[2005. SM Ent. Head Office, South Korea]

~ Eunhyuk’s POV ~

Today is actually one of the rare days where we were given our day-off from practice. The other members were currently slacking off at the dorms right now. Meanwhile I don’t like to spend this great day doing nothing so I dragged Teukie and Yesung hyung to the studios. Today is Sunday so I expect that there will be a couple of young people auditioning at the office. Trainees like us love to watch the open auditions that were being held and we just use the time to criticize or judge someone. It was a habit I learned from Teukie hyung and maybe that is why he knows almost everyone here at SM.

“What’s special today? Did you see the people in the waiting room?” Teukie hyung asked Yesung hyung who had come from the comfort room just now.

“I’ve seen someone interesting!” he whispered in excitement. “The others think he is a threat to everybody here!”

“Is it a girl from the states?” Teukie hyung asked. I rolled my eyes. This hyung never learned his lesson and still flirts with girls here. The girls know him because likes to introduce himself to them. I thought the separation of the practice rooms between the girls and boys would stop him but it’s not.

Yesung hyung shook his head. “It is a boy and probably around our age. But he is different from everyone else who had auditioned here,”

“Why is he so handsome like Siwon and Changmin whom everyone had thought a threat when they first came here?” I asked.

“Hmmm… well he does look average to me… but…” he trailed.

“But why?”

“Aish… just wait for his turn and then you’ll see what I’m talking about,” frustrated and seems troubled, Yesung hyung just sat down beside me. “I didn’t feel threatened like this when I first came here because of you…” he spoke to himself but it is enough for me and Leeteuk to hear. The latter laughed so hard and exchanged high fives with each other while I pouted.

“I know… I’m not that attractive. I knew it. But I’m still a better dancer than the two of you,” I defended myself. I know that these two were just teasing me and I really don’t care at all. I’m used it already and they are my hyungs so I just let these jokes pass by.

“We know it… that’s why the assigned you as our team’s main… dancer while… I sing at the back!” hyung managed to finish his sentence while laughing. There was a big progress in our team this past month. Aside from learning the choreography, they are now assigning positions for each of the members. It all depends on our abilities.

“At least both of you have important parts. How about me? I’m left to take care of all of you! A bunch of crazy and noisy kids!” Leeteuk hyung exclaimed. We always knew that he will be our leader because he is not only the oldest but also the one who stayed here the longest. He actually got the biggest responsibility out of all of us.

“Well, do you want Heechul hyung as the leader?” I asked. That hyung is actually scarier than our manager hyungs. And actually we are not the really close to each other. I’ve noticed it now that we are living in one place.

“His temper wouldn’t do well for us. Plus he only listen to you Teukie hyung,” Yesung replied. “Well at least he listens to you; you’re his only hyung,”

Afterwards we ran out of words and we decided to just watch and listen to the people auditioning. We were waiting for that person Yesung was talking about. After thirty minutes the next one entered and he got the full attention of everyone. The other trainees watching behind us were whispering their insecurities and we could hear every word.

“How could he be accepted to audition here? Did he win anything or was he scouted?”

“I heard that one of SM scouts saw him in the previous SM Best Youth competition. Probably he got scouted from there.”

“It’s true, I heard he won an award.”

“Really?”

“In what category?”

Hearing their conversation, the three of us looked at each other and started our own little discussion while the person was being interviewed by the judges. “He is the one I’m talking about!” Yesung hyung whispered.

“He must be a great vocalist,” I guessed. Most of the time, those who had the guts to audition here are the ones who are gifted with good looks or great voice. So today, I actually surprised to see someone like him here. I don’t want to be rude but he is somewhat chubby but he has average looks.

“Do I need to gain weight?” asked Yesung.

“You’re funny hyung,” I said sarcastically.

“His name is Shindong,” Leeteuk hyung informed us. He is patiently listening to the conversation so we shut our mouths and listened to them. Well, we actually need to be quiet because they are filming the talent too.

“Hello, I’m Shin Donghee,” the boy said in a soft voice. “The song I prepared today is R. Kelly’s I Believe I Can Fly.”

In an instant, everyone was intimidated by him and I am so eager to hear him sing. “Ohh… this is amazing,” Leeteuk hyung whispered with wide eyes. Donghee started singing and from the first words we thought he will prevent us from debuting. That was what we thought before we heard the whole of it.

“I believe I can fly, nana nanana na nana,” After the first stanza he continued humming the rest of the song and we sat there dumbstruck by what happened. We looked at the judges and they seemed to be encouraging him to do it more.

“I’m sorry I’m not good at English so I cannot memorize a pop song” he said after he was finished. We thought it wasn’t allowed but then the trainer suddenly spoke. “No, that is funny for you. You should keep singing it like that!” he said with all smiles.

I didn’t believe what my eyes had just seen. Yesung and Leeteuk hyung were also surprised as you can see through their mouth hanging open. I had a feeling that it is not the full view of his talent. There must be something in him that made the talent scout interested at him. If it isn’t singing then maybe he is a good dancer, or a rapper? Maybe he can compose songs and play instruments.

Later, I learned that he won first place in SM Best Youth as the Best Comedian. So that was the category he joined.  However I grew more curious about this person and I hope that I will get to discover his secrets one day;

Well, I didn’t need to wait for that time because a few weeks after that day, manager hyung informed us that a trainee will be added to us as a new member. And it looks like we will be a thirteen member boy group. When I asked the manager on who is the new member he just smiled at me and said “You guys will be surprised.”

And there, we formally met Donghee which we now call in his stage name Shindong.

*             *             *

~ Leeteuk’s POV ~

I woke up with a heavy feeling today. I didn't feel it right away while I was in bed but once I stood up I got dizzy. I know whenever my body is going to be sick and considering that I had been exhausting myself these past few days, I know I will fall sick soon.

I crept out of my bedroom and slowly walked towards the kitchen to find something to eat. I need to fight this sickness because I can't afford to be absent from the practices nowadays. My situation maybe didn't look good from the eyes of others because Sungmin had fussed once he saw me.

"Hyung!  Are you okay?” he looked at me and changed his sentence. “Of course not, you don't look okay. Do you have class today? You should skip it, even the practice later," he said worriedly. He took my hands that had been clinging on the wall for support and pulled to one of the chairs. "What do you want to eat hyung? I'll cook for you."

I smiled at his concern for me. It reminded me of my mother whenever I got sick like this. "I'm okay Sungmin-ah. It is only a headache, it will go away later. But I do appreciate your advice," I grinned despite the headache. "I skip the class but not the practice."

"It only a headache now but what if it gets worse? You know how tiring our practices are hyung. What if you collapse in the middle of it?" he insisted. Sungmin searched one of the cabinets and looked for the medicine. Then he grabbed one of Eunhyuk's strawberry milk and a banana and gave it to me. "I'm sure Hyuk won't be angry to share it to his sick hyung. Eat this while I'll cook ramen."

Not wanting to argue anymore, I just ate what he gave me. I already feel hot even though spring hasn't come yet. After a full breakfast courtesy of a very worried Sungmin, I went back to my bed to rest. I fell asleep right away and only woke up when I heard the commotion in the living room six hours later.

I'm too lazy to get up and find out what is happening. Probably its TVXQ arriving from their schedule. The dorm had been quite for a few days now because Heechul and Kibum were always out filming for the new drama that they were in. This is Heechul's debut drama so he was practically pleased with himself. Siwon was in China right now but he will come back in a month. Even without him, we had started familiarizing ourselves for the choreography. We were already informed that our predebut showcase will be on September and we should be ready to showcase our talents in front of the representatives. The tentative date for our debut is at the later part of the year. And that is why I don't need to be sick right now.

I fell asleep again and afterwards Sungmin woke me up to eat my lunch and snack at the same time. He also forbid me to do anything so I stayed doing nothing in my room.

"Where are you going hyung?" Eunhyuk asked me when he saw me changing my clothes after showering. "Sungmin told us you are sick,"

"I am not. Look I'm okay now. I had enough rest this afternoon," I insisted and went out of the room to follow the others to our van. The managers were quite surprised to see me and I could tell that Sungmin had told them already.

"Jungsoo, if you're not feeling well then you can rest tonight. You already know most of the steps so I think you can take a break," Seunghwan hyung said.

"Hyung is right. You look paler today," Kangin agreed.

"I know what to do to my body boys, hyung, so please let join tonight," I begged hyung because I'm sure I will not be able to convince the members. "Actually, I don't really know every steps. You didn't see me dance yet hyung so how can you say that I did well?" I cornered him. Seunghwan hesitated for a while but finally agreed.

I sat in the van the moment I got the go signal before he could take anything back. The other members just sighed at my stubbornness. "Hyung remember when I almost collapsed in the practice room? Do you want that to happen to you?" Donghae said when he sat beside me.

Ugh. These kids will bring back my headache because of their never-ending worries. I smiled at him with the best smile that I could and then put down my cap so he can't bother me anymore. I heard him sigh and I bet he gave up trying to guilt me.

I still feel weak and a little dizzy by the time we started practicing the choreography at the stu