Chapter Text
Harry was just fifteen when he joined the company. He had been learning to dance for a few years prior, and some kids at school had suggested that he join a company in passing, and just a few weeks later he had the opportunity through a scouting programme, or whatever they called it. Jaemin had been more excited than himself, and Kyungmin had practically forced him to return the call. Brave entertainment was their name, apparently, but the name of the company wasn't what was important to him, he was just pleased that he'd received the call in the first place. It didn't take long for him to accept the offer, all of the encouragement from the kids around him made him more excited for the opportunity. According to the lovely lady on the phone, his first few weeks or months at the company he would be able to commute, since he was so young, which he was secretly thankful for. At such a young age, it was hard to comprehend moving so far away from his home, school and parents to chase a dream he had only discovered recently.
His first day was awfully nerve wrecking, a man called Jungmin, who was an older staff member at the company, showed him around the building and what rooms he would likely frequent the most. Harry also received his schedule.
"You will be attending dance and vocal lessons five days a week, to begin with, and we will go from there. All lessons are after school, so you have time to commute, but if you decide to stick with us then this will change as you attend a school closer to the building." Jungmin stated coolly. Harry's eyes widened a fraction hearing such a drastic change, but he simply nodded politely in response, hands folded in front of himself nervously.
After the quick tour around the building, Harry was led to the cafeteria. He was thankful that lunches were provided for him, since he didn't have much money in his savings and his parents, despite being supportive of his decisions, didn't have the funding to pay for both his travel and lunches every day, alongside paying for his education. Harry was simply glad that they had encouraged him to follow his dreams, instead of worrying about his grades. His Dad said that he was talented enough to do what he liked, and his Mum had attended every dance performance since he started at twelve.
The cafeteria wasn't too busy, but there were quite a few people around the tables, chatting to each other. He hadn't really been introduced to any of the other trainees, and so he searched the room for anyone who could potentially be training with him. There was a guy near the center of the room who was surrounded by people, and he smiled brightly and laughed loudly at the other male who had spoken. He looked very outgoing, and Harry wasn't ready for that so he situated himself at an empty space near the door of the room. He finished his lunch quickly and attempted to tidy his plate as fast as he could, but due to his nervousness the plate had somehow slid off the tray which he was holding and fell onto the floor with a crash. It may have been the longest and most awkward silence that Harry had experienced, though it was probably just a moment in reality that second felt like torture to the kid. He quickly crouched down and attempted to clear up the mess he had made, but a young guy with green hair, around the same height as himself if not slightly shorter, walked over with some appliances and helped him sweep up the shattered porcelain. Harry admired the way he casually helped him, though he kept on spouting apologies and bowing lowly, and though he never said so, Harry found that admirable.
"Thank you, I'm sorry... The plate just fell- It fell off the... Umm..." He rambled, embarrassed that this would be his first impression to these people. He, at this point, actively considered never returning to the company and living his life in seclusion as to avoid ever being perceived by these people again. Whilst in his self deprecating train of thought, another guy had walked over and placed his hand on his shoulder. This one had black hair, and was taller than himself.
"Hello, I've never seen you before." He stated with a light hearted smile on his face.
Harry grimaced. "Yes, this is my first day." The other patted him on the shoulder and waved over another red haired guy.
"I'm Changmin, and this is Gwanghyun" He pointed at the other, who waved. "We all call him K though."
"I'm Harry June" He responded.
The pair glanced at each other. "Is that your real name? Are you from America?"
Harry simply chuckled lightly and shook his head. "No, my Mum just liked Harry Potter when I was born." He smiled, more at ease than he was earlier.
"How old are you Harry-ssi?" Gwanghyun asked curiously.
"I'm fifteen. 2004."
The other two looked shocked at this, "Really? Woah- I think he is the youngest trainee. I'm 23 and K is 21, our maknae is Yuku but he is 17. He will be happy that he isn't the youngest anymore..." The latter half seemed like the elder was talking to himself moreso than Harry. After this, the two had dragged him to sit with them at the table, even though he had finished eating. The guy from earlier who had taken his tray and the trash away had not returned, but he was still happy to have met at least two people he would be training with. He began calling them hyung by the end of the conversation, after their insistence and stubborn belief that they were close enough to be informal now.
The next few days went similarly, Harry had been introduced to his vocal and dance teachers, and he had met Yuku, who was closest to himself in age. The boy was very bright and positive, and even though he wasn't all too fluent in Korean it was easy and fun to talk to him. It was surprising how few trainees that were in the same bracket as himself, only nine after he had joined. He had learned that the loud person from the cafeteria on the first day was actually Heechan, and Harry found the guy hilarious. He was constantly lifting the atmosphere when others were quiet, and he enjoyed dancing as much as himself, as it seemed.
On the fifth day was when he encountered the green haired person who had helped him on day one. It was his first official dance lesson, having been caught up on what they were practicing at the moment, and getting a handle on how to practice in a professional way. Changmin spotted Harry loitering at the entrance of the practice room, and practically dragged him towards the others.
"Guys-" He called out loudly. "Listen for a second." They all turned towards the eldest.
"This is Harry, he joined the company on Monday, I know some of you have met him already." And gestured towards himself to continue speaking.
He bowed politely before starting. "Hello, I'm Han Harry June, and I'm fifteen years old. Nice to meet you."
They responded with a chorus of greetings and some who he had not yet met moved forward to introduce themselves. There was Lune, a guy who seemed pretty quiet and shy, but smiled very kindly. Teo was kind, and very tall, he noted, there was Junseo, whose shoulders were so broad that they may have been double that of Harry's. Despite this, he was only three years older than him. The final introduction was Dongil, the cold looking guy with green hair that Harry had only encountered once before.
"Hello, I'm Dongil, I'm 21 and I hope we can work well together." The short introduction was quite cold, but Harry still respected it nonetheless and smiled brightly with a bow. He was about to thank the other for the incident prior but by the time he looked up, Dongil was walking away towards the front to lead the practice.
It went quite smoothly, Harry enjoyed the atmosphere that group dance practice created, and since there was no dance teacher present today they were more relaxed. It was not something Harry was used to, any dances he had participated in was completed by beginner middle schoolers like himself, and so it proved more of a challenge than he expected. He observed Junseo and Heechan dancing in awe, they added their own style into their moves, and it was interesting to see the different moves they expressed in such contrasting ways that somehow worked so well together. Dongil was a dancer who led the practice, and though he didn't show much of his moves, the ones that Harry saw had him excitedly watching in respect. He expressed versatility and pure talent, and in a way Harry saw a similar style to himself in the other, though it was way more developed than his own. Dongil didn't acknowledge the younger much throughout practice, only offering a few glances when he spotted Harry replicating the moves he made sporadically. It was a habit that many found obnoxious in Harry, the way he copied others behaviour unconsciously. Be that when speaking, dancing or eating. His parents said it was because he was young and always eager to learn from his elders, but an elder dancer at school had found it to be mocking and glared at Harry so hard he never hung around him again.
After a few days of the same, it was exhausting, Harry discovered. After a long day at school and studying, it was difficult to maintain an enthusiastic exterior during practice, and he felt his eyes drooping by the end. Changmin had laughed and walked away, but Junseo shook his shoulders in a teasing manner.
"Hyung, please..." It felt too natural calling the others Hyung despite the friendship being very short. Junseo didn't mind, however.
"It's OK Harry, Hyung will wake you up." The taller stated, shaking him even harder, making Harry give in and laugh. He stepped away after a second to walk away, looking for a space on the floor to sit down. He situated himself in the back corner away from the group, beside their coats and bags, only intending to catch his breath before resuming practice. He barely noticed when his eyes began to droop and he fell into a sleep moments after sitting down, sat upright with his head slumped.
He wasn't sure how long he remained in the slumber before slowly coming to awareness.
"I know, Chan, but we are behind already. We can't let him sleep forever, he needs to get used to it." It sounded like Dongil, and the annoyed tone made Harry open his eyes more quickly. He felt concern hit him almost immediately, upset that he had already caused his senior disappointment by falling asleep. Harry pulled himself to his feet, eyes swollen and still half asleep and he stepped over towards the group to rejoin them.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep." He bowed, keeping a polite expression and making sure to direct his apology towards Dongil. He didn't receive a response from the elder but Lune nodded at him and nudged him back towards his position. Harry couldn't shake off the upset he felt knowing that he had unknowingly caused the unofficial leader more issues than he already had. He vowed to himself at that moment that he would never disappoint the older, who he looked up to.