"I could help you with that."

Chan (3)

"Journaling huh?" I mumbled to myself as I tapped the end of my pencil against the blank notebook in front of me. I was sitting on the floor in the dorms' living room drafting my final thesis for school while Jisung and Changbin were attending the midday dance practice. Naturally, I was skipping it yet again.

I thought back to that barista and his advice. Two ways, one normal and one definitely unexpected. After the shock of hearing it though, it made sense. But I'd never done it just to sleep. It was normally during other... activities. I shook my head and lightly slapped my cheeks, writing down some words on the page.

Aside from being unable to just stop and rest, I also felt like it wasn't the time to. If anything, it was what I called 'crunch time'. Many important things would be coming up soon. My graduation ceremony at school, the audition period officially opening, which meant that I would also be preparing to present the album I made. Getting subjected to the final tests of a trainee in order to progress forward. I didn't need to sleep. I didn't have any time to.

I jotted a few more guiding words on the paper for my draft and got up to retrieve my laptop from my room. If I could at least get a few paragraphs done within the next hour or so, I could run over to the studio and revise the album again. There was a few songs with lines from me that could be tweaked a little more.

I turned the light on as I walked in the door, squatting near my bed to pull my laptop bag out from underneath it. I had a fleeting thought of why I always stored it like this, tucked away from sight in its sleeve. Something about it being safer this way? I rose up from the floor and turned around to exit, flipping the lights off on my way out.

I did not like writing. I had been dreading this portion of my graduation. But I kept telling myself, the faster I finished it the quicker I could move on to things I wanted to do. I begrudgingly pulled the device out of its bag and opened it up, waiting for it to turn on.

I pulled the notebook and pencil closer to me as I scooted backwards so that my middle back was resting against the small sofa and my legs were kicked out straight in front of me. I set the laptop on my thighs and quickly typed in my password, opening up a blank document to begin typing.

Since this was only a draft I wasn't too focused on paragraph structuring for now. I just wanted to throw some words out and filter them later. There was other things on my mind.

The album was weighing heavily on me. I needed to make sure it was good enough. It had to be. Without it, I had no proof that I was better than what they expect from me. No offense to Jisung and Changbin, but I didn't care about this trainee life I had been living recently. Having to pay for school and pay for my own classes and vocal lessons? Thankfully Changbin had shouldered the dorm situation, and I had a decent scholarship with occasional help from my family, but I felt like this was way too much money to be throwing out. I would be glad when the audition period opened.

I stopped typing when I heard my phone start ringing from the bedroom. I glanced at the corner of my screen where the clock read half past one. Who was calling me at this time?

I set the laptop on the floor and got up, quickly moving to the room and grabbing my phone off the charger, not looking at the ID as I swiped it right to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Channie-ah? Is that you?"

I pulled the phone away from my ear, confused at the tone of the caller. I tapped my screen to lighten it up, and saw that it was my mother. A large smile spread on my face as I put the phone back against my ear.

"Mom! Hello it's me! Sorry, I didn't realize it was you calling."

That smile never left my face as I continued to converse with my mother, eventually moving to sit down on my bed. Apparently she called to fill me in on how things were going back home, and ask me when my graduating ceremony is.