STRAY KIDS: THE 9TH MEMBER

Chapter 26

*Seungmin POV*

It was the day of the showcase, and we were all nervous as fuck. Jeongin seemed to have come to his senses and whatever tension that had been in the air before had now faded. Instead, there were nerves and fear. I had butterflies fluttering around in my stomach, and from looking around at the others, I could tell they did too. We had been shooting parts for the survival show for the past few days, adding more pressure to make ourselves seem likeable. It was even harder for Hyunjin and I to get some privacy with all the filming.

Everyone was busy getting ready, whether it was going to some Sunbaenims (Chan went to see Twice, since he was friends with most if not all of them), practicing lines, or just sitting together and getting our makeup done, which was what Jeongin, Hyunjin and I were doing.

"Hyung help!" We heard Felix frantically ask Changbin to help go over his lines. It was super stressful. We made a few mistakes during rehearsals, mics dropping from pockets, lines forgotten. The girls seemed to be perfect and suddenly, debuting seemed impossible. I began to shake and shiver a little. Hyunjin noticed and instantly wrapped his arms around me to comfort me. Jeongin just looked over with concern.

"Are you okay, Hyungie?" He asked me. I frowned and shook my head.

"'M nervous." I said softly.

"We all are." Hyunjin told me. "Every single one of us. I'm sure you can tell. All we can do now is go on that stage and perform to our limit."

"Hyung's right. We all deserve this, most of all Channie Hyung. Let's not just do it for us, but for him as well." Jeongin said with a small smile. I smiled back.

"Yeah, you're right. We can do this."

For once, I hoped, please let nothing dramatic happen.

"Ten minutes everyone!" One of the staff called out. We all had last minute hair and makeup checks and Chan was back from his little chat with Twice.

"Guys, remember this," he said, "it doesn't matter that JYP is out there. It doesn't matter how many eyes are on us. We're going to perform our hardest, we're going to be awesome and we're going to have fun!"

"Yeah!" We all cheered. His words definitely helped lighten the load we all seemed to carry on our shoulders.

"Two minutes! Girls are going first, but please line up and get ready!"

*Aera POV*

We were ready. Every single one of us. And we knew the boys were too. With two minutes left until we were to step on the stage, my legs were slightly shaking. And my chest-

My chest hurt the same way it did on Bambam's birthday those few months ago. Seeing as it had only returned now, i assumed it was related to stress, even though i didn't remember being stressed at all on his birthday. Brushing the thought away, I made sure that my group was ready and gave a few words of wisdom.

"Listen. It doesn't matter how nervous we are right now. What matters is that when we step on that stage, we are fierce. And we need to own it. Every inch of that stage is ours to use, and we will use it. Even if we don't get to debut this year, know that I'm proud of every single one of you." I smiled and we had a small group hug.

"We'll do our best, Unnie." Yeji said and everyone nodded in agreement.

"And so will I."

And that was the last we said directly to one another before being summoned upon the stage.

*3rd Eye*

The girls were spectacular. They blew everyone away with their simple yet perfectly executed choreography. It was clear that they had practiced a lot for this moment.

Next came the boys. Their rapping, singing and dancing flowed so perfectly together, it was almost like they were an idol group already-

Almost.

*Hyunjin POV*

We were all breathing heavily. The performances were all over. Now we stood with the girls and all the others who performed to see who managed to impress JYP enough to let us get a shot at debuting.

It felt like I stopped breathing when he came in front of us. We all bowed.

"Good job to everyone who performed today. You were all amazing." He said.

A chorus of thank you's was echoed.

"As for the girls and boys teams. I have some notes that you need to improve on. And some good notes too of course." He chuckled and took out some papers. "Let's see...ladies first."

I could see the anxious smiles on their faces when he said that. Aera especially.

"Okay. You guys did amazing. Although your choreography was simplistic, you managed to make it seem like so much more." He continued to give a few pointers to each of the girls. Then, he turned to us. "Boys. Stray Kids. You all did spectacularly. There are a few things you need to work on..." we received criticism from him and took notes mentally. Then it was time.

"And now, for the moment you've all been waiting for...the group moving on to the survival show is...STRAY KIDS!"

He allowed us to celebrate a little and we bowed and thanked him numerous times. He then turned to the girls, "There were, however, two of you who stood out the most to me and the other judges. Aera and Yeji, step foreword."

My eyes widened. Did that mean that Aera had a shot after all? We all held hands, thinking the same thing.

"You two stood out the most to me," JYP said, "and so, I'd like to see how you all progress. Yeji, you did amazing. I'm sure you'll debut soon. Aera, I'd love for you to debut as soon as possible, you showed everything you've got today."

I was inwardly screaming. I knew Aera probably couldn't debut with us as a group, but maybe, just maybe she could be a soloist. Or something like that.

"Thank you sir!" The girls said.

JYP nodded. "Aera and the boys come with me. Everyone else, you did amazing. Keep it up. You can all head back and get freshened up." He smiled and everyone bowed.

*Chan POV*

I was shaking. Could I really be debuting soon? And Aera too? After almost 8 years of hard training I seriously wanted to, and I felt as though we both deserved it. We all walked quietly behind JYP, although it was really hard to contain our excitement.

"I have a question for all of you," PD-nim asked us once we were in a secluded room.

"Of course, sir." We all said.

"Well then, how would you all like to debut together as a co-ed group?"

We all gasped. Aera was being given the chance to debut with us! Not being left behind or having to debut alone. We all cheered and looked over at Aera.

"Well?" We asked her.

"Yes! Yes, of course I'd love to1!" She exclaimed and gave us all a hug.

"I must warn you, it will not be easy. Are you all up for the challenge?"

"Yes sir!"

"Perfect. I'll be seeing you next week for the survival show. Rest for now."

He left us alone. We all began to celebrate, hugging one another and cheering.

"Noona! We all get to debut together!" Jeongin yelled, giving her a huge hug.

"Yes we do Jeonginnie. But if we really want to debut, we have to continue to work hard." She advised.

"Wait, Hyung, Noona, you both have seniority here...who will be the leader?" Changbin asked.

"Channie of course." Aera said before I could reply. "I can't lead for my life. It's your position." She smiled and patted my shoulder. Then, "C'mon everyone! It's time to celebrate!"

Word Count: 1287 

Hope you enjoyed that one ☺️

-Aria 💜