C H A P T E R S I X
If you keep doing that, my heart will be trembling
My hands will shake and I'll run out of breath

The next morning, Aeri woke up alone as always, the only girl in her dorm with a single bed room. Today was the day she would face the vocal class, and a certain black haired boy's words still rang in her head from the night before; she cupped her cheeks as the blood rushed to them, smiling in happiness.

"Don't get discouraged, I guess. I'll be cheering you on. Fighting~!" 

Her first friend. Could he be called that? They had exchanged numbers, and he had spoken to her without any weird questions despite the unusual situation. He had helped her. And he had heard her sing.

Friends, she thought to herself. I like that.

Pushing herself out of bed, she took took a shower in the dorm bathroom, noting that everyone else was either still asleep or already gone. The dorm consisted of nine other girls, three of which were foreign, and they mostly just left her alone. Every now and then, the English girl would exchange a few words and a smile, but that was mostly it for communication. Not that she really minded. As long as no one was bullying her, pulling tricks or making her life difficult, she was content.

Going back into her bedroom, she dried off and dressed simply; an oversized black sweater pulled over her hands that covered most of her cut-off denim hot pants, thigh high stockings, black creepers and a beanie. She arranged her waves of hair over her shoulders and tied a string choker around her neck, arranging the teal pendant so it faced the correct way.

Satisfied, she picked up her phone to put in her pocket - and noticed a message from an unknown number.

From: XXXXXXXXXXX
Good morning, it's Jungkook. Good luck today. :)

dropped open. He actually texted me. What do I say? Flustered, she looked around her room for any inspiration, her eyes resting on her mirror. Selca.

Throwing a peace sign and a shy smile, she quickly snapped a photo of herself and sent it, with a small caption underneath.

To: Jungkook
Thank you! Fighting~!

Her heart was thumping underneath her sweater as she slid her phone into her shorts pocket, a smile already infecting her face. With her friend's blessing, she felt like it would be a good day.

|||

Reaching the studios, Aeri quickly found the Vocal practice room and made her way to the back of it, by the mirrored wall. She had her headphones in, listening to Bangtan - after her encounter yesterday, she decided it would be rude not to at least get their album. She was a little bit early, but there were plenty of people there, and the teachers were standing by the desk conversing quietly over a sheet of paper. On the other side of the room, Lee Sumin noticed her come in, and she quietly wove through the gathering crowd of students to stand beside the lilac haired girl.

"Aeri-ssi, good morning! We missed you yesterday!" She grinned, leaning against the wall. Aeri could see her reflection in the oversized sunglasses the blonde girl wore, and her voice had a rough edge to it - she raised an eyebrow in question but returned a small smile as she removed one ear bud. "God, I drank far too much. As soon as we get let out, I'm going back to bed," she continued bluntly, reaching up to hold her forehead in her cool hand. Aeri could imaging her glaring down all the noisy trainees in the room. "These people are doing my head in."

Her classmates were already talking excitedly about partners, picking and grabbing and giggling. She didn't realise people got excited over things like this - was singing with others really that good? Though she was inexperienced, she was willing to try if someone would accept her. In her chest, her heart was fluttering with nerves, and she could feel her breath begin to shake as she played with her hands, but she closed her eyes and took deep breaths, leaning against the wall.

Don't get discouraged. Fighting~!

"What are you doing? You look like you're gonna pass out. I feel sorry for whoever gets partnered with you."

Her eyes snapped open to look straight into the sneering face of Seo Minji. Almost immediately her strength left her, and she bit her lip worriedly, trying to avoid her gaze. Beside her, the blonde tensed and narrowed her eyes behind her shades, turning to stare at the tall brunette.

"I'm surprised she even showed up. JYP gave her a free pass last time," her friend commented, eyeing her up sourly.

"Ugh. I hate ups," Minji stated, turning away from the lilac haired girl as if she couldn't even be bothered to look at her. "People have worked hard to get here, and she's just fluttering her eyelashes to the teachers."

Sumin scoffed. "What the do you know about her? Leave