“This is it,” I told myself in the mirror. “Whatever’s out there, whatever they’ll make you do, you can do it.” I sound so determined I was starting to believe that I really could do it.   Then a knock on my door broke the trance and I was pulled back to reality. It would take a lot more–not only determination but also confidence and experience, which I both lacked by the way–to make it out of the audition alive. Deflated, I went to the door and opened it.   “Good morning!” Jieun beamed. “Ready?”   “As I’ll ever be.” Lu Han, Jieun and I had agreed last night to go to the audition together.    “You’ll do fine. We all will.”   I nodded, got my bag and then we proceeded to the elevator. Lu Han was waiting for us at the Breakfast House across the campus. Jieun suddenly pressed the button for the second floor, and before I could ask, the elevator door had already opened and I had to follow her out, confused. It was too late when I realized where we were going, she was already rapping on Kris’ door.   “Kris! Time to go!”   The door opened immediately. “Finally.” Kris walked out with a grumpy expression while Jieun just laughed it out.   “A girl’s gotta take her time, Kris.”   “I don’t think it’s fair to keep a guy waiting, either, in my opinion,” he retorted, snorting.   I just stared at them both. I’ve never really seen Kris interact with Jieun that much before until now. I didn’t know why it surprised me that he acted exactly like how he acts around Lu Han, how he acts around me, how he acts around everyone else, everybody gets the same treatment. The only difference was how the other party would act around him.   It’s not only that why I stared though. There was also the fact that Kris was wearing a semi-formal attire, and he just looked…   “Awesome?” said guy suddenly said in my direction as if he just read my mind. “With the way you’re staring at me, I’d bet my handsome face you were thinking how awesome I looked. Ain’t I right?” Kris was smirking, his grumpy expression gone.   I blinked at him, finally returning to my senses. “As if Kris.” I would die first of embarrassment before I’d ever admit to his face that I do find him attractive, from time to time anyway, not on a regular basis.   Jieun deliberately shifted her eyes from him to me and back and forth. “Something had changed,” she said as if finally conceding. “My brother was right. You two seemed a lot friendlier now that you had been before.”   “You call that exchange ‘friendlier’?” I asked, disbelief coloring my tone. Although I already had an idea that the word “friendly” took a whole new meaning when it came to Kris’ world.   “On this guy’s world?” Jieun nudged Kris. “Totally. Trust me, he’s seeing you as a friend.”   “Wow,” was the only thing I could manage to say in response. Kris acting friendly toward me was one thing and him treating me as one was another.   Kris suddenly snorted. “Are you done now?” he snapped, looking annoyed again to have listened to our chitchat.   “See,” I pointed out before walking on ahead of them. “It’s hard to tell whether Kris is a friend or just some whacko with a seriously messed up head.”   Jieun laughed out loud. I was too far ahead to hear Kris’ response.     The smile on Lu Han's face when he saw us coming towards him was blindingly bright. The guy practically radiated happiness around him. It sort of helped calm my nerves down, but not enough, I was still nervous about the audition.   As soon as we settled in, our food arrived. Lu Han had already ordered while he waited. I guessed it wasn't surprising that he already knew what we liked. Then...   "How did you guys become friends?" Jieun suddenly asked out of the blue a few seconds later, darting her eyes from me to Kris.   "She kept pestering me to be one," Kris answered her before I could, smirking at my direction.   I immediately took offense. "I didn't. Asking and pestering isn't the same, Kris."   Lu Han raised an eyebrow, amused. "So you asked?" He laughed when I nodded, a blush threatening to creep into my cheeks because of embarrassment. "That's like in kindergarten. 'Hey Kris, will you become my friend?'"   I swatted his arms. Jieun laughed. Kris joined in.   As I watched each of them, an unfamiliar kind of warmness crept inside me.   Lu Han nudged me, noticing I had gone quiet. "Something wrong?"   "Nothing." I smiled at him. "I'm just happy. Happy that you guys are my friends."   He looked around then as if wanting to see what I was seeing. Then he grinned back at me. "Me, too."     When we arrived at the theater, it was already packed with other students. The Blacks were seated at the far left at the back. It gave us a perfect view of everyone. Some of them were still reading lines, practicing facial expressions, etc. Several knots suddenly appeared in my stomach.   "Shouldn't we practice or read some things, too?" I asked Jieun who was sitting at my right. Lu Han was on my left but he wasn't on his seat. Kris was on Jieun's right.   She touched my arm. "Eunae, relax. You've practiced enough. Trust me, you'll be okay." She gave me an encouraging smile. Eunae. That's right. This is for her.   I tried to smile back but all I could manage was a distorted facial expression. Jieun laughed. "Relax."   I nodded and then leaned forward to see what Kris was doing. He had leaned back on his seat, his eyes closed, totally indifferent to his surroundings. A quick glance at the back also told me that Lu Han was chatting with a few unfamiliar students. The others who were on their seats were relaxed as well. It looked like I was the only one overreacting.   "Can I have everyone's attention please?" A voice coming from all the speakers surrounding us suddenly said. I sat properly and looked at the stage.   A tall young lad, probably my