The next morning, after Taemin had left, the boys sat around the table to eat breakfast. It was quiet en nobody really had the urge to say something. They were all in their own thoughts, most of them about the maknae. 

"We really need to go now, boys. We have to train." Key eventually said and slowly the boys got moving. None of them really felt like training. They walked to the dance studio in complete silence. The people around them avoided them, 'cause the most of them knew what had happened to them. 

When they entered the dance studio their manager was waiting for them. Normally he wasn't there, so the boys were actually quite surprised. Beside the manager their trainer was waiting for them. Silently the boys sat down on the floor and waited for the manager to start talking.

"Boys, I know you don't really feel like training right now, but I have good news for you. We're planning to debut you in six months. There is just one thing. You really need to step it up to actually debut. That means training every day. Not only dancing, but also singing. We're going to give you special training in some categories." The manager finally said and the boys all looked at each other surprised. They hadn't expected this. They looked at each other and all thought the same. If Taemin was still here, this day would be perfect.  

"Minho, you're going to be the main rapper and sub-vocalist. Therefor you'll get extra training in rapping. You'll still get vocal training, but not as intensive as Jonghyun. Jonghyun, you're going to be the main vocalist." The manager went on and the two named boys just nodded. "Key, you're going to be the main dancer, lead rapper and vocalist. You'll have a tough and tight training schedule, but we trust you can take that. And at last, Onew. You'll be the lead vocalist and the leader of this group."

The boys were speechless. Of course they were excited, but it was all a little weird. The fact that Taemin had just left yesterday made this all not as enjoyable as they had expected it to be. 

"Well.. What are you waiting for? Come on, get moving." Their manager said and then he disappeared out of the room. The boys slowly stood up and looked at their trainer. 

"First of all: congratulations guys. You really deserve it. Well, Minho, you can go to Practice Room 12 and Jonghyun and Onew can go to Practice room 6. Key, you're staying with me. We're going to work on your dance moves." Their trainer said and eventually the boys seemed to wake up. Minho quickly walked out of the room with Jonghyun and Onew behind them. 

In the hallway the three boys looked at each other and smiled for the first time since Taemin had left. 

"This is amazing!" Jonghyun said and the other boys nodded.

"I had never expected this. Can you believe it? In about six months we'll be able to show ourselves to the world." Onew followed and he grinned. 

"Actually I had expected it." Minho said and the other boys looked at him surprised. 

"Why did you expect it?" Onew asked curious.

"The moment he gave us a whole day off to spend with Taemin I knew something wasn't right. The fact that we'll be debuting soon gives him enough reason to give us want we wanted just before training hell would start." Minho explained and the other two became quiet again.

"It does make sense." Jonghyun mumbled. "It's like some sort of reward before we even knew why." He said. The boys didn't answer and they walked to their practice rooms in silence.

In the meanwhile Key was talking with their trainer.

"We have to work hard to get you good enough to complete with someone like Hyoyeon. Taemin was actually the one who would be the main dancer, but then the government decided to introduce that stupid rule..." He said and he sighed. "Well, let's just get started."

Key nodded and swallowed. The fact that Taemin actually had to stand here made it even more difficult for him be stay focused. All the time he was thinking he didn't deserved to be in this place. This was Taemin's place, so what was he doing here? Therefore, when the music started, he totally forgot the dance and the trainer turned off the music and looked at him in anger.

"Key! What are you doing? Didn't you hear what I just said to you? Keep your focus, please! Or else you'll wish you were the one who had been sent away!" He yelled.

That last sentence really hurt Key. How often hadn't he wished he had indeed been sent away in stead of Taemin. Taemin was pretty, young and full of talent. He wasn't. Well, he could sing a little and maybe dance pretty well, but he wasn't pretty at all. What was he even doing here at all? He sighed and decided to at least try to stay focused through this practice. Then he would have the time to think and maybe talk about it with Jonghyun, his best friend. 

When the music again, he started dancing. He closed his eyes and just listened to the music and let his body move to the beat. In his head he saw the moves Taemin had danced the day before yesterday. The day they had heard the terrible news... He tried to copy them as best as he could and a smile appeared on his face. Slowly he felt himself go warm while his body and mind were becoming one with the music. 

Too soon for his liking the music died out and he opened his eyes, panting like crazy. He looked at the trainer and the latter nodded content. 

"Well, Key, you've certainly improved. I've never seen anyone dance like that. It's amazing. Where did you learn those moves?" He asked then and Key blushed. He knew the praise wasn't right. Taemin was the one who deserved to get this praise. Therefore he just shrugged and walked to his drink bottle. He took a big sip and let the cool water glide down his throat. 

"Now you're warmed up, we can begin learning the choreography of your debut song. You wanna hear it?" The trainer asked and Key nodded enthusiastically. The trainer put on the song and sat down next to Key. They both listened intensely to the song and when it was done, the trainer looked at Key.

"So... What do you think? You like it?" He asked and Key smiled brightly.

"I love it!" The younger boy said and he jumped up. "It's so catchy and fresh. I hope our public will love it too." He said and he smiled. The trainer chuckled. 

"I'm glad you like it. Let's get started then, shall we? The others will come in about half an hour. Then we can learn the rest of them the dance." He said and he started music again. "I'm going to show you first. Then I'm going to learn you the steps one by one, arrasso?" He yelled over the music and then he began dancing. Key looked at him intensively and when the trainer was done he smiled. 

*I can do this without learning all the steps one by one.* He thought and he went to stand in the right position. 

The trainer looked him funny, but when Key gestured him to put on the music, he obeyed and pushed the play button. 

Key closed his eyes and immediately saw the shadow of the trainer before his eyes. Like in slow motion he saw the moves and he immediately followed them. He kept his eyes closed and just followed the figure in his head. When the music died out he opened his eyes again and looked at the trainer. The latter was staring at him with open mouth.

"This is unbelievable. You're sure you've never seen this dance before? I've never seen someone learning a dance that fast. You have a real talent, Key." The man said and Key blushed. He wasn't used to all the praise and he just shrugged. "Still, let's go through it step by step. This way you're sure you indeed have it all right." The trainer then said and Key nodded. 

They began the training and Key forgot about Taemin just for a little while. His mind was full with the thoughts about their upcoming debut and this amazing song.

"I hope we have a good debut song." Jonghyun said to Onew while they walked to the practice room. Onew nodded.

"I just hope it's about food or even better chicken!" The oldest said and Jonghyun laughed.

"Is that really all you can think about, Hyung?" He asked grinning and Onew nodded, smiling brightly. 

They entered the practice room and greeted their vocal teacher. 

"Let's start with some warming up." The teacher said and the boys nodded. Although they couldn't wait to begin with their own song, they knew they had to warm up first. 

"Jonghyun, let's start with you. Then we'll continue with Onew." She said and Jonghyun smiled. 

After the warming up their teacher smiled mysteriously and took a cd out of her backpack. "You wanna hear your new song, boys?" She asked and the guys immediately started cheering. The teacher laughed. "That sounds like a yes." She said and she put the cd in her cd player. A few seconds later the first notes of their new song reached their ears and they listened to it in trance. 

When it was done, the boys looked at each other. "We like it!" Onew said and the teacher smiled relieved. 

"I'm glad you do, 'cause I helped writing the song." She said and she blushed a little when the boys praised her for her good work. "I wrote it for five people, but now Taemin is gone you'll have to manage it with four. I think you two can take the lines of Taemin." She said and now the boys stayed quiet. They knew that was the only solution, but they didn't like it. The idea of actually stealing Taemin's lines hurt the boys and made them feel guilty. The teacher immediately saw that something was wrong and crossed her arms.

"Guys, I understand you feel upset about Taemin leaving, but you're debuting in six months! You really have no time to think about him right now. You're the important guys now. Keep your focus here and everything will be alright. Let's get started." She said and with that the real lesson began. 

Minho walked down the hallway alone and his thoughts drifted away to Taemin. He missed his best friend like crazy already and the fact that they were to debut a few months after he had left, didn't make the goodbye any easier. He sighed. He really had to get over this or else he wouldn't be able to focus on their debut. 

Just before Minho wanted to enter the practice room, he leaned against the wall. He put his head against the wall and closed his eyes. He had to take a second to put Taemin out of his head. He took a deep breath and let all the memories he had with Taemin from the last time past before his eyes. Then he squeezed his eyes shut and pushed away all the thoughts about Taemin. A little tear rolled down his cheek, but he quickly wiped it away, afraid of anyone seeing the tough guy Minho cry. Then he stepped inside the practice room.

"Taemin, sweetie, you really need to get up now. It's already two in the afternoon. Come one, baby." 

With a growl Taemin turned around in his bed and looked at his mother bending over him. "I don't wanna~!" He whined like a little child and his mother smiled.

"I know, baby, but you really need to get your life back on track. You even left school so you could train all day and we understood because you were schooled there, but now it's time for you to go back to a real school. Your father and I already applied to your old middle school. You can start there  tomorrow. Today we have to get your books and stuff, so you really have to get out of bed now." She said and Taemin growled again. Then his mother took the blanket and threw it on the ground.

"Umma! What are you doing? I was trying to drown in my own misery and you just ruined it for me!" Taemin squealed and a few tears appeared in his eyes. His mother sighed and sat down on the bed next to her son.

Tae, listen to me. I know you feel miserable because of what happened, but you really have to move on. It happened and that's it. The boys probably already moved on too. They're training hard to make something out of their lives and now you should do the same." And with that she stalked out of the room and left Taemin alone with his misery. 

The boy sighed and slowly got out of bed. Although he didn't want to believe his mother, he knew that she was somehow right. The boys had all said they would keep in contact, but when he checked his phone there were no missed calls or texts. He shook his head. *They're just busy training. That's all.* He thought to himself and he walked to the bathroom. *But we always had a break around lunch time and that was around twelve o'clock. Why didn't anybody call me then? They didn't forget about me, right?* He suddenly thought and he stopped in the middle of the hallway. He felt his heart drop in his stomach and he swallowed. 

"Taemin, we're still waiting for you, sweetie!" His mother suddenly yelled from downstairs and he shook his head. *No, that wasn't true. I'm just imagining things.* He thought to himself and then he quickly went to wash himself.

After he had washed and dressed he ran downstairs and entered the living room. His parents were sitting at the table and looked up when he walked in. His father smiled at him and his mother stood up. 

"Finally you're here. Let's go. The store will close in two hours and we really need to get a lot." She said and Taemin followed her outside. They stepped into the car and his mother began to drive. 

During the drive Taemin just stared outside. He looked at all the people coming by and sighed. *How could they just live on like that? For me it felt like my world just doesn't make sense anymore.* He thought and his eyes followed a few boys of his ages.

*I guess life just goes on.* He then concluded and he continued to stare out of the window.