"Dear, wake up or you'll be late."

"Dad, five more minutes, okay?", I mumbled.

"Okay. Maybe next year you'll get another chance to pass the auditions to become a trainee. This year you can sleep as much as you want."

I sat up immediately. "Oh snap, I'm a trainee!"

"Oh, so you finally remember? Now get your lazy bum out of your bed and get ready to go to the office.", he said and chuckled.

"Yes, Dad, I will get ready, so there's no need to call my bum lazy. It has feelings, too, you know"

"Then why is your 'not-so-lazy' bum still in bed? Time's ticking, dear."

"Okay, okay. I'll get ready now.", I said and stood up.

While my Dad was preparing breakfast, I brushed my teeth and got dressed. Then I went into the kitchen.

"Ready to become a trainee?", my Dad asked me when I sat down.

"To be honest, I'm totally nervous."

He handed me my plate and sat down, too. "It's okay to be nervous, dear. Try to see it as a new adventure!"

"An adventure? Hm, it does seem like an adventure. But I'm also excited, to be honest, so it's kinda okay, I guess."

"You won't be living here anymore, will you?"

I totally forgot the fact that trainees live in dorms. "I guess not.", I said.

He sighed. "My little girl's growing up."

"Hey, I'm 20, Dad. I've been grown up for at least two years now."

He patted my head. "The age doesn't matter, you're still my little girl."

"Dad..."

"You should hurry or you'll be late.", he interrupted me.

I took another bite from my toast and stood up. "Okay, gotta go now, Dad!"

"Bye, dear. Have fun!"

"I will!", I said and rushed off.

"Jung Ha Ni-ssi?"

"Yes, that's me.", I said.

"Good. Please follow me.", the Cube employee said and led me to a room. She opened the door and motioned me to enter. I took a deep breath and stepped into the room.

"Wrong room, loser."

Ugh. Hearing her annoying voice was so not what I wanted on this special day. Ignoring Hyomin, I sat down on a chair, far away from her.

"Hey, didn't you hear me? You're in the wrong room. This is not a place for losers."

I looked up. Hyomin left her place and was now standing next to me. I also recognized Soomi. Seemed like both of them passed. My time as a trainee would be horrible.

"Are you deaf? W R O N G   R O O M!", Hyomin said.

"You're in the wrong room, Hag-min. I think you mistook this place for a waiting room of a plastic surgery practice."

We all turned to the side. Minah was standing there, smiling at Hyomin.

"Oh great, another loser. Let's get away from them or they'll infect us with the loser disease.", Hyomin said and returned to her place.

Minah rolled her eyes. "That's gonna be hard trainee days. Her stupidity will drive me crazy one day."

I smiled. "Hey Minah."

She returned my smile. "Hey Ha Ni. So, you passed, huh? See? I told ya.", she said and sat down next to me.

"Yeah, and you passed, too."

"For sure! I couldn't let you handle these hags on your own! We need to join forces to defeat them!"

I laughed. "But you know that when we debut, we could be in the same group with them...?"

"Yeah, but I'm gonna deal with this problem when it happens. Until then, I'm so not gonna befriend this hag."

"Ah, I'm glad to have you by my side, Minah. Otherwise I would be totally alone. I could not -"

"Hey, Ha Ni.", someone interrupted me.

Wait...this voice...

Startled, I looked up. Oh my gosh.

"Do we know you?", Minah asked.

"I don't recall talking to you.", Yuri said.

"What? You -"

"HEY! Stop it, guys!", I intervened. They fell silent and looked at me. Hyomin and Soomi were sniggering. "Yuri? What are you doing here?", I asked.

"I thought you would be happier to see me. I'm a trainee now."

"You are what?"

"A trainee, Ha Ni. Just like you.", she said and chuckled.

"But how? When?"

"I'll explain everything to you later on. May I sit down?"

"Sure.", I said and motioned to the chair next to me.

"So, don't you want to introduce us, Ha Ni?", Minah asked, when Yuri sat down.

"Oh, sure. Minah, that's Kwon Yuri, my childhood friend, and Yuri, that's Park Minah. I met her at the auditions."

They both nodded at each other.

"Nice to meet you. And sorry for being so impolite earlier.", Yuri said.

"Likewise, didn't mean to be impolite either.", Minah said.

"Gosh, so touching. May I throw up?", Hyomin said from the other side of the room.

"Sure, you're used to it after all, bulimia hag.", Minah said.

"Yeah, I don't even need to stick my finger into my mouth. Just looking at you is enough."

"Just shut up, hag."

"Are they always like this?", Yuri whispered.

"Unfortunately, yes.", I answered.

Everyone fell silent when someone entered the room.

"Good morning. My name is Kim Sora. I'm responsible for you guys from now on. If you have questions, don't hesitate to approach me. So, I'm going to hand out your class schedules. Take a look at them. Your class schedules will start at 2pm, in 4 hours. In these 4 hours, you can take a look around the office and ask questions. Okay?"

"Yes.", we said in unison.

"Good. Well then, here are your class schedules.", she said and gave us a sheet of paper.

I took a look at it. Dancing lessons, singing lessons, Korean classes, entertainment lessons, Japanese classes, Chinese classes...oh my gosh, that was going to be very strenuous.

"Did you see how many classes we have?". Yuri whispered.

"Yes. But hey, it's not like we didn't expect it, did we?"

"Yeah, you're right."

"Girls, wanna go looking around the office?", Minah asked and grinned.

"Minah, I think we share the same thought right now.", Yuri said and smiled.

"What are you guys talking about?", I asked.

"Ha Ni, don't tell me you haven't considered it already? Come on, girl. Cube Office? Cube Artists? Beast? Does it ring a bell?", Minah asked.

I frowned.

Yuri nudged me. "Minah, Ha Ni's a bit slow when it comes to logic."

"Hey!", I said.

They both laughed.

Then Minah linked arms with me. "Let's go treasure hunting! By the way, Kikwang Oppa's mine, girls!"

Yuri took my other arm. "Yoseob Oppa's mine. Sorry, Ha Ni, but just because he was your -"

"...my favorite singer since the beginning, doesn't mean that I own him. You can take him, he wasn't my ultimate bias anyway.", I interrupted. Yuri gave me an confused look. She has nearly let the fact slip that he was my teacher, and nope, I clearly didn't want everyone do know about this. Before she could say anything wrong, I pulled them with me. "Well, let's go! Didn't you want to go treasure hunting?"

"Yeah, let's get going!"

We look around the whole building but we didn't meet any Cube artists. When we passed some former co-workers of mine, they greeted me. I just gave them a quick smile and hurried on. When Minah asked me why all the employees were greeting me, I told her that I knew them from University. She didn't look convinced, but she didn't ask further.

"I'm so hungry.", I said, after a while.

"We can grab something to eat later on. I want to meet at least one Cube artist.", Minah said.

"Yes, especially Beast.", Yuri added.

"Oh my gosh, meeting Beast again, that would be awesome!", Minah exclaimed.

Yuri glanced at me. I shook my head. She sighed. Then she turned to Minah and linked arms with her.

I knew that she was disappointed with me that I didn't use my connections to Beast to arrange a meeting with them. But she didn't understand that I didn't want to abuse these connections. Right now, I was just an ordinary trainee, nothing more. I didn't want special treatment.

I may have sounded stupid and naive right now. But it was just the way I was. I would feel really bad for getting special treatment. And I didn't want to cause a bad relationship with other trainees because of this.

After a while, we still didn't meet any Cube Artists.

"Maybe they have a schedule outside of the office today?", Yuri asked.

"Probably. They are rarely at the office, often only during the evening to practice.", I said.

Minah arched an eye brow at me. "And how did you get this Information?"

"Uhm...basic knowledge?"

"Are you kidding me?"

I sighed. "I can't talk about this right now, okay? Sorry."

Minah kept staring at me. Then she let out an exhausted sigh and slumped against the wall. "We will never meet any Cube artists this way. But I want to meet at least one artist because from tomorrow on, we won't have time for this.", she said.

"Well, maybe we should -"

"Hush!", Minah interrupted me.

We all fell silent when two Cube employees came around the corner.

"Did you forget anything?", the woman asked.

"I hope not. I don't want to run to the store again.", the man answered.

"Don't forget our dear Yoseob, he sure drinks a lot."

The man laughed. "Oh yes, and I bet our Junhyung won't be happy that we didn't buy any Coke."

"They have been practicing for hours now. They will be really thirsty. I'm quite sure that we have to run to the store again."

"Well, at least we get paid for this."

The employees passed us and went upstairs.

When I turned around, I saw that Minah and Yuri were staring at the elevator with an astonished look on their faces.

"Uhm, guys...everything okay?", I asked them.

"Didn't you hear what the employees were just talking about?", Yuri asked me.

"They were talking about being tired of running to the store. So what?"

Minah rolled her eyes. "Oh my gosh, Ha Ni. Are you playing dumb or are you really just dumb?"

"Hey!", I protested.

She sighed. "Okay, do you remember what they said? Do you remember the names of the person who isn't allowed to drink coke and the person who drinks a lot of water?"

I considered. "Uhm..Junhyung and Yoseob...oh." I facepalmed when it finall< dawned on me.

"Finally!", Minah said.

Yuri was laughing at me.

"Ah, I'm kinda confused today. Never mind. Did you guys hear what the employees were saying about Beast's current location?", I asked.

"Hm...didn't they say that the boys are practicing right now?", Yuri asked.

"Right! We need to find the practice rooms! But where are they...?", Minah asked.

I sighed. "Third floor."

"Let me guess...you can't tell me where you got this information, right?"

"Right."

"Ah, whatever. Let's go to the third floor.", she said and rushed towards the elevators.

I hesitated.

"Come on, Ha Ni. Let's great our Sunbaes.", Yuri said and took my hand.

Ah, whatever. It's not like I could stop these girls.

After wandering around the third floor, we finally heard music coming out of a room. It sounded like one of BEAST's songs. The door was slightly opened. Standing next to the door were BEAST's managers.

When we saw them, we hid ourselves behind a corner.

"Do you think that the managers will let us enter the practice room?", Yuri asked.

"I'm not sure. Joon Kun Op....er, I mean BEAST's manager is strict when it comes to their practice. I don't think that he'll let us distract them.", I said.

Minah gave me a look. "You know him pretty well, huh?"

"I...have my sources."

She let out a frustrated sigh. "Ha Ni, I don't know what's going on but I thought that we are friends?"

"We are."

"So? And why can't I get rid of the feeling that you are hiding something from me and that you don't trust me enough to tell me?"

"It's difficult, Minah. It has nothing to do with you. I just want to start a new life as a Cube trainee. My past shouldn't interfere with this."

"Your past?"

"Minah, can we talk about this later? I don't want the managers to find us."

Minah frowned. "Only if you promise to tell me your 'secret' later on."

I sighed. "I promise."

"Okay, now that you guys have solved this problem, how about finding a way to sneak into the practice room?", Yuri suggested.

"Maybe we should disguise ourselves as staff members?"

"Nah, and where can we get the staff signs, Minah?", I asked.

"Or we could disguise ourselves as food delivery men!", Yuri said.

"But what if they didn't order food?", Minah asked.

"We won't get a solution this way, girls.", I said.

"Maybe we should just knock out the managers, sneak into the practice room and kidnap Beast?"

"What the heck? We're so not gonna do this.", I said and sighed. "Don't you guys have more reasonable suggestions?"

"Uhm, Ha Ni?", Yuri said and nudged me.

"What?"

"You know that we didn't suggest to kidnap Beast, don't you?"

Annoyed, I turned around. "But who else could've -" I froze when I realized that there was another person standing behind Minah and Yuri. A very familiar person.

Minah & Yuri followed my gaze. I could see their shocked expression without looking at them. I was still staring at him.

He smiled. "Hi, ladies."

"Yo...yo...yo...yoseob Oppa....", Minah stuttered.

"Oppa, since when did you stand there?", Yuri asked.

He considered. "I've been standing here for a while now." I looked away, trying to avoid looking at him. It was....awkward. "So, you girls want to sneak into our practice room, huh?", he asked and chuckled.

Ah, so embarrassing. I tried to hide my blush.

"Oppa, do you know that we're Cube trainees now?" She paused. "Wait, then we have to call you Sunbae, right? Yoseob Sunbae, nice to meet you! I'm Park Minah!"

"I'm Kwon Yuri.", Yuri said and winked at him.

"Nice to meet you. So you're Cube trainees now? All of you?", he asked.

Minah nodded. "Yes, we three and two other girls passed the auditions. By the way, this is Jung Ha Ni." She nudged me, causing me to glare at her.

Yoseob chuckled.

"I'm sorry, it seems like she's really shy.", Minah said.

"Op...I mean Sunbae, is there a chance that we could watch you while you are practicing? I want to gain...uhm,...experience.", Yuri exclaimed.

He considered. "Well, normally we don't do this...but maybe I can make an exception since it's your first day as trainees."

Yuri and Minah squealed. "Really? Thank you so much, Sunbae!", Minah said.

"Yes, thank you, thank you!", Yuri said.

I was still staring at the wall. This time, Minah and Yuri nudged me at the same time. "Ouch!", I said and glared at them. They both arched an eye brow at me. I sighed and looked at Yoseob. "Thank you.....Yoseob-ssi."

Minah facepalmed.

"Well then, let's get going, shall we?", Yoseob asked and motioned us towards the practice room. Minah and Yuri followed him immediately. After hesitating for a second, I also joined them.

I just hope that the boys won't tell them about me being their stylist. It would be uncomfortable.

Yoseob talked with the managers. They looked at us and then they nodded. Yoseob opened the door for us. "Ladies first.", he said.

Minah and Yuri sprinted into the room. I followed them slowly.

The other Beast Members were still practicing, that was why they didn't notice us. The other staff people in turn were staring at us.

Awkward.

Yoseob led us to chairs and motioned us to sit down. Then he joined s.

"Ha Ni, what's going on with you? Why are you so weird? Didn't you say that you are a big Yoseob fan?", Minah whispered.

"I am, but that doesn't mean that I have to squeal at him whenever I see him.", I contered.

"Are you implying that we were squealing like crazy fans out there?"

"No, you are misunderstanding me, Minah."

"Whatever."

"Minah."

"Hey, never mind, okay? I didn't know that you are way too cool to fangirl with us crazy fans."

"Minah, Ha Ni has a reason to act this way.", Yuri said.

"Oh, really? A what would that be?"

"Didn't I tell you earlier that I will explain it to you later on?", I asked.

"I hope you have a very good reason."

"Don't worry, you'll like it.", Yuri said.

"As if.", she said and turned away to stare at the boys.

Seemed like our discussion was over. Ah, that was going to be complicated.

We watched them for half an hour. Then they turned off the music.

"Okay, guys, time for a rest! We will continue in half an hour.", Doojoon said.

"They will continue? But didn't they practice for several hours already?", Yuri whispered.

"Well, to be perfect, you have to practice. A lot.", I said.

"So we will have to practice a lot, too?"

"Maybe even harder."

"Great."

"Well isn't that our lovely -"

Yuri interrupted Doojoon before he could finish his sentence. "Doojoon Sunbae! Annyeonghaseyo! I'm Kwon Yuri. Nice to meet you!"

I would thank Yuri later on.

Doojoon looked at Yuri confusedly. "Oh, annyeonghaseyo. Nice to meet you, too."

""From today on, I'm your Hobae."

"Ah, so your one of the new trainees?", he asked. Then, as if he finally understood what this meant, he added;" Wait, so you three are the new trainees?"

Minah jumped up and rushed to Doojoon. "Yes! We are the new trainees! Nice to meet you, I'm Park Minah!"

He smiled. "Nice to meet you, Minah-ssi."

"Oh, please call  me 'Hobae', Doojoon Sunbae."

Doojoon laughed. "Alright. Minah Hobae."

Minah smiled.

I considered whether I should join them or stay. I decided to stay,

"Hey, guys, don't you want to greet our new Hobaes?", Doojoon shouted.

The other Members were standing at the other corner of the room. It seems like they were discussing something. When Doojoon called them, they looked up and stared at us. Then they joined Doojoon.

They didn't let on that they knew me. I guess that Yoseob was telling them that I didn't want Minah to find out...well, not yet. They all were chatting with each other while I was sitting on the chair, staring at the wall.

Yeah, I know that I was behaving weird. But I kinda got a guilty conscience.

You are asking why?

Well, I felt bad for knowing Beast and for spending a lot of time with them. I didn't want the girls to think that I would misuse my former job. That's why I was letting them enjoy their time with Beast while I was trying to hold back. To be honest, I really wanted to chat with the guys, too. They were really kind and goofy, it was always entertaining with them.

I sighed.

"Is something troubling you?"

I looked up. Yoseob was standing beside me.

Before answering him, I looked at the other girls. They were all standing on the other side of the room. It seems like the boys were showing them some dance moves. "I'm just tired.", I answered after a while.

He sat down next to me. "Tired? Don't tell me you are tired from chasing after us earlier."

"What? We did not -"

"I was just kidding. Relax, Ha Ni-ssi.", he said and chuckled.

"Ah, you're so mean."

"Hey, what's the matter? Why are you so awkward around us?", he asked.

I sighed. "You noticed it?"

"Well, it wasn't that difficult to notice it. So, what's the matter?"

"It's not because of you. It's because of Minah. Well, no. To be honest, it's because of me being a trainee now."

"What does you being a trainee have to do with you being awkward around us?"

"Don't you understand? I'm a trainee now. Not a stylist. I don't want everyone to think that I get special treatment just because I know you guys."

"Ah, now I understand your 'problem'. Well, so you want us to ignore you?"

"No, of course not but...ah, I don't know either! Yoseob-ssi, why can't I stop feeling guilty?"

"Ha Ni, all due respect for your concern but I kinda think it's not necessary to feel this way."

I was confused. "Why not?"

"Because, if you act this way, it kinda feels as if you're ashamed for knowing us."

"No! I would never be ashamed to know you guys! Quite the contrary, I'm really proud!"

"Then why can't you show it if you're proud?"

"You know why, I already told you. It's because of the others. Didn't you also say that it would be better if people don't know about something like that?"

"Being involved in a scandal and knowing people because of former jobs aren't the same things, Ha Ni-ssi. But well, it's your decision. Whether you choose to continue being awkward around us or to let go of your worries, it's all up to you. The only thing I can do is to give you an advice."

I smiled. "You've always been giving me advices. Thank you for helping me, Yoseob-ssi. Without you and Seungho Oppa, I wouldn't have passed the auditions."

"Nonsense. You were the one singing and dancing in front of the judges, not us."

"No need to be humble.", I said and laughed.

"I'm not. Anyways, when will your classes start?"

I looked at my watch. "In an hour."

"And? What's your first impression?"

"I'm not new to this business, Yoseob-ssi. I've seen you guys working hard and I know that being a trainee can be even harder."

He smiled ruefully. "Welcome to my World."

"How can you endure this? Aren't you tired? Exhausted?"

"Well, to be honest, I'm really tired and exhausted. If I could, I would fall asleep immediately."

"But what keeps you going on?"

"My ambition, the fans...I always think that I'm not only doing this for myself, but also for those who are expecting to see perfect performances. Our fans are doing so much for us, giving them perfect performances is the least we could do."

"But still....I don't think that your fans want you to overstrain yourselves."

"Being tired and exhausted....is nothing compared to those who are withstanding so much obstacles to see us and to support us. Standing in the cold or heat for several hours, being pushed or smushed by masses....don't you think that being tired is nothing compared to that?"

"Yes, but I'm still not sure if -"

"Hey, can you please stop being so negative? There are also bright sides."

"For example?"

"I can meet other idols!"

I laughed. "Yeah, but you can also meet idols by working as staff members."

"Yeah, but as a staff member, I won't be allowed to sing and dance on stages."

"So?"

"Well, I LOVE singing and dancing on stages! The exciting feeling you get when you stand in front of so many people who are encouraging you to do something you really love. You do love singing, right?"

"Yes."

"Then what's the problem? You are one step closer to your dream. You shouldn't stop chasing after it just because you are suddenly doubting your decision."

"Why can't I be as confident as you?"

He smiled. "I was like you when I entered Cube Entertainment. But another Sunbae helped me to overcome my worries and now I want to help you overcome yours. So whenever you need an advice, don't hesitate to approach me. Every Hobae can approach his or her Sunbae for advices."

"Thank you, Yoseob-ssi."

"No need to mention it."

"You know, I kinda missed this side of yours."

"What do you mean?", he asked.

"This kind side of yours. I've missed it. The last weeks, I only got to encounter your cold side, which tended to ignore me."

He frowned. Then he stood up. "I think it's time for us to start practicing again. It was nice to talk to you, Ha Ni-ssi."

Oh no. I knew this voice. It was his cold side again. I really didn't understand him.

Yoseob walked towards the other Members who were still engrossed in showing the girls some funny moves.

Doojoon looked at Yoseob, then at the clock on the wall and then he said:" Okay guys, break's over. We need to continue."

Minah and Yuri said goodbye to them and then they came towards me.

"Hey, Ha Ni. It was so entertaining with Beast, why didn't you join us?", Minah asked.

"I just didn't feel like it."

"Hm, whatever. Let's get going, girls. We've less than an hour to eat something before our classes are starting. I'm so hungry, I could eat 10 sandwiches!"

Yuri laughed. "Aren't you exaggerating too much?"

"Nah, do you want to bet?"

"Okay, if you don't eat 10 sandwiches, then you'll have to carry my luggage into the dorm."

"Okay, and if I win, you will have to carry my luggage. Deal?"

"Deal."

They both kept chatting when we left the room. I was too lost in thoughts to join them. I was mentally kicking myself for being so stupid. Why did I have to mention his 'cold side' when he was being nice again?

Jeez, Ha Ni Babo. Seemed like we were back to the beginning.

Dammit.

**********************************************************

Annyeong!

I know I promised you guys to update earlier but I have a reasonable excuse!

My internet connection was broken, that's why I couldn't update.

Right now I'm at my friend's house in Berlin and fortunately, she has internet connection.

So here's the Chapter for you guys! I hope you like it :)

By the way, Beast's going to arrive in Berlin tomorrow, so I really hope I can greet them at the airport.

Wish me luck, lovely readers!

And in 2 days, I'll attend the Beautiful Show in Berlin!

It's like a dream coming true *______*

Okay, enough spazzing!

I hoped you guys enjoyed reading this Chapter!

And thank you for supporting me!