I stood at the side of the room and looked around. There were many other trainees here as we were supposed to go have our first variety show lesson altogether. This lesson was a part of the new system that the company developed, though I had nothing to compare it with as it was my first large group lesson. I never knew there were so many trainees in the company; I had thought that there were only enough to be potential members of the next group, but there were many, ranging from as young as around ten years old to as old as about twenty. I mainly stuck to the other girls in my group, but it was clear that they had many other friends here.

One of the managers was here with us, leading us into a filming set in our company's giant building. I had been here for a week already, familiarizing myself with the floors that contained all the practice rooms and classrooms, but it seemed that I was far from done exploring this mysterious building. 
The manager said something loudly in Korean, as he led my group along with another group of girls onto the set. I took a guess that they were also top tier trainees preparing for their debut, perhaps to be in the same group with the girls I was put with?

Before I got too nervous, I started rehearsing in my head, repeating what I needed to say over and over again. Yesterday we had gotten scripts to try to memorize and follow along for the show, though they consisted more of various pointers and directional cues rather than a full dialogue. This lesson was only for the top tier trainees who are about to debut since it was good practice for what they would soon have to encounter.

As we walked onto the stage, there were cameras from all angles floating around in front of us, making it really feel like we were filming a real show. We sat down on these chairs on set, and we were given some blankets and pillows, which I was grateful for because it was pretty cold on set with the air conditioning blasting, especially when we were all wearing skirts or shorts.

At the side of the stage, there were a couple of our variety coaches acting as the hosts of today's show. They started by introducing our girl group, and that's when my in-ear translator came to life with a startling buzz.

"Let's start!" Our manager said, as the bright set lights came on overhead, and the cameras starting to move, zooming in on us from different angles. My heart pounded nervously as my stage fright hit me hard.

Just smile and act confident, it'll be fine.

"Welcome everyone to Idol Daily! Today we are very excited since we have some guests with us," one of the hosts said.

"Yes, I heard that this girl group comes from one of the biggest companies in the entertainment industry and has just made their extremely successful debut! Introducing, LOVELITE!" The other host said. 

We started clapping on stage as the cameras focused on us. Just then, I noticed that there were people sitting behind the filming set; the place where a live audience would usually sit. It was probably the other trainees, but nonetheless, having anyone watching was frightening. I quickly hid my surprise with a warm smile as the camera zoomed towards me.

"Now we will give them a chance to introduce themselves!" The first host said.

The cameras zoomed in to the girl sitting on the other side of the room, which meant I was going last. The girls from the other group introduced themselves, and their group had a main vocalist and main dancer as well.

"Hello, my name is Hyojin, and I am Love Lite's leader and main vocalist!" Our leader said when the camera swung over to her. It was like she sang out her introduction, showing the audience her lovely voice.

The camera moved down the line to our next group member. 

"Hello, I'm Miyoung and I'm Love Lite's main dancer and rapper!" She said, while doing a cool pose. I've seen her a couple of times before in the dance studio practicing by herself, and she was indeed a very great dancer.

"Hi everyone! I'm Love Lite's fresh and cool Minnie!" She cupped her face with her hands in a V-shape around her chin, then smiled sweetly. It seemed like a common pose as I've seen other Korean girls do the same before.

"Ooooh," the hosts exclaimed, acting like they were swooning. "And what's your position in the group?" One of the hosts asked.

"Hmm I'm the face- I mean lead vocalist, lead dancer, and rapper." She flashed another smile.

"Ah, so the talented someone who can do everything." The other host said lightly, making Minnie laugh light-heartedly.

Then the camera finally came to me. All of the people in the audience, and the other trainees on set looked at me.

"Hello, my name is Yoonmi, and I'm Love Lite's maknae." I said the few words I knew in Korean.

"Ah, welcome, welcome." The hosts replied. Among the people sitting in the audience, there were a few whispers floating around, but none loud enough for my translator to pick up.

After the camera moved on, I breathed an inaudible sigh of relief, glad that the hosts didn't ask any questions that I'd have to reply in Korean. I felt the heads turn back to the hosts or to our girl group's more popular, or talkative, members.

I looked through the audience, wondering who they were, as there were a group of guys that were pretty good-looking among the managers and technicians. I scanned through them, wondering if I've ever seen them around the building before, when my gaze paused at this one guy in the second row on my side of the room. I felt a tinge of familiarity; have I seen him in the dance studios before? Or maybe it was on the bus? I vaguely remembered learning something about familiarity in my psychology class a while ago.

Suddenly, the guy looked over and our eyes met. My eyes darted away as I continued to hold the smile on my face, trying to enjoy this instead of looking like the nervous mess I was inside.

"So, let's begin. I actually have a question for you guys. I'm sure we'd all like to know how you guys got into the company? I'm sure it was a very difficult road you've all taken."

One by one, the girls explained how they got in. They were picked through countless singing and dancing auditions and competitions, composing for other groups, and participating in singing survival shows. When the camera came to me, I felt like looking down, a bit ashamed at how easily I got to join the company. Before I could do anything though, the Minnie, who was sitting beside me, answered for me. 

"Oh, she was picked by the CEO himself from the streets in America. She doesn't speak much Korean yet." I nodded a little and flashed an awkward grin. 

Luckily, the good-natured host came to save me. "Ah, so you must have charmed many people with your good looks." 

"Kamsahabnida," I said shyly, lighting up at the compliment. I past the camera, to the audience, and accidently met the eyes of the guy again. His round eyes were a nice, clear brown, framed with thick lashes, and I almost felt myself sinking in that gaze that I must've seen somewhere before. He looked very friendly with those lips curved up at the corners even without smiling. I looked away quickly again, trying to focus on the show. 

After the show was finally finished, I felt like a huge weight had just been lifted off my shoulders. I stood at the back of the group as the guys from the audience joined the girls and exited the room. They were happily chatting away with each other, and it seemed that the guys were praising the girls a lot, judging by the amount of "thank you"s they were saying. 

I walked with them, near the side of the group. I glanced around, looking for the manager to tell us what to do next, but instead, I saw the guy that I made eye contact with earlier. He was with a few of his guy friends and a few of the girls from the other group. He stood at the side of the crowd while I could see Miyoung flirting with a tall guy who had nice tan skin. I turned around and kept walking. We got into a big elevator, and so I got squished into the middle of the group. 

"Ah!" I heard a high pitched voice shout as the elevator accelerated downstairs, making my heart jump to my throat for a moment. I turned my head in the direction of the sound to see Miyoung grab onto the guy she was flirting with. I was about to turn back when I looked up beside me and saw these kind brown eyes again. It was so squishy in the elevator that the guy ended up standing right beside me! He looked like he wanted to say something to me, so I glanced at him curiously, but a couple of seconds later, he swiftly looked down, focusing on the floor. 

We exited the elevator and ended up walking side by side, squeezed into the middle by the crowd. He still didn't say anything, but I felt him glancing at me a couple of times.

We entered another big room that looked like an auditorium, where the manager told us to sit on the seats, and he told the boys to go onto the stage. I guessed that we were going to be watching the boys perform or practice. My ear piece again unexpectedly, as the crowd quieted down. 

"You will be watching how it's done by the pros. They've been in the business for a while now, and with their recent comeback, they've practiced more for various variety shows." The manager said. "Okay, let the show begin. EXO, please introduce yourselves." 

My eyes widened in surprise. These guys were famous and in an actual group?! My earpiece buzzed as the system came on and show started.

"Annyeonghaseyo, I'm EXO's leader, Suho. It's nice to meet you all." A nice looking guy said.

"Annyeonghaseyo, I'm EXO's main dancer, Kai." So he's the one that had been flirting with Miyoung. They were both dancers too. 

"Annyeonghaseyo, I'm EXO's main vocalist, D.O." Said this guy with very big eyes. 

"No, actually, I'm the main vocalist." The tallest guy said, interrupting him. D.O turned back and seemed to glare at the tall guy. 

"You're the main vocalist too? Why don't we have a battle and see who's really the main vocalist?" The host said. 

One by one, they showed off their skills. D.O started singing a very powerful part of a song. His voice sounded great; very powerful and conveying. After him, the tall guy started singing a bit, which sounded okay, but he was definitely a rapper.

"Actually, I'm the main vocalist." A shorter guy wearing some eyeliner abruptly came up and interrupted the tall guy's rapping. He started singing a very soft melody. "'Baby don't cry, tonight!.' See, I'm the main vocalist." His voice was simply beautiful. Those soft notes would charm any girl right away. 

"Wait, I'm the main vocalist and they're not." A voice said. I looked to see the guy with the nice eye-smile walking into the scene slyly, with his arms crossed. 

"So you're the main vocalist and they're not?" The host asked.

"That's right." The guy said again, as he started singing. 

The moment he started, it seemed like time had frozen. I stopped breathing and stopped blinking, paralyzed by his amazing vocals. His super high notes made shivers run down my back, and those rifts were done ever so perfectly. As he ended off his melody, his eyes wandered my way and his mouth quirked up into a mysterious grin.

It seemed as if the room had frozen silent too; the trainees all gawking at them in awe. Then the rest of the members continued until everyone introduced themselves and showed off a bit of their talent. They were all extremely talented, but I could not help but wonder about where I had seen that guy before. 

Here we go~! Haha this chapter was inspired by one of EXO's shows (was is Happy Camp?) :D 
Thanks for the comments guys, enjoy~