Chapter20

"And 5... 6... 7... 8," Hee Jin counts off as you run through your debut song for the millionth time.

"Stop! Let's just take a five minute break for now," she sighs disappointedly. "You need to start polishing it up if you want to debut."

You all nod obediently, dragging your feet to get your drinks. Ever since the meeting with Lee Soo Man this morning, you went straight to dance practice with the rest of the girls, leaving no time to celebrate.

You walk over to Anna who is wiping her sweat with a towel.

"Hey," you say, grinning.

"What?"

"You know what."

"Are you expecting a congratulations from me?" Anna scoffs.

"What do you mean? We won the best performance," you squeal softly so the other girls couldn't hear.

"I'm pretty sure you could pull it all off yourself considering you got all the votes when EXO had to pick between us," she answers bitterly.

"That doesn't mean anything-"

"Of course it doesn't, because we all know how you got those votes," Soo Yun says as she walks over with her arms crossed.

"What are you trying to say?" you say, getting more and more frustrated and upset by the second.

"Okay," Hee Jin claps her hands, completely oblivious of what just happened since she was talking with your managers outside. "Time to get back to dancing."

Soo Yun glares at you one last time before walking away.

For the rest of the dance practice, you release all of your emotions--anger, frustration, confusion.
 

"Hey!" Luhan catches up with you as you leave the dance studio.

"Hello," you bow, desperately trying to hide your embarrassment due to the fact that you're probably flushed red and sweating like crazy right in front of him.

He chuckles. "Congratulations! I heard about all the opportunities that Soo Man's giving you. Your performance was amazing. You deserve it." He pats your back lightly.

"Do I?" you mumble, thinking back to Anna and Soo Yun's words.

"Of course. Why?" he asks innocently.

"Nothing." You shake your head and smile up at him again. "Well I better get back to the dorm."

He nods. "You must be exhausted. We should meet up sometime—my treat."

"Really?" Your eyes light up brightly at the sound of free food, especially since your stomach was bound to growl at any given moment right now.