*Flashback*

“You're loveable from head to toe. I'm so proud to have you as my girl. Waiting is fun now and ev-” JR paused and cleared his throat.

His singing standard was clearly unacceptable for the audition and he knew he wouldn’t be able to pass at this rate. He began to feel even more nervous and uneasy. Shaking all the negative thoughts out of his head, he tried again.

“even the air is sweet. I love you.Even if the world is hard to bear, when I see you, I can feel the breeze upon my heart. Is this living or is this happiness?” JR closed his eyes and concentrated on the music playing through his headphones.

“Ah!” A girl exclaimed as she stumbled a few steps back.

JR hurriedly took off his headphones and met eyes with the girl he just bumped into. Adjusting his nerd-looking spectacles nervously, he quickly bowed down.

“I…I am sorry. I didn’t mean to… I was singin-.. Err. I meant I was not paying attention…I didn’t do it on purpose. Mianhae.” JR said anxiously.

“It’s alright. Are you by any chance  going for the singing audition?” The girl inquired with a cute smile.

JR straightened himself and nodded cautiously.

“How do you know?” JR questioned with a puzzled look.

She pointed to a poster pasted on the wall casually and shrugged her shoulders.

“Just a guess since you looked really nervous. Seems like I would make a good fortune teller with such spot-on prediction huh?” She joked and giggled.

JR laughed along and all the anxiety from before disappeared without a trace.

“Are you running late?” The girl reminded as she showed him the time.

“Gosh! I got to go.”JR mumbled as he was about to make a quick run to the venue.

“Hey! Don’t be so nervous. I heard you sing just now and you’re really good. You just need a little more confidence in yourself. It’s nice meeting you. My name is Kim Na Ra. All the best, stranger!” Na Ra beamed as she did the ‘fighting’ pose.

“Thanks. I am Jong Hyun. Kim Jong Hyun.” JR said before running off at his fastest speed.

“This boy is kind of cute. Haha...” Na Ra thought to herself as she watched him run across the road.

After the audition…

“Kim Jong Hyun, it’s a pass for you.” The man said in a serious tone as he looked up at the fidgety boy.

“YES! YES! I DID IT!” JR shouted out loud as he jumped about excitedly.

Receiving the letter of acceptance from the man respectfully, he hugged it close to his chest.

“Thank you, Kim Na Ra.” JR thought as a pure smile lit up his face.

It was her words that reminded him to remain calm and confident during the audition. Being not as nervous, he was able to carry himself pretty well during his performance. To JR, he owed his success to Na Ra, the cute girl whom he never knew.

*End of flashback*

“JR! It’s your turn.” The staff called out.

“Ne. I am coming. Sorry to keep you waiting…” JR snapped out of his thoughts and got up quickly. He then gave the staff a humble bow and took his position.

“Now, give us the bad boy image.” The cameraman said and adjusted the lens.

JR played with the necklace hung around his neck and showed his best smirk to the camera. The cameraman nodded with satisfaction and gave him a thumb up. JR nodded thankfully and went on to the second pose. He was already trained to assume any role before the camera within seconds. He can be a bad boy, an innocent boy with a pure smile, a caring boy, a charismatic leader or anything else you name. He was told that having a multiple personality on-screen would help him attract more fans and make him more appealable to the public.

The smile he flashed before the camera was the one he had practised a thousand times with the mirror back home. From the day of his debut, he was no longer the old Kim Jong Hyun. He was known as JR, the leader of NU’EST. All of them were going to be the next super idol in South Korea. It’s what the company wants and what they ought to work towards to. No matter how hard it was going to be, JR knew he would be able to pull through because he believed he’s with the best group of people. He was confident enough because she told him to have confidence.

“Okay, done. Good job, boys! You guys did a great job as rookies.” The cameraman praised with a reassuring smile.

“Thank you. We will work even harder.” The boys choroused as they bowed down politely.

The cameraman nodded with satisfaction before leaving the setting.

“Come on, let’s go already.” The manager rushed them.

“Let’s go, guys.” JR gestured for the boys to follow.

“I will be dropping you all off at the dance studio to do your self-practice, okay? Hmm…I don’t really trust you mischievous fellows so JR keep an eye on them, alright?” The manager said.

“Alright” JR said, ignoring the usual protests from the other members.

“Why must we practice again?” Min Hyun whined and pouted.

“It’s just after the photo shooting. Can’t we just rest for a bit?” Aron protested.

“And we have school tomorrow…” Baek Ho pointed out.

“Hyung wouldn’t change his mind regardless of what we say.” Ren said and sighed.

“Yea, Ren is the smart boy here!” The manager said with a wide smile.

“Aish.” The three of them muttered in defeat.

“I knew it.” Ren mumbled and shut his eyes to catch some sleep.

JR, on the other hand, was already zoning out.

“Na Ra, don’t you recognize me?” JR thought as he looked out of the window.

After dropping off the boys at the studio and ensuring that they went in, their manager drove off.  Reluctantly, the five of them went on practicing their debut songs over and over again. By a few hours later, they were all sweaty, exhausted and hungry. Sitting on the floor, they drank up a lot to rehydrate their bodies.

“I am hungry.”  Baek Ho said.

“Me too. I need food. Shall we call manager hyung to buy as some food?” Min Hyun suggested.

“No. You all will grow fat if you eat again. Don’t you know you have to be in your best form before the promotion?” Aron mimicked their manager with his usual gesture and expression.

“Drink more water for now. Dinner is in a few hours’ time.” JR said as he patted on Baek Ho’s shoulders.

“I will get us food.” Ren said.

“Umm, Ren…Our valuables are with hyung. You forgotten that we surrendered them to him during our photo shoot?” Baek Ho questioned as he slouched back in his position.

“I have my own way.” Ren said and smirked.

To: Slave

Buy me food for 5 people. Deliver it to our dance studio now.

To: Ren

Buy it yourself. I am busy with school work.

To: Slave

Fine. Pay up 840 000 won then.

To: Ren

Fine, I will do it. I hate you.

To: Slave

See you in 30 minutes time then.

Min Ji threw her phone onto her bed and yelled in exasperation. Changing out of her home clothes, she left her study room. She reached the nearest convenience store and bought the cheapest snacks and some drinks off the shelf. Min Ji then headed to the dance studio address which Ren texted her not long ago.

“There.” She threw the bag of food on the floor, before Ren.

“A good slave will hand over the things properly to her master.” Ren reminded.

“Be thankful that I bought you food with MY pocket money.” Min Ji emphasized on the word ‘my’ and folded her arms.

“I will pay you back tomorrow in school.” Ren said.

“You better do. Thank you so much for calling me out in the midst of my studies. Bye.” Min Ji said as she spun around.

“Hey.” Ren called out.

“What?” Min Ji replied as she turned back, annoyed.

“Catch.” Ren ordered as he threw her a bottle of mineral water.

“Thanks.” He said softly before going back to ransacking the bag of food.

“You’re most welcome.” She answered playfully before leaving the studio.

Uncapping and taking a sip from the bottle, Min Ji smiled slightly.

“Maybe he is not such a jerk after all…” Min Ji thought.

Author's Note:
Hello everyone!
First of all, I am really sorry for the slow update ><
Hope you guys understand the relatively busy school life I am going through now ):
Also, I hope you people enjoyed the chapter and will please comment :)
I will definitely appreciate new subscribers ^^
Thanks and love ya for waiting patiently <3 !!