Running to You (I-Land)

I-Land Ep 1

A van dropped me off in front of a path as I walked through it. The rocks were slippery against my boots so I had to try and keep my balance so I didn't embarrass myself on TV.

"Oo, One more is coming" Bang PD said as the three producers watched the cameras

"A girl? Why did you put her in?" Zico asked.

"Emily is very talented. When she dances and sings, pay close attention to her movements and facial expressions. She's been a trainee for a while, so I think this is a good experience for her"

"Woah! This is huge!" I exclaimed. So this was I-Land

I stared at the door wide-eyed as it slowly started to open.

The producers all laughed at her surprised shouts.

"She's so adorable!" Zico smiled as they continued to watch her walk in

"Okay! Let's walk in with the most serious face, I need to prove I'm worthy to be here" I said to myself as I checked myself out in the camera and fixed my ponytail.

Let's do this. Gripping my back strap tightly, I walked towards the entrance to I-Land and in front of me was 23 boys staring at me in awestruck.

"A girl?"

"I recognize her... but where?"

"She's really pretty, but why is she here? Is she staff?"

"No, she has a backpack. Is she a contestant?"

When the platform appeared in front of me and I stepped into it, I got a clear view of everyone. Woah! Heeseungie is here! And, is that Riki? I didn't know he was in Korea, it's so nice to see him after 3 years. I continued looking around at everyone until a familiar face caught my eye.

Oh no. This can't be happening. Why is my ex here?

Before we could make eye contact I quickly looked away and stepped off the platform as it stopped moving. There were barely any open seats except one by Heeseung, so I walked over there and sat down in between him and another boy.

"Eun Ae! I've missed you" Heeseung exclaimed as we both gave a quick hug.

What was your initial reaction to entering I-Land and seeing all the boys?

"Surprised? I don't really know how to express it. I was shocked seeing all of them, but I was excited to see Heeseungie and Riki. I didn't feel alone"

Suddenly the room turned dark and the platform we were sitting on started to move as a voice started to talk

"Dear 24 applicants, welcome. This is the stage of I-Land and this will be the place for you to prove your skills."

"Past the gate, you'll see the unknown place called I-Land that only exists in our imaginations"

Someone pointed towards the egg shaped gate as I shot my head up and looked at the gate. That's a weird looking gate.

"However, not all 24 can enter. The capacity of I-Land is only 12 people. The power to decide those 12 people is up to you and every destiny in I-Land is upon your hands as well. Now we're going to start the entry test with the performances you've prepared"

"Now?" Heeseung asked beside me.

"I'm not prepared" I mumbled as the voice kept talking

"The entry test will be assessed by yourselves. Only those with the majority vote will get to enter I-Land. If there are more or less than 12 after the test, there will be another test"

Nope, I have to make sure I am one of those 12 and I stay in I-Land. This is already too much to handle.

"It's a unit performance, but the votes will be done for each individual. The order of the performances is up to you"

I'm either going first or I'm going last. I'll decide whenever the moment comes. I waited for the voice to tell us to go up to the stage. My leg was bouncing up and down and I could tell I was shaking all over, especially when Heeseung laid a hand on my back and whispered it was okay.

"The first participant please move to the stage"

As soon as the voice finished their sentence, my legs shot straight up and I walked up to the stage. Better now than never. As I walked up I saw someone else try and go up, but they sat back down after seeing me.

"None other than Emily. She must have a lot of courage" Rain said.

"I'm nervous for her!" Said Zico

"Remember to watch her carefully. She's very talented" Bang PD smiled.

The stage stopped and I fixed my mic before starting my introduction.

"Hello, My name is Emily Han. My strong suits are rap and dance. I know how to speak Japanese and English. I've also done Volleyball and figure skating for 6 years"

The contestants clapped as I bowed and got into position.

"I wonder if it'll be a girl group song"

"She did figure skating? Woah, I want to ask her about it since I did it as well"

I waited for the song to start as I stood in a ready position. "Let the performance begin. Stand By"

As soon as the song started to play I was ready to perform my hardest. I was going to do Exo's Tempo.

~~~

After I finished my song, I stood in the middle of the stage as the voting began. I watched everyone hesitate to raise their hands when I saw three people shoot their hands up. Heeseung, Riki and... my ex. With that everyone did the same.

"Emily is in I-Land"

"Thank you!" I bowed as the stage started to move back to the seats. I got 23 votes, I was ecstatic.

"You did good!" Heeseung gave me a small thumbs up.

"I think I could've done better, but thanks"

As I watched more and more applicants perform, I got more nervous. I raised my hand for almost everyone, including my ex. They were all good and if I had to go in a head to head competition with them, I could lose.

During Ni-ki's performance, he stood out so much. He was different than when I was in Japan. He seemed like he's matured a lot and grown up. Still looks like a dumpling, but I liked that about him. And Heeseung, his performance was flawless. I enjoyed watching him perform every time.

My favorite performance was the Crown performance. My cheeks were hurting from smiling so much! They were so good and cute, I just couldn't help it. But also after all three of them got into I-Land, the screen shined -5.

-5. I think my mind was going to explode over this. I'm definitely going to be voted out in the next test.

The gate turned and we were told to enter I-Land. Most people said goodbye to their units and I didn't know what to do. Except I wanted to tell the guy in the green shirt he did an amazing job.

"I'm sorry you were voted out. I really enjoyed your performance"

"It's okay, I really enjoyed yours as well"

He gave me a small hug before telling me to head into the gate. I stood next to Ni-Ki as he laid his arm around me and we both smiled. While the gate turned I stood there awestruck at everything and then we saw it.

I-Land. The place to make dreams come true.