~ Kangin’s POV ~

One Saturday noon, Heechul, Donghae and I went outside to a cheap restaurant to eat lunch. Living in a dorm with them, we always eat meals together. Even if we are away from our families, it is fun to have someone like a brother with you.

“Youngwoon hyung, are you going to continue college?” Donghae randomly asked me while we are busy eating.

“Oh I forgot you are graduating from high school,” Heechul added.

“I want to. I will see if I can finish a course until the end. Being a high school student while training is already hard, what more in college?” I said.

“I understand that, I am having a hard time with my chosen course because I don’t have enough time to study,” Heechul said. “Do you seriously think I can do all the requirements that is needed to be passed?”

“They don’t get angry at you?” Donghae asked.

“Try it to me and let’s see. I don’t let anyone shout at me without reason,” Heechul replied.

“The professors are the ones who were afraid not you,” I laughed. Heechul hyung always stands up for himself if he knows that he is the right one.

“Have you heard about the happenings in SM? Some of the trainees had dropped out,” Donghae changed the topic.

“Yeah, when they heard about the internal issues within SM they decided to left. They lost their hope when they saw some project groups being dissolved,” I said.

“Why do they bother creating groups when they would only disband it later? Such a waste of time,” Heechul said with a hint of sarcasm.

“Look, the number of trainees is becoming smaller and I heard some were planning to transfer to other agencies,” Donghae said.

“You want to transfer too?” I asked him.

“No way!!! I won’t. I don’t want to start again in a new place where I don’t know anybody. Even if its hard here I will stay,” he replied.

“How loyal… you will stay here? What if ten years had passed and you are still a trainee?” Heechul asked.

“That will not happen,” Donghae said pouting like a baby.

“Oh how sure are you?” Heechul seems enjoying this silly argument with Donghae. I fell silent listening to both of them. Its true that the competition is hard in SM. You cannot befriend anybody there without the other challenging your skills. I mean, you cannot trust all. Who knows? One of your friends will study your weakness and make it an advantage for him. Everybody wants to be chosen when the agency looks for new artists to debut.

“Hey Youngwoon I’m talking to you!” Heechul said out loud and I snapped away from my thoughts. “What are you thinking?”

“Nothing. I’m just… ughhh… sleepy? I guess, because I didn’t sleep well last night,” I lied although I really did not sleep well last night because my roommate spent the night talking to his girlfriend. Heechul hyung is not the type of person who can easily be fooled so I’m glad he bought my excuse.

“Whatever, both of you just finish your meal fast. I want to go home to have my beauty rest,” he said as he watches the two of us eating. Heechul hyung is really weird.

Whatever worries I have, I need to push it away. If I think about negative things all the time then nothing good will happen to me. As long as I have my friends here, I know that being here is the right thing to do now.

*             *             *

~ Siwon’s POV ~

I walked in the studio one evening after my class. Unlike in the past months, I noticed that some trainees had disappeared. They might have dropped out because of the hard times. Thinking about these makes me wonder if I choose the right decision to come here in SM.

“Good evening Siwon-ssi!,” greeted by Jungsoo hyung. I met him not too long after I started training. Of course, any trainee here knows him since he is popular especially to the girls.

“Same to you hyung,” I replied politely to him. I walked towards where he is sitting together with our other friends. “The trainees are getting fewer everyday.”

“Yeah, not only that. They are separating the training rooms of the girls from boys,” Youngwoon hyung said.

It did not surprise me though. There are only few girls in our practice sessions so it is not really a big deal. “It is okay so that they can have their own room right?”

“No. That is not the reason,” Heechul hyung said.

“Why?”

“It’s because Jungsoo hyung behaved a little too nice to the girl trainees,” Hyukjae hyung explained.

“Yahh! I was being a gentleman. It is late at night so I have to her safely to the bus stop … and … about that hug… I did not purposely do that!” Jungsoo hyung defended himself.

I raised my eyebrows amused at my hyung’s words. I see Jungsoo hyung talking most of the time with the female trainees he knows. The new ones would always mistake him as an employee when in fact he is a trainee.

“Oh yes, and before I heard a staff giving instructions to a new female trainee. Guess what… he said to the girl, ‘don’t be close to that oppa’!” Donghae said before laughing out loud.

Jungsoo hyung I pouting in annoyance while the rest of us is making fun of him. We laughed so hard until our cheeks hurt. “Really hyung? The staffs must be having headaches because of you,”

“But I’m just being friendly…” he insisted.

“Yah Park Baram… everyone... please fix yourselves. The Lee Sooman sunbaenim will be looking in our practice for tonight,” said a staff that suddenly appeared at the door while we are all laughing.

In an instant our laughs died down and everybody became serious. We