Road to K-POP: STAR24

7

It was the day of the performance, all of the contestants were backstage, everyone with their makeup and outfits done, ready to perform. On the previous day they all went to the set that would be where they would perform, it was big and colorful with a big panel behind it that was written "STAR24", this was the place where some would pass to the next phase, and where some would be sent home.

Not long after they were ready, the episode was set to start. Unlike the previous episodes of the show, this one would be live, being broadcast both on TV and on the internet, where the voting would take place. The entire system was based around votes, the teams with more votes would go to the next round, and the one with the least votes would be up for elimination.

Each group was doing their vocal exercises, and quickly getting over some parts of the choreography, all of the groups seeking perfection in their preparation. Then suddenly the first group was called on stage, that being Minjoon's team.

They started their performance, the song had an elegant and beautiful choreography that caught the attention of the audience, the song had challenging vocal parts that were amazingly delivered by the team with few to no mistakes, each member shining in their part, radiating their unique talents and leaving incredibly high expectations for the next performances.

Following the performance from Minjoon's team, now it was time for Group 2, Yejun's team. They had an energetic and powerful song, their choreography was very demanding in energy but the team was able to have stable vocals even with that level of intensity, really showing their high level of professionalism. Their stage presence didn't lack for any moment during the performance, they held the audience captive like a spell would just from their expressions and level of emotion portrayed.

Once both performances were finished, it was time for Sunwoo's team. They were all nervous, but one thing they kept in mind was: 'Trust your practice and enjoy the stage'. They knew they shouldn't focus on the performance, because that would subtract a lot from their stage presence. Once they stepped on stage, a whirlwind of nerves and excitement came crashing into them. 

They got into positions and waited for the song to start. When the song started it was like their bodies were moving on their own, they were singing and dancing without thinking about anything, it was like they were just having fun in the middle of a rehearsal in the practice room. Sunwoo even got one specific move right, one that he was getting wrong so many times during practice, which made him even more confident and his stage presence just went up from there on. Even though there were some slight mistakes during the performance, they were easily masked by their ability to hide them, which made the performance that much more enjoyable.

When the stage was finished everything came back to them, it was like everything was over in the blink of an eye. Before they could even process everything, they had to go back to the backstage area, and there they met the other contestants. Everyone was hugging and congratulating everyone for their performance, while some were hugging each other because they knew someone would be eliminated. There was a mixture of feelings of relief because of the end of the performance and nervousness because of the results hit the team.

Sunwoo looked at each and every one of the contestants, knowing that he or any other could be eliminated. That thought crawled through his mind, his hands shaking like never before, that was a make or break moment for everyone, a moment that would shatter someone's dream.

With those thoughts not leaving his mind, he decided to go get some water and see if he could calm down. Once he was there, he was stopped by a tall guy, that guy being Minjoon.

"Are you okay?" He asked, with a concerned look on his face.

"To be honest with you, no. I'm not okay," The boy said, his voice trembling a bit. He didn't want to think about the possible elimination, but he couldn't help it, because that was something that would happen anyway.

"I'm nervous too," Minjoon said while looking at the other contestants, with a clear sad look on his beautiful fox-like eyes.

"Are you scared that you're going to lose a friend? Because we all know that you're not going to be eliminated." Sunwoo joked a bit, hoping that this would help in diffusing the situation.

"Well, me doing well in the mission is not really a factor here, because this is basically a popularity contest." Minjoon joked a bit, but the thing is, he was not lying, the show is a popularity contest, just by the fact that it's by public vote, people will vote on who they identify the most, not the ones with the most talent, and that's not even starting on people voting only by visuals.

Suddenly they all heard a voice on the speaker calling them to the main stage, because the voting time was closed. Arriving there, all of the boys were in a line, waiting for the announcement of who would go to the next mission.

"Now, we're going to announce the voting results for the mission."

Sunwoo was nervous, but he didn't want that to take over him, so he still kept a smile on his face and the hope to get the first place on the mission.

"In first place, with 61% of the votes," The CEO started.

Each contestant was either shaking, crying or just hiding their nervousness, and the dramatic pause that the CEO left there wasn't helping.

"Group 3." Minjoon looked over to his members with a wide smile on his face. They went a step forward and held hands while looking at each other happy that they got first place and were guaranteed to go to the next mission.

"In second place, with 21% of the votes," CEO Kyungsoo said. Now it was between Group 1, Sunwoo's team, and Group 2, Yejun's team.

"Group 2." Yejun and his team stepped forward, with smiles on their faces, happy to pass to the next mission too.

Now there was only Sunwoo and his team left, they were in last place, the least-voted group among all of them. Sunwoo started to feel guilty, thinking that it was his fault that his team was last, maybe if he was better at dancing, maybe if he practiced harder, his team wouldn't be here, waiting to know who would be eliminated.

"Now I will announce who will be going to the next mission." The atmosphere was heavy, tension so thick that a knife would struggle to cut it.

"Sunwoo, with 35% of the votes." Sunwoo couldn't contain his tears. Just when he thought that he wouldn't be able to pass, he did, and received the most votes among his teammates. The boy took a step forward and looked at the other contestants, and there he saw Minjoon, looking at him with a warm smile, that smile brought comfort to him somehow, even though they were pretty far apart.

"Unfortunately, only one of you three will go to the next mission, since two of you got the same amount of votes."

The reality hit the contestants like a train, two people would be eliminated, while at the start they were hoping that no one would be eliminated, in the end, two people would leave.

"The last contestant to go to the next mission is."

All three of the remaining contestants held hands. They knew only one of them would be able to go, but they still didn't want to believe in that.

"Jihoon, with 25% of the votes," The boy stepped forward, with his head down while crying. He didn't want to accept that two of his best friends would leave him, right when he needed them the most. He felt guilty, he felt like he stole their place there, he felt like he didn't deserve to be there.

"Unfortunately we had to eliminate both of you, since we didn't want to be unfair neither to the audience, nor you," The CEO justified the decision, which it didn't make sense to any of the contestants, why would they do that? Couldn't they just make another vote? It didn't click.

All of the contestants said their goodbyes to both of them, no one really wanting them to leave.