“Ah, Lee Yubin, nice to see you,” CEO Kim Youngmin greeted Yubin cheerfully as she stepped into his office. She murmured her greetings along with a small bow after closing the door behind herself and striding up to the front of the desk. Yubin was slightly apprehensive about being called up to the office. Being such a long time trainee of nearly 7 years, she was worried he called her up to give her the drop from the company.

“I’ve been keeping a close eye on you ever since I noticed the length of your training period.” Youngmin began, oblivious to the small wince she gave at the mention of her training, “I found it a bit interesting. All your grades from the vocal teachers have been very good, as well as your dancing. You’ve become well-rounded haven’t you?” Yubin could tell it was a rhetorical question, but it didn’t stop her from humming in agreement.

“You’re twenty-one and became a trainee at fourteen if these papers are correct,” he continued, flipping casually through a folder with what was assumed to be documentation about Yubin. “Ah..yes. I was casted…” She spoke up. Why was he giving me my own background?

“Mhm, I can believe it. My workers have been doing so well over the years. With all this knowledge of your skills, it brings up important questions… ah!” Youngmin cut himself off as the sound of a knock came from the door, Yubin turned her head to glance questioningly as someone walked. “CEO Youngmin, you needed me..?”

Through the door was Lee Taeyong, leader and rapper for NCT. Yubin’s eyebrows furrowed at the sight. She was completely lost at this point. Why would the CEO call for Taeyong to appear, if he called her, a mere trainee (who was a vocalist, not even a rapper) to come as well. Surely he didn’t call the idol to come and teach her things.

Taeyong came up to the desk, standing alongside the girl after taking a curious glance in her direction. Youngmin clapped his hands, looking satisfied at his sudden appearance. “Good, everyone’s here. This now brings my proposition for you, Ms. Lee…” Suddenly, Youngmin leaned forward in his chair, reaching for a pen from his pen holder and began to scribble what seemed to be notes on a sheet of paper.

“If you haven’t realized, there’s been a genuine reason why you haven’t debuted yet. With all the time you’ve spent here, your debut should have been almost immediate  based on your scores during all the evaluation tests. But as it is, the standing reason is your voice.” Youngmin paused, glancing up from the paper.

“My voice?” Yubin felt almost offended. Her vocals were part of the reason she was taken in as a trainee, and now she was being told it’s because of her vocals that she hasn’t debuted yet? It just doesn’t add up.

“Yes, your voice hasn’t fit with any of the possible debuting female groups. It’s too deep and husky to blend well. That being said, it doesn’t take away from your skill. It just doesn’t fit with the concept or vocal ranges from the other girls,” Youngmin explained. At his words, a sudden rush of anxiety pooled in Yubin’s stomach, making her feel a bit queasy. Was this the breaking moment?

“What...does that mean for me…?” She asked after a moment’s hesitation.

Youngmin leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked back at her. “For you… I have a proposition. It’ll take a bit to work to comb out all the tangles, but I want you to be in the next NCT unit,” he announced. Yubin’s eyebrows flew to her hairline at the statement. “Me… in the next NCT unit?” She repeated, and after being quiet for so long, Taeyong finally spoke up. “I thought you had plans for NCT to be fully male,” he said. Yubin glanced over in his direction to see that he was just as confused as she was. The CEO hummed in agreement, “That’s correct. Which is why I’ve also called you here, Taeyong. For this to work out the way I want, and for Ms. Lee to debut, I’ll need your cooperation. For her to debut into the next unit, she’ll have to go pretending to be a boy. Because of that circumstance, I’d need your assistance as leader to make sure her identity remains a secret.”

Silence.

There were no words from the other participants of the room as they processed this. Eventually, Yubin got herself together, “But, ah, isn’t there already NCT rookies who haven’t debuted yet? Why would I need come into it if you have people who fit into the plan better than I do?” she asked. Really, it just didn’t make sense. From what she knew about NCT, there were at least two leftover trainees who had yet to debut. “Yes, but I have different plans for Hansol and Kun. Their units are just taking a bit of time to gather, but they will debut eventually, I assure you.” Youngmin answered, “The unit I have in mind for