“Look at our new home; it’s amazing isn’t it?” Lau Min's father asked.

“Yes it is, I think we’ll have a good time here. I can’t believe we came to Korea dad, I’m proud that you got the promotion.” She smiled widely at her handsome father. He was known for being a model back in the US and China, Andy Lau, now working as a talent/model scout for SM Entertainment.

“I’m sure mom would love this kitchen, she could sell her baked goods and make herself some friends,” she said encouragingly,“And grandma too.”

“Let’s finish packing,” Mr. Lau said as he patted his daughters shoulder, turning to the house filled with boxes and crowded furniture.

It was summer vacation and there was little time to be enrolled into the last year of middle school. Not only that, Min didn’t have enought time to learn much Korean because of moving and packing duties, so she studied her best while she could.

One early morning, Min woke up to the sound of a taxi pulling into the driveway.

Her eyes shot open and looked out the window into the street, sure enough, a taxi was waiting. She spotted the dark brown hair tied into a bun coming out from the side of the taxi.

“Mom!” She shouted desperately and quickly went down, almost tripping down the small portion of stairs as she rushed to greet her mother after a long three months apart.

She opened the front door, “Mom!” 

Min hugged her and as soon as she felt a tear on her small shoulder she looked into her eyes and saw that she was crying. “What’s wrong, what happened at grandpa’s? D-Don’t tell me he’s…”

“He needs us now even more. We’ll talk with your father later, go back to sleep.” She gave you one last assuring squeeze before she pulled away from the hug and you both walked in to the house.

A month later, grandpa Lau moved into the guest room, after losing the love of his life.

“I’m glad you are here grandpa. Oh let me take that from you.”

“Thank you Minnie, place it up there.” He pointed to the top shelf and you squinted realizing it was too high up for you too. You jumped and attempted to throw the box into its spot, but it collapsed onto the floor.

“Omo, sorry.” You scrambled at the small pieces of newspaper clippings and polaroid photos that had clearly dear memories from the past.

“Grandpa, what are these? Who are these two boys?” You asked curiously, you never knew these photos existed. “This one looks like dad!” You exclaimed and took quick steps over to him where he sat on the floor folding his clothes out of his suitcase.

“Ah, this is me and my best friend.” He said with a bit of sadness in his throat.

“I didn’t know you had friends in America!”

“No dear, this was back then, before I left China.”

“Father never told me that. Why did you leave?”

“Well, back then, our family life wasn’t so happy, I was a very sick child growing up. Our families grew up in the same village and we were the only kids, exactly the same age, only several months apart. We shared everything and had a great friendship, until the accident.”

“Waahh~” You kept looking at him as he sat in silence, looking down. “Oh, whats wrong?”

“I think we need to get finished here, then I can continue later. Deal?”

You blinked hard in confusion, was he becoming sentimental just now?

“Ah, yes grandpa. Whenever you are ready I am eager to listen.”

After a whole day of packing, grandpa Lau was able to distract Min and kick her out of the room.

He walked over to the photo box and opened it. He pulled a small string and opened the secret compartment. A small envelope was withered and slightly dusty, he ran his fingers along the opening before taking out the letter inside. There were many marks on a lot of the words, his first draft of his goodbye to his gege, Huang Zi Han.

The tall, slender boy was only 15, searching for a way to escape his grandfather’s wish, he took the chance to move away from China and go to South Korea in search of a real dream.

He felt his heart race, remembering his grandfather’s look, red in anger, spitting out his fury using the meanest most daring words he hadn’t used in a long time. The memory of that moment sent shudders throughout his body, earning crazed glares from the people behind him in line.

He stretched his body, remembering to warm up to give his best if his rapping skills failed him. Minutes passed and he could see children and teens coming out with smiles on their faces or weeping, desperately clutching onto their chest for air. They looked devastated and he didn’t want to be in their shoes. He shook his head as he dug in his pocket, plugging in his earphones to drown out his anxiety, getting pumped for the rap he would perform; the same song that won him the Top Rap Award at the Beijing 3rd Annual College Street Jam.

“Name,” the woman behind the table asked, sounding more like a rude statement. She was clearly tired of going through each application and guessing which kids looked to have an actual talent.

“Huang Zi Tao”

“Ah, we were expecting you. Follow him.” She turned her head and pointed in the direction of a tall, round man wearing a black jacket clearly labeling him as SECURITY in big bold yellow letters.

Tao bowed and walked over to the man, following his every footstep.

“Right this way,” the man said while opening a door, the room was dimly lit and a few boys were already seated on the chairs available. The sound of the door being shut rang through Tao’s ears, wakening him from his lingering thoughts about what he was doing in this special room, especially with these other kids.

“Hey, take a seat.” A boy with a pale, chubby face said, patting the black chair next to him. 

*What do I say? Oh hes patting the seat next to him, he wants me to sit with him? Just like the dramas I’ve watched right?*

“Uh... Yes oppa!”

The other two boys in the room started to laugh at Tao’s words He felt his heart drop, not knowing how to explain his self. What was he supposed to say to the baozi looking oppa who was folded over, burying his face in his hands.

That was the day he learned the correct use for the word ‘Oppa'.

Minutes after introducing themselves as Minseok, Kris, and Yixing, the door opened.

A cold wind blew into the room as the lights hanging above their heads flickered into a brighter white.

“Good afternoon boys. I am Lee Soo Man” The short man bowed to the four boys which did the same out of utter respect. “Let me tell you why you are here. You four possess great talent,” the man said as he began to pace across the room in a steady movement. “I have been watching you carefully back then and I know you will have the right look, with my help of course, in order for you to succeed.”

Tao gulped, and realized the reality of his life now, this was his dream, he wanted to entertain, be someone famous, someone that the public can look up to and cheer him on.

“Now, we can play by my rules, and you can simply accept my offer, or risk being rejected by other entertainment companies that don’t want people like you when they think they have got better ones hm? What do you say?” He crossed his arms across his chest and the boys sighed. It was an obvious yes, but were they really worth practically skipping the audition process?

“Yes,” slowly but surely each of them confirmed. Then Tao felt a heavy weight inside him. He wanted to say the words as quickly as he asked, but was he ready to give up his life and become a trainee? He thought of his grandfather once again, how he practically raised Tao after his parents died in a car crash. He owed him his loyalty, his care, but not after he found out his true plan. He balled his hands into fists, cutting the circulation of blood as he huffed out a “Yes, I accept.”

“Good then, I expect you to sign a few papers, indicating when you would like to move into the trainee building in Gangnam and other papers as well.” He stepped closer and shook each of the boys hands. Tao was the last to shake his hand as he was closest to the door. He bowed as their hands made contact, he felt Mr. Lee lean into Tao’s ear. “Tao-sshi, make sure you don’t get hurt during Wushu practice, I’ve got great plans for you.”

“Thank you for worrying sir. Good day.” Tao replied calmly although he was freaking out inside, how did this stranger know so much about him.

That same day, all four boys moved into the dorm. The company made sure that Tao, being the youngest, enter a high school, faking consent from his grandfather.

The boys made small talk and Tao found out that they all had a distinct accent except the one named Minseok, he was a native Korean, the others were also from China.

It warmed his heart that he could speak to these boys about what worried him, knowing they spoke the same language and could learn a lot more from them.

“Well, this is it Huang Zi Tao…” He trailed off as he fell asleep in the bunk bed, holding tightly onto his bed sheets.

WOOO AN OFFICIAL TAO-MIN CHAPTER, HOPEFULLY THIS IS A GOOD SETTING ^^