"Hey !" Sunji shouted at me, clutching a few pieces of paper. I waved and gestured to the papers in question.

"GUESS WHO SIGNED US UP FOR THE SM AUDITIONS THIS COMING SATURDAY?" As excited as I was to receive this piece of information, I couldn't help but groan in response.

"You mean, another chance for our rejection? Don't you remember what happened last time?"

My mind unwillingly flashed back to the time of my YG Auditions. Being the wimp I was, I could not even bring myself to squeak a word. All I could do was bow and say my name repeatedly.

Sunji actually got called back to the second rounds but being the amazing friend she was, she was unwilling to move on without me. "Hye Sun, I'm your best friend and I love you, but you really need to it up and stop being such a wuss." I sighed indignantly and agreed, "Fine, we'll go on Saturday."

The days flew past and Saturday soon appeared to whack me across the head and inject fear into the depths of my soul. I had practiced my piece in the mirror for over 2 hours per day but I still couldn't bring myself to say that I was fully prepared.

I was terrified and the jumble of knots in my tummy soon grew into cannonballs that made me lurch in absolute fear.

"Hye Sun ah! Are you ready?" I heard Sunji's voice from her car in the driveway. I looked at myself in the mirror and gave myself one last fighting before trudging towards my impending doom. 

The waiting room of the SM Auditions 2014 was strangely empty which all the more scared me since I couldn't even stall for time. I was told that I was in group 2 and I would be the fifth person to perform. Sunji was seventh and I was so thankful for her calming presence.

I looked at Sunji as she listened to music through her ear pieces, looking completely at home and at ease despite being in a nerve-wrecking situation that could possibly change her life. Whilst all the other auditionees (myself included) did some last minute practising, Sunji just closed her eyes and occasionally bobbed her head to the music that I could not hear.

I longed for courage like that one day because I felt that my fear was the only thing that held me back from success.

"Group 2 please make your way down the hall, first door on the left marked 'audition'." My stomach did one last twist and I found myself shuffling along with the other 9 people in my group breathing heavily and hastily ensuring that all lyrics were memorised and that all dance moves were perfected.

Our row walked into the room and stood in a line in front of a table of three people. They looked mightily bored and uninterested and if not for the occasional scribbling in their books, I would've thought that they were falling asleep.

Without even an introduction, the auditions started and the first person was told to perform her piece. The first 4 people passed without much problem. I was too distracted listening to the sound of my own heart slamming against my ribcage.

And the next thing I knew, it was my turn.

I looked to Sunji for some moral encouragement as she waved and gave me a little "fighting!" before looking away. I took a deep breath and began to sing my heavily practiced piece. 

"Lying beside you, here in the dark

Feeling your heart beat with mine.

Softly you whisper, you're so sincere,

How could our love be so blind,"

Just as I was getting into the real rhythm and melody of the song, I was told to stop and return to my original position. Despite being able to finally overcome my extreme fear of performing in public, I couldn't help but feel extreme disappointment that they paid little to no heed to me. I bowed and said my thanks as I tried not to let the tears swimming around in my eyelids flow out.

As I wallowed in self-pity, I nearly missed the whole of Sunji's audition piece until I heard the guy next to me say, "Wow, she's absolutely amazing." I regained my composure to watch Sunji sing her piece perfectly and I felt my heart swell with pride as I recalled the day that I caught Sunji singing in the school auditorium.

Why she had tried hiding that amazing voice of hers before, I could never comprehend. As Sunji completed her piece, I almost felt the urge to clap for her before reminding myself of the situation I was in. Sunji smiled and bowed after her song and stepped back into position before awaiting her feedback.

The audition officials looked slightly impressed and I knew there and then that Sunji had made an impression once again. And I, Lee Hye Sun, did not.

a/n: first chapter up! How was it? Comments are appreciated! ♡