Time flew faster than Jessica could comprehend. One day she was standing in a lobby of a small motel full of Masterchef hopefuls and the next day she was advanced to the next round, and the next round, and the next round until there were only 100 contestants left.

Today, in what felt a lot like an absurd dream, she was standing among those 100 people that were lucky enough to advance into the televised audition. In her arms, she had a paper bag filled with chosen ingredients for her dish. The dish she had spent weeks to perfect. There were many crew and cameras scattered around the perimeter but Jessica's tunnel vision only saw the Masterchef trophy sitting atop a pedestal in front of the brick layered building.

She was so close to that dream she could see herself holding the trophy up while people cheering all around.

“Okay, people. Gather round.” One of the assistant producers used the megaphone to talk, breaking into Jessica's daydream. The curly-haired young woman repeated the same briefing Jessica had heard about a thousand times before. As contestants inched forward by every word the assistant-producer said, Jessica took a few steps back to calm herself. Standing behind like this, she painfully realized that most contestants have family members by their side.

If only her mother could be here right now. If only Soojung was around to support her.

Shaking her head, Jessica chose to refocus on this new, exciting experience. She was nervous as hell. Taking a deep breath through her nose then exhaled it through , Jessica closed her eyes. She was here to win. She could put everything else behind for now. She got this.

“Breathe, Sica.” She tried to calm her nerve because right now she couldn't even remember how to perfectly julienne an onion. “Breathe.”

“Yeah, girl. Breathe.” Someone actually breathed near Jessica's ear, sending an electric shiver down her spine and made her jump.

Jessica turned around, expecting someone creepy yet seeing a beautiful human instead. A tall tanned girl with long luscious black hair that was shining under the mid-morning sun. The curse word Jessica was about to spat halted at the view of alluring eyes and rosy lips that adored the girl's face.

“Sorry.” Tying up her hair in a sleek ponytail, the girl smiled a teasing one at Jessica. “You look so adorable talking to yourself like that.”

“Thank you, I guess.”

“Does it work for you? The breathing technique?”

“Sometimes.”

“It never works on me. I am Yuri, by the way.” The girl offered a hand. “You?”

“Jessica.” Jessica accepted the handshake cautiously.

“Really? Jessica?.” The girl's eyes openly scanned Jessica from head to toe.

"Why? Doesn't match my look?"

"No. It suits you so well. "Yuri's look turned into an appreciative one. “A pretty girl with a pretty name, looking so wonderful under the morning sun,"

Jessica almost couldn't hold herself from saying ditto. No one had ever given her such a straightforward compliment before. Her cheeks immediately blushed. She had to look away to hide it. " I haven't really used my Korean name since high school."

"I once told my father to change my name into Jasmine." The girl chuckled a little. "My grandmother completely against it though. Imagine, Jazz and Jess competing against each other in Masterchef's kitchen."

“Sica. My friends call me Sica.”

“Nah. We're all rivals here. I'm gonna call you Jess. Do you come alone?”

Jessica nodded briefly, hoping the seemingly talkative girl doesn't prod any further. She was not ready to talk about her family yet.

“Dumplings?” The girl pointed at the bag of groceries in Jessica's arms.

“No. Potstickers.”

“How very Asian.”

“There's nothing wrong with adhering to your heritage.”

“Agreed.” The girl grinned, pointing at the rattan basket sitting by her feet. “I'm going for spinach ravioli.”

Jessica's eyebrow rose up without words.

“It might sound simple but statistic says the judges appreciate handmade pasta and ricotta more.”

“Statistic?” Jessica narrowed her eyes at the girl. “I thought this is a cooking show.”

“One of the judges is also well-known for his fondness of Italian food.” The girl grinned. “There are 100 of us. Gotta play smart to get into top 24, huh?”

Shaking her head, Jessica looked away. Now that her initial admiration was slowly dissipating, she decided that she didn't really like the smug undertone this girl has. She wanted to walk away but didn't want to look impolite. As if on cue, the assistant producer told the contestants to be quiet. The shoot was about to start. The cameras and the lights all had started to operate.

Jessica stepped forward, throwing one last glance at the girl who also walked forward. Apparently, the pretty girl also came alone to the competition.

“Dips on the potstickers girl.” Yuri grabbed Jessica's shoulder and steered her into one of the twelve bedrooms available in the two-stories house. Behind them, the rest of the 24 contestants noisily argued on which room they want to take and with whom they want to share it.

“I actually planned to share a room with Kamala.”

“Really?” Yuri kicked the door shut. The moment she saw Jessica on the top 100 audition, Yuri had marked the girl as her next quest. She wanted this girl around. She wanted to have her usual fun.

“Yes.” Jessica visibly squared her shoulders. “I think Kamala and I have a lot in common.”

“Nah. You want me.” Grinning, Yuri pushed her suitcase to the one corner before throwing herself on one of the two beds. “We can be the smartest team in this competition.”

“Team? Didn't you say we're rivals?”

“We are.” Still grinning, Yuri her side so her eyes could gaze up into Jessica's eyes. “I just don't think sailing through this stupid competition will be fun with any other contestant in my boat. You are perfect."

“How come you call this stupid yet voluntarily join as a contestant?”

“Who said I'm doing this voluntarily?”

Jessica sighed, pulling the handle of her suitcase towards the door. “I think you are the very opposite of fun roommate, I'm leaving.”

“Nope.” Yuri jumped out of the bed, grabbing the handle of Jessica's suitcase, and dragged the heavy luggage to the opposite corner.

“Hey!” Jessica tried to take the suitcase back, but Yuri used her body to stop her. “Come on!”

“Trust me, you need me.” Yuri wriggled her eyebrows, stepping closer. Her hand automatically reached to touch Jessica's shoulder. Something about the girl pulled Yuri like a magnet and she was not about to fight it. Her hand glided down until her fingers touched the cool skin of Jessica's elbow. Her smile got suggestive.

“You gotta be kidding me. I'm leaving.” Jessica stormed out of the room.

Laughing, Yuri threw herself on the bed once more. She always had her way with girls and she was sure Jessica was no exception. Closing her eyes, she started counting. One, two, three, four. When she reached twenty-five. Jessica came back.

“Everybody else already couple up.” The girl mumbled, noisily dragging her suitcase close to the empty bed. “I hate you.”

“You are welcome.” Yuri opened one eye. "Need help with that?”

“No, thanks.”

“Are you sure? It looks like you've got your whole kitchen packed in it.”

“I said no.” Jessica strained to haul the suitcase onto the bed. “Just stop bothering me.”

Yuri laughed again, closing her eyes in a smirk.

“Man, she looks so beautiful in real life.” Reynold, the half Chinese half Indonesian contestant, gawked at Choi Sooyoung a.k.a Soo Ramsay who's towering elegantly among the judges and the crew. “It's like looking at a goddess herself.”

“That neon green coat though.” Sunny, the perky girl with pink hair tied up into two cute buns, tilted her head to the side and puckered her lips. “I'm going blind.”

“I wonder if she chose that pink boots herself or if her stylist held her at gunpoint.” Another contestant replied while some others snickered.

“You guys had no basic understanding of high fashion.” Key, the most flamboyant contestant, flicked his nails. “That coat is Prada and you guys will never afford those Louboutin knee-high boots."

“Yeah. Colorful is her signature look.” Jessica mumbled. “Soo Ramsay is always as exceptional as her food creation.”

“Someone is a fan,” Yuri smirked. She had been nothing but an observer since they had started dorming. Partly because watching Jessica interact with others was enough action for her. The girl was visibly nervous and Yuri was curious about how Jessica will fare on the first challenge in the Masterchef kitchen.

“Who isn't?” Wendy, the youngest and the shortest amongst them tip-toed to see better. “Between her, Shindong and Master Sooman. I'm in culinary fangirl heaven right now.”

“What do you think the challenge will be?” Another contestant Yuri hadn't gotten the chance to acquaintance with spoke in a conspiring whisper from the back row. “The usual give us your best dish?"

“Nah. We're on the 10th season.” Key answered. “It's gotta be something bigger. It could be a pressure test. Maybe they will even send half of us home right away.”

“God, Key, you're not helping.” Jessica covered her face with both hands. “I'm so nervous right now.”

“Hey.” Yuri elbowed the anxious girl. “Relax.”

“I don't want to be the first contestant out.” Jessica wrung her h