The star and the backup dancer

Chapter 1

A/n: beware: confusion ahead.

She wipes the sweat of his palms on his black jeans.

Tic-toc.

Three minutes left.

She's nervous. It's her last chance.

No, his last chance.

I always forget. I don't know who I am anymore... Does it really matter? He... She... It's just me. Only me. Always me.

He trained well, though. He's ready. She has to be.

Confusing.

I must not get caught.

That thought longs in her head.

Inhale. Exhale.

Inhale-

"Number 34, Jeon Sung Min-ssi?"

She raises his head. A smiling woman. Their eyes meet.

He nods.

"It's your turn."

He stands up, following her.

This audition room is small, compared to the ones I've been in.

Scoffs.

Poor.

But so am I.

A man behind a desk. Cameramen. A few... Staff, she guesses.

And behind the desk man, boys. A lot of them.

Must be trainees. Trainees always come see the auditions.

To meet the opponents. The adversity.

It's strange, though, she notices.

Some of them don't look like they judge him. They just look like they are expectant. Waiting for her to show them. And she will.

She is dead, he reminds himself. He was born. Do not let her resurface.

"Number 34?" The man behind the desk asks. He looks serious and a bit severe, but his eyes aren't cold as those of her previous CEO-

Don't think about that.

The screams. The slap. The numerous hits. His hands on her-

Stop. Concentrate. It's your last chance.

Go, Jeon Ju- Sung Min! You can do it!

He feels the stares on him, expecting an answer.

He nods.

Don't open your mouth.

"Can you remove the mask? I need to see your face."

Shakes his head.

No.

"Oh. May I know why?"

He points on the document in the man's hands.

The man, Bang Shi Hyuk, as it can be read on the nameplate placed on the table, raises his brows and looks down at the document, flipping through the pages.

When the man reaches the part of self-description, he freezes.

Face cannot be revealed. Deformation. To be kept as a secret for the image. Surgery already booked.