"SK! SK! SK! SK!"

This was what SK loved the most. People cheering for her in that dark lit club shining with the neon signs as she stepped in to the spotlight and pushed up her baseball cap,gripping on to her mic tight.

"Hey SK...Are you ready for SK!?!"

(Present Day)

"One Latte please." A girl who was desperately trying to cover her face with a hat asked the unsuspecting Starbucks server.

"Sure. Your name please."

"What?"

"Your name...?"

"Is that necessary?"

"That's the tradition here."

The girl gave up.

"SK..." She said slowly,looking nervously at the server's reaction .

"Did you say SK ma'am?"

"Umm yeah..."

"The name...you want us to put  down on your drink?"

"Shin Sae Kyung....that's me...don't say it out loud,I want to leave in secrecy-" before she could complete the waiter announced in a loud tone.

"One Latte for Shin Sae Kyung SK!"

Sae Kyung shut her eyes,awaiting the bombardment of fans,but to her relief...no...probably regret...no one came-

She opened her eyes to see that not a single person out of the forty odd people in the cafe batted an eyelid-

Of course.

She wasn't the Shin Sae Kyung from 5 years ago.

South Korea had long forgotten Sae Kyung.

______________________________

She trudged into that company building she absolutely detested-

"Tube Entertainment"

She hated being here since this red box company was a huge red flag.

Her fellow trainees were passionate individuals who worked so diligently,but the future did not seem very bright,because their own sunbaes never got proper promotions and were mistreated by the company.

She trudged into the dingy studio for her rap lesson-awaiting her was the self proclaimed 'hip' ajhussi who was munching on some snacks as he gestured her to get into her position at the mic.

She had such great amount of disgust for this man. After all the rap prodigies she has seen and collabed with,never did she even imagine that she would have to train under such a man who did not have basic manners.

He gestured her a 3,2,1-Start

Her spirits finally rose. Rap was what gave her life-what she was best at. Here goes.

sseuldeeomneun yei ttawin mureotteudeo
pyeongyeoniran dapdapan urineun muneotteuryeo
gamhi tto nuga nal makko tto nuga nal jojonghae
joshimhae dadeumji motan baltobeuro
amudo gabon jeogi eomneun gaecheokaneun gil
ppeonhae ppajin kkondaedeureun hyeoreul chadeon jit
geugeol haenaegoseoya banneun baksuneun deo jjaritan mashiji
geugeol matbwatgo ije bujeonghal su eopseo I’m a queen

I’ll bite off your useless courtesy We tear down your suffocating prejudice
Who would dare to stop me
Who would dare to control me Careful with my sharp claws
I create a new path
no one has attempted before
All those condescending people will click their tongues
But the applause I receive after breaking that prejudice is thrilling
I’ve had a taste
Now I can’t deny it
I’m a queen...

She breathed as she glared at the  instructor-the rap clearly aimed at people like him.

"Tsk tsk. Need more practice. Next!"

She rolled her eyes. She didn't expect any praise from Mr Gong.
This was the usual.

But as she walked out, she heard him mutter-

"Every kid who was on tv at 10 years old thinks they can become a star-tsk tsk"

She froze in her footsteps.

"What you waiting for? Get out and let the next one in." He gnarled as he kept munching on his snacks.

With her fist gripped tight,she stormed out.

This company was affecting  her confidence.

A shadow watched her from afar

Sae Kyung mustered up all her courage and walked into the dance practice room. The trainees were instructed to wait there as there was an important announcement to make.

She stepped in to find some 50 odd trainees both male and female buzzing and whispering what was up.

She walked up to a corner and put her hands in her hoody's pockets.

She spotted a familiar male trainee across the room chatting away.

"Yah! Si Young! Come here!" She gestured him to come upto her and he ran upto her.

"Hey Sae Kyung! What's up?" He said cheerfully. They hardly met as male and female trainees had different training schedules. It was on announcement days like these that they got to find out if the other person was still alive in that company or not-

She shrugged, "The usual. You?"

His eyes danced with excitement.

"We have been practicing really hard. There's five of us selected for a possible debut group. The announcement is probably for that!" He smiles brightly and Saw Kyung nods with a smile.

"Good for you bruh." She pats his shoulders. She just hoped someday she could have her debut too.

And just then her eyes scanned the room for a presence. He was missing.

"Where's your friend?" She asked,pretending she didn't really care.

"Friend? Ah Chan-ie? He left the company."

This news came as a shocker.

"When?!"

"It's been 3 months."

"What?"

She couldn't believe it. Not that guy who brought her here and himself left.

She sighed in disbelief. He fooled her. He was trying to sabotage her.

She had to get back at him. And there was only one way.

Debut

One of the girls spoke up.

"Yo! Did you guys check out CLC sunbaenim's new song? It's so freaking cool!" She played Helicopter as the trainees all vibes. They absolutely loved their CLC sunbaenims.

Those girls would always come down to meet the trainees with fried chicken and to share tips with them and cheer them on.

Sae Kyung was boiling in anger. Chan-ie abandoned her in this Tubelight of a company.

She zipped up her hoodie and walked to the center.

She gestured the trainee to turn up the music.

"Woahh Our SK on the dance floor!" The guys and girls cheered and clapped as she got ready to dance.

"I go up! HELICOPTER!
And I make hella noise for the take off!
I go up! HELICOPTER!
Never give up
(Ooh)
LIKE A PILOT!"

She danced as if that would be the last day,she gave it her all. The song really matched her feelings on the inside. She was not going to give up. No matter how hard the company made it for her,she would debut.

Just then the door swung open and some instructors had walked in.

They happened to see Sae Kyung dance to the beats.

The dance instructor- Ms Jackie was pleased. Sae Kyung had always been her favourite student.

With the instructors entering,Sae Kyung abruptly stopped and bowed.

"Your moves got sharper Sae...keep going and one day you will..." The trainer gulped it down and let out at a sigh that Sae Kyung didn't notice, as she was busy getting back to her place.

The room got tense again as the vocal,dance and rap instructor had gathered and the fourth person-that was the director of the company entered too.

Mrs Jangmi-her name meant 'Rose',but she hadthe personality of the thorns in the rose bush. Very despicable and haughty.

"We are here to announce the debut group."Mrs Jangmi had announced which sent the trainees' heart fluttering.

Even Sae Kyung prayed she be selected. She badly wanted to debut. She wanted to prove everybody who said former underground rappers cannot be idols.

She wanted to be the first female to do it and shut people's mouths.

She knew she did well in her rap and dance classes,vocals were quite good too. And her image suited the 'Tube' style. Chic and hip.

"First I would like to address some rumours going around regarding a boy group debut..."

SK could feel Si Young's excitement.

"That's all nonsense. We have no plans to debut a boy group any time soon."

There was utter silence in the room. With those few words she muttered like it was nothing,the thornbush had sliced through the hearts of all those male trainees in the room who worked like slaves everyday for their dream for the past 2 years.

"We are debuting a girl group once again!" She announced in her proud voice.

Though Sae Kyung's heart broke and pined for Si Young,she was in a desperate state herself and prayed to have her name called out.

"Lightsum! That's the group!"

The female trainees were overjoyed. Their chance finally came.

Lightsum...it's sounded a little 'cute' to SK. She became anxious. Was the company trying some new concept this time?

"Let me announce the 8 debut members we have selected after careful consideration...." She looks into her notepad.

Everyone waited with bated breaths.

"Our Lil star Chowon"

Of course. Chowon Unnie deserved to debut. She has been through the horrors of the survival show where she lost a place rightfully hers. If anyone deserved the first debut spot it was her.. Sae Kyung nodded and clapped along with the others as Chowon beamed. Her dream was finally coming true.

"Sangah,Nayoung and Hina"

The overjoyed girls squealed in disbelief as they walked up to Chowon.

"Do you think we will get in..." Huiyeon,a good friend of hers who was the same liner clutched her hand tightly.

"I pray we do." Sae Kyung couldn't breathe anymore.

"Huiyeon and  Juhyeon"

Sae Kyung gasped,her friend made it! Huiyeon couldn't believe it.

"You will come soon too!" She hugged her tight before letting her hand go to wak away.

Now it was down to the last two members.

This was getting really tense.

A heartbroken Si Young who slumped on the floor, next to SK tapped her shoulder.

"You are the best rapper out here. They definitely need you. Don't worry."

Sae Kyung nodded. But she had a bad feeling about this.

"Yujeong"

With just one more position left-and at least a dozen other girls left,everyone who was feverishly praying for that one last slot.

"Last slot for the maknae-"

Sae Kyung noticed she could be the Maknae. All the other selected members were older than her.

"Oh please god. Please give me a chance to live my dream
To prove my purpose."

"Jian"

It was the end

She didn't make it.

Her 2 years of training at Tube Entertainment-all for nothing.

_________________________________

A/N-29Th May 2022

Hi there everyone! This is the first chapter to SK Sae Kyung's story.

Unbeknownst to her,God did listen to her prayers though.

The opportunity will come soon.

This is a book to help you all get to know TraineeA better.7
Amazing boys who are set to make their debut under BigHit Music soon.

The boys deserve all the love. I hope through this book I can help you all get to know more about them and maybe even get you to stan them haha:)

Hope you liked the first part. Please do give your valuable comments and votes. It would really encourage me a lot to keep going💗

Saranghae

~Author V✌️