:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ﾟ
CHAPTER ONE
━━✦🐳🌊🌧

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IF YOU LIKE MY BOOK

THE PLOT STARTS IN 2016,
BUT THE BEGINNING IS
  A FEW YEARS PRIOR

The azure, beryl orbs rise up from the horizon, spreading its magnificent rays of darkness everywhere. The brightness of the day lost once again and parts away like a defeated king giving up his thrown.

By day, this café is the color of a babyish coral and small hues of lemon, it has that soothing look. Meanwhile, the soft music pours out of the music-box along with the refreshing aroma of coffee and all kinds of tea.

But now, it's almost night, and the light of the day has been replaced by the unrelenting tangerine of the sunset.

She takes in a deep breath, sucking in the air that carries a hint of exhaustion and lacks the heavy odor of soft coffee.

"Sandara!" Someone with a male voice yells from the kitchen, which is located right next to the eating place of the café. "Clean the tables, sweetheart. Then, you're done!"

There's a sigh coming from the small girl, then a nod from her low-hanging head. "Will do," she mumbles with a tint of tiredness, but more to herself than to her father.

While following her father's order, she hums a soft melody to herself. Her voice is smooth, clear, and quiet, yet also powerful. Soothing, in a way.

You don't really call someone's voice beautiful, but hers is. It is the promise of tomorrow. It is beautiful, and the people listening to it wish that she would never stop.

Which also includes the man sitting in the far back of the comfortable café. He enjoys listening to her soothing voice whilst he's sipping on his coffee, feeling quite mesmerized.

"I'm sorry, Sir, but we're closing now," says Sandara, who is now standing in front of the man's table, a tired smile on her lips. "I hope you enjoyed your meal, and I can pack something if you'd like more."

"There's no need to," he replies, smiling politely. All of a sudden, he stands up, his actual short height hovering over her tiny figure. "But I would like to admit that I admire your voice. Did you ever think of becoming an Idol?"

As soon as the word 'Idol' drops, a tall boy, his facial features looking like a male version of Sandara, enters the café from the back of the room with swift steps.

He's quick to stand in front of the small girl, blocking her sight. His voice has a husky drawl, as he states, "Thank you for your suggestion, Sir, but my sister is not interested."

"Oh, but I do think that she has a lot of talent—" tries to older man again, but gets cut off almost immediately.

"As I already said, we're not interested." The young boy smiles politely, yet there's a tad bit of sarcasm and irritation in those stretched lips as well. "So, if you don't mind, we're closing now."

The older man nods in acknowledgment, his lips curled downward. He starts walking out of the café, yet before he leaves, he turns around and hands the small girl a card. "If you ever change your mind, you can call my agency. It might not be the most popular one, but we're always wishing for more talent to let it shine."

Sandara watches the man leave with saddened eyes, her gaze dropping down to the ground while exhaling softly.

Just as the sounds of the door-chimes extinguish, her oldest brother scoffs. "This was the fourth agency. When will they finally stop?"

She decides to ignore his irritated speech. Her feet are firmly planted on the ground as she gazes up at the defiant sky, the dome of their existence. Then, she looks down again and her eyes drop back at the card with the number written on it.

"Did you hear what I just said?" asks her brother as he notices that she is caught up in her own universe again. As she jumps in surprise and looks at him with pried eyes, he sighs and mumbles while walking away, "Lock the door and go to bed, San. It's late, and you have school tomorrow."

With a sigh, deep and gentle, Sandara responds, "Understood."

After following her older brother's orders, Sandara takes the stairs upward to her home. The door is already opened for her to enter, and she does.

Sleep is what her exhausted body seeks, yet somebody decides otherwise. Because, as soon as she steps foot inside her house, a loud scream erupts throughout her ears, catching her off-guard and causing her butt to land on the floor with a loud thud.

And then, there's an evil yet loud laugh. "Oh, God, you should've seen your face! I'm glad that I took a picture of this!" another male person, with Sandara's genes splattered across his face, states, pointing at her with his finger.

"Hey, delete that, Lian!" yells Sandara, being quick to stand up and attack him. But Lian is quick to push her away by his hand on her face, making it hard for her to move with her fragile body. "I will tell Lijun!"

"Well, do it, then. I ain't scared of that b—" Lian mumbles.

Yet he immediately grows silent as the boy they were just talking about harshly slaps the back of his head. Lijun murmurs with a stone-cold face, "Delete that picture."

"Make me, bitch—" barks Lian while sticking his tongue out at his older brother childishly. Just as he finishes his sentence, Lijun jumps on the poor boy and attacks him, which also causes Sandara to be free.

As she is about to sneak out of the usual sibling-bickering, Lian states while pulling her back in by her arm, "Oh, hell no. We're in this shit together."

"Let go off my sister, you chicken-bone-google-chrome looking dumb-ass," curses Lijun, putting his younger brother in a headlock.

But Lian does not back off with his attitude - sassily remarking while holding a finger up in an high-and-mighty manner, "Okay, for a fact, she is my sister as well—"

"What is going on here?" A dominant male voice interrupts the fight of the three siblings; all of their faces staring at their father with ajar lips, looking quite shocked.

Almost immediately, the three siblings stand up straight and avoid their father's fiery glare. His gaze moves to his eldest son first. "You're the eldest, Lijun, so act like it. Stop bickering with your siblings and get a life."

Snorting, Lian tries to stifle his laughter. "You're not better, Lian. Only two years younger than him, yet you're out there acting like the world owes your single brain-cell something," states their father.

"The beef smells fantastic today," Sandara whispers sarcastically while looking down, trying to hide her waves of laughter.

While their father is about to turn around and leave after shooting them one last glance, Lian whines, "Why are only we getting scolded? San started all of this."

Offended, Sandara moves her head to her brother and stares at him with a widely agape mouth. "What a lying snake you are."

Sandara worriedly casts her gaze at her father, who is silent while glancing in between all of them again. "Good night," is all he says before shutting the door of his bedroom.

"Take that, boo," teases Sandara, winking at Lian, who stares at the shut door with an unbelievable expression.

"And people say that parents don't pick favorites. All people do is lie," Lian mutters aside.

Lijun rolls his eyes at his stupid sayings. He starts eyeing his sister, who is about to enter the living room to watch some more series, but not before he grabs both of her shoulders - starting to drag her into her room. "Yeah, that's what we're not going to do. You are going to sleep because you still have school."

"School is overrated," she reasons, trying to turn around and run away, but to no avail.

━━✦

Soon after the vibrant summer rays have begun to warm the day, there is a shrill sound, a scream, and Sandara leaps out of bed faster than a rat from a trap.

Following soon after is Lian's evil laugh - feeling quite proud of himself for waking her up in the most irritating way possible. He casually walks out of the door, stating in a posh British voice, "Breakfast is served, Madam."

"Your Butler Geoffrey imitation is bad and it shows!" yells Sandara after her brother.

Yet all he can respond is, "And your breath stinks and it shows!

With a roll of her eye, Sandara stands up and makes herself ready for the day, heading to the kitchen right after.

The moment she slides into her chair, a strong scent of meals enter her nostrils, sucking in the sweet smell. Her mother smiles kindly, putting an enormous amount of food on her plate while saying, "Eat up, honey."

A few moments later, Lijun enters the kitchen with heavy steps, his disheveled, raven hair pointing in all directions.

Lian chokes on his food at the funny-looking sight. "Someone had a rough night, I guess..."

"Shut up," murmurs Lijun, rolling his eyes while pressing the button of the coffee maker. "I had to stay up all night to finish my damn essay."

"Well, if you would've stopped procrastinating and just started writing the 2500 words as soon as you got it, then that wouldn't have happened," states Lian as a matter of fact, shrugging while sipping on his tea.

Lijun shoots him a death-glare. "Stop trying to act smart if your dumb-ass can't even read a sign that says 'Extremely dangerous, do not touch'."

"Oh, come on. That was one time!" Lian tries to defend himself, but Lijun sternly shakes his head and states, "You and Sandara got third-degree burns by that."

The two brothers keep on fighting over nothing, but soon on, their mother grows tired of it. "Sometimes, I wonder if you two are actual five-year-olds or are just stuck mentally."

"Well, you've been wanting to have another baby for a while..." mumbles Sandara, shrugging. She points at them, adding, "There are your babies."

Their mother, Mishil, is quick to shake her head. "Oh, please no, anything but another baby. I realized how old I got as soon as Lian learned how to talk, and I don't need to go through that all over again."

"I'm the fabulous sibling. I don't care what any of you say," Lian comments confidently, shrugging his shoulders while ignoring his mother's scoldings about him.

A soft smile spreads over Sandara's striking features as she feels a familiar kiss on her head. "Good morning," exclaims their father, smiling while sitting down on his usual seat.

The family casually chit-chatters about their schedule while eating the warm meal. Yet, all of a sudden, they silence as their father, Bolin, says, "We have exciting news for you guys."

"If there's a baby on the way, I'm moving out." Lijun interferes almost immediately, shaking his head excessively in order to emphasize his statement.

"What? No!" responds Mishil swiftly, her face scrunching up.

Regardless of their thoughts, she begins to smile widely, sweet and soft, announcing, "We're moving to Seoul!"

Suddenly, Sandara chokes on her drink, coughing right after as Lijun pats her back. "P-Pardon?"

"We noticed that this city is too small for us. I mean, Lijun could transfer to Seoul's university, as Sandara will as well when she finishes high-school," Bolin reasons their decision, smiling.

But it falls as fast as a corpse as his eyes land on Lian. "And... whatever Lian is doing with his life."

There's still insecurity painted on Sandara's face, her lips curled downward. "But we've been living in Busan our whole lives. How are we supposed to change our routine? And what about our café? Are we just going to close it—"

"Bro, imagine all those Seoul-Ladies," whispers Lian to Lijun, trying to fist-bump him, but the eldest brother simply shakes his head in disappointment, feeling not surprised about his pathetic thoughts, though.

Their father notices Sandara's worrisome expression, and his heart sinks slightly at that. So, he continues in order to make her feel better, "San, everything is going to be perfect, okay? I already planned this two years ago and nothing can go wrong. You will graduate high-school there, and then, you can go to the university in Seoul. We will open a brand-new café there and everything will go fine."

"When are we moving out, though?" asks Lijun, his thick eyebrows furrowed. "I'd still need to finish my semester and all."

With a nervous chuckle, Bolin says, "Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" the three siblings yell in unison, shock evident in their voices and faces.

Sometimes, the slightest things change the directions of our lives - the merest breath of a circumstance, a random moment that connects like a meteorite striking the earth. Lives have swiveled and changed direction on the strength of a chance remark.

━━✦

There are cardboard boxes scrawled on in black broad felt-tip marker, bare walls devoid of the usual smiling framed faces, dirt and dust shapes on the floor like templates of the furniture that once stood there, white parcel labels stuck on black garbage bags of clothes.

As each thing is packed, the home becomes a house once more, awaiting a new life with a new family.

"Li, we're leaving now," says Sandara, her head peeking through Lijun's now empty room. His back is facing her, yet she can still see the nod of his head, closing the door right after to give him some privacy.

The eldest sibling stands there in the middle of his void room, his face bland and his posture stiffened. With vague hands, he takes hold on the small, nostalgic photograph.

Like a great rush of water, memory comes back to him. Every detail of that day is graved into his brain like his tattoos, whether he likes it or not.

Lijun can always pull himself to standing. He always can. Yet the negative emotions take over him and pull him down to the never-ending dark terror.

He is too empty to cry out or wail. He just stands there as still as a statue while the magnitude of his loss sweeps over him. For once again, he is lost in the torrid vortex of the moment.

It is the moment that carries him forward until only death could release him from its clutches. He is forever tormented by a past that could not be undone.

Yet Lijun gets pulled back into reality as he feels his brother's comforting hand on his shoulder, quickly letting those memories vanish with a cough

Lian sees those gravity-drawn shoulders painting a picture on its own, his own lips turning downward. "We're leaving now, bro."

His older brother simply nods his head, his throat being too dry to let any words out.

Forbidden to remember,
terrified to forget.

━━✦

A FEW MONTHS LATER . . .

The sweet refrain of the acoustic guitar speaks a musical language to Sandara's soul. The strumming sound has a hypnotic soothing quality that she craves. To lose herself to the melody of the guitar is her idea of a heavenly afternoon.

Everyone in the newly-opened café listens wide-eyed, stupid. Glowing by her voice in the dim light. If vanilla was a sound, it would've been Sandara's voice singing. If singing was a color, it would've been the color of that vanilla.

Even if she keeps her singing down and stays quiet, the customers are called at by her feathery voice immediately.

"You sound like a dying dog," states Lian while passing through, mopping the floor.

Sandara chuckles at that, lowering her head and stopping to play the guitar. Yet as she gazes up again, her eyes cast on the ones of a familiar, pursy man.

As Lian notices him as well, he smiles kindly, and says, "My sister will look after you immediately, Sir."

Hastily, Sandara stands up from her spot and goes over to the cash-register, a soft smile on her face. "I'm sorry for making you wait..." she mumbles shyly, scratching the back of her head in slight embarrassment.

"No, I really like your voice..." says the elder man, nodding. "I don't know if you remember me, but I once handed you my card a few months ago and asked you to become a trainee."

She nods her head in acknowledgment, remembering him right away, smiling quite sadly. "Yeah, I do remember you."

"Anyway... I came a few days later again, since I needed to leave Busan, but the café was already closed." The pursy man readjusts his glasses. He whispers the last part to himself, which causes Sandara to not hear him, "It must be fate that I see you again..."

There's a smile, desperate yet friendly, on his face. "I know that you declined the last time, but I'm speaking from the bottom of my heart when I say that I know that you have the talent and shine to become a great Idol."

"I may sound desperate right now, but I would be incredibly grateful and happy if you would consider it or even give it a try," says the man with the round glasses. "There are many people like you - always stuck in the never-ending path of normality, but that's not what life is about. Life is about taking chances and risking things for the right decisions."

Then, he lays some money on the cupboard and takes hold on the packaged cake, turning around and smiling for one last time. "Have a nice day, Apollon."

After that, she simply stands there, watching him leave once again. Her mind is caught up in its own carousel again - spinning without an end.

A sudden glint in her eyes causes Lian, who is right beside her by now, to stare at her and to excessively shake his head in fear. "Oh, hell no. I know that face, and it ain't good."

"But what if, Lian?" she suddenly asks, a hopeful smile on her lips.

"But what if not, Sandara?" repeats Lian ironically. His hand is sassily positioned on his hip, staring at her as if she's turned insane. "You know damn-well what Lijun thinks of the Kpop-Industry."

The youngest sibling rolls her eyes at that. "Who cares about what he thinks—"

"You do, I don't," Lian states as a matter of fact.

"I do, right?" asks Sandara again in deep thought, which causes Lian to nod his head excessively.

Both of them are aware of how Sandara cares about the thoughts and opinions of Lijun's intellectual mind more than hers.

Courage isn't the absence of fear
but the ability to move forward
despite the fear.

━━✦

"And, for once, I will not listen to him..." whispers Sandara to herself, nibbling on her bottom lip nervously while she dials the number on her phone. "Man, this will so go wrong."

From the other line, a male voice speaks up and says in a friendly tone, "Hello?"

"Um, hello..." the small girl mumbles, but face-palms herself almost immediately because of her frightened voice.

She clears her throat, then re-starts her sentence, "Hello, my name is Na Sandara, and you handed me your phone-number over as you visited our café—"

"Oh, hello!" exclaims the man joyfully. He sighs in relief, a bright smile taking over his face. "Did you think of my offer?"

Sandara nervously looks around - making sure that no one is watching her - and then responds, "Yes, I did, and I would love to become a trainee under your company, Sir."

You are not the victim of the world,
but rather the master of your own destiny. It is your choices and decisions that determine your destiny.

━━✦:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ﾟ

A/N: Hello, and welcome to the first chapter of The Outcast!

It definitely took me a while to think of the perfect plot line - which I'm still thinking of, by the way - but I wanted to give you guys a 'sneak-peak' type of thing to get to know the characters, their personalities, and their fears.

The first chapters will be about Sandara becoming a trainee, and then we will switch over to 2016, wherein she is a part of BTS.

I actually didn't want to write a chapter based on the 'ships' since there aren't any lol they will completely dislike her. Buuuut I thought of doing one with the view of the fans and how they see her with BTS.

Tell me if I should write it, and if you agree, I will gladly do it!