Kristen's POV:

“Hey come with me”, I dragged Yeun from the bed she was sitting on now, giving her no time to protest cause I knew once she started, I wouldnot be able to do what I have to, we headed a place which I just happened to discover..

“Yah, mind loosening the grip, I’m not protesting okay!” the angry Yeun shouted, I let go of her hand once we were out of the room and into the lift, she caressed her hand which I had been holding, she threw me a sharp look to which I just mouthed a small MIANHE…

The lift opened and we had to climb one floor to reach the roof top, I slid the door open to the entrance and led Yeun in… once we were near one of the boundaries, I grinned excitedly at the view and turned to Yeun-ah with open arms ….

“Happy Birthday Yeun-aaahhhhhhhhhh!”

it took a few seconds for her to register what I just said and then she squealed…. That’s our own-original-tinzy-binzy-anthem right….. she jumped on me and hugged me tightly to which I responded with open arms…. “You know I love you… you’re my best friend… look no one called me from home yet….” Yeun sighed as she waved her phone in front of me showing that still there was no sign of a message or even a missed call…. “Why are you sulking, you’ve got me, you know that right? You know umma appa always wish you in the morning, they don’t like to disturb you when you’re in your sweet slumber” I tried to assure her that its okay…. Well, I know what I said was absolutely false because Umma appa always tend to forget her birthday, although she’s their only child but they seem to be too busy with their own activities & continuous business trips, that is why I always send them a reminder to wish her so atleast it won’t hurt her….

“How did you find this place?” Yeun asked me, as I told you earlier we were at the roof top of the hotel, it was just one of the most beautiful sight and ambiance one could ever experience, when you are standing here, your eyes practically catches a glimpse of every corner of Vegas, in the morning just seconds before sunrise is the most soothing and refreshing atmosphere, its calm, quiet and serene, the fresh air revitalizes you with an invisible energy which just brightens your mood, just last night I could’nt get enough sleep and tossed in bed for several hours fidgeting with my phone to get something interesting to do, but no luck; this handy gadget was so boring that it couldnot even get me to sleep, so I decided to take a walk….. upwards… so that’s how I discovered this place, the moment the first ray of Sunshine touched me, my soul was composed with tranquility…. Now it was a different view cause it was midnight, the life at Vegas had just started, so as far as the eye could see were Lights, decorations, Neon, cars, people dancing, crowds just everything that defines “HAVING FUN”

“Well, you know me, I sometimes get sleepless nights, this place is a result of yesterday" I explained and Yeun just nodded her head then looked back at the view in front of us....

"Kris do you remember our first performance together,(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IFMIENn6M8&feature=related) we were fifteen?" Yeun asked me,

"Ofcourse I remember, that was when we made ourselves known everyones eyes",...

she nodded with a small smile on her lips which was a sign of recalling what I just said,

"We were really nervous right, but we made a promise to ourselves that we will break the stage, no matter what the difficulty level is, we will work hard together for each other, winning will not matter if we are competing against each other...." she eyed me, I caught a glimpse of judgement in them, whats with her,

"Whats about it?" I asked, I don't know why this...

"I just want to say that I would never mind loosing against you, so no matter what happens we'll stick to each other, never leave me alone in this competition alone, you just don't know how nervous I am.... it just makes me afraid thinking of what will happen tomorrow... Kris this is our time, our first time here, we have got to make a mark tomorrow to make ourselves known, HERE,..... You are gonna cheer for me right?"

I knew all along that I had to be here, I was so sure that tomorrow is the day but why now do I not feel as equally pressured as Yeun is, I know that I'm not being over-confident, but I dont know why I just dont feel that my heartbeat is eractic or Im getting nervous as hell, it the total opposite of it since Im just so normal as if tomorrow is not the first day or rather i must say the judgement day.... My mind is not contemplating with the 'what ifs?' I just am certain that what I have prepared is how I am, it defines me, I smiled to Yeun and patted on her left shoulder as we stood face to face with each other 

"Yeun-ah, tomorrow is the big day, I make this promise to you (raising my pinky finger) that I'm gonna make sure that we do the best, WE WILL SURELY COMPETE EACH OTHER IN THE FINALS" she joined her pinky finger with mine and gave me a huge satisfactory grin which reached to her eyes and contagiously caught by me.....

"Thats my girl, this is the best birthday gift I could ever receive from you" Yeun-ah exclaimed and winked at me.... we stayed there for a bit then went ahead to our rehearsal room for one last practice......

---

"Do you think this is enough for us to get through the first round?" Yeun questioned me as she occupied the seat besides me, we were backstage, our Introduction VTR was being played right now and after a few seconds the contestants would be called out for their 'INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES'- the catch here is 'we don't know who goes when to perform?' 

"Well looking at how the other girls are, I'm sure we'll make it through the first", I said with all confidence...

Don't get me wrong I'm so not making the mistake of being overconfident, but the thing is with what I have observed, 50% of the girls are performing ballet, 30& performing jazz, which leaves to 20% girls who are performing Hip hop or break dance in which me Yeun are the best... comeone who would'nt have Hip hop running through their veins when they have rehearsed it for 5 consecutive years... day/night, 24/7.... so coming back to the point I'm quiet sure that our performance is not the one which will be... correction... can be left unnoticed....

"Don't be nervous I'm here to support you.... we'll break the stage girl!" Yeun-ah cheered me up...  The fret and nervousness which I had been free from yesterday had been overpowering me today since I stepped into the this vicinity, hell I was nervous, who would'nt be when you know that the stage you have been wanting to performing on the entire time is just a few steps away, I peeked a little at the stage which was more of a big ground where the judges are not seated in front of you but in special rooms where they have screens to look... observe you closely... on the stage there are 5 different cameras which monitor your performance from different angles and closeups.... here everything is scrutinized, from facial expressions to the slightest mistake unknown to the eye, the contestants backstage are unable to hear what the judges comments are? the contestants who perform donot get to meet with anyone who still has to perform, since they are guided to the other room(that is if you stay) or straight to the airport(no need to mention) ...... one thing that just makes me stand strong is the fact that I have the confidence,  right attitude, style & strength which was required to make a good performance of my genre....

Me and Yeun were sitting there when the first contestant, then the second... then the fourth.. and so on.. everytime the sound of speakers switching on reached our ears, my heartbeat would start a marathon and then calm down knowing it is just someone else.... the nI heard a familiar name being called out....

''Lee Donghae''...

oh thats Donghae from the bus... Yeun and I just shared glances, which was kinda wierd, because we just knew the instant our eyes met that YES we were thinking the same thing... or rather the same someone.... our new friends... we moved a step closer to the big screen that was placed in front of us, as we saw Donghae walked to the centre of the stage and started performing..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSFrT5T1l6s&list=LLEFPqlSln4UqWzRjsPjpEZg&index=1&feature=plpp_video

The moment he ended his performance my eyes faught an urge of blinking.... he a dancer with a handsome face.... I knew it the instant we first met that he can make any girl swoon by the way he moces.... and then the screen was all blank again making us oblivious of the decision of the judges whic I believe would be positive.....

then after a few seconds...

"KWON YEUN PLEASE STEP ON THE STAGE",

I turned to Yeun and I saw fret in her eyes with a mix of nervousness.....

"You look beautiful, your make up is just superb and remember to put our best foot forward"

I knew the look-comments would somehow make her feel a little better to overcome the nervousness which apparently did as she smiled and gave me a huge hug then proceeded to the stage.... 'Oh God please help Yeun give her best'... I just prayed.... and then the screen went on again... she looked into one of the cameras which had direct connection with the one in this room and gave a flying kiss, which I knew whom it was meant for "ME"..... I grinned widely and clasped my hands waiting for the music to start..... 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHII2GqshK0&list=LLEFPqlSln4UqWzRjsPjpEZg&index=14&feature=plpp_video

Yeun-ah is surely a girl with power & iness filled in her.. if Donghae can make girls swoon then to me, Yeun can easily make guys swoon over her..... I could already hear guys at the back hooting at her whenever she gave one of her signature wink..... I'm so sure Yeun-ah will be waiting for me in the room ahead and I'm gonna make sure that I reach there too..... 

 

I went back to sit on one of the couches at the back and tried practice the steps to my dance in my mind.... 5, 6, 7, 8, hip .... 1, 2, 3, 4 n turn......

"Kristen-ssi?"

I woke up from my trance to look back at who called me, and there was just one guy sitting so it was not difficult finding who it is,

"Hyukjae-ssi"

I remembered, he was Yeun's partner in the bus and also Donghae's bff.... He gave me a huge smile the moment I called out his name, I got up from my seat and took the seat next to him, he shifted a bit to give me space,

"Nervous?" I asked, it was not because I wanted to know that he is nervous, it is just that I wanted to know that I have a companion who is as nervous as  I am here.....

"Not really, cause I have been doing this for years now?"...

he just said that so calmly without any hint of nervousness even in his voice.... he gave me a smile which was so... I dont actually know how to describe it but I guess the word... WARM & COMFORTABLE.. would be best to understand it...

"Eh? what do you mean,?" I was still confused at what he said...

"Well its not like Im being over-confident or stuff its just that uptil  now what I have observed here is that there is very small percentage of guys who are doing a mixture of popping, locking and R&B, this year the guys here are more into Jazz & ballets, I don't understand why, with what I have seen previously there used to be a big number of guys who used to perform popping locking but this year its just decreased so, I know that there is a big room for me to be selected as I can assure that here apart from my group, nobody is good at this genre...."

did he just give a hypothesis on which I had been counting on....? I don't know how long I had been battlign with my mind at the fact that a person whom I barely know just gave me the same exact reason to which I had been relying on and on which I had been calming down my own friend as well.....

I came back on earth when I felt a hand patting my head, I looked up to see who it is and there Hyukjae was wearing his jacket and waved at me,

"Finally... do you go into trance often?... Anyways its my turn now.. I'll be going now... WISH ME LUCK" he asked with a huge smile on his face, but there was a hint of nervousness in his eyes which I was quick enough to catch before he turned,

"Hyukjae ssi..." he turned to me,

"BEST OF LUCK" I gave him a thumbs up with the brightest smile I know....

I moved closer to the LCD again... anticipating at the confident Hyukjae, it was just a surprise to experience this side of him as on the first day we met we hardly exchanged words except for greetings, because Donghae was the one doing all the chaating and Yeun found her ownself in a male, cause she is blabbering one.. as far as I remember me and Hyukjae were just nodding and adding our insights to what those two were talking about..... Hmm lets see what Hyukjae has to offer on stage.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVGm-k0ph4s&list=LLEFPqlSln4UqWzRjsPjpEZg&index=35&feature=plpp_video

I was left speechless, just what did this guy do?.... its not that I have not seen this dance before... its just that the way he moved with every single beat with perfection, grace, clarity, preciseness and a charm that I have not even seen in the best dancers I've so far met.... there is an ease with how he puts down the most difficult moves, the thing that caught my eye was the fact that he had the best facial expressions when dancing, as if they were just explaining the music he was dancing too, at every steps which described power, sensuality, fun, ease, flow, every sway was readible and understandable by the one who is watching.... All in all ... I've never been so impressed with a male dancer before.... Now I can see why Donghae would always mention that he is a fan of Hyukjae's dancing to which I was not sure of, by looking at his structure but I am clear now of what those words meant..... One thing... I'm impressed...!

I waited for my turn and snap... just after Hyukjae, the name that was announced out of the speakers was mine,

"KRISTEN PLEASE STEP ON STAGE"..

Oh .. oh .... "Help me Help me GOD!" I prayed all the way towards the stage..... I was overwhelmed by the amount of spot-lights that made me their focus.... 'I've got to nail this, I can't be nervous now'.... I took one last breath.... and then it was STAY OR OUT in a matter of 1minute of my performance...

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIPsel2nqls&list=LLEFPqlSln4UqWzRjsPjpEZg&index=7&feature=plpp_video) ...

I ended with a bow and then took the centre position on the stage waiting for my judgement.... it would be first time in the day that I will get to hear the voices of the judges.... A screen infront of me switched on which showed the three judges, they didnot utter a word neither was I given privilege to speak or even given a question to answer which mostly I see in other dancing shows..... but hell I new this is not 'any other dancing show'.... Then the three of them held a card each, in their hands and lifted it up for me to see.... 

 

At first my eyes squinted to check what I was looking at and when I understood what it meant, there was shock, excitement, nervousness and the continuous mind battling to confirm what I just saw.....

"YES,... YES....... YES.........." I jumped in glee.....

'Yes I was through the first round'... I waved the screen showing the judges and then walked off to the other side of the stage..... I was so excited that on my way I had a huge grin plastered onto my face, firstly because I made it  & secondly to be able to meet Yeun.... and then a third reason popped up into the back of my head, 'I'm sure Hyukjae would have made it through', no doubt about that.... I was walking with anticipation when I was guided to one of the rooms,

there..... From afar I could alread recognize the one person I really wanted to see, standing at the gate..... I ran to her and hugged her.... we both started screaming and jumping.......

"WE MADE IT .... WE MADE IT....." I exclaimed......

"I KNEW YOU'LD COME" Yeun said while pulling away from the hug....... and then she turned away from me as she started to walk towards a certain someone... I could not see her face but I could judge by the wasy she was walking that it showed a sign of victory,,,,'huh, what was that?'...

"So Hae, decide on a good place to treating us!" she stood in front of one of the guys whom I could not see at first but when Yeun turned her face to me and winked, I understood whom she was referring HAE to... He was standing with the guy I had been waiting to watch, Hyukjae....

'Oh boy she made a bet again.....'