I looked at him suspiciously. A last surprise, seriously. Did I really want to know what that was?

“H-Hoya I don’t k-know…” I started to back away from him, slowly. What if he tried to, you know, kiss me. Should I scream? I saw how he took a step closer towards me, and in pure reflex I shielded my face with my hands. And it didn’t take long before I could hear his laughter echoing in my ears. I stared at him, dumbfounded. If he weren’t going to kiss me, then what was his surprise?

“Did you really think I was going to kiss you” he let out one more laughter before he turned serious and a smirk was plastered onto his lips. “It’s something else” he grabbed a hold of my hand and squeezed it slightly.

I felt somewhat uneasy, not because he was holding my hand. But because I had no clue what this surprise could be. It wasn’t like he – they could buy me a new apartment.

“Come” he started to drag me out from the room and towards the outer door. We where going to leave the building? But what about the other members, where we just going to leave them here? And what about Sung Yeol?

“What about the rest, and Sung Yeol?” I turned my head around, to see if I could spot someone. What if he was kidnapping me? I gulped down on my saliva and turned to look at Hoya. Nothing in his expression could help me figure out what he was doing. Though, out of nowhere, he told me to relax, which wasn’t that easy, since I had no clue of where we were going.

He hushed me inside a car that was standing just outside the entrance of the practice studio. With a last glimpse of the house we drove off. My eyes where set on the road, as if the road could tell me where we were heading. There was just this one problem. I weren’t too familiar with the roads here, since I never used them.

“You’re going to like it” Hoya’s words entered my head and I snapped my head around, to look at him. I could see a small, almost insignificant smile on his lips.

“Why can’t you just tell me” I begged him, but he said no fallowed by that if he said something about the surprise. Then, it wouldn’t a surprise anymore. I sighed and turned my attention to the road once again.

At least we weren’t leaving Seoul, because in the next moment the car suddenly came to a stop outside this five story building painted in a sophisticated white-gray color. I stared up at it once I stepped out from the car. It looked exactly like one of those head-quarter buildings. Just that this one was slightly smaller than those big ones.

But what were we doing here?

“Hoya” I uttered his name as my eyes where pierced on the building in front of myself. Something inside told me that I should run, run for my life. But I didn’t get the chance, because before I knew it, Hoya had taken a hold of my right hand and started to pull me along. And it didn’t take many seconds before we both where inside, standing next to a reception.

A piece of paper lying on the counter caught my attention, or more like the headline of the paper, where the company’s name where printed. I mouthed the name out, as in a try to fully understand what I where seeing. It stood, Woolim Entertainment.

I froze in my actions. What was he doing, why had he taken me to the head-quarters of Woolim Entertainment. It didn’t make sense. “Hoya, what are we doing here?” I whispered to him, the woman behind the reception had ended her phone call and was now looking at the two of us.

“May I help you?” the woman asked, she was looking straight at Hoya. Of course she must know him; after all, she was working at a place where he occasionally visited.

“We are here to meet Tablo hyung” Hoya explained and I snapped my head to the left, so that I could look at him. What was he saying, that we where going to meet Tablo. What’s happening, what is he doing? “Hoya, please what are you doing?” I took a hold of his sleeve and pulled.

Why is he doing this? Did he drag me here because he wants Tablo to end my contract, or is it Tablo himself who wants to do that? Maybe he knows that Sung Yeol and I are dating. Oh god. “You may go” the woman pointed with her hand in the direction of where the elevators where. I was tightly holding onto his hand the whole ride to the fourth floor. He didn’t say anything, he was complete silent. Which often meant no good, at least not when your name was Lee Howon.

Tablo greeted the both of us with a huge smile; before he motioned for us inside the room he just seconds ago appeared from. Hesitant I sat down on a chair and waited for Hoya to fallow, which he soon did, because he placed himself next to me.

I glanced around, a few prizes caught my attention, and I knew they where music prizes my just looking at them.

“So, should we talk about why I let Hoya take you here? It’s about your contract” Tablo was explaining and by each word my heart started to beat faster. Though, I had been right. Why Hoya had taken me here was indeed so that we Tablo could talk about my contract.

The only thing now was, what where he going to do with it? I guess he must’ve seen the scared look on my face, because he told me to take it easy and relax.

“I need to talk to you about something, and it’s really important that you tell me what your own thoughts are, okay?” he stated and then brought out a stack of paper, which he settled down on the table in front of me. The word, contract was printed on it, together with my name. It was the contract I had signed a few months ago.

“Rip it”

I immediately withdrew my gaze from the paper and set them on Tablo, what did he just say. That I should rip the contract, was my time as a composer for Woolim Entertainment really going to end. I felt how my throat started to get dry and my eyes watery. I couldn’t even look at Hoya.

But then, I couldn’t believe what he told me. That I should look through the paper that was lying beneath it, and I did as he told; I ripped my contract apart and then took a hold of the paper lying under it, before I started to read. I noticed that it was another contract. But it was different. But before I could ask him what kind of contract it was, he had already answered me. “It’s a trainee contract; you’ll be trained in singing and dancing, as well as composition”

So he wanted me to sign a contract that meant that I would be a trainee under Woolim Entertainment. “But, I haven’t gone through any auditions or anything” I stated and turned my attention to Tablo, yet again.

“Don’t worry about that, the CEO have already approved it. He heard your singing, and since you’ve already showed us your compositions since you made songs for Infinite, he told me that he wanted you as a trainee”

“Huh, but I’ve never sung in front of him, only you and Hoya” I was definitely dumbfounded right now, how could the CEO of Woolim know how my voice sounds like when I’ve never, not that I can recall, sung in front of him. Nor have I recorded myself singing either. “I know you haven’t, that’s why I told Hoya to get you to sing while you participated in Mnet Scandal, so that he could recorded it for me”

My eyes left Tablo and fixed themselves on Hoya. He had recorded me that time. That’s why he practically begged me to sing. I mouthed to him that I where going to kill him as soon as we stepped out of this room. But he only smiled. “It’s your call; if you don’t want to sign it then you don’t have to”

I was mute for a while, mainly because I was thinking about what I where suppose to do, sign it or not. “Am I still going to be able to compose and write music?” I asked him and I saw how he immediately nodded his head. Then why would I hesitate. It could be a further step forward for me.

I grabbed a hold of the pen that was lying next to the paper after that I had read through the whole paper. But there where still a few questions I needed to ask.

“What about Sung Yeol, and school? And most importantly where am I going to live? I’ve already sold my apartment” my questions hit him like bullets, but he didn’t seem the slightest worried about what to answer. “If you and Sung Yeol can keep your relationship secret and not let people know about it then its okay. I’m not trying to be mean, but if netizens finds out there is not going to be easy. Just so you know. I’ve already talked to Sojin so that’s already fixed. And about where you are going to live, don’t worry too much. We have already set for you to live together with two other trainees”

So I didn’t need to worry, school was fixed. And my relationship with Sung Yeol didn’t have to end if I decided to sign. And where I was going to live had also been fixed. I didn’t need much time for consideration, it only took a few minutes before the paper itself was signed and I where officially a Woolim Entertainment trainee.

“Great”

~~

As the car pulled up at the entrance of the practice studio I rushed out of the car and went on a find-Sung-Yeol operation. Because I where pretty sure that neither he nor the other members had a clue on what had just happened.

After looking through every practice room and not finding any of them, I proceeded towards the cafeteria in a hope to find them there. And as soon as I opened the door I where greeted by loud cheers, laughter and happy smiles.

They knew.

I saw how Sung Yeol and Sungjong where competing against each other while they where both making their way towards me. Sungjong won, after that he had pushed Sung Yeol into MyungSoo’s embrace, the latter one just sighed and looked at me with a grin. I mouthed a sorry. But he just gave me a smile back.

“NOOOONA” Sungjong wrapped his arms around me and then planted a small kiss on my cheek; I saw how Sung Yeol hit him over the head and told him to disappear, which he soon also did, with a pout on his lips. But he cheered up as soon as he found someone else to bug, and that someone being MyungSoo. I laughed as Sungjong hugged MyungSoo, whom only sighed and shook his head.

And with Sungjong gone Sung Yeol came forward and congratulated me before he planted a kiss on my lips.

“I love you” he whispered next to my ear and I felt how my whole body tingled in delight. I answered him by telling the same, that I truly love him before I captured his lips with mine.

The End