KIM MIN SEOK’S POINT OF VIEW:

Tao-ya is rapping his part in Growl as when Baek Hyun-hyung comes back with Chan Yeol-hyung and Ah Ri-ya in tow. Kyung Soo and Lu Han follow.

I instantly look down as they enter the room, Joon Myeon-hyung, Jong Dae-hyung and I are sitting on the leather couch in practice room. My palms are starting to sweat…

Ok, keep calm, just remember what Lu-Ge taught you, Min Seok-ah!

Yesterday I asked him how I should interact with Ah Ri, because I failed so miserably in the van...

I envy Chan Yeol or Baek Hyun, who can to talk to everyone and never back off and are funny too. Lu-Ge told me three basic rules to interact with her normally:

1. Remember that she is just a human, like you, she won’t do anything bad to you and may feel shy like you yourself, so try to be calm. Be yourself!!!
2. Approach her first, say something nice, if some time goes by she will start to like you and it will be easier for you to talk to her.
3. Smile at her, if you don’t know what to say just look around you and you will find a thing to talk about, even if it’s just the weather.

I prepared yesterday, so I am ready to face her!

I will start with a nice greeting, when Tao discomfits me by letting out a shriek and running to hide behind me.

(The problem is that Tao is much taller than 6 feet and I am 5 feet 7, thus I am the worst hiding place ever.)

Ah Ri stops in her tracks seeing Tao peering over my shoulder, her eyes widen in surprise. One second later she bows deeply to me, I think she means Tao, though I don’t know why.

“I apologize for yesterday. I didn’t know you were showering…I didn’t mean to stalk or spy on you!”

Ah Ri-ya saw Tao ?!!! 

All of us are shattered except for Joon Myeon-hyung. Tao blushes really hard. What on earth happened?!

“I think you don’t even know my name. I am Kwang Ah Ri, a trainee on probation. I currently stay at your dorm.”

“I figured that much…” Tao mumbles. He comes out behind me.

“Nothing happened, so it’s alright.” His voice steady almost bored, but his face betrays him blushing like a tomato, a very ripe tomato.

“My name is Huang Zitao, you can call me Tao. I let’s get along well.” He bows, Ah Ri bows, everything seems a little stiff and awkward.

Jong Dae breaks the tension by hugging Ah Ri-ya tightly. “I haven’t seen you such a long time. I missed you!” Jong Dae is sometimes a little weird, he likes skinship…

“What!? We just met yesterday…”

“Still I haven’t seen you once in over twenty-four hours, that’s long!”

“Okay…” I spot my chance and free Ah Ri-ya from Hyung’s hug.

“Hey…” I say lamely, she smiles at me, relieved. “Thank you!” Throwing a worried look at Jong Dae-hyung, who is already out of earshot clinging to Kyung Soo.

“Is he always this…?” “Obtrusive? Yeah, that’s his style. I, too, needed time to get used to it.” She looks concerned.

Oh no! What did I do?! Now she’ll dislike Hyung, because I said something negative about him. I try to make it wet by insisting:

“I love him, like every of my Hyungs. He is loud, but funny and he makes you forget the bad things that happened and-“

Her laughing makes me stop.

“No worry! I already like him, like everyone here. I just thought if I’ll be able to escape from his hugs. I don’t want to suffocate…”

“I’ll help you, don’t worry!!” I proclaim proudly.

“With what?” Lu-Ge supports himself on my shoulder.

“He promised me to save me from Jong Dae’s deadly hugs in future.” Ah Ri replies.

“That’s my Min Seok-ah!” Lu-Ge pets my head, I push him away.

“I am not your pet!”

“Yah, be quiet! All of you!” Joon Myeon-hyung shouts loudly, he stands in the middle of the room. Everyone freezes and stops talking.

“We should start with training! Ah Ri-ya, please show us what you can!”

“Yeah!” “Go, Ah Ri-ya!” Chan Yeol and Baek Hyun cheer.

KWANG AH RI’S POINT OF VIEW:

“What do you want me to do?” I ask leader Joon Myeon, the moment I feared most has come.

“Just sing your favorite song.”

I swallow, it’s not the same as Sun Mi asked me to dance, that was a challenge, this is a coming out. I have never sung in front of anyone, not really at least. I look around:

Kyung Soo gives me thumbs up and Lu Han and Min Seok smile believing I can do it, Baek Hyun, Jong Dae and Chan Yeol cheer extremely loudly.

Joon Myeon asks which song I would like to perform. Before I can stop myself I answer:

“Replay.”

(It’s Shinee debut song and I love the lyrics, it’s about how pretty their Noona is, how much they love her, that they don’t want to break up, but have to say goodbye and go crazy, because of that.

Even though Taemin has like two lines in the song, he is just stunning!!! His dancing makes my mouth go dry!

When Taemin sings he is going crazy by looking at her, I always imagined it would be me he is singing about… But know I know him I never ever in all forever want to say goodbye to him!!!)

Legs shoulder-wide apart, hands in my trousers’ pockets looking at floor I wait for the first beat to come.

With the first sound my head lifts abruptly, I look at my mirror image, I try to forget everything around me with dancing the intro, to calm down.

My body nods to the rhythm, I lean to one side, my arm grabbing for something invisible, I do the foot work. I love this dance, I don’t have to think I just move.

As the singing part starts I imagine I am next to Taemin singing this song, I try my best:

“Oppa is so pretty,

Girls won’t leave him alone…”

I am totally into it, feeling one with the song (it’s just the instrumental version, so I am the only one who is singing and I changed Noona into Oppa…), my voice loud and clear fills the room.

Just Taemin and me,

imagine, Ah Ri, just you…

“Ah Ah, Sadly, that guy

Ah Ah, Can’t accept my feelings of genuine love”

I sing for the last time the chorus:

“Uh, my heart aches

Fix it!

At the approaching farewell I

 Yo I wanna hold U boy

Replay, Replay, Replay,

I I I love you!”

I end by making a heart shape with my hands like Taemin in the dance practice video, I watched a thousand-times.

My eyes fixed on my mirror image I am lost in space, but Baek Hyun brings me back on track with shouting and whistling:

“Encore! Encore” Encore!”

I laugh, looking at him through the mirror. All the tension inside of me is broken and I feel free. 

“Encore!” Jong Dae and Chan Yeol join Baek Hyun’s call.

“Do you’ve got Danger?”

LEE TAEMIN’S POINT OF VIEW:

We have got break and before Minho-hyung is able to stop me, I slip out of the room to the elevators.

The doors open: I can hear a song playing; it sounds really familiar. I need a second to get that it is my song: Danger .

The music can be heard from practice room 2.

I open the door curious as to why they are playing it. (I mean it’s EXO’s practice room) I stop astonished:

Ah Ri is singing and dancing Danger. I am under a spell, it’s so fascinating to see another person performing your own song and she is pretty good.

With more practice she will be a real idol, her voice is pleasant and fits the image of the song. Even her imitation of the zombie-like dance moves is awesome.

I lean in the door, they don’t notice me. I feel like she wouldn’t want me to see this and before she ends I leave to look for Jong In, his ankle makes me worrying…

KIM JONG IN’S POINT OF VIEW:

Seo Sun Mi left (luckily) after Yixing arrived and we continue training to the dubstep beat for the Seoul Summer Collection 2014. It’s in four days, I think my ankle will be ok till then.

We go through the dance step for step and change little things and adept some things.

Panting we sit down drinking some water.

“I think after the second part we have to make it less powerful, it doesn’t fit the music in that part.” Sehun says, Yixing nods:

“That’s what I thought too let’s do it one more time.”

Suddenly the door opens and Taemin comes inside. “How is it going?” He takes my hand pulling me up.

“As so far as I know ok. Could you watch, we aren’t too sure with this one part?” -“Ne, no problem.”

Sehun and Yixing smile relieved to know that Taemin is an ace at dancing.

He pulls me nearer to whisper: “You shouldn’t train, you are still hurt.” I elude him: “I am ok. Let’s start.”

Yixing starts the music.

KWANG AH RI’S POINT OF VIEW:

Chan Yeol, Tao and Min Seok are off rapping in another room, while we continue singing.

“Just that you get a feeling for EXO’s songs sit back and listen.” Baek Hyun advises me, I take a seat and watch them singing parts of their songs: 

Kyung Soo and Baek Hyun close their eyes while singing high notes, on Lu Han’s neck is veined, Jong Dae closes his eyes most of the time or looks down at the floor, Joon Myeon’s face is full of emotion. But all of them show their pure heart in their expression, especially as they sing “Miracles in December”

I can feel how professional they are. I enjoy just watching and listening to them, I could to that for hours.

I got that all of the songs have a Korean and Chinese version. Slowly they start to make me sing a long giving me the lyrics to the songs.

Joon Myeon smiles at me: “You should learn all of our songs, you might not be engaged directly on stage, but there will be some special performances with us together and if you are a part of EXO you should know your songs by heart. In future there will be much more to learn.”

#He hands me the lyrics: It’s a really thick file about 28 songs (If I counted right) in two languages, that makes 56 songs to learn!!!!!!!!

I stare at him in disbelieve he just smiles.

“It’s possible we managed it too.” Kyung Soo tries to encourage me, but suddenly I feel like all motivation and strength left my body. 56 songs…

After each song they discuss about what has to be changed and Lu Han corrects their pronunciation of Chinese. Just now they are singing Baby Don’t Cry in Chinese, I follow the lyrics and try to imprint every single word in my brain.

Jong Dae is always getting this one line wrong… He changed the whole meaning of the line…

I can’t take it anymore. “Stop!” I approach Jong Dae, who looks puzzled like a little duckling losing its mother.

“You always get the chorus wrong it’s Baby don’t cry and not, like you sang, Baby don’t fry…”

Lu Han looks really amazed: “You speak Chinese!?”

Jong Dae groans. “No, you Idiot! That’s English not Chinese!” Kyung Soo, Baek Hyun and Joon Myeon start laughing. “I wasn’t the dumb- to get our own song wrong!”

Both of them are glaring at each other, I try to break the tension. I feel guilty.

“I can speak Chinese. I learned it in school and my Halmeoni is from Beijing…”

“Chincha?! That’s my hometown!!” Lu Han exclaims happily clapping like a seal. “Aww, that’s awesome!” “Have you been there?” My smile freezes.

“Sadly, no I haven’t. I want to, but my parents used all the money to move to Melbourne…”

Grrr… Sometimes I wish they would behave like normal parents, they are just too much.

So selfish making their dreams come true and just leave me here, they asked me, if I had wanted to come along, though that was in my last year of high school! I didn’t want to drop out…

Lu Han looks disappointed for a moment, but then his eyes are sparkling like never before, he is hyperventilating.

“When….-“ He stutters breathless. “When you become a part of EXO- we….we can...”

His eyes are saucers, his face is full of glee: ”GO TOGETHER TO CHINA!” My heart stops for a moment.

“Seriously?!”

“Yeah, EXO goes oversees for concerts, even BEIJING!”

I take his hands and we start jumping together in a circle yelling. “China! China! China!”

MANAGER-NIM’S POINT OF VIEW:

I am really pissed off, I just had a meeting with Lee Soo Man-sajang-nim.

He is a great CEO, leader, producer, director, entertainer, singer. He has got charms, charisma, everything a Sajang-nim needs. He is a responsible man, but for all that he is oblivious.

It hasn’t happened only once, that he forgot names of important business partners or even the appointments they had with SME, I have saved his bacon many times...

However, there is one thing where I am powerless, schedules regarding SMtown, he makes them:

Only just some minutes ago as I was leaving his office he told me another SMtown concert will take place in Shanghai, in five days!

We had some in Korea and Japan already so all the performances are set, though it destroys everything I scheduled for EXO so far…

I take a deep breath before I head for the stairs.

Fortunately they can attend Seoul Summer Collection, the photo shoots I planned with some magazines and I have got enough time for me to clearify everything with Ah Ri-ssi, if she signs the contract I will have to book one flight more.

I want her to get a feeling for concerts and idol events, it won’t be easy for her once she debuted thus she has to gain as much experience as possible.

I wonder how she does, if she has enough talent, while walking down the hallway of the tenth floor.

I can hear happy yells from a practice room.

 

 

 

Aww they are soooo cute! I love Chen with glasses...

Don't take the timeline seriously I just made something up and changed the dates of events. It's still summer in the story...

I am so excited for ther SMtown live concert! Everyone in China, even Taemin-ah!!!!