Chapter Two
"What?" asked Seojun as she snapped out of her thoughts. Her mother sighed as she frowned and repeated her question, "Why are you not paying attention?" Seojun shook her head and bit her lip as she apologized, finishing off the last bit of chores for the morning before rushing out to pick up her bag and make her way to the library. By the time she had woken up that morning, she had given up half of her hopes of being contacted. But it did not stop her from picking up her phone as soon as she opened her eyes. Seojun sighed as she kicked the small pebbles on the street. The library was not too far from her house as it took her less than 5 minutes to reach. She greeted the sweet old librarian before sitting down in her usual spot as she took out her school work.
She spent her day in the library and left only when the librarian reminded her to leave. She had been coming to this library for a long time and the librarian knew she would leave at the same time, so it wasn't surprising when the librarian would remind her to leave on time. Seojun packed up her stuff and talked to the librarian for a few minutes before leaving. She was quite happy when she made her way home as she had managed to finish quite a lot of her work but disappointment took over her when she was reminded of the audition again. Seojun reached home to find her parents waiting for her with extremely furious looks on their faces.
Seojun instantly felt her heartbeat fasten as she placed her things aside and greeted them, her voice trembling. She knew something was going to happen and it was bad because never in her 16 years of life had she seen her parents so angry. "Where did you go yesterday Seojun?" asked her mother with a deadly look on her face. Seojun's eyes widened as she tried to stabilize herself and answered, "To the library, eomma." They knew she went for the auditions? If they did then she was dead. Both literally and figuratively. Her father raised an eyebrow at her as he spoke, "You still don't understand how much I hate lies. Shame on you, Han Seojun!" Her trembling increased as she felt her vision blur slightly. Her mother grabbed her chin harshly as she forced Seojun to look into her eyes, "Woojin told us everything. You went to an audition at some company to become an idol! Haven't you tainted our family enough? "
Her brother told her parents? She couldn't understand how her brother found out about what she did. Seojun felt tears roll out of her eyes as she shook her head and apologized, bowing down on the ground with her head near her mother's legs, "I'm so sorry eomma, appa. I made a big mistake. This will never happen again. I'm so sorry!" Seojun bit her lip to refrain from yelping when her mother grabbed her arm roughly and forced her to stand up before slapping her hard across her cheek. "We won't give you the chance to do this ever again." said her mother as she grabbed her hair. Seojun bit the inside of her cheeks trying not to make a noise at it would just make her mom angry. Her mother slapped her again across the cheek, leaving a scorching red mark before throwing her to the ground and kicking her in her ribs, as the air in her lungs vanished.
"Go pack your bags and leave this house immediately. I don't need a useless liar like you in the house. You can finish school under our name but after that, you are no more related to the Han family." said her father. Seojun felt her heart drop into her stomach. Fear gripped her throat tightly making it hard to breathe. Her parents were kicking her out for auditioning. She instantly kneeled down to her parents and begged for forgiveness. She apologized over and over as she tried to convince her father not to kick her out but that ended up with her parents beating her till she had no tears left to cry. At last, her mother dragged her and made her pack her stuff into two bags. Seojun quickly packed her clothes and school uniform along with her books, and all the things she had bought after earning money from babysitting and singing and picked up her bags. Her mother kept hovering until she left the house. She tried to apologize but her mother did not listen and watched as she left.
Seojun stopped once she was a few houses away and took a few deep breaths trying to calm herself down. What was she going to do? She had no home now and was on the streets. Should she call Jangmi? Maybe she could help her out. She debated with herself on whether to call Jangmi or not for a few minutes. Her helplessness got the better of her as she took out her phone to call Jangmi. She still had the card and dialed the number. The line rang for a few minutes before she heard a smooth male voice answer, "BigHit Entertainment, speaking." Seojun cleared her throat and kept her trembling to a minimum as she asked, "Uh, hello. I’m Seojun. C-can I please t-talk to Ms. Min Jangmi?"
The voice hummed and asked her to wait while the call was redirected. Less than a minute passed when a familiar voice came through, "I'm so glad you called darling! I had the wrong number! I tried to text you and call you but it did not go through. I had no other option than to wait for you to call."
Seojun gaped, "Oh! I-I thought you uh, nevermind. What's the r-result, noona?" Seojun could swear that she heard Jangmi's grin through the phone as she answered, her excited voice loud enough to puncture Seojun's eardrums.
"Darling! You got in. You are officially a trainee at BigHit! Congrats! We'll have to talk about you moving into the dorms as it would be inconvenient to live far from the company."
Seojun froze. Getting kicked out of the house and being disowned by her family was not for nothing. She did get in and had something. She broke into a smile as a new wave of hot tears rushed out from her eyes, this time out of happiness, and thanked Jangmi before asking her reluctantly, "Noona, when can I move into the dorms?"
"You'll have to move in by the end of this week, darling."
Seojun took a deep breath as she lied, hoping Jangmi would be fooled, "Uh, noona, can I-I move in today? Because if not t-today, I won't be able to move in for at l-least a month due to some, uh, personal reasons…" There was complete silence on the other side for a few seconds before Jangmi's voice came through, "Sure, darling. You can move in today itself. It would be great to have you here as soon as possible. Come to the company, I'll take you to your dorm. I'll be waiting at the entrance. See you soon!" Seojun thanked her and cut the call. Okay, maybe everything might turn out to be good for her.
Seojun smiled to herself as she quickly made her way to BigHit, making a pit stop at a general store to hide her easily visible bruises. She was still hanging on a dangerous thread and couldn't afford to lose anything else just because of a broken rib and bruises. She could get through training and whatever she had to do with a broken rib for a few weeks. This wasn't anything compared to what she had dealt with in the past. It wasn't hard to find Jangmi once she reached the company. Jangmi talked as she led Seojun towards the dorm. Seojun interrupted Jangmi and asked something that would decide her future, "Noona, you do know that I'm a girl…" Jangmi couldn't have looked any more shocked. Seojun knew she was done. They wouldn't take a female trainee. She was half ready to go back and beg her parents again when Jangmi spoke.
"Oh! It's just that you dress like a boy and your name is Seojun. Plus your voice is quite deep. I'm so sorry, I just assumed. But hey, gender doesn't matter. We were looking for talent. You are talented. We want your talent."
Seojun was shocked and couldn't help but bow to Jangmi who laughed and ruffled her hair. Seojun was sure now that she would make it. No matter what life threw at her, she would make it. She had a reason to fight for and she was not going down without a fight. Jangmi took out a key as they reached the dorm. "Remind me to ask the boys for a spare key. Or else just ask them to give you a spare key," said Jangmi as she opened the door and took Seojun inside.
Seojun turned to Jangmi with a confused look on her face, "What do you mean by boys, noona?" Jangmi sighed as she pulled her towards a room. "Yeah, about that, I'm in a hurry. I'll answer your questions later. Just listen to me. The dorm only has three rooms which are all taken. This is the largest one and so you'll have to share with the two oldest guys. Okay?" Seojun nodded as she placed her bags on one side.
Before she could ask anything else Jangmi stood up, "Darling, I'll leave now. There's some urgent work I have to deal with. The company will send a bed for you tomorrow. I hope you can manage for today. I'll see you tomorrow in the morning with your schedule. The boys might be late today. Bye! I'm sorry I can't spend time with you. See you, darling!" Seojun waved as Jangmi rushed out and sighed when she heard the main door close. What was she supposed to do now? She was happy, no, grateful that she found a place to stay and something to look forward to. But what if her dorm mates hated her.
She chided herself for letting her thoughts stray towards negativity as she stood up and walked out of the room to find herself in the beautiful, clean kitchen. She was hungry and exhausted. All the events that had happened in these few hours had taken all her energy, and she realized she was peckish as she rummaged around the kitchen. It was surprising to find the kitchen stocked after finding out that a group of boys, most probable trainees, lived here. She realized that she should make food for the boys too as they would be hungry when they came from their training and decided to make enough japchae for at least 10 people as she did not know how many people lived in the dorm. The leftovers could always be eaten the next day. She liked cooking and was actually good at it. It did not take long for her to cut the vegetables and put them up for steaming. She knew the steaming would take at least half an hour and decided to rest for some time with a timer set. She went back into the room and laid down on the neatly made bed as the other one was filled with clothes and other random stuff. She removed her glasses and placed them somewhere with her phone. Her limbs felt heavy as she closed her eyes, adjusting herself to refrain from putting pressure on her broken rib. It did not take long for Seojun to fall into a dreamless sleep as her body took the rest it deserved.
She spent her day in the library and left only when the librarian reminded her to leave. She had been coming to this library for a long time and the librarian knew she would leave at the same time, so it wasn't surprising when the librarian would remind her to leave on time. Seojun packed up her stuff and talked to the librarian for a few minutes before leaving. She was quite happy when she made her way home as she had managed to finish quite a lot of her work but disappointment took over her when she was reminded of the audition again. Seojun reached home to find her parents waiting for her with extremely furious looks on their faces.
Seojun instantly felt her heartbeat fasten as she placed her things aside and greeted them, her voice trembling. She knew something was going to happen and it was bad because never in her 16 years of life had she seen her parents so angry. "Where did you go yesterday Seojun?" asked her mother with a deadly look on her face. Seojun's eyes widened as she tried to stabilize herself and answered, "To the library, eomma." They knew she went for the auditions? If they did then she was dead. Both literally and figuratively. Her father raised an eyebrow at her as he spoke, "You still don't understand how much I hate lies. Shame on you, Han Seojun!" Her trembling increased as she felt her vision blur slightly. Her mother grabbed her chin harshly as she forced Seojun to look into her eyes, "Woojin told us everything. You went to an audition at some company to become an idol! Haven't you tainted our family enough? "
Her brother told her parents? She couldn't understand how her brother found out about what she did. Seojun felt tears roll out of her eyes as she shook her head and apologized, bowing down on the ground with her head near her mother's legs, "I'm so sorry eomma, appa. I made a big mistake. This will never happen again. I'm so sorry!" Seojun bit her lip to refrain from yelping when her mother grabbed her arm roughly and forced her to stand up before slapping her hard across her cheek. "We won't give you the chance to do this ever again." said her mother as she grabbed her hair. Seojun bit the inside of her cheeks trying not to make a noise at it would just make her mom angry. Her mother slapped her again across the cheek, leaving a scorching red mark before throwing her to the ground and kicking her in her ribs, as the air in her lungs vanished.
"Go pack your bags and leave this house immediately. I don't need a useless liar like you in the house. You can finish school under our name but after that, you are no more related to the Han family." said her father. Seojun felt her heart drop into her stomach. Fear gripped her throat tightly making it hard to breathe. Her parents were kicking her out for auditioning. She instantly kneeled down to her parents and begged for forgiveness. She apologized over and over as she tried to convince her father not to kick her out but that ended up with her parents beating her till she had no tears left to cry. At last, her mother dragged her and made her pack her stuff into two bags. Seojun quickly packed her clothes and school uniform along with her books, and all the things she had bought after earning money from babysitting and singing and picked up her bags. Her mother kept hovering until she left the house. She tried to apologize but her mother did not listen and watched as she left.
Seojun stopped once she was a few houses away and took a few deep breaths trying to calm herself down. What was she going to do? She had no home now and was on the streets. Should she call Jangmi? Maybe she could help her out. She debated with herself on whether to call Jangmi or not for a few minutes. Her helplessness got the better of her as she took out her phone to call Jangmi. She still had the card and dialed the number. The line rang for a few minutes before she heard a smooth male voice answer, "BigHit Entertainment, speaking." Seojun cleared her throat and kept her trembling to a minimum as she asked, "Uh, hello. I’m Seojun. C-can I please t-talk to Ms. Min Jangmi?"
The voice hummed and asked her to wait while the call was redirected. Less than a minute passed when a familiar voice came through, "I'm so glad you called darling! I had the wrong number! I tried to text you and call you but it did not go through. I had no other option than to wait for you to call."
Seojun gaped, "Oh! I-I thought you uh, nevermind. What's the r-result, noona?" Seojun could swear that she heard Jangmi's grin through the phone as she answered, her excited voice loud enough to puncture Seojun's eardrums.
"Darling! You got in. You are officially a trainee at BigHit! Congrats! We'll have to talk about you moving into the dorms as it would be inconvenient to live far from the company."
Seojun froze. Getting kicked out of the house and being disowned by her family was not for nothing. She did get in and had something. She broke into a smile as a new wave of hot tears rushed out from her eyes, this time out of happiness, and thanked Jangmi before asking her reluctantly, "Noona, when can I move into the dorms?"
"You'll have to move in by the end of this week, darling."
Seojun took a deep breath as she lied, hoping Jangmi would be fooled, "Uh, noona, can I-I move in today? Because if not t-today, I won't be able to move in for at l-least a month due to some, uh, personal reasons…" There was complete silence on the other side for a few seconds before Jangmi's voice came through, "Sure, darling. You can move in today itself. It would be great to have you here as soon as possible. Come to the company, I'll take you to your dorm. I'll be waiting at the entrance. See you soon!" Seojun thanked her and cut the call. Okay, maybe everything might turn out to be good for her.
Seojun smiled to herself as she quickly made her way to BigHit, making a pit stop at a general store to hide her easily visible bruises. She was still hanging on a dangerous thread and couldn't afford to lose anything else just because of a broken rib and bruises. She could get through training and whatever she had to do with a broken rib for a few weeks. This wasn't anything compared to what she had dealt with in the past. It wasn't hard to find Jangmi once she reached the company. Jangmi talked as she led Seojun towards the dorm. Seojun interrupted Jangmi and asked something that would decide her future, "Noona, you do know that I'm a girl…" Jangmi couldn't have looked any more shocked. Seojun knew she was done. They wouldn't take a female trainee. She was half ready to go back and beg her parents again when Jangmi spoke.
"Oh! It's just that you dress like a boy and your name is Seojun. Plus your voice is quite deep. I'm so sorry, I just assumed. But hey, gender doesn't matter. We were looking for talent. You are talented. We want your talent."
Seojun was shocked and couldn't help but bow to Jangmi who laughed and ruffled her hair. Seojun was sure now that she would make it. No matter what life threw at her, she would make it. She had a reason to fight for and she was not going down without a fight. Jangmi took out a key as they reached the dorm. "Remind me to ask the boys for a spare key. Or else just ask them to give you a spare key," said Jangmi as she opened the door and took Seojun inside.
Seojun turned to Jangmi with a confused look on her face, "What do you mean by boys, noona?" Jangmi sighed as she pulled her towards a room. "Yeah, about that, I'm in a hurry. I'll answer your questions later. Just listen to me. The dorm only has three rooms which are all taken. This is the largest one and so you'll have to share with the two oldest guys. Okay?" Seojun nodded as she placed her bags on one side.
Before she could ask anything else Jangmi stood up, "Darling, I'll leave now. There's some urgent work I have to deal with. The company will send a bed for you tomorrow. I hope you can manage for today. I'll see you tomorrow in the morning with your schedule. The boys might be late today. Bye! I'm sorry I can't spend time with you. See you, darling!" Seojun waved as Jangmi rushed out and sighed when she heard the main door close. What was she supposed to do now? She was happy, no, grateful that she found a place to stay and something to look forward to. But what if her dorm mates hated her.
She chided herself for letting her thoughts stray towards negativity as she stood up and walked out of the room to find herself in the beautiful, clean kitchen. She was hungry and exhausted. All the events that had happened in these few hours had taken all her energy, and she realized she was peckish as she rummaged around the kitchen. It was surprising to find the kitchen stocked after finding out that a group of boys, most probable trainees, lived here. She realized that she should make food for the boys too as they would be hungry when they came from their training and decided to make enough japchae for at least 10 people as she did not know how many people lived in the dorm. The leftovers could always be eaten the next day. She liked cooking and was actually good at it. It did not take long for her to cut the vegetables and put them up for steaming. She knew the steaming would take at least half an hour and decided to rest for some time with a timer set. She went back into the room and laid down on the neatly made bed as the other one was filled with clothes and other random stuff. She removed her glasses and placed them somewhere with her phone. Her limbs felt heavy as she closed her eyes, adjusting herself to refrain from putting pressure on her broken rib. It did not take long for Seojun to fall into a dreamless sleep as her body took the rest it deserved.
