*Notes: 

Um so yea. I hope you guys are educated on Daniel cuz *hint hint.*

ANYWAYS. Hi. Epic (multi-chaptered) Ongniel story coming your way from yours truly. Ok, so this is kind of ish like a prologue and the rest of the cast will be introduced in the second chapter. Also, this is in the PD101 universe, but events will happen out of order to fit into my story. K BYE~

 

“8 months,” Seongwoo thought as he subconsciously kicked a stone on the paved sidewalk, watching it skip away as it disappeared into a sewer grate.  Sighing at the loss, he glanced up and was shocked to find that he had wandered all the way to the other side of town.

Great, now I have to walk all the way back. 

Seongwoo slumped his shoulders even lower with his vision back on the ground.  He didn’t even notice he continued walking in the same direction, oblivious to the fact that he forgot to turn around back towards the company.

The 21-year-old had been a trainee at Fantagio for about 8 months, and needless to say, things weren’t going very well.  Seongwoo wanted his main focus to be dancing, but according to his dance coach, he didn’t have the talent.  His coach’s words echoed inside his head.  “You call that dancing?  You’re just awkwardly popping and flailing your limbs.  Forget about dancing and just focus on your singing,” 

No matter how hard Seongwoo tried, he just couldn’t get the hang of the choreographies that were assigned to him.  There were times his coach would be too busy, so he had to teach himself, which was a disaster.  Even if he had a coach to help him, it took him forever to get the dance moves right, not to mention actually remembering the choreography.  Because he was a slow learner, he was always behind the other trainees and had to stay and train when everyone else went back to the dorm to get a good night’s rest. 

Seongwoo was exhausted and on the verge of leaving the company.  With a heavy heart in hand, he continued his walk, or so he thought he would.  Something small and wet fell into his dark locks.  He ignored it.  It took two more droplets before Seongwoo lifted his head back to peek up at the grey sky, a perfect reflection of his mood.  It was beginning to rain. 

He picked up his pace as the rain grew heavier and heavier to find shelter in a crowded subway station.  Wanting to have his own space, he walked further into the building until he didn’t have to elbow his way through the crowd.  Not particularly having any destination in mind, a bright pink color on the wall caught his attention. 

As he got closer, he realized it was an ad for an idol.  Moving closer he read that the idol’s name was Kang Daniel, who was on a show called Produce 101.  Seongwoo was no stranger to the show; he had watched the female season out of curiosity, but had not had the time to tune in on the second one. 

Now that he had read the ad, he moved his attention to the actual idol.  His face was round but masculine, and there was a particular freckle underneath one of his eyes.  In appreciation, Seongwoo raised his hand to touch his own three triangular freckles on his cheek. 

Before he could take in more of the pink-haired boy, he felt a light tap on his right shoulder.  In a somewhat deep, husky voice, the stranger spoke, “Hey, would you mind taking a picture for me?” 

The startled brunette whipped around to face the person that was in his personal space.  Taking in his appearance, he was wearing a red beanie that forced his sandy blonde bangs down over his eyes.  A white facemask covered his mouth, not allowing Seongwoo to see his face properly.  He figured the taller boy was about his age, but was slightly intimidated by his widely built figure.  

“S-Sure.”  Seongwoo stuttered.  Not thinking properly, he took his phone out of his pocket and backed up to take the picture.  The boy looked a bit confused but held up two peace signs and posed for the camera anyway.  Seongwoo took a couple pictures and peered at them to make sure they weren’t blurry.  The intimidating feeling Seongwoo had at first was now gone as he looked at the boy’s eyes and how they completely disappeared when he smiled for the picture.  It was kind of cute in a way, a bigger guy like him with such a cute eye smile.

Seongwoo held out his phone for the boy to see.  The blonde nodded in satisfaction, “Do you think you could, uh, send those to me?”

Seongwoo blushed and scratched his head in embarrassment, just now realizing he had taken the pictures with his own phone.  “I’m so sorry, I didn’t even realize!” 

His heart leapt as the boy’s eyes disappeared once again when he smiled reassuringly, “It’s no problem!  I can just give you my number.”

Seongwoo’s ears turned even a darker shade of red as the boy listed off his number to him.  Taking another good look, he realized the guy was pretty attractive, and he couldn’t believe he was getting his number so easily.  What a of luck this was. 

Before Seongwoo could even send him the images, the boy was already starting to run in the opposite direction.  As he was running, he yelled back, “Sorry, I’m in a hurry!  Just send them whenever you get the chance and thanks again!” 

of luck my .  The familiar slump of the shoulders was back when he realized he didn’t even get the blonde’s name. 

Seongwoo walked back up to the ad, stared mindlessly at the idol’s name for a minute, and sat down in defeat.  “Kang Daniel, huh?” he pondered as he leaned his head back on the wall to look at the ad that was situated above him.  Maybe that guy was a fan of his?  Seongwoo chuckled.  Such a big guy like him oogling over a pink-haired idol amused the exhausted boy. 

As he sent the pictures to the guy, he wondered if he should add anything else.  Should he ask for his name?  Should he ask why he wanted the picture?  He didn’t want to be too weird, but his attraction to the guy was like an itch he couldn’t scratch.  In the end, he chickened out and decided just the pictures were enough.  He waited for a reply, but after a minute or two never got one. 

Seongwoo jerked in surprise as a group of girls came running and screeching from around the corner.  “Daniel oppa!  He’s here!  I think he went this way!”  A wide-eyed Seongwoo watched as the parade of fangirls, armed with their large- cameras, run through the station. 

Poor guy.  He better run for it.  As bad as he felt for this Daniel guy getting caught by the fans, Seongwoo couldn’t help but to feel a little envious.  He was a trainee, after all.  Having fans and his own fansites was something a trainee like him could only ever dream of, and the way things were going for him right now, it didn’t look like he was going to have his own fans anytime soon. 

 

Later that night Seongwoo found himself marathoning Produce 101, but he wouldn’t admit that it was because of a certain pink-haired idol or a mysterious blonde boy that he had run into that day.  He was merely curious, that was all.  The more he watched, the deeper and deeper he fell into the show and it’s contestants.  He had to admit there were a lot of talented trainees that even he would struggle to contend with. 

After watching the first round of eliminations, he realized that was the latest episode to have aired, so there were still 60 trainees left on the show and 6 episodes left until the top 11 were chosen.  There were times while he was watching that he imagined himself on the show, envisioning how he would compare to the others.  He thought it would be fun to live and participate with trainees from other companies and make new friends. 

There were certain trainees that really stuck out to him.  Park Jihoon, of course, because he was the #1 rank.  He was talented, cute, and full of charming aegyo.  The young Kim Samuel was another he had his eye on.  He supposed Samuel would be one of his rivals when it came to dancing and singing.  Seongwoo was pretty sure he could be a better center, though, and was confident about the charisma he had that Samuel lacked.   

The trainee that invaded his every thought, though, was Kang Daniel.  The reason was once that his ad motivated him to watch the show, but there was more to that now.  Daniel was his type:  tall, thick, and masculine, but kind and caring at the same time.  Seongwoo yearned to be able to perform with him someday.  Their styles and personality just… fit.  He knew they could be the best of friends or hopefully even something more. 

His imagination was getting to him, though.  Daniel was already super popular, whereas Seongwoo was just an unknown trainee.  He never thought he would become a fan of another trainee. 

Seongwoo shut his laptop and climbed into bed, his mind colored pink.  His last thought before drifting off to sleep was that he hoped to meet the blonde from the station again someday. 

 

The next morning came with a surprise as he was called to the CEO’s office. 

Shaking and heart racing, he knocked on the door.

“Come in,” a clear-cut voice announced.

Seongwoo bowed upon entering and took a seat as he was told to do so. 

The CEO was an average middle-aged man with round glasses that framed his square face.  He was known to be a kind man, but scary when angered.  He thoughtfully peered over his desk at Seongwoo,

“A wonderful opportunity has presented itself to us this morning, and we are giving you first choice because we think you are the most talented trainee we have here at Fantagio.”

Seongwoo stared.  An opportunity?

The CEO pressed on.  “Mnet contacted us, asking if we had a trainee we could put on their show.  Produce 101.  I’m sure you’ve heard of it, right?”

Seongwoo’s eyes widened.  This show was haunting him.  He nervously squeezed his sweaty hands into a fist in anticipation. 

“They had to ban one of the trainees from the show for ual harassment, so there’s an open seat and they’re offering it to us.  More specifically, we’re offering it to you,” he explained.

Seongwoo’s mouth popped open in shock.  Him?  Join Produce 101 this late?  He was well aware of how disliked trainees were when they join survival programs in the middle of the show.  They were belittled, hated, and sworn at by not only the fans, but the trainees, too.  They wouldn’t think he belonged there.  They wouldn’t think he deserved to be on the same stage as them.  Daniel suddenly popped into his head, and his heart started racing.

Noticing Seongwoo’s discomfort, the CEO spoke up, “I know what you’re thinking, but Mnet promised your transition into the show would go over very smoothly.  If you decide to do it, you would start tomorrow.  We’re giving you the day off today, so take some time to think about it.” 

Realizing he was being dismissed, Seongwoo wobbled out of the room in revelation.  His mind was too jumbled to even think properly, pink hair randomly flashing through his mind. 

Seongwoo needed to think, and he needed to think fast without any distractions, including the pink thing. 

Not even 30 minutes later, Seongwoo found himself standing across from Daniel’s ad again.  Cursing at himself for his sudden unhealthy obsession, he plopped himself on the ground where he sat the day before. 

This was a huge decision for him, but his biggest problem was his current lack in confidence.  How could he go on this show and even dare hope to debut?  These trainees had already worked so hard to get to where they were on the show, so would it even be fair?  Seongwoo wasn’t so sure.

Deep in thought, Seongwoo didn’t realize someone was talking to him,  “—guarding the ad?”

Seongwoo looked up and cocked his head in confusion, “huh?”

A deep chuckle emitted from the boy’s throat.  “How long are you going to sit here guarding the ad,” he asked with amusement.

The brunette looked up at the ad that he was currently sitting under and leapt away, face hot.  “I-I’m not guarding it!  This area is just quieter is all…” He fumbled with his hands, looking everywhere but at his accuser. 

The stranger clapped his hands as he let out a hearty laugh.  “I’m only joking, no worries!” 

Seongwoo dared to peek at the person that was talking to him and was surprised to see-, “It’s you!” 

The blonde took a step in his direction and held out his hand, “I think we met yesterday?  The name’s Kang Euigeon.  Thanks again for the pictures, by the way.”

“Kang Euigeon,” Seongwoo quietly tasted the name on his tongue; he liked it.  He was about to respond with his own name but stopped just in time.  Even though he didn’t think Euigeon was a threat, Fantagio didn’t want him to reveal his real identity to anyone since he was still a trainee.  “I-I’m, uh… just call me Seong,” he decided.

“Seong, huh?  Nice to meet ya!”  Euigeon’s familiar eye smile was back, and Seongwoo smiled in return.  However, he wished Euigeon’s facemask didn’t obscure the bottom half of his face again, and it also didn’t help that his baseball cap casted a shadow on the rest. 

Clasping his hands together as if a decision was made, Euigeon cheerfully asked, “What would you say I bought you some lunch in return for taking the pictures for me?”

Seongwoo swore up and down that Euigeon could hear his heart pounding from where he stood.  This was more than he could have ever wanted, but before he could answer, a couple squeals and shrieks were heard from across the station.

“!! We gotta go,” Euigeon grabbed ahold of Seongwoo’s wrist and dragged the brunette with him in the opposite direction of the shrieks.  Seongwoo looked behind him at the mass of fangirls running towards them.  Did they realize I’m a trainee??

While Seongwoo was looking back, he didn’t realize Euigeon had stopped and opened a door before he got shoved inside.  Everything was suddenly dark; and quiet once the fangirls ran past their hideout. 

Seongwoo didn’t want to move, stop breathing maybe, but definitely didn’t want to move.  He could feel Euigeon’s hot breath on his neck, and his arms cornered Seongwoo on both sides of his head, his chest pressing him up against the wall.

He could feel the blonde’s chest rumble against his own chest as he spoke in a low, rough tone, “Sorry, I—”

Seongwoo butted in, “No, it’s my fault.  Don’t apologize.” 

“Wha--?”

Seongwoo could see the outline of Euigeon’s face and was hoping he could see the sincerity in his own face, “Please don’t tell anyone, but I’m actually a trainee.”  The brunette paused for a couple seconds before continuing, “I’m assuming those girls figured it out and chased after us.  I apologize.”

Euigeon let out a bark of laughter as he backed away; Seongwoo already missing the closeness they had shared.  “That’s ironic because I’m actually a trainee, too.  I won’t tell if you won’t,” he added with what Seongwoo presumed was a wink.

A bit shocked from the news, Seongwoo could only nod but added, “Why don’t we get out of here and get some lunch?”

And so the two boys found themselves at Burger King not twenty minutes later.  Seongwoo was happily munching on a big mac until he realized Euigeon was staring at him. 

“Do I have something on my face?” he asked frantically, trying to brush the invisible crumbs away.

Euigeon shook his head, “I was just wondering what you looked like behind that facemask and hat of yours, but you’re probably wondering the same about me.”

“What can I say, those damn entertainment companies have us held tight by a leash.”  The blonde nodded furiously at his words, mouth full of french fries. 

Seongwoo looked out the window and was abruptly reminded of the decision he had to make when he saw a bus with a Produce 101 ad drive past the restaurant.

“Say…” Euigeon’s attention was now back on Seongwoo.  “Would you join a survival show if you weren’t confident your abilities?”

Euigeon raised an eyebrow through his thick bangs, “Hmm… That’s a good question.” Looking serious for the first time since Seongwoo had met him, he replied, “I would do it.”  He banged his fist on the table and pointed at Seongwoo, “What would you have to lose?  The worst that could happen is that you realize you need more training.  The best that could happen is you win the prize and gain confidence in the act of winning.” 

Hope started pouring itself into Seongwoo’s heart the moment Euigeon drew his serious face.  Maybe…  Maybe he could do it?

“If I may ask, what do you lack confidence in?”  Euigeon inquired in a genuinely concerned voice.

And so the boys spent the rest of the afternoon complaining about their days as trainees.

 

Seongwoo’s evening was one filled with packing.  Toothbrush?  Check.  Charger?  Check.  Phone?  Where’s my phone?

Hidden underneath his mountain of mostly black clothing, his phone was lit up with a single message:  “Let’s meet again sometime soon!  Seong fighting!”

Seongwoo beamed at his phone.  Realizing he probably looked like a creep smiling at his own phone in such a manner, he set it down and continued humming the Produce 101 theme song as he packed. 

Lying down to finally go to bed, a singular thought came to his mind:  he was going to see Daniel tomorrow, in person.  Seongwoo didn’t really know how to feel, his heart beat for two people, knowing he could only have one.  Hopefully tomorrow would bring him the answers he desperately needed.