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Chapter 30: Blood, Sweat and Tears

The next day, I was booked the entire morning to inspect all three project sites. Mr. Koo drove me to all locations and bought snacks after every visit. We bought at a drive through for lunch and enjoyed the sandwiches we had ordered. We ate on our way to Colette's house.

By the time I arrived, Joanne, Fiona, and Jane already began cleaning after lunch.

"Hi guys!" I entered the heavy, wood front door.

"Hi! You ready for today?" Colette ran across the room and jumped on me. We walked to the living room.

"So, I had called Mr. Seo, and well, he's expecting all of us at five in the afternoon!" She plopped onto the couch.

"Jaz, we need to think of and practice something." Jane came from the kitchen. "You wouldn't want to do a Bulletproof Boy Scouts song and dance, would you?" she asked.

"Actually-"

"Okay, which one?" she knew I wanted to perform their song and dance choreography.

We already had a dance routine that we made several years back and we were surprised we only missed small details when we danced the set for the first time in a while. Our younger selves could even make up a dance just by hearing the first few beats of a song, now I'm not as confident, but we will give it a try.

Colette has always been interested in music production, but was never serious. She has also written songs that were never recorded nor have seen the light of production.

Joanne and Fiona, I'm sure were shoe ins to be models. They both have special kinds of beauty that I have not seen in others. Not only because of their genes, but they are both beauty, brains, and brawn.

Colette let us freshen up and take some rest in separate guest rooms, until four, so we could arrive at B!gH!t a quarter before five.

I took a short nap and had a dream.

That if the group had never disbanded, none of us would be meeting them now. And we would be back in Korea chasing after them once more.

I woke up to Joanne yelling from the living room.

"Guys! Get ready!" she yelled out. She had to yell, the house was huge.

We got dressed in casual attires to avoid attracting unnecessary attention and to show a concept that one does not need to dress excessively to impress. What will get us there is hard work, talent, and our individuality. Something we have learned from them since the beginning of their journey.

Colette's driver picked us up and we were on our way to Gangnam. I asked Mr. Cho, Colette's driver to drop us off at Prince Busan Rice Cakes and that we would just walk across the street to B!gH!t.

"Jimin?" Joanne noticed him inside the restaurant.

"Oh, yeah, he owns this place." I said.

"How did you not take us here?" Jane huffed at me.

"Let's have dinner here then after the audition." Fiona suggested.

"Hi girls! Good luck!" Jimin walked out just to wish us luck.

"Why is his smile brighter than usual today?" Colette wondered. "Let's go."

We crossed the street about to enter the building we had entered a few years before. There were many young hopefuls when we walked in the lobby. A security guard approached us and asked us if we had an appointment. I guess he could tell how hole we were. We answered him that Mr. Seo, the Casting and Talent Manager expected us at five. He smiled and gladly escorted us to the audition room.

It was on the 3rd floor of the building. A dimly lit room, supposedly has three mirrors but two were covered for the audition. On a long, rectangular table were stacks of papers. Must be the information of each participant in the audition.

We were told to take our seats on the seats provided in the room. A tall man entered and greeted us formally.

"Annyeonghasaeyo! Seo Danee -ibnida." It was Mr. Seo. "Hangug-eo? English? Zhongwen? Nihong-go?"

"He's asking what language are we more comfortable in speaking in." Colette and Joanne whispered simultaneously.

"English." Joanne, Fiona, Jane, and I answered. "English and Zhongwen." Colette answered.

"Alright. Hello girls! I am Mr. Danny Seo. I am the Casting and Talent Manager of B!gH!t Entertainment. I see you each have special skills that you think the company could need. I will be joined by other members of the casting department to examine your skills." Others entered the room and took their seats beside Mr. Seo behind the long table.

The room was equipped with speakers on all corners, music and sound mixer on one side, and other equipment that we always see on videos. There was a small window that opened out to the hallway to let in cool air.

"Shall we begin with Miss Colette Lee?" Mr. Seo called.

Colette walked onto the designated spot to stand. "Annyeonghasaeyo! Lee Ko Lae -ibnida! Da jia hao! Wo shi Li Co Lei! Hello everyone! I am Colette Lee, I will be auditioning as a music producer. I brought a flash drive that contains a few of my previous works, but I will also show my production process." She was provided a laptop, layered and cut different beats to make a song. I think she was provided three kinds of beats, but she was able to make a song out of it. When she finished, she stood up, thanked the panel members and walked back to our seats.

Joanne and Fiona were up next. They auditioned as a duo. Coming from different backgrounds and having different personalities, they made that their concept and posed in ways that unity is greater than any cultural differences. Without a doubt, they got in, I mean, who wouldn't want these two as their models?

Lastly, Jane and I moved our way onto the dance floor. We did a few stretches before taking our positions. Colette provided the music.

Nae pi ttam nunmul

The music began to play. Jane and I had rehearsed several times earlier and this time we were confident.

Nae majimak chumeul

The others cheered us on.

Da gajyeoga ga---

And suddenly, the dimness of the room was replaced by bright lights. The door flung open, the lights were switched on.

The music stopped, so did we.

We looked to the doorway.

Mr. Seo and all the staff inside the room stood up immediately and bowed.

"Min Yoongi PD-nim!"