She's NCT's Everything

Her First Year

Moving to a country halfway around the world at the age of ten was normal, though not if you went alone. It was lonely, and scary, looking out the window as the skyline of your hometown grew smaller and smaller, and landing in a strange city, not being able to speak the language. That was what was happening now, as she got out of the taxi and looked at the tall building shadowing her. SM Entertainment. A place where young hopefuls go after passing auditions, praying they'll be chosen to debut in the next group and fulfill their dreams of becoming a star. An idol.

Becoming a trainee was terrifying. The continuous tests, practices, and lessons being taught at a speed most ten years old could not comprehend. She trained with girls around her age, though a couple were teenagers already. She didn't get along well with them for some reason, as whenever she would try to talk to them, they would walk away from her in groups. She blamed it on the tension and competitive environment they were placed in, she guessed no one wanted the youngest trainee to beat them at anything, let alone befriend them. So she continued training alone for about a year, taking vocal lessons, dancer techniques, and language lessons, trying to expand her knowledge from just English and Chinese.

There was no easy way to say it. She was getting lonely, homesick and tired of being cooped up in the company's building, limited to only the spaces she was allowed in and the dormitory she shared with the other female trainees. On the other hand, she was improving well, scoring better grades during evaluations then last year. Usually, she would leave right after morning practice to the cafeteria on the second floor, but today felt a little different. Like something was telling her not to go. So she stayed behind while everyone cleared out of the joint practice room they shared with the male trainees, packing up her bags slowly before making her way down the hall. A boy was standing in the middle of it, getting a harsh scolding from one of their teachers. She recognized the boy as the famous Lee Taeyong, a legend amongst her fellow trainees. Everyone knew about the boy, though rumors have gotten around he was cold-hearted and didn't mix well with the other males around him. Nevertheless, he was one of the most talented trainees SM had in a while. She didn't mean to eavesdrop, but the words flowed easily into her ears.

"You haven't been practicing hard enough Taeyong-ah!" The teacher was yelling at Taeyong, who was looking down at the floor. She frowned when the teacher continued to yell a string of words that she couldn't understand. Her Korean skills were still terrible despite living here for a year already. Taeyong said something so quiet in response that she could barely hear it. "I'm sorry sir. I'll practice harder."

"You do that boy, and get your head out of the clouds. We need a leader not a dreamer."

Taeyong left for the practice room she had just exited, and she fled down the stairs towards the cafeteria, scared of getting caught eavesdropping. He hadn't seemed cold-hearted at all, just looked practically frightened and frustrated. If their training was as brutal as hers, he must have been tired and fed up with the never ending scoldings and practices. She sat down at her usual seat next to the window and pulled out her Korean textbook, flipping to a random page, not really in the mood for studying. After a while, she looked up at the clock to realize thirty minutes had past, and all she had been doing was staring at her textbook page, her mind still whirring about the conversation upstairs and the mysterious senior.

"Is this seat taken?" She looked up at the voice startled. A brown haired boy towered over her, his height contrasting with everyone around them. She recognized him as Johnny, the American that joined years before her.

"No." She kept her answer simple, careful not to say something wrong in Korean. He sat down next to her, leaning over to see what she was doing.

"You're not from here are you?" She guessed he assumed since she was studying Korean.

"No. I'm from Canada."

The boy looked delighted, and switched quickly to English. So quickly her brain could almost not comprehend his next words.

"That's great! That makes three of us now, English speakers I mean." The once familiar languages sounded almost foriegn in her ears.

"Three?" From what she could tell, there were only two of them here. Johnny looked surprised she didn't know.

"There's Mark too. He arrived a couple weeks ago actually. From Canada." He looked at her, as if waiting for a reaction.

"He's from Canada?!" Words had never sounded sweeter. A potential friend! Finally.

Johnny looked at her grinning. "I can introduce you guys if you want, how about after evaluations next week? We're having joint evals that day right?"

"Yup. I'll meet you guys at the courtyard then." She got up to leave for her next class.

"Hold on." Johnny got up from his seat as well. "I'm Johnny," He stuck his hand out for a handshake. "I never got your name, mystery trainee."

She took his large hand in hers and shook it. "I know. I'm Cyana. Nice to meet you Johnny."

He looked surprised at her words. "You know me?"

"Not personally. You're pretty famous around here." She smiled, leading the way towards the practice room. "I just knew you by reputation."

"Hm." Both Johnny and her stopped at the door to their practice room, and before she could push it open, he spoke again. "Glad I finally met you Cyana. Your reputation precedes you amongst the guys here as well." He put a hand on her shoulder. "Our youngest trainee. Take care of yourself alright?"

"I will." She smiled gratefully at him before opening the door, both of them walking in together, much to the surprise of everyone else inside. She could almost hear the outburst of the trainees. The loner maknae befriends the Chicago native. A friendship no one expected.