That night, as Yun lies awake in bed, she contempts Baekhyun's words: "Sometimes, you have to look forward and focus on the good and not the bad! Nothing will ever be achieved in life if you just keep thinking about the negative effects of all your actions!"

His words hold the truth in them, but... Yun admits to herself that she just can't shake the bad feeling that goes through her entire body at the thought of being an idol. The anti-fans...the screaming...the verbal abuse...the horrible news articles...

I really don't have the self confidence to deal with the complications of becoming a star, she sighs, it might help to talk to someone...but I can't call Baekhyun now that we're kind of awkward...

Suddenly a tanned, handsome face appears in Yun's mind, and before she knew it she was already reaching for her cellphone on her bedside table. "Kim Jongin..." she mumbles absentmindedly as her fingers scroll through the contacts, before finding the number she was looking for.

Yun presss the dial button, and waits patiently for the line to pick up.

One...two...three...four... still, no one picks up.

By the seventh ring, Yun has accepted the fact that Jongin was not going to pick up, and ended the call with a disheartened sigh.

Who am I supposed to talk to now? she wonders, I don't really have any friends I can talk to apart from EXO...but if Jongin's busy, then they're probably all training together.

Just as Yun scrolls through her phone book, trying to choose a reliable person to call; her screen suddenly lights up with 'Jongin' displayed over its massive touch screen. Immediately, Yun swipes her finger over the green button, and presses the phone to her ear, "Hello?"

"Hey, Yun? Did you just call me? Sorry I was in the shower," Jongin's voice sends a pleasant warmth spreading across the girl's face.

"That's alright, it's not really urgent anyway," she smiles, "how's your night been?"

"It would've been better if you were here," came his cheesy response.

"Ugh, you're such a sweet talker! Do all celebrities get trained to be professional sweet talkers?! You and Baekhyun are just..."

He chuckles quietly, before asking in a low voice: "Is something wrong? Why are you calling me at 9 o'clock in the evening?"

Yun takes a deep breath, "Actually...something big has happened today...something you could say was miraculously lucky on my part, or the start of a long and suffering life..."

"Did...did you by some chance win the lottery?!" he gasps, "because I totally need a new car."

"Be quiet, you haven't even gotten your driving license yet!" the girl laughs at Jongin's attempts to cheer her up, "the truth is...I got offered to sign under your company as a trainee talent."

"Serious?"

»«

Jongin and Yun ended up talking on the phone until 2am in the morning, before he stifled a small yawn and the two finally hung up with a tired 'bye'.

After much quiet debate and gentle persuasion with hushed tones for hours past midnight, Jongin finally succeeds in getting Yun to agree to accept the offer.

"You might not even debut - just think of it as an experience; something that you can look back on when you're older."

"I know...but you know what I'm scared of..."

Already, as she sinks her head back into the pillows and pulls the blanket up to cover herself, Yun can imagine the judging stares of other trainees, managers and talents in the SM building as she walks through the narrow corridors towards Lee Soo Man's office. The whispers, the gossip...it feels like hell already just for her to think about it.

"I'll help you, I promise."

And just like that, Yun allows her tired eyes to close in slumber. 

Maybe...Baekhyun isn't the only one who can understand me afterall... was the overweight girl's last passing thought before drifting off to sleep.

The next day, on an early winter's morning, standing outside the SM building and looking up at the intimidating levels of big glass panels - tinted for privacy, Yun thinks she can feel her legs growing slowly into jelly.

Everything seems so secretive in the entertainment industry; talk is forever hushed, practice is forever ongoing, and all the rooms are sound proof to the point that if someone were to have been screaming at the top of their lungs inside one of the practice rooms, no one would have heard them.

Yun sighs inwardly before allowing herself to punch in a quick combination of letters and numbers into the electronic lock.

A quiet groan of reluctance escapes her as the door slides shut behind Yun, leaving her to face the poker-faced front desk lady. 

"Hello, how may I help you?" she glances up without interest.

"I'm here for an appointment with Lee Soo Man...please tell him I'm here," Yun explains to the lady already scanning her body with a rigid smile forced upon her lips.

She eyes the overweight girl with scepticism written clearly over her face, "Are you sure you're booked in?...He doesn't usually meet people not part of our company in the morning."

"Yes, he rang me personally," Yun looks at her encouraging, gesturing at the phone hesistantly, "...it might help you believe me if you rang him?"

Obviously feeling too self-important to take orders from a chubby teenager, the lady scowls with indecision, before punching in the speedial "1". 

So that's how important he is... Yun thinks to herself in wonder, Out of this entire company his speedial is the number 1...Well I guess it is only to be expected, seeing as he is the co-founder...

"You may enter," the lady nods at Yun disapprovingly, as if the younger girl has done something inexcusable in proving the legitimacy of her visit to the SM building. "It's the first and only room on the third floor; make sure to knock before you enter."

"Thank you," Yun makes sure to bow a full 90 degrees, only to find the woman's eyes already concentrated back on her computer screen with disinterest. A little rude...this lady... she thinks privately, smiling a little sadly before entering the elevator, I hope this kind of attitude isn't considered normal here... afterall, most people here are training to become top stars in the future!

But as Yun waits for the elevator to arrive on the third floor, her own heart answers that question: glares and rude remarks are exclusively available to the ugly and untalented; those whom the staff have secretly decided amongst themselves that will never debut and make it big.

*Ding!*

The elevator doors slide open smoothly, revealing a small waiting area located directly in front of an intimating office door. Great. Now I'm feeling even more nervous after that rapid degradation of my self-esteem.

But the girl walks out anyway - she didn't forget why she came here in the first place, and the smiles of both Jongin and Baekhyun cheering her on, urging her to knock on the door and take a risk to achieve her biggest and wildest dreams.

Yun raps her knuckles gingerly on the door three times, holding her breath until she hears an authoritive voice call out monotonously: "Come in."

"Good morning..." the chubby girl pops her head into the office hesistantly.

"Why hello, Yun!" the older man smiles, showing a generous amount of teeth and gum to reassure her of his welcome, "I'm happy to see you again."

"Thank you...for your offer yesterday..." Yun speaks almost inaudibly, "I have...considered it to great depth."

"Oh? Is that so?" Lee Soo Man internally frowns to himself at her lack of confidence, how can she be an international star without even being able to talk to me in normal speech volume?

"Yes," she smiles, "and I think...I'm willing to give it a try in trusting your ability to create stars."

The company owner nods approvingly, "You're flattering me, young lady," he pretends to look taken aback for humorous effect, "SM is still working hard to become the best of the best in our industry - and to be honest, I think both you and your friends from EXO will play key roles in helping us achieve that."

Yun's surprised expression was definitely not faked for any effect, as she quickly waves her hands around in denial, "Oh no! Sir, you're right about EXO having great potential for future growth, but I'm definitely not on the same level at all!"

"Are you doubting my judgement?" he threatens darkly, then quickly breaks into light-hearted laughter, "I'm certain you'll become famous, dear, as much as you find it hard to believe."

Yun noticably gulps, "To be honest, sir, I still can't grasp the fact that you would even consider me as a potential talent...My singing is nice, but it really isn't anything amazing like Jongdae or Kyungsoo's voices..."

"You give yourself too little credit," he smiles warmly, "your high notes may not be as high as Kim Jongdae, and your control may not be as impeccable as Do Kyungsoo; but there is a special quality in your voice which can move one's heart and make it swell in emotion."

"...Really?" Yun looks down at her shoes, "it could've just been luck when you heard me last time..."

"No, I'm certain it's a unique sound only you are able to produce," the man chuckles at his own warm encouragements, which are rare to come by, "that indescribable quality behind your singing tells me that you are someone with a story - a very interesting story."

"Interesting...story?" Yun shakes her head in confusion, "there is nothing interesting about me."

Lee Soo Man sighs impatiently, "We really need to get this self-pity and extremely low self-esteem of your's fixed, don't we?"

"I'm sorry--"

"It's alright," he interrupts her by pulling out a piece of paper from his desk drawer, "I expect some flaws in every talent I find; no one is perfect." He pushes the paper and a pen towards the standing girl in front of his desk, "sign here, and we can start fixing those imperfections immediately."

A/N: Joining SM as a trainee :D what do you think they'll make her do first, before anything else? That's right! Lose weight OTL