(almost a year later)

"Joohyun unnie!" 

The high pitched noise calls Joohyun out of her thoughts from her bed, as she stared out the small window built in the middle of the walls. It was approaching evening, the sunset casting warm rays into her room through the window panes, and Joohyun was enjoying the view she had of the city beneath her. She was never that fond of heights, but it was hard to ignore the beauty of the city from up above during sunset. She finds it very calming, to be able to look down at the hustle and bustle of the city, while being hundreds of feet away from the chaotic noise. Speaking of chaotic noise,

"Hello Sooyoung-uh," Joohyun says without turning around, knowing full well who was behind her. The playful, flirtaious, soft at heart young girl shes grown awfully fond of.

"Did you get the text from Seulgi-unnie?" She asks, walking into the otherwise empty room and plopping onto the bed behind her.

"Oh, I haven't been on the phone for a few minuets," she replies, her eyes watching the tiny people down below, flitting from place to place quickly.

"Um, she sent it like an hour ago unnie," Sooyoung comments with a laugh hidden in her tone, and Joohyun just blinks. Now that she thinks about it, she had been staring outside since the sun was above the tallest building. I guess its easy to get lost in your thoughts when theres a lot to think about. "You're so funny unnie, come on," Sooyoung laughs, and Joohyun allows herself to be pulled up and out the door, swinging her hand that was intertwined with the younger girl.

An abundance of rapping classes had been added to Joohyun's training schedule unexpectedly within the past couple months, and its taken a toll on her. She wasn't prepared to be a rapper when she went into this, but she knew much better than to argue with the companies wishes. Since then, Seulgi and Joohyun had taken to getting Seungwan accustomed to the company, especially since she was added to the SM Rookies group. Joohyun learned that Seungwan was an outstanding singer, but she had some other aspects to catch up on. As she became more busy with her extra classes Joohyun had been finding herself wishing she could be there more for her, but she was happy she had someone as great as Seulgi to show her around. During that time, Seulgi had gotten closer to Seungwan's roommates, in turn making Joohyun close to them too. Anyone Joohyun became friends with had persisted her friendship relentlessly, since she was pretty use to being quiet. Kim Yerim and Park Sooyoung were great at that though. They were amazing social butterflies, and Joohyun had grown quite warm to them. She would iron their uniforms for school, and help them with their homework when they needed it. They , saying she acted like a mom, but she knew how much they appreciated it. She also greatly welcomed the extra company, for they provided a much needed spark in her sometimes monotonus life. Still though, she had this thought in the back of her mind that would present itself at random, which was the thought of wanting to hang out with Seungwan. She got the chance every now and then, and the younger girl had started calling her unnie as well, a very welcome honorific on the older girls part. But, she still found herself itching to see her more.

As Sooyoung and Joohyun arrived at a door, Joohyun came to the kind of worrying realization that she never even asked Sooyoung where they were going, once again too distracted by her wandering brain.

Before she could even open to inquire, the door was being opened by none other than the girl who had been happily invading her quiet time thoughts.

"Hi Joohyun unnie," Seungwan said, a small, warm smile coming to her lips as she leaned in for a hug. Joohyun felt nice in her arms. She thought Seungwan was a great friend.

Whatever Sooyoung did behind Joohyun's back made Seungwan swat at her and pull back, "Hey Sooyoung," she sighed, accepting the hug Sooyoung pulled her into with a giggle.

Joohyun then hugged the other two girls in the room, Yerim and Seulgi. The five of them chatted amongst themselves, nervous as to what the reason could be that they were asked to meet in one of the trainers rooms. There was an anxious energy underlying their chatter, thoughts of what could be coming for the five of them.

A knock interrupted them, all five heads turning towards the door, silence overtaking the room.

When the door handle turns, all five girls let out a collective gasp at Kim Youngmin walks in, greeting the five trainees with a bow. They all instantly shoot up, bowing and greeting him with nervous hello's.

"It's nice to see you all gathered here for an enjoyable announcement," he begins, motioning for them to sit on the couch, which they all do quickly. He laughs gently at their eagerness as he sits on a chair separate to them and takes in a deep breath.

"You five girls have been working extremely hard recently, some of you for a few years, and it has not gone unnoticed. I am more than sure you have heard about the rumors of a new girl group being formed," he speaks, and Joohyun feels a shiver run down her body. Could this truly be happening? She feels two hands grab hers, but her brain is too far into overdrive to focus on anything other than the Co-CEO of their companies next words.

"Joohyun, Yerim, Seulgi, Sooyoung, Seungwan, congratulations, you will be the members of SM Entertainments next girl group, debuting in March of 2015," he announces with a smile, and the look on their faces has him chuckling again. Somewhere in her mind, Joohyun recognizes that whoever is holding her left hand is squeezing it so hard its about to break.

"And I hate to damper this happy moment, but I do have a bit of bad news. Yerim," he turns to the youngest, who Joohyun now realizes is holding her left hand, "You won't be permitted to join the rest until seven months after the initial debut, so that you will be sixteen years of age," he says, giving Yerim a somewhat apologetic look. The grip on Joohyun's hand falters, but Yerim nods her head quickly.

"I know this is a lot to take in right now, and don't worry about the details. You will be getting updated schedules soon, your group training will start immediately. Yerim, you will train mostly with them, but as they grow closer to debut we will have you back in regular training sessions. Thank you girls for joining me here tonight, I hope this news gives you the energy to keep working," he says, smiling at the five young girls in front of him, "I know its getting late, please return back to your rooms, we will update you soon," he finishes, standing up and bowing, the girls standing to bow back and thank him repeatedly. He leaves after one last farewell, and once they are sure he has walked a good ways away, five squeals break the silence of the room, Seulgi initiating a group hug.

Pulling back, Joohyun is the first to notice the dampness in Yerim's eyes, and she pulls her in. She knows the youngest girl very well, almost feeling like she has practically raised her, and she knows she doesn't want to make a scene. So while the other three girls started chatting excitedly, Joohyun simply held Yerim tightly, hoping to comfort the young girl who has worked so hard.

---------------

Joohyun was always pleased with how easily she was able to sleep at night, but that had seemed to go astray after such a whirlwind of a night. Despite being told to return to their dorms, the five girls had stayed there easily two more hours, talking about anything and everything relating to their new group. They didn't notice the time passing, too consumed with all the questions and possibilities. Everyone was aware of what was going on with their seniors at the time, and the upsetting situation their company was allowing, and the thought of debuting amid that chaos was a quiet, looming worry that they decided to ignore for the night.

But still, here Joohyun lies in her bed, her best friend snoring loudly in the bed opposite hers. She to her side, staring at the clock that glowed green with the terribly late time of night. Even though they hadn't gotten any more information other than just the simple announcement itself, the girls had been convinced Joohyun would be their leader. That thought alone had Joohyun's mind throwing a fit, no matter how badly she needed sleep.

She was also never one for being on her phone at night (which earned her Yerim's tease of "uptight unnie"), but the second a familiar, specific text tone sounded out, she jumped at the chance to escape her thoughts. 

"hey unnie. i hope this doesn't wake you up if you are sleeping. but um, are you up? already? :D"

A smile found its way to her face at Seungwans text, to which she responded quickly that she was in fact still up. After which, her phone went quiet for about fifteen minuets. She wasn't exactly disappointed, but she was a little, well, disappointed, I guess. She was looking forward to a distraction fromm her worries in the form of a bubbly, comforting girl. Nonetheless, she fell back into her thoughts, which has become so distracting that she almost missed the very quiet knocking on the door. Joohyun slipped out of bed and looked through the peep hole in the door, seeing a tiny Seungwan standing on the other side. She eagerly opened the door, and smiled at her. Joohyun turned to look at Seulgi, making sure the girl was still sound asleep, and she slipped outside, shutting it quietly behind her.

"I'm, I'm sorry to bother you," Seungwan started quietly, beginning to fiddle with the hem of her sleeve, suddenly feeling embarrassed for coming to Joohyun's room.

"No, I'm so glad you did, I couldn't sleep at all, too much going on up here," Joohyun replied, tapping the side of her head. 'You're so awkward,' she thought to herself.

"I know its late so theres no where to go, do you wanna maybe just sit here?" Seungwan asked softly.

So they did, they sat right down in the hallway outside the door, and talked.

They talked about practice, they talked about food, they talked about home, they talked about anything.

At some point, Seungwan mentions how she heard Yerim crying after she thought her and Sooyoung were asleep, and Joohyun feels her heart ache for the young girl. Knowing how she is as well, Seungwan didn't want to make her feel embarrassed since she knew Sooyoung was also not sleeping yet, so she stayed 'asleep' for Yerim's sake. Joohyun knows she will need to talk with the young girl soon.

They sit in comfortable silence for a while, before a thought in Joohyun's mind broke out of .

"You will definitely be our main vocalist," Joohyun comments quietly, and in the very dimly lit hallway, she doesn't notice the warmth grow on the youngers cheeks. Seungwan is quiet after that, and Joohyun accepts the silence with ease. Her mind wanders on its own, the thoughts less stressful and daunting than the were an hour ago in her bed. The thing that has her focusing again is the sniffle she hears from the girl next to her.

"Seungwan-ah!" she whisper yells, "Are you alright?" She asks quickly, startled at Seungwan's sudden tears.

Seungwan laughs despite herself, "Yes yes, don't worry unnie, I'm just feeling very... proud right now. This is all I've wanted since I was young, and I was so hesitant to give up my life back home, but I'm so happy I did and that it paid off," she explained, her voice a little shaky, but happy nonetheless. Joohyun felt proud of her too. She pulled the younger girl into a hug, and warmth bloomed in her chest. She may have only known this girl for several months, but shes gotten to know so much of her during that time. She's learned what a hard worker she is, desperate to make up in area's she lacks. She's learned she has the biggest heart of anyone she's ever met, caring so much about the people around her, even total strangers. She's learned that she gets nervous and doubts herself and her capabilities quite often, and that she needs reassurance. And she's learned to be there for her, because shes also learned someone as amazing as her deserves to know how amazing she is. 

"I'm happy you did too," she admits in the quiet hallway, "I'm happy I know you Son Seungwan," she says, feeling uncharacteristically cheesy, but the words felt so right.

Seungwan seems to agree, as she hugs Joohyun tighter. When they pull back, she smiles at Joohyun with a smile so bright Joohyun has to look away because it makes her feel bright too.

"This is gonna be really hard, and scary, and nerve wracking," the younger breaks the silence, making them both let out short laughs, "but I think we'll all be okay. Because its you and me. Well, and us. All of us. You know what I mean," she says, breaking the eye contact they held in the dark. Joohyun laughs and rests a hand on the nervous girls knee. somewhere in her mind happy to not be the fumbling one for once. "I do. You and me, and all of us."