The loud music vibrated through her body as Seomin waited impatiently in the back. She was to be the last trainee to perform, and she had no idea how to feel about that. Some would say last is best, but Seomin always believed being the first few to present was best. Why? There would be no bar set. Now Seomin was going to be compared to every single trainee. She didn’t feel too good about that, but Melanie assured her that she would do great, and could possibly win. Seomin admitted she worked extremely hard, practicing every day at all hours. She hoped to do well, no, she needed to do well, if she was going to persuade Mr. Parker to change his mind about his “y” concept. At that thought, Seomin grimaced at the thought of using her body to sell her music. Sure, she worked hard on her diet, but she didn’t exercise and eat well for the sake of making boy’s drool.

“What’s with the long face?” a familiar voice spoke out. Seomin blinked and looked up from the floor to see Tricia in front of her. She grinned. Tricia must have just finished her performance, as beads of sweat fell from her face, and her breathing was hard.

“I was just thinking about Mr. Parker’s idea for my debut concept. Want to hear his ridiculous scheme?” Tricia nodded. “Well, he thinks I should go for a y concept. He must be crazy! I’m not going to shimmy my body and wear next to nothing to sell music.” With that, Seomin crossed her arms in defiance underneath the black cloth around her costume and continued to explain her encounter with the CEO.

Tricia laughed and shook her head slowly. “That’s so like you, Seomin, to go up against him. No matter how much they try to change you, I have a good feeling you’re never going to change on the inside.”

Seomin smiled, feeling as if she had just won the greatest fight in her life. “That’s me alright. All this beautifying isn’t going to change who I am.”

“That’s great. Anyways, I should probably get cleaned up.” Tricia was about to walk away when Seomin grabbed her arm.

“I almost forgot! Donghae figured out what is going on with you.” Tricia cocked her head, intrigued by the news Seomin had for her. “He told me you’ll be put into a vocal trio and that you’ll be going to Europe next year, about the same time as me!”

“Wow, seriously? I have always wanted to travel to Europe! But do you know who the other two people will be?”

Seomin shook her head. “I don’t think they’ve decided that yet. I’m sure they will decide through this competition.”

“Thanks so much, Seomin. You don’t know how much I’ve been waiting to hear about my dreams coming true!” Tricia grabbed Seomin into a tight hug. Despite the suffocating feeling going on in Seomin’s mind, she smiled weakly and allowed Tricia to hug her. She didn’t want to ruin Tricia’s happy moment right now. In the life of a trainee, a life of hardships and work, these moments were rare. After a short congratulations to one another, Tricia left to clean herself up to be more presentable when all the trainees stood on stage to hear the judges’ decision.

Once Tricia turned the corner and disappeared, Seomin leaned on the wall and sighed, arching her neck back to lean her head on the wall. She closed her eyes and began to take deep, slow breaths, as suggested by Mr. De Moore. Time seemed to slip, as when she was waiting, there were still six performances ahead. Now, she felt a backstage helper tap her shoulder, signalling for her to go up on stage. Seomin straightened herself up, checked herself in the mirror, straightened out her drape so it fit correctly, and walked up on stage. The lights were off, much like her audition. How long that seemed!

She got into position as she heard her music start, a slow melancholy song picked out by Melanie. A spotlight shone on Seomin, a bluish white sheen, making her pale skin a ghostly white against the black drape. Seomin moved in gracefu