So I'm back...and not dead, apparently.

I'm really sorry for the long delay for this chapter, writer's block and school got in the way.

Hope you enjoy it!

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It was during their 3^rd training session when Manager Gyeongshik came up with the news.

“Everyone,” Gyeongshik said, entering their practice room, “I just got some news from Sooman-sajangnim and the board of directors.”

They immediately stopped their dance practice and gathered around their old manager, eager to hear the news.

Gyeongshik inhaled. “They said they wanted to recreate your stage later as authentic as possible,” he stated. “Which means…similar outfits as the ones you wore on your old performances, same stage settings, and well…same amount of members…”

Silence ensued as each SHINee member tried to digest what their manager just said.

“Let me clear it off,” Jinki finally spoke up. “They…want us to perform as five??”

“What????” Kibum exclaimed, eyes flaring. “But they can’t do that… We can’t do that!! Not after…you know,” he said, voice faltering into a loud whisper.

“I know, Kibum-ah. But that’s what they requested. Trust me, I’ve discussed and debated against them, to no avail. They thought it would be no problem since things like that do happen sometimes – Seohyun-sshi from SNSD did perform with S.E.S once replacing Eugene-sshi who couldn’t due to pregnancy, and you did have Yixing-sshi fill in for Jonghyun-ah during your first concert when he was injured and…”

“Those were different!!” Kibum responded hotly. “Yixing only filled in for Jonghyun-hyung’s dance parts, and Jonghyun-hyung himself was there, and when Seohyun replaced Eugene-sshi, it was just for a single performance in Infinity Challenge, not an important reunion concert!”

“We can’t do that, hyung,” Minho said, hands balled into fists. “I know that it’s…less than ideal to perform as four, but that’s our situation right now, and we are ready to deal with that. Besides it’s not possible to…to ask someone else to be Jonghyun-hyung, even if it’s only for one concert. No one can replace him, hyung… They should’ve understood…”

“I know,” Gyeongshik sighed. “But at this point there’s nothing I can do.”

The silence that enveloped the room again started to feel more suffocating than ever.

“If they wouldn’t change their mind about this, I’d rather quit,” Kibum stated, gritting his teeth and rising on his feet.

“Wait, Kibum!” Minho shouted, gripping the arm of his same-aged friend. “You can’t!”

“I can do what I want, Minho,” Kibum snapped, trying to release himself from Minho’s death grip. “Besides, the concert hasn’t been finalized. We can still back out of it, and I say, I refuse to do it if someone’s there to replace Jonghyun-hy-“

“Then you will be disappointing our fans forever.”

Stunned by Jinki’s quiet but powerful remark, Kibum could only stare at the leader in disbelief, but he no longer tried to pull himself out anymore.

“The concert hasn’t been finalized, indeed,” Jinki continued, still in the same quiet tone. “But it’s been announced, and you know how elated our fans are towards the news. They’re currently collecting money to buy the ticket and looking forward to the actual date in order to see us performing together again once more. And you’re crushing their dreams just like that??”

“…But hyung, you couldn’t possibly…”

“Who is going to fill in for Jonghyun-hyung?”

Everyone turned around, eyes widening in shock at that remark. Especially because the question in particular came from their maknae, Taemin.

Taemin inhaled. “If they already planned to have someone filling Jonghyun-hyung’s place, they must’ve had someone in mind to do it. And who’s that person?”

“Well, they do have someone in mind,” Gyeongshik answered after a few seconds, still surprised at Taemin’s quiet acceptance but slightly relieved that he had yet to hear another disapproval from the other SHINee members, especially Kibum. “He’s still a trainee, but Sooman-sajangnim thought he’s a perfect choice since he’s a Shawol himself and knows almost all your songs and dances by heart, and since he’s debuting soon, it’s going to be a good promotion for his group as well.”

“What’s his name?” Taemin asked again, though he had a feeling he knew this person already.

“Lee Sungsoo.”

-

To say Sungsoo was thrilled at the prospect to fill in for Jonghyun was an understatement.

The boy managed not to swoon or take pictures of SHINee every few seconds, as Gyeongshik probably had warned him not to, but he still couldn’t hide the fact that he’s truly a fan of SHINee.

He came two days after Gyeongshik’s announcement, and was positively trembling in a mixture of nervousness and excitement as he entered the practice room, eyes darting around at the floor and walls and cloud-patterned background and posters and finally the SHINee members themselves. Gyeongshik had approached him to talk first, and SHINee members quietly observed the boy from a distance.

“You said he’s debuting soon, no? How’s he like? Is he talented?” Minho whispered to Taemin.

“He’s talented enough,” Taemin replied. “He entered the company through his dancing, though, and since I also work with his group mostly in dancing, I don’t really know much about his vocal talent. But he’s been training for quite long, around seven years if I’m not mistaken, and he’s appointed as a leader as well so I guess he must’ve had decent vocal at least.”

“But decent vocal isn’t enough if he’s here to fill in for Jonghyun-hyung,” Kibum muttered, glaring at Sungsoo. “Jonghyun-hyung is our main vocal, and has the longest parts in every single one of our songs, and most of the high notes too. Can he handle it?”

“Well, I say let’s give him a chance,” Jinki said mildly. “We haven’t known about his talent, and we are going to judge whether he’s good enough anyway.”

After Gyeongshik finished talking to him, Sungsoo immediately leapt towards SHINee and gave them a 90 degree bow. “Annyeonghasimnika, sunbaenim-deul,” he greeted them politely though his legs and hands were still trembling hard. “My name is Lee Sungsoo, and I say, it’s such an honor for me to be here to perform with you all in your reunion concert…”

“Yeah yeah, just skip the formality,” Kibum snapped, his tone indicating that he’s still irked that SM chose this still unreliable trainee (Kibum’s own words) to replace Jonghyun. “We have yet to decide whether you’re good enough to fill in for Jonghyun-hyung, and…”

“…and we need you to sing and dance to some of our songs so that we can see your talent,” Minho cut in, while Jinki gave Kibum a warning nudge.

Sungsoo seemed slightly unsure knowing that he’s not yet fixed as Jonghyun’s fill-in, but he nodded and positioned himself in the middle of the practice room. “What do you want me to sing or dance to, sunbaenims?”

“Let’s try An Encore first,” Jinki suggested, knowing that the song was a B-side and therefore not all people knew or memorize all the words of that song.

Sungsoo nodded again, a bit more confidently this time. Holding an imaginary mic in front of his mouth, he began singing.

Like paint spreading, it becomes clearer by the day

It’s like time is ticking backwards, things become even clearer

After I cross the river of memories, I thought I would forget

But now I threw away that useless belief and hope

The color of his voice itself wasn’t that magnificent, that’s to be admitted, so it was clear that he had little natural talent in singing, but they couldn’t deny that his techniques were really good. He apparently had great support and was even able to hold the high notes. As Jinki told the others later, his voice was kind of like Taemin’s on Sherlock and Dream Girl era, during which the maknae had worked hard to improve his singing.

Silence enveloped the room as Sungsoo finished singing, the trainee fidgeting nervously for fear his singing isn’t satisfying enough for his sunbaes.

“That’s not bad,” Kibum said, his tone indicating that it was the biggest praise he could give to Sungsoo right now. “Now let’s see you dance to a random SHINee song we choose for you. Tae??”

Now don’t mess it up, I’ve told the others you enter this company through dancing, Taemin thought as he pressed something on his cellphone and the chorus of Sherlock filled the room immediately.

Much to his surprise, the exact moment the music played, Sungsoo’s body reacted automatically to it, doing the “running dance” which was the special feature of Sherlock’s dance. Taemin, being a pretty good dancer himself and now a dance trainer, of course knew that Sungsoo was talented in dancing already, but he never expected the trainee to dance that well. It seemed like he didn’t simply do a cover of the dance, it’s almost as if he owned the dance.

As Sungsoo finished his dance, Taemin looked at his hyungs. The three of them had the identical amazed looks in their face, confirming that they must’ve thought the same thing as Taemin. Feeling a smile creeping up to his face, Taemin spoke up quietly, “Should we decide now, hyung-deul?”

Jinki looked around at s. Minho gave a hearty thumb-up. Kibum still looked angry, but managed to give a curt nod of approval. And Taemin had the biggest proud smile Jinki had ever seen in the maknae’s face.

Smiling back at s, Jinki turned his attention back to Sungsoo who was still fidgeting rather nervously and casting his eyes downwards. “Sungsoo-yah?” he called gently. “Come on, lift your head. Look at us.”

Sungsoo lifted his head rather carefully and found all SHINee members smiling back at him – Kibum’s smile was a bit forced, indeed, but it made Sungsoo’s heart leap as he already knew their answer before Jinki spoke again.

“Congratulations.”

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So how do you like this chapter?

I know it isn't much but I do want to introduce Sungsoo properly in this story.

Comments and constructive criticisms are appreciated!