Several days passed by uncharacteristically quietly after Winter indicated her participation for the debut project. After confirming that Winter’s name was on the screen, Shin Ah had not found any instances to disturb Winter in any way. Her days passed relatively normally, her nights were peaceful as well since whenever she returned home, the boy that she lived with seemed to lock himself in the room or else the room would be empty, judging from the ajar door that he always left behind. Even her background dancer mates seemed to take on a completely different outlook on Winter after that day. During practices they treated her like a wall—not that that was a good thing; Winter just liked the negligence better than being the centre of attention—and no one spoke out to Winter when volunteers were needed for practice. Sometimes a complete stranger to Winter would give her an encouraging smile when they accidentally made eye contact, or someone would whisper, “good luck!” to Winter when they passed by her in the canteen. Winter wasn’t sure why the people here, whom she once associated to be cold and uncaring, were reacting to her in such a warm manner. It almost felt like they were giving their last words of farewell to a soldier heading into war as if they would never see them again. Maybe some of them were admiring her bravery for entering a competition that required you to risk everything you had. Either way, Winter was just getting used to the tranquility when she received a white piece of paper from a scared-looking girl who ran off the moment she passed the message on.

            Winter opened the folded paper gingerly. Inside, a single sentence was written in black ink: ‘Friday, 18th November, Level 7, 10 a.m.’.

            On the 18th of November, Winter arrived at the seventh level as stated on the note with trembling hands. Once the elevator doors had opened, Winter and Yu Ri stepped out into a carpeted corridor surrounded with white walls and a lot of sunlight coming from a glass ceiling-to-floor window on her left. There were already five others waiting in a line before they arrived, their expressions wary as they eyed them both. Shin Ah had not arrived yet, thankfully, for Winter did not want her anxiety to heighten at the sight of her arch enemy. The seven of them waited in nerve-wrecking silence, none of them knowing what to say. What did you say to a group of people who were competing with you for a spot in a five-member girl group? Did you greet them politely and make friends, or did you announce your battle statement from the start? Winter’s fingers fiddled together unconsciously. It did not help that this was the first time she was called to enter the seventh storey. After all, Mr Yoon had explicitly warned her not to venture into the other levels that did not belong to the background dancers. If Winter was not wrong, she remembered that the seventh floor was where celebrities of the company roamed and trained. She felt out of place standing in an area where only established people wandered around. Exactly what did this competition have in store for them?

            Slowly, the elevator doors opened to reveal the other competitors in line with her. When Shin Ah arrived, her eyes stayed on Winter for a short fleeting moment before she aligned herself with the others, not stating a word of recognition towards her. Good, Winter thought thankfully, let this war end peacefully and not in blood.

            Soon, the hallway was crowded with people of varying ages. It was clear that everyone had arrived, seeing that the elevator had stopped pinging. Some of them had started engaging with each other in hushed whispers, but Winter felt as cold as ice, feeling like even a hot summer’s day would be useless in melting the ice that surrounded her heart.

            “Welcome, little ones!” said a chirpy voice coming from the front of the hallway. All heads whipped around. It was a man that Winter had never seen before. He was wearing a thin sweater coupled with a pair of sloppy black jeans. He had on a smile that seemed too wide to fit his face; as he smiled, long lines of wrinkles stretched along the corner of his eyes and ended at his temples. There was also a bald patch in the centre of his head, the hair surrounding it clearly showing the signs of age. Winter guessed he must be around sixty years old, though he tried to hide the hoarseness in his voice.

            “Thank you for participating in our debut project,” the man continued vibrantly. “Now I’m sure all of you know what you’re heading in for? It is a survival competition, albeit a risky one, that ensures a road to fame if you win favour from the judges. Lose, and you’ll have to pack your bags and you’ll not set foot in Fantagio forever! Now, Fantagio Music has gone through many of such competitions to ensure debut of only the best and most deserving. But it has never seen a competition of such scale and risk before! Never have we allowed participants to come from other backgrounds other than trainees. This time, we have background dancers coming from a wide age group and varying training periods. The youngest amongst you, I believe, is only thirteen years old?”

            All their heads swivelled towards a young girl who peeked out from a small gap between two teenagers. She was about a head and a half shorter than the others and had her hair in pigtails. She gave a shy smile when everyone turned to gaze at her, though her eyes shone with a steady determination and confidence.

            “Yes, young indeed, but not to be belittled. Might I say, she is a strong contestant for one of the five winning spots with five years of training!” Winter gasped amidst a round of applause. That girl in pigtails entered the company at the age of eight? How was she supposed to beat someone with so much experience?

               “Incredible… amazing, indeed. Now let’s move on with the introductions. I noticed that some of you were staring at me with weird gazes the moment I started speaking. I must have forgotten to introduce myself! You can call me Mr Go. I’ll be your host and MC-in-charge during the performances that will be held in due time. In reality I am your information dispenser, hence you’ll be really familiar with me by the time the three months are up! Now this competition will be a tough and arduous one, and I hope all of you have your hearts and minds ready for it.

            There will be three performances in total, and each time