𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 ˢᵛᵗ

fifteen ♬

You're going to be on a survival show.

Youngpil's words kept floating through my head, preventing me from falling asleep. Four days had passed since then, and I was due to leave in another three. The information I was told about the show was vague; just the name and basic description of what it entails. It occurred to me that the secrecy might be because it will evoke genuine emotions in me when I'm on screen, hopefully encouraging viewers to vote for me. That or either they're screwing with me.

The program's name was Hidden Gems, a show where 9 all female contestants battle it out to be crowned Korea's next biggest hit. I was told the show would take over eight days to be filmed, the finale airing live. Each episode would be aired at 10pm the same day it was filmed, allowing audiences to cast their votes on who they'd like to see leave the next day. The show was going to be held in Busan, 4 hours away from here.

Shooting started on March 29th, and lasted until April 7th if everything ran smoothly. It was only 10 days away from the dorms, however that meant I wouldn't return until after Mingyu's birthday. Which was something he wasn't too happy about.

Earlier that day

"What do you mean you'll be missing my birthday?" Mingyu whined, pouting at me as we sat down for lunch with Jeonghan and Joshua. Even though it was ramen day in the canteen, it wasn't enough to lift Mingyu's spirits.

"Mingyu cut it out," Jeonghan scolded, tired of the boy's complaining. Joshua patted Mingyu's back, in efforts to make him feel better.

"It's okay, Chae-ri will come back only one day after," Joshua consoled. "Plus, it's a huge opportunity for her, shouldn't we be happy about it?"

Mingyu gave a tight nod, agreeing with the statement but clearly still annoyed. There wasn't much I could do as One; everything had already been set such as travel, accommodation, contestant ID etc. and Two; it almost laughable to think I'd be powerful enough to ask shooting to be held back a week so I could celebrate my friend's birthday. I mean come on, it sounds selfish and plus, I'm a nobody. There was no way that I could pull strings to arrange for that to happen.

So instead, I stroked his soft hair, instantly earning me a big smile from him.

"Stop complaining now," I told him, nudging his shoulder with mine and nodding towards the tray in front of him. "Your ramen is getting cold."

He grabbed the chopsticks and snatched up a hefty serving of noodles before stuffing his face, munching guiltily over his childish outburst.

"We will celebrate after I come back, ok?" I said to him.

He stopped chewing and gave me a messy smile, noodles spilling out his mouth. I laughed at him when Jeonghan threw a napkin at his face, shouting for him to eat decently or don't eat at all.

Present

I feel bad for missing his birthday, but I can't waste this chance which has been given to me. Suppose I do well and win the show; it could potentially speed up the date for my debut. After all, that's why I'm here, isn't it?

Sleep didn't come easy that night, the mixture of anticipation and anxiety leaving me unsettled.

The follow three days, I spent mostly with Seokmin, Seungkwan and Soonyoung. They liked to call themselves the BooSeokSoon trio, which I was a fan of. A performance assessment was coming up, busying the trainees with frequent practices. Fortunately, the show overlapped with the assessment, rendering me unable to take part. From what I've heard from Seungcheol and Jihoon, these performances tests are incredibly difficult to score high on.