“Next up, Alyssa! Let’s see what you have prepared for us today.” BoA, the main MC for Produce 101, announces.  

              “Oh… okay,” I mutter, slowly making my way to the front of the auditorium and turning around to face my 100 competitors. “Uh… annyeonghaseyo?” I attempt to introduce myself. “My name is Alyssa. I’m 20 years old and have been training for seven months as an independent trainee. I’ve actually only been in Korea for eight months, but that’s another story. Anyways, I hope you like my performance.”

              The stereo blasts BTS’s War of Hormone and I start to perform. Since I’m not that good with my dancing yet, I picked this song because it was easy. However, midway through the performance, my mind draws a blank. With the music still playing, I stop awkwardly. Oh shiiiit.

              “Hey, you can do it!” “Gwaenchana!” A few of the boys have started to cheer behind me, but this overwhelms me even more. Eventually, I push myself to complete the dance, but I’m left with the feeling that I could really do better.

              “That wasn’t too bad,” Kahi, one of the judges, said. “However, I feel like we didn’t really get to see your skills through this performance. You still seem a bit lacking. We’ll put you in F class for now. You’ll get the most assistance there.”

              I try hard not to look disappointed with my ranking. There was no way I would have gotten an A anyways. But nonetheless, my eyes start welling with tears. Worst of all, a camera appears to be zooming in on my face. I just humiliated myself in front of all the boys and the public, didn’t I?

              “Thank you.” I hastily bow – before running off to the nearest washroom so that no one will see me cry.

              “Hello? You all right in there?” a female’s voice outside my bathroom stall asks me.

              Reluctantly, I open the stall door and find Eunbi, the other female contestant. “Hey Eunbi. I hope you weren’t too disappointed with my performance.”

              “It was pretty good for someone with seven months of training,” Eunbi reassures me. “I got D class despite training for three years. I guess the judges are a lot stricter this year.”

              “So why are you on the boys’ season of Produce 101?” I blurt out because that's the very first thing I wanted to ask her.

              “My brother was actually supposed to appear,” Eunbi explains. “But he chickened out last minute, so he dragged me into it instead.” She laughs. “What about you?”

              I hesitate, thinking of a valid reason. “I made a mistake and thought this was Idol School, but apparently they’re not filming yet.”

              “Well, we’re gonna have a good time here. It definitely feels strange, but the PDs are trying something new this year. They promised that we’ll be treated like the rest of the contestants. We do still have to dorm with the female trainers, though.” Suddenly, I actually looked forward to staying on this show. “Oh, and one more thing. We’re not here to find love. We’re here to win, okay?”

              I give Eunbi a fist bump as we leave the washroom together, all smiles. “Okay.”

there, a lame backstory as to how two girls were able to get into the guys version of Produce 101. I mentioned Idol School for those of you who are into that (I'm not because I'm still not over Produce 101 and I don't want to learn any more names or tragic backstories right now)

My audition is basically what Dongbin went through because I would probably cry too after a particularly y performance