Invisible String || PURINZ

01 • ice cream and meetings

One, two... Left arm up. Three, four... Right arm down. Five... Bring them together. Six, seven... Heart shape, wink, look happy!

The music stopped.

Chaewon looked up, scanning the room as her fellow trainees also paused. The shuffling of their feet was heard as everyone got back into their starting positions.

Some of them used the back of their hands to wipe the sweat off their foreheads, but not Chaewon. No– the short girl had perfectly secured her bangs to her skin so they wouldn't move an inch. Why ruin such perfection for a bit of sweat?

"Sakura, your position is off. You're supposed to be auditioning soon, fix it." Their choreographer called, the lines in his forehead dripping down to make him seem more unfriendly than usual.

With a shallow nod, the Japanese girl next to her double-checked if she was in line with the others.

The choreographer took a few steps forward, glazing over the girls until his eyes settled on Yena. Chaewon felt bad for exhaling a breath of relief when he skipped over her.

He came to a halt, looking the girl straight in the eyes. His expression softened, the wrinkles dissipating into a pleasant smile. "Yena, you did well. I'm glad you're still working on your skills with us, even if you're making your solo debut one of these days."

The glow in Yena's eyes shifted from fear into something joyful. She leaned into a brief bow, nodding her head stoically. "Thank you, sir." She breathed.

Chaewon shared a look with Sakura, who was on her left. Sakura's eyes told her that she wasn't off-position, and the small girl completely shared the sentiment. Yena was one of her best friends, but it was clear as day that their teacher had his favourites.

"This won't do, girls, I'll text instructions to all of you privately. I expect better results in our next practice in two days."

With a sigh, Chaewon picked up her flask of water by the wall, and rushed into the changing room with the rest of the girls.

Ever since the disbandment of IZ*ONE, most of the girls had been training together to find what's next for them. Chaewon was aiming for a re-debut in an up-and-coming group, which Sakura seemed to have set her eyes on as well. Since discovering their shared interest, they seemed to have grown much closer than before.

She dropped down onto the bench next to the Japanese girl, swiftly bringing the flask to her mouth. She opened her mouth, expecting the cooling flush of water–

But only a few drops splattered onto her tongue. With a sigh, she placed the item onto the bench and leaned forward.

"I feel like he's unusually hard on us," Chaeyeon started. She looked around, swinging her water bottle in the air as if it were a battle mace.

Yuri nodded. "That bastard acts like he's so much better than us. We wouldn't be making these mistakes if he taught us better! He doesn't know half the steps himself!" She complained.

Kazuha, the newest arrival, gave a quick nod. She hadn't said much to any of them, except for Sakura. The two of them occasionally spoke in Japanese before practice started. Chaewon noticed the shy girl's glance at them, but she turned her head the other way just as quickly.

But practice wasn't the only thing on her mind. The girl tucked her flask away in her bag, and changed into her best sweatpants and a crop-top. She only called it her best sweatpants because everyone complimented the shape of her ass in it, which was exactly what Chaewon needed if she was going to bump into her hallway crush.