Behind The Scenes ༻ Park Jisung

༻ 42

i swore i knew the melody that i heard you singing
and when you smiled you made me feel like i could sing along

༻

"You sent me the video, right?" Bitna questioned, her eyes scanning the screen of her iPad for Aruna's recording message.
"Yes, don't worry," Aruna chuckled. "But I have to go to practice now."

"Okay, I don't want to keep the instructors waiting..." Bitna patted Aruna's back, offering a reassuring smile, and said her goodbyes.

As the new year approached, the girls were given the opportunity to choose specialized classes, allowing them to dedicate more time to specific skills rather than spreading themselves across various talents.

Of course they would continue to attend others, but it would be less than before.

Aruna wanted to expand her knowledge on different languages and dancing. Singing was something she knew she was pretty good at so there was no need to spend a big amount of time in those courses.

She aimed to broaden her linguistic skills, recognizing the importance of English in particular because if she wanted to start writing lyrics, it was important to understand language. Aruna knew it was hard but she had to do her best to give the international fans the most.

She paused outside the room for a moment to catch a glimpse through the slightly ajar door. She could hear the murmur of voices discussing something she didn't want to eavesdrop about. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open and saw two figures.

"Oh- Aruna," the instructor, Samantha said, looking up from her notes. "You're finally here. We can start now."

"...We?" Aruna muttered, a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

Her eyes widened when she met Sohee from RIIZE's own confused face. "Hi...?" he tilted his head slightly.
"Hi," Aruna replied, her cheeks flushing with a mixture of surprise and embarrassment as she looked away, flustered to the max.

She did not know it was an open class with others.

"Is there going to be more people?" she took a seat one chair away from Sohee when the instructor shook her head.
Samantha chuckled. "No, just the two of you. I decided on this format so I can focus on my students better. It's a more personalized approach."

"...Right," Aruna awkwardly rested her hands on her lap, sitting so stiff she was afraid her back would be in pain after.

"Now, I'm sure you both know each other so before we start...do you guys have any questions?" Samantha glanced at them both, hands rearranging her sheets of paper.

"Will it be like this for all the classes?" Aruna asked. "Like mixed ones."

Samantha confirmed with a nod, distributing a piece of paper to each of them. "Yep. Now, let's get started with a simple test..."

༻

Aruna took a deep breath once they left the language class, feeling like her brain was definitely fried at that point. Being a high school dropout, she sometimes had a nagging sense that her educational background affected her efficiency to learn.

As they walked through the corridor, Sohee cleared his throat, prompting Aruna to turn her curious eyes towards him.

He hesitated before speaking, a hint of concern in his voice. "Hey...I hope you're not disappointed to be in a class with me or something."

Aruna's eyes widened in surprise, and she quickly reassured him, "No! No- I'm not- oh my gosh...did it look like that?" she nervously gnawed on her lips before releasing them with a soft sigh. "I just never got a notice that it wouldn't be just me...so it was shocking. I'm glad- that it was you but not in that way. I'm just...I'll shut up now," she slapped her hands on her lips.