Admin CC: Wow, chapter four already? We sure worked our butts off not really LOL but we hope you enjoy this chapter! I wonder if we improved in writing yet....? Meh. Probably not. Anyways! Enjoy!

Admin Strawberry Panda: Maybe not... At least, I didn't improve //cries. Well, have fun reading you guys!

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(Oh Min Jee)

Her eyes opened and she squinted, groaning softly at the immediate sunlight that came in the room. Who the hell opened up the curtains so early in the morning?! Min Jee pushed the blankets off of her body and slipped on her slippers, peering around the room for the alleged culprit. She spotted Yun Hee pouring coffee in a mug and decided not to bother her. It was too early for any sort of drama anyways and she didn’t feel like bothering a person whom she will receive no reaction from. Luckily, everyone’s clothes was hanging neatly in the closets or drawers, which were divided into 8 parts respectively. Min Jee kicked one of Myung Hee’s plushies away and scowled, making a mental note to tell the girl to keep her plushies to her part of the room. Last night, Myung Hee decided that to have a proper sleepover, they all must crowd into one room and thanks to her bright idea, Myung Hee decided to choose Min Jee’s and Yun Hee’s dorm. Opening one of the drawers which she owned and scoured through for her white dress shirt which she paired with her patterned A-line skirt that she ordered days ago. Pulling on a robe, to not mess her outfit, she went into the bathroom and washed her face, brushed her teeth. When she was brushing her hair, she looked in the mirror and squinted, disgusted that her eyeliner had smudged during her sleep.

“Drat, I wonder if I even brought my eyeliner in my makeup kit,” Min Jee mumbled when she opened one of the bathroom mirrors and took down her cosmetic pouch from one of the shelves. Looking inside, she pulled out her eyeliner, grateful she had remembered to bring it with her when she was packing, and began applying it. Since her eyes were relatively small, she made sure to put on a fair amount of it; the same for the mascara. Eye makeup was one of her biggest points and she only added a light touch of pink lip gloss before snapping the tube closed and mashing her lips together. Thinking of her velvet black pumps, she remembered she only had enough to bring a few shoes in with her in the dorm. Her forehead crinkled as she put on a sour face, opting for her tan strappy sandals instead. She had to go beg the president to allow her to install another shoe rack for her, with a little white lie that she would share the space with the rest of the members as well.

Looking around the room, she noticed that Myung Hee, Jooyun, and Hei Ryung had already left for the meeting that they have to partake in this morning. The others were sound asleep on the bed. If they’re still asleep now, how can they endure early morning practices and airplane flights?! Min Jee tsked and hung her robe on one of the many hooks in the bathroom. Her hand on the doorknob, she took one last glance at them and shook her head before heading out. She folded her arms across her chest and looked around the hallway. Idols were just getting up for their own activities planned for the day. Min Jee nodded, acknowledging some who greeted her and said ‘Morning!’ but her mind was on different things. So far in our group... It seems that we won’t be lasting very long. However, she only thought of that in vain. She knew, deep in the back of her mind, that SoulM8s had a chance of success, much bigger than she thought they would have.

“Good morning Min Jee-ah!” She didn’t even comprehend who was talking and just nodded, flashed and smile, and hurried down the hall. Hmph, Hei Ryung is the leader. I thought I should be leader. I have much more experience than she does in the idol business. She walked down the stairs. After all, I was here longer than she was. What was the person even talking about when she said that Hei was even more mature than I am!? She was frustrated and annoyed, but knew she had to it up. She could ask for them to change their minds about the whole leader business. Now she had to figure out a way to stand out from the group. I will never let any of them steal my spotlight. I’ll do whatever it takes.

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(Seo Yun Hee)

“Mmmm....” She smelled her coffee and smiled happily. Yes, she was the one who opened the curtains this morning. It was safe to say that she was a complete morning person. Yun Hee awoke early out of all of them and had bid Myung Hee and Jooyun a ‘see you later’ when they said they were leaving for the meeting. Yun Hee had offered some early morning muffins she had baked yesterday after asking the house lady politely if she would let her use the main kitchen. She had made them since she has a habit of baking to take her mind off of some things. Pouring in some sugar, she took a sip and sat down on one of the chairs in the kitchen. She looked out the window and instantly her mind wandered elsewhere.

I wonder... if this is really going to be okay. Yun Hee was nervous and that was simply an understatement. She had been training under SM for many years and had been given a massive amount of compliments, but also given the same amount of critics. Her dancing was superb, though she knew Jooyun was much better since she had been doing it longer. Her vocal skills were fine as far as she was concerned. But what if it wasn’t good enough? She felt the scalding coffee slosh to the sides and she restrained a yelp, in fear of waking the other members. Setting down her coffee on the table, she heard the familiar rustling of blankets and looked up to see that Soo Jin was getting up, no doubt to start her morning skin care routine.

“Oh, morning Yun Hee,” Soo Jin said groggily, making her way into the mini kitchen to sit down with her friend for a minute or two. Yun Hee smiled, nodding her head and gesturing to the chair next to her. After Soo Jin took her seat, she immediately slumped down in the chair and laid her head on the table, yawning.

“Cover your mouth when you yawn,” Yun Hee chided lightly and Soo Jin only grinned. There was comfortable silence between the two before Yun Hee opened to offer Soo Jin one of the muffins, to which she refused.

“Save those for Hye Su, she has to know that you have the best muffins here,” Soo Jin said and Yun Hee blushed, looking down at her hands on her lap and smiled.

“Thanks...” she said quietly, “but I don’t think I’ll have enough time to make anymore muffins now that I’m going to debut as a member of SoulM8s.” Soo Jin immediately perked up at the topic and sat up straight.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun being with everyone here. Myung Hee unnie is so nice and Jooyun unnie is so great at dancing! Hei Ryung unnie is really, really cool and Minnie unnie is so pretty, though she can be a little...” Soo Jin looked meaningfully at Yun Hee and she restrained a smile.

“Well... maybe she’s not used to being in a group? She has been a solo artist for a long time now,” Yun Hee said, picking up her cup of coffee and sipping it, the caffeine waking her up. The girl grinned.

“As usual, you’re too nice,” Soo Jin said, “it’s one of your worst qualities.” Yun Hee laughed.

“Thanks, well....I’m going to leave now. You better do your skin care routine now if you want to make it on time at the meeting.” “Alright umma,” Soo Jin said cheerfully and Yun Hee swatted the younger girl away and laughed. Taking her beige cardigan off from one of the hooks, she headed out of the door, but still, her worries did not subside. In fact, more thoughts filled her head. I just hope everything works out... And that everyone will get along.

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(Jeong Soo Jin)

After saying goodbye to her friend, Soo Jin went into the bathroom and found that Hye Su was in there already, pulling her hair into an updo. “Hey, you look nice,” Soo Jin complemented, hoping that she would receive a positive response. Much to her relief, Hye Su turned around and grinned at her.

“Thanks,” she said and finished putting on the last bobby pin. Satisfied with her appearance, she turned to Soo Jin, who was already washing her face and opening a half empty bottle of some brand name cream. It was the only thing Soo Jin would buy in brand name. “Doing your skin care routine thingie?” Soo Jin smiled as she applied the white cream on her face, spreading it evenly.

“Yeah, guess you heard about my infamous skin obsession.” Hye Su laughed and leaned on the counter.

“It’s not a big deal. Everyone has some sort of obsession. I can tell Min Jee’s obsession is herself.” The girls chuckled, not at all guilty for indirectly insulting their sunbae. It was obvious they were annoyed with the elder girl’s massive ego. “You should hurry up. The meeting is in 30 minutes. I’ll see you later Soo Jin-ah.” They parted and Soo Jin was left alone in the dorm, enjoying the peace and tranquility the morning had brought her. She finished her morning routine; the brushing teeth, putting on skin creams, etc. Going out into the dorm, she opened her part of the closet and looked inside. Flipping through and rejecting many outfits she had laid out last night, she finally decided on a pink, ruffle dress, with a black belt cinched at the waist and a black horizontal striped cardigan. I am so, so, so excited to be working with everyone! With Angel’s Joy and Hei Ryung with us, we’ll be amazing! And I hate to admit, but with Min Jee as well, we can just basically call ourselves popular now.

She knew though, that it was only them that was popular. The rest of them were background people to the public, mainly because they were not introduced publicly yet. Soo Jin pulled on her black one-inch high heels and looked up at the clock. She gasped. One minute left to go before the meeting starts! Shoot, shoot, shoot! I can NOT make a bad impression on the first day! She dashed out, and locked the door of course, before running down the halls. Let’s just hope I don’t get leg cramps. Why did I get heels again!?

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(Park Myung Hee)

Myung Hee fidgeted restlessly in her seat before receiving yet another warning glance from Jooyun. She quieted down for a moment, but then opened her loud mouth once more. “When are we starting this thing-” “Sorry I’m late!” Soo Jin came bursting in the room and the seven members looked up at her, surprised to see that she was panting. She staggered and collapsed onto the chair, breathing heavily. “I knew I should’ve gotten up earlier!” Hei Ryung glanced at the girl.

“Yes, you should have, but don’t worry, you made it just in time. Sajang-nim and our new manager will be appearing any minute now,” Hei Ryung said dismissively, waving her hand and folded her arms across her chest, staring straight ahead. Hei Ryung-ah is so cool! She makes such a great leader. Myung Hee was confused by the smirk that Min Jee had thrown at Soo Jin, who only looked down at her lap and balled her hands into fists. She said nothing however, but she felt Jooyun go rigid beside her. Before she could ask, Soo Man and a woman came through the door. The woman wore glasses and her hair was dyed a coffee brown, styled into a chic bob. Her makeup was subtle, but was beautiful and she wore classy suit only she had a pencil skirt. Soo Man smiled at them, obviously happy to see that they were all on time.

“Glad to see your faces so early in the morning. Let’s begin the meeting,” Soo Man said, “This will be your new manager, Choi Min Jung.” Min Jung smiled and bowed to them.

“It is an honor to be able to manage such talented stars. It is also great to see you Myung Hee-sshi and Jooyun-sshi,” she spoke smoothly.

“It is an honor to have you as manager,” Jooyun replied politely, but Myung Hee’s response was different.

“Waaahhh you look so pretty! It’ll be great to have you unnie- ack! What was that for?!” Myung Hee pouted at Jooyun who had smacked her lightly. She was glaring at her and Myung Hee realized her fault in an instant. Oh shoot! My manners! She was about to call herself out on her mistake, but the lady was laughing instead.

“Thank you for such a kind compliment Myung Hee-sshi, especially from a fashionista such as yourself.” Myung Hee grinned and stuck her tongue out at Jooyun, who simply rolled her eyes, but smiled.

“Okay, now that you know who she is, let’s move onto other things. I want SoulM8s to come out with a mini album by... one month from next Thursday.” Myung Hee’s eyes went wide and she opened to protest, but she yelped instead. Jooyun had kicked her in the leg before she said anything. “Is there a problem?”

“N-No Sajang-nim,” Myung Hee squeaked and he stared at her for a moment before continuing. A month from next Thursday?! Judging from that, we’ll be working overtime! Urgh, just when I was thinking this would be fun.

“We’ve already have some of the songs written by our composers so all you would have to do is sing. We’ll be expecting you to participate in the SM ‘Welcome to Spring’ Concert that we’ll be having in late April. That is when we will publicly announce who the members are.” Everyone paid attention to his every single word, even Min Jee didn’t bother to pretend that she was bored. “Music videos will be coming soon as well, but we will take care of that later on. The album will be called ‘To You, From You.’”

“Cute title!” Myung Hee commented and Jooyun kicked her again. “Ow!” Soo Man wasn’t aware of the outcry from the abuse, but he smiled when she complimented the title.

“Thank you for your input Myung Hee-sshi. I can tell you are quite the enthusiastic one.” She responded with an enthusiastic nod. “Now that we’ve cleared the album and concert details. Any questions?” He was met with no hands raised in the air and smiled. “Good, now you can get straight to work on your mini album. Min Jung-sshi will take you to the practice room where you will meet some members of SNSD to help you with your vocal skills.” Myung Hee’s eyes widened. SNSD?! Those really pretty girls that have super cute outfits and all that?! Awwwww yeeesssss. They were nice enough to visit us when we first moved into the dorms. From the corner of her eye, she saw that Soo Jin was also excited, even more than Myung Hee and instantly, Myung Hee had branded her a Soshi. It was obvious. That look in her eyes, the way she had tried to restrain her feelings inside, she understood it all. It reminded her of her trainee days when Myung Hee was obsessed over 2NE1. She was a complete BlackJack in those days (she still is now). “You are dismissed.” He left the room and Min Jung took over.

“Now let’s get you all into the practice room shall we?” Now playtime is over. Time for some work. I hope we do well....

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(Seung Eun Mi)

A whole mini album... In a month... I'm pretty sure that's not possible... I though idols had at least three months before debut... Eun Mi started getting anxious due to the fact that their debut date would be so close. She walked in a daze as Min Jung led them to one of the many practice rooms in the building.

"Here we are~" Min Jung said as she opened a door to reveal SNSD in the flesh.

"Hi Sooyoung Unnie!" Hye Su waved at her as she smiled and waved back. The girls exchanged quick hellos with each other. Min Jung smiled.

"Well, it's nice to see that you already know each other. Hei, Minnie, I know you girls have lived through this already, so this is mainly for the others. For today, just to get you girls comfortable with idol training at SM, SNSD will be training you girls today. After that, you will be trained by real professionals...or... people that specialize in the teaching part." She smiled and left the room.

"Sooooo," Eun Mi started. "What should we work on now?"

"Well, Hyoyeon and Yuri are supposed to help you guys with dance, and the rest of us are supposed to help with vocals, or whatever you need help on. Since we almost have the same amount of members, one person will be with Hyoyeon and Yuri while the rest pair up with someone. Then, we'll rotate." The girls all dove for Taeyeon to be their vocal coach and the rest of SNSD pouted.

"Guys~ She's not the only singer in the band," Sunny whined, pouting a little more.

"Stop doing your aegyo, Sunny. You're poisoning the eyes of our poor hoobaes." Yoona rolled her eyes and gently whacked the head of her band member. “Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?” Tia groaned as she trudged her way to Yuri and Hyoyeon.

“I really don’t like dancing,” She muttered under her breath. After about an hour with one mentor, the girls switched to the next.

“Can we take a little break?” Hye Su gasped, fanning her sweaty face. “We practiced for three hours straight! I’m soo tired,”

“Me too,” Soo Jin agreed as she plopped herself down in front of a mirror. “Aww, my face is so sweaty and yucky! I’m going to break out tomorrow!” Yun Hee smiled and shook her head, then handed everyone in the room a water bottle.

“My throat hurts,” Eun Mi complained, rubbing her neck. “Wait... I forgot... Did we do vocal warm ups before we started practicing?”

“Uhh.......” All of SNSD looked at each other nervously. Hei Ryung sighed.

“Well, we forgot. Whatever, it happens, even to the best of the best. One time isn’t going to kill you.”

“You know, being an idol, you have to be prepared at all times. My voice is always warmed up. And you guys think this is hard? Wait till we get to the real training. We are going to debut in a month, you know,” Min Jee explained, pretending to look bored. Eun Mi looked around the room to see a bunch of sweaty bodies lying on the floor. I don’t think I’m really cut out for this... it’s all too sudden...

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(Choi Hei Ryung)

I sorta feel bad for the kids. Hei Ryung wiped her forehead as she saw exhausted bodies lying on the floor. The four trainees/soon-to-be-idols weren’t trained enough for this. Sure, there was basic training where there were monthly check ups, but this was different. They’re on a time crunch, an insanely short one too, and the girls have to work their butts off in order to pull it off. Of course, Hei wasn’t used to this kind of extreme training, but she can endure it. The others, based on how they look now, not so much.

“We can take a break now,” Hei Ryung said, taking a swig of her water bottle.

“THANK YOU!!” Hye Su exclaimed, throwing herself to the floor in front of her feet. “I love you so much, Unnie~. I can’t cook, but if I could, I would bake you a cake right now... Using... Soo Jinnie’s several face creams, and cook it with the heat radiating from our bodies...” Hei Ryung stepped backwards from the girl muttering about what else to put in her cosmetic cake.

“Um... thanks, but no thanks. I’m ok." Out of her peripheral vision, she saw Min Jee scoff at Hye Su and she shook her head. Min Jee isn't going to stop being a jerk, is she?

“It’s ok, Joy. Really, I had enough water." On another end of the room, Tia was pushing away a water bottle in front of her face. “It really should be me caring for you. Did you dance too much today?” Joy visibly stiffened and then laughed nervously.

“Oh, you know, it’s nothing I can’t handle."

“You know, your physical therapy sessions are tomorrow. You really should go to them, you’ve been missing them for the past-”

“Here, if you’re not going to drink anything, at least eat this,” Joy quickly threw a bag of chips in Tia’s direction. She frowned and held up the bag with her index finger and thumb.

“But Joy,” She whined. “I’m on a diet! I’ve been getting too fat recently. Eating these are certainly not going to help me.” Joy rolled her eyes.

“For the billionth time, Tia, you are not fat. If anything, you are waaay too skinny." Tia pouted, shoving the chips in her gym bag for later. Hei Ryung chuckled at the scene unfolding in front of her. It was nice for her to see that some of the bandmates were getting along well. Then, she frowned at the conversation.

“Jooyun, why exactly do you have to go to physical therapy?” She saw Joy visibly stiffen again, but she wasn’t going to take silence for an answer. “Why can’t you dance normally?”

Joy sighed. “Ok, it’s just that I put a little too much strain on my back when I debut way back when I was a part of Angel’s Joy, and I can’t really dance normally until it fully heals. I have to go to weekly sessions, but I’ve missed a couple. Don’t worry! I’ll go tomorrow, I promise.” Hei Ryung narrowed her eyes, but didn’t press the subject any further.

“You girls actually did really well today... considering the circumstances,” Seohyun half complemented.  “It isn’t really fair of them to make you debut so soon, especially you girls,” She gestured to the four not-yet-famous girls in the room.

“But then again... when has the entertainment business ever been fair?” Tiffany thought out loud, only be shushed by Taeyeon.

“Don’t say that, you’ll scare them!” She scolded, then smiled brightly smiled at half of SoulM8s. “It’s not always like that. You guys pretty much have guaranteed popularity. First of all, due to the fact that half the band consists of already known idols, and secondly, because you’re going to debut under SM! One of the big 3 entertainment companies in Korea!” Hei Ryung looked away from the scene and shook her head. What if the fans don’t approve of this? What if they start hating us?

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(Park Hye Su)

“Well, onto more practicing!” Sunny exclaimed, trying to lighten the mood. There were choruses of groans and whines that filled the air as all the girls tries to haul themselves off the ground. Hye Su was the last one to get up. I really don’t know how much more of this I can take. My whole body is aching... a bath would be nice right about now...

“But Unnie,” Soo Jin whines. “Can our break be a little longer? Pleeeeaaase~” She did her best aegyo, but Hei flicked her forehead. “Ow,” she rubbed her forehead.

“I don’t say this to discourage you,” Hei started, eyeing the rookies of SoulM8s. “But if you can’t stand this, there’s no way you can survive the real idol life. We’re put on a lot of time crunches, sometimes, a lot worse than this, so basically-”

“Basically, you guys always have to work your asses off. This is only the tip of the iceberg,” Joy cut in, only to be whacked on the back of her head by Hei. “Ow! What was that for?”

“First of all, for stealing my thunder and second of all, for cussing. Don’t cuss. Ever again,”

“Come on kids! Practice, practice!” Seohyun clapped her hands, going towards the iPod to play a new song. “Why don’t we all sing and dance to this? Us Unnies will only dance along side you guys while you sing and dance. We don’t really have time to split up the parts, but how about this, the oldest sings a phrase or two, then the next oldest, and so on. Got that?” The members muttered in agreement as a song started playing. Hye Su froze for a moment. Shoot! I don’t know what song this is! Aw man, I really should have caught up on Korean pop culture right after I moved here from the countryside. She thought as she tried her best to keep up with the dancing. Once her turn came up, she made up a bunch of lyrics that possibly went with the song. Right in middle of it, the music stopped.

“Hye Su-ah, do you know this song?” Yuri asked, walking up to her. Hye Su flushed a bright pink and looked at the floor.

“No,” She muttered, embarrassed. “I haven’t lived in the city for a long time, so I haven’t really caught up on the pop culture nowadays.” Taeyeon nodded.

“So, what song do you know? We can play that one if you like,” Taeyeon smiled and Hye Su grimaced a little. Oh God, this is so embarrassing! I think I have a lot of research to do later...

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(Yeon Jooyun)

I should really be more careful next time. Joy thought as she tried her best to discreetly massage her lower back. Damn it, I really should go tomorrow.

“Can practice be over?” Hye Su whined as she rolled over on her back and rubbed her tummy. “I haven’t had anything to eat since this morning,”

“Oh, I just made some muffins yesterday. I brought a couple extras. Do you want them?” Yun Hee offered. Still staying on the ground, Hye Su wriggled her way to Yun Hee and looked up to her with puppy eyes.

“Yes please~” Yun Hee sighed and handed a wrapped chocolate chip muffin to the “starving” girl at her feet. “Thank you Unnie, I love you so much,”

“Well, I guess that’s all for today,” Tiffany suggested, dusting her sweat pants off. “Just take it easy for the rest of the day. Training will be like this most of the time, except maybe a few hours longer,” With that, the girls exchanged goodbyes, and SNSD left.

“What should we do now? I’m bored,” Eun Mi threw her water bottle up and caught it, then did that again.

“You heard SNSD-sunbaes, we should go back to the dorms and relax a little,” Hei Ryung restated all that their seniors told them.

“C’mon Unnie!” Soo Jin whined. “It’s only 5:30. There’s going to be plenty of time for sleep later!”

“No,” Hei snapped. “If they say we need to take it easy today, we will take it easy today. Besides, you guys don’t know what intense idol training is like. You may be fine now, but trust me, later on, you will want this kind of energy in order to make it through the day.”  Joy stared at her future bandmates worryingly. Please, please don’t go out tonight. You guys will just regret it later... and frankly, I don’t feel like moving a lot today. Goddamn, my back ing hurts.

“Fine,” Tia grumbled. “But later, on Sunday, I want to do something, preferably shopping. It’s been awhile since I updated my makeup kit.” A mischievous grin spread across her face.

“Alright then, back to the dorm it is,” Yun Hee made sure everybody had their things and then they all went out. Joy winced as she slung her gym bag over her shoulder. I hope this group doesn’t make us do dances that are too difficult... I might not be able to survive that...

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Admin CC: //GASPS// JOY! LANGUAGE! Even though it’s in your mind heheh~ Anyways, hope you enjoyed chapter 3! Please comment! Feedback, comments, critics, whatever~ Oh but for the critics please be nice LOL We’ve only started AFF anyways~ Let’s look forward to chapter 5! Thanks so much for sticking with us!

Admin Strawberry Panda: SDFJKDNSKLJCIFJKDS Finally! Done! Well, here’s chapter 4! Awww, poor girls, only having a month to prepare. They’ll have to work overtime! MWAHAHAHA!! We love torturing our OCs. LOL, just kidding, but anyway, comment please! Love you guys~ //bows 180 degrees