It was finally Wednesday.  Seulgi walked out of her house with the intention to sleep over at one of the girls’ house, depending on whoever’s parents allowed it.  That particular Wednesday, she’d been denied permission at all three of her friend’s places.  It was Sooyoung’s grandfather’s birthday and it would be rude to intrude in their family celebration.  Seungwan had to babysit her neighbor’s kids, and Joohyun had her part time job after school and wouldn’t have time for her afterwards.

Seulgi had nowhere else to go.  She didn’t trust anyone else from school enough to invite herself to their home after school.  Seulgi wished she could be closer to all the friends she had.  She didn’t want to go home quite yet, so she stood outside the front steps of the the school to pass time.

“Seulgi, is that you?” a voice called from behind her.  Seulgi turned around to face Hyuna, who was looking at her in concern.

“Yeah.  Hey Hyuna.  What’s up?” Seulgi said, forcing a smile on her face.

“Nothing much.  I was about to go home.  School’s been out for an hour.  Why are you still out here?” Hyuna asked.

“Why are you still here?” Seulgi questioned back, not wanting to tell the truth.  She didn’t mean to be rude but she couldn’t help but be defensive.  

“There are club meetings after school every Wednesday.  I’m in the dance team,” Hyuna explained.

Seulgi bit her lip, wondering why she hadn’t known about that before.  Perhaps if she joined a club she would have something to do and new people to hang around with.  It wasn’t as if she disliked her best friends, but she definitely wanted more than just three people she could rely on.  

“What other kinds of clubs are there?” Seulgi asked.

Hyuna blinked in surprise but then a smile slowly crept up on her face.  “Well there are all different types of sports teams, then there’s the Health club, Chess club, Bible club, International Culture club, Foreign Languages club, Key club, and different science or math clubs.”

Seulgi didn’t like the sound of any of those but there was one that Hyuna had mentioned that had interested her.  

“What about the dance team?  Are there any openings?” she asked.

“You want to join the dance team?” Hyuna said, shocked.

Seulgi nodded.  The dance club was the only one that sounded appealing to her.  It seemed like it would be fun and it was something that wouldn’t damage her reputation too badly.  She couldn’t imagine what would happen if she joined a science club or the Bible club.  Her life would have ended prematurely.  

“I’ll have to check with Oh Sehun.  He’s the president of the male and female dance teams,” Hyuna said.

“Why would he be the president of two dance teams?” Seulgi asked, trying not to sound stupid.  She didn’t like not knowing things she should know.  

“Technically it’s a coed dance team but last year there was a transvestite on the team and one of the moms complained about how she didn’t want her daughter dancing with a walking sin.   The school board now makes the guys and girls dance separately,” Hyuna explained.

Seulgi took this in, feeling her heart grow heavy.  The older generation never understood anything anymore.  The close minded attitude felt stifling and wrong.  She knew it was wrong and that the kid who’d been the target of such prejudice must have felt that way too.  He or she must have felt unwanted and alone.  

But that mom had a point, Seulgi thought.

“I have to go.  See you later, Hyuna.  Let me know about the dance team.  You have my number, right?” Seulgi asked.

Hyuna nodded.  “Yeah, I do.  See you later.”

A wave of shame hit her as she walked away from Hyuna.  She didn’t want to be judged for thinking in such a close-minded manner.  She sympathized with the kid but she could understand the mom who had a problem with him.  It wasn’t very common to want to assume the persona of the other gender.  It was something Seulgi didn’t understand.  Why people couldn’t be happy with the way they were born?  What kind of experiences did some men have that they felt so insecure with being a man?  She decided not to dwell on it any further.  Any more thoughts on it would mean more guilt.  

Her main priority was to figure out where to go.  All she’d been doing was walking in the opposite direction of her house.  She thought that maybe if she came across something to do while she walked, she could find a way to kill some time.  

On the other side of her school, was a neighborhood of worn down houses, with small yards and gated screen doors.  It was clearly a low income neighborhood, but Seulgi didn’t mind as long as kept wary of any possible danger.  She wasn’t one to judge the less fortunate but she knew she had the rich girl look and was a possible target for robbery.  

Seulgi walked along the block, a feeling of dread rising within her.  Her heart began pounding furiously and she gripped her bag tighter.  The loneliness and fear she was feeling was beginning to take over her physical reactions.  A loud cheer sounded out to her left and as Seulgi turned to look, she realized a car was speeding down the road, filled with teenagers who were joking around.  

One of them, a boy, glanced at her and grinned.  “Party at Heechul’s!  You better be coming, y.”