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>>LU HAN'S POV<<

Two hours before the beginning of the showcase. All rehearsals and checks were done, now it was my turn to calm my nerves and my heart. I'm so nervous, I think I need to go to the bathrooms. Let's go out for some fresh air, Lu. On my way outside, I met someone I thought I haven't seen in forever. How did she get here? What was she doing here?

"Long time no see." She said, facing me directly with a soft smile. "How have you been doing?"

"Go Sang Mi." I stared at her, keeping an awkward distance. "I didn't know you would come today."

Sang Mi chuckled and crossed her arms at me. "You were a close friend, weren't you? How can I not come to your debut showcase? So, how have you been doing?" 

"It took me four years to prepare for this day, I've been only training. What about you? How is it on the other side?" Opening up, I closed the awkward distance and stood in front of Sang Mi. How many years has it been since she left? Three years? 

"Great, I've met really nice people and trainees. It's much different from SM Entertainment." Sang Mi responded, explaining the differences between the two agencies. We used to train together for a while but she arrived earlier than me. When Sang Mi suddenly left and got signed under another label, we stopped talking and have not seen each other since. Which is actually very sad regarding our friendship back then. We were such good friends and Sang Mi has helped me in several ways as a senior while training together. "We were probably both scared. To talk, to even make eye contact even if we weren't on bad terms. We drifted apart from each other. Meeting you now will be hard, right?" 

"Might be. We shouldn't avoid each other, though." I suggested, not wanting a friendship to be ruined because we lost sight of each other. "Do you remember when I first came to Korea? I must have been a mess." Laughing at the memory, I vividly remembered the day of my first months as an exchange student.

Seoul, 2008.

"Do you need any help? Did you get lost?" Some girl asked me, wearing a high school uniform. She couldn't be much younger than me. "Do you speak Korean?" 

"A little." I replied slowly. Before I came to Korea three months ago, I did some research but I arrived without learning any Korean. I only picked up a few things after living here. However, I still had trouble finding my way back to the dormitory and campus. "I need to go to university but I don't know the way."

"Oh, so you are a university student! I'll show you the way." The girl said in the easiest and most comprehensible way as possible and smiled at me. She also tried to talk to me in a broken Chinese and used gestures which I was really thankful for. I handed her a note with the address of the building, departments and campus. "Yonsei University? It's in Sinchon, we need to go to the station for that."

"Thanks." I responded gratefully and followed the girl. "I am Lu Han, what is your name?" 

"I am Go Sang Mi, I'm in my first year of high school." Sang Mi smiled back at me and looked up the address on her phone, just in case. If she was in her first year of high school, she shouldn't be much younger than me, maybe two years.

"What about school? I'm sorry, did I prevent you from going?" The student shouldn't be skipping classes though I could understand if she did. Sang Mi was a nice person, I felt bad for making her walk me to the station just because I wasn't familiar with the districts.

"Nah, I have academies after school but I was only heading to training earlier. Until I saw you lost and looking around helplessly." Sang Mi joked while I followed her silently. "Don't worry, I'm not skipping classes!" 

I suppressed a laugh. "What kind of training do you do? Your hobby?" 

"I'm a trainee at an entertainment agency." Sang Mi explained to me but wasn't allowed to tell me at which agency she trained at. "It's a famous one with many great singers, dancers and entertainers. You should try it out with your handsome looks!" 

"Handsome?" Well, I did consider myself handsome from time to time but after failing to get into JYP, I lost a little confidence. "I came here to study, I am not sure if I should audition."

Sang Mi asked for my phone briefly. "Anyway, if you decide to join, let me be the first one to know about it. And if you ever get lost again, I'll be there to help you out." She returned my phone and continued walking cheerfully. After a while, we arrived at the station and Sang Mi explained where to get off. "Yonsei University, I envy you. I should also study hard like you!" Sang Mi waved me goodbye and headed to that location she talked about earlier.

People told me I was quite the easy-going type, but being in another foreign country made me introverted at first. Especially since my Korean was lacking, I didn't know how to handle things here. When I successfully auditioned at the same company later that year, we had a chance to meet again. Though we never told each other where we auditioned at, we happened to meet again in the hallways. Actually, I didn't intend on staying in Korea for more than a year and training to become an idol. I was supposed to return to China after my exchange year but ended up staying as a trainee. I had a completely different goal and now I was ready to debut. 

Training at the same company as Sang Mi brought us closer, but the first person I personally met in the building was my younger friend Zhang Yixing. Sang Mi was technically my senior as a trainee and she helped me out a lot. Sometimes, we would spend our breaks and several classes together. We became close friends over time until one day we drifted apart. I didn't consider Sang Mi anything else than a close friend and fellow trainee, but sometimes even though I denied it to myself, Sang Mi would act differently around me. Almost as if she was shy and she wasn't the type to do that. I had a feeling that maybe Sang Mi didn't view me as an ordinary friend. Perhaps, that's why I distanced myself a bit from her. I don't usually hang out with people who want to date me when I'm not interested in them. I wouldn't want to give them any wrong signals. Her trainee contract expired and she was recruited by another big company. Of couse, we could still keep in touch and hang out, but it wasn't the same anymore. Our respective lives continued passing silently.

Now Sang Mi stood in front of me as if she had never been gone. Our friendship was precious like every friendship I had. I'm quite popular among the trainees, I guess. I get along with everyone. It might sound like there was more to our relationship, but there were seriously no romantical feelings involved. I could never think of her as a lover because I treasured our friendship and didn't intend to turn it into another direction. 

"I basically saw you grow up as a trainee and now you are debuting before me. I feel proud." Sang Mi joked and looked around in the Olympic Hall. "How envious. I'll be watching you later in the crowd so you better do well. Your phone number didn't change, right? See you around then." She waved me goodbye and walked away without me being able to say anything else. I wish Hye Yeong and I could one day talk as casually as Sang Mi and I did in my old days.

My heart was pounding nervously. Not because of her sudden appearance which was surprising enough, but because of my nervosity. Yes, even I get nervous and tend to overthink sometimes. What if I didn't do well? What if I ruined the performances? What if I disappointed everyone? There were times I'd think there was no use in worrying and scaring yourself with thoughts, but it was harder than expected to be in that situation personally. Do it with confidence, Lu. You can do it.

After a short stop to the bathrooms, I left and viewed the stage from down the seats with all those people filling the spaces soon. From afar, I spotted a girl resembling Min Young strongly. Do I need glasses or is it really her? That means Hye Yeong should be here, too.

"Thought so. You came." I whispered and caught Hye Yeong also looking around and finally locking eyes with me. I waved at her, not calling her name on purpose as it would draw too much attention, before walking up to Hye Yeong. "I knew you wouldn't leave me hanging. How long have you been here?" 

"For a while." Hye Yeong answered briefly and regarded my outfit for later. Probably because of my handsomeness. "If you think I came because of you, you are mistaken. I came for Jongin, but Min Young is there to see you."

"Then why are you here talking to me if you are here for Jongin? I should rather go and talk to Min Young instead." I and watched Min Young next to Hye Yeong's friends. "I don't have much time left before our fans will enter. Oh my, I should go back to the others and get the last things done." 

My heart started pounding fastly again. Not entirely because of my nervosity this time, but Hye Yeong contributed to it. If Hye Yeong was the reason, it would be a pleasant feeling but now before the showcase, it was a different kind of nervosity. Hye Yeong stared at me for a while and tilted her head. "You are pale but I hope that's because you are nervous. Not that you randomly collapse on the floor again. Everything alright?" 

"Sure, just nervous." I said honestly and fiddled with the collar of my shirt. 

Hye Yeong raised an eyebrow at me in return and smiled amused. "You? Nervous? I remember how you told me to be confident and to 'rock this performance'. Will it comfort you if I join you onstage?" 

"Tch, if you join I guess it'll be over with EXO's debu