It's not a very good feeling to walk into your vocal training room and the first thing your sensei says is "Come with me, it's time for your first vocal exhibition." I'd done a few competitions against the other members of my dance class before, but this was the first time I'd heard of competeing against the other trainees vocally. I was extremely nervous. Especially when Tiffany and Ryeowook fell into step with me.

"Are you going to the announcement of the trainee's vocal exhibition, too?" Tiffany asked.

I shrugged and indicated Nakata-sensei. "I guess so. Why are you two going?"

They grinned at each other. "You'll see," Ryeowook answered.

"Ya! Oppa! You can't do that to me! I don't know what's going on!"

They just laughed and ushered me into the room Nakata-sensei was disappearing into, which turned out to be a medium-sized stage and auditorium that I wasn't even aware the company building had. Shows you how much I knew.

Tiffany and Ryeowook sat down in the back, but Nakata-sensei pulled me forward, towards the rest of the trainees. Some of them I recognized from my dance class, but others must have been from other classes. I saw Min Hee, and sat down next to her. Of course, I couldn't help but notice that soon afterwards, Tiffany and Ryeowook in the back of the auditorium were joined by Seohyun, SNSD's maknae; The Grace's Dana; All of the members from TRAX, and, most importantly, Sungmin, Siwon, and Kyuhyun from SuJu, along with a few others. What could they possibly all be doing in the trainee exhibition?

"Welcome, trainees. You might be wondering why you've been gathered here." 

Tell me about it.

The man at the front of the stage with the mic continued. "This is your first vocal test of the year. You'll be performing a song of your choice, whatever you decide to do, be it an English, Korean, or otherwise song. We advise you choose one that takes best advantage of your singing capabilities. Those who do well will recieve awards. This will be a step further towards your debuts."

No way! Were they serious?! This was awesome!

"Now, there is something special about this performance. You can see, in the back of the room, many of your sunbaes have gathered. These are artists here at SM who are capable of playing an instrument well. We have asked them each to choose one of you, and be your partner for a performance. Therefore, the song you choose should also fit your partner's instrumental abilities."

Oh. My. God. Was this real?! But... who chose me?

"Now, subaes, please come to the front of the stage. We'll have you announce your chosen partner yourselves."

They did, and as Kyuhyun walked down the aisle towards the stage, he couldn't resist messing up my hair as he walked by, since I just happened to be in an aisle seat. Did he pick me? Well no, maybe it was Tiffany... What if it was someone I didn't even know very well?

"Let's have our So Nae Shi Dae members announce their choices first. Seohyun-shi?"

She asked for someone I didn't know, and the trainee, a shy girl probably about a year younger than me, joined her on stage. 

"Tiffany-shi?"

Was it me? I was the youngest member of FASE, after all. 

"Well, when I was asked to do this, I wasn't sure, since I only knew a few of the trainees, but I heard this girl was a So Nae Shi Dae fan, so I just couldn't resist. I wanted to get to know her better. She seems very talented, too. So... Kim Min Hee, I'd be happy to be your partner. 

Min Hee just about leaped out of her skin. She turned to me, mouthing, "Nan? Me?"

I only nodded and waved her towards the stage, letting her out. She joined Tiffany onstage and bowed deeply, then backed up, smiling. She was with her Eonni. I was happy for her. 

"TRAX?"

The members went, one by one, the drummer (whose name I can never remember since the ones who get the most press are Jay and Jungmo), picking Min Hee's old dance partner, SoHee. When Jungmo came up, the rest of the audience cheered in anticipation. Everyone wanted to be the partner of SM's greatest guitarist. Admittedly, if any of them were any good at singing rock, Jungmo was the person you wanted to work with. He was an almost automatic all-kill. Unless you had Henry, who was mysteriously not there.

He didn't pick me, though, so I just kind of zoned out while the rest of the artists announced their choices. At least until the announcer asked he SuJu members to announce their choices.

My heart suddenly started pounding. The only one after SuJu was Dana, so it had to be one of the Super Junior members. But which one? They all knew me...

Not Siwon.

Kyuhyun maybe?

Nope. Although I swear he was grinning right at me when he said someone else's name, as if he knew that I was hopeful. 

Don't tell me... Sungmin-oppa?! I wasn't sure if I'd be able to perform with him. My voice cracked every time I tried to talk to him, let alone ask him to play guitar for me! Or piano, or whatever instrument he decided to play...

But my heart still fell when he didn't pick me, even though he explained that there was someone he'd wanted to pick, but one of s stole her. Then, of course, Kyuhyun for making Sungmin's actual partner feel bad, but she seemed too overwhelmed to even care. 

"Okay, Ryeowook-goon, it's your turn," the announcer called, and Wookie came to the front, smiling adorably, as if embarassed. 

"Well, I don't really know many of the trainees very well, so I felt a bit guilty when they asked me to choose one to help. But I was able to attend the vocal training lesson of the one I chose, and I think she'll be fun to perform with. I hope she won't be upset that I stole her. She could have been chosen by someone a lot better than me, so I feel bad. Sorry, Choi Minsung!"

He was so shy, it was adorable! He was modest, too! His piano skills were nothing to turn anyone away! Don't be sorry, Ryeowook-oppa! I'm sure your partner would be very happy!

Wait a second.

I jolted to my feet as if my chair had shocked me. Nan?! Me?! Wookie chose me as his partner?! Of course, what other Choi Minsung was there?!

I went to the stage and bowed deeply, trying not to giggle like an idiot. I was going to be performing with Wookie! NO WAY!!!!!

 "So, partner, what song are we going to be performing?" Ryeowook asked. We were in the practice room, ad he was sitting on the piano bench, facing me. It was only a day after the exhibition had been announced, and we were already sitting down to work on it. It was only an exhibition for the company-- nobody outside SM would even know it happened until after we debuted (Provided we debuted)-- but it was still important.

"Hmmm... well, it needs to be something that uses the piano well, so Wookie-oppa can help me shine." I smiled shyly, a bit embaraseed to say it out loud.

But he didn't seem to care. "Right," he replied, nodding, "But can I give you advice?"

"Yes, please," I answered. Advice from Wookie sounded pretty good, considering he was still three times a better singer than I was, even after three months of vocal training. I doubted that was something that was going to change, no matter how many years of practice I had. There was a natural talent thing involved.

"I think it's best if you pick a song that's in English. I mean, it's your native language, right?"

"You're right! I can sing in English better than anyone in this company."

"Exactly! So you should take advantage of that, and sing something in English."

"You two are getting really excited about this," Nakata-sensei commented darkly. She seemed particularly bothered that the Super Junior members kept invading her lessons.

"I'm just excited to see what Minsung's going to do! But I feel a bit sorry towards her..."

I tilted my head to the side questioningly. "Why would you feel sorry, Oppa? I'm very happy to have a pianist as good as Ryeowook-oppa helping me!"

"Well, it's just that I know you would've wanted to perform with Sungmin or Kyuhyun, since they're your two favorites, but I stole you."

"Huh? What do you mean, 'you stole me'?"

"Well, they asked me which trainee I wanted to work with, and you were the only one I knew, so I kind of... blurted out your name. And then I found out later that when they asked Sungmin and Kyuhyun, both of them wanted to help their ELF hoobae, but since they asked me first, you were taken. They were a bit upset with me."

I burst out laughing, partly because of the ridiculousness that all three of my favorite Oppas had wanted to perform with me (So when Sungmin had said that his first choice was stolen by one of s, it was me being stolen by Wookie?!), and partly because Wookie sounded so sad about it.

"Hey, that's not funny, Mel! If they would've let me, I would've wanted to do it, too!" Henry plopped into the chair next to me.

"What do you mean, they wouldn't let you?"

"They told Henry that he couldn't do it because it was too obvious who he would pick. You are his pet, after all," Wookie explained, laughing. 

Henry made a face. "Everyone's saying that the girl Jungmo-hyung chose is easily going to be the winner. If they would've let me do it, I could've totally done just as good. Sorry, Mel."

I laughed and patted him on the back. "It's okay, Henry. I'm sure Ryeowook-oppa and I will be able to crush the competition on our own." Okay, I wasn't sure, but I wasn't going to say that. "Although I'm really upset that I'm going to have to compete against Sungmin and Kyuhyun. Especially considering that they wanted to be my partners..."

"What makes you so confident?" Ryeowook asked.

"Because I have an idea for the song we can do. And it's an all-kill."

"So, what song are you doing?" I asked Min Hee when we met back at the dorm after a long day of practicing, studying, and singing.

Min Hee pulled off her boots and shrugged. "You'll see."

"What, you're not going to tell me?"

"You'll see."

I made a face at her. "Fine, I won't tell you what Ryeowook-oppa and I are doing, either."

"All the better for me. I hope I'm pleasantly surprised."

"Same here. Hey, wait a second, are you saying that you'll be surprised if I do well?!"

Min Hee just grinned.

"You ."

Since idols' schedules were busy, the actual performances wouldn't be until long after Christmas in order to give us plenty of time to practice. Actually, idols' schedules were even more busy around Christmas time, because they had to promote for the holidays. That meant that I wouldn't be seeing much of my Oppas until January, except for the rare opportunities I had to practice with Ryeowook. His piano skills were amazing, as expected. Once we purchased the music for the song I wanted, he picked it up right away. Not surprising, really, but it was one of the things I thought. Honestly, though, I don't think I would have been able to pull off the song I had picked if it weren't for him.

However, presenting after Christmas meant one thing-- my friends would be there before it happened.

Christmas is a prime time for travel, and Korea was no exception. I muscled my way through the crowds in the Incheon International Airport, trying to get to my friends' gate, Min Hee not far behind me. At Henry's insistance, Super Junior's manager had kindly agreed to let us borrow the SJ van to come get my friends so long as he was able to drive us himself, because he didn't trust Henry. A drive of any length with Super Junior's manager seemed slightly daunting, but I'd talked to him before, and he was pretty cool. Actually, he was awesome. On the drive down to Incheon, he'd ben making fun of Henry and singing along with the radio really loudly. He was really funny and a bit weird, but I guess when you're the manager of that many crazy boys, you have to be a bit crazy yourself in order to keep things in line. Especially while the leader was gone. 

He and Henry were waiting in the van, though, since the airport was one of the places that idols got recognized the easiest, and were quickly swarmed. Not wanting that, since we were just there to pick up my friends, they had agreed to stay in the van.

Finally Min Hee and I got to the gate exit, and held up a sign with my friends' names. Well, Min Hee held it up, since she was taller, and I stepped on the feet of the people who crowded too close to us. 

Finally I saw them, a bunch of weird American girls that looked like they hadn't slept enough and yet seemed way more excited than your average tourist.

"Guys!!!! Over here!" I called over the rest of the crowd. They turned right away at the sound of my voice. Need I remind you that mine was the voice that turned the tide of the anti-fan chant at a Super Junior concert? I was pretty sure I could out-yell a bunch of Christmas airport-goers.

"MEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!" They shouted and ran over to me, Emily almost falling into me. 

"Mellison!" Eliz cheered, making both Alison and I look. I hated when she called me that, because it always caused confusion.

"Where's Henry?" Jacklyn asked.

Min Hee and I simultaneously shushed her. 

"Sshhh!!! Don't let people know we know him! It causes problems," Min Hee urged. 

"Come on, let's get your bags," I suggested, once again pushing through the crowds.

When we were a significant distance away, I explained where Henry was, and how we'd gotten there.

"Seriously? We're riding to Seoul in the SuJu van?!" Ali asked incredulously.

"Ssshhh!!!! Geez! Yeah, in the SuJu van. It's actually bigger than we need, but it was available... sort of."

"I'm going to feel like an idol," Eliz giggled.

Min Hee laughed, "Yes, it really does make you feel that way."

"OH MY GOD I LOVE YOUR ACCENT!!!!!" Emily again.

"Em, this isn't the first time you've met Min Hee," I scolded.

"But this is the first time in person!"

The rest of us just rolled our eyes while she insisted on shaking Min Hee's hand.

"Em, we're leaving without you!" Jacklyn called out.

"Hey! Wait for me!"

"Okay, so you've met Henry over webchat before, but let's do introductions again. Henry, Manager-shi, these are my friends: Jacklyn, Emily, Elizabeth and Alison. Jacklyn, Em, Eliz, Ali, this is Super Junior's manager, Kim Junghoon, and you all know Henry..."

Henry waved, then opened the door of the van for them.

Manager-shi just snorted and laughed. "Henry, a real gentleman helps a lady with her bags. Would you like some help, girls?"

They laughed at Henry's face and handed their bags over to Manager Kim, then climbed into the van.

"Oh my gosh, this van is HUGE!" were the first words out of Em's mouth.

"What do you expect? It's the Super Junior van. It has to be big." I could only laugh at them. I suppose their awe was incredibly similar to how my own was when I first entered the company.

"There's a bunch of snack wrappers back here," Ali called from the back. The very back. Naturally, that's the first place my friends went.

"Mostly energy bars," Eliz added.

"Oh sorry, that was probably Heechul and Shindong. They got hungry," Henry explained.

"Okay, this is... AGH, these are somebody's pants!"

Ali squealed and threw them, falling down into the van's seat.

While Manager Kim laughed, Henry tried to explain.

"Oh geez, those guys. Sorry, I think the last people to use the van were Eunhyuk and Donghae when they were promoting their duet."

Jacklyn and I locked gazes, then burst out laughing.

Henry looked between the two of us, confused. "What? What's so fu-- oh." The tips of his ears turned red. "That's not what I mea-- I shouldn't have told you-- you guys are sick!"

Jacklyn and I just laughed harder, trying to clear our minds of dirty thoughts and not succeeding. 

"Are you ladies done exploring the van, or can we leave?" Manager Kim asked in Korean, looking at them through the rearview mirror.

Since I understood and they didn't, I urged them to ignore the pants and sit down, so Manager Kim could start driving.

When everyone was safely buckled in and the van was moving, Henry tried to explain that sometimes the guys changed in the back of the van when schedules were tight, but the Wisconsin Girls were more interested in the little secrets the van could reveal about Super Junior.

"Hey look! There's a secret compartment in here!" Eliz called, investigating the inside of the panel between seats.

"Ya! Eonni! Don't touch stuff that isn't yours!" 

Henry turned around to see what she was looking at. "Woah, seriously, don't mess with that. Heechul hates it when other people touch his stuff."

"Huh? That's Heenim's? Let me see!" Em begged, leaning over to look.

"Ya! You guys are being obnoxious! Do you know how scary Heenim is?! If he finds out that you were in here messing around, I'll be the one who pays for it later!"

"And he'll be mad at me by association!" Min Hee added.

"Come on, Mel, you can't say you wouldn't use this opportunity to learn more about your Oppas. This is like a Super Junior landmine!" Jacklyn argued, sifting through a CD binder that she had found in the compartment in the back of my chair.

I had to confess, on the way to the airport, I'd been crawling around the back of the van, doing much of the same things they were, but I had forced myself not to disturb anything since I didn't want to invade my Oppas' privacy too much. I was sure if there was something they didn't want to get out to the public, they had a good reason for it. Not to mention that Min Hee had kept scolding me for it. That was probably why I hadn't noticed the pants. Still, it had been difficult to resist, and I felt a bit guilty. 

"Okay, so it's extremely tempting. But would you guys stop TOUCHING things!? Could you, like, take a nap or something?"

"But this is way more fun!"

Eventually we made it back to Seoul, and pulled into the parking garage of the hotel they would be staying at, without the van being completely torn apart. Fortunately Manager Kim didn't seem to be very upset, finding the whole thing very amusing. 

As we pulled their bags up to their rooms, they asked Henry and me what the schedule for the next day was.

"Are you going to show us around SM?" Eliz asked excitedly.

"Sorry, girls. Getting celebrity friends inside the company is hard enough, let alone friends of trainees," Min Hee answered, "Mel would get in a lot of trouble if she let you in."

Ali pouted, and grumbled, "SM ."

I knew she didn't mean it, because she, Eliz and I were all SM-biased, but in plenty of ways, she was right. SM did . There were so many rules and guidelines that they made me want to scream half the time. I wasn't even allowed to listen to any of Han Geng's music using speakers. Apparently the company didn't allow it. Also, even if you had a vacation day, you had to ask like a billion people just so you could leave the little SM-corner of Seoul. It was extremely frustrating and irritating. But I didn't tell my friends that because I didn't want them to worry.

"No, tomorrow you have a meeting with the members of FASE. Mel, you're not invited," Henry stated, pulling Eliz's rolling bag behind him onto the elevator."

"Huh? What do you mean, I'm not invited?! These are my friends, you little-!"

But the elevator was closed behind him, and my hands were too full with Emily and Jacklyn's bags to stop them.

I sighed and put one of the bags down so I could press the elevator call button, wondering what FASE's evil plan was, and why exactly they needed my friends' help to execute it. 

When Henry, Min Hee and Manager Kim had gone, I was alone in the hotel room with my friends. I had told Min Hee that I would be staying at the hotel overnight with my friends, and she didn't seem too worried. 

"Soooooo..." Em began, drawing it out as if waiting for someone to continue for her, which Eliz did.

"So now that it's just you and us, why don't you tell us what's really been going on here in Seoul?"

"Wh-wh-wh-what do you mean, 'what's really been going on'?" I stuttered, surprised by the sudden suspicious inquisition.

"Well, let's point out all of the things we've noticed that you haven't explained yet," Jacklyn began, "You've lost weight, even though here in Korea, as explained by Simon and Martina, you should be gaining weight. Your clothes have gotten more fashionable. You've been wearing makeup more often, as evidenced by some of the pictures we've seen. You don't even fangirl over talking to Henry anymore. You've been working on getting prettier and friendlier, and yet you expect us to believe that there's nothing going on?"

"I'm a trainee for SM Entertainment! I've lost weight because I'm practically starving half the time, I've gotten more fashionable by Min Hee's insistance and that there's not much else to buy, and I've been wearing makeup more often because..."

I halted. Why had I been wearing makeup more often? 

"Well, if I want to debut, I have to look prettier. Is there something wrong with that?"

"Uh-huh," Em replied in a way that said "I-absolutely-do-not-believe-you".

"So you're saying that there's nothing going on with you and any of the TONS of handsome, charming, adorable male idols that seem to surround you?" Eliz prodded me.

I couldn't help it. I thought of the little private moments I had shared with a few of my Oppas, like sitting next to Donghae by the sea, or writing a song with Zhou Mi, or getting music lessons from Kyuhyun and Ryeowook-- and blushed, the pink seeping through my cheeks. "Nothing... nothing like that. They're just..."

They're just what? Friends? People I respected? My sunbaes? My oppas? As wonderful with English as I was, I couldn't think of any words that described what they were to me. Friends didn't seem quite right; it seemed more personal than it actually was. Although they had all wanted to be my partner... Sunbae didn't seem personal enough, either. I loved them too much for that. But it seemed so different from a fangirl-Oppa relationship. I wasn't really sure what it was.

My friends must have been reading my mind, or maybe just sensing my uncertainty, because then Ali asked, "there's no one that you feel at least a bit romantically attached to?"

For some reason, I thought of JiHoo. I thought of how he'd been okay with the highly suggestive dance we'd done for Mirotic, and how I had completely destroyed him because of it. It had made me want to be a better person to my classmates, and focus on my trainee career. 

I explained this to my friends, and some of their skepticism disappeared, but not all of it. 

"Okay, so that explains some things, but I still find it hard to believe that you spend so much time with the Super Junior members and don't like at least one of them" Em argued, crossing her arms.

"I do like at least one of them. I like all of them." It was true. They'd all been charming and hilarious, and an overall incredible distraction from my growling tummy and burning frustration.

"But none in particular?"

"No! Geez, why are you asking me this?!" 

"Just curious," Eliz replied, suddenly bright, "so what else has been going on?"

"Well, I'm doing this singing competition with Wookie as my pianist..."

"WHAT?! No way!"