The five girls walked to the entertainment; Iseul and Eiseu in the front while Rhine, Jae, and Hei were in the back. The other girls were talking, but Rhine was occupied with her schedule in front of her. She decided that it was a good idea to take a look over her schedule and ask the members beforehand if there was something she didn’t understand.

            Few vehicles drove by with a few people walking on the sidewalks. Whenever they passed by people, Eiseu would happily greet them and Iseul occasionally bowed to the elderly. It was almost four in the afternoon and the sun was starting to set. Out of the five girls, Rhine wasn’t dressed in anything formal because she hadn’t brought anything from home. She didn’t think there was going to be any occasion where she needed to dress up, but instantly regretted it.

            As she scanned her schedule, Rhine became anxious of the future that awaited her. The schedule was definitely way too long and took up eighty percent of her time. She didn’t think she would be able to go through with it. Rhine had to wake up the earliest in the mornings because she had to study Korean with a tutor from four to six and then meet the members at the dorm for a ten minute breakfast. After that, they were to go for vocal sessions and other sorts of practices.

            “Do you guys know anyone who has to learn Korean too?” Rhine glanced at the Hei and Jae. She didn’t want to be the only one who had to learn the language, but doubted anyone else needed to learn Korean besides her.

            Jae and Hei shook their heads and looked at Rhine with sympathy, “No.”

            “We have the same schedules, right?”

            “I think so, maybe a few different trainings, but most likely the same because we’re in the same group,” Jae replied.

            Rhine could see the building a few blocks away and she neatly folded the paper and slipped it into her short pockets. She got a little nervous because she was going to see Mr. Yang again. She recalled the auditions and how overwhelming it was with Mr. Yang there. Although she didn’t know him well, he gave off a powerful vibe. It was hard to be in the same room as him. She then became self conscious of her outfit. Would it leave a good first impression? Rhine doubted the idea.

            “Oh god,” Hei breathed. “We’re here. We’re really here.”

            They stopped in front of the building as Rhine tilted her head up to survey the building. It was magnificent. It was real; she really was a trainee in YG. The others had started heading for the doors, not really caring about the property because they’ve been going there most of their lives. Rhine quickly followed after them.

            “You’re attending the dinner, right?” a staff asked as she stood by the counter.

            Iseul nodded as they all bowed, “Yeah.”

            The staff quickly bowed as she pointed in the direction of the cafeteria, “Make yourselves comfortable, the others aren’t here yet.”

            The girls nodded as they thanked the staff. They followed Iseul into the cafeteria and they chose a table to sit. It was quiet except for the sound of steel against steel from the kitchen. The delicious smell of food rafted into the room, causing the girls to smile in anticipation.

            “It smells so good,” Eiseu announced with an excited smile and the other girls nodded in agreement.

            Rhine glanced around the cafeteria, taking in every little detail. The room wasn’t huge, but not small either. There were only three long tables with two side by side and the other one across from them. Each table could hold to about ten people. The not so brightening lights hung above them.

            “Is that a tattoo?” Eiseu; who sat across from Rhine, asked as she motioned to Rhine’s inner wrist.

            That caused the other members to look at the tattoo on Rhine’s inner left wrist and Rhine instantly turned her wrist away. She should’ve been more careful about her tattoos. Rhine nodded her head and hoped they weren’t going to judge her. She didn’t know if Mr. Yang approved of tattoos, but she wasn’t planning to find out either.

            “Yeah,” she answered, not meeting any of their gazes.

            As Hei looked at Rhine, she wondered why she hadn’t noticed that tattoo earlier. It was more noticeable than the dragon one, but probably because it was a small phrase so Hei couldn’t see. The more Hei knew about Rhine, the more she wanted to be like the girl. Rhine was beautiful and unique while Hei was only good at singing. Hei didn’t think she was attractive nor was she unique. She was just another girl that didn’t stand out. Hei envied Rhine.

            “What does it say?” Eiseu questioned with fascination.

            “Can we see it?” Jae, who sat the farthest from Rhine, asked.

             Rhine looked at every member and saw that they all were just curious, not judgmental about it. A few of them smiled pleadingly at her and Rhine couldn’t say no. She turned her wrist to them and positioned it so everyone could see. The tattoo wasn’t big, it was just a small, simple phrase that said, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained”. It was one of Rhine’s mottos. She had gotten it not too long ago because it served as a source for motivation. Whenever she wanted to give up, she could look at it and feel content again.

            Eiseu, who didn’t know much English, turned to Iseul for help and Iseul gladly translated it to the youngest member. As Rhine looked at them, she felt relieved that none of them seemed to judge her. She thought they wouldn’t approve, but some of them even seemed fascinated.

            “Is that your motto?” Iseul questioned.

            Rhine nodded, “Yes.”

            Jae started to say something, but loud footsteps were heard along with voices. All the girls turned their attention towards the entrance. The voices belonged to a group of males who were joking around without a care in the world.

            “Bobby-yah! Don’t do that,” a voice complained and a series of laughter followed after.

            As the boys entered the cafeteria, the rest of the girls instantly stood up and bowed while Rhine was a second behind. As she quickly stood up and bowed, she knocked the chair over and it made a loud crash against the floor. At the sound, the boys then realized they weren’t the only ones there. At the sight of the girls, they instantly quieted down and bowed back. Embarrassed, Rhine turned around and picked up the chair. She felt her cheeks flushed when it came to her attention that they were staring at her with amusement.

            “Hello,” one of the guys said formally.

            The girls repeated the greeting and as the boys went to sit down at the table across from them, the girls slowly sat back in their seats. The sudden entrance caused both groups to feel uncomfortable and nobody said a word.

            “Uh,” Hei’s attempt at conversation broke the tension. “I heard you rap, Rhine.”

            Since Hei sat beside Rhine, it was easy for them to communicate. The room was once again silent and Rhine felt awkward. She could feel the eyes of the guys burning into her back as everyone listened in on the conversation.

            “Yeah, I do.”

            “Didn’t Han tell us that one time that Mr. Yang complimented our new member a lot?” Eiseu suddenly chirped in, forgetting that they weren’t alone.

            “H-he did?” Rhine questioned as she turned her attention to Eiseu. She wasn’t aware that Han had told the members about that. She thought it was a secret between her, Mr. Yang, and Han, but she was wrong.

            Iseul nodded, “I remember! Han did say that the day before you came here.”

            “He said that our new member got praised a lot by Mr. Yang,” Eiseu commented.

            As the conversation continued, Rhine was fully aware of the silence from behind her. The other girls seemed to have forgotten that there were the guys in the room with them because the girls were so engrossed in the conversation that they were oblivious of the boys’ existence.

            “You should rap for us tonight at the dorm,” Hei insisted.

            Rhine contemplated the idea. She had never rapped in front of others before except at the auditions. To be honest, Rhine didn’t think she was that good; she just had a unique way of rapping. Rhine wanted to reject the idea, but as she scanned the faces of her members, she didn’t want to let them down. She wanted them to like her. She was a fool. She didn’t come here to make friends; she came here to succeed and to prove that she was worth something.

            “It seems like you’re all getting along well,” the booming voice of Mr. Yang startled every trainee in the room.

            Everyone stood up at the same time and bowed longer than they normally would. As soon as the CEO entered the room, his presence was unavoidable. The trainees could feel it in every corner, causing them to be nervous. It was like the monthly evaluations all over again.

            Mr. Yang headed to the empty table and set his documents down as he turned to look at every trainee. He wasn’t smiling and didn’t seem too friendly. Rhine concluded that Mr. Yang wasn’t as friendly as Mrs. Yang.

            “I invited you all here because the last trainee has arrived earlier today,” Mr. Yang glanced over at Rhine and Rhine was too nervous to smile. “Since you’re the only trainees in YG, I wanted you all to get together and get comfortable. There are also some important announcements I wanted to share with you tonight.”

            Hei glanced at Rhine with unease as Mr. Yang continued, “This dinner is a new beginning for both groups since Team B will have their debut showcase in a few months,” Mr. Yang glanced over at the boys’ table and a few yelps erupted, causing Mr. Yang to smile. The boys were clearly happy about their debut while the girls frowned in envy. The CEO turned his attention to the girls, “As for you girls, your final member has been added and tonight is a new beginning for you to train as a whole. I want every one of you to work hard from now on.”

            The trainees nodded with excitement, the tense atmosphere slowly fading away.

            “I want to see every one of you become big in the future, don’t let me down,” he concluded.

            The trainees said in unison, “We’ll work hard.”

            Mr. Yang nodded with satisfaction as he picked up the files and said, “Enjoy your dinner.”

            The kitchen staffs began serving the dishes. Mr. Yang made a motion to leave, but then turned back around and headed towards Rhine. Rhine was instantly nervous as she quickly bowed and didn’t bother to sit down.

            “Mrs. Yang told me that she met with you earlier today,” he said.

            The other trainees had begun digging into their food, but it was obvious they were listening in on their conversation. Rhine nodded her head.

            “Do you have any questions for me?” Mr. Yang asked in a friendlier tone and Rhine shook her head.

            “No, the members helped me out a lot. Thank you, Mr. Yang,” Rhine slightly bowed her head. Rhine was unsure how she should answer the CEO, but tried her best.

            “Good,” he said and started to head back. “If you have any questions, ask the staffs.”

            Rhine nodded and bowed as the other trainees followed her example as Mr. Yang made his exit. Rhine sat back down and took a deep breath. It wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be. Mr. Yang seemed like a friendly person, but he was also intimidating.

            Both tables had started conversing and the room soon filled with joyful voices. Rhine ate in silence as she tried the different foods. She found some of the dishes to be appealing, but didn’t like the taste of a few others. She suddenly missed Grandfather Aetes’ Pad Thai.

            “They’re really attractive, aren’t they?” Hei murmured to Rhine as she motioned her head in the direction of Team B.

            How should Rhine know? Rhine didn’t even get a good look at the boys, but she didn’t care. She had fallen in love once and it left her broken. Her main goal was to debut and become successful, boys weren’t in her agenda. The trainees weren’t allowed to date either so Rhine had to obey the rules. She didn’t want to be kicked out because she had fallen in love.

            “They are, they are,” Eiseu responded with a grin as her eyes were trained somewhere behind Rhine.

            Hei nodded in agreement as they both giggled and Rhine smiled. Seeing the two girls like this, Rhine couldn’t help but to smile. She remembered those old days where crushing on a boy made her feel on top of the world. She remembered the feeling all too well. It was one of the best feelings in the world, waking up every morning with a smile because she knew she’d see him that day. But those innocent days were over; Rhine refused to fall in love again.

            After a while of eating, Rhine turned to Hei and questioned, “Do you know where the washroom is?”

            “Yeah, you go out into the hallway and you turn to the first left and the ladies’ room is the second door to the right.”

            Rhine murmured her thanks as she stood up and exited the cafeteria, leaving behind the noise. She bowed when she passed by a few staffs and headed in the direction of the bathroom. That part of the building was empty and Rhine was grateful. She didn’t want to bow anymore while she needed to use the bathroom quite badly. As she entered the hallway, she heard someone humming to a tune and she looked up to see one of the guy trainees moon-walking to the men’s room.

            He was oblivious to his surroundings as he tilted his head to the ceiling with one hand by his side and the other hovering by his head. He was dressed in loose blue jeans and a red Givenchy sweater with a black snapback. He was snapping his fingers as he hummed to a tune that sounded like a hip hop song and his back was turned to her.

            Rhine immediately stopped in her tracks, unsure of what she was seeing. She’s never seen someone moon-walk to the bathroom before and this definitely left a big impression on her. He seemed to be having fun as his upper body started swaying to the humming. Rhine didn’t know what he was doing, but she was clearly amused. She felt a smile tug at her lips the more she watched him. The boy spun around and his eyes instantly landed on her. He froze mid-dance with a surprised expression and his cheeks turned slightly pink. Not knowing what to do, Rhine quickly bowed and entered the door that was closest to her. She didn’t even wait for the boy’s reaction because she felt guilty about watching him without him knowing.

            Rhine turned around from the door that she quickly closed behind her and headed for the stalls when she realized something wasn’t right. She froze instantly and felt her cheeks reddening. In front of her were urinals that stretched from one end to the other. How could she be so reckless and stupid? Rhine was embarrassed as she turned back towards the door and she bit her bottom lip. Rhine prayed the boy wasn’t outside anymore as she slowly grabbed the door knob and slowly opened the door.

            The first thing that greeted her was the boy standing right where he was, trying hard not to laugh. Rhine blushed like crazy and avoided looking at him. Even though the boy was trying to hide his smile, his cheeks were also pink from humiliation. There wasn’t a single word exchanged as they both stood facing each other, gazes avoided and in embarrassment. That was definitely the first impression neither of them would ever be able to forget.