Always Beside You (JenLisa FF)

Chapter 3

Jennie woke up late the next day. She rushed to the bathroom to take a shower.

Uggh! I overslept! I should be there by 6 am and here I am, 7:30 in the morning and still taking a bath. Jennie sigh.

"Ruby Jane, are you finished? I will be late for my meeting if we did not leave the house before 8 am." Mrs. Kim spoke to Jennie while knocking on her bedroom door.

"Mom, you should go! I will take the cab. We can't be seen together have you forgotten?" Jennie shouts to her Mom while the water from the shower contributed a substantial part of the noise that occupied the bathroom, aside from the music playing in the background.

"Okay then. Take care, honey! See you later." Mrs. Kim rushes to the door where Mr. Yang is waiting for her.

It's already past 3 pm. Jennie's stomach growls. Ten more auditioners before her turn. She hasn't eaten a decent meal yet. Suddenly she saw Mr. Yang walking in the corridor towards her, carrying a food pack in his right hand.

"Mrs. Kim is concerned that you haven't eaten your lunch, though. She told me to bring this to you." He handed over the food pack that has banana milk and triangle kimbap that he purchased in the building's cafeteria.

"They might see you, Mr. Yang. Please go. And thank you!" Jennie winks at him, thus runs back to where she was seated a moment ago.

"I don't wish you to help me. Not that I don't need your help." She recalled those words that she expressed to her mom yesterday.

I still needed you, after all. Thank you mom. Her thoughts while she grinned, then tries to bite the triangular kimbap as simple as possible so no one will notice her eating.

After waiting for hours, Jennie's time to present her audition piece has eventually arrived. She didn't know how proud Mrs. Kim was of her while watching the live CCTV footage in her office. As expected, Jennie was admitted right away. And this is without her mom's help.

"They loved my performance, mom! I got in!" Jennie texted her mom after she saw her name on the white bond paper set on the front glass door of the audition room together with the other list of names who also passed the audition.

"I know you will make it, honey. Congratulations! Let's celebrate at home. See you at the basement parking Mr. Yang is there." Mrs. Kim replied to Jennie.

"No mom. Please pick me up at the second nearest convenience store. I don't want us to be seen by anyone in the building. I'll be heading there now." Jennie said.

Jennie started as a trainee weeks after she got accepted into the audition. Being a trainee has no definite time for when they are going to debut. Some take months, and some took years and years of practice before they got their debut. But sadly, some trainees did not make it.

"Tomorrow a trainee from Thailand will join you." Mrs. Kim told Jennie while having their weekend dinner.

Jennie stays at the dorm during weekdays. Then at home during weekends.

"A trainee. Do you mean just only one? How many auditioners back there?" Jennie said to her mom. She was shocked that there was only one who passed the producer's standards. Obviously, the auditioners will not be just five or ten. For sure, it is hundreds or even thousands.

"4,000. Yes, I know, baby. I am surprised too. She will be the first idol trainee that is not Korean in our company." Mrs. Kim said.

"So she is that good. I can't wait to meet her." Jennie proceeds with the dessert. It is a combination of strawberry and spoiled condensed milk.