“Yeoboseo?” Hyemi picked up her phone while flipping magazine pages with her other hand.

“Hyemi, I miss you so much…!” Minyoung squealed over the line.

“Minyoung!” Hyemi’s eyes lit up in excitement. She was happy to hear her best friend’s voice again. “I miss you, too! How was your new school?”

“My school was… awesome. The classroom is very big, the restroom is clean, unlike Kirin,” Minyoung paused and chuckled. “And the cafeteria, oh my God, it is super huge and the foods are all delicious!”

“Really? SOPA sounds like an elite school! You’re so lucky, Minyoung,” Hyemi said. There was a slight hint of jealousy in her voice. “Tell me about your first day! Did you meet some hot guys there?”

Minyoung tilted her hear. “Well, yes… I did.”

“Wow! How is this guy? Or these guys? Give me the whole details!” Hyemi sounded so excited, almost like a kid asking her mother to keep going with her bedtime story.

“These guys,” she corrected. “They’re identical twin and damn, both of them are stunningly handsome! They’re the most popular boys in school whom everyone adores… I heard that they’re really good at singing and dancing and they’re going to make an official debut next year.” Minyoung could hear her best friend screaming hysterically over the line. Then she took a deep breath. “But I spilled my juice on one of them… And that’s how my first day of school turned into a nightmare.”

Hyemi’s lips were parted open. “You… what?!”

Minyoung sighed in despair. “Yeah, I know… It was my fault. I was so stupid! I didn’t know, Hyemi… Everything happened in a blink of eye. My tray of sandwiches fell into the floor and there was this guy, standing before my eyes with his white uniform stained in orange juice. And within seconds, every pair or eyes were set on me. Oh my God, do you know how scared I was back then?”

Hyemi shook her head in disbelief. “…What happened next?”

“The first thing I did was apologizing. I tried to dry his uniform using my handkerchief, but he yelled at me and made everything worse. I couldn’t say a thing. I didn’t even dare to look at his eyes! Then his twin came and they left together without saying anything.”

The image of Kwangmin staring at her was still clear in her mind. Minyoung was wondering as to why he looked at her like that when Hyemi’s voice snapped her back to reality. “Aww… Poor you! You should be more careful next time, Minyoung. But you have made some friends, haven’t you?”

“Yeah, there is this girl called Jooeun who sits next to me in the class. She’s really nice and friendly. She helped me a lot today. How about you, Hyemi?”

“School is really boring without you, Minyoung… You know that?” Hyemi pouted, even though she knew that Minyoung wouldn’t be able to see her. “I miss you,” she added.

“I miss you, too! I miss Kirin, even though it has only been a single day… Promise me that you’ll keep in touch, okay?” Minyoung felt sad, knowing that from now on she wouldn’t be able to be in the same class as her best friend, making fun about some certain teachers, and copying each other’s homework.

“Of course I will! We can still hang out on weekends, you know. I also want to meet this new friend of yours! What is her name again… Jooeun, isn’t it?”

“Okay, I’ll ask her if she can make it this Saturday! It’s going to be fun,” Minyoung said cheerfully. She couldn’t wait to introduce Jooeun to Hyemi. Minyoung was sure that those two would be good friends in no time, just like she did.

***

Minyoung was studying in her class when a teacher came in and asked Minyoung to come with her. She guided her to one of the music rooms. This was Minyoung’s first time seeing SOPA music room. It was completely different from the music room she had in her old school. This one was bigger and cozier. A lot of various musical instruments were there. They all looked expensive.

“Miss, why are we here now? Shouldn’t I be in the class with other students?” Minyoung asked.

The female teacher smiled. “You’re a new student here, so I must give you some test first. Actually, the tests should be given on your first day of school, but I had to take care of other things yesterday. I am sorry. Now, are you ready for the test?”

Minyoung gulped. The palm of her hands became a little sweaty. She was nervous since she didn’t expect it. She wasn’t prepared at all. “Mom should have told me earlier,” Minyoung thought silently.

Seeing Minyoung getting nervous all of sudden, her teacher giggled. “Don’t be nervous! I just want to see your skills, so I can decide what class I should put you in. Do you play instruments?”

Minyoung nodded. “I’ve been practicing piano since I was five. I also have learned to play violin, although I’m not so good at it.”

“Okay, then. You can choose whatever instrument you’re good at here and play it for me.”

Minyoung slowly walked toward the white grand piano and looked at her teacher, as if she was asking for permission. Her teacher nodded. Minyoung sat on the chair and open the piano. She inhaled as much air as her lung capable of in order to ease her nerves. The girl then placed her fingers on top of the black and white keys.

“What song are you going to play?” The teacher asked.

“Beethoven’s Piano Sonata Number 14 in C-sharp minor ‘Quasi una fantasia’. Is that okay?”

“’Moonlight Sonata’, huh? Sure. Go ahead.”

Minyoung didn’t need to be told twice. Her gaze was locked onto the grand piano in front of her. Minyoung’s fingers then danced gracefully across the keys, creating a harmonious melody as she played the instrument. She closed her eyes occasionally just to feel the music flowed through her body and filled the soundproofed room. Several minutes had passed and finally, the song came to its end.

“What a splendid performance!” Her teacher complimented. Her eyes were glistening in admiration.

“Thank you, Miss,” Minyoung replied. She kept reminding herself to thank her mother for forcing her to take all the courses.

“Now, I want to hear you sing a song. What kind of music do you like listening to, Minyoung?”

“Any genre is fine with me, but I enjoy classical, pop, and hip hop the best.”

“I see... Let me choose the song this time. How about ‘Ave Maria’?” The teacher challenged her.

‘Ave Maria’ was a quite hard song, but Minyoung tried her best to sing it. Apparently, her beautiful and pure soprano voice had left her teacher amazed once again. This time, the older woman didn’t even hesitate to give her applause. Minyoung felt embarrassed and happy at the same time.

“The next test is dancing. If she also can master this one, then I will recommend this multitalented student to the headmaster. Let’s see,” the teacher thought. She then the disc player sitting on a table beside her. A fast tempo hip-hop song began to fill the room. “I want you to do a freestyle dance with this song. How does it sound?”

Minyoung was at a complete loss. Although she loved music, she couldn’t dance at all! She had learned ballet when she was younger, but that type of dance was surely not suitable for the song. The girl bit her lip. “Sorry Miss, but I can’t dance,” she shyly admitted.

“Hmm, what a pity! I was planning to put you in the special class, but I don’t think you’re prepared enough for that.”

Hearing about special class, the first thing that came to her mind was the twin. Jooeun said that only talented students belonged to the class. She didn’t think that she was one of them. At least, not yet.

The teacher in front of her sighed and looked at Minyoung. “You sing really well, but you lack in dancing. You know, nowadays, idols have to master both skills in order to succeed in the entertainment industry which is full of competitions. But don’t worry, you can always learn.” She paused for a moment. Suddenly she got an idea. “I know! Maybe I could ask some students from the special class to teach you.”

“Having other students to teach me?” Minyoung repeated in confusion. She blinked her eyes a few times.

A wide grin formed on the teacher’s face. “Yes, that’s right! Don’t worry, students of special class aren’t just ordinary students. They’re students the school specially prepared to enter the entertainment industry as soon as possible. Most of them already have a contract with a talent agency.”

Minyoung nodded. She was nervous because she never met any of the special class students beside the twin. She wondered what kind of people are they? They might be arrogant, since they received special treatments from school and all. However, Minyoung had decided that she would learn how to dance, no matter whoever her teacher would be. She didn’t come to SOPA for nothing.

“Okay, now you are allowed to go back to your class! Meet me here after school, okay?”

“Yes, Miss,” Minyoung obediently said.

***

Class had ended and Minyoung was heading toward the music room with Jooeun tagging along. Minyoung asked the girl to accompany her since she was quite nervous. Jooeun said that Minyoung was very lucky. There was no student who had been mentored by special class students before. Jooeun’s statement made Minyoung felt even more uneasy.

Minyoung knocked the door a few times and then opened it a little. She could hear the conversation between her teacher and a guy. The guy’s voice sounded somewhat familiar to her. Minyoung then walked in with Jooeun following behind her.

“Minyoung? Come here,” the teacher greeted her. “I’ve found the right mentors for you. I’ve talked to them and they’ve agreed to help you.”

‘They?’ Minyoung thought she was only going to have a mentor. The girl turned her head to see her new mentors and froze the next second. They were no other than the infamous twin of SOPA. Just like Minyoung, the twin was also dumbfounded. Their face turned into the identical dazed expression.

“Minyoung, they are your new mentors. The one who is standing on the left is Jo Youngmin and the other one is Jo Kwangmin,” the teacher introduced them to each other. “Youngmin, Kwangmin, this is the new student. Her name is Choi Minyoung.”

Minyoung, being the polite child that she was, hastily bowed her head toward the twin. The twin also did the same thing. They didn’t say anything as their teacher kept talking, but they stole a glance at Minyoung once in a while. Neither of them expected it to be like this.

Finally, the teacher had finished explaining stuffs. They didn’t really listen to her as their mind was already preoccupied with something else. “Okay guys, I’ll leave Minyoung in your hand. Please train her well, but don’t go too hard on her since she is still a beginner, alright? I’m leaving now. You can start the lesson immediately. Feel free to use the facilities available.”

Jooeun who had also been standing there for a while tugged on Minyoung’s shirt and mumbled, “I-I think I should go now... I don’t want to disturb your lesson. Good luck, Minyoung! See you tomorrow.” The next moment, she had already disappeared behind the door.

Minyoung was left there, alone and speechless. She didn’t know what to do now. So did the twin. Nobody made a movement. There was an awkward silence in the room.

Kwangmin was the one to break the silence. He stood in front of Minyoung and held out his hand. “Hi! I’m Kwangmin. Nice to meet you… again,” he said with a sincere smile plastered on his face.

Seeing Kwangmin’s sweet smile made Minyoung felt less nervous. She shook the boy’s hand and replied, “Hi Kwangmin-ssi! Nice to meet you, too. I hope we can work together from now on.”

“Nah, don’t call me like that! Both of us don’t like it when someone use jondaemal toward us, right, Youngmin? So you can just call us by name. We’re the same age, anyway.”

“Okay,” Minyoung smiled for the first time since they met today. Kwangmin could feel his heart beating a little faster than usual.

Minyoung then turned to Youngmin. The elder twin didn’t even look her way. She was kind of irritated, but decided to act casually. “Hi, Youngmin! Nice to meet you. Please teach me well from now on.”

Youngmin rolled her eyes. “Enough with the chit-chat!” he exclaimed.

Both Minyoung and Kwangmin were startled by his sudden action. “Youngmin, what’s wrong? Don’t be rude to her! Behave yourself! We have agreed to this, remember?” Kwangmin reminded his twin.

“Yeah, yeah, I know... That’s why I want to get over this as soon as possible! I’m hungry, Kwangmin. I want to go home soon. Let’s just start with the lesson!”

Kwangmin shook his head at his twin’s behavior. “Fine. Let’s get started! But, what should we teach her first? She doesn’t know anything about dance…”

Suddenly an idea popped into Youngmin’s head. “Easy. Why don’t we give her a demonstration?” he smirked.