*5 days later*

Arena hit send and brushed her now orange hair out of her face. "Now we wait," muttered Arena as she stood up from her desk and closed the laptop.

The past week had been school and practice and practice and school with almost every other free moment spent working on the audition tape choreography. Arena had stayed up late into the night on 5 nights out of 5. Which meant that she had not gotten much sleep.

Arena picked up her phone from the nightstand by her bed as she left the room and shut the door behind her with a loud BANG.

"Hello?" Arena's voice didn't waver as she answered the ringing of her phone from halfway down the stairs.

"Did you do it?"

"Why does it sound like you're asking me if I've buried the body?" Arena chuckled as she tugged open her fridge, searching for a bottle of water.

"Did you just chuckle?"

"Nope." Arena's eyes scanned the shelves, grabbing a bottle from the lowest one.

"Could've sworn I heard...nevermind, what body?"

"Naha."

"Ugh you are so difficult these days."

"Careful." Arena took a seat at the kitchen table, opening her bottle and taking a sip. When she was met with silence on Naha's end of the phone, Arena set down her bottle and switched the hand she was holding her phone with.

"The tape. That's why you called right?"

"Yes," Naha's voice was quiet but laced with something more, "so did you send it in?"

"Yeah I did."

***

Kihyun stared straight at Ms. Park.

"Have you talked to her?" Ms. Park sat at her desk and filed through some papers, not lifting her eyes at Kihyun as she spoke.

Kihyun shook his head, "No I haven't." He crossed his arms over his chest and shifted his weight onto his left side. The reason he hadn't talked to Arena was simple.

There had been no time.

Okay and the members' phones had been taken away so they would focus on their music, they were writing and producing new songs at the moment. All 7 of them.

Ms. Park nodded her head. "We received her audition just now, we're going to look it over at the meeting in a few hours." Her light brown eyes met Kihyun's own dark brown ones.

"She's a talented kid, I'm sure she'll do well."

Kihyun scratched his neck, "She isn't exactly a kid anymore," he remembered what Arena had said to him at the hotel.

I'm turning 18 in a few weeks.

Kihyun's own birthday was next week, he wondered if Arena's birthday was close to his.

"True, but according to our standards, she is still underage." Ms. Park laced her fingers and leaned forward. "How's the music coming?"

Kihyun sighed, "Slowly, but it is. I think Jooheon, Changkyun and Hoseok have the most lyrics written right now." That earned him a nod from Ms. Park. She stood up and walked to the door, "If you want I can keep you updated on Arena's audition."

Kihyun strode to stand next to her as she opened the door, "Yes, I'd appreciate that." He bowed and disappeared down the hall of the Starship Entertainment building.

The building had several floors, about 7 of them, with dance and music studios located inside. Kihyun had been in Ms. Park's office on the third floor and was currently waiting for the elevator. His muscles were sore from training so taking the stairs was a big 'no-no'.

While waiting, he let his mind wander to Arena. If she was doing okay, if her rib had healed, if she had texted him or if she was even thinking about him... He wanted to keep in contact with her, she was fun and lively to talk to. To be honest, hanging out with his members and other Starship Entertainment workers was interesting but tiring. Arena had taken his mind off things, even if it had been only for a little while.

Kihyun shoved the thoughts out of his head as he stepped into the elevator, his ever silent bodyguard in tow.

***

"Arena, you need to eat." Naha nudged Arena's ribs as her friend only moved her food around on the plate. The school cafeteria was crowded that day.

"Yeah, yeah." Arena's voice was bored as she picked some fries up with her fork and shoved them into her mouth, looking at Naha with a look that spoke for itself: You happy now?

Naha rolled her eyes and continued devouring her own fries, covered heavily in ketchup. Arena scrunched her nose at the sight and kept eating. Naha had been right. She did need to eat. With all the stress and school and everything, Arena had forgotten to do the two things humans needed the most.

Sleep and food.

Although she had snacked a little when she had found the time between practices, there had been no time for a full, healthy meal.

Arena sighed and got up to go get some more fries, her chair scraping on the ground as she stood. Naha noticed the action and smiled, happy to see that her friend didn't have that tensed look in her shoulders or the dark bags under her eyes from not sleeping, anymore.

Arena returned with a new plateful of fries and scooped some over to Naha's plate.

"What do you think you're doing, young lady? Finish your own fries," Naha drawled as she ate the fries.

"I need to adjust to eating more again. I'm taking baby steps, bare with me," Arena smiled, the light quietly returing to her light green eyes.

"So have you planned anything for your birthday yet?" Naha took a sip of her Americano coffee and turned to face Arena who was stuffing her face with fries.

Arena ate them quickly as a reply that she, indeed, had not.

"But it's your 18th birthday."

"So." Arena wiped her mouth with a napkin and pushed the plate further away. The clock on the wall showed 7 minutes until class.

Naha stood up and took the trays away, soon returning to Arena who was still sitting at the table, hands crossed over her chest, deep in thought. Naha came at her from behind and wrapped her arms around Arena's neck. Arena yelped and swatted her hands away, turning her head.

"God, don't scare me." She smiled and stood herself, grabbing her phone from the table and tucking into one of the butt-pockets of her light blue boyfriend cut jeans.

They were walking toward Science class and suddenly Naha stopped abruptly.

"Arena, wait a minute." She tugged Arena's wrist to slow her pace.

Arena stopped beside her friend and shot her a curious look. "Mh?"

"I just got a notification."

"And?"

"You know how you can set different notification sounds for when different people message or snap me or whatever?"

"Where are you going with this?"

"I think that might have been the notification sound I added for Wonho."

Naha bit her lip nervously and held her phone, not daring even a single peek at it and the notification inside.

Arena grabbed Naha's phone, opening it and reading the message. Her eyes moved quickly over the bright screen as she assessed the situation. Her friend didn't even react to the sudden loss of phone between her hands because she was standing like a statue, not knowing what to say or do.

"You're right. It was him." Arena handed back the phone for Naha to read the text for herself.

***

"We're getting our phones back?"

Kihyun looked back and forth between his many managers, his members reflecting the confused look on his face. Furrowed brow and everything.

"Yes you are."

"Why?" This came from I.M who had gotten a little suspicious lately about the doings of the company and management. His eyes narrowed as he sifted his weight.

The gesture didn't go unnoticed as the suspicion started to grow in others as well. They exchanged glances here and there, offering occasional shrugs and shakes of head. No one knew exactly what or why was going on.

"What's going on?" Shownu was the one who dared to ask the question everyone had in their minds. Leader of the group steps up. No surprise there.

"You're getting back not only your phones but also you iPads and things as such. We want to know if having them at your reach affects your work. If so then which way? We are hoping for positive outcome."

What the hell? What was the point of taking them away in the first place. This made no sense. Either they had some ulterior motives or the really just couldn't think things through. Kihyun's mind spun around these questions as his members spoke up.

"Kihyun?"

"Yes?"

"You look like you would like to say something," gazes and glances locked on him expectantly.

Kihyun hesitated....then decided to go for it. "Why did you take them away in the first place?"

He knew he should hold his tongue while speaking to his superiors, he decided he'd back off if things got heated. Right now he would hold his ground and get his answers because this wasn't just about him. This concerned his members as well, the people he considered like his family.

"Ah well that would be our own fault. We apologize. Now," the door opened to the room their were in, their own dorm living room, and two men marched in carrying boxes with their electronics, "here are your devices back."

Half an hour later when everyone had checked their phones and texted everyone they needed to text, the buzz of excitement somewhat calmed down, Kihyun opened his Kakao talk with hesitation. Should he text Arena again? He wanted to, but would Arena want to? Would she be mad at him for being MIA? Kihyun didn't know for sure until Wonho walked past, fingers flying over the screen and caught in a deep conversation with someone.

Kihyun pushed up from the couch and strode to stand in front of him. Wonho didn't notice and walked face first into Kihyun. "Oh sorry, man," he tried to dodge his friend but Kihyun turned and grabbed his wrist, pulling Wonho back to face him.

"Going somewhere?"

The answer he got was a slight nod, Wonho not even bothering to raise his eyes from the screen of his phone.

Kihyun sighed and took the phone from Wonho, backing away a few steps. He read the name on the top of the screen. He knew it was coming. There had been no way that when Wonho got his hands on his phone that he wouldn't text Naha. What Kihyun hadn't expected was the fact that Arena and himself had been mentioned in the conversation between the two.

"What the hell, dude," Wonho yanked back his phone and stalked away from Kihyun, leaving him to pull out his own phone from the pocket of his dark ripped jeans.

***

"You alive?"

Arena stared at her phone in class as she got the message. She glanced right to see Naha texting under the table. Arena scoffed and typed in a reply, making sure the phone was out of the teacher's sight.

"Because a simple 'Hi' is too mainstream."