Boy's Planet added contestant: Bae Sangwon

Plan failed but everything's fine in the end

ok i got through writers block last time lets hope i can do it this time

i think there are some medical inaccuracies with the previous chapter so i'll do more research and make sure i know my shit

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'Did I experience a panic attack or hallucinations last night.' now that Sangwon thought about it he wasn't sure.

When Sangwon thought of the avoidance plan, he failed to remember that five out of the eight people he was trying to avoid were in the all star ranking with him. He still tried to do it anyway and it worked better than he thought.

Yujin still insisted on practicing which made Sangwon look over at him every five minutes, afraid that the little one would collapse. Otherwise, practice went smoothly with everyone learning together. During their breaks Sangwon would sit against a wall and watch everyone bond, too socially drained to interact with them himself.

"Do you guys want to sit together for dinner? I want to make friends here before we need to leave." suggested Park Hanbin during their afternoon break. And since everyone agreed Sangwon was too intimidated to say no.

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"And then he ate it! The toothpick too." Yedam was telling everyone a story about his dog which made everyone burst out laughing.

"One time my sister licked a frozen metal pole when we were little. It was not cute. She was crying and thought her tongue had to be cut off." Haruto shared.

Everyone was sharing their childhood adventures and stories. The cafeteria was full of laughter and other trainees from other rankings all went over to listen and even share some of their own. Sangwon tried to be unnoticeable, laughing along and just kind of looking like a background character. Park Hanbin noticed his lack of participation and decided to draw attention to him.

"Sangwon come on say something. Or the kids will think you're planning out murders of something." he joked, and because everyone was in a joyous mood they egged him on. Sangwon didn't want to ruin the mood again so he thought for a few moments and prayed that this wouldn't somehow backfire on him.

"There was one time my parents and I went to a theme park and I was trying to drink from the water fountain but I couldn't reach it. So I tried jumping up to reach it but I just got water all on my shirt. My dad had to carry me so I could drink. I think I was eight or nine at the time." he recalled with a fond smile. He missed them.

"See, there's nothing to be scared about." said Matthew to Takuto. Sangwon jerked in his seat, slightly startled since he didn't know they were behind him.

"I'm not scary, right?" "The kids think you'll kill them if they talk to you." or some variation was their response. Sangwon thought they were joking all this time but it was starting to not feel like a joke anymore.

"I'm just really introverted and quiet. And I guess I have a resting bitch face but I don't want to kill anyone." Sangwon said, very much confused.

"Sangwon hyung may look cold but he's pretty chill." Seungeon said surprising Sangwon. "Remember that one time I took your snacks and when you caught me you were just like 'You could've just asked instead of making me search the whole damn room'? Then you plopped onto your bed and passed out like nothing ever happened."

Sangwon glared at him from across the table, making him laugh even harder.

"Oh you trained together? Which agency? I know it's not Cube since I've never seen you before the show." Hoetaek said, making Sangwon a little panicked and start to come up with a story so no beans get spilled.

"SM. I left because I felt like I didn't fit in there. I don't know about Sangwon though." Seungeon said, making everyone look at him.

"I didn't want to be put into NCT. Like their music isn't the kind that I like making and performing." he replied. Thankfully everyone thought it was legit and moved on to a different topic.

Dinner continued with chatter and laughter. Sangwon's social battery was about to die so he quietly got up and went back to his shared room. Today he realised that maybe he didn't leave the greatest first impression on some people, but he still had time to change that.

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A few days of practice went by before one night where the producers allowed the trainees to call a loved one, with cameras around of course.

Sangwon was trying to figure out who to call. He couldn't call any of his friends at SM or their numbers could get leaked. His parents were dead so he couldn't call them. It was between his aunt or his other cousin, Joohyun's younger sister. He decided to call his aunt since she's always worrying about him.

"Auntie, it's Sangwon. The producers allowed us to call someone we missed." he began. He could see some staff members questioning looks since everyone was calling their parents.

"Sangwon-ah! Have you been well? You brought your medication with you right?" his aunt's tired yet cheerful voice rung through the phone.

"Yeah I'm ok, and I have my pills. I did well at the preliminary test. How's the restaurant?" he said, deciding not to tell her about the fiasco that occured.

"It's busy. We have some new employees too. Uncle also found some old trinkets your dad had, when you come back he can tell you and you can see if you want any of them."

"I'd like that. When I have a long enough break I'll catch a train to Daegu. They only gave us 3 minutes per person since there're so many of us so I need to hang up ok? I miss you guys." he said.

"Oh ok. I'll see you soon then. We're all proud of you. I love you!"

"I love you too." and he hung up.

Sangwon handed the phone back to the staff member before exiting the room. Kim Taerae was next in line for the call, with Yoon Jongwoo and Cong there as well. They greeted each other before Sangwon went to the trainee dorms.

"An aunt isn't who I'd choose to talk to right now, wonder why he called her." Taerae asked aloud.

"He'll tell us if he's comfortable I'm sure." Jongwoo replied to respect the boy's privacy.

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He's been debating talking to the Yuehuas for a few days now and after some time thinking he decided that avoiding them wasn't going to get him anywhere. He kept walking through the hallways until he found one of them.

"Zhanghao hyung, can I talk to you really quick?" Zhanghao followed him to the staircase after leaving his conversation with Chen Kuanjui.

"So about what happened a few days ago. I didn't mean to be so blunt or anything I just have bad memories of illness." Sangwon said, he couldn't bring himself to look Zhanghao in the eye.

Zhanghao was no stranger to this behaviour, having seen his younger teammates with this expression when they were getting scolded by him or someone else.

"It's ok, I'm sure the others have no hard feelings either." he said and patted Sangwon on the shoulder. "If anything's troubling you you should tell someone. Seungeon's concerned about your well being and we're only a week into the show. I'll go tell the others that you're worried you scared them. You should go to sleep, I can see your dark circles."

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authors note

1200 words i think

me casually dropping the orphan bomb on y'all

if you have ideas you want me to put in the story lmk and i'll see if i can make it happen

currently writing behind strories of the pr content and i may have gone a bit unhinged

published: 23 April 2023

thanks for reading. there're so many of you its surreal