When Felix made it out of his first day at the academy, he was alarmingly exhausted but pleased as a punch. To say that the day went well would be unjust, it was earnestly delightful.
The studio was 7 stories tall, dark gray, sleek, modern architecture with huge windows panning the front side in symmetrical rows. A grand entrance with minimal signage, surrounded by paved paths and flowerbeds.
He had led himself in, trying in vain to keep the awe off his face. The security had greeted him but he was too highly strung to greet him back. The reception area was so brightly lit, he had to squint and blink himself out of the blinding stupor before scanning it once to notice the luxurious seating with plush couches and dark elegant coffee tables that had far too sharp ends, he would definitely bump his knees into. Instead, he had spun around and approached the reception desk, shining with polished wood. The man behind the desk had given him the best customer service, lips stretched into the thin polite smile that Felix knew was uncomfortable to brave so many times a day considering the amount of people milling around.
"Hi, I am Lee Felix. One of the scholarship students from Australia." he had smiled feebly, mentally imagining knocking his head into the sturdy looking desk at the awkward way he had introduced himself. He was pretty sure he had been grammatically incorrect too. But the man, Jaehyun, from his nametag, had only nodded and greeted him back.
"Hello, Felix-ssi. I was waiting for you. Your other friend showed up just not too long ago." Ni-ki was already here? Well, damn, he had gotten tardy because of that fleeting love story plot that had bloomed in his heart back at the cafe.
Jaehyun had then proceeded to register his name in, give him his id card, his schedule, the batch details he was in, the teachers he was being mentored under and the brochures of many workshops that were to be held soon. The earliest being 2 weeks later for an entertainment company CEUBE. He wondered if he could shoot his shot that quickly.
Most of it was paid for, but he had extra amenities he could access by sliding in some bills, like a personal locker, shower stall, and the privilege of getting to rent one of the soundproof studios for as many hours as he wanted. He had decided to think about it and get back to Jaehyun later.
After that, one of the trainees in his batch had been called down, Yeonjun. Jaehyun had introduced them and then ushered them away for a tour, after giving the other a warning to be nice ("I'm always nice, what do you mean?" Yeonjun had scoffed.)
The second they had been inside the elevator though, Yeonjun had turned to him with sparkly interested eyes and Felix had thought 'Uh-oh'.
The very next hour, as they had walked inside the studio that was occupied for their batch 'Harmony-C', he had been adopted.
There was no other word.
He had trudged inside, head full of thoughts in pros of spending a little of his savings because the thought of the half an hour travel it would take for him to get home and shower was starting to sound ridiculous when he could just as easily shower after every session in the academy itself.
And then the room had erupted in coos and catcalls.
He had looked up, startled with the noise, and found himself with an eyeful of grinning maniacs.
"Hello." the shrieky greeting had him paling down to his boots, his mind conjuring up haunting images that Yeonjun, bless his heart, had led him into a persecution.
He had glanced around, panicked and anxious in a room full of strange guys, caught sight of a grinning Ni-ki and thought 'oh, well, friendship rights revoked if he lets them bully me'.
