When Wooyoung reached the bottom of the stairs he nearly ran into a huge giant that was guarding the entrance of whatever it was that was hidden down here. The giant, who was at least twice the size of Wooyoung, stretched his enormous hand out towards him. He shook it awkwardly, his hand barely reaching around the giant's freakishly large hand. He didn't return the handshake, so Wooyoung just stood there, awkwardly shaking his hand which hardly moved an inch. The giant cleared his throat, drawing Wooyoung's attention to his face. He had an annoyed expression, looking at him like he wanted to bite his head off. He wriggled his hand lose from Wooyoung's weak grip, only to stretch it towards him once more. “Invitation.” The giant's voice boomed, echoing around the hallway. “Oh.. he he.. right.” he laughed nervously, fishing his invitation out of his jacket pocket. His hand trembled as he held it out, waiting for the giant to inspect it. The giant nodded his head, indicating that he was cleared to enter. As Wooyoung passed him, he grunted something unintelligible.

“Welcome!!” a cheerful plump little man in an extremely colorful hanbok greeted him. “I'm shaman Teukbyeol, we are so happy you were able to make it, aren't we?” as the shaman addressed the crowd of people that were gathered around them, they erupted with joy. Wooyoung started, he hadn't known what to expect, but he certainly hadn't expected this. “We've been waiting for you.” the shaman added, watching him with anticipation. He was quite charming. The people around them were staring at Wooyoung full of admiration, like he was the most amazing thing they had ever seen. He wasn't hating it. He knew he should stay on his toes, ready to run the moment things turned weird, but the atmosphere in here was intoxicating, lulling him into a false sense of security. Everyone was so excited to be in his presence, it was almost like being at a fan meeting. This wasn't scary at all, he thought while a smile snuck onto his lips.

“So ehm.. what am I doing here? Chosen for what?” he asked when the crowd had settled down. All eyes and ears were upon him. He tried to ignore it, but it really made him feel important. Why all those people were so interested in him, he had no clue. Maybe they really were fans. Maybe this had been an elaborate ruse to get him to attend this unauthorized fan meeting for free. Boy, would Jinyoung be pissed if he found out. He wasn't going to rat out his fans though, he thought it was kind of cool that they had taken the initiative and worked so hard to put their plan in action, realizing their dream. He had actually become the object of other people's dreams, their goal, just like Jinyoung had been his dream way back when. Sometimes he had a hard time believing that they had actually made it, after all their hard work. Other times he took it for granted, why shouldn't his fans love him? He was pretty awesome after all. He giggled to himself.

“You are special, or more precisely, a Special.” the shaman replied dramatically. “A special?” Wooyoung wasn't really following what he was saying. True, he was special, but what had that to do with anything? “What is a Special?” the shaman exclaimed in a booming voice that echoed through the room. “I'm glad you asked.” the shaman said mysteriously, giving the crowd a secretive look. The crowd trilled with excitement as the shaman theatrically prepared himself for the telling of that apparently awe inspiring story. “The Specials..” the little man paused for dramatic effect, “..are people gifted with special, higher abilities. They are capable of so much more than your average Joe on the street, they just don't know it.”. Wooyoung was skeptical at the most, was he talking about superpowers or something like that? He had to be completely coocoo, but he didn't really look like he belonged in a straightjacket in a locked room in some mental hospital. He actually gave off a trustworthy feeling and Wooyoung got the feeling he was really intelligent. He decided to hear him out. After all, it was not like he had anything to lose.

“When I was young I had a rough life, ..” the shaman began with a theatrically dreary expression. “I won‘t go into the details here, but I always felt like I was different, like there was something about me I had yet to fully understand. A chance meeting with another Special changed everything, he became my mentor and made my life what it is today. After I discovered I was a Special, I vowed that with the help of my kindhearted faithful supporters I would reach out to the Specials of the world, helping them discover their inner potential and unlock the magic from within. It‘s a feeling unlike any other, you will see the world in a different light. A better, more beautiful light. You will finally get to know the real you and feel a new sense of belonging, having a higher purpose in life. ” the old man smiled kindly at Wooyoung, like what he was saying was the most natural thing in the world. Wooyoung didn’t know what to think. It sounded pretty cool to be a Special and having all those people adore him, watching him with stars in their eyes. There was still a seed of doubt in his mind though. He wanted to believe, but it still sounded a bit dodgy.

“How did you know I was a Special? Or even that I existed?” Wooyoung asked skeptically. The shaman laughed heartily, his considerable belly jiggling up and down under the hanbok. “Oh.” he smiled at Wooyoung with a spark in his eyes, “I don't think that's such a mystery, do you? After all, there are not many people in this world who are not aware of the existence of the extremely talented 2PM, are there?”. The man had a point, he thought, his cheeks blushing slightly. “Actually, the idol world is the perfect place to start my mission, one is able to see so many aspects of the idols' lives and the Specials really stand out so they are impossible to miss. Like yourself. All the boys of 2PM are exceptionally talented, and yet you shine through like Polaris on a cold winter night. Your movements are sharper than a panther's claw, more precise than a cheetah's kill jump, with the finesse of a spider's web. When you dance, people get the feeling that it's impossible for you to be this good. That's always the first hint of a Special. That, combined with the fact that you always come off as an extremely intelligent, insightful and tremendously attractive person, was enough to convince me you were the one I was looking for. My first protégé.” the shaman put extra emphasis on the last sentence so that it echoed in Wooyoung's mind even after he had stopped talking.

Wooyoung felt like he was flying, the crowd had nodded their heads enthusiastically every time the shaman had pointed out a good quality of his. When he thought about it, it kind of made sense. He was an incredibly good dancer, that much he knew. Mostly because people kept telling him that. He did have that certain appeal that made people adore him, willing to do all kinds of things for him. He had always felt like it was something akin to a superpower. He didn't take it for granted though, and was always afraid to trust it completely. In the back of his head he was always waiting to wake up from this amazing dream that was his life, when the effect had worn off of all his fans and they had moved on to other things. It was what scared him the most, losing his fans. He didn't know how to exist without his fans. Without his fans, his life lost its meaning. He liked the give and take relationship he had with his fans. Well, he liked the taking more than the giving, but the giving created more for the taking so it was all good.

He wanted to believe, but he was afraid to. He was still not convinced. “So ehm.. like.. who else?” he asked, squinting his eyes at the shaman, trying to see if he could make a dent in the shaman's overly confident manner. “Who else you ask..” the shaman pondered. There. He had him. He had stomped him. The jig was up. “Well, the most obvious one would be JYP of course.” the shaman smiled, as confident as ever. Wooyoung's efforts to remain critical were all thwarted at once. Jinyoung! Of course! That was only logical. Jinyoung was the most amazing person he had ever come across in his entire life. He was the perfect man. Of course he was a Special. He was THE Special. A shadow glided over Wooyoung's face. If Jinyoung was a Special, there was no way he was one too. No matter how hard he worked, he would never be able to reach the same heights as him. That was impossible.

It was as if the shaman had read his mind. “JYP has of course had a longer time to develop his special talents. He didn't start out where he is today, somewhere along the way he must've become aware of his Special status and started developing his abilities. With enough practice, I'm confident we could develop your abilities to that level as well.” the shaman winked warmly at Wooyoung. The same level as Jinyoung. It had been his life long dream to be like him, could it really be that he would get the chance to realize that dream? He couldn't believe it. He was willing to do anything in order to be more like Jinyoung. He was his idol, his mentor, his guiding star in life.

“But... how...” he was having a hard time grasping what was going on. The shaman became more focused, more intense, “This won't be achieved over night, you see. Activating your abilities takes dedication and hard work. Do you think you have the tenacity and strength of character it takes to discover the new you, the special you?”. He nodded hesitantly, looking furtively at the crowd who were all staring at him, holding their breaths. “Okay, can I get a little more enthusiasm from you stone sculptures over there! What do you say, do you think he can do it? Do you think he has what it takes?” the shaman shouted at the crowd, riling them up. “YEAH!!” the crowd yelled in unison, clapping and cheering.

The excitement in the air was infectious, boosting Wooyoung's confidence, making him a bit light headed. He had often felt like he didn't fit in, that there was something peculiar about him, not quite like the rest. Oh, maybe that was why he had been so uncontrollably drawn to Jinyoung from the first moment he had laid his eyes on him. Kindred spirits and all.

“Okay, I'm in!! What do I have to do?”