An endless cycle of practice, it turned out, became Winter’s drug to keep her mind off Moon Bin for the rest of the days leading up to her last performance. With this being the final, crucial performance, Winter forced herself to practice until every ounce of her energy had depleted before she finally allowed herself to rest. The song that she had chosen, Bloom, was stronger on vocals and showcased a melancholic, contemporary choreography, posing to be the biggest obstacle for Winter yet. Compared to the other competitors who probably had years of training before her, this was the first time Winter was tasked to sing and dance at the same time. Moreover, she lacked the exposure to different dance genres and did not realise that contemporary dance even existed until now. Not to mention that Winter had to worry about hitting all the high notes (there were many) as she danced to each move perfectly.

Much to her relief, Jin Jin was the kindest mentor she ever had. He must have known that this was a big deal to Winter—or he might have heard about the bullying issue with which Winter was the victim and took pity on her—because he agreed to spend all his free time to mentor Winter when she needed it. Much opposed to how Eun Woo had given her sweets to cheer her up, Jin Jin’s method was more verbal and emotional; he grinned at Winter and clapped his hands encouragingly whenever she got something right, and when she didn’t, he still smiled and was generous with his compliments. It was no wonder that Jin Jin was the leader of ASTRO, needless to say a very good one at that.

The last few days of her training sped by quickly and within no time, the day of the last performance had come. She sat in the familiar waiting room after her rehearsal, feeling jittery as she waited for her name to be called. Her hands fiddled with her phone, clicking it on and off habitually to check the time. At seven o’clock sharp, she heard Mr Go’s voice greet the audience and announce the start of the show, and her stomach did a fretful flip on its own accord.

Just then, the device in her hands vibrated angrily, jerking Winter out from her anxiety. It was a call from Eun Woo. She picked it up swiftly. “Hello?” she spoke into the phone.

“Winter, are you getting ready to perform now?”

“Yeah,” she said with false composure, “the show just started. I’m the fifth one to perform, so there’s still some time before I’m called.”

“Are you nervous?”

“Of course!” she cried, her emotions getting the better of her. “I feel like I’m going to puke any moment!”

She could hear Eun Woo chuckling from the other side of the line. “Nerves, we idols deal with it all the time. Don’t worry too much about it. I heard from Jin Jin that you’re doing pretty good so far! You’ve already received recognition from our leader, I’m sure you’ll do fine!”

“Thanks, Eun Woo,” she smiled, feeling infinitesimally better. “Would all of you be coming to see us?”

“We would love to! We’re on our way to the venue now, though it is highly likely that we wouldn’t make it there on time; there’s a major jam here, you see. I’m afraid we might not be able to see you perform if— Hey! Where are you going Moon—” Eun Woo broke off suddenly, his voice alarmed. The phone call was followed by a myriad of shouting voices on the other hand; Winter could recognise Jin Jin’s voice; then Eun Woo was back on the line, this time his tone urgent. “Sorry for the sudden ruckus, Winter. You see, Moon Bin just got out of the car and took off running at full speed! I think—I think he might be running to you.”

“What?” Winter blanched, “why would he do that?”

“I’m not sure. He simply took off without warning, in the middle of a traffic congestion, at that!” Eun Woo was clearly flabbergasted. “I think he couldn’t stand waiting in the car in this jam, so he decided to run on foot, if it means he would be able to catch you performing. Anyway, don’t worry about him, we’ll take care of it on our side. Just focus on your performance, okay?”

“O-okay,” Winter gulped as the call clicked off.

Winter did not have to wait that long before her name was called and she was ushered to the backstage. When Mr Go announced her name, she climbed up the stage to a huge round of applause by the audience, feeling like a raw bundle of nerves. This is it, she told herself as the stage lights dimmed, you’re giving it your best shot. Following the lights, the stage fell into complete silence and Winter could feel the familiar pull in her muscles as