Stay - Yang Jungwon 양 정원

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘

I walked through the forest, kicking the pebbles at my feet as I did.  However, compared to a month ago, I wasn't scared or nervous.  I was excited really, after a month of training camp, I was ready to come back, more ready than ever.  Everything was the same, except the lights along the path to I-Land were lit up.

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"The transition was hard for me... going from balancing volleyball and training to... just training.  Turning in my jersey was a hard day for me. I went from team captain, with the same girls I've known since I was ten, to a single trainee in a practice room overnight.  I don't regret it, not one bit.  Dancing brought me a type of joy that not even volleyball could.  I've only been chasing this dream for a short time, but I really want to debut.   There were a lot of... ha... mental challenges, and sometimes the burden does feel too much to carry, but at the end of the day, this really felt like what I needed to do... that street casting felt like fate to me.  I want to perform, sing, and dance, all of it.  I want to improve.  For my coaches, my family, my friends, and the people who supported me so far through the show."

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"Oh my god..." I gasped when I saw the giant projection screen on the wall of I-Land.  So many, so many fans, they were waving and showing off small signs to the camera.  It was really... I never felt so touched, truly, in the bottom of my heart, seeing so many people.  I stood there for a minute, taking it all in.  Even though their voices were loud and overlapping, it really sounded like music to me.

I took the familiar path to the main studio.  As the doors opened, instead of twenty three trainees, I met with the five producers who would be monitoring us throughout the whole show.  I swallowed my fear and stepped forward.  A wave of deja vu washed over me as I forced my feet forward.

"Winning fans' hearts with her determination and charisma off and on the stage, the third survivor is I-Lander Song Chaeri," I stopped at the center platform.  I saw Jungwon and Sunghoon standing off to the side, giving me wide smiles. "I-Lander Song Chaeri earned first place during the Signal Song test and the Final Thirteen.  Showing her versatility on the stage.  She is first in France, the UK, and Spain."

Bang Si Hyuk nodded at me, holding up the microphone, "Chaeri, when we casted you... it was a shot in the dark," I gave a small laugh, remembering how sudden it was when I showed up to the audition. "But when we heard you sing that first day, without any training, I had a feeling you'd make an impact.  Your level of skill isn't the most impressive thing.  What really moved the producers, is even though you got good results, on the first test, you never stopped pushing yourself.  Even though you were already one of the top performers in I-Land, you never took it as a sign to stop there.  You truly deserve your spot in part two, congratulations."

I bowed my head, "Thank you," I said gratefully.  I quickly turned to where Jungwon and Sunghoon were standing, smiling ear to ear seeing my profile dropping down from the flag.  I tried biting down my smile as I took my spot next to Jungwon.

Jungwon grinned at me, "Fighting," he mouthed.

I gave him a small smile, "Fighting,"

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Heeseung, Jay, Jake, and K quickly joined us.  We were all directed to the gate to head back to I-Land.  The second we stepped into the gate, our straight and calm expressions broke into wide grins as we hugged each other, "We did it!" Jay cheered making us all laugh.

Jungwon had immediately targeted me when the group hug broke away.  I laughed, wrapping my arms around his neck. "Thank god we're in this together," He muttered into my shoulder.