THE PRESENT

Woohyun shot a glance at Hoya. "Come to think of it, I never really knew you were into being a celebrity until then." he confessed. "And I didn't really think much of it then because I was too engrossed in my being a Woolim trainee."

Hoya shrugged. "I didn't expect anything else for that matter." he admitted, surprisingly not sarcastically, which made it hurt more. "You were too wrapped up in your matters for most of the time to care about other people."

Woohyun's face hardened. "Yah."

"That's true." Sunggyu nodded. "You were too caught up in your own dream, your girlfriends, your own selfish needs... that's why you didn't even realise that your best friend was in love with you."

That hit Woohyun hard. Even now, he still couldn't believe that Yoomi was in love with him.

That thought never occurred to him, that she may think of him anything more than a brother. He wasn't ready to admit it, but he felt a little regret. Why didn't he see that in the first place?

*But so what if I did know?* he asked himself. *It's not like I knew what to do.*

"But you're forgiven for not noticing things about your best friend." Hoya patted Woohyun's shoulder. Woohyun raised his brows. "To be fair, I kept it rather well, such that even Yoomi didn't even know. Although it may be because she only looked your way."

The guilt built up in Woohyun's chest again. "Yah." he shoved Hoya away gently. "Are you trying to make me die for real and not let me back to my unconscious body by killing me with guilt?" he snarled.

Hoya smirked as he turned back to the screen. "If you're already feeling guilty now, then you can be prepared to die a few more times."

The parents weren't too keen on the idea that their sons got in to some unknown company to become trainees. Time was one big concern, and the parents were worried that with this foolish dream both boys harboured, their studies would suffer.

Yoomi helped both of them by offering her help in helping to tutor in their studies. The parents trusted her after all. She had a grade A on all her subjects....maybe except math. That was a totally different thing altogether.

The parents agreed to let their sons try out this...dream of theirs for a while. If they saw that their studies weren't affected and they could cope, they would agree with them continuing with the training and practice.

Woohyun and Hoya were really excited the next day, since it was the first time they would be entering the company...AS TRAINEES. Oh the magical holy word.

Yoomi made them kimbap wrapped beautifully in some blue cloth to bring with them, lest they get hungry while training. Hoya noticed the cuts on her fingers immediately. He knew their female best friend wasn't really good in the kitchen and it must have taken a lot of her to make those kimbap for them.

"You shouldn't have." Hoya softened. "Look at your hands now." he frowned slightly.

Yoomi reddened and hid her hands behind her back. "It's nothing." she waved it away. "Take care of yourselves oppas. Don't work too hard that you faint or anything okay?"

Woohyun smiled and patted her head half-heartedly, because his girlfriend had come to send him to the company in that car her father owned. He soon ignored Yoomi and was chatting with his girlfriend and his "father-in-law". Yoomi could only watch as both her favourite oppas boarded Yoon Soyi's car and drove off.

Hoya waved to her and sent her a smile, while Woohyun completely forgot about her existence. Yoomi sighed. "Of course. In front of Yoon Soyi, I'm nothing." she mumbled.




To Woohyun and Hoya's surprise, the CEO of the company, called them over and a few other boys to his office once they entered. Some of them were new trainees like Woohyun and Hoya, while others were already there for a while.

"Hi boys." the CEO smiled warmly. "I have good news for you. It may be a little shocking to some of you since you only joined the agency today, but we saw talent in you, and we'd like to sign a contract. Fast."

The boys became restless as they gasped and whispered amongst themselves. A contract was what sealed the deal in the trainee world. A lot of the trainees worked all their school life in the agency, training and praciticing, but that contract never came to them and they never got to debut. In the end, they just got too old to get into any of the kpop groups and had to give up their dreams.

For them to get a contract this fast was a dream come true. It was a guarantee that they'd be able to stand on stage.

"The seven of you would be forming a group." the CEO told them. "You may not know each other right now, but there'll be time for you to get to know each other. I want to establish that you seven are a group, fast, so that when you train, you can already start working on your teamwork."

The boys nodded, listening intently.

"You seven will be called, Infinite." The CEO announced. The boys whispered amongst themselves, excited. "This is because, your charm has no limits, and so is your success. You leader will be Kim Sunggyu. Sunggyu, bring the boys out and introduce yourself and stuffs. I want you guys to warm up to each other at the end of fifteen minutes and meet back in the practice room."

A tiny eyed guy with fair skin nodded and gestured for the rest to follow along. Hoya and Woohyun looked at each other nervously. This was going to be their leader, and he sure didn't look like he was very nice.

However, they changed their views once they stepped out of the CEO's office.

"KYAAAAHHHH A CONTRACT!!!!" Sunggyu started jumping up and down and squealing like fangirl. Not only him, but another donkey looking guy and a girly looking guy both joined in the parade.

The other four of them looked at each other awkwardly for a few seconds before...

"KYAAAHHHHHH~~~~~" the seven of them cheered. "We're going to debut!!!"

Woohyun and Hoya were smiling so widely, it hurt. They never expected a contract. The contract had stated that they needed to go through a few years of training, but it didn't matter. Because they knew with that contract, at the end of those trainings, they could really have a chance to fufil their dreams.

Sunggyu cleared his throat. "Ahem." he smiled at them. "As you know, I'm Kim Sunggyu, and I'm going to be your leader. First things first, let's introduce ourselves and get to know each other better."

They got things started and soon they were fooling around like they knew each other for ages. Guys just had that talent in them not to get awkward. It's amazing.

Hoya and Woohyun found that Sunggyu, the donkey looking guy Dongwoo, and the girly Sungjong were trainees for a year already. They were really anxious to land in a  contract for fear that they might get kicked out. That's why they were so happy.

The other two trainees were newcomers like Hoya and Woohyun, who had just been discovered in the recent auditionings. They were Lee Sungyeol and Kim Myungsoo, and like Hoya and Woohyun, they were already friends who tried out at the auditions together. (MYUNGYEOL~~)

Hoya found the guys fun to hang out with, and could really picture them working together as a group to achieve their common dream. They had great personalities, and it was obvious what their characters were. Yoomi would have a great time getting to know these people.

"If only Yoomi were here." Hoya whispered to Woohyun. "I think she'd be great friends with Sungyeol. Both of them like coffee." he chuckled.

Woohyun bit his lip and thought for a while. "I...don't think she'll fit." he mumbled.

Hoya looked a little surprised at what Woohyun said. "Why?" he frowned. "She's a great girl. She'll fit in anywhere, except with es and s of course."

"I meant.." Woohyun looked flustered. "These guys are cool and good-looking, popular people. But Yoomi is-"

"A nerd?" Hoya finished for Woohyun, glaring at him. He was dumbfounded by what Woohyun thought. Of all people who despised Yoomi, he never expected Woohyun to look down on her.

"I don't mean that." Woohyun said quickly. "Pretend I never said anything."

Hoya just growled softly, not wanting to make a scene. He pretended to be interested in what the other Infinite members were talking about, but he was actually a little pissed to be paying attention to anyone.

Woohyun frowned. What made him say that? It sounded...like a jerk. To despise the very closest friend he made since seven. He never cared if she was a nerd or not, so why start now?

But as he looked around the other six good-looking boys, he couldn't help the thoughts that kept surfacing. The thoughts that Yoomi would never fit in. Because she wasn't good enough.

Woohyun shook his head. *Shut it, Nam Woohyun.*