Aera's Outfit^
Chaewon performed damn well. She chose the difficult song by one of the best artists and hit the notes perfectly. And now Aera was standing with the mic there selecting her track on he laptop which was connected to the speakers. Her anxiety was killing her at this point but she knew now whatever it is, she can't step back. She chose her track and stood in the center of the hall ready to perform. She started singing along with the track in the background.
She had mixed up two songs- 'Fine' by Taeyeon and 'Stitches' by Shawn Mendes. Thanks to Chan, she had learnt arranging songs and she used it to arrange two songs together and then perform them well. She was incredible during her performance. Her notes, pitch, clear lyrics, everything was just on point. It seemed as if she was performing her own song cuz she was all free and she didn't hold back her movements. She finished her performance with a smile on her face. She definitely got good comments after her performance. And about her points, until now it was Chaewon with the most points but right now Aera topped the list. She sat back on her place with a satisfied grin on her face.
There weren't alot of trainees in this batch. It was just the top 10 rankers. Out of which 7 of them performed vocals. And now it was time for the dance section. And this time there were 8 of them for dance. Aera being one of them started with her stretching already. She wasn't really anxious this time. Dance was her main point and she was pretty confident about it. One by one everyone performed the routines that they had prepared. And here also Chaewon was pretty amazing. Her moves were flawless, her expressions were great and she had control over her body. Jisung was sure by now that Aera won't be able to perform this well even when he knew how nice of a dancer Aera was. And again it was Aera who was going to perform. Tying her shoe laces in a double knot she went and selected her track and took her position.
Aera's performance^ (The first girl in black)
She ate up the performance. The jaws of the kids hung open to her performance. They knew that she was a nice dancer but this wasn't something they expected. The other girls in the hall had prepared a strong choreo which had girly elements. But Aera totally went off with the boyish swag and hard moves. She was going to perform the style that the other girls did but it hit her that it was a boy group so she should put something different ahead and she did. She had less time but she recollected some choreos that she had learnt and performed this one. She had anyways performed the other style during previous evaluations so the teachers knew that she was a versatile dancer who can pull off different styles.
"Is this the Aera you were talking about?" Minho whispered to Changbin with his eyes still on the girl who sat down in her place while saying thank you to the trainees who were complementing her. "Yes, she is the Aera we were talking about" "Woaahhh" Minho was still in a daze. He saw how talented she was. She caught his eye somehow. First she looked like a little shy girl who sat quietly during the evaluations, then while she was singing she had a soft look on her face and then BOOM! Her fierce moves were totally in contrast to what she looked like. She was different. Well atleast for him. Jisung on the other hand wasn't even paying attention to her, atleast he was trying to.
The last assessment, the rap section started. There were just 5 trainees for the rap part and Aera was competing here as well. The 4 trainees were done with their performance and Chan, Changbin and Hyunjin's heads shot up when they heard Aera's name being called. "Aera is going to rap?" Hyunjin spoke in surprise, his eyes went wide already, turning his head to Changbin who was next to him. "Aera is going to rap?" Changbin spoke in the same tone and with the same expression turning his neck towards Chan who was beside him. "Aera is going to rap?" Chan spoke in the same tone and with the same expression as he looked in front as no one was beside him cause he was sitting at the end of the line. Yes, she did rap a bit and they were familiar with it but she always did that when they just played around. Performing in an evaluation was something they didn't expect her to do.
This was one of Aera's secrets. Not many people knew that she rapped as well. She had even taken some self-assessments on rap to develop her rap skills. And here she was, performing rap in front of all of them for the first time. Aera was already standing in the middle of the hall with the mic in her hand. The track that played made Chan's ears perk up. He knew it. And he was definitely not ready to hear it in Aera or more like A-Zee's voice. She started spitting the words out and being a dancer was an advantage for her cause she went all funky with her moves. Her body looked relaxed as she let her body go with the flow of the track. And the voice that came out of her vocal cords this time was not at all like the one that she used during her vocal performance.
If her quietness, anxiety and soft singing made her seem like a shy, innocent little girl, then her dance and rap spoke the total opposite. She chose 'Monster' Nicki Minaj's verse for her performance. She rocked her performance. She had a different feel while performing. Her actions, flow, delivery, she gave justice to all of it and there were just claps heard when she finished her rap with a growl.
The trainees, the kids all were shocked and had their mouth open including Chaewon. But Chaewon was more angry than amazed at her. And Jisung who was trying to not pay attention to her had his eyes on her during her whole performance. He was impressed, definitely. But he just didn't wanted to admit that. The teachers and JYP took their time having a whole discussion. Finally, JYP stood up gaining everyone's attention. "The evaluations have come to an end finally. Two girls really caught my attention. uh...Aera and Chaewon?" The two girls stood up on their name being called. "You both did really well today" The sound of applause filled the room as the two girls bowed to the elder person. "Chaewon, your dance skills are really good and even your vocals...you chose a song that is difficult to perform but you did justice to the song. Your moves were also good". "Thank you Pd-nim" Chaewon bowed and then smirked at Aera, over-confidence building up inside her. Whilst Jisung clapped for her louder than anyone else.
"And Aera you were also amazing. You mixed two songs and performed the song as if its your own song. Your attitude seemed really carefree. Your dance is your strength. And I didn't really expect that you would rap but...It was really good. Did you live in a foreign country or something...?" "Uh..yes I lived in Nashville, USA for 10 years." "Hmm...your English had an accent so I got a hint that you lived in foreign..but still your rap skills are really good. I liked that you started off lazily but then it caught speed and your voice had the strength to pull it off as well. You looked like the ones who battle on the streets with the swag you put in and the main thing was that you didn't try to sound like the original artist but instead you did it your own way. It was really good and I appreciate you for that." "Thank you Pd-nim" Jisung just rolled her eyes at his comments. She bowed waiting impatiently for the final results.
"You both are good in what you both do...but..one of y'all lack some things and that one is....." His voice trailed off making Aera and Chaewon feel more impatient than they already were. "Chaewon" and Aera released the breath that she was holding in for a long time now. "Chaewon, your song sounded like the karaoke version of the original song. It was good but it looked like you didn't own it. You even stressed your voice but it didn't result in an advantage for you. And your dance was also good but you didn't look like you were enjoying it. You looked like you had the stress of coming first which again didn't give a total feel to the performance. But you were really good" Chaewon just nodded at his words but she was originally raging on the inside knowing what this comment of JYP is going to result in. And the same goes to Jisung. He didn't wanted Aera in the team. Especially not after what he was thinking Aera as.
"The final results are in my hand, one of the teachers will stick it on the rank boards as always. All of you did great and I see great potential in all of y'all. You all just need some polishing so keep practicing. All the best and Aera congratulations! you are in the team" Her happiness knew no bounds when she heard that. She repeatedly bowed thanking JYP. "Thank you very much, I will work harder and give my best" JYP just pat her shoulder with a smile and went out of the room with the other teachers who congratulated Aera. Chaewon looked at Aera angrily and just left the practice room with the other trainees. Jisung was also the same. He sighed annoyedly when he heard JYP's decision and he made his way out of the practice without even looking at Aera for once. He went behind Chaewon cause ofcourse she needed some comforting at the moment.
Aera turned to Chan who was waiting to engulf her in a hug with his arms open and a soft smile on his face. Aera ran to him having a huge smile on her face that made her eyes disappear. She hugged him tightly as he hid her in his arms. "Congratulations Miss. Zoey Hwang" "Thank you Mr. Chris Bang" He giggled and pat her head breaking the hug. "You did really well"
"Yes! where did you learn to rap like that from huh?" Changbin interrupted. "Just...from someone who loves dark" Aera shrugged as the two laughed and gave each other a hug. And during all this there was one person who was staring at her with real heart eyes. The guy was so proud of the girl in front of him. He couldn't stop staring at her.
"So! Everyone who don't know her, She is Aera or Zoey or A-Zee or a piglet" Chan introduced her making the others giggle whilst Aera hit his arm. "Hii...Im Aera" "Hello, Im Minho" "Im Seungmin, Hii" "Im Jeongin, you were really cool there" "Thank you Jeongin-ah" She reciprocated the bright smile he gave her with a sweet smile. "Hi. Im Felix! Nice to meet you" "Hello Felix" "And that's...wait- where is Jisung?". "He went out already" Hyunjin replied. "No problems! Aera already knows him. Anyways!! the team is finally complete!! Aera is the new member of this group so make sure you all treat her well and take care of her and let's meet for the practice tomorrow in the practice room on the 3rd floor. Don't be late" "Okay Sir!!" The rest 6 boys who were standing together shouted in unison while dramatically saluting their leader making Chan giggle and shake his head in disbelief as Aera smiled at their silliness.
This is it Aera. No more looking back now. This is how you will live now. You have to work hard everyday from now no matter how difficult it gets. You faced alot. Now get ready to prove them wrong. Those who didn't trust you and support you. Let's take another step towards debut now Aera. Let's take another step towards your dreams. Let's get it!!
Aera's thoughts echoed through her head giving her a boost.
How will Aera's journey be with these 8 boys?
We will see that ahead!
See you in the next part^^
Thanks for reading! <3