“Fancy seeing you in the same group as me.” Shin Ah said pompously the moment Jin Jin had left the practice room. “I correct myself. I mean, fancy seeing you making it to the third round. I never thought you had it in you to make it.”

She smirked then and Winter had a raging urge to smack that smirk from her face. Instead, she said somewhat calmly, “I only got in through sheer determination. I’m sure it goes the same for you.”

“Determination?” she sniggered, as if daring Winter to tag her with such a word. “I got in through talent! And that is something you will never have. So I suggest you throw away any expectations that you currently have, because I am going to debut.”

This was a conversation that Winter had no intention of continuing, as she clearly knew how it would end. An itch in her heart, however, caused words to pour out of . “Sure, you will debut, but what happens when your fans realise that you have such a horrible past? Will they still look at you the same way?”

Shin Ah furrowed her eyebrows in annoyance. “They won’t know anything if nobody talks about it.”

“And what makes you think people won’t? What happened between us has already spread to all the workers in the company. Will they still allow you to debut knowing you are a bully?”

Winter was taken aback by the speed at which Shin Ah came towards her. In a second she had her against the wall, her fist holding tightly onto the collar of Winter’s shirt. In Winter’s eyes she looked exactly like a wild tiger that had escaped its cage.

“You might think it is fun to tease me, but you sometimes forget how vicious I can be,” Shin Ah breathed dangerously and Winter thought she saw of flame in her pupils, seconds from causing an inferno. “I have tolerated you for a long time now, Winter. One more time, and I bet you won’t see daylight again. One last chance.”

She released Winter’s collar suddenly, sending Winter trembling and on her knees. When Winter looked up again, Shin Ah was gone.

The next few days went past in a blur. It had seemed like only yesterday when Mr Go has released the details of the third task but already Winter was standing at a popular busking spot in Hongdae, where groups of youths were walking by. The busking spots, it seemed, were right next to each other such that people could walk to each spot within three short steps. Unfortunately, Winter’s busking area was right next to Shin Ah’s and she could already feel the tension radiating between them as the staff members hurried to prepare their microphones. The fact that they were to start singing at the exact same time made the competition between them much more intense and Winter felt the familiar butterflies in her stomach as she got ready for her performance.

The song Winter received, Bloom, was about one who missed the presence of her lover and wished that he would come back. It is undoubtedly a song that exuded much sadness and thus included a lot of high notes, but whose dance choreography was much more relaxed and melancholy. Shin Ah’s song, on the other hand, radiated clear R&B vibes, with a catchy music accompaniment that was perfect for dancing. She wondered how it would turn out when the two songs were sung against each other. In a haze of anxiety, she saw that a small group of people had gathered around Shin Ah’s spot instead of hers and her anxiety peaked.

“Going in in three… two… one… go!” a staff member voiced out, and the music played spontaneously on Shin Ah’s end and hers. Winter closed her eyes in an effort to close out her surroundings and started singing.

There was a myriad of sounds all around Winter but she refused to open her eyes until the bridge of the song, where the end of her high notes signalled the conclusion of the song. What she saw then completely took her by surprise. In a circle around her, there was a thick crowd of people gazing at her, most of them with their handphones whipped out to record her performance. Appalled, she looked to her left where Shin Ah was busking. Much to her surprise, there was only a thin crowd of people surrounding her. When both of their music pieces rang out its last note, Shin Ah’s gaze met hers. Amidst the crowd of applauding audience, Winter clearly saw her look of utter jealousy.

“58 people?” Yu Ri exclaimed, her shrill voice cutting into Winter’s eardrums. “You managed to attract 58 people?”

“Shhhhhh!” It was a short while after Winter had ended her busking performance, and they had gathered at the practice room where Mr Go had announced the number of people who had viewed each of their performances. Much to her contentment, Winter managed to secure first place so far. She looke