It’s been nearly 2 weeks and I still can’t forget the things that happened that day…

Wow. I take in the beautiful night view of Seoul through the airplane window. I’m here.

I can’t believe it. I’m sitting in the reception hall of the SM Office. But I’m not the only one. To my right and to my left are the other applicants. All electronic devices were to be switched off. It was just like a high school exam. No one dares to talk as security paced around. Then all of a sudden, screams were heard coming from the outside. The reception door opened and EXO walked in. A couple of seated girls stood up and started squealing for joy. This caught EXO’s attention, but also the security guards. The girls were escorted out, and were not seen again when the rest of us were brought into the warm-up room. I guess you could say that it was a test of our professionalism. They, SM, want idols and not fangirls. So keep your inner fangirl hidden by all means if you want to survive.

The receptionist led us into one of the warm-up rooms down the hall. Singing could be heard from the warm-up room opposite ours. After being led into the room, we were told to find our number tags and start warming up. After finding my number, I head towards a corner with the mirrored wall to practice, but before I could begin..

“Hey! What’s your name? I’m Hien!” A youthful girl with glasses asked.

“I’m Yuri.” I replied after a while.

“That’s nice! Well, good luck!” said Hien.

“Annoying...” Said the tall girl practicing next to me.

I looked at her curiously in the reflection of the mirror. She had a menacing aura, but so did I. We stared at each other for a while before she introduced herself.

“I’m Daiyu, but you can call me Yuyu.” She said.

“Nice to meet you.” I answered, we acknowledged each other then went back to practicing.

“Woahh!”

“Watchout!”

I moved away at the last minute to avoid a backflipping girl by the name of Hanina thanks to Mi Na. Everyone that I’ve met so far has been of Asian descent, and from anywhere but Sydney. I wonder how many they chose from each audition point. At that moment, the door opened and everyone froze. Our audition time isn’t for another hour. Then I heard screams.

“Woah!” Exclaimed the first one.

“Euag! Bang-eul jalmot...(Woah! Wrong room…)” Said the second.

The TVXQ duo walking into the wrong practice room has just uncovered more fangirls. Security guards entered the room and took them all away.

“It’s a good thing I’m not Cassie.” A girl named Misha said.

“Please don’t let me see SHINee oppas! Please don’t let me see SHINee oppas!” A nearby girl by the name of Ae-young muttered a little too loudly.

“Woo!” Yoyo the rapper called, providing a beat with her rap for the boy dancing beside her named Taekyung. A lot of us turned to watch as he was the only male in our group of what was originally close to 25, now 15.

Practice went on for the remainder of the time. We could hear the room opposite us scuttled pass and into the audition room at half-past. We could also hear loud, crying girls walking past our room. This made everyone even more anxious. Sounds like the round 2 auditions aren’t going to be pretty. A knock was heard at the door and two SM audition staff appeared to take us into the audition room.