Paper Dolls

Chapter 18

It has been two weeks since I last talked to Hyeon. Ever since then I've discarded the burner phone as instructed and waited for some sort of communication but there has been none so far.

Normally, this would have worried me. What if our current leads were a dead end? What if Hyeon   decided to abandon this mystery he dragged me into? With no communication, I'm left to wonder the worst and an idle mind is a devil's workshop.

Thankfully, my mind has been far from idle. I've been too busy to even think about it. All thoughts of Dalia's suspicious group members and her picture in Mr. Wan's practice studio have taken a back seat to my daily schedule. 

And my daily schedule has been nothing short of gruelling. 

The practices for our upcoming show have gone into full swing mode and most of my days start at 5am with practice sessions often dragging into the night. And as if it wasn't hectic enough, gym training has been implemented as a way to 'get us into shape'. 

We start our gym training with a certified coach three times a week, then head to our English classes, vocal lessons and end the day with dance practices.

Our dance coach Mr. Lee is adamant that we perfect the dance routine because this will be our first official performance as a group. He stops us over the smallest of mistakes; someones hair flipped too high or someones leg went out further than the others. 

He would correct it and then we'd have to start all over again only for him to point out something else. 

I get it. We're from a smaller company and sometimes the first performance can make or break a group from companies like ours. Unlike the Big 3, we only have one shot to gain that fandom. That is the only way we'd be invited on music or variety shows to grow our fanbase and gain a shot to make it big. 

All of us can feel the pressure, which is why none of us complain when he makes us dance till our  limbs feel like they are about to fall off. 

1, 2 , 3 turn. I twirl with the beat, stretching out my leg and then drop to the floor. All nine of us flip our hair in synchronicity and then we dig our palms into the floor and do a body roll. 

My arms burn with exertion and I try to use my core strength to hold me up. We've done this routine twelve times tonight already and this is the part that always makes me want to collapse.

"Good. Good!" Mr. Lee claps on beat and paces by the mirrors in front of us. 

I suck in a breath and smile to myself. That was the first praise we've received from him since we started this routine. I see Binna smiling to herself as well, those two words from Mr Lee seems to have improved the overall mood and we give it our all. 

For the first time ever, the music doesn't pause for Mr. Lee to correct us. We actually finish the freaking routine!

Sneaker's squeak against the polished floors as we fall to the floor once the dance is over. I grab my bottle and pass Binna hers as well. Water never tasted so good and sitting down on my butt never felt so heavenly. I'm afraid I might not be able to get up now. 

I look up at Mr Lee and then my eyes flit to the posters plastered above the mirrored walls. Most of them are of Viva, the first boy group in our company to break the mould by putting Firefly on the map as an entertainment company. 

The pressure is on us now to do the same and I can't help but focus on Jiho's face every time I see a Viva poster. 

We have both been so busy with our individual schedules. He's been filming for a guest appearance in a very popular variety show and the only times I have seen him are when we pass each other in the crowded lobby.