The whole camp had gathered in the gym, and the instructors for music, dance, art, and literature stood before all of them. There was a faint disturbance of restlessness, but due to the amount of guards and government officials, no one said anything. Rose stared up at the instructors, unsure of how she was supposed to feel. Eunnie and Frida had mentioned only a little bit when it came to the Inspection Day Performances, and the way everyone treated them, it seemed as if they were more of executions than shows.

“Welcome,” the head official announced.

“Tch…” Namjoon scoffed, “Yeah right…”

“As you all know, Inspection Day is in less than 24 hours from now,” pausing, she scanned over every head in the crowd, “The instructors and I have reached a decision as to which students will be lucky enough to perform.”

“Lucky my ,” Yoongi muttered.

“Now, for the dance category, would…  Park Jimin and Jeon Jungkook come on stage?” the dance instructor announced.

Casting a look at each other, both Kookie and Jimin mounted the stage.

“For voice… Kim Danika, please come on stage,” the voice instructor called.

Rose watched as the girl that used to tear at her mind wore a smug smile as she followed the two boys on stage.

“For theater, Lee Jina and Chung Caitlin-”

“I can’t believe she got chosen,” Eunnie grumbled, “She can’t even sing-”

“You know they just chose her because of her looks,” sighing, Frida stuffed her fists in her pockets.

“I would love to wipe that smirk off her ugly, squashed face-”

“Shh!” Frida held up a hand, “They’re calling the musicians now.”

“For the instrumental music,” the music instructor drawled slowly, “Would Min Yoongi and Winters Rose please come on stage.”

Yoongi shot Rose a look of remorse and curiosity as the two climbed on stage. Why the instructor had picked her, she didn’t know. If anything, he barely saw her as it was. During music rehearsals, he wouldn’t notice if she slipped away to a quieter corner, or even if she wasn’t there at all. She was invisible… or so she thought.

“That’s it,” the head official announced once more, “Head back to your rooms until said otherwise.”

There was pause, before the crowd dispersed into the halls once more. A pin could have dropped in the room, and even a deaf man would hear it.

“Now then,” the official turned to face the individuals chosen to perform, “I expect each of you have some sort of act ready to perform?”

All nodded in silence.

“Good, good,” pursing her lips, she eyed each one of them coldly, “For those of you that are new to this, I will lay down some rules. You are not to speak unless spoken to. You are not to leave the stage until our guests allow it. You are not to complain or show any emotion during the time that they are here, and if you break one of these rules, you will be severely punished.”

Rose clenched her teeth together, ‘So we’re basically just statues?’ she scoffed at the thought, but there was nothing to be done.

“Also,” the official continued, “If one of our guests should request to take you home, you will not refuse.”

***

“What did she mean by that?!” Rose hissed.

Sighing, Yoongi shook his head, “It’s nothing.”

“It didn’t sound like nothing-”

“Really, it’s nothing,” Jimin snapped, not meeting her eyes.

Recoiling, she nodded slowly, “Okay…”

Everyone seemed a little on edge that day, and she couldn’t help but notice that she was the last person everyone seemed to want there. Though she had little to no friends back home, she had never felt this… alone. Not even here. It seemed as if everyone was a million miles away, and she was trapped under an ocean of water. She couldn’t speak, or hear, or see. It was just her. All alone.

“Hey,” Jungkook’s arm brushed against hers.

Blinking, she forced a smile, “Hey.”

“Are you okay?” he eyed her carefully.

“Yeah, I’m fine-”

“Rose.”

Sighing, she shook her head, “Not really.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” he whispered.

She shrugged. Honestly, she didn’t know what she wanted.

“We could go to the Music Room,” he caught her arm, frowning, “I want to make sure you’re okay.”

Hesitating, she glanced back at Jimin and Yoongi continuing down the hallway, “I don’t want anyone to worry and we might get caught-”

“Rose,” he took her hands in his own, “Let them worry.”

Letting out a slow and heavy breath, she nodded, “Alright.”

Taking her hand, he led her down the corridor, opposite to the direction of their friends, and oblivious to the fact that his heart was racing just as much as hers. Closing the door behind them, Jungkook turned to face her. “Do you want to talk about it?”

She bit her lip, then let out an exasperated breath, “I don’t know. It’s just confusing.”

“Yeah?”

“I just… no one ever explains anything, and it seems like I’m just bothering everyone and-”

“Is this about Jimin?” Jungkook said quietly.

“What?” she frowned, “No! I mean… maybe, I mean… I don’t know…”

“Yeah?”

“One moment he’s fine, and the next he’s back to being cold,” sighing, she collapsed to the floor, “I don’t understand what I’m doing wrong… I just… don’t get it…”

Jungkook looked down, “You like him, don’t you.”

“What?”

“You like him,” he said quietly.

“Kookie-”

He forced a smile, “He likes you too, you know. He just has trouble expressing it.”

“Kookie-”

“You should talk to him about it-”

“Koookie!” she shot to her feet, “Just listen!” Taking a deep breath, she stared him right in the eyes, “I don’t know how I feel, Kookie, so don’t make those decisions for me.”

He stared at his shoes in silence.

“Yeah, maybe I did like him before, but I don’t know now. Why? Because of you.”

His head shot up, “What?”

“I don’t know how I feel,” she whispered, “Just... I need to be alone... I should probably get ready for the performance...”

He nodded, swallowing hard. He still wasn't sure if he heard her correctly, but even then, his heart was pounding out of his chest. Turning on his heel, he paused before opening the door, "You can tell me anything... I'll always be here for you. Just remember that." Letting the door close behind him, he descended down the corridor more confused than ever.

“Where were you?” Eunnie looked up from magazine.

Rose shrugged, “Just the Music Room.”

“I guess you kind of need to be,” Frida sighed, flipping the pages of her book.

“You could say that…”

“Anyway,” Eunnie sighed, holding up her magazine, “What do you think of this dress? Do you think it’d look good on me?”

“Anything would look good on you,” Frida droned.

“I mean, if I was free, should I get it or not?”

“How much is it?” Rose sat down on her bed.

“Hmm… $900 US dollars?” Eunnie frowned slightly, “That’s not bad, right?”

Rose choked, “900?!”

“Yeah, I mean converting to Won, that’s only like… 90,000 won, right?”

Coughing, Rose shook her head, “Add one more zero.”

“Wait… 900,000 won? Really?!” dumbfounded, Eunnie stared at the magazine, “Gosh… that’s way too expensive… and just for a dress?!”

“Welcome to America,” Rose sighed, staring up at the ceiling, “Where everything is overpriced.”

“You know,” Eunnie looked up thoughtfully, “I think that’s the first bad thing you’ve said about your country.”

Laughing, Rose shook her head, “There’s pros and cons to everything. Trust me.”

“True…”

“Hey, it’s nine o'clock,” Frida set her book down, “We should probably get some rest before we head up. Tomorrow’s going to be a big day.”