{hiatus - im sorry} "Are you alright?" - SEVENTEEN SEUNGCHEOL FANFICTION

Chapter 6

"Pledis... what?" you stammer. Surely you heard wrong.

"Pledis, the company I'm signed to," explains Seungcheol, "They pay for our food and accommodation. They want you out."

You blink a couple of times, taking in the information.

"They... they want me to leave?"

Seungcheol sighs heavily and nods. He's trembling a little. Just a little. "Will you be alright?" he asks. His voice remains a little shaky.

You sigh. "Sure I will. I was managing before, right? And now I can actually see..."

He nods. You push up your glasses with one finger, looking at him with pity. He's stopped shaking, but still looks worried. You feel your own arms shaking a little. You close your eyes. You shouldn't cry.

You feel Seungcheol's warm arms wrap around you and pull you close to him. He feels safe and steady. He's warm. You inhale a vague aroma of... green tea. That's Seungcheol.

"Am I interrupting anything...?"

You look up to see Hansol in the doorway. You sigh. "I have to leave," you tell him.

"Wha..? Why?! Why are you leaving? Is it--" Seungcheol cuts him off.

"Pledis," he says, "Pledis doesn't want her to stay with us."

Hansol's face morphs from shock into helplessness. "They can't do that. They can't," he says, "Where will she go?"

"I'll survive," you reassure him, "don't worry!" You smile your best smile, partly to reassure him and partly to reassure yourself.

"Good luck..." he says.

"Thanks," you reply, taking his hand and squeezing it. He smiles a little.

After saying your goodbyes to the rest of Seventeen, you find yourself walking the streets of Seoul. Alone. Again. You sigh. You should've known it was too good to be true. At least you can see now, and you're relatively clean, with clean clothes. Perhaps you can get a job...

Who are you kidding. You didn't even finish high school, let alone get any qualifications warranting an actual job. You sigh, your eyes starting to tear up. Your only friends in the world, and you had to leave. Maybe you can still be friends, but it seems awfully unlikely. They're idols. You're homeless.

"Hey, excuse me?" You look up. A well-dressed woman looks back at you. "Do you mind telling me how old you are?"

"Excuse me?" you say, confused.

She laughs a little. "Your age. I want to know your age?"

"Wha- who are you?"

"I'm a scout from SM entertainment," she says, her voice quickly losing it's element of amusement, "are you going to give me your age?"

Your eyes widen. "S-SM...?" you stutter, quickly realizing what's happening. "Oh, ah, yes, I'm 17."

"Oh, cool," she replies, "ever thought about auditioning for SM? We hold auditions every weekend." She hands you a card. "I'd love to see you there."

"O-ok..." you stammer as she walks away. You? Audition for SM? You'd never thought about it before. You look down at the card she's given you. It looks a bit like a business card, with 'SM Entertainment' written across the top, and an address. Huh.

You begin to think about what an audition might mean. A job. A place to stay, food to eat. A place in SM is starting to sound like a pretty good bet. Auditions every weekend, the woman had said. That gives you 5 days...