68 The Good Old Days

"In that case," said BamBam leaning forward on the edge of seat almost so that he was no longer sitting, "I can teach you Thai, and you can help me with English."

"And I can do Chinese." Jackson quickly pointed at himself.

"Wuh," uttered Iris in half disbelief and amusement at the grown men offering language trades as if they were international exchange students. "Sure, haha! We're going to be an international group just like you guys, so developing our language skills more doesn't hurt!" She gave a thumbs up to which BamBam replied with an enthusiastic high five.

"Now, let's quiz you." Mark jumped in eagerly.

"Quiz me? Hey! Is this an entrance, qualification exam or something?" laughed Iris.

"The knowledge test! Come on, let's go!" urged BamBam while gesturing excitedly.

Iris's shoulders slumped in loss. "Ugh, you guys…" She smiled and shook her head as the international trio began quizzing her.

While they were having too much fun by throwing Iris off with wacky, cultural slang from back home, Yugyeom inched toward who Cindy watching the whole situation with delight.

He cupped hand by his mouth, whispering, "I can't follow these guys, can you?"

Cindy shook her head. "I wish I could, haha!"

"Look, they totally forgot about us!" Yugyeom protested almost as if he were whining. His playful expression and tone was rather adorable to Cindy.

"So tell me," he said more seriously, "How're you doing in South Korea? You like it so far?" He blinked with beautiful, round, brown eyes at Cindy.

"Hm, I do like it a lot here. It was definitely a transition. But fortunately, unlike Iris, I had an easier time coming here…"

Yugyeom's eyelids lowered a bit in thoughtfulness. "You wanted to follow in the footsteps of Iris?"

Cindy hummed, moving the words and feelings around in her mind before finding a suitable way to phrase her answer. "Sort of. I admired her greatly for working so hard and restlessly for her dream. She's super talented, and I'm honestly jealous, haha. But I'm so proud of what she's accomplished. It made me want to find something that I was just as passionate in.

"However, I'm not as multitalented as Iris. She's always been that way since birth. It felt like I was catching up to her all the time. But I bet if you asked her, she'd say the opposite. But that's because she's always been a little shy too. And yet, here she is…shining. She's really amazing…"

Cindy gazed at Iris with sisterly love. They had been through it all together, gotten tired of each other, had fights, went on wild adventures, confronted bullies. And now, they were together in Korea with a shared dream. Cindy wouldn't want to be with anyone else but Iris.

Seeing the heartfelt, layered emotion illuminated in the depths of her brilliant hazel eyes, Yugyeom couldn't help feeling a little awestruck.

"You're pretty amazing too."

A little caught off guard, Cindy flustered with her words. "I'm amazing? Haha!" She waved her hand and then winked as she said, "Yeah, I know. But only just 'pretty' amazing?"

Yugyeom grinned at her playfulness. "Yeah, you're pretty."

"Er—" Cindy was at a loss for words, wondering if he was teasing or slipped in his words.

Yugyeom coughed into his sleeve lightly. "I mean, yes you're pretty, and amazing. You wouldn't have gotten this far if you didn't work hard and have the ability."

Nodding, Cindy replied warmly, "Yes, true. I've come to an even greater appreciation and respect for idol trainees. The training really is grueling! For months I felt like my legs were jelly!"

Her animated words cracked Yugyeom up. For sure, many idol trainee hopefuls eventually gave up after realizing how difficult it was and that perhaps it wasn't their 'dream' after all. They had been deluded into the glamour and glitz of the industry.

Even those that pushed on through got a reality check that it took more than just hard work and talent. It took passion. Because being a k-pop idol wasn't exactly lucrative unless you made it big. And only a handful of groups every year reached success enough to make a decent living off it.

And on top of that, they needed to continue being successful and not be one hit wonders with a viral song in order to eventually be able to craft their own music with their personal messages and artistry.

The twisty, mountainous, pot-holed road ahead was not an easy one.

After Yugyeom and Cindy chatted a bit more, the quizzers were finally satisfied with their mischievous tortures. And it was at this point that GOT7 realized they had lost track of time.

"Shoot. We gotta go." Jackson jumped up after reading his watch. But being courteous, he turned to Iris and thanked her for a pleasant time. "Remember." He motioned his hands in a phone call gesture. "Call me."

"PFT. Yeah, yeah," chuckled Iris while waving dismissively. This man could wreck your heart without even trying. Call me? What a tease.

"It was nice getting to know you, Cindy." Yugyeom smiled and gentlemanly shook hands with her.

"Yes, I'm glad we got to talk. Thank you for your time." She replied while rising from her seat along with Yugyeom. Upon standing upright, they ended up being closer in proximity, making the handshake somewhat awkward and blush-inducing.

"See you next time?" Yugyeom asked softly more with his eyes than his words.

"Yeah, sure," responded Cindy nonchalantly while unconsciously fixing the ends of her bangs around her right ear in shyness.

"Hey! Leave already! You stole Iris-unnie and Cindy-unnie away from us for so long!" exclaimed Yeji and Ryujin with bright laughter, shooing them out of the cafe seating area.

"All right, all right!" chuckled JB, the leader of GOT7, with his hands up. "Bye, see you."

Everyone waved goodbye. And the cafe guests now dwindled noticeably in number.

"Huh, feels a little quiet without them somehow," remarked Iris with a giggle.

"Oh, we'll chat it up and get loud in no time." Ryujin grinned.

Chaeryeong bounced eagerly in her cushioned seat. "Right! So you haven't told me yet about…"

The girls conversed for some time while drinking delectable beverages and small plates and pastries. Only ITZY had to take note of the sugar and calorie intake. So the rest goaded and flaunted their long vacation time in front of them.

Soon, the day sunk into late afternoon. By now, they had also taken a tour of JYP and their dorms. In just one day, the two groups had gotten incredibly close. Perhaps it was due to them all being very close in age.

"Text us when you get back! Get home safely!" The ITZY members all called out to the Big Hit girls and Chaeyeon.

"Sis, you don't have to text me later, okay?" The rascal, Chaeryeong, added.

Chaeyeon merely gestured her answer with her hands with her back partially turned as she walked away. The two sisters had a funny way of speaking with their gestures. Their fans even recorded them conversing with their arms across a row of seats at one of the Mnet Asian Music Award (MAMA) shows.

Before they split up, Iris and the girls thanked Chaeyeon for a great time. They had fun meeting ITZY and the extra surprise encounter with GOT7.

On the way back, Ahreum swung her left arm cheerfully while walking and drinking the last of her frothy beverage. It felt like everything she had worked for had built up to this moment. And now, she looked forward to many wonderful days like this ahead.

Ahreum turned to Iris with spellbound, glittering eyes. Her journey thus far and the adventure ahead was all possible because of one girl who dared to wholeheartedly chase her dream. Ahreum vowed to never let go of this girl and her musical dream from her sight. No matter what happened, they were now a team. Now, sisters. And family was forever.