Mi Young worked with Korea’s oldest idol group for several more months with no significant activities. Of course, she was slowly growing accustomed to seeing Shinhwa around the office more and after the first several conniption-inducing encounters with various members—which they gladly took in stride—the young woman was able to keep a level head around them.

                Naturally the group grew busier as more members completed their mandatory military service—she didn’t see much of Andy, Jun Jin, or Minwoo after the first day she shared lunch with them—and they started preparing for their comeback.

                Mi Young encountered Hyesung the most—since he was exempt from service due to his old knee injury and had already completed his solo work, he didn’t have too much to do except play video and computer games at home or hang out around Shinhwa Company. Most of the time he would check up on Eric or head down to the empty dance studio and practice old dances by himself.

                “Hyesung-ssi, good morning…” Mi Young welcomed the main vocalist as he shrugged off his winter coat and removed his sunglasses. She was proud of herself—normally her voice would shake whenever she came near the Shinhwa members, but this morning it was steady.

                “Good morning, Mi Young-ah.” He nodded, going down the hallway and greeting each of the desk workers as he passed them, heading towards Eric’s office.

                “Is Eric-ah not here?” He came back towards her desk, a little disgruntled after he visited the leader’s office and found it empty.

                Mi Young quickly pulled up Eric’s schedule on her computer, trying to locate him. “He’s in a meeting with one of Open World Entertainment’s representatives.”

                “I see…”

                “He should be back around 2pm,” Mi Young offered, trying to lighten the singer’s spirits.

                Hyesung frowned, scratching the side of his face. It was a nervous habit that she had noticed about him. “Thank you for your hard work… I’m going to one of the dance rooms.”

                “Sure… Should I tell Eric-ssi you’re here when he gets back?”

                Hyesung blinked, looking a little miffed. “It’s okay. He would probably just annoy me if he came down, the pabo... I don’t really care if you do, though. I guess it would be all right.” He rambled on, not really giving her a straight answer.

                Mi Young didn’t reply as he gave her a little bow and left. It wasn’t until he was out of sight that she broke out into a smile. It was pretty obvious that Hyesung did care… But she would never say that to his face.

                Her thoughts were interrupted by a sharp ring. She answered her desk phone promptly. “Shinhwa Company, how may I help you?”

                “Yes, is this Ji Mi Young?”

                Mi Young tipped her head to the side in confusion. No one ever called the front desk asking for her. Then again, why did this voice sound familiar? “Yes, this is Mi Young.”

                “Ah, wonderful. This is Kim Jun Ho, from ESP Headquarters.”

                She sat up straighter at the name of both her employer and his company. “Jun Ho-nim, hello.”

                “How are you adjusting to life at Shinhwa Company?”

                “Very well, thank you.” Mi Young found herself bowing slightly as she spoke, internally cursing. She really needed to stop bowing every time she talked; it was becoming a strange habit.

                “That’s good to hear.” Jun Ho’s voice sounded amused on the other end. “I’m sure you are aware that with Shinhwa’s comeback approaching, they will be much more active and busy with preparations.”

                “Yes, their schedules are going to be fairly hectic in the next month.” She nodded, not really sure where he was going with the conversation.

                Jun Ho sniffed lightly. “Well, with a new album release, new songs and dances will be need to be created.”

                “Yes, Eric-ssi and Minwoo-ssi have been preparing for upcoming rehearsals and recording sessions…”

                “Well, this is where your musical experience comes in.” Jun Ho’s voice was chipper.

                “Me?” Mi Young’s eyes widened. “What do you mean by that?”

                “Minwoo-yah called my company the other day and mentioned that he planning on using female dancers for Shinhwa’s title track.” Jun Ho said conversationally. Mi Young could almost picture the middle-aged man leaning back in his chair, grinning. “You do have dance experience, do you not?”

                She cleared . “Uh, are you saying…?”

                “There will be an audition held in one week at Shinhwa Company and as an employee of ESP, we request that you be present and participate in the tryouts to your fullest ability.”

                Mi Young almost dropped the desk phone. “Audition to be a background dancer?! Why?”

                “I thought I mentioned in your interview that you would be moving up in the corporation… This isn’t exactly the straightest path to a higher position, but it nonetheless gives you an opportunity to get much closer to Shinhwa than in your current job.”

                “But… Dancing with them?” Mi Young—a fairly enthusiastic Shinhwa Changjo—had watched the group’s music videos and listened to their songs enough to know most of the dances at least marginally well. She was more than aware of the female dancers used in their older songs—Brand New and Oh! in particular—and the type of dancing they did with the members.

                Needless to say, even though she dreamed and joked around about being one of those dancers as a fangirl, actually putting her hands on Shinhwa like that… Just the thought made her a little dizzy.

                “I’m sure you will do fine.” Jun Ho reassured her, probably assuming that she was nervous at the prospect of auditioning. He couldn’t be more wrong. “Minwoo-yah wants dancers who are aware of Shinhwa’s dance style and are familiar with their choreography. You fit the bill just fine.”

                Mi Young resisted the urge to cover her face with her hands, already feeling embarrassed even though she was nowhere near a dance floor. “I… Do I have to?” She muttered, just loud enough for Jun Ho to hear.

                He laughed. “Unfortunately, yes. Getting close to the group you are assigned to is a priority with our company.”

                Mi Young made a face. Did he know exactly how “close” she would be getting if she managed to pass the audition, or was he using the term innocently? She doubted it. “Can I ask why I need to get close to them so quickly?”

                “That’s classified information that will be disclosed to you at a later point.” Jun Ho replied in a singsong voice, obviously having used the line many times before. “Really, it isn’t required that you pass this audition, but it is in your best interests if you wish to earn more money or get a higher position.”

                Mi Young bit her lip, hating that he had made a logical and valid point. Eventually she sighed, resigning herself to the task. “All right, I understand.”

                The day of the audition was blisteringly cold. Mi Young shivered, keeping her coat wrapped closely around her as she stood in a group of about twenty girls in one of Livework’s dance rooms. One by one, each of the dancers were called out to a separate room to privately audition. Even though the building was heated, there was still a chill in the air and a biting nervousness that made Mi Young shrink deeper into her jacket, wanting to disappear.

                ‘Why am I doing this?’ She thought despairingly. ‘These girls all look so much more experienced and prepared than I am…’

                Most of the other women in the room were giving each other once-overs, silently judging and scoping out the competition. Some had boldly removed their coats and were stretching, showing off how flexible and trim their bodies were. Mi Young was too busy glowering at herself in the mirror—listening to her iPod and drowning out her nerves with sound—to notice or care.

                Every night for the past week, once Mi Young had returned to her apartment from work, she would pull up Shinhwa’s dance videos—whether they had female dancers in them or not—and meticulously begin going through them and learning the ins and outs of each one. At the end of the practice session, she would randomize the Shinhwa playlist she had on her music player and would dance freestyle, practicing different styles in case they requested something solo. y dancing, hip hop, pop… Despite being exhausted, Mi Young forced herself to practice, not wanting to embarrass herself too much in front of her favorite group.

                “Ji Mi Young?” A voice startled her out of her thoughts and she yanked out her ear-buds, turning around.

                “Y-yes?”

                She recognized Lee Jong Hyun, Eric’s manager. He looked surprised, but quickly rearranged his expression to be carefully neutral, obviously trying to keep his judging as unbiased as possible. “Please come this way to audition.”

                “Yes, of course.” She stuffed her iPod and headphones into her jacket pocket and followed after him. She realized that her hair was getting in her face and immediately tied it back into a ponytail as she walked into the room, not wanting to deal with any distractions and willing herself to focus.

                Jong Hyun took his seat next to the others who were going to be watching her audition. She vaguely recognized Seo Young Hui—Minwoo’s manager—and also saw Eric sitting behind Jong Hyun, trying not to look too obvious by fiddling with his phone but managing just the opposite. There were three others sitting in a line beside the two Shinhwa managers, but she didn’t know them—they were most likely professional dancers who could accurately judge the potential and skill of those trying out.

                “Ji Mi Young-ssi, are you familiar with some of Shinhwa’s choreography?” Young Hui asked, his voice friendly.

                Mi Young nodded. “Yes, I am.”

                “Which dances are you most familiar with?”

                “Uh, all of them…?” Mi Young said, a little unsure. She didn’t want to sound cocky, but she didn’t want to lie, either. What other answer could she give?

                Eric looked up, grinning at the cheeky reply, but his expression changed when he recognized the young woman standing in front of him.

                Jong Hyun looked amused. “Well, how about we start with the choreography from Brand New?”

                “Okay.” Mi Young knew that would be one of the songs they would ask for. As she shrugged off her coat and hung it over one of the spare chairs, she frowned. “Which part should I dance?”

                The judges exchanged glances. “What do you mean?”

                “Well…” Mi Young scratched the back of her head. “Should I be dancing the female’s background part, the male’s background part, or one of the member’s…?”

                The incredulousness on each of the judge’s faces was almost palpable in the room. Eric covered his mouth to prevent himself from snickering.

                “She should dance Jin-ah’s part.” He said, barely loud enough for her to hear. The judges all burst out laughing.

                “I can if you want…” Mi Young ducked her head sheepishly.

                “The female background dancer’s part, please.” Young Hui was shaking his head slightly, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Just the beginning section will play.”

                “Okay.” Mi Young sighed and moved off to the side, waiting for the music to start.

                Mi Young returned to her desk after as the audition was over, lying her head on her cool surface and covering her face.

                ‘Aigoo, that was so embarrassing!!’ She thought, wanting nothing more than to go home early and curl up in her bed to sleep off all the nerves and anxiety. She hadn’t been through many dance auditions before and she left the room feeling as if she had just thrown her weight around the room and flailed her arms and legs around until they told her to stop.

                “Mi Young-ah?”

                “Ah!” She sat up quickly, coming face-to-face with Shinhwa’s leader. “E-Eric-ssi!”

                Eric rolled his shoulders, avoiding her gaze. “I didn’t know you could dance.”

                “Well, I…” Mi Young hesitated, remembering her extensive rehabilitation period. “I had a lot of time to learn before I came here. I don’t have any professional training, so I understand if you thought it was weird…”

                He nodded, not really paying attention. “We just finished discussing who would be chosen to fill in the positions for background dancers…”

                “O-oh…” She murmured.

                Eric finally met her gaze, giving her a sheepish grin. “Aish, this is really awkward.”

                Mi Young laughed. “Yeah, it is.” She replied, bluntly honest.

                “Well… Jong Hyun-ah said that you were a really charismatic dancer. Young Hui-yah agreed with him.” Eric folded his arms, deciding that getting to the point would be the easiest for both of them. “So, we’re having our first practice session on Thursday at noon. Don’t be late.”

                Mi Young’s eyes widened. “Wait, I got the part?”

                Eric chuckled at her disbelief. “Yeah. Keep up the hard work.”