A/N Song: Diamonds by Rhianna. I do not own this song or any of the lyrics.

"We're home!" Auntie called happily to the empty apartment as we brought in our luggage. "What a great weekend! My company is doing great, we got to go shopping, you got to relax at the beach, and now we have the whole summer to spend together!"

"While you're not at work anyway," I said tiredly.

As comfy as the hotel bed had been, I hadn't been able to fall asleep last night. Just as I would begin to drift off Castiel's face would pop up and say 'The day has been pretty much wasted,' which jerked me awake. Why did he suddenly get upset? Had I given too many hints about my childhood? Had he figured it out? Did he know I was a mistake? I would ask myself and then the pattern would go again. This lead me to an endless replay of my day with Castiel and the more I remembered the more I worried. Whenever I had mentioned my parents or childhood, which had all been unintentional, Castiel had gotten a strange look in his eyes. The more I thought about that unreadable question in his steel grey eyes the more my heart would clench in fear. What if he really does know that I'm a mistake?

"Are you alright, sweetheart?" Auntie asked, giving me a concerned look.

"Hmm? Oh, yah, I'm fine. The drive was just long," I replied half-heartedly and Auntie nodded slowly.

"Yes, it was. Maybe we should have waited and left tomorrow morning. It's almost 11:00."

"It's fine, we only had the room until today. I'm going to bed," I said, walking towards my room with my suitcase in tow.

"You sure you don't want a late-night snack, Opal?" Auntie called and I shook my head.

"I'm not hungry," I replied and closed my door.

With a sigh, I leaned against the door and slowly sunk down to the ground. Honestly, I had so much fun with Castiel. It felt like we were getting closer as friends... but I should have known better than to expect someone wouldn't figure out I was a mistake eventually.

I shouldn't have spent so much time with him, I berated myself. Sighing again, I got up and unpacked quickly. It didn't do me any good to dwell on it. I couldn't change what I was after all, but I selfishly hoped Castiel wouldn't tell anyone.

Before I went to bed I changed into my exercise clothes, plugged in my headphones, and began my nightly workout. I stretched, did sit-ups, then pushups. Then I went through a series of karate moves, connecting them so that I was always moving, bouncing on the balls of my feet as I kicked, punched, and dodged.

As I did a roundhouse kick the image of the purse thief flashed through my eyes and I stumbled, tripping and landing hard on my side. With shaky arms, I pushed myself up so I was sitting on my feet and placed my hands on my knees as I breathed deeply.

When I heard the woman yelling I had automatically wanted to help. I had barely thought as I planted a kick into the thief's chest, but when he tried to leave... how could I have been so forceful? I berated myself. I was sure I had broken the guy's nose. He hadn't even tried to defend himself and I had kicked him while he was down. Am I... I couldn't be... turning into my father?

Tears slowly dripped down my cheeks as I sat in the middle of my room, alone and horrified at what I had done.

* * * * * * * * * * *

"I'm home!" 

I looked up from my book with a grin as Auntie walked in. "Welcome home, Auntie. Did you have a good day at work?"

"Very!" Auntie answered enthusiastically and sat on the couch next to me with an excited expression. "Opal, your summer break lasts a month, right?"

"Yes, why?"

"Well, I feel bad that you have nothing to do all day long while I'm at work, so I decided to sign you up for a few classes!" she said with an excited grin. My interest was piqued and I turned to face her directly.

"Oh yah? Like a cram school?" Auntie blinked her eyes in surprise and I put down my book, confused at her reaction.

"What?" she asked, slightly dumbfounded, but then waved her hand dismissively, "Oh no no no. Not SCHOOL classes."

"Well, then what do you mean?"

"I know you do karate practice every night before bed," she said suddenly.

My mouth dropped open in surprise and I felt the blood drain from my face. I only ever worked out in my room and I tried to be as quiet as possible so that she wouldn't know what I was doing. Gulping, I frantically tried to think of an excuse but then Auntie continued.

"I'm sorry that I was prying, but I saw you last night and I saw how hard it was for you. I figured it was probably because it reminds you of your dad," she said kindly. I looked away, not knowing what to say.

"So anyway, I think it's wonderful that you know how to protect yourself but when I was watching you I realized that you have a natural grace. You were punching and kicking to the rhythm of your music and I've heard you humming before. I don't think your true talent lies in karate at all." She grinned widely and clasped my hands in hers. "Being in the fashion industry I've worked with LOTS of different people. I called up an old acquaintance and he has agreed to teach you hip hop and give you voice lessons!" Auntie said with a squeal and I blinked slowly, trying to process this new information.

"...hip hop? Like dancing?" I asked in confusion.

"Yes, of course! This friend of mine is actually from South Korea. He was once a member of a popular boy band, but after they were disbanded he came to the States and opened up his own dance studio. Many of his students have been scouted into the music industry!"

"Oh, I couldn't!" I refuted in shock and Auntie grinned.

"Don't worry, I won't let anyone take you away from me that easily; but I don't want you to be bored and I think you're a natural dancer!"

"But... but I've never done anything like that. I'm sure I'm not any good," I said automatically and Auntie put her hands on her hips.

"Don't be like that Opal! You haven't even tried it yet!" Auntie's lower lip quivered and she fixed me with her most pleading gaze. I tried to resist but I couldn't take disappointing Auntie; she was too important to me.

"Okay, I'll do it," I said quietly. Auntie immediately beamed and pulled me into a hug.

"Wonderful! Trust me, Opal, you'll be fantastic! You'll have to promise to perform for me sometime, okay?"

"Alright, Auntie," I sighed resignedly, hugging her back. I really didn't think this was a good idea, but I would do anything to make Auntie happy.

The next day I rode the bus to the address Auntie had given me: 123 Rhythm Street. How appropriate, I thought nervously as I looked at the building in front of me. The sign proclaimed it as "Feel da Beat Studio." I took a deep breath and walked up to the front door, opening it slowly and stepping inside.

I appeared to be in a hallway with rows of doors up and down the hall sporting signs that either said "Practice" or "Recording Room". I walked past them, feeling myself starting to panic. I had never sung in front of anyone, ever. I didn't even know if I had a good voice.

Why is Auntie doing this to me? I wondered as nervousness bubbled through me.

Trying to swallow past the lump of nerves that seemed to be sticking to my throat, I walked down the hallway. About halfway down I saw something out of the corner of my eye and turned to look at a picture on the wall. It was a picture of five extremely good-looking Asian boys with some foreign characters behind them that I assumed were Korean. One boy was behind a drum, twirling a stick around his fingers, one boy was looking up from behind a keyboard, and there were two guitarists. The lead singer was striking a pose with eyes so intense I was mesmerized.

"What do you think he's thinking?"

I jumped and whirled around in fright as the voice sounded behind me. A dashing Asian man was standing behind me, looking at the poster. He looked to be near six feet, wearing bright yellow sweat pants that stopped in the middle of his calf, showing off his powerful leg muscles, and a tight black shirt that also showed off his six-pack and large biceps. His hair was cut short and spiked up slightly and his black eyes were strong and staring at me with expectancy. I gulped and looked up again at the poster; focusing on the lead singer I realized with surprise that I thought I knew.

"He's telling me not to give up," I responded quietly and risked a peek at the man beside me. 

The man's face didn't change; he just kept staring at me so I met his gaze warily, not sure what was going on. Finally, a smile flickered across his lips and he bowed slightly to me. Automatically I bowed back, lower than he had since I was younger. When I looked up again he was smiling brightly at me.

"You bow well, but you don't look Asian."

"Um, my father is Japanese and he insisted on bowing during karate class."

"Japanese?" he asked with evident surprise. "You wouldn't happen to be Yuki-chan's niece?"

"Ah, I think so? I'm Opal Sato, Yuki Sato's niece. It's nice to meet you," I said, bowing again to keep from giggling as I wondered why he called Auntie 'Yuki-chan.'

"Welcome! My name is Shin Woo Choi," he said exuberantly and I jumped in surprise, taking a step back. He bowed to me once more and I quickly bowed back.

"Your aunt was one of my first students!"

"What?" I asked in shock.

"I started this studio after my group Gubgi Seoli was disbanded," he said while gesturing to the poster in front of me. "I was 25 and the only thing I knew how to do was sing and dance. I was fluent in English, Japanese, and obviously Korean, but there was bad blood back home so I left and came to America. The first day I opened this place your aunt walked through my door, a young nineteen-year-old college student, and told me she wanted to be my costume designer." 

I slowly grinned, imaging a young and headstrong Yuki demanding the position confidently.

"I told her that if she signed up for a few classes then I'd consider it and she immediately agreed. She took dance lessons with me for almost a year. I was devastated when she told me that I had enough students that she didn't have time to make costumes, do homework, and take my classes anymore," he said with a dramatic sigh. He looked off into space and I watched him with fascination.

"Mr. Choi, were you in love with my auntie?" I asked and he laughed brightly.

"A beautiful woman like her? Of course I was! Still am, as a matter of fact. Which is why I agreed to teach her niece one on one. And drop the Mr. Choi. Everyone calls me Shin Woo." 

My mouth dropped open at his openness but before I could question him more he started walking down the hall.

"Come on then, it's time for your first lesson." 

I followed in a daze of surprise and renewed anxiety, my thoughts returning to why I was actually here. I really don't think this was a good idea! I wanted to shout at Shin Woo's broad back, but the words wouldn't come out. 

He led me past the practice room to a staircase and then began walking down. I followed him, my anxiety growing with each step but I was doing everything I could to remain calm on the outside. Shin Woo walked confidently into a room that said "For Private Use Only" and held the door open for me. I walked in slowly and looked around.

The room was covered in pictures of Shin Woo's old band. The room was divided in half. The side we were on was filled with file cabinets, a small table, and a huge switchboard with tons of knobs, dials, screens and other machines hooked into it. It was facing the other half of the room where the top half of the wall was taken up by a window and a door to the side led into what looked like an empty room except for a single mic.

"Welcome to your first voice lesson. Go ahead and go into the recording room," Shin Woo said, taking a seat in front of the massive machine.

"What?" I squeaked. Shin Woo laughed and I cleared my throat self-consciously.

"I want to hear what you sound like so I know where to start," he explained while pushing some buttons up higher on the board.

"But.... but what should I sing?" I asked, thankfully without squeaking.

"Whatever you want. Go on," he said, shooing me towards the door.

I put my hand on the door handle, noticing the metal was cold to the touch. Slowly I opened it, stepped in, and closed it behind me. I walked towards the mic as calmly as I could, but inside I was desperately going through all the songs that I knew, wondering what I should sing. The sound of a click caught my attention and then I heard Shin Woo's voice fill the room.

"Don't worry about impressing me, just sing whatever you usually do."

But I don't usually sing! I wanted to say. Instead, I rolled my shoulders, trying to relax. I approached the mic again, still unsure of what I was going to sing. After a few moments of tense silence, I remembered a song and I took a slow, rhythmic breath and closed my eyes.

Shine bright like a diamond
Shine bright like a diamond
Find light in the beautiful sea
I choose to be happy
You and I, you and I
We're like diamonds in the sky

You're a shooting star I see
A vision of ecstasy
When you hold me, I'm alive
We're like diamonds in the sky

I knew that we'd become one right away
Oh right away!
At first sight I felt the energy of sun rays
I saw the life inside your eyes

So shine bright, tonight
You and I
We're beautiful like diamonds in the sky
Eye to eye, so alive
We're beautiful like diamonds in the sky

I looked up as I sang the small refrain, repeating "Shine bright like a diamond" three times and Shin Woo was watching me intently. I couldn't read his expression, but he hadn't told me to stop so I kept singing. I loved this song and I felt myself relaxing. As I closed my eyes and "listened" to the music in my head I found that I was actually enjoying singing aloud like this.

Palms rise to the universe
As we moonshine and molly
Feel the warmth we'll never die
We're like diamonds in the sky

You're a shooting star I see
A vision of ecstasy
When you hold me, I'm alive
We're like diamonds in the sky

At first sight I felt the energy of sun rays
I saw the life inside your eyes!

So shine bright, tonight
You and I
We're beautiful like diamonds in the sky
Eye to eye, so alive
We're beautiful like diamonds in the sky

I decided to cut the song short and skip the last repetition of the chorus and go straight to the last refrain. I hit the notes and tried to make my voice loud and strong as I played around, jumping up to a higher octave as Rhianna did in the end and finishing by making my voice soft and vulnerable. Or at least I tried. Once I had finished I looked up at Shin Woo, worriedly. He was staring at me without saying anything and I fidgeted, glancing away from his incessant stare.

"Umm... it was pretty bad, wasn't it?" I asked and Shin Woo stood up. I heard the click again and his voice echoed through the room.

"Have you ever taken voice lessons?"

"No. I've never sung in front of anybody before," I said, hoping he would go easy on me.

"Come out here," he ordered abruptly and clicked off the PA system. 

I obeyed immediately, trying to swallow past a lump in my throat. Shin Woo sat back in his spinning chair eyeing me with an unreadable expression, the tips of his fingers pressed together and resting on his chin. I stood in front of him nervously, wondering if he was trying to think of a polite way of telling me I was horrible.

"You've never sung before? Ever?"

"Oh, well, I'll sing along to my music if I'm alone in the house," I said honestly, wondering why he kept asking.

"And who are your favorite singers?"

"Ummmm... Natasha Bedingfield, Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Katie Perry, Rihanna... really I listen to anything with a good beat."

"So you're all over the spectrum. Mainly female singers?"

"I like some guys, but I prefer bands like Yellowcard, Kamelot, and Winged Skull."

"So you're not against rock?" Shin Woo asked while nodding, "And have you ever danced before?"

"Not at all," I replied, shaking my head vigorously. Shin Woo's expression didn't change as he studied me.

"Let's go upstairs."

He stood suddenly and walked purposely out of the room. I followed, bewildered. He walked quickly up the stairs to the first floor and then continued on to the second floor. I followed him down the hall of the second floor. Faint sounds of music and stomping feet could be heard from behind the closed doors but Shin Woo didn't slow down, continuing until we got to the very last door on the left.

As the door opened, upbeat music flowed into the hall. He motioned for me to go in first, so I did. The lights were off and the room was crowded with young adults, the youngest looked like they were twelve and a couple looked older than me. They were all focused on the two people that were dancing in front of a large screen. On the screen was a character dancing to "Pump It" by Black Eyed Peas and the two people were copying his movements. I watched in fascination as the song ended and everyone clapped.

"Everyone having fun?" Shin Woo yelled loudly and they all turned to look at us. They all stood up and smiled, saying they were. Shin Woo placed a hand on my shoulder.

"This is Opal Sato. Opal, these are some of my students, they come here to hang out and play on my Wii if they have energy after their lessons."

Everyone bowed slightly and said hello. I quickly bowed back, not knowing what to say.

"Ciera and Shane, put on Promiscuous. You guys do it once and then we're going to see what Opal has got."

"What?" I squeaked once more and clapped a hand over my mouth as I heard a few giggles throughout the room. Shin Woo clapped a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

"No making fun of her, it's her first time dancing."

"Have you ever played Just Dance before?" A girl a couple years younger than me asked. I shook my head silently, confused.

There was some murmuring among the crowd but a sharp look from Shin Woo quickly silenced them. He positioned me a couple of feet behind the two who were about to start dancing. I watched in fascination as they again mimicked the dance that was being shown as they held small remotes in their hands. It looked simple enough, but I was sure that I would fail horribly. Even so, I paid close attention to the moves, and pretty soon I could see the repetition throughout the song. By the end, I was tapping my finger lightly on my leg with the rhythm. The boy and girl both got over 10,000 as their final score and everyone clapped.

"Here you go, Opal," the girl said, handing me her remote and I looked at it uncertainly. "You attach the strap around your wrist and then just hold it while you dance, don't let go okay?" I nodded nervously.

"Go on, then," Shin Woo said and shoved me lightly forward. 

I took my place and was instructed on how to change the name so that it would record my score. Great, now everyone will know I'm horrible at this, I thought gloomily but tried to relax.

The music started and I followed the girl's movements. It was actually really fun! I did my best to match both my legs and arms to the game and soon I found the rhythm, falling naturally into the steps. I could feel myself smiling and when I had to strike a 'sexy' pose I made my face calm and collected, but inside I felt slightly embarrassed. Am I getting too into this? I wondered briefly.

The song came to an end too soon and I frowned, wishing I could keep going. I glanced up at the score and felt my mouth drop open as I saw all five stars filled in. Then the game made a cheering sound and it showed my score. 11,782. My mouth dropped open even wider in disbelief and as I turned back to look at the other teenagers, everyone started clapping.

"No way! She got the high score!"

"Opal, you were just kidding about never playing weren't you?"

"Dude, she's hot!"

I felt myself blushing, wondering if someone was playing a joke on me. I looked up at Shin Woo to find that he was smiling broadly. He came up and took the remote from me.

"Thanks, guys! Turn off the Wii after you're done," Shin Woo instructed before steering me out of the room. Without speaking, he led me quickly back to his recording room and took a seat in his spinning chair again, studying me with a small smile.

"Yuki-chan was right. You are a natural," he said happily and I blinked.

"Sorry?" I asked in confusion and Shin Woo leaned forward, fixing me with his intense eyes.

"Your voice is incredibly well developed for someone with no training, and you can feel rhythm which is one of the most important skills of a dancer. I know Yuki-chan and I have already agreed to these lessons, but I need to know, are you willing to learn and cultivate your talents?" I blinked in utter shock.

I was talented? There was something I was good at besides studying? Was a mistake like me allowed to have a talent? I wondered in shock.

I met Shin Woo's eyes and I remembered back to his poster where I had thought young Shin Woo was telling me not to give up. Dancing had been really fun, and in a different way so had singing. As long as my parents don't know... isn't it okay if a mistake has fun every once in a while? I thought to myself, feeling a little guilty but very excited.

"I'd like to learn," I said and Shin Woo clapped loudly, making me flinch.

"Excellent! We'll start with the basics!"

The rest of the summer passed in a blur of dancing and singing. I found myself humming everywhere I went and my feet didn't want to hold still. Shin Woo was a tough teacher. He demanded my absolute best in everything and sometimes I came home and collapsed on the couch in exhaustion. But I couldn't remember ever being happier! Every time I learned a new move I came home and showed it off to Auntie who would clap and cheer and repeat that she had known I was a born dancer.

Before I knew it, my senior year was coming up and I felt heartbroken, realizing that my lessons would be coming to an end. The Saturday before I went back to school I walked into Feel da Beat with my head down and trying not to cry. I walked upstairs into the dance room that Shin Woo had reserved for our practices, opening the door to see him stretching in the middle of the hardwood floor.

"Hey Opal-chan, what's wrong?" Shin Woo had started adding 'chan' to my name a week ago and the tears almost spilled again when I thought this might be the last time I would hear it.

"School starts on Monday," I said miserably. Shin Woo looked confused and he slowly straightened from his stretching position.

"I thought you said you loved school."

"I do. But... I don't want to stop dancing," I said quietly, looking away from Shin Woo as the selfish desire slipped out.

"What are you talking about? Are you quitting?" Shin Woo asked with shock in his voice. I looked up at him and furrowed my brow in confusion.

"Well... Auntie said the lessons were just for the summer..." I said haltingly. Shin Woo laughed and I blinked, now utterly confused.

"Opal-chan, there is no way I'm letting you stop now. Yuki-chan and I already worked it out. When school starts you'll practice at least three times a week after school, more if you want, and you can cancel if you ever get swamped with homework." 

My mouth dropped open and I blinked rapidly, wondering if I was dreaming. "Really? I can keep dancing?"

"Of course! And singing!" Relief flooded my body and I laughed in delight, spinning around giddily. Shin Woo laughed at me.

"Okay, okay, come on. Time to warm up." 

I fell into step with Shin Woo's stretches, grinning for all I was worth.

A/N The picture above is of a Korean band called CNBLUE. They're one of my favorites but I'm a sucker for Kpop so I had to include it here :D