In the blink of an eye, the rest of the week whizzed by. The competition was starting so much faster than Hana had expected. She headed to the front door of her apartment and assessed all the luggage sitting in front of her. Of course, her belongings were not packed in standard black suitcases, but rather high designer bags. Hana had spent the money she earned from her part-time job on clothing and accessories. As a budding designer in the making, presentation was key. If a designer could not dress herself, she would never get hired for anything. 

Her formal gown for the ball was placed in a protective dress bag and carefully laid on top of the largest suitcase. Mentally checking that she had packed everything she needed, she went back to the living room and checked her phone for messages while waiting for the driver to arrive. She clicked on her message notifications. Baekhyun and Chanyeol had both sent her messages wishing her good luck. Hana smiled to herself. Those two dorks always had a way to liven up her day.

More likely than not, Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and the rest of Sehun's notable friends-- those with good reputation and social standing-- would be present at the opening ball that was about to take place in a few hours. Hana would have some friends to chat with in case the ball began to drag, and she most definitely did not want to spend all her time talking to other contestants. She would always be around them when the competition really started.

Most, if not all, of the girls in the competition were not competing for the right reasons. To them, the Crown Prince and the entire event was an opportunity for these girls to get ahead in life. Some try to pad their resumes using the competition's platform. Even if they did not win, they would come away with other benefits. Many of them wanted fame, power, and wealth. To Hana, all of the other girls were liars and manipulators. She was the only one that could truly say that she loved Sehun, not one of those obsessed fan girls.

Hana closed her eyes and breathed out slowly through her nose. Worry and anxiety nagged at the back of her head. No matter how hard she tried to push those negative feelings away, they kept coming back to haunt her. It was as if a little demon was sitting on her shoulder and snidely whispering, "You won't make it. You only have a 0.5% chance of winning."

She shook her head vigorously and loudly declared, "No. I'm just going to try my best. Think positive, think positive." A ringing noise emitted from her phone, pulling her back to reality.

Sliding the green button on her phone upwards, Hana put the phone to her ear. "Hello?" she asked calmly.

A deep, formal-sounding voice came from the phone. "Hello, my name is Jun. I have been sent by the royal household to you to the competition site. I am currently parked in front of your apartment complex." 

"Ah. Yes, I'll be right down in a moment. Thank you."

"In case you have any trouble finding my car, it is a silver Audi. I'll see you shortly."

Half an hour later, Hana was at the back of Shilla Hotel with suitcases in hand. 

Feeling a bit confused, she asked her driver, "Why are we at the back entrance?"

"The organizers do not want the contestants to be bombarded by the media. I hope that an