BEAUTY AND WEALTH | WINRINA

12 | Upcoming Performance

"You're getting much more comfortable with us. The way you talk is different than the first time we met you." The Japanese chuckled and ruffled Minjeong's hair.

"We're best friends now! Right, Unnie?" Ningning abruptly wrapped her arms around Minjeong's neck. Minjeong was shy at first due to their statement, but realised she had friends that cared for her.

This was heartwarming.

As they all kept on chatting, Ningning spoke.

"Oh right, Jimin-Unnie is also going to be singing on stage with you."

Minjeong's expression quickly became stoic upon hearing the news, though she tries to pretend.

"Really? That's... great." It was awkward.

Aeri noticed Minjeong's changed tone and expression. She was squinting her eyes as in observing her every movement, which makes Minjeong uncomfortable.

"So... when is the performance starting?" Minjeong asked the two girls, trying to change the subject.

"We're the ones who should be aski-"

"Next week on Thursday." The Japanese cuts off the Chinese.

Minjeong's jaw dropped, literally opened her mouth in shock. "What?"

"Yeah. The stage performance was announced a before November, and they did have some members to do the performance but they couldn't find the lead singer for like two weeks. That's why you only have a week since you just had just joined." Aeri explained calmly as she took out her phone.

The youngest shook her head at the oldest, "where do you even get these sort of information..."

"What can I say? My middle name is Gossip."

"That's silly." Minjeong giggled softly towards the statement. "But still, this is making me cry inside."

"You can do it, Winter. I'm sure of it." The oldest reassured the Korean as she placed her hand on her shoulder. "Yeah! Go, Winter-Unnie!" The youngest girl exclaimed which made Minjeong felt a whole lot better.

However, the two girls standing in front Minjeong turned their attention towards someone behind Minjeong who is currently walking towards them. The Korean girl turned around aswell to see who it was and there was... two girls and three boys beside Jimin. Minjeong gulped, but she knew she couldn't avoid her forever. She needed to make things right.
"Hey guys, and it's a pleasure into meeting the one and only Kim Minjeong!" Yeonjun extended his hand towards Minjeong. She also noticed Jaemin was smiling at her, therefore she smiled back at him. They all had a conversation together and got to know each other. Well, when Minjeong glances at Jimin, the older girl avoided her gaze from her. Like she doesn't want to interact with Minjeong. This made the younger girl anxious.

"You have a great style. I think you'd look pretty cute if I dress you up in some clothes." Yeji always liked observing what her friends wore and would help them choose an outfit for the day. This statement made Minjeong shy. "I like you a lot, you don't reject compliments or accept them. We're definitely gonna get along." Ryujin wrapped her right arm around Minjeong's shoulder. Most of them were taller than her which makes her feel embarrassed for them to have to look down at her. The bell rang which means class is starting. "Come on, we should get going." Hyunjin whined as he tried to grab Yeji, his twin sister to class. Yeji disliked going to class early since even the teacher would arrive late. "Guess we'll hang out during recess. Pay attention to class." Aeri spoke to the younger ones, referring to Minjeong, Ryujin and Ningning. The younger ones nodded. They all parted ways.

During Class

Minjeong's focus wasn't on the board. She rather focused on the birds outside, seeing the eggs hatch. Her mind was in a different place. She kept thinking about the performance and especially Jimin. Even she does not know how to feel about all this. Though, she did notice Jimin was rather quiet during the conversation and avoided interaction with her. She disliked that. Suddenly, she snapped back to reality and heard the teacher calling out for her name multiple times. "Ahem. Ms. Kim, seems like you were on your way to space for a bit. Could you tell me the answer for question number three?"

Minjeong stood up and looked down on her book, question number three. She first read the question and then answered. "Marcellus Callahan is foreign man in his fifty's living in South Korea, a man with dedication and determination. One day he met with a gentlemen at a bus stop named Park Seo-Jun. He wore a delicate navy suit with a formal top hat. They chatted for about ten minutes, what was the conversation about? The answer is D: They chatted about the difference of their cultures and about their hometown." The teacher was expecting that Minjeong could not answer but it seemed he thought wrong. He just nodded and Minjeong was allowed to sit back down.

...

Recess

The group were chatting as they sat down on the bleachers, eating their lunch. Though they seemed to notice one of them wasn't here. "Hey, Ryujin. You're classmates with Minjeong. Where is she?" Jaemin asked first.

"She said she was going to go to the restroom for a bit. Stop worrying about your 'princess', shining armour." Ryujin chuckled which made others laugh except for Jimin.

She never really paid much attention to the conversation. She too was having trouble to reciprocate with her emotions, not knowing if she should talk to Minjeong or not. Everything was confusing and a total wreck. A ship sinking down the dark sea. While Minjeong was actually in a storage room, trying to memorise the lyrics and comfort herself from all of the troubles. Her fans, her friends, Jimin especially. She was scared. The younger one assumed that the older girl disliked her, therefore she's hesitant to talk with her. Out of frustration, she threw the papers as she groaned.

'Stupid' She thought to herself.