Chapter Text
Was being an idol really Yubin’s dream? She does not know if that is what she really wants, at least not anymore. Her hopes had been crushed the day she stepped foot on that show, since everyone decided she was not deserving of claiming a spot at the debut line. Was it her fault? She was not sure, all she did was try her best, but nothing is ever enough to satisfy the viewers.
As much as she tried to hide her shaky breath and watery eyes from the millions of eyes watching, she knew people were already criticizing her looks, actions, everything. Yubin was glad that a small portion of viewers actually did like her, maybe she had a slim chance of making it.
In fact, she used to be popular and her face was used to promote the show, people were glazing her visuals and falling for her without even knowing her name. She remembered how happy she felt at that time, full of faith. Fan accounts with her face as their profile picture supporting her from the very beginning, wishing her the best.
Viewers loved her charm, her promotional video was a funny skit introducing herself and it got thousands of views, fans decided she was a fan favorite and hoped her vocals were as beautiful as her face. Oh, those were the good times. She even managed to rank fourth and, for her, it was something unbelievable, things were looking good.
Until everything started to fall down. Her audition was aired and she received a bad review from the judges who decided to send her to the “worst” category on the show. She made a mistake on stage due to her nervousness and short training period. Suddenly, the girl with good screentime due to her beauty began to fall off the rankings and disappeared from the camera.
She was just a pretty face for them, they said she brought nothing to the table. It was hell. She read all those hurtful messages, she saw how much some fans of the show hated her.
Each passing day, things got worse. Yubin knew she had a solid fan base that admired her resilience and saw past the “nothing special” persona, but did she deserve that? She was not sure, she still does not know if she does. But she was thankful, her fandom always defended her against malicious comments trying to bring her down.
And then, her ranking dropped, the fourth place girl was now tenth. She was not mad about it, actually, she felt happy, she made it to the finals even if her haters tried to sabotage her every move. It was exhausting.
She still thought about her friends, the girls she trusted and stayed by her side were gone one by one. Each elimination she feared for her survival and, somehow, she managed to get through all of them, finally landing on the grand finale.
Yubin looked up and saw her. Lee Jiwoo. Sitting on the seventh place chair, not moving an inch, her pitiful eyes full of tears never leaving Yubin’s tired ones. God, Lee Jiwoo. Her dear Jiwoo. And as if she could read Yubin’s thoughts, Jiwoo nodded and patted the chair beside her. Was it really possible? To debut together?