Hyomin nervously walked into the audition room while her manager went to take his place in a corner to get out of the way. The room was decorated with image stills from past Roommate episodes and several cameras, which Hyomin assumed were all there to record her audition so that the producers could review it later. Right in front of her was a long table in which four people were seated. At the very centre of the room was a single wooden chair.

“Please, take a seat.” A man seated at the long table gestured towards the chair in the middle of the room, and Hyomin immediately went to it, trying to hide how flustered she was. At least she isn’t going to have to perform for them since they asked her to sit down.

As soon as Hyomin lowered herself onto the chair, she immediately felt the gaze of every single person in the room on her. The producers, the writers, the cameramen, her manager, and of course the lenses of the cameras were watching her like a hawk, and Hyomin had to force herself to look directly at the people in front of her. She was a professional. She has been doing this for years.

What would Sunny do? She would most probably say a joke to lighten up the atmosphere. Hyomin wasn’t very good with jokes. She wasn’t even very good at talking without tripping over her words. Oh gosh they’re probably expecting her to say something right now aren’t they? C’mon Hyomin! Say something!

“Have all of you had your lunch?”

What was that?! What kind of question was that?? 5 years of experience and that is what you came up with??

To her surprise however, the entire room burst out into laughter. She wasn’t sure if she should join along with them though. She was unsure if she had missed a joke somewhere. Maybe she was the joke?

Hyomin’s insecurities were running rampant when the same man who asked her to take a seat spoke up while wiping a tear from his eye.

“No, no we haven’t. But thanks for asking.” He paused, and nearly broke out into laughter again when Hyomin gave him a small nod while biting her lower lip. She was adorable, and he wondered if the girl in front of him had any idea how naturally gifted she was for variety shows.

“My name is Park Sang Hyuk, and we are the producers of Roommate.” Sang Hyuk finished, indicating the other people seated at the table. “To start off, why don’t you just tell us a little about yourself?”

Hyomin tried her best to maintain eye contact with each of the producers in front of her, while her brain worked in overdrive to pull out random bits of information about herself.

“Hello, I’m T-ara’s Hyomin. I’m usually quiet and I keep to myself a lot, so I don’t really have many friends aside from my members. I love to take photos, and I try to carry a camera with me everywhere I go.”

“Do you have a camera on you right now?” The producer on the far left asked, his nametag identified him as Jang Seok Jin.

Hyomin nodded and pulled out her tiny Lomo LC-A camera from her purse. “Do you mind if I take a photo of all of you?” Hyomin timidly asked. Probably something that doesn’t get asked often by an artist being auditioned, but she already had her camera out so what the heck.

To her surprise, all the producers just threw her a V-sign, waiting for their photo to be taken. These producers are so laid back, and it made Hyomin feel a lot more comfortable around them.

“Have you ever experienced living with a roommate before?”

“Yes. As part of an idol group, I lived in a dorm with my members for quite a long time. I live alone now though.”

The audition process continued on, with the producers asking Hyomin questions and Hyomin trying her best to answer them. Hyomin found that it was very easy to feel relaxed around the producers as they joked around with her, and after a few questions Hyomin’s nerves were completely gone and she would slip in an occasional joke of her own. She was grateful as she felt that the producers created an environment that allowed her personality to shine.

“To be honest Hyomin….” Sang Hyuk started, leaning forward on the table slightly. “Our first season of Roommate didn’t exactly fare as good as we hoped. More than half of the cast left, and for a 20 episode show we made far too many negative headlines. That is why we are planning on changing the concept of the show a little bit for season 2. We want to encourage the roommates to learn from each other and grow. Make learning fun, and enriching their lives.” Sang Hyuk paused, allowing the information to sink into Hyomin.

“That is where you come in.” Sang Hyuk continued while indicating to a bewildered Hyomin with his thumb.

“We plan on getting a few idols who are rookies in the industry, preferably people who just debuted this year. They need a senior idol to guide them, and for them to learn from. Of course we have Afterschool’s Nana already in the cast, but it would be nice if she had a helping hand.”

“So you want me to be the mentor?” Hyomin asked, trying to be certain.

“Well not specifically you, that’s why we are having this audition right now. But you are one of the top candidates for the role.” Sang Hyuk answered back with a smile.

Hyomin was slightly taken aback. First Hara told told her to take care of Young Ji, now the producers are asking her to take care of more rookies on the show. Hyomin knew she could do it, but she never really saw herself as much of the ‘industry sunbae’ figure. Still, the comfortable atmosphere that the producers created reminded her of a certain someone back in her home that was probably walking around her apartment half asleep wondering where she went.

Sunny.

She suddenly remembered how Sunny needed a break from her life in the dorm, and how she needed an escape without sacrificing her work. What if her escape was her work? What if she had a job that required her to escape from the toxic atmosphere that she faced daily in her dorm? A show where she could be herself, and still do what she does best which is to inspire and teach people to be better while still making them feel good about themselves. This show was perfect for Sunny.

Sensing there was something on Hyomin’s mind, Sang Hyuk tried to get her out of her own thoughts and back into the tiny room they were in.

“Now Hyomin, is there something that you would like to ask us?”

Hyomin bit her lip nervously. There were numerous consequences that she would most probably have to deal with if she were to speak her mind, but she decided to do it anyway. After what she went through in her dining room earlier that day, there was absolutely no way she could just keep quiet.

“Erm…excuse me PD-nim. Could I make a suggestion?” Hyomin asked, and she noticed her manager cross his arms out of the corner of her eye. That was a signal for her to belay her thoughts, but Hyomin had already started acting on her decision. She decided to go through with it anyway after getting a nod from the producers in front of her.

“I have a friend… you would know her as Girls’ Generation’s Sunny. She’s my best friend in the whole world, but she’s going through some hard times right now. I can’t talk much about it but I think she can benefit a lot from this show. Is it possible for you to give her an audition as well?”

The whole room was suddenly filled with the buzzing sound of hushed whispers. Surely it was unheard of for a girl group member to ask the producers to cast another girl in the middle of their own audition. Hyomin knew her manager was throwing daggers at her with his eyes as she could practically feel his piercing gaze. She was going to be in trouble for this later, but she steeled herself and looked up at the Roommate producers in front of her. She had to make sure they knew she was being serious.

Sang Hyuk PD was the first one to speak up, and the buzzing died down instantly as soon as he did.

“You see Hyomin, we would love to have a member of Girls’ Generation on our show. It would be an instant increase in ratings, I’m sure you know that very well. However, it is not our decision to make. We could call her in for an audition, but after how low the ratings were for our first season and SM Entertainment pulling ChanYeol out, we aren’t sure that someone from that company would even want to go onto this show.” Sang Hyuk explained, and Hyomin could tell that it hurt him to admit to her how badly his show was doing.

“She would say yes immediately.” Hyomin expressed with as much determination as she could put into a sentence. She knew her best friend better than anyone.

There was another pause as the producers gathered together and started whispering amongst each other again. Hyomin didn’t dare to look around the room to witness the stir that her actions had caused. She just kept staring at her hands in her lap, wondering if she had made the right call.

“Okay. We will ask her and see if she would be willing to audition for this show.” Sang Hyuk said after what felt like the most agonizing 3 minutes of Hyomin’s life. She was going to breathe a sigh of relief, but it got caught in when he continued.

“However, we have to be very blunt with you Hyomin. Once our board of directors find out that we are going to audition Sunny from Girls’ Generation, they would probably insist that we skip the audition process and cast her immediately if she was interested. SNSD has the variety pass card so to speak. What this means for you is, we only have one space left. It’s either you or Sunny. Are you sure you want us to go through with this?” Sang Hyuk asked, concern on his face. He didn’t know what kind of hardship Sunny was going through, but how bad was it to make the young girl in front of him sacrifice this huge of an opportunity? He wanted to give Hyomin one last chance to make up her mind, even though the other producers were all for Sunny coming onto the show. He didn’t want the T-ara singer to be making any rash decisions.

“Yes.” Hyomin said without a moment’s hesitation. She knew she had just lost a very precious opportunity to further her career. She also knew that T-ara could have benefited greatly from the promotion of one of their members being a fixed cast on a variety show, as they were making a comeback soon. Her group hasn’t been as popular as they once were ever since the bullying scandal that she had been in the centre of, and this could have been her chance to rectify that. Hyomin realised that her selfless act might also be the most selfish thing she has ever done.

Hyomin couldn’t help it though. She knew the show would do wonders for Sunny and after seeing how torn up Sunny was, how could Hyomin pass this up? All of the fame and money meant nothing to her if her best friend was not there smiling along with her. She loved Sunny, and she would do anything to make her happy.

Sang Hyuk just stared at Hyomin for a second, trying to see if the girl in front of him would regret saying that but all he saw was a determined girl who would not budge anytime soon. Sighing, he nodded his head and said that he would give her management a call if she got the part, which was just a formality at this point.

Hyomin was dismissed, and she got up and bowed as deep as she could to thank the producers for their time. She turned to leave, and she could hear her manager thanking the staff behind her. Her hand had barely touched the handle of the door when she turned to address the producers again.

“Err…excuse me.” Hyomin addressed the four producers who were in the middle of organizing their paperwork.

“Could you keep this between us? Is it possible to not let Sunny know about this?”

The producers all smiled at her and nodded, which caused Hyomin to bow down in gratitude again. She exited the door when a sudden thought dawned on her. Her manager was going to chew her out now.

She started to walk faster, trying to get as far away from the manager behind her as possible. Maybe she could catch a cab back to her place if she managed to shake him off.

“SunYoung.”

She stopped dead in her tracks. This was it for her. Her duck was cooked. Or was it Goose? She distinctively remembered an idiom along those lines that she read in one of Jiyeon’s English books. Come to think of it, why does Jiyeon have a book on English idioms? The girl wasn’t THAT hardworking.

“Aigoo this girl. Stop thinking about nonsense and look at me.” Hyomin heard her manager say, as a hand rested on top of her head ruffling her hair.

Hyomin just blinked. Ruffling her hair? That wasn’t the kind of physical contact she was expecting for her actions. She was expecting to be hit or some sort, just like she was accustomed to being treated by her management whenever she messed up. She hesitatingly turned around to face her manager, afraid that he might suddenly change his mind and decide to punish her.

Was he smiling? Why was he smiling?

“You’re a really good girl you know that?” Her manager said, causing Hyomin to further be confused by the lack of venom in his voice.

“Are you not…angry?” Hyomin asked, tip toe-ing on the question hoping it wouldn’t upset him.

“I’m not angry. Just a little bit… frustrated.” Her manager said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Do you know how much explaining I have to do to management? I mean, I could just tell them that you somehow failed the audition by some miracle even though you were practically a shoe-in. You know, my job as a manager is to prevent you from making stupid decisions.” He said, noticing the effect his last words had on her.

“Do YOU think you made a stupid decision?” He asked her gently, trying to assure her he wasn’t mad.

“Not at all.” Hyomin answered back, hardly believing the situation she was in.

“Good enough for me.” He said with a smile. “Now lets hurry up and get you back home. I think someone very dear to you is probably waiting for you. You DID drive her to your place after all, so she’s kind of stuck there.”

Hyomin’s eyes grew wide at her manager’s words. She didn’t tell him that Sunny was at her house. Did he know all along? Did he have cameras installed or something? Either way, she was not expecting her manager to be this kind to her after the stunt she pulled. Her eyes started to well up with tears and she had to look away to hide her crying.

Her manager just put a hand on her back and nudged her forward, as they started to walk back to their car.

“Ah! Good Evening Sunbae-nim!”

A sudden voice caused the pair to look up. In front of them stood a good-looking boy wearing a snapback and a pair of loose-fitting joggers. Hyomin wasn’t really sure who he was, but knew he was too handsome to be an office boy.

“I’m Jackson from Got7! I’m here to audition for a part in—are you crying?” Jackson started to introduce himself but abruptly stopped upon noticing Hyomin’s red puffy eyes, worry immediately etched all over his face.

“I’m fine, Jackson.” Hyomin tried to wave him off, but he wasn’t having any of it. He dug into his pockets and pulled out a packet of tissues, and was about to offer it to her when a man came stumbling out of the elevator behind him.

“Yah! Jackson! What are you doing still dawdling about?! You’re late for your audition!” A man that must have been Jackson’s manager came rushing down the corridor and grabbed the boy by the collar to drag him to the room Hyomin just exited. He nodded to Hyomin’s manager in acknowledgement.

“Lay off me hyung!” Jackson yelled back, and slapped the packet of tissues to Hyomin’s manager’s chest before he got dragged off.

“Take care of her!” Jackson yelled in English from the end of the corridor to Hyomin’s manager before he disappeared around the corner.

“Well…that was something.” Her manager told Hyomin, before passing her the packet of tissues.

Hyomin just nodded and smiled as she dabbed away her tears with the tissues. Why was Jackson so adamant on taking care of her when that was the first time they met? Hyomin was confident that if the Roommate house was filled with people as caring as Jackson, then Sunny would be in very good hands.

“Lets go oppa. Sunny is waiting.” Hyomin smiled back to her manager, before skipping down the corridor.

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This was honestly my favourite chapter to write so far. I kinda like writing in Hyomin's perspective, but since the story revolves mainly around Sunny I don't get the chance to do that much. It was actually pretty fun trying to imagine how the auditioning process for these shows are like. Hahaha

Also, been listening to K.Will's Day 1 on repeat and it's kinda inspiring me to write a fic based on it, which would be bad cause I'm nowhere near done with this one. hahaha I predict I have about 10 chapters left in this story to go, so I'll try my best to pick up the writing speed. :)

Thank you to everyone who has subscribed and commented! It means a lot and I'm glad you're liking the story so far!