Jongin and Kyungsoo(2 months before story's period of time)

 

The time was approximately two in the morning and Jongin had stayed late again in the studio.

He danced to Ne-Yo's Part of the List and stopped to wonder why he could see himself in the large mirrors of the dance studio.

The song began to reply again in his ears, disabling him from being able to hear Kyungsoo enter.

Kyungsoo had decided to practice singing in the dance studio because the singing studio was being reconstructed.

He had stopped and watched a guy who seemed younger and darker than him dance. He wished he could dance as well as him. 

Whatever his name is.

Jongin's music stopped momentarily to repeat itself, Jongin hearing a thud to his left. He turned his head.

He was always the only one in the studio this late.

The short guy with wide eyes raised a hand.

"Hey. You dance very well-"

Jongin's music began blaring in his ears again. He quickly removed a bud and heard,

"Is that alright with you?" The owl-eyed guy asked. 

Jongin nodded hesitantly, not having heard what the latter said. Kyungsoo stuck out a hand.

"My name's Do Kyungsoo. Yours?" Kyungsoo introduced. Jongin took Kyungsoo's hand.

"Jongin." Jongin replied.

"Okay. Let's get started." Kyungsoo said, moving up to Jongin's side. Jongin stared at him with questioning eyes. "What?" Kyungsoo questioned.

"What did you say earlier?" Jongin asked, lost. Kyungsoo blinked.

"You agreed that you'd teach me?" Kyungsoo said more like a question than an answer.

"Oh. Okay. I guess I could teach you something." Jongin said, bending his knees a little to ready himself. 

Jongin showed Kyungsoo two eight-counts before re-doing the whole thing for Kyungsoo.

"You're really good at this. What are you here for?" Jongin asked once they finished. Kyungsoo tried catching his breath before replying.

"Vocal." Kyungsoo said. Jongin nodded and smiled.

"Really? I don't usually meet many singers. I'm more in the dance world." Jongin said.

"I would think so." Kyungsoo said.

"And. Why are you here in the dance studio?" Jongin asked as they headed to the door together.

"Reconstruction." Kyungsoo answered. Jongin nodded in acknowledgement before opening the door for Kyungsoo.

"Hope I see you again. You're really good at dancing and I would like to hear you sing sometime." Jongin said as he shut the door behind them.

"Yeah. Hope to see you again too." Kyungsoo said, before they seperated.

Ever since that night, Kyungsoo stayed late with Jongin in the dance studio almost every night.

 

 

Minseok and Jongdae(29 days before story's period of time)

 

Jongdae's been practicing all day and was returning home to his dorm when he bumped into someone.

"I'm so sorry." He apologized to the man he hade just made drop his ipod. 

They both bent down to pick the white ipod up at the same time, bumping their heads together with force. 

"Oww." Jongdae groaned,rubbng his head, as Minseok clenched his teeth and picked the ipod up. Jongdae bowed.

"Again. I'm sorry." Jongdae apologized again, looking up with one eye closed.

Minseok looked at his ipod and saw that the screen had cracked all the way to the center.

"Oh! It cracked?! I'm sorry. What should I do?" Jongdae said, walking into the light where Minseok could see his face more clearly.

Minseok finally noticed who he had just bumped into and bowed vigorously.

"Ah. I didn't know it was you, Kim Jongdae." Minseok said hastily. Jongdae frowned.

"What are you saying? How do you know my name?" Jongdae asked. Minseok stopped bowing and slipped his ipod into his jacket pocket.

"Who doesn't know your name. Everyone admires you." Minseok said as if it were obvious. Jongdae raise a brow.

"That's very flattering but I've only been here for not even a whole month and I don't think everyone admires me." Jongdae said as he sighed. "But I still have to do something for you in return. Hmm. How about dinner?" He suggested.

Minseok would be honored to go but he really didn't have the time to. He had to get to the vocal studio to catch a few more lessons before heading home.

"I would love to but I have to get to the vocal studio." Minseok said, but was held back from moving.

"That's fine. I can give you a few tips too. Come with me now so I can repay you cause we might never meet again like this." Jongdae suggested as he dragged Minseok to his favorite hotpot restaurant.

"I love the food here. It tastes so good. But-for sure-not as good as my parents' cooking." Jongdae said as they took their seats.

Minseok sat across from Jongdae with a slight smile platered on his face.

"Okay. So you came into the company as a singer?" Jongdae asked, leaning foreward in his seat. Minseok hummed.

"Umm. I came in more as a dancer than a singer." He replied. Jongdae smiled widely and nodded.

"That's so cool! I can't dance at all! I admire people that can move so easliy. So I was accepted because of my singing skills for sure." Jongdae said, chuckling. Minseok smiled widely as their food came.

"Thank you~" Jongdae thanked as the waitor walked away. Jongdae turned his attention back on Minseok and picked up his chopsticks, pointing them to Minseok. 

"You eat as much as you want. I'll pay for all of it." Jongdae said. Minseok nodded and was kept entertained by Kim Jongdae's personality for an hour before stepping out the restaurant.

Minseok didn't want to make Jongdae pay a lot of money so he ate only a small amount.

"Are you sure you're full? You barely had anything but a small bowl of black bean noodles." Jongdae said as he walked up beside Minseok.

Minseok nodded.

"I don't eat much." Minseok lied. Jongdae nodded.

"Ah~ Makes sense." Jongdae said before tapping Minseok's bicep. "Woah. You have mucles." He commented before actually asking the question he had in mind. "Can we meet again sometime? Maybe you can teach me how to move and I can teach you how to improve your vocals in exchange." Jongdae suggested.

"Sure." Minseok said. "When?" 

Jongdae pulled out his baby blue phone and held it in front of Minseok.

"Have one of these?" Jongdae asked, recieving a nod as Minseok pulled out his black phone. "Let's exchange phone numbers so we can contact each other on our free time." Jongdae suggested, Minseok agreeing.

After phone numbers were exchanged, they seperated ways and headed to their own dorms.

 

 

Baekhyun and Chanyeol(2 months before story's period of time)

 

It was Baekhyun's first day in the dorms. He felt he could make a few friends at least as he knocked on the door to his new home.

The door swung open, revealing what looked like a giant standing in the doorway.

The giant didn't seem to notice Baekhyun until Baekhyun waved and spoke.

"Hey, name's Byun Baekhyun." Baekhyun introduced himself. The giant looked down on his short new dorm member.

"Um, yeah. Park Chanyeol." Chanyeol said, bowing. "Minseok Hyung is in his bedroom doing something I'll never know about. But he'll be out shortly." Chanyeol said, letting Baekhyun in.

"Okie." Baekhyun said.

The staff had told Baekhyun he didn't need to bring anything so he didn't.

"Did you bring food?" Chanyeol asked. Baekhyun shook his head as he took a seat on the floor of the living room, seeing that they were not provided with any luxury.

Chanyeol sighed.

"Okay. If you need anything just call for me-"

"Actually I haven't had breakfast yet. Do you need me to go out?" Baekhyun asked. Chanyeol shook his head.

"No. It's alright. No one has the money to buy anything to eat anymore so we've been starving for a while. I'm used to it." Chanyeol said softly, walking back to the room he had come out of to open the door for Baekhyun.

"My parents gave me money this morning. I'll go get something." Baekhyun suggested. 

"No." Chanyeol protested, making Baekhyun pout.

"Fine." Baekhyun put out a fist. "Rock, paper, scissors." Baekhyun said.

Chanyeol scoffed but couldn't resist the urge to put out a large fist as well.

"Rock, paper, scissors!" Baekhyun shouted in excitement. He then got to his feet while cheering. "I win!" Baekhyun exclaimed.

Chanyeol scoffed.

"You won the chance to lose your money, idiot." He sighed. Baekhyun huffed.

"Yeah. But I'll do it if it means having more energetic and happy dorm members." Baekhyun said as Chanyeol dissapeared into his room for a second. He came out with money in his hand.

"Here. Take this with you and buy us all something good to eat, alright?" Chanyeol said. Baekhyun nodded and accepted the money from his new friend before giddily running out the dorm. 

Chanyeol smiled and so did Minseok from his room.

Byun Baekhyun is really something special.

 

 

Luhan and Sehun(3 months before story's period of time)

 

Luhan was done with everything.

He was done with the bullying, hard classes, outcast loneliness. He couldn't find the urge to continue so he was determined to take his own life tonight.

He went up to the rooftop of the trainee building and carried his pocket knife in his back pocket.

He took a deep breath of fresh night air and let the breeze blow his jacket open.

He walked to the edge of the rooftop to look at the city of Seoul one last time before he slid his pocket knife out from his back pocket.

He pressed the switch and emmited light from the moon onto his cheek.

He looked at his reflection and slightly scoffed, remembering a kid compliment him on his looks.

That's all anyone ever likes him for.

He held the knife up and brought it down to his ribs, but it was stopped.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Someone screamed. Luhan turned his head and looked up to see the kid that had complimented him.

"Let go. It's none of your business." Luhan said sternly. 

"No!" Sehun stated as he pried the knife from Luhan's hands and flung it onto the floor.

Luhan tried pushing Sehun away but Sehun kept iron bonds on his wrists.

"Calm down, Hyung!" Sehun demanded, unwilling to let go of Luhan. 

"Shut up! Stop pestering me, kid! When I don't want to go on anymore, I don't have to! It's not your decision!" Luhan shouted, pouring his heart out. "You don't know what it feels like to be in my position and you don't have to pity me!" 

"Hyung! We're the same! We're both human! We're both living in this scary hell, not knowing what tomorrow will bring! We both have the same dreams! And if they're shattered anytime soon, at least we tried!" Sehun yelled, shaking Luhan. 

Sehun released Luhan when Luhan jerked and let Luhan step back on weak legs.

Luhan had been practicing non-stop in the dance studio for two days in a row.

"We're not excactly the same. There's one crucial difference between us." Luhan said softly, looking to the floor. "The difference between you and me is that when you wake up, your nightmare ends..." Luhan looked up to meet Sehun's red eyes. "And mine begins."

Sehun bit his lips and pulled Luhan into his arms.

"Your heart is hard, but mine is beyond stone. I promise you'll only have to stay with me until my heart softens." Sehun promised. Luhan held back his tears. He believed he was too manly for anything that weak.

"Your heart will soften but when I leave; it'll become raw metal, won't it?" Luhan questioned.

"Deosn't matter. You'll be the last person I'll ever adore."

 

 

Yifan and Zitao(1 month before story's period of time)

 

Zitao had just left Baekhyun's dorm after getting a knuckle on the head for hurting himself again.

Zitao had to take a special class on martial arts and always ended up somehow hurting himself.

"Oww. Hyung's fist hurts." Zitao mumbled to himself as he walked into the trainee building.

"Yah. Watch where you're going." A deep voice demanded, making Zitao come to a halt. Zitao peered downward into a large hole that seemed miles deep in the cement.

"Ah!" Zitao yelped, jumping backward and bumping into someone. He whipped his head around and yelped again in surprise.

That was the tallest guy Zitao's seen in real life.

"H-Hey. Are you a trainee?" Zitao asked in Korean, only to be answered in chinese.

"Yes and so are you. Now let's go in." Yifan said, walking around the hole with his hands in his pockets. Zitao sped up to reach Yifan's side.

"You're chinese! I can see that now! What's your name? Where are you going?" Zitao asked. Yifan sighed.

"Too many questions." He grumbled with a hand to his temple.

"Oh. Sorry." Zitao apologized, blowing bubbles with his cheeks.

"Wufan. And I'm going to sign out for good." Yifan said.

"Sign out of what?" Zitao asked.

"That's another question." Yifan pointed out before answering anyway. "I'm leaving SM today." 

"What? Why-" Zitao quickly covered his mouth. "I mean. Something good will come out of all your hardwork." 

Yifan groaned and ran his hand through his hair.

"I'm quiting. There's nothing for me in the future if it includes the word SM." Yifan stated.

"Quiting is like crashing the car without ever finding the key." Zitao said. "You have to at least try inserting the key to see if it might work." Zitao finished. Yifan scoffed and walked off with a wave.

"Yeah. Crashing the car and keys. Got it. See you." Yifan said casually as he strut down the hall and around the corner.

"See you soon!" Zitao shouted after Yifan to try and keep him in the company.

Yifan sighed as he leaned on the cold wall. He looked at the rap room then the door to the building's manager.

He stood there for a moment then siged heavily and walked into the rap room.

 

 

Joonmyeon and Yixing(2 years before story's period of time)

 

Joonmyeon had just left the artist studio after evaluation and felt pressured.

What if he didn't make it?

"Hey! Kim Joonmyeon!" 

Joonmyeon turned to see a chinese boy run up to him.

"Yes?" He asked, smiling. 

The chinese boy stopped a few feet in front of him with a smile on his face as well.

"You did really good! I'm sure you'll pass no problem!" He said, making Joonmyeon feel less heavy.

"Thank you so much!" Joonmyeon then noticed it was the boy who danced very well. "You danced very well back there, Yixing." Joonmyeon said.

Yixing smiled widely and happily.

"Thank you!" He said. "I'm not really good at Korean and I thought you could help me?" Yixing asked.

"Sure." Joonmyeon replied. "I'm being re-located from my dorm today so I'll have to catch you later." 

Yixing smiled brightly and nodded.

"Okay, bye-bye!" Yixing waved as he began walking to his next class. 

"Bye-bye!" Joonmyeon waved as well, then started home to his dorm and grabbed his items. 

The CEO had sent him a message, informing him that he had to move to the international dorms for a while. 

Joonmyeon didn't know it, but SM had decided to move Joonmyeon in with other groups of ethnics because he was so kind and nice. They knew Joonyeon wouldn't cause any trouble.

Joonmyeon thought they were moving him because he was an extra and room was needed for a new and improved trainee.

Joonmyeon knocked on the door of his new home with a trembling heart.

The door opened and it seemed like light had blinded him.

"Joonmyeon!" 

Joonmyeon thought the voice and accent sounded familiar.

"Yixing?" Joonmyeon said. Yixing quickly let Joonmyeon in and helped with his belongings.

"I'm so relieved to see you and not someone mean!" Yixing said truthfully as he shut the door. "Now I can learn Korean easily!" Yixing said, thrilled. Joonmyeon couldn't help but smile at the energetic chinese.

"Yeah! Maybe you can teach me dance too!" Joonmyeon said, making Yixing chuckle a little.

"I actually didn't audition as a dancer." Yixing whispered playfully, making Joonmyeon smile wider.

"No way." Joonmyeon said.

"Yes way." Yixing replied.

"How many years have you trained?" Joonmyeon asked out of curiosity.

"One year so far." Yixing answered.

"What? That's it? I've trained for four years and I'm not nearly as good. You're really talented." Joonmyeon complimented.

"Thank you." Yixing said, blushing a little. "You're making me blush." He said, making Joonmyeon laugh. 

Yixing showed Joonmyeon to his room and the two became closer over time.

 

 

On the day they met, they never knew they would be debuting together as one.