"Damn, it's raining, cover the food." Sunggyu instructed as he lifted his hood over his head.

"Where are we supposed to eat now?" Howon shivered, holding the food close to his body as he glared at the rain. "I did not sneak out to not be able to eat this."

Sunggyu sighed, Howon was right. It wasn't everyday they were able to get away for real food, it had actually been over two weeks since the last time they were able to sneak off. Today they didn't have a lot of time to eat so Sunggyu didn't want to sneak out, but Howon had been pouting for the past week. Chicken and salad were not enough food for a dancer going through the amount of training they did. Plus, the younger pointed out he was young and still growing and if he didn't get real food soon he'd stop growing.

"Come on Howon," Sunnggyu braced himself, he didn't want to go out into the rain but there was no other choice. "Let's go."

"Where?"

The older didn't reply vocally. He just grabbed the dancer's wrist and pulled him out into the rain.

Despite the freezing rain coming down around them, Howon could recognize the alleys they ran through as the way to the park where they normally ate when they ran away from the company. Usually the two would go to a nearby bakery, get some delicious bread or a slice of cake, and then go sit on a bench in a park to eat. It was close enough to their company so they could make it back before their break was up, but it was also a few streets away so that no one from the company would see them.

When they arrived at the park, Sunggyu pulled Howon underneath the playground structure to escape the rain. Since there were holes in the platform above their head a few of the raindrops got through, but it was definitely better than sitting in the pouring rain.

“Give me my food.” Sunggyu smiled brightly despite the rain. He was too excited to eat the sandwich he bought from the bakery. “I’m starving.” Howon chuckled at how Sunggyu didn’t seem to care about the rain around them. The older was too focused on stuffing his face with the sandwich that he didn’t even feel the cold.

Following the singer’s lead, Howon began to eat his own sandwich. He was thankful he made friends with a person like Sunggyu. The older had come to Seoul alone, just like Howon had, and worked like crazy to follow his dream. In the past, Howon had nightmares of Sunggyu leaving Woolim because the older wanted to be in a band like Nell, not a boy band like Woolim planned for him. Plus, Sunggyu didn’t necessarily get along with everyone in their training group. But recently, Sunggyu seemed to enjoy the rush that came from dancing and had occasionally asked Howon to teach him dances that he did back in Busan.

“What’s wrong?” Sunggyu asked through a mouth stuffed with food.

“Nothing,” Howon shook his head.

The older reached over and ruffled the younger’s hair, “What’s wrong, kid? I can see it on your face.”

“I was just thinking about your fight with Woohyun yesterday.” Howon admitted, referring to the boy Sunggyu seemed to hate with a fiery passion.

“That guy gets under my skin,” Sunggyu’s face contorted into an angry expression while thinking about him. “I hate him so much that I wish I could get by not talking to him. If he wasn’t in our training group I’d never talk to him.”

“He’s just excited,” Howon chuckled. It was true, Woohyun was just excited about becoming an idol. Plus the cocky boy had a gorgeous voice and a part of Howon wondered if that was part of the reason Sunggyu didn’t like him. Maybe the singer was afraid Woohyun would steal his parts in songs.

“Whatever,” Sunggyu muttered before taking another bite of his sandwich. “I bet he wouldn’t be so excited if he didn’t have the chance to run back home to mommy every night.”

Oh yeah, that would be another reason Sunggyu hated Woohyun. The younger singer lived with his parents who supported his dream of becoming an idol. Meanwhile Sunggyu lived with Sungjong and Howon in the CEO’s rundown home because their parents lived far away. And, to make matters worse, Sunggyu’s parents never supported their son’s dream of becoming a singer. They wanted him to live a normal life, and that had resulted in Sunggyu coming to Seoul by himself and working multiple part time jobs in order to survive.

“Mommy! Mommy!” the voice of a little kid nearby caught the two trainees’ attention. They turned their head to see a small boy holding his mother’s hand and standing under an umbrella. Judging by the mother’s nice dress and heels, the two guessed she was well off, and by the boy’s bright yellow backpack they guessed he was just starting school.

“No need to yell, I’m right here,” She chuckled and patted his head.

 “Look! Beggars!” The boy shouted and pointed at the two sitting under the playground. “There’s beggars underneath the playground!”

“Come on, let’s go.” The mother practically shuddered when she saw the two boys sitting under the platform. And then in seconds, the two practically ran off.

“Beggars?” Howon asked to himself. He had been called a lot of things since he was a kid, but he had never been called a beggar. And the more he thought about it, the more he felt like a beggar. The two were sitting under a playground, stuffing their face with sandwiches while it poured rain. Plus they were hiding in the park in order to escape the scrutinizing gaze of their trainer who refused to let them eat too many calories a day, so they were pretty much hiding like children afraid to get chastised. In the idol world, they were practically committing a crime.

“Howon, we’re not beggars.” Sunggyu shook his friend to snap him out of whatever was running through his mind. “Don’t listen to him, he’s just a kid.”

“We may not be beggars but we are hiding here, eating in the rain like beggars.” Howon sighed.

“It’s gonna be worth it,” Sunggyu reached over and lightly hit Howon on the back of the head. ”Sure we may look like beggars today, but that’s just bad luck since it’s raining. In a few months we’ll get to debut and then we’ll be idols. This is all just the road to being stars.”

“Are you ever afraid?” Howon asked out of the blue, putting down his half eaten sandwich. He didn’t feel like eating anymore. “I mean sure we’ll get to make music and go on variety shows, but we’re going to get a lot of crazy fans, aren’t we? They’re gonna want to know everything about us like what toothpaste we use or if we’re dating and I don’t know if I’m ready for that invasion of privacy.”

The older of the two rolled his eyes. “Of course I’m afraid. The public can be brutal. They’ll scrutinize every single performance or appearance we’ll have and even try and get into our personal lives. And I definitely have a few secrets I don’t want them knowing. But I’ve wanted this since before I can remember. And I know you have too. You would never have dropped out of school to come here and fight for this. So you need to stop thinking too much. Just dance.”

“I guess.” Howon nodded, “But what kind of secrets do you have? You’ve always seemed so tame.”

Sunggyu chuckled, “If I told you, then it wouldn’t be a secret.”

“Come on,” Howon poked him. “Tell me! You know I’m your best friend here.”

“Fine,” Sunggyu sighed, “But you may hate me after this.”

“There’s no way I could hate you, Hyung.” Howon moved closer, as if there was someone around them who could be eaves dropping. “Well, what is it?”

“Well, I think I-“ Sunggyu started before his phone began to ring. “! It’s Jungryoul.”

“Don’t answer it! He’ll just start yelling.” Howon stood up and grabbed the older’s arm to pull him out from under the play structure. “Come on, let’s go back and say we were talking outside for some fresh air.”

“But it’s raining. He’s gonna call us stupid since we’re practically soaked,” Sunggyu laughed and allowed the younger to pull him in the direction of the studio. “And we still have half our sandwiches left.”

“We’ll eat sandwiches again next time, Hyung,” Howon gave the singer no choice and threw the food in a nearby garbage can. “Come on, we have to hurry!”