"Welcome to SM entertainment, newbie!" a boyish-looking girl links her arm into Yun's with friendly enthusiasm, "I can't believe you made it to SM, under the recommendation of the company boss at that!"

Amber, who shares various lectures and has accompanied the unconfident girl in lonely lunchtimes throughout their first year in university, is one of Lee Yun's favourite people apart from Baekhyun. Her smiles at Yun are always earnest - not hiding anything. 

"Amber..." Yun laughs nervously despite the familiar warmth radiating from Amber's body, "I can't dance..."

"Sure you can! Maybe not yet, but by the time I'm through with you, you'll be as good as Kim Jongin!"

Yun's face lights up at the mention of her trainer's name, "You know Jongin?"

"Of course! There isn't a single female in SM entertainment who doesn't know that kid!" she laughs, "but that guy's way too cocky - that snarky personality is really annoying sometimes."

"Do you not like him?" Yun asks the girl stretching her legs in the middle of the studio, frowning at the possibility of her friends despising each other.

"He's alright to dance with..." Amber admits grudgingly, "but talking to him gives me a headache."

Yun smiles to herself and shuts her own mouth before she can start to boast about how much she knows the real, childish and adorable Kim Jongin - the hidden side of him that nobody knows about except herself.

"Alright, stop grinning like an idiot and come over here!" Amber beckons Yun toward her, "we're going to start with a few basic stretches and dance steps, then I'm going to get the company's dietition to come and teach you the art of losing weight."

"Did the boss ask you to help me diet?" Yun blushes, "because I really think I'll be fine by myself..." I really don't want to trouble more people with my personal issues...especially since I know how hard Amber has been working this year to prepare for f(x)'s new comeback.

"No, you won't," Amber suddenly moves in to hug Yun with a sympathetic expression, "you'll be needing all the support you can get - the old man's really harsh when it comes to training and an idol's image. But don't worry, because I'll be here for you when you need me, okay?"

"Thank you," Yun smiles against the female's short hair, "you're always so nice to me, Amber."

"We don't have much time," Amber hides her blush with a boisterous laugh, "so let's get started on the dancing now, okay?" Amber winks playfully at Yun, while pulling her towards the dance floor.

"Wait. One question before we start," Yun pulls on the other girl's arm to get her attention, "what did you mean by 'the old man's really harsh'? Did Lee Soo Man set you a specific mission or requirement that I have to meet?"

Amber sighs dejectedly, "Okay I won't lie to you...our mission is to get you to 55kg within five months."

"...What?!," Yun's eyes bulge at the unrealistic weight goal, "I can't do it. I give up. Five months isn't even half a year!"

"Believe in me, Yun," Amber puts her hands on her shoulders, "and believe in yourself! An ex-trainee had even lost 10kg within three weeks before, so why can't you lose 36kg when you've been given far more than ten weeks?"

"And if you can't believe in her or yourself," a male's voice speaks up, as a familiar face appears from behind the door, "then believe in me, the trainer who helped you lose your first five kilograms."

Amber visibly pouts, "So you've been sent as my co-trainer? Kim Jongin..."

Not long after Amber started to train the overweight girl's dance steps like a demon, the certified dietition clacked into the room in black high heels, with a reserved and emotionless expression plastered onto her face. Yun thought she looked a bit stern and somewhere in her mid-thirties, but the small wrinkles near her eyes told Yun that she is someone who laughs a lot on a daily basis.

"Nice to meet you," she says, diverting Amber's attention away from the move she is currently demonstrating, "my name is Choi Jikyung, and I will be in charge of your three meals every day starting today."

"Pleasure to meet you too, I'm Lee Yun," the girl hurriedly lowers her large body in a 90 degree bow, "it's a great pleasure to meet you!" 

And the oddest thing happened when Yun straightened herself to look back at her: the lady was literally smiling in the most dazzling way known to mankind!

"You're such a polite kid, I wasn't expecting that," she takes Yun's hand into both of her's, and gives it a reassuring pat, "I'm sorry I was so quick to judge and acted very coldly when greeting you - when I heard a scouted talent had nearly refused Lee Soo Man's personal offer, I thought it would be an ambitious person who has enough talent but no manners!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry if that's what it seemed like," Yun blushes, "I was actually just debating whether to became a trainee because...well...you see, my body is a bit..."

"Ah, I can understand your worries," she smiles empathetically, "you're afraid of the attention from mass media, aren't you?"

"Yes..." Yun whispers, barely audible.

"Well you don't need to worry now!" Amber pipes up, "because Jikyung is a master at dieting, and she never gains weight even when she eats tons of food with us after preparing for a promotion round!"

"You're exaggerating again, Amber," the dietition giggles, "but I am very careful regarding my weight - so under my strict surveillance we should be able to lose at least 20kg in the blink of an eye!"

"Correction...it's actually 36kg...an average of 7.2 per month," Amber clears nervously, "the old man warns us that he's preparing for the first debut teaser in exactly 150 days; so if we don't meet the requirements by then, Yun won't be able to debut."

"Seriously?! Is he trying to kill her?!" a familiar voice suddenly screams from across the room, "who the actual hell loses seven kilograms a month for five months consecutively?! Is he crazy?!"

"Jongin, calm down," the woman smiles at him reassuringly as he grumpily makes his way to Yun's side, "we all know mister Lee is strict, but we also know that he's the most strict with those that he places his highest hopes in. Take EXO as an example! He trains you guys so much harder than the other groups, because he is placing his hope on you guys for the near future. So my point is that he values Yun - and possibly hopes for her to debut as soon as possible, because he sees a bright future ahead of her," Jikyung pats Jongin's head lightly, causing an oddly uncomfortable chill to go down Yun's back, "so stop sulking, and let's not waste another minute talking when we could be shedding pounds, alright?"

Jongin pouts at the elder's disregarding gesture, before quickly squeezing Yun's hand in reassurance, "don't work yourself too hard, alright? I don't want you to grow sick or anything."

Blushing lightly, Yun smiles at him comfortingly, "Stop worrying about me! Go and prepare for your own debut!" She turns to her other friend, silently throwing daggers at Jongin through her eyes, "You too, Amber! You must be busy with f(x) readying for your next album. Please don't spend all your energy on me - practice with your group too!"

They both frown in reluctance, but exit the room again when Luna pokes her head through the door to call out an impatient 'practice is starting!'

"Alright, now that the lovey dovey couple has been separated," Jikyung winks at Yun playfully, "let's get on with the dieting tips and calorie counting!"

"N-no, we're not...like that..." the girl stutters a little, "Jongin is a friend I treasure I lot and has helped me come out of my shell little by little - I'm thankful towards him, but we're just friends." Straight after finishing her explanation, Yun hesistates, Although...could it be possible that I like him? Even just a little bit? Jongin is very likable afterall...

"Sweetheart, friends don't squeeze each other's hands like that," the older woman smiles knowingly, but quickly replaces it with a professional pokerface, and starts scribbling into her notebook furiously.

"What are you writing?" Yun attempts to peek over her shoulder, "is it a diet plan?"

"Yes!" she grins, scribbling a little more, before holding it up for Yun too see, "ta-da! Read it clearfully and follow all the rules, alright?"

Yun scans her eyes quickly over the short sentences and abbreviated words: "Food is prohibited, apart from breakfast at 8am and lunch at exactly 1pm every day. Calorie intake should not surpass 800. All things containing sugar (including fruits) are off-limits. A minimum of 5 hours of work out training with Amber every day...SUNBAE-NIM THIS IS CRAZY!" Yun finally manages to choke out after reading through half the extensive list of do-nots.

"This is the minimum of what we have to do to get to 55kg within 150 days," Jikyung shakes her head stubbornly as Yun unleashes her best imitation of Baekhyun's puppy eyes on her. "No, honey, aegyo won't work on me."

Yun almost cries out loud in frustration, "But I'll die from this! Aren't humans supposed to at least maintain more than 1000 calories to ensure healthy fat burn?!"

"That's for normal people - you're no longer normal, because you're now signed under SM entertainment."

A/N: dun dun dunnnn life as a trainee finally started! Doesn't look very relaxing does it? Anyone who can follow that diet plan would be the master of self control and perseverance omg