http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHAS044cCrI

Choi Jonghyun walked towards the table that was marked with the sign for auditions, and he filled out the form, unsure whether he would be chosen. He received a number and went to wait. He saw the coming crowd, and the stage which he had to perform on. Where was she? He looked around, and saw the other people wanting to audition. Jonghyun felt his heart rate increase and started to clench and unclench his fists. He recited the dance in his head, remembering the beat and sync with the song. As he felt his confidence rise, he felt a small poke on his back. He turned to see Rachel, shyly smiling to apologize for the greeting.
“You made it!” he said, proud of his persuading skills.

But he knew he didn’t need to do much persuading anyway.

“Has it started yet?” she asked, looking at the crowd of people gathering.
He shook his head, still nervous enough to not speak too much.
“You’ll do great! Even though I haven’t seen you dance before...” she trailed off, and decided to give the ground some well earned eye contact.
“Thanks. It’s really good that you came. I thought you weren’t going to show up.”
She briefly looked up to him again. “Of course I was,” I wouldn’t miss it for the world.
The edge of his lips pulled up into a smile, silently making Rachel lose her train of thought.

“It’s starting,” Jonghyun pointed to the stage, and the first person appeared, marking the beginning of auditions.

It became Jonghyun’s turn, and he tried his hardest until the song ended. Rachel was mesmerised, speechless at his dancing skills. She knew she sounded like one of those people who were easily convinced, but it was the truth. He walked off the stage, and returned to his spot beside Rachel. The feeling was different, as if something happened that changed both of them. He looked at her, and noticed she was giving the ground some more eye contact, too scared to look at him. Jonghyun noticed she was more shy that him sometimes.
“Was it good?” he asked, breaking the silence between them.
“Very.” She said.
“Speak to me,”
She looked up at him, then looked down again.
“What’s wrong? Don't you want to speak to me? Did I do something wrong?” he contemplated putting a hand on her shoulder, but didn’t.
“You didn’t do anything Jonghyun,” she replied.
“Did something happen at home?” he asked.

She shook her head. Where did all this concern come from? Since when did he care? Rachel couldn’t find her voice. She wanted to talk to him, and talk for hours, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t find her courage to talk to him.
“Rachel, talk to me.” Jonghyun held her shoulders, and turned her to face him. He bent down slightly to look her in the face.
She stared back at him, her face blank but her eyes full of confusion.
“Talk to me, Rachel. Please.” He said, hoping to get a reply.
“I'm sorry,” she said, and broke away from his hold, running as far away from him as possible. She could still hear his voice as she weaved through the crowd.

“Rachel!” he called out.

Rachel continued to weave, until she managed to get out. She glanced back at the stage, then went straight home with the fact that she won’t be able to confront him again for a long time.

***

Monday approached, and she went to Tae Kwon Do as she usually did. The lesson went by quickly, and she returned home to get ready for school.

As she walked through the gates, she was met by two girls, Mizuki and Seoul.
“Where have you been lady?” Seoul asked.

Seoul was a half Korean half Filipino, with shoulder length black hair, blue eyes and an average figure that was slightly shorter than Rachel. They both hailed from the Philippines, although Rachel was a full blood, while Seoul’s mother was Filipino. Rachel asked once why Seoul’s parents named her after the capital city, to which she replied proudly:
“They found it in a baby name book, and it’s where my parents met.”
Ever since Rachel entered the gates of their school, they were friends.

Rachel met Mizuki later on. A girl of three countries, China, Japan and Korea, Mizuki was the one that Rachel cried to more since Seoul was the outgoing one who always tried out new things. It didn’t stop the three becoming close though, as they flexibly met out of school despite Seoul’s constant outdoor adventures and Mizuki’s cafe job. Mizuki was pretty, her hair being longer than Seoul’s but shorter than Rachel’s; it was a light brown and her front fringe complimented her pale complexion. She was a bit taller than Rachel though.

“What do you mean?” Rachel asked, her grip around her shoulder bag strap tightening slightly.
“I tried calling you yesterday,” Seoul replied, and they started walking further into the school.
Rachel turned her phone off as soon as she got home after the audition. “...Did you?”
“Are you ignoring us?” Seoul raised an eyebrow.
“...God no. I just...needed some time...alone.” Rachel sat down on a bench, sighing heavily.
“That’s not an excuse. You didn’t meet us to be alone Rachel,” Mizuki reasoned.
Rachel swallowed, knowing she reached a dead end in her excuse.

“Is it him?” Seoul asked.
“Him?” she replied stupidly, avoiding saying his name or anything to do with him. She couldn’t bring herself to talk about him after she left him like that.
“What’s his name? Jonghyun?” Mizuki asked.
Rachel winced slightly at his name. “What about him?” she asked.
“Did something happen during Tae Kwon Do?” Seoul looked at her curiously.
“No, nothing happened...If you consider him leaving for good as nothing.” Rachel looked up at the sky, seeing the clouds move as if they had no worry in the world.

Rachel wondered what Jonghyun was doing. Did he get accepted? Was he now a member of an Idol group? Did he completely forget about her? She didn’t know.

“Do you know why he left?” Mizuki asked.
Rachel nodded.
“Why?” asked Seoul.
“He wanted to dance.”

A moment of silence passed, and Rachel decided to open her bag and take out a book. She flicked through the pages, but found that she couldn’t focus, and began to read the same sentence over and over.
“He went to the auditions didn’t he?” Mizuki asked again, gently taking the book from her hands.
“The T.O.P. Media one?” Seoul looked at the both of them.
Rachel nodded, answering both questions.
“So something happened then right?” Mizuki questioned.
“I can’t speak to him. I seriously cannot speak to one person.” Rachel mumbled.
“But it isn’t just one person Rachel.” Seoul stated.

No, it wasn’t just one person. It was a person who was so important, that she couldn’t even bear to talk about him without feeling some kind of pain.

“What’s your point Seoul?” Rachel looked at her friend, and waited for a worthy answer.
“You like him. And when I mean you like him, you like him. You’re not the type of person who likes different men each week.”
“That’s you, isn’t it?” Rachel retorted playfully.
Seoul punched her arm. “Shut up pabo.”
Rachel laughed, and she saw Mizuki looking toward the gates.

“Oh, is Jung-Hwa here?” Rachel tapped Mizuki’s arm.
“Yeah, he is, I’ll be right back.” Mizuki walked away briefly to meet her boyfriend of three months. He was tall, well built and was one of those students who didn’t care what their social status was in the school. Mizuki told them that he was a romantic, one of those men who always took your bag, even when you didn’t ask.

“They look so cute.” Seoul said, pointing to the two second hug that occurred.
“What about you Seoul? Don't you like anyone?” Rachel asked, taking her book from the bench and placing it back in her bag.
“I don’t have the time,” she sighed.
“You never have time...go on a break or something. Haven’t you gotten sick of the outdoors yet?”
“If I did, I’d would I have left you out here long ago.” She countered, punching Rachel again.

***

Jonghyun couldn’t believe his eyes. He was accepted as a member. He read the letter over and over. Along with 5 others, they were going to debut as Teen Top, and he received the stage name Changjo. He had to admit, he liked the sound of it.
Teen Top? Will they change the name when we get older? He thought. As soon as he put the letter on the coffee table, he thought of Rachel. Was she alright? He even tried calling her once. What happened at the audition was still etched in his mind. He wanted to know what the problem was, and for once, he wasn’t trying to keep a secret. It was the other way around. 
“Ah, I hope she’s ok...” he whispered to himself.