Here I am, preparing to enter a heretofore unknown world to me. About to take the step that will change my entire life and the fate of the universe. Next to me, a beautiful guardian angel watches as I gather all my courage and bravery and lift my leg and plant it on the ground in front of me... just past the school’s entrance gate.

“Um, Min-ah, are you okay? You look like you’re filming a drama in your head…” Jun comments from beside me. She’s totally judging me, I can tell. I grin sheepishly at her, “Me? Not at all! I was just appreciating the symmetry of the school gates…” I blink at her innocently, hoping she won’t notice that the school gates are open unevenly, not to mention ugly as hell. I’m not sure she buys it but she grabs my arm and steers me towards what I can only assume is the office. As we get closer, I see that it is indeed the office by the sign outside the room.

I quickly handle the official stuff and am told to wait in the office for my homeroom teacher to me to the class.

“Which class are you in?” Jun pipes up when I walk back to her. I show her the time-table and information I was given.

“You’re in 2-3. That’s too bad… I’m in 2-1. We have P.E. together though, so that’s something, I guess.”

“I have to wait here for the homeroom teach. You should probably head to class,” I tell her.

She nods and leaves to her class after quickly giving me a good luck hug.

Soon enough, a balding man enters the office and converses with the office lady, who points to me. He chitchats with her some more, finally turning to me a few minutes before the clock strikes seven-thirty.

“Transfer student So Jung Min?” he enquires. I nod. He nods.So I nod back. He gives me a strange look and tells me to follow him to the class. While we’re walking he strikes up a conversation with me, “There’s a lot of idols and trainees that attend this school, as you might already know. Here are a few general rules and guidelines I inform all my new students of.

Don’t freak out and start screaming just because you see your favorite idol, and absolutely no pictures or videos of any kind without permission. Don’t crowd around artists asking for autographs and such. We want to maintain the classroom atmosphere, not that of a concert or fansign, okay? I personally deal with any problems in my class. And make no mistake, I hear about everything that goes on in my class.”

“Yes, sir!” I salute him brightly, and he gives me another weird look. Forget crowding an idol, I’m more worried I won’t recognize them in the first place. I’ve never paid too much attention to the idol scene beyond the few groups I’m interested in. I know about SM groups, of course, and the other big names in the industry, but I’m not sure I’ll recognize any of the members from less popular groups or the rookie groups. Oh well, we’ll see how it goes.

There are a few students hanging out in the corridors but they quickly slip inside their classrooms when they see the teacher approaching. The bell rings as we are walking down yet another long corridor. Luckily our classroom is only halfway down the corridor and he stops outside the door, telling me to wait outside for a few minutes.

“Everybody in their seats! Settle down quickly. We have a transfer student joining our class this term.” He waves me in. I enter, feeling nervous all of a sudden. I stop next to the teacher’s desk, and quickly take the room in. As expected, all the students are looking at me, except for the few who have their heads on the desks, fast asleep. I avoid eye contact with anyone as I look for an empty seat, trying to figure out where I would be sitting. By the way, have I mentioned I love the uniform yet? It looks like it was designed by a freaking fashion designer! Everyone looks so smart in it!

“Go on then, introduce yourself,” the teacher says.

, I forgot to practice this part. Let’s wing it then.

“H-hello, my name is So Jung Min. I transferred here from Na Ra High School. Nice to meet you. Please take care of me in the future.”

Phew, I think that was good enough. I quickly glance at the teacher for further instructions.

“You can take the empty seat next to Mi Ran there,” he says, pointing to an empty seat next to a girl who gives me a quick wave so I know he’s talking about her. Luckily the seat is in the second last row, so I can blend in. I can feel the other students itching to turn around and sneak glances at me, but they won’t be able to do much of that with the scary teacher in the front. Thank you, God! I turn my eyes upward and pray from the bottom of my heart. Once I’m done, I turn to the side to find my seatmate looking at me strangely, welcoming smile frozen in place on her face.

Oops? I quickly try to make amends.

“Hi! My name is So Jung Min. Nice to meet you!” I whisper quickly while the teacher is taking attendance.

“My name is Jung Mi Ran. Nice to meet you too,” she whispers back.

We both pay attention to the teacher as he starts teaching. During the short breaks between classes, some of the other students approach our desk and try to strike up a conversation. I’m a little awkward since I don’t really know them,but they just ask simple questions so it’s easy enough to answer. “Why did you transfer? Are you a trainee? Which company? What are your main talents? Do you know any idols?” are the most common questions asked. I answer briefly, “Because this school is apparently more flexible. Yes. SM. Dancing & Singing? No.”

Apparently these questions are what decide one’s so-called status, as Jun told me later on.  Being a total newbie (and not knowing any idols either) I should’ve by all rights been at the bottom of the social ladder, but being an SM trainee had its perks, and I was positioned somewhere between the ‘no-ones’ and the ‘going to be some-ones’. Idols, I was told, were of course at the peak of the popularity pyramid. Blegh, I hate stupid politics like that. So annoying how superficial facts can decide the worth of a person in the eyes of some people. But then, I suppose society as a whole isn't much better either...

Curiosity satisfied, most of the students leave me alone, and I return the courtesy as I don’t feel the desire to strike up a friendship with any one of them. Turning back to my desk-mate, I find her buried in a mathematics book, quickly scratching unintelligible (to me, at least) solutions to problems in the textbook. I gape at her, trying to understand why in the world she was slaving over her books when this was an arts school. Gen Ed grades are not particularly important here, right? Without realising it, I’ve been staring at her for a while now. , what is wrong with me today?

“Hey, can I borrow some of your notes for last semester? I’m not sure what you guys learnt here, and I need to catch up…” I try to cover it up quickly by asking her a question. But I really do need those notes. And I’m not sure I have the confidence to ask the other classmates.

“You won’t need the notes from the first half of last semester because we were already tested on it, and we won’t be tested again on that. I’ll bring you the notes for the second half tomorrow. You can copy them during lunch or something,” she says, returning her attention to the textbook again.

“Um… Is it okay if I ask you something? Do we have a test tomorrow? Why are you studying so hard?” I can’t resist asking.

She laughs at my question, “No, we don’t have a test. I’m just revising stuff so I don’t forget what we learnt. I try to get in all the practice I can during spare time so I like to get the studying done at times like this.”

“Oh… But why are you trying so hard? Isn’t it fine as long as you do well in the performance classes, especially since this is an arts school?” I ask somewhat timidly. But then I feel like I overstepped some boundaries somewhere so I immediately backtrack, “Sorry, that was really rude of me. Please continue studying. I won’t disturb you anymore.” It isn’t any of my business why she’s working so hard, and I shouldn’t poke my nose where it does not belong.

She gives me a long look, as if debating with herself over something. Finally, she explains, “One of my dad’s conditions for letting me join SM as a trainee was that I maintain my GPA in all my subjects, including general education subjects like maths and science. Since I can’t take it for granted I’ll debut, he wants me to keep all my options open.”

“Oh. That makes sense.” Wait, does this mean I shouldn’t be taking it easy either? Who knows if I’ll ever debut, that too now that I’m training as a singer instead of a dancer. I was so nervous earlier claiming dancing and singing as my talents. I mean, I was told that I am not meant to be a dancer, and I’ve only been training in singing for a little over a month now… so I’m not completely sure I can call them my ‘talents’ at this level. Omigod, what if I never debut, and have to move back in with my dad?! NO!!!

Positive thoughts, Min-ah, positive thoughts. You’ve been working hard, and In Na Eunni praised your singing just the other day, remember? But it won’t hurt to keep my grades up, I guess. Better safe than sorry, after all. With newfound determination I turn to Mi Ran and find that she’s looking at me, amused. Oh wait, I was probably making all sorts of expressions just now, wasn’t I?

“Hehe, I was just wondering if I can also study with you… I think your dad is really wise. We should be keeping our options open!”

Now she’s looking at me gobsmacked. “You want to study? With me? In the break-time?” she asks, as if she can’t believe me.

“I mean, if it’s okay with you… But I guess you don’t want to…” I say, disappointed. Damn, I don’t want to study alone… I can’t stay focused long enough without some supervision.

“No! We can study together! I’m just really surprised because you want to study with me. Most students at this school couldn’t be bothered less about maths or science, really. And I can’t blame them either. It’s hardly what I’d call fun, and everyone has more important things on their minds, like the evaluations, auditions, assessments and so on.”

“I see… So. What are we studying now?” I ask, pulling out a blank notebook and my trusty Pororo pen.

We don’t really get a chance to proceed though because the teacher enters the classroom and we all stand to greet her. After the class, Mi Ran invites me to sit with her at lunch, and we walk to the cafeteria together. I spot Jun at a nearby table, sitting and chatting with some friends, and I wave at her happily. She comes over to our table and we chat a little. Apparently Jun and Mi Ran already know of each other since they've had some dance lessons together. Jun goes back to her own table after a while, satisfied that I’m settling in to the school routine well.

“Wait, so you are an SM trainee? I’m an SM trainee too! A newbie, though,” I tell her, remembering what she said earlier.

“Yeah, I heard you telling the kids in class. I joined almost three years ago. I’m a dancer,” she told me. No wonder I hadn’t seen her around the trainee center, then. She probably has advanced classes like Jun.

I look around the cafeteria as we eat, trying to figure out the social structure in the school. There's a few tables that are full to the point of bursting, and I guess that these are the tables the idols are at. But contrary to my expectations, there is no mass of students trying to grab at them, or begging for autographs and pictures.

I comment on this to Mi Ran and she tells me that it's because the school is strict about respecting the artist's' privacy and personal space, especially since they get mobbed almost everywhere they go outside the school. And most of the students are trainees or idols preparing to debut, or have connections in high places which is how they got into the school in the first place, so they wouldn't jeopardize their place here by acting like silly fangirls/fanboys.

"So the idols are just like any other students?" I ask, disbelievingly.

"You think that's possible? Of course not. But if I had to describe it, I guess I'd say that they're like the popular kids in other schools. Everyone wants to know them and to eat at their table, but they won't pester them like fans would. More like hang around them and hope to be noticed. You know, like the wannabe popular kids?"

Huh, that's interesting. But I guess it's the only respite the idols get. "Do they attend school regularly?" I ask.

She shakes her head side to side, "No. Mostly everyone is here today because it's the first day of the new semester. Usually, they'll attend the first two classes, and even that only if they have the time and the energy. For idols who have already debuted, they just have to do well on the semi-annual showcases to maintain their grades. As you can guess, they're not particularly concerned about the GE subjects."

I keep trying to look past the heads of the other students to see if I can recognize any idols. What? I may not be a fangirl, but I want to see what they are like in real life. From a safe distance, of course.

"Is anybody here that I might recognize? I only know a few groups well."

"Hmm," Mi Ran looks around thoughtfully. "You might know Oh Sehun from EXO. He's in third year. Do you know Boyfriend? APink? AJAX?"

"I know EXO and Apink, and I've heard of the others, but I don't really know the members that well..."

"Well, like I said, Se Hun is over there, and there's Kim Nam Joo and Son Na Eun from APink and the twins from Boyfriend. Sulli from f(x) and Suzy from Miss A study here too, but they’re barely ever here because of their packed schedules. There's others around too, but I don't remember all of them. Exo’s Kai and Shinee’s Taemin graduated last year," she almost mumbles the last part.

"Cool," I say, and we move on to other topics. We talk a little more and exchange phone numbers so we can get in touch later. After we’re done eating, we put our trays away and go back to the class so Jun can start catching me up on what they've been doing in class. As we walk out of the hall, I look at the table Mi Ran had pointed out to me before and see Exo's maknae eating lunch with a few friends, mostly girls. But they look comfortable with each other and seem to be making jokes at each other’s expense. I smile at the sight. I'm pleasantly surprised because I'd somehow expected the idols to be cold and aloof with the other students. That should teach me not to judge people without even knowing them.

We have a music lesson after lunch, and the class seems to have been working on an acapella routine. I was allowed to just observe for today to get the hang of things, and it looks like fun. I’m a bit nervous about singing in front of so many people… But at least I won’t be singing solo, thank god!

“If you are going to the trainee centre as well,would you like to walk together?” I ask shyly after school. Mi Ran looks a little uncomfortable as she replies, “Actually, I train at the main building…”

“Wow, really? That’s awesome!” I half-shout, impressed with my new friend. “You must be really good then!”

She smiles embarrassedly and says, “I guess they think I am…”

“Does that mean you’re going to debut soon?”

“No, I’ve just been there for a few months now. The training is just more intense and there’s other stuff we learn as well.”

“Cool! Are the instructors scary?” I ask, bursting with curiosity.

She laughs at that, “Actually, yeah, they’re a little bit scarier than the ones back at the trainee center. It took me a while to get used to the pressure and expectations at first.”

We walk together until we have to go our separate ways and I head to the trainee centre in a happy mood. Somehow, actually knowing someone who made it to the main building makes me feel like I actually have a chance of doing the same. It doesn’t make it any easier of course, just makes me more hopeful and optimistic.

This mindset only lasts a few hours into the practice schedule before I’m dead tired. Now that school is occupying a chunk of my time, I have a much more hectic schedule. Practice for six hours after school, including the various classes and training lessons, and my individual practice on top of that means that I’ll probably be getting only 5-6 hours of sleep every night. Argh..! My precious sleep! I’m going to miss you… Good thing I already warned the others at the dorm that I might be a bit cranky while I’m getting used to the new routine.

By the end of the day, I am ready to sleep for two days straight but of course I don’t have that option. The next morning, I barely wake up on time thanks to my five alarms and Jun shaking me awake just as I’m about to fall back asleep after turning my last alarm off. We quickly reheat some food and eat as we walk to school. I get to class and quickly pull out my books and start going over what Mi Ran had shown me yesterday.

She gives me a smile as she enters, dumping a file on my desk.

“Your notes.”

“Thank you!!” I stuff them in my bag. I can get them photocopied at the trainee center and give them back to her later.

We are both studying on our own when one of the students who talked to me yesterday comes over.

“I see the resident nerd has converted the newbie as well, eh?” he smirks.

“As you can see.” I say, smiling brightly. Hopefully he will leave us alone if he doesn’t get the reaction he’s hoping for. Mi Ran stiffens next to me, and avoids eye contact with the guy. I just turn back to my books and ignore the guy still standing there.

“You said you were a trainee at SM right? You can come hang out with us instead of that nerd, if you want. We’re just over there,” he points to a group chatting near the door.

“I’m perfectly happy where I am, but thanks for the invite… er,” I trail off, unable to remember the guy’s name.

“Min Joon. Go Min Joon. Fine, if you want to be bored to death with that nerd, then go right ahead!” he scoffs and stalks away.

Jeez. Some people are just plain rude. I can’t help but shake my head at his back. Mi Ran still has her head down, eyes unfocused.

“Hey, you okay there?” I ask her, a bit concerned.

“Huh? O-oh, yeah, I’m fine,” she says, finally looking at me. “He always does that every time I make friends in the class. And they’ve always accepted his invitation so far. I’m just really surprised is all.”

“Why would he do that? Are you guys childhood enemies?” I ask, half-jokingly. That makes her laugh and she grins at me.

“No, I think he’s just really immature. I declined the invitation to hang with them because I had lots of syllabus to catch up on when I first joined, and he took it very personally. They don’t bother me or anything except the occasional verbal taunts. He just makes it so that it’s hard for me to make friends. Not that that’s very hard. I mean, who would want to study when they could be having fun instead?”

“Intelligent people like us, that’s who!” I retort, sticking my tongue out at her. She laughs and pokes my nose with her finger. “Hey!” I whine like a kid. I like Mi Ran. She’s a really sweet girl, and seems to have a good head on her too.

“But you know what this means though, don’t you?” I ask her, suddenly serious.

“What?” she asks somewhat apprehensively.

“I’ve decided I like you. So now you’re never going to be rid of me. Too bad for you!”

“I guess I could do worse,” she jokes, running her eyes up and down over me. We both burst out laughing at that, causing the Min Joon guy’s group to look over at us curiously. We settle down soon enough and go back to studying with smiles on our faces, all warm and tingly inside from our newly formed friendship. I think my last good friends like this were Chae-young back in Busan, and Ho-dong Oppa, but I was really young back then, so I’m not too sure they count. I’ve never had really close friends since moving to Seoul, so I’m really excited that Mi Ran and I are getting along so well.

We have a dance class first thing in the morning and we make our way there once the bell rings. I learn that there will be a showcase later on in the year that everyone’s been preparing for, since there will definitely be casting agents from different companies at the event. I also learn that Mi Ran is absolutely brilliant on the dance floor. Remember when I said that I can’t move my body naturally to the music unless I practice the routine a zillion times? Well, I don’t think I’ll ever move like her even I practice until I spit up blood.

I notice that Min Joon and several of the boys can’t take their eyes off of her when she’s dancing. She’s so charismatic that all eyes are naturally drawn to her performance, the other dancers somehow relegated to the background despite the fact that they’re doing the exact same routine as Mi Ran. I clap enthusiastically when they’re done, and I’m not the only one.

“That was awesome! Omigod, how do you move like that?! I’m such a big fan now. You’ll have to give me an autograph so I can sell it later when you become famous!” I tell her, only half-joking when she comes to stand next to me again.

She blushes a bright red, but smiles at me eagerly. “Was it really good? I’ve been practicing a lot for the assessment this time because I heard that they might be forming a girl group soon.”

“Hmm…” I doubt I’d even be considered as a possible candidate. I’ve only been singing for little more than a month now, even though In Na Eunni said I’d improved a lot. Wouldn’t hurt to try harder though, since I do want to debut some day.

I look at Mi Ran and say, “Yep, it was really good! I couldn’t take my eyes off of you,” thumping her on the back.

The next morning, I bring up the topic with Jun on the way to school.

“Mi Ran was saying that they might be forming a new girl group soon…”

“Yeah, I heard. But sometimes they spread these rumors just to rile our competitive spirits up and get everyone to work harder. After a while, you start getting used to news like this too. Just do your best at the assessment, and don’t stress about it too much.”

“That seems almost cruel, though. Getting everyone’s hopes up like that…”

She just shrugs impassively, “That’s how it is in this company. And most other entertainment companies, I should think.”

I mull over it as we walk silently and decide to just work hard at what I can and hope for the best. I feel like this is becoming my go-to answer for everything these days. Oh well, as long as it works…