Since she can remember, Yunjin always love to sing. She liked to sing everytime and everywhere. She sang when she had her bubble bath with Mrs. Duck and her three kids, she sang when she rode her pink bicycle to the park, when she scared to walk alone to the bathroom at late night, she sang all the way to the bathroom and back to her room. Yunjin liked to sing all songs, from Barney’s songs to Disney’s songs. 

One day when little Yunjin was in kindergarten she was asked to sing the solo part of her class choir for the annual Christmas party. Her class was gonna play Noah The Arc, so they’ll gonna wear animals costum while singing and dancing. Little Yunjin can’t wait to wear her fluffy giraffe costum, she keeps on staring lovingly to the costum every night before she drift off to sleep. 

On the morning of the Christmas party day, little Yunjin woke up even before her chicken alarm rang. She got up from her bed and ran all the way to her parents room, and woke them up. Later that day, Yunjin stand on the stage in her cute giraffe costum, little Yunjin sang with all her might, she felt so happy when the audience clapped their hands and her parents waved cheerfully from the front seat. A big smile beaming on her red cheeks, she waved back to her parents while giggling in happiness.

That night in her sleep, little Yunjin dreamt being a singer.

******

Having a Mom as an Opera singer, Miyu learned to sing even before she learned to talk. She learned to play piano and classical ballet when she’s just 2 years old. Her mom would always ask her to play her favourite songs, so Miyu would play every song that she took a liking on her piano. From Doraemon’s songs to the song from the train station near her house. She liked to play her mom’s favourite song on her birthday. On her father birthday, she would play the piano and her mom would sing, or sometimes her mom would play the piano and little Miyu would singing her own version of happy birthday song. 

On her 4th birthday, little Miyu went to watch her mom’s show. Along with her Dad, little Miyu excitedly sat at the front seat. Little Miyu always like how beautiful her Mom, how her long curly hair would be so soft and smell like lavender. How her Mom would look so cute wearing the cute rabbit pyjamas that she also had. 

Now standing on the stage her Mom looks so different, gone was her long curly hair and was replaced with a neat styled hair. Her Mom always look amazing even in her rabbit pyjamas but now that her Mom was in a beautiful red dress Miyu thought her Mom was as beautiful, no she's more beautiful than any Disney Princess.

Miyu always like how sweet and soothing her mom voice, how she always drift off to sleep after hearing her Mom singing a lullaby. But now under the spotlight, her Mom sounds even more wonderful. Never had she heard this deep, powerful, and high pitch voice from her Mom. As the song ended and the curtains going down, Miyu alongside with other people standing up and clapping her hands with all her might. 

Later that night when she wish upon her birthday candles, she wished to be a singer just like her Mom.

*****

Closing the door of her agency office with a heavy sigh, 17 years old Heo Yunjin walked to the nearest bus stop. While waiting for her bus in the cold night she can't help but to think about what her agency's staff just told to her.

"Yunjin, as you probably know there's a new survival show on MNET called Produce48. We all agreed to send you there alongside with Gaeun as our agency representative." Mr. Kim the head of PR team said to her as the two of them were in his office room.

"Gaeun unnie and I were the only representative? What about other trainee who trained longer than me?" Yunjin asked, while being happy to having this opportunity she can't help but to think about other trainee. 

"You didn't have to worry about them, now all you need to think about is preparing yourself to join this show and learn some basic Japanese." Mr. Kim said while passing her with files filled with the details of the show.

"Huh, Japanese?" Yunjin asked dumbfoundedly 

"Yeah, this time around the show is gonna do some collaboration with Japanese idols AKB48 and it's sister groups, so there will be half Korean and half Japanese trainee. You should learn some basic Japanese from Gaeun, she's quite fluent in Japanese." 

"Alright, I'm gonna asked Gaeun unnie to teach me later, is there anything else that I need to prepare for this show?"

"Well nothing much, just do your usual training and don't forget to keep your health. Other than that the most important thing is you need to take a break from your SNS, from Facebook, Twitter, and your Instagram. Apparently there was a trainee who broke the no SNS rules from previous season and accidentally leaking the song from the show, so this year they were so strict about this one." 

"Well that's easier than what I thought. I wasn't really fond of playing SNS, so you didn't need to worry about me breaking the rules." 

"Good to hear that, now other things that you need to do is to delete your predebut photos from your SNS. I know you already did that the moment you join the agency, but you need to make sure to delete all the remaining photos that might still be there. Also you need to ask your family and friends to delete your photos from their SNS. We need to prevent the photos being leak or spread over the internet as the show is starting. We also didn't want the fans thought that you were a half Korean based on your predebut photos, and we didn't want any unnecessary rumors comes from it." Mr. Kim said, staring seriously at her while his hands were fold up on the table. 

"I understand, I'll make sure to delete all my predebut photos." With a deep sighed Yunjin said, before nodding her head in agreement.

"Alright then, prepare yourself for the show. You had one month left before the first shooting start. You may also go home now if you didn't have any remaining training schedule." Mr. Kim said, ending their meeting.

Back to the present, Yunjin thought were cut by the loud giggle coming from a bunch of school girls waiting for their bus. They were around her age and she can't help but to feel a little jealous of how carefree and happy they look, how the only thing that they had to worry about was probably their neverending homework and tests and finding a cute boyfriend. 

Somehow Yunjin missed her normal school life that she had back in the NY. How she spend her time joking around with her friends, how she would silently sneak into her room at late night after she had a party at one of her friends house, how it was so fun to being young and free with her friends. How all she need to worry about is school stuff, and not how to improve her dancing and singing and how to passed the weekly evaluation.

But then again, she's the one who choose to left all her normal school life back in the NY, and coming here to South Korea her supposedly home to pursue her long time dreams. Starting a new life here in South Korea wasn't as easy as she thought it would be. Her new classmate always thought that she was a half Korean because of her hair color and her tall figure. Some of her friends even call her "Girin" Koreans way to say giraffe. That's funny because back in NY she was the shorter one among her American friends. But here in South Korea, apparently she was the tallest girl in the school.

Coming back home to South Korea also means that she needs to improve her rotten Korean. As someone who spend nearly her entire life speaking in English, and only use her broken Korean when she visits her grandma on Christmas, her Korean is so bad. Fortunately her fellow trainee friends and classmate friends taught her to speak and write in Korean. Sometimes they even taught her the basic slang and swearing words so she knows what to say back when someone swearing to her. 

The bus finally come, Yunjin quickly got in the bus and sat at the back seat near the window. The giggling school girls also got in the bus, Yunjin stared at them longingly before staring at the road outside. Nothing will happen if she keeps on living the past. She already left her past so she need to stop think about it, she needs to look forward to the present day and what the future may be hold. Just like what Gaeun unnie told her that time when she was so frustrated that she can't keep following the basic dance correctly. 

"Living in the past might seems so fun and easy but if you want to be the one who stand under that spotlight, you got to take this hard and lonely way. You didn't have to forget the past entirely but at the end of the day you need to remember that you had to let it go and keep moving on even if the way ahead you is full of endless obstacles. Hardship and loneliness will always be your friends even after you reach your dreams, but wasn't this the way that you choose. After all that was just one of the price that you need to pay to stand on the stage." 

Later that night while sitting on her balcony with her phone in hands, Yunjin deleted all her predebut photos and her old SNS account. Let out a deep sighed she stared at the moon with a new determination in her eyes

"I will definitely make my dreams come true." 

******

Walking through the bustling street of Tokyo, 22 years old Takeuchi Miyu walked with a steady pace. Wearing her blue coat with floral pattern shirt and black jeans underneath, she took a turn to a small alley, and then walked in to a yakitori shop. 

"Miyu-chan over here." A long black haired girl with small face yelled from the corner seat of the crowded yakitori shop. 

"Ohisashiburi Miorin, you seem as energetic as always." Miyu said as the two of them hug in greetings. 

"Years of being a fresh lemon of the group had it's perks, you should know about it better than anyone else." Said Miorin as she called for the waiters.

"Ehhhh, I thought you were no longer being a fresh lemon after you graduate." Miyu said after taking a big gulp of the cold beer. 

"Once a fresh lemon always a fresh lemon, now stop talked about it. What do you want to talk about?" Miorin said after the waiters take both of their orders. 

"You know the usual job problems, I was thinking to graduate at the end of June." Miyu let out a deep sigh before taking another gulp of her beer. 

"But what..." Miorin asked while chewing down her last bite of yakitori.

"But then suddenly, Shinobu-san asked me to join this Produce48 thing that people are so hyped about." Miyu said, twirling her glass of beer. 

"Another wallet robbed project huh, Akimoto-san surely never run out of ideas. So what held you back to join it?" Miorin asked in between another bite of her new portion of yakitori. 

"I'm not really sure, I guess I'm just afraid of another failure." Miyu said as she asking for another glass of beer for both of them to a nearby waiters. 

A moment of comfortable silence filled the two of them as they chewing down on their yakitori, both were deep in their own thoughts.

"I think you should take that chance Miyu-chan, other than the not so hidden purpose Aki-P had in hands when he made this project, that is to helping  the 48 Group from this continuously fall out, you should take this opportunity to show the world what this group had missed for nine years." Miorin said breaking the comfortable silence between them. 

"Yeah, you probably right Miorin. I should take this opportunity as my last chance to debut. After all I've got nothing to lose if this thing didn't work out too." Miyu said before gulping down her remaining beer. 

"That's the spirit, I'm gonna vote for you until the end of the show. You're definitely gonna get in the debut line." Miorin said as she paying for their orders. 

Stepping out from the crowded yakitori shop, both of them walked to the nearest train station together. They walked while talking about  family and friends problems. Miorin was the one who mostly doing the talk, and Miyu silently listened to it and occasionally make a comment here and there. After more than nine years of friendship, they were used to each other personalities. Miorin is the talkative one while Miyu is the good listener one. Sometimes a comfortable silence filled them, as both of them enjoying the warm night. 

"Miyu-chan, if anything didn't go as we hoped for, which is I highly doubted will happen. You know that I'll always be your #1 fans, right. I'll be by your side no matter what  happens." Miorin said before giving Miyu a side hug as both of them waiting for the train. 

"Thats kinda cheesy even for you, but thanks Miorin, you're the best friend I've ever had." Miyu said giving Miorin her biggest smile as she returns the hug. 

"You mean you're only one best friend, right?" Miorin said jokingly, beaming her cheeky idol smile.  

"Yeah... Yeah... whatever you say dork." 

"Oh shut up, you ungrateful dork." 

The next morning, Miyu sent in her application form to Shinobu-san email. 

"This time around, I'll definitely gonna standing on the stage." 

******