Sehun and Chanyeol 2008

I had to pretend to be stupid. Because if I did not do that, I will definitely be bullied by the so-called seniors in SM. Chanyeol thought as he observed the cafeteria at the basement of the SM building. He had never been here before even when he came here a few weeks ago for a special entry audition and for signing of his new 'slavery' contract.

Truth to be told, Chanyeol had never wanted to become a celebrity. Yes, he loved music. He can play all sorts of instrument. Guitar, piano and drums, you name it. Yes, he was talented. So talented that many professionals had considered him as gifted since he was seven. He had a perfect pitch and a special altitude for music.

Joining SM was never his dream nor his choice. It was his parents. He knew that his father had once aspired to be a singer before moving on to his family cafe business. But it never worked out well for his father because back then, music and entertainment were not as well received by the older generation as it was today.

When his parents came across a pamphlet of the Samsung Smart Model contest, they had encouraged him to join and to gain experience because of his special abilities. However, when he refused to go for it, his parents had threatened to confiscate his baby guitar and decrease his allowance. He had no choice but to go along with his parents' wishes. He comforted himself by telling himself that it would be the last audition or contest that he would ever join in his life.

But things spun ouf of control when he passed the audition for the Smart Model contest. Even though he was not the top winner for the contest, the founder of SM Entertainment took an interest in him and invited him down for a special casting audition. He hid the invitation from his parents at first, until his obnoxious sister, Yoora, found the invitation mail and showed it to his parents. He had hated her even more then.

Since young, Chanyeol's dream was to become a professional musician, and a composer, but never an idol or a celebrity. He wanted to do music, compose songs for the singers to sing because he knew that his voice was not good enough to sing them himself. In other words, he knew that deep down in his heart, he was a crew, and not a performer. Heck, he strongly disliked being in the center of attention and he would put in all his best effort to avoid being in attention, which explained why he was dressed in a full black training suits today. He did not want to attract unwanted attention to himself.

As he scanned through the cafeteria, his eyes fell upon the mean girl that he had met in his class before. Her name was Yejin. She had not introduced herself to him but he overheard a few of the other trainees addressing her in class previously. From a distance, Chanyeol could see that she had a kind and simple face. It was obvious to Chanyeol that she had never gotten anything done to her face before. No plastic surgery and no braces. Everything about her seemed pretty natural and beautiful.

She is only beautiful until she opens up her damn mouth and starts speaking. Chanyeol thought in disgust as he looked away. Actually, the more I looked at her, the uglier she gets.

"Hyung! Can I address you as my hyung?" The other trainee, Sehun asked expectantly as he looked at Chanyeol through his small tiny eyes. Chanyeol wondered if he could actually see him with such small eyes. "I-I mean, since we are both new, we should stick together."

"Uh sure. I guess." Chanyeol said hesitantly. He did not want to become emotionally attached to anyone in this company because he knew that he would try and find ways to break his contract and to escape this hellhole. Befriending another trainee was definitely not going to help him with that escape. "Where is tomboy?"

"Tomboy?" Sehun looked up at him curiously. He was almost a head shorter than Chanyeol, who had grown almost 20cm over the summer due to his late puberty spurge. "Oh? You mean Amber noona?"

"Yeah, Amber noona or hyung or whatever." Chanyeol nodded as he eyed the food menu at the counter. Bibimbap, Kimchi Jigae, Sundubu Jigae... What is so special about the food here? Aren't they just normal Korean dishes that I can find anywhere?

"She went with the senior girl named Soojung. They were speaking in English and I could not understand so I escaped to find you here." Sehun answered without taking off his eyes on Chanyeol. "Wow, can you actually see anything without your spectacles? They are as thick as my fingers!"

"Of course I cannot see. I am blind without my glasses. But my parents said they would pay for my lasik of I joined SM. So it would not be long before I bid goodbye to them."

"I think I am getting ramyeon. What about you?" He asked the small boy, his brotherly instinct took over. "You should eat more. You are too scrawny. Bibimbap for you?"

Sehun nodded his head furiously. "And kimbap! And Kimchi Jigae! The food are all free right? I want chocolate milk too!"

Does he have a black hole in his tummy? How is he still so scrawny despite eating so much food? Chanyeol wondered as he peeked at the skinny boy beside him. His metabolism must be crazily high.

Once they were done with their food orders, they picked up the tray of delicious delicacies and walked towards the dining area. However, and much to Chanyeol's disappointment, there were no other empty tables available. The only seats left were the ones next to Yejin and her sidekick, Seulgi.

Damn it. I will definitely come earlier next time. Chanyeol sighed as he strolled over to her table.

I know, each chapters are shorter than my previous fic. & Don't worry guys, I am just setting the background for you lovelies. The story will pick up real soon, I promise! :)

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