A/N

I'm ba-ack

sorry for taking so long, i had finals and school but I'm finally free so hopefully I'll be updating more often. Please enjoy.

A/N #2: This chapter takes place around January/February 2007

“I have a good feeling about it this time Tae Yeon,” Yu Ri declared, throwing herself on the couch. They were in Soo Young and Jessica’s dorm room along with Hyo Yeon.

“Could it be? there's too many of us, Yu Ri. Someone’s gonna get cut, I know it!” Jessica mumbled.

“Who? Me? Hwan Hee? Fany?” Hyo Yeon cut her off.

“I don’t wanna sound mean but I don’t think Chan Mi is going to make it. She messed up a lot of steps during the revision,” Soo Young thought out loud.

“It’s okay, she is still young, ” Yu Ri said.

“Well yeah, but she’s trained for so long, meanwhile that girl Soon Kyu came out of nowhere and is definitely making the cut,” Jessica hissed.

“How are you so sure?” Tae Yeon asked suddenly taking an interest in the conversation.

“Rumor has it—"

"You and your rumors, Soo Yeon," Yu Ri rolled her eyes.

"—Lee Soon Kyu is Lee Soo Man’s niece” Jessica finished.

“Nah, I bet it’s just a rumor” Hyo Yeon brushed it off.

“But what if it isn’t?” Jessica asked. “Wouldn’t everything make sense? Like how can someone jusr walk in and *BAM* debut?”

"You're brilliant, Soo Yeon!" Soo Young cackled.

“Soon Kyu’s nice, I like her!” Tae Yeon mumbled. "And she has a good voice."

“Oh, Taengoo, always thinking the best of others,” Jessica said grabbing Tae Yeon’s cheeks to which she responded by violently moving away.  Defending herself from Jessica, Taeyeon found a pillow and threw it at her.  However, her aim was off and the pillow landed on the coffee table, causing the glasses of water spill on the floor and shatter.

“Yah! Soo Yeon, stop provoking that monster. One day, she's going to bite back and you’re not gonna like it,” Yu Ri cried but Jessica just rolled her eyes in response.

 “Yeah, Soo Yeon!” Soo Young joined in on the teasing. Tae Yeon chuckled, she agreed with Jessica, she was harmless.

“Anyway, whatever happens tomorrow, I hope at least all 5 of us make it,” Tae Yeon grinned.

“What about Yoon Ah!” Yu Ri yelled. “What about Stephanie?”

“Yoon Ah’s pretty much confirmed,” Tae Yeon giggled. “No need to worry about her.”

“Fany? She still might not make it, her Korean isn't perfect yet and her voice has been cracking a lot lately,” Hyo Yeon pointed out, laughing mockingly at the last part.

"I couldn't care less if she made it or not…" Taeyeon grumbled under her breath.

"Isn't Stephanie like your "bestie" or something?" asked Hyo Yeon.

“Ppany and I— aren’t on the best terms right now,” Tae Yeon confessed.

“Again?! Tae Yeon, you need to stop being so petty and just let things go. Holding a grudge like that is not healthy,” Jessica lectured Tae Yeon who grumbled, she knew Jessica was right.

“You two are so close, if only you’d put your differences aside,” Yu Ri sided with Jessica.

 “I’ll never forget how happy you two were when you were added to the debuting team,” Hyo Yeon wiped a fake tear from her cheek.

“I’ll talk to her tonight, okay?” Tae Yeon promised. “I shouldn’t have regrets with whatever happens tomorrow.”

 “Please do, Kim,” Jessica begged.

“Ppany?” Tae Yeon mumbled as she closed the door behind her, entering the dorm. “Are you awake?”

“What do you need, Kim Tae Yeon?” Stephanie asked coldly as she was laid on the couch reading a romance novel. Tae Yeon smiled, typical Stephanie.

“Look, I’m sorry I blew up on you the day before yesterday, I was having a bad day and I just...lost control…I guess,” Tae Yeon blurted out, cringing at her lousy apology.

“And you’re apologizing—why?”

“Ppany, we don’t know what will happen tomorrow and I want to make sure that no matter what happens, things will be okay between us.”

“So you’re saying you don’t think I’ll make the line-up? Tae Yeon, I know my voice cracks sometimes but I’m still one of the vocalists just like you. We have the same training period, same age...honestly, I think that if I’m getting kicked out of group A, you’re getting kicked out along with me.”

Tae Yeon wanted to argue that she was, as a matter of fact, a better vocalist than her but chose not to as it would only make matters worse.

“That’s not what I meant!” Tae yeon yelled.

“Then what did you mean?” Stephanie sat up, glaring at Tae Yeon.

“I mean, that I’m sorry, okay? I want to be friends again cause I hate fighting and we always fight about stupid things,” Tae Yeon confessed.

Tiffany finally put her book down to stand and face Tae Yeon with a heavy sigh, “I forgive you.” Walking towards Tae Yeon who was fidgeting by the door, “hell I was never actually angry in the first place, but you need to grow up and learn to control your temper. One of these days, you’ll blow up on someone and they won’t be as forgiving as I will or worse, someone will blow up on you and you’ll never forgive them.”

“I—know, I know,” Tae Yeon admitted defeat, Stephanie was right. Tae Yeon relented and walked up to Stephanie to give her a tight hug.

“I’m sorry, Ppany” Tae Yeon mumbled pathetically. She knew this could be the last night they’d spend as roommates and she wanted to make the most of it.

“Wanna order pizza?” Stephanie suggested.

“But— we’re not allowed to eat pizza!” Tae Yeon broke away from the hug.

Come on, Tae Yeon. They’ll never find out,” Stephanie winked as she reached for the phone. “Pepperoni, right?”

“Yeah” Tae Yeon nodded. That girl – or food – had some sort of power over her and Tae Yeon couldn’t say no.

“The examination was successful and we have chosen the final debuting group,” one of the taller examiners announced. Tiffany and Jessica were off to the side squeaking in excitement.

“Unfortunately, not all of you made it into the group,” he frowned. “Only nine of you will debut as SM Entertainment’s newest girl group, So Nyuh She Dae”

Hyo Yeon let out a loud gaging cough. After hearing the name, she suddenly didn’t feel like debuting anymore. Chan Mi and Hwan Hee exchanged glances and giggled while Ju Hyun had to bite her lip in order to not laugh along with them.

“Era of Maidens, seriously?” Yu Ri whispered to Soo Young who just shrugged with a huge grin on her face.

Ignoring the small uproar caused by this announcement, the female examiner cleared . Standing to attention, the girls stopped laughing to realize that only 9 of the 11 girls were debuting.

“Now, as you might have noticed, Park So Yeon is not here. Due to personal reasons, she has decided not to pursue idol life before finishing her studies so she has been removed from the line up.”

Yoon Ah let out a loud sigh, she had been worrying because So Yeon hadn’t shown up, so this was the reason! Yoon Ah couldn’t help but feel bothered that no one else noticed her absence, yet she couldn’t blame them, they were too occupied worrying about themselves.

“I will call your names and as I do, you will step forward and will be given your contracts. You must bring it to my office signed by a parent or guardian before Monday next week. Handing it in will officially seal your spot as a member of the group,” the female examiner continued to explain.

“After you are called, you will step out of the room.”

The girls all nodded.

“The first member I’m calling was chosen because of her vocal ability, she will be the leader of the group. You will respect her no matter the age difference.”

The girls nodded again. Logically it was an ’89 liner or Soo Young – who has trained the longest. However this information only eliminated a handful of hopefuls; Ju Hyun, Yoon Ah, Chan Mi and Hwan Hee.

“Please help me welcome the new leader of So Nyuh She Dae, Kim Tae Yeon.”

Tae Yeon couldn’t hold back her shock. She reasoned that she would make the team but leader? The title held so much weight and she wasn’t sure she’d be able to handle such a responsibility. She always assumed So Yeon would be the leader of the group since she was the oldest but since So Yeon had quit...

Finally making her way to the front, Tae yeon shook all of the examiners’ hands and took the contract with a heavy heart and a small smile before leaving room. As soon as the door was closed, she slid down the wall onto the floor with a loud 'thump'.

Finally, after 3 years, she was debuting.

It wasn’t long before Jessica came out. They both smiled at each other widely.

"Tae Yeon! We did it! We're debuting together!" Jessica whispered.

Tae Yeon felt like crying. There had always been an unspoken promise between the two of them that they'd do anything in order to debut together. Of course there were times when she doubted that would ever happen. Jessica had been like a safety net for her, it was true that she had a strong personality, but deep inside she was caring and always put her friends before her. In a way, she was also Tae Yeon's conscience and her guide.

Debuting. It was a tad overwhelming for Tae Yeon.  What initially seemed like a far off dream when she first joined the company, had finally become a reality.

After Jessica, the rest of the "crew" came marching out.

Hyo Yeon stepped out next proudly announcing she was the next BOA, then Soo Young strutted through the door claiming she knew since the very beginning the four of them would be the first to get called out. Then came Yu Ri who was basically biting her nails while everyone assured her Yoon Ah would make it too; then came out Yoon Ah walking out calmly as Yuri almost pushed her off balance with a hug and Tae Yeon swore she had never seen Yu Ri so relieved.

“Only three left,” Soo Young told the other girls as they sat on the ground, leaning against the wall, waiting for their future group members to come out.

“Who’s missing?” Yu Ri asked.

“Hwan Hee, Stephanie, Chan Mi, Soon Kyu and Ju Hyun,” Yoon Ah answered.

The door opened again and the girls saw Ju Hyun leave the practice room, looking visibly shocked.

“I did it, unnies.” Almost pale, Ju Hyun looked extremely surprised and the girls quickly stood up to hug baby Ju Hyun.

As they hugged, Tae Yeon thought of cute Hwan Hee and Chan Mi. Although she doubted both of them would be able to make it now with their age and the fact that this new girl appeared; Soon Kyu was a good singer with a lot of potential but she hadn’t been there for even 6 months… Then again, what about Stephanie? Would she be able to make it too? Tae Yeon wasn’t so sure anymore.

After minutes of anticipation, the door creaked open and all of the heads turned. It was Stephanie waving at them shyly, they all hugged happily. Tae Yeon could hardly hold back her tears of joy and relief that Stephanie made it.

“Only one girl left,” Hyo Yeon said.

“I’m telling you, it’s that Soon Kyu chick,” Jessica hissed.

“Nah, it’s Hwan Hee,” Hyo Yeon responded, "I trust my girl"

The others couldn’t help but shake their heads, poor Chan Mi. She was definitely going to be cut.

“Um, Unnies” Ju Hyun said shyly as she pointed at the girl standing before them. Jessica hit Hyo Yeon in arm because she was always right. Lee Soon Kyu, rumored to be Lee Soo Man’s niece, was the ninth member of So Nyuh Shi Dae.