A Fangirl's Secret/ Soobin

Evals/31

[Location: HYBE Building/ Monday 8:00 a.m.]

Seo-Ah's POV

This morning was rougher than most. I woke up with a stomach ache from all of the stress. Luckily Soobin had been staying over the past two nights. I hate to say it but I felt pretty bad about leaving him so worried about me. Ever since the auditions, I've had nothing but anxiety. Having him there kept me sane enough to get some type of sleep. Today in particular- was the song performance that contributed to my lack of appetite and sleep.

"Hey, girl. You seem a little tired today." Yun-Hee pointed out.

"I haven't slept well lately," I answered.

"Nerves or..." She nudges my shoulder with a smirk wiped across her face.

"You better not be hinting at what I think you are." I laughed. "But yes... It's nerves."

"If it makes you feel any better, we all feel that way too. It's a normal thing." She reassures me.

"Let's at least grab you some food. You look a little pale." Yun-Hee added.

After workouts, we ate a quick bite and then walked to the practice room. There were a couple more people than usual in the practice room. They had journals and a pen. They must be here to mark down our progress. In addition, other groups had joined us- all of which I remembered from the orientation day. Each group was given a number that stated the order that which they were to perform. Our group was given the number 3.

The first group was an all-boys group that was performing Sacrifice- ENHYPEN. The group of 7 guys started their performance. I don't know what I originally expected, but it exceeded my expectations. The dancer covering Heeseung's part specifically, was very talented and it was obvious he knew just how well he did. His relieved smile after the performance was noted on my end. The second group- a mixed group of guys and girls- performed Opening Sequence- TXT. I thought they did well but I felt bad when one of the performers fell. She got up and recovered herself quickly but I noticed her face change when she saw the "judges" write down a few notes- most likely about her mistake. Finally, we were up next. Despite all of our practice sessions, I was still nervous. Why was I this nervous? I've already sung with TXT in front of a much bigger audience. I took a deep breath and got into position. The beginning beats started playing and I felt a switch in my body go off. The nerves were gone and suddenly I was in performance mode. Jeong Soojin, another trainee in our group, began singing Kazuha's beginning lines and aced them perfectly. As much as I wanted to cheer her on, I focused hard on my upcoming lines. Myung Chae followed shortly after with Sakura's part. She too, did well. Then it was my girls Yun-Hee and Ah-Yeon. After what felt like forever, it was my turn. My body reached the floor as I danced to the music. Although my English wasn't as perfect as Chaewon, I felt confident in my part. In the main chorus, I was the center once again. It felt good seeing everyone's eyes on us. Just as quickly as our performance started, it ended even quicker. The music stopped and it was just our breathing that remained. Everyone clapped a second later and we all smiled as we got to our seats.