"Hahaha! I can't believe that the platinum badger for vocals cracked."

Heejin teased as she closed the door behind them. For what felt like centuries, they finished playing the game, ate, and did a bunch of interviews. It's so tiring that Minjeong couldn't bring herself to make up a comeback with their teasing and, instead, melt into a puddle.

She flopped down onto the bed without caring about the cameras and sighed in relief.

Tomorrow would be the day their songs will be assigned. Thus, preparations for the performance are inevitable.

But for now, Minjeong wants nothing other than to sleep. The room is dark, aside from the moon shining through the window.

She stared at the ceiling while listening to the others talk in the background.

It seemed like something about the possibilities of what may happen for tomorrow's assignment. Their voices bounced through the walls and the open door into the bedroom.

It was vague but precise.

Then, she felt her eyes getting sleepier when someone suddenly took a seat on the right side of the bed.

"You look tired."

It was clear that this voice came from Jimin.

Minjeong could hear the smile in her voice.

Curious, she sat up and laid her back on the headboard. This room had two big beds, enough for the four of them, which two could sleep together.

Minjeong was kind of glad to know that. Because with Jimin by her side this time, she felt like she could be a little more at ease as the latter would be there to keep an eye out for her in case of casualties.

Speaking of Jimin, her raven hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she sat there in her blue sweatshirt, looking like a goddess. As she scooted closer, Minjeong caught a whiff of her jasmine scent.

Her eyes automatically turned to look at the cameras due to instinct, and Jimin chuckled.

The cameras weren't blinking. Meaning they were off and free to do whatever they wanted. They were supposed to turn it off by 10 pm. Looking at the clock, Minjeong overlooked the time.

Minjeong looked at Jimin again and saw the same expression— a faint smile. After a long busy day, seeing her like this just feels nice.

"Did I interrupt something? Were you sleepy?"

Jimin put a slight pout on her face, and Minjeong bluntly nodded her head in confirmation.

"We're sleeping next to each other, right?"

Minjeong snickered, "Obviously." she leaned back into the pillow, feeling the weight of her body relax.

"Are you going to sleep now?"

Minjeong solely nodded her head with a hum, yawning. "Goodnight, Jimin."

As the latter slowly closed her eyes, Jimin only sat there in silence, watching her beloved fall asleep.

It only took Minjeong a minute to slip into slumber. She was too tired— constantly tired. Now that Jimin knew about her situation, she needed to work twice a lot harder than before.

Because now, her purpose in living wasn't only for her grandmother but for Jimin as well.

In a daze, while gazing at the shorter's cute resting face, Jimin felt something flutter inside her chest.

Minjeong looked peaceful.

Jimin reached out to pull out the lock of hair that had become entangled in Minjeong's collar, but as her finger grazed her neck, the latter seemed to cower at the ticklish sensation.

The taller paused and reached a second time, but Minjeong shrunk again.

A hint of a smile crept up on Jimin's face.

"Jimin."

With a jolt, Jimin immediately turned toward the door. There, the owner of the voice, Heejin, was leaning against the doorway.

She had a smirk, and Jimin felt exposed.

"...Did you-"

"Don't worry, Jimin. I know that you two are a thing." Heejin emphasized the word thing with her fingers, "Minjeong told me herself."

"She told you that we were a thing?"

"Not exactly, but you will be. Most likely when this filming ends."

"What...?"

"It's my attribute to see the future." Heejin shrugged, and Jimin tilted her head out of curiosity, "But that's not what I'm here for. We're going to discuss something very important tomorrow. I have a plan on how we can win this."

Jimin glanced at the sleeping girl beside her, "How about her?"

"Minjeong's fine— let her rest for a while. I bet she has a bad headache. She's just not telling anyone because of the cameras."

Feeling slightly worried, Jimin looked at Minjeong for a good second before nodding her head and standing up to follow Heejin into the living room.

They met Jisu, seated on the couch, scrolling through the tablet the program provided for practice purposes.

When she felt Jimin and Heejin's presence coming her way, Jisu looked up and greeted the girls with her sunshine smile.

"I'm assuming this is some sort of a surprise to all of us?" she questioned and raised her eyebrows questioningly.

Heejin grinned mischievously, "You'll find out soon enough."

✩

At 6am, Minjeong slowly sat up and saw Jimin sleeping beside her, looking breathtaking as always. She turned to look at the blinking cameras in the top left corner, then to her right, where Heejin and Jisu hugged each other as they slept.

It became a habit to wake up this early. Because at this hour, Minjeong would go to the kitchen and cook Jimin something for breakfast. That was their agreement, to begin with.

This time, Minjeong was glad that her half-asleep state got a quick grasp of the situation and avoided making her morning habits like falling back to sleep and cozying up with Jimin.

After a few seconds of staring into nothingness, Minjeong shook her head. She brushed her hair in front of the mirror. A camera was positioned not too far from where she stood. Thus, she stared at it for a few moments before coming up with an idea.

It might do her good— or not.

Nonetheless, she approached it and looked straight into the lens, placed two fingers on her lips, and with a smirk, blew a kiss right into the camera.

"Good morning."

Hopefully, that'll bring in more fans.

Being the early bird among the contestants, Minjeong was the first to step out of the bedrooms and walk toward the kitchen. Seeing no food on the dining table except the countless snacks inside the shelves, she opened the fridge and took out a bunch of fruits and vegetables.

Since there were many of them, she cut the fruits and vegetables in perfect portions, enough for them to turn into a salad. Minjeong had experience in serving, so this was easy as pie.

She reached a hand and stood on her toes while gathering the ingredients for the dressing on the top shelves. It was the same time someone stepped into the kitchen and gazed at the latter, yawning.

"Oh... Kim Minjeong? Good morning."

Turning around, Minjeong saw a dozy Moon Sua in her black pajamas. She didn't hesitate to walk to her side and dip a spoon into the dressing for a quick taste.

How nonchalant.

Is it because of the cameras?

"Wow, this is so good that it woke me up."

"...Thank you."

And just like that, Sua stretched her arms, opened the bottom shelves as if she knew the place, and tossed Minjeong an apron.

"You were going to make breakfast, right? I want to help."

At first, Minjeong was reluctant but agreed since it'll be quicker that way. Plus, she'd be able to observe the latter's status window while making breakfast. It'd be good to know her rivals as soon as possible.

Open status.

*DING*

...What the hell.

It was the first time Minjeong saw something in red fonts from the system.

That was weird.

Recalling how something similar happened when she