True to Yongguk's words, good news came. Just weeks after the day where Yongguk had promised Junhong that they would one day succeed, they were called to the President's office. The two of them had stood in the President's office, with four other trainees, four other hopefuls. They all understood what one another felt, not just Junhong and Yongguk. They shared the feeling of hearts that were all nearly bursting at the seams and the light headed happiness. The image of a bright future felt more like a reality, something they could have a grasp on, after all the hard work, the sacrifices made. What they put in for their dreams couldn't merely be expressed by words. They had so much put on stake, relying on their belief that things would surely work out. All of them may have joined the battle at different times but it didn't mean they had put in any less effort.

The President was late from a meeting and so the six of them were kept waiting, anxious and hungry for news. Junhong was frustated at the wait and yet so excited. No, excited wouldn't be a good word to use, he felt so much more than that. Yongguk could see it in those glimmering eyes, the swirl of emotions that were probably reflected in his own eyes too. The two of them held one another's hands tightly, keeping themselves anchored down and not getting too lost in the moment. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out. The two of them calmed themselves slightly just before the President stepped in the room.

Click, clack, click, clack, went his leather dress shoes. Prim and proper and dressed in a black suit, he finally looked up at the trainees as he sat down on his comfortable wide leather chair. Straightening out his jacket, he cleared his throat. Surveying each and everyone of them with careful squinted eyes, he seemed to be taking notes and making judgments of the six of them. They all squirmed in discomfort at the sudden scrutiny they had been subjected to, but kept a cool front. Junhong disliked the way they were being looked at like objects placed on the shelves, being picked and chosen by picky buyers. But what could he do? Nothing, so he kept silent and awaited what the President had to say. 

After what seemed like eternity, the President finally spoke, much to the relief of all six of them. With his raspy authorative voice, he said,"So trainees I hope you know why you have been called here today. You have been picked out selectively by our own trainers based on certain criterias I have set. All six of you here have been deemed as satisfactory, despite some of you being weaker than others. Hence I expect you to be working harder than you have ever before because I want you all to debut on the same level. If the trainers don't have good comments about you after today and I do not see improvement, you will, with no doubt, be dropped from this."

Junhong and Yongguk shared a look, they both knew the possibility of being dropped was great, because the standards were always sky high, hard to reach. But they were willing to fight for it, climb higher before they were pulled down. They had seen handfuls of trainees being pulled out of groups and then watched as the group slowly disintegrated, dreams remaining unfulfilled and broken. They were determined not to let that happen and the other four in the room seemed to be thinking the same. They were cautioned, but there spirits were not dampened.

The President watched for their reaction, then he continued,"The six of you will be put into a group and train to become a possible debut group. All of you will hone different skills, depending on your role that will be assigned to you in the group. For now it has been fixed at this." Flipping through the pages of a folder placed before him, he came to a stop at one of the pages,"The list goes by age order. Bang Yongguk, leader and rapper. Kim Himchan, vocalist. Jung Daehyun, vocalist. Yoo Youngjae, vocalist. Moon Jongup, dancer and vocalist. Choi Junhong, dancer and rapper. Get to know each other well, you will need all the chemistry and teamwork possible, so all six of you will be moved into one dormitory. Work hard and I wish you all the best, so do not disappoint." With that the six of them were dismissed.

Contained emotions flooded out the moment they stepped out of the office. Junhong and Yongguk stood still for a moment, facing one another, taking in the moment before Yongguk stretched his hands out and Junhong jumped into his warm embrace, nuzzling his face into his fuzzy sweater. They were both ecstatic and full of joy at the news that they could barely hold back the tears that were threatening to spill. "I'm so thankful Gukkie Hyung, so thankful I couldn't ask for more. You were right, things are going to be fine, even if they take much longer than we would like it to. I think a lot of people around me didn’t expect me to succeed at first. The label of being “the country kid from Mokpo” became a scar, something that weighed me down. But then you came and I started changing my mindset. I was driven to do better in every area, from my appearance to fashion and music as well. Thank you for always being there Hyung, even till now. I was so afraid we would be separated”Junhong said, voice slightly muffled as he hid his head. 

Yongguk smiled down at him and chuckled,"You kept me going too you know, and you helped me improve my dancing. I used to have two left arms and two right feet before you came along. And why didn't you ever tell me that you were afraid. You know what? I used to be so worried about that too, because I've been so accustomed to having you by my side, Junhong ah, you made things so much simpler and easier to go through then they would have been without you, so I'm thankful for you too. Now we are going too work harder than before and debut as a group that we will always be proud of. Junhong looked up, eyes round and hopeful, and nodded determinedly.

Looking at Junhong and the other four trainees, the fact that he had been tasked with the role of the leader and the heavy responsibility he would carry finally set in. Yongguk was determined not to let all of them down, especially Junhong. Part of the battle had been won, but Yongguk wasn't going to put his guard down any time soon.