Nyke: A kpop boyband rp

February 6, 2018

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[TD=align: left]One Music (OM) Entertainment is a small scale Talent Agency that manages not-so-popular actors and models. It is an agency looked down by many since the agency has never produced a Star before. The only people that would come to them are those in dire need of income. Or those people rejected by big time agencies. Things were fine for the agency even if they hardly had any work except for small scale advertisements and photoshoots.

However, because of the older talents retiring and no one young joining them (long enough), One Music Entertainment is in the brink of closing down. The CEO, wanting to save the company, thought of something that could just be the last hope. A male group. A boyband. OM Entertainment never signed with groups because it wasn't their forte. They could hardly give job to their actors. A boyband would be hard to manage since they need big promotions, and a way to compete with the big agencies for the group to be noticed.

But there was no other choice. The CEO, put his everything into this hope and started an open audition... and he will become their manager.[/TD]

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[TD]JINSOO

APPLICATION SHEET

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OM Entertainment

Boyband Audition

130-34 Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea

TEL: +82-13-1344-6770

EMAIL:

Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links.

Thank you for applying to our first KPOP audition. The images, videos or audios

included may be used by OM Entertainment for any purpose they may serve.

If you agree, please print your name with corresponding signature.

_________Eun Jin Soo _______

PRINTED NAME WITH SIGNATURE

___11-19-16___

DATE

APPLICATION SHEET

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[TD]PHOTO[/TD]

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[TD]NAME[/TD]

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[TD]은진수[/TD]

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[TD]Eun Jin-Soo[/TD]

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[TD]NICKNAME[/TD]

[TD]Jinsoo[/TD]

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[TD]AGE[/TD]

[TD]20[/TD]

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[TD]BIRTH DATE[/TD]

[TD]July 17, 1997[/TD]

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[TD]GENDER[/TD]

[TD]Male[/TD]

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[TD]BLOOD TYPE[/TD]

[TD]A[/TD]

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[TD]NATIONALITY[/TD]

[TD]Korean[/TD]

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[TD]CONTACT[/TD]

[TD]MOBILE: 010-2797-5588[/TD]

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[TD]E-MAIL[/TD]

[TD][email protected][/TD]

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[TD]ADDRESS[/TD]

[TD]229 Yanggeun-ro, Yangpyeong-eup, Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea[/TD]

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[TD]BODY SIZE[/TD]

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[TD]HEIGHT: 180 cm.[/TD]

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[TD]WEIGHT: 64 kg[/TD]

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[TD]SPECIALTY[/TD]

[TD]Singing and Composing[/TD]

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[TD]WHAT MADE YOU APPLY TO ONE MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT KPOP AUDITION[/TD]

[TD]I applied to One Music Entertainment KPOP Audition because I want to spread the music I make and entertaining everyone.[/TD]

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[TD]WHY SHOULD ONE MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT CHOOSE YOU[/TD]

[TD]One Music Entertainment should definitely choose me because I believe I will become a good member of the future boyband the company is planning to make.[/TD]

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VOICE AUDITION:

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RP SHEET

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[TD]NAME[/TD]

[TD]Eun Jin-Soo[/TD]

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[TD]PRIMARY ROLE[/TD]

[TD]Leader[/TD]

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[TD]SECONDARY ROLE[/TD]

[TD]Sub Vocalist[/TD]

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[TD]AGE(audition) AGE(debut)[/TD]

[TD](20)

(22)[/TD]

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[TD]ORIENTATION[/TD]

[TD]Originally Straight[/TD]

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[TD]POSITION[/TD]

[TD]Seke[/TD]

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[TD]LIKES AND HOBBIES[/TD]

[TD]Glasses, Composing, Taking care of his small cactus named "cutie", Listening to music and socializing through SNS

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[TD]PERSONALITY[/TD]

[TD]Outgoing, cheerful and always likes to play around/tease/bully his friends.[/TD]

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[TD]SHORT BIOGRAPHY[/TD]

[TD]Jin-Soo always liked singing and composing. He wasn't the very best. He wasn't someone very noticeable. However, he never stopped singing and making songs and made it his priority in life, studying came next. He wanted to pursue his passion but his family was against it. Because of that he had a feud with his parents, forcing him to leave home and support himself while studying at T University.

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[TD]HYUN-SHIK

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[TD]MIN

OM Entertainment Boyband Audition

130-34 Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea

TEL: +82-13-1344-6770

EMAIL:

Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links.

Thank you for applying to our first KPOP audition. The images, videos or audios

included may be used by OM Entertainment for any purpose they may serve.

If you agree, please print your name with corresponding signature.

_______Cheong Sung-Min________________

PRINTED NAME WITH SIGNATURE

____2/5/2018____

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APPLICATION SHEET

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[TD]Photo[/TD]

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[TD]Name[/TD]

[TD]Cheong Sung-Min[/TD]

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[TD]Nickname[/TD]

[TD]Min[/TD]

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[TD]Age[/TD]

[TD]19[/TD]

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[TD]Birthdate[/TD]

[TD]3/9/1999[/TD]

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[TD]Gender[/TD]

[TD]Man[/TD]

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[TD]BloodType[/TD]

[TD]O[/TD]

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[TD]Nationality[/TD]

[TD]Home-grown Korean[/TD]

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[TD]Contact Mobile[/TD]

[TD]+82-5-622-8784[/TD]

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[TD]Email[/TD]

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Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links.

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[TD]Address[/TD]

[TD]58-2, Samgiri, Gosan-myeon, Wanju-gun, Jeollabuk-do[/TD]

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[TD]Body Size[/TD]

[TD]Height: 173 cm/5'7ft

Weight: 63.2 kg/ 140ibs[/TD]

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[TD]Speciality[/TD]

[TD]Dancing, writing[/TD]

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[TD]WHAT MADE YOU APPLY TO ONE MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT KPOP AUDITION

WHY SHOULD ONE MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT CHOOSE YOU[/TD]

[TD]I chose OM because I like a challenge. And I want more freedom, and a new environment. I've never liked the idea of convincing people why they should pick me for anything- you see my audition, decide from there yourself.[/TD]

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[TD]Vocal Audition[/TD]

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RP SHEET

NAME: Cheong Sung-Min

PRIMARY ROLE : Main Dancer

SECONDARY ROLE : Evil maknae

AGE(audition) AGE(debut) : 19(audition), 21(debut)

ORIENTATION : Gay

POSITION : Uke

LIKES AND HOBBIES : He likes dancing and singing the most, and he also likes martial arts, watching movies, gaming, though he hates really competitive stuff, and cooking

PERSONALITY : Sung-Min does a poor job of hiding how insecure he is. He boasts a big personality with confidence only in his performing, acts stand-offish and snarky as a defense mechanism. Craves intimacy but refuses himself any particularly close relationships.

BIOGRAPHY : Sung-Min knew he liked other boys the way he was supposed to like girls at a young age. He lived in a somewhat isolated small town growing up. He fell hard for his best friend in middle school, and at one point thought that maybe he felt theMin nearly debuted with another agency in another boy band, even in a handful of promotional images that got leaked, before his manager found out he was gay and they agreed that they'd nullify his contract and keep it hushed. He's now auditioning with other places, One Music seems promising considering they seem desperate and he is, too.

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[TD]JIN

OM Entertainment

Boyband Audition

130-34 Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea

TEL: +82-13-1344-6770

EMAIL:

Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links.

Thank you for applying to our first KPOP audition. The images, videos or audios

included may be used by OM Entertainment for any purpose they may serve.

If you agree, please print your name with corresponding signature.

Park Jin

2/5/2018

APPLICATION SHEET

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[TD]NICKNAME[/TD]

[TD]P Hoody Cookie a.k.a. Real Smack a.k.a. Park P Daddy[/TD]

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[TD]BIRTH DATE[/TD]

[TD]05/1/1996[/TD]

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[TD]GENDER[/TD]

[TD]Male[/TD]

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[TD]BLOOD TYPE[/TD]

[TD]AB[/TD]

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[TD]NATIONALITY[/TD]

[TD]Korean[/TD]

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[TD]CONTACT MOBILE:[/TD]

[TD]02-642-2746[/TD]

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[TD]E-MAIL[/TD]

[TD][email protected][/TD]

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[TD]ADDRESS[/TD]

[TD]Seoul Special City, Jongno-gu, Jong-no 6 (Seorin-dong 154-1)[/TD]

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[TD]HEIGHT:[/TD]

[TD]186 cm[/TD]

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[TD]WEIGHT:[/TD]

[TD]77.5 kg[/TD]

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[TD]SPECIALTY[/TD]

[TD]Rapping, appearing on variety shows, hosting, composing, and telling jokes.[/TD]

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[TD]WHAT MADE YOU APPLY TO ONE MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT KPOP AUDITION[/TD]

[TD]Real Smacks my name, rappings my game! I'm ready to share my art with the world and give others my energy.[/TD]

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[TD]WHY SHOULD ONE MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT CHOOSE YOU[/TD]

[TD]There's no one else like me- I'm one of a kind. I'm confident I can impress you with my skills and personality.[/TD]

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V O I C E A U D I T I O N:

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Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links.

RP SHEET

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[TD]NAME[/TD]

[TD]Park Jin[/TD]

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[TD]PRIMARY ROLE[/TD]

[TD]Rapper[/TD]

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[TD]SECONDARY ROLE[/TD]

[TD]Sub Dancer/Sub Rapper[/TD]

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[TD]AGE(audition/debut)[/TD]

[TD]21/23[/TD]

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[TD]ORIENTATION[/TD]

[TD]Doesn't label himself as anything. He's someone who doesn't consider himself to be straight, gay, bisexual, etc. He just likes who he likes.[/TD]

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[TD]POSITION[/TD]

[TD]"Seme" (To be honest, when I say seme I mean dominant more than 'top'. My characters don't mind bottoming or topping, they just tend to be more on the dominant side)[/TD]

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[TD]LIKES AND HOBBIES[/TD]

[TD]Park enjoys spending his time listening to music and watching anime. He's also a big fan of comic books and manga. He used to want to be a mangaka when he was younger. He tries to paint in his free time be he doesn't have a lot of spare time these days to do that.[/TD]

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[TD]PERSONALITY[/TD]

[TD]Park is someone who speaks his mind immediately if something is bothering him. It's not that he doesn't care about the feelings of others, he just values honesty over politeness. His brashness is sometimes funny and endearing and at other times it's obnoxious and annoying. When he sees something he wants, he goes for it. He's a pretty simplistic person when it comes to pursuing his goals. However, he's more intrinsically complicated when he's faced with people and interactions. Park over thinks a lot of his interactions with people. It's an oxymoron to his other character traits but he has always been overtly conscious over what others think of him.[/TD]

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Biography:

He is a beloved only child and was spoiled constantly when he was younger. Park felt a bit lonely as an only child, he had always wanted a sibling. He used to be quite spoiled and entitled but he had his reality call when he first entered middle school. Due to his rude attitude he was bullied a lot by others and isolated. In reality, he was out casted due to his annoying personality but he couldn't quite understand that when he was younger. Due to that he turned to rap and music to express his frustrations and that's where he learned to humble himself and confront his flaws. His parents saw his passion for music and encouraged him to pursue it.

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[TD]Monday. December 19, 2017

[3:10 PM]

"Can you explain why do you have to be so late today? Weh? Weh? We're already very shorthanded and you've got guts to come so late in the afternoon. We just lost a lot of income which could have been enough to pay you for a whole month!"

The General Manager of the food chain Jin-soo was working for was fuming with rage over the part-timer's tardiness. Honestly speaking, the manager was over reacting to the point it was very obvious that he was particularly picking on Jin-soo. The reason? It was because Jin-soo was very popular with the ladies. Especially that the part timer the manager has a crush on is head over heels for Jin-soo.

"Sajang-nim! You told me yesterday I can go to work in the afternoon. Don't you remember?"

Jin-soo knew something was wrong when his boss told him he can work in the afternoon. Afterall, morning shift until lunchtime would be the busiest and the afternoon shift is when everyone can relax. He should have known. The General Manager has been picking on him for quite some time now. He was just enduring it since he needed the money.

"Aigoo! You're not even apologizing. Is this how you are going to be? Just because you're a little popular and a little good looking, you think you can act all high and mighty!?"

"I'm sorry, Sajang-nim... but..."

"You're fired."

Jinsoo couldn't process enough thought from what he heard. He simply stood there, staring right back at his boss who just fired him.

"Didn't you hear me? I said, you're fired. We don't need anyone here who can't work. I will give your salary including the remaining days for this month. That should be enough for you until you find a new job."

"Sajang-nim! Please don't be like this..."

"Sorry, I won't change my mind." the General Manager said before wisphering to him, "You should have known your place."

There was nothing Jin-soo can do. His coworkers looked at him with pitying eyes but no one spoke up in fear of getting fired themselves. It was a shame, but this was it. It's not like Jin-soo had any special attachment to this place. He's not personally close with his co-workers either. It's just that this place was close to his university and his apartment.

After receiving his pay, Jin-woo left. It was rare for Jin-soo to have so much time on a monday. Because he didn't have class on monday, he usually spends the entire day working on the food chain before performing in the streets in the evening. However, there was so much time left until night time.

"Maybe I should go to Gangnam. I wonder if JYP is still holding audition today."

Riding a subway to Gangnam, Jin-soo hoped to be able to audition to any talent agency. Getting off in Gangnam, Jin-soo walked around looking for agency auditions. He went to the big 3 agencies but unfortunately, there wasn't any audition. He didn't even prepare anything and he only had himself and some papers. He probably just wasted money for nothing.

However, Jin-soo didn't want to give up. Besides the big 3, there are other smaller agencies out there. With little more looking, Jinsoo found himself staring over a line of people.

"Jeogiyo... What is this line for?"

Jin-soo asked the last person in line.

"Don't you know? OM Entertainment is opening an audition for a boyband."

"OM? What does it stand for?"

"One Music. It's not very well known, but apparently, they're quite known for handling not so popular artists."

"I see. Thanks."

If Jin-soo had to choose where to audition, it would ultimately be JYP or YG. However, he wasn't quite sure why. But he had a thought. What if him being fired from work was a blessing in disguise? What if, this is destiny right before his eyes? There was nothing to lose in simply auditioning.

"Jeogiyo. Are you in this line?"

Someone from behind asked.

"Yes, I am."

Jin-soo replied.[/TD]

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Translations:

Weh = Why.

Sajang-nim = Boss

Aigoo = word used for frustration

Jeogiyo = Excuse me

February 6, 2018

Hyung-Shik sat on his knees in front of the Jessang. His lone practice of Jesa was a ceremonial practice for honoring the dead. Moreso of his ancestors and deceased parents. The low, dark auburn table was lined with meats and in a row behind them were bowls of rice, a metal fork sticking straight up from the bowl. The symbol of death. In between each rice bowl was a decorated bowl similar to the rice bowl, filled only to a T with leaf water, a special herb floating atop the leaf water in each one.

In the back row were red bowl coaster like holders that held a small bowl filled with water. On the opposite end of all the red bowls were candles, lit with flickering flames.

Lining the wall behind the bowls were slips of Hanji paper with the deceased written separately upon each one.

All of the food he could have been eating to get him through each day was instead placed here for the Jesa.

Hyung-Shik had his glassed folded and placed neatly beside him. His hands were pressed together with his elbows out just a bit so they mirrored each other. Slowly eyes of a dark, chocolate brown opened. On the smooth features of the man's face there lied a seemingly blank expression. One that read that this was normal. It had only been a year or two since his father died, and many more since his mother too...this was normal. This is ok...right?

....

Hyung-Shik lifted himself from his knees and left the room. After dropping college just last week, he worked all day pretty much every day. His boss ran him into the ground so he often suffered from fatigue, but the sleeping pills helped since insomnia tried to throw his sleeping patterns for a loop. Hyung-Shik stopped mid-step, thoughts halting as well.

"My glasses...." they were left in the room. The room where the Jessa was. For his sanity he tried his best to only visit the room once everyday. Visiting it too many times only resulted in pain. Despite his stressful adult life, he preferred to smile. It made him feel better about all the hurdles life continued to throw at him. It made him feel like he could get through anything.

Walking into that room...was a painful reminder that it wasn't that easy. He wouldn't be hasty when entering the room, it would be disrespectful to his ancestors. Sliding the door open for the last time today, Hyung-Shik picked up his glasses and calmly made his exit. Even if he were to be screaming on the inside it was crucial that he was completely calm on the outside. Once out of the room, Hyung-Shik opened his glasses and slipped them onto his face.

His eye sight wasn't horrible but it wasn't good either. He required his glasses to drive- that much was certain but he sometimes would just be without them. Even if he didn't wear them one day, he'd still have them nearby for use. Hyung-Shik checked his phone and visibly tensed.

"Ehh! I'm going to be late!" Luckily he was already dressed for work save for his hat and apron. His hat was on the coat rack and so was his apron. All in which were by the door so it was easy to just pick up on his way out. "Ah jenjang!"

Hyung-Shik made his way to his car, apron on and hat already on his head in seconds. With a slam of his car door he was pulling out of his drive way and nearly flying down the street." Work was only about 15 minutes away by car. However he only had thirty minutes until he was late and traffic was always major around this time. As his GPS tried to find him the quickest route to work he looked out his window at the other cars, gazing upon the many different people. There was a small smile tugging at his lips. All of these people, stuck in traffic along with him were all alive and that...was somehow beautiful in some ominous way.

He sighed as the cars began moving and he began moving along with them, his GPS finally taking him a different route than normal.

"No one in the world gets what they want and that is beautiful."

Hyung-Shik arrived with just two minutes to spare. His boss wasn't anywhere in sight and the cafe looked a bit empty...there was no one sitting at any of the tables. Surely they weren't closed today...the doors wouldn't have been unlocked.... Hyung-Shik walked to the Employees only door and pushed it open. There in the middle of the little kitchen was his boss and his co-workers. They all looked at him when he came through the door.

"Hyung-Shik...." one of the older workers called which caught his immediate attention but they fell silent a beat afterwards.

"What's with the long faces?" He asked with a smile, trying to brighten the mood even if just a little.

"We...we're out of business. I had to sell...the cafe to pay for my wife's surgery. I know what kind of position this puts all of us in but I had no choice...I'm sorry."

Hyung-Shik's face fell, lips no longer smiling.

"O-Oh..."was all he could muster.

The lot of them stood there awkwardly, shuffling their feet. There was a cough here and a grunt there but the atmosphere was tense and filled with silence. "Well," Hyung-Shik began which drew all eyes on him.

"No one in the world gets what they want and that's beautiful. We may be out of jobs today but a better one could appear tomorrow. We shouldn't look so down. This may look bad now but if we look up the world might look up with us." Hyung-Shik turned to his boss with a big smile.

"보스...I pray for your wife to get well. It was fun working for you." The man seemed surprised and even emotional but he hid it well.

"T-Thank you Hyung-Shik," the man almost whispered. Hyung-Shik nodded offering a slight bow and as he came back up he turned to his co-workers.

"You all have made working here so much fun. I hope to see you all out there somewhere....so...until then I bid you all a farewell." Hyung-Shik offered one last smile before leaving. No one could get a word in before he left and he preferred it that way. After leaving the shop and preparing to make it back to his car, Hyung-Shik looked over on the other side of the street where there was loads of commotion.

"Eh?" Swiftly the man made his way across the street when the light gave him the go, leaving his car parked in the employees parking lot of his old job. There was so much noise and lines upon lines. It looked like they tried to split up whatever they were doing but with so many people it didn't work all that well. He couldn't tell what the line was for but upon going up to get a closer look, earning him some nasty looks he read over the papers. It was an audition!

"Audition for OM? Thi-This could be the opportunity I was looking for." it wasn't as if he had any time to lose. After losing his job he really didn't have anything left to do for the day other than look for a job. Hyung-Shik smiled and went to the back of the line. This could be the chance he was waiting for.

February 6, 2018

"What?!" Sung-Jin's mother exclaimed so loud it was enough to draw the phone from his ear.

"Yeesh, Eomma, it's not that big of a deal," He tried to tell her. "I mean, we weren't ever really serious. It's fine."

"Sung-Jin, you say that all the time! You're never serious!" She scolded. "Plus, what was wrong with Muk Eun? She was educated, nice, beautiful..."

"Nothing's wrong with her. In fact, she broke up with me."

"WHAT?!"

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"Sung-Jin-ssi, it's been fun, but I think it's time to break up already."

Sung-Jin had been looking at the menu when she suddenly dropped that on him - he was arguing with himself mentally about whether or not he deserved a piece of cake- and his eyes shot up to his girlfriend. Or ex, more accurately.

"You want to end it?" He asked her. She gave him a polite smile, one he'd seen throughout their relationship, and nodded.

"Sorry, I know it's so recently after you were dropped. But you have a career to chase, more studios to go after. When you already had a contract, it was fine, but now, I don't want to be a distraction."

Bullshit. That was bullshit. Selflessly breaking up with someone? That was too cliche, especially from her.

"You're such a liar, you know that?" Sung-Jin leaned back in his seat, dropping the menu back to the table. He liked her, sure, but he himself had considered breaking it off. He was in shock, and a little hurt, that she beat him to the punch. "Doing it for my sake, as if I can't make my own decisions? You're going to act like you're the better person for breaking up with me? For my lack of career?"

That polite smile again. Dammit, she wanted him to call that out, he could tell. God, she was so sly. Was this the power of higher education?

"You caught me there," She said, pulling the strap of her purse over her shoulder. "Everyone thinks you're such a good boyfriend to me. Never sexually aggressive, always letting me initiate things like that. You never really look or talk about other girls, not in the way my other boyfriends have." She detailed, pointing to her fingers as if it was a measured list. "But it's not because you're a good boyfriend. It's because you're not really attracted to me."

He was frozen in place. Part of him desperately wanted to look around and see who was watching- it felt like the whole cafe was. But he couldn't take his eyes off of her, not now. Is she seriously complaining about a boy who doesn't force her into sex?! For always doing whatever she wanted?!

"It's because you're selfish. How can you really be attracted to anyone else when your whole world view is centered on yourself? I don't know what you wanted with me, but it's clear that you only needed me for your own ego."

Part of him felt deeply relieved. Selfish was a preferable term to gay. But how did she know this, anyway? He'd always tried to be a good enough boyfriend when he had the time. It was easy for her, she was in college, she had her expenses paid for by her family. His parents still covered some of his bills, but still. He didn't have her sort of time or energy. He shook his head and smiled.

"Oh, is that what it is? You feel you're not important enough, so you try to make it out like I'm selfish?" Sung-Jin retorted. She stood up.

"I'll sound hypocritical since I was lying, but..." She straightened her skirt before looking up at him. "Part of the reason I'm ending this is because you questioned my motives. You're not the kind of person who can truly believe in someone else's honesty and kindness. You've got a darkness in your core and think everyone else is the same, because that way you don't have to confront it, if you make it normal. Right?"

She wasn't waiting for an answer.

"Again, it's really been nice, for what it was," She gave him a polite smile.

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Sung-Jin wasn't sure which scenario his mother would actually prefer, he being dumped or dumping. She seemed a little angrier now, but perhaps that was because she didn't have someone to scold for the ruination of a relationship she was really invested in. It had been a while since he'd dated last for a number of reasons, and while his parents were supportive of him, it wasn't a secret that they wished they could support him doing something else with his life. And his mother had accidentally let slip once that she hoped that this would be the girl he'd decide to go serious with, and pursue schooling to try to provide her with a good life. He loved his mom, but sometimes he wondered just how he was raised by someone who thought like that.

"It's not like I could be serious with someone I'd have to keep a secret, anyway." He reminded her. He was always straight with her when it came to his dedication to the path he'd chosen. He could date another girl tomorrow and it wouldn't change anything.

After a long sigh, she answered.

"You're right." She relented. "Well, no girlfriend, no job..." She recounted out loud. Sung-Jin knew his mother was genuinely sorrowful when he lost the contract and jeopardized his goals, but he wondered if before then she hoped it might happen, a part of her she was ashamed of, maybe.

"I might not have no job for long, Eomma." He told her, playing with a freshly printed contract in his hands, with a logo for the dinky One Music agency. He'd filled most of it out already when his mom called.

"Oh, really? You've found an audition already?" She sounded genuinely thrilled for him.

0000000000000000000000

The line was longer than he expected when Sung-Jin got down to the auditions. He figured most people would want to fight for the bigger agencies, though there weren't an awful lot available around this time. Or maybe they all also had reasons for pursuing a desperate agency. He wasn't too concerned, though. He was sure he could land a spot here. He was sure of it. He had to think that. He had to know he'd make it...

February 7, 2018

Park Jin wouldn't say he was hopeless or that he was desperate for money. Frantic, maybe. But desperate? No way.

Seoul built itself around the murky fumes from factory buildings and swaying sky-scrapers. The towering buildings stood starkly against the light of the azure skies. Its charm was complimented by the backdrop of smaller suburban homes, lush jaded gardens lined with a familiar aged vermillion brick. If you travelled outside those narrow roads and found yourself in the main branch of the bustling city you'd be faced with a variety of differing options. Hundreds of concession stands, sandwich bars, and restaurants offered a plethora of culinary choices and those who felt hungry for something else enjoyed the arcades, centers, or one of the many other recreational venues.

Countless cultures had left their mark on the city, not just on its cuisine or music or clothes, but also upon its identity. It was what Park had fallen in love with. What used to be a city of few cultures had grown into a large melting pot that united 51 million people all across South Korea.

Between the greenery and the food carts it was hard not to make yourself feel at home in the charming city. It was a place that urged you to seek the best from yourself.

Coming from the more rural Jeongseon, the overwhelming difference felt staggering to Park. He had travelled all the way out of the Gwangwon province to pursue his passion for poetry and music. With the support of his parents behind him and the burning passion of optimistic youth he had taken the train all the way to the night hub of South Korea. Park was normally a cynical observationist, taking in his surroundings with an air of dark humor. Yet even his cold fortress was penetrated by the lure of fortune and fame.

So why was he so surprised to find how much it fucking sucked?

It would have been difficult if he was a normal high school graduate seeking employment within the current political recession, those difficulties were only doubled by Parks naturally stubborn personality.

"Whatever!" Park piqued brusquely, stumbling out a dully lit connivence store, "I didn't want to work here anyways!" His face had flushed crimson, strands of inky dark hair sticking up in every direction. The cold air did little to cool the heat traveling to his forehead and cheeks and his hot breath formed a mist in front of his face.

It wasn't really a lie either. The job was lousy as shit and it made him miserable. He wasn't above taking orders or listening to others, it was having to keep things on the inside that made him blow up. Having to stand day after day while petulant customers made his life hell while he had to quietly bear it. As an artist and as a rapper it stood against every thing he stood for.

"Aish," a pot bellied, middle aged man yelled back, face swollen with indignation, "kids like you have no respect for what it's like to work in this kind of economy! You'll never survive if you think you keep talking like that!" The owner of the connivence store he had just exited, very previously Parks employer, cursed one more time before turning back around and heading inside again. The younger man flashed the finger at the others retreating back before storming off in the opposite direction.

"Not like an old man like him would ever understand what its like being an artist in this competitive industry," he grumbled, stuffing his cold hands in the pockets of his cotton thin hoodie. He knew that he shouldn't have sworn at that one customer, but he could only tolerate being yelled at for a mistake that was not his own for so long. Park would gladly take what was given to him, under the clear distinction that it was something he had done. Maybe it was his strong sense of justice or maybe it was just his irrefutable pride or maybe it was just plain stupidity. He didn't give himself a chance to think too hard about it. He couldn't afford not to focus on the now.

The grumbling sound of his stomach along with the dull pang of hunger reminded him of his current predicament. That was right. Money. A grimace crossed his angular face, delicate features twisting up in a vexed frustration.

Pard had an audition with OM Entertainment today, he had been planning on auditioning the moment he saw those stupidly colored fliers hanging around the back board in the employee lounge.

He winced at the thought. It's not like he was looking down on the smaller company, it was a step up from his current position. He wasn't that close minded either. He just felt a worrying sense of unease. He had been so sure he would have made it big only one year in seoul. It had been what had made him find the motivation to get such a dead end job.

Flash forward three years and he was exactly the same place he had been in when he first arrived to this city- only now he had just gotten fired from that dead end job. Park was a normally confident person and pursuing his goals weren't things he ever had to think too hard on. However, the years had taken a toll on his confidence and self-esteem. What if he was a lost cost? Thinking back, his only friends were his parents. He had attributed it to the result of jealously and envy but he could only encounter the same situation so many times before feeling like he was the sole root of that problem.

In the middle of his existential crisis he spotted the large line leading up to the modest building of OM Entertainment. Whatever doubts he had filtered to the back of his mind as his heart was filled with the familiar thrum of steady resolve.

Park Jin was a lot of things but hopeless would never be one of them.

February 7, 2018

Monday. December 19, 2016 [4:45 PM]

The line was really long but thankfully it moved really fast. If this is a good thing or not, it's something Jin-soo will know once he get inside. Several minutes had passed and he was already halfway in the line. A few had also lined up after him.

People were leaving the building and most of them had sadness in their faces. It was most likely that they didn't make it. He knew that for most audition, the judges didn't really announce the result. You'll pretty much know you made it if you get contacted, otherwise you failed. A few minutes had once again passed and Jin-soo was now facing the building's door. A personnel who was managing the line told thim wait.

"Here's your number and your application form. Just follow the hallway then turn right. You should see a big room. Fill this up and wait until you are called. Next!"

The personnel handed him a sticker labeled 01034 and a sheet of paper. After receiving them, Jin-soo followed the personnel's direction and soon he was inside a big white room filled with applicants. Everyone was doing their own thing. Some where practicing their singing; some where dancing; some where praying... and there were even people who were crying.

Everyone was taking this audition seriously. Even though it was from an agency he had never known, the competition was really strong. Jin-soo reminded himself to do his best as he started filling up the form. The invisible pressure filled the big room. This place... on this day... could change the life of some people and make them the star everyone sought.

Monday. December 19, 2016 [5:02 PM]

"Number 01031, 01032, 01033, 01034, 01035. Please come forward."

A loud voice coming from a speaker somewhere rang inside the room. Jin-soo, together with four other applicants followed another personnel as they were led to another room.

"Is this your first time auditioning?" a voice suddenly broke the silence of the group. Jin-soo noticed no one was responding which made him wonder who was this person talking to. Seeing the other guy's eyes looking at him, Jin-soo once again wondered if it was him being asked.

"Neh? Were you talking to me?", Jin-soo confirmed which the person responded with a nod.

"Yeh. What about it?"

"You dressed... so poorly. You're probably going to fail this one. Next time, wear something better." the applicant said with pitying eyes. Followed by a big sigh, he was patted in the shoulder as they go through a smaller door.

Facing the door were three people, scrutinizing each of them as they sat on their chair. They must be the judges. Their mere presence sent chills into the spines of the applicants. After all, they will be the very people who will decide their fate.

"The first audition process is really simple. Sing, dance or rap in fifteen seconds. If we don't tell you to stop, do something else for another fifteen seconds. If you make it to 30 seconds, you pass. If not, you fail.", one of the Judges said. Right after, she pointed a finger into to Jin-soo, before saying "01034. You start."

Jin-soo was surprised. He didn't expect to be the first to audition. This was his first time auditioning and therefore he didn't have much knowledge. He had heard from friends their experiences while auditioning but hearing and experiencing are completely two different things.

"01034. I said you can start", the judge reminded.

"Mianhamnida. I'm Eun Jin-soo. I will be singing '10 out of 10' by 2PM"

Taking a deep breath, Jin-soo walked forward.

When Jin-soo began singing, he forgot everything else. Everything disappeared from his sight and his attention was solely captured by the melody escaping from his lips. His closed eyes made him savor the the song that felt like drugs on his own ears.

"You can stop here."

Jinsoo felt nervous all of a sudden. They were told that if they're stopped, they fail. Perhaps it was just as the other applicant said. he could have worn something more presentable. Well, how you dress yourself is also an aspect of an idol. He had completely forgotten about it. However, he was confident on his singing ability.

"D-did... I fail?", Jin-soo asked.

"Ahh, no. You're past fifteen minutes. Can you dance next?", the judge asked.

"Umm... I'm sorry but I'm not very good at dancing yet."

Jin-soo replied honestly. He was too focused in singing and composing that he didn't really have much time to practice dancing. Of course there are other paths for him as an artist besides an idol group. He could join a rock band and perhaps he might become famous like FT ISLAND and CNBLUE. However, being an idol is a trend nowadays and because of that it's the closest path to stardom.

"I see. It's very disadvantageous not to know how to dance when you're goal is to become an idol. Dancing is one third criteria of being an idol together with dancing and visuals. If you lack one, you will never make it into a boy group. Keep this in mind. Is singing all you can do?" another judge said.

"Besides singing, I compose my songs and I can do rapping... just a little bit."

"Okay you do that", the judge said.

"Then I'll be rapping to a song I composed myself"

[video=youtube;a5iKK-lgk0Y]

He wasn't confident with rapping though. He only did it if he think that a rap is essential to the music he is composing. Not all times he added rap parts on his songs which was why he didn't develop much in terms of rapping. His rapping had nothing great on it but it wasn't too bad either. There would probably be better rapper at this building right now. However, since Jin-soo had to do it anyway, he rapped with all his heart and all gave everything from the tiny bit experience he had from rapping.

"Your rapping wasn't so bad. You should have more confidence in your rapping. Anyway, you passed. We will call you for another screening. Please submit the application form you filled earlier.", the judge said without hiding her impressed expression.

"Next, 01031. Please step forward", the female judge said.

Mianhamnida = I'm sorry (formal)

Neh = Pardon?

Yeh = Yes

February 7, 2018

Hyun-Shik waited patiently in the line for a what felt like hours. There were many people so he didn't mind all that much. It was to be expected but he had the tolerance and the patience to wait it out. Eventually the line began to diminish and the guy in front of him received a paper and was given some information that Hyun-Shik couldn't really hear over all the noise but as he was ushered inside the man gave him a paper and before he could hear anything out of him he was pushed inside by the other man at the door who seemed to be trying to get a whole slew of people under control on the other side.

It must've been an accident.... "I hope it wasn't important," he muttered. He was sent to go wait with the other few guys. Seems like his audition was about to begin but he didn't want to watch someone else audition. It would make him nervous so as someone who looked like they were in charge to some degree walked by, he requested to go to the bathroom. When given permission he left the room with only a few people noticing.

As he walked out he noticed many others in the hallway and practice rooms seeming so tense and most of them looked to be dancers. Although there were singers here and there. They all must've been talented people...but there was no way they'd all be chosen. He turned his head to the side, catching a glance at himself in the reflection of a polished picture. As he looked around he noticed that many of the others mirrored that exact expression he was just making. Everyone was tense and so many looked like they were on the brink of tears...and some were. That was when he realized that some had already auditioned and were coming out with faces that could only be labeled with failure.

As more guys left audition rooms with downcast eyes Hyun-Shik took action. His face brightened up almost immediately. He walked over to a guy with a boom box, something he hadn't seen in a while but he always kept a certain CD with him. One he used for dancing when he would get bored at home.

"Hey..." he called and them man looked up at him with a questioning look.

"Sup?" was the simple response he got. Hyun-Shik knew he must've looked suspicious to this man for coming up to him as a complete stranger but...

"Have you auditioned already?"

"No not yet. Why?" The man was getting more and more suspicious but Hyun-Shik had a cure for those suspicions.

"Then I just wanted you to know that you can do it! From the other side of the room I saw how tense you were and I just wanted to find some way to help you do better." The questioning look the stranger gave him immediately melted into a grateful smile.

"That noticebel huh? Thanks. Do you uh dance too?" The man asked and Hyun-Shik nodded.

"I don't think I'd be able to walk into this audition without being able to dance you know?" The stranger chuckled but nodded in agreement.

"Yeah I get you there." Before the stranger could get another word in Hyun-Shik turned his back to him and spoke up to get everyone's attention!

"Listen up! This can be a really stressful time for all of us. We're all tense and worried we'll fail but that's ok! We don't need to be so tense. We don't have to worry about failure! No one is perfect. You just gotta tackle things head on. So-" Hyun-Shik pulled out a CD and looked at the stanger with the boom box with hopeful eyes. The guy took it and slipped it into the large radio system.

"When you dance- you have to feel the beat- in your bones! It's like the music grabs hold of you but you grab hold of it too!" As the music began blaring out to a volume that was loud but not obnoxious, Hyun-Shik began performing in front of the others. His competition no less! Maybe this was a bad idea but if anything he wanted to see some smiles.

It wasn't long before people were joining in and just having fun with it. They became a group doing all kinds of different things but they were having a good time and that's what Hyun-Shik wanted.

"Next, 01035. Please step forward", the female judge said. As she looked up the number she had called was not there.... "Hm? Where's 01035? Did he quit?" The woman asked but she only received silence. A man entered the room and hastily made his way to her side. He bent down to whisper something in her ear.

"Is that so? Alright then take me to him. The rest of you may come along but don't get lost." The woman informed the other contestants. The man led the woman outside of the room and the rest of the judges followed intrigued as to what she was going to go do.

It was a semi-lengthy trip which made sense as to why she hadn't heard the noise until now. It was the most coordinated thing she had ever seen. Well in an audition scenario and at the front of it all was 01035. He looked so happy to be dancing with everyone else copying his moves to a T. The music playing fit well and despite it being loud and such she could not help but take all he did into account for his addition.

"What is going on here!" She finally spoke out in a loud voice that rang out over the music. The man with the boom box paused the music and everyone stopped dancing smiles still evident but they were all looking at the woman in surprise. The nervousness from before didn't return in most people's faces and that was a good thing.

Hyun-Shik felt his bladder stab him on the inside. He was supposed to go to the bathroom. At the time he didn't have to go but now he really did. "Ah um...neomu mian haeyo!" Hyun-Shik bowed deeply and immediately began explaining.

"I um I wanted to go to the bathroom but I saw everyone's face and I couldn't help but try to cheer them up so they could do well in their auditions and I got caught up in the moment and-"

"Save it. The second portion of your audition has been completed. I've been standing here for over 15 minutes. You must do the first portion in order to complete your audition." Hyun-Shik stood dumbfounded before it finally came to him. Singing! He hadn't even prepared a song! He had to scramble something together quickly.

....

His mother's love song! It was the first one she ever sang to Hyun-Shik's father and he used to sing it on her birthday and her death day for the sake of his father...but his father usually played the guitar like she had done...and he didn't know how to play guitar that well. Not much at all actually. Not only that but he had adjusted the lyrics a bit so it was like his father was singing to his mother but the problem was- he had only ever watched his father while he sang and that was a stretch. He looked around the room. there was a guy who had partaken in the dancing with a guitar.

"One moment misses!" Before the woman could get a word in, Hyun-Shik practically ran up to the guy. "Hey could I use your guitar for my audition? I promise I'll be super careful with it!" To his surprise he didn't receive any skepticism, only a friendly smile and a nod. After accepting the guitar- "Come on! You can even wait outside the audition room I'll be in! I'll make sure it gets back to you in the same condition you gave it to me in!" The guy agreed and off they went along with the judge.

"Alright when you're ready." The woman spoke and Hyun-Shik smiled and gave a curt nod.

"I will be singing a song written by my mother called Angel 2 me." He visualized his father in his mind and began plucking the strings in the ways he remembered.

Hyun-Shik opened his eyes and looked at the judges. He maintained a calm exterior but he was tensing and screaming on the inside. 'I just did my audition and they're all staring at me! Did I do that bad?'

The woman cleared her throat and went to speak. "The first part of your audition is complete. Congratulations! Your audition times seperately are two minutes and 4 seconds and seven minutes and 18 seconds. You've really taken a lot of our time from us."

"Aaah misses please-hrk...." Suddenly Hyun-Shik was bolting out of the room with a distinct "I have to ojum!!!"

Ojum=Pee

neomu mian haeyo=I'm very sorry

February 8, 2018

it's too late to change it now but, I kept writing 'Sung-Jin' instead of 'Sung-Min' in my reply because I started writing my first post before deciding on changing the name and it was Jin originally I'm so sorry X0

(also i feel a little weird using videos for stuff like this so I omitted them i apologize)

Sung-Min was starting to feel uncomfortable in line with all these people, particularly young and attractive men (most were, anyway). He didn't expect so many people here to begin with, so that was surprising. Maybe he shouldn't have underestimated One Music, and he had to get out of the mindset that he was guaranteed a spot just because another agency had selected him before. He was tempted to do some more intensive research on One Music on his phone, to see if there was some great secret everyone was in on- like some surefire plan to make their next boy band an international hit. But he didn't want to give into his paranoia. Plus, someone might look over his shoulder, and think he came unprepared.

The only thing he needed for this, of course, was himself. He'd been chosen at a more prestigious agency before now, and he wasn't as good as he is now. A year later, he'd only gotten better with intensive professional training. If he was good enough the first time, then he should be good enough for this place, right? Regardless of all these other people. He had to consider that many of them might have auditioned at other places, and didn't get accepted, and thought that a smaller agency was a better bet. They might think the same thing about him. Or maybe there were a number of people here who weren't confident enough to go for a bigger agency.

He wondered how many were in the same boat as him. He couldn't imagine many of them. If it were common, there'd be more scandals, right? They couldn't catch all the gays as quickly as they caught him, after all. He looked around, a lot of people were already starting to talk to each other, getting really friendly. Sung-Min couldn't help but overhear a few things, such as talking of the unusual nature of the audition. He had to agree, most agencies didn't hold auditions to specifically build a boy band up.

Sung-Min was kind of wishing it was a co-ed audition like his last two. He wanted to be friendly with someone else as well, and he had an easier time with girls than he did other men. He didn't have to be afraid of them, for one. Plus, at auditions, they weren't as much competition. Sure if a girl sang or danced better and made him look like crap, it was bad, but judges were looking for different things in girls than in boys, so in that regard they weren't competitors, so they were just comrades.

Somewhere further inside, in the next waiting room over, there was some sort of commotion. Sung-Min was close enough to the door that he could glimpse in. He could certainly hear it. Someone had put on some music, and had somehow gotten everyone to dance along with it. He felt mortified on their behalf. A warm up was one thing, but this? They were going to waste all their energy before their audition, get all sweaty and disheveled... plus it was taking up a lot of space. Though, another fault he saw in them, but it was to his advantage, he could get a good idea about their talent level. The leader of the bunch- who may or may not have initiated the whole thing- was definitely talented, but those following along were matching incredibly well. They picked up on choreography really fast, that was always a good skill to have. If someone important enough took note of that... they could have an advantage. Potentially more so than the one leading it. He reeled his head back, pulling his eyes away from the dancing. He was getting distracted, and letting himself get nervous. They were good, they were good. Everyone here believed they had a shot and, Dunning-Kruger non withstanding, so there was bound to be a lot of talent here. And maybe, like him, they knew they were talented enough and thought that a smaller agency was their best bet.

The idea struck him that there could be others that left large agencies of their own free will in order to work with a smaller own for the chance at more creative freedom... but he cast that right out. What kind big-time agency would have a contract that flimsy? He shook his head and sighed. He was getting too tied up into his own head. Sung-Min was getting really antsy standing around. He looked at his ticket. 1059. Damn, he had a ways to go before he was called in.

The music and dancing seemed to stop for a minute, but then resumed shortly after. Apparently, someone didn't go when their number was called, and was instead spending their energy dancing with a crowd until someone had to come and get him. He knew he was being unreasonable- maybe due to that, in addition to being tired and nervous, he was also hungry- but he was kind of upset that someone who wasn't paying attention was here at all. Everyone else, however, only seemed interested by the guy they pulled away. He wondered if it was the leader, but he wasn't about to ask.

Eventually, 1059 was called in with another handful of people. He hadn't auditioned in a while, he forgot just how nerve-wracking they could be. He was starting to feel like his pre-debut career would mean nothing, that he might have initially been a fluke, he had no place here. He took a deep breath.

Sung-Min knew he belonged here. He knew he was going to make it, he was going to be able to do this. And he was lucky- he wasn't called first. He just hoped he also wasn't last. The first person sang and danced. His dancing was a little rigid, the movements were right but weren't all that dynamic. His voice was really something else though. It made him nervous. But he knew he was a better dancer, at least.

The second man to go was incredibly tall and had an impossible jaw. He rapped and sang really well. Sung-Min couldn't rap, but he couldn't decide how he compared voice wise when it came to singing. And Sung-Min was third. He introduced himself, it was smooth and direct, as he prepared it in his head so much leading to now. As soon as he left his mouth, he cursed himself for being so generic. He needed to stand out but he showed next to no personality at this point. He noticed one of the judges was someone he recognized. A songwriter he'd met once before at his old agency. He didn't think he'd recognize him in turn, it was a year or so ago. He remembered he didn't seem too warm on him, though.

He said he'd start with dancing, and someone started a different track than the first man danced to. This was the easy part. Sung-Min had no such problem letting drama shake out from his bones into his every move. He had planned on doing some sort of flip- he was sure it nailed him the last audition, but he got so into it that he forgot all about it, there wasn't a place he naturally felt he could put it in.

He stopped just as someone opened their mouths. They chuckled, looking at their phone.

"That's fifteen exactly." They remarked, holding up the phone to display the stopwatch. "You have pretty good timing."

"I was hoping to be complimented on my dancing, but thank you," he told them. Someone laughed a little at the joke- thank god.

"What's next?"

Sung-Min straightened himself out and stood tall. He got more time for something new- perfect. "Singing," His breath came out steady despite his vigorous dancing, something he wanted to show off. At least he remembered to do that.

Sung-Min got lost in the song as well, which he felt was a good thing, and soon the next fifteen seconds were finished, though this time he had to be cut off, which was pretty embarrassing. It felt like a huge amount of time was between him being told to stop, and when they asked him to turn in the paperwork, as he'd made it past the first audition. He thanked them graciously before they again cut him off to call the next person forward.

Sung-Min did it... he made it. He knew it.

February 9, 2018

The room had been crowded hours before Park even had a chance to walk in, he felt suffocated sitting in the middle of it all. There were a mixture of emotions, ranging anywhere from anxiety to a numbing calm. Park was somewhere in the middle of all of that, making small talk with some of the female contestants while pushing down the growing nausea in the pit of his stomach.

If he couldn’t make it at OM Entertainment, would he even be able to make it anywhere else?

A girl with bubble gum pink hair giggled at him, Kim something or the other. Technically he wasn’t supposed to be talking to the female side of the room (they were there for separate auditions) but it had happened before he could stop himself. A small comment on the weather, a joke about how sweaty the producers seemed when they came to call names, and before he knew it Park was enjoying a light atmosphere with a couple of people.

“Wah~ really, you should just go home Kim, I’m going to set this place on fire with my beats,” Park Jin said in mock seriousness, shooting her a smirk. Kim looked extremely amused. For some reason, he had noticed that people lower their guard when he acted like this (like a vapid celebrity that was). He’d encountered a lot of entertaining and amusing reactions that way.

“Ok, humor me for a second Park Jin-”

“Real Smack,” Park interrupted, injecting one of his ridiculous stage names. He had several, actually, all vastly different but relatively the same in ridiculousness. P Hoody Cookie and Park P. Daddy were his other favorites. He absolutely thought they sounded stupid but he loved seeing others use it so seriously, it was fucking hilarious.

“-Real Smack,” she corrected without a pause, “what’re your thoughts on OM so far?”

Park contemplated his answer. It was a hard question to answer seeing as he had barely been in the building for more than a couple of hours. While his competition was certainly nothing to sneeze at, they lacked the intimidating presence people at places like SM or JYP had. Park knew because he had auditioned for those places as well. In the end he had felt so overwhelmed that he withdrew his application. OM was different though, it was a place for newcomers to make their first mistakes and have their first successes.

“It already feels like home,” Park said, surprised at how genuine his voice sounded. Even Kim looked a bit surprised by the sudden uncharacteristic sincerity. Before she had a chance to respond, a soft voice called his name.

“Park Jin.”

***

Park hid how nervous he was as he stood in front of the table of judges.

“So, why’re you applying at OM today? A lot of boys your age must be interested in chasing fame at places like SM, I’m sure,” a bald man asked, not unkindly. Park shrugged, stuffing a hand in one of his pockets.

“I like how you guys keep it real,” he stated casually, “I value sincerity and values more than I value fame.” Approving hums rang through the audition room.

“It says here that your specialty is rap and…. variety shows?” A chorus of surprised laugher ran through the table, looking at the taller boy in amusement. An embarrassed grin crossed Parks face and he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

“You know,” the bald man had said, speaking up for the first time, “I’ve been in this industry for a while and usually we save the variety show for after the debut.”

“Alright, alright,” the blonde lady interrupted, bringing their attention back to the matter on hand, “let's hear a little bit of those rap skills Jin, or, sorry, ‘Cookie’.” There was another ensemble of snorts at the unique nickname. Park bit back a smile,

“I act like I’m okay, but it ain’t easy,” Park started, drawling out each syllable in a relaxed rap, “success is obvious, but I could be wrong, you know. You talk about me, and I talk about you, but we’ve forgotten the time when we were ourselves. I hate the price of fame but I act high and might, I act high and mighty.” The words felt natural in his mouth, a tale of caution and heed like that of Icarus and the sun. Park wasn’t acquainted with the world of fame and hip-hop (although he had no doubts that he soon would be) but he had witnessed what that world was like. A lazy smile crossed his face as he pushed his hair back with his hand.

Everything he ever obtained he attributed to his parents sacrifices. Growing up Park knew that his family hadn’t made the best income, there were a lot of things they had to give up. Despite that, his mom and dad put on a positive face and acted like nothing was wrong, even when they had nothing to eat. He remembered his mom giving him her portions and shrugging it off with a smile, saying she wasn’t hungry. Those tiny memories were what gave him energy to keep going when things were tough. If his mom could smile at him while suffering like that, he could put in the same energy.

“I forgot my moms birthday while making money,” Park rumbled, letting the sound come from deep within his abdomen. His voice was deep and it vibrated through each enunciated word. Every syllable was a careful articulation of his feelings.

“Even if you abandon me, yeah we get that money. Through the ups and the downs, yeah we get that money. Either you stacking or you balling, know we get that,” he finished off the verse with the final chorus. He looked at the table eagerly, trying to discern what they had thought of him from their expressions. It was a futile attempt though, all of their faces were steely masks that gave nothing away. There wasn’t anything said for a couple of seconds.

The silence was eating Park alive.

“What else can you do?” the blonde lady asked.

His heart pummeled. Did that mean they didn’t like his rap? Or did they just want to see more from him? Trying not to let the nervousness spill out of his throat he spoke through a dry mouth.

“I can dance,” he croaked. The lady nodded, indicating for him to perform. Park paused, waiting for them to play his song. Beyonce's ‘Formation’ echoed in the studio, causing a couple of surprised heads to snap up in curiosity at the song choice.

He began the dance, putting in energy with each sharp move. Park was sure that there were some parts that looked sloppy but there was a certain charm in his moves. He rotated his arm and swung his leg around, landing in a semi-spiral at the final key note of his dance.

The song was shut off and the lady spoke once more, not looking up from her clipboard, “You can wait outside. I’ll come get you in a couple of minutes.”

***

He hadn’t really known what to expect. The words “you passed” came to him more as a shock than it probably should of. He stared at the blonde lady in disbelief, wondering if her encouraging smile was some sort of scam.

“U-ugh, really?” he stuttered, unsure, “you can’t take it back.” She laughed warmly at him.

“We liked what you showed us. It was a bit sloppy here and there but overall I think you had the best stage presence out of everyone today. You’re an interesting person. I think viewers would enjoy watching you Jin. I hope you bring even better materials for the second audition.”

A radiant grin broke through Parks expression and he felt a surge of pride swell up in him.

“You won’t regret it,” he said with a trembling voice, surprised at the relief he felt.

February 9, 2018

Thursday. January 4, 2018 [3:12 PM]

It's been quite a while since Jin-soo auditioned for OM entertainment. Christmas had passed like a blink of an eye. Yet, the winter season was just as cold as when he auditioned. There was no news from the agency until now. Well, Jin-soo expected this much when winter holidays was up ahead. But with (Lunar/Korean) New Years approaching, Jin-soo began to doubt.

"Excuse me, will you give me one of the flyers you're handing out?", an elderly woman asked.

"Ah! Yes ma'am. Here you go.", Jin-soo replied as he hurriedly handed out one of the flyers. Currently, he's doing part-time jobs to provide for himself although he had some money left from his severance fee. He really wanted to work full time, but because he auditioned and not knowing whether he'll make it or not, he can't afford to work full time.

"I just wish they call me sooner. They did tell me I pass after all.", Jin-soo sighed as he handed another flyer to a passerby. There wasn't much to earn in giving out flyers in the streets. However, he only had to work for three hours a day when the streets are the busiest. After that, he can go work for another part time job.

Night-time had come and Jin-soo was on his way home from work. His body felt a bit tired from all these class works in university and part time jobs on top of that. But he really didn't have a choice when he had no one but himself to rely on.

-Crriing-

Jin-soo's phone rang notifying him that an e-mail had been received. Every other teenager would probably feel a flutter in their hearts while they quickly look at their lover's message. But for Jin-soo who had no time to engage in any romantic activities, e-mails only brings grim into his day. No one sends him e-mail besides electricity, water, mobile subscription and school bills. So whenever he receives an e-mail, it's almost absolutely sure that he had to pay up for something... and not in any small amount.

With a loud sigh and a cursing, Jin-soo reached for his phone from his pocket and boringly read the contents of the email that was flashing on his phone.

FROM:
Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links.

TO:
Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links.

SUBJECT: KPOP Boyband Audition - 2nd Screening!

To Mr. Eun Jin Soo:

Thank you for auditioning to OM Entertainment's first ever KPOP Boyband Audition. It has been determined that you have passed the first selection process. Congratulations!

The second screening will be conducted on the 8th of January, 9 A.M. in the morning onward. Please do prepare for a singing audition. Those who pass the second screening will be accepted as OM Entertainment's trainees.

Good luck!

OM Entertainment CEO,

Lee Taek

A smile crept on Jin-soo's face. He couldn't hide his happiness. Well, it was obvious that he passed the first screening sicne they told him so afterall. However, he didn't expect that there would be a second one since no one told him so. Still, a pass is a pass. Just one more hurdle left and he'll become a trainee! Jin-soo began to yell in the silent neighborhood he's passing by while making some quick hip thrust into the air.

The next day, Jin-soo went shopping to buy new clothes and had gotten himself some fashionable haircut. He literally spent a money he would earn in a month in a single day. Of course that's such a waste of money but who cares. If he's going to make it big, there's no way he's gonna get any poorer.

The moment he stepped out of the salon and right after squeezing all of his money inside his pocket, he felt like his surroundings changed. No, it's not like he had just lost his v-card. He simply felt... more confident of himself. With new clothes and neat look, everyone stole glances on him. Some people are even secretly taking his pictures. Of course it was the power of money! He enjoyed the glances so much and from time to time he'd stop moving and do weird poses thinking that some people would like him to pose. Well Jin-soo is making good use of what he paid for and he expected nothing less from a month worth of salary.

Monday. January 8, 2017 [8:00 A.M.]

There was still an hour left and yet he had already arrived at OM Entertainment's building. He wasn't the only one around though, with few people doing their own things before the doors open. Jin-soo was pretty bored being all alone and no one else to talk too. Everyone looked as serious as him. They're one step closer. They cannot afford to lose this last audition and therefore they had to give everything they got.

"I won't lose...", Jin-soo said as he began practicing the song he picked for the second audition.

"Odiye innayo. Je yae-gi jongmal turrishinayo~", he sang confidently one of the ballad songs he liked the most - "Confession" by Yim Jaebum.

February 10, 2018

Hyun-Shik had spent the rest of his week in peace. He wasn't majorly busy and the few jobs he applied for only took up three days out of the week. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. He worked as a temp due to the fact he didn't plan on staying. Without word back from OM he had to find another job suitable for him. Serving people as one of those front desk people wasn't the coolest of jobs. It was all fairly boring if he was honest. However, he was liked for his compassion and understanding for each individual or group that came in. Sympathetic smiles were offered and reassurance right along with them. As his break came along, Hyun-Shik followed first day instructions on making sure not to leave anyone hanging or leaving someone to tend to dozens of people on their own.

It wasn't super busy on the fine Thursday Afternoon. He went to the employee lounge and whipped out his phone to check his text messages. There were some from distant family members like cousins he'd only met when he was only a baby and similar things of the like. There was an email icon at the top of his phone. Hyun-Shik slid his thumb from the top of the screen to the very bottom and read the subject of the email.

K Pop Boy Band Audition .....

Hyun-Shik returned home from work earlier than usual. His boss and co-workers were informed and apologized to repeatedly but he had to get home and pray to his ancestors for this great blessing they've bestowed upon him. They must've been sending him good luck from the heavens. How else could he have gotten in? They hadn't even told him he passed officially. They had only said he completed his audition. That could have meant anything.

'Congratulations! You completed your horrible audition' or 'Congratulations! you completely failed your audition but; at least it was over 15 minutes!' The lady did say he wasted their time. That to him was a quick thumbs down but he made it! Now all he needed was a song to do. There were a couple in mind but one stood out like a horse in a hay stack. Very much opposed to the whole needle in the hay stack saying. All he needed was two others to play some instruments...but that wasn't a hard task. Or even just a soundtrack would work fine

"I've got this. I...I believe in myself. Please continue to believe in me." He pressed his head to the ground in a bent over position to show deep respect. On the day of the audition he would be 100% ready. That was his hope at least.

The day of the second and last screening. His last chance to prove he was worth something. It could be possible that the second screening was his fault. Hyping up that many people last time...at least everyone was feeling good. That was initially all that mattered. Helping the competition was better than being a jerk to them right? At least that's how he saw it. As he looked up he happened to catch sight of someone staring at him. It was that guy with the guitar! Aaah how embarrassing that was last time but he had made it!

"I'm happy to see you here! I knew you'd make it!" Hyung-Shik beamed with a smile that was almost too bright.

"Heh thanks. It wasn't much but I still appreciate everything you did that day. Even though the last part was a tad bit odd." Hyun-Shik grumbled playfully in hopes that he wouldn't bring it up. As promised on that day- the man's guitar was returned in mint condition but it was given to him in haste whilst the man screamed on how he had to pee. His filter had flew out the window along with any sense of pride he may or may not have had.

"I really had to go okay?" He pouted but it was all in good fun. The two conversed for a while even as the line moved. There weren't too many people this time around but; there were still a decent amount of folks walking about and standing in the line so they made time fly with conversation.

February 10, 2018

Sung-Min knew that getting past the first audition wasn't the end-all be all to getting signed, but he still felt really triumphant. He wasn't going to look down on OM anymore- or at least he'd try not to- after seeing the swath of talented men they were auditioning. He wasn't going to take for granted that his brief history with a bigger agency would be enough. But everything in his life had led up to him becoming an idol, he had to be able to make it, and he shouldn't risk it on being cocky. It wasn't always a cute trait, and he knew it.

Still, he was in pretty good spirits for the rest of the week. His managers at work commented on his attitude at work. He had a hard time being friendly, so he wasn't often put in situations where he dealt with customers, so one even joked about having him work the cash register or returns area. He hadn't been working there very long, either, just since his contract fell through. No one here really knew about his singing or dancing, or that he had nearly debuted as an idol or that he was going for it again. He liked this place since most people minded their business. When he asked for the day off, it was granted since he asked so early in advanced.

He did get scolded a few times for being on his phone so much when he should be working with the inventory or sweeping or something of the like. Every time he got an alert on his phone, he couldn't help but be excited that maybe it was an email from One Music about the auditions. Usually it was one of his former band members. Chul-hyung emailed him the most. Everyone was so stunned and baffled when it all happened, and Sung-Min left without a word about it, so he initially got a flood of confused emails from everyone. He only sent a mass email, polite yet curt, saying good bye and how much he appreciated the opportunity to work with them and to encourage them. Most everyone sent back polite replies echoing the sentiment and wishing him luck, and how sad they were to see him go. Chul was the only one who continued to try to talk to him. He read all of his emails, but never replied. There was something comforting about the way he wrote.

Chul was always upbeat. He wrote his emails the way someone might write a letter to someone with whom they haven't received correspondence from yet. It was like they never parted, he would just update him on things going on. He would often ask about how he was doing, and recall former memories they had shared. But he never sounded pushy, or hounded him. Part of him was scared for when he'd grow tired of emailing a wall like him and stop. It'd been a few weeks, and the emails were already steadily dropping off to one every two weeks or so.

Sometimes when things were slow or he was taking a break from training or waiting in line for something, he'd reread some of the emails. Today, work was slow, and he'd reread all the emails throughout his shift. When he punched out for the day, he opened a new message.

Chul-hyung.

It's been a while, right? I'm sorry for that. I've read all your emails, I'm always happy to receive them. I'm glad you're doing so well right now. Sorry that my leaving pushed the debut back, but I'm looking forward to seeing everyone in concert someday very soon. Have you ever heard of the agency 'One Music?' I rece

He got a banner alert. Sung-Min felt his heart body-slam the front of his ribcage, his first instinct thinking it was another email from Chul. He tapped the banner to read it. He read the subject and knew it was something he was anticipating far more.

One Music emailed him back.

This time, Sung-Min got there early. He didn't want to wait such a long time and let his nerves build up like what happened last time. There weren't a lot of people there when he arrived, but he was by no means the first. Most people were prepping themselves up, like last time, though there was much less friendly chatter. Everyone was either physically or vocally warming up, a few were rehearsing actual songs, or moving to a mental beat while mouthing or mumbling raps. It was chaotic in a very soothing way. He was standing near someone singing a Yim Jaebum song, though he couldn't remember what it was called off the top of his head. He had a really good voice, though. Everyone here was good enough to get past the first part of the auditions, though. He was already starting to feel the pressure, and he was more happy he got here as early as he did.

February 11, 2018

Sorry for my lack luster replies. I've been functioning on little sleep so we can expect better replies from me I promise lolol.

Park had been bouncing between trying to find a way to keep afloat and practicing for the second audition. When he had been told he had passed he didn't know what he expected. It wasn't as though he thought he'd go home a star. He knew that the process was a long and grueling one. It just never occurred to him how long. He didn't want to take on a job at some connivence store only to leave after a couple of weeks or months. Yet he also had to find a way to pay the rent. Which lead him to his current predicament.

"Auughh," he groaned, burying his head in his arms as he forwent his lunch in favor of whining. His coworker rolled her eyes at him, taking a bite into her own sandwich. The girl, Geem Ji Su, had a slightly larger build than most with broad working shoulders. Her obviously toned and tanned arms flexed as she brought them up to take another bite of her cucumber sandwhich.

The two of them had had the luck of being assigned the same manual labor jobs from the work relief program they had applied to. It was their third time together and they were currently on an extended lunch break.

"Can you stop that Jin," she said informally, through a mouthful of food, "I'm loosing my appetite just looking at you." Park snorted at that comment.

"Yeah, like that's a possibility," he replied snidely before adding on, "And it's Park, not Jin."

His mom hated how he went by his last name. He could practically hear her voice. 'Park? Park is such a common name, I just can't understand why you don't want to be called by the name we gave you.' He wasn't attached to such notions. He went by his last name because he thought that that way he'd never forget what mattered the most to him, his family. It had been difficult in Seoul, trying to remember why he was here and not give up. He had almost no money, no friends, and no job offers. When things were the toughest, it felt good being called by his family name. Park wanted everyone to know how proud he was to be related to his parents.

Ji Su rolled her eyes at him.

"I'll call you anything you like, just stop moping."

"Then can you-"

"Any real name," she interrupted pointedly, clearly used to his requests, "no stage names." He slumped back in his chair in the break room with a disappointed mumble. It wasn't though he was trying to be depressing, he was just tired of bouncing between jobs like this while he had to wait to hear back from his dream job. It was infuriating and quite frankly he didn't have the patience for it.

"Cheer up," Ji Su tried again, "at least it's close to the end of your shift. You can check your email. Who knows, maybe they've sent you something." Park sighed, not quite denying it but also not wanting to get his hopes up.

"Yeah," he mumbled again, "maybe."

Despite his whining though, the moment he had finished his shift he headed to the public library to use their computers. Park didn't own any computers at home and his phone was an older version so he couldn't connect to wifi on it. He found himself frequently the library a lot lately, always anxiously looking over his email. Sometimes he wondered if they had lost it or he had forgot to put it on.

Surprisingly, as he logged in to his email, there was a notification from OM Entertainment. With a racing heart he clicked on the email, scanning the words that popped up.

FROM:
Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links.
TO:
Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links.

SUBJECT: KPOP Boyband Audition - 2nd Screening

Mr. Park Jin,

Thank you for auditioning to OM Entertainment's first ever KPOP Boyband Audition. It has been determined that you have passed the first selection process. Congratulations!

The second screening will be conducted on the 8th of January, 9 A.M. in the morning onward. Please do prepare for a singing audition. Those who pass the second screening will be accepted as OM Entertainment's trainees.

Good luck!

OM Entertainment CEO,

Lee Taek

There were a lot of things going through his mind at that moment but the most prominent one probably had to be fucking finally. He had been spending his time very wisely since his last audition and he couldn't wait to let OM know just how much he's grown since then.

"January eighth," Park whispered at the computer screen, ignoring the looks he was receiving. He could scarcely wait.

February 11, 2018

[Monday. January 8, 2017 [9:55 A.M.]

The second audition screening has began. A few had been called ahead of Jin-soo, some had even started to go back home. They were told to stay put in the same big room as before while they wait for their turn. But not like then, they weren't called in a group of five. Instead, each were called individually through a loud speaker.

While the number of people was significantly lesser, it didn't mean that the tension was too. In fact, everyone seemed to be more nervous than before. Jin-soo too felt it too. His dream was getting closer. What seemed like a bad day was actually the day when his whole fate began to change. That is why Jin-soo couldn't afford to fail in this audition. There's no way to know when such opportunity would come again.

"01034 Eun Jin-soo-ssi. 01034 Eun Jin-soo-ssi. Please come inside to the audition room."

Hearing his name called, Jin-soo stood up and walked to the audition room. Entering the door room, there wasn't any significant changes done. If there was, it would only be the person sitting opposite to him. Unlike before, there was only one person. A man in his 40's was smiling to him but his eyes was carrying a hint of seriousness that seemed to be scrutinizing his appearance as a whole.

"Eun Jin-soo-ssi, right? Let's see, you are an interesting fellow. You have a good voice and you can rap too. You also look very handsome too. Very much idol material. Well before you begin, let me ask you a few questions."

"Please do so", Jin-soo replied.

"First, how do you feel about auditioning here? OM Entertainment isn't really well known. Wouldn't you prefer going to JYP, SM, YG or any other companies that has produced well known artists? You'd have more chance to be more popular if you have gone to them."

Jin-soo was quite surprised to hear something like that. Though it was true that he was clenching unto a thin rope, trying to get into a boy group that may never be in the limelight, he didn't expect that those words would come out right from the judge's mouth.

"Well, to be honest, as you have said, I wanted to get into JYP. I have heard that they really take good care of their trainees and it doesn't take too long to debut them unlike other agencies. But with my circumstances, it's hard for me to go to auditions when I have to work. I was simply lucky to have found out about this audition right when I was fired from work. I'm not sure if I can get in, but if I do, I will not disappoint you."

Jin-soo honestly responded to the question. He said it as what he really thought.

"True. Who wouldn't want guaranteed fame? I'm not saying that going to JYP will make you a star but the artists they produce are quite popular internationally. Then, if I include you the group I have in mind, what can you contribute?"

"I will contribute success."

The judged was shocked and for a moment he left his mouth open before he burst out laughing. Jin-soo was some interesting kid to him. Others would have told him they will sing, dance, rap or whatever to please the judges but this guy right here straightforwardly told him about success in a group he's trying to build up in his last attempt to save the agency.

"I surely did not expect that answer. I like your honesty and sincerity and straightforwardness. You don't seem to be the type to get discouraged by an unfavorable circumstance. What do you think about becoming the leader of the group? I believe such sincerity is very helpful in leading a group. Well, of course, provided that you pass the second screening. Now, Eun Jin-soo-ssi, what will you be performing?"

A leader? Jin-soo was not sure if he could handle the task of becoming the leader. He was sure that it carried more than what it sound. In his various experience working part time work, the leader is always the busiest, taking care of many work related issues. But if leading a group was something he could do, and if doing it would help the group, Jin-soo is very much willing to do it.

"I will be singing 'Hi Hello' by Day6"

"Alright, Goodluck!"

[video=youtube;S7-LX3KRews]

Jin-soo sang with everything he got. His singing carried smoothness that sounded soft and peaceful. Listening to this, the judge couldn't help but appreciate the song. It wasn't even an audition to him anymore. He simply wanted to listen to this good song.

"That was such a very pleasing song. You have a good voice. To be honest, I can just group you with others and debut you. You're that good. I see a lot of potential in you. You are a rough gem that needs only a little bit of polishing. You can't dance right?"

"It's not that I cannot. However, I don't have the confidence to have my dancing judged."

"Don't worry, you passed. Will you show me? I have no intention to make fun of your dancing. I just want to have an idea how far off I have to help you develop your dancing skills. As a rough gem, it is my duty to polish you and make you shine."

"Well thennn...."

Jin-soo moved his body with all honesty. He knew he wasn't good at it but he wanted to at least make his dancing not look like a squirming fish trying to catch his last breathe on earth. He tried not to do some high level dancing. He focused more on the roots - the basics.

"I can see why you're not confident with dancing. You do need a good instructor... However, from what I can see, you don't look so hopeless as you try to make it out to be. You have a good form. Dancing will come to you like a piece of cake."

"Thanks. I should have practiced more dancing. I know I wasn't good. Still I'm thankful I passed! I won't disappoint!"

"Well, to be honest I wasn't expecting much in this audition. You see, not being a popular agency, I thought there wouldn't be much talented people. I would be happy if there was someone who has looks, who has at least voice and moves. But you and some other people exceeded my expectation. You guys might just really make it big. Yes, as you are right now, you won't make it far in this industry. But that's why you're going to be a trainee first. Let's fix all what we can fix in you and in a year or two, I'm sure you're ready to go out there and we're going to take the world by surprise."

The Judge stood up and walked closer to Jin-soo. He reached out his hand and continued talking.

"Welcome to OM Entertainment, Eun Jin-soo-ssi. I am Lee Taek, the CEO of OM and I will be your manager. Please don't forget what I suggested. I really think you're most suited to be the leader. Let's work hard together!"

"Yes"

Sorry if my reply is bunch of dialogues I am having a writer's block at the moment >.

February 12, 2018

Conversation with the guitar man lasted for quite some time. He was so into the conversation

"It looks like it's about that time. Good luck to the both of us right?" Hyun-Shik asked with a big smile plastered on his face. The man tilted his hat in agreement.

"It's been fun. Hope we-" the speaker drowned out the rest of what the man was going to say.

"Can Heon Woo please come to the screening room. Please and thank you." The way the man looked up notified Hyun-Shik that the man before him was Heon Woo. With one last exchange of a smile and wishes of good luck, Heon Woo was on his way. Hyun-Shik went to the other side of the room to warm up his vocal cords. It would be an absolute embarrassment to walk in there and frack a note.

He tried to stay away from others so he wouldn't disturb anyone's warm up sessions. Hyun-Shik found a nice little corner to warm up in. In order to avoid tiring his vocal cords out too fast he practiced some basic warm ups and hit a few high and low notes. If there was one thing Hyun-Shik loved it was his ability to go real high in his vocal range. Just having any range was magnificent to him. The speaker went off multiple times, calling people into the screening room. Hyun-Shik waited and waited but it didn't seem like he was going to be called anytime soon. Had they forgotten him? He did reply back to the email to let them know he'd be going to the screening. What else could it be?

The dark haired boy slipped into a chair since it was much better than standing, and eventually he fell asleep.

"Annyeonghaseyo..." Annyeonghaseyo-ya wake up....do you still plan to audition?" Dark, chocolate brown eyes slowly came open being greeted by a familiar face. "Oppa? Eh erm...Heon Woo-ssi? What's wrong," the boy questioned with a small yawn. Heon Woo smiled but there was a faint glint in his charcoal eyes. It was like he was missing something. Hyun-Shik didn't want to stare so he averted his gaze whilst stretching.

"They're calling your name." Hyun-Shik froze and shot up out of his seat, the chair skid back making a loud sound and as Hyun-Shik looked around the room there was a significant change in the amount of people. If anything it looked like a bunch of stragglers in a 24-hour market at 1 AM.

"HYAA!!! Thank you Heon Woo-ssi!" Hyun-Shik took the bottle of water from Heon Woo and gulped half of it down before giving it back with a quick "Thank you," and rushing off to the screening room. Luckily his hair wasn't disheveled and his clothes didn't look a mess but he had slept...right after warming up too. He cleared his throat as much as he could before he entered the room. He didn't have to shut the door behind him since someone had already done it. As he looked up he was surprised to see only one person seated in front of him. They were at least a couple feet apart but...something about there only being one person made Hyun-Shik nervous.

"You are Hyun-Shik from Goryeo correct?" Although the man was directly addressing him he somehow found himself unable to respond for a moment but only after a second did he respond with a curt nod. As he locked eyes with the man after a beat of silence he noticed that he was waiting for a verbal response.

"Y-Yes sir." He was mentally beating himself for stuttering. If he couldn't even put on a public face in front of one person how would he do so in front of millions? In his defense the man gave off a kind of standoffish demeanor. Even with the well practiced smile on the older mans face he couldn't shake the feeling that he had years of experience under his belt. In what exactly Hyun-Shik wasn't sure but that didn't matter.

"Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"N-No sir," Hyun-Shik stuttered out and once again he was mentally beating himself with whatever his mind could think up in the most brutal of fashions.

The older man cleared his throat and leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "I wasn't supposed to look at any of the auditions of the first screening however, I had stopped by to pick up some documents from one of the judges for a girls group and on my way out I happened upon a series of dances...the leader was you. I take it you have a passion for dancing." Hyun-Shik nodded vigorously and tried to stop his constant fidgeting.

"I've been doing it since I was little." It was a very short and to the point explanation but that was all the man needed.

"I noticed that you weren't ashamed of doing moves you'd normally see a girl perform. Any words on that?" Hyun-Shik seemed to visibly brighten up, all fidgeting gone as if it were never there. The judge noticed the change and was intrigued as he waited for the answer.

"I believe all dances can be performed by any gender, it matters not which one does what. I also think the way I execute what you call 'girl' moves to be apart of my appeal. It's something most guys can't pull off while still looking manly I suppose." There was a moment of silence and he was receiving a blank expression from the man across the room.

"Ha...AHAHAHAAHHAHAHHA HHAHAHAHAA." The man bust out laughing, tears coming to his eyes as he nearly bust an entire gut from Hyun-Shik's words. "Why I-I never! That's a unique phrase I never thought I'd hear. Exclusive to you and you alone I'm sure. Ahh my apologies." After clearing his throat the man continued seeming to be in a chipper mood.

"You have a cute look about you. Perhaps that's also part of your appeal hm?" Hyun-Shik was dumbfounded. Cute? CUTE?! Was that a compliment? Should he take offense? Wasn't it a bit weird for an older man to call a younger man cute? Though when he locked eyes with the judge he didn't seem the least bit concerned about his own words. Strange.

"I...think so." Hyun-Shik honestly wasn't the least bit sure but if that's what the judge saw then perhaps he'd see it too...eventually.

"You can sing and dance correct? Why don't we start off with singing?" Hyun-Shik nodded and let out a long breath of air, closing his eyes and finally pulling out his singing voice from deep within. This audition was it. He had to pour his whole heart into everything he did and he planned to do that with every note.

[video=youtube;VzYGBBkNc-4]

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As the last note faded away, Hyun-Shik stood- chest heaving as he breathed in and out. Loud claps filled the room and it put a smile on Hyun-Shik's face. "Your voice is idol worthy. Is all of that natural ability? Did you have a trainer?"

Hyun-Shik grinned feeling the praise warm his cheeks. "I had some inspiration from my mother when I was young and my father but I am self-taught."

"Brilliant. I can see you being a lead singer." Hyun-Shik felt his heart stop. A lead? A lead singer? What an honor. Him...leading...singing...in a boy band?! His lips quivered as he tried not to smile too wide.

"What an honor. Thank you for your kind words."

"Now a few more questions before we continue. You came prepared with a song to dance to yes? Do you have a back up?" Hyun-Shik nodded and raised an eyebrow wondering what the man was getting at. "Do you think you could teach others your moves? No matter how many people?" It was a strange question but if he put his mind to it he was certain he could do almost anything.

"Yes sir," he answered in a crisp, persuasive tone. Those two words may have been the ones spoken with the most clarity out of everything he'd said up to this point.

"Then I would like you to teach these fine young men your dances. Of course you may divide them up however you like. You have quite some time. You are one of the last auditions and of course you will be allowed back as soon as you finish. You will have a 3 hour break and your total time allowed before you must show me what you've done is 9 hours. Good luck." Once again the young Hyun-shik was stumped. Dumbfounded even. Was this judge for real? Was he truly asking him to teach others his choreography? Well perhaps it wasn't choreography per-say but still he had to teach them every step and possibly more to impress the judge. Was he truly serious. What kind of audition-

"Can you do it? If not it's alright. I just thought it'd be an oppurtunity-"

"No no! I was just a little surprised! I-...I can do it. I'll be back in 9!" If anything this meant he'd be here until night time and he'd be dead tired one way or another.

The judge was on the phone as Hyun-Shik waited outside the door for him to finish.

"Ah yeah...3 others have been chosen. In about 30 minutes or so I should be getting my fourth...maybe. If not there was one other on hold if this one didn't pull through....yeah I know it's late but it's a lot of work to pull off in under 24 hours." The man seemed to groan in annoyance. "Who's the manager here? You or me? I could've sworn I'm also the CEO aka your boss. How I work things out is up to me."

Hyun-Shik lightly knocked on the door, wanting to hear no more of the conversation. "Ah I have to go. Call me back tomorrow morning."

"Welcome back...oh. Color coordinated huh? Alright what will you be doing first. I'd like to see both if you don't mind."

Hyun-Shik nodded to the person in the corner of the room who must've arrived after he left to go rehearse with the other guys. "First we will be performing suit and tie choreographed by me." The man seemed amused that Hyun-Shik was actually wearing a tie. The music started up and off they went performing exactly what they rehearsed.

[Monday. January 8, 2017 [9:25 P.M.]

As the song faded out Hyun-Shik looked up. There was no reaction from the judge but he did speak.

"I'd like to see the next one."

'Did he not like it?' The song was one of his favorites to dance to. Sure the choreography was a bit simple but...well good thing he had a trump card. After giving high fives to his first team he tossed away the tie, vest and pants to reveal a much simpler look.

"The next song we will be dancing too also choreographed by me is called Locked out of Heav-on by Bruno Mars." Hyun-Ship snapped towards the DJ and the music slipped out of the speakers and immediately they began their routine.

[video=youtube_share;v8Vgs9tMfIw]

That number took more out of him no matter how much he put into it. His chest hurt and he was breathing hard but his face still showed a big smile.

"Your moves are fluid and not shaky even in the slightest. It seems like you have fun when you move. However I can't give you two big roles at once, that would be too much for one person...I was already considering someone for the primary role of Lead Dancer anyway. You are a very good dancer and your singing is phenomenal. Congratulations Hyun-Shik-ssi. You have made it into OM Entertainment as our Lead singer. Your dance moves and ability to teach others are an added bonus. I'm Lee Taek, the CEO of OM and I will be your manager. Welcome to OM Entertainment Hyun-Shik-ssi. You should get home and rest. You will be called in when everything is settled."

Hyun-Shik nearly passed out there but he managed to walk out the door before falling to his knees. Two shoes came into his sight. As he looked up with teary eyes he could see a familiar face. Heon Woo!

"Oppa-err I mean-"

"Oppa is fine," Heon Woo interrupted with a small smile. There was a look of defeat in his eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Hyun-Shik was confused as to why Heon Woo was still here at this hour but at the same time it was refreshing to see a familiar face. Even if he'd only known the guy for a month.

"Well I tried calling you to see how the audition went but you weren't answering your phone. I just assumed something happened so I came back. After asking around I was told you were rehearsing for your audition. I didn't understand at first but I think I get it now." Heon Woo smiled brightly at the slightly younger man and Hyun-Shik returned that brightness with a tired smile of his own.

"I-I did it! I made it into OM Entertainment!" Hyun-Shik was so tired he could barely stand but his grip was strong as he grabbed onto Heon Woo's arms to pull himself up, much to Heon Woo's dismay. As he was slightly bent over even while standing he looked up at Heon Woo with the goofiest grin he could muster.

"I figured you would. You just had this...aura about you. It's like someone was watching over you or something." At the mentioning of that Hyun-Shik had to avoid tearing up even more. His first set of tears were from joy and shock but it would be bittersweet sadness if he continued on from there. "You look like you wouldn't be able to get home safely. Want me to drive you home?"

"W-what? Nono I couldn't make you do that. I'll be fine." Heon Woo shook his head.

"As your Oppa it's my job to make sure you don't get killed. You just got your part. It would be a shame if something happened to you on your way home. I'm taking you home." Realizing that it was a demand rather than an offering Hyun-Shik tiredly agreed and he handed the man his keys.

"Well...how are you supposed to get home? What about your car?"

"Eh this place is actually close to my house so I walked here."

"Oh...hmm well how are you supposed to get back? My house isn't close by here...oh! You could spend the night at my place and I could drive you home maybe after breakfast tomorrow!"

"Sounds like a plan."

[Monday. January 8, 2017 [10:38 P.M.]

February 13, 2018

He didn't have to wait as long as last time, which Sung-Min was grateful for, as he was already really feeling the stress. This was such a small agency compared to SQ, yet he felt like he was more nervous here. That must be his nerves embellishing that, right? After all, he managed to get signed with SQ. OM shouldn't be this intimidating... but Sung-Min had to settle on the fact that he was, at least, just as nervous for this as he was for his other auditions for the larger agencies. Maybe because he knew if he failed here, it meant there was some sort of fluke the first time, and even with all that training, he really didn't have what it took to be successful. And there was no guarantee he'd be successful even if he passed, OM was pretty clearly in danger, and he could be putting his own neck on the line here.

His name was called, and he forced those thoughts in the back of his head and rapidly went through a list of positive thinking phrases- that he thought was very goofy until right at the moment he really needed them- as he walked down into the audition room. He hoped he didn't look as nervous as he felt, because he put more effort than usual today to look good. The way the larger agencies spoke about them, they acted like attractiveness was a rare and unique asset to be mined heavily while it lasted. But even a small agency like this was filled with a pretty large number of attractive aspiring performers, so he stepped it up a bit today.

The room felt larger and more intimidating when it was only him instead of a group. All the focus was on him and him alone. Everyone on the judge's side seemed pretty immaculate themselves, even more than himself. Maybe that was just his anxiousness toying with him again, that he was imagining how inadequate he was. He knew he was a fine, presentable. He purposefully prepped himself to look good before leaving his apartment. He knew he looked fine. More than fine, right? He looked good. Nice. Fine.

"That's alright, isn't it?" A man who looked to be in his late thirties or maybe even in his forties asked, looking at him expectantly. Everyone was. Sung-Min felt the color in his face was like a fitted sheet, when you're almost finished with the last bottom corner and the whole thing snaps down to the bottom? The color drained from his face just like that. He had been so preoccupied with whether or not the judges found him pretty he didn't even listen to them! God, he was so stupid... Why couldn't one of the other men auditioning go mad with determination, storm in, and stab him in the neck?

"Yes, that's alright," He said automatically, forcing a smile. Was it? What were they talking about? Oh god...

"Good," He looked at a sheet of paper in front of him. "So, guessing by your talent from last time, you've been training seriously to be an idol for quite some time, yes?"

"That's right." Sung-Min nodded, relieved. They were starting with some questions. That's good. He could do that. This was easy. Right? He just had to be honest. Wait, no... actually, out of any of the people auditioning here, he was the one who couldn't really be honest here, could he? There were certain things he had to keep to himself, that would always be the case. One of the judges told him that he would be accepted into their band and guaranteed to skyrocket to fame and fortune if he admitted, in private here, that he was gay, he would simply walk out. Not that they were going to ask him something like that. God, he was too much in his head. Didn't he just have a fantasy about getting murdered, too? He had to focus.

"I spent a good part of my childhood in singing clubs," He elaborated. "And when my family moved to the city, I started taking dance lessons."

"Yes, it's very clear that you have a strong leaning for dancing. You really stood out." The man said. Another judge mentioned something about his timing, but his brain was buzzing at the first praise. They remembered him, then? Of course, they could be flattering him. Lying to boost his self esteem a little, since he was close to falling apart.

"I've been aiming to be an idol for a long time," He replied.

"Are you a university student?"

"No, sir," He shook his head. His only aims were to be an idol, to perform. He didn't want any unnecessary distractions. The judge nodded, but not in a way that was really directed towards him, but to his own thoughts. What was he affirming to himself...?

"It's not hard to find that you've actually had a contract with a much larger agency, yes?" The judge looked up to him again. "Yet One Music was able to seduce you away, why is that?"

There were a few chuckles from the others, the implication that he was able to leave the agency of his own accord was already absurd, but also that he'd leave for OM was ridiculous as well.

"Well, I'm not at liberty to discuss exactly why I'm no longer working with SQ..." He started. "But I'm excited to work with a small agency like this. There wasn't a lot of creative or personal freedom. I'm willing to sacrifice to an extent, of course, but..." It was hard to make up a reason why he'd want to be a part of OM that didn't make him sound like a troublesome person.

"But with OM as an entity, and myself as a person. We're the same, the way I see it." The words slipped out before he realized how odd he sounded. The same as the agency 'as an entity'?! God, he was such a weirdo... where's that man with the serrated knife, anyway?!

Naturally, the judges had a bit of a chuckle, and some even wrote something down. Great, it was being documented. The most pretentious-yet-empty sounding phrase a human could possibly muster deserved to go down in history, right?

He and OM were the same... God, it could only be worse if they asked him to elaborate on that. How could he answer that? Because they're both nobodies tossed to the side by the industry?! Because they're both desperate for a nearly impossible goal?! Because compared to others of their caliber they're not that great?! What could he actually say?

"Can you elaborate what you mean by that?"

"...I" Sung-Min stammered. "I guess... what I mean is that we're both ambitious beyond our current means. And I think we need to work together."

There. That wasn't a complete and utter lie. And hopefully that would satisfy them.

"Let's say that is completely the case." One judge started, looking over her glasses at him. "OM needs to work with you to be successful in the industry, and vice versa. I know what OM can provide you, but what will you give back?"

Sung-Min was expecting this kind of question, but it was never really an easy one to answer. What could he offer that someone else couldn't, after all? That wasn't tangent on the skills he's already presented. After saying they needed to work together, he couldn't very well turn on his heels and do a one-eighty and play humble, now could he? What was he going to give back to OM...?

"I...I'll give this company my bones." He blurted.

"Your bones?"

"Yes. To the core of my being, I'm a performer. That's what I'll give you back."

Melodramatic, and maybe just as awkward as his earlier line about being the same as OM, but he felt a little better about this one. And the judges seemed to be satisfied, at least.

"Well, I think we're ready to hear a song from you, you have one prepared, don't you?"

The rest of the interview was a breeze, compared to interview. He was able to prepare ahead of time so he was actually able to give them a quick dance routine where he could show off a side aerial. And of course it was a song he was familiar with, that he'd practiced singing hundreds of times. Performances were only about as half a nerve-wracking as interviews. He knew how to sing and dance, but there wasn't exactly lessons being given out on how to be good at interviews. The judges were relatively quiet while he performed, scribbling notes as he sang, and staring intently as he danced. Everything seemed to fall into place when he was finished. There was quite a bit of talk, but the only thing that really stood out in his mind was when someone told him he had passed.

___________________________________________________________

Even if he hadn't passed, he would have been just relieved and at peace that it was all over. He didn't know how he'd react if he didn't pass, though, if it was another affirmation that he didn't belong in the idol world. He fanned himself with his hand despite the sweat had well dried off at this point. Just the thought depressed him. But that didn't happen: the reality was that he made it. He was working with One Music now.

When he got home, he took a shower where he remembered that he never finished writing that email to his friend. Friend? His old colleague... he never emailed Chul-hyung back. He should do so. He had good news to share, right? That's what people did. Friends.

Chul-hyung,

It's been a while, right? I'm sorry for that. I've read all your emails, I'm always happy to receive them. I'm glad you're doing so well right now. Sorry that my leaving pushed the debut back, but I'm looking forward to-

Jesus, did he really write this? It was staggering, the realization of just how constructed a person he was with other people sometimes. It didn't sound like him at all, and he didn't even talk to Chul-hyung that way! Why did he write like that...?

Chul-hyung,

-save draft-

February 16, 2018

There were no girls this time around, Park Jin noticed gloomily. He had checked

It wouldn't have been so bad if the rest of the men in the cramped room didn't look so fucking depressing. There were skittish looks plastered on the faces of some of the mousier looking contestants. He had never understood certain idol trends that people tried to follow. Being skinny, pale, and wide-eyed seemed so silly in retrospect. If companies wanted dolls they should just go to store that sold children's toys. People in the real world hardly looked like a good portion of the men in this room. Chiseled features, bright hair, straight white teeth. It wasn't as though Park wasn't good looking or confident in his appearance.

He worked out long and hard to maintain the body that he currently had and damn it he was proud of that. He just didn't hold that same standard to everyone else. It was unrealistic and just plain insensitive to assume what everybody's situation was like. If they could afford a healthy diet, if they were born with some genetic disorder. He'd met hoards of beautiful people in his life time and none of them held a candle to the inner complexities of the human soul.

He was driven out of his thoughts as a heard a retching sound. He turned to see a paler looking kid gagging and vomiting into a trash can. He winced in sympathy.

Contrary to his steely expression, he himself was feeling a turbulent storm of emotions. Park was always in some state of confliction, that was just the type of person he was, but he was feeling that sensation of conflict flare up particularly clear at the current moment. He wanted to pursue his dreams and goals with a dedicated mind but a part of him was afraid. He had no job to fall back on, no money left for rent, and there was certainly no way he'd go crawling back into the country side to ask his parents for a place to stay.

Sighing, he went to the vending machines set at the corner of the room, by the bathrooms. Park eyed the blue contraception warily, not sure if he could trust the older machine. Just as he had gotten a water bottle out of the slot at the bottom of vending machine he heard his name called by the same pretty blonde lady who had called his name from the first audition.

"Park Jin, we'd like to see you next."

He walked over to her with a swagger in his walk. Before he entered the audition room, he whistled at the boy who had been retching earlier on.

"Catch," he said easily, throwing him the cool water bottle before walking into the room.

***

"Hello," he intoned politely as he entered, bowing at the row of judges. There were a couple of coughs and curt bows in return to the greeting.

"You're in the last batch of candidates. We have already selected three members of the team and we're looking for one more," the blonde lady spoke, and Park had to ignore the nervous churning in his stomach at the declaration. Shit. There was only one more slot available? This was the real deal. There would be no get out of jail free card on this. He was all in, Park had a lot riding on this.

"Yeah?" he said casually, like the words didn't just cause his heart to explode, "I have to thank you for saving my spot like that then." A chorus of light-hearted chuckles rang through the room at his declaration. The blonde lady smiled at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm glad you're so confident in yourself. We'd like to see some of your rapping, singing, and dancing today. But before we do that I'd like to go through a round of standard questions." Park shot her a reassuring smirk, giving her a small nod of the head to let her know he had understood what she had said.

“That sounds perfectly fine with me,” he replied.

“Why did you decide to audition at OM? JYP or SM are much more popular companies, I’m sure they would have accepted someone like yourself as a trainee.”

Park paused for a moment , considering his answer.

“To be honest, I believe it was fate. I got fired from my job the same day you were holding auditions. It was perfect timing.” The lady looked a tad surprised at the statement.

“Why were you fired?” she asked genuinely curious. He rubbed the back of his neck in a relaxed manner, knowing that his reply would be perceived negatively but not caring enough to lie.

“The manager would always pin his own mistakes on me and used me as a scapegoat. One day I just got sick of it and told him he should take responsibility for himself before he came after his own employees.”

She made a surprised noise in the back of her throat.

“Well, as much as I don’t approve of the attitude you displayed towards your superior, I think it’s impressive to see how you stood up for yourself. We need more people who can take initiative. You have a very, how should I say this, rock-and-roll attitude.” He smiled in confusion at the comparison, startled at the compliments he was receiving. Well, that had gone a lot better than he had thought it would.

“How long have you been training? I see here it says you’re from ? You have a Seoul dialect so I was surprised to read it. I thought it might have been a typo.”

“Yeah, I grew up there. My parents still live there. I’ve always been obsessed with rap and idols. I watched a lot of idols growing up and wanted to live in Seoul so I forced myself to learn the dialect. I’m grateful you think I’m so fluent, I’m a bit conscious of it. But to answer your earlier question, I’ve been dancing and rapping unofficially since I was in elementary school.” The bald judge spoke up for the first time since he had entered the room.

“Very well. Lets hear some of your vocals. We heard your rap last time but I didn’t get to hear how your voice sounded. I’d suggest something that suits your deep vocals.” Park nodded, appreciative of the advice.

He began to sing, sticking to a simpler song. He sang “What a Wonderful World” with confidence, trying not to showcase any doubt. He knew his voice wavered on some points, most likely from nervousness.

“Hmm, not bad but it could use some work. Your rapping is better so how about we see some more of that”.

Park nodded, not letting the criticism get too much into his head before he started rapping. He chose a song by Chance the Rapper. His english wasn’t the best but having no job for nearly a month had left him with a lot of free time and he had been practicing. He was confident that he was going to blow them away.

“Cigarettes on cigarettes my mama think I stank,” he began, perfectly mastering the unique way Chancelor spoke, “I got burn holes in my hoodie, all my homies think it’s dank. I miss my coco butter kisses, I miss my coco butter kisses.” He didn’t notice he had begun moving his body a bit along with the beat. He was really into the song and before he realized it he had reached the last verse.

“I need ‘em but the chronic all up in my clothes, and I wanna get a hug, and I can’t cause I’m stanking, never too old for a spanking,” he finished passionately, letting the old school style absorb him.

There was a silence amongst the people at the table similar to the one at the first audition. He was really beginning to hate these pauses.

“Show us a dance,” the blonde lady finally said, not commenting on his rap just yet. He didn’t reply, waiting for his music to be turned on instead. As the calm music played Park moved in body slowly, almost as though caught in time. He continued with that until the beat dropped and he began to move his body more sharply and more quickly. For the most part he let the music do the work for him, his body just reacted to the tunes. He was panting once he finished, and he looked up at the judges as he wiped the sweat from his temple.

The bald man smiled at him.

“I think I’m speaking unanimously when I say we’d love to have you on as the main rapper and sub dancer of the group. You have a great stage presence, it’s very fresh. Your voice is also very unique. I’m interested in seeing how your style of music will interact with the rest of the members.” Parks heart felt like it would have burst out of his chest from happiness, he felt a warm sensation of relief pass through him and to his horror he felt tears pooling at the bottom of his eyes.

“Thank you,” he muttered in embarrassment and relief, not looking at the judges. They laughed at his response and he rushed to leave the room in thinly contained excitement.

February 21, 2018

[saturday. January 20, 2018 [9:03 AM]]

Two weeks had passed since Jin-soo passed the audition at OM Entertainment. After the audition he got an email that he will be officially starting his trainee period on the 22th of January. Meanwhile, he was told to do whatever preparation he needed since he was also instructed to live in a dorms near the building where he and his co-trainees will live starting from the 20th which is today.

Carrying a suitcase, a backpack and his guitar, Jin-soo arrived at 2 storey house where their manager - Taek was waiting. He dropped his belongings to the floor and extended a hand to the company CEO/manager, putting of a shy smile to the man on his front.

"Jin-soo! Nice to meet you again. Today starts your dorm life. Is that all your belongings? Let me help you carry them", the kind man said as he lifted one bag which proved to be quite heavy.

"CEO-nim! I can carry them myself. They're heavy!", Jin-soo panicked and rushed to carry the bag himself. There was no way he would let the CEO bring his stuff. While OM is not quite known, a CEO is a CEO and he's simply a trainee.

"CEO-nim I'll be very happy if you'll instead show me the way to the dorm"

"Ohh.. Yes. Of course! Come inside I've had the place cleaned up by professional cleaners so it's all clean and good!"

The CEO unlocked and open the door and excitedly led Jin-soo inside. The dorm wasn't as big as what a typical dorm would be. It was, however, big enough for trainees to live together. The first floor had no rooms. There was a kitchen, a dining table and a big sofa with a piano and different musical instrument besides it.

"Wow this place is good!" Jin-soo couldn't help but praise. Afterall, this place was bigger than his own which he had already vacated to save money. Why would he be renting a place he won't be using anymore?

"Isn't it? I have already optimized this dorm for you guys I'm confident that you will all like it here. Come I'll take you to the second floor."

The CEO went ahead and walked to the stairs. Jin-soo followed him while still carrying his belongings as he knew the second floor must be where his room was. At the end of stairs lie a hallway separating the entirety of the floor into two massive rooms.

"Okay these are your rooms. There are only two rooms so you guys will share a room with one other trainee. The room itself is big. It has a bathroom, some fitness equipment for you guys and some other stuff you may or may not need. Now, pick your room, left or right?"

"I'll go with the left room.", Jinsoo said. It didn't really matter which room to him so he picked the the first word that came to his mind.

"Alright. I'll leave you here so you can unpack your things. I'll be right outside and wait for others to come. If you need anything, just call me."

"Understood CEO-nim"

Jin-soo entered the left room and wasn't surprised by the grandness of the room anymore. Even the beds looked like it came straight from luxury hotel rooms. It was like he's living in heaven. Then again, he wondered if it was alright for him to receive all of these. He was simply a trainee and technically he will be living off from company allowance until he debut. They were too pampered and spent a lot on when they could technically be a failure of a boy group if worst come to worst. Jin-soo can only be determined to work hard and never make all these efforts done to him be of waste.

sorry for late reply... been busy with uni D:

February 22, 2018

For Hyun-Shik, his sleep had been the best he had gotten in a long while. Having someone else there with him somehow made the house less suffocating. As morning came, Hyun-Shik awoke to the smell of cured meats and baked bread. As he removed the old blankets from around him the brunette rolled everything up and stored them neatly in the corner of his small room. He picked his glasses up, and placed arms over his ears. His eyes scanned over his reflection in the mirror. His hair was semi-decent and he had sleep in his eyes. He slapped his cheeks lightly then shook his head.

"It's a new day...it'll be ok." After turning away from his reflection in the mirror, Hyun-Shik slid the door open to his room and stepped into the hallway. The smells of the meal being cooked hit harder with his door out the way. His room was only a foot maybe less away from the kitchen and the kitchen was an open- walk in kind of kitchen. The white arch way that acted as the design of the entrance to the kitchen was one of the few placed throughout the house by whoever had built it. Inside of the hard wood floored kitchen was none other than Heon Wook. He was wearing his mother's old arpon...Hyun-Shik's that is. He turned around as one of the wooden floorboards creaked.

"Ah good morning. Went ahead and cooked breakfast. It's the least I could do for you taking me home." Hyun-Shik stared agape, eyes wide open in shock. If he were alone his eyes would probably be tearing up just from the sheer amount of joy he found in those words. No one had cooked for him in a long time.

"Thank you Heon Wook-ssi. I truly do appreciate it." A sincere smiled formed on his face and it brightened up the room.

After breakfast and some morning chit chat, Hyun-Shik cleaned himself up, offering Heon Woo his shower so he could do the same. As he slipped on his shoes he received a text message.

Yo! It's about that time. Get your household arrangements opened up. You'll be moving into a new place as a Trainee for OM Entertainment! The move will be in two weeks. Don't sweat the time. As long as you're moved in on that day you'll be fine. Hope to see you there!-Ceo

For the longest time Hyun-Shik stood staring down at his phone, expression unmoving but emotions flowed freely behind the mask. He hadn't broken out of his stupor until a single tear fell onto the screen of his phone, followed by another. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt hands on his shoulders.

"Hyun-Shik! What's the matter?!" Heon Woo hadn't used any formal greetings but Hyun-Shik didn't mind. They were in the comfort of Hyun-Shik's home after all.

"What? I...I don't know where they came from...." It wasn't a full out lie. Hyun-Shik's mind was swarming trying to find some sort of reason for his tears but it all came up-

"Blank...." Heon Woo spoke and looked down at Hyun-Shik who had looked up at him. "What?" Heon Woo was right. His mind was drawing a blank but how did Heon Woo know? "Sorry about that. I was trying to figure out from your expression but I'm coming up with blanks. So instead-" Heon Woo swiped Hyun-Shik's phone and read over the message he received...but it only confused him further. If it wasn't obvious by the sudden furrow of his eyebrows and his squinting.

After a few more beats of silence Hyun-Shik finally came to the realization. Leaving his home! Although it was the root and stem to a mass amount of pain it also held too much value to simply leave behind. That's when the dam to his tears broke, waterfalls spilling down his face before the rest of him could react.

[Two Weeks Later] 11:40 AM

"Oi Hyun-Shik is that everything? I gotta get to work soon," Heon Woo called from over the pile of luggage he was carrying. Hyun-Shik looked around the trunk of Heon Woo's car. "No that's all. Thank you! I'll take it from here Oppa. Thanks." His gratitude was met with a big smile before Heon Woo hopped in his car and drove off.

Two weeks ago he had a small scale melt down about leaving home. He had never considered it before and was never put into a position where he'd have to either. Hyun-Shik told the older man about his dilemma, his depression, and how he could barely breathe in the home...but couldn't bare to leave it for someone else. His families Jesa. His tears refused to stop no matter how hard he wiped at his wet face that day...but Heon Woo had offered to keep his home under wraps in his place. In fact he moved right in the next day, leaving his apartment and bringing all of his stuff over the next day, despite Hyun-Shik refusing like a child. The plan was to have Heon Woo live and maintain his old home and he'd visit as much as his schedule would allow.

Even though it was a good plan the man was still a bit apprehensive about the ordeal. Hyun-Shik found the fresh air cutting through his lungs...he was used to the suffocation and without it he felt strange...but a smile found its way onto his face nonetheless. The two story building looked nothing like a dorm...it was the actual definition of a two story house. Perhaps the CEO wasn't used to houses of its size. Maybe if it were bigger he'd call it a home instead of a dorm. His car was already parked in the garage, him and Heon Woo had stopped by earlier to speak with the CEO.

Hyun-Shik explained that he had a lot of stuff so they would be a while and need a few trips before they could fully even attempt to bring anything in. Of course Hyun-Shik had persuaded Heon Woo to let him do that part on his own. Then the CEO told them of the room situation which instinctively Hyun-Shik almost immediately said right without even seeing the room or knowing of it's contents. Then they made their trips and here he was.

The Ceo was currently somewhere out back so he didn't have to have any awkward conversations as he struggled to bring his luggage inside. As he opened the door he was met with something quite classy. It was a very nice looking place...definitely a two story house. The dark wooden floors were polished, the sun from the back doors shining through onto the floor, the stairs casting their shadow from it's light. There was a framed picture on the wall over a small end table holding a transparent vase. the vase held a nice selection of flowers Hyun-Shik had never seen before Their stems were green while their heads were purple, sandy brown and spiky on the ends. The vase also held water but he wasn't sure how long that would keep the flowers from showing their loss of life any faster.

The stair case was wooden, the tops as brown as the wooden floor while the fronts were white. The stair case curved to the left upon reaching a certain level and were hidden from sight beyond that.

His head turned towards the small living room area. Well small could be debatable for the actual size. There was a piano in the middle of the room, a sofa, brown and white curtaina pushed to the side to let the morning light in. The small little table in front of the sofa somehow pieced everything together. It gave Hyun-Shik a cozy feeling. There was another table, round, that held a few books off to the side made of a dark wood. There were a few instruments off to the corner of the room that looked like they were moved to be put somewhere else but whoever moved them just never got to it.

His coal black eyes locked onto the fireplace. His house didn't have a fireplace and he had never seen a real one before in person. Above the fireplace was a framed photo of a beach. In all honesty it smelled nice and gave him a very at home feeling. The house greeted him kindly ever since he stepped inside with it's cleanliness and beauty. These were no dorms...not at all. Truly he had underestimated his new home.

"I should get my bags to my room." The first swarm came, the large suitcases were carried up the stairsbecause Hyun-Shik really didn't want wheel marks on the beautifully polished stairs. As he made his way up the stairs he smiled at the narrow hallway. The sun shone through the windows of the little room at the end of the narrow hallway. There was a chandelier in thee with white love seats surrounding a small white, circular table made of marble. the top was speckled with blues and whites all over. All of it was placed on a thick carpet rug that sat on top of a dark chocolate wood floor. There were 3 doors. The rooms mirrored one another and the bathroom was right beside the one on the left but his room was the one on the right so he opened the strange door that had a handle different from the one opposite of it.

If push came to shove he could just swap out the handle with the one for the bathroom. As he slipped his fingers into the door handle it slid open and he was met with a gorgeous site. It was almost like a dream. The decor was different from the rest of the house for sure. It was a bit more on the yellow-tan side but it was still a beautiful room. Two queen sized beds, a birch wood floor, polished like the rest of the houses wooden floors. There was an end table between the beds and lamps that stuck out of the wall just above it and another lamp on the other side of the farthest bed. Hyun-Shik went for the bed closest to the window. Across from his chosen bed was a silver flat screen TV, resting on a two drawer dresser. It was all almost too much. He didn't necessarily like the design of the wall but don't bite the hand that feeds you, right?

After settling in the room and putting all his stuff away, choosing to use the drawer of the dresser closest to the ground for his clothes so whoever he roomed with would be able to use the top. Hyun-Shik really wanted to scope out the bathroom so he went across the hall and pushed the door open.

It...it could explain itself. He and his writer were too lazy to even think up a way to describe anything anymore...this place was killer and that was the end of it.

February 26, 2018

Sung-Min's place of work wasn't too thrilled to hear that he was leaving. He had tried to be upfront about how he was potentially leaving soon, but tried to be vague about it. It'd be a bit embarrassing if they knew he was trying to be an idol if he failed the audition. Plus, if they knew just how soon he was leaving, they might not have hired him, and he was running low on funds. Maybe they thought he was talking about leaving for college, and were anticipating him leaving at the start of a new school year or something, so this felt out of the blue. He didn't think he was a particularly noteworthy employee, though, so he was sure they'd get over it soon enough. He didn't need to stress out over their business.

Finding a means out of his apartment was a little harder. The place was furnished, so little of the furniture was actually his, and his parents were kind enough to let him keep some of his belongings at their home for the time being. He wasn't sure how much he'd need in the OM dorms. It might be too small to really keep a lot. He wouldn't know until he got there.

But his lease wouldn't be up for a while, and it'd be troublesome to pay rent for an empty apartment he wasn't going to be using. And the short notice made finding someone to sublease quite difficult. He ended up coming to an agreement with someone only to have them back out a few days later. Then, radio silence. The thought of paying rent for a place he wouldn't stay in was really getting to him. Fortunately, a few days before he was going to be moving out, someone showed an interest, and while they wouldn't be moving for another few weeks, they came to the agreement that Sung-Min would play the month's rent, since the other person wouldn't need it until near the end of the month, but he'd cover half the deposit. So it seemed fair to Sung-Min, and honestly he was just glad to have someone take the place. When he didn't have to worry about that, he was starting to get really excited to move in at OM.

To think... he really, genuinely made it... again. And this time, it'd be different. It's going to be fine. Nothing was going to happen, he was going to make sure of it. He wasn't going to be sloppy.

------------------------------------

Sung-Min struggled a little, dragging a large suitcase behind him, carrying a smaller one in hand, and a large bag over one shoulder. It didn't bother him too much, he was just so excited to be here, he just wished he could move faster to get into the dormitory. Fortunately, the CEO was there and offered help.

"N-no, that's quite alright, I..." He started, though he was very relieved to have the help, it was very unusual that it was the CEO of all people offering it. He seemed like a pretty down to earth sort of man. CEO-nim told him about sharing rooms, which seemed normal to him. He wasn't expecting for the rooms to be large, and the have gym equipment and the like. OM was small, and needed to build them up, so he was surprised that they were afforded housing like this. He wore his shock clearly on his face.

"Wow..." he breathed, looking the interior up and down.

The CEO told him that he had a pick of rooms, but that each already had a person there. Sung-Min wondered if he was giving him time to ask who they were, but he didn't really know anyone from the auditions, even the others who made it. So he chose at random.

"I'll go with the left, then," He told him, taking his shoulder bag when it was handed back to him at the door. The room he entered was just as nice as the exterior, so sophisticated and clean looking. It looked more like an interior photo-shoot than a place to live. He didn't have long to take it all in before he noticed the roommate who first called dibs. Sung-Min tensed a little when the reality hit him. He would be living with a group of attractive men again.

February 26, 2018

(I don't know how or why but I didn't ever place the picture of the living room down. Nor did I place the picture of the room where Hyun-Shik will be staying so here they are.)

Living Room:

Room:

Nyke: A kpop boyband rp

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