Oh, this is going to be a troublesome love war between us… Mi-ja… I wish myself good luck.

I’ve spent the last few days finishing up on my performance. Finally, it’s completed and ready for the Showdown that’s starting today in the evening. Wow, and to think that one week came by so suddenly…time sure pass us by fast!

Min came up to me with a grin at lunch as we sat in the now occupied dance studio with Min-Ae’s group. “I am so excited to see your performance this evening! It’ll be the best one you’ll ever have, I swear it!”

We didn’t have any classes for the rest of the day as we then have the time to finish our final practice before the time for the Talent Showdown starts. We’ve only got 10 hours left until the evening. My heart thudded in nervousness. To think that I’m performing in front of so many people… I almost felt sick to my stomach. Min held me steady by holding my shoulders.

“Whoa, Mi-chan, you alright there…? You’re starting to look a little pale…” She asked me, her eyebrows furrowed in concern. I shook my head.

“It’s just that…I’m performing in front of an audience, Minnie! An audience! There’s like, 5000 of us in this university watching our performances!” I shrieked, stomping my feet due to anxiety. The brunette only smiled and patted my back.

“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine,” she reassured me with a warm smile on her face. Footsteps were heading our way. We turned to see Min-Ae standing behind us, a neutral expression on her face. She eyed Min for a moment, the duo locking eyes before looking away, Min-Ae now looking at me.

“I’d like to speak to you,” she paused, glancing at Min who then glared at her before continuing, “Alone.”

“What are you going to say to her, hmm?” Min butted in, pulling me behind me as she guarded me protectively. Min-Ae frowned.

“I just wanted to talk to her, so it’s none of your business, Min,” She huffed, crossing her arms across her chest.

Oh no, we are not doing this again, I thought with a mental groan. Before Min could even open , I stepped forward, gently pushing her away as I looked at her with an assuring look. “Don’t worry about it, Min. She probably just wanted to tell me a few tips about the performance or something.” She opened to protest, but then closed as she saw my pleading eyes. She sighed, looking at Min-Ae with doubtful eyes before walking off, giving us space. We stood there in the corner of the room, away from the other girls who were off, giggling and pouncing around with their makeup and stuff.

“Are you alright, Mi-ja?” Her concerned voice caught my attention now as I turned my head to see her showing emotion in front of me, her eyebrows furrowed. I smiled and nodded.

“I’m fine, don’t worry about it.”

She hummed, looking down at her fingers as she fiddled with them. “Listen,” she said. “I’m really sorry for acting harsh with you before when we were practicing. It wasn’t my intention to do that…” I smiled and shook my head, showing her that I’m no longer bothered by that now.

“It is fine now, Min-Ae, jinjja!”

“Ani~ it’s not fine! I mean, what kind of person am I to insult the talent you loved to do for 4 ½ years?” She told me with a pout. I felt touched. She remembers how long I’ve been doing dance for? Omo, how sweet of her! I could only smile at her, too touched to express my feelings with words. “I hope your performance goes well, Mi-ja – hwaiting!” She encouraged me with a grin, pumping her fist slightly as she gave me her good luck. I nodded with a hum until Min burst into the room.

“Ok, talk time is over, you two!” Her voice shrieked, catching everyone’s attention. I didn’t have time to react as I was then dragged away by Min.

“M-Mwo…? Where are we going, Min!?”

“Well, duh, we have to go and get ready! We have to do our hair, our clothes and makeup, babo, how else are we pulling off Min-Ae’s performance?” Min told me with a roll of her eyes as she ran, dragging me along with her as we went down the hallway, on our way to the student council room.

Key’s POV

I yawned as we all sat in the auditorium with that . I’m so glad she’s at Onew’s end because if she were to be sitting next to me, I think I’d go ballistic. I fiddled with the papers in my hand; I played with the pen on my lips – I’m just so goddamn bored. And it’s tiring enough just waiting for the people to come in and take their seats. I rolled my eyes when I took notice of the scene of Su-Min trying to chat up with Onew who just continued to nod at every word she says. I felt bad for Onew-hyung, but it was for the best.

The rest of us are looking pretty bored – Taemin seems to be more restless than ever as he played with his ring on his index finger, sighing and all that. Minho was just watching the people on stage set up and whatnots. Onew…well, I don’t know what he’s doing. …Where the hell is Jonghyun? He hasn’t been back 20 minutes ago! I thought with a pout. And to think that he ditched us…that lucky dinosaur…I sneered to myself, looking away from the others to do my own thing.

I peered down at the papers in hopes to cure my boredom, skimming through names and flipping the pages. Then a name caught my attention on the top middle of the second page.

29. Park Min-Ae

I remembered that Mi-ja is in her performance. I hope everything goes well… I bit my bottom lip as I eyed the silver bracelet on my wrist. Then I smiled warmly, a faint pink tint on my cheeks as the nostalgia came back to me at once. Then I’ve searched for Mi-ja’s name. I found her at the bottom of the page.

34. Baek Mi-ja

I glared at Su-Min who did not notice me, thankfully. That got the nerve to put her towards the end of the page. I resumed skimming through the pages and counting the number of contestants. 5….10…39…Geez, why so many contestants?! I skipped to the end of the page and almost screamed at the numbers of contestants. Who the hell put 50 of these people here!? I groaned and rested my head on the table. It’s not even helping with the fact that most of these contestants could possibly be in groups.

This is going to be a long day.

Mi-ja’s POV

“Ow! What in the blasted hell are you trying to do, Min?!” I whined when she plucked away a lash of my eyebrow. Apparently, she’s trying to perfect my eyebrow so I could look ‘ier’ for the performances – both Min-Ae’s and mine. And we’ve just started 5 hours after Min had finished getting ready before she got onto me. I try to squirm away from that evil plucking object, but her grip onto my shoulder was strong. Goddamnit, she even got the same strength as Minho!

My face went red at the mention of his face as I subconsciously reached out for my cheek, that exact spot where he kissed me that day.

“Oh, be quiet and stop moving! It’s just one last pluck and I’m done!” Min retorted. Her stern eyes were strongly fixated onto my eyebrows. I groaned and did what she told me as I stopped the squirming. “And, we’re done! There, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Min told me with a cheeky grin. I glared at her before glancing at the clock on the wall. Only 5 more hours to go until it starts…

“This is going to take a while…but Min, you look so beautiful! I don’t think I can ever surpass you!” I cried out after examining her appearance and her attire for Min-Ae’s performance. We have to dress accordingly to SNSD’s ‹I Got a Boy› MV. Though we may not have the same clothes as they do, at least we can create an outfit inspired by them.

She smiled and waved me off, her cheeks red in embarrassment. “Oh stop it~ but I bet you’ll be even more gorgeous when I do my magic on you!” She squealed, clapping her hands like an excited little girl. I rolled my eyes at this.

I looked at the television to my right from my seat. Because there are cameras in the auditorium, I could see the stage, the production people setting them up. From the bottom, I could see SHINee with Su-Min. Even from the back of their heads, I know they must be bored. You know, you could have just stood up and walked around the area instead of sitting around and being bored—you have 5 hours, what’s the point of waiting when you can do something to pass the time? Then I’ve noticed one member was missing in action. Where the heck is Jonghyun-oppa?

While thinking this, a knock on the door was heard. Before I could see who it was, Min stepped in the way, was blocking my view as the door slid open. However, I did recognize the person by its voice.

“Annyeong~ I’m here to see my Mi-Mi~!”

Obviously, with a strong, cheerful voice and a nickname so stupid like that, there’s no doubt that it’s Jonghyun. However, I heard his breath hitch as if he has been stunned. I peeked a little from behind Min’s back and saw an awestruck blond dino.

“Can’t you wait until the performance? I’m making Mi-ja’s appearance a secret! It’ll shock the entire world!” Min’s voice was heard from behind, as I could see her jumping up and down, her light, fluffy brown hair bouncing on her shoulders.

Kim Jonghyun, the blond who was in shock, stammered over his words. Wait, I thought as I narrowed my eyes at the dino. He stammered? He stammered in front of a girl? Omo, the universe is turning into an end! However, it did question me as my eyebrow rose in confusion. Something’s off here…

He cleared his throat and went back into his usual cocky demeanor as he screamed, “Whoa, Min! What in the blazes happened to you?”

Min scoffed, her hands on her hips as she said, a smile heard in her voice, “Mwoya~ …you like it?” She said with a smile as she flipped her hair ily. However, her smile dropped when Jonghyun gagged.

“Yeah right as if—heck no! Since when have you become such a hottie?! Minho will be so disappointed in you~” He . Then a loud groan was heard as Min hurled something at him. I don’t think I need to know where the object hit him…

“Screw you, babo dinosaur! …Why are you here anyways? You should get the hell out!” The brunette tried to shoo him off, blocking every view of me as Jonghyun tried to take a peek at me.

He pouted, “Ah, wae~? Can’t I see my beautiful girl here?” He cooed as he stepped closer to us. My face went red at what he labeled me as – it’s almost as if we just became a couple. I glanced down at Min’s hand that held the evil eyebrow picker. Her grip on it was tight – I fear that she may use it as a weapon and stab him in the head. She, however, pushed him away, directing him to the door.

“I’m afraid not, so get the hell out of here before I bust in that stupid dino face of yours with a metal brick, you player!” With one last push, she hurled him out of the door before slamming it shut, the whole room almost shaking from the strength.

“Yah, wait a second—bricks aren’t metal, you babo! They’re concrete!” He yelled out from outside the door, a laugh heard in his sentence.

“Wat-eh-ver, you cocky, id-di-otic fool!” She yelled back in odd English.

Her English is not as good as Minho’s, I swear—he speaks English way better than her…at least it’s better when she sings it, really…

…And bricks aren’t made out of concrete; they are made out of baked clay, made after being molded with moist clay into a rectangular shape and hardened by heat. Aish, these two are both idiots. Both of them are incorrect—why do you think I’m labelled as a nerd?

…In a matter of fact, how in the world did they get accepted into university?

I stared at her back as she heaved out a long, deep sigh before turning around, looking at me with a smile on her face. “Ah~ now that we got an annoying nuisance out of the way, let’s get started!” I can hear the stress in the word, ‘annoying’. Her cheeks were tinted light pink and she seems agitated as she walked over to me. I wanted to ask her this one specific question, but seeing that she’s in a slightly gloomy/happy mood, I thought that it’s best for me to not ask her anything right now and just let her do her thing on me…

Taemin’s POV

I sighed, pursing my lips randomly as I stared at the still preparing stage. I twirled the pen in my hand whilst I checked my watch on my wrist. Only two hours left to go.

I think I’ll just walk around for a bit, I thought as I excused myself, standing up from my seat. At least I’m away from that girl…I glanced at Su-Min before looking away quickly, feeling the chills go up my spine when I remembered that during our preparation days of the Talent Showdown, she pretty much felt herself up on me. I complained about this to Mi-ja afterwards. She then comforted me with a hug in the end. Her body was really warm and nice…

But I was still scarred for life. I can never forget Su-Min’s touches that roamed around my body.

…And none of my hyungs helped me out. Such heartless people…

I walked down the hallway, lost into my train of thoughts until I accidentally bumped into someone. I looked to see that it was Jonghyun. “Ah, hyung, where were you? You were gone for so long!” I asked out of curiosity—after all, he left hours ago after he excused himself to the bathroom…or at least I think he did…

“Ani, I went to see Mi-ja, who’s in the student council room, but Min wouldn’t let me since she’s too busy preparing her,” he told me with a shrug of his shoulders. Even I was curious to see Mi-ja’s appearance.

What’s so secret about it that Min had to hide her from us?

“Ah, jinjja…? Hmm…I’ll go over and see if she’ll let me in,” I told him with a grin. Jonghyun chuckled and patted my back as he walked past.

“Good luck with that!” He called out from behind as he went back to the auditorium.

I began to make my way towards the area, my pace picking up as my anxiety grew larger and larger than a cat’s curiosity. As soon as I saw the banner that said, ‘Student Council Room B’ I knew this must be where Mi-ja was. There are others, but, this is the only floor where Min works in.

Standing in front of the door, I gently knocked on the door with the back of my fist, leaning in to hear the sounds from inside. I could hear low humming that sounds like it’s from a blow-dryer. My face scrunched up in confusion. What is going on inside there, anyways…?

“Hello?”

“Don’t come in!” I could hear Min call out from inside. I pouted. I haven’t even said if I could come inside yet…

I heard Mi-ja’s voice afterwards, “Minnie, don’t be so rude! At least let him in!”

“Ani, I will not let him ruin the surprise!”

“Well, I won’t be able to ruin it if I don’t know what the surprise is,” I muttered to myself.

“Mianhae, Taemin-oppa, but Min’s really eager to keep my changed appearance a secret…I wish I could let you see it even for a glance, but she wouldn’t let me.” Her voice sounded really apologetic and almost as if she really did wanted to show me. I smiled warmly at this, my cheekbones rising up in happiness.

“It’s not a problem,” I called out from behind the door.

Silence emerged as nothing else was said. Then Mi-ja spoke to Min, “C’mon Min, can’t I just show him? Even though I’m not done, at least give him a peek!”

Min’s sighing was heard from inside. I could her humming as she was then thinking deeply – she always hums when she’s thinking seriously. After a while, she finally spoke, “Fine. But only the eyes! Eyes only, you hear me, Lee Taemin?”

I grinned before saying, “Ne, I hear you just fine!”

I could hear Mi-ja’s low but heavy footsteps moving around the place, objects moving and rustling before the sound were coming towards the door – it sounds like as if she’s walking barefooted. I stood closely in front of the door as it slowly slid open. I could see part of her as she looked at me. She held a fan to cover and only showed her eyes and eyebrows. Though I was curious about the rest of her appearance as she even wore a bathrobe (was it from Min?), I was entranced by her eyes.

Her eye makeup was just right—it wasn’t too heavy or too light; it was to an extent where it matched her perfectly. Her brown eyes sparkled with delight and looked fierce. Placing my hand on the door, I leaned in closer as we gazed into each other’s eyes. I was surprised that even without her glasses, she looked beautiful. Her eyebrows were thin but not too thin – just that much made her eyes look y and cute at the same time. Despite the fierce eye makeup, I can tell that she’s innocent. Her eyes held pure sincerity and naivety – things that she yet has to understand.

She looked down, averting her gaze to my hand that rested by my side. Smiling as I caught this, I held out my hand to her. She hesitated before placing her hand on top of my palm. I could see her nails painted with nail polish, the white colour attractive to the eyes. It’s not white as in boring, but white as in purity. I rubbed my thumb over her hand, her peachy white skin soft to the touch. I smiled as I rubbed her fingers, caressing them.

They are wrong – who are they to call her a when she’s so innocent and sweet? I chuckled and kissed the back of her hand, my lips pressing against her skin. I stayed like that longer on purpose so I could mark myself onto her flesh before I pulled away. I looked up. I could see her ears going red and her eyebrows knitted together as if she’s beginning to get annoyed by this action. I laughed at this cute sight.

“You look like a geisha, jinjja!” I told her honestly with an impressed nod of my head, my black hair moving slightly at the movement. Even with the orange-ish blue sky and the sunlight filtering down through the windows behind me made this seems like a dreamscape – something surreal and fairytale-like.

Mi-ja rolled her eyes at this, “Don’t ya think?” Her voice was playful. I examined her once again before giggling, pointing her bare feet and clapping my hands, covering my mouth to stifle my laughter.

“Yah, your feet are so cute, ai-goo!” I told her without shame as my cheekbones ascended to the heavens, my lips curved into a wide, bright grin; even my eyes were probably turned into crescents. She yelped in embarrassment as she hid her feet behind the door.

“Ei, I said, ‘eyes only’, pretty boy! You had your time, so come back to the performance to see the premium version!” Min yelled out from inside. Mi-ja looked inside for a moment before stepping away from the door.

“I have to go and get finished off now…” She told me. I nodded with a small smile as I stepped away from the door. “Don’t tell anyone that you saw me, ne?”

“Arraseo, I won’t. My lips are sealed,” I did a zipping lip motion before waving at her, “Best of luck on your performance!” I glanced at my watch. It’s an hour left already? Mwo…? I thought I was here for 40 minutes! Wah~ time goes by fast… I looked back up to see her waving back at me, her wave small and shy, but still cute nevertheless. I continued to wave back until the door slid shut.

I turned around and decided to go back to the auditorium. I smiled to myself as I hummed the tune of the music box Mi-ja gave me when she was young. I’ll wait for your answer, my little dancer, I nodded to myself. Whether it’s now or tomorrow, I’ll wait until you’re sorted out and ready. I then broke out into a hurried run as I raced to the auditorium, not wanting to be late for the last touches of the stage.

Min-Ae’s POV

I walked down the hallway, the cool breeze inside the building brushing against my bare legs. I fixed my cap on my head as I made my way towards the student council room. It’s almost time to start! Since when are they going to be finished?! We need to look over the dance and lyrics before it’s our time to go up, I thought with an agitated huff. As soon as I came up to the door, I knocked on it hard.

“Are you guys done? We need to start looking over our dance as soon as the Showdown starts!” I yelled out from outside the door. Though it seems like we still have a lot of time, you’ll never know how much time pass us by nowadays. I’ll tell you, in a blink of an eye, it will be our turn to go up.

No response.

I tapped my foot in annoyance. This is no time to be playing games now. I called out again, “C’mon guys, I’m being serious here!”

Again, there was no response.

Then I heard soft giggles and snorts.

“Yah, you guys want to die?!” I screamed out from outside, sliding the door as it slammed open, not happy with the little joke of theirs. However, my angry expression changed into one that was full of shock when I saw Mi-ja’s changed appearance. She looked… stunning. Almost as if she had taken a huge makeover on her face and body. If I could describe her as a fairytale character, it would be Cinderella. I couldn’t even recognize her at first!

I saw her blinking quite rapidly – I assumed that she’s trying to get used to the eye contacts, I suppose, as she’s not wearing her glasses. They are, after all, itchy and can be quite irritating but are actually not that bad if you keep wearing it a couple more times.

“Behold, the mighty Mi-ja who will take over the world!”

Mi-ja and I looked at Min like she had gone crazy. “Min, shut up,” I heard Mi-ja say.

I was pretty much in shock to say anything to that. “Wow,” was all I could say. Mi-ja looked at me and flashed me a smile. If I was a guy, I think I’d fall in love with her. That would be weird to say if I’m a girl but if you were in my position, you’d understand what I mean.

“Thanks,” said Mi-ja, who smiled shyly at me. However, Min looked shocked at her to see that she even thanked me. It’s understandable – I’ve always been so mean to her, so it’s even more surprising when I complimented her.

“You look stunning.”

Min’s wide brown eyes averted to me, her face in an expression of shock before narrowing her eyes at me, feeling doubtful as she mentally asked, “Just what are you planning, ?”

The more I stared at Mi-ja, the more I felt the familiarity of Sora. She even looked like her! Without her glasses, I can see the resemblance – despite the colour of her eyes, the shape of her face and her features looked exactly the same as Sora. I furrowed my eyebrows as I went deep into my thoughts. Is Sora even real to begin with, or was she an imaginary friend I must have been talking to by myself—one that took the form of Mi-ja…? She may be my conscience, maybe, if I ever did have one – or… perhaps… a ghost? Ugh, I’m being ridiculous here.

While thinking this, the sound of feedback screeched in my head. I winced at the shrieking noise, directing my head towards the TV where it showed the finally prepared stage and the judges on stage – and by the judges, I mean Su-Min and SHINee. They all have the microphones and SHINee looked slightly annoyed with the sudden feedback noise of the microphone as Su-Min apologized for the inconvenience.

“Mianhaemida, I didn’t mean to do it!” She cried out, her cheeks flushed red as she gripped onto the microphone tightly. I rolled my eyes at this with a slight groan. Even Mi-ja grimaced and Min growled.

“Look at her, acting all cutesy now, that of a ,” murmured Min as she jutted her hip out, crossing her arms over her chest. I wanted to say, “I know right?” like I usually do when we were best friends, but I stayed still and had my eyes glued onto the screen.

“Now, first, let’s just say, welcome to the Talent Showdown, where all the talented people perform their talents!”

A round of applause and cheers was heard. Even SHINee was clapping, smiles on their faces.

“I’m Su-Min and I’ll be the judge alongside with SHINee!” She introduced, stepping aside when the camera then panned onto the idols.

“Annyeonghaseyo, we are SHINee!”

“Ne, we will be doing judging of these performances,” said Onew. “I’m sure a lot of these contestants are nervous to be performing in front of idols, but I’m sure that they will have nothing to worry about!”

“What are you saying, hyung, of course they have something to worry about! We’re idols, who wouldn’t be scared of us, jinjja~?” Key told him with a scoff, earning laughter from the crowd.

I glanced at Mi-ja who then smiled at them, her cheeks stained rosy pink. I looked down for a moment before averting my eyes back onto the TV screen.

“Yah, Kim Kibum, stop ruining the mood,” argued Minho. More laughter was created. Key only stuck out his tongue at the dark-haired male who playfully threatened to step up and chase him down before grinning to himself, getting back into his position.

“Hahaha, handsome, aren’t they? We will now start the evening with a big bang!”

Jonghyun held the microphone to his lips, a bright grin on his face as he yelled out, “Let’s the Showdown begin!”

“Please enjoy it with a light mind!” Taemin encouraged, pointing at the camera with a smile, his eyes wide and playful. He reminded me of a little puppy for some odd reason. I heard a giggle from Mi-ja, but paid no mind to it.

Cheers and another round of applause as they got off the stage, the stage already prepared for the first contestant to perform, whoever that is.

With a deep, long sigh, I clapped my hands loudly, gathering the duo’s attention as they tore their eyes away from the screen. Then I smirked as I told them, “Today’s the big day, ladies. It’s either do or die because we’re going to ace that thing!” Then I held my palm out. “You guys still in?”

Mi-ja and Min looked at me shocked before looking at each other. Mi-ja was the first to stand up and smile at me as she placed her hand on top of mine. “I’m in,” she said, a determined look plastered onto her face. We looked at Min who had her eyebrows furrowed at the scene in front of her. She hummed lowly, crossing her arms over her chest as she tilted her head to the side.

“I don’t like the fact that you dragged us into your performance by force,” she said. “Nor the fact that Mi-ja’s warming up to you so suddenly when you used to be such a ,” I scowled at her for that, though it was true – I was a bit of a to Mi-ja that time. Then she shrugged and slapped her palm onto Mi-ja’s. “But if she’s still in, then I’m in as well, plus,” she smirked. “We got to show Su-Min what we’re made of.”

I smiled at this.

“Hana, dul, set—hwaiting!” We cheered out, punching the air with our fists before I grinned.

“It’s show time.” 

A/N: I actually wanted to finish off the rest of this chapter, but then I realized that it'll take too long (plus I still have that lack of wifi to worry about), so I cut it into two parts, so basically, this is just part one of the chapter. The other is still being written. I just wanted to update so you don't have to wait any longer! 

Oh, and instead of that beanie, it'll be this cap:

Since, well, SNSD uses caps in the MV and it would make no sense for a beanie to be used (in fact, I'm not sure how you'd use it though for the dance... /shrugs) So, yeah! I hoped you enjoyed this chapter! c: