𝐉𝐔𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐓 ━━ Twice.

. . . ⭑ 𖥻 ̨ 𝖾𝗅𝗂𝗆𝗂𝗇𝖺𝗍𝖾𝖽 ¹

     JULIE PACED BACK AND FORTH, ANXIOUSLY WAITING FOR HER NAME TO BE CALLED. The day had finally come. She was gonna prove everyone and J.Y Park that she belongs on her spot.

     "You'll be okay, Jules, don't sweat it." Park Jihyo said, putting a hand on her shoulder. The older female turned her head to her, giving her a small smile.

     "I know, I just, it's just the nerves I guess." She gulped. Jihyo wrapped her arms around her, squeezing her tight.

     "It's gonna be okay! You're gonna ace it, Jiji." She gave her a reassuring smile. She returned her smile and walked back to the mirror, checking if she looked good. She turned back to Jihyo, who nodded in approval of the choice of her outfit.

     "5 minutes, Julie!" Her breathing became quicker and heavier. Closing her eyes, she counted to five and started breathing slowly.

     "Fighting, Julie!"

     "Good luck, Jiji!"

     Dancing was something special for Julie. It was an escape from reality and also a stress reliever. Whenever her mind wandered or she was having a bad day, she danced like there's no tomorrow and today is the day that she will prove it.

     Walking up the stage the girls were already there watching her, excited for her performance. She made eye contact with Nayeon, who was giving her thumbs up, giving her a bright smile.

     "Start whenever you're ready, Julie."

     And she did. Kicking her right leg forward with pointed toes and flexed calf muscles, the older female pivoted in a revolving whirl of sharp precision and accurate grace. She wanted this as badly as she wanted to breathe. With each poised stride she took, it became obvious just how demanding and rigorously punishing the practice of this sequence had been on her body.

     "She's doing so great!" Sana whispered into Dahyun's ear, lightly clapping. Dahyun agreed while having a happy grin on her face, feeling so proud of her.

     When she finished, the girls stood up from their chairs and ran towards her. Tzuyu hugged her along with Chaeyoung and Mina, who complimented her performance.

     "It was so good, Jiji!"

     "We're so proud of you!"

     Julie gave the girls a soft smile, thanking them while having her arms around them, "Thank you! I think it went well, guys!"

     Everyone had a 10-minute break and the girls were talking about the next person that was soon going to be eliminated.

     "Who do you think guys?" Jeongyeon whispered, looking around and making sure that no one was listening.

     Jihyo shrugged, "I don't know, maybe-" as she was about to finish her sentence JYP interrupted them and ordered them to stand on the stage.

     Sana stood beside Julie, holding her hand. She gave her a smile, leaning her head on her shoulder.

     "Jiwon, Natty, and Julie." Hearing her name made her heart drop. Sana frowned as she let go of her hand, walking at the front stage.

     "The person that will be eliminated today is," Jyp tilted his head to the side, looking at his papers.

     "Unfortunately, Julie."

     She looked up, eyes glossy with tears. Her eyes dripped with tears as she walked in front of him.

     "Julie, you did so well today," he started off with, looking at her with a soft smile.

     She broke down. The sobs punched through her muscles, guts, and bones. The girls were just as heartbroken hearing that she's eliminated. Mina sobbed into Naeyon's chest while she held her tight, tears falling from her pink cheeks.

     "You did a lot of better than the first round, and I'm so proud of you, never forget that." Wiping her tears, she bowed and gave him a smile.

     Jeongyeon sobbed into her hands, her back facing the stage. Everything was too overwhelming for her.

     "Why did she have to be eliminated, she did so well."

     "That's so unfair."

     The older female cleared her throat, "I had so much fun today. Everything about it made me feel so confident and so proud of myself. I've never felt so sure about myself and wanting to be in the group so badly. I feel like I belong here." She confessed, her voice cracking at the end.

     Dahyun couldn't take it anymore and ran into her arms, sobbing into her neck, hugging her tight.

     "D-Don't leave us please, Unnie." Julie stroke her hair and sniffed. Jihyo and along with the rest surrounded her and hugged her.

     "First Momo and now Julie, that's n-not fair." Jihyo wept, hugging Chaeyoung.

     Jyp looked down, listening to the girls with a frown on his face.

     "We made a pact to debut together."

     "I really t-thought she was gonna debut with us."

     "I'm so thankful for all the memories and everything that I did so far. It became a dream come true for me just by doing what I love to do. Spending time with the girls made me feel like all the stress and worries were gone and we were getting along and slowly becoming a good team. I couldn't ask for a better team." Julie said to the camera.

     Everything felt unreal and she had a hard time taking it all in. After the stage, she couldn't take it anymore and run straight to the makeup room. She didn't want anyone to see her like this, not when she felt like she was disappointing everyone.

     Momo knocked softly on the door, "Can I come in, Unnie?"

     "Suit yourself."

     She wrapped her arms around the older female and quietly sobbed, "Don't cry, sweetheart."

     Momo pulled away, "How can I not? You weren't supposed to be eliminated! Things were doing so good, we even planned to debut together, Jiji, you promised."

     Her eyes softened, "I know, we can't do anything about it, Momo, it is how it is. It's a survival show." She explained, stroking her arm.

     She shook her head, "It is possible! Look what they did for me! I was eliminated too and came back. Maybe you will get back! You have to get back! Twice is nothing without you!" Momo ranted.

     "We'll see, hun. I just wanna get out of here, it's been a long day." Momo nodded understandably and hugged her one more time before leaving the room.

     "I love you, Jiji. Thank you for taking care of me." Swallowing the lump in her throat she smiled.

     "I love you too, Momo. Take care of everyone for me, alright?"