who knows? maybe we'll get to see the light like they do.
nine girls are stored and locked away, hidden from all sorts of lenses. but as days go by, a ray of hope; a ray of light they continue to hold on to grows bigger and bigger by the clock. here...
00:05 day negative five "don't worry about a thing"
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"Congratulations on your debut."
As my smile grew, others' fell. The director was congratulating me, not them. I was debuting, they weren't. I tried my best to keep my excitement to a minimum for their sake. Or did that make it worse? Not quite sure since there were mixed reactions of sad, accepting, and pissed among the crowd. Some trainees came towards me and shook my hand, gritting their teeth or straining a smile as they "congratulated" me. I thanked them and soon enough, it was just me and the director.
I excitedly turned my focus to him, waiting to hear more pleasant news from him. The man had a few inches on me but had a slouch so we stand as equals in terms of height. I'm not that tall myself but I hear that petite idols are adored by everyone so hey, guess I lucked out on that one.
"Ms. Hong?"
Hm? Oh, yeah right－
"Uh yes, Director Na?" "There is no debut." Direct Na said with no hesitation.
What?
My eyes widened, my jaw dropped in shock; all he did was smile. This has to be some joke, right? Some joke they play on every trainee went announced a debut... right?
"Haha... haha! Good one Director Na! You almost had me there! Wow, for a second there, I almost believed you when you said there was no debut－"
"I don't understand why you wouldn't believe me. After all; there isn't a debut," The man spoke with complete seriousness. He crossed his arms and leaned against the mirrored wall.
"No one in this entire company, not even the cleaning crew, think you have what it takes to be an idol. Or perform on a stage for that matter. I just told you you'd be debuting to keep you on a tight leash. I can tell you have no plans on leaving this company even if it kills you so I decided to give you a "debut" so we can get rid of you quicker. This company doesn't claim wasted talent like you and since you've never committed a violation of code... we can't cancel your contract that way. If you think about all the other ways, this was the only one. You'll either finally quit or we'll run out of money to fund you and be forced to terminate... Yeah, sue us for "personal interests" or "corruption" but you won't win. No one ever does, just look at all the ex-idols from this company."
Director Na tilted his hat forward, as if saying 'farewell', and exited through the door. I remained in the center of the room, staring at only but my sneakers. Hands clutched at my side, I raised my head towards the mirrored wall, the wall Director Na was leaning on moments ago. All I see is my thin figure dressed in sweats, short hair a mess, cheeks running with tears, and nose running with snot. I sniff at the gross appearance and finally let out a sound: a sob, a cry. How did I not notice the tears coming?
