Once upon a time... in the city of Incheon, was a little apartment located in a peaceful neighborhood. Morning had just dawned upon the city, and birds were merrily chirpping away as they flew by and landed on the window sills. It looked like the opening of a grand fairytale that was about to begin. The only problem was... there was no princess. On the other side of the window was not Cinderella nor Sleeping Beauty. But rather—

“Let's rock n' roll!!” The birds fled from the windows as loud blasts of sound waves came from the two amplifiers in one of the bedrooms. The floors shook from the vibrations of the speakers as Soojung jumped on the bed playing her air guitar. “Jung Soojung! Jung Soojung! Jung Soojung!” she cheered herself on, imagining an audience chanting her name as she played and sang. Truth be told, she didn't even know how to play an actual guitar.

Unfortunately, not everyone could be the hardcore rock spirit she was. “What the hell, Soojung?!” An agitated Joonmyun came bursting into the room in his pink robe (fine, “salmon-coloured”). Making his way over to the two amps, he smashed his fist onto the power button, pulling Soojung back to the reality that she was obviously trying to escape. “Didn't I tell you to stop playing loud music at seven in the morning?” he furrowed his brows.

She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, plopping herself down onto the bed with one leg crossed over the other. “No, you said no more loud music from my iPod. You didn't say anything about the stereo.”

“Same thing!” he retorted.

She slumped back against the headboard with an amused smirk painted on her lips, running her fingers through strands of her long dark pink hair (the most absurd colour of hair Joonmyun has ever seen on a girl). “Oh, you old geezer,” she laughed. 

He scoffed, muttering curses under his breath as he staggered out of the bedroom. Of course, it was kind of his fault for letting the rebellious teenage girl move in with them in the first place. Let her move in, Jinri says, it'll be fun, Jinri says. If this was fun, Joonmyun must be having the thrill of his life.

“Good morning, Jinri,” Joonmyun says as Jinri sleepily walks out of her room, rubbing her eyes. Her bangs drooped over her eyes and she pushes them to the side, looking up at him. The face of an angel, he thought. It still baffled him, knowing that his little sister was the very face of innocence and yet she could befriend someone as mischievous and obnoxious as Jung Soojung. The world is indeed strange. 

“Soojungie!” That's when he realized that she had already made her way into Soojung's room without a single word said to him. 

Third period.

Soojung's face was already flat on the desk the moment she sat down in History class. Her eyes snapped open when she felt a sharp pinch on her left cheek, an irritated moan emitted from the girl when she sees none other than Bae Suzy poking at her with the tip of a pencil. 

“Hey,” Suzy tried to start, frowning as Soojung flipped her head over to the other side. Turning herself around, she began kicking Soojung's chair in attempt to get the other girl's attention, but to no avail. With a sigh, she picked herself up and walked over to the other side of Soojung's desk, cursing under her breath when the latter once again turns her head. “Jung Soojung!”

“Oh my god, what is it?” Soojung growled, and yet her head still wouldn't move or lift up from the desk.

Good enough, Suzy thought. “You know Haneul High School, right?” Soojung side-nodded, pretending to listen. Just when she thought she could finally relax as Suzy blabbered on, her eyelids came to a halt as a sheet of paper was smacked down onto the desk in front of her. “They're holding auditions on Friday!”

There was no point in trying to resist Suzy at this point, because having known the girl for seven years, she could go on for hours until she got what she wanted. “And?”

“What do you mean, and? Haneul is the most prestigious arts' high school in Seoul. If we could get in, we'd have a shot at becoming big time idols like 2NE1 or CN Blue.”

“Forget it, we'd never make it in. Well... I'd make it in but I don't like being under the control of manipulative pricks.” Soojung lazily pushed her chair back, balancing the chair on it's back legs. “Go audition if you'd like, I have no interest.”

Suzy scoffed, unamused with Soojung's sky high ego along with her habit of underestimating everything but herself. “Come on, Sjungie,” Soojung cringed at the nickname as Suzy tapped her shoulders, “this isn't something small like joining the talent show. You have the vocals of a rock singer, Jinri sings in the choir and I... I do karaoke!”

“Forget it,” Soojung simply states once more before burying her head underneath the textbooks on her desk.

Before Suzy could refute, the second bell had rung and all students were sitting promptly at their desks, awaiting the teacher.

Jinri came whizzing across the café with two trays in either hand and another one balanced on her head. She managed to serve three tables at once without spilling anything or getting the order wrong. The customers clapped and cheered her on, as if she was putting on some sort of show. It was quite amusing, and Jinri didn't mind all the attention she was attracting, because it only drew more money into her pockets.

“Guess who's going to be employee of the month?” Suzy leaned over to Soojung's side with a grin.

Soojung chuckled, “gee, I don't know,” she replied sarcastically, eyeing the thousands of pictures of Jinri on the 'wall of fame' smiling and posing next to the manager holding a cheesecake. Soojung couldn't say she entirely envied Jinri for all the money she got from simply being a waitress because Jinri usually spent most of that money on Soojung rather than herself. 

And then something rather odd happened all of a sudden. Everyone went dead silent all at once, almost simultaneously as if a ghost had just appeared outside the café window - because that was where everyone was staring. Jinri stopped at one of the tables, looking around with a puzzled look on her face. What in the world was going on? That question was soon answered when the door flew open, and three boys casually walked into the café. All eyes were on the three boys as they took their seats.

Soojung's jaw dropped, her eyes catching once face in particular. Jinri, not knowing what else to do, just strode over to the table with the same smile she gave every other customer. “May I take your orders?”

“Who are those guys?” Soojung questioned, her eyes never leaving the sight of the gorgeous flower boy sitting beside the blonde.

“Ah, interested, are we?” Suzy teased, twirling the ends of her hair around her fingers, and Soojung rolled her eyes. “They're from Haneul, the school I was talking about earlier. Cute, aren't they?”

Before Soojung could make a snarky remark about how unattractive they are now that she knew they were from a snobby school, she was cut off when the pretty-faced boy approached her. “Hey, may I have some extra napkins?” 

“N-N-Napkins?” Panic began to take over and she looked back and forth, momentarily forgetting where they displayed the napkins. Suzy nearly fell off the stool laughing. “I-I napkins, we have napkins? Wait. of course we have napkins. Napkins. Suzy.” Her eyes darted towards Suzy who simply shrugged her shoulders, an amused smirk dancing on her lips as she wiggled her brows mockingly.

“Uh... it's alright, I'll go find them myself,” the boy said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly as he turned to walk towards Jinri - the only sane waitress he could see.

Soojung's face blushed a bright pink colour, scoffing and brushing it off as if it never happened. “S-S-smooooth~” Suzy laughed, mocking Soojung's earlier reaction.

Jinri calmly directed him to the napkin display, which was literally just three meters away from where Soojung was standing. Soojung felt her face grow red with embarrassment as the boy past her again with a smile on his face.

“If you like him so much, just join Haneul.”

“Forget it,” Soojung hissed, grabbing one of the trays and nearly hitting Suzy in the face. 

“Hey,” Suzy snapped her fingers in front of Soojung's face just as she was getting ready to slump back down in her seat and take a nap, “Jinri invited us here to listen to her. Don't fall asleep.”

“But choir is so damn boring!” Soojung whines, a few choir members shook their heads with an offended look plastered on their faces as they passed by in their black gowns. “How do people even stay awake during this stuff? It makes me want to bore holes in the walls.”

“It doesn't matter whether or not you like it, Soojung. Jinri is our friend, your BEST friend, and this means a lot to her. Just listen to her sing and give an opinion on her voice. That's all she wants,” Suzy explained, while at the same time snatching the phone out of Soojung's hands as she tried to pull it out of her pocket. 

The lights in the show room dimmed, and Soojung sighed as she prepared herself for what she assumed will be the most boring thirty minutes of her life.

“I can't believe you fell asleep on me!” Jinri frowned, her hands flailing around and hitting Soojung multiple times in the stomach. Disappointment was evident on her face. 

Soojung quickly shuffles over to the other side of Suzy, using the other girl as a shield against Jinri's punches. “Hey! Be glad I even showed up!” she said as she shifted back, avoiding Jinri's death stare. “I like it though. At least the first few minutes of it. I started getting bored after Lee Jongsuk started singing the chorus.”

Jinri furrowed her brows, “what? Lee Jongsuk didn't sing the chorus, I did! Six minutes after he finished his line.”

“That WASN'T the chorus?” Soojung's eyes widened, “how long was I asleep?”

The door to Jinri's room slammed shut the moment the two girls arrived home at the apartment. Joonmyun turned his head over to Soojung, who simply tossed her school bag onto the couch and took a seat next to him as if nothing had even happened. Not bothering to question Soojung (because she's hard-headed and won't admit her faults), he heaved a sigh and climbed upstairs to console Jinri instead.

“Jinr-”

“Go away!” Jinri barked from inside her room.

Joonmyun frowned, displeased with Jinri's tone. Ever since Soojung moved in, Jinri's become... well she's become a lot like Soojung and that bothers him. She's reluctant to admit it, but her temper has shrunk significantly since Soojung moved in with them. “Jinri, if you're upset about something, we can talk it over and work it out. Please, just let me in.”

“I said go away!” she shouts again before burying herself under the covers.

Joonmyun finally gives up and trudges downstairs, where Soojung is still kicking back on the couch with a remote in her hands, flipping through channels. “Soojung, what happened to Jinri?” he eventually asked after Soojung had made her way into the kitchen for a snack. 

“She's all bummed out because I fell asleep at her choir-show-thingy,” Soojung answered, pouring herself a bowl of potato chips. “I don't know what the big deal is.”

A sigh came from Joonmyun as he shook his head at Soojung's naïvity. Overall, Soojung was a clever girl that could effortlessly understand people from head to toe...except when it came down to be sentimental. “Soojung, don't you think that if Jinri is making a big deal out of something that it is a big deal?”

He watched as Soojung picked up her bowl of chips and a cup of cola before strutting over to the couch, not bothering to answer his question. Oh, what Joonmyun would give to earn just a tad bit of respect in this house.

“The soloist has made it big since his debut in 2009, graduating from Haneul school of the arts. Haneul has been proclaimed as 'the miracle school' as most of the idols we see today have attended Haneul -”

Jinri listened attentively to the television, taking immense interest in the news. So that's who they were... she thought, thinking back to the three young men that entered the café a few days ago. It made her wonder how this one school could change so many lives, it was hard to believe. And Jinri was skeptical about it, but not entirely.

For a moment, she forgets why she was even mad at Soojung as a new thought replaced her old one. She found herself wandering into the kitchen, looking back and forth until her eyes met with Soojung, looking at her from the livingroom.

“Soojung!” she chirps happily, making her way over to the couch and plops herself down next to her best friend. Soojung stares at her with wide questioning eyes, but doesn't want to remind her that she was just mad a few hours ago. “Did you see what was on the news?”

“I wasn't watching the news,” Soojung replied dully, her fingers pressing the 'next' button on the remote multiple times.

“Have you heard of Haneul before?”

Tilting her head back, she gave Jinri the exact same uninterested look she gave Suzy a while back. “Gosh Jinri, not you too. You don't seriously believe in that shi-”

“But we should at least try!” Jinri encouraged, swiping the remote from Soojung and flipping the channels over, earning a irritated groan from Soojung who was eagerly waiting for the latest episode of Pretty Little Liars.

The news came on, and a man who seemed to be the principal of the school greeted the camera as he walked backwards and spoke. “This is the first time we're allowing a tour through the school.”

Soojung scoffed, “probably because the school got so broke and crappy that-”

“Shhh!” Jinri hushed.

“The school was established in the late 90's, founded by CEO Park Seo Joon. Since then, we've hosted auditions for young teenagers with big dreams to one day-”

“Soojung!” Jinri shouted when Soojung grabbed the remote and changed the channels again.

“Why is his voice so monotoned? He's almost as boring as Ms.Park in History class.” Soojung's attention span was rather short when it came to things that couldn't capture her attention at first sight, and that was something that Jinri would never become accustomed to.

After a long argument, yelling back and forth, Soojung gave in and the remote was now Jinri's. When she switched back, they were in the middle of revealing the dance practice rooms. “So big,” Jinri gaped at the size of the room, extending almost as far as an entire basketball court. 

Soojung remained disinterested throughout the tour, scrolling through apps on her phone as Jinri awed at the high school. “Some idols return to the school on occasion to visit and thank us. They'd hold concerts right here at the school and inspire the students to work hard to be like them one day. We're holding auditions on Friday.”

Looking up at the night sky, Jinri closed her eyes and clasped her hands together, silently praying to the heavens. In her mind, she told God that she was thankful for everything that she still had - food, a home, hopes and dreams, Joonmyun, Soojung and Suzy. There was much more that she wanted, but she convinced herself that she was content with what she had. 

In her mind, she could hear the voices of her mother and father, both delighted to see her. A bittersweet smile formed on her lips as she spoke to them and told them how her day went. I really miss you guys, she would say to them as she tried to hold back the tears - which was easier now than it was a few years ago when they passed away. 

Her eyes darted up at the stars twinkling in the sky, and her hands clasped tightly together. There was but one wish that she wanted, just one right now. She wanted to become a star - one that would enlighten and inspire other people. She wanted to stand on the stage and sing to people who would listen to her, appreciate her. It was all she wanted. 

I want to be a star that lights up the sky like no other. 

Stepping out of the hot steamy shower, Soojung let out a sigh, feeling the cool air from outside her window brush across her face and scalp. She casually walks over to her desk - her phone was vibrating loudly (it had been vibrating for over an hour). Seeing the caller ID, she was glad that she decided to take a shower before answering it.

She didn't even get the chance to mutter a single 'hello' before the high-pitched voice came screaming into her ear. “Jung Soojung!” was the first thing to come from the other line, followed by a string of curses. Soojung sat back in her desk chair, biting her lip as she listened to the woman going on. “If I had known you were going to be this useless, I would've gotten an abortion,” the woman spat harshly into the phone.

“Sorry,” was all Soojung could respond with, rolling her eyes. She wondered why her mother would even bother to call her if she was really that much of a nuisance, she basically just called every few months or so to make sure Soojung remembered that she was a worthless piece of crap and then hung up. 

“I really hope you're studying to become a lawyer and pay me back for all the years I've wasted on your ungrateful .” There was a pause, and she heard a sigh. “Why can't you be more like your little sister, Saejung? She's just fifteen and she's already planning on going to medical school.”

Soojung's eye twitched slightly at the mention of her younger sister. Without another word, Soojung hung up the phone. 

Fumbling through the wooden drawers, Suzy randomly pulled out one of the karaoke dvds. Soojung promptly takes a seat next to Jinri, munching on another bag of potato chips. “How do you scarf down all that junk food and not gain even a pound?” Jinri asked, eyeing Soojung's almost perfect figure a little enviously.

Soojung shrugged her shoulders, “I get the lightening fast metabolism from my sister.”

After popping the dvd into the dvd player, Suzy hit play and handed the microphone over to Jinri before taking her seat next to Soojung. “Oh god, why this song?” Soojung began to complain again as the sound of violins and pianos started up and invaded her rock-loving ears. 

“Stop complaining and listen,” Suzy picked up a pillow and whacked Soojung in the face.

About two minutes into the song, Soojung didn't find herself as bored as she assumed she would be. It was kind of nice, kind of. Jinri's soft, elegant voice made it somewhat endurable. Jinri sang with much passion and much expression, it made up for the fact that her voice wasn't as powerful. It was nice, Soojung noted.

“She's gotten a lot better,” Suzy commented, nudging Soojung's arm with her elbow. 

Jinri passed the mic over to Suzy once the song was over, and the song switched to an upbeat pop song. “Alright, ladies!” Suzy shouted into the microphone, causing Soojung and Jinri to slump back in their seats, plugging their ears with their fingers. “Are you ready?!” Suzy's voice was a lot more powerful than they had expected, as her voice was usually one of the softest, sometimes even softer than Jinri's.

And as Suzy began to sing, Jinri's eyes connected with Soojung's. Soojung knew exactly what Jinri was thinking, but Jinri couldn't quite tell what was on the latter's mind. All she knew was that Soojung gave her a nod, almost as if confirming Jinri's thoughts. And Jinri threw her arms around her best friend with a huge smile on her face.

Suzy stopped singing and quirked an eyebrow at the two girls that just randomly started hugging each other in the middle of her performance.

“Sir,” a man pokes his head into the office as he knocked on the door “are we ready for the auditions?”

The tall, broad man slumped back in his chair as he heaved an exhausted sigh. Pinching the bridge of his nose, his eyes turn to the dark-haired boy sitting in a corner with his arms resting on his knees. “Jongin, you might as well participate this year. You're old enough now,” the man says, his voice coming out deep and husky.

The boy looked up at him, his eyes emanating a cold, dark feeling. He looked down at his feet, not responding to the man's question. “You're going to be going whether you like it or not, Jongin,” the man stated before turning his head over to the man at the door. “Let them in.”

A/N: Huzzah! The first update! I know, first chapters are always the most boring but it'll get better (I hope). At this chapter we get a look into our main female characters' lives (JungLi) and as you can see, they're half-good half-bad. We'll see BaekYeol in the next chapter. As you can see at the end, Kai's personality has changed drastically from how he was in the first version of Time Capsule and so will Baekhyun's (sorry to the people who didn't want me to change that :c). For those asking if changing Baekhyun's personality means more BaekStal moments...HELL YES. There will be loads and loads of BaekStal, don't worry. Yeah, so um, updates might be slow because school is starting soon for me (boo school!). I expected a lot of unsubscribers but I ended up gaining more and for that, I thank you guys a lot. And even the ones who don't comment, I love you guys too. <3 :'D & a special thanks to Kpop77 who kept encouraging me and wrote a BaekStal fic to keep my feels going. ;u;  Ok baibai my little cinnamon buns!