January 26, 2001
09:23 am
Jumin, who had been awake since 3 a.m., was writing lyrics in a shared notebook—working on a song he, Youngwon, and Yesung were crafting to send to the CEO. "...and soon, no one will leave anything behind," he noted precisely, before using a gold highlighter to mark the parts he would sing.
Ever since the group was formed, Donghwa, Youngwon, Jumin, Yubin, Woohyun, and Yesung had a purple notebook—one that looked like nothing more than a purple notebook to outsiders, but to the six boys, it was a place where they could express themselves through songwriting. These songs addressed the pressures of the industry and their daily lives, offered critiques on a wide range of topics, and spoke of freedom—especially given the abuse they suffered at the hands of their CEO. Some of the songs they have written include "Like Riding Hood," "Not a Kid Anymore," "I'm So Sick," "Dangerous," and "Black Sheep" (the last one written by all the members, entirely in English and consisting solely of rap).
After finishing, Jumin closed his notebook and went to wash his face before getting ready to go to the company, once again prepared to endure whatever the CEO had in store for him.
09:41 am
"When I choose leaders, it's because I want the most responsible person," the CEO began explaining his method for selecting group members to Jumin. The CEO always had a very rigorous method for choosing the positions of the members of the groups he produced, sometimes, he could change a member's position without any prior notice, this frustrated many idols, but Jumin never bowed down to him
"If that's what I'm thinking..." Jumin stood up from his chair. He was the first to be recruited, so he already knew every move the CEO made. "I don't accept! I trained for years to get into this company, "I recruited all the members myself, and you're not going to make this become nothing overnight."
The CEO raised an eyebrow before looking directly at Jumin, "...Then prove it!" The CEO spoke sharply, encouraging Jumin to give up, but he didn't back down. "I accept," Jumin said
18:34 PM
After an exhausting day at the company, Jumin called Woohyun, wanting to know where he was. "I'm fine, hyung, I'm almost home," Woohyun said on the phone. Jumin was worried because he knew Woohyun was only 18 years away from turning 18, and he knew that what was coming wasn't good.