CHAPTER TEN
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It was two days before the test. The Voice of I-LAND called up everyone. Including me and my girl groups.
Once we all met up, everything was silent. No one spoke a single word. I was actually pretty curious about the remaining two days. Is someone coming to help us? Well…I was half right. Someone did come. But I was not sure if he was going to help us.
The entrance to I-LAND moved. The mystery person was none other than RAIN, or his real name, Jung Jihoon.
All of the girls squealed and giggled because of his presence. And I was just standing there, trying to calm them down, since the boys were looking down upon us for screaming over a thirty (something)- year-old man.
“I am RAIN Jung Jihoon,” he said, “And I am in charge of all of the tests. I may seem like a producer on the outside, but on the inside, I want to mentally and emotionally support you. Ladies, it is a pleasure meeting you.”
“He called us ‘ladies’!” Hinata squealed.
“I know!” said Livia.
“Now…are the preparations for the first test going well?” RAIN asked gently with a warm smile, “I am curious to know where your skills are at.”
This became a slight problem. Us girls didn’t have singing parts. Only dancing. And we haven’t even started yet!
“Uh,” Holly stammered, “He does know that we haven’t actually started our dance routine yet, right?”
“Nope on a rope.” I replied.
“With that said, I would like to see your group choreography and the girls can go after. And remember that making a mistake is okay. Similarly in sports, it’s always best to make mistakes in front of coaches and dance teachers, so that you can fix the problems more easily than just hiding it during the real deal. And actually, ladies, forget I put you in last, you may go first.”
The song we selected was DDU-DDU-DDU-DDU by BlackPink. We went to our formations. As we began to dance, our moves were simple. But they all looked at us as if they were in a real K-Pop concert. That freaked me out only.
When Maeve, Holly, Isabelle and I were dancing the rap, as Maeve lip-synched the rap, they were all speechless that we had the talent to do something like this. It was incredible.
Once we struck a pose in the last bit of the selected song, everyone basically was silent. We then formed a line and bowed to RAIN.
“Wow,” said RAIN, completely speechless, “You girls just did that…without fail at all. Impressive. I- I should reward you.”
Now it was the boys' turn. Their dance was by far the greatest. It was as if they looked up to us for support. It was the singing that just wasn’t really easy for them. And poor Niki had forgotten some of the lyrics for his part.
RAIN then had the boys sing the parts they were having trouble with. Even if he was a nice guy, we all thought of him as just a producer. When we took a break, most of the guys saw us being on our phones. And they were all a little bit concerned, since most of us were in school/college and thought of it as the time to be studying.
“What’s there to study?” asked Holly, rolling her eyes, “We all did online school.”
“I think he means about college and such.” said Erika.
“But we’re basically doing everything online because of…you know…reasons?” said Lara, indicating that we are not following the education standards that Korea had set for its people.
Once RAIN was finished with the boys, he said, “I am glad that I have been assigned to help you all with this very first test and I am hoping to see you all when that test comes.”
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We were in our dorms at the moment. We were making an appearance for three other tests after this one. In total, I-LAND had four tests.
1. The Signal
2. Concept
3. Bulletproof
4. Final Lineup
The funny thing is, no one knew what the ‘Bulletproof’ test was. We all thought of BTS for some reason. But sadly…it was not to be. We figured they wouldn’t make time for us, since they had not dropped any new music for us ARMYs.
“So…” I said, “Tomorrow is the last day to practise. Are any of us ready?”
“Depends,” said Leila, “I just hope the guys won’t swoon over us and our supposed ‘sexy’ dance moves. Come on! We are basically TWICE and SATURDAY, not BLACKPINK or AOA.”
“I think it’s the fact that we have very smooth moves, even though they are simple.” said Holly.
While the girls argued about what groups we relate to, I then went to visit Jake in his dorm room. His door was halfway open wide and saw him flipping his hair and putting on a black hat. He must have been getting ready to go downstairs to practise. He was even wearing black slacks too. But I didn’t think about it much. I knocked and he answered.
“Y/N?” he said, slightly embarrassed, “So…what brings you here?”
“I was just visiting you,” I said, “Wondering how you were doing so far. That’s all.”
“I’m fine, thank you.” Jake stuttered.
I noticed how his cheeks were turning red, as if he was embarrassed that I was coming to see him.
Does he have a crush on me?
I saw a black instrument case on his bed. The silver metal flaps looked open, but not the case itself. But I didn’t want to make him more embarrassed, so I didn’t say much anymore.
“Well…” I said, softly, “I guess I’ll see you later, then. I have to work with my girl group. And then, tomorrow, my sub-unit is coming over and we will have a big rehearsal, so the practise room will be full for more people.”
“I understand,” said Jake, still stuttering, “I’ll see you tonight for dinner.”
“Bye…!” I said, walking out of the hallway from his dorm room.
I couldn’t help but think about his face. It reminded me so much of Layla, his puppy. Then I thought he was very cute. And it was true. As a matter of fact, as we were going downstairs to the practise room, a lot of the contestants were saying that Jake was the most handsome contestant in the show! Some said he was cuter than Jin from BTS.
But I thought Jin was “Worldwide Handsome”, I thought, There is just no way that Jake could take that title. I had never seen anyone stealing that crown.
I ignored these claims and went on to practise.
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Meanwhile, Jake was with his English speaking friend Jay. and even though Jay was a very cold man for his age, he and Jake still got along well.
“Y/N is very cool in my opinion,” Jake said, “I believe she will do well in the first test.”
Jay did not agree. He did not approve of girls in the show or in the team. But the girls had nowhere else to go to train. They had to join I-LAND. And BigHit and HYBE wanted them to be a part of them as well.
“I hope so too,” Jay said, faking a smile, but secretly scowling.
And then, Sunghoon entered with a small and soft smile. He had looked up to Jake and Jay, since they were the same age as him. But in secret, to buy time from Jay’s resentment, he had a crush on Lara, a member of Y/N’s girl group. But Lara really liked Sunoo. There was no doubt that they would end up together in the show.
“So…Y/N basically took over the practise room downstairs,” he said, “And that means we will be stuck without a practise room for a few moments. It won’t take long, so we should not worry so much about that.”
Meanwhile the other boys were still debating who should get the first part…little did they know it was actually going to be one of us. But…I couldn’t take the opportunity. It was supposed to be for only boys and not girls. It did disappoint me a bit. Yet we were planning on something much better.
I was going upstairs to get water, when I saw Ni-Ki sitting on a stool near a nightstand. He basically looked as though he had been crying throughout the day. His eyes looked a bit red.
“What happened?” I asked.
“It’s nothing,” Ni-Ki replied, “I’m just frustrated.”
“About what?”
Ni-Ki looked up at me; his eyes glowed with tears. He shook his head in dismay. Something must have upset him. It couldn’t be because of the others bullying him. I haven’t encountered any of that during my time in I-LAND.
“Tell me,” I said, sitting next to him, “Is there something wrong? Did something happen?”
Ni-Ki sniffled and whimpered softly. He laid his head on my shoulder.
“It’s just so difficult,” he sobbed, “Everyone’s parts make it so easy. And mine is always so tough! I don’t know why! And Heeseung-hyung gave me a hard time for it just then.”
“Was he mad at you?”
“No…but he did seem disappointed.”
Sympathetically, I knelt down in front of him and put my hands around his shoulders. I made sure he looked right in my eyes.
“When I was in training, my choreographer always gave us a hard time. She always gave me the hardest parts in particular.”
“Did it hurt you?” Ni-Ki asked, curiously.
“It made me feel the same way you are feeling right now. Stressed and dismayed, tired, grumpy. It made me feel all of those negative emotions. When once me and my girl groups were eliminated, we thought we had nowhere else to go. And…when I came here, my world of K-Pop was already forming. I was quite frightened…but I had the courage. I want you to do the same…for the boys.”
Ni-Ki nodded and pulled me close to hug me. I could tell he was having it rough that day, especially if it was already twenty- four hours before the very first test.
In the evening, we were all going to sleep. Some of us were more nervous than others. But I was most confident. We were all going to be judged by not only fans of the television series, but the exclusives, Bang Si-hyuk, ZICO, RAIN and, our narrator and director of the entire show Namkoong Min.
As I tried to close my eyes, I could not help to hear a melody coming from the living room, near the kitchenette. I snuck out of bed and quietly went downstairs. The music was so soft and harmonic, I wondered if any of the guys might have been in an orchestra before they were chasing their dreams to be an idol. It would have been nice if they ever did. But I peaked my head slightly out of the hallway and saw a figure playing the violin in his pajamas. I couldn’t tell if it was Jake or Jay. They do look rather similar, if I say so myself.
It took a little bit…and I realized that it was Jake.
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The day of the test was here. All of the boys lined up to be transported to the stage. Me and the girls were hyped up and very confident. Although AO3 were the backup dancers in my girl group, we made it certain it was their time to shine.
After a quick run-through, we then lined up with the rest of the group to head on stage.
“Ready girls?” I asked.
“Oh, you know we are.” said Holly, as she wrapped her arm around me.
The portal opened up. We all stepped in. I felt my heart pounding in my chest. It was pretty clear that everyone felt the same. But each of us kept our cool and we hoped for the best for our male teammates.
The song “Into the I-LAND” sent a message about the day we first entered I-LAND itself. And even though it’s frightening to be at a place you have never been before, there is always going to be an opportunity to make new friends and come together as one big community.
The boys were up first. We took our places and began the song.
<I got pushed and drifted away,
Only to find myself in front of a door of the dream that only I had been searching for a long time.
But then, I hear this beautiful melody in the back of my mind,
It was something that made me wander into this world.
When I was alone, there was no one there to comfort me,
But when I am with you, my pain goes away.
I realized it was me enduring what was really going on, without having me to show it.
And when I met you for the first time,
Meeting you made me understand this reason.
I’m scared, most definitely, but…
I run with a strong heart, so let’s just try.
It’s our chance to find the footprints engraved,
To stick each and every of our backstories together.
Will you be my friend and walk with me on this destined path?
Let’s just run for our lives!
Let’s reach out both of our hands and make a permanente promise!
Let’s just run for our lives!
Suddenly, I am seeing the entrance to the future,
And along there, a fulfilled promised day
You and I…we shall fly
You and I will fight, two hearts melt in one
Let’s just run for our lives
We’ll go into the I-LAND
Run for your heart, run for your life
Our home is in the I-LAND
Run for your heart, run for your life
Run for your dreams!>
“I think they are going to win this thing.” Keira said.
“No they are not,” said Isabelle, “We are much stronger than them. Y/N is going to make sure that they won’t get in our way again!”
“When have they done that?” asked Leila.
“This is a way to prevent it from happening.” I said, “That is…if it doesn’t…”
And then, it was our turn. We then took our places. I wasn’t certain if we were going to pass or not. Even if it means we might be going to GROUND, I will make sure that none of us would be going to ground.
<You, who I am seemingly seeing in front of this looking glass, are not me!
I have a headache, it’s making me dizzy, and I can feel something on my head!
I want to just run away, disappear from this world.
Someone save me, tell who I am for I don’t know who I am!
I guess it’s just me that is losing my mind.
But I feel a sprout of horns on the top of my head,
And I don’t think there is a way for any of them to stop!
I am all alone in the living world!
Someone help me! I have become a horrendous monster!
Have no one but you
Who are you?
Are you the salvation that found me the moment I was abandoned?
Who are you?
Are your wings in the same pain as I feel?
A crown rises on my head, but I love it
It has become a gold crown and nothing else!
It gives me this riveting feeling!
I may have a heart of chaos, but I love it!
It’s finally perfect,
For the two of us know that we are the two of us!
Stop the loneliness, abracadabra!
Stop the suffering, abracadabra!>
We took a bow and left with the rest of the boys. The judges looked speechless, as if they were seeing K-Pop idols themselves. And for the record, we were not idols just yet.
We all met up at the main entrance to be graded. Everyone had nerves somewhere in their minds. It didn’t take long for us to think about what would happen if we went to ground. But it didn’t mean that we had tried our best. And I knew that we did.
“For the first test…” said the Voice of I-LAND, “Everyone passes. But the next test will not be so easy. Get ready…this is going all the way.”
The first test was checked off and everyone rejoiced. Me and the girls were cheering loudly. Very loudly. So loud, that the other boys were a bit scared of us. But we didn’t care anyway!
Before we went to bed, Jake came to me and sat down.
“You basically stole everyone’s hearts,” he said with a chuckle.
“Unfortunately, that’s just how we are.” I replied.
“But still,” said Jake, “How did you come up with your own theme song? It’s a TXT song and I thought you never liked TXT?”
“Well…it is quite a mystery.”