Ren’s POV

I stood at the whiteboard in the front of the classroom with my students at my back. I had been so caught up in scribbling across the board that I had failed to notice what time it was until my attention was drawn by one of my alert students. I say ‘alert’ as in, if I probably turned around, 80% of the classroom would resemble zombies. My student caught my attention by slamming her hand down on the surface of her desk repeatedly. Startled, I jumped then spun around to face her. Now that she had my attention, she raised her hands to about shoulder level and started making gestures with her hands, signing her message to me; my student was deaf. In fact, all of my students were, except for those that were diagnosed with hearing impairments. Some of my students could hear; some of them had cochlear implants or hearing aids, enabling them to make some sense of the world’s sounds, but as far as communication went, every one of them used Korean Sign Language.

“Teacher Choi, class is over.” The girl signed to me.

I glanced up at the clock and with exaggerated body language, responded with a shocked expression. “I’m so sorry! Silly me, huh? You’re free to go. Remember to study tonight! See you tomorrow!” When it came to sign language, because my students couldn’t hear, they could not pick up on intonation in spoken language. I think many people were surprised to discover that Deaf people could ‘raise their voices’ too. For example, I could easily sign ‘you went to the store?’ and it come off as a normal ‘sounding’ question. However, if I put more energy into my signing and exaggerated my body language, I could turn that boring question into an exclamation, such as ‘you went to the store?!?!’ This was something that the world of the hearing found odd to watch or even offensive, but to the Deaf community, it was normal, if not appreciated.

As I watched my students pour out from my classroom, I spotted JR standing at the door, leaning against the frame with his arms folded across his chest. He gave me a big smile before stepping into the now empty classroom.

“Teacher Choi, your sense of timing is lacking like always.” He teased me.

I chuckled. “I’d be late for my own funeral.”

“Don’t jinx yourself.”

“As if. Why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be at the studio?” I asked my best friend since high school. After high school, I went the University route to become a teacher for the Deaf while JR went into dance and became a professional choreographer. Although he didn’t talk much about it, apparently he had been working under a boy band these days and spent most of his time training them, teaching them his skilled dance moves that he had arranged to fit their newest to-be hit.

JR gave me an annoyed look. “Don’t tell me you forgot.”

I raised a brow. He sighed.

“You did. Ren! You’re supposed to meet my friend in thirty minutes!”

I stared at him with wide eyes. “I completely forgot! Ah!” I exclaimed. Sometimes I really was a scatterbrain. “But I have class!” I replied. Although I had become a Deaf education teacher, it was never my dream. Don’t get me wrong; I absolutely enjoyed what I did and I loved my students. But becoming a teacher was my parents dream, not mine. I was rather impressionable after I graduated high school, so through the urging of my mother, who herself was deaf, I went to school to become a teacher. However, my real dream was fashion. I wanted to be a fashion designer or a stylist; my love for clothes and unique style knew no boundaries. Every Tuesday and Thursday after my lessons I attended night classes at the local University to start working on getting a second degree, a degree in fashion.

“Oh, come on! You promised!”

“I don’t have time to go on a blind date, JR. Sorry, please explain this to him.”

JR grabbed my bag from my desk at the front of the room before placing his hands on my shoulders and literally forcing me out of the room. “You’re going!”

“No!”

“Yes!”

“Ok, fine.” I replied, quickly giving in. I figured I’d quickly get inside and get it over with, ending the date before it even began. If I at least met the guy, maybe JR wouldn’t be so angry with me. For some reason my best friend took it as his personal mission in life to get me laid. It wasn’t that I was hopeless; no, I received offers all of the time. I just wasn’t interested. I didn’t have the time for dating or random, pointless hookups. I was a teacher and a part time student. I didn’t have time to have a love life, something JR didn’t seem to understand, or he did, he just didn’t care. I suddenly stopped in my tracks. “Wait. How do I know what he looks like?”

JR smiled. “He’s wearing a hat.”

Baekho’s POV

I stared at my reflection in the mirror as I dressed myself for the interview I would have to be at in the next twenty minutes. My name was Kang Baekho, the main vocalist for the group ‘DREAM,’ a trio that produced dance hits and ballads and was mostly known for their looks. Why was I dressing myself? Because our stylist quit. I refused to say that it was because of me; it wasn’t my fault no one lived up to my expectations! When your name was Kang Baekho, you couldn’t just wear anything. God no. That was something that stylist after stylist refused to understand. Eventually they all just grew frustrated with me and left. They didn’t really quit; I fired them before they had the chance to even quit.

I pulled on a navy v-neck shirt with a matching striped cardigan over a pair of faded designer jeans. I sighed. The interview was supposedly being held in a café. How formal could one get at a café without it being too much, or worse, under dressed? I shook my head; oh, Baekho. Get it together, man. I glanced up at my mohawked blonde hair then at my watch. It was a little messy today, but I didn’t really have that much time to devote to it before having to head out. I opened my closet doors and pulled out my straw fedora hat, angling it on the side. I glanced at my reflection; it was good enough.

As I arrived at the café, I was greeted by the interviewer who quickly introduced herself. As I sat, she offered to order me something. I nodded and watched as she disappeared to the counter in the back of the café to place an order. After a couple of minutes had passed, I lazily sat back in the chair, crossing my legs and folding my arms across my chest. Just then I spotted the front door to the café suddenly swing open, followed by a tall, thin, beyond average looking blonde being shoved inside. I raised a brow in amusement and continued to watch as the blonde clumsily entered the café before looking around, scanning the small crowd of empty tables. As my table entered his line of vision, he paused before starting to approach me. I gave him a strange look but kept quiet. I had a few minutes to spare and was quite bored; let’s see what this guy was up to.

The blonde rudely flopped down into the chair that the interviewer had left pulled out. He leaned forward, giving me a judging look-down. “Look, I know why you’re here.”

I blinked.

“I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to be.”

“…” This guy obviously didn’t know who I was, did he? How could he not? DREAM was this century’s ‘JYJ’! We were the hottest act around. Was this guy living under a rock? I remained quiet; I already deemed myself far too good to talk to him. I fixated my gaze on him, trying to scare him away with my silent, intimidating glares. This technique usually worked on my stylists…

“I mean, you’re obviously not my type.”

Apparently it didn’t work on this guy. What planet was this guy from? Not his type? How dare him. I was everyone’s type. Everyone wanted a piece of Kang Baekho.  As I opened my mouth to speak, he leant across the table and placed his index finger on my lips, startling me. I stared at him with big, wide eyes. He dared to touch me?!   

“Don’t speak!” He replied dramatically, turning his head. “I’ll apologize for my friend. He was only thinking about himself when he set this meeting up.”

I threw his hand off of me. “Look, buddy-”

“It’s not meant to be. We’re not possible.”

“You’re damn right we’re not possible-” An idol with an ordinary citizen like himself?

“I know it’s hard, but please, spare yourself the embarrassment; let go.”

“Y-you…” I was so angry I stuttered. I watched as he quickly stood back up, flipping his long blonde hair over his shoulders.

“Don’t feel bad. You’ll find love someday. It just won’t be with me.” He smiled down on me before turning with a spin in his step and arrogantly exiting the café shop, leaving me in a stunned silence. At that moment, the interviewer returned to the table with my drink in hand. I slammed my fist angrily on the tabletop surface.

“What the hell is this?!”

“Um… coffee… I think???” The confused interviewer replied.

I jumped to my feet. “Interview’s over!” I replied before storming out of the café.

JR’s POV

I clapped my hands together as I stood at the front of the rehearsal room with two out of the three members of DREAM that I was supposed to be working with, teaching them the choreography to their newest single. Minhyun and Aron had been working hard, despite the fact that they were both clumsy and messy in their steps, but it was only the second day of working with the new dance. I would go easy on them for now. I focused my attention on Minhyun, who was too distracted by staring at his reflection in the mirror to nail any of the moves correctly with precision. I sighed.

“Minhyun, do you love yourself that much? I’m going to remove all the mirrors in the room.”

“Joke all you want.” Minhyun let his arms drop to his side and scowled.

“Seriously, the more you watch yourself, the more rigid and robot-like you become. Stop worrying so much about how you look and let your body move freely to the music.” I replied.

“If you were the visual of the group, wouldn’t you worry?” Minhyun scoffed.

“You look fine.” Aron replied.

“What’s that? I don’t speak American.” Minhyun teased. Aron raised his middle finger and waved it at him. Minhyun smiled. “You’re lucky I’m a prince.”

“Yes, you’re such a gentlemen.” Aron replied sarcastically.

“Oh, so you acknowledge it?”

BAM!

The three of us jumped in our tracks, startled by the sound of the door to the practice room slamming open to reveal a pissed off Baekho. As he approached the group I called out to him. “You’re late.”

“And?” He glared at me, giving me his usual diva, standoffish attitude. It’s not like I wasn’t used to it. Kang Baekho didn’t intimidate me.

“Reason why?” I folded my arms across my chest.

Baekho scoffed. “Ran into some nutcase at the café.”

I raised a brow. “Nutcase?”

He laughed. “He thought I was his blind date or something. Arrogant son of a-”

My eyes widened… no, it couldn’t have been… could it? No way. I snapped out of my thoughts and returned my attention back towards DREAM. “Back to work!” I clapped my hands together and started counting the beats to the music. Baekho, still in a sour mood, joined the two of them and worked diligently until practice was over.

After wrapping up at the studio, I met with Ren once again after his night class finally let out. We had arranged to meet at a tent bar nearby his university. I had already been sitting there, waiting for him when he finally showed up and joined me. He had a sullen look on his face and he sat with a pout. I smiled at him.

“So how was the date?”

Ren gave me a startled look. “Date?” He thought for a moment; his face lit up as he recalled what I was talking about. “Oh, that? It went amazing~!”

I raised a brow. “Really? What’d you two talk about?”

“Oh, all sorts of things… and… stuff. A lot about stuff.”

“You didn’t meet him, did you?” I stared at him. Ren gave me a baffled look.

“Of course I did!”

I shook my head. “I know when you’re lying to me, Ren.”

Ren pouted.

“Acting cute won’t save you every time.”

“I did meet with him, JR!” Ren replied defensively.

“Really? Because my friend called me after practice, complaining that you never showed up.”

“You know I showed up! You yourself pushed me in there!” He exclaimed.

“He claims he never met with you.”

“I so met with him, JR. I sat down, shared a few words with him, and then left.”

I raised a brow. “Oh, you did? Why so short?”

“He didn’t seem interested in talking to me. He gave me an ‘I’m-so-much-better-than-you’ look. Two can play at that game, so I told him he wasn’t my type and left.”

The calm and collected look on my face by now had evaporated. I turned into a hysterical fit of laughter, grabbing at my aching sides. No way! So it was true then; Ren hadn’t met with my friend, but with Baekho. How could he have not known an idol when he saw one? Ren gave me an annoyed look, curious as to what I was laughing about.

“What’s so funny?” He asked with his arms crossed.

“Ren, do you happen to know who Kang Baekho is, by any chance?”

Ren shook his head. Of course not. That explained it all. “Have you been living under a rock?”

“You know I don’t have time for television or music; I teach all day and study all night.” Ren pouted. “Why?”

I shook my head. “It’s nothing. Never mind. Anyways, why are you so down?”

Ren sighed, leaning against his elbows on the plastic table, his hair falling over his face. “It’s about graduation.”

I raised a brow. “Hmm?”

“Apparently I need at least one internship in order to get my degree. JR, it’s hard enough to even get a job in this city, let alone an internship. Not to mention my classes; I can’t leave my kids, JR. I can’t quit. But I can’t possibly imagine having the time to take on an internship.”

I remained quiet for a moment. “It is possible…” My voice trailed off.

“Huh?”

“You’re studying to be a stylist, aren’t you?” I asked; Ren nodded. “Coincidentally, the band I work with is in need of a stylist…”

Ren’s eyes lit up. “OHMYGOD, JR, HELP ME.”

I smirked. “I’ll try to put in a good word with Pledis.”

Ren wrapped his hands around mine. “Thank you! Thank you so much! You’re the bestest friend EVER!” He replied excitedly. As he said this, I couldn’t help but feel a bit saddened. Ever since I had first met Ren I had had feelings for him but I had always been a coward. The two of us had always had such a great friendship and I didn’t want to ruin that by making things awkward. I knew Ren didn’t feel the same way, and I didn’t want to risk losing our friendship by declaring my feelings toward him. In other words, I just didn’t want to get hurt.

“Don’t thank me yet. There’s a reason why DREAM is always searching for a stylist.”

“What do you mean?”

I smiled then shook my head. “If you get the job, you’ll see what I mean.”

Ren’s POV

I entered my parents’ house with a smile on my face, my head up in the clouds while thinking about JR’s possible proposal to Pledis entertainment about taking me on as a styling intern. I felt hopeful; the first step in achieving my dreams was about to come true, wasn’t it? I felt truly grateful. I meant what I said when I told JR that I loved teaching and my kids. If I got this internship with Pledis, I would give it my full effort so that I could do both jobs. I might get beaten and worn down in the process, but I had to try. I didn’t want to live the rest of my life wondering ‘what if.’ Through this opportunity, I would get a taste of what being a real stylist or fashion designer was like and then see if it really was the right fit for me.

As I entered, I greeted my father who was sitting barely a foot away from the television watching some crazy variety show; I think he called it ‘Running Man’? I didn’t know much about what was popular on TV these days. I lived life as a hermit, taking care of the things that needed to be done to ensure my future. While I slaved away in front of my desk at home, my parents always thought I was grading papers or preparing lesson plans for class the next day when it reality only half of that was true. The other half of that truth was that I was studying fashion for my night classes. Though, if they knew that fact, they probably wouldn’t be too happy. When I thought about it, I realized their opinions really shouldn’t matter so much to me, seeing as I was 24 and already had my ‘career.’ But I was a mindful son and was afraid of disappointing my parents even at this age.

When my mother realized my presence she ran up to me and stomped her foot on the ground to get my attention. Stomping or performing some sort of action that produced a loud sound was how Deaf people usually got the attention of the hearing, especially seeing as how my mother didn’t speak. Some of my students spoke as they signed, something which I encouraged, but definitely didn’t require. There were several different standpoints in the Deaf community: some solely signed, others spoke as they signed, some were against cochlear implants/hearing aids, and some weren’t. My mother was very traditional; although she could read lips, she refused to speak or receive surgery for cochlear implants or even get fitted for hearing aids. In my mother’s own ‘words,’ nothing was wrong with her. And she was absolutely right. She was just like every other being on this planet, the only difference was that she couldn’t hear. When I had asked her about it a long time ago why she didn’t take advantage of the ever evolving new technologies to assist in hearing, she simply said ‘you only fix what’s broken; I am not broken.’

“You’re home late!” I watched as she used the correct gestures to convey this message.

“I was at the school; there was a meeting.” I signed back to her.

“I was worried about you.”

“Mom, I’m 24.”

“You’re still my baby.”

“Moooom!” As I signed the gesture for ‘mom,’ I slowed my motions to emphasize the dragging in my message.

“If you don’t want her to treat you like a kid, move out. That’s what your older brother did.” My father said during the commercial. Unlike my mother, my father could hear. It was funny; when they first met, he didn’t know a word of sign language and didn’t know how to even communicate with her. But my father was a determined man and through hard efforts, he learned to sign and earned her respect and eventually won her over. As for my brother, he moved out years ago to go ‘study’ in America and ended up staying there.

“Should I?”

“Maybe you should. You’re an adult now with your adult job.” My mother signed.

“I thought you just said I was your baby.”

“And you always will be. But your father and I would like some privacy for the first time in twenty-six years.”

“I can’t believe you’re kicking me out.” I signed dramatically. Truthfully, I was more than happy to leave. The only reason I stayed around was because I thought I was doing a favor for my mother, who at times seemed overly-attached. It was quite a wakeup call to realize that it was actually the opposite and my presence was burdensome at times, but regardless, if I moved out, it would mean less lying about where I was every Tuesday and Thursday night.

“We love you.” She gave me a cute, pouting look. My mother was probably the queen of aegyo and she was where I learned and perfected it from, oftentimes using it against JR to get my way.

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll start looking tomorrow.” I replied then made my way to my room down the hall. As I closed the door, I leant my back against the wall and closed my eyes, exhaling deeply before jumping up and down excitedly. Tomorrow would be an exciting day; not only would I find out from JR whether or not I got the internship from Pledis, but I would actually start looking for my own place. My life was finally moving forward, wasn’t it? I was a firm believer in the saying ‘good things come to those that wait.’ I had done my waiting and now it was time to shine bright.

The next morning I went through my usual routine before managing to drag myself down the middle school building where I taught my classes. This morning I was full of energy and I couldn’t wait to get through the school day. Eagerly awaiting the arrival of my students, I sat down on the front of my desk, swinging my feet back and forth. As each one individually poured in, they signed a ‘hello’ to me before taking their assigned seats. After the small light in the corner of the room flashed, which was a replacement for the ringing of school bells since it was, after all, a school for the Deaf, I hopped off of my desk and smiled brightly at my class. One of the girls in front raised her hand. I pointed at her.

“Teacher Choi, why are you such a ray of sunshine this morning?”

“I am awaiting good news.”

“News?” She furrowed her brows, using her facial expressions to signify that she was signing a question and was intrigued.

“Class,” I turned my attention to the whole student body. “What are your dreams?” I asked; several students raised their hands. I began pointing out to them, calling on them.

“I want to be a doctor.” One boy replied. I pointed at another.

“I want to be a businessman.”

“I want to be a teacher.” One girl responded.

“I want to be an actress.” Another girl replied, only to be nudged by her classmate at her side.

“How can you be an actress if you’re deaf?” She signed.

The girl gave her an annoyed expression. “How can you be a teacher if you’re deaf?” The two girls started madly signing away. I quickly approached their desks and slapped the surface of the tables. The two girls jumped, startled.

“My mother was a teacher, and she is deaf. I followed in her footsteps even though I am hearing. Let me tell you guys some words of wisdom. Although the government labels you as having a disability, you are not disabled. Why can’t you be a doctor, businessman, teacher, or actress? You have the loss of a sensory skill, not your brain. You can do everything that hearing people can do, am I right?”

One boy raised his hand. I called on him. “We can do it better.” He signed with a smirk.

“Exactly!” I exclaimed through a wide gesture. “The term ‘disability’ has been coined as a social setting set for the Deaf community by the hearing community, giving you guys a bad reputation. When you yourselves try to put down your classmates dreams, you’re only doing what the hearing community wants you to do: believe that you’re not good enough, that you’re not smart enough to do the same things that they can do. You might have to work harder to gain their attention and respect, but you are capable of anything you set your minds to.”

As I finished my spiel, all of my students glanced around and shared looks with each other in agreement before shaking their hands, the sign that signaled ‘clapping.’ I gave them a surprised look; I wasn’t expecting an applause. Honestly, I had no idea if what I ‘said’ was worthy of an applause. That was just me going off on a mad rant. Growing up with a Deaf mother, I was used to seeing the world unfairly turn its back on her and how she would always just smile and bear it. I hated watching that. I hated watching the world treat her like she wasn’t intelligent or capable of doing the same things they did. Was being able to hear that big of a deal? Was it that important?

Another girl raised her hand, snapping me out of my thoughts. I called on her. “Teacher Choi, was your dream to be a teacher?”

The boy next to her nudged her. “Obviously! He’s a teacher, isn’t he?”

“Actually, not at all.”

“Really? Then what?” She asked, surprised by my answer.

I shook my head. “You’re all going to laugh at me if I say it.”

“Tell us!” The class signed together, making pouting faces.

“Fashion designer.”

As I suspected, several students laughed at me, mostly the boys. The girls, however, were intrigued. “Then why didn’t you?” The same student asked.

I shifted my gaze out of the classroom window before returning my attention back to the class. “Maybe I was afraid.”

“But you can hear.”

I laughed. “Hearing people aren’t all that mighty.” I signed back.

A boy raised his hand. “If you, a hearing person, is afraid to chase your dreams, then how are we supposed to chase ours?”

His question was like a slap to the face to me. I was stunned. I forced a smile on my lips. “That was the past. I’m not afraid anymore. I’m moving forward and taking the necessary steps to achieve my dream. That’s why I’m so happy today. I’m expecting a call about a possible internship.”

“Teacher Choi, you’re not going to leave us, are you?” A girl signed.

I shook my head. “Of course not.” As I signed this, I saw several looks of relief spread across the many faces in the classroom. Then, almost as if magically on cue, my cellphone rang. I signed to the class to excuse me for a minute before turning my back to them and answering the phone.

“Guess what~~~?” JR’s voice poured out from the speaker.

“What?” I asked with big eyes full of dread. I had been so hopeful just seconds ago, and yet, now that I was receiving the phone call, I was suddenly expecting the absolute worst.

“The big guy at Pledis wants to meet you!”

“OHMYGOD, JR, YOU’RE A FREAKING GOD.” I practically screamed. I paused, awkwardly glancing back at my students. The few that had cochlear implants were grinning from ear to ear at my unprofessional behavior while the majority of the crowd didn’t take any notice.

“You’re in class right now, aren’t you?”

“Yes I am.”

“Did you just embarrass yourself?”

“Yes I did.”

“Ha ha, Ren, you’re a trip. Drop by the Pledis building as soon as you get out. Later~!” JR replied then hung up. I placed my phone on the surface of my desk before turning back to face my students.

“Did you get the internship?” One of the students that had heard my outburst asked.

“It’s quite possible.” I smiled.

As soon as my last student poured out from my classroom I practically ran all the way to Pledis headquarters with my style portfolios in my arms. Although I’m pretty sure taking a taxi or a bus would have been far much quicker, I was too much engulfed in my excitement to make rational decisions. By the time I arrived, I was gasping for breath. I took a couple of minutes to calm myself before finally making the decision to go inside, where I was greeted by the front receptionist. I gave her my name and she led me into the waiting room outside the CEO’s office where I waited my turn to speak with him. It didn’t take long for the front door of his office to swing open and for him to greet me. I politely bowed to him before stepping inside.

“So you’re the aspiring stylist JR was talking about, huh?”

“Yes sir; that would be me.”

“You know, we don’t normally take on interns. We hire those with degrees, but seeing as how you’re still working on it, and DREAM is in dire need of a stylist, I’m willing to bring you on board.”

I stared at him with wide eyes. “Don’t you want to see some of my work first?”

He held his hand up and shook his head. “No need.”

“Are you… are you sure?” I asked, finding this situation a bit… strange.

He laughed. “Once you meet them, you’ll understand why DREAM is in need of a stylist.”

“Why does everyone keep saying that?”

“Do you want the job or not? I’m doing JR a favor here, since he helped transform DREAM into one of my biggest acts. I won’t lie to you; I’m an honest man. Several of DREAM’s stylists have quit on us due to our members. The job won’t be easy, but since when has an internship ever been?”

“Of course I want it; I need it.”

He smirked. “That’s a good way to look at it then when the time comes to where you want to quit.”

“I won’t quit.” I replied determinedly.

He gave me a skeptical look. “Hmm… I’m not too sure about that. They all quit. But I like your spirit, and I want to believe in you. So, Pledis will take you on for three months. You’ll get your internship and your degree and hopefully by then, if they like your work and they haven’t driven you away, it’s quite possible we’ll be interested in hiring you.”

I looked at him with stars in my eyes. I reached forward to shake his hand enthusiastically. “You won’t regret this.”

“But you might.” He said under his breath.

“What?” I asked, not quite catching him.

He smiled at me with a huge grin. “Good luck; I’ll have my assistant take you to them.” He replied then called for his assistant on his intercom. Within a couple of seconds a woman stepped inside and asked that I follow her, where she then led me up several flights of stairs until we reached a meeting room where the backs of three other men sitting in chairs at a circular table faced me. She pulled the door open and led me inside, bringing me to the front of the table. I slowly glanced at each and every one of their faces; there was short brunette, a tall brunette, and then a tall blonde… I froze in horror as I suddenly recognized him from the other day. Apparently he recognized me too. We both shared looks of terror and pointed at each other in unison.

“YOU!” We both exclaimed. The blonde sheepishly looked away before lowering his arm back down.

“Boys, meet your new stylist.”

“Our what?” The blonde exclaimed.

“She said he’s our stylist.” The short brunette replied. The blonde reached forward and slapped his arm. The tall brunette in the middle quietly smiled at me.

“Nice to meet you; the name is Hwang Minhyun.” He introduced himself.

I slightly bowed. “I-I’m Choi Ren, your n-new s-stylist.” I replied, feeling overly intimidated by the presence of the three idols. I had never been around idols before. To me, they seemed like unreachable, untouchable beings. Never before in my life had I ever felt so… average.

“S-s-stylist.” The blonde mocked me. “Couldn’t they have given us one that could speak properly? Or is it just an act? You spoke just fine the other day.” He replied, glaring at me with cold, unfeeling eyes.

“I’m Aron Kwak, and I… really don’t want to be here.” The short brunette replied lethargically.

“Can’t you guys be nice for once? You’re the reason why they always keep leaving!” Minhyun scowled, glaring at each one at his sides.

The blonde raised a brow. “And you have nothing to do with it? Mr. I-can’t-wear-anything-that-isn’t-100%-cotton-or-real-genuine-leather.”

“I have sensitive skin, Baekho, and you know that!” Minhyun exclaimed, suddenly losing his cool.

“Tch.” Baekho folded his arms across his chest, completely disinterested in looking at me. “He’ll leave, just like all the others.”

“I won’t leave.” I replied sternly, causing Baekho to look up.

“Oh, really now?”

“Really. You won’t be able to get rid of me, no matter how hard you try.”

A dark, evil grin spread across his lips. “I take that as a challenge, you know.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Then so be it.”

“This kid has no idea what he’s getting himself into.” Aron replied unenergetically to no one in particular. He turned his attention back over towards the cellphone he held in his hands.

Minhyun reached his hand out across the table. “We look forward to having you on board, Ren.” He kindly shook my hand. “So when are you moving in?”

I gave him a wide eyed stare. “What?”

Minhyun laughed. “You didn’t know? The condition in the contract is that you are required to live with us 24/7.”

“But I… I’m just an intern.” I replied, suddenly feeling myself go into a panic. I still had my day job… my kids… I couldn’t quit. I couldn’t leave them.

“An intern! Ha!” Baekho scoffed. “Unbelievable.”

I glared at him. I already knew I didn’t like him. This guy was just rooting for my failure, wasn’t he? No, I wasn’t about to give him this satisfaction. Baekho, you’re not going to win against me. Like Project Runway’s Tim Gunn always says, ‘make it work.’ I’ll figure out a way to keep both jobs or die trying. I folded my arms across my chest arrogantly and stared right at him, raising a brow.

“Tonight.”

Baekho looked up at me with a scowl written across his face. He clearly didn’t like the idea. Not like I liked it any better either, but we both had to deal with it the way adults would. Baekho irritatingly forced a smile across his lips.

“See you tonight, then.” He forced himself to say before standing up and briskly leaving the room.

Later that evening, with the help of JR, we loaded the essentials into the back of his car and he drove me over to the ‘top secret’ address that Pledis had given me where the idols resided. I had to admit, I was a bit intimidated when I had to sign a waiver, pledging my oath to secrecy that I wouldn’t reveal the location of DREAM’s giant mansion. If I did, I could risk a million dollar lawsuit. I wouldn’t tell; after all, who would I tell? JR was the only friend I bothered to keep in touch with and he already knew where they lived. And I certainly wouldn’t tell my kids. Unlike the other artists of Pledis, who simply received dorm rooms, DREAM had made a significant amount of income to warrant such a luxury. However, ‘luxury’ wasn’t quite the word I would use to describe the place upon first seeing it. As we drove up to the front gate, my jaw nearly dropped open at the sign of it. The place was huge.

JR smiled at my reaction in amusement. “We’re at the right place.”

“My god…” I stared in amazement as JR rang the buzzer.

“Who is it?” Baekho’s voice poured out from the speaker.

“It’s your best friend!” JR exclaimed into the speaker. “Oh, and it’s me, JR, too.”

“Good. The two of you can stay out there then.” Baekho replied, refusing to give us entrance into the gate. JR pressed the buzzer again; silence. I folded my arms across my chest and sat back in the passenger seat, rolling my eyes and scoffing in disbelief that Baekho would behave like such a child towards me when he hardly even knew me. Of course we didn’t have the best start, but to act in such a way was ridiculous. Not even my middle school students stooped to this level. JR began to attack the buzzer button in an annoying frenzy.

“WHAT?” Minhyun’s annoyed voice poured out from the speaker this time.

“It’s JR.”

“And Ren!” I called out from JR’s side.

“Oh, the new stylist!” Minhyun exclaimed, dropping his previous diva attitude from before. “Please, come in.” He replied. As soon as he left the intercom the gates clicked and spread open. JR drove forward, pulling up into their driveway. The two of us hopped out from the car and grabbed a couple of boxes before heading to the front door of the mansion where we were greeted by Minhyun and Aron. Or rather, just Minhyun. Aron was busy texting away on his cell phone.

Minhyun smiled at us. “Come in, come in. This is your home too now.”

Aron snorted. “For the meantime.”

I stared over at the shorter one. “Excuse me?” I raised a brow.

Minhyun placed his hand over Aron’s mouth. “Pay him no attention; this one’s a strange one.” He replied, stepping to the side to let us in. Once inside I glanced around in amazement; the place was even bigger on the inside, if that was at all possible. The interior decorating resembled that of a magazine; the play was spotless and flawless. It was definitely a drastic change from what I had been accustomed to living in. I made a mental note to myself not to touch anything for fear of breaking it and owing the three of them my immortal soul.

Aron flopped down on the couch and continued to type away on his phone, ignoring the rest of the world. Minhyun led us down one of the hallways and towards an empty room which was to be mine. I entered inside and placed my box down; the room was cozy enough. Well, anything was a step above from what I had been living in previously. My parents weren’t rich, but they weren’t poor either. It wasn’t a terrible house, but it was nothing compared to this monstrosity.

“Do you like it?” Minhyun asked.

“I love it.”

“Great!” Minhyun clapped his hands together. “If you need anything, just call.” He shot me a wink before disappearing, leaving JR and I alone.

I turned to JR. “Well, at least he’s nice.”

JR chuckled. “Every rose has its thorn, Ren.”

“Huh?”

“Oh, you’ll see.” He smirked as he exited the room, making his way back out of the mansion to get more boxes.

Later that night, somehow I had managed to turn my once pristine, crystal clear room into the after wreck of a tornado. Remnants of torn up boxes, clothes, piles of shoes and mountains of papers lined the floor. Well, you know what they say when it comes to organizing, don’t you? You have to make a mess first in order to make a clean room. I was busy placing garments onto hangers and hanging them up inside the walk in closet when I was suddenly disturbed by a noise outside in the hallway.

“Dear god, were you robbed?” What sounded like Baekho’s voice poured out from the other room. I paused for a moment to consider the possibility; he wouldn’t even let me inside the darn place. The likelihood of Miss Sass actually speaking to me was absolutely zero at this point. But even still, I slowly poked my head out from the closet. There in the doorframe stood none other than my self-proclaimed enemy.

“It’s a mess right now; don’t come in.” I warned as I clumsily made my way outside of the closet, stumbling over miscellaneous objects.

Baekho scoffed. “Wasn’t planning on it.”

I paused in the middle of the room. “Then what are you doing here?”

He raised a brow in annoyance. “It’s difficult to ignore the sound of a train wreck when it’s right across the hall from me.”

“Beg pardon?”

Baekho pointed to the door behind him. “My room.”

I felt my heart sink. “.” I whispered. JR’s words from earlier replayed in the back of my mind. Minhyun had lead me to this specific room when I’m sure there were dozens of empty rooms all across the house. Was this… on purpose? Note to self: watch out for Minhyun.

“My sentiments exactly.” He replied.

I glanced up at him with wide eyes. I hadn’t expected him to hear that. “Oh, sorry, I-”

He held a hand up. “Save it. Only dogs beg.”

I pursed my lips together in annoyance. “Dogs?” I asked. Baekho turned his back to me and entered his own room.

“Clean up that mess. It’s an eyesore.”

I rolled my eyes and pouted after he slammed the door to his room closed, cutting off all connections with me. I could already tell living with these guys wasn’t going to be easy. I sighed then stepped over my hazardous mess on the floor, exiting my room and trailing to the front of the house where the kitchen was located. As I stepped inside I spotted Aron sitting at the dining table by himself, eating some type of foreign food I didn’t recognize. I slightly hesitated as I approached the fridge; do I talk to him? It would be rude not to acknowledge him, I am after all a guest in their house… but would it be wise to? What if he was as conniving as Minhyun?

Aron suddenly glanced up from scrolling through his phone and stared at me. “Yo.” He replied in a monotonous voice.

“Y-yo.” I replied, slowly opening the fridge.

“Looking for something?” He asked.

“Water…” I said. I felt like such a timid child inside a house of this magnitude, being within distance of mega-famous idols. It felt surreal. But they were people too, weren’t they? They just had money… and nice things… and fans… oh, and fame. And what did I have? Well… at least my students liked me, right?

Aron stood up and approached the fridge, pausing as he came across me. With his he shoved me out of the way and started shifting through the fridge’s contents. I stumbled backwards. He pulled out a bottle of water and handed it to me. “Drink this.”

I glanced down at the label. It was one of those fancy, pricier brands that, well, I assumed rich people like them consumed. No other right, sane person would spend $8 a bottle on something as readily available as water. I took it from him. “Er, thanks.”

Aron smiled. “No prob, man.” He replied then returned back to his seat at the table. Rather than join him in the awkwardness that surrounded him in the air, I opted to return back to my room to continue to heap through the mess that I had created.

I awoke bright and early in the morning. The only other person up besides myself was none other than Minhyun, who seemed to be dragging himself down the hall. He had been so out of it that he didn’t even notice me in the hallway, walking right past me as he rubbed his eyes. I remained silent and made my way to the bathroom. As I entered, I flicked on the light switch. The lights flickered on, illuminating the room. Across from where I stood was a mirror above the porcelain sink. As I glanced up at my reflection from the floor I practically screamed. Written across my forehead in what looked like permanent marker was the word ‘LOSER’ spelled out. Aron and Baekho’s smug, smiling reflections stood in the doorframe behind me in the mirror. I angrily spun around.

“WHO. DID. IT?!” I screamed, glaring at Baekho.

Baekho smirked. “Don’t look at me; I’d rather die than touch you.” I immediately glanced over at Aron, who stood smiling with the marker dangling from his palm.

“It means ‘you’re an idiot’ in English.” Aron replied in his same monotonous voice, despite the huge, proud grin on his face.

“I know what it means!!!”

“Apparently this one is smart. Huh.” He replied then walked away. I returned my glare over towards Baekho, who had his arms folded across his chest as he leant on the doorframe, smiling at me.

“What part did you have in this?!” I hissed.

“I watched.”

“You didn’t stop him?!”

“Why would I stop him?”

“Not even my children act as insane as you do!!!” I exclaimed, madly turning on the faucet and grabbing the soap bar, vigorously beginning to scrub my forehead.

Baekho raised a brow. “Children? You procreated?”

I paused for a moment then spun around, splashing him with water from my wet hair. He jumped back and stared at me in annoyance. “Obviously not; I’m gay.”

Baekho gave me a look of disgust. “Don’t look at me.”

“I already told you during out first encounter; you’re not my type.” I replied, my face turning red from anger. Minhyun suddenly walked up from behind Baekho and gasped once he saw what was written across my forehead. He shook his head and then entered.

“You guys were wrong for doing this to him. He’s here to help us and all you’re doing is trying to scare him away. Leave us.” Minhyun shooed Baekho away then placed both hands on my shoulders. “I’ll apologize for those children in their place.”

I scoffed, pulling away from his touch and returned to scrubbing my face. Minhyun stared at me in silence for a moment before walking out and re-entering after a couple of minutes had passed. He handed me a makeup remover wipe. I stared down at it briefly before giving him an unsure look.

Minhyun smiled at me. “You don’t trust me, do you?”

“Why’d you put me across the hall from him?”

Minhyun clapped his hands together apologetically. “Okay, I admit I was in the wrong. I thought it might be funny… Sorry?”

“…” I remained speechless.

“Oh, come on, you need at least one friend inside this house, don’t you? Forgive me.” He replied. I hesitantly took the wipe from him and returned to scrubbing my face. Minhyun chuckled. “And all is forgiven, I see.”

“Because I don’t have time for this.” I replied.

“Oh? Where are you off to?”

“My day job. This is only an internship. Pledis and I made an agreement that I could still attend my morning classes and then come straight to the office afterwards.”

Minhyun nodded. “Ah, I see then… Well, hopefully you’re not in too much of a rush to eat breakfast then. Skipping out isn’t good for you. See you there.” He replied then left me alone in the bathroom. I stared at my reflection; a majority of the ink had come off, thanks to Minhyun’s help. Maybe he wasn’t such a bad guy after all? It was still too early to tell though.

After quickly showering and getting dressed, I entered the kitchen where Minhyun and Aron both sat at the rectangular dining table. Minhyun smiled and waved his fork full of pancakes at me before returning to eating. Aron glanced up from his phone and quickly stood up, walking over to the chair at the end of the table and pulling it out. He held his hand out.

“Minhyun informed me that what I had done earlier this morning was wrong. Now I’m trying to make it up to you. Sit, sit.”

I stared at him. “I’m only believing you because I’m in a hurry…” I sighed then sat down in the chair. As I sat, Aron pushed the chair into the table behind me.

Minhyun glanced up. “Aron, that’s-” He warned.

“Shh!” Aron placed his fingers over his lips then hurried back over to his seat. Minhyun shook his head and sighed.

“Get up.” Baekho’s voice called out from behind me. I glanced up at him from over my shoulder.

“What?”

“Move.” He ordered.

My eyebrow twitched. I had just about had it with everyone in this house, and it was only the first day. “And why should I?”

“That’s my seat.” He replied as if it were obvious.

“Oh? I didn’t see your name written on it.”

“Move, or I’ll move for you.” He warned.

“Was that a threat?” I scoffed, folding my arms across my chest. Without another moment’s notice, Baekho leant down and scooped me up bridal style into his arms. I stared at him with wide eyes, turning red as he dumped me into the empty chair beside him. As my bottom hit the chair I sat up straight, stomping my feet onto the floor. Aron and Minhyun were chuckling on the other side of the table; well, Minhyun was. Aron was more or less cackling. “WHAT THE HELL?!”

“My sentiments exactly.” He replied then walked over towards the fridge, where he pulled it open and looked inside. After a couple of seconds had passed by, he silently closed the door and turned to face the three of us with a solemn expression written over his face. “Who drank my water?” Baekho asked darkly.

Aron immediately pointed at me.

I scoffed then stood up from the chair, fuming. Unbelievable. “I’m out of here. You guys are pathetic, really.” I replied then angrily grabbed my cross body bag for school and marched out the front door.

JR’s POV

I patted my crying friend’s back as he sobbed into his desk dramatically. I had dropped by his school during lunch period to check up on him and ask him how his first night went at the house of horrors. Apparently it went as I expected. Ren looked like a wreck.

“There, there.” I continued to rub his back.

“It was awful…” Ren replied.

“What’d they do to you?” I blinked.

“Minhyun put me in the room across from my mortal enemy.”

“Your mortal enemy… I’m assuming that’s Baekho, nonetheless.”

Ren nodded. “And then, and then Aron tricked me into drinking Baekho’s stupid water. And then he scribbled over my face with permanent marker during the middle of the night. And then he once again tricked me into sitting in Baekho’s ‘spot’ this morning, where he literally lifted me out of his seat and moved me.”

“Baekho or Aron?”

“Baekho!” Ren exclaimed.

“Makes sense. Aron’s a little dude. Watch out; he might be small and calm, but he’s the evil mastermind behind those three. He’s like those cute, evil little Gremlins.”

“Not helping, JR!”

I smiled. “I know, buddy. But I told you it wouldn’t be easy being the stylist for DREAM.”

“No, you said there was a reason why DREAM couldn’t keep a stylist.” He corrected me. I shook my head.

“It was pretty much implied, wasn’t it?”

Ren pouted. “What do I do? I can’t leave! My internship has barely even started!”

“Leave?” I asked, astonished. “What happened to that determination at the get-go? I’m not letting you quit. I finally work with someone inside of Pledis that isn’t crazy. I’m not letting you go.”

“I know, I know.” Ren sighed, running his fingers through his long blonde bangs.

“Get back at them.”

He looked at me through the corner of his eyes. “Pardon?”

“Stoop down to their level. That’s the only way you’ll beat them and earn their respect.” I replied. I knew DREAM quite well after working for them for so long. They weren’t completely untamable. I knew that if Ren presented them a big enough challenge, soon enough they’d all be best friends.

“You mean play pranks back on them?” He blinked at me as if the idea sounded foreign. I nodded and he sighed. “The last time I played a prank on someone, it was Minseok, and he’s been gone for years.”

I rubbed his back again. “You have me here to help you. I know each of their weaknesses. Ask and you shall receive.”

Ren smirked at me. “You know what? Alright then. Game on. I came into this with determination, I’m going to see it through. Tell me what I need to know about the Three Stooges.”

Baekho’s POV

After spending an entire morning at press conferences, the three of us finally made our way home. Granted, we would only have a few hours of free time to spare before moving on to our next scheduled appearance. As I unlocked the door, we all went our separate ways inside the house. I paused as I approached the kitchen, spotting that annoying new stylist of ours sitting at the table in my spot once again, sipping on a cup of tea. I pursed my lips together in annoyance. This guy didn’t learn, did he? Well, we’ll just see about that. As I was about to approach him, I was stopped dead in my tracks by the sounds of both Minhyun and Aron’s screams. Minhyun was the first to come stumbling out of the hallway in a frenzy, looking around the place. He paused when he spotted Ren.

“Ren, have you seen my clothes?”

“Pardon?” Ren asked.

“My clothes! They’re not in my closet! They’re missing!” Minhyun exclaimed.

Ren simply pointed to the screen door that led to the backyard. Minhyun gave him a look of confusion before running over to the door, sliding it open and stepping outside. That was when Aron came running into the kitchen next.

“WHERE DID YOU PUT IT?!” He glared at Ren.

“Put what?” He innocently asked.

I turned to him. “What did he take?”

“This bastard… he killed the internet!”

I gave him a dumbfounded look. “Don’t be absurd; there’s no such thing as one being able to kill the internet.” I replied and practically had Aron’s cellphone jammed into my face.

“Take a look for yourself! No wi-fi signal!”

“And?”

“Home is where the wi-fi automatically connects! GOD!” He angrily exclaimed before turning back to Ren. “You did something! What did you do?!” He pointed at him.

Ren took another sip of tea and then gently placed his porcelain mug down on the table. “Hid the wi-fi router.”

“Give it back!” Aron demanded with an outstretched palm.

“No.” Ren simply replied.

“CHOI REN!” Minhyun screeched as he angrily marched back inside.

“I take it you found your clothes?” Ren asked rather sweetly.

“Take them down this instant!” Minhyun exclaimed. I curiously walked past him and took a look through the door; outside, stretched out all over the yard, dangling from trees and the telephone cables were Minhyun’s clothes scattered about. A sudden thought struck me; if he had gotten Min and Aron, there wasn’t a single doubt in my mind that he had left me out of the equation. I hurriedly walked past them and hesitantly approached my room, wondering about the horrors which awaited me inside. I took a deep breath as I reached for the door handle and pushed it inwards. As the door opened, it revealed a room that had been completely ransacked. Everything from drawers to my closet doors were opened and clothes were scattered about. I began to shake from the anger boiling down my veins.

“REN!!!!!!” I screamed.

Ren silently walked up behind me, leaning against the doorframe with his arms folded across his chest. “DREAM can’t keep a stylist for very long? Not anymore; you boys have finally met your match.” He shot me a wink.

“Clean it up this instant!” I slammed my foot on the ground and pointed inside my room.

“I’m your stylist, not your maid.”

I laughed then approached him, slamming the palm of my hand on the wall space above his head. “Alright then. If it’s a war you want, it’s a war you’ve got.”

“Bring it on.”