At the age of 16, Cain Reia left his home to enter the harsh waters of the entertainment industry.
He auditioned, was accepted and trained like a madman for three years. His efforts to honed his talent and his outstanding ability earned him a fixed spot for his company's largest debut yet to stage.
His talents shoned even before his debut and as if to show off the diamond they found on the side of the road, Cain was made to collaborate with famous idols in his company.
He was showed favoritism. They treated him fairly well, enough to make others jealous.
This didn't stop his determination to be better.
At the age of 19, three months before debut, he finally met his members.
Because he was the company's favorite, he had his own training room and lived separately from the other trainees. He was also made to only socialize with famous idols and didn't know who he was going to debut with.
He even thought before that he was going to be a soloist at some point.
When he first met his team members, it was three months before debut. At that time, he already collaborated with many idols and even had a fanbase of his own. It was safe to say that his team members only served as his backdrop.
Even the name of their group was Cain's favorite word.
Tempest. That's what they were called.
A violent wind ready to mess up the idol industry. That's what Cain wanted it to be.
He knew that the other members probably hated him. Of course they would, he understood the reason behind it all. They were people with talents themselves and Cain appreciated them. But they themselves felt like Cain's appreciation was that of someone higher in position.
Rain Kim, Noah Aix and Silian Fritz. They were the members of Cain's Tempest. People would call them 'Cain and his backup dancers'. As rude as it is, Tempest's situation was exactly that.
Cain, who was the company's most beloved idol and the three talented but not enough trainees, as his backups.
He was excluded from the group, though he himself didn't notice. Or maybe he did but turned blind eye to it. He was too busy to even care. Unlike them, he was someone who had a job.
Even before debuting, even before the group's name was announced and even before the member list was announced, it was already known that Cain would be debuting with three other people. Although he was going to debut as an idol soon, his company still assigned him work.
He was exhausted to the bone. Whenever he comes home to his large but empty dorm, all he could think about was how neat it would be to have people greet him by the door the moment he steps inside.
But he was alone.
He had no one.
It wasn't as sad as it seemed. Though at times it does get a bit lonely.
If he had the time to, Cain usually spends it tending with his potted plants. It was a habit of his to stare off into space and talk to himself. The Internet said that he was losing his mind but Cain doesn't think so.
He just likes talking to himself.
He does mutter sometimes erratically but only does when he's in a bad state. That rarely happens though.
When their debut came, the company made them live in the same dorm. It was big, enough to give the four of them space. However, this space was more suffocating.
Cain was aware of the company trying to desert him from his members. To have him remember that he was not a part of them. He was Tempest and they were only other people who had the chance to become his stepping stone.
Every time, he had to face the cold shoulders and polite yet distant greetings.
Two weeks into their debut, Cain was given the chance to participate in a show. It was a show that had good ratings and consistent high viewing rates.
It was a show to show off one's talent. If there was anything that Cain was lacking, talent and abilities was not any of them.
The invitation was sent to him successfully.
The company was happy with this invitation but the downside was that aside from Cain's specific invitation, the show also intended to invite another person.
The company wanted to let a popular idol join Cain but the latter wanted to have a member of Tempest participate with him.
As the company's favorite child, they happily obliged. When asked which member, Cain immediately said;
"Rain. I want Rain Kim to attend with me."
Rain Kim was someone Cain appreciated. He was talented, courteous and handsome. When Cain first saw him, his thought was that Rain resembled the character of his favorite manga.
Cain also felt like Rain was more talented than him in some ways. He wanted to see it. Rain's talent. He also wants the company to see it so they would properly start treating the three of Tempest as idols.
He didn't do this out of good heart, but he simply wants to dismiss the rumors about him suppressing his team members.
The show was about how one or two people go about their day living as someone else. It was a kind of vacation in the middle of a hectic schedule. Cain immediately accepted the offer.
Rain also had no choice but to accept. Possibly, he was coerced with interest.
As an idol, what he needed the most was not talent, but exposure. He had a good face and that was enough to hook people over to his side.
Cain knew this and already anticipated the answer. In any case, he was not worried about Rain stealing the show. The limelight had always been fixed on Cain. No matter how outstanding nor bright someone would be, it was only a fading sparkle in fire.
Cain didn't like Rain. He also didn't hate him either.
He didn't know that he would fall for the other so fast and so hard it almost terrified his heart.
At the age of nineteen, almost a month after debut, Cain Reia fell in love with his fellow Tempest member, Rain Kim.