Sunhwa barely made it to the car before she broke down.

Hyun Jin was bobbing her head to a beat playing from the stereo, but she hurriedly turned the volume down when she saw her. “Sunhwa yah! Are you okay? Where are your clothes?”

Sunhwa just shook her head as silent tears continued to stream down her face, shoulders trembling.

“Sunhwa yah…” Hyun Jin felt an immeasurable amount of sympathy for her friend. “Come here.”

And so that is how they ended up: Sunhwa’s head on Hyun Jin shoulder as she cried her eyes out. Hyun Jin just patted her head and murmured, “Sh…sh…It’s going to be okay…”

When Sunhwa finally lifted her head off of Hyun Jin’s now-soaked sweater, her eyes were red-rimmed and her face was blotchy. “Do you want to go back to the dorm?” Hyun Jin asked softly.

Sunhwa shook her head. Facing SHINee in this state was definitely not a good idea.

“Okay,” Hyun Jin said in the same gentle tone. “Just buckle up. I’m going to take you to my house, arasso?”

Sunhwa nodded mutely. She leaned her head against the window and watched the trees and buildings fly by, blurring into the same muddled mush as her thoughts.

-

“Sunhwa yah?” A soft voice accompanied a knock on the door.

Sunhwa groggily sat up, feeling nauseous. “Neh?” she croaked out. , I sound horrible.

Hyun Jin entered the room. Sunhwa looked at the clock; she had been sleeping for roughly three hours and it was now 6 PM.

“I have clothes for you,” she said, holding out a comfortable-looking pair of pink sweats and a pink t-shirt. “I want you to keep them.”

Sunhwa nodded, not wanting to speak again.

Hyun Jin looked sympathetically at the girl buried underneath the covers. “I also recommend taking a shower, it works wonders. Do you want dinner?”
 

Sunhwa shook her head.

“I won’t bother you anymore, then. Get some rest.” With one final look, Hyun Jin left the clothes on the dresser and left.

Sunhwa got out of the bed in a daze. Normally, she would have registered the huge house, the luxurious room with the modern décor that she was now sleeping in, but these were not normal circumstances. Sunhwa barely managed to stagger towards the bathroom and step into the shower. As the hot water soothed her muscles, she closed her eyes and let more tears escape.

Half an hour later, Sunhwa crawled back underneath the covers and immediately fell back asleep, worn out.

-

The next morning, Sunhwa dressed in another one of Hyun Jin’s outfits (still pink) and made her way down the marble staircase, down to the breakfast room.

Still slightly groggy from sleep, she was surprised to find a rather modest-looking dining room. It had a round mahogany table with six chairs placed around it. Mr. Song was reading the newspaper and sipping coffee, and Mrs. Song sat next to him, buttering a scone. The furniture was wooden to match the table, and it gave off a very homey, cozy feeling. Hyun Jin sat next to her parents, eating a bowl of cereal.

“Sunhwa yah!” Hyun Jin looked up and waved with her spoon.

“Yah, watch the spoon!” Mr. Song said, holding his paper away from the spattering milk droplets.

“Mianhe, appa,” Hyun Jin said, sticking her tongue out in a very mature fashion. “Maybe if you didn’t read the paper while you were eating breakfast with your family, you wouldn’t have to worry about it getting wet.”

Sunhwa visibly flinched at this statement, not quite ready to hear anyone mention the word “family” yet. It just brought back all-too-fresh memories of the fact that she didn’t really have a family anymore.

Hyun Jin noticed Sunhwa’s discomfort and patted the chair next to her. “Sit down, Sunhwa yah!”

Sunhwa nodded and sat. Mrs. Song asked kindly, “What would you like to eat, Sunhwa yah? We have cereal, eggs, bacon, toast…”

“Can I just have cereal, please?” Sunhwa asked quietly, lifting her eyes.

“Of course.” Mrs. Song smiled gently at her and got up to get the cereal. Hyun Jin gave Sunhwa a thumbs up and grinned at her. Sunhwa smiled thinly back.

“Kamsahamida,” Sunhwa when Mrs. Song returned with the cereal in a porcelain bowl with a silver spoon.

“No problem, dear.”

It was awkwardly quiet – even Hyun Jin wasn’t blabbering. Mr. Song cleared his throat loudly and put his newspaper down. “So, Sunhwa…Hyun Jin tells me you’re quite the dancer?”

“Well, I guess,” Sunhwa said and shrugged. “It’s my passion.”

“She’s amazing,” Hyun Jin gushed. “She’s definitely one of the best dancers I know.”

“How long have you been in the industry?” Mr. Song asked, setting his forearms on the table.

“Not very long,” Sunhwa replied, and her words came a bit more naturally now that she was talking about dancing. “The audition for SHINee was my first.”

“It was?” Mr. Song said, raising his eyebrows. “I talked with Soo Man-sshi, and he said that he rarely accepts dancers on first audition.”

“You know him?”

“I told him not to talk to him,” Hyun Jin said with a pout. “Then everyone would think I got in because of my connections and not my talent.”

“Don’t worry, Jinnie,” Mr. Song reassured and ruffled her hair. “I didn’t say anything like that. He did mention that he was keeping an eye on Sunhwa, though.”

“Mwoh? Why?” Sunhwa asked.

“He said you were a natural talent and that it was evident that you worked very hard. He was sure that you would be successful in the industry.”

“Kamsahamida,” Sunhwa ducked her head to hide her blush and spooned some cereal into .

“We knew you were a good girl when we met you, right, yeobo?” Mrs. Song smiled and tucked an arm into her husband’s. “SM must be very lucky to have you.”

Sunhwa took a minute to reflect on Hyun Jin’s environment at home. Her parents were so supportive of her dream, a total opposite of Sunhwa’s mother. What would it be like to live like this?

Sunhwa shaken out of her thoughts by Hyun Jin poking her quite hard. “Sunhwa yah? You okay?”

Sunhwa breathed in and smiled. “Yeah.”

-

“So are you going to tell me what happened now or what?” Hyun Jin pounced on her friend as soon as they made their way upstairs after breakfast.

Sunhwa’s eyes clouded and she sat heavily on the guest bed. Drawing her legs up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them, she said slowly, “I suppose I should…”

“Hey, it’s okay.” Hyun Jin sat next to her. “Just let it out.”

So Sunhwa told her – about how her mother had confronted her, their argument, and how she was kicked out. Sunhwa had never opened up to anyone like this before, but once she started, all the words poured out.

Sunhwa wiped her eyes as she finished. “…So then I just left.”

“Sunhwa yah, that’s terrible,” Hyun Jin said as she hugged her friend. “I promise that it will get better.”

“You promise?” Sunhwa asked, looking with big eyes, huge with unshed tears. Hyun Jin remembered at that moment that Sunhwa was only 16, not even an adult yet. She needed someone to rely on.

“I promise,” Hyun Jin said, holding out a pinky. Sunhwa locked her pinky with hers.

-

“You could always stay with us, you know,” Hyun Jin said as the red Jaguar pulled out of the Song mansion driveway.

“I know, unnie,” Sunhwa said, rolling down the window. “But I want my own place.”

“As you’ve told me several times,” Hyun Jin laughed. “But after you’re healed, I’ll go to the renter with you, arasso?”

Sunhwa sighed. “Arasso.”

“Yah! Don’t disrespect your unnie,” Hyun Jin scolded as they sped down the street. “You know that renters are very tricky these days. There are so many scams out there…”

Sunhwa just listened good-naturedly as Hyun Jin lectured about the dangers of renting an apartment all the way back to the dorm.

Let's pretend that they all eat American-style breakfast...because I frankly have no idea what Koreans eat for breakfast. Sorry for inaccuracy!

Also, I need to apologize for the long wait for this chapter. Summer started and I had summer school, but that's finished now :) Hopefully I'll be able to be able to write more and update on schedule. Thanks for sticking with me, guys!

Don't forget to subscribe/comment! <3 Hearts for everyone!

- tigress

P.S. How are you guys' summers going? Is everyone out of school yet?

P.P.S. My birthday is on the 28th! If you read this, then a comment would be a lovely gift ;)