MICHAENG : FAKE AND TRUE

3- TRAINEE FLASHBACK

-Flashback-

Everyday is just the same day for a trainee. They go to the company as early as 10 am and stay as late as midnight. If they're still studying, they head over as soon as class is finished and stay in the practise room. They have a strict timeline that they have to follow every day for up to six days a week. There's a time table on the wall too, that's for the week or the month. They would take lessons that are scheduled. Their daily schedule is packed with classes that range from the standard vocal, rap, and dance lessons to personal training, language, and musical instruments. It will be more tense at the end of the month, when they need to sit for their monthly evaluation. It sounds hectic, but that's the fact of their lives.

"Did anyone see Son Chaeyoung? I haven't seen him for days already. " Jihyo asked the other trainees right after they finished their dance. They are now weakly sitting on the wood tiles and panting. Some of them also lie down on the cold floor due to tiredness.

Somi nonchalantly replies back to Jihyo, "No, I also didn't see him around, unnie."

It's strange that Son Chaeyoung didn't pay a visit to them. Normally, he would show up and catch up with others before beginning his schedule as a trainee, and then he would return to get Jihyo, Nayeon, and Jeongyeon and walk with them to their dorms, finishing another hectic day. They apparently have a different training session for male and female trainees. They are trained separately, but doesn't mean that the boundary forbids them from making a bond. JYP trainees are close to each other, like one big family.

They are now getting ready to close the day. "Let's go jeongyeon-aaa," Jihyo said as she waited for Jeongyeon to tie her shoes' laces.

"Where's Nayeon unnie?" Jeongyeon peeks out from behind Jihyo.

"She's waiting outside." Jihyo replied.

Jeongyeon stood up, bluntly stamping a few times on the floor to adjust her shoes. They are the last people to get out of the room, so they turn off all the switches and close the door.

"Didn't you guys think it was weird?" Jihyo squinted her eyes and scratched her chin like a detective as she walked alongside Nayeon and Jeongyeon.

"Maybe he's sick?" Nayeon could figure out that Jihyo was talking about Chaeyoung, who suddenly disappeared for days.

"But he will tell us if he is sick. You know, he's a pampered kid, always nagging and complaining to us about his day and also his weird behaviour, talking to himself alone" Jihyo rolled her eyes, but she was thinking back, finding Chaeyoung was cute in that way. Even though Son Chaeyoung is the same age as she is, she acts like Chaeyoung's older sister, or maybe Chaeyoung is the one who acts like a baby.

"Let's go, guys" Jeongyeon suddenly grabs their wrists and starts heading somewhere.

"Where are we going, Yoo Jeongyeon!?" Nayeon shouted in surprise due to Jeongyeon's sudden gesture.

"Find an answer" Jeongyeon uttered, giving a small glance to Nayeon.

Nayeon, Jeongyeon, and Jihyo have been good friends since they almost debuted as a 3mix. But unfortunately, the company delayed their debut to some extent. Those three were dubbed "legend trainees" because they were the longest trainees to be trained in JYP. A new trainee may believe they are already an artist just by looking at their skills and appearance. Jihyo joined the company at a very young age. She was well known among JYP artists, and they usually called her "JYP's little princess." Nayeon joined Jihyo afterward, and lastly, Jeongyeon. How can they become close to Chaeyoung? It's because Chaeyoung is JYP's nephew, but JYP declared Chaeyoung as his foster child. He has been following JYP to the company frequently since he was young, and he was also one of the trainees. Chaeyoung loves to keep his profile low about his relationship with JYP, and only a long-trained trainee knows about him. That's why he kept in close touch with 3mix, as he was comfortable with them.

Those three have now arrived in front of the male dorms. "You sure he's inside?" Jihyo lifted her head, looking up at the building in front of them.

"I don't know either." Jeongyeon crossed her arms and looked up at the building too.

"Yaaa!!!!! We might get caught being here at this time" Nayeon uttered, showing her anger while slapping Jeongyeon's shoulder.

"Shhhh" Jeongyeon said, raising her palms to cover Nayeon's mouth.

Jihyo looked around subtly, ignoring the two fighting. Jeongyeon took a step into the building, leaving the other two dumbfounded.

"Ahh Yoo Jeongyeon!!" Nayeon's whisper was clear enough to be heard.

"Let's go, unnie" Jihyo held Nayeon's arms tightly and bent a little bit to cross the guard.

Before they could move "Jihyo? Nayeon?" Someone startled them from behind. Those two jumped, let out a little scream, and then slowly turned their backs.

"Yaaa!! It surprised me" Nayeon gasped while she put her palms on her chest.

"Hehehe, I'm sorry, what are you guys doing here anyway? Looking for something?"

Jackson furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, looking at those two who looked like they had just come out of a haunted house, sweat all over their foreheads.

"We are looking for Chaeyoung. Do you see him? " Jeongyeon showed up out of nowhere and stood beside Nayeon, startling those two again. Nayeon spontaneously slapped her on the shoulder.

Jackson couldn't erase his smile looking at those three. "Ahhh, Chaeyoung?"

"Yep, Son Chaeyoung," Jihyo nods and reassures. "It's been a while since we didn't see him around."

Jackson's expression is puzzled by Jihyo's statement. He appears to be hesitant to ask them "Didn't he tell you that he'd already quit the company?"

Author's note :

Again, sorry for my grammar and vocabulary mistakes. It seems like the flashback is really long, but it's now slowly disassembling who Son Chaeyoung is and who Justine Park is.

I'm going to do a short continuation for this flashback just to get into our Michaeng moment faster!!! I'm also excited about MiChaeng's moment !!

Stay tuned!