Chapter 3: And so it begins

It was a good start for our group…or so I thought.

ONE WEEK LATER

‘UGH! I can’t take more of this, Krystal!’

‘But we have to continue. You’ll feel better when you get used to the feeling. I promise you’ll feel good.’

‘But it hurts! It really feels like I’ll break into two!’

‘Trust me, when you push yourself down even harder, it will not hurt.’

‘UGH! But it hurts so so much!’

‘Almost there, a little bit more. Come on, Amber.’

‘UGH!’

‘Just an inch more. Push harder.’

‘UGH!’ BLAG

‘There it wasn’t so bad, wasn’t it? You were just out of practice for a long time,’ Krystal said while holding my hips down for almost half an hour now; trying to keep my legs from bending off the split she so meticulously pushed me into.

I was sprawled on the freshly polished studio floor, my legs hurting, my whole body drenched with sweat. Krystal was still at my back, holding my hips down. I feel her breath at the back of my neck, coming in fast puffs as if she was the one being pushed down the floor. My heart beat even faster than it already is – from exhaustion or nerves, I really do not know.

Krystal’s grip on my hips were tightening by the second. All the pain I was feeling in my whole body dissipated just by being near her. What is this I’m feeling? The hell if I know. I was just going to tell Krystal to ease up the hard pushing when Manager Kim and the girls came in.

‘Hey, guys! What are you up to? You’re early for rehearsal,’ Manager Kim noted, raising an eyebrow at us, probably suspicious of our weird positions.

‘Oh, hello Manger Kim! Amber and I just woke up early and decided to have a head start in the training,’ Krystal answered. She finally stood and helped me get up from the split.

The girls all hurry inside after that short exchange of awkwardness, placing their bags at the corner of the room.

‘Annyeong!’ Sulli said cheerfully at us.

‘Annyeong,’ I responded shyly.

‘Okay, on to today’s training!’ Manager said, clapping his hands to get our attention. ‘Since it’s your first day to train together, I invited few people to help you get used to the way Koreans dance. For this week, we will focus on the dancing and the physical parts of being a Korean idol. Here’s your schedules. 9 through 3 will be your dance lessons and 3-6 will be your language lessons. I expect you to be punctual and follow all the guidelines stated in the handbook. I don’t want any mishaps to happen, okay? And no more trying to get out at night to buy ice cream! I’ve given you one week to relax and enjoy the new dorm, so get your head straight and concentrate on your training!’

‘OKAY!’ All the girls answered.

‘Yes, Manager,’ I said softly.

‘So without further ado, let me introduce you to your instructors.’ Manager opened the door and in came a guy with blue hair and a girl that looks too bad to be an instructor.

They introduced themselves as Kim Joon and Hyun Min Ah. Mostly, they spoke in Korean, with only few English words, so I basically understood nothing. Thankfully, Krystal translated for me, and I to Song Qian. Their introductions were kept short and we started the strenuous morning training.

As with usual dance classes, we started with a long warm up. Thirty minutes into the warm-up, I noticed Krystal sneaking glances at me. I ignored her the first few times, but her glances were turning to stares. It wasn’t particularly at my face but at my chest. My chest? What’s wrong with my chest? I mouthed her a question, WHAT? She in turn pointed at my chest and I looked at it.

Oh, I guess I forgot to put on a bra. I usually forget to do that every time I’m in a hurry. I thought it was not too noticeable but then my shirt was white and a little too thin. My s are starting to show and I couldn’t care less but Krystal seem to really care about it. I just shrugged it off and continued with the training.

I stole a glance on Krystal’s direction and found her face filled with annoyance. What is there to get annoyed at? It’s my s for heaven’s sake! Not hers!

So we went on the whole day like that, dodging each other and rolling eyes and exchanging ‘hmmmps’ and ‘tsssk’. I really don’t want to do that to her the whole day but she started this and I don’t want to end something I didn’t start. So, come what may.

‘All right! Today’s training is up! Freshen up and proceed to your remaining lessons for today,’ Manager Kim said as he entered the room.

We all bade respectful thank you’s and goodbye to Joon oppa and Min Ah unni (yes, they asked us to call them that, they feel too old being called -ssi). The girls all went to their bags, drank water and wiped sweat off their bodies. We all went to the shower room shortly after.

The girls all started taking off their clothes and heading to the communal showers, which I might add is only divided by see through glass. What’s the point in the dividers when you can see everything through it?

Hating the ridiculousness of the showers, I, too, started shedding off my sweaty clothes and heading to an empty stall, feeling insecure to be in front of my group.

What is wrong with me? I was never shy when I had to bathe in my previous school at LA. Why now? Maybe…

‘Hey, Amber! Are you just going to stand there? We have a schedule to follow, remember?’ Krystal said awkwardly, who I might add is currently in her birthday suit.

Do not look. Do not look. Oh, , I looked. Now, I’ve seen every inch of Krystal’s perfect body, I think I won’t be able to sleep for days.

Stoically I answered, ‘Yes. Right. Schedule. Off to shower now.’

I stood under the warm spray of water, willing the image of Krystal’s body off my mind. I have more important things to think about. Focus! Now is not the time to be involved with girls. I’ve had enough of that and I’ll be living a happy single life from now on. No relationships, no heartbreaks. The end.

I heard the girl getting out of the shower and I did too. We all got ready for the next item on our schedule and I tried not to look at Krystal while she’s putting on clothes. I did peek a little bit, but hey, I’ve seen everything, no need to be shy about it.

A few minutes later we found ourselves in a smaller room with a long conference table in the middle. Three professional looking ladies were on the other side of the table, talking amongst themselves. Once they saw us, they asked all of us to sit on the chairs in front of them.

‘Hello, we will be your language instructors from now on,’ one of the ladies with the glasses said.

‘Yes. So we’ll start without any more delay,’ the other lady said.

‘May all the Korean speakers come with me, I’ll be teaching you Basic English,’ the last lady said.

‘And may the Chinese speaker come with me, please,’ the lady with the glasses said.

‘And lastly, the English speaker, please come,’ the second lady said.

So we all came with our assigned instructors and got into today’s lesson. I noticed that Krystal came with the native Korean speakers. Why does she need to study English with them if she is obviously fluent in the language? Oh well.

‘Hello, my name is Mina Kim. But you can call me Mina-unnie. I will be teaching you the whole Korean language in just a span of three months. So please bear with my strict lesson plan, we have a lot to cover,’ Mina-unnie said with a soft smile.

‘Of course, I understand the urgency. I’m Amber Liu by the way,’ we shook hands and started today’s lesson.

Two hours into learning the Korean alphabet, I told Mina-unnie that I needed a short break. She agreed to it, laughing slightly at my tired face.

‘All right, take your time. I do understand learning Korean is hard,’ with that she sat back in her chair and closed her eyes.

I went straight to the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face. I needed to cool off. My brain is frying in too much information. Learning Hangul is so much harder than learning French. But I never had a hard time learning new things, what could possibly be disrupting me?

I pulled some tissue to dry my face and looked at the mirror. I was surprised to see Krystal standing beside me. I did not see her coming in, though, she must have been in one of the cubicles.

‘Oh hi, Krystal,’ I said.

‘Hello,’ she responded while avoiding my eyes.

‘Ummm, I’ll go ahead then,’ bidding her goodbye. I don’t want to stay while there is still some awkwardness between us.

‘Wait,’ she said, holding on to my right arm.

I stopped in my tracks and faced her.

‘Why?’

‘Amber…I just want to say I’m sorry for how I acted earlier. I don’t know what has gotten into me,’ she apologized.

‘It’s fine. No need to worry,’ I assured her.

‘But please wear a bra next time, okay?,’ she said and ran for the door.

What just happened? I don’t know either. I guess the awkwardness between us has just grown a hundred times worse.