ㅏElementsㅓ

A/N: I apologize for any mistakes. Enjoy!

Masterlist

Seungyoon ( Winner ) 

   Sejun lived in Busan, South Korea when he was a child for a number of years with his father. Seungyoon lived across the street from him, and the two went to the same school. Since the very first day of school, Sejun and Seungyoon were friends. They stayed friends for years, even after Sejun moved back to Seoul to live with his mother again. The pair saw each other rarely, until Seungyoon moved to Seoul to become an idol. Sejun and Seungyoon see each other often, and they are very supportive of the other’s career.

Bobby ( iKon )

   Sejun had always been a respectable fan of Bobby. Sometimes he was so much so that others teased him because of it. He didn’t understand what the big deal was with him being a fan of a fellow artist. Bobby, somehow, managed to get Sejun’s contact info, and reached out to him. They had a very long conversation about a few problems they had with the way things were run in their world. The next time that Bobby and Sejun ended up in the same place at the same time, which ended up being at ISAC, they were spotted laughing together.

Taeil ( NCT )

   Before Sejun became a trainee, he was an actual employee at SM Entertainment. He did work developing different trainees and groups for the company. Just before he became a trainee, he was put on a special project to help develop a special group. This group, in the end, turned out to be NCT. Taeil was one of the very first rookies to begin training to debut in this group, and he was personally selected by Sejun himself. The two spent time around each other, and quickly became friends. After Sejun became a trainee, the two of them suddenly had much more in common and a lot more reasons to be around one another. To this day, the two remain very close friends. 

(this gif has me c a c k l i n g )

Kai ( EXO )

   Kai and Sejun are both in two very popular groups from the same company. They are also very talented dancers within their respective groups rip dae. From the very beginning, Sejun and Kai were placed together. Variety shows, special stages, live broadcasts, photo shoots, special features, interviews, the whole nine yards. It is quite hard not to either hate or become good friends with a person that you spend so much time around. They may not have exactly become friends by choice, but they are friends, nonetheless. 

Seulgi ( Red Velvet ) 

   Maybe it’s a dancer thing? These two have such an iconic friendship that your favs could never. I mean, have you seen that one pre-debut video of them dancing to Genie and Sorry, Sorry? No, well me neither because SM refuses to release anymore of it besides what was already leaked thanks jeno. Seulgi and Sejun have been friends since Sejun began working at their company. 

Dami ( Dreamcatcher )

   They do not usually tell many people this, but Dami and Sejun met each other by chance at a bookstore. Both of them are secretly bookworms, and so such a thing happening did not seem so unlikely. The two had a small interaction with one another, not realizing who the other was. A fan happened to witness this, recorded it, and posted it online. Within hours, the two fandoms where in an uproar of excitement and shock that this had actually happened. Many claimed it to be fake, until Sejun posted on his Twitter that he had met her, though he hadn’t realized who she was at the time. Dami later said the same thing. The next time they happened to be at the same event, fans were cheering for them to talk to each other. Sejun eventually went up to her group and greeted them all, saying that it was nice to see Dami again. They say the fans’ screams were so loud that they could be heard all the way in Jeju. 

Jaehyun ( NCT )

   Sejun and Jaehyun came to know each other through Taeil, though they would have still met each other eventually, since they were working at the same company. By the time Jaehyun was selected to debut with NCT, Sejun was already a trainee, which is why they did not meet due to that. Their personalities click, and they get along with each other very well. They can easily make conversation about anything. Overall, Jaehyun and Sejun have a good, reliable friendship. 

Junhoe ( iKon )

   Junhoe is another friend that Sejun met through a mutual friendship. This time, though, the mutual friend was Bobby rather than Taeil. Junhoe and Bobby lived in the same house, along with two other members of their group. Sejun spent enough time at the aforementioned house to become comfortable and acquainted with all of the members living there, but Junhoe was really the only one (besides Bobby) that Sejun became actual friends with. Junhoe had always found it difficult to accept new people, and it was a process for Sejun to earn his acceptance. 

Jimin ( AOA ) 

   The details about how Jimin and Sejun met one another and became friends are a bit blurry. The fact that they were even friends in the first place was unknown until their groups appeared on a special episode of Weekly Idol together, along with Stray Kids. Sejun and Jimin ended up in a game together, and one of the hosts made a joke about how they seemed very comfortable around each other. Jimin revealed to everyone that they were comfortable with one another, which led to a particularly curious interrogation from both of the hosts. It was never said how they met, only that they had met one another a while back, and that they’d been friends for a good amount of time. 

Amber ( F(x) ) 

   Amber is that person. The one who seems to know every single idol out there personally. Really, it seems like she is everyone’s friend. Sejun is no exception to this. Amber is a huge fan of Elements, especially since it is a much easier rookie group for learning everyone’s names next to NCT. Stream White Noise. 

Haley ( SHC )

Author Note: This master list is updated after a new work is posted. If you find that any of the links are not working, please let me know! 

Update: About half of the links are not currently working, and I will fix them soon.

Started: July 2018

Last Updated: 19:00 October 25, 2018

Total Works: TBA

Elements: The Series

일 -- One

이 -- Two

삼 -- Three

사 -- Four

오 -- Five

육 -- Six

칠 -- Seven

팔 -- Eight

십사 -- Fourteen

십오 -- Fifteen

십육 -- Sixteen

십칠 -- Seventeen

십팔 -- Eighteen

십구 -- Nineteen

이십 -- Twenty

이십일 -- Twenty-one

이십이 -- Twenty-two 

이십삼 -- Twenty-three

이십사 -- Twenty-four

이십오 -- Twenty-five

이십육 -- Twenty-six

이십칠 -- Twenty-seven

이십팔 -- Twenty-eight

이십구 -- Twenty-nine

삼십 -- Thirty

삼십일 -- Thirty-one

삼십이 -- Thirty-two

삼십삼 -- Thirty-three

삼십사 -- Thirty-four

삼십오 -- Thirty-five

삼십육 -- Thirty-six

삼십칠 -- Thirty-seven 

삼십팔 -- Thirty-eight

Elements: Member & Group Profiles

here

Elements: Member Relationships

Completed: 

Dae & Sejun

Simon & Dae

Jihyun & Simon

Eunhae & Minwoo 

Minwoo & Dae

Sejun & Dae

Dae & Eunhae 

Jihyun & Minwoo

Minwoo & Sejun

Sejun & Jihyun

Eunhae & Jihyun

Dae & Jihyun 

Simon & Sejun

Author Note: If you want to see any more relationships, then please request them and I’ll happily write them for you!

Elements: Idol Friendships

Sejun

Jihyun

Elements: Reactions 

none yet, but feel free to request!

Elements: Drabbles / Imagines

none yet, but feel free to request!

Other Random Posts 

x

x

x

July 3, 2016

22:53

Seoul, South Korea

Jamsil Baseball Stadium

    “Come on, Dae,” called Sejun. As they’d begun to leave the large gift shop, Dae had seen a shirt that she must have missed before. Sejun was worried about leaving Taeil, and especially with a foreign girl he’d only met a few times. Taeil was not that good with strangers. “We should hurry and get back in line.” 

   “I want this shirt more than I want ice cream!” shouted Dae, running toward the shirt display. She searched the pile for her size, and got into the cash register line. 

   Sejun sighed deeply, making his way over to the line. He grabbed a fridge magnet on the way, because -- what the hell -- he was already going to be waiting in line again. 

   After buying the additional shirt, he was able to drag Dae back toward the ice cream slot. 

   Taeil and Elise were no where to be seen. Dae and Sejun looked at each other, eyes widening. 

   “You don’t think something happened to them, do you?” Dae asked.

   “Probably not,” decided Sejun. “They must have went back to out seats. The game is almost over, and I bet they wanted to see the last eight minutes or so of the game.” 

   “Yeah. Of course.” Dae eyed her friend guiltily. “We shouldn’t have abandoned them, should we?” 

   “Of course not.”

July 3, 2016

22:48

Seoul, South Korea

Jamsil Baseball Stadium

   “Let’s get ice cream before the game ends,” Dae suggested. 

   And, with that, the quartet got up from their seats and tracked down the best soft-serve ice cream place in the entire stadium. Guessing by the line, everyone else seemed to know that this was the best place to get ice cream, too. 

   “Is the line worth it?” Sejun wondered out loud. 

  Dae gave him a sharp look. “You’re not having doubts, are you?”

   “Of course not.” 

  Elise heard a suppressed laugh, and turned fast enough to see the end of Taeil’s chuckle. Despite the lack of proper words he’d said throughout the past few hours, Elise knew that he was enjoying himself. In different situations, she was in Taeil’s exact position. 

   The four of them waited, slowly making progress in the line. They were no longer at the end, which meant that there was no turning back now. 

   “Is that a gift shop?” 

   “Hell yeah it is.” 

   Dae and Sejun had only now taken notice of the huge gift shop located a few feet from the ice cream slot. Elise knew, the second she saw the expressions on their faces, that they were going to leave. 

   “We’ll probably be waiting in line for thirty more minutes anyway, right?” 

   “At least,” Sejun supported. He and Dae turned toward their shorter friends. 

   “We’ll be right back,” they said. “We promise.” 

   Taeil and Elise did not speak to each other for a long time. Somewhere around fifteen minutes had passed, and they were now at the front of the line. 

   “I guess they’re not going to come back,” said Elise.

   Taeil smiled, trying to hide how awkward and uncomfortable he felt. “Should we buy them ice cream?” 

   Elise gave him a look. “Hell no,” she said, surprising Taeil. “They made their choice. If they wanted ice cream then they should have stayed in the line.”

   They were called to order, and they each order their ice creams. Taeil got vanilla, and Elise ordered chocolate and vanilla swirl. The ice cream came in cute cups shaped like baseball helmets.

   “These are so adorable,” Elise declared, before she’d even thought to eat the ice cream. 

   “You’re ice cream is going to melt,” said Taeil weakly. The two were walking beside each other in no particular direction. “You know that are seats are back that way?” 

   “I know,” replied Elise, walking in the other direction. “I hope you don’t mind if I start speaking informally to you. I know we haven’t know each other long, and I think you’re older than me, since I was born in 1998, but honestly, it’s much easier for me than having to speak formally.”

  Taeil shook his head quickly, his mouth full of ice cream. “I don’t mind at all,” he assured. He swallowing the ice cream in his mouth and said,” And, by the way, I was born in 1994.”    

July 3, 2016

22:23

Seoul, South Korea

SM Entertainment Dormitory 

   Jaehyun and Johnny both lay in Jaehyun’s bed. They were watching The Lion King for the second time tonight. 

   “Are you still doing work at Hanyang?” Johnny asked, breaking the silence. 

   “Yeah.” 

   “How’s it going?” 

   “Good, I guess.” 

  Johnny sat up, examining Jaehyun’s expression. He knew that Jaehyun was not usually this bored in a conversation, unless something was wrong. 

   “You guess.” 

  Jaehyun shrugged.

   Johnny rolled his eyes, giving his friend a shove. “You know that you can talk to me.” 

   “I know, Johnny.”

   “Then talk to me, dude,” Johnny urged. “You’re definitely not okay.” 

  Jaehyun thought for a moment, and just as Johnny had decided that he was not going to talk, he heard a sigh. Then, Jaehyun began to speak.

   “So, I’m the basketball manager, part-time.”

   “Right.”

   “And the team needs more than me, since I can’t be there all of the time.”

   “That makes sense.”

   “We recently got a new part-time manager.” 

  Johnny straightened his back. A knowing smirk formed on his face. “Wait, this isn’t about a girl, is it?”

  Jaehyun gave him a look that said it all. 

   “Our softie Jaehyun has fallen in love once again,” announced Johnny, giving his friend a pat on the shoulder.

   Jaehyun shrugged the hand off of his shoulder. “I’m not in love, and I don’t even like her that much.” He paused, eyes on the floor. “It seems like she doesn’t even notice me, that’s all.” 

   “Tell me more about her.” 

July 3, 2016

22:01

Seoul, South Korea

Jamsil Baseball Stadium 

   “Elise, you’ve met some of the members of our future groups,” Dae noted. “What do you think?”

   “I . . . “

   “Be honest.”

  She had, truthfully, not been paying attention to the conversation being carried by Sejun, Taeil, and Dae. All she could think about was that basketball game Yoonoh told her to go to, and how she couldn’t remember when it was. 

   If Elise hadn’t been too embarrassed, she would have worked up the courage to simply ask him. She did see him three times a week, after all. She also ran into him a few times in between, and they usually ended up grabbing lunch or breakfast or whatever meal what appropriate for the timing of day when they met. 

   “Well,” Elise began, looking at Dae. “You’re great.” 

   “You know what I mean.” 

   “I like that one.” She reached her arm across Dae and pointed at Sejun, who was seated beside the tall girl.

   “Thank you,” said Sejun, grinning.

   “And what about Eunhae? Jihyun?” 

   “Jihyun is the one from China, right?” After Dae confirmed Elise’s question, she continued,” I like her. She’s sweet, and very pretty. The other girl is pretty, too. She seems a bit more hot-headed, though. I still like her. She reminds me a lot of Dae.”

   “Just wait until you meet Jaesun,” Dae warned. “You won’t be able to handle yourself.” 

   “Is he that cute?” 

   “Yes,” said Dae,” and he’s definitely your type.” 

   “Interesting,” was all Elise said in reply. A baseball game did not seem like the place to talk about attractive men. The game had begun at 8:30, and was just about halfway over. 

   Their seats were to the left of the home plate and a few rows up. Their company had gifted these seats to the trainees, and Elise got to fill the empty ticket. 

   “Have they found the other guy that is supposed to debut in your group?” Elise inquired. 

   “Not yet, but they will soon. I can feel it.” 

   “You can feel it?” questioned Sejun with concern.

   “I can’t feel it, but I just have a feeling.”

  Elise spotted Taeil, who was sitting on the other side of Sejun, furthest away from her. He was awfully quiet. “Maybe it’s gonna be you, Taeil,” she joked, knowing that he was training for another group. The same group Dae and Sejun used to help develop, which is how they all met. 

   “Nah,” added Sejun,” I wish. He’s got his own group going.” 

  Taeil gave Elise an appreciative smile, and she returned it. Elise how difficult it could be at times to include yourself in a conversation, and she often found herself wishing that someone would just drag her into it to spare her from the task.

   “I don’t think that I could handle living with Sejun,” Taeil teased.

   “I actually really need a new roommate,” Sejun complained. “Hyunsoo bailed on me, and now I’m going to have to find an extra two million won every month unless I find a suitable roommate. Otherwise, I’m going to have no choice but to move back into the dorms.” Sejun shivered at the thought. 

   “How long do you have?” Dae asked, her tone indicating seriousness. 

   “A few weeks, at most.”  

June 29, 2016

19:20 

Seoul, South Korea

Dae & Elise’s Apartment

   Elise had run into her room only moments ago to grab her laptop. She originally intended to take it into the living room where the small party was still going on. As soon as she had picked it up, though, she had not been able to wait another second. 

   She sat down on the foot of her bed, quickly opening her small laptop and clicking on the messenger app. Most of her messages went to her laptop before they were forwarded to her iPhone. Elise was expecting an update from Astrid about the replacement job she was trying to get in place of the job at the Embassy. If Astrid could not find another job, and soon, her visa was in danger of being revoked. 

   This meant that she would return to Norway and at least stay there until she could get another visa, if she even returned to Korea at all. Elise had grown to like Astrid very much, and she’d become quite used to having her around. Astrid was only the second Norwegian Elise had ever met anywhere else besides Norway. 

   In addition to an update from Astrid, Elise was waiting for the details of Mingyu’s flight. It had been rescheduled for a week later than he and Ginger’s first flight had been. Their new flight was, to Elise’s understanding, in five days. Still, she needed the time. 

   Elise was nervous and yet excited to see him at the same time. 

 Her cracked bedroom door was pushed open a little more, and her eyes looked up to meet Sejun’s.

   “You didn’t leave,” he said.

  Elise shook her head. “No, I didn’t.” 

   “Dae was wondering where you went,” muttered Sejun. He scratched the back of his neck, his other arm resting on the door knob. 

  Elise gave him a small nod, closing her laptop. She stood up, silently wondering why Dae had not just come instead as she tossed her laptop onto her bed.

   She followed him down the hallway and back into the living room. To her surprise, most of the guests had left. Dae and Taeil were the only ones left. The two of them sat beside each other on the sofa.

   “I was checking to see if Mingyu had said anything else about his flight,” Elise explained, mostly to Dae. She plopped down beside her. Sejun hesitated for a moment, and decided to take a seat on one of the bar stools behind the couch. 

   “Has he?” 

   “No.” 

   “Who is Mingyu?” Sejun inquired. 

   “He’s our . . . friend from South Africa,” Dae provided,” he’s coming to visit us.” 

   “When?” Taeil’s voice sounded softer than Elise remembered it to be. 

   She recalled the details surrounded their meeting. She was rude to him, and for a second, she started to feel bad for the way she’d carried herself. Then again, he was rude to her too, so they were even. Right?

   “Five days from now,” Elise informed. 

   Dae stared at her, contemplating whether or not she should try to pry. With the safety of a small crowd, she decided to ask: “Are we picking him up from the airport?” 

   Elise loved how both of them were knowingly pretending that Ginger did not exist. If only she didn’t. “Probably not.” 

   “Well, are you gonna meet up with him or . . . ?” 

   “I mean, yeah.” 

  Taeil and Sejun exchanged confused glances. 

   “How did you two meet, again?” Sejun blurted out. 

   “We went to the same school in South Africa for two years,” said Dae. “We were roommates.” 

   “Elise, you’re from Oslo, right?” Taeil asked thoughtfully, fixing his eyes on her.

   “I am.”

   “What’s it like there?” 

   “To be honest, I haven’t spent more than two weeks there since I was in seventh grade, so I’m not sure exactly how much I can really tell you,” she confessed. “It’s so beautiful, and they say that there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes.” 

   “I’m still waiting for you to take me there one day, kjære,” Dae pointed out, slinging her arm around Elise’s shoulder.

   Elise rolled her eyes, saying,” That’s not even the right word.” 

  Dae paused. “Wait, really?”

  A grin formed on the Norwegian girl’s face. “No.” 

   Taeil and Sejun both let out chuckles at the girls’ behavior. 

   “It is the right word, for what you’re trying to say, at least.” 

   “What is that supposed to mean?” 

   “Speaking of meanings, what does that word mean?” 

   Dae turned in Sejun’s direction as she answered his question. “Let’s just say that my Norwegian lessons have been paying off. I’d say I’m ready to go to Norway.”

   “You’ve always been ready to go to Norway, since you speak English, and so do ninety-five percent of Norwegians,” explained Elise. 

   “Shut up!” 

  Elise laughed, muttering a quick,” Tispe.” 

   Dae gasped. “What did you just call me?” She knew that word very well. 

  Elise said nothing, and instead gave her best friend a fake smile.

June 29, 2016

17:51

Seoul, South Korea

Dae & Elise’s Apartment

   “나는 할 것이다. 내가 그녀에게 말할거야,” Sejun assured, promising that he was going to tell Dae that Elise was on her way. Receiving a “thank you,” from Elise, the call was ended. 

   Sejun returned his phone to his pocket, satisfied with the knowledge that Elise hadn’t purposely ditched the party that was extremely important to Dae. He also became happy once he saw that Dae’s reciting of one of the tongue twisters had gotten her an applause of approval from both Jihyun and Renjun. 

   Scanning the room further, Sejun saw that Taeyong had arrived and was talking with Taeil. Taeyong was also a trainee at SM, but he had been training much longer than Sejun or Taeil or most others had. Sejun guessed that Eunhae was probably the only one whose trainee time came even close to Taeyong’s. 

   Taeyong was set to debut in the same group as Taeil. Sejun shook his head, heading toward Taeil and Taeyong to join their conversation. He talked with them until everyone suddenly became quiet. Before Sejun was able to ask why, Dae made her way over to the opening front door. 

   Elise had prepared herself for a scolding from Dae, but instead, when she arrived, she was greeted with a ,” I thought you were never coming.” 

  Then, Dae grabbed her arm and pulled Elise over to the group of boys. 

   “This is Elise.” 

   “We’ve met before,” said Sejun, and Taeil nodded as well. 

  Dae shot him a glare. “I was talking to Taeyong.” 

   Taeyong and Elise bowed at the same time to one another, muttering polite hellos and introducing themselves. 

   “It’s nice to meet you,” Elise said first. She gave him a polite smile. 

   “You, too,” he replied. “Your Korean is very good.”

   Elise ignored the repetitiveness behind this, knowing that this was meant to be a compliment. “Thanks. I’ve been trying to improve for about eight months.”

   He raised an eyebrow. “Eight months? You’ve been here that long?”

   “No, I’ve only been here since May, but Dae here has been teaching me Korean for a long time.” 

   “Are you from South Africa, too?” 

  She shook her head very quickly. “I’m from Norway.” 

   “Really?” Taeyong inquired. “I have always wanted to go there.”

   Elise smiled, but not because of what he had said, not specifically. She supressed a laugh at another person responding the exact same way as most others had. “Is that so?” 

June 29, 2016

17:50

Seoul, South Korea

Hanyang University Sports Center

   Elise and Yoonoh’s conversation of an outstanding fourty-six minutes was interrupted by the ringing of Elise’s phone. 

   “Who is it?” Yoonoh asked habitually. 

   Frowning, she replied,” I don’t know. It’s an unknown number.”

   “Oh.”

   Elise rejected the call. 

   “Wait,” she demanded suddenly.

   “What is it?” 

     Yoonoh’s eyes met hers. “What time is it?” 

   “About 6,” he told. “I think.” 

   “Oh gosh.” Elise hadn’t realized how much time had passed during her game with Yoonoh, nor during her conversation with him. “I have to--”

  Again, her phone rang. 

   Elise reached for it, preparing to reject the call yet again, when Yoonoh spoke. “You should answer it,” he declared. “Whoever it is wouldn’t have called you twice unless it was something important.”

   She handed him the phone, hurrying to pack up her backpack. He was surprised, but he answered it, nonetheless. 

   “여보세요?” Elise froze, nearly doing a double-take at him speaking Korean, even though he was just saying hello. She didn’t hear it often. 

   Elise heard a deep voice from the other side of the line. “누구세요?” the voice asked. Yoonoh replied with the same question, not being willing enough to give away his identity until the other party did the same. 

   “My name is Sejun,” the other party finally said. Yoonoh caught Elise’s stare, mouthing the name, and asking her if she knew anyone by the name. Elise nodded, just as Sejun asked, “Now, who are you? This phone is supposed to belong to a girl named El--”

   She extended her arm, prompting the return of her iPhone. Yoonoh complied. “It’s me, Elise,” she announced. “Why are you calling me, Sejun? Did something happen to Dae?” 

   “She lost her phone,” he explained,” but she’s not happy that you aren’t at her party.” 

   “I lost track of time, okay?” Elise put on her backpack, folding her new jacket gifted to her by the basketball team carefully over her arm. “Tell her that I’m on my way, Sejun.” 

   Elise took the phone away from her ear, and told a confused-looking Yoonoh that she was late for something and that she had to go somewhere right now. To this, he gave a small nod. 

June 29, 2016

17:47 

Seoul, South Korea

   “I thought that your roommate was coming?” Renjun asked. 

   “So did I,” said Dae with frustration. She was in the process of searching for her phone. 

   “What are you looking for?” 

   “My phone,” Dae replied, exasperatedly. She noted Taeil and Sejun conversing in the kitchen, both of their elbows leaned on the counter. “Hey, Sejun and Taeil, have either of you seen my phone?” 

   They both looked up, and shook their heads. Dae exhaled loudly, and she noticed Renjun and Jihyun were making an attempt to teach Eunhae an old Chinese tongue twister on the couch, which did not seem to be going very well. The tall girl continued to search her apartment, until someone spoke to her, halting her search. 

   “Did you find your phone?” It was Sejun. He’d abandoned a shy Taeil, who was trying his best to not look awkward while standing alone in the kitchen. If she had not been in such a distressed state, Dae would have gotten a good laugh because of this. 

   “No.” Dae scanned Sejun. “Can I borrow yours?” 

  He simply nodded. 

June 29, 2016

15:32

Seoul, South Korea

Hanyang University Sports Center

   “So did you actually plan on seeing me again?” 

  Yoonoh turned his attention to Elise, shifting his body on the bleachers. 

   “What?” he asked. 

  Elise looked at him. “When you gave me your umbrella, did you expect to see me again?”

   “No,” he admitted, giving a small smile. After a moment, Yoonoh said,” So, do you have my umbrella?”

   “Now that you mention it,” replied Elise, reaching for her backpack and unzipping the largest pocket,” I do have it.”

   He seemed surprised. “Oh, I was just kidding,” Yoonoh quickly insisted. “I didn’t really want it back. 

   Elise reached across the bleachers and handed him the black umbrella. In the distance, she heard a whistle blowing. The basketball team was practicing for their game this week. “It’s too late for all of that.”

   He accepted the umbrella. 

   “Hey, Yoonoh!” one of the team members -- Minah -- called. She made her way over to him as she took large sips from her green water bottle. “Did you see that power up?” 

   “Yeah,” he responded, though he hadn’t.

  Minah glanced from Yoonoh to Elise and back. “Liar.” 

   He laughed in reply, and one of her teammates came up behind her, picking her up by her waist. Minah let out a scream, and allowed herself to be carried back to the middle of the court. Elise watched this with intrigue. 

   “You okay?” 

   “Yeah,” Elise mumbled, eyeing the team as they made their way out of the gym. Practice was ending. Soon enough, only Yoonoh and Elise were left. 

   Yoonoh did not like the blanket of silence that had fallen over the both of them, and, taking it upon himself to do something about it, he stood up. 

   “You said that you used to play basketball?” he inquired, his tone mischievous. He slowly made his way over to a rack that stored a dozen basketballs. 

   “Well, not exactly,” Elise began, watching Yoonoh pick up a basketball, “My best friend did, and so I played with her sometimes.”

  “How good would you say that you are?” A smirk formed upon his face. In response, Elise made a face of disbelief. 

  “I’d say that I can carry my weight,” she explained, setting her backpack down beside her. 

   “Is that so?”

   “Yes.” Elise lifted her hands, signaling for Yoonoh to pass the ball to her. He did, and she smoothly caught it. She got up from the bleachers, dribbling her way over to him. His smirked never wavered, as she said, “It is.” 

June 29, 2016

05:48

Seoul, South Korea

   Dae and Elise slipped into their usual habit of having conversation while they got ready for the day in different parts of the apartment. 

   “I’m having a few friends from work come over tonight to celebrate.” 

   “Are you celebrating anything in particular?” Elise inquired. She settled onto the couch with her laptop open, waiting as she tried to send Yoonoh an attachment for her scholarship application. Giving it a second thought, she added,” Other than you becoming a trainee and all, I mean.”

   “Not really,” Dae said decidedly,” We’ve just all been very lucky in the way that things have been going great for us. All of us. I’m very happy right now, and I would love to celebrate that.”

   “Fair enough,” commented Elise, who started upon seeing Dae behind her in the living room when she hadn’t been there just a moment ago. 

   “You’re going to be there, too, right?” 

   “I live here, Dae.” 

   Dae gave Elise a look, rolling her eyes and moving her head to dignify the action. “I know you live here. That doesn’t mean that you won’t find somewhere else to go in order to avoid coming here tonight. I want you here; I really do. Will you please come?”

   Elise made a face that suggested she did not want to, putting her reluctance on display.

   “Please,” Dae said again, this time more softly. 

   “Fine,” groaned Elise. “I’ll come.” 

June 24, 2016

08:15

Seoul, South Korea 

SM Entertainment 

   “This group will be six members, in the end,” Kim Injung, the manager of this new group, who would also help put it together. “For now, there are only five of you; we are still in search for the perfect person to be the completion for this group.” 

   Dae sat down in one of the comfortable chairs in one of SM’s finest conference rooms. Sejun was seated to her right. Across from her was the boy she had auditioned a few days before---Jaesun. It felt odd to be in the same group as someone you auditioned, and she decided that it probably felt weird for Jaesun to be put into a group with the person who auditioned him. At the very least, he should not give her any trouble, since Dae was the one who ensured his passing of the audition.

   Speaking of auditions, Dae and Sejun had both passed theirs with flying colors. They were told that there was no need for their time to be wasted with general training that they didn’t need. Apparently, Jaesun hadn’t had a need for it, either. 

  The others at the table were people who Dae somewhat recognized. A small girl with a skinny nose, who had been a trainee for at least seven months. The other girl was beautiful, to say the least. She did not necessarily have a big build, but it was larger than that of the girl’s beside her. 

   The larger girl had been training for over a year; Dae knew that much. 

   “Your group is going to have a very tough time,” Injong continued. “You are co-ed, you have foreign members, your concept is unique, you are versatile, musically, and from what I can tell, your personalities are unique, too. These factors will be loved by some, hated by others. You must learn to handle this. You must show your true personality, but know when enough is enough. You are allowed to be genuine, but please act decent. Handle your tempers, control your tears. Now, I will leave you five be.” 

   Dae and Sejun exchanged glances.

   “It is important that you all become friends, and that you get to know each other. That is nearly as important as you all being able to sing or dance.” 

   With that, he exited the room. Their stares moved around the room, until someone bravely decided to speak. 

   “My name is Park Eunhae,” the beautiful girl announced. “I’m from Busan. I’m twenty-one years old.” 

   “I’m Moon Sejun,” he spoke up, to Dae’s surprise. “I’m from Seoul. I’m twenty-one years old, too.” 

   “When were you born?” The girl, Eunhae asked.

   “June 16, 1995.” 

   “Oh,” she said. “I was born in 1996.” 

   “My name is Kim Jaesun, or Simon, where I’m from. I grew up in Seattle, which is in the United States.  English is my first language, and I never spoke Korean much until moving here.”

   “I’m Kim Dae. That’s all--there’s no extra syllable. I am from Johannesburg, South Africa. I did speak Korean there. I speak English, too. I also speak Afrikaans. I’m eighteen years old.”

   The small girl looked up from the table to find everyone’s eyes on her. 

   “My name’s Wu Jihyun,” she began. “I’m from Shanghai, China. I speak Mandarin and Korean fluently. My birthday is October ninth, 1997.” 

   Simon made a little noise, which made the attention be turned to him. He stared back at everyone for a second. “I just can’t believe she’s older than me, that’s all.” He shrugged. 

   Eunhae let out a soft chuckle, which earned her a glare from Simon. 

   “I wasn’t,” she began, putting a hand to her mouth, weakly trying to suppress her laughter. “I wasn’t laughing.” 

June 23, 2016

06:33

Seoul, South Korea

Dae & Elise’s Apartment

   “What do you have to do today?” Elise inquired, loud enough for Dae to hear. Her backpack sat open on the counter as she organized and packed it. 

   “I’m doing some sort of audition today,” Dae called back from the bathroom. She was getting ready. “You?”

   “I’ve got European Literature, Calculus, and Primary Education II today. Afterward, I’m supposed to meet up with my new adviser, who’s gonna tell me more about being the basketball manager, and scholarships, I guess.”

   “I didn’t know you got a new adviser,” Dae told.

   “I mean, I didn’t,” Elise clarified,” but another adviser is helping me with this process.” 

   “I see,” said Dae, looking at her phone, which had a text from Sejun. She set down her eye shadow brush, picked up her phone, and typed a response. “Hey, Elise, can you turn on the coffee maker before you go?”

   “Yeah,” she replied, slipping into the kitchen to start the coffee maker. She zipped up her backpack and slung it across her back. 

   “Thanks.”

   “I’m going,” Elise announced, putting on her shoes, and making sure to grab her borrowed umbrella off of the key rack. They had a key rack, though they had no keys. 

   “Bye, Elise.”

   “You, too.”

June 22, 2016

20:02

Seoul, South Korea

Dae & Elise’s Apartment

   “And then fucking Lee Sooman walked in,” Dae said, continuing her re-telling of her eventful day. “I thought he was going to kill me, but he made Sejun and I dance again. Then, he called his lawyer to get two contracts written by next week.” 

   “No way,” Elise declared in awe.

   “Really!” Dae yelled. “I’m getting a contract; I’m becoming a trainee. I’m gonna be an idol.”

   “Congratulations, Dae,” Elise cheered. 

   Dae could not take the smile off of her face, but she tried to stop talking about herself, despite her excitement. “How was your day?”

   “It was eventful, too,” said Elise,” but I’m not becoming an idol. I am becoming a basketball team manager, though.”

   “Oh, really?”

   “Yeah.”

   “And what made you decide this?”

   “I get my entire tuition paid for now.”

   “Wow, my genius Elise became an athlete and is going to college for free!”

   “And my talented dancer Dae is going to become a famous celebrity and makes millions of dollars so she can buy us a better house!”

   “In your dreams, Sætre.”

June 22, 2016

15:47

Seoul, South Korea

Hanyang University 

    Elise was not fine on her own. It had taken her an hour to go two-hundred feet. This had been the first time she’d ever gotten lost at her university, or in Seoul in general. 

   Now she sat in front of her adviser in a chair that belonged to a set of two. 

   The woman’s fingers moved at an inhumane speed as she searched the computer in front of her. She grabbed her phone seconds before it rang. Eyeing the message, the woman said to Elise:

   “I have to go now; my nephew is going into surgery in an hour. I apologize, but I can’t help you today.”

   “Oh, it’s all right---”

   “But the man next door is just as qualified to help you as I am, even if he isn’t your adviser.” 

   Elise nodded as the woman packed up her things. “Okay.”

   “I’ll get him for you,” she announced. “Wait here.” 

   The woman rushed out, calling something to someone in the hallway. There was a reply, and then Elise heard the large metal glass doors to the outside close. 

   Elise turned in her chair as someone entered the office she was seated in. She began to say hello, but stopped momentarily, seeing the man. 

   She managed to give a polite smile, and offer a formal hello. Her smiled was returned, and he sat down in the desk chair across from her. 

   “Your name is Elise, right?” 

   Despite the fact that that was technically her name, she hesitated.

    “Am I wrong?” he asked with a frown, his voice lined with a tone that seemed disbelieving. 

    “That’s my name,” she admitted warily, almost saying something before deciding that it was better not to. 

    “What is it?” 

    “It’s not ‘ELise’,” she explained weakly. “It’s Elise. The ‘E’ makes an ‘E’ sound, not an ‘El’ sound.”

    “I see,” he said thoughtfully.

    “You’re Yoonoh, right?”

    “That’s the one,” he confirmed, leaning toward the computer. He scrolled down the page that Elise’s adviser had left it on. 

    “It looks like Ms. Lim here was about to tell you that you are maxed out on every academic and financial aid scholarship available to foreign exchange students.” 

    Elise looked down. She felt mostly indifferent, having already known that she had many scholarships---both from Korea and Norway---actually, she even had one from South Africa, was expecting these kinds of results. Still, she had to know if the small tuition remaining could be lowered any further. 

   Yoonoh searched the university’s online files for another minute. 

  “I do have two scholarships that happen to be open to foreign exchange students,” he announced, biting his bottom lip as he continued reading. 

   “You do?”

   “Of course, they’re sports scholarships.”

   “But, I don’t play any sports.”

   “Exactly,” Yoonoh began,” but if you decided to start playing one, then you would be subject to a lot more scholarships from both the university and private parties.”

   “What kind of sports do you have?”

   “We have it all,” he answered proudly.

   “Do you have soccer?” 

   “We do.” Yoonoh roughly clicked the mouse. “Actually, our womens’ team has only been around for two years. The scholarships offered for girls on the team are even higher . . . but, that still won’t cover your tuition fully.”

   “Oh.”

   “I assume that’s what you’re trying to do here, since nearly eighty-five percent of your tuition is already being paid for.”

   “Yeah, that’s the ideal plan.”

   “The other scholarships currently open to foreign exchange students is called the dual-sportsmen scholarship.”

   “If I play soccer, then can I get that one, too?”

   “No.”

   “Why not?” Elise demanded.

   “It’s called the dual-sportsmen scholarship,” Yoonoh repeated, repressing a chuckle, that ended up coming out sounding like a hiccup. “You must be playing two sports.”

   “Do you have volleyball, or basketball?”

   “Both of those teams are completely full for the season,” Yoonoh said, without looking at the computer screen. This was information he already knew. 

   “How about--like . . . track, or something?”

   “If you’re involved in a sport and play another, you can qualify for this scholarship.” At Elise’s perplexed gaze, Yoonoh continued. “For example, if you were to be the football manager, then you could get this scholarship.”

   Elise gave a hopeful grin. “Is the football team in need of any managers?”

   “No.” Elise’s grin disappeared. He made a face, pointing a finger at her. “But, the womens’ basketball team. Right now, they only have a part-time manager, and that---”

   “I’ll do it, and I’d like to try out for the soccer team, too.” 

  Yoonoh cleared his throat, continuing on his train of thought. “And that happens to be me.” 

June 22, 2016

14:11

Seoul, South Korea

SM Entertainment

   It took Dae and Sejun many attempts before they successfully managed to locate an empty, unscheduled dance practice one room. Upon finding one, the pair hurried in. Sejun went over and began to turn on the speakers and the computer, while Dae scribbled something on the outside board so that no one would schedule the room while they were using it. 

   When she re-entered the room, Sejun had gone to YouTube on the computer and played a song. He was watching the music video in full-screen as his head absent-mindedly moved to the beat. 

   He stared at the screen blankly, seemingly in a trance. Dae made a face at his choice of song, slowly approaching him and the computer. She managed to change the song without him noticing. 

   In a moment’s notice, his head whipped around, mouth open and ready to protest. It was too late, however, because Dae had already begun to dance. He could not find it in himself to complain, and instead opted to join her.

   They danced for over an hour. In that hour, they had not lacked to notice things about one another’s dancing. The way Dae’s dancing was so professional and skilled; the raw talent held in Sejun’s dancing. 

   Eventually, they had to take a seat on the bench, chests heaving. Dae re-did her ponytail---which she had done in the middle of their dancing---as Sejun fanned himself with his shirt. 

   The song they’d been listening to ended, and another one began. Sejun and Dae made eye contact. Despite their supposed exhaustion, the pair was up in seconds, dancing their hearts out as if exhaustion was only a myth. 

   It was during the second pre-chorus of the song that the door to the practice room was opened. It was not until the second chorus that a man spoke. 

   “What are you doing . . . ?” The man’s words fell off of his tongue, as Dae and Sejun froze. The pair panicked internally, looking between each other and their boss. 

   “Wait,” the man said suddenly confused, as Sejun ran to turn off the music. Their boss motioned between Dae and Sejun and then to the speakers that had been blasting music. “Do that again.”