The long week was soon coming to an end as I continued the never-ending practicing with the other GROUNDERS. I moved my body in sync with the other girls as I examined myself closely through the mirror.

"Soojin! Are you excited for the final test?" chimed the girl practising next to me.

This girl never fails to make me smile.

"I think I'm more nervous than excited Haeun." I admitted cupping the side of my neck.

"Out of all the GROUNDERS, you will surely make it to the 8 finalists!" she exclaimed as she jumped excitedly.

Wow.

After this test there will be only 8 girls left on the competition.

Making the final 7 is way harder than I thought.

"Nah I think we all have a pretty good chance. You got this girl!" I cheered as the older girl nodded and got back to her dancing.

I don't know if I'm ready for this.

My mind brought me back to the series of events that unfolded the past week. I shivered at my thoughts.

I don't think I'm ready to face Jake and Heesung.

Brushing off the uncomfortable feeling, I suddenly jumped as a loud voice boomed through the speakers.

"GROUNDERS, please prepare yourself for your performance."

We all looked at each other with mixed feelings of fear and anticipation.

"We got this girls! Let's do our best till the very end!" cheering one of the girls as we all gathered for a group hug.

Tears slowly filled the corners of my eyes as I began to take notice of the other sobbing girls. The sombre atmosphere pained my chest as the reality soon hit me.

Not all of us are going to make it into the I-LAND.

This may be our last performance.

I rubbed the backs of the crying girls as they began to burst into heartfelt tears.

Every single one of these talented, passionate girls deserve to debut and knowing that they may not get there pained me.

"Don't cry guys. This is not the end! We will not give up even if we fail, right?" spoke another girl as she sobbed into another girl's shoulder.

All of a sudden there was a bang on the door.

"Okay girls, please make your way backstage. Your performance will begin soon."

We all nodded politely as we watched the staff member's eyes soften at the sight.

Looking at each other with hope in our eyes, we formed a circle and placed our hands in the middle.

"On three, GROUNDERS." spoke Haeun as she held her hand firmly on top of the others.

"One, two..."

"GROUNDERS!"

•••

"Alright! Time has flown past and it is now the last test to determine the 8 finalists!" exclaimed Chu as she clapped her hands together excitedly.

"Yes! Today we will be watching performances from both the I-LANDERS and the GROUNDERS to determine the top 8 applicants." informed Chungha.

"Many applicants will be cut tonight and it does not matter whether you are in the I-LAND or the GROUND, everyone will be evaluated equally." spoke Hyunsik.

The judges and hosts all nodded there heads agreeingly.

"Look! It looks like the I-LANDERS are now taking there positions!" spoke Sunmi pointing to the stage through the screen.

"Let's take a look at their performance shall we?"

The cameras panned to the stage where the girls all stood in their positions. The lights dimmed before the music began to play.

(Rumour- PRODUCE 48)

Neon toxic pagodeuleo

Nae maeumeul eojileobge hae

Dasi ppajyeodeuleo

"Ooo it seems like the I-LANDERS have taken on the sexy concept and gone with the popular track from another survival show." spoke Chungha.

The girls moved seductively on the stage as each girl stared intimately into the camera for their part.

Modu gwaenchanheul geolago geuleohge malhaebwa

Rumor, rumor, rumor

Gossip, gossip, gossip

Rumor, rumor, rumor

The chorus displayed hard hitting choregraphy as each applicant danced in sync.

The song soon came to an end and the music faded out.

"Wow. What a well-prepared performance. I'm sure the girl's are proud of themselves. What do you think Bang Sihyuk?" asked Sunmi.

"Personally I expected a little more from the girls. You could sense their stiffness through the screen and their facial expressions were a bit bland. I could not feel their passion." spoke the man in glasses as he read his notes.

"Mhm I agree with you. I believe the girl's could have given more energy to the performance and to be honest there wasn't much from this performance that we hadn't seen before." critiqued Hyunsik.

"Mhm so there you have it. The feedback from the judges. We'll be back with the GROUNDERS performance right after this ad." spoke Sunmi.

•••

After hearing the announcement that our performance was happen right after the ad break, my hands began to sweat and my muscles became fidgety.

I looked at the dim empty stage and began envisioning every movement I was gonna make. Suddenly my breath became short and my vision became blurry. My mind began to spin out of control in nervousness as I began visibly shaking.

All of a sudden I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Hey hey you alright?" spoke a calm voice.

I turned my head and met my gaze with a familiar man. Recognising him, I immediately ran into his arms.

"Hyunsik!" I cried falling into his embrace.

I hadn't seen this kind man since before the show even started. Boy I missed him.

"Soojin what's wrong?" he cooed into my ear as he stroked my head gently.

Feeling overwhelmed my the security in his presence I started to spill out all the thoughts running through my mind.

"What if I mess up again? What if I ruin it for everyone? There's no second chance this time." I murmured into his chest as I felt warm tears fill my vision.

His delicate hands stroked my back as he softly whispered calming words into my ear.

"Shhhh you're going to do great Soojin. The last performance wasn't your fault. Don't worry, you're gonna kill it."

Hearing his motivating comments gave me a boost from within as I felt a little lighter than before. I gave the man one last squeeze before pulling myself out of his embrace.

"Thank you Hyunsik. For real, I owe you big time." I spoke with a heart of gratitude.

"Okay well you can owe me by absolutely smashing that stage and making the final 8!" he cheering with his fists in the air.

I chuckled at the man as I admired his unnecessarily kind gestures.

"GROUNDERS please take your positions."

Feeling a sudden jolt of adrenaline after the small pep talk, I gave Hyunsik a wide smile.

He looked at me with warm eyes and held his hands up at me.

"Fighting Soojin!"

I nodded happily before turning my back on him and running to my position at the front of the stage.

You got this Soojin.

If it's not for yourself,

do it for Hyunsik at least.

Keeping in mind my whole new motivation to perform well, I closed my eyes and prepared myself for this legendary stage.

Yeah, EVERGLOW

Bugeul ullyeora

Pa rum pum-pum-pum-pum-pum

(Oh yeah, oh yeah)

Norael bulleora

Tra-na-na-na-na-na-na

(Oh yeah, oh yeah)

The girls danced with fierce movements as they gave intense looks at the camera. With each part of the song, every GROUNDER had their own part to shine. Even still, there was one applicant in particular who stood out among the rest.

Naui nunbiche gachin, dun dun

Jageun eorin yanggachi

(Dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun)

Baby kkomjjak mot hal geol

The performance approached it's ending as each girl gave one last fairy ending look to the camera. The lights dimmed as the switched back to the judges/hosts table.

•••

"HOLY MOLY! I don't know about you guys but I think I just witnessed one of the best performances ever on this show!" exclaimed Chungha excitedly.

"I don't think you're alone on that one Chungha. That truly was a legendary performance!" Sunmi added.

"I'm sure we're all thinking the same thing but oh my goodness...PARK SOOJIN EVERYBODY. PARK. SOO. JIN." Chu spoke as she slammed her hands on the table.

Everyone laughed at the adorable girl's actions aswell as nodded at her true statement.

"Yes we can safely say that Park Soojin absolutely knocked it out of the park with that performance. Her expressions were fierce yet natural and her movements were nothing short of clean and precise!" praised Hyunsik as he smiled happily.

"It seems like our ace has successfully made a comeback and won't be leaving anytime soon! The debut spot is looking very fitting for her. Fighting Soojin!" spoke Bang Sihyuk as he looked into the camera lens.

"Okay! We will now take time to decide the final 8 who will be moving onto the finals aswell as make decisions on who will be cut. Please tune in for when we do so!" spoke Chungha to the camera.

The screen soon faded out and clips of the performances were being displayed.

•••

"Holy crap! Park Soojinnnnnnn!" yelled Jungwon as he clapped vigorously at the screen monitor.

"She really is the best isn't she? That's my girl!" spoke Sunoo as he crossed his arms proudly.

"Hey I taught her too! She's my girl aswell!" huffed Jay as he glared at Sunoo. Sunoo glared back at Jay as he gave him a scoff.

"Yah yah boys. I think we all know who's girl she really is." spoke NIKI.

The boys all turned to face myself and the other member on the opposite side of the room. I looked made eye contact with the hyung as he gave me soft eyes.

"Hey guys this is a touchy subject, let's not put them on the spot." scolded Sunghoon as he noticed the tension rising in the room.

The other boys giggled at the immaturity of the two boys and began making silly comments.

"Okay well can I just say if you guys don't end up deciding on her, I'm gonna steal her from you!" teased Jungwon as he stared at the girl through the screen.

"Yah back off Jungwon she'd want someone who's actually good looking like me." spoke Jay as she flipped his hair to the side.

"Nah nah I'd bet she'd want someone around her age who she can relate with, grandpa." teased NIKI as he made a face at the older hyung.

"YAH NISHIMURA RIKI!"

The older boy chased the younger out into the hall as the other members followed giggling their asses off. Left alone in the room stood myself and the boy in the opposite corner.

I looked up at the older boy and noticed his blank gaze at the ground.

I wonder what's on his mind.

He looks really out of it.

Taking the initiative, I took a deep breath before speaking up.

"Hey...you alright?" I asked meekly as I took a few steps closer to him.

The boy kept his eyes on the floor as he had his arms crossed in front of him.

"No."

I watched as the boy readjusted his stance and walked over to plop himself onto the couch.

Huh?

What could possibly be wrong?

He has everything I could ever want.

He has

the popularity

the skills

the fans

and the girl...

Feeling inferior and angered by his presumably ungrateful nature I turned to face him ready to lash out.

"Yah Lee Heesung. How could you not be okay when you have everything in the world. You stole my freaking girl for God's sake. Can't you at least be a little happy?" I yelled unleashing all my feelings of jealously and hurt onto him.

The boy's blank expression suddenly switched to one of annoyance as he locked his fiery gaze with me.

"For your infomation Jake. Soojin was never YOUR girl. You just so happened to like her first." he spat with attitude in his voice.

He then regained his composure before softening his eyes a little.

"And besides, how could I have stolen her if she has feelings for you..." the boys voice faded out into a whisper as my eyes widened at his words.

W-wha wait what?

Soojin has feelings for...

In complete disbelief, I blinked a couple times before speaking up again.

"Yah. Don't say things that don't make sense. It's quite obvious that she likes you since you always hang out together." I explained battling his arguement.

I watched as Heesung sighed deeply before looking into my eyes.

"Jake. Do you not remember the look on her face when she saw you and Misun kissing? I know I sure wouldn't cry that much for just a nobody."

The older boy lifted himself from the couch and gradually headed for the door.

"I'm going to tell you this only once more because it pains me to say it." he spoke as he turned his head over his shoulder slightly.

"Park Soojin likes you. She likes you a lot. You don't have to believe but trust me it's true. Please don't break her heart. She's an adorable ball of fluff who is vulnerable and gets hurt easily. I decided to chose our friendship over love because that's how much ENHYPEN means to me. However, I'm still recovering from heartbreak so please give me a few days."

My eyes filled up with tears as the older boy's heartfelt words tore into my chest. The overwhelming feeling of friendship and brotherhood gave me a warm feeling as I felt myself melt in the moment.

"As your hyung it's my priority to protect you and make you happy, so if that means giving up the girl I love then so be it. I just hope your not a dork and fuck things up."

I chuckled at his remark as tears began to fall down my cheeks. I watched as the boy's figure turned to face me as I locked gazes with his.

"Despite what happened, I will always root for you. Now go get your girl."

The brightest smile washed over my face as I felt the sun come up and the birds sing. My tears of happiness stained my cheeks as my nose clogged with snot.

"Thank you hyung. I really mean it. Saranghae!" I gave the boy a large heart over my head as I watched him giggle reluctantly at my sudden aegyo.

Park Soojin.

I'm so sorry I didn't realise sooner.

I promise I won't make you wait any longer.

I'm coming for you.