Childhood Friends

Chapter 1

I met Hwang Hyunjin while he was still going to kindergarten in Las Vegas, Nevada. Back then, he went by the name: Sam Hwang. We are 3 years apart, but I was able to befriend him while I was only 3 years old and he was 6. Needless to say, I was a pretty intelligent kid and was able to skip preschool and started kindergarten relatively early. Years later, I discovered that he debuted in a K-pop group, Stray Kids. That's when I knew I had to go searching for my best friend from my young childhood. . .

It's the year 2022, and I have just turned 18 last November. Hyunjin is 22 now, having turned 22 this last March. I will be making my journey to South Korea for the first time. On this journey, I would love to meet Hyunjin again. It's been so long since I've last seen him. I wonder what he's like now. He's grown so much, and into such an attractive guy, I almost have a crush on him. Now, I'm on the plane, flying to South Korea. Once landing, I make my way out of the airport and go to JYP Entertainment right away, hoping that I will get even a glimpse of Hyunjin, formerly called Sam when I was little.

I arrive at JYP Entertainment and sing along to God's Menu, a song that came out about 2 years ago, but still slaps. I got into Stray Kids during their Side Effects era, and when I realized that one of the boys among the group was Hyunjin, my childhood friend, I just knew I had to go searching for him. So, here I am. As the playlist continues playing out of the speakers, I continue singing along to each of the JYP artist songs. Then, as I'm minding my own business, keeping an eye out for Hyunjin, I spot him. To get his attention, I yell,
"Sam! Hyunjin!"
"Huh? Did someone just say Sam?" Hyunjin asked.
"Yes, me." I said.
Hyunjin walks over to me to get a better look at me, "Wait. . . Shelly?"
"Yeah, it's me." I said.
"Wow, you've grown up a lot since last time." Hyunjin said.
"Yeah, and you've debuted in a K-pop group. Nice hair." I said.
"Oh, thank you." Hyunjin said, sassily flipping his luscious blond locks.
"You are a very talented dancer and rapper. That's what I've discovered. You've come a long way since you were 6." I said.
"Yes." Hyunjin said.

Hyunjin and I continue chatting, talking about our favorite childhood memories. I can't believe I was lucky enough to meet Hyunjin back then, and am incredibly lucky to have met him again. They say things always come full circle and this event just proves that. I can see how much Hyunjin has matured since we were little kids. I can see the man he has become. Unfortunately, Hyunjin had to leave to go do his activities with Stray Kids, but he gave me his Kakao Talk so we can keep in touch for sure this time. So I don't have to go searching for him all over again. With Hyunjin gone, I was left to wander around the JYP Entertainment building.

Since I had gotten into Stray Kids, I became fascinated with their choreography. They inspired me to start taking dance lessons, and one of the songs I chose for my dance teacher to teach me first was My Pace. It is one of my favorite choreographies from Stray Kids. It can be seen here: https://youtu.be/Ylzz-ocr6aQ. I am in love with this choreography and got quite good at it after practicing it for a few months. I got so bored, wandering around the building, that I am going to sneak into an empty practice room. One that isn't being used by any of the groups right now. Looks like I came here at the right time because everyone is out doing their activities.

I snuck into an empty practice room and pressed play on My Pace. The song started blasting out of the big speakers. It scared me at first, but then I got accustomed to it. I like how it echoes throughout the empty room. I had also learned other Stray Kids choreos like: Back Door, God's Menu, MIROH, ALL IN, just to name a few. I am taking lessons from a teacher in Koreatown in Vegas, so of course he was chill with teaching me these K-pop choreographies. I call him 선생님(son-saeng-nim, teacher), in Korean because it is what he asks all his students to call him. Apparently, he's a former dance instructor of the Big 3 K-pop companies as well. He taught at all three companies before eventually leaving and coming to America to teach dance. I think that's really cool. It makes sense why he's familiar with all these choreos now.

As I'm dancing to Stray Kids choreography, I don't even notice that a few members of Stray Kids are standing outside the door, watching me dance. Some of them were telling Hyunjin to go in there and join me. Of course, I was too absorbed in the music and doing the choreography that I didn't notice Hyunjin being pushed into the room and danced next to me. When I finally finished dancing, I was completely out of breath. I look next to me and see Hyunjin.
"You're really good." Hyunjin said.
"Oh, I didn't even notice you came in here." I said, trying to catch my breath.
"How long have you been dancing?" Hyunjin asked.
"A few months." I said.
"Months?" Hyunjin asked, shocked.
"Yup." I said.
"And you're that good?" Hyunjin asked.
"If you say so." I said.
"Wow." Hyunjin said.
"Who's with you? Oh." I said, realizing that it's a few other members of Stray Kids; Felix, Seungmin, Han, and I.N.
"Hi." I.N said.
"It's nice to meet you." Felix said.
I take a step back, covering my mouth with my hands, "You have no idea how much I love you guys."
"Hyunjin was telling us how you guys are childhood friends." Felix said.
"Yeah." I said.
"She's from Vegas." Hyunjin said.
"Oh, wow. You came all this way to find Hyunjin?" Han asked.
"Well, for two things; to find Hyunjin and to visit South Korea for the first time." I explained.
"Oh~" They said in unison.