Obsession

Much Awkwardness

"Water!!!" He practically screams at me. Everyone stops dancing. I flinch as the empty water bottle hurtles through the air and smacks against my cheek. Mocking laughter fills the room, echoing slightly off the mirrored walls. My eyes begin to prick so, without a moment to spare, I grab the water bottle and race out of the dance room. The music starts up again as the door swings shut behind me. I take a moment to lean against the wall and breathe. Fighting tears, I blink up at the ceiling.

This is what I wanted, right? I console myself. This is my dream. This is what I have been fighting for since day one. I've already been here for almost a year. I can't let a snobby recently debuted trainee put me down. I won't, I can't, let it affect me.

I turn the tap and fill the plastic bottle, watching the burbling water gush out. I mean, yes, it's harder than I had anticipated but it wasn't like I didn't have any warning whatsoever. In fact, that's all my parents had ever talked about; the kpop industry is hard, it's not all glitz and glamour. I can recall the moment I looked them in the eye and told them how I really felt. "I don't care," I told them, "I know what I want to do, I know where I want my life to go. It's what I want to be." Now, here I am. A trainee. I admit, it's hard. But I don't regret it. I'm sure it's probably going to get a whole lot harder but, no matter what happens, I don't think I will ever regret it.

"Are you trying to flood the building?"

"What?" I jerk sharply at the voice, snapped out of my thoughts. The bottle's contents spill over me. "Sh-Crap!" I curse. Freezing cold water seeps through my shirt.

The guy snickers. How dare he? I turn, annoyed. And slip.
My feet lose grip on the wet floor and, in the most ungraceful way possible, I fall flat on my face. The bottle rolls to a stop at his feet.

Okay, that was embarrassing.

He offers a hand but I ignore it and push myself up. It's his fault this happened. My face is heated, I don't want to think about how much I must resemble a tomato right now.

"Here," he hands me the bottle. I take it without looking at him. He doesn't deserve even a glance. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I say and relent a little bit, allowing myself to look up briefly.

Oh God.

That was a mistake. I shouldn't have looked; I think I'm going to fall over again.

I can't tear my eyes away.

My breath hitches in my throat.

That long, thin, oval face, aquiline nose and wild tussle of blonde hair...He's not just anyone. Ugh, how could I be so stupid??

"I'm sorry!" I exclaim, flustered. "Thank you for helping! Bye!" I bow, way deeper than necessary, and walk away at top speed. I can't believe it, I think as I reach for the practice room's door handle, I can't believe I made such an idiot of myself.

A blast of music hits me as I enter the room. I can tell my face is still burning.

"Finally!" The ex-trainee boy, whatever his name is, storms over and holds out his hand imperiously.
Goddamnit! I didn't fill up the water bottle!
I scurry out the room followed by the boy's death glare. When I reach the water fountain I sheepishly glance around. A puddle has gathered in front of the metal sink. Luckily, there's no sign of him. I honestly don't how I will live this down. I didn't think this would be how I'd first meet Got7's Mark Tuan.