“All of you are yet to be revealed, so our tactic is simple. Give you a famous background without letting your name spread too far, or be associated with Universe”, the JYP President said.

“Many of the members will be featured in CFs, catwalks, and magazines. During this time, we will help you to develop your onstage and onscreen personas. This includes mannerisms, learning how to perform scripted and unscripted, physical appearances, stage names, and such. Plus, we have to perfect recordings. Then, we’ll release teasers. And later, your CD. Afterwards, you have to shoot your music video”, the SM President told them.

The members all looked at each other, but they barely had time to exchange amazed glances before the YG President went on, “After you debut, prepare for reality shows and interviews. We’ll also engage in projects involving other groups, as well as give you all singles to separate such a large group. Furthermore… well, we’ll get to that later.”

“Let’s discuss this openly and honestly. What have we already accomplished in this industry? And what do we want the world to know about ourselves?”, JiHyun asked.

All the members were at the boys’ dorm and sitting comfortably around the room. The awkwardness that had invaded the room before had close to disappeared.

“Well, I’ve been in several commercials and made a couple cameos in music videos… I guess what I want is to show the real me. I mean, I am a Jung member, and I know how to hold high notes and cross dress like a girl… but at the same time, I’m me… I’m Jason. Not Jaesun. Jason. My stage name. I want people to know that I play piano… and I’ve always wanted to try MC-ing…”, Jaesun said honestly. He clutched Chu as he said this, slightly conscious of his sister, another “Jung” member, in the room. He hoped she wouldn’t get insulted with what he’d said.

But instead Soori said, “It’s the same way with me. I’ve always been the third “Jung” sister… so I’ve always been anticipated, but I’ve never actually accomplished anything… But I want to be Laiqa. I want to show people that I can dance ballet and jazz. I want to show that hitting high notes is part of being a Jung. I want to show my gymnasts skills. I want to show how my brother and I are academically intelligent. I want to make my family proud… And I especially want people to realize that I’m a writer… that I am becoming a lyricist.” 

Gongchan’s head suddenly snapped up, but he remained mute, just watching her. Jae Sun leaned his head on his sister’s shoulder. She smiled and patted Chu’s head.

Sky, feeling slightly awkward after watching the lovey-dovey bond between the two siblings, cleared his throat, “Er- well, I’ve always wanted to be a dancer… and somewhere along my career, I’d also like to do what JiHyun hyung did and play guitar and sing… But mostly, I want to show people that you can help people, laugh, and learn, and still be the best.” His eyes flickered over to Eun Suk, just for a moment. “I just want to be Sky, the kid who helps his parents at their restaurant, the kid who can get into college without using his celebrity name. In short, a kid.  And a member of Universe, of course.”

Gongchan clapped enthusiastically. “Well said, hyung! Okay, maknae’s turn! I was a child model for a bit, but my main experience has been a backup dancer. But mostly, I want to be King. King of my life, my decisions, and my own confidence. I want to show the people who had confidence in me that they were right to put that trust in me… through my dance, song, and such. Through this group…”

“By people who trust you… you mean you want to thank your family?”, Eun Suk asked slowly.

Gongchan looked up at her. “Well, no… I-that… I was kind-of… what’s the word? Rebellious as a teen. My family didn’t much care for me… I was, uh, in a gang for a bit. Until I met Bi sunbaenim. He helped me to get on the right track and later supported my musical career… I want to thank him… and I suppose I want to apologize to family…”

There was a short silence until Soori said softly, “Well, you’re better now, right? You’re very close to being King, I think.”

Gongchan smiled thankfully at her, and replied, “Yeah, I think so, too.”

“Okay, King, we believe in you”, Kyuhyun said, grinning a little. He nudged Gongchan playfully on the shoulder as a sign of support. Gongchan laughed.

“I work hard. I always have. I work part-time at a café whenever I can, even now…  I’ve been in a CF before, I’ve choreographed a lot of dances before, I’m composed a lot of songs, and wrote lyrics before. I’ve played drums, piano, and guitar for a while now… I would like to represent the hard work and discipline of Universe, if I may. The L1GHT of this group, in a sense”, Kyuhyun said.

“You’re very ambitious, aren’t you? But if you weren’t, you wouldn’t be our Kyuhyun”, Jae Sun said, grinning.

Kyuhyun stuck out his tongue in response.

Shim Jang went next, “I want to give people peace… I mean, when I dance, I lose myself in it. It helps me to just take a deep breath in the midst of everything. I wish that when people watched me dance, they’d feel the same thing. They’d feel their hearts calm down. Shim Jang… it means heart. I want people to be able to go to a place where they can deal with their problems… for me, it was.. and is my parents, I suppose.”

Before anyone could comment, she blurted out, “Oh! And I want to act. I took acting lessons when I was really little, but in the commercial I did, I only had to say one line. Kind-of a shame, right?”

 Nobody said anything, but Gongchan gave her a silent thumbs up in support. Shim Jang returned it, a small smile around her lips.

Soo Ri was next, “I, uhm, I want to be on t.v. so much, for good things, that my mom won’t miss me so much… And the even people in England will know me. Speaking of England, I’m going to call myself AN. I don’t really have anything to my name yet. But other than Universe, I want to model. I’ve wanted to for ages. And I’m going to be top.”

“I… also model”, Chan Hee said, glancing at Soo Ri. “So, I guess we’ll see who gets top. Other than that though, I want to show my dancing skills outside of being Universe’s rapper. I want to let the world know that my brother is Chan Yeol in Exo, and that we both have successfully kept our promises to each other. I speak languages and I play drums… I want people to know all that… but most importantly, I want to be a good leader for this group… I want to be an honest leader. So I’m just going to use my own name, Chan Hee.”

“I’m Shin. I’m keeping that name because I want to show people that pretty boys also have a manly and possessive side. And of course, to attract any fans I may have had in the past to our wonderful new group, Universe”, JiHyun said with a smile.

“What fans?”, Gongchan joked, grinning mischievously.

 “Shut up, I know you have all my CDs”, JiHyun said to the maknae.

“Eun Suk?”, Soo Ri asked, “What about you?”

“I… I don’t really know. I haven’t really done anything… and I don’t see myself doing anything…”, Eun Suk said, avoiding everyone’s eyes.

Everyone looked at her sadly and Sky sighed deeply, but Kyuhyun said, in surprise,” Really? You don’t want anything?”

“She does, she just doesn’t want to tell us”, Sky said, his voice calm.

Eun Suk replied defensively, “What do you mean? I’m not lying to you.”

“Eun Suk, why can’t you just be honest and say something? You always bring the mood down”, Soori said softly. It was not said meanly in any way, and everyone understood she was not being aggressive. She was just trying to understand Eun Suk, like all of them were.

 “Yeah, you don’t need pity to get attention. We like you the way you are”, Jae Sun said gently.

“I’ll tell you what you want”, Sky said boldly, not shy at all. It was almost aggressively said.

“Go right ah-“, Eun Suk started-

“A family that actually loves you and won’t disown you.”

Everyone looked up at Eun Suk. Eun Suk was shocked, rooted to the spot. How in the hell did he know that? 

“… Eun Suk? Is it true?”, JiHyun asked.

Eun Suk, slowly and unwillingly, said, “Yes.” She looked at all of them with piercing eyes, as if daring them to judge her.

“We’’re not going to judge you”, Chan Hee murmured quietly.

“No, we have no right to. After all, most of our families here hate that we’re in the media industry”, Shim Jang said.

“It’s okay! We don’t think any less of you”, Gongchan said warmly.

But Eun Suk stood up and said, “Tablo told you, didn’t he?”

Sky just looked at her with emotionless eyes.

“That traitor”, Eun Suk spit out.

“No. We’ll all honest here, except you. You’re the traitor because you never tell us the truth. You have dreams hidden inside of you. Everyone can see that in the songs you write and the way you perform so hesitantly. You always say you don’t or you can’t when you should and you can. It makes us tired and upset. Your attitude is holding us back”, Sky responded, looking straight at her.

Eun Suk was trembling.

“And if you quit, that’s just another way of holding us back”, Sky said, and then he left.

There was absolute silence. Kyuhyun was holding his head like he had a headache and Jae Sun was clutching Chu tightly. Gongchan was wide-eyed and totally still.

“It’s okay”, Eun Suk said quietly. “I’ll be back at the dorm in a bit.”

And she calmly and quietly exited the room, shutting the door behind her.

“I don’t know if we should follow her…”, Soori said. Everyone was confused by the sudden turn of events.

“Don’t. I know where she’s going. She’ll be perfectly fine”, Chan Hee responded.

“Where’s she going?”, Gongchan asked her.

“To Tablo sunbaenim.” 

“Well, that’s fine and everything, but I think I’m going to go talk to Sky”, Kyuhyun said, and left.

“Want to know something?”, JiHyun asked in a nonchalant voice, as if none of this had happened today.

“What?”

“It’s Sky’s birthday today.”

“That makes me feel worse. And helpless”, Shim Jang pouted.

“Well, I’m going to go out and buy him something and leave it in his room”, JiHyun said.

“Can we come?”, Jae Sun asked, pointing to himself and Gongchan.

“Yup”, JiHyun said, and the three of them walked out together.

“I still feel like crap. I want to do something to help them!”, Shim Jang said bluntly.

“They’ll work it out. I’m going to go practice so that when they come back, I’ll be even better. And don’t you have to do your first photo shoot in a couple hours, Soo Ri?” Chan Hee asked.

“Yeah”, Soo Ri nodded.

“Well, if you’re really going to beat me and become the best, you’d better get practicing. I’m going to come watch your photo shoot. And you’re representing our group”, Chan Hee said.  

“I’m going to come watch too. Is that okay?”, Soori asked Soo Ri.

“Um… yeah, okay”, Soo Ri replied, not wanting to give any indicator of her nervousness in front of Chan Hee.

 “I’m going to dance, and I don’t really keep track of time when I dance. I might not come”, Shim Jang said.

   “That’s okay. You can see my pictures later”, Soo Ri said.

They agreed to meet at the boy’s dorm at 9pm for Sky’s birthday before they all left.

Eun Suk stared at the beer bottle she’d just bought. The pretty brown glass looked disgusting to her today. She couldn’t tell why. It just looked terrible.

She opened the bottle and brought it to her lips, but suddenly stopped.

Then, she flipped the bottle upside down over the grass, letting the whole bottle empty on the ground. And then she recycled the damn thing.

And she couldn’t say exactly why she’d done that.

Tablo was flipping through music sheets when Eun Suk came in. She sat on the couch in his office, not wanting to disturb him.

“What’s up?”, Tablo asked her, still flipping through the music.

“I came to talk”, Eun Suk said.

“Go right ahead”, Tablo said.

“About me”, Eun Suk continued.

Tablo slowly looked up and said, “What do you mean?”

“But first I wanted to ask why you told Sky what I wrote on that piece of paper.”

Tablo sighed and put the music down, “Eun Suk. You don’t trust me. I know that. And you don’t like how I try to get to know you. You hate how I try to learn your secrets, the way you feel, what you think about the music, what you believe about yourself, or why you do music. And that’s all right, because I’m not going to be your mentor after you guys debut. But you need someone that knows you when you are silent, that hears you cry when you laugh. And if that person is Sky, then you’d better take his help because you’re not going to find people much better than him. So I told him. I want him to help you. I want him to understand you so that even if you screw up, he’’ll still understand where your heart is.”

“I don’t deserve help”, Eun Suk said. “And I deserved to be disowned. I deserve to be depressed, and I deserve to screw myself over.”

Tablo looked at her for a while before he said, “Do you still believe that? Even though you’ve met all your members? When you look at Jason and his stuffed animal, when you look at Soori and her kind smile, or when you see Kyuhyun’s ambition, you think you’re being screwed over? When you see Chan Hee holding back her emotions to help her members, or when you see Sky getting angry because he cares about you… All these people are trying to help you and you still think you’re being screwed over? You don’t see your own world very clearly. You are a blessed child.”

“They’ll hate me as soon as I let them down”, Eun Suk said, not meeting Tablo’s eyes.

“You’ve already let them down up til’ now, but they’re with you… surely you can’t believe that”, Tablo said.

“What… what do I do to show them… that I care?”, Eun Suk asked hesitantly.

“Well, you could smile. You could be honest about your fears and ambitions. And you could buy Sky something. It’s his birthday, after all.”

“WHAT? It’s his BIRTHDAY?”

“Sky, it’s your birthday, you didn’t have to come in to help today”, Sky’s mother said, but she hugged him close.

“Of course I came. I’m your son, but I still work here”, Sky replied, affectionately hugging his mother back.    

“We have a birthday cake for you in the back. We’ll celebrate after”, Sky’s father said, walking out of the kitchens.

Before Sky could reply, the bell tinkled and a new customer walked in.

“Well, I had no idea this restaurant was owned by your parents… I used to come here often… Remember me?”

“Kyuhyun-sshi?”, Sky’s mother look very surprised.

“Wait, you know him?”, Sky asked.

“Yes… he used to work at the café down the street… He ate here a lot a few years ago…”, Sky’s father replied.

   “Don’t tell me you two are debuting in the same group!”, Sky’s mother exclaimed.

 “’Fraid so”, Kyuhyun said, with a grin.

 “My goodness, both of you boys have come a long way!”

 “You knew my parents before you knew me?”, Sky asked Kyuhyun, incredulous.

Kyuhyun shrugged, “I didn’t know they were your parents.”

Both boys started working together. Soon, they were too busy to speak as Sky’s parent’s restaurant was always jam-packed around lunch.

“All I know is that Sky likes pasta and can’t handle sweet foods”, Gongchan said.

“We end up talking about food a lot and he never takes candy when I try to give him some”, he admitted sheepishly.

“I want to buy him a guitar, but I kind-of want it to be personal… What can we buy him as a group?”, JiHyun asked.

“I always thought he liked my rabbit. When I met him, he seemed to think my bunny was cute”, Jae Sun said, recalling the first meeting between himself and Sky.

“Um… what about a pet? Can we handle having a pet?”, Gongchan asked.

“Hm… well, Sky is responsible. We could buy him a dog, enjoy its cuteness, and make Sky take care of it under the pretense of a birthday present”, JiHyun said, jokingly.

They laughed, but despite it being a joke, the three members somehow ended up buying Sky a dog, a Welsh Corgi.

Chrome could handle a pet? Right? Right?

Oh lordy.  

Eun Suk strolled through the shopping mall, desperately trying to think of something Sky would like. She only had $20 with her. The consequence of having no family support in money…

No, I’m not going to think like that anymore, Eun Suk told herself firmly. Not anymore.

She shoved her fists deep in her jacket to keep from swearing.

Unexpectedly, a piece of paper touched her fist.

Eun Suk pulled it out of her jacket pocket and opened the folded piece of paper: I don’t deal with stress very well… but I like to focus on intricate things to distract myself from my emotions.

What? OH! This had been from the night they’d played spin the bottle!

Intricate things?

Hm… I might know just where to go…

“HAPPY BIRTHDAYYY TO YOUUUU!”

Sky leaned forward and blew out the candles to much applause.

“Take the cake home and share it amongst your friends, okay?”, Sky’s mother said, wrapping it up nicely.

Sky nodded and took the cake from her. He hugged both his parents before he and Kyuhyun left together.

 As they set off down the street together, Kyuhyun asked, “Are you feeling better?”

Sky nodded, “Yeah. I didn’t mean to explode like that… I tend to bottle things up a bit…”

“Yeah, but you weren’t wrong, either. Everyone agreed with you, including Eun Suk herself”, Kyuhyun replied.

Sky hesitated and then he said, “I like her a lot. Not like that. Not like I want to date her or something like that… but I wish she’d recognize that she is a very talented and valuable person.”

Kyuhyun nodded thoughtfully. “I agree. Not just for the group, but also for herself.”

“Yeah. And that’s what family is, right? To have self-improvement make everyone else feel better… about themselves. We’re not competing anymore. At least, not like that.”

“Well, I don’t know about that”, Kyuhyun said with a smirk.

“Turn to the right a little, please”, the photographer said.

Soo Ri complied, cocking her head slightly to the side and putting her hands on her hips.

“She looks so pretty”, Soori said, smiling.

Chan Hee grinned, “yeah, but she’s definitely not the best yet.”   

“You’re not going to make a big deal out of that, are you?”, Soori asked.

Chan Hee shrugged as she watched Soo Ri pose again, running her hands through her long hair.

Shim Jang turned off the music and grabbed her stuff, ready to go.

She walked out of the practice room, only to bump into someone…

“Hey, long time no talk. How’ve you been, best friend?”, Minzy was grinning at her

“Minzy!” 

“So, you think 1VS is going to live up to the standards? A lot of the other groups have been talking about it recently.”

“Us? Live up to the standards? Oh, hell yes!”, Shim Jang replied.

When Sky and Kyuhyun returned to the dormitory, all was quiet. Kyuhyun went off, muttering about a shower, but as soon as he turned the corner, he yelled. There was a sound like a bark, and then Kyuhyun yelled again. Sky could hear laughter as well.

Sky walked around the corner and saw an adorable dog on Kyuhyun’s chest. Kyuhyun was sprawled out on the floor. Everyone was laughing, pointing at Kyuhyun.

A large banner was strung across the room. It read Happy Birthday! Sky smiled to himself as he helped Kyuhyun up.

“Well, the little guy’s been waiting for a name forever, so what do you think?”, JiHyun asked Sky.

“What? He’s mine?”, Sky said, amazed.

“Birthday present”, Gongchan said happily.

“Oh, well… um…I’m not sure. Let me think about it. What is all this?”, Sky asked, somewhat flustered at the bowls of  steaming pasta, and a guitar with a blue bow at its end.

“It’s for your birthday, of course! You didn’t think we were just going to let it pass, did you?”, Chan Hee said, smiling.

“Oh, and I think Eun Suk left you a gift in your room”, Jae Sun said, “She barged in on me changing.”

“Jae Sun! Unnecessary!”, Soori said, and whacked him playfully.

“Where is she?”, Sky asked, realizing she wasn’t there.

“Practicing, I think”, Shim Jang answered, “I ran into her on my way out.”

“Okay, let me go put my stuff away. I’ll be right back”, Sky told them, and entered his room.

On his bed was a small cube with a white bow on it. He pulled the bow off and studied the cube.

It was a Rubik’s cube with all the colors mixed up.

Sky let out a breath. She’d gotten this for him because of what he written down on the piece of paper… He knew it. Sky smiled to himself as he analyzed the cube, looking for patterns. Found it! His hands moved quickly, and Sky had the thing unscrambled in thirty seconds flat.

He was about to put it away when he realized the Cube had letters written on it. At first, he thought it was just a design, but then he realized that putting the colors together had put the words together. It said: “뭔가달라졌대. 모두내가변했대.
참정이많았던애가언젠가좀차가워졌대.
이젠알수가없겠대.
항상웃었던넌데, 눈빛, 표정, 말투가어두워졌고무서워졌대.
죽이고픈기억때문인지내마음에서날지워가면서.
부질없는착한마음은이세상에선결함이니까, 어서.
점점나빠지고싶나봐.
사랑하면닮아간다는말처럼이렇게해서라도너와조금만닮아지고싶나봐.

나쁘다. 사랑은참나쁘다.
숨쉬는이유가되어버린네가내숨을막는다.”

Sky pondered the lyrics for a moment before a bark from the other room brought him back to the moment. He stuffed the Rubik’s cube under his pillow before he left to celebrate his birthday with his “family”.

Doggy: http://dogbreedinformations.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Welsh-Corgi-Pembroke-puppies-3.jpg

Guitar: http://www.dv247.com/assets/products/79218_l.jpg

Song Lyrics: [On Rubik's Cube]

They say something has changed.
They say I've changed.
They tell me somewhere I turned cold, when I used to be so affectionate.

They say something has changed.
They say I've changed.
They tell me somewhere I turned cold, but I used to be so affectionate.
They claim they don't understand.
They tell me I used to be cheerful but now my eyes and tone of my voice lost its light and admits fear.

Maybe it’s because of the painful memories, but I have survived by emptying my heart.
Lucid hearts are defective products of this world. That's why I badly want to taint mine.
They tell me that if you love, you start to take after each other; maybe I want to take after you a bit.

It’s like when:
You were the very reason I breathe for, but now you're suffocating me.

a/n: suggestions for the doggy's name? :3
and i'm going to start focusing on some of the characters i haven't before now. :D thank you for waiting patiently.

i was making outfits but photobucket took the collage thing out of its system... so i'm going to have to find another one. hope this chapter keeps you guys pacified for a bit! <3