Story Note
Hi, hope you're all still enjoying this story as the plot continues to develop! If you are, I'll try and write more new chapter updates as soon as I can.
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Sunday 8am
Winter's P.O.V.
It was our first official day in Busan and the feeling of being home was sinking in. Everything felt familiar and warm. Yet in the brief time I'd been away, I'd become distant to those memories that now seemed to be washing over me in waves. From every shop building to each grain of sand on the endless beaches, I knew it all so well. I was home.
As expected Rina and I were sharing a room but she'd given me distance since arriving yesterday knowing I liked my space. That morning she'd still been asleep when I left early to go for a walk on the beach and enjoy the fresh sea air. Making my way into the hotel's restaurant, I queued in the line to make my breakfast selection of pancakes and fruit.
"Hey Winter, over here!" My friends were seated at a booth in the corner, having already stated eating breakfast. I grabbed my tray and headed over to them, taking the vacant seat beside Taeyeon.
"The food here is amazing here!" Ning Ning stated enthusiastically with a smile as they continued to enjoy the mini feast.
"Don't your family live close by Winter?" Wendy asked, pouring me a glass of orange juice from the jug in the center of the table.
I nodded, taking a sip of juice enjoying the refreshing taste. "Yeah, I'm hoping to go visit them in a few days."
Ning Ning suddenly placed her drink down and clapped her hands, gaining our attention. "So plans! We have the studio tour tomorrow and then apparently there's a huge Kpop concert later in the week with everyone going to the beach afterwards for like a campfire with drinks and dancing. Sounds fun, right!"
"It's February, it'll be freezing on the beach at night." I complained, knowing how cold it gets by the coast this time of year.
Taeyeon smiled, reaching for the sauces on the corner of the table. "Hence the campfire under the moonlight, it actually sounds quite romantic."
"It does sound romantic, Winter." A familiar voice whispered in my ear behind me as I jumped slightly startled.
Turning around abruptly, I was met by Rina's dazzling smile. "Rina, stop sneaking up on me like that!"
She chuckled and pulled a chair over form one of the other tables to sit beside me. "Goodmorning to you too. You dashed away so early this morning, I was gonna order us room service."
"Wow, must be nice for some." Wendy muttered, winking at me as I rolled my eyes.
"Its okay, there's always tomorrow. So what are we all talking about?" Rina asked casually, taking a small bit of my pancakes as I groaned.
Ning Ning and Taeyeon exchanged confused glances at her friendly manner before the latter began to explain. "Umm... just about the tour tomorrow. We're also planning on going to a concert next week and then having drinks at the beach at night."
"Sounds great, we'd love to join. Right Giselle?" Karina stated all the while Giselle was silently eating whilst simultaneously writing in her notebook, occasionally typing sums on a calculator.
"They didn't ask." She replied, not looking up from her work.
"But surely they were going to?" Rina said, I was playing with my food annoyed by how she was using that same tone she always did to get what she wanted.
"Of course, you're both welcome!" Wendy replied with great enthusiasm.
As we continued to enjoy breakfast, it wasn't long before 2 more students from campus cheerfully made their way over to our table. "Goodmorning!"
They waved at Ning Ning who was happily clearing a space for them to sit down beside us. "Winter, this is Lia and Yeji. I said they could join us."
"Hi." I mumble shyly. As Yeji was chatting by the wall on the phone as Lia made her way over.
"You're in my music theory class." Lia said as she sat down with an analysing glint in her eyes like she knew I was familiar.
"I am?" I muttered out loud, making the others chuckle, it was fair to say I'd been a bit oblivious and zoned out a lot in that class.
"Yeah, isn't it just the worst!" She sighed loudly with a huff. I was elated to know someone else disliked it just as much as I did.
"Yes! Thank you, finally someone else who agrees! See Ning Ning? I told you it wasn't just me- Ouch! Did you just nudge my shoulder?" I turned to Rina who was harshly glaring between me and Lia.
"Pay attention to me..." She whispered quietly while intertwining our hands on the table in clear view of the others.
"You're being a pain in the ass!" I whisper yelled back as she refused to let go of my hand.
"And yet you still like me." She replied, kissing my earlobe gently, making my face turn bright red.
"I... I forgot the syrup for the pancakes!" I stood up abruptly from the table rushing past in an excuse to move away, making Rina chuckle. It seemed my time in Busan was going to be just as hectic as the past few weeks in Seoul.
Sunday 8:30am
Ning Ning's P.O.V.
It had been the best morning as I enjoyed time with my friends, having breakfast in the hotel's restaurant. Yeji had still been on her phone for a while until she finally made her way back towards the table, temporarily taking Winter's seat as I introduce her to the others. "Hey, sit down. Join us!"
"Giselle, it's a trip. Why are you still working on student council business?" Wendy suddenly asked when we all noticed that Giselle was the only one who hadn't spoken much all morning. It was still awkward between us since the conversation on the coach yesterday.
"Because someone has to." She gave a sidewards icy glare at Jimin who was busy, leisurely checking her perfectly polished nails.
"What are you writing?" Lia asked, peering over in interest.
Giselle quickly closed the book in annoyance. "None of your business."
"Aeri..." I stated calmly, placing my hand on hers gently. It always had this effect of calming her down.
She took a deep breath before reopening the book. "Fine, I'm making a list of arrangements to organise the Valentine's dance."
"The Valentine's dance? That's so cool!" I loved dances and was surprised that Giselle had been arranging such an event.
"Yes... it is." She awkwardly replied, continuing to scribble down notes whilst making calculations for the budget in the margin of the book.
"That must take a lot of preparation." Wendy said, taking a sip of her coffee that was steaming in the air with a strong aroma of freshly blended coffee beans.
"It does. Even more so when the student council president refuses to contribute ideas or select a theme." Giselle frowned at Jimin who seemed oblivious.
"It's a dance, isn't the theme dancing?" Jimin stated bluntly whilst continuously glancing around the dining room to find Winter who was happily rushing back over to the table with a bottle of syrup in her hand.
"See? This is what I have to deal with." Giselle mumbled to me in dismay. She'd always taken her role in the student council very seriously whereas Jimin had often been the complete opposite and yet still managed to succeed well at the job.
"Well isn't Valentine's a theme in itself or would that just be too obvious?" Taeyeon asked, finishing a piece of crumbly toast before wiping her hands on a napkin.
"Hey, what are you guys talking about?" Winter asked with a smile upon returning to the table.
It seemed Yeji realised she'd taken her seat as she began to scoot over in the booth. "Oh Winter, sorry I took your seat. I'll move up and-"
Before Winter could protest, Jimin quickly took her hand as Winter fell to sit on her lap. "No need. You can sit with me, sweetie."
"Rina! I'm eating breakfast!" Winter whisper yelled, trying to get up but Jimin held her in place and passed her the plate with her pancakes on.
"And you still can. Did you get your syrup?" She asked sweetly, noticing Winter was still clutching tightly to a bottle of golden syrup.
My best friend sighed knowing there was little chance to get up, mumbling as she squeezed the syrup onto the pancakes. "Maybe..."
We all watched the scene in fascination like it was a TV drama until Wendy suddenly broke the ice to resume our earlier conversation. "Winter, you're creative. What's a good, unique theme for the Valentine's dance?"
"It's a dance, isn't the theme dancing?" Winter replied bluntly in the same manner Jimin had just moments earlier. We stared in surprise including Giselle between Winter and Jimin who was resting her chin on Winter's shoulder.
"You're so perfect." Jimin whispered while Winter was still sitting on her lap, oblivious to the conversation earlier.
"We could go dressed as romantic characters from famous stories?" Lia suggested, sipping her ice tea.
"People could go in groups instead of making it just couples. It might give more opportunities to make friends and maybe find their other romantic character pairing in the process~" Yeji sang as we all agreed in sync.
"Romantic characters? Is that original though? Although that does sound like a good idea going in groups." Winter said, taking another bite of her food happily as Jimin was still watching her whilst leisurely brushing her golden hair with her fingertips.
"Well I mean that part wouldn't really apply to you, you're already taken." I argued back, making the others chuckle.
"No I'm not?" Winter frowned in confusion, clearly having not made the connection between her and Jimin.
"Sweetie, your hair is so glossy." The student council president whispered with a subtle smile, wrapping the ends of Winter's hair around her fingers in gentle curls.
"Jimin, do you really have to be so cringy with Winter first thing in the morning? We're all trying to enjoy breakfast." Giselle complained, essentially saying what I too was thinking.
"Well there's a simple solution to that, you could all leave." Jimin replied coldly, making the table flood into an awkward silence. It seemed we'd all realised how clingy Jimin was except Winter who had zoned out, staring around the room whilst enjoying the last of her breakfast in peace.
Monday 4:45pm
Winter's P.O.V.
It was later in the afternoon the next day on the SM tour of their Busan studio when I felt excited beyond belief. It was my dream to work at SM one day and being here felt so surreal. I took photographs of the incredible building. With each room we explored, the smile never leaving my face whilst listening intently to the lectures on the idols and legacy of the company.
Yet halfway through the tour, Lia and I had taken a wrong turn and accidently wandered away from the rest of the group. We'd spent the last hour alone, talking and trying to find our way back to the lobby but had ended up in the maze of hallways exploring the building much to my fascination.
"So this SM Entertainment? I feel in awe at how many idols have walked through these halls." I stated, my eyes wide at the legacy of music that showcased all around us.
Lia smiled. All day, we'd been talking non-stop and it seemed we had a lot in common. "It's so inspiring, right? See, it isn't so bad that we lost the rest of the tour group."
I laughed and nodded in agreement until we came to a door in front of us that had gold plated lettering, making me frozen on the spot. "This is... the recording studio."
Lia nudged the door handle with a cheeky smile. "And it isn't locked, look the door just magically opened!"
"Lia, we can't go in there." I stated, apprehensively looking around the still empty hallways.
"And yet I'm stepping over the doorway~ Come on, Winter!" She sang, taking my hand and pulling me inside the room.
Within seconds, the once dark room was plunged into light revealing a large recording booth with state-of-the-art equipment. I trailed my fingers over the sound booth keys wondering how many idols may have been in that very place in the years before.
"There's so much talent here." I whispered, still in awe.
From the corner, Lia was leaning again the wall watching me. "It really means a lot to you being an idol, don't it?"
"Music is.important to me, it always has been. For the longest time, it was the only clarity and focus I had... I've always had this dream to be an idol and it just never seemed to fade away. I feel like singing is the path I'm supposed to follow, it just makes sense." It was fair to say music wasn't just my passion, it was a large part of my identity and without it I'd often felt lost.
"That's very poetic, spoken just like an artist." Lia muttered, making me blush.
"You must have had a similar dream for a long time too." I asked, knowing she too had plans to continue her training at JYP.
"Yes but it always seemed like it would stay as a dream and then when I got accepted to train in Seoul, it was such an extraordinary feeling. It was already like a huge sense of accomplishment." She replied with a grateful smile, wandering across the room to stand beside me as we both continued to stare in awe at the soundbooth controls.
"I'm glad we got to wander away from the others. If we didn't get lost, we'd never have found the recording room." I stated out of the blue.
Lia paused, trailing her hand along the control keys until they brushed against mine. "Sometimes by getting lost we find the path we were supposed to take instead."
It was in that moment Rina's face suddenly flashed in my mine making me startled as I shivered slightly. "You sound just like... nevermind."
"Jimin?" Lia asked somewhat causiously.
"How did you know?" I knew it was evident from the time we'd been in Busan but still it seemed odd that Lia sounded so much like her in that moment. The Rina I once knew.
She shrugged her shoulders, playing with the volume controls one by one on the sound booth. "I can tell you 2 are close, it was pretty obvious at breakfast with how she was looking at you."
"We used to get on well but not so much now..." I stated with sadness.
Lia seemed to noticing too. "Well she seems pretty crazy about you."
"I think you might be right about that part." I rolled my eyes at how often Ning Ning had said the same, making Lia chuckle.
Speaking of my best friend, my phone suddenly buzzed with multiple missed messages from her. "Ning Ning just messaged me, she's says everyone's in the lobby frantically looking for us. She sent directions, we better go."
I turned to leave only for Lia to link our arms, making me glance back at her in confusion when she was still stood frozen shyly in place. "This was fun, I kinda liked getting lost with you, Winter."
I blushed again, happy to have met someone who seemed to share my same love of music. "I had fun too."
There was a sudden loud crash from outside the recording studio startling the both of us. "What was that??"
As I pulled my arm away from Lisa's, I ran to glance around in the coridoor only to find it eerily still empty. Lia too seemed somewhat startled as she followed me. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah I just... I thought I heard something? Nevermind, we better go." We ran towards the nearby stairwell still chatting and laughing as we followed Ning Ning's directions. Yet for the rest of the afternoon, I could never get rid of the cold feeling of a sinister pair of eyes watching Lia and I from afar. An icy, devilish monster of jealousy that was lurking in the shadows.