Today we were starting to record for one of the potential songs in our debut album. I hadn't been in the recording studio much so I was still quite unfamiliar with the process.

"Okay, girls, you will be recording one of the songs for your album today!" The vocal teacher said, clapping her hands as all the girls joined in too.

"Which one will it be?" Minnie asked eagerly, her eyes twinkling with excitement.

"It's called 'That Could Be Us', I believe you all got the lyrics to practice for it last week? So now come over to the studio and we'll have a listen to the guides and decide on your parts."

We followed her into the studio and sat on the couch, then the vocal teacher pulled out a folder with sheets of the lyrics so we could follow along. After I had gotten a copy of them last week, I had spent a good amount of time practicing the pronunciations of the Korean lyrics and searching the words up to get a better understanding of the song. Google Translate didn't exactly help me very much.

The song blasted through the speakers all of a sudden, startling us.

"Sorry," the producer shouted from behind the large amount of equipment, grinning at us as he quickly turned the volume down a bit. He seemed quite young for a successful producer, probably only in his early thirties. 

The song had a smooth melody set in a minor key, and had some smooth rap in the verses. The range for the chorus was fairly high, but definitely had the potential to really show off our amazing vocalists' voices. I was expecting to get either the easy rap parts that consisted of no more than eighth note syllables, or the simple verses which fell into my limited vocal range.

"Wow!" The girls exclaimed, clapping together after the song finished. "Daebak!"

We went through the song a few more times, our vocal teacher explaining the different techniques used throughout, that would definitely help us with recording each part.

"Okay so now that you've listened to the guides for the song again, we need to decide on how to split the parts." The vocal teacher said. I could see Minnie shifting in her seat eagerly.

"Songsaengnim, can I have the chorus please?" Minnie asked, smiling sweetly.

"I'm sure you'd do a great job, Minnie, but we should have each person give it a shot and give it to the one who sings it best." The teacher smiled back at her. "So, how about we start at the beginning of the song with the lead-up to the verse and the actual verse. Who wants to go first?"

We started from Jiwoo, who was sitting on the far right of the couch, whereas I was on the far left. Jiwoo sang it beautifully, the lustre of her sweet voice not particularly unique, but it was still very pleasant to listen to.

The next person was Minnie. When it got to her though, she hesitated. "Songsaengnim, I'm a main vocal, can I just skip this part please?"

The vocal teacher sighed before agreeing to Minnie's request. She skipped Hyojin as well, since she was a main vocal, and Miyoung, because she's the rapper.

Suddenly, I was next.

I cleared my throat, preparing to start my part at the beginning of the song. Right when I was about to sing the first note, however, our vocal teacher cut me off as it was the end of today's recording session.

"Sorry guys, our time is unfortunately up for today, and I have actually do have somewhere to get to, but we will for sure be able to start recording next time, when you guys have the full day in the recording studios. Today was just the demo of how it'll be like. Anyway, so I will see you guys next week." She smiled at us hastily, then started packing her stuff.

I breathed out a sigh of relief, happy to get another chance to practice the song so I don't embarrass myself in front of everyone again. I gathered together my things, noticing the speed at which Minnie skipped out of the room, thanking our vocal teacher loudly as she left.

I ran into the room, hoping that I wasn't late. I paused, looking for a seat, then took the closest empty one, away from where the crowds were. We were seated in a small auditorium, getting ready to watch a group of trainees perform. They were about to make their debut, and today was like a final performance check. The idols in the company could monitor them and give them advice, and the other trainees could watch them and learn if they wanted to. Chen had invited me, telling me that this was a good opportunity to learn, and it would also inspire me to keep working towards my dreams. Though it wouldn't matter in two months anyway.
My recording studio session had just ended minutes earlier, and my wait at the elevators had been anything but short. Luckily for me, people were still talking really loudly, meaning that the show hadn't start yet. I settled in my seat and scanned the crowd for a recognizable face.
A few rows in front of me, I saw a familiar silhouette. Chen was sitting in between two girls. One looked like Minnie, and the other one I didn't recognize. How did she get here so fast? Oh right, she practically ran out of the recording studio the minute class ended.

Chen suddenly turned around and we met eyes for a mere millisecond, but it was enough to make my heart pound slightly faster. It doesn't mean anything, calm down. He didn't seem to actually notice me, however, as he turned back around nonchalantly.
Minnie leaned against him and whispered something in his ear, and then they both laughed. I saw him then poke the other girl on the cheek, telling her something then the three of them broke out into fits of laughter together. They looked like they were having a really good time, but I looked away, my heart sank a little.

A queasy feeling entered my stomach. Knowing that they were a couple, versus actually seeing them together, were two totally different things, and somehow, I couldn't shake off this strange feeling in me. Yet I knew it was already wrong to think that everything that happened between us was special.

Luckily, the lights started dimming as the show was about to start. The emcee introduced the group, then the seven boys came onto stage. They had a dark image, which matched perfectly with the minor key of the song, and their skills were all amazing. One of the rappers immediately caught my attention as he had a really nice smile and was very charismatic. His dance moves were sharp, landing on every beat perfectly as he rapped with his low voice. It seemed like they were all good-looking enough to have the role of the visual; their dance moves were sharp and on point, and their coordination was great. They were definitely much closer to being actual idols, than I was to being just an average trainee here.

They introduced themselves on by one after their charismatic performance, and then the judges gave some comments afterwards. They were commented on their professionalism, especially since one member had dropped his mic box due to his intense dancing.

"And now, for a surprise performance from the one and only, EXO!" The emcee announced loudly. The stage dimmed as the boys got into their positions. I hadn't even noticed when Chen had gotten up from his seat in the audience.

Their performance was their usual top quality, even though it was only for the trainees to see. Their moves were sharp and their voices right on pitch, and the part that amazed us trainees the most, was probably their ability to work together and move as a team.

Halfway through EXO's performance, I realized that I had completely forgotten about my in-ear translator. It had been on the whole time, letting me understand all the words effortlessly, and I hadn't realized until it translated snippets of a nearby conversation.

"Oh my gosh, it's him! Look!" A girly voice said, as Chen's part came up and he stood center-stage, belting out those high notes.

"Wow, he's a really good singer!" Her friend responded. I turned to see the two girls sitting in the row behind mine, off to my left. They were trainees too, but in a lower level than the one I was placed in, but it was probably still higher than where I would normally belong.

"He's not just a good vocalist, he's so sweet and like, perfect at everything."

"Yeah, his dancing's not bad either. They call him the Chen-sing machine after all."

"Singing, dancing, but so kind too! I remember when he helped me out with my singing technique and that difficult chord progression unit in theory."

"Oh really? Aw, you're so lucky!"

I pulled out the translator, not wanting to hear any more of their conversation. My stomach twisted uncomfortably, as their words echoed in my head. I shouldn't be feeling this way though; the girl's words shouldn't have affected me at all, but instead they stirred up such an unexplainable feeling in my heart.

She had mentioned Chen helping her with her trainee classes too. I guess he's just really nice to everyone, and while that's a really good trait, deep inside, I might've thought and hoped that I was the only one...

Can't you see that he's already dating Minnie? You girls don't have a chance!

I wasn't sure if I my thoughts were directed to them, or at myself.