Kim Donghyuk wasn’t the type to prolong an argument. He was the kind of person who was easy to convince so, his rejection frustrated Bobby so much. For one, Donghyuk was Bobby’s closest friend. Two, Bobby made the song with Donghyuk’s vocals in mind. Three, Donghyuk just finished recording his part already.

“Are you sure about this?” Bobby asked for the nth time. He was close to pulling his hair in frustration. He was already nervous planning (something that he didn’t normally do) his proposal to the love of his life and his Bestfriend wasn’t making it easy for him.

“I know. I know. My sweet and soft vocals fit the song well but Junhoe’s husky tone will add so much emotions in the song. And I’m sure he would blend better with Rose’s unique vocals.” Donghyuk explained again and again.

“But this is my song! I’m the main producer for this one! And this is my proposal. I think I have the right to chose who I want to sing this song!” Bobby whined. Of all the arguments they had (and they had a lot considering that they bicker like an old married couple) this was the worst one. Bobby couldn’t comprehend why Donghyuk just wouldn’t say yes.

The younger man could see the frustration on his bestfriend’s face and he knew that Bobby was close to his breaking point. Though he never told anyone this certain secret, he felt that Bobby needed at least an acceptable reason for his insistent refusal. 

“Don’t tell anyone about this but Junhoe and Rose used to date and I think they still like each other.” Donghyuk dropped the bomb, making Bobby’s eyes go big.

“What? Loud mouth Koo Junhoe could actually hide a secret?” Bobby asked.

“Hyung!! You’re missing the point! They dated! They still like each other. I know this is your proposal but why won’t you play Cupid and push them together? You know, at the end of your proposal, there would be 2 less lonely couple in the world! It’s like hitting 2 birds with 1 stone.” Donghyuk replied.

“And you know this secret because?” Bobby said as he gave Donghyuk a teasing look, which caused Donghyuk’s ears to turn red. Knowing he had no choice, he began to tell the story of what happened years ago.

Flashback

11 years ago

Being a new kid was bad as it is. But being a new kid who managed to get the attention of the Korean Entertainment Industry’s Big 3 was worse. At first, Kim Donghyuk took pride in it. He was always the achiever and everyone loved him, but his current reputation felt like a burden rather than something he could be proud of.

It wasn’t that he was being bullied or something like that. It’s just that he couldn’t help but compare himself with his teammates. 

It wasn’t an issue whether he could flawlessly follow a choreography fast enough (he could, with little effort in fact) but an issue if he could blend well with the group. The triple Kim’s had been doing this together for almost 2 years and everyone could see how amazing their chemistry was. Yunhyeong and Junhoe, who both had been in the company for a few months, could smoothly blend well with the pillars of the team. 

They did the choreography again and again as Kim Hanbin, their appointed leader, watched over them. Though Kim Donghyuk followed each step perfectly, he know that he was the reason why they had to repeat the same routine over and over again.

As soon as the song ended, he looked over their leader, who was clearly not amused. Jinhwan walked towards Hanbin to calm him down, something only he could do for 2 reason— he was older than the leader and he was in the company as long as him. This made their strict leader give them a 15 minute break which was pretty generous considering that they usually only have 5-minute water/restroom breaks during practice time.

Kim Donghyuk excused himself and pretended to go to the restroom but in truth, he just wanted to get out and clear his head. Just as he was walking away from the practice room, he accidentally bumped into someone. 

“Sorry.” He said immediately without looking up. He was closed to crying so he decided to continue walking away. Just as he was about to turn on a corner, he heard someone call out his name. He stopped in his track and looked back.

“Donghyuk-ssi!” a female teenage girl said as she sprinted towards him. Though he has never met her before, he was sure that she was a trainee. She greeted him with a warm smile which almost melted his heart. 

“You drop you music sheet.” She added as she reached him. She handed the sheet to him and Donghyuk gladly took it from her hand. He was sure that he didn’t bring anything but he took it out of courtesy.

“This isn’t mine.” He replied. 

“Oh. Must be someone else’s. I’ll just check the practice rooms to find who the owner is.” She responded. She flashed him another smile and Donghyuk’s heart fluttered. He felt embarrassed that the pretty girl before him knew who he was but he had no idea of who she was.

In his defence, he had only been in the company for a little over a week and he haven’t acquainted with other trainees except for his team. 

“Sorry. This may seem rude but I don’t know your name.” Donghyuk asked before bowing his head slowly as if to apologize.

“Oh! I’m sorry. I’m Park Chaeyoung but you can call me Roseanne as well.” She replied, not even showing a hint that she was offended that he didn’t know her.

“Chaeyoung-ssi, sorry if I didn’t know your name. I’m kind of new here.” Donghyuk explains just to make sure she wouldn’t get offended. 

“I know. You’re the infamous trainee who got to the attention of the Big 3. That’s how I got to know you. Everyone’s waiting for your performance in the next monthly evaluation.” She replied, causing Donghyuk’s heart to drop in his stomach. Suddenly, it was as if all that he lacked magnified before his eyes.

“OMG! I’m so sorry! I didn’t realize that his burdened you so much.” She said as if she saw right through him. But Donghyuk couldn’t even talk. He was stunned that someone who barely knew him was able to know how he felt.

“Donghyuk-sis, remember that you were chosen amongst hundreds of aspiring trainees. You were chosen because of your talent and skills. You were chosen because they saw something in you that they didn’t see in others. So you better believe in that. You’ve only been here for a while and I know that you’re gonna do amazing!” She said in full confidence.

And in that moment, Kim Donghyuk knew that he found himself a friend in Park Chaeyoung.

———

10 years ago

Donghyuk didn’t know when he started looking at Chaeyoung differently. But all of a sudden, he felt happier whenever she was around. 

It didn’t take him long enough to realize that he was falling for her. The fact that she’s got everything anyone could possibly want in a potential girlfriend was just a bonus. Beyond her beauty and sheer determination to improve her talent and skills constantly, it was her warm heart that Donghyuk liked the most.

He wanted to confess but they just lost the chance of debuting and he knew a relationship wouldn’t help. As much as he wanted her to her to be his girlfriend, he knew he had to work on his own lack was so that they could debut. Until the , he’ll remain a friend that she could casually talk to a