Luhan
Description
"This isn't fair!" Zitao whispered to me slowly in Chinese. "Are they even allowed to do this?!"
I slowly grimaced, and turned my entire body to face him and replied quietly in Chinese, "Zitao, this is Korea. This isn't China anymore -- they expect more from us. That is the price we have to pay."
"Do you think that you could just speak in another language to get out of this?" Minjun yelled quickly and scowled "What are you doing here wasting time?!"
I nodded and slightly bowed my head in response. After crossing the rather short span of the distance of the practice room, I exited into the nearest closet and pulled out a rather long broom and brought it back quickly to Minjun in order to hopefully appease his anger at least by a little bit for Zitao was most likely scared out of his mind.
"Turn around -- both of you." Minjun replied hoarsely. "You Chinese trainees need to know your place."
And the next thing I felt, was a tingling burning sensation in my lower calves.
* * *
Luhan had tried his best to climb a mountain meant for a different group of people. Being foreign in a new country causes many hardships along with being the last in a culture that emphasizes hierarchy and the seemingly impending isolation that comes with it. This fic is meant as a (very) fictional counterpart to the real hardships Luhan had went through.
Foreword
I guess you can say I was struck by Luhan's pre-debut story the most. He seemed as if he was on rather negative terms with his parents, probably due to his more seemingly rebellious side, and came to Korea sometime (either in 2008 or 2010 through fan accounts) in order to pursue his dream of being a singer. Being a foreigner is never easy -- those of us who have immigrated to a new country at a relatively young age (or were second-generation immigrants) will never truly understand the pain and isolation that Luhan must've went through when he first arrived in Korea, living in a country, barely understanding the language or the cuture, and without the immediate support of his family or friends.
I've read his previous posts on an online journal, and from his tone of voice you can hear the pain and all the worries he has when he sits in front of the computer to type it out but more importantly; you can also hear his kind side, his uplifting side, his bright side. Luhan has always struck me as the quiet yet intelligent type of guy -- he doesn't talk much because he's always thinking -- maybe its about what he's going to have for dinner that day but most likely, he's thinking about others -- always contemplating how other's might feel towards his sometimes nonexsistent words. His humbleness, is shown through his respect for almost everyone he has -- bowing 90 degrees at everyone, even if he is the only person doing so.
I wrote this, mostly to spread awareness of how hard it is to be that type of person -- bright, uplifting, and kind -- in the type of world he lives in. How difficult it must be for him to cast away chances of "hitting it big" to make sure that others aren't hurt by his words or actions. The entertainment world is scary -- full of hiearchy, senority, unfairness. It would've been incredibuly easy for Luhan to fall but he didn't. And that, regardless of whether or not you're a fan, is commendable.
Though, this story I would say, doesn't focus on Luhan all the time -- even if it might be written in his perspective. Though the story will initiatially begin with Luhan, it will continue on to others in the group, as perhaps, they might have a story of themselves to tell.
(Picture above is not my doing -- a simple google search will yield that it belongs to Yuka on Deviantart. Though I do believe it goes with the story quite nicely)
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