“Listen up everyone, you’re all in here today because you lot are our best. Our top players. As you all know the guys upstairs are putting together a new group.” At the mention of a new band being formed a light buzzing seemed to enter the room. The boys were all gathered around in a semi-circle, some standing, some sitting, engulfing another one of SM Entertainment’s suits. “All we know for sure right now is that the bosses are planning to produce a boy group. So this is your lucky day. Unlike half of the girls we had to send packing earlier, you guys have a shot at amounting to something someday, so don’t screw this up!”

Taemin suppressed a smile. It wasn’t too long ago he had been in that same situation, wondering whether or not he had made a huge waste of his time with this agency. He saw the same hungering, the same desire, in the eyes of the boys in front of him that he had felt burning inside of him for so many years. It had all seemed so important back then. He’d wake up every day wanting to give up and go into medicine as his mother had so desired. Now that he had debued he looked back on those days with honey glazed eyes. In retrospect they were his happy days. He was drawn back to reality by the mention of his name.

“… Lee Taemin has agreed to put his busy schedule on hold and come join us today, so everybody greet him nicely.” All the boys in the room turned and gave him full 90 degree bows, Taemin responded in much the same way. Despite the slight vanity that accompanied fame he valued his manners above all things.

“I’m really glad I could be here today,” he brushed back a loose strand of hair that had fallen in front of his eyes. “Hopefully we can make some good progress, so let’s all work hard.” Everyone chanted a polite yes and turned back to the teacher for the end of the briefing. Across the room the door to the training room clicked open.

No one turned to look. It seemed everyone was too concentrated on listening to what the teacher was saying. Taemin’s heart stopped. A boy stepped in. His hair was soft and waved like a black ocean. He had beautiful skin, bronze, and looked soft as velvet to the touch. His face seemed as though it were carved by angels, perfectly curved and edged. There are few moments in life when one truly appreciates the work of the gods. When you stop completely, when your heart stops beating, just for a second, and clarity on the definition of beauty is in your face. This was one of those moments. The boy delicately looked up, gently closing the training room door behind him. Clearly he felt bad about being late. He went and stood apart from the group as Taemin had, but almost directly across from him. Taemin watched as the boy delicately put down his rucksack, then slowly his lips nervously, making sure no one had seen him enter the room late to what he was sure to these trainees was a big deal.

They locked eyes. Taemin’s heart seemed to be beating out of his chest, he felt as though he couldn’t breathe. Like some divine force had taken his power to act, to move. The boy’s eyes reflected his own, tripling size, perhaps infatuation? The bow gave a deep bow and Taemin was drawn back to reality. Ahh, of course, he thought, I am Shinee’s maknae. He bowed back respectfully, almost simultaneously the trainer’s speech ended. Boys walked all over the room back to their backpacks to swap their day-to-day shoes with their training shoes, all the while the two boys at either end of the room held eye contact. Something, a spark, had them held together in time. Neither moved or took any notice of the activity around them. Like two reflections in a mirror. They were transfixed. The boy smiled. The corner of his mouth gently lifting like an invisible hook tugged it ever so slightly. Taemin felt an overwhelming desire to march himself down to the other end of the room lean in and whisper into that boy’s ear that he … what? Liked his pretty face, his beautiful skin? Sure he’d felt this way before, but… Things hadn’t turned out so great then either. He couldn’t think straight, like his brain was drifting away into a lake and he just couldn’t quite reach it. Yet he could see it all so clearly, what he wanted to do, or at least what his body wanted. His cheeks turned a slight shade of pink, but before he could even begin to work on forming words he was taken aside by the distractions of the real world.

“Taemin-ah what are you doing come on, front and centre.” Placing his arm around the idol’s shoulder, the SM worker guided him to the front of the studio. “You need to show these boys how it’s done, trust me they need the help.”

“Teacher I think it would be better if first I just watched. I don’t know I feel a bit heavy on my feet today.” Taemin looked back over his shoulder, the pretty boy had sat down and was sliding off his shoes. To Taemin’s horror he wasn’t wearing any socks.

“Alright okay, but I’m telling you when these guys go for it, they really go for it; facial expression, hip ing the whole lot.” The teacher lowered his voice and leaned in ever so slightly. “Look, D-day is approaching. They’re getting desperate, and some of them really don’t know how to look y on stage without looking totally… well… awkward.”

“Teacher I can’t do y.”

“No but you know how to work a crowd, noonas love you.”

“Come on, you’re a great teacher. You must have some good students…”

“Sure one or two, the rest seem pretty hopeless.”

“I’m sure they’ll be great. Just send the two up then, let me see what they’re made of,” Taemin concluded, any means to escape his situation and return to admiring Charles Atlas would do just fine.

“Okay fine. Hey, who knows, you might even learn a trick or two.” Taemin tutted as the teacher turned back around and called out over the ruckus “Yixing demonstration time. Come on up front.” A tall handsome boy stepped up. He had long straight brown hair and a sort of blanked out expression, it reminded Taemin of some of the foreigners he’d sometimes spot near the clubs after training late into the night. They greeted each other and Taemin clearly noted the boy’s foreign accent, it explained his foggy expression, it must have been difficult understanding the teacher’s speech.

“Great, okay, now who else shall we pick on?” The Teacher scanned around the room occasionally stopping on someone as though considering whether they were talented enough to show off. He finally settled. “Hmmm, ok. Jongin, could you please join us up here too?”

Taemin watched as pretty boy made his way to the stage.