You’re pulled aside by a Sphere staff member early in your day, right after you finish breakfast. The reason behind this is unclear, but you’re led down Seocho’s hallways to an unfamiliar office, where a man sits. “Hello, Jeongguk-ssi,” he greets you, despite you never seeing him before. “I’m a representative of Samsung Entertainment. I’m involved in the relations between all five companies under Smasung,” he explains, and he pauses for a moment, either to let you process it or to decide how to word what comes next. “There’s a deal we’d like to offer you. NOVA Entertainment is looking to start a new generation of talented trainees following the results of the Supernova Project, and Hyunbin selected you personally. Baek Jiyoung agreed to allow this opportunity as well, after some convincing by NOVA’s CEO. Should you choose to accept this offer, your contract will be transferred to NOVA Entertainment, effective immediately. You can start training as a NOVA trainee as early as tomorrow, but if you need some time to decide, by all means.”
just as they had said, jeongguk needed some time to think on the offer.
he doesn’t live under a rock, and he’s well aware that they’re debuting two groups soon. it feels a bit strange, and jeongguk isn’t sure how many opportunities he’s going to get within nova now that the supernova project is concluded, just as the representative has said. the same could be said for sphere as well, he has to remind himself, as they’ve already debuted a boy group as well.
jeongguk likes sphere. he really, really does. he likes his friends there, he likes the atmosphere, he likes being a trainee. it’s the whole package, and so close to his ultimate goal of debuting.
and well, nova… jeongguk doesn’t know anyone in nova. nova doesn’t have yoongi, or chungha, or jimin. he’d be going in blind. although, he supposes he went into sphere blind too. he’s made a niche for himself in sphere, but jeongguk has always been adventurous, and willing to try new things.
after all, how many people can say they’ve been a trainee under two companies?
OOC NOTE: This is a special opportunity to transfer your contract to a different company. Feel free to answer this prompt with Jeongguk’s response. If this offer is accepted, Jeongguk will no longer be a Sphere trainee and will begin training under NOVA, effective immediately. Should he choose to reject this offer, he will remain a Sphere trainee. He will have up to one week to make his decision IC, meaning that if he does not make a decision by the end of JUNE 12th, he will automatically remain a trainee under Sphere.
She’s still in shock, Nova Entertainment wanted her. She had auditioned and they wanted her. She kept thinking that there had to be a mistake, there had to be some sort of error, there were a bunch of people at the audition, how could she possibly be the one that they wanted? Even now with a contract offer in a manila envelope in her hand, it seemed so unreal.
She had to go tell her mom and brother first off. She knew her mom was supportive of her dreams, always telling her to reach for the stars, her brother was as well. She came into their apartment, still having her key from when she lived there, a smile on her face and ready to share her amazing news, only to find her mother and brother in the living room, her mother teary-eyed and her brother trying to console her.
“Mom? What’s going on...?” the words came out slowly as she slid down to sit next to her on the opposite side, envelope and her bag cast aside on the floor. It was rare to see her mother like this, she was always so strong, it was very unnerving. Sejeong’s stomach dropped, expecting the worst.
“Sejeonggie...” her mother sniffled and pulled her daughter into a hug. “My branch manager informed us today that our corporate office is closing the branch...we’re all going to be out of jobs in a month...I don’t know what to do, you know how long it took me to get that job and I don’t want to move back to your aunt’s...” she started crying again and Sejeong wrapped her arms around her mother’s shoulders and rubbed her arm, giving her brother a look of thanks for taking care of her. “I don’t know what to do...the bills...”
Hugging her mother tighter, Sejeong decided there was only one thing that could be done. Her brother was in school and he couldn't afford to take time from his schedule to work and in such, she felt she had to do something to help. So, in a move that she hoped wouldn’t mean the end of her dreams, she did the only thing she could think of. She knew how dire her mom’s situation was and without her living there anymore, she didn’t have Sejeong’s money coming in, so she had to do something to help her. “I’ll ask to pick up extra work. Don’t you worry about it, okay? I’ll make sure you are taken care of, I promise...” she didn’t know if that would be enough, but she knew, especially during the upcoming season, Lotte was always looking for people to work. This, however, would mean that she couldn’t accept her contract with Nova. The news, as well as the contents of the manila envelope, went unmentioned, even when her mother pointed it out when she was about to leave.
“It’s nothing, mom. Don’t worry about it, okay? Don’t stress out too much, we don’t need you in the hospital on top of this.” she joked lovingly, giving her mother another hug. “Stay positive, we’ll make it through, we always do, don’t we?”
First thing in the morning after arriving at NOVA entertainment, you receive a message to go to the main office right away. You make your way over and, upon arrival, are sent to wait in a chair outside your CEO’s office. The NOVA you’ve come to know is never this quiet; the sounds of trainees singing and dancing and running themselves ragged a constant hum in the background. Here, far away from the training rooms, there’s nothing but an eerie near-silence punctuated by the soft ticking of a clock on the far wall tracking each long minute you’re left to wait.
Finally, you’re called into Hyun Bin’s office. He wordlessly indicates that you should sit in the empty chair across from him, next to someone you met once before- a contract lawyer. She smiles a bit and nods by way of a greeting as you take your seat.
“Has it been two years already?” your CEO begins, folding his hands in front of himself and looking directly at you. “It doesn’t seem like it.” It’s hard to tell from his tone whether he’s commenting on the swiftness of time or if he’s criticizing you for something you should be less lacking in by now.
“I don’t intend to keep you here long,” he says. “I’m sure you know why you’re here as well as she and I do.” He nods toward the lawyer and then looks down at a stack of papers on his desk. “Consider yourself lucky; as you know, we don’t ask everyone to re-sign with us. If we didn’t see potential in you, we’d have said our goodbyes already. I trust you can make the right decision.” He pushes the stack of papers toward you, along with a NOVA Entertainment branded pen.
He’s heard of what it feels like to be called into that office on D-day. Whether you consider it to stand for deadline or doom, both loom over his head as he walks over. Bowing to both is automatic, he nods and smiles, offers them greetings of good morning in English because it’s his norm. Looking at them, Rome doesn’t know if he’s glad this moment seems as serious as it is.
Once Hyunbin speaks, it’s words he expects to hear. It’s not out of arrogance that he expects it but because it’s a reminder that it’s been two years. He nods, agrees; it doesn’t seem like it.
When the contract is slid towards him, Rome doesn’t know why he’s drawn to the pen at first. It’s simple, just a pen. He’s overthinking it, spacing out, and it’s rude in front of his CEO and a lawyer. Both deserve his attention and respect but above all his acknowledgment of the offer. But his fists ball up as they rest along his thighs, pressing against the side of the chair he’s sitting in.
Lucky.
The older male is right. Rome should feel lucky but why doesn’t he? Why doesn’t he feel the way when he auditioned? When he got the phone call that he got it? Two years have passed by and how he feels has changed. It’s normal, right? After two years, feelings change, right? But his feelings went the opposite of the direction they should’ve. He practiced every day and night but his excitement is no longer there. It’s about proving himself, about keeping up, and about reaching a stage that he no longer remembers the feel of. Two years and the happiness he felt from the MGAs is gone. He’s right, feelings change but should they change this much?
The word repeats in his mind, lucky. He’s lucky to get two more years but two more years of what? Not being able to do what he loves because he doesn’t have the time. Not being able to see or work with his friends on their projects for the same damn reason. Not focusing on dancing as much as he does rapping. Not feeling like himself.
Can he do this for two more years?
He can’t.
He’s still staring at the pen when the answer comes to him. It’s branded just like him and this is his chance to remove the brand, to reclaim himself. B.Yu. It’s what he started with years ago. It’s what he auditioned with. It’s what he has to leave to find again. The same reason he left Australia is the reason he has to leave Nova now.
Maybe he was right the first time he was offered a contract. The idol life might not be for him. He has to find out again and this time he has to be sure. 100%. It wasn’t about the company or the people in it because some bonds he wanted to keep for the rest of his life but it was about him and how he wasn’t the guy he wanted to be. This isn’t him but this decision is about him now.
His hands relax and he stands from his seat, resolve keeping his posture straight when he bows deeply. Hyunbin deserves more than this, a letter like he wrote Baek Jiyoung but he doesn’t have time for it. “Thank you for everything you have done for me. This isn’t the right decision.” He’s older now, his chances are lower if he decides he does want this but he can’t do this and lose himself in the process. “But it’s the right decision for me right now. I wish everyone the best of luck. There’s a lot of good kids here. I hope I see them on stage soon.” He walks out and it’s the first step of returning to who he once was. to being B.Yu. Like he says, “no one else can do it better.”
