Disclaimer: This storyline is entirely fictional although it includes real people and characters.
Name: Won Changyoung
Nickname: ChangChang, Changyoungie
Age: 13
Nationality: Korean
Height: 172 cm (5'8")
Weight: 55 kg (121 lbs)
Chapter 7: Lie
Practice started straight away. Every morning, they all went to dance practice to be taught by the instructor. The instructor was admittedly a good one, but as harsh as could be. Changyoung supposed he had to be that way. He started off the first session with an intimidating speech that Changyoung wished he didn't have to hear again. He had the boys weighed in front of each other, so everyone knew how much the other weighed.
Changyoung looked at the numbers on the scale with drooping eyes as the choreographer wrote them down. "Won Changyoung, for 177 centimeters, you're 64 kilograms. That makes you and everyone but Kwangju that need to lose weight. If you can't manage to lose the weight, you won't have the looks of an idol and won't make it through."
"Yes, sir. I'll work hard."
And he did. Half of the day was spent with dance, the other half with rap. At the end of the day, he was left with four hours to eat and sleep. Not that there was anything to eat, so that first day, the trainees got no food and little sleep.
The following days were hardly any better. The producers made the kids delete their social media accounts and hand in their phones. They were all told to wear masks when traveling between the dorm and the studio. The only time the boys got to bond was in training, but Changyoung did steadily find himself hanging around them more instead of by himself. He couldn't say he learned a single fact about anybody, but he did end up encouraging some others more and more. Jungkook, on the other, only drifted further away, and Changyoung did nothing to bring him back.
It was the second day when the boys finally got access to food. Steven gave them specific meals tailored to them at the beginning and end of the day that they got to eat on the studio floor. Changyoung noticed he wasn't the only one to not be given food that first morning, and at night, he only received a sweet potato.
With strict management like this, his weight dropped quickly. He noticed too how Jungkook looked less muscular than usual. Even Kwangju, who had started off skinny and didn't need to lose weight, was looking thinner. Not a single boy received more than two pieces of food a day.
It was the third week there when someone decided he'd had enough. The boys in the rapper room woke up to an empty bed. Namjoon was the first to notice. In his tired state, he woke the others. "Hey, guys, where's Donghyuk-hyung?" he asked.
Rubbing at his eyes, Changyoung climbed out of bed to find that there was no Donghyuk in bed. They checked the other rooms, waking the vocalists as well, but no luck.
"It's not like he could've gone to the studio," Hyosang said. "There's CCTV outside the dorm. Someone would've noticed."
"Maybe he ran away," Heonkyun suggested. Kwangju frowned, putting a hand on his shoulder.
Namjoon instantly turned to him. "Hey, hyung would never do that. He's been here for so long he wouldn't quit before first evaluation. Watch what you say."
Hoseok walked over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Listen, we can't do anything about it anyway until Steven-hyung gets here. We can ask him."
Everyone else nodded their agreement. "So let's all go and get ready like normal," Seokjin said. "It's morning anyway."
Again they all agreed and took turns in the one bathroom to shower and use the restroom. It was a little before five a.m. when they were all done, so they only had to wait a few minutes before Steven arrived.
Namjoon was quick to go up to him. "Hyung, where's Hyuk-hyung?" he asked quickly.
Steven ignored him. "Everyone, to the van. We'll be meeting with Bang PD-nim first."
It was a silent ride filled with leg tapping, knuckle cracking, and staring. When they reached the studios, they went up to an office and sat down at a long table where Bang was already waiting for them.
"I'm sure you've all noticed that Supreme Boi isn't with you," Bang said. His folded hands tightened. "Last night he informed the staffs that he no longer wished to participate in training. He told us why but asked not to repeat it to you. So early this morning, he left the dorm, and he will not be reuturning." He paused, letting his hands loosen, as he looked at a note on his desk. "He did ask to tell you something. He said, 'Tell them not to follow in my footsteps if it wasn't their dream from the start. Those boys have a goal, and I shouldn't be the one to change that.'"
The room was quiet. All twitching and fidgeting stopped. Every trainee hung his head, eyes closed or focused on the glass table in front of him. Changyoung swore he wouldn't cry, and he didn't. But he'd be damned if Namjoon were to say he didn't cry. Bang and Steven left the room so the boys could be alone. Hoseok, Seokjin, and Kwangju went straight over to Namjoon, hugging him and saying it'd be all right.
Frankly, Changyoung wasn't so sure they were right, and he thought they knew it too. Every trainee knew at this point it was a blatant lie that everything was going to be okay, and only some of them were content with living that lie.
When they got home at the end of the day, Namjoon was first to notice that Donghyuk's things were all gone.
