Chapter Fifteen

Yunji – being a proud member of the MAP department – had always believed that her school was bursting with talent. She'd thought that it was amazing just how many good performers there were out there and even worried how they'd manage to fit them all into the showcase. Boy was I wrong, she thought as she sat through yet another rendition of Girl's Day's 'Darling'.

She was sat on the judging panel, next to Director GD and right at the edge. The judges consisted of the heads of the department. Director GD for directing and such, Miryo for rapping, Jay Park and Taeyang for dancing, Hyorin for singing and TOP for acting. The auditions were being filmed and the chosen ones would be shown to all the showcase staff for final decisions. It was the judges' jobs to decide which ones would be shown.

Auditions had only started an hour and half earlier and yet, there had already been so many bad auditions. She felt bad thinking it, but some people just couldn't sing or dance or act or whatever they were auditioning with. She had a clipboard and was supposed to be taking notes but at the moment, there wasn't really anything to take note of.

Doing her best not grimace at a particularly bad note, she glanced at the other judges. They were all stoic faced, watching with unreadable expressions. She wasn't sure how they managed to do it. Looking back at the girl, she put a cross next to her name, feeling guilty but knowing that there was no other way around it.

The girl on stage was about to continue but Director GD stopped her, holding his hand up. The music stopped, the girl halting and looking at them hopefully. "Thank you for taking the time to audition," GD smiled, "The results will be out Monday."

Clearly unsure of how to proceed, the girl nodded, bowing and quickly dashing off the stage. Yunji watched her go before looking at the list of names. Next on the list was Park Yura, a name she felt she recognised but wasn't sure.

"Park Yura's next," TOP stated, reading the list.

Yunji wasn't sure why it was so important until Director GD leaned over, whispering, "She's the daughter of Dean Park."

She raised her eyebrows in appraisal, nodding slowly. Her attention was quickly taken as a girl walked in. Park Yura was rather pretty – Yunji remembered her from Namjoon's party all that time ago. Her frame was small and Yunji found her weight slightly shocking but did her best to hide that. Yura wore a neutral expression that was amazingly intimidating. Standing on the middle of the stage, she bowed, smiling at the judges.

"What are you going to be performing for us today?" Miryo asked.

"I'm going to be singing and dancing to One Way Love," she explained.

A few of the judges chuckled, Jay Park even saying, "Hey, Hyorin, isn't that your song?"

Hyorin rolled her eyes, smiling with a mix of pride and sheepishness as she nodded, "Yeah. Let's hope you're not better than me."

GD laughed, then gesturing to Yura, said, "When you're ready."

Yunji watched curiously as the intro to the song started. Please be good.

Taehyung ignored his phone as it beeped beside him. He was laid on the grassy area of the campus, head resting on his arms. The sun was shining down brightly so he had closed his eyes, blocking out the world around him. His phone began ringing in Min's ringtone, to which he took no notice to, sighing deeply. He felt bad for ignoring his friends but he just didn't feel like talking; he doubted they'd understand.

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as the heat of the sun disappeared, opening one of his eyes to see Min and Jang Mi stood over him, frowns draping their faces. Min held her phone to her ear, hanging up and putting it in her pocket. They both shifted slightly, a ray of sunlight passing through and blinding him. Sighing, he covered his face with one of his arms, hoping they'd assume he was asleep or something.

"Tae, we know you're awake," Jang Mi said, probably rolling her eyes in frustration.

Darn, he thought. "Taehyung's not here right now," he replied.

He heard a sigh escape from Jang Mi's lips before she said, "Min, you better jump in before I use force."

Min scoffed, taking over as she talked to Taehyung. "Come on, Tae. We'll totally buy you food – as much as you want."

His ears perked at this, sitting up in an uncontrollable spike of excitement, "Really?"

"Yep," Jang Mi confirmed, holding her hand out to help him stand. He pursed his lips, staring at her hand for a second before taking it and standing. Dusting himself off, he grabbed his phone and bag, turning back to his friends only to be greeted with concerned looks.

"Guys, please," he sighed. They just frowned deeper at that, making him feel immensely guilty for the way he'd been behaving. "Come on, I'm hungry," he finally said, speeding ahead. It took them a second to catch up but they did, Jang Mi asking Min about how her hand in went and a conversation forming between them.

By the time they'd reached the restaurant, they were in immersed in their conversation – though Taehyung did more listening than he usually would; only adding to the conversation occasionally. He was too busy thinking: about life and how it worked. It wasn't fair and he felt bad thinking it, but all their problems felt stupid and trivial.

They were seated quickly after ordering a lot of meat and a lot of black bean noodles. While waiting to be served, they sat down – Min and Jang Mi next to each other and opposite Taehyung, Jang Mi telling them about the incident of the previous day. Taehyung really wanted to say something about how she should just it up and audition but somehow was able to hold himself back.

"I can't believe they did that to you," Min said after they'd been given their food. The meat sat on the grill cooking while they slurped their noodles.

"I know right," Jang Mi replied, "I don't know what he was thinking."

"So, are you going to audition?" Taehyung asked.

She snorted, shaking her head, "No. I couldn't."

"I think you could," Taehyung continued, muttering, "You just don't want to try."

Jang Mi choked on her food in shock, looking at Taehyung in surprise. She opened to reply, but Min cut her off, "Tae, that was kind of harsh."

"Harsh? I was just being honest," he responded. They both eyed him in shock. "What? You don't agree, Min? Can you honestly say that you don't think Jang Mi isn't wasting an amazing opportunity here?" he raised his eyebrows in challenge.

Min didn’t reply, eyes narrowing at him. Jang Mi sighed, exclaiming, "Jang Mi is right here you know."

"Well I'd say it to you if I thought you'd listen."

She glared at him, "Tae, I know you're upset about everything going on-"

"-no, you don't know," he cut her off, "Because if you really knew how I was feeling, you wouldn't be avoiding this audition like you are. Life is short – some lives shorter than they should be – and you're wasting yours."

"Don't tell me what I should be doing with my life, Taehyung, it's my life," Jang Mi argued.

Taehyung bitterly laughed, "Oh it's your life? I completely forgot, what with the lack of self orientated decisions you've been making."

"Taehyung," Min said, warning in her voice. A lot of the restaurant was watching in surprise and interest; Min was used to gathering attention but not like this. Never like this.

"If it's your life then why aren't you doing what you want to do with it? Why did you give up singing? Why are you standing up to me but not the people you need to be?"

"And who would that be? My father?"

"Yourself," Taehyung exclaimed, effectively silencing an argument Jang Mi had. "You are probably going to live a full, long life," Taehyung continued, voice cracking slightly as he said 'full', "Something others don't have the privilege of – but don't think that just because you have that time that it'll always be there. Life isn't going to wait for you, Jang Mi. So why don't you just stop being such a coward and take a chance?"

Jang Mi watched him with an unreadable expression as he breathed heavily, surprised at his words. While her face was indecipherable, her eyes weren't, blinking at him with a mix of anger, hurt and concern. He waited for her to reply but she didn't, instead choosing to rummage through her bag and pull something out. Taehyung watched her hand some money to Min before rising from her seat and leaving.

"Jang Mi!" Min called, "Come on J, come back!" Her calls went ignored as the other girl left, the door to the restaurant slamming as she speeded down the street. With her exit, the restaurant continued with their business, everyone going back to what they were doing. Taehyung stared down at his food, surprised when he felt a sharp hit on his head.

Looking up, he furrowed his eyebrows, groaning, "Ouch."

"You're such an ," Min grumbled, "She was concerned about you and you took all your feelings out on her."

Taehyung couldn't deny that he felt guilty, but someone had to tell her. Sighing, he replied, "I admit I was harsh and that may be to do with my current feelings but I wasn't doing it to take out my feelings on her."

"Oh yeah? What were you doing it for?" Min challenged.

"Beside her?" he asked, pausing as Min nodded. Clenching his jaw, he frowned, his voice coming out in a whisper, "Taeyeon."

Min sighed, reaching her hand out to hold Taehyung's. "I'm sorry, Tae."

He didn't reply, just pulling his hand out of hers to check on the meat which was now slightly overdone. He did his best to salvage it, biting into a piece as he said, "After this, I'm going to audition."

Taehyung had expected Min to disagree or lecture him but she didn't, instead huffing in an unsurprised voice, "Of course you are."

The day progressed slowly, but as time passed, Yunji found that the talent of the auditionee's were definitely improving. So far Park Yura had been the most impressive girl to her – dancing and singing better than most had been able to. She'd even been able to impress Hyorin, proving her song choice had not been a bad idea. Yunji'd also been really pleased to see the people that had been on her list show up and do well, feeling oddly proud. GD had just smiled at her, nudging her as if to thank her.

"I personally really liked Park Jimin," Taeyang said while they were taking a ten minute break.

Jay Park snorted, "Was that because he was good or because he performed two of your songs?"

Yunji smiled in amusement, remembering his audition well. He had sang to 'Eyes, Nose, Lips' – which had been amazing and then proceeded to amaze them further with a dance to 'Ringa Linga'. It had been obvious what a big fan of Taeyang he was and Taeyang had really enjoyed the ego boost. "No, he was really good," Taeyang defended.

"I quite liked Do Kyungsoo," Hyorin added, reminding everyone of the amazing singer. As bias as it was, Yunji's favourites had been the people she knew. Jeon Jungkook had sung beautifully to Crush's 'Sofa' and then danced just as well to Mike Posner's 'Save Your Goodbye'. She'd also really enjoyed Namjoon's rap, to a song he'd titled 'RM'.

"I really liked Kim Namjoon," Miyro joined in, looking at her clipboard.

"Me too," Director GD exclaimed excitedly, "I already have the perfect stage name for him – Rap Monster."

"Didn't he already call himself that?" TOP raised his eyebrows. GD just dismissed him with a wave of his hand. Shaking his head, TOP continued, "Well, while we're on that, I really enjoyed Kim Seokjin's performance of 'Inorae'. I thought it well performed in terms of vocals and acting."

Even though the day had started off dull, Yunji was actually starting to enjoy herself. The professors were all really nice and made even the worst auditions slightly more entertaining. She watched them with bright eyes, a smile on her face when Taeyang turned his attention to her. "What about you Yunji? Who did you really like?"

Her eyes widened as she thought back quickly. Trying not to stutter as she was comfortable around them now, she replied, "Ch-Choi Junhong."

The judges all released a murmur of agreement, all of them mumbling some compliment of his performance. He had been another person on her list but she hadn't picked him for that reason – she just thought that he was good. It was clear that he was really passionate in terms of dancing just from watching him.

"Well, next on the list is Jung Hoseok," TOP stated.

"He's brilliant," Taeyang exclaimed, "He's one of the best students I've ever had."

"Well, we'll just have to see, won't we?" Jay Park grinned. They signalled for Jung Hoseok to be let in, the boy walking to the middle of the stage. He wore a bright smile, bowing politely. Glancing over, Yunji could see that Taeyang was sat there, grinning like a proud father. Smiling, she cast her eyes back to Jung Hoseok. She was expecting something incredible and boy did he deliver.

Jang Mi lay on a random bench on campus. She'd been lain there for hours, gathering strange looks from the students that passed by. She was lucky the university had some long benches as it may have grown uncomfortable otherwise. However, it was comfortable for her, her feet slightly hanging off. The whole time she'd been there, she hadn't done anything, just staring at the sky and waiting for something; she didn't know what.

A few hours earlier she'd received some texts from Min:

Not sure if you want to know but Taehyung just auditioned. Did you know that he could sing? O.o I feel like a terrible friend but I never did. He sang 'Someone Like You' by Adele in case you were wondering.

She had read the text, smiling despite herself at the image of him singing. She wasn't actually really angry at him, just angry at the world. The next text she read came an hour after that:

I know I can't apologise for Taehyung but I'm gonna do it anyway :p he's an idiot and when he wakes up from his emotional haze, he's going to feel so guilty it's unreal…

Jang Mi had sighed at that text, choosing not to reply at all. That must have prompted Min further because she'd sent another text – a much longer and heartfelt one that made Jang Mi frown in thought:

Look, I understand that you're scared and contrary to what Tae said, that doesn't make you a coward – everyone gets scared after all. I do however agree with Taehyung when he says that life isn't going to wait for you, Jang Mi. You should do the things you want to do and I know you want to sing… so just sing :) okay, rant over, proceed with wallowing in your own pity ;)

Ever since that text, Jang Mi had been considering singing. She wasn't sure if she wanted to sing in front of an audience just yet but maybe a stage. Glancing at the time on her phone she saw that it was 7:35. That meant that the auditions were over and while she slightly felt regretful, she also felt relieved.

Mind racing with thoughts, she almost fell from her bench as a face appeared above her. Gasping in shock, she narrowed her eyes at the person, "You scared the crap out of me."

Jungkook chuckled, "Sorry, but in my defence, I called your name a bunch of times."

Sighing, Jang Mi sat up, making room for him next to her, "Of course you did." He smirked, sitting next to her. She glanced at him, taking in his features before looking away quickly. She hadn't really seen him properly for a while, so seeing him in person was slightly unnerving. Swallowing, she pocketed her phone.

"You okay?" he asked.

She raised her eyebrows, not wanting to completely unload her problems on him but not wanting to pretend. "Define okay," she finally replied.

"I'm just going to take that a no," he smirked.

Jang Mi rolled her eyes, resisting the urge to smile, "Wise choice."

"Do you wanna talk about it?" he nudged her. When she didn't reply, he nudged her again, sending her a mischievous smile, "Come on, tell me all your problems."

She hesitated for a moment before blurting, "I'm scared."

Jungkook's smile slowly faded, being replaced with a concerned frown. He watched her carefully, brows furrowed as he asked, "What of?"

Jang Mi shrugged, "I…" She felt lost. She was scared of singing again, of exposing herself like that but she was also scared of never singing again. At the moment, she didn't know which frightened her more. She didn't know how to articulate that to him without sounding stupid, so she chose to just sigh, looking to the side and making eye contact with him.

"You?" he prompted.

There was silence for a while as they held eye contact before Jang Mi broke it, changing the subject quickly. "So, how's your life?" she blurted.

Jungkook eyed her suspiciously, knowing that she was trying to change the subject but not wanting to force her to tell him. After a second, he shrugged, "Alright, I guess. I actually ended up auditioning in the end."

She raised her eyebrows, "Really? That's great, what made you change your mind?"

"You mean besides being chased around and the fact all my friends are doing it?"

Jang Mi nodded.

Jungkook sighed, as if thinking about how to phrase it. Then, shrugging again, he replied, "I don't want to be too late to do the things I want to do and, whether everyone approves or not, I want to perform."

His words affected her more than everyone else's had. Maybe it was because he was also had people pulling him from direction to direction and he knew what it was like to be pressured into something. Or maybe it was simply because she thought he was cute and the look in his eyes was causing her stomach to flutter. Either way, Jang Mi finally realised what everyone had been trying to make her realise. She wanted to sing and not even her fear was going to stop her.

"I… I have to go," she said suddenly, surprising Jungkook. The auditions were over but maybe they wouldn't be completely gone. Standing, she was about to run off when she felt a hand circle her wrist. Turning back, she raised her eyebrows in question.

"Was it something I said?" he asked.

Jang Mi opened to reply before closing it again. Then, taking a breath, she smiled at him, "Yes. I… thank you." He looked completely confused but she didn't have time to dwell on the fact, spinning back around and practically running in the directions of the auditorium. It took her a short amount of time to get there, checking the time on her phone to see it read 7:50. Panting, she opened the door to the entrance, noticing a few people still hanging around. No one seemed to be lining up to go on stage – she assumed because auditions were over – so she quickly made her way in.

The stage was dark, only one light on and she couldn't see anyone sat where the judges would be. Frowning, she knew that she had been too late but she had come to sing and she would do it. Pulling her phone out, she went to the sound system, plugging it in to the speakers and opening up an instrumental. She hit play, the piano opening allowing her to walk back to the microphone.

The light made it hard to see and it was also giving her flashbacks to the last time she'd attempted this song but doing her best to ignore that, she gulped. Taking a breath, she sang the first line, "If I, should stay…"

The last of the auditions came at 7:40; Yunji was relieved it was over. The professors all seemed to feel the same way as her, as they stood, stretching and yawning – all ready to go home. Yunji felt like she'd just witnessed the whole school perform and many of them were below average. She was positively exhausted, so the idea of leaving was amazing to her. Before anyone could head for the exit, however, Director GD blocked the way, exclaiming, "It's not eight yet!"

Miyro raised an unimpressed eyebrow at him, shaking her head, "There's no one left."

"Someone's coming," he said, "There's one more person left."

Jay Park snorted, "You really think Joo Jang Mi is going to come?"

GD hesitated, then carried on, "I think that the auditions won't be over till eight."

"You told her seven," TOP pointed out.

"Yes because I knew she'd be late. At least if she's late for the seven o clock one, she'll be on time for the eight," he reasoned, which Yunji didn't know if she agreed with but didn't say anything.

"I don't think she's coming, Jiyong," Taeyang sighed, using GD's real name. Yunji found it slightly jarring but did her best not to show that.

"Just, please, sit down back there and I'll… do some stuff," he pleaded. The professors sighed, nodding and heading to sit at the back. Yunji followed, watching GD as he ran around. She wasn't sure what he doing at first but realised eventually that he was trying to make it seem as if everyone had already left. He turned off a bunch of the lights, leaving one spotlight on in the middle of the stage and moved all their stuff to the back with them.

Five minutes later, he sat down next to her, panting slightly. She looked up at him, wanting to say something but stopping herself. He must have noticed her reluctance because he raised his eyebrows as if to prompt her. Taking a breath, she quietly asked, "Do you r-really th-think she'll c-c-come?"

He didn't reply for a second, considering his answer before responding, "Honestly, I don’t know. I'm taking a risk on her and apart from that one time the auditorium set on fire, my risks are usually worth it."

Yunji resisted the urge to point out that the auditorium fire had been tiny, instead giving him a small smile and nodding. Glancing to the side, she saw the other judges were growing impatient, muttering things to each other.

Another five minutes later, just as Yunji was about to sigh, there were footsteps backstage. Sitting up, she observed as Joo Jang Mi made her way onto the stage, looking out into the crowd. She held her breath, nervous they may be seen but Jang Mi didn't seem to see them, quickly turning her attention to the speaker system. As she did this, Director GD pulled out the camcorder, pressing record and aiming it at her. Their eyes followed her as she put a song on and then made her way to the microphone.

She looked nervous as the intro played and for a second, Yunji thought she wasn't going to sing. She was proved wrong however when she began singing the lyrics to 'I Will Always Love You', her voice ringing out perfectly. Glancing at the judges, she noticed that they all looked amazed as well, watching her with awe.

As the song progressed, she seemed to gain more courage, holding the notes for longer and putting more power into it. Yunji couldn't deny that she was the best girl they'd seen that day and she hadn't even finished yet. The music paused for a second as Jang Mi sang a few lines, pausing before belting out, "And I… will always love you…"

The notes took her breath, watching as Jang Mi sang more passionately than she had expected.  After all, the girl had run away from the idea of even performing; it had made Yunji doubt her abilities. The song was over before they knew it, Jang Mi singing the last lines in a quiet whisper, "I'll always… I'll always… love… you…"

The song ended – the judges sitting there quietly and observing her take a few breaths. She seemed almost relieved; her face looking as if a load had been taken off her shoulders. The silence that followed her performance continued for a few seconds before Director GD broke the silence, clapping proudly. His risk had paid off.

His applause caused her to look up in surprise, hand shielding her eyes from the spotlight as she tried to see who it was. One of the professors must have turned the spotlight off as it went off, allowing her to see them in their seats. Jang Mi looked at them in shock, hand over . Her eyes were wide as she stared at them.

"Results for your audition will be up on Monday," GD grinned.

She opened , stuttering, "But… but I was late."

"Nope," GD shook his head smugly, "Auditions end at eight."

Jang Mi didn't respond, only shaking her head in disbelief. Unable to stop herself, Yunji grinned, happy that all the hard work put into getting her to audition wasn't a waste. Joo Jang Mi had definitely been worth the trouble. The other professors seemed to feel the same as they all shared knowing looks at one another, impressed smiles plastered on their faces.

"I think you should definitely check out the results on Monday," GD told her, "You might be pleasantly surprised."

With that finally statement, the professors started leaving, Yunji close behind. Just as she was in the doorway, she could've sworn she heard Joo Jang Mi mutter, "What on Earth have I gotten myself into?"

Author's Note: Okay, so I'm a terrible person. This chapter is long overdue and I'm really sorry for that. I just seemed to hit a writers block for this fic over the past few months (not to mention, I kept getting distracted with other fics) so I just haven't been able to keep going. Hopefully this chapter will fix that (though I'm worried it's quality may not be up to par) and bring us back to a routine of sorts. I'm afriad that the update dates will have to change to once a week (hopefully) but I'll do my best to stick to that. Again, I'm really sorry and thank you for all the support I've recieved.

P.S

I know I hyped my characters up a lot and while they may not have been the best performers, we're just going to pretend they were because it's a story about them and no one wants to read about them being extras (lol x_x). Also, this what I imagine Jang Mi's performance to have sounded like or along these lines at least: I Will Always Love You

Okay, so see you guys next week, bye!