Gyubin: Illit's Young Prodigy

Surviving the show

June- September 2023

Yunah, Wonhee, and Gyubin stood on the backstage where a dozen other girls were waiting. To Gyubin this reminded her of Produce 48 and Girls Planet where multiple girls from different agencies come together to compete in a battle for the top spot. Although she loved those shows she heard many stories of it being rigged and so called drama manufactured for attention.

Some of the other girls were trainees from other agencies like JYP or YG and some weren't even Korean. A handful were Japanese by the looks of it, evident of their foreign language.

"Boooorrreed... When is it gonna start!? We've been standing for thirty minutes! I wanna dance!! C'mon!!" Wonhee whined.

"Can you stop whining? You said that for the last ten minutes! Be patient!!" Yunah scolded her. Wonhee being three years younger made the dynamic quite strange. She really was the child of the group.

"I think they're here." Gyubin saw the door finally open revealing a handful of adults, mostly the staff and managers overseeing the program, but there were a few famous faces...

On the left was a tall woman with short hair, obviously Sooyoung from Girls Generation. Beside her was a man around her age resembling a little too much to the American Maknae from Super Junior.

There was another woman also in her thirties, Kara's leader Park Gyuri, solo Hybe artist Lee Hyun now going by a different name, the flamboyant Jo Kwon of 2am, Jaehwan formerly of Wanna One.

"Annyeong young girls! I'm so glad to see all of your faces today. Some of were probably young to remember, but I was once an idol. My name is Sooyoung and beside me is my lovely husband, Eddie Nam!! Would you like to finish explaining?" Sooyoung's cheeky like smile she is well known for returned. Said husband shook his head, likely already used to her antics.

"Fine... but you owe me this time."

"Don't worry oppa! I already made arrangements to fly to LA for some one on one vacation..." Sooyoung kisses him getting Eddie to shrug his blush.

"Anyways... We are the judges that are going to evaluate your performance. You are all going to compete in a series of rounds in order to earn the spot for Hybe's new girl group. You were all chosen based on your potential. All of you in truth has great potential so we encourage you to do your best and don't feel intimidated. This is an environment that encourages a healthy competition. We also have some important guests to help bring you motivation. Say Hello!!" At the end of Eddie's speech came a few more recognizable faces.

"HEESUNG AND JUNGWON OPPA!?

"WOOZI OPPA IS HERE!?"

But one particular artist really drove the girls to overdrive.

"JAEBOM OPPA!!!"

"NO WAY JAEBOM IS MENTORING US!!"

"I'M NOT READY FOR THIS!!"

"It seems they're really excited to meet you sunbae..." Baekho sweat dropped at their over enthusiasm.

"I just have a habit of drawing the crowd after all I was the hottest idol in my heydey!" Jaebom boasted. He did a little B-boy handstand he is well known for.

"I still remember the Mama's when I was a mere rookie. Felt like we were meeting celebrities and now we're the famous celebrities." Woozi recalled the Mama 2015 where BigBang stole the show.

"Time has a way with messing up with your mind. What you're feeling is what I felt when y'all children came forward. Now there's a new batch of children right here. I might just be a harabeoji at this rate." Jay grimaced at the new reality.