She followed the woman to what looked like a meeting room, and when she pushed open the door she was right. At a long table, she saw many official people all conversing with one another. In the middle of the table was easily recognizable as the CEO of the company, Lee Sooman. Sometimes he would come in and observe their monthly evaluations.
The moment the door behind them closed the chatter died down as they took their seats. They gesture for her to sit down across from them, seeing as Minju was standing there petrified like a deer caught in headlights. She took a seat in the chair, swallowing nervously as she awaited what they were gonna tell her.
"Minju, I, personally, would like to say that you are an absolutely wonderful trainee," it was Lee Sooman who spoke much to her surprise. "You've shown a demonstration of magnificent talent since you've stepped through our doors. Out of all our trainees — male and female — your scores are consistently one of the highest, and that is why we would like to debut you as an idol."
Minju nearly choked. "Me?" she asked, completely dumbfounded. "But I've only been here for like 4 months."
"Yes, but in those 4 months you've gone far beyond everyone's expectations, and you've really climbed your way to the top. You're exactly what this company is needing in an idol," he encouraged. "I've watched over your evaluations and I'm fully confident that you will do amazing."
"I-I-" The words felt stuck in her throat, unable to believe what she was hearing. "I mean, I would love to. Would I be in a group?"
"We were considering that," he answered. "I'm sure you know how we're in the process of a new girl group — Red Velvet. Yet, after some discussion we all agreed someone with your talent should be a soloist," he explained.
"When would I debut?" she asked.
"We want to get you training and preparing as soon as possible," he answered. "We want to push for June or possibly July which is why we want to start as early as possible." Minju nodded, listening as he explained though without giving away too much.
"One last thing — I know it is very late," he stated, "Who is that boy you came back with?" He asked and Minju felt her heart drop. "Is he your boyfriend?"
"Yeah, actually," she answered, choosing to go ahead and be truthful. "He's actually going to debut in a group with my brother this year. I've known him for almost 3 years. I hope it's not a problem."
"It's no problem at all," he answered, providing Minju a sense of relief. "We encourage our idols to date. Now, it's best that you go get some sleep, and tomorrow you will start preparing."
After that and some quick goodbyes, Minju made her way back to the trainee dorm. She laid down to go to sleep, but with everything that happened at once today, she couldn't sleep. The events of that night kept her awake until she could no longer fight against sleep.
Upon waking up, she knew everything was going to be different. It became clear that the other trainees found out Minju was going to be debuting because their attitudes towards her changed. The only ones who were still friendly were Yerim and Sooyoung.
Minju found Yerim to be like a little sister. She helped her just like she helped her sister back home. If she couldn't sleep Minju would stay up with her until she eventually did, she would help her with her homework the best she could. She hoped for the young girl and knew that she would be amazing.
SM quickly arranged for Minju to be moved out of the trainee dorms and into a separate, more private one. It was quite small, only having room for a bed, a small closet for her belongings, a bathroom, and a desk which she stored her laptop and school books. Though she did appreciate the privacy she felt more at ease now that wasn't trapped in a room with other people.
More meetings followed as they discussed her debut. One person pushed for her to be more of a vocalist while one pushed for her to be more of a rapper. They managed to decide on a hip-hop type of debut concept, but that was only the first step in a long line of decisions.
Minju agreed to everything, but she only wanted one exception. She wanted to visit her brother's group video filming at least once, and she wanted to be there for their debut stage. She didn't want to miss it for the world because her brother was one of the people who she found most inspiring. Despite their petty sibling fights, she admired him a lot for how hardworking and determined he was. After all the lineup changes his group went through he still had a positive attitude.
The more time that passed, the more excited she got. She told Yoongi who told Namjoon and in turn told their parents. She got a call from her very excited mother and that made this whole struggle seem worth it. She was becoming a daughter her mother would be proud of.
