An Indescribable Feeling

Loneliness and Sacrifices

Anna's trainee lessons had been going well, or at least she thought they had. She had never felt so physically exhausted, but also so alive at the same time. It was hard and demanding work, but she could feel herself improving with each day that passed, so it was worth it.

Time with her soulmates had been limited, but that had been expected. Anna made sure to seek them out anytime she had a spare minute, even if it was only to watch them work. BTS were constantly telling her how proud they were of her and reminding her that it wouldn't always be like this. After she debuted, things would settle down and they would have more time for each other again.

The only thing Anna was a little sad about was that she hadn't managed to befriend any of the other trainees. If anything, they seemed to actively avoid her. Other than coming to see her first performance assessment, her soulmates hadn't been near where the trainees were, and she was sure some of the girls were upset about it.

While it wasn't great, it didn't affect Anna too much. After all, she was only having lessons with them. At the end of the day, she was a solo act, so it wasn't like any of these girls were her future group mates, or that she would ever have to work with them. Or so she thought.

"Okay, everyone! Before we finish up today, I'm going to tell you about your next assignment. You will divide yourselves into groups of five. Each group will perform the same song. The rest is up to you. Got it? Now everyone, get into your groups. Five girls per group and hurry, I don't have all day."

The teacher didn't need to worry. Anna watched as girls immediately turned to each other as if they were best friends choosing partners for a group project at school. She looked around to see what group still needed one more person. Instead, she saw four other trainees standing by themselves, in the same position as she was. Realising that no one else was going to take the initiative, Anna walked to the nearest lonely girl and waved to the other three to join them.

"Looks like we're a group. Everyone okay with that?"

"Not like we have much of a choice."

"Right... That's the spirit! Umm, I'm Anna. I look forward to working with all of you."

"We know who you are."

A trainee who Anna believed was called Minji and seemed to have a permanent scowl on her face mocked her.

The girl sitting next to Anna, Yeona, leaned towards her and whispered excitedly.

"Are you really their soulmate?"

Next to Yeona, another trainee answered her.

"Of course, she is. Didn't you see the press release or the V Lives? It's not like she's not easily recognisable."

"How else would a foreigner become a trainee unless their soulmate had some pull with the company."

The last comment was whispered but was still just loud enough for Anna to hear. She felt like it was a challenge, a test. Minji wanted to see how she would react. Before she could respond, their teacher spoke up again.

"Now let me play you the song you will be performing."

All the trainees - including Anna - recognised the girl group on the screen and as soon as the music started, they all knew which song it was, WANNABE by ITZY. Some girls were happy because they knew and liked the song, but others realised how difficult the dance was.

"You have five minutes to discuss and then you can go. We'll start working on this next class."

Anna turned to her group members who all looked worried.

"I hope everyone here is confident in their dance skills."

They all laughed awkwardly.

"What is everyone good at?"