word count : 2,078
-
a girl left the stage to join the others on another stage. you stood by yourself on the performance stage, tears were threatening to fall from your face.
"we're sorry, but you will not be moving onto the next round," one of the judges said to you, and you just grit your teeth in frustration.
everyone was sad. it was close to the finals so everyone had gotten attached to each other. you knew that the two of them just watched what happened from backstage and were either fuming in anger or genuinely upset for you.
you bowed in respect before standing up straight. tears fell and you wiped your tears with the sleeve of the jacket you were wearing.
after saying good luck to the others, you left the stage and went backstage. production workers were guiding you as the show continued. luckily, a camera didn't follow you as you went to sit in one of the dressing rooms.
no one was in there. just a tv on the wall that was broadcasting what was happening onstage.
you knew they were probably looking for you, but they probably had to go on stage for their performance.
they'll make it. they'll make it, y/n.
a heavy but shaky sigh left your lips as you watched the tv screen.
—
all of the performances happened and eventually the elimination began. you watched in suspense as people's names were called, but their names were never called.
"what?" you questioned and ran out of the room. you hurried down to where the stage was, trying to push through as staff stopped you.
after a bit of time, the two guys walked down and saw you in the hallway.
"the three of us, huh?" jeno spoke with a sigh. he gave you a small hug. "we'll do better next time," he said to you and shotaro, giving the latter a small hug as well.
"but your performances were amazing. i can't believe you two got eliminated," you said to them as staff members directed you to bring you to a van that would take you back to the dorm you were staying at.
"maybe it's rigged," shotaro said quietly so the staff members wouldn't hear.
"probably," jeno chuckled. "you guys wanna go get ice cream?" he asked once you three got into a van with a staff member.
"sure," shotaro replied and you nodded.
the three of you were driven back to the dorm building. you went to your dorms and packed up all of you stuff. luckily, you didn't bring that much stuff in the first place so it was pretty easy to pack up. you made sure you had everything you needed before leaving.
you went outside of the dorm building and found shotaro and jeno waiting for you.
"did you text the guys?" you asked them.
"yea. guess we can't tell them our results, huh? that'll be weird," shotaro commented, readjusting his duffel bag that was hanging on his shoulder. "taeyong said him and johnny will pick us up," he mentioned. you nodded.
"hopefully it goes well for everyone else. a lot of people were eliminated today in general," you said, looking at the studio you were just in.
"the next episode will be the finale," jeno mentioned with a sigh. "at least we did pretty well."
"we can always try again," shotaro said. "besides, we were the best to the guys, and that matters the most," he added. you nodded in agreement with a smile.
jeno smiled, "you're right about that."
the three of you continued to talk and laugh while waiting to be picked up. staff members made sure that they didn't need you and did final interviews for the show.
"hey." you turned around and saw johnny walking over from his car. you saw taeyong get out of the passenger seat.
"hi," you immediately hugged johnny. once taeyong reached you, you hugged him too.
"can you guys tell us the results?" johnny asked and you shook your head. shotaro joined you guys and greeted the guys while jeno was being interviewed.
"are we still getting ice cream?" shotaro asked.
"let's go back to the dorm. everyone met up tonight for fun, so they'll want to see you guys," taeyong answered.
once jeno finished his interview, the three of you crammed together in the back of johnny's car with johnny driving and taeyong in the passenger seat.
"how was it? was it fun?" taeyong asked the three of you.
"it was cool. classes were nice and a lot of the people there were nice too," you answered, "but i was separated from them for the most part," you added, mentioning the two guys sitting on both sides of you.
"yea, we didn't see you unless if we were all eating together," jeno said. "but i didn't even see shotaro a lot since we were in different groups."
you felt your phone vibrate and took it out of your pocket to see a two text messages.
-
19:37
jaemin
[ jaemin ]
heard from a little birdy
that you're coming back.
can't wait to see you <3
[ y/n ]
gee i wonder who that birdy
is. it's not like he's sitting in
this car with me right now.
can't wait to see you. :)
[ jaemin ]
i missed you. a lot.
i've been very lonely.
[ y/n ]
it's been weird living in a
dorm. especially when it's
not full of guys.
[ jaemin ]
i bet. well, i bet it was a
great experience too.
on your way home?
[ y/n ]
yea. i'll be there soon.
[ jaemin ]
okay. see you soon, love.
-
"did jaemin text you?" jeno asked.
you nodded with a smile, "yea, he did."
"oh, are you guys even allowed to tell us what happened? or do you have to wait until the show airs?" johnny asked as he stopped at a red light.
"i mean, we already told you a tiny bit of it," you replied.
"weren't the performances live?" shotaro questioned.
"they were?" you asked while looking at him.
"i don't think it's live, but everyone's gonna know by friday once the episode goes up," jeno replied to you two. "they're really fast with editing."
"well...this is gonna be awkward," taeyong spoke.
"what's going to be awkward?" shotaro questioned.
-
"congratulations!"
party poppers were popped and the living room was decorated in so many decorations.
"who won? was is the guys? or did y/n's group win?" chenle immediately asked.
"we can't say anything about the results," jeno replied. "you can watch the next episode when it comes out."
"well, let's celebrate! someone had to have won!" jungwoo exclaimed, signaling for the start of the party to happen.
while everyone started eating together and watching the older episodes of the show, you stood in the kitchen drinking some water.
"hey."
you looked up and saw jaemin. he hugged you when he reached you.
"hi," you spoke, closing your eyes to enjoy the hug.
"everything okay?" he asked, "did the guys win?" he asked.
"can't say anything," you replied, even though he could probably tell what the results were by your demeanor.
jaemin hugged you even tighter, "well, i'm sure that you did your best regardless of the result. sure looked like it on the show," he said to you. "are you tired?" he asked and you nodded. "we can try to get out of here as soon as possible," he said and kissed your cheek.
"bonnie and clyde! get over here and eat!" ten yelled from the living room.
"stop referencing couples every time you call for us," you replied. you and jaemin stopped hugging and walked into the living room.
"y/n is clearly the greatest in this. she must've won," lucas commented as everyone stared at the tv screen.
"a lot of people were really good," you mentioned, sitting in the floor next to yangyang with jaemin sitting next to you. you grabbed a paper plate and put some food on it while everyone watched the first episode of the show.
"what? no! she's cute!" hendery huffs out while standing up from the couch. "how dare they eliminate her already!"
"want her phone num—"
"yes."
-
after finally getting a good night of sleep at the dream dorm. you spent the whole day getting recuperated until the guys dragged you to the 127 dorm to watch the latest episode of the show you were on with jeno and shotaro.
"just tell us what happens!" jisung exclaimed while shaking you.
"just wait two hours and watch the damn tv!" you yelled back.
"stop shaking her, jisung. you're gonna hurt her head," winwin spoke as he walked into the living room with doyoung, both carrying boxes of pizza.
"how much pizza did we order?" mark asked while the two put the pizzas on the table.
"hopefully enough," doyoung replied and opened one of the boxes that was on top. "are the others on their way?" he asked.
"they're on their way. some of them just left their schedules," kun said as he walked into the kitchen with a plate of food. he stared at the table, "i thought we were cooking today."
"you thought wrong," yangyang replied, leaving his mother— leaving his leader glaring. "you're scaring me."
"i'll eat some," you spoke while standing up. then, you heard the front door unlock and open.
"we're here!" you heard yuta announce before speaking in japanese. you could hear shotaro speaking in japanese as well.
"did you guys get drinks?" winwin asked while stepping into the hallway that leads to the front door.
"no, jaehyun said he was once he gets off of work," yuta replied while him and shotaro walk in. "hey guys."
"hi, hyung," mark said before grabbing a slice of pizza. "hey kun! could you grab some chips while you're in there?" he asked kun, who had gone back into the kitchen.
"sure," kun replied. "anyone want water?" he asked.
"i'll take some," you replied.
"me, too!" yangyang yelled from the couch while playing a game on his phone.
time passes by and everyone arrives at the 127 dorm you're in.
"it's amazing how we can fit everyone in here," you commented while sungchan sat back down with a slice of pizza in his hands.
"i'm surprised no one has killed each other yet," sungchan said before taking a bite.
"HAECHAN!"
you looked at sungchan, who looked at you. "never mind."
"renjun, don't kill anyone!" xiaojun yelled from his spot on the floor.
then, renjun walked into the living room, "all of you should be glad that we're not at our dorm," he said.
"y/n, protect me," you heard haechan's voice and looked at the entrance way. he was peeking his head from behind the wall.
"no," you answered.
"y/n, want a beer?" taeil asks, walking into the living room with some cans in his arms.
"no, thanks though," you replied. you reached over and opened a box of pizza, only to see grease stains on the cardboard. "can someone throw the empty boxes away?" you asked.
"here, i got it," jeno said and stood up. you handed him the empty pizza boxes before grabbing a slice of pizza for yourself.
"guys! the episode is about to start!" jaehyun yelled as he looked at the time.
everyone who wasn't already in the living room hurried into the living room. you ended up at the end of the couch, sitting on jaemin's lap.
the tv started playing the latest episode of the competition and all of you watched the screen while eating dinner.
-
"wait, what?" lucas questioned and looked behind to look at you. "you got eliminated? that's some bullsh—"
"shush! it's not done!" chenle exclaimed.
"be quiet!" johnny yelled.
you looked at jaemin, who was holding your hand. he looked at you and kissed your cheek.
"you were amazing. they shouldn't have eliminated you," he quietly said to you.
you shrugged your shoulders, "it's alright. shotaro thinks it's rigged, and it probably is," you said.
after a few minutes, the part where jeno and shotaro were eliminated was shown on screen.
"you have to be kidding me! this has gotta be a joke!" haechan yelled in anger.
"you guys suck."
you rolled your eyes, "thanks for making me feel better," you said to hendery, who stuck his tongue out at you. "you're not getting that girl's number now."
"but y/n—"
"nope."
"y/n, please."
"not helping you."