Tired eyes slowly opened as his alarm rung loudly in the quiet living room. Chan-woo pushed his aching body up off of the couch with a sigh. He had to pause once he was standing on his feet, the room spinning dangerously. The dizzy spells had only become more frequent and intense since they had started three days ago. He didn't know what was causing them, but he just pushed through them each time.

Finally able to see straight again, he walked over to his phone and turned off the annoying sound. As he begun to rummage through his duffle bag of newly clean smelling clothes, he couldn't help but think back on the conversation between Bang PD-nim and himself three days ago. Ever since he found out Yoongi had seen some of his broken body, he had been so conscious of what he wore; both in the dorms and at the company.

For the day ahead of him, he chose black trackies, a tight fitting, long sleeved t-shirt, and an oversized black jumper. Chan-woo stood back up after he also grabbed his toiletries bag and walked into hallway. Out of habit he knocked on the door and only entered once he heard no one was inside. His mind wandered away as he tiredly started his new morning routine.

In the six nights and five days he had been at the new dorm, nothing had improved between himself and the boys of BTS. He had made sure to stick to the rules religiously, afraid to anger any of them. He had managed to make it to the shops two days ago on his hour lunch break and purchased towels, soap, shampoo and conditioner, deodorant, and a few small on the go snacks.

He brought all of those items so he didn't have to worry about being yelled at for accidentally using something that was not his. A situation he had been trying to actively avoid since he had arrived. And he brought the snacks so he wouldn't have to worry about wasting money on bigger meals during the day. He really needed that money to last as long as it could.

Like they had asked, he stayed out of their way. Chan-woo even stayed awake next to his duffle bag until a couch became free for him to sleep on. He didn't want to intrude on them anymore than possible after he noticed his presence was clearly an inconvenience to many of them. The treatment towards him was still very cold. And while it hurt deeply, he understood how they felt. He was essentially joining a group that had built up their fanbase and reputation across the globe. He saw what they had done. Painfully so.

The one thing that unnerved him was the stares he would receive from Min Yoongi. He had avoided the older as much as he physically could. Chan-woo had decided to not tell the other about the bruises and cuts, and luckily the other had not come to him with questions. He wasn't ready to talk about it. And especially not to someone who treats him coldly and as if he was a nuisance to even be breathing around him.

Talking about bruises, his bruises on his neck and ribs were not fading. It had been six days since his father had laid his hands around him and the bruises looked as if they had only occurred the day before. Chan-woo was growing increasingly concerned as the days went on with the visible bruises. And the pain radiating from his left ribs was still excruciating, the dance lessons probably not helping his body recover from the abuse.

As Chan-woo stood in front of the mirror above the vanity drying his damp hair, he cringed as his stomach rumbled painfully. He had not been eating properly since he had arrived. His eating was perhaps even worse than it was when he had been back home. He had hardly any money left to buy proper meals. Most of the time he skipped breakfast and dinner, waking up and going to bed hungry just to save money. He hated to do it, but he'd have to eat one of his protein bars before leaving, otherwise he wouldn't get very far through the day.

He put on his chosen outfit and smiled at his reflection as he felt comfortable in the oversized clothing. He put his towel in the hamper before folded his dirty clothes and zipped shut his toiletries bag. Checking over himself one last time, he nodded at himself before he left the bathroom and walked into the empty living room. He guessed the boys were sleeping in considering it was a Sunday morning; he wouldn't be surprised.

He placed the dirty folded clothes underneath the duffle bag, it being the only items of clothing there since he had made a trip to the laundry mat the night before. Chan-woo grabbed a spare set of clothes in case of an emergency before he grabbed his phone and its charger. With his backpack closed, he stood up and went towards the front door before he stopped mid step. His stomach grumbled in a painful reminder that he needed to grab something to eat.

Now with a protein bar in hand that he had grabbed from his duffle bag, Chan-woo walked out of the building and into the brisk morning air. He didn't need to rush to get to his first lesson. The last few days he had worked out a good schedule to be able to wake up, shower and arrive at the company with enough time to spare. As he munched on the protein bar, he breathed in deeply and enjoyed the sunlight that started to stream in above the building's tall roofs, basking in the warmth it brought with it.

Chan-woo walked in through the doors of BigHit Entertainment and made his way into one of the semi-crowded elevators. After a short journey, surrounded by a handful of strangers, up to the first floor, Chan-woo walked into the familiar recording studio and switched the lights on since he was the first to arrive. He sat in his usual spot on one of the grey couches and got his phone out to pass the time. He found himself on twitter with his timeline blown up with retweets of BTS's latest interview. His heart broke as he saw the screenshots and short clips of the boys acting so happily.

"Good morning!" a cheery voice startled Chan-woo so badly that he almost drop his phone. "How'd you sleep?"

"Morning Hye Hyung," he chuckled in embarrassment. "I slept okay, and you?"

"Yeah, good thank you!" a giant smile spread upon the older's face as he sat on the chair behind the soundboard desk. "So do you want the good news or the good news?"

"Uh, the good news?" he asked slowly with caution.

"This is your last lesson with me!" Choi Hye smiled widely.

"Last lesson?" Chan-woo's face dropped in sadness, immediately his thoughts turned to what he could have done wrong to cause it. "Why is that, Hyung?"

"I think you are polished enough to debut. So there is no need to keep up these lessons," he said with a sad smile at seeing the disappointment on the younger's face. "You can always contact me for anything, okay? To discuss lyrics, brush up on areas, or even to talk."

"I appreciate everything you have done for me, thank you Hye Hyung," he smiled sadly while secretly being relieved deep down for not having done anything wrong. And then it hit him that Hye had said he was polished enough to debut, his heart raced a million miles a minute.

"It's the least I can do for you kid," Hye nodded at him with a smile. "Oh, and after you finish your dance lessons today, Bang PD-nim Hyung wants to see you."

"Oh, okay," nodded Chan-woo in nervousness as he wondered what the CEO wanted to discuss with him this time.

As he was given the familiar gesture to 'get his butt' inside the sound booth, he couldn't help but forget about any of the anxieties that had previously plagued his mind. Either about the past, the present, or the future. The moment he stepped inside and placed the headphones on, he felt free. Being here at the company and engaging in all of these lessons made Chan-woo feel oddly at home. He could almost feel like he could let his guard down and be himself. He never wanted to lose that feeling. Never.

>_<     >_<     >_<

All of his lessons had finished for the day and he had decided to shower and change into clean clothes before he headed to Bang PD-nim's office. Chan-woo tiredly walked down the top floor hallway, hands messing up his slightly damp hair nervously. With each step he took, his body screamed for him to just sit down and stay still. His eyes burned as he fought off the tiredness. He hoped the meeting wouldn't last long so he could go back to the dorms and sleep.

Chan-woo knocked on the door. He stood still as he waited for an answer, eyes strained to keep his eyelids opened. He heard movement from within the office before the door opened to reveal a smiling Bang PD-nim. He silently stepped aside and motioned for him to come in. Chan-woo walked inside and made his way over to one of the chairs that facer the mahogany desk before he quickly sat down. His body screamed a huge thanks to him gratefully.

"Chan-woo, how are you going?" asked Bang PD-nim as he sat behind his desk.

"Tired, Bang PD Hyung," he said shyly as a small blush appeared on his cheeks.

"I'm sure you would, it is a really intense schedule you have. But that's why I have called you in for a quick meeting," the older smiled kindly. "I have spoken with all of your coaches and they are really pleased with where you are at."

"That's good to hear," he smiled in relief.

"Yes, they are so pleased in fact that you'll be done with you dance lessons tomorrow and your stage and language lessons in three days time. Meaning you'll be finished all of the training on Wednesday!" Bang PD-nim smiled brightly before he laughed at the expression on Chan-woo's face.

"A-Are you sure, Hyung? That's really quick," Chan-woo asked in shock. "That's, what, only eight days of training?"

"I am sure. Your talent has proven to be up to standard with being able to debut. Of course this doesn't mean you'll never see any coaches for lessons ever again. I'll send you to people as I see fit. Like before appearing in front of cameras or fans, I will get you to brush up on some things the day before, considering how nervous you'll be. If that makes sense," he said while he leaned back in his chair.

"Yes, it makes sense, Hyung," breathlessly said Chan-woo as he took it all in. "So what will happen after I finish on Wednesday?"

"Well, you'll start using your free time to bond with the boys," he smiled and completely missed the scared look as the younger had hung his head. "You'll start using the same schedules as they are on. You'll attend the planned activities, even if you will not participate in them yet. Use this time to get familiar with the intense work they all do."

"O-Okay," he gulped nervously as he looked up.

"The media still do not know about you and I will keep it that way. When I feel you and the boys are ready, I will debut you officially to the media," said Bang PD-nim. "There's nothing to worry about until then, okay? Just follow the instructions I either personally send you or that I will send to Namjoon and you'll be fine."

"Understood, Bang PD-nim Hyung," nodded Chan-woo.

"Now, how are you settling in? How are you getting along with the boys so far?" he asked as he leant forward in his chair, clasped his hands on his desk in front of him.

"U-Uh, I am settling in fine," he lied with a fake smile. "I haven't had much time to bond with them yet because I have been waking up so early and sleeping almost straight away when I get back to the dorm."

"Ah, yes I'm sure it'd be hard to find the time for that. Well it'll change in the next few days," he chuckled happily with a kind smile. "You do look exhausted. I'll let you get going now before it gets any later."

"Thank you, Hyung," Chan-woo said as he stood up and bowed. "Have a good night."

"You too, Channie-ah!" the older smiled as he watched the other walk out of his office.

Chan-woo couldn't believe what had just happened as he begun to walk on autopilot. He was almost finished with his training. In a few days time, he would unofficial be a BigHit Idol. All of his hard work and determination throughout his childhood and teenage years finally seemed to be paying off. All of the money he secretly spent on lessons here and there. All of the times his parents hurt him only added the fuel to his fire to escape and do something with his life. He had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't still dreaming. A smile spread across his face as he realised it was real, it was all real.

The only thing he was not looking forward to was having to spend more time with the boys of BTS. They all clearly didn't like him and now with his training finished, he would be imposing on them even more. None of them had warmed up to him. None of them wanted him there. Yet none of them had bothered to take the time to see why he was even there, to see the talent everyone kept mentioning he had. He hoped one day soon it would change and he wouldn't be as lonely as he had been back at his personal hell hole.

He hadn't realised that he had walked most of the way home until a sudden dizzy spell overtook him. Like he had done every night for three nights in a row, he walked over to the nearest wall and braced himself against it as he waited it out. His body seemed to lose the last of his energy the longer he stood there, feeling the world rock around him. This particular episode lasted longer than any of the other ones in the previous days.

He shook his head as he stood up straight, finally able to recover from the dizziness. He walked the rest of the way home, aching body protested each step let alone now he felt absolutely depleted of all energy. Chan-woo didn't even realise he had made it to the door of the dorm as he stood staring at it for a good few minutes. Tiredly he raised his hand and knocked on it, hearing someone approach with fast footsteps.

"Good evening! Welcome home! Oh, you don't look good," Hoseok's hyper voice said before he looked upon the younger with concern.

"Tired," was all Chan-woo could manage to say as he walked passed Hoseok.

"Yah! What do you mean welcome home?" yelled Jimin from where he sat on one of the couches. 

"He is anything but welcomed here," added in Taehyung, causing the majority of the group to laugh.

Chan-woo ignored the tears that begyn to well in his eyes as he tiredly took off his backpack and pulled out his phone charger. He made sure his alarm was set to go off at little later than it had previously been going off before he placed it on charge. He sat down on the floor with his back against the wall. His heavy head rested heavily against the wall and his eyes almost immediately closed on their own.

"How about we talk about this later," said Hoseok as he walked back over to the couch.

"Why? Why do you care if he hears it?" Yoongi asked from his spot on the couch.

"He just looks tired and it's not a nice thing to overhear. You know? That's all I was thinking," sighed Hoseok.

"You're too good for your own good, Hoseok," Jin said before his windshield laugh rung loudly around the room, the contagious sound caused the others to chuckle.

"Aish, hush and just leave him alone for tonight," quietly said Hoseok, the others decided to listen to him for a change. But perhaps that was more because they were sick of the leech and wanted to forget about his existence as best as they could.

Overhearing that the conversation wasn't about him anymore, Chan-woo sighed in relief. It hurt to overhear what they say about him. Of course he knew it already, but to hear it confirmed only made the pain worse. With great effort, he opened his eyes and looked at the group of seven boys that were spread out and relaxed on the couches. He didn't think he could stay awake long enough to move over to the couch, even if he had a nap while he waited.

Slowly he adjusted his body until he was laid down on the floor with his head resting upon his duffle bag and his backpack clutched to his chest much like he had on the first night he had arrived. He blocked out the conversations he could hear and just allowed his body to relax for the first time that day. It didn't take long before his breathing evened out and he slipped into the peaceful land of unconsciousness. His body flinched subconsciously at the loud noises while he slept, something that thankfully went unnoticed by the other occupants in the room.