Friday night at SOPA's auditorium.

"!@#$! *^%@! #&%$!!!!" 

"I know. I know. Please calm down Eunwoo."

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Eunwoo snarls at Yebin, who is currently doing her best to remove all dust and lint from Eunwoo's simple, white dress. "This dress is so short that I'm going to flash the audience! My vocal cords are as swollen as my cheeks were when I got my wisdom teeth pulled out! And to top it all off, the girl who I've loved and supported for that past three years isn't here to laugh at me for being such a @#$@%^% mess right now!"

Eunwoo roughly pulls her dress away from Yebin and crouches down, head between her trembling knees. 

"She promised. She promised. She promised me. She promised me that she would be here for me, for one of the biggest moments in my life."

"She promised me she would always be my side." Eunwoo whispers. 

Eunwoo could not let anything else come out of her body. She had emptied her tearducts. She had torn out enough hair to make a wig for a doll.

She had lost her heart.

"I'll try to call her again, Eunwoo. Nayoung unnie too. I probably just called them at the wrong time. Look, I'll even get Minkyung unnie to call Nayoung unnie too."

Eunwoo cracked a half-hearted smile at her friend so desperate to see her happy again. Yebin is already furiously tapping one foot--like the cute bunny rabbit she is--while aggressively pushing her cellphone against her ear. "Come on. Come on!"

"Forget it Yebin. The show must go on." Eunwoo wipes invisible tears from her eyes and attempts to flourish her hands outwards. She only manages to fall face first onto the wooden floor. "Just like what happened in the studio all those months ago."

Eunwoo shakily stands up and smooths her crinkled dress and flattens her hair. Yebin places a hand on Eunwoo's shoulder to stop her, but the announcer is ready to call the next contestant to the stage.

"Up next, we have Miss Jung Eunwoo, who will be performing 'Fly' by Jessica!"

Applause. Eunwoo drags her feet forward. The necklaces that adorn her neck seem like chains. She is not ready to fly. If anything, she is ready to sink into the ground. To feel the warm earth envelop her entirety. To make her forget all of the heartache and the memories that harass her with only one question:

"What if?"

Five minutes have passed since Eunwoo came into the spotlight. She sits in an aluminum chair at the center of the stage. The spotlight shines directly into her eyes and sears the baby hairs on her cheeks. She has not said one word since she sat down in that chair. She has not looked once at the representatives whose glares are harsher than the lighting. Eunwoo has not even once raised the microphone to her quivering lips. It remains tightly clenched in her small, fragile, hand.

The audience gets restless. The announcer whispers to Eunwoo that she either needs to perform immediately or leave the stage (and never come back).

"Why am I here?

I can sing and I can sort of dance, but does that make me an idol?

Idols are perfect.

Perfect hair.

Perfect skin.

Perfect personality.

No cracks in the porcelain mask. The mask hides well the scars that lay underneath.

But my mask is made of glass.

And everyone can see the cracks within.

I can't be the perfect idol.

I can't be Nayoung.

But I can be me.

And me always goes out with a bang."

Eunwoo finally looks up from the tips of her silver high heels to stare at the mass of faceless people. She tries her best to show her biggest, goofiest smile. She even waves.

"Good evening everyone! Sorry to keep you all waiting. I decided at the last minute to change the song I'm going to sing for you all tonight and I had to memorize a whole new set of lyrics. You were all nervous, right? 'Jeez, what the heck is this girl doing.' Announcer!'"

Eunwoo yells out the word so loudly the announcer clutches his chest. "W-w-what?"

"I'm going to sing 'Gravity' by Sara Bareilles. Hit it."

The annoucer is confused. He just does the announcing, but he obeys the bossy girl anyway and tells some backstage crew member to play "Gravity."

The music begins to play, and Eunwoo lifts her microphone to her lips triumphantly, despite it being obvious that she's nervous as hell. Her knees are shaking so badly the front row could hear them make a dull "thump" each time they collide. Sweat glistens on Eunwoo's forehead. Tears sparkle at the corner of her eyes. Eunwoo takes a deep breath-

Something always brings me back to you

It never takes too long

No matter what I say or do

I'll still feel you here  'till the moment I'm gone

You hold me without touch

You keep me without chains

I never wanted anything so much than to drown in your love

And not feel your reign

Set me free, leave me be

I don't want to fall another moment into your gravity

Here I am, and I stand

So tall, just the way I'm supposed to be

But you're on to me and all over me

...

A/N: It's been an emotionally roller coaster. I'm finally starting to feel tired so this chapter really isn't my favorite. But I liked how I did Eunwoo's thoughts. I hope you enjoyed it too. Thanks for reading, for all of those who have gotten this far! Just 1 more chapter left. I want to end this story well but I also just want to sleep.