SM5 - a Shinee fan fiction

Out of all the plot bunnies I have, this short story was dreamily easy to write. Having worked in the corporate world for 25 years, I guess I just have a natural curiosity as to how Shinee was formed and all the business decisions made along the way that made Shinee the brand they are. Who put Shinee together - why these 5 individuals? What did the vocal and dance trainers think of these young boys that become Shinee? Why were these five thrown together as a group and not others? In interviews, we have heard snippets of trainee life from the band members, such as:
*Before they were known as Shinee, they were SM5
*Lee Soo Man eventually came up with the name Shinee
*Kibum commuted to Seoul at weekends for training sessions from his hometown
*Minho was discovered at a ski resort
*Jonghyun was discovered while playing bass guitar in his band
*Taemin was concerned with debuting at 15 for fear it will prevent growth
*That they dare not slack off as trainees as others could easily fill their place

 To satisfy my own curiosity, I wrote this work of fiction - told from the point of the view of a Manager responsible for the young trainees in SM. I have tried to incorporate all the information snippets we have heard in real-life as much as possible.

SM5

Who’s Who of Characters
Young Jun - current Manager of the SM male trainees
Choi Jin - previous Manager of the SM male trainees; currently Head of Production for TVXQ and Super Junior
Lee Soo Man - Director of SM
Se Min - Manager of the SM female trainees, currently in charge of SMF9 which became Girls Generation
Gyeong Jik - SM Talent Scout
Soo Jin - Manager, Music Production
Seong Su - Manager, Dance Choreography

**********

A Tuesday in Spring 2006

Young Jun was having a bad day. The latest male trainees were not meeting expectations at all. He witnessed a truly shambolic performance in the morning from SM7 - his boy group in training. All flailing limbs who sang worse than the nightly wail of the neighborhood cats. “What is this mess!?”, he had screamed at the trainees. “Have you not learnt anything!” “How can you call yourself SM trainees? You don't deserve to be here - this is SM - where TVXQ first started!”
He continued his tirade for a full ten more minutes before realizing the young boys all had tears running down their cheeks and he was close to having a self-induced heart attack. To rub salt in the wound, he then attended the monthly Showcase which featured SMF9 - the female trainee group. SMF9 was managed by his peer and arch-rival Se Min. They sounded great and their moves were simple but clean - a very cohesive unit. Their performance drew appreciative murmurs and faint praise from Director-nim Lee Soo Man. It looked like they could debut a girl group very soon. Young Jun could not bear the gloat on Se Min’s face.
“If only the boys were as promising, Young Jun-ah”, Director-nim had said sadly to Young Jun as he stepped out of the dance studio. Young Jun clenched his teeth and bowed low. “We will not fail you next month. Please look forward to it, Director-nim”.
Inside, he seethed with angry embarrassment.

***
It was the start of a new week and Young Jun bounced out of bed, eager to put his new action plan in motion. He had spent all of last week wallowing in rage, envy and shame. But at the weekend, he started to convert his emotions into a strategy. Time to dust off his failure and try something new.
As the Manager of the SM male trainees, Young Jun was responsible for grooming new talent, nurturing their performance skills and putting groups together. You needed a good ear; a discerning eye for potential and the ability to create something that was bigger than a sum of its parts. That was what a great idol group was. His predecessor Choi Jin had “discovered” TVXQ - pairing the beauty of Jaejoong with the athletic dance prowess of Yunho with the charming boy-next-door that was Changmin. All five boys had different strengths and weaknesses but together - they were perfect.
Super Junior had “formed themselves” - not selected to be TVXQ, these boys nonetheless had been in Choi Jin’s cohort. Under Choi Jin’s eye, they had developed singing, dancing and variety skills. They had presented a proposal to Lee Soo Man and how could he resist? He immediately saw the potential - a unit which could split into smaller units to appeal to different audiences. There would be a unit that will sing in Chinese to conquer the China market and a unit to sing trot for popular family appeal. With so many boys, he saw the group as a “rotating bench” - the established members will carry the group but new talent could be added periodically - giving new idols a trial run with minimal investment required by the firm. With two significant successes under his belt, Choi Jin was promoted to Head of Production to manage TVXQ and Super Junior full-time. This gave Young Jun the opportunity to move into Choi Jin’s previous role - as the Manager of all the male trainees.

As Young Jun drove to the SM office building, he replayed scenes in his mind from one year ago. Choi Jin was packing up his old office, carelessly throwing his possessions into cardboard boxes. Young Jun had stopped by to wish him well.
“Come to hurry me out of my office I see, Young Jun”.
“Ha! You are getting a much bigger one upstairs. Not to mention a huge promotion”.
“I don’t know about that, Young Jun. It’s fun in the early days of idol-making - trying new things, hand-picking raw talent, the young minds hanging on to every word of advice you give...”
“Speaking of advice, do you have any for me, hyung?”
“Just watch the mix, Young Jun-ah. The beauty is in the mix.”

Even now, Young Jun was not exactly sure what Choi Jin meant. It’s all very well to "watch the mix” but how do you mix exactly? What are the main ingredients? What about seasoning? Do you need a secret ingredient? These have been the questions Young Jun had grappled with these last six months.
Shaking his head with confusion at the memory, Young Jun walked down the SM building corridor with the solo practice rooms, heading to his office. With room flanked on both sides, a cacophony of sounds assaulted his left and right ears as he stomped through.

One voice rang above the din. Strong smooth tenor, hitting some powerful high notes. Wait - was that a b5? Young Jun followed the voice to one of the rooms on the left and peered in. Hmm... that angular-looking kid, new joiner this year, Gyeong Jik had spotted him while he was playing with his band at a festival. He had invited him to SM purely based on his looks and the way “he was so expressive with his bass guitar”! They had all laughed about it during the management meeting but everyone knew natural stage charisma was a rare find and a key attribute they looked for in trainees.
Young Jun was delighted - he didn’t realize that kid could sing so well or belt that high! He made a mental note to ask Soo Jin to re-test his vocal range.

***

“We need to set up rival groups to SM7. Let’s review all the boys we have one-by-one and set up other units. SM7 have no competition right now so I think that’s why they are coasting”.

Young Jun’s three-person management team huddled round a conference table with poloroids of each of their 27 trainees, with names marked neatly in black marker. They had been there for an hour already - brainstorming and formulating new strategies. Around the table was Soo Jin - his Manager of music production , responsible for vocal training. Gyeong Jik was his talent scout - the man moved round Seoul, spotting new faces in the ski resorts and shopping malls, doling out his business cards to the excited few. Seong Su was his dance trainer and choreographer.
“Alright, any ideas on how to set up these rival groups, team?”
“Let’s pull apart SM7 and see if some of the members do better in other dynamics. I don’t think the chemistry of the group is that good”.
“Interesting - what do you suggest?”
“Pull Lee Jinki out and put him in another group. I think he has good vocal tone but it’s drowned out by the others.” Soo Jin pulled out Jinki’s poloroid and set it aside.
“Lee Jinki? The quiet one with long hair covering his eyes? Totally non-descriptive...”
“He auditioned for Lee Soo Man at the Girls Generation showcase and he passed on his voice alone”.
Not one to dispute Lee Soo Man, Young Jun quickly backtracked. “Well in that case...do it. Who can be in the group with him?”
Seong Su chimed in.“Well, you need a couple of dancers...I propose Kim Ki Bum. Very sharp and quick on the uptake. Learns choreo fast. Good precise moves. As for another, what about Lee Tae Min?
“Huh? We all know he is our No 1 dancer but he is still so young!”
“Well, Tae min is 13 now. Yes, he’s young but maybe he will develop faster with supportive hyungs around him”.
“Well, let’s hope they are supportive. The last group of trainees he was paired with really messed with him pyschologically. Jealousy is so ugly.”
Seong Su searched for Kim Ki Bum and Lee Tae Min’s poloroid and put it next to Jinki.
A few minutes silence followed while the group looked through the poloroids.
Gyeong Jik piped up. “If you want to up the beauty quotient, throw in Choi Minho. He’s tall - a real looker.”
“Oh yeah, Soo Jin - I overheard that bass guitar kid singing today. He can really belt. What’s his range?”
“Huh? Who?”
“You know, the one that lives close to Lee Tae min and walks with him sometimes.” He scanned the poloroids, looking for the face. He found the one and flourished it in front of Soo Jin.
“Oh, Jong hyun? Hmm, I don’t remember his voice - I’ll test him this afternoon”.
Gyeong Jik piped up. “Aren’t Jonghyun and Kibum friends? It could help with pulling together a team dynamic”.
Seong Su laughed. “And sometimes it doesn’t!”

****
“No need to be nervous, Jong hyun. I’m just going to play some scales and I want you to match each note as best as you can. Remember to use your breath. We’ll start with the lower register and then go high, ok?”
Jonghyun nodded. Truth be told, he was pleased he was getting his vocal range re-tested. He had been working hard on his singing in the last few months and felt he had improved.
“Thank you Jonghyun. You have really expanded your range. Nice breathy timbre in the upper notes as well.”
Jonghyun looked pleased with himself. “Do you mind me asking what is my current range?”
“Well, let’s see - it’s about D3-B5 right now. But I think you can still expand on either end of the range. You have a good falsetto which sounds very natural - keep developing that as it could become a signature sound.”
“ Ok now, let’s record you singing a few lines. Is there something you know well? Maybe Gravity by Fly to the Sky?
After Jonghyun sang through Gravity, Soo Jin wrapped things up. “Ok, Jonghyun-ah, let’s stop here for now. I’m sure we would both like to get some lunch”.
Jonghyun put down his headphones and stepped out of the recording booth. “Do you have any advice for me as well, Manager-nim? To get even better?”
Soo Jin thought for a few seconds. “Well, since you are asking, let’s meet up every 2 weeks for 1:1 lessons. I’ll give you homework in-between and I expect it to be done”.
“Thank you, Manager-nim. I’ll work hard!” Jong hyun bowed low but could not hide the excitement on his face.
After Jonghyun left the studio, Soo Jin opened up his laptop and starting typing an email to Young Jin and the management team.
“Tested Jonghyun’s vocal range this afternoon - can belt up to b5 now. Strong confident singer. Beautiful breathy timbre at upper register. Can do descant singing lines with ease. Should be in a group as the main vocalist - very promising talent. I’ll give him 1:1 singing lessons from now on”.

****

Lined up against the walls of the dance studio, 27 gawky teenagers sat on the floor in various cliques, nervously chattering. They had been called to a “meeting” with no agenda. This filled them with apprehension. After last week’s tirade at SM7’s Showcase, this meant changes were coming and cuts were a possibility. After weeks of intensive dance practice, the wheat was starting to separate from the chaff. Every trainee, whether they admitted it or not, intrinsically knew where they stood. You had your natural dancers that made it look effortless; your athletes who had the stamina to keep up with the moves but with less grace; some who have steadily improved with practice and those who were still as talented as a wooden block.
Tae min was a stand-out natural dancer, with a pretty face. His pop and lock moves were sharp and smooth, with beautiful transitions. When he was not performing though, he was painfully shy and avoided talking as much as possible. Being so young, he felt a bit out of place with the older boys.
Kim Ki Bum was a “weekend warrior” - attending the SM training sessions at weekends and heading back to his hometown Daegu for high school when Monday came round. Despite less tutorial and practice time, he was a precise dancer with sharp powerful moves and an incredible memory. Seong Su was constantly amazed at fast he learnt choreo.
Choi Minho was a “face”.Cast from the street or more specifically, a ski resort for his good looks, they had to work out what Minho could do. Fortunately, Minho was a natural athlete with good energy. He also had impeccable manners and strong work ethic - a real joy to work with. However, Minho’s voice range was on the lower end of the range and limited. He could sing in tune but only at the lower end of the register. This was not too useful as most pop songs were written for tenors.
Jinki was known for his beautiful voice with its recognizable timbre. The rumor amongst the boys was that he was signed on the spot by Lee Soo Man himself. However, he had no experience whatsoever in dance. Management started him on intensive dance practice at SM school and despite many hours of work, he was still awkward. He practiced hard though on choreo until he could memorize the moves at least.
Kim Jong hyun was the unknown factor. He was attractive with masculine features, an average dancer who was steadily improving with practice. However, while performing, he had a natural ease and confidence which made for compelling viewing. It was what the management group called “stage charisma” - something the instructors knew was notoriously hard to teach.
Young Jin strode into the room intently, with his management team behind him. The boys immediately stood up and bowed low. “Good morning, Director-nim, Manager-nim!” they shouted in unison.
“Morning boys. Ok, I know everyone is nervous so I will just get straight to it. I’m announcing some changes today. We want to shake things up a bit, allow everyone some new opportunities to work with and learn from others. We are going to set up some different groups, along with SM7. When I call your name, can you start grouping together?
Firstly, Choi Minho - Kim Kibum - Lee Taemin and… Kim Jonghyun, can you form a group?
Minho looked round the room for Jonghyun. Kibum sauntered across the floor to the tall model with the small face. Jonghyun scanned the room for Taemin and beckoned the shy teenager to join him.
“Lee Jinki - can you leave SM7 and move across to this new group. SM7 - you will now be SM6”.
Jinki looked a bit surprised at first but quickly composed himself and walked over to the new group.
“Ok, you are now a group of 5 so we’ll call you SM5 for now. Practice choreo and singing together as a unit for the next 3 weeks. Ask Seong Su to help you pick a routine. You will be performing in the Showcase at the end of the month”.
Jonghyun hugged Taemin, giving him a big smile but the other boys looked at each other a bit sheepishly.
Jonghyun broke the ice first - “Hi everyone, I’m Jonghyun. Nice to work with you all. Please look after me!”

With Jonghyun having broken the ice, the others quickly introduced themselves to each other quietly.
Meanwhile, Young Jin was still bellowing orders. He had formed another group and given them the unimaginative name of SM8. “Ok, that’s it for now. So we have SM6, SM5 and SM8 performing in the Showcase next month. I look forward to it”.

In unison, the teenagers shouted “Thank you Sir!” and bowed low. With Young Jin out of sight, the practice room buzzed with excitement.
SM5 took the time to get to know each other. Minho piped up “Let’s sort out the ages so we know who’s who”.
Jonghyun quickly injected “Well, I know I’m Bummie’s hyung as he was my dance buddy during practice and Tae and I live close and obviously we all know he’s our youngest trainee at 13”.
Minho quickly added “I’m 91”. Kibum then went “Same as me then - I’m 91 so we are sunbae” with no honorifics.
Minho thought about whether to ask Kibum if he was early or late 91 as he thought that was an important distinction before they dropped formal speech with each other. But it seemed that the dialect-speaking teen had got it into his head that they were sunbaes already.
Jinki then spoke up and said “I’m 89”.
Jonghyun smiled and then went “Oh, you are our hyung then! I’m 90 so you are our de-facto Leader!”
“Oh no, I couldn’t possibly be”, stammered Jinki. “I need all the help I can get from you guys. I only started dancing a month ago….”
Kibum couldn’t help but let out an eye roll. “Not sure why I’m on the same team as you then…”
This did not go unnoticed by Jinki but he was gracious in his response - “Please help me out then Kibum!”
***
A few days later, So Jin was excited as the five boys trundled into his recording studio one morning. The team had put together a group that should have all the vocal ranges covered - Minho and Key were baritones, Jinki was a solid mid tenor and Jonghyun was a high tenor, capable of hitting the contralto and potentially soprano ranges. Taemin was still developing his voice, so he would just have him singing the chorus for now. He had no idea how they would sound together though. Would they be able to harmonize? How would Jinki’s caramel timbre mix with Jonghyun’s airy head notes? Only one way to find out…
Couple of hours later, So Jin was exhausted and called an end to the session. “Please practice your parts and we’ll try again next week”. They still needed a lot of work but there were kernels of hope. Onew and Jonghyun actually sounded good together. Key’s voice had an interesting nasal raspy quality which punctured the smooth mix of Onew and Jonghyun. He wasn’t quite sure what to do with Minho right now except have him learn to rap. And Taemin - far too early to tell as his voice had not broken in yet.
The boys walked out of the studio excitedly. They enjoyed their first training session singing as a group and each was determined to practice hard. Jonghyun rapidly made a suggestion. “Hey everyone, do you want to practice the song together as a group tonight?
“ I have to head back to Daegu tomorrow so tonight works.”
Jinki added “Dance practice starts at 2pm. Shall we have lunch together first?”
Minho smiled and said “Sure, why not?”
The group started to walked over to the cafeteria together.
Jonghyun, Minho and Taemin walked ahead, joking and laughing.
Kibum hung back, waiting for Jinki, hoping to have a more private conversation. “Hey, when I said, I didn’t understand why I’m on the same team as you, you know I didn’t mean it, right? You’re an incredible singer. I just thought that they would group the dancers and singers separately, you know?”
Jinki smiled at Kibum’s indirect apology - “Sure, no worries, I know what you meant. I’m sure my crappy dancing is going to slow down the team though so I’m still going to need some help."
“Sure, you got it. I’m sure we can all learn vocal tips from you as well."
And with that, Jinki put his arm around Kibum and gave him a squeeze.


***

Seong Su scrolled through the songs on her mp3 player, listening intently. A routine for the new boy group huh? Sexyback maybe? Hmm, bit too mature for a young boy group…
Suddenly, the studio door creaked open and Choi Minho walks in gingerly, followed by the rest of SM5. “Please look after us, Teacher-nim!” they chorused.
“It’s 2pm already?” Seong Su looked up from her mp3 player. “Hm, can you warm up yourselves first? Then,I’ll take you through a routine”.
The boys started some cardio moves like jumping jacks and did some light stretching. She was curious to see that they had an easy rapport already - Choi Minho was leading them in the cardio moves while making funny faces which made Jonghyun, Jinki and Taemin laugh. Only Kibum seemed to be holding back a bit.
Seong Su jumped up from the bench after she had chosen a song. “Ok, that’s enough warm-up. I’m going to take you through a basic 1 minute choreo now - please follow carefully.”
After 30 minutes of intense instruction, Seong Su thought it was time to review her handiwork. “Let’s play the song from the top and see how it looks”.
As the song played, Seong Su appraised each individual from the corner of the studio. As expected, Taemin and Kibum picked up the choreo the fastest. Taemin danced smoothly with his trademark flow. Seong Su continued to be impressed by Kibum. He had a strong facial expression when dancing - it made you want to watch him.
Minho had the stamina and the height. Good long lines. He wasn’t a natural dancer but he could keep up. Jonghyun was also tolerable.
Jinki was the worst in the group. His moves were a little clumsy and he had been the slowest to pick up the choreo. Seong Su had heard his amazing voice though so she had no choice but to push him to an acceptable standard. Perhaps his group members could help him…
“Ok, please continue your practice alone. Take a look in the mirror and watch your positions. Kibum, run Jinki through the moves again - make sure he synchronizes with the group. I have to go to a meeting but will be back in 1 hour. You guys better give a better performance than what I just saw!”

****

“Arghh, i’m exhausted!” Minho joined the floor next to a panting Jonghyun who was lying flat on his back.
“Hyungs, shall we run through the routine again?” exclaimed Taemin in a mousy-quiet voice. As there was no response whatsoever, Taemin wandered over to the front of the mirror sheepishly and started practicing the moves by himself. Oblivious to all this was Kibum with a very sweaty Jinki. Kibum was running through the whole midsection of the routine for Jinki - “So see here - you were missing the timing of the entry, we turn 90, ba, ba, ba, step left, knee up, flick out, rotate, finish”.
“I understand the routine - I just can’t do it!”
“What do you mean you can’t do it...”
“I don’t think my body turns like that!”
“Start earlier then..move quicker into the turn...”
Minho smirked and nudged Jonghyun quietly - “I didn’t know Jinki had his own personal dance tutor. Amazing he could get crabby Kibum to do that for him..”
Jonghyun sat up suddenly to take a look. He glanced at the pair and murmured “Kibum is a good teacher though...”
After a few seconds, Jonghyun shouted out loud - “Hey Tae - when do you want us to run through the whole routine again?”
***

A panel of judges had gathered in the main dance practice room with their clipboards and discerning eyes, ready to assess. It was the monthly Showcase, Today, SM6 were performing again as well as the newly-formed SM5. Time to perform. Time to hear scathing criticism on every flaw, real or imagined, whether singing, dancing or their whole reason for being. It was a brutal exercise. You could let it beat you down or take the feedback and rise above it.
SM5 were understandably nervous. Being placed in a group meant they had a chance to shine as a unit. It was the first step in achieving debut.The key was to look, sound and perform harmoniously - a sum greater than its parts. Not one individual out of place, but each person integral to that unit. The panel of managers started to look imposing and intimidating. Aside from Young Jun, Seong Su and So Jin, Se Min who managed the female trainees and Choi Jin was also seated at the panel. As the Head of Production for TVXQ and Super Junior, Choi Jin was known to have a great eye. Then Director Lee Soo Man walked in and took his place in the centre seat. The apprehension quotient in the room inched up several notches.
Jonghyun was visibly nervous and looked like he was breaking out in a cold sweat. Taemin, Kibum and Minho were the most confident, if you could call it that. However, even they were starting to buckle under the pressure. Taemin was rubbing his hands. Kibum’s confident smile drooped and Minho’s face was downcast. What made is worse was that the other trainees were eyeing them enviously around the dance practice room.
At that split second, Jinki set aside his own nerves and rallied the group together for a quick huddle. “Hey guys, we’ve got this. We’ve practiced hard. Let’s show them what we got. Go all-out when you get your individual dance segment, fall back and focus on synchronization when we are a group. Minho - slow down, it’s not a race. Jonghyun - you know this, believe in yourself. I know I’m the weakest dancer here but I’ve practiced all night. I won’t let you guys down. Let’s just try our best! Fighting! We are SM5!!”

***

Lee Soo Man watched SM5 and a myriad of thoughts came to mind. They seemed to have something - an edge. Their harmonies sounded good - Jinki’s voice blended well with the contrasting voices. They looked good. Perhaps he needed to rotate them into Super Junior. What unit could they go into though? Super Junior Happy? Hmm, it didn’t seem like the right fit.
He also liked how just before their performance, they had gathered and encouraged each other on. It showed a positive team dynamic and Jinki seemed to be a natural leader. Maybe he should keep them together and debut them as a complete group….
SM5’s performance ended and the other trainees clapped respectfully.
Young Jun was the first to speak. His eyes were sparkling but he tried his best to not sound too excited. “This was…good. Keep practicing together. I look forward to seeing more next month”.
Dance trainer Seong Su weighed in next - “Generally, your moves were cohesive as a unit. Good energy but try to own the moves a little more. More practice will make for tighter synchronization".
So Jin added “Good harmonies. I can see you all practiced hard in your own time. There were a couple of moments when the pitch wavered. You all need to practice more.”
Se Min also offered some effusive feedback “Not bad for your 1st performance. Keep working on the synchronization and harmonies. Keep it up”.
Jinki was a little breathless from the performance but he whispered “Good job!” to his teammates as they wiped their sweat and retreated to the sidelines.


***

After the Showcase, Lee Soo Man walked out of the practice room with Young Jun accompanying him. “Young Jun, your new group of 5 was very promising. Keep them together and see if you can develop them. What are they called?” At that split second, Young Jun realized he had not given them a name - he had just called them SM5 for short.
“Er…SM5, Director-nim”.
“I see”.
Soo Man wrote “SM5” on his notebook and then patted Young Jun on the shoulder. “Well, let me see if I can come up with something. I’ll let you know”.

***

Epilogue - December 2013

A BBQ restaurant in Gangnam

Young Jun stumbled out of the raucous smoky restaurant and into the frigid cold that was a Seoul December. He had a few too many soju bombs and needed to feel the cold air on his face. Inside, the sounds of “kampai!” were resonating wildly in the private grill room filled with 40-plus SM employees that worked on “Shinee Inc”. It was just a selection of the core team that had worked with Shinee throughout the years - in choreography, music production, voice training, wardrobe, creative design and marketing. Shinee had just won the Best Group award at the 2013 Melon Music Awards. It was a victory for the whole team - a triumph for the quintet and the infrastructure that had pushed them to success. Lee Soo Man had immediately called Young Jun and said “Go out and celebrate. You guys deserve it.”
It had a been a monumental year for Shinee. Sure, when the SM management committee had decided that the focus was on Shinee this year, the teams went all out but the 5 boys also rose to the challenge. Jonghyun wrote the lyrics to many of the songs on “Misconceptions” including the clever “Spoiler”. He was especially fond of how Kibum came forward to the Art department with some of his drawings. The creative designers loved his artwork. It felt like Kibum had encapsulated what was Shinee at its core - colorful contemporary. More than that, his drawings had soul - edgy with a hint of darkness . They put Kibum’s “old man” drawing on the front cover of “Misconceptions of Us”.
Inside the grill room, Jinki and Minho was going around thanking everyone for their contributions. Kibum was holding court in the corner with the wardrobe noonas - talking about the latest Seoul fashion shows and proudly showing off photos of Comme des and Garcon on his phone with a glass of wine in his hand. Taemin was being carried around on the back of the dance choreographers. Jonghyun was deep in conversation with Andrew Choi - likely planning for their next songwriting camp.
Young Jun steps outside and sees Choi Jin sitting on the porch, an unlit cigarette dangling from corner of his mouth. The man looked surprised to see him.
“Eh, Young Jun, what are you doing outside?”
“Just getting some fresh air”.
Young Jun kept his cold hands in his pockets but he could not hide the glowing pride on his face.
Choi Jin lights his cigarette and takes a deep inhale. The cigarette smoke billows out into the frigid air.
After a few minutes silence, Young Jun spoke.
“It only seemed like yesterday when I was still deciding how to group the trainees. Did we get lucky or can we really see raw talent?”
“Perhaps you saw it but perhaps you got lucky too. Didn’t you only want Jonghyun in the group because you overheard him belting a b5 note?”
Young Jun chuckled. “Yes…and I only put Kibum in the group because he was Jonghyun’s friend. Who knew that the boy from Daegu was going to be extra spicy Key”.
“Well, you lucked out with Jinki. Amazing voice. Doesn’t fight the others for the spotlight. Great leader for those loud personalities.”
“Taemin was a given since he was a great dancer. But so cute - the others couldn’t help but dote on him. It was touch and go though - he wasn’t sure he wanted to debut at 15. He really worked hard on his voice too - Jonghyun and Jinki were so gracious with helping him vocally”.
“And Minho was the group’s cheerleader. Supportive and optimistic”.
The two men paused for a moment, replaying scenes from seven years ago. Choi Jin was the first to break their reverie.
“You’ve really done well, Young Jun. Congratulations. You picked raw talent and after a bit of polish, they started sparkling”.
“It’s an amazing feeling. I’m not sure I knew back then what they would amount to….”
“Well, it helped Young-Jun, that you picked….diamonds.”
And with that, Choi Jin slowly rose from his stone seat and went back into the warm restaurant, leaving Young Jun with his memories of the young SM5.