My back is going to break. My back side was stretched further, crossing the limits of a human body. I groaned loudly, while the girl continued pushing my back down to my toes. I feel like crying. I want to yell out for help, but the girl eagerly told me that she wanted to train with me. How could I refuse her? I mean, she is the E.Claire – the idol that stole millions of hearts from fans all over the world. Now, she’s also the E.Claire that’s about to break this poor boy’s back.

“You’re breaking my back!” I grunted, while girl continued, saying that she’s helping me ‘stretch’. Stretch my . This is murder. The girl let out a sigh and finally let go, while I collapsed on the wooden floor of the practice room I rolled over my back, caressing my spine that was on the verge of snapping into two. The girl simply chuckled, watching me roll on the ground while groaning.

“That’s weird. The last time I helped you stretch, you at least, reached your toes for two seconds. Now, you could barely stretch below your knees.” She smirked a bit and grabbed my hand and helped me up. I dusted my clothes and looked at her with a frown. Well, sorry I was not an acrobatic spirit.

“I guess I haven’t stretched much lately.” I reasoned, rubbing the nape of my neck. “I could see that. You’re as stiff as a log.” She joked, only laughing by herself.

Rude.
Is everyone here like that?

“Um, sorry?” I asked in a questioning manner, earning a laugh from the female. After a few more stretches, we decided to both practice our dancing. Since I’m not a singer, and she’s nowhere near, not even describable, as a rapper, we had no choice but to do dancing. Trust me. I tried listening to her rap. It did not end well. I needed a moment to get over the shock. How could someone rap like her vocal chords had been stepped on?

Doing a rendition of the popular dances back in the 90s, thanks to Hanbyul, we’ve successfully completed our dance practice. As expected, dance practices really drains the life out of me. I panted heavily, collapsing down the ground, trying to catch my breath. Hanbyul did the same, except she didn’t look like a dead frog like I did. Out of nowhere, a laugh escaped the girl’s mouth. I rolled over to look at her, and so did she. With only air separating us, we looked at each other’s faces. Merely a few inches apart, the girl’s face lightened up, barely holding her laughs with a wide grin Weirdly, I couldn’t stop myself from smiling back at the girl.

“What? Is my face that funny?” I chuckled absurdly. The girl simply pouted and smacked my face with her palm, snorting. I hissed at the girl while she simply didn’t care and continued nudging my face. Alright, that’s it. I have therefore concluded that the top star, E.Claire, loves torturing people.

“Yeah. You’re ugly.” She stated with a straight face, as if mocking me with what seems to be the truth. Why, thank you. That will surely boost my confidence to the roof. “Well, sorry if I’m not as perfect as the soulful songstress, E.Claire.”

“I don’t know if that was meant to be an insult, but thank you. I feel honored.” She laughed. Wow, this girl’s confidence is no joke. “You’re really something, Park Hanbyul. I’m really amazed. After calling me at 7 PM just to practice when I was about to sleep, this is what I get? You, telling me that I’m ugly?” I sat up, clapping while shaking my head with a smirk plastered on my face. With a sigh, she got up and walked towards her backpack, getting two bottles of water. Handing me one, she smiled. “I actually find that grumpy side of you cute, Min Yoongi. And yes, thank you for coming here to practice with me, even though I did not expect you to. You’re still as trustworthy as always.” She sipped a bit from her bottle, while I just looked at her and drank, sneaking a small smile on my face.

 “Really? I can’t feel your sincerity though.” I teased the girl, while she scratched her head with a frown, looking a bit worried. You’re really gullible, Hanbyul. “Dinner.” The girls spoke while I looked at her confused. “Dinner? “

“Yes. I don’t really have anything left scheduled tonight. I was wondering if I could show you my sincerity if I treat you to some meat. Plus, I wanted to buy something on the way.”

“Are you serious? It’s 10 PM now.” I exclaimed. Judging from her expression, I guess she’s a bit disappointed with what I said. The girl frowned, while I heaved a sigh, nodding while my arms crossed. “Alright, alright. I guess I could sacrifice some sleep tonight.” I rubbed my nape, while the girl beamed happily. The girl literally jumped happily, before clearing and fixing her posture. “Well, good. Be grateful ‘cause I’ll be paying.”

I could only smile at her, before we could leave the practice room. Why on earth are you this happy, Park Hanbyul?

“Whatever you say, Hanbyul.”

++++++

I called the boys, in case they’d be worried. I told them I would be home pretty late. Jin hyung completely understood and told me to have fun, though he did say not to go home too late. He also told me to buy him his favorite snack. Recently, Jin has been really addicted to the cola flavored potato chips. I don’t know why he loves it so much. To me, it just seems like the creator puked and decided to mix it into potato chips. But, that’s just the typical Jin. It’s a good thing that he changes his favorite snack every week. It was going quite well, until my roommate, Jimin, stole the phone. He was ranting that kookie is completely ignoring his life form and that he’ll feel sad at our room if I’m not in it. I know this kid is a cinnamon roll, but he’s mostly just a pain in the . The other three were already asleep, while Jugkook was too ‘busy’ ignoring Jimin to even talk to me. I cut the phone call short, the reason being Hanbyul who can’t stop laughing at the stupidity of my members. Saying my final goodbye, I told him to sleep first, knowing that the older male tend to worry too much. I bet he was thinking of waiting for me, if I hadn’t told him to sleep. I also reminded him to calm down jimin, because it seems like Taehyung secretly gave him coffee again. I swear, we should keep the coffee out of that alien’s sight.

I hung up quickly, after hearing a yelling Jimin. Damn it, Kim Taehyung. I took a glance at the fully clothed Hanbyul, whose face was covered with a black face mask and a white cap. “Wouldn’t it be a problem if we can’t see E.Claire’s perfectness?’ I teased. The girl looked at me quickly, shushing me down. “Hey! Your voice is too loud! What if people heard you?” though it was not visible, thanks to her mask, but I could’ve sworn I saw the girl pout. “So what if they heard?” I asked, while the girl could only shake her head in disbelief. “You really don’t care about anything, do you? I’m kind of envious.” She let out a dry chuckle, while I smirked.

“I don’t give a .”

The girl grinned and nodded while clapping her hands, filling the empty street with the sound of her applauds. “That’s Yoongi for you. I wish I could say that, while broadcasting.” she spun around, breathing the refreshing air of the night. “You could. I’m sure they’ll bleep that out.” The girl looked at me and chuckled, as if mocking. What? What’s so wrong with cussing? Just do it. At least, that’s what I’d do. “You really don’t get the concept of an idol image. If I do that, I’ll get attacked, you know? Even though I love singing the best, acting like the most perfect person is what I like the least. I’ve been always so expressive, ever since I was young. Being cramped up in a box with the label ‘ideal girl’, is really tiring. But what can I do? I’m really just not perfect.”

“Well, you are. Aren’t you?”

The girl stopped momentarily, clearly taken aback by my words. “Me?” she snorted, “Are you blind or what? Did my idol image get to you?”

“No. I don’t think so. All I know is that you’re a great singer, a great dancer, and you’re really kind and caring. I think that fits perfectly in any man’s ideal type.” The girl remained silent, not knowing what to do. Her eyes traveled to random places, while she remained flustered. Her face turned bright red , as she nudged me lightly, biting her lower lip. “Oh, and you’re very pretty too,” I added.

“Hey, that’s too much. You’re overestimating me.” Her arms crossed together, while she rolled her eyes. “How so?” I looked back at her. “It’s impossible for me to be everyone’s ideal type. I’m just an ordinary girl.”

I stopped and thought about it for a bit. No matter how hard I think, it really seems right. We started walking again with short strides “I don’t think so. All the trainees’ ideal type is you, to be honest.” I blankly said, while her eyebrows formed a knot.

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah.”

“Even you?”

“Yeah.”

The girl stopped, leaving a long silence between us. I stopped too, shortly after she did. I glanced at the girl who looked like she saw a ghost. It seems like her soul flew out of her body or something. Is she even alright? “Hanbyul?”

No answer.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

Still no response.

“Hello, earth to Hanbyul.” I snapped my fingers, while the girl jumped lightly, obviously surprised. “I- what?” is all she could say. “What’s wrong? Why are you suddenly stopping?” Still in a daze, the girl just shook her head and walked faster, walking past me.

I heaved a sigh and scratched my head. I then ran after her. What’s the problem now?

“Hey, wait up!”

++++++

After all that chasing and running, we finally stopped at a small shop, by the road. It was seriously not a simple task running after Hanbyul. The girl practically ran like one of those Olympics athletes, while my short legs and low endurance proved to be a great help. To top it off, she didn’t explain the reason why she did that, but instead, she pretended it didn’t happen. As you can see, I am soaking wet from all the sweat, there’s no way that didn’t happen. She better buy a bucket worth of meat for me later.

She looked around the shop, scanning through all the cutesy stuff that was decorated in the store. I followed her like a lost dog, clueless of my surroundings. What’s so important about this thing that she wanted to buy it at this time of the night?

Looking around the store, I noticed that most of the items on sale were color pink. Not that it’s a surprise though. I heard that this place is popular among the girls. But then, I can’t help but think about one grown man who’d probably go crazy after taking a look in this shop. I sighed while I imagined the scene in my mind. Though it’s only my imagination, it’s very possible, knowing this grown man could be insane at times. I bet Jin hyung would cry tears of joy after discovering this sacred place .

I bet he’ll also hug the life out of me.

After a bit while, something caug