Author's Note: This story was inspired by a long time thought I've had about the K-Pop industry. So many kids are blinded/enamored by the allure of being an 'idol' but so many sacrifices and struggles come with it. What if one of the F4 kids decides to want to take the plunge too? Would the parentals permit this? Just my take on this ^^

**This fic was written wayyy before my current WINNER obsession... imagine my delight when I realized which name I chose for YJ/GE's middle son ^^ And kinda poignant as well seeing as he is in a k-pop group!

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

...

Point One: How Many Times Can I Say No?

It was just another average afternoon for Ga Eul, who was on the way home after picking her youngest daughter, Mi Sun, up from elementary school. The little girl was in the midst of reading out a poem she had written for her language class.

"...As high as the stars are above / We must continue to reach for them / because it is only then / will we truly be able to do what we love. The End."

"My, that was lovely!" Ga Eul beamed as she turned into the driveway. "Your writing is improving in leaps and bounds, Mi Sun-ah!"

"I have a good teacher," Mi Sun replied modestly as she put her notebook carefully back into her haversack, "Mdm Kwon is very helpful."

It's hard to believe this girl is only ten years old, Ga Eul mused to herself as she got out of the car, She's growing up faster every day.

"Is appa home?" Mi Sun asked, slamming the door of the car, "I want to read him my poem too."

Ga Eul paused to search for the house keys in her handbag. "He should be. He finished work early and went to pick Tae Hyun up after his soccer training. So they should already..."

She paused upon hearing what seemed to be shouting, coming from inside the house. Without hesitating, Ga Eul hurriedly pulled the keys out of her bag and rushed to the front door, with Mi Sun at her heels.

...

"But appa..."

"I've already said no, Tae Hyun-ah."

"But appa..."

"No means NO, Tae Hyun!"

"But APPA..."

"SO TAE HYUN! NO MEANS-"

"What's going on here?"

The two men arguing in the living room paused to look at the confused ladies standing at the door. Tae Hyun's eyes lit up at the sight of his mother.

"Ommaaaa!" he yelled, jumping on and over the leather couch to reach the front door, giving his mother an over-enthusiastic hug. Yi Jeong nursed the bridge of his nose at the sight of his exuberant teenage son and sighed.

"Wow! It's nice to be home too!" Ga Eul laughed, patting her son on the back. She pulled him away and tapped him on the nose with a knowing look. "Did you fail your maths finals again?"

Tae Hyun gasped and pretended to stab his own heart with an imaginary knife. "Oh, woe is me..." he moaned theatrically, "My own mother, doubting my sincerity..."

"I told you not to send him for these drama classes," Yi Jeong groused as Ga Eul lead both children (one being her pseudo-sobbing elder son) into the living room. "Now we have an over-dramatic boy on our hands. "

Ga Eul laughed, "He gets his dramatic flair from you, Jeong-ah." She walked over to cozy up next to her husband on the armchair, and he gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Mine was all natural." he said in jest, "And in any case, I had it under control most of the time."

"Most of the time when alcohol's not involved." Ga Eul replied, scrunching her nose.

"Omma..." came a squeaky voice from the opposite side of the room.

"Yes, Mi Sun?"

"Oppa is hugging me too tightly."

Both parents turned to find a dreamy-looking So Tae Hyun with a goofy smile on his face, bear-hugging his little sister, who was gulping in air in between breaths.

Ga Eul sternly eyed her elder boy. "Let your sister go, Hyun."

"Sorry," the lanky boy said sheepishly, as he let his younger sister go, patting her on the head. "ANYWAY! I have some great news, omma!"

"Here we go again..." Yi Jeong muttered. He was about to tell his son off again, but his wife covered his mouth with her hand just in time.

"Yes, son," she smiled genially, "Let's hear it."

Tae Hyun took in a deep breath.

"So I've been having these dance lessons at school right? Hip-hop and street dancing and all that. Anyway there's been this weird guy who's been coming in to watch our practices but he never talks to anyone besides our trainer and then he just leaves. Which is super weird but anyway today at school this guy came to our practice session again and made an announcement that he is a SCOUT FROM AN ENTERTAINMENT AGENCY and that he's been looking out for NEW DANCING TALENT for A NEW BOY BAND and he's GOING TO AUDITION SOME PEOPLE IN THE CLASS based on what he'd observed over the last few lessons... AND GUESS WHAT?" Tae Hyun paused to pant, beating his chest.

"Omo omo omo!" Ga Eul clapped in excitement, bouncing in her seat next to her husband, "Have you been asked to audition, Hyun-ah!"

"YES!"

There was an explosion of squeals as mother and son jumped out of their respective seats to do a spontaneous celebratory dance around the coffee table, hopping around and singing 'Congratuations! Congratulations!' over again. Mi Sun bounced solo on the couch, almost threatening to bounce off at any moment.

Only one party pooper remained grouchily in his seat, his arms folded, until he could hold in his displeasure no longer.

"NO!" Yi Jeong stood up in frustration, his booming authoritative voice bringing the revelers back down to earth. At that, Ga Eul straightened herself out and smoothed out Tae Hyun's uniform sleeves before they both sat down on the same couch. Mi Sun stopped bouncing on the couch, bouncing back into a sitting position.

"Oh, and did I forget to mention one thing?" Tae Hyun stage whispered to his mother, "There's just one little problem..."

"...who may be the only one against this... unnecessary brouhaha, but I certainly do have my reasons!" the older man said loudly, making his point. He paced up and down the length of the living room as the rest of his family watched him with mixed feelings.

"Let's hear them, appa?" Mi Sun chirped from behind him.

Yi Jeong turned around to face the opposition with drooped shoulders.

"Not you too, baby pearl?"

Mi Sun shrugged. "I just want to hear both sides of the story, that's all, appa."

"Fine," Yi Jeong replied evenly, "That's fair enough. I'll start, then."

The head of the So family went back to his seat on the opposite couch, sat back down, and stared at his son for a moment, before making his opening statement.

"You're too young." he said plainly.

Tae Hyun threw his arms up in the air in exasperation.

"See! That's all he says! I'm too young, I'm too young... NO I'M NOT! There are so many more idols who started training younger than me! I'm 18! That's already considered old!"

"Pre-cise-ly!" Yi Jeong replied, tapping on the coffee table at each syllable, "You're 18! At 18 you should be getting ready for your college entrance exams! Not... thinking about dancing or singing or that kind of useless thing."

Tae Hyun gasped. "U-useless? I don't call your playing with clay all day 'useless', so don't go ragging on my interests, appa!"

"Okay, boys!" Ga Eul stood, unable to tolerate the argument any longer, "That is enough! Look, this isn't getting anywhere, so can we please let it sit for tonight?"

But Yi Jeong didn't seem anywhere close to done. "Fine, your interests aren't useless. But you don't know just how hard it is to be in the entertainment business..."

"But look how cool LYNX-hyung is in his band!" Tae Hyun insisted, referring to the frontman of his favorite band, Sabre. "I want to be just like him if I join 5STRONG..."

Mi Sun looked confused. "5...STRONG?"

"It's the name of the boyband," Tae Hyun informed his sister proudly, "5 STars Reeling On Greatness."

"5STRONG!?" Yi Jeong sputtered, "What kind of a name is that? It sounds like a bodybuilding group, the kind that wears skimpy suits on stage... or WORSE, the Korean version of the Chippendales!"

"What's Chippendales, omma? Is that a new version of Chip 'N Dale? Ooh, I love that cartoon..." Mi Sun grinned, clapping her hands in delight. Tae Hyun just rolled his eyes at his father's snide remark.

"Ah, no darling, but your father will not be mentioning this word ever again in this house!" Ga Eul said pointedly, glaring at Yi Jeong, who sighed.

"Look, my point is that these things don't come easy, Tae Hyun-ah. I know you look at all these idol groups and think they are so fantastic and they are so cool... but they work really hard, and they train long hours. Do you think you can take that? You can't even get your studies right at the moment!"

"Are you saying that I can't, appa?" Tae Hyun retorted, "Do you have that little faith in me?"

Yi Jeong folded his arms again. "It's not you I don't have faith in, it's..."

"Forget it," the teenager replied icily, "Just forget I ever mentioned this at all."

Tae Hyun grabbed his backpack from the floor, storming out of the living room and up the stairs to his room, leaving the rest of the family in the wake of what had just taken place.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Yi Jeong cleared his throat, acting as if nothing unusual had happened.

"Dinner, anyone?"