Our Maknae | [ NCT 22TH MEMBER ]

°HOW SHE GOT TO SM°

Being only ten years old at that time, Jiheun had absolutely no idea what SM was or how idols were idols, she just knew that they were people who loved to sing and dance, and that was that. So when she got scouted in old uncle Taejoon's convenience store, she thought that she was getting kidnapped.

The thing is, for the longest she could remember, SHINee was the IT group for her, their songs were always broadcasted on radios or TV, and she loved to singsong to the melody, and sometimes to the actual lyrics. That gave her great practice to hit the high notes and the rap parts. And when Agent Kim Baek-Joon heard her while eating an onigiri he bought in the convenience store, he almost choked. He saw the talent right away and he tried to buy her an onigiri too just so he could talk with her.

The girl did not even take the bait, she did not talk to strangers per her grandmother's orders and she will not start today. So that is how she zipped her mouth shut with a seal and went directly home. 

The agent followed her, and once they got to their neighborhood, he almost got kicked by Jiheun's grandmother as the child told her grandmother that he was following her. But the grandmother could recognize the SM card anywhere. That is why she let him inside to have a chat.

They talked about auditions, the way she would train, the way she would manage school, and the way it could be an opportunity of a lifetime. But Jiheun did not pay attention to the talk or the glory idol life could give her, she kept looking into her grandmother's eyes. 

Any child would want to be an idol, Jiheun knows that and she knows her grandmother knows that, but Being an idol comes with too many packs that are not listed in a contract and Jiheun knows that too. And she knows her grandmother fears that for her. Could they afford training? Jiheun feels like it is too much to ask from her grandmother.

The agent went away after a talk of 30 minutes or so, leaving his card and professional information in case they wanted to call for additional information.

The grandmother asked Jiheun because she knew that she would feel guilty for the rest of her life for not letting the child have a try. But that came with a condition.

"I will take care of the fees and everything concerning your training, but you promise me to take care of your plan B, you go to school and dwell on it too. You will go to college too." 

That was the condition. And Jiheun agreed.

After that, they called the agent and scheduled an audition. And two days later, they were in front of the sm building, her grandmother let her attend the audition while she went and searched for attorneys.

The building was bigger than the world, shiny and new, glassy and classy. That was a sight for ten years old, and the lobby was the vastest space Jiheun has seen in a building before.

She felt intimidated at the sudden realization that she had no idea where to go. She looked at the mini-map provided beside the elevator but heck she did not even know how to get into an elevator or even use it. From where she comes from, she is not used to this kind of things, and she never entered a big building.

For instance, she felt like this wasn't her place, and that is in itself hard for a child to feel. But as her grandmother always tells her, getting out of your comfort zone is not always comfortable, but it is always a challenge with a great outcome.

She turned left and right trying to search for help to get at least somewhere, but everyone looked busy and she stood there with a locked mouth.

The elevator opened and the girl flinched, and a young man came out. He was tall, with a face like she had never seen before, his eyes were big and shiny, his face looked out of a comic, he was so handsome that the girl couldn't take her eyes off him.

"Hey there little girl, do you need help?" He gently spoke as he crouched down to her level, Jiheun was always a short little girl compared to her peers, who knew that she would grow to be 173 cm tall?

"Uh.. yes, I am here for an audition." The girl spoke with the little confidence she had and the boy frowned a little, "I'm sorry but audition season ended, I am afraid that you can not audition." 

"But agent Kim Baek Joon told me to come today and at ten I could audition!" The girl felt a little backstabbed, was that man just pulling a mean prank on them? No matter, tears were burning her eyes already.

The young man seemed to notice that and his eyes quickly softened.

"Oh, so you were scouted? Just like me!" He spoke, "Don't worry, if you were scouted then probably they are waiting for you in the 13th level, first office." He continues and the air was knocked back into the little girl, who was suddenly feeling much better.

In reality, she realized how much this whole thing mattered to her and it frightened her a little. She did not think it would have that much of an impact on her.

"I don't know how to get there..." The girl mumbled lowly, slightly feeling ashamed of telling this stranger that, the boy only chuckled.

"It's okay, I will help you. I'm Lee Taeyong by the way, call me Taeyong Oppa if you want!" The boy gave her a smile and she reciprocated, not knowing she was meeting her future team member and leader.

"I'm Jung Jiheun! Thank you for helping me Oppa!" She bowed down showing gratitude and Taeyong chuckled again.

And Taeyong indeed got her to her destination, and after auditioning that Taeyong secretly watched, he was amazed at how she sang and performed IU's 'Good day' or even had the guts to think and choose a song like that.

Taeyong could tell that their vocal teacher was impressed and that the audition recording will be indeed shown to lee sooman.

"You are accepted into sm, You will come back this afternoon with a legal supervisor and an attorney to discuss your contract as a trainee. If you don't have one, the company is going to provide you with an attorney, Thank you for your hard work." 

That was what the head f the department told her, and with that, Jiheun got picked by her grandmother and shortly after, was signing the papers that were going to be her future years' content.

   _DREAM_