[ small warning - this is about SHINee up until now, their current life and all. It felt right to write about their bond first. I cried the most during writing this part ]

Like people always say, everything begins with a dream. So does this story.

It begins with five individual boys having the same dream.

Jinki, Jonghyun, Minho, Kibum and Taemin shared the same dream. Being recognized for their talents and making their families proud.

And they chased this dream. They auditioned in one of the biggest – if not the biggest – companies in Korea as teenagers. The company recognized their talent right a way and put them into a training. They didn’t know each other before but fate put them together and they formed a group together. SHINee. They worked hard, harder than anyone else because they were still kids without any experience. Some of them could dance but their voice wasn’t strong enough to sing properly. Some of them could sing but  their body didn’t cooperate the way they would want but together, with a help of each other, they grew better and stronger.

They lived together and their bond was slowly forming, creating a friendship which over the course of years turned into something stronger – a bond of a family.

Their start was hard and exhausting. The kids had to make themselves known on their own and had to endure the pain of a departure with their families. But they had each other.

When their company deemed it was a time for them to debut, the legend was born. Five cheerful and charismatic boys stealing hearts of many. They danced as one and their voices molded together perfectly, complimenting each other. Where one couldn’t go further, the other would take on and show off that harmony. People recognized the stars right a way.

How could they not, when they shone so brightly?

It wasn’t simply their cute looks, beautiful smiles or original songs. No, it was the stage presence they had even at such a young age and their personalities and friendship they shared. People knew right a way, that these boys will be a phenomenon of k-pop industry.

And they were.

Their popularity was growing as fast as the bond between them. SHINee was known for being synchronized and well behaved. Cute and charming. And very talented singers and dancers. Everyone could see the effort they were putting in getting better. The boys were nice and down-to-earth. They met their fans whenever they could and did anything they could to make people, especially their families and fans, happy without loosing themselves. They were truthful to their fans in every interview or show they were invited to and people simply couldn’t not to love them. Their popularity went further to other countries as well, and the boys were soon shining just like the name their group suggested.

SHINee gained great amount of fans. The people who paid attention to them, worried about them and loved them. The people who took their time to get to know the boys – not just their music. They became loyal fans who wanted nothing more than their idols to be happy. SHINee World, or Shawol, as people knew them was their name. These people supported their group through the good and bad.

Because it wasn’t always nice and easy.

They boys went through many hardships as well but as long as they had their bandmates, family and fans with them, they knew that everything would be alright. Because you see, it wasn’t just a music Shawols got from the boys. No. They got back the trust and care they gave them. It wasn’t just fans who worried about the boys, but also the boys who cared for their fans deeply.

Do you know the words “you get what you give”? Well, Shawols were lucky enough to stan a group who sincerely cared for them as well.

Throughout the years, SHINee World got bigger and the shining boys got happier. The group was known for being extraordinary and for always trying a new concept AND succeeding. Also for harmonizing so well and for their difficult choreographies. And last but not least, they were known for always singing live. No matter how exhausting or hard the songs and performances were, they always gave their best – wanting to make their fandom proud.

And that, they did.

Never once had they disappointed their fans. And just like Minho once said – the fans are a mirror of a group they stan. Whatever they do, it affects the group as if they were all in it. And believe it or not, Shawols knew it was true and never once they had disappointed the boys either. They worked hard just like the boys they admired and they were recognized for their efforts by other people as well. They were the calm fandom who never caused troubles or arguments, the fandom who was known for behaving well and also for their fanchants. Every time SHINee would be performing, Shawols would take a part in song by either chanting their names o