a random oneshot inspired/triggered simply while listening to this:     -     The sound of an object hitting the hardwood flooring in their practice room was consequently followed by the abrupt end of the loud music.   "Out! Until you can stop making mistakes, don't you dare come back inside. Your debut time is nearing and still the stupid mistakes. You should be ashamed that even the new trainee is doing so much better. Go out, reflect and practice and when you dare to come back in, make sure you're perfect."   The door clicked open and shut. It was late night and even the slightest movement would naturally, be audible. Though the only deafening noises would be the ones that came from the practice room. He was now, safe in the silence, in the darkened alley once he clicked the door shut. Although from the usual dialogue he just heard, it's clear that the night wasn't about to end yet, at least not for him and them. He sighed inwardly, wondering what he was doing, and if this was the life he really wanted. But he knew, he would keep going on anyway. He didn't know why. He just knew that's what always happen anyway, in the end.   Walking along the unlit corridor to head outside, he tripped on something and fell down, knocking his knees on the cold, hard surface in the process, luckily his face was saved though it costed his hand to bear the consequence, pain and bruise if any.   "Ouch!" He wanted to curse the floor or whatever placed there that caused the careless accident and broke the serene silence in the most ungraceful way. But the words just didn't jump out of his mouth, and he decided maybe that was for the better. Everything happens for a reason, they should be.       "Are you alright?" A worried, unfamiliar voice greeted him in the still darkness. But then again, what voices were really familiar? The company was filled with all sorts of young people who come and go. Dreamers, some extremely talented or as he would rather call, gifted, like the new trainee that had gotten nothing but the opposite of what he received from the trainers and his fellow comrades - praises. Some, average but good enough to hang in there thanks to their superior faces or bodies or just every other thing other than talents? Some started out bad, but had all the determination, courage and hardwork in the world that they manage to put impossible to shame by proving the otherwise and climbing their way out, but those people were too rare, he's not sure if there's any in his team. Then there's some like him, who just had nothing to boast about. Worse than average in any sorts of talents, had no heartthrob face nor appearance, and just never seem to be good enough, at least not in the eyes and ears of their trainers. But somehow, he was still there, oddly.    Maybe it was his amazingly strong will and his shamelessness that kept him there, despite his lack of notable improvement nor stability. Over the years he had seen the weak hearteds ran away all the time. Some were good. Some were amazingly good, better than all the ones still existing now. But they're weak. They couldn't withstand the physical, mental, emotional and psychological suffering. He didn't know he could either. But he did. So he's still there. Even though punishment and scolding were part of his daily servings that he had become more familiar with than rice. And now that his knees hurt like hell to even stand straight back on his feet, he knew the scolding would only increase the moment he tells them he couldn't resume practice for the night. Maybe he would be accused of purposely tripping, or lying of injuring himself because he's lazy. It's not the first time he heard such thing anyway. He had become immune to the feeling of being unjustly judged, well, for the moment at least.   A pair of hands helped him up. It was still dark and he couldn't see. But he didn't decline the help. He was grateful for it, if he even thought anything of it. He decided that the hands must've belonged to a human. If it was a ghost, he would have felt the air turned chilly, but he didn't. So it had to be a human. Another trainee, perhaps. He didn't sound old or authoritative enough to be some managers or staff members. In fact, he sounded timid, worried, clueless, just like himself. Just like all the other trainees, he thought. So, he had to be one of them.   "Where are you heading?"   "Outside."   "Uhm...okay. Let's go."   "Wait...I can walk. You should go back to practice or they'd yell at you too for running away from practice."   "Huh?"   "Just...go back in. I can walk."   "I...I'm not a trainee here."         The person sat himself next to him, after settling him down on the bench at the taxi stand. They were still trapped in the dark, as neither the streetlights nor even the taxi stand lamp were working. No buses were still available at such late hours anyway. Even for taxis, it would probably take an hour. He wasn't really sure. Usually, the company's van would send them all after they're done with practice. But he's too afraid of going back inside and tell them that he tripped down and couldn't practice to perfect his moves. The news might cause his team mates to be forced to stop their practice. And they would get upset. Some would loudly blame him. Others would just curse him inwardly. The new kid would probably laugh at him. He hated that the most. How the new kid was so superior in everything and how every good thing the new kid did would be compared to his own lackings, and how everytime he made mistake, the new kid would be brought up, like they're two sides of a mirror that reflect the opposite and he's always on the substandard side of the mirror. Even his only close friends in the team had gotten so enthralled by the new trainee to abandon him now. Even the one precious best friend he treasured and adored the most. He hated the new kid, no doubt.   "Are your ankles alright? Is there any twenty four hour pharmacy around here?" He glanced briefly to his side, and appreciated that the stranger had allowed space enough to fit two people between them. Space wasn't something he could often afford when around his fellow team members. Yet, despite being crammed with them, he still felt alone most time, left out even in their noisiness together.   "What were you doing inside the building just now? You're not a trainee...right?"   "Well...not yet...I'm not sure..."   "Oh...then what were you doing there?"   "I...uhm, waiting for a friend."   "A trainee."   "Yes."   He nodded to himself. The faces of his team mates suddenly flashed one after another in his eyes.        "Do you always practice so late into the night?" The stranger ended the silence that was building up.   "Yeah...well, not that late." He could see the stranger nodded to himself even without turning his head.     "Your friend...we have van that sends us home. You don't have to worry about her. Or him."   "Really? He didn't say anything about it. That's a relief I guess. He's...not used to commute by public transport...at least not alone...in the middle of the night."   "I see...sounds like a spoilt brat."     He cringed at his own bold, tactless remark and squeezed his eyes shut, his method of silent self-reprimanding. But contrary to his prediction, the stranger only laughed. The laughter that he was sure sounded so different than any normal laughter that randomly made him wondered how the stranger would sound when he sings. He's willing to bet it would sound really nice.   "He is, a little spoilt brat-ish. Well, he used to be. But he had grown up a lot. He's no longer a spoilt brat. He's working hard to achieve his dreams now."   "Is he like...your boyfriend or something?" This time he slapped his mouth, and even more so when the stranger took more than a couple of seconds to answer.   "Uhh...he's just...like a brother. A younger brother. Yes, just that."   He had heard such lame attempt of self denial before. This wasn't the first time. He had heard it from himself, when that new trainee stole the attention of his best friend and he felt his heart pierced, then ripped and then bled, for no reason and he felt like throwing that kid somewhere far from his friend, or better, far from any human existence, just to teach him a lesson. He had try to convince himself that he was just being that way because that was his friend the kid flirted with. Just friend. Just the way this stranger was talking about his supposedly younger brother sort of friend.   "You know...it's not wrong if you like him more than that." He could feel the judgmental eyes stripping him or rather, his words.   "I mean...it's not like I'm going to tell anyone. I don't even know you. Or him."   "I mean it. He's just like a younger brother."   'Yeah, keep trying to convince yourself for as long as you can. Good luck with that. How convincing.' This time he managed to keep the words to himself. Thank goodness.   "Okay." He absentmindedly answered, not wanting to let the silence fill the air for too long.   "It's just that I'm so used of him depending on me, I'm so used to taking care of him from the moment he wakes up, having breakfast, going to his classes, then going to our part time job, dinner, until he goes to sleep. He's just not good at taking care of himself."   He kept nodding, despite becoming more and more convinced that the stranger didn't just see the 'younger brother' merely as a younger brother.   "Now that he's suddenly one step into living his dreams...I just see him much lesser...and it just feels...weird."   He rolled his eyes, and had a strong urge to yell at the stranger for being so dumb, but again, he felt glad he didn't. It's not like they're any of his business.   "It's like...having your best friend snatched away from you."     That, however, made him turn to look at the stranger, who was still unclear to his sight anyway, and not looking at him but only to the empty road before them, while talking.   He could actually relate completely to that part of the explanation attempt.   "I know that feeling. My best friend was just snatched away by one of the new trainees. Now he doesn't even see me anymore even when we're practicing together."   "Like shadow..." The stranger continued what he wanted to say.   "Yes, like shadow. Worse, even. And..." He stopped as his eyes captured a taxi slowing down towards them. He again felt the stranger's eyes looking through him. But he didn't turn elsewhere from the moving car. Neither did he say or do anything to stop the taxi. Neither did the stranger. And the taxi took the lack of message, and sped off.     "Sorry. I...I thought you would stop the taxi. I forgot your leg was injured."   "Oh well, I forgot it too. And when I remembered, it's already too late. Well, there's always another one."   "Yes, there'll be another one."   "So, how come you're taking care of this young friend of yours? Doesn't he have family?"   "Well, yes. But he...umm, had some personal issues with his parents and left home."   "Wow...that's brave. Even when he knew he couldn't take care of himself?"   "Well, he knew he could stay with me."   "Or maybe he just fought them as excuse to live with you." He chuckled, before regretting again, once the stranger turned silent again.   "Sorry."   The stranger let out a restrained laugh, according to his hearing.   "No, it's alright. That's quite funny. It does sound nice though."   He wondered if he only imagined the last sentence or if the stranger really spelled it out. When silence started clouding the air again, he felt suffocated. Talking to the stranger had made him felt so free of all his unknown burdens that made his life monotonous, apart from the unchanging daily routines. He didn't want the silence to take that away.   He was a breath of fresh air - the stranger. Or maybe, it's just for a fact that he's doing something out of the norm, this night. Accompanied by different people. Talking about things he wouldn't dream of talking to his team mates. Even if he's with a stranger, and talking about yet another stranger, the whole different experience felt exciting to him.     "So how long have you been friends with your...best friend before he was snatched by the new trainee?"   "Huh?" It surprised him that the stranger somehow remembered about his story when they had already diverted from that topic. Nobody ever bothered about his story, it was always about them, not him.    "Uhm...I don't know, for as long as he's been training, I guess."   The stranger nodded but said nothing.   "That new kid was such a pain in the ."   "Troublemaker?"   "No. Good at everything. Perfect."   "Ahh...makes sense. But you're a nice person. It'd be your friend's lost if he left you for the new trainee."   It was a great compliment, especially for him who couldn't remember when was the last time he received one.    "That's nice to hear. But you don't know me. How do you know whether I'm a nice person or the opposite?"   It wasn't a challenge. He was genuinely confused and curious.   "Because you sound like one, I guess."   "Well, thank you."   The stranger said nothing. But the warm remarks on his self-worth had made him a little more enthusiastic than before to continue the conversation. Though he's losing ideas on what to talk about.     "I think they will finish training for the day anytime soon. It's already late. You can go check on them to find your...lucky spoilt friend."   The stranger laughed again. This time, a lot more natural than previously.   "What about you then?"   "Me? I'm just waiting for the taxi."   "Do you live far away from here?"   "Well, not that far. They need to put us where it's easy to get us at anytime and torture us."   "I see. Is it that bad?"   "No. It's just me who's negative. I'm sure your spoilt friend is doing fine though I don't know which one he is."   "Should I tell you his name?"   "I don't know. Do you want to?"   The stranger thought to himself before coming up with his answer.   "I don't think you're negative. In fact, quite the opposite."   It was his turn to laugh, though the stranger's sudden turn of subject towards himself, again successfully startled him.   "You complimented me again, without even knowing anything about me. Is this some kind of a bribe attempt to...take care of your spoilt friend maybe?"   "I don't think you need to know someone that well to have an impression. So