? She would take it and make something out of it. She would make something out of herself.

She didn't care if the other trainees thought she was a little weird for practicing on her own at every chance. She had wasted a lot of years and she needed to try her best and be the best version of herself if she wanted to succeed. Especially when she had her height, age and lack of looks working against her.

When she finished another day of practice, Yongsun busied herself with checking her bag. She ignored the way the other people in the room immediately joined their little groups of friends and started chatting between themselves. She could handle feeling a bit lonely. The idol industry was a harsh world and who knew who would still be there a week from now. Why bother trying to fight her own awkwardness and introverted nature to get to know them when she could focus on working hard and making her dreams come true?

"Hello unnie" Yongsun immediately recognised the sound of the other girl's voice but still jumped in surprise, not expecting anyone to address her.

"Oh... Sorry, unnie. I didn't mean to scare you" Byulyi’s warm tone was tinged with genuine apprehension. She bit her lips and pressed one hand on her heavy bangs, trying to fix them in a nervous manner.

"It