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>>HYE YEONG'S POV<<

On a Saturday, I went to the infamous weekly SM Entertainment auditions and I didn't expect so many people to come. Jongin somehow convinced me to go there and try it out after I told him about the manager who introduced himself to me. The business card was legit. Just because I went to audition, there was no guarantee I would actually make it and pass them. Some people went to hundreds of them even if they were sufficiently skilled. 

I decided to go to see if those people would actually accept me. Probably as a challenge for myself. To be honest, I didn't care if I was accepted or not as it wasn't my original intention or dream anyway. Long story short, I prepared a few things for the audition and passed some rounds. Sometime later, I received a call for the final audition. And when the official trainee contract for a period of two years was sent to me, I hesitated. To be honest, I had many worries about signing the contract, partly because of what Lu Han and Jongin told me from experience. The contract papers might be dangerous, I made sure to read everything carefully and ask Jongin for some help as well. Good to have a friend who's been doing this for five years already. 

Debts. I can't afford any more debts now. Diets, practice, lessons. I wasn't exactly looking forward to that routine. Let's give it a try and debut fast so I won't end up with too many debts. As selfish and naive as it might sound, I really needed the money. The less time I needed to debut, the faster I could pay back those debts and earn some money.

And so, I ended up as a trainee at SM Entertainment. I don't have to dream of becoming an idol before training. I can easily find an interest in singing and dancing while training, so my dreams can still change. Were my intentions bad? Was I selfish? I had no idea, but as it seemed, the people at the audition saw something in me that fit the company's image and concept, so why not?

Jung Ah and Eun Chae would be shocked if I told them about passing the auditions and signing the contract. I must have looked like a lost sheep in the SM Entertainment training centre because there were many rooms and I had no idea where to go. Moreover, I already had a hard time entering the building. Who knew they would rely on fingerprint scanners?

"You are a new trainee?" A male voice asked, almost making me jump. "Sorry for scaring you. I am Heo Byung Jin. Judging from the way you stand here, I assume you arrived today." 

"I am Yoon Hye Yeong. I received this but I have no idea where to go." I laughed awkwardly and looked up at all the floors. "How long have you been training here?"

"It's been about four years actually. Some people need more years to debut than others, there have been cases of trainees training for a few months or a year until they debut. Maybe you will be one of them?" The cheesy type. That we will see. Heo Byung Jin offered me a tour through the building and showed me the different practice rooms floor by floor. There were many departments and rooms, it was huge. "Dance and vocal lessons and practice. That's the daily schedule. We have plenty of official and many unofficial rules among trainees, there's a whole list. You chose the right company, it's different from others. It's up to you whether you attend the classes or not, but if you don't, you won't improve. Though no one is kicked out of the company, they might not offer you to renew the contract if you don't meet their expectations. I don't want to scare you away, it's my advice as a senior trainee, so take care."

That's a whole lot of information to process. I didn't intend on forming many friendships or relationships anyway. We passed a few rooms and Byung Jin stopped walking all of a sudden. He looked into one of the dance practice rooms and smiled regretfully. 

"You might have or not have heard about the company's upcoming boy group. I must admit I am envious they get to debut while the other male trainees are kept in the dungeons. It was a hard process. There were a total of 120 trainees including me on the list to be potential members and they simply kept reducing the numbers until twelve were left. I'm not saying they don't work hard because everyone does. Our only option is to work harder. It's a very fierce competition when it's about debuting, but the trainees get along well apart from that." Byung Jin explained to me and continued walking. According to him, the soon-to-debut boy group would head to the official headquarters soon. Then there will be no way Lu Han and I meet during training. "Training with others can be seen as an opportunity to form new friendships, but it can also be painful to watch those close to you leave one by one."

I nodded understanding and followed him. Interesting. After the little tour, I experienced my very first day in hell. What can I say? Others have been doing this for years. Everyone was more experienced and mostly younger than me anyway, I felt old among them.

"Want to grab some lunch after you are done with all the administrative work? I'll introduce you to some trainees. Prepare to get re-evaluated and grouped with others today, so it'll be good to see your new seniors at least once." Byung Jin suggested and I agreed to go. I was getting hungry but wasn't very excited about the other trainees. I'm not here to socialise, I don't want to make any friends here. On our way, we passed the dance practice room again. I spotted Lu Han somewhere among all those people, the twelve members Jongin talked about. It's my first time seeing him but watching him as a trainee feels completely different. "Are you coming?" 

"Yes, coming." I answered, following Byung Jin to one of the dozen offices. Starting from today, my life would change drastically.

>>LU HAN'S POV<<

"Lu Han-ah, get up. We will be late again because of you." Min Seok slapped my face gently to wake me up. I groaned in annoyance and pushed my blanket away. "The teachers are impatient. Especially when it's about practice, you know that."

"Min Seok-ah, did you just slap me?" I asked Min Seok half-asleep after realising what he did. It was too early to get upset anyway so I rubbed my eyes and got up, dragging myself to the bathroom.

"We are late, hurry up! You are the last one to wake up as always." Min Seok left my bedroom and I immediately changed my clothes as soon as I noticed the time and packed my bag. We entered the building and were ready to get scolded for being late. 

"You can go ahead without me." I said to Min Seok in front of the practice room and approached the person who seemed a little lost. "Hey, do you need any help?" The trainee turned around upon hearing my voice. "You must be new, welcome to the company." I held out my hand with a smile. "I am the senior and experienced one among us. The rules are different here, so accept it." 

Hye Yeong glanced at my hand and met my eyes again with a raised brow. She shook my hand with both of her own while bowing, using the formal speech as she was supposed to. Why did it sound so ironic in my ears? Our first ever handshake. Nothing special but the mere action was heart-fluttering. 

"I didn't expect to pass the weekly auditions, though. Actually, Jongin was the one who persuaded me, but thanks for your advice. I'll do my best to debut after you." Hye Yeong stated and let go of my hand. I like that confidence.

Looks like she did e