Your alarm goes off, blaring some ringtone out of your phone's speakers. You quickly turn it off. You roll out of bed, and hurry down the hall to the washroom to wash your face, hoping that you don't run into any of the 형 [hyungs] along the way.

After washing your face, you bolt back into your room, locking the door. You grab the shopping bag from off the floor where you had left it last night and begin taking out it's contents.

Here goes nothing...

****

2003.05.12 (May 12, 2003)

"Jaehwa," your father begins, looking up from the papers on his desk. "Could you run down and deliver something to the choreographer in room ---- for me? He should be working with a new group called 'Smile'."

You look up from the book you were reading for school. "Sure, 아빠 [appa]!" You hop out of the chair you were sitting on. "You mean the one Donghae 형 [hyung] is in?"

Your father shakes his head. "네 [Ne]. That's the one." He hands you a folder. 

"Arasso," you respond, giving your father a grin. "I'll take it right now." You head out of his office and into the hallway. You make your way down the stairs towards the training rooms. You head past several more doors until you come to the number you are looking for. 

You knock on the door once firmly before opening the door. You walk inside and see five boys, all sweaty from dance practice. Two of them you recognize immediately; Donghae and Jungsu. 

All five boys stop dancing and turn in your direction to see who the intruder might be.

"안녕하세요 [Annyeonghaseyo]!" you say with a bow. "Is the choreographer in here?" You hold up the folder in your hand to indicate that you are here to deliver it to him.

Jungsu answers simply, "He left for a little bit to make a phone call or something." He turns his attention back to dancing.

Donghae grins at you, "Wait, around a bit. He should be here soon. So, how's everything been, 형제 [hyungjae]?"

"Pretty good," you respond with a grin. 

"We should get back to rehearsing," says Jungsu, looking at Donghae in the mirror.

"Oh, 미안해 [mianhae], 형 [hyung]," you say. "I'm keeping you all from rehearsing, 미안해 [mianhae] Jungsu- 형 [hyung]."

You see his face cringe in the mirror. He hates it when you don't use honorifics. He even hates it more when you call him '형 [hyung]'. 

You can recall how shocked he was when you first met him three years ago...

"Jaehwa-ssi," he says, turning to you.

You already know what he's going to say to you. You bow. "미안합니다 [Mianhamnida], Jungsu-ssi. I forgot." 

He gives you a small smile and turns his attention back to practicing the dance. 

"I'll just wait outside for the choreographer, so I don't disturb you all any more." You bow and leave the room.

****

Present:

You look down at yourself, adjusting your shirt and readjusting the belt in your jeans. You take a deep breath, feeling pain in your chest. You ruffle your hair in nervousness, preparing yourself for the audition. You take a deep breath and enter the room, hoping your acting skills will pay off.

You feel taller than before with the shoe lifts inside of your sneakers as you walk into the room, a slight swagger in your step.

You step into the middle of the room and glance at the panel of 'judges', made up of managers, talent scouts, and other officials of SM. You recognize your father among the panel. You refrain from smirking at him. You can not blow your cover.

You bow low. "안녕하세요 [Annyeonghaseyo]," you say, making your voice several octaves deeper. You lift you head up and give the panel a disarming smile. 

You notice one of women on the panel, drop her gaze for a moment. 

Aish!

Well, at least it's working...

"Please, state your name and age," instructs one of the men on the panel. 

"Hwang Jaekyu," you respond, keeping your voice at the same octave as before. "Age 26."

The panel looks at you with disapproval when you state your age. You know what will happen next though.

"Can you sing?"

"네 [Ne]. I am more of a rapper though."

"Can you dance? And if so, what kind of dances?"

"네 [Ne], I specialize in breakdance, hip-hop, and can pop-and-lock."

"Can you act?"

You refrain from letting out a scoff. "네 [Ne]," you reply simply.

"Why don't you show us what you can do?"

A grin forms on your lips. "Of course." You take a step back as the music begins, readying yourself for the task ahead. 

****

2003.05.12 (May 12, 2003)

You wait outside the dance room for upwards of half an hour. Where is that choreographer? You call your father, telling him that you are still waiting to give him the folder. Your father instructs you to try to hunt him down. You agree and hang up.

You knock on the door to the practice room before heading in. "Yah! Does anyone know where Choreographer 형 [hyung] goes to make his phone calls?"

The guys stop practicing. Jungsu turns to you with a sigh. "Jaehwa," he begins slowly. "We don't know where he is, and we really need to practice."

"Aish! I need to find him! 감사  [Kamsa] anyway, 형 [hyungs]!" You bolt back through the door and into the corridor. You start walking towards the front of the building. Who knows? Maybe he is talking outside or something. 

After a good forty minutes of searching through the reception area, the common room, the front of the building, and every other nook and cranny that you can think of you, you give up.

"Aish!" you groan, finding yourself in a hallway close to where you began in the first place. "This !"

You hear a chuckle behind you. "Still can't find choreographer 형 [hyung]?"

You recognize the voice because of the strange chuckle. You turn around. "네 [Ne], I can't find him any where, Jungsu-ssi," you reply, actually remembering honorifics this time. "Honestly, where could he have gone?"

"He just came back to the practice room to dismiss us," replies Jungsu.

"진짜 [Jinjja]?" you ask in disbelief. You take off running in that direction. "감사 [Kamsa], 형 [hyung]!"

He shakes his head as you watches you flying down the hallway. You turn the corner sharply and run into a secretary, causing her papers to fly everywhere. 

"미안합니다 [Mianhamnida]!" you cry, stopping to help her pick them up. 

Jungsu rushes over and stoops down to assist you. "I'll take care of it, Jaehwa. You just go ahead and take that to choreographer 형 [hyung], arasso?"

You grin. "감사 [Kamsa], 형 [hyung]." You jump up, handing the papers to him and take off again. "I mean 감사합니다 [Kamsahamnida], Jungsu-ssi!" you call back.  You can see him shake his head. 

****

Present:

You finish the routine, ending the song with a power move. You get to your feet, flipping your newly cut and newly dyed short brown hair. You give them a grin, bowing. "감사합니다 [Kamsahamnida]." 

A couple of the women on the panel exchange glances.

Bingo!

Your father sits back in his chair, looking at you as if he's found something that he's been looking for. He nods his head slowly. He whispers something to one of the talent scouts next to him who nods his head in agreement. 

The talent scout turns to you. "Mr. Hwang?"

"네 [Ne], sir?"

"Could you kindly step outside for a few minute while we discuss your audition? It won't take long."

You bow your head in affirmation and then stride over to the door, exiting to the hallway. Once you step out into the hallway, you slump yourself against the wall, leaning your head back. 

You can't believe you did that! 

You take a deep breath. 

The audition is over and all you have to do now is wait for the results. You know you have a much better shot now of getting in, but there is that tiny bit of doubt that they still will not choose you. 

You hear footsteps from around the corner. You place your right foot up against the wall and put your hands in your pockets, leaning your head slightly down. 

A person appears from around the corner. It's a guy, probably in his early twenties, rather handsome. He walks down the hall, head bent slightly. You pull yourself off the wall, so that you can bow to him. He approaches the door you just walked out of. He gives you a bow. "Are they still doing the audition or are they finished?" he asks gesturing to the door.

"Finished. They're discussing their decision though right now," you reply, keeping your voice at the same octave as earlier.

His eyes widen. "Oh, did you just audition?" he asks.

"네 [Ne]," you respond with a smile.

"Oh," he responds, looking at you with a smile. "So, then I guess I'll just wait out here." He leans back against the wall, with a sigh. 

You notice the slight bags under his eyes. 

"So," you begin. "How do you like working for SM?"

His eyes flicker open. "It's good. A lot of work though, especially when you are the 엄마 [umma] in the group." He chuckles.

You raise an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

He looks taken back by your question. "Well, I'm the leader."

You in eyebrow waiting for him to continue.

He looks a little lost.

"Of what group?" you ask.

"EXO-K," he responds quietly, looking at you like you are from another planet.

"Oh!" You chuckle. "미안해 [Mianhae], I forgot to mention I haven't been in Korea for very long and when it comes to groups, I mostly tend to follow the girls' groups." You smirk. "I think you can figure out why." You lean back against the opposite wall. "Besides, I'm not very good when it comes to faces." 

He chuckles. "That's alright. I don't mind. It's kind of nice to meet someone who doesn't know who I am just by looking at me." He lets out a sigh, before grinning. "Anyway, the name's Suho. That's my stage name. My real name is Kim Joonmyun." 

"Hwang Jaekyu," you respond in return. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," he replies with a child-like grin. "If you don't mind my asking, how old are you?"

"26," you reply simply.

He looks surprised. "진짜 [Jinjja]? How come you waited so long to audition?"

You chuckle. "I was in America."

"So, if you make it, then I'll be your sunbae, but you'll be my 형 [hyung]," he chuckles. "That's kind of funny."

The door opens and one of the talent scouts sticks his head out. "Hwang Jaekyu, you may come in now." He notices Suho. "Oh, you can probably come in too."

"Arasso," he replies, following in after you. 

Your father turns in your direction upon your entrance. "Ah, Mr. Hwang. We've been discussing over some potential ideas for you." He pauses for a moment, standing up from his seat. 

You feel your heart begin to pound beneath your bandaged chest.

"It's obvious you are very skilled in breakdancing and rapping and singing. Usually we don't accept someone your age." 

You notice Suho's eyes widen as he watches from the back of the room, where he decided to lean against the wall to watch the happenings going on.

Your father continues, "'We can't train you, because quite frankly you are like a professional up there and all the trainees are much younger than you are." He walks over to the front of the room, near the stereo system. "We might be able to put you in a group that is currently existing. There's one that we actually have in mind, but we would like