Momo's got a job - Hit The Stage.

Wordcount: 3087

 

---

"Momo yah!" Their manager, Jaljari Oppa, called, making the girl look up from her phone. "JYP wants to see you, he says he got something to tell you."

The rest of the girls who were doing their respective stuff in the practice room also looked up. It was a rare occurrence, him wanting to meet just one of the members and not the entire group. Momo got up slowly and left the room, giving a nervous look to her members who were all staring at her. She started to think of everything she did that would possibly make him want to talk to her. Was it her eating too much during shows? Was it the way she behaved on their shows? Or was it because she, once again, ate too much jokbal until her abs were disappearing?

By the time she was in front of the door, that door, her palms were sweating so much, and her heart was beating so fast and so hard. She held her up, letting go a breath that she was unaware that she was holding before knocking on the door. With a "come in" that was said by a voice that was so familiar, she apprehensively entered the room.

The scared girl stood in front of the couch that their PD was sitting on, looking down and playing with her hands out of nervousness. She made sure to maintain a respectful distance - it was something that they always did. There was silence as she stood there, the silence lasted for no more than a couple of seconds yet it was deafening to Momo and made her feel like it lasted forever.

"Momo-ya, there's no need to be so tense, I'm didn't call you here to scold you. Come on, sit down." He says with a slight chuckle, seeing the girl so uneasy.

Momo did as she was told, and now that she was right in front of their PD and heard his voice, it sent her into a whole new level of edginess. This voice. It was the voice that announced her elimination back during SIXTEEN, crushing her hopes and confidence. It was also the voice that announced the addition of her in the then-upcoming JYP group, TWICE. It was the voice that taught her many many things in the last four years that she was here in Korea. There were so many emotions associated with this voice, and everytime Momo heard this voice, the not-so-optimistic her just prays that it was not something bad.

"So, Momo," he started, deciding to end the girl's agony by just telling her quickly. "There's this new MNET program called 'Hit The Stage'. It's going to feature dancers of idol groups, including SNSD's Hyoyeon, SHINee's Taemin and INFINITE's Hoya. They're offering a place for you. It would be a good platform for you to showcase your passion and talent, and perhaps perform some dances that you don't get to do when you're with the rest of the members. I was going to accept it, but I thought I should get your opinion first."

The news got Momo so overwhelmed, she had her hand covering and tears forming in her eyes. There were many other programs offered to TWICE, but Momo hardly went to any because she was not confident of her Korean, and on top of that, not much of a speaker unless she was with people she was comfortable with. Now, the focus was dance, the area in which her passion lies. There would be a little talking required, but she could handle it. Besides, the offer was in a way a confirmation of her abilities. Her mind was a blur and she struggled to form words, so she just nodded eagerly, a few drop of tears rolling down her cheeks while she did so.

 

 

When she opened the door to the practice room that she spent hours in, she was still crying. All the hard times she endured during her trainee years, so much emotional burden just for one goal - to debut. And now that she did, she was offered a chance in something like that although they were, technically speaking, still rookies. It meant a lot to her.

All the eight members quickly scrambled to their feet upon the entrance of their fellow member, and went over for a group hug, thinking that she was sad. The girl was sobbing so badly, they assumed that she got scolded by their PD.

"I.. I.." Momo's breathing was still shaky, she struggled to form a coherent sentence. A few gulps of water did the trick and when she finally said it, they did a group hug again - this time because they were all so glad for Momo.

 

 

"Hey," Mina called as they were coming out from the car, making Momo turn back. "Want to take a walk with me before going back?"

Of course, Momo agreed. There were two people Momo could never say no to, the two girls whom she had promised to (and actually did) debut with, Sana and Mina. 

So after informing the rest and their manager that they would be taking a short walk just around the neighbourhood, they set off. Despite Momo being known as the clingy and touchy one, this time round Mina was the one who hooked her arm around Momo's. Her footsteps were light, and there was a wide smile on her face, all of which did not go unnoticed by the older girl.

"You're happy today," Momo said as a passing comment. Having all come from Japan to pursue similar dreams, the three of them have become so close-knitted, just like a family, and seeing Mina so happy now made her unconsciously smile as well.

"I am," Mina replied, turning her head slightly to look at the other girl, "I'm happy for you."

Momo's smile got wider as she realised what Mina was talking about, but the girl decided to elaborate anyway. "I'm sure it's something you've always wished for - being on a show to perform dancing, your specialty. I can't believe it's happening so soon, and I just can't imagine how delighted you are. But I know you're definitely overjoyed at the news, and honestly speaking, that's all that matters. Your happiness is precious, Momo unnie. That smile you had on your face the entire day made me really happy."

"Pfft, you making it sound like I'm always walking around sulking," Momo joked, feeling slightly awkward from the atmosphere. While they did share about each other their deepest thoughts and feelings, the mood among the members was most of the time a lighthearted one, so it made Momo feel a little weird when Mina spoke so sincerely.

"Well, it's not very often you smile so brightly all day."

Momo could only chuckle as she lightly pushed the other girl.

 

 

"Oh gosh, I'm so tired! Let's go home now so we can get some rest," Jihyo said, earning sounds of approval from the members. They had spent a day practising - though their promotions were over, they still had to practice for JYPNATION concert. After the few hours of practice, the members were all lying on the floor, totally exhausted. "Let's pack up and go!"

"I think I'll stay here a bit longer," Momo said as everyone headed towards the door. "Help me tell Jaljari Oppa?"

The other members agreed. It was not surprising anyway, considering it was Momo, the girl who practiced for almost half a day everyday when they were still trainees. "Don't come home too late, Moguri!"

 

 

Well, the definition of "late" differs for everyone, and Hirai Momo's definition unfortunately varied quite a bit. When she opened the door to their dormitory, it was already the wee hours of the morning and Momo was greeted by darkness, with just one light switched on - something they always did when she returned home late because they knew she was scared of the dark. Momo supposed that everyone had gone to bed by then, so she was taken by surprise when she switched on the lights and saw one of her members on the sofa.

"Mina?" From the way the girl shifted before sitting up and looking up, her eyes squinting as if she was adjusting to the brightness of the room, Momo could tell that the girl was asleep. "Why are you sleeping here?"

"Ah," Mina said in a blur tone, which the girl who just returned home found really really cute. "I was waiting for you."

"Me?" A smile crept onto Momo's face, she was touched by the gesture. She walked over to the girl. "That's really sweet of you, Mina, but you shouldn't have, especially when you are already so tired."

Mina gave a sheepish grin. She had not expect herself to fall asleep before the older girl came back. Well, if Momo had come back earlier, then perhaps she would have been awake.

"Thanks for waiting, Minari. I'll go bathe now, and you should really go to bed!" Momo pulled Mina up and pushed her all the way into the room where three other girls were already sleeping. "Goodnight."

 

 

Momo took her time to shower, it was truly refreshing to take one after a day of practice. When she came out of the bathroom, a familiar smell greeted her. Who could it be cooking at such late hours? 

As she entered the kitchen, Momo was met by the sight of a girl, the girl whom she had asked to go sleep, stirring something (which the food-lover knew was ramyeon) in the pot.

"Why aren't you sleeping? Too hungry that you can't fall asleep?" The girl actually looked so sleepy that Momo was convinced she could have just fallen asleep anywhere, anytime, yet she was preparing food.

"I was lying in bed, then I thought, you'd probably be hungry after all the dancing. We both know that you can't fall asleep when you're hungry, right? So I thought I'd just cook some ramyeon for you, since it's the only thing I can cook decently and it's too late to head out to buy food anyway." Mina explained, her eyes not leaving the pot.

"Minari," Momo called in a cute whiny tone, making the girl chuckle. It was always a mystery how Momo was actually older, she certainly did not seem like it.

The girl, eyes fixated on whatever she was cooking, was caught off guard when she felt a pair sneak around her waist and a weight on her shoulder. "Thank you."

 

 

It became a routine for them both. Momo would stay back to practice alone, then go back to be greeted by the same sweet girl who waits for her with food bought from nearby restaurants or convenience store. The older girl had actually tried to convince the other that she did not have to do that, but Mina could be quite a stubborn person at times so Momo gave up. Wanting the younger girl to get more rest, Momo made effort to head home earlier as well.

Since the other members tend to be in bed by the time Momo returns home, the time that Mina spent watching Momo eat - and sometimes being fed by her when she offers the food - became a precious one-on-one time for them. It also became Momo's motivation when she was trying to perfect her moves.

 

 

With the first recording of Hit The Stage coming in just a few days, Momo felt the pressure rise by quite a bit. Since promotions were over and the rest had many other activities, she ended up spending most of her time in the room, the room she always practiced her dance in. From morning till night she danced, spending hours on the same dance yet never feeling satisfied about it. If she were to draw an analogy to it, dance was like music - it will never be 'good enough', there would always be room for improvement.

Interaction with the other members was at the bare minimum, mostly early in the morning when they had breakfast together. She missed them, missed playing with them, joking around, but this meant a lot to her and she was going to do it well. She had to.

 

 

Three days. Three days was the amount of time she had left. As usual, Momo was cooped up in the room, repeating her movements over and over again. 

A knock on the door distracted her. The door opened slightly, and she heard a soft "Sorry, am I disturbing? May I come in?".

The answer was obvious. Besides, Momo recognised the voice, and it was one that she would never say no to.

The door opened further, revealing the owner of the voice, who was just the person Momo expected. "Erm, hey. Can I stay back to practise with you today? I mean, not with you. I just need to get the moves right for my special stage on Inkigayo. I'll just be in a corner, no sound, no disturbance, I promise."

Momo let out a laughter, and really that was the sound that Mina missed so much. She still waits for the other girl everyday, but since they were both tired the time they spent just got shorter, and rather than talking it was more of them enjoying each other's presence. "Sure."

Although the dance moves were not in any way similar to the gracefulness and elegance she had practised all these while, the 11-year ballet dancer easily mastered it. With six girls performing, each was not given much screentime anyway. The real reason why she had asked to stay with the other member was because she just wanted to spend more time with her. Even the walk back to the dormitory could grant them some time together.

Judging from how Mina was done with her practice in no time and was sitting in the corner, Momo caught on and figured Mina's intentions. 

"You don't really need to practise, do you?" Momo asked, though she continued dancing.

Mina blushed, realising that she had been caught. "I miss you. We all do."

Either she was too flustered by the sudden comment or she was too tired, Momo did not argue back. It was a fact that she had not been spending a lot of time with them after all.

 

 

Momo also did not say anything when Mina did the same thing for the next two days. As she had promised, Mina was always quietly sitting in the corner, so quiet that it was easy for Momo to forget about her presence once she got engrossed in dancing. Mina would patiently wait for her no matter how long she took, then they would embark on their journey home, enjoying the midnight breeze together.

The night before the recording was the first time Momo addressed Mina with regards to her dancing. "Mina, could you sit there and see me go through the dance once? Let me know if there's anything that needs to be fixed, I'll try to work on it for a while more."

Mina sat in front of Momo and smiled as a signal to the girl that she could start. She watched as the girl took a deep breath before starting. She watched the girl dance, and as expected the girl nailed every movement. Mina was actually already aware that she would have no comments; she had been watching Momo go through the same moves many many times, and even when Mina thought it was good enough Momo continued to practise.

"It's great. Don't be so nervous, Momo, I'm sure you'll do well." Mina's comment and the smile that came up after the comment was enough to make Momo feel much calmer. She was still nervous, but Mina made her realise, maybe she did not have to worry about it so much. "Your recording is tomorrow right?"

"Yeah." Momo was not one to specifically ask or request, but she hoped that at least one of her members would be there. It would definitely help her to calm down. She particularly wanted the girl in front of her to go, because she wanted to make the girl proud, and show that the nights of staying up to wait for her was not all for nothing. However, she also knew that the girl had her own individual activities, so perhaps even if anyone did turn up, she would not.

 

 

Momo paced around the corridor, playing with her fingers out of nervousness. It was what she had prepared so hard for. 

She could not stop worrying that something would screw up. Leaning against the wall, she closed her eyes, trying to psycho herself into thinking that everything would be fine, that everything would go the way it should.

"Momoring!" Her eyes shot open upon hearing her name, her head turning towards the direction of the voices. It was her members - Nayeon, Mina, Dahyun. Instinctively, she ran towards them, engulfing all of them in a hug.

"I'm so nervous," Momo confessed, her Japanese accent becoming strong as she let the nerves take over.

"Ah Moguri, you've practiced all day and all night, I'm sure it will be impressive!" Nayeon replied.

"Yeah, you'll definitely wow the audience!" Dahyun exclaimed, as animatedly as ever.

"Yeah unnie, be confident! We have faith in you," Mina added.

Momo smiled. Just as she had known, her members would be the one to calm her. "Thanks guys! I've got to go prepare, see you guys later!"

 

 

Recording started. It was in order of seniority, so Momo had the privilege of watching many amazing stages before her. They made her more scared, yet at the same time more motivated.

Stepping onto the stage after her name was announced, she looked straight and the first few people she saw was her three loyal fans - her members. They were waving frantically like excited kids, and Momo had to hold in her laughter.

Then she made eye contact with her.

One look, no words, yet Momo knew what Mina was trying to convey. In an instant, her worries went away. She made up her mind. Once the music starts, she was going to dance her best and enjoy the stage. Whatever the result turns out to be, she had tried her best and that was all that matters. 

At the end of the day, her members will still be proud of her. And so will her fans.