Belated Bloom - Lay (EXOxLay)

Meeting An Angel - Part II

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Kim Jongin found life to be very frustrating. From a young age, his mother had forced him to keep his hair long and permed, which caused many annoying misunderstandings in the restroom and even among his friends. They didn't bully him really, but sometimes their pranks and jokes went a little too far, which can hurt the fragile pride and confidence of a child.

So as Jongin grew older he became more closed off and shy- sure he had his friends still but he always felt he needed something else, something fulfilling in his life. That something came in the form of a paper smacking him in the face one blustery day in late March. For a moment, he thought he had gone blind but the crackling of the straining paper soon clued him in to the silly reality of his situation.

After reaching up and crumpling the offending paper, he had nearly cast it aside but paused after seeing the image of a small shoe-clad foot near one of the edges. Wondering if it was possibly a missing person's notice, Jongin carefully smoothed the paper out on his thigh to reveal two dancing figures and a notice about a new ballet studio just down the road from his school.

The figures looked very elegant to Jongin and dancing had always been a fun past time for him, plus his mother and father had been constantly badgering him to find a healthy hobby instead of playing video games with his friends. So, on a whim he decided to visit the studio and from that day on he visited nearly every day after school. His parents, thrilled he had found a healthy way to spend his time, dished out the money for his lessons and studio time. Jongin progressed quickly and impressed his teachers with his natural skills and strength.

By the time he reached twelve years of age his instructors were urging him to compete, and his parents kept mentioning auditions for companies to "secure his future" (or some nonsense like that). Being a child, Jongin didn't really care for the money and was more interested in possibly competing, until one day his father offered him something much more tempting than an award.

"Jongin-ah, I know you said you didn't want to audition but please listen to me one last time, I have a very good proposition for you this time" his father had stared at him solemnly and waited for an answer.

"Abeoji~" Jongin whined, "I just don't wanna do it." His father raised a hand to silence him.

"Just hear me out, your mother and I have agreed that" he paused, " If you go to the SM audition next week, we will get you a Nintendo." Now that caught his attention.

Jongin sat in shock for a few moments. He really wanted that Nintendo but he didn't really want to audition...

"Fine" he sighed after a pause, "I'll do it, but only for the Nintendo".

So as promised he showed up to the audition and performed an original piece he had been working on for competition, then he left and thought nothing of it except his new Nintendo.

Then something unexpected happened, 2 weeks after his audition he was called by Lee Soo Man himself and was asked to join him and the current SM CEO Kim Young-Min in his office the next week to sign a contract with SM Entertainment. Jongin was intrigued that they had liked him and called him personally but wasn't sure he had the confidence to be an idol...in the end though, he accepted Lee Soo Man-nim's offer and decided not to look back.

At first, he had been intimidated by the other trainees but five of them debuted in a group called Shinee just after he had joined their ranks. Sadly, his new dance buddy Taemin-hyung debuted with Shinee as well, so all he really had was Junmyeon-hyung to hang out with in the dorms or at the studio.