FK Entertainment is one of the most popular idol agencies in the country. It has debuted famous singers and groups such as Sugar Spice, Lynx, RRT, and many more, and right now in the company's training room, an audition is being held. This audition is going to determine the members of their new girl group, SSR.
Music blares in the room, accompanied by the sounds of dancing feet and singing. This brings us to Mei. At 24, Mei is the oldest trainee here and has been preparing for her debut for 10 years. Her knees screamed because of the intensity, and her throat felt sore from singing the song itself, but she smiled wider because she knew this was her last chance. She knows that her age right now is her greatest disadvantage; being over 20 and debuting as an idol is almost impossible because she has passed her prime, and right now she's competing with people 6 to 10 years younger than her.
But you can see the fire in her eyes. She refuses to give up because, since she was young, she has wanted to shine on stage like her favorite idol. So, no matter how impossible the odds, maybe she's not backing down.
For a split second, the studio lights flickered—strange, since they were LEDs—and Mei thought she heard a girl's laugh echo behind the music.
As the music comes to an end, heavy breathing is then heard.
"Okay! Now wait outside while we evaluate your performance!" Mr.Lee, the head instructor, said.
Mei and 10 other trainees walk out of the room with a look mixed with exhaustion and nervousness. As they exit the room, the quiet trainees become more talkative as they wait for the result.
"I think I did well in this," Amy said
"You're so lucky, I made a couple of mistakes during the dance break, and I think the producer saw it," replied Makoto
"At least you're a talented singer, so you still have a chance to debut," Sejun said
"Yeah, you know the trend to debut right now is to be able to sing live, so you're fine. Mina should be the one being worried". Chaeyoung remark
"I'm not worried after all. Kate and I have a visual that could knock their socks off," Mina said offhandedly.
"Well, you should be. Haven't you heard that WK Entertainment's new girl group got a huge amount of hate for being only visual with no talent? So, if I were either you or Kate, I would be scared of being cut," Rin chimed in
"Oh, please don't lump me with Mina. At the very least, I can rap and sing as well as Sejoong and Mary." Kate retorted.
"Hey, be on my side, we're the greatest visual combination after all," Mina remarked.
"But you seriously need to work on your singing," Amy argued.
As the conversation continued, Mei decided to rest her body away from the other trainee. Unlike the lively atmosphere of the other trainees, she was silent, waiting with great anxiety. She knows that compared to the other trainees, her situation is pretty hopeless, and she has almost lost her final sparks of hope. She bowed her head, trying to hide her nervous face.
"Senior, please have some water," a gentle voice said
When Mei looked up, she saw an innocent and youthful face, This was Yoon. Yoon is the youngest trainee here right now at 14 years old, and this was her first debut audition. Mei could see that Yoon is a very talented trainee, not only does she have an innocent yet mature appearance, she also has an amazing singing voice, as well as being a decent dancer.
"Thanks, Yoon," Mei replied
"No problem, Senior. I just want to say that you were great during the performance." Yoon complimented Mei
"You-"
"Yoon, you shouldn't bother Senior Mei," Rin said, cutting off Mei
"Yeah! Yoon, you shouldn't bother someone who's resting," Amy continued
"But Amy"
"It's okay, Yoon. I appreciate your concern."
As Mei said that she urged Yoon to go to the other trainees. When Yoon came back to the other trainees, it began.
"Look at her acting high and mighty."
"Yeah, if I were her, I would have quit a long time ago."
"Ugh, why'd they pick her? She's practically a grandma."
"Guess the CEO felt bad. Pathetic"
"Yeah, snickered"
Even if they were whispering, Mei could hear them as if it was meant to be heard. It's not like I could punch them in the face. Even as trainees, they have to keep their image.
Just then, the dance instructor opened the door and told us to line up inside.
"Okay, this won't be long. We have decided which six trainees will debut," the CEO said nonchalantly.
" First is Makoto, who will be the main vocals."
" Second is Kate, you will be the visual as well as the lead rapper."
"Third..."
As the names were called out. Mei becomes more nervous as she remembers her time here. She became a trainee through a global audition and left home at the age of 14. She then trained for 3 years before her first chance came, but quickly disappeared. Then she trained again for 2 more years, being promised that she would debut next, but her spot was given to another trainee. 4 more years passed, and her conviction began to waver; she tried auditioning for a survival show, but she didn't make the cut. Now, 2 years later, this was her last chance before her contract expired, and she will be kicked out of the company.
"Finally! Yoon, you'll be the maknae, lead vocalist, and lead dancer." As the CEO's words fell. Mei was incredibly shocked and remembered how hard she worked, how hard her parent worked just to support her dream. Her world was completely crashing down on her.
"Wait a minute, I think we should reconsider Yoon's position," Mr. Lee argued.
Mr. Lee was the head of marketing and always tried to make the company's image as flawless as possible.
"And why should the CEO do that, Mr. Lee? After all, we have discussed it thoroughly," the producer said
"Because if we debut only members that are under 20 and go with this concept, we will receive too much backlash," Mr.Lee argued.
"And why should we care about that?" the CEO remarks
"Well, for one, we would be accused of s******zing minors, and at the very least, if we have a member over 20, we could at least reduce the backlash," Mr.Lee argued again
"Mr.Lee, stop spouting pointless remarks and get to the point," The CEO angrily said
"Well, you see some of our interns found some photos that could implicate Yoon in a bullying scandal," Mr.Lee whispered to the CEO's ear.
The CEO sighed. " Fine. Add the old one. But if she flops, it's on you, Lee," the CEO said.
Mei bowed. "Thank you for the opportunity.' Her voice didn't shake. But as she turned away, the stage lights burned her tears to steam."