It takes me a while to get used the reduced sleep every night, but soon enough I fall into the routine of going to school, trainee schedule after, individual practice, and studying and doing the homework during breaks and every spare moment I get. I’m surprised I’m still sticking to studying when everything else is already more than enough to totally tire me out, but I agree with Mi Ran’s dad that we should cover all our bases. Who knows what the future will be like? Armed with the determination to never go back to dad’s house, I continue working my off on bare minimum sleep. I make sure I keep cooking healthy home-made meals for all of us, though. It’s a great stress-reliever and I can even practice my singing while I cook, multi-tasking queen that I am.

    The others seems to be getting along just as well, and the dorm is peaceful and drama-free. Or maybe I should say it was. About a little more than a month after school started, Sun Mi Eunni was waiting for us one night until we all came back from practice. It was almost one by the time everyone was gathered, but she refused to break the news before everyone was gathered. When Jun finally got home from the trainee center, we were all ready to pounce on her. She looked at us with wide eyes, putting her hands in the ‘I surrender! Please don’t hurt me!’ position slowly.

    “What did I do?” We all burst out laughing as she looked at us, flabbergasted.

    “You didn’t do anything. We were just waiting for you to get home because Sun Mi Eunni apparently has an announcement to make to all of us,” I kindly explained.

    “Alright, now that all the dorm members have been gathered, I have some good news to share. I’m going to be in a web drama!!” she announces dramatically.

    There was a very short-lived moment of pin-drop silence before everybody started speaking at the same time. “What?! Eunni, congratulations!”, “Does that mean you’re going to debut soon?”, “What is the web drama about?”, “I’m so happy for you!” and so on.

    Eunni explained that there’d been an audition week before that all the acting trainees were allowed to enter, and she had taken the chance. They had just gotten back to her today with the news that she had been selected for the role of the secondary female lead. It was an SM produced mini drama, which is why she was able to be a part of it, despite having no official experience prior to this. She was so happy, her lips were stretched almost to her ears.

    It wasn’t considered an official debut, especially seeing how she only had the role of the heroine’s best friend who is secretly pining away after the hero (of course...), but it was still a big deal for a trainee. We were all very happy for her, but I also felt a bittersweet feeling in my tummy as I wondered when I would get my own chance to shine in the spotlight. I sighed as I remembered that I still have a long way to go, since I’m only just starting to catch up with the trainees in terms of my vocal prowess. I’ll just have to keep working hard to give the top trainees a run for their money! Fighting!

    Which explains why I’m still here at the trainee center at 1 in the morning, practicing my singing technique. In Na Eunni has been teaching me some more advanced techniques and methods now that I’ve pretty much learnt all the basics, but it’s taking me longer than I’d like to admit to get the hang of them. So I’ve been practicing them every moment I can spare, since I’m determined to make an impression on the judges at the next assessment which is in two days.

    I’ve picked two songs for the assessment that showcase the basic skills that I’ve finally perfected, as well as some of the more advanced techniques that I’ve been learning. I kept the dance routine simple this time because I don’t have the time to perfect a more complicated one on top of my intense vocal practice. I figure it’s fine since I’m here to improve my singing after all.

************

My performance at the assessment goes well and the next day Jo-ssaem compliments me on my improvement, especially the few ad-libs I’d added to the songs. His praise makes my day, and I’m literally skipping around for the rest of the day. I decide to take the rest of the day off in celebration, and head home with groceries to cook up a feast to last us for the rest of the week. By this time, I am officially in charge of the meals at the dorm, and the triangle-kimbaps have thankfully stopped making appearances in the fridge.

    Just as I was adding the finishing touches to the last dish, Sun Mi Eunni called me.

    “Hell-”

    “Oh, thank god you picked up! Please tell me you’re at the dorm...” she said, sounding panicked and on the verge of tears.

    “Yeah, Eunni, I am. Is everything okay?” I ask, concerned.

    “No! I’m an idiot and should just rot in a corner!”

    “Okay, now I know you’re overreacting. First tell me what happened.

    “I’m supposed to be shooting for the web-drama today but I forgot the script in the dorm… I was running late, so I didn’t realise I left it back home. Could you be the angel that I know you are and bring it here to me? I could probably ask for an extra copy from someone but I don’t want to make a bad impression. You know how important this chance is for me, right? Please? I’ll buy you anything you want if you help your useless, idiot Eunni just this once!”

  I burst out laughing at her drama. Really, the girl had a flair for the dramatic that would put Shinee’s Key to shame.

    “Don’t worry, Eunni. I can bring it to you. Where exactly did you leave it? And where are you right now?”

    “You’re my hero, Min! It’s on the coffee table, and I’ll text you the address now. It’s not too far from the dorm. Take a cab, I’ll pay you later. Thank you so much!”

    I find the script, which is totally filled with notes and comments that Eunni seems to have scribbled next to her parts, and smile at her hard work. She might act like a drama queen most of the time but she’s really serious when it comes to acting. I quickly grab my bag, stuffing the script in it, make sure I have enough cash for the taxi, and run out the door. I reach the location soon enough and call Eunni.

    “Eunni, I’m here, where should I go?”

    “Wait, I’ll come get you.”

    While I wait on the street outside the school where they’re shooting the drama, I notice a few fans waiting outside as well. They must be the idol’s fans… Who’re the main leads again? I think it’s someone from SM too, but I don’t remember Sun Mi Eunni saying who it was.

    Sun Mi Eunni opens the school gate a crack and I quickly join her inside. A security guard looks me up and down and checks my trainee ID before letting me proceed any further, even though it’s obvious I’m with Sun Mi Eunni. At least I can be assured about the security if I ever debut, which is reassuring considering the scarily high number of sasaeng fans SM groups seem to have. Just thinking of what DBSK sunbaes had to go through freaks me out… And Exo’s sasaengs seem to be determined to follow in their footsteps. My inner musing is interrupted by Eunni who is waving her hand in front of me. I give her a questioning look.

    “My script?” she holds her hand out.

    “Here,” I take it out from my bag and hand it to her.

    “Thank you so much!” she gives me a bear hug that leaves me gasping for breath.

    “Anytime, Eunni!”

    “Stay and watch if you’re free. I just have a few scenes today, and we can go home together. It might be fun for you since you’ve never seen something like this , right?”

    I tilt my head to the side and consider it. Since I’d already planned to take the rest of the day off and this is a chance that’s hard to come by, I nod eagerly. We link our hands together at the elbow and she guides me over to the classroom where they’re shooting at the moment. She warns me that I’ll need to be absolutely quiet on set while the scenes are being shot, and not to get in anybody’s way.

    “Who else is in the drama? Anybody I know? I saw some fans waiting outside.”

    “I think you should know Exo’s D.O.? And Sulli from f(x) is the female lead. I’m playing the role of her best friend who’s also in love with D.O.’s character, but gives up on her love to help her best friend instead.”

    “So chicks before , huh? That’s my motto too,” I joke, elbowing Eunni lightly in the ribs, with a leery grin on my face. She laughs at me, rolling her eyes.

    Just then, there’s a surprised chuckle from behind us that’s quickly muffled and we spin around at once. The guy in question has a poker face on, though the corners of his lips are tilted slightly upwards, as if resisting the urge to grin. He raises his eyebrows at us when we stop walking and just stare at him in surprise. We hadn’t heard him walking behind us, and I had definitely not meant for that comment to be heard by anybody else. Well, this is certainly not the first impression I thought I’d be making on the first idol I see... We quickly bow to D.O. sunbae as he walks past us, and he nods in acknowledgement.

    We continue the rest of the way in silence until Sun Mi Eunni can’t take it anymore and bursts into quiet giggles. “Well, he certainly knows your opinion on friendship and dating now, Min-ah!” she teases in a low voice.

    “It wasn’t a state secret, Eunni, though I’ll admit it could have been stated a bit better…” I defend myself. “Or are your friends not as important to you?” I try putting her on the spot instead.
    
    “I never said that! Of course my girls will always be the most important to me! But if the guy is really hot...” she trails off, with a dreamy look on her face.

    “You’re hopeless, Eunni,” I shake my head at her, giving up.

    Without our realising, our conversation has been getting progressively louder and again we heard a muffled chuckle from in front of us. We look at each other and shrug, grinning. We slow down so we can talk in private without inadvertently entertaining a certain someone again.

    “Have you shot any scenes yet?” I ask Eunni.

    “We shot just a few with me and Sulli-sshi yesterday. She’s nice enough, though I can’t say much for her acting skills,” she whispers the last part to me, after checking both sides of the corridor this time.
    “I have a few scenes with her and D.O. sunbae today. I’m a tad nervous, because we’re shooting one of the scenes where there’s a confrontation between my character and D.O.’s over the relationship between him and Sulli’s character. It’s supposed to be intense and I have a few lengthy dialogues. I’m happy because it means more screen time but at the same time I can’t afford to mess up. Directors aren’t as easy-going when it’s the secondary actors who mess up, and I need to make an impact with my acting as well…”

    “Don’t worry, Eunni, you’ll do well. I saw your script and it looks like you’ve practiced a lot. I’ll be cheering you on from the sidelines!”

    “Aw, thank you, dongsaeng! I’m so glad you’re here for my first major shoot,” she smiles sweetly at me. Ugh, this Eunni has too much aegyo without even doing anything... SO unfair!

    We’ve finally reached the set and she signs me to be quiet as we can hear someone speaking from inside. One of the crew members waves Eunni over with a smile, and we stand next to her to watch the shoot. D.O. sunbae and Sulli sunbae are acting out a scene, and it looks like she’s timidly asking him if he has someone he likes in a roundabout way.

    “So can you relate to these lyrics?” Sulli waves the paper in her hand.

    “Too well, especially the part about watching over her without her knowledge. What about you? Do you have someone you like?”

    “N-no, nothing like that…” Sulli trails off, looking away from him and avoiding his gaze.

  “Cut!” the guy in the director’s chair yells.

    “Sulli, I need you to look away from him once and then look back at him bashfully as if your eyes are drawn to him, okay? We want to portray the bashful one-sided love from your character’s point of view. Let’s try this again.”

  They redo the scene and this time, she looks at him directly, meeting his gaze head on. I can hear the director huff in exasperation. “Cut!”

  “Okay, that’s better, but I need you too look at him from under your lashes, okay? Because your character is too shy to look at him directly, but she likes him so much her eyes can’t help but be drawn to him. Okay? Let’s go.”

  The director is only satisfied after three more takes, and even then he doesn’t look too happy. “Okay, that’s that scene. We’ll be doing the confrontation between Hyuk and Hye Ri next, so the actors standby in 5 minutes. Sulli, you can take a 30-minute break. We’ll shoot the heart-to-heart between Hye Ri and So Ra after that, so run through your lines once again if you want.”

  Sun Mi Eunni is frantically running through her lines one last time. I wisely decide not to bother her, and just observe the proceedings. It’s really interesting to see behind the scenes of a shoot firsthand. There’s a lot of hustle and bustle as the crew change the set lighting and props to match the next scene, but the actors themselves relax and look over their scripts or just close their eyes and rest in their seats. Huh, I’d been expecting them to talk or do something more fun like they show in the BTS videos…

I wish Eunni luck when everything’s ready for the next scene and she goes to take her place. When the director gives the cues, she walks up to where D.O. is staring out the window (presumably at So Ra, Sulli’s character). At first, she’s confident like a woman on a mission, but unconsciously slows down as she gets closer to D.O. She looks longingly at his back before steeling herself.

    “Hyuk-ah, I need to talk to you,” she says firmly.

    “What?” he doesn’t look away from the window.

    “I like you. I’ve liked you ever since you saved me from that drunk guy last year. Maybe even before that…” she says, in a very quiet voice, almost as if hoping he won’t hear it.

    That at least gets his attention, and he turns his head to look at her with an unreadable expression.

    “But I li-” he begins saying, after a long, awkward silence.

    “You like So Ra, right? I know, since I’ve been looking only at you, and you’ve been looking only at her. I know you like her. Hell, I think I knew even before you yourself realized it. Do you know how frustrating it is to watch you guys go around in circles, never communicating clearly with each other? I can’t watch you do this to each other anymore! If you don’t man up and tell her how you feel, you’re not going to get anywhere. You know Seunghyun likes her too. And he’s already made his feelings clear to her,” she says, getting more worked up as she speaks.

    “It’s not that simple! You have no idea what it’s like!” he glares at her.

    “No idea? You think I have no idea?” she scoffs at him, “I’ve been in an unrequited love with you for so long and you say I have no idea how it feels? At least she likes you back! Any idiot with eyes can see that, so why can’t you? And really, you need to stop moping around and get your act together! That’s all I have to say to you. If you still don’t do anything, then you’re beyond hope!” she finishes with a huff, tears in her eyes that she doesn’t let drop. She whips around, turning her back on him as the tears fall.

    “Please, make her happy. Make yourself happy. That’s all I ask…” she whispers softly, and walks out of the room without looking back.

    “So Ra.... likes me?” D.O. whispers to himself, looking shocked and very pleasantly surprised. He shyly smiles to himself. He goes back to looking out the window, this time with a smile on his face and his entire demeanour looking somehow brighter than before. Wow, it looks like I’m watching the drama on a screen. These guys are good!

    The director seems to think so too. He lets the camera linger on D.O. for another moment and yells “Cut!”

    “That’s a very good take! Well done, D.O. and ...Sun Mi, was it?”

    “Thank you, Director!” Sun Mi bows, cheeks flushed at the compliment.

    The actors gather around the computer as they watch the scene again. Luckily, the director is satisfied with the angles and the lighting and they don’t have to do a re-take.

  “Okay, let’s prepare for the next scene.”

    Sun Mi Eunni walks back to me, and I congratulate her on doing so well. In my eyes, she’d acted even better than D.O. It’d felt like she’d been completely immersed in the character she’d created, down to every single movement. She grins and goes back to studying the script as if her life depends on it. I sigh, bored, as I look around again. A pair of shoes appear in front of us, and I look up to see D.O. sunbae standing there. I bow my head slightly in greeting and he nods.

    “Good job on that last scene,” he says softly to Sun Mi Eunni. She looks up from her script in surprise. She obviously hadn’t been expecting him to talk to her.

    “Thank you, Sunbae! You were amazing as well,” she says with a smile, after bowing.

    “Yeah, it was really easy to get into the character acting opposite you. It felt like I was actually speaking with Hye Ri, not an actor playing the character Hye Ri.”

    She blushes at the unexpected compliment and just smiles, not sure what to say to that. It would be rude to her sunbae if she refuted the compliment, but might also appear rude if she accepted it as clearly she’d outperformed Sulli who was the main lead.

    “Wasn’t she amazing? I felt like I was watching the drama on a TV screen!” I pitch in, unable to contain my excitement any longer. “I’ll have to get your autograph later, Eunni!”

    “And what about mine? Obviously, I wasn’t as impressive as your Eunni,” D.O. sunbae teases me, with a weird smile on his face.

    “You were really good too! But I think Sun Mi Eunni was even better...” I trail off as he suddenly looks angry. Crap, did that come off sounding like I was dissing him? I shoot a glance at Sun Mi Eunni and she looks torn between rejoicing at the compliment and worrying that I’d insulted D.O. Sunbae. Apprehensive now, I try to judge from his reaction just how much trouble I was in.

    His eyes are narrowed at me. , I’m dead…

    “Indeed.” Now what is that supposed to mean? But he breaks into a wide grin after that and though it looks fake as plastic, I let it go figuring he didn't mind it too much. Phew. I really should learn to control my mouth... but I pride myself on being honest if nothing else.

    “Are you a trainee too?” he asks, seeming interested. As soon as he turns to me, Sun Mi Eunni quietly moves away a step and goes back to her script. I guess she’s still nervous.

    “Yes, Sunbae. I just joined three months ago.”

    “Dancing? Singing? Or are you in acting too, like your friend here?”

    “Singing. I’ve never tried acting before, so it’s really fun to see this shoot,” I say, grinning. He’s nicer than I expected. I thought he’d be more gruff and unapproachable.

    “Good that you like it, I guess.”

    The actors are called for the next scene and we stand there silently, watching the action. They’re acting out the scene where So Ra finds Hye Ri’s journal and learns that she loves Hyuk too. Hye Ri is angry that So Ra looked through her journal without permission but soon enough they’re both crying as they talk it out. Or at least, that’s how it’s supposed to go. But Sulli seems to be having trouble grasping the emotions of the character, because she seems more angry with Hye Ri than anything, when she’s supposed to be conflicted and upset because she doesn’t want to lose her friend over a guy, even if he’s the love of her life. After a number of takes, the director sighs and gives them a short break.

    Sun Mi Eunni turns to Sulli and they start talking, pointing to the script and making weird hand gestures. When they start shooting again, Sulli’s acting is noticeably better, and the director finally gives the scene an okay after 4 more tries. Both Sun Mi Eunni and Sulli look drained from crying repeatedly, especially Sulli who had to use some chemical to induce the tears. I quickly walk over to where they’re chatting and hand them some wet tissues from my bag.

    They accept them gratefully, and dab at their wet cheeks. Eunni introduces me to Sulli Sunbae and I greet her politely. They talk about the script and I just stand there to the side, listening and looking around. I feel someone tap my shoulder and turn around to see D.O. Sunbae. He motions for me to follow him and I do so, a tad apprehensive. What could he possible want? We walk out to the corridor and he stops at a large window overlooking the football field behind the school.

    “So, about what you said earlier about Sun Mi being a better actor than me. I was insulted, you know? How could you say that to my face?” he says, looking somewhat angry.

    My mouth hangs open. Hadn’t he laughed it off earlier? Was he being serious right now? , what should I do? Take it back? But it’d be obvious I’m lying after what I said earlier!

    “Um, Sunbae, th-that, I’m sorry if I insulted you! I just-”

    “I don’t need it. How are you going to make up for it?” he cut me off.

    Come again? Make it up? What does this guy want me to say? I’m seriously getting annoyed now. “What do you mean, Sunbae?”

    “I’m saying I’ll let you off this once from the kindness of my heart if you can somehow make it up to me for insulting my acting.”

    “But how can I-”

    “You just need to agree to listen to one favor from me. I’ll ask you when I need something done.”

    I blinked. Was he high or something? Did he hit his head somewhere? What favor? I surreptitiously checked his head to see if I could spot any bumps there. None visible. Okay, and his eyes aren’t excessively dilated either, though his eyes do seem really big. Were they always so big and white..? Focus, So Jung Min! Seeing no other way out of this situation, I reluctantly nodded.

    “Um, okay..?”

    He took out his phone and made me actually say it out loud that I would do him one favor of his choice when he wanted me to. And then he made me give him my phone number. ‘How else will I contact you when I need the favor?’ he asked, as if I was stupid for not realising it. I swear I saw him save my number as Acting Insult Trainee. He probably doesn’t even remember my name. Wait, does he even know it? I don’t think so. Good. Maybe he’ll forget about the stupid favor I now owe him. One can only hope…

    I catch D.O. Sunbae looking at me with an evil grin on his face at one point during the shoot, and I shiver unconsciously. His grin only widens when he sees me looking at him. Luckily, Sun Mi Eunni only had one short scene with Sulli after that so we were able to leave soon after. We greeted everyone on the set one last time and finally made our way back to the dorm. Eunni was mentally drained, and I was still mulling over what exactly had happened back at the set with D.O. and we spent the taxi ride back in silence.

    Sun Mi Eunni surprises us again barely a week later with the news that she is being moved to the main building for training from the next week. She looks a little overwhelmed as she tells us that the director for the web drama had been really impressed with her performance and had given her a glowing recommendation. To our relief, she would still be living at the dorm with us, so we wouldn’t have to part just yet. We make her promise to spill all the details once she officially moves to the headquarters.

A/N: So how do you like Kyungsoo here? Is he totally cuckoo or just eccentric? It's always the quiet ones, I tell you! I personally think he'd be lots of fun to know in real life though. 

On a side note, I need Infinite and Exo to be awesome buddies in real life so I can die happy... >.< Look, they're so cute together! Argh, so many Exofinite feels! <3

P.S. - Does anyone know how to add gifs in here? Thanks!