Late Arrivals

A Coincidence (SHINee FanFic)

"We'll start rehearsing in the same order on the sheet. Since Big Bang hasn't showed up yet, we'll start with..(y/n)! You're up," Lee Soo-man instructed.

"Surprise, surprise, late again," Onew mumbled.

You sighed helplessly, as you took centre stage. Everyone was sat against the mirrored wall opposite you, ready to practice. No one ever wants to go first, but you knew you had no other choice. Hara played your backing track, and you began to sing, a bit quieter than you usually would due to nerves.

"What are you doing?! Why aren't you dancing? This is a full rehearsal. Project your voice and stop being so nervous!" Lee Soo-man shouted at you.

You nodded and Hara restarted the music for you. This time, you put all your effort into it, to prove that you belonged in the music business, and to impress the other companies of course. And you were enjoying it. After you finished, huffing, out of breath, you looked up to see shocked faces. Maybe they had underestimated you. Yet again, Lee Soo-man gave you no praise or encouragement, or even constructive criticism, just another nod. Everyone clapped enthusiastically for you, so you bowed in thanks.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Loud music was bursting through the door of the SM hall.

"I think that's where we're meant to be," Daesung said.

"What's going on in there? Is someone practising?" Taeyang asked.

They all struggled to get a look through the window on the door, pushing each other out of the way.

"Someone's performing!" Seungri said.

"She's not half bad either," T.O.P admitted.

"But who is she?" G-Dragon wondered.

"Well, we can't interrupt a performance like that!" Seungri insisted, backing away from the door.

"We'll just wait until she's finished then," G-Dragon suggested, lighting a cigarette.

Once the music had stopped, the noise was immediately replaced with applause. G-Dragon dropped his cigarette and squashed it on the floor with his foot, before following Taeyang into the hall.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You went to sit down next to Jonghyun, but you froze when you heard the door creak open. You quickly spun around, to see the infamous Big Bang. You almost had a heart attack right there and then, and you were blushing like an idiot. They were clapping for you. You bowed politely.

"Great performance, cutie! What's your name?" Taeyang smiled, making you go as red as a tomato.

"(Y/N)," You said. Jonghyun tugged your arm, sitting you down next to him.

"Since you've finally arrived, you can do your first song," Lee Soo-man said.

"Of course, sir!" T.O.P yelled light-heartedly, Daesung stifling a laugh next to him.

Lee Soo-man, however, didn't look like he appreciate the joke. Hara started their music, and they performed. They were certainly better than you. They were so well rehearsed and professional. It was as if all they did was sing and dance to that one song everyday. But you knew that wasn't true. Maybe if you worked hard, you might be able to reach their standard one day. You sat in awe watching them. Now you fully understood why they had so many dedicated fans. Afterwards, they recieved a standing ovation. They laughed it off as if it were nothing.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The almighty G-Dragon! Finally decided to grace me with your presence? What's so important?" Lee Soo-man teased relentlessly.

"I just wanted to ask you how you found her. Did she audition?"

"No.. actually. It was a mixture of good luck and timing," Lee Soo-man confessed.

"That combination usually creates the best things," G-Dragon chuckled to himself.

"Why are you so interested?"

"No reason," He smiled, walking back to watch the rest of the acts perform.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EXO had just finished their second song, which meant that you were next, and last. Everyone was exhausted, and just wanted to go home, including yourself. You had zero confidence with this song. If people listened to the lyrics, it would be like someone reading your diary. You regretted writing the lyrics. Jonghyun had told you that it needed to be on a personal level, but maybe you shouldn't have listened to him. You had never sung it in front of anyone before, which only made you more nervous. As you hesitated to go perform, Key told you to take a mint. And you did.

"(Y/N), have you written your other song, like I told you to?" Lee Soo-man asked impatiently.

"Yes," You replied simply.

You handed the lyrics over to him, and watched anxiously as he read through them. Once more, you got no reaction whatsoever from him. It was getting rather frustrating.

"You said it would be an acoustic with a guitar, so who's going to play for me? Because I don't know how to.." You asked.

"I haven't decided yet, so just sing for now,"

You sighed grumpily. He was going to make you sing acapella, with no starting note. How were you going to sing in the correct key? You wiped your brow, shakily.

"I'll happily do it for today," Someone with dark hair said.

Lee Soo-man nodded, and handed him a guitar.

"I'm Youngjae! Do you have the chords written out?" He asked.

"Here," You gave him your pieces of paper, which he propped up on a music stand.

He gave you a thumbs up, and you gave him an okay sign, holding your lyrics in your other hand. The first note was played, and you didn't need the lyrics any more, and your anxiety faded away. You took a deep breath, and began:

"It's so dark here, the light never comes,
Thinking of my future, is there one to come?
Don't say you won't stay by my side, just one last time,
Don't you leave me here alone,
Trapped in my mind all alone,
Why can't I find a way out?
All the voices seem to fade when you are here,
Cast me away, then we will both be free,
You pushed me aside,
Let me drown, let me die,
You pushed me aside, to flee,
Stop breaking the promises you made to me,
If I go crazy, will you understand?
If I lose my mind, will you still hold my hand?
As I walk around wasting time,
Avoiding the pressure, evading my mind,
Things falling apart, might not know when,
Barely holding it together,
Just better at playing pretend,
You picked me up when no one else was around,
You found me alone, lying down,
Lost my bearings, but my thoughts were still profound,
You kept me sane, and put me back on solid ground,"

You held the last note longer than you had planned, and the room was silent. You saw Taeyeon and Tiffany sniffling together, and your own vision blurred with tears. Were you almost crying?! That's stupid, you told yourself, holding the tears back. The lyrics weren't that sad anyway.

You looked hopefully at Lee Soo-man, and he smiled. He actually smiled! He had emotions! That's all you could ever hope for from a man of few words.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"She's even better than I first thought," Taeyang gasped.

"She sure is," G-Dragon agreed, taken aback by such an emotions song, sung with so much power, but purity at the same time. This is what music is meant to be like.

"Imagine what she could accomplish with YG.."

Like this story? Give it an Upvote!
Thank you!

Comments

You must be logged in to comment
JordiePi
#1
Chapter 6: Coming back and reading this about a year later... I still really like this story, I just wanted to give a little constructive criticism, if that's alright. Your writing style in these first few chapters (this is as far as I've re-read so far, so I'm only commenting on the story up to this point) seems a little fast-paced, though the story line runs smoothly. For a beginning writer, this isn't that much of a problem, though, and I sometimes struggle with pacing as well. I just wanted to suggest that in future stories, you read through and think about what things you can add to the story that make it run at a more believable speed. Please understand that I'm just trying to be helpful, and I hope you don't take this the wrong way. I do really enjoy this story, and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of it!

~Jordan
JordiePi
#2
Chapter 3: Oh wow, this is soo good! I'm hyperventilating with excitement... Breathe Jordan...

But seriously, this is really good!
herejusttoread #3
Chapter 20: Was excited when I saw your update. Such a good story. Fighting !!!
herejusttoread #4
Chapter 19: Wahh the story is so good. Keep it up. Can't wait for the next one .