As Suha complains, Mr. Baek comes back into the hall.
"I hope everyone has chosen their songs. Please fill up your name and serial number at the top of the song list that has been given to you and tick the song you're going to perform." Mr. Baek tells us.
I fill up the things and Mr. Baek told us to then glance at Suha who still hadn't chosen a song.
"Oh, you poor child! Why don't you choose number 6? It's a beautiful song and it's gonna fit your sweet voice perfectly." I suggest.
"I'm trusting you on this." Suha says as she ticks the song.
We hand over our papers to a staff member and head out to our assigned studios. Since they assigned the studios as per our serial number, we end up in the same room. But Eunseo ends up in a different studio. She'll be fine, I hope so. We spend the day learning the lyrics to our songs, practicing them and recording it over and over to make sure it's perfect.
The next day, Baek Taehyun listens to every contestant sing and gives some tips to improve. And he does drop by the next day to listen to us sing again. The mentor title suits him better than the judge title. He's really good at teaching.
We practiced hard for the past 3 days and now it's finally the first official round. All of us are asked to sit in the waiting room. Eunseo has been holding my hand ever since she saw me this morning.
"Arin I'm so scared. I can't do this. I really can't." Eunseo says while almost crying out loud.
"Look at me, Eunseo." Suha holds Eunseo's hand and Eunseo looks towards her. "I'm sacred too, but we are in this together. Aren't we?" Suha says it with a smile.
"We sure are." I say, smiling at both.
A week later................
Today is a bright and sunny day. A perfect day to get inspiration to do my best today. A peachy pink shirt with a brown top is going to look perfect with the weather.
"Quit daydreaming, Arin. Get ready. FASTER!!!!" Suha screams from the washroom.
"Yes, your highness." I reply sarcastically.
Today is the first vocal evaluation and they are going to be brutal with it. They will eliminate 3 girls today. Terrifiying for sure. As usual, Eunseo is panicking. Ever since I got to know her, one thing I noticed is that she's always nervous. We've become really good friends in such a short time. And I'm surprised by Suha. She just doesn't like anyone. But I guess Eunseo managed to melt the ice queen.
"Contestant number 12, Arin Lee, get ready, you're next." A crew member yells.
I jump up from my seat. It's not my turn yet since they are going by serial numbers. I go up to the guy to ask about it. "Excuse me?" I say.
She looks at my name tag and drags me to the other room where the filming is going on. "Wait." I yell.
She let's go of my arm. "You're up next. Stand here and wait for the judges to call you up to the stage." She says this and proceeds to leave.
"Wait. I'm number 12 and the person on stage is number 10. So shouldn't it be number 11 now?" I ask.
"I guess?" She says nonchalantly.
"Then why am I here? Where is Jiwoo?" I ask.
"She's not feeling well, so she'll perform later." She says this as she leaves me standing there.
Bae Jiwoo seems to be getting special treatment. Since our CEO is one of the judges, she'd never do something like this. I guess she doesn't know about this. But don't they have the papers serialized as per our serial number? I zone out, thinking all these things and just then they call Jiwoo's name through the speakers. My anxiety level goes up. Why are they calling Jiwoo's name instead of mine? I don't go up on stage and that woman comes running backstage.
"Why are you not going up?" She asks, irritated.
"I'm Lee Arin, not Bae Jiwoo." I reply.
"I told you she would perform later." She raises her voice.
"Only me and not the judges? What are you trying to do here?" I say, glaring at her.
She gives me a pissed-off look, grabs my arm and yanks me towards her. "H- hey?" I yell.
"Do what you are told to do. Don't ask too many questions." She whispers in my ear.
"Leave my arm. You're hurting me, you witch." I scream loudly.
I screamed so loudly that the other contestants, staff and even the judges came running. Ms. Seo pushes through the crowd and reaches me. Others are questioning that woman and she's busy lying.
"What the hell happened here?" Ms. Seo yells. Everyone looks towards her and that woman looks so terrified. Ms. Seo looks at me.
"Were you the one that screamed just now?" She asks me.
"Ye- yes." I keep my gaze down.
"Why?" She asks again, her voice so stern.
I tell her the whole thing. She takes my hand gently and says, "Show me your arm." Upon seeing my arm, she yells out loud, "Who the hell did this? Come here this second."
That woman comes out of the crowd, trembling. "Diana, postpone the shooting for today. Take Arin to the hospital. Everyone can go now." Ms. Seo says. **Diana is the secretary of Ms. Seo**
All the other contestants leave the studio. Ms. Diana disinfects my wound and takes me to the clinic to get proper care. Suha and Eunseo offer to tag along with me. That woman had nails on, and since she held my arm so tightly that her nails made my arm bleed, it stings a lot. We get in Ms. Diana's car. I sit in the front and Suha and Eunseo sit in the back.
"The cut isn't deep so hopefully it won't leave a scar." Ms. Diana says.
"Can I ask you something?" I ask. Ms. Diana nods affirmatively. "What's the deal with Bae Jiwoo? I- it's alright if you don't want to tell me. I mean, I'm just a mere contestant." I say it awkwardly.
"It's okay. I'll tell you what I know. She's kind of a privileged trainee." She says.
TO BE CONTINUED ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
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