You exit the building, heading to the car. Yesung gives you a questioning look as you open the door and climb inside. You shake your head in response. That was the fourth audition you have had today. So far nothing to show for it. 

"One more left on the list," says Yesung, crossing off the one you just came out of. "Ready?'

"네 [Ne]," you say with a nod. "I'm not nervous at all after that last one."

"What happened?" asks Yesung, starting the car. 

"After I sang, rapped, and danced, the managers and talent scouts praised my work, up until they decided to google my name," you chuckle, rolling your eyes as you remember how their expressions went from amazement to shock in a matter of moments. "It was funny. One moment they were saying that it didn't matter how old I was, because I still had the talent. Then the next, one of the talent scouts starts cursing me out, saying what a terrible, horrible witch I must be, and how dare I even think about swindling their company." You shake your head with a scoff. 

"We just have to keep trying," he replies, heading toward the next destination. "And if this next one doesn't work, try again tomorrow."

----

After finishing the last audition with out result, you and Yesung head back to the dorms. You enter the eleventh floor and hear voices in the living room. One of the voices belongs to Henry while the other probably belongs to a girl.

"I'm sick for one day and what happens?"  You hear chuckles. "You practical start a scandal. Really, 형 [hyung]?"

Curious, you walk into the living room and spot Henry sitting on the couch with a girl probably in her early twenties with very short hair, cut similar to a guy's. Her makeup is flawless, with her eyeliner accentuating her pretty eyes. She's wearing a white graphic T-shirt with neon blue and pink swirls, a faux leather vest, dark skinny jeans, a long black chain necklace, and a black baseball cap with black and white checkerboard pattern in the front. 

You immediately know who she is. 

You bow. "안녕하세요 [Annyeonghaseyo]!"

She bows in return. "안녕하세요 [Annyeonghaseyo]!" 

Henry grins. "Hello, 누나  [nuna]!"

You grin, "Hey, 형제 [hyungjae]!" You turn your attention to Amber, walking over to the couch. "Amber, right?"

"네 [Ne]," she responds with smile. "Jaehwa, right?"

"네 [Ne]," you reply. 

She grins. "Finally, I get to meet you!" She stands up and holds out a hand to you.

You are about to shake it, when she grabs your hand and gives you a 'bro-hug'. You grin as you both break away. 

"Finally! A girl who understands me!" you say with a chuckle.

"I know what you mean," she says with a smirk. "I finally have an 언니 [unni] who won't make fun of me for calling Henry '형 [hyung]'. And I'm so glad you don't speak like a valley girl. Usually, girls who speak English here sound like valley girls."

You burst out laughing. "So true."

Henry laughs, shaking his head. "Why do I get the feeling you both are going to be inseperable?"

****

2005.11.07 (November 7, 2005)

"감사 [Kamsa] again, Jaehwa-ah!" cries Jongwoon as you both get out of the cab, deciding to walk the rest of the way to the dorms, since some of the guys texted Jongwoon, telling him they would be a little late. 

"Don't mention it any more or I swear I'll beat you up, 형 [hyung]. Seriously, it was no big deal," you scoff, shoving your hands in your pockets as you both walk down the sidewalk. 

"Still," he says, drawing out the word. "I appreciate it. I mean who else would help their 형 [hyung] out with his dating advice the day before he'd move?"

"형 [Hyung]? What did I just say? Don't mention it! 진짜 [jinjja]!" 

He looks down at the ground as you continue on your way. "I'm going to miss you, Jaehwa-ah." He looks up for a moment, his eyes soft and sad. "I hope everything will work out for you there." He smiles at you softly.

You chuckle. "형 [Hyung], are you alright? You make it sound like I'm leaving to go to another galaxy. We'll see each other again and we'll keep in contact, arasso? I'll have everyone give me their contact information before I leave tomorrow."

He nods. "I know, but I'm still going to miss you." Before you can take another step, Jongwoon steps in front of you and wraps his arms around you, embracing you in a hug. "감사 [Kamsa], Jaehwa," he whispers into your hair. 

"For what?" you ask as he pulls away. 

He shakes his head ever so slightly as you both begin walking again. "For everything really."

****

Present:

"Jang Jaehwa?" the man scoffs, shaking his head. "You think you can just waltz right in here and see if can swindle us, huh?" He glares at you angrily. "Do you think just because you are a half-American, you can come over here and wheedle your way into becoming famous?" He slams the stack of folders in his hands down onto his desk, making a loud thud. "I'm glad that SM exposed you when they had the chance. Otherwise, I would have made a grave mistake offering you that contract." He points a finger to the door. "Out."

You nod slowly. "감사합니다 [Kamsahamnida] for your time, sir." You stand up, bowing low. You can feel his glare still on you, not bothering to return the bow. You lift yourself up and meet his icy stare. His cold eyes continue to glare at you as you make your way to the door. You give one last bow before walking through the door. You let out a staggered breath as the door shuts behind you.

Another attempt has gone awry.

Two weeks of auditions and nothing has come about from it.

You take a deep breath and walk out the doors. You take a look down at the notepad in your hand as you emerge into the frigid air outside. You cross out the last thing on the list. You put the notepad in your purse and walk toward the dorms. It's quite a distance away, but you would rather burn off some frusteration before you take a cab. 

What are you going to do? 

You stare down at the pavement below. 

This is going to be a lot harder than you could have ever imagined.

Your phone vibrates in your purse. You pull it out and see Yesung's name across the screen. You pick it up. "여보세요 [Yeoboseyo]?"

"Hey, Jaehwa! How did it go?" you hear Yesung's voice from across the line. 

"I didn't make it. Same response," you reply. 

Yesung lets out a frusterated sigh. "진짜 [jinjja]? Again?"

"네 [Ne]," you respond with a shrug. 

"Your father really messed things up for you, didn't he?" he says, seemingly more to himself than you. He takes a breath. "I was able to get a hold of some of your old bandmates..."

"You did?" you ask, your voice raising with hope. 

"네 [Ne]," he replies in a low voice that shatters that hope with its tone. "None of them will admit that they trained with you, let alone even knew you."

You click your tongue in frusteration. "진짜 [Jinjja]?" You shake your head. "He must have bought them off."

"I think so too," he says quietly.

You let out a sigh. "Well, there goes that idea."

"미안해 [Mianhae]."

"감사 [Kamsa] for trying, 형 [hyung]. I appreciate it."

"No problem. So, what's next?"

You take a deep breath. "I'm going to come home and train on the roof for awhile."

"When will you be home?"

"I'll catch a cab in a few minutes. Hmm..." You pause, calculating the distance in your mind. "Well, with traffic, probably like twenty minutes to half an hour."

"Arasso. I'll see you when you get home. I might come up to the roof for awhile."

"Okay," you reply. "See ya! I'm going to hang up now." You turn off the phone and put it back in your purse. You hail a taxi and hop inside. After giving the driver directions, you stare out the window, wondering what your next move will be.

****

2005.11.07 (November 7, 2005)

You stick your hands in your pockets. "I didn't do anything 형 [hyung]."

He shakes his head as you continue walking. "아니 [Ani]. You did. I was talking with Ryeowook the other day. We both were talking about all the competitiveness between the members. Then you came up into the conversation."

"Me?" you ask, raising an eyebrow. "왜 [Wae]?"

"You're the one who has been helping us since the beginning. There's a lot of competition between all twelve of us, and I have a feeling it will continue to be like that, especially when we move to the next generation." He lets out a sigh. "However, you've kind of help us see past that a little bit and you've been there to motivate us and even tried to get the company to give up the idea of a rotational band..." He trails off, looking at you. "고맙습니다 [Gomasseumnida], Jaehwa."

You shake your head. "Don't thank me. I didn't do anything. You all deserve more than a generational band. That's all there is to it." You click your tongue. "Maybe the company will recognize that one of these days."

****

Present: 

You let out a slow breath as you hold yourself up for several more seconds, balancing on your left with your elbow 'stabbing' your abdomen. You slowly bring your right down to the floor and shift your weight to the other side. A smile forms on your face. With all the early mornings at the gym and the evenings spent training on the roof top over the past two weeks, you have become much stronger than you were before.

Yesterday, Eunhyuk noticed how defined your deltoids and biceps have become. Yesung even joked that since your core and your arms are so strong that you could probably beat several of the members in arm wrestling. That actually sparked a bet among the members. You accepted the challenge and to your surprise, you actually did beat several of them.

You shift your left arm back to the ground and balance yourself for several more seconds.

You hear the door to the roof open. You shift your body to the ground, placing your legs down. You let out a deep breath as you turn to the figure approaching. 

"Hey!" you say with a nod as Amber approaches.

"Hey!" she says, taking a seat next to you, holding out a water bottle to you.

"Thanks," you reply, taking it gratefully. You start gulping down the water.

"Yesung said I might find you here. He said he'll be coming up in awhile to see you. I guess he's pretty bored downstairs right now. He was thinking about bringing his turtles up here with him." Amber grins.

You chuckle. "Crazy 형 [hyung]." You take another gulp of water.

Amber scoffs. "You shouldn't be talking. All you've been doing the same things for the past two weeks I've known you." She starts listing on her fingers. "You get up early and exercise at the gym. You come home and clean the Suju dorms. Then you go to auditions. Then you train up here on the roof. Make dinner for the guys. Then sometimes you train after dinner." She shakes her head. She looks down at your arms. "I swear, you look more toned than you did just three days ago. She lifts your shirt sleeve up to see your deltoids. "Man! Seriously, Jaehwa! Those l