A loud shout of excitement woke you up from your sleep as you opened your eyes sleepily to see your friend charging into your bedroom.

“Wake up!” She hollered as she jumped onto your bed and pulled you up.

“What now, Jimin-ah…” You answered grumpily as you sat beside her.

You glanced at your bedside clock and groaned as it was only seven in the morning and you are definitely not a morning person.

“FNC just contacted me!” Jimin said excitedly as your eyes widened immediately. “You didn’t pick up so they called me instead! And guess what?”

She didn’t wait for your answer as she continued, “They picked us!”

You heard a shriek of excitement coming out from your lips as you enveloped your friend tightly into a hug. Three weeks ago, Jimin and you had gone to FNC and auditioned to be the next girl group that they were searching for.

You tore yourself from Jimin as you scrambled for your phone. True enough, there were 2 missed calls from an unknown number.

“Hurry up and get ready!” Jimin said as she pulled you out of bed. “They want us to be there in three hours.”

“What? Why so soon?” You asked as you dashed to the bathroom that both you and Jimin shared.

You closed the door behind her as you heard her continue, “I’m not sure. But I heard that they want us to sign the contract with them and we can start our training as soon as possible.”

You took a quick shower as Jimin bustled off to get ready and by 8:30am, the both of you were done. As the both of you sat in the bus on the way to the FNC building, you pondered as to why FNC would pick Jimin and you over the other girls. You didn’t get to see the other girls’ performances but they were definitely much prettier than you and your friend. You are not ugly but having done no plastic surgery before, you felt a little inferior when you watched the girls with their perfectly small noses and chins enter the audition room.

Jimin seem to be thinking the same as she suddenly said, “I guess we beat the other girls because we have more talent.”

It was 9:30am when you stepped into the FNC building and after speaking to the receptionist, she directed you to an office as she knocked on the door.

“Manager Kim, the girls have arrived.” The receptionist called out.

The door opened to reveal one of the men who were sitting with the judges the other day and you and Jimin bowed immediately.

“Come on in,” He said cheerfully as you and Jimin entered the room. “We’re almost done here.”

You heard a small gasp from Jimin and looked up as your eyes rested on the four boys seated in the room.

“CN Blue…” Jimin whispered.

You smiled a little as you knew that Jimin had always been a fan of them. You heard their music and you always thought that they were extremely talented. Even though you were never a fan, you felt your heart rate increase as Manager Kim led the two of you to sit right opposite to the boys.

“We were about to end the meeting but since you girls are early, I might as well let you meet your Sunbae-nims in FNC.” Manager Kim said.

“Annyeonghaseyo, We’re CN Blue.” The boys chimed automatically as Jimin and you bowed back hastily.

“Annyeonghaseyo.” The both of you greeted and sat down.

“Guys, the both of them will be trainees in FNC now and please guide them along if you can.” Manager Kim said to the boys as they nodded.

Manager Kim then turned to you and Jimin. “Do the both of you know how to play any musical instruments?”

“I can play the piano.” Jimin replied.

You felt yourself flush as you mumbled no. You have never felt inferior because of your lack of skills in playing musical instruments but with four very talented boys and even Jimin who knows the piano, you couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.

“Ah, no problem,” Manager Kim said immediately sensing your discomfort. “We hired you because of your voice anyway.”

“Can you really sing that well?” You heard a voice ask.

You looked up to see that it belonged to Jonghyun. It was the first time one of them had actually spoken to you directly.

“Huh?” You replied and instantly regretted it as it made you sound silly.

But how were you supposed to answer his question?

You saw his lips curved into a small smile, “Sorry, I mean FNC usually recruits people who can both sing and play an instrument so if FNC actually recruited you based on your voice, you must be really good then.”

You didn’t know how to reply but felt yourself blush at his comment. “I still have a lot to learn actually.”

“Yah, Hyung, you’ve made her embarrassed!” Jungshin laughed as he nudged Jonghyun playfully.

Minhyuk sniggered but as your eyes drifted to the leader sitting at the side, you could see that he wasn’t amused as he only stared straight ahead at you, his face expressionless. He seemed to be deep in thought.

Manager Kim laughed along with the three boys and then he clapped his hands in delight. “Jonghyun-ah, if you’re free, why don’t you coach _______-ssi in playing the guitar?”

“Eh? How about Yonghwa hyung?” Minhyuk replied.

Yonghwa finally snapped back to attention as he looked at Minhyuk and Manager Kim.

He was about to reply when Manager Kim said, “Yonghwa can’t. He has to attend several variety shows.”

“Ah, that’s true.” Minhyuk said and then turned to you. “_______-ssi, right?”

“Yes,” came your automatic reply.

“Don’t worry, Jonghyun hyung, Jungshin and I will help you whenever we can.” Minhyuk replied as he smiled.

You stood up immediately and bowed as you thanked them. You never expected the three boys to be so friendly and helpful but you also can’t help wondering why Jung Yonghwa was so silent.

“Girls, I will need you to move into the dorm tomorrow, is that okay?” Manager Kim said.

Jimin and you nodded. The both of you are sharing a small apartment and there wasn’t much to pack.

“Here, take a look at the contract and sign if there isn’t any problem.” Manager Kim said as he handed a contract to the both of you.

You read through the contract quickly and looked up as you heard Jimin exclaim, “We’re not allowed to date?”

You heard Jungshin and Minhyuk laugh at her small outburst as the manager explained, “It’s common for idols not to date as you might lose a big portion of your fans and we would also want you to concentrate on your career instead of dating.”

“Are there any exceptions?” Jimin asked curiously.

“There was a couple who got together after the variety show ‘We got married’ and the company allowed them to date publicly as they seemed to have attracted more fans when they were together as a couple… So, that could be an exception.” Manager Kim explained.

Jimin nodded and continued reading the contract. The both of you then signed the contract.

“I guess that is it then.” Manager Kim said as he shooed the six of you out of his room. “Spend your free day wisely, guys. We’ll start training tomorrow.”

“Ah, I’m hungry. Shall we go get breakfast?” Jungshin asked as he looked at his watch.

“Hyung, hyung!” Minhyuk said excitedly to both Yonghwa and Jonghyun. “Shall we go?”

Yonghwa and Jonghyun nodded immediately.

“Do you both want to join us?” Minhyuk asked. “There is this Korean pancake place which is delicious.”

You could see that Jimin wanted to go with them as she turned to you with her puppy eyes.

“If it isn’t any inconvenience…” You said uncertainly to Minhyuk.

“No, it’s fine.” Jonghyun said and gave a small smile. “Let’s go.”

Jimin started talking excitedly to Jungshin and Minhyuk as you walked behind them, along with Yonghwa and Jonghyun.

It was a beautiful morning as the spring breeze blew against your face. You were walking beside Jonghyun as he was between Yonghwa and you.

“How old are you, ______-ssi?” Jonghyun asked suddenly.

“Ah, I’m 23,” You replied.

“We’re of the same age then.” Jonghyun said quietly.

You said nothing as you heard laughter coming from the three happy people in front. Jimin seemed to be getting along well with Jungshin and Minhyuk and you’re glad.

There was an awkward atmosphere between Jonghyun, Yonghwa and you and you were wondering if it was due to the fact that Yonghwa was too quiet or if you were the one creating the awkwardness.

Clearing your throat, you said, “Jonghyun-ssi, if it’s inconvenient, you don’t have to teach me guitar, I can get someone else to teach me.”

“It’s no trouble,” he said. “I’m pretty free nowadays so I can teach you.”

“Thank you.” You said gratefully.

“Jonghyun-ah,” You heard Yonghwa finally speak. “Don’t you have a variety show to attend soon?”

“Oh, it hasn’t been confirmed yet.” Jonghyun replied. “Honestly, I may not even be chosen for it.”

Yonghwa fell silent again and you turned to Jonghyun curiously. “What variety show is that?”

“It’s ‘We got married’. I heard that they’re still searching for someone suitable for me. If there isn’t, then they might pick someone else.” Jonghyun replied.

You nodded. You are not sure why but your thoughts started drifting towards Yonghwa and Seohyun from SNSD. You remembered catching a few episodes of them in that variety show and you wondered if they have actually dated in real life.

“Ah, we’re here!” Minhyuk announced from the front and then you realized that you were all standing in front of the shop.

It was a weekday morning and most people were either at work or in school. There wasn’t much of a crowd and the six of you settled yourselves in a booth.

You felt your heart plunge as you realise that the person sitting right in front of you was Jung Yonghwa. Jimin sat beside you and Jungshin sat beside Yonghwa as both you and Yonghwa were squeezed into the far end of the booth.

“We’ll go take our orders.” Minhyuk and Jungshin said as Jimin got up to follow them.

Jonghyun then excused himself to go to the bathroom and to your horror, you were left alone with Yonghwa. There was a dreadful silence and you didn’t like it. You looked up to see him staring at you as you raised your eyebrows.

“Yonghwa-ssi, do you need something?” You asked politely.

He seemed unfazed by your question as he replied, “Do well in FNC and train hard.”

You were taken aback by his reply and was about to reply when he leaned across the table and gestured with his finger to ask you to come closer. You complied and leaned over and then in a cold voice, he said, “Do well and don’t bring any trouble to CN Blue.”

You leaned back and stared at him. Why would he say that? You have barely met the CN Blue members and now he was saying this to you?

Without knowing why, you swallowed a lump that was starting to form in your throat as you tried to keep your voice steady, “Yonghwa-ssi, what problem do you have with me?”

The voice that came out of you turned out bitter but you couldn’t help it. What is wrong with this guy?

He made no reply as he leaned back in his chair just as Jonghyun came back.

Perhaps it was your expression or the tension around you and Yonghwa, Jonghyun glanced at the both of you as he sat down