Chapter 1 
"I have memories - but only a fool stores his past in the future."
-David Gerrold

She glanced up at the sky, which seemed like it was turning darker with every step she took. She wrapped her cardigan tighter around her body in an attempt to create more warmth for herself on this chilly night. Her eyes danced around the city lights, the lights that showed signs of life even at this ungodly hour. As she neared the familiar building, she took out her phone to double-check if he had sent her a message at all.

Her inbox was still empty.

Her eyebrows creased together in the middle and she set her lips into a fine line before punching in the 4-digit code which she had memorized ever-so-easily. When the door opened to a crack, she stepped in as quickly as she could to get out of the cold. A sigh of relief escape her lips when she realized the temperature inside the building was much warmer than the temperature outside. After closing the door, she turned around to head down the stairs.

When the distance between herself and the door at the bottom of the stairs diminished, she could hear the faint sound of music playing. She knocked on the door.

No reply.

After contemplating for a few seconds, she finally wrapped her hand around the doorknob and pushed the door open. Her eyes immediately zeroed down to the boy sitting on the wooden floor, staring at his reflection in the mirror. She walked over and crouched down beside him, keeping her lips sealed.

The two of them sat there for a few minutes in silence before he finally spoke up,

“Will I ever debut?”

She looked up at him in surprise and she opened to speak, but he cut her off.

“I don't know what to tell my parents anymore. How do I give them the assurance that I'll make it when I don't even have the reassurance for myself?” He muttered, hanging his head down. Her face fell and she drew her knees into her chest.

“You'll make it,” She whispered.

It was his turn to look up at her in surprise. “How are you so sure?” She tilted her head with a soft smile. “Being so negative about it won't help the situation at all. I haven't seen anybody who has worked as hard as you, and that hard-work will all pay off soon.”

“Look at all the other trainees who are still practising in basement studios like I am. They've been here for years and they haven't gotten anywhere either. I can bet they've worked hard, probably even harder than I did. How are you so sure I won't become one of them?”

She raised an eyebrow. “You know, you're the one that said this was your dream. Are you willing to give this up already? As well as losing faith for all the other guys who trained with you for so long?”

“No,” He curtly replied.

She rolled her eyes in faint amusement. ”Exactly. Being so doubtful about this isn't going to get you anywhere. You even went to America to study dance with famous choreographers after somebody told you that you didn't put in enough emotion. Who would do that?” She reminded. She could see how his shoulders relaxed a bit and he finally held his head up.

“That's true.”

She began to smile now as she took off his cap and like always, rearranged it so the front was now facing the back. He turned to her and that same boyish grin lit up his face.

“Thanks, Haneul. Where would I be if I didn't have you by my side?”

She shrugged playfully. “Probably nowhere.” He scoffed at her answer, but his eyes showed nothing but happiness. He stood up and dusted off his clothes. “Sorry for making you come here so late. Not to mention we still have school tomorrow.”

She got up and waved her hand in dismissal. “It's no problem. I don't mind. Although you could have called me or sent me a message.” He sent her a sheepish smile and dipped his head in apology. “Sorry about that.”

After getting his backpack, he turned off the lights to the studio and the two of them headed up the stairs together. When they got outside, he turned to her. “Well, I'm taking the bus down the street. I'll see you tomorrow, Haneul. Night.” He waved before jogging down the street to catch the bus.

She smiled at his retreating figure and turned the other way to head home. “Goodnight, Jungkook.”

Haneul snapped out of her train of thoughts when she neared the intersection of the road. She looked up and patiently waiting for the stoplights to turn red. Once it did, she made her way through the busy crowd and down the street to her destination.

She vaguely wondered what he would would be doing at this precise moment, but she shook it off when she arrived.

She pushed open the door and went inside. She walked up a flight of stairs and stopped at the first door she encountered. Haneul knocked, and when she heard a soft 'come in', she let herself inside.

“Good morning, Haneul.” Her dance teacher grinned, and she returned the greeting with a smile of her own, “Good morning.” He got up from behind his desk and adjusted his hat before leading her back out of the room. They continued to the end of the hall before arriving at a glass door, and he opened it with the key hanging around his neck.

“We have our first class in about half an hour. You can warm up now or you can wait for the other students to arrive and lead stretches with them.” He explained as he opened up the curtains to the room. The sunlight flooded into the room and Haneul could feel the light warmth of the sun against her skin.

“Sure, I'll stretch a bit now and I'll also help with the warm-ups when the class starts.” She replied. He turned around and gave her a nod. “I'll leave you to it. Do you think you're comfortable enough to lead a class on your own yet?” 

She shook her head with a small grin. “Not exactly. I'll just stand with the students to help them out.” The teacher chuckled as he left the room. “Alright then. I won't force you.”

Haneul looked at herself in the mirror, and tied her hair into a high ponytail. She walked over to her bag and picked it up to take out her phone. She then walked over to the docking station and plugged in the wire. Music began to play and she started her warm-up.

After about 20 minutes, her first few students began to pile in. She turned off the music and approached them. A few of them were older than her, while some were still in middle school.

“Good morning. Haneul.” One of the girls smiled. Haneul smiled in response. “Good morning. You guys can get yourself ready, and we'll wait for a few more minutes for the other students. Then we'll start our warm-up, okay?”

“Okay!” They chorused. Haneul walked towards the side of the room and sat down onto the bench as she took a few gulps from her water bottle. The other girls began conversing amongst themselves.

“EXO won again today! I'm so happy for them.” One of them excitedly squealed. Another girl nodded in agreement, “They're so handsome.”

“I still think B.A.P's my top group.” One rolled her eyes in playfulness. The other two jokingly stuck out their tongues, “Whatever, you big baby.”

“But what do you guys think of that new boy group?” Another one piped up. “What boy group? There's so many rookies, I can't even keep up anymore.” The girl responded with a slight frown.

“They debutted a few months ago. I think they were called Bangtan Boys?”

Haneul's eyes flickered in surprise and her ears perked up.

“Oh! That group. Yeah, they're really cool too. But I'm older than the majority of them, gosh.” One girl groaned. Her friend gave her a pat on the back. “It's okay. I'm older than my bias too.”

“Did you know the youngest of the group only graduated from Middle School this year!?” A few gasps went around their gossip circle. But then one girl turned around to look at Haneul.

"Haneul, isn't this year your first year of high school too?”

She nodded as a reply.

“You're the same age as Jungkook then!” She exclaimed. “I'm so jealous.” Haneul gave her a small, but forced smile. “Really now?”

The girl turned back around and the chatter started up again while Haneul thoughts became distracted once again. She looked up when all the other students arrived and she stood up, setting her water bottle down. The dance teacher also came into the room, and he greeted the students before they got into their positions.

“Alright, we'll begin.” He nodded as he gestured for Haneul to turn on the music.

“That's all we'll learn today. I suggest some of you go home and relearn the steps because it seems like a lot of you forgot the moves. But other than that, today was a good class. I'll see you guys next week.” The teacher waved as the students picked up their belongings and walked out of the room.

“See you later, teacher. Bye Haneul!” A few of them shouted. Haneul smiled and gave them a nod as they left.

She wiped the sweat off her forehead with her towel and slumped down onto the bench. She got up to retrieve her phone from the speaker station. She was about to turn off the screen when she saw that she had new notification. 

When you come home, could you stop by the supermarket and buy some carrots, green onions and lettuce?
Mom, 10:27AM - Aug 26

She typed in a reply and exited the chat. But that's when her eyes noticed the other messages in her inbox. She hesitantly tapped her finger against the screen and the messages popped up. Her eyes darkened slightly and her face fell.

Hey, you there?
Jeon Jungkook, 7:54PM - Feb 26

Yeah, what's up?
Lee Haneul, 7:59PM - Feb 26

Our debut is finally confirmed =D
Jeon Jungkook, 8:06PM - Feb 26

Really? That's awesome! When is it?
Lee Haneul, 8:11PM - Feb 26

I know. And uh, the official date wasn't said so I don't know either LOL
Jeon Jungkook, 8:24PM - Feb 26

Oh, I see. Well anyway, I'm really happy for you (: I told you that you'd make it.
Lee Haneul, 8:29PM - Feb 26

Yeah. But I'm going to go finish my homework now. I'll text you tomorrow or something. Bye, Haneul!
Jeon Jungkook, 8:37PM - Feb 26

Alright then. Bye :D
Lee Haneul, 8:41PM - Feb 26

Last message received 7 months ago.

✍  a u t h o r 's   n o t e

Well, there you go guys! :D Thank you so much for the 82 subscribers with just the foreword posted ♥ That's just amazing. I'm more happy that people are actually willing to read this LOL. x] Also thanks for the comments and upvotes as well! 

I hope you liked the chapter! ^^;