Minyeon, Jaemi, Byulhee, and Lìxúe were assembled in one of the rooms in the SM building. In the northeast corner of the room was a piano where Lìxúe sat, already busying herself with playing the notes of one of their newly composed songs. Jaemi and Byulhee stood nearby, singing along with Lìxúe and making edits to the music sheets. Minyeon was positioned at a drum set, giving the song a beat as she sang along. Cameras and microphones were scattered about the room, recording everything they were doing so as to be edited to the show later.

Minyeon ceased playing the drums and turned to regard her fellow band mates. “I think that Sijin should sing that part. I think it will fit well with her vocals.”

“Her register would be really nice right there,” agreed Lìxúe with a nod.

“Agreed,” added Jaemi, making a note on the music sheets.

Byulhee tapped her pen against the music sheets, pointing to a specific set of lyrics. “Also, I think it would be good if we hold the note longer here at the end of the verse. Feels kinda rushed.”

Jaemi scribbled down the notes. “Also, if we—”

The door to the room swung open, effectively cutting off Jaemi from speaking as a voice rang out through the room.

“And here we are!” cried Leeteuk holding open the door as Donghae filmed him with a small camera. Sungmin followed close behind them.

“It looks like they’re already hard at work,” said Donghae, turning the camera to face himself. He swept the camera around, capturing all of the women as they watched the newcomers. “Everyone say ‘hi’!” he said in a cheery voice.

“Hi!” The girls waved to the camera, smiles adorning their faces.

“We’re here to help them write and compose the songs for their album,” explained Leeteuk as Donghae turned the camera to face him. “Since we’re all—”

As Leeteuk rambled on, Jaemi turned her head away from them, rolling her eyes once her face was not in view of the cameras. “Camera ,” she mouthed to Byulhee.

Byulhee’s lips cracked into a smile and she covered to stifle an oncoming laugh.

Finally, after the boys were finished introducing themselves and their task, they all settled about in chairs, ready to begin working.

"So, this is one of the songs we've been working on," stated Minyeon, pulling out several sheets from a black folder and placing them on the table. "We need some help with the lyrics and the music still needs to be composed. We have an idea of how the music should go though."

"Can I see?" asked Donghae with a smile, holding out a hand.

Minyeon passed the lyrics to him. "There's a music sheet in the back where we started composing the music." 

Donghae began to look over the lyrics with both Leeteuk and Sungmin leaning in to see as well. Donghae's smile grew. "This is good." His eyes continued to to scan the pages. "Really good." He glanced up from the papers. "Who wrote this?" he asked, lifting his head as he tapped a section of the lyrics.

Byulhee placed her palms on the table, leaning forward to see the portion to which he was referring. "Which part?"

Donghae swiveled the page so she could see. "This part. Is it a rap?"

Byulhee grinned. "Yep. Jaemi and I wrote it." 

"And it's being said in between the singing lyrics right here?" he inquired, pointing to several lines.

Byulhee nodded. "Yep."

Donghae grinned, turning the page back to face him. "I like it. It's good. I think Eunhyuk would like it too. Usually he and Shindong write the raps."

"So, does that mean we get their approval too?" asked Lìxúe with a cheeky smile.

Donghae chuckled. "I--"

"Who wrote this part?" asked Sungmin, interrupting Donghae as he pointed to another section of the lyrics. 

Minyeon tilted her head, leaning forward. "I did," she said simply. 

His eyes darted from her back to the page. "Oh."

A chill went through the air. 

Donghae exchanged glances with Leeteuk. 

Minyeon sat up straighter. "Is there something wrong with it?" she asked. 

"It just seems like it could be better. That's all," he said in a quiet voice.

The air tensed around them. 

Donghae shifted in his seat, shuffling the papers slightly. "I think they're fine," he said, trying to diffuse the tension.

Minyeon's eyes never wavered from Sungmin. "What about the lyrics could be better?" she inquired simply, tilting her head slightly.

"They're just not very good," he said, his eyes meeting hers. 

Minyeon meerly blinked at his response, waiting for him to elaborate. When he could offer no further explanation or criticism, she simply shrugged. "I guess that's why I was a songwriter for SM for years," she muttered sarcastically. "Or did you forget that?" she tilted her head, eyeing him. 

His eyes faltered under her gaze and he looked back at the lyrics in front of Donghae. 

"If there's something specific that needs to be fixed, I'll fix it," stated Minyeon, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. 

"I think the lyrics are alright," said Leeteuk with a nervous laugh. "We should continue." The three boys continued to pour over the lyrics, the tension in the air slowly dissipating. 

Donghae tapped his pencil on one of the lines. "This part--'there only remains my heart which cannot win'--it can be stronger." He scribbled down on the margins. "Maybe something like, 'there only remains my heart, which cannot defeat my head'. What do you think?" He raised his head, glancing about the room.

Jaemi nodded. "I like it. It shows that there really is a struggle between her heart and her mind."

"And in the end, the head wins," mutters Sungmin almost inaudibly. 

Donghae scanned the rest of the page. "I think the rest of this is great. I would just switch this line and this."

Leeteuk nodded. "I think that will work." After looking over the lyrics once more, Leeteuk jumped from the chair, taking the unfinished music sheet. "Let's see if we can work on the music," he said, heading toward the piano.

Sungmin nodded and stood up, heading toward the drum set. 

"We'll have you sing the first couple stanzas and see how that sounds with the music you wrote so far," said Donghae as he stood and made his way near the piano.

The women stood up and made their way over to the piano, taking their lyric sheets in hand and preparing to sing.  

*****

Sijin picked at her fingers nervously as her eyes darted from the music sheets in front of her to Aeyeong as she sang. 

"It's time to say everything," sang Aeyeong, her clear, soprano voice filling the room. "In the end, it's a--"

"Stop! Stop," said their vocal instructor, rapping his pen against the music stand. "No, no. That was terrible. Were you even trying to hit the notes?" he asked, sarcasm dripping from his mouth. 

Sijin's eyes widened in surprise at his outburst. From what she could tell, Aeyeong had sung the notes perfectly. She felt her heart quicken. If he could not find satisfaction in Aeyeong's performance, than how was she ever to sing herself? 

Aeyeong smiled politely at the instructor. "I'm sorry. It's been awhile since I've done this. Which part was not correct?" she asked simply, eyeing the vocal teacher with an even expression. 

The instructor set his jaw. "The whole thing." 

Henry, who was sitting nearby at the piano, raised a hand. "Excuse me, but I think that either you or us have the wrong music sheets."

"What do you mean?" the instuctor spat, shooting Henry a pointed look. 

Henry's eyes widened slightly. "Um, she sounded fine to me."

The vocal instuctor made no response, turning his head toward the next member. "Sijin, your turn. Sing the next stanza."

Sijin nodded as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She could feel all the different pairs of eyes staring at her as she took the music sheets in hand. She saw the red blinkling lights of the cameras in her peripheral. She took a couple deep breaths, steadying her nerves.

Henry began to play the notes on the piano.

Sijin began. "Your eyes that pretend to be sur--" 

"No, no!" the instructor interrupted her, sending her a glare. "Do it again."

Sijin nodded, her heart palpatating quickly within her chest. She looked down at the music sheets in her hands. Her hands trembled slightly. The black notes and the lyrics began to blur on the page. She blinked, trying to fend off the tears that threatened to fall. She closed her eyes momentarily, drawing a shaky breath. "Your eyes that prete--" 

"Stop!"

She jumped at his outburst.

Kyuhyun and Yesung, who were sitting nearby, exchanged glances. Ryeowook stared with wide eyes.

Tears welled up in Sijin's eyes. She looked at the instructor, his image becoming blurry as the tears began to fall. "W-what did I do wrong?"

The instructor's eyes flashed and his nostrils flared. He opened his mouth to speak, but a sound from a nearby phone caught him off guard. Fishing it out of his pocket, the instructor began to leave the room, muttering, "Be back in five."

As soon as the instructor had left, Kyuhyun walked over to the door, locking it. "Finally," he turned with a smirk. "Thought he'd never leave." 

Sijin tried to stifle her tears, wiping them with the back of her sweater sleeve. 

"Oh, darling, it's okay," Aeyeong said, pulling Sijin into a hug. "It's alright. You sang just fine." She patted Sijin on the back comfortingly. 

"You both did," Ryeowook said, shaking his head as he glanced toward the door. 

"C'mon," Henry began, standing up from the piano bench. "We'll finish your vocal practice." He glanced at the cameras about the room. "It's not like they can use any of that footage."

Aeyeong pulled away from Sijin, pulling out a tissue from her purse. She dabbed it underneath Sijin's eyes. "There you are," she said with a smile.

Sijin returned the smile and took a deep breath to compose herself once more.

Yesung stepped up beside Sijin, sending her a smile. "Want to sing it together once?" he asked, trying to allay some of her nervousness.

Sijin nodded. "Alright."

Yesung smiled and looked over Sijin's shoulder at the lyrics.

Henry stepped up to the piano.

As the notes began to play, Sijin felt her being begin to relax as she felt Yesung's presence by her.

"Your eyes that pretend to be surprised," sang both Sijin and Yesung.

"You don't love me," sang Aeyeong and the rest of the guys in the room.

"It's obvious like last night's drama," continued Sijin and Yesung. Yesung pulled away with a smile, preparing to let Sijin sing alone. 

"You don't love me," the others echoed.  

"Deceiving me any further is too much," sang Sijin, her pretty voice carrying through the expanse of the room. Her eyes widened when she realized that Yesung was no longer singing with her.

"You don't long me," the rest of the room sang.

"You don't love me," Sijin sang, her eyes lighting up. It had been a long time since she had really done anything like this. It felt good again. 
 

*****

Nell sat in front of the mirror in one of the practice rooms inside of SM, jotting down some notes in a notebook. The boombox on the floor blasted the demo of their debut song throughout the room. Cameras stood about the room, capturing the beginnings of what would become their dance. She, Eunhyuk, and Shindong had been working on the choreography for quite awhile. They had incoporated many retro dance moves into the choreography to create a dance that evoked both a sense of classiness and iness.

Eunhyuk and Shindong stood near one of the chairs in the room. "I think that while four of the girls are in the four corners of the stage dancing on the chairs with the guys around them," began Shindong. "The other should be dancing in the middle."

Nell looked up from her notes. "The three in the middle should be all synchronized, but the ones in each corner should have their own flair."

"I agree." Eunhyuk stood up on the chair with a lopsided grin. "They should be y too." He rolled his shoulders back, ing his chest out before rolling it back in, snakiing his upper torso forward and back suggestively.

Nell rolled her eyes. ert. She rewound the music on the boombox and then pressed play about three quarters into the song. She stood up and made her way to the middle of the room, turning to face the mirror. "The three in the middle should start off with something like this." She waited for the correct timing in the song and then began. She put her hands out one at a time and then proceeded to do a simplified version of the twist. She put her hands out again as if holding each hand out in a way as to look as if she were telling someone to stop. Then she lifted her shoulders up and down, creating a smooth, bouncing motion. She continued with twisting again. 

Shindong nodded. "I think after that the girls in the middle should move forward and the rest of the guys fill in behind them and they all continue to dance."

"But what about the ones in the corners? It might look weird on stage," Eunhyuk said, staring in the mirror as he tried to visualize what the stage would appear. 

Nell looked about her, pondering the matter. "We'll keep the two that are in the down stage corners. The two in the up stage corners will join the others in the main dance."

The boys agreed and Nell once more took note, thankful that the boys seemed to be on her side in all the decisions.

*****

The dance practice room was finally devoid of all cameras and microphones. Nell was finally alone in the room, not even Eunhyuk nor Shindong were there anymore. They had left  a little over half an hour ago.

Nell took a deep breath in satisfaction. The choreography was done. She knew what their choreography would be like for both the live performances and the music video. She smiled, knowing that the dance would be perfect for their concept. 

She reached into her bag and pulled out her pointe shoes. After placing them upon her feet, she stood up from her spot on the floor and made her way to the boombox. She plugged her phone into it and scrolled through her music, finding the theme to Swan Lake. She pressed the "play" button and then stepped away, giving herself some space. 

She danced, falling gracefully in time with the beautiful chords of the music. As she lost herself somewhere between a pirouette and a rond de jambe en l'air, she felt a presence within the room. Placing her foot back on the ground, she glanced in the mirror at her intruder.

Her lips curved upwards in a smile as she caught Siwon's reflection in the mirror. "Hey, Cap. How was the magazine photoshoot?"

He smiled back at her, the dimples on either side of his face sinking into his cheeks. "Good. How's the choreography going?"

"Good!" she responded cheerily.  "It's finished."

"It is?" he asked, his eyes widening. "Already?"

"Yeah," she replied, her eyes twinkling slightly as she sat down, taking off her pointe shoes and replacing them with her regular shoes. "It went really well today." After putting on her shoes, she turned off the music and unplugged her phone from it. 

"Are you ready to go on our date then?" Siwon asked with a polite smile as he walked over to her. 

"Yes," she responded, picking up the boombox.

"Allow me," he said, taking the boombox from her hands easily. He held it with one hand, pressing it against his left side as if he were carrying an American football. He offered his right arm to Nell.

Smiling, she entwined her arm with his. The two left the room and began to head through the almost empty halls of SM, careful not to be caught by anyone as they made their way outside.

****

Sijin made her way through the corridors of SM, snaking her way towards the room where some of the other Starlets were working on their new songs. Upon reaching the room, she opened the door and cautiously stepped inside. 

The room had been cleared of the cameras and microphones some time ago and all that remained were the rather tired looking women seated at and around the piano. 

Byulhee looked up from the music sheets and her eyes immediately lit up. "Sijin!" she cried in a singsong voice. "Pull up a chair." She motioned to one of the empty chairs in the room. 

Jaemi glanced up from her notes, smiling at the newcomer. "Hey, Sijin. How's it going?"

"Good," Sijin said with a small smile, sitting down in a nearby chair. 

"How did the vocal practice go?" asked Lìxúe sweetly. 

"It was a little bumpy," answered Sijin honestly, tucking a hair behind her ear. "But it got better." She glanced down shyly, recalling how kind Yesung had been to her. She and Yesung had been good friends back when they were trainees, so it was nice that he was just as sweet and kind now as he was back then. 

"That's good," said Minyeon with a small smile. "That's kind of how it was here."

Sijin yawned slightly, tired after the long day of vocal practice. 

Jaemi stifled a yawn herself and looked down at her phone, checking the time. "I think it's time that we head home. We got a lot done today and we have early schedules tomorrow."

Minyeon stood up. "That's true." 

As the girls gathered up their belongings and headed out the door, their eyes were tired, but their smiles were still bright. Though the day had its challenges, they were beginning to live their dream.

Author's Note
This chapter was originally longer, but then I realized it would be better to split it into to two chapters. The good news with that is, at least you get this update sooner than later. :P Hopefully I can get the next chapter written as soon as possible. Another plus to getting sick again: more time to write. :D