The door to the classroom slammed open, and the students around me erupted in whispers. I looked up to see Hanbin entering the room, girls immediately flocking to him.

“Hanbin oppa, are you excited about tonight?”

“Oppa~ what are you going to wear tonight?”

“Oppa, I’ve voted for you more than a hundred times, and I’ve even gotten my family to vote for you too! You absolutely have to win tonight!”

            I rolled my eyes.

            “Oppa, oppa, oppa – that’s all they can say. You’re the same age as him, you idiots.” I grumbled, turning back to my friends who were now staring at me.

            “What?” I asked, confused by the looks on their faces, but they just smiled and shook their heads.

            “Nothing~” They answered in unison.

            The bell suddenly rang, and they headed back to their seats, and I leaned back in my chair, arms folded, as Hanbin sat down in his seat next to mine. I glanced over to see his face was impassive and hard – he was clearly nervous beyond belief for tonight. His head suddenly turned and our eyes locked, surprising me. I quickly scowled and turned back to face the front, where our teacher was starting class – not that I was going to be paying any attention to the lecture anyways.

Hanbin and I had been trainees together for years now, and from the moment we met, we were rivals. We were both competitive and would constantly try to one-up each other in practice before our teams were assigned. I can’t even begin to explain how pissed off I was when I heard that he might be able to debut before me. I haven’t been watching the show, but from what I’ve heard from my friends, his team has been doing really well. He would never let me live it down if he debuts first.

Before I knew it, school was over, and I packed my bag – wanting to head straight for the company to get some hours of practice in. As I stood to leave the now empty room, I heard someone speak up from behind me.

            “What, you’re not going to wish me luck?”

            I turned to see Hanbin staring at me, his bag slung over his shoulder.

            “Last I heard, you hardly need my luck.” I stated simply, and he shrugged.

            “Maybe so, but it’d be nice.”

            I stared at him for a moment, suddenly feeling a twinge of sympathy for everything that he’s gone through with this competition. I sighed and walked up to him, patting him on the shoulder.

            “Good luck, Hanbin-ah”

            “Yah!” he cried out, annoyed. “Who are you calling ‘Hanbin-ah’?! I don’t remember us being that close!”

            I laughed, patting him again, before turning and walking out of the door, lifting my hand in a quick wave.

            “Don’t trip and fall on stage!” I called out, earning a slew of harsh words being thrown at me as I laughed, hurrying off to go practice.