This is it. My last chance.

Lee Yunmi breathed deeply in front of the big wooden doors. Holding her shaking, cold and clammy hands together to regain its warmth, she pushed the doors open and solemnly entered the room to stand in the center of the room.

In front of her were five judges with bored expressions on their faces, holding no anticipation for the auditioner in front of them and already all too tired from sitting in on so many auditions for that day already.

Despite the judges’ lack of interest towards her, Yunmi payed them no attention and focused on controlling her nerves before making her greeting.

After this audition, I can no longer prevent the inevitable. This is it. Third time’s the charm? More like the thirty second try is the charm. After this, there is no more turning back. My last verification. My last try in accomplishing my dreams.

Shaking her head slightly to rid herself of her thoughts, Yunmi lifted her head high and cheerfully made her greeting.

“Hello! My name is Lee Yunmi. I am 16 years old and I want to become a singer. The song I am going to sing for you is FTisland’s I hope.”

Yunmi started her song. Her gaze was focused on the space between one judge’s head to the next. As she sings, the judges partially listen to her whilst looking at her application paper. Two judges from the side whispered to each other, shaking their head as they scanned her answers for the questionnaire that were in the audition application. One judge was nodding her head in beat to Yunmi’s song. Yunmi saw this and partially smiled, her nervousness lessened with the sight of someone was listening to her.

Nearing the of the song, Yunmi was controlling her breaths to prepare herself for the sudden change of tempo when suddenly ---

“Enough,” said a judge, interrupting Yunmi as she sang.

 “Yunmi-ssi.”

“Ne.”

“You did very well. You were on pitch and communicated the feel of the song to us --,” another judge commented. The judge further elaborated on Yunmi’s vocal skills that had been showcased from what she had sang.

Yunmi nodded her head thankfully to the words of praise but she had this sinking feeling of dread. The fact that they stopped her song at all too short of a time before truly singing the whole song was a sign that this was the end of her journey. She can no longer work for her dream. It was done. She already began to steel herself for the discouraging words that were for sure coming.

 “I don’t think this is your first time auditioning for this company, much less for other companies’ right?” asked the female judge that was whispering with the neighboring judge when Yunmi was singing.

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Yes, I think I remembered you from last year’s audition. I think someone has to tell you so you can stop trying. Your voice was good, sure. In fact, I think your vocal ability has improved since last year but making it in this industry is not just about how good your voice is. There is something missing lacking with you to be considered part of our company. You know what that would be right? If not, let me be blunt with you. It’s your looks. With the music industry these days, its not enough that you can sing, you have to be sellable to the mass audience too. And if the people can’t even be incited to go to your concert by looking at your posters, what can we do? I think this was also the reason you could not make it for the audition last year. And possibly for other companies’ auditions too. Let’s not waste anyone’s time, understand? I think it’s time to find another dream.”

“Thank you for the criticism,” said Yunmi, her voice struggling to get the words out from hearing such harsh words. It was like someone had punched her in the gut, leaving her wanting no more than to curl up in the ground and cry.

When Yunmi left the building, she was so close to crying, Her breathing became haggard as if she was about to hyperventilate. She couldn't breathe properly. Her breaths were loud and deep, gasping for air that she, for some reason, could not get.

This was a reality that she did not want to face. She felt her legs weakening, wanting to collapse from the gaping hole that the audition experience had left within her heart. She held on to the nearby wall quickly, trying to gain strength.

Yunmi knew that if she stayed still any longer, her tears would fall and fall until there were no more tears left to shed. With bystanders around her, she did not want to face that kind of attention if she did give in to the chaos within her. Wanting to stop feeling all these emotions wanting to burst through, she ran. She ran in an effort to get away from her shattered hopes and dreams. She ran to forget it all. To forget that she had now become broken.