Chapter 4

~*Jiyong’s POV*~

“Thank you very much.” She said while bowing continuously. She stood up straight and had a bright smile on her flushed glowing face.

“No, thank you Miss Park for your time. The cut offs will be posted in about an hour so please wait until then. Refreshments and lunch will be provided at the cafeteria.” YG smiled while writing down notes on her file.

She bowed once again and excused herself before meeting my eyes. I think I catch a glimpse of a blush but she turns away too quickly and is out the door. I smirk to myself. Cute.

“What is Miss Park’s full name?” I ask still staring at the door.

“Park Sandara.” Youngbae replies coldly. I give him a questioning look about his tone but he keeps looking straight ahead deep in thought. What’s up with him?

“She’s quite a girl. Even she was able to make the great G-Dragon hide his face.” YG teased.

I gulped and felt the redness rise to my checks again. I hid my face like before, “Ahhh…” is all I could reply. I don’t know why I felt so embarrassed hearing her say those things. I’ve heard so many variations of praises and confessions from girls who admire and love me before. What makes her different?

“Yeah, she really is different from the rest of the girls we’ve seen today,” Jae Wook hyung points out, “She didn’t use one of Jiyong’s songs like the rest, her techniques and moves while dancing are unique, even the way she dressed was different.”

I nodded while thinking back to watching her dance. She wasn’t trying to be y or show off how flexible she was. The way her body moved to the music was not something of an amateur. Like she said, it was as if she was speaking to us through her music. I could clearly see the passion and the fun she was having while she moved. The smile on her face was the most genuine I’ve ever seen. And her eyes… every time she made eye contact with me while dancing, it sent tingles up my spine. Just thinking about the strength behind those eyes gives me goose bumps.

YG nods slightly and brings his hands in front of his mouth, “So, what should we do with her?”

“I would like to see her in phase two, see what she is like when dancing to a set choreography made by someone else. I can see the potential in her. She isn’t the best dancer out of what we’ve seen so far, but the way she moves her body and the flow of it is also something we’ve yet to see.” Jae Wook said with a tone of finality.

“Yes, it is true that she seems to have much potential, and I like her personality and honesty. But I don’t think she the type of dancer we are looking for. Her skills and techniques are lacking and that is what is needed for a backup dancer. Someone who can dance in any way we want them to.” YG said with a grim look on his face. From all the years I’ve known him, I can always tell when he is torn when making a decision despite what he may say.

The room had a moment of silence with everyone’s mind working to figure out which choice is the best.

“I agree with sajangmin. I don’t think she’s fit to be one of us.” Youngbae’s statement was harsh to the ears. I turned to study his expression. This time he turned to look straight at me. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen Youngbae look this angry, but it just didn’t occur to me why he’d be this mad about a situation like this.

“Why do you think that?” I asked a tad defensively.

“She’s… just not the right choice.” Youngbae said firmly.

“Are you sure you aren’t saying this because of her reasons for auditioning?” Jae Wook said.

Youngbae fell silent and averted his gaze to the table. I sighed and looked away from him as well. I see now. I can understand where Youngbae is coming from. We both have witnessed first hand what happens when a backup dancer gets too “attached”. The last backup dancer, the one we are replacing, was supposed to be paired with Youngbae during all of the performances. Since the day she was hired, she seemed disappointed that there wasn’t enough dance routines where I’d interact with her. This made her more and more demanding whenever there was a new choreography. Finally, Jae Wook choreographed a new piece where I would dance with one of the female backup dancers, but when she wasn’t picked, all hell seemed to break loose. She began to purposely sabotage performances and complained openly, even criticized the other girls. Youngbae had to deal with her the most because they were partners. Eventually, she was let go but since then, things haven’t been the same with all of us. There is no more closeness or enjoyment during practices, just tension and professionalism.

“Regardless, I still don’t think it’s a good idea.” Youngbae stated indicating there is nothing more he’d like to add.

“Alright. Well then Jiyong, what do you have to say about all of this?”

I looked at YG and searched his face for some kind of answer but got nothing. I replayed everything in my mind, from her audition to her “confession” of why she came today, and the last few lines that I caught when walking into the dance studio: ‘Dancing is a language to me. Like I’ve always believed: those who don’t feel the music from within do not understand dance’.

I cleared my throat to answer.

~*Dara’s POV*~

“You said what?!” Sulli exclaimed putting over her hands. Her eyes looked like they were starting to tear up.

“I…I said that I admired G-Dragon and that he was my inspiration to continue dancing…?” I said unsure as I saw her eyes grow wider.

“Dara! You can’t tell them that!! They’ll think you are just a crazy fan girl! Don’t you know what happened to the last backup dancer?? She was G-Dragon’s fan when hired and she went completely crazy!” Sulli explained while the lump in my throat continued to get bigger and bigger. I knew I shouldn’t have said that.

“But… but it was the truth!” I defended myself but now fully realizing that my chances of even moving on to phase two were now in the negatives.

“That’s why you have to lie unnie! Like I did.” Sohee said inspecting her nails. “There’s no way that I could’ve told them my love for GD oppa. That will be for his ears only!” She began to giggle but stopped when she remembered something. “I can’t believe you two were able to audition in front of my oppa!”

Sulli giggled and smiled at the memory, “Yeah, I was shocked to see him there when I walked in after you, Dara. I heard that from then on he was there to watch the rest of the auditions.”

Sohee pouted and complained that she shouldn’t have rushed inside so quickly. Sulli and I laughed at her silliness while poking at the food on our trays in front of us. We continued to talk about each other’s auditions until a girl frantically ran into the cafeteria.

“THEY POSTED THE CUTS!!” She yelled and ran out again. The entire cafeteria turned over as girls ran out and followed her, including Sohee.

As we pushed behind the crowd of girls, I could see a big sheet of paper from a far. The cries and screams of girls began to increase in volume while making my way through holding onto Sulli’s hand. Nervousness began creeping up on me again, as I got closer and closer. I didn’t make it. I didn’t make it. I kept repeating over and over in my head unsure of why I even care that much. I came her to accompany Sohee. That is all. It doesn’t matter if I make it or not.

Finally, both Sulli and I were in front and began the search for our names. There were around 20 names on the list. Wow, they really cut a lot of people… I gulped feeling my chances became even worse. After the first few names, I finally see Sohee’s. I can’t help but smile knowing that she is probably one of the girls screaming right now. My eyes continue down the list, slowly, making sure not to miss a single character. My heart beat gets faster and faster as I realized I’m getting down to the last three names.

Kim Eun Hye

Cho Ka Eun

Park Sandara

What? My eyes reread the last name again. Park Sandara. My jaw drops but bring my hand up to cover it. I made it? Park Sandara. I made it. Park Sandara. I made it!

“Congratulations, Dara-ah.” I hear Sulli’s voice beside me. Then it occurred to me, her name wasn’t on the list. I feel horrible as I turned towards her and am welcomed by a sincere smile. Her eyes had a tint of disappointment but the smile on her face was genuine. I smile apologetically at her, “I’m sorry, Sulli. I don’t understand how this happened.”

She shook her head, “Don’t be! Really, I’m fine. I didn’t do as well as I would’ve liked during my audition. I was too nervous, especially seeing G-Dragon there. I wasn’t prepared enough so I knew I probably wouldn’t have made it.” She laughed a little before grabbing my hands. “Believe me, I am really happy for you. I’m sure that you are an extraordinary dancer, and it looked like they liked your honesty!”

I could almost feel tears in my eyes when it was finally settling in that I won’t have such a great person with me in the next phase. I failed to stop myself from enveloping her in a hug. “Thank you for everything Sulli. I’m sure you are an amazing dancer as you are as a person.” I can hear her giggle next to my ear. “Thank you, Dara.”

The crowd eventually dispersed leaving Sulli and me to talk. She gives me more information on how phase two usually works and some tips that I should keep in mind. “Don’t worry, you are going to be fine. I know it! Phase two is mostly looking at how you work as a team and how you compare to others around you.” I walk with her to leave as far as she’ll let me, “It’s fine Dara! I can walk the rest of the way myself.” She smiles sweetly and raises her hand sticking her pinky out. “Promise to stay in touch! You have my phone number so I won’t take any excuses from you if you don’t keep my updated!”

I giggle and hook my pinky with hers, “Arraso! You’ll be the first person to know everything! You just better remember to reply to me!” I warn her.

We hug and bid each other goodbye before going our separate ways. I take out my phone almost immediately and begin texting Sohee asking where she is. While smiling to myself, I start texting Sulli saying how much I miss her guidance and wise words. But, before I can press ‘send’, I bump into something hard, causing me to stumble backwards and drop my phone.

“Ah! I’m so sorry! I wasn’t watching where I was going.” I bowed my head a couple of times until I see who was it I bumped into. Dong Youngbae.

He just looks at me without saying anything with a tint of annoyance in his eyes. Nervous and confused, I bowed my head again, “I’m very sorry. I wasn’t paying attention.”

“That happy that you made it through the first phase?” He said coldly.

I flinch a little at his tone but reply, “A-ah, y-yes. I’m very glad. Thank you for takin--” I attempt to smile but once I see the hate in his eyes, the corners of my lips fall.

He adjusts his eyes to look in the far distance and walks right past me, brushing my shoulders, “It doesn’t matter. You won’t make it past the next phase; you are just an annoying fan girl.”

And with that he leaves me standing like a statue staring at my phone still on the floor.

You won’t make it past the next phase; you are just an annoying fan girl.

His words kept repeating in my head. My hands then clenched into fists, as anger began bubbling inside me. Who does he think he is? I turned to look at his back and glared. He hardly even knows me and yet he’s making assumptions of my capabilities? I turned back, picked up my phone, and stomped in the opposite direction.

Just you wait Dong Youngbae. I’ll show you what happens when you challenge Park Sandara.

*BlueNote*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

So happy from the subscribers and comments!!  ^-^  Thank you again and again!!

This was my first time writing a guy's POV so bear with me if it sound girl ish or OOC!

Just wondering, who is excited for Phase 3 of the auditions ;)

Let me know in the comments!!

*If you are confused about layout/weird details that seem wrong+right at the same time, please read the story description!*