Floating Skylights
Krystal and Amber [F(x)] | Minor Sulli | Friendship | Oneshot | 2000+ words
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“Soojung-ah!” Jinri called out. “Yo Jinri wassup” Soojung replied in perfect English. “Hangul Soojungie, or else how will you ever learn?” Jinri told her shaking her head. “Sorry” Soojung apologised. “No problem” Jinri said shaking her head.
The two girls relaxed, tired after their respective dance practices. “So what’s on your training sched next?” Jinri asked. “Korean classes, what about you?” Soojung asked. “Vocal training. Hey! You might meet the new trainee. I wonder what he’s like” Jinri thought out loud. “A guy? I thought it was a girl who won” Soojung said her brow winkling as she frowned. “Won?” Jinri asked. “The new trainee got in by winning the dancing competition, didn’t she? Or he, I guess. Are you sure?” Soojung asked sceptically. “That’s the word on the street. I don’t know anyone who has classes or training with new trainee so I don’t know what he is like” Jinri told her.
“but hey, he’ll be American. Just like you” Jinri pointed out. “He’ll be Canadian” Soojung told her. “There is a difference.” “Is it really?” Jinri asked. Soojung opened her mouth and then closed it. Did the difference really matter now that they were halfway across the world, struggling to ultimately integrate their identity into a culture not fully their own.
“Henry would have met him. Or even Joonmyun” Jinri told her. Soojung nodded unsurely. Joonmyun knew a lot of people but she wasn’t sure Henry would know him. Or her for that matter. But was it more likely him? Soojung looked at her watch. Looks like she was about to find out.
Soojung walked into class. She was just in time. The others gave her looks but it didn’t matter to her anymore. It had started when Sica had debuted in So Nyuh Shi Dae. The looks intensified as SNSD got more popular in South Korea and finally in Japan as well. She was no stranger to the comparisons either. Everyone watched her like a hawk, waiting to see if she would make it big just like Jessica had.
Her eyes automatically travelled towards the end of the class where she usually sat. She found the new kid, sitting in the back as well. There weren’t many people in this class. Many of the foreign trainees were Chinese and they had classes separately. So any new addition was noticed immediately. Also the short cropped hair helped. Soojung immediately stopped, staring because she realized that he was supposed to be a boy but was in fact a girl.
The teacher came in and she hurried to find a seat. She didn’t look the new kid’s way again, mortified because of the misunderstanding.
“It’s a girl” Soojung spoke up. “What?” Jinri asked surprised. “I know right? She looks so tomboy-ish. But she is a girl alright. The new trainee is a girl” Soojung assured her. “Well, I saw her hanging out with Henry earlier. I just assumed she was a guy too” Jinri explained sheepishly. Soojung nodded. Boys and girls trained separately as a company policy. And new trainee didn’t exactly mix in with new idols. Especially controversial ones like Henry or even Zhoumi.
“Do you think she’s Chinese too?” Jinri asked. “I wouldn’t know” Soojung confessed. “Of course not. But take a wild stab at it. Halfie or fully American?” Jinri asked. “Halfie naturally. When have we had a fully American trainee?” Soojung retorted. “Point” Jinri agreed. “She doesn’t look Korean though. Maybe she is Chinese, unless she is Thai” Jinri speculated. “Thai?” Soojung asked surprised. “Yeah. All the SuJu sunbae told me that there are a lot of fans in Thailand” Jinri told her smartly.
“Sunbae huh? You are totally a shoo in for the next girl group” Soojung said enviously. “I don’t think there will be a girl group in a while” Jinri told her. “Why? I thought Jonghyun oppa’s group will debut this year” Soojung remembered. “Nuh uh. They bumped Kyuhyun oppa up remember? He was supposed to debut with Jonghyun oppa’s group but he went out to SuJu instead. Rumour is that Taemin and Jongin will be added and they might debut next year” Jinri told her. “So maybe the year after then” Soojung reasoned. “They might want to concentrate more on BoA or SoShi” Jinri replied. Soojung shrugged. Jessica unnie agreed that SM had concentrated more on them than on Super Junior but Soojung knew better than to tell Jinri that.
“Well we still have time. Did you hear about that BB cream commercial’s audition? Are you going to go?” Jinri asked. Soojung nodded. “Yeah. I called them just yesterday. They asked me to come on Friday” she told Jinri. “You know that means no oily food till then right?” Jinri reminded her. Soojung nodded, groaning mentally. “And while you are at it, stop gorging on Ramen!” Jinri teased. “Hey!” Soojung exclaimed indignantly. Jinri stuck her tongue out at her and Soojung playfully hit her. When she pulled away she thought she caught a glimpse of the new kid pass by. But she shrugged it off, not thinking more into it.
Soojung looked around. There was no one there she knows really well. Jinri had gone for dance training. Feeling awkward, Soojung just plugged in her earphones. She hoped she would look busy and not out of place.
She looked around, wondering if she knew any of the other trainees present. She picked out a few new ones. She also recognised some of her sunbaes (trainees of course). She didn’t particularly like anyone. Off to one side was the bunch of Chinese trainees. She recognised Song Qian. That girl had been here long. She had already bagged a role as an extra or so she had heard. There were some new faces too. A tall guy (abnormally so. Reminded her of the DBSK guys). Soojung assumed the other one was that child star guy. Zhang something was his name.
The new girl was there too. Well hardly new. It had been a few months hadn’t it? Soojung had finished her Korean classes five months ago. So this would be the first time in around eight months that she had seen her. Her hair was still short. Soojung couldn’t help but stare enviously. She was still dressed comfortably. She wasn’t even trying to impress and yet she looked incredibly cool.
“You are almost there. A few seconds more and laser beams are going to shoot out right now” Joonmyun joked. “Sunbae!” Soojung asked surprised. “Hoobae!” Joonmyun mimicked. “I thought you guys were busy with performance reviews” Soojung said. “The group’s been finalised” he told her sourly. “Who?” Soojung asked curiously. “Jinki, Minho, Jonghyun, Kibum and Taemin” Joonmyun recited. “You didn’t make it” Soojung realized. “Yeah...” Joonmyun trailed off. “Shit” she cursed in English. Joonmyun gave her a funny look. “Is this group finalized then?” she asked. Joonmyun shook his head. “Not officially but we all know” he told her.
“So another few years huh?” she asked knowingly. “Maybe. It’s only been 3 years right? I need to hold on for a while” Joonmyun agreed. “So why were you staring down the Chinese gang?” Joonmyun asked. “Some Qian and Amber have been here a while. Everyone knows the Chinese child star Zhang Yixing. And the tall one there has a complicated name. But Chanyeol told me it was Kevin Li” Joonmyun told her. “Amber?” Soojung asked. “That’s her English name. I keep forgetting her Chinese one. But she isn’t a new kid. She’s been around for a few months” Joonmyun reminded her. “Oh yeah. Who’s Chanyeol though?” Soojung asked. “He was one of the guys who acted with me and Jongin for DBSK’s CF. We’ve been friends ever since” Joonmyun told her. Soojung nodded. She listened to Joonmyun go on about various things, unconsciously looking at Amber all the while.
“I’m sorry. I thought this practice room was free” Soojung apologised. She stepped back embarrassingly. She had walked in on Amber’s dance practice. Walking in on someone was expected though. The bi-monthly review was coming up and the word was that SM was planning a sister group for SHINee. Every female trainee was putting in her all, desperate to impress and get their chance at fame. Walking in on Amber’s practice however, was really a surprise.
“I’ll be done in five minutes. You can use the room later” Amber offered. “Yeah, okay. I’ll wait” Soojung said warily. Normally trainees were pretty secretive about their training routines. Yet Amber had invited her in. Was she trying to intimidate her by showing off? Soojung sat down a corner so that she could stretch as she waited. Amber restarted the music and started a last run on her choreo.
Soojung’s jaw dropped. Amber was good. She was really good. Why wasn’t she in the top batch yet? Intended or not, Amber had intimidated her. Damn... Soojung forced herself to look away and focus on her stretching. The last thing she wanted was an injury. Amber dropped down next to her and Soojung froze.
“Hi. My name is Amber” she introduced herself with a smile. Soojung replied with a small “Hey” in a strained voice. Amber’s phone rang. “Sorry, I need to take this. You should probably get on with practice” Amber said standing up. Her phone was no longer ringing but Soojung got the message. “See you around?” Amber asked. “Yeah. Sure...” Soojung agreed.
“What do you think?” Jinri asked nervously. “I told you before. You’ll be fine. You’ve been an extra in so many SM productions. They’ll definitely choose you” Soojung assured her. Her stomach dropped all the same though, since she didn’t have the same kind of confidence on herself. This was her last chance. If she didn’t make it now, she might have to wait for another four years or so. She knew she didn’t have that kind of time.
“Hey, are you planning to go to school? We’ll make it in time for study hall if we leave now” Jinri told her. “I think I’m going to skip” Soojung told her. “Okay. But I kind of skipped a lot to practice so I can’t. I’ll see you later okay?” Jinri told her. Soojung nodded. She remembered that she had skipped school too. But she was too tired to care. She decided to head to the rooftop, the place every trainee went to unwind. She found a place to sit down and lean against the railing.
“Hey” a familiar voice greeted her. “Hi” Soojung replied. “You speak English too?” Amber asked surprised. “Yeah. I’m half American” Soojung told her. “Canadian Chinese. I never knew” Amber confessed. “Yeah well, I’ve been here long enough to be considered fully Korean” Soojung confessed. “Right. Yeah, that’s pretty cool. Easier to talk with” Amber said more to herself. Soojung nodded.
“So, done with your review?” Amber asked. “Yeah. Don’t ask...” Soojung grumbled. “I know that feeling” Amber sympathised. “I mean it’s now or never. If I don’t get selected now, that’s another four years in waiting that I won’t have” Soojung said. She didn’t exactly mean to unload on Amber but she was glad to get it off.
“Your parents too huh?” Amber asked. “My parents?” Soojung asked. She didn’t even mention them. “My parents didn’t want me to become an idol. They didn’t exactly support me coming here. This is kind of my last shot too” Amber confided in her. Soojung nodded thoughtfully. “I thought it was the same for you but now I’m guessing not” Amber hazarded a guess. “Not to the extent of yours. They are a little less sceptical since Jessica made it” Soojung told her. “Don’t get tired of being compared to your sister?” Amber asked her. Soojung bit her lip and Amber understood her reply.
“Guess everyone has their fair share of problems” Amber said, closing her eyes. “I guess we do” Soojung agreed. They didn’t talk more. But it was a good kind of silence.
Soojung couldn’t believe it. She had been chosen. She had been chosen! She tried to keep her excitement down. But couldn’t. Jinri was next to her and they kept exchanging nervous smiles. They were waiting to meet their new group mates. Soojung only knew Song Qian a little. So being in the same room was a little weird but Qian had taken the initiative and talked her and Jinri to first. The other two hadn’t shown up yet since they had been informed late.
A fourth person walked in and the girls looked up. Qian broke into a grin as soon as she realized it was Amber. “You made it!” she exclaimed. “Yeah” Amber said sheepishly. “Congratulations!” Qian wished happily. “Same to you” Amber said with a small smile. Then she looked awkwardly at Jinri and Qian realized they had been a bit rude.
“Amber, this is Jinri. Jinri, Amber. Jinri’s stage name is Sulli” Soojung told her. “Hey” Amber greeted in Korean. “Hi” Jinri said with a smile. The girls talked for a while and then their new manager came in, Jinri and Qian went to talk to him while Amber pulled Soojung back.
“I don’t know your name” Amber confessed, visibly embarrassed. “My stage name is Krystal” Soojung told her. “No, not your stage name. Your real name” Amber pointed out. Soojung made an ‘oh’ expression. Then she realized. Out of all the times she had talked to Amber, she had never told Amber her name.
“Soojung. My name is Soojung” she told Amber. “Hi Soojung. I’m Amber” Amber replied with a smile. “Nice to meet you Amber” Soojung said with a smile. “It’s nice to meet you too” Amber greeted back.
-x-The-End-x-
- I hope i didn't digress too much from the prompt. I tend to do that at times.
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“Soojung-ah!” Jinri called out. “Yo Jinri wassup” Soojung replied in perfect English. “Hangul Soojungie, or else how will you ever learn?” Jinri told her shaking her head. “Sorry” Soojung apologised. “No problem” Jinri said shaking her head.
The two girls relaxed, tired after their respective dance practices. “So what’s on your training sched next?” Jinri asked. “Korean classes, what about you?” Soojung asked. “Vocal training. Hey! You might meet the new trainee. I wonder what he’s like” Jinri thought out loud. “A guy? I thought it was a girl who won” Soojung said her brow winkling as she frowned. “Won?” Jinri asked. “The new trainee got in by winning the dancing competition, didn’t she? Or he, I guess. Are you sure?” Soojung asked sceptically. “That’s the word on the street. I don’t know anyone who has classes or training with new trainee so I don’t know what he is like” Jinri told her.
“but hey, he’ll be American. Just like you” Jinri pointed out. “He’ll be Canadian” Soojung told her. “There is a difference.” “Is it really?” Jinri asked. Soojung opened her mouth and then closed it. Did the difference really matter now that they were halfway across the world, struggling to ultimately integrate their identity into a culture not fully their own.
“Henry would have met him. Or even Joonmyun” Jinri told her. Soojung nodded unsurely. Joonmyun knew a lot of people but she wasn’t sure Henry would know him. Or her for that matter. But was it more likely him? Soojung looked at her watch. Looks like she was about to find out.
Soojung walked into class. She was just in time. The others gave her looks but it didn’t matter to her anymore. It had started when Sica had debuted in So Nyuh Shi Dae. The looks intensified as SNSD got more popular in South Korea and finally in Japan as well. She was no stranger to the comparisons either. Everyone watched her like a hawk, waiting to see if she would make it big just like Jessica had.
Her eyes automatically travelled towards the end of the class where she usually sat. She found the new kid, sitting in the back as well. There weren’t many people in this class. Many of the foreign trainees were Chinese and they had classes separately. So any new addition was noticed immediately. Also the short cropped hair helped. Soojung immediately stopped, staring because she realized that he was supposed to be a boy but was in fact a girl.
The teacher came in and she hurried to find a seat. She didn’t look the new kid’s way again, mortified because of the misunderstanding.
“It’s a girl” Soojung spoke up. “What?” Jinri asked surprised. “I know right? She looks so tomboy-ish. But she is a girl alright. The new trainee is a girl” Soojung assured her. “Well, I saw her hanging out with Henry earlier. I just assumed she was a guy too” Jinri explained sheepishly. Soojung nodded. Boys and girls trained separately as a company policy. And new trainee didn’t exactly mix in with new idols. Especially controversial ones like Henry or even Zhoumi.
“Do you think she’s Chinese too?” Jinri asked. “I wouldn’t know” Soojung confessed. “Of course not. But take a wild stab at it. Halfie or fully American?” Jinri asked. “Halfie naturally. When have we had a fully American trainee?” Soojung retorted. “Point” Jinri agreed. “She doesn’t look Korean though. Maybe she is Chinese, unless she is Thai” Jinri speculated. “Thai?” Soojung asked surprised. “Yeah. All the SuJu sunbae told me that there are a lot of fans in Thailand” Jinri told her smartly.
“Sunbae huh? You are totally a shoo in for the next girl group” Soojung said enviously. “I don’t think there will be a girl group in a while” Jinri told her. “Why? I thought Jonghyun oppa’s group will debut this year” Soojung remembered. “Nuh uh. They bumped Kyuhyun oppa up remember? He was supposed to debut with Jonghyun oppa’s group but he went out to SuJu instead. Rumour is that Taemin and Jongin will be added and they might debut next year” Jinri told her. “So maybe the year after then” Soojung reasoned. “They might want to concentrate more on BoA or SoShi” Jinri replied. Soojung shrugged. Jessica unnie agreed that SM had concentrated more on them than on Super Junior but Soojung knew better than to tell Jinri that.
“Well we still have time. Did you hear about that BB cream commercial’s audition? Are you going to go?” Jinri asked. Soojung nodded. “Yeah. I called them just yesterday. They asked me to come on Friday” she told Jinri. “You know that means no oily food till then right?” Jinri reminded her. Soojung nodded, groaning mentally. “And while you are at it, stop gorging on Ramen!” Jinri teased. “Hey!” Soojung exclaimed indignantly. Jinri stuck her tongue out at her and Soojung playfully hit her. When she pulled away she thought she caught a glimpse of the new kid pass by. But she shrugged it off, not thinking more into it.
Soojung looked around. There was no one there she knows really well. Jinri had gone for dance training. Feeling awkward, Soojung just plugged in her earphones. She hoped she would look busy and not out of place.
She looked around, wondering if she knew any of the other trainees present. She picked out a few new ones. She also recognised some of her sunbaes (trainees of course). She didn’t particularly like anyone. Off to one side was the bunch of Chinese trainees. She recognised Song Qian. That girl had been here long. She had already bagged a role as an extra or so she had heard. There were some new faces too. A tall guy (abnormally so. Reminded her of the DBSK guys). Soojung assumed the other one was that child star guy. Zhang something was his name.
The new girl was there too. Well hardly new. It had been a few months hadn’t it? Soojung had finished her Korean classes five months ago. So this would be the first time in around eight months that she had seen her. Her hair was still short. Soojung couldn’t help but stare enviously. She was still dressed comfortably. She wasn’t even trying to impress and yet she looked incredibly cool.
“You are almost there. A few seconds more and laser beams are going to shoot out right now” Joonmyun joked. “Sunbae!” Soojung asked surprised. “Hoobae!” Joonmyun mimicked. “I thought you guys were busy with performance reviews” Soojung said. “The group’s been finalised” he told her sourly. “Who?” Soojung asked curiously. “Jinki, Minho, Jonghyun, Kibum and Taemin” Joonmyun recited. “You didn’t make it” Soojung realized. “Yeah...” Joonmyun trailed off. “Shit” she cursed in English. Joonmyun gave her a funny look. “Is this group finalized then?” she asked. Joonmyun shook his head. “Not officially but we all know” he told her.
“So another few years huh?” she asked knowingly. “Maybe. It’s only been 3 years right? I need to hold on for a while” Joonmyun agreed. “So why were you staring down the Chinese gang?” Joonmyun asked. “Some Qian and Amber have been here a while. Everyone knows the Chinese child star Zhang Yixing. And the tall one there has a complicated name. But Chanyeol told me it was Kevin Li” Joonmyun told her. “Amber?” Soojung asked. “That’s her English name. I keep forgetting her Chinese one. But she isn’t a new kid. She’s been around for a few months” Joonmyun reminded her. “Oh yeah. Who’s Chanyeol though?” Soojung asked. “He was one of the guys who acted with me and Jongin for DBSK’s CF. We’ve been friends ever since” Joonmyun told her. Soojung nodded. She listened to Joonmyun go on about various things, unconsciously looking at Amber all the while.
“I’m sorry. I thought this practice room was free” Soojung apologised. She stepped back embarrassingly. She had walked in on Amber’s dance practice. Walking in on someone was expected though. The bi-monthly review was coming up and the word was that SM was planning a sister group for SHINee. Every female trainee was putting in her all, desperate to impress and get their chance at fame. Walking in on Amber’s practice however, was really a surprise.
“I’ll be done in five minutes. You can use the room later” Amber offered. “Yeah, okay. I’ll wait” Soojung said warily. Normally trainees were pretty secretive about their training routines. Yet Amber had invited her in. Was she trying to intimidate her by showing off? Soojung sat down a corner so that she could stretch as she waited. Amber restarted the music and started a last run on her choreo.
Soojung’s jaw dropped. Amber was good. She was really good. Why wasn’t she in the top batch yet? Intended or not, Amber had intimidated her. Damn... Soojung forced herself to look away and focus on her stretching. The last thing she wanted was an injury. Amber dropped down next to her and Soojung froze.
“Hi. My name is Amber” she introduced herself with a smile. Soojung replied with a small “Hey” in a strained voice. Amber’s phone rang. “Sorry, I need to take this. You should probably get on with practice” Amber said standing up. Her phone was no longer ringing but Soojung got the message. “See you around?” Amber asked. “Yeah. Sure...” Soojung agreed.
“What do you think?” Jinri asked nervously. “I told you before. You’ll be fine. You’ve been an extra in so many SM productions. They’ll definitely choose you” Soojung assured her. Her stomach dropped all the same though, since she didn’t have the same kind of confidence on herself. This was her last chance. If she didn’t make it now, she might have to wait for another four years or so. She knew she didn’t have that kind of time.
“Hey, are you planning to go to school? We’ll make it in time for study hall if we leave now” Jinri told her. “I think I’m going to skip” Soojung told her. “Okay. But I kind of skipped a lot to practice so I can’t. I’ll see you later okay?” Jinri told her. Soojung nodded. She remembered that she had skipped school too. But she was too tired to care. She decided to head to the rooftop, the place every trainee went to unwind. She found a place to sit down and lean against the railing.
“Hey” a familiar voice greeted her. “Hi” Soojung replied. “You speak English too?” Amber asked surprised. “Yeah. I’m half American” Soojung told her. “Canadian Chinese. I never knew” Amber confessed. “Yeah well, I’ve been here long enough to be considered fully Korean” Soojung confessed. “Right. Yeah, that’s pretty cool. Easier to talk with” Amber said more to herself. Soojung nodded.
“So, done with your review?” Amber asked. “Yeah. Don’t ask...” Soojung grumbled. “I know that feeling” Amber sympathised. “I mean it’s now or never. If I don’t get selected now, that’s another four years in waiting that I won’t have” Soojung said. She didn’t exactly mean to unload on Amber but she was glad to get it off.
“Your parents too huh?” Amber asked. “My parents?” Soojung asked. She didn’t even mention them. “My parents didn’t want me to become an idol. They didn’t exactly support me coming here. This is kind of my last shot too” Amber confided in her. Soojung nodded thoughtfully. “I thought it was the same for you but now I’m guessing not” Amber hazarded a guess. “Not to the extent of yours. They are a little less sceptical since Jessica made it” Soojung told her. “Don’t get tired of being compared to your sister?” Amber asked her. Soojung bit her lip and Amber understood her reply.
“Guess everyone has their fair share of problems” Amber said, closing her eyes. “I guess we do” Soojung agreed. They didn’t talk more. But it was a good kind of silence.
Soojung couldn’t believe it. She had been chosen. She had been chosen! She tried to keep her excitement down. But couldn’t. Jinri was next to her and they kept exchanging nervous smiles. They were waiting to meet their new group mates. Soojung only knew Song Qian a little. So being in the same room was a little weird but Qian had taken the initiative and talked her and Jinri to first. The other two hadn’t shown up yet since they had been informed late.
A fourth person walked in and the girls looked up. Qian broke into a grin as soon as she realized it was Amber. “You made it!” she exclaimed. “Yeah” Amber said sheepishly. “Congratulations!” Qian wished happily. “Same to you” Amber said with a small smile. Then she looked awkwardly at Jinri and Qian realized they had been a bit rude.
“Amber, this is Jinri. Jinri, Amber. Jinri’s stage name is Sulli” Soojung told her. “Hey” Amber greeted in Korean. “Hi” Jinri said with a smile. The girls talked for a while and then their new manager came in, Jinri and Qian went to talk to him while Amber pulled Soojung back.
“I don’t know your name” Amber confessed, visibly embarrassed. “My stage name is Krystal” Soojung told her. “No, not your stage name. Your real name” Amber pointed out. Soojung made an ‘oh’ expression. Then she realized. Out of all the times she had talked to Amber, she had never told Amber her name.
“Soojung. My name is Soojung” she told Amber. “Hi Soojung. I’m Amber” Amber replied with a smile. “Nice to meet you Amber” Soojung said with a smile. “It’s nice to meet you too” Amber greeted back.
-x-The-End-x-
- I hope i didn't digress too much from the prompt. I tend to do that at times.