Treasure From The Stars

Chapter 12

"This will be your dorm, Dorm [shape] 'Star'. You'll be sharing it with one new trainee and two trainees who've been here for some time, alright?" the trainee's head manager, Manager Hani said. Then she pointed to the schedule that was pasted onto the wall. "This is the typical schedule for our trainees, sometimes it'll differ, but we mainly use these. They're pasted in your dorms too."

"Thank you."

She smiled, "You can move in..." She checked her clipboard, "How about you move in by Next Thursday?"

"Um," I pulled out my phone to check my calendar app. Thank goodness, Seolhyun's competition is on Wednesday. I put my phone back into my bag, "Yes, that'll do."

"Well, that's all I had to share with you. So I'll see you on Thursday?"

I nodded.

✩☽☆☾✩

"Representing South Korea, Seolhyun Kang!"

Seolhyun glided onto the ice wearing her deep red tango-styled outfit. She had numbers roses sewed onto her dress and a red rose pinned by her bun. She decided to wear over-the-skates tights, and her shining makeup finished everything.

Our country, South Korea was finally holding the 4 Continents Figure Skating Championships. It was exciting. Not only was Seolhyun skating, but tomorrow I would finally enter OceanGold's dorm.

The music started and I gave her performance my whole attention. She started off with a couple jump combinations and much footwork. Elegantly spinning with such dramatic expressions, acting out her feelings.

The 4 minutes were almost up, and she had one last jump needed to have a clean routine. The triple axel. The one jump that she had struggled with the most, but I was certain that she could.

I folded my hands together and I closed my eyes, praying that she was able to land the difficult jump. I breathed in and opened my eyes just as she was about to jump.

Before I knew it the bleachers were filled with yelling and celebration. Seolhyun had landed it! A bigger smile spread across my face and I cheered and clapped along with the crowds.

The last three notes of her free program echoed through the ice rink.

"Woohoo!" I cheered, happy for her clean program.

"Kang Seolhyun! Kang Seolhyun!" the crowds echoed.

She bowed to the judges and the audience before gliding out of the rink.

✩☽☆☾✩

"Ooh~ Kang Seolhyun~" I cheered as we rode in her van. "1st! Congratulations!"

She smiled, "Didn't you say that you wouldn't be able to make it? I thought you're moving into the dorm tomorrow."

"That's tomorrow. How could I miss my best friend's competition?"

"True, you always come whenever Korea holds the competition." She started pulling out the countless number of bobby pins and U pins that were stuck in her hair. "Will you still be at school?"

"Huh?" I gathered her pins into her container. "What do you mean?"

"Like doesn't OceanGold offer academics?"

"Technically yes, but I told them I'd rather just attend school."

"So I'll still see you?"

"Obviously!"

"Yumi-ah, what do you feel like?" Seolhyun was scrolling through Naver, looking for a place for dinner.

"You're today's star. You should pick," I told her.

"Well today might be the last day that you freely eat something."

I laughed, "If you insist. How about... Seolleongtang (설렁탕) [Ox Bone Soup]."

"Sounds awesome~"

✩☽☆☾✩

"I said that I was going to pay!" Seolhyun whined.

"You're going to need your prize money for coaches and skates, so stop pretending like you could've used it."

She pouted, "Fine. Thanks for dinner though."

"Oh it's nothing. It's the least I can do before having my whole life changed."

"Aye~ It's not gonna change your whole life!" she emphasized on the word, whole.

"I hope so."

"Come on~ You gotta be positive Yumi!"

I just stared at her. For a second I thought she was drunk. "You're not drunk or anything, right?"

She just stared at me as if I was crazy, "Yumi, we didn't even drink anything but water?"

"I know, I'm just making sure."

Seolhyun and I walked through the city night, admiring the glowing signs of each store.

"Excuse me?"

We both turned around to see two boys who seemed to be college students. "Yes?" I asked.

They both pulled out their phones, "Could we have your number?"

Seolhyun and I just stared down at the phones. "Um," I started. "I'm sorry. I mean, we're sorry, but we don't-"

The boys sighed in a bit of disappointment. "It's alright, we understand."

Seolhyun and I just bowed our heads apologetically, and we left. We walked until we reached my house (which Seolhyun begged to drop me off).

"Well, we're here," I said, reaching the front gate. "Now off you go. You should be exhausted after that competition."

She nodded, "Alright." She gave me a hug. "Don't worry too much about your new chapter in life. Everything will smooth out whatever comes your way, it always has."

I chuckled, "Okay, okay, Ms. Psychologist."

"Bye!" She waved her hands like crazy as she began to walk away.

"I hope you're right," I quietly whispered into the dark night.