To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you into something else is a great accomplishment.

ミ★~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~★彡

Jieun’s POV

            They decided to have us record one at a time, mostly to focus on my vocals since I wasn’t an official trainee and would probably need to re-record more often than Seulong. I stood in a separate room with a considerate crowd of people visible behind glass, a microphone close to my lips, adjusted perfectly for my height and headphones in my hands. Just for reassurance I was allowed to bring in the lyric sheets propped onto a stand in front of me. Though I insisted I didn’t need it, I decided not to argue since my memory felt more flawed under pressure. Beside me leaning against a stool was my pink guitar.

            “We’ll be starting in thirty seconds.” One of the people behind the glass mouthed to me. I quickly fit the headphones comfortably against my ears and waited for the music to play. Closing my eyes to allow the feel of the song to overtake me, I hummed in my head until it was my cue to start off.

            When the song ended, I opened my eyes again to see many hands held high giving me a supportive thumbs up. I waved back and smiled, surprised that I wasn’t stopped at any point of the song. They gave me a hand signal to exit the recording area so I slid the headphones off and placed them on the stand, grabbed my guitar and joined them where all the sound equipment was.

            “There are a few parts we want to change in the song, but overall you were impressive.” The representative from Loen Entertainment commended me, giving me a gentle pat on the shoulder as I inched closer to the computer screen. The sound waves in the recording program seemed foreign to me, and as they messed around with it, I grew anxious to have a listen. Seulong was next to record, and they told me that after he was done we would emphasize on the changes. There was also the last note I felt unsatisfied with because I went flat. Unscrewing the lid on my water bottle, I began chugging mililitre after mililitre down while Seulong smiled; ready to sing to his heart’s content. Even though he didn’t have one of my favourite voices in the industry, I had to give him and the other 2AM members’ major props because they were impressive and work under such strict discipline. When the song ended, they signaled for me to enter the recording room again, telling me to sing the last note once more. I gratefully took that opportunity to shine brighter, my vocal chords cooperating well as I re-recorded the last note with mild vibrato. Everyone in the sound room looked satisfied by my improvement. The two of us had many changes to make with the harmonies, but when we were finally done, the duet had become a piece of art that I couldn’t wait to hear. The moment the two of us exited the recording room, the Loen Entertainment representative had a wide smile on her face.

            “You did an outstanding job today, Jieun-sshi,” She complimented; I smiled back with a nod.

            “You’re done with this soundtrack for now so why don’t we head to the Loen building to officially register you as a trainee?” She beamed, sounding extremely excited in contrast to my shocked expression. I was excited, so excited I wanted to scream but I wasn’t in the appropriate environment. I couldn’t believe my ears at all!

            “Jeongmal?! Kamsahamnida!” I bowed far past 90 degrees repetitively, causing her to laugh. She nodded proudly, and I bid goodbye to Seulong and everyone in the recording studio before following her to her car. I was so excited and happy that Wooyoung hadn’t crossed my mind again until we were finally on the road to Loen Entertainment. I glanced back longingly at the building, regretful thoughts rolling like an old fashioned film in sepia in my mind. I imagined make-believe scenarios of earlier in the day, trying to grasp what I would be doing right now if I hadn’t hid, but instead ran up to Wooyoung when he passed me to obliviously.

            “We’re here.” She informed, pulling her keys out of the ignition and stepping out of the car. I followed her into the building. It wasn’t as magnificent looking as the JYP building, in fact, it looked slightly more antique than my school was but I felt an immediate bond. This would be where I nurture my dreams and let my imagination soar. With my guitar grasped tightly, I took a deep breath and entered, the scent of palm tree air fresheners creeping up my nostrils the moment we walked into the lobby. This wasn’t exactly how I imagined stardom would smell but I was too excited to be bothered by it. With one quick glance I could tell this company wasn’t too known in Korea yet, in fact, all the celebrities I passed by on my way to the main office were unfamiliar, but I wanted to make it part of my vision to help this company become known. In just minutes, I would finally become a trainee. I was approaching my dreams faster than I ever anticipated, and for this I was thankful to everyone. Knowing Wooyoung was now a trainee himself, just a few steps ahead of me, I was also happy. In my mind I hoped that even though he was leading a new chapter of his life now, that he hadn’t forgotten the words I said back then. Even if he had forgotten me, I hoped that he was able to find his dream, and that through JYP Entertainment he would be able to reach it. My thoughts then drifted back to the girl with him earlier—Suzy. She was taller than me, her hair was longer and she had an unforgettable eye smile. I couldn’t help but feel a little jealous; after all, I’m only human.

            “Please sign here, Jieun-sshi,” One of the staff in the office slid a contract towards me and handed me a blue inked pen. I read the contract carefully, making sure everything every obligation I would be chaining myself to was morally acceptable to my standards and when everything seemed right, I signed it. The representative that drove me here suddenly squealed,

            “I’m you manager now! Call me Unnie!” She was middle aged but her puppy eyes made her look ten years younger as she excitedly waited for me to call her.

            “Please take good care of me, Unnie.” I smiled, and she pulled me in for a hug.

            “Wah, you’re too cute!” She gushed, crushing me in her embrace as if I were a teddy bear. I giggled even though I was physically being choked. This was one of the most emotionally confusing days of my life. I wanted to be upbeat, jumpy and celebrate with everyone I knew but I couldn’t bring myself to call my parents just yet. I wanted to see Wooyoung first.

Wooyoung’s POV

            The moment my choreographer called it day, the first thought that popped into my head was to find Jieun. Remembering her timid figure standing nervously behind her pink guitar as I obliviously passed her, I felt guilty for not contacting her. I never wanted her to see me until I was ready to appear in front of her. Even though I was a trainee now, that have I really accomplished? Waiting for debut before I made my appearance seemed unrealistic but the way my sunbaes were commending Taecyeon and I earlier today made it seem like a quick debut was possible. Jieun and I never separated on good terms, so who was I to suddenly walk back into her life? Maybe that was why she hid behind her guitar rather than approach me. By instinct, I rushed straight to the recording studio. It was unlikely that she would still be there since about six and a half hours had passed since the incident in the lobby, but it was worth a shot. I sprinted down the flights of stairs to the floor where the recording studio was and rushed to the door, staring through the small square window that was tinted purple. My eyes gawked at the tinted windows, wondering why there was a need for them. Instead of knocking politely like a good trainee should, I twisted the doorknob and pushed it open, only to see a stunned Seulong staring back at me.

            “Ah, you’re that new trainee, Wooyoung right?” Seulong greeted, his eyes seemed to scan me quickly. I felt disturbed being checked out by a male sunbae but dismissed the awkward thought as I remembered why I was here in the first place. Nodding to him casually in response, my eyes ran over the entire studio room, my heart dropping when I realized Jieun wasn’t here.

            “Looking for someone?” Seulong asked, approaching me. I sighed,

            “It’s nothing.” The moment I spoke, a voice began playing out loud from the speakers. It was a heavenly voice that I wouldn’t forget. My eyes grew wide as Jieun’s voice escaped from the speakers, mixing into a perfect harmony with Seulong’s and then pausing. On the computer screen, the mixers were adding a few effects to the track.

            “She has an amazing voice, doesn’t she?” Seulong smiled after he finished humming to the track, “You won’t believe that she never even had vocal lessons in her life. She wasn’t even a trainee the time she recorded this. Musical prodigies like her don’t come around often.” He continued to compliment. I knew that probably better than anyone, that Jieun was a definite musical prodigy.

            “There have also been rumors from Seoul’s art institute that she has perfect pitch.” Seulong was gawking at Jieun’s talented voice, staring up to the ceiling like an awestruck fanboy. Before I could respond with a comment, he asked,

            “Ah, do you know her by any chance? Lee Jieun?” I raised an eyebrow and asked,

            “Why do you ask?” He shrugged before answering,

            “Today she wore a similar sweater as the one you wore during your global audition interview. If my eyes are correct, I could’ve sworn it was exactly the same…” I knew exactly which sweater he was referring to, but before I could answer someone else popped in to interrupt.

            “Wooyoung! Follow me right away!” Taecyeon rushed towards the recording room and pulled me away effortlessly. I gave Seulong an apologetic smile and followed Taecyeon to the choreography room. Why was he in such a rush? What shocked me even more was that the manager of 2AM was in the room, along with several other trainees that had been with JYP years more than we have.

            “We’ve observed you two’s talents quite thoroughly ever since the global auditions and we want to give you an offer. If you two work hard—and I mean bone-breaking hard for the next two weeks we’ll give you the opportunity to debut with these 5 trainees here under the name 2PM.” The manager spoke sternly, arms crossed as his cynical eyes fell on the two of us.

            “We’ve been planning their debut for quite some time now and we believe you two are the missing talents that will complete this group.” He concluded, signaling for our five future members to step up. They introduced themselves one by one; Junsu, Junho, Nichkhun a thai trainee, Changsung the maknae and the designated leader, Jaebeom.

            “We’ll take on this challenge.” Taecyeon confirmed, his eyes burning with determination. There was a very promising atmosphere, and I wasn’t going to ruin it with useless thoughts that would only lead me to the same answer.

            “I’m in, too.” I assured, returning the manager’s stare with an expression of humble determination rather than pride. I was ready to fit in years of discipline and training into just two weeks. These will probably be the most tiring, exhausting, physically exerting two weeks of my life but I know it will pay off. The moment I debut, I will find Jieun and win her back for sure. There was no doubt in this.

A/N: Here's another update since I got all your hopes up with the review. Didn't want to disappoint you guys ^^! Uhm... So I'm going to be away all of next week at a camp where there's no internet so i won't be updating next week. This is my last update before I leave on Monday ^^! i'll update when I'm back! also, I included Jay in the group because I support 2PM as 7, and they debuted together so yeah. ^^ Go Jay!