Chapter Twelve: Favors


It was early in the morning. Billie and Nina were meeting their groups earlier for practice, so I was left to my own devices in the cafeteria. Our group didn't entirely take it to those extremes. Still, with Billie stomping around the apartment like an elephant in a China shop this morning, I was awake anyway.

I stared at my granola bowl, turning my spoon around. My mic pack clinked against the side of the porcelain. I forgot I wore it most of the time. It was almost the end of the first week at Star Planet, but sometimes it felt like I had been here for a year.

Outside, the sun had just risen. It cast an eerie light on the grass field and the neighboring forest. The floor-to-window ceilings in this impeccable cafeteria did match the entire Star Planet vibe.

I considered dumping this bowl of nonsense and getting myself some eggs when someone dropped down in front of me out of the blue. Black coffee and a chocolate donut were on his tray. He was dressed in black, so his dark brown hair stood out even more. I frowned at him. He just gave me a puzzling look, one eyebrow slightly cocked.

'Hello, neighbor,' Yujin's deep voice startled me. It was seductive and all too enticing. 'Hi...' I answered, still a little awkward.

Yujin had been drafted as my first boy counterpart. We all had separate assignments as duo's and would be performing a duet at this week's evaluation. It wouldn't be as important as the group song, but still it counted.

'You want some of my donut?' he said as if we were friends. The passive-aggressive remarks he makes on my expense, or the Soju we shared the other night, didn't make us friends.

'No, thank you.' I quipped back, silently observing him further, and he gave me a quick laugh.

'Okay.' He took a big bite, slurped from his coffee, and sat back in his chair to observe me.

It stayed quiet. I just stared back. Not quite sure if I should scream, run or just sit still. Yujin was up to something.

'I need a favor.' There you have it. They always need something. Especially the really good-looking ones.

'Why should I do you any favors?' I was not pleased with being cornered this early. My fingers twitched.

A soft smile formed on his full lips. He had noticed me staring. He licked a donut crumb away and I tracked it.

'Billie and Keita. I want you to find out what special chorus they are adding to their choreography.'

I snorted. Billie and Keita were going to perform something original. Nobody had seen what it was but I had heard rumors from my twin brother, it was supposed to be something big and great.

'You can't ask him yourself? You need me for it?'

'Oh, I can ask him myself, but what's the fun in that.'

He was frustrating me to no end.

'I'm not going to help you sabotage his ranking, Yujin.' Keita had been my friend since day one.

My heartbeat skipped a beat. The guy dropped all pretenses, a darkness rushing in. His eyes almost glazed over by it.

'I will owe you.'

'So?'

'You would want a favor from me, Sarang. Trust me.'

'Don't call me that.' I was not his love.

'Feisty, I like it.' Yujin's darkness was all-consuming now. As if he was using shadows.

'Stop it. I'm leaving.'

'Wait!'

I hesitated before rising from my chair.

'Just once. This one time. Do me this favor, and I owe you one. You don't have many friends in here, Choona. You will want to be on my good side.' Yujin pleaded. Actually pleaded. Somehow this was important to the Yujin, but I didn't mistake his tone either.

'Is that a threat?'

'That's a damn fact.'

Arrogant much.

I thought it over. All kinds of scenarios running around in my head. I did not have many friends here, not at all. It would buy me one favor, which I could use in the coming weeks. For the last week, Yujin had hate- flirted with me all the time.

One time being a seductive bastard, making my insides clench in a good way. The other time, bad mouthing me and making me doubt every nice thing he has ever said.

'I'll ask Billie. This once.' I grunted. 'You get one shot. That will be the last of it.' Yujin had been a cold dick to me yesterday, so I was no friend of his, but somehow I wanted to be. It didn't make any sense.

Yujin's eyes blazed. 'Perfect, I knew I could count on you, Sarang.' He rose. 'Don't tell anyone.'

'I won't. Believe me.'

As I watched Yujin leave the room, taking all of his darkness and tempting shadows with him, I was left contemplating his motives. Somehow he wanted to rank first, but why? It made no difference between first, second, or even fifth. The first five would make the line-up anyway and it wasn't in our best interest to backstab anyone this early into the competition. Things will change a lot in these next months.

               I picked up his discarded plate to put on the conveyor belt. I had a weird autism trait about being clean and tidy and not doing anything to upset anyone. As I put it down on the belt, it hit me.

It wasn't about him getting to first place.

It was about controlling me.

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