The Underground - 3RACHA

41

Jisung was back to his usual, nervous self when he stood in the pit of The Underground with Chan and Changbin. The last performance had finished a few minutes ago and they were better than Jisung expected. They could certainly be seen as competition. The producer from L.A. was about to announce the results at any moment and Jisung didn't think he was ready. If 3Racha won, their lives would completely change. They'd move to L.A. and be working on albums, hopefully as successful as the hip hop artists he enjoyed listening to. If they didn't win, life would continue as normal. He wouldn't have to worry about the stress of performing, he'd only have to worry about the stress of his shitty waiter job, but Jisung knew which one he'd prefer, even if being on stage did make him more nervous than customers at a pub did.

The producer made his way onto the stage and Jisung tightened his grip on Changbin's hand that he'd ended up holding. Chan was the other side of him with a hand resting on his shoulder. All three of them were anxious but Jisung was surprised to see that Chan was the most so, squeezing Jisung's shoulder every once in a while and tapping his foot up against the floor. Jisung was young, he had plenty of chances to make a name for himself but Chan was nearing twenty-six and this could have been one of his last chances before giving up on his dream.

"First of all, I would like to thank everybody who came out and performed tonight," the producer on the stage said after introducing himself by the name of Cody. He was a short American man in his early thirties and despite his informal setting, he wore a stylish suit. He looked the part and seemed serious about his job. "As you know, I have been sent to select one of the artists we saw this evening to take back to L.A. with me where you will sign with the label Prophecy Records. It was a hard decision but I have come to a conclusion on who I will be taking back with me..."

Jisung squeezed his eyes shut and gripped Changbin's hand so tight that it hurt the elder boy, but Changbin was squeezing back just as hard. Chan's grip on Jisung's shoulder had become still with anticipation and all their breathing had temporarily stopped. The whole room was silent.

"I've decided to take just one person back with me," Cody announced. After those words, Chan, Jisung and Changbin all let out a disappointed sigh, as did most of the acts with more than one person in the room, until Cody started speaking again, "but the person I have decided to take with me has been selected from the group 3Racha."

Jisung's head snapped up to look at Cody on the stage. Then he looked back and Chan and Changbin with unreadable expressions. They all had the same look on their face, a mix of shock and confusion but mostly fear. Fear that they were going to be separated.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the winner of the 1992 Underground rap contest is J.One from the group 3Racha, can he please make his way up to the stage."

The crowd around Jisung exploded with applause and cheers but Jisung didn't feel that way. Chan and Changbin were eerily silent beside him and he couldn't bring himself to look at their faces. This was a situation he hadn't considered because it had seemed so impossible and now he didn't know how to react. He disconnected his hand from Changbin's and pulled away from Chan's grip before making his way to the stage, his legs wobbling and unsteady with every step he made.

When he reached the stage, he was met with a handshake from Cody which he accepted but wished he didn't have to. His hands were sweating like crazy. He looked out at the crowd who were cheering for him but he felt too sick to process it. He was searching for two faces in the crowd and when he found them his heart dropped because Chan and Changbin weren't angry or upset like he'd expected, they were grinning from ear to ear and clapping for him like the rest of the audience. They had worked so much harder than him and he had stolen their chance but they were still supporting him. Jisung felt awful.