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— "„ ( ##; start of the broadcast! )
"it's time! guys, they're starting!" nabi exclaimed as she hit her hand against jisung's shoulder, who was sitting next to her.
nabi pointed eagerly toward the screen, where the live broadcast had just begun. the words 'stray kids' flashed across the screen in bold letters, marking the beginning of an event that hundreds, no, thousands, of viewers were watching from the comfort of their homes. the waiting room, once buzzing with the chatter of stylists and the faint hum of hairdryers, fell eerily silent. chairs squeaked as members swiveled to face the tv, and nabi and jisung straightened up on the couch, their bodies tense with anticipation.
"that's a ton of people," jisung whispered under his breath, earning a slow nod from nabi as she realized what exactly he was talking about when the camera panned to the audience.
nabi nodded slowly, her throat tightening. "they came to see us?" she murmured.
both turned their heads to each other, locking eyes, sharing the anxiety found in both. they turned back to the television, no words needed to be said as they could feel what the other had flowing through their bodies. as they watched intently, the announcer dressed in a neat blue suit finally introduced the man behind it all. the man who held nine trainees' futures in his own hands, dangling the finish line in front of their worried eyes. jyp himself. he walked out onto the stage, emitting some aura that was powerful yet something that was different than the way he held himself in every other major mission they had.
nabi took her eyes off the screen as jyp began to talk, not interested in his speech, searching around for her phone. she shoved the hair that fell into her face right behind her ears, shoving her free hand into the crevice of the cushion next to her, out she pulled her phone. it must have fallen in between the cushion when she was moving back and forth between the styling chair and the comfort of the couch.
as she touched the screen on her phone, she noticed she had two messages from her best friend, yeji. she tapped the message, entered her password, and was taken to their chat.
"watching! can't wait to see you perform, fighting!" the text was accompanied by a picture of yeji's television, showing the same broadcast nabi was watching now.
but before she could type a reply, a voice interrupted her. "do you miss working with the girls?"
nabi pushed her phone away, locking it quickly as she heard the voice. she looked to her side, the same boy who had been sitting next to her this whole time. jisung was looking at her, scooting back a cushion length when his eyes saw hers and the way she was looking at him.
"i'm sorry," he apologized, holding his hands up slightly as if to defend himself. "i wasn't trying to snoop. i just saw yeji's name and thought back to the start of the show."
