The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.

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Jieun’s POV

            “Eunjung, you’re fantastic! Acting must be in your blood!” Kim Seonsaengnim praised Eunjung for the millionth time this week. Eunjung became a class favourite and was usually chosen to provide examples when Kim Seonsaengnim needed to show the class what mood to express during a certain scene. Along with our usual lessons we had to prepare for the showcase this whole time which now, was only a week away. They weren’t detailed plays with expensive props, but grouped with just partners there’s only so much you can do on stage. We cut out certain scenes that required an extended cast but not to the extent that the storyline would lose flow, and made rearrangements for the songs to sing. For the past month I stayed in the school with Kikwang to help him learn and perfect the songs he would sing and in return. He was patient enough to give me one on one dance lessons that I really appreciated. Why in the world he would put so much effort into helping me was beyond what I could imagine but I never questioned his generosity—I was just simply grateful.

            “You may sit down now.” Kim Seonsaengnim smiled at Eunjung who stood up tall and brushed her hair, now slightly past shoulder length behind her shoulder with confidence and headed back to her seat. I was impressed that for the past month, Eunjung never bothered to pick a fight with me. She wasn’t the nicest girl in the world still, but I didn’t feel so insecure around her anymore.

            “I trust that all your showcase performances are nearly polished?” Kim Seonsaengnim eyed the entire room of students, her right thumb and index finger holding onto the frames of her thick glasses. Everyone replied with a confident yes, and Kim Seonsaengnim left the room signaling for us to continue finalizing our performances. In less than a millisecond, Kikwang’s elbow was already casually resting on my desk top as he smiled at me.

            “Do you think we’re ready?” Kikwang asked, rummaging through the script he already memorized. Playfully I thumped him on the forehead to regain his attention and nodded,

            “Definitely!” The two of us had that sort of lighthearted relationship, teasing each other when opportunities arose and always enlightening the other with good laughter. Kikwang gently pinched my cheeks and made a monkey face before Eunjung interrupted us.

            “Hey there love birds; are you two going to be using the studio today?” Eunjung stood adjacent to my desk with her arms folded. I shook my head and turned away, hiding my pinking cheeks from everyone’s view. It was a habit of mine to blush incredibly easy whenever I was being teased. Eunjung shrugged and turned away, pulling her talkative partner along with her by linking elbows and exiting the classroom. When Eunjun was completely gone, Kikwang turned his attention back to me.

            “So how confident are you in our performance out of 10?” he asked, placing the heavy script on my desk with his fingers intertwined on top. I sat relaxed, leaning against the back of my chair as I thought. I can definitely say that I’m confident in what I can do, but there was still something I was unsure of.

            “I would have to say… 9.” I nodded to myself, staring up into space with my index finger tapping my chin in a thinking pose. So girls weren’t the only things he and his friends liked to rate out of 10. I accompanied him and Dongwoon to buy a cake for another friend of theirs, Doojoon, and remembered how the two of them had loads of fun rating the young cashiers and bakers at the bakery. While they did so I stood awkwardly by the doorway observing and Kikwang came up to me and insisted it was just a guy thing. I raised an eyebrow at him and shook my head slowly and disapproving, but with a confident smile he told me that I wouldn’t have to worry because he always saw me as a 10. Just to prove it to me, he bought me a small Neapolitan cheesecake so I let the awkwardness slide.  

 Kikwang reached over and grabbed my ‘nerdy’ glasses from my face during my aloof state and put them on before wondering,

            “Where did the other 1 point go?”

            “The… last scene; we never rehearsed it before.” I mumbled, twiddling my thumbs under my desk. The word kiss was still finding difficulty escaping from my mouth. Kikwang began chuckling and patted the top of my head.

            “Don’t be silly! As a professional actor you should already know that no one ever rehearses kiss scenes.” He informed me as a matter-of-fact and pulled out his cell phone.

            “But why?” I pushed; plucking his cell phone out of his hands and holding it as far as I could from his desperate reach. With one glance I could tell he was texting Dongwoon.

            “You know what they say,” Kikwang explained, losing motivation to retrieve his cell phone, “First times are always the best and most real—the audience wouldn’t feel the originality of it if we rehearsed.” I nodded stupidly at his explanation and handed him back his cell phone, lost in deep thought. I knew Kikwang was probably an experienced kisser considering how his popularity status carried over from high school, but did he know that our first kiss would also me my first kiss? Brushing the thought away, I decided to change the topic.

            “Well if we’re not going to rehearse today, you might as well buy me some ice cream.” I pushed the chair outwards from the desk and stood, grabbing my messenger bag and strapping it across my body. With a triumphant smile, I crossed my arms and waited for him to give in. His 24/7 smiling face was replaced with a confused expression; his eyes twitched at me before he uttered,

            “Why do I always have to pay?” In reality I knew he didn’t mind, but since I had no valid explanation for his query, I began walking away knowing that he would inevitably follow. This was how close we became in a matter of just one month.

Wooyoung’s POV

            Today was the start of our first long weekend and as a treat, Donghae offered to take us camping somewhere. The exact location, I don’t know, but since I was still unfamiliar with this new country I decided to just trust him. Taecyeon told me that camping was a common custom people in Canada participate in during weekends, and from the looks of the large bag of marshmallows sticking from Donghae’s backpack, I could feel that this trip would be no less than hyperactive. It would probably give us all a break from the bone-breaking dance practices we’ve had for the past month. I was impressed with how headstrong and confident the class was, but I was determined to stay at the top. Another bonus to my invigorating first month was my impeccable improvement in English. If I returned to Korea now, I was certain many Koreans would mistake me for a foreigner! Actually, maybe I’m not that confident yet—but I’m getting there, especially with the help of Suzy. Her ice cold personality seemed so slowly to be warming up to me. Either that; or I’m just getting used to her attitude like Taecyeon said I would.

            “Okay guys get in the car.” Donghae called out to Taecyeon and I who were sitting on a bench at the front of the school’s exit. He was the only one out of the three of us with a license in the country. We lugged our backpacks to the car and shoved it in the trunk before jumping in. As usual, I sat isolated at the backseats. I never imagined a camping trip would feel like a nightmare, but I should’ve seen this coming when I spotted SNSD CDs sitting in the CD holders. The two crazed Sones at the front were singing ‘run Devil Run’ jokingly, trying to out-attitude one another. If I cared—which I didn’t—I would say that Taecyeon won their sass contest considering he didn’t have to keep his hands on the steering wheel so he was able to do mini dance moves. From the rear view mirror I could see a glimpse of my head—expression emitted utter boredom. When we got to the campsite, I didn’t pay much attention to our surroundings and just followed Donghae with my heavy backpack to slow me down.

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            “Taecyeon can you go search for more firewood?” Donghae asked, arranging logs of wood to keep the central fire burning as he managed to position a pot of what I hoped to be food over the fire. I sat crouched with my arms wrapped around my knees; the heel of my foot was touching a giant log behind me that I felt no urge to sit on. I began rocking subtly back and forth from heel to toe as I felt the warmth of the flames heat up my wind-chilled body.

            “Are you really that cold? You look like you’re having a seizure.” Donghae laughed, stirring whatever was in the pot around with a wooden spoon and taking a sip. I stopped rocking and sat flat with my on the dirt.

            “Are you sure what you’re making Is edible?” I challenged, smirking as I saw him wince from the taste of what he just put in his mouth. He stuck his tongue out and fanned it with his right hand before mixing in more unknown substances—my guess would be salt but hey, you never know.

            “Why did you leave Korea anyway?” Donghae was quick to change the subject and by the way he did it so suddenly, I was surprised that he felt no shame in asking something personal. I decided to answer but now in a way that it would be obvious to him that I was talking about Jieun.

            “In a way you could say I left abruptly with my ignorance, trying to avoid all my problems back home and originally that was what I had in mind…” I began, staring deep into the orange-red flames, replaying the events of that fateful night.

            “Another part of me was thinking that I did have a reason to leave, because I would have the opportunity to come back fresh with new motives and maturity. Sure, you could say I didn’t have to go as far as to leave the country, but if I still needed time to cool down after hearing some… courteous words from a good friend. We never parted on the best terms but I know that she won’t forget me, so if I go back as a smarter, stronger, more ambitious person I’ll be able to show her that I’m not as pitiful as she thought.” After my long explanation, he never responded. I rubbed the back of my neck and added,

            “I guess part of it is my ego as well.” After taking another test sip of his stew, he smiled happily to himself and admitted,

            “Let’s not hide anything anymore, Wooyoung. The girl you left behind in Seoul is my cousin, Lee Jieun, right?” He looked up and smiled at me, his eyes did not radiate resentment or anger, but light-hearted understanding. I rubbed my slightly burning left arm with my right hand and sighed.

            “I won’t ask how you already know this, but seeing as how you never beat me into a pulp yet, I’ll take it that you’re not completely against my decisions.”  I assumed as he removed the pot from above the fire and rested it on the ground to cool. The sky was slowly darkening and I was wondering why Taecyeon never came back yet because I knew he had a well hidden fear of the dark. The symptoms were mild, but anyone within ten metres could tell that he shivered and stiffened when it got dark.

            “You’re right. I grew up treating Jieun as my younger sister. I looked after her like an older brother and tried to understand everything she would say, her motives behind her actions, why she does what she does and says what she says and I know that if she opened up that much to you, there was probably something important between the two of you.” He began his little lecture, fiddling with two small sticks on the ground before tossing them carelessly into the fire. Eye contact was still being avoided, not that we could see each other clearly from behind the fire anyway. The smoke distorted my vision so I just kept my eyes on the scorching flames, sequentially extorting sparks.

            “Do you think Jieun would really wait until I come back?” I asked, trying to get any reassurance I could. No matter how confident I felt there would always be those little doubts. Donghae shifted in his seat and sighed,

            “I want you to answer that question, Wooyoung. Do you think you left a strong enough impression that she’d want to hold onto you despite the fact she won’t even see or hear from you for at least the next four years?” I shuttered at his words. The way he said them made my doubts grow, but I knew that wasn’t his intention.

            “Even if she doesn’t wait for me, I know I’ll be able to get her back.” I answered; a little ignorant but I wanted to put all my hope into my words. After all, my mindset is my first step to becoming ambitious. To take on this daring risk of having to steal Jieun’s heart back when I return showed me that I was maturing. Unlike before, I could now dare to desire.

A/N: Heyyy guys! i didn't keep you all waiting too long this time did I? In class today I came up with so many ideas for this fanfic and I'm just so excited to write more chapters! I'm still cramming for school right now and finals are coming up so updates won't be especially frequent for the time being but once summer hits, i'll be updating a lot! Thanks for reading everyone and keep supporting WooU! Despite the fact that they're separated in my fanfic atm XD!