Not Around

Chapter 1:

I'm going to kill them.

Murderous thoughts were the only thing on Choi Y/N's mind. She knew it. She knew she shouldn't have been too greedy.

For Pete's sake! I should've just taken the money and ran away.

Currently, the girl was in a forest, with only 'head straight and follow the stairs' as instructed by the director. Was it too late to just.. run back to the city?

No, impossible, they took a van to get here, and they made her hike all the way up the mountain. This place was literally in the middle of nowhere. If she backs out now, she'll definitely get lost.

C'mon, Y/N. Let's think happy thoughts. It might not be that bad. Last for 3 months and get some cash out of it. Do it for the kids. There's nothing that can go wrong, right?

With that final attempt to calm herself down, she took a deep breath, adjusted the weight of her backpack, and patted down her camo pants that she paired with a simple white shirt.

She had no plans on standing out, not that she had any better clothes to wear. Unfortunately for her, she's sure that she stood out regardless. After all, she was the only girl.

How did she end up here? Long story.

But to sum it up, she was offered to audition in exchange for a good amount of money. She has.. friends.. who got a kick out of seeing her, quote on quote - "stepping out of her comfort zone and exploring new things". Y/N knows damn well it was just another way for saying they loved seeing her uncomfortable yet desperate for financial stability.

Ok, maybe they were also trying their best to help her, but there were better options than joining a survival show!

Of course, with how she was struggling to make ends meet lately, she couldn't let the quick cash go to waste. Besides, if she passed, that meant getting paid to be on tv and who didn't want that?

If only she was told it wasn't actually an all-girl survival program she was throwing herself into, things would've gone differently.

She should've known something was fishy when one of the producers holding the auditions accidentally said mixed instead of girl group audition.

The girl swears once this whole thing is over she's gonna drop kick the person responsible for this entire mess.

While grumbling under her breath about how she was tricked and kicking every pebble she came across with, hands in her pocket, she found herself in front of a building with a humongous slab door. Y/N comes to a halt. Now, how the hell was she gonna get in?

"Great. Just great." If she wasn't pissed just moments before, she sure is now.

Cautiously, she placed a hand on the smooth wall in front of her and nothing. It was still. So she slapped it, a little too aggressively. It totally had nothing to do with her pending frustrations and regrets with her life decisions. Haha. Totally.

Y/N then feels the wall move, she flinches back, avoiding the movement of the giant door. An empty hallway welcomes her.

Little did she know, her little reaction was being shown in real-time on the inside of the building. 23 pairs of eyes stared at the petite figure on the massive screen, some confused, others shocked, and most harbored both emotions.

The trainees were told about the last-minute change in the program's lineup. A mixed-group survival program? This wasn't what they signed up for. But despite their mixed feelings about their new companion, they couldn't complain. They were all handpicked by the best producers in the industry. That meant she was too.