Rhine sat alone in the recording studio with crumpled papers in front of her. The fast beat played repeatedly in the background. With a groan in frustration, Rhine leaned back in the uncomfortable plastic chair and rubbed her eyes. It was way past midnight and she had been practicing all night. She was tired, but she wouldn’t stop practicing. Rhine had to be ready for the evaluation even though it was thirty days away. Rhine was afraid that she wouldn’t be able to rap in Korean by then.

            With a worn out hand, she reached across the table to press the replay button. She had recorded a few snippets of the rap to see how it sounded, and she wasn’t satisfied. No matter how many times she practiced, something would seem off. It didn’t sound original, it didn’t sound like Rhine. The lyrics were produced when she was still in America and in a rush; she had translated it into Korean. The flow was off point and her pronunciation was horrible.

            The recording played and Rhine closed her eyes. The beginning of the recording was awkward, but it worked. Absentmindedly, she snapped her fingers along to the beat. Her voice in the recording began to sound more confident, but it sounded fake. Rhine scrunched up her nose when the recording was off key. Her eyes snapped open and she picked up her pen to go over the messily written lyrics. She made a mental note to change the lyrics for the evaluation.

            After revising the lyrics for the millionth time that night, Rhine restarted the beat. She held the paper in her hands and started to rap. She started out good as she made gestures with her right hand. Rhine was beginning to feel the rhythm in her body and she thought it would turn out decent that time around until her brows furrowed.

            “Damn!” Rhine yelled in aggravation when she came across a word she forgot how to enunciate.

            The paper fell out of her fingers and she buried her head in her palms. Her energy was drained and to make things worse, she was beginning to lose her voice. Rhine wanted to lie in the comfort of her bed instead of being in that lonely studio. If she didn’t get the words down that night, she’d be behind and Rhine didn’t want to hold the group back.

            She rubbed her face as she looked at the paper. With a quick scan over the lyrics, she restarted the beat and began to rap again. Her voice was low and rough from all the practicing. began to hurt, but she didn’t dared stop practicing.

            Outside the studio, Hanbin was heading for the staircase. He just got done practicing for the day and was going to go to the dorm. The others had already left and like always, Hanbin stayed behind. He was never satisfied with himself and since their debut was approaching, Hanbin pushed himself to work even harder. He wanted their debut to be successful and since he was the leader, he felt it was his responsibility if anything went wrong.

            He stopped in his tracks by the recording studio when he heard a girl rapping. The voice didn’t sound familiar at all and he wondered who it was. Hanbin was always the last trainee to leave so hearing someone practice at two in the morning was something new. He cringed at the hoarse voice as he peered through the slightly ajar door.

            Rhine’s side was facing him and she looked worn out. Hanbin watched the way she threw her head back in anger as she crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it across the room. He watched her leaned forward in the chair and rubbed her face while the beat was still playing in the background. Hanbin chuckled in amusement when the girl reluctantly walked over to the crumpled paper and picked it up. She went back to the desk and reopened the paper. She took a gulp from the bottled water and then restarted the beat as she started to rap, oblivious that he was there. Her old voice was beginning to resurface, but there was still a tinge of hoarseness in it.

            Hanbin turned around and sat with his back against the wall. His knees were drawn up to his chest and he slowly closed his eyes as he let himself drown in Rhine’s voice. The girl lacked in some places and even though her voice was rough from the sore throat, Hanbin liked her style. It was unique how she enunciated key words to leave impact with some low notes in some places and some high notes here and there. Her rapping was exotic and foreign, but at the same time it sounded like home. It was raw and real. The girl needed improvement in her Korean, but Hanbin was positive that if she got that down, she’d be successful. He was positive about her potential and to Hanbin, the girl definitely oozed confidence.

            He wasn’t aware that he had been sitting there for over an hour until he didn’t hear the girl rapping anymore. Wondering why she suddenly stopped all of a sudden, Hanbin peered inside the door to see her head lying on the desk, her eyes closed. Instantly, he rose to his feet, thinking that she had collapsed. He was about to go in when Rhine lazily rose her head and picked up the paper.

            He stood frozen in his position as he watched her restart the music and carried on with rapping. The exhaustion was evident on her face, but he didn’t miss the obvious determination in her eyes. She was focused on finishing her task. Hanbin knew it wouldn’t do her any good if she kept rapping with a sore throat, but he didn’t dared interrupt her. When someone’s determined, there’s no stopping them.

            With a final look at Rhine, Hanbin picked up his bag and as quietly as possible, he walked down the staircase. The last thing he heard was her off key rapping.

*

            Rhine sat on the staircase after Korean class. Her hair was in a messy bun and her eyelids were heavy. A faint layer of dark circles were under her eyes and she was super tired. She hadn’t had a wink of sleep last night and was torturing her. During class, she had difficulty saying the words because of . Rhine didn’t even want to think about vocal lessons later that day; her instructor would scold her for sure.

            She slowly unpeeled the wrapper of a cough drop as she tried to stay awake.

            “Ah, are you not well?” Bobby asked the moment Rhine put the cough drop into .

            The sore throat remedy immediately went to work. It was spicy and refreshing, clearing instantly. The coolness felt good in , relieving the pain.

            He looked amazing compared to her. As usual, he wore a grin on his face and Rhine wondered how he could be so cheerful every day. She slipped the wrapper into her bag and scooted over when he began to sit beside her. In her state, Rhine managed a smile.

            “No, it’s just my throat.”

            He frowned at her barely audible voice. In a hurry to get her voice back, Rhine had tried every option available to get rid of her sore throat. She tried gargling with salt water; which helped a little, and she tried all sorts of medications, but the cough drops seemed to work better for her that morning. She couldn’t imagine going through the day with a voice like that.

            “What happened?” his smile was replaced by concern.

            “I was practicing all night,” she explained.

            “You should’ve stopped practicing then.”

            He studied her face and Rhine stifled a yawn. She wasn’t sure how she would be able to stay awake throughout the day. Her eyes were darker that morning, their brightness dull due to her exhausted state. She cocked her head to the side as her mind wandered to her warm bed back at the dorm. Rhine definitely wasn’t looking forward to dance practice.

            “I’ll be fine,” Rhine wasn’t sure if she was reassuring Bobby or herself. “Oh, how’s the bruise?”

            She turned her attention to his cheek and his wide grin resurfaced. With his right hand, he reached up and fixed his snapback. The tinge of purple was still prominent, but within a few days it would go away.

            “It doesn’t hurt that much,” Bobby reassured.

            She nodded and turned her head, “You should watch out where you’re going next time.”

            A small smile settled on his face as he refused to admit that it was technically her fault that he hit the pole. “I probably should,” he stated. “I wanted to thank you for washing my jacket.”

            “Oh,” Rhine said with a slight nod of her head as she met his eyes. “You’re welcome… Also, thank you for lending it to me. It really kept me warm that day.”

            At her statement, he felt his heart flutter, but didn’t know why. He was glad that it was useful. That morning as Hanbin and he were getting ready to head to the entertainment before the rest of the guys, Yunhyeong had given him the jacket and explained that Rhine wanted to give it back to him. Yunhyeong had asked why the girl had his jacket while Hanbin looked at him blankly, but Bobby had refused to tell them the answer. He didn’t want any of the guys to go around teasing him.

            “I see you’re dressed for the weather,” he noted.

            “Oh, well…”

            Rhine didn’t know how she should tell Bobby that she didn’t have time to change that morning because she hadn’t even went back to the dorm. She didn’t get to take a shower nor change clothes and she felt sticky and smelly, but Bobby didn’t seem to notice. Unsure of what to do, she slowly nodded her head. He probably didn’t notice that her outfit was the exact one from the other day.

            “I have to go,” Rhine said as she stood up and gathered her belongings.

            Bobby stood up after her and nodded his head. “Yeah, have a good day.”

            Rhine smiled and waved as she walked away, “You too, Bobby!”

*

            “How do you do it?” Rhine questioned with her back against the white wall.

            A cup of her favorite green tea flavored bubble tea rested in between her hands. Strays of hair was falling out of her messy bun as they gently kissed her shoulders. Out of insecurity, she pulled her knitted sweater tighter around her as she drew her knees up against her chest. Bobby was sitting beside her as they waited outside of the recording studio. Rhine had just finished rap lessons and stumbled into Bobby when he was heading back to the dorm.

            He shifted his beanie and with his left hand and he brought the cup of coffee to his lips. “Do what?”

            Without hesitation, she responded, “Leaving your family behind for all these years.” She turned her head to face him. “How do you manage?”

            Bobby lolled his head to the side, barely touching her shoulder and he brought his cup of coffee down to his lap. “I guess it’s the only option… I told myself that when I debut, I’ll buy a house and my mom can move here to live with me.”

            Rhine looked down at him, but he was looking at the ground, preoccupied. She could hear a hint of sadness and determination in his tone. It made her think of her parents back home. She never thought about debuting and buying a house there so her parents could live with her. It never crossed her mind what she would do after she debuted. What would happen to her then?

            “Do you think about her a lot?”

            He tilted his head up and met her eyes. The hallway was clear with no soul around. Inside the studio, someone was recording a rap piece. Rhine didn’t know who it was and she didn’t bother to look. She didn’t want to invade another person’s privacy. Unsatisfied with the piece, the rapper restarted the beat and recorded once again. Rhine looked at her watch and it was eleven thirty. She was tired, but she knew she couldn’t waste time. She had to perfect her rap in time for the evaluation that was approaching fast.

            “Every time…,” he looked down as he the cup. “There wasn’t a time where she didn’t cross my mind.”

            The loneliness in his voice made her understand his pain. She had only been there for a few weeks and the pain was unbearable. Rhine didn’t understand how he could do it. Especially for that many years. But she knew that she would get used to not seeing her parents. She knew she would get used to it like it was a daily routine.

            “Since you’re going to debut, you’ll get to see your mom, right?” She took a sip of the bubble tea and it felt cool going down . She chewed the black tapioca pearl; the gummy texture was her favorite thing about bubble drinks.

            He scratched his head. “I hope so, but most likely I will.” In a swift movement, he turned his gaze to her in eagerness. “When I debut, would you like to go back to the states with me?”

            “Would that be possible?” She contemplated the idea, but it was appealing to her. Without a doubt, she would agree. But she knew it wouldn’t be so easy. Mr. Yang probably wouldn’t let her and the schedules would interfere.

            He nodded his head with a grin. “Of course, I’ll make sure it’s possible if you agree to go with me!”

            She didn’t let herself trust Bobby, but the boy’s excitement made it hard to reject him. Doubtful, she managed a smile and nodded her head. “Okay.”

            “What are you doing here?”

            The deep voice caused Rhine to look up to meet a man wearing a black snapback that was backwards. There wasn’t any hair on the sides of his face and he was slightly tan. His white t-shirt fitted his torso perfectly. A silver chain hung around his neck.

            Rhine and Bobby stood up, but Bobby was in no rush. Rhine bowed and the guy bowed back. Bobby was beaming and the guy smiled back.

            “Mino hyung, how’s the album going? You’ve been working hard, right?”

            “The album’s going well,” Mino turned his attention to Rhine. “I’m Mino, what’s your name?”

            His smile was warm and welcoming, but it was obvious he was intrigued by her eyes. Rhine smiled and tried to brush off the fact that he was staring at her. It made her uncomfortable since she never liked the attention, but she was trying to get over it. She knew that she would have to get used to the attention since she might debut.

            “I’m Rhine, nice to meet you, Mino sunbaenim.

            He grinned and nodded. “Are you new here?”

            “Yes.”

            “Rhine raps too, hyung,” Bobby chimed in.

            A flash of surprise crossed his face, but was gone instantly as a look of approval surfaced. “That’s a great position. You have a rapper vibe.”

            Rhine beamed and bowed once again. “Thank you. I heard your piece and it sounded amazing.”

            Mino gave a slight bow of his head and smiled in appreciation, but seemed to be in a hurry. “Thank you, I have to go now. It was nice meeting you, Rhine.”

            She nodded. “It was nice meeting you too.”

            “Ah Mino, I have something to talk to you about,” Bobby said as he turned to face Rhine.

            “I’ll see you tomorrow, Bobby,” Rhine bid her farewell as she picked up her bag.

            They said their farewells as she watched them walked down the hallway and towards the stairs.

*

            A smile was on Hanbin’s face as he walked down the brightly lit hallway. As he was nearing the recording studio, he quickly switched off his phone; something that had become a routine to him. Every night, he would stop by the recording studio and watch Rhine rap for a few hours. He had been secretly watching for a few nights now and she hadn’t noticed. Hanbin didn’t know why he bothered, but it was the urge to listen to her voice that made him stop by the studio every night. Little did he notice, he looked forward to listening to her raps every day.

            Quietly and gently, he set his backpack on the floor by the slightly ajar door. He sat down and pressed his back against the wall. He closed his eyes as he let himself drown in her voice. She was in the middle of a rap that Hanbin guessed must be new. The rap was different from the one she had been practicing the past days. He let himself listen for a few seconds, trying to figure out what the lyrics meant.

“Different day, same feeling

Wasn’t expecting, didn’t think we would fall through

You were my universe, now my love’s interspersed

The voice that cut through my dreams,

Told you I’d be here all day –“

            With a frustrated sigh, Rhine pressed PAUSE. She picked up the pen and started scribbling things down as Hanbin’s eyes slowly opened. He listened to Rhine’s constant sighs and the click of her pen. He listened to the way she crumpled the paper and wrote on a new one. He listened to the way she shifted in her seat and the way she snapped her fingers to the beat. After all the nights of sitting outside of the room, Hanbin had memorized her movements. Her actions were familiar to him as if they had known each other all their lives. Listening to her rap felt as if he was close to her. It gave him an insight into her thoughts, her secrets, and her past. Nobody knew about Hanbin’s nightly routine and it was probably his biggest secret. He had always told Bobby and Jinhwan about his thoughts, but he decided to keep this a secret.

            After numerous sighs and crumpled papers, Hanbin decided he had to do something. He was well aware that the girl’s monthly evaluation was approaching. As he made up his mind, Hanbin stood up and picked up his bag. His heart hammered in his chest as he maintained his cool. With a deep breath, he pushed open the door and stepped into the room, Rhine oblivious to his presence. She was concentrated on the lyrics as she scribbled a ton of words out.

            “Ahem,” Hanbin pretended to clear his throat as he attempted to get her attention.

            Rhine turned her head in wonder. She didn’t know other people were still in the building, especially on that floor. When her eyes met his, she was surprised. Recognizing him, she stood up hurriedly to bow which caused her to knock over the chair. The chair made a loud thump on the floor as warmth traveled through her cheeks. In embarrassment, she bowed and refused to look at him. An amused smile lifted up his face as he tried to not make it known, for fear that he might offend her.

            “I heard you were having difficulties… Would it be okay if I help you?”

            At his offer, her head snapped up. Help? Was he serious?

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I apologize for the late update. There was a ton of stuff going on the past week :/ I hope you'll like this chapter :)