January 2018, near the end of MixedUp
The end was coming. Mijung could feel it in the air. Few contestants remained after weeks of challenges and eliminations. Those who stayed were divided into only two groups — groups that got increasingly smaller — boys and girls. One of these groups, only one, would be given a debut. Mijung would stop at nothing to ensure that her team won this much coveted prize.
Mijung walked into the girl’s practice room, fingers nervously drumming on the strap of her bag. She set it down off to the side, near the entrance, and centered herself in front of the mirror. Brown eyes searched her own reflection. Her expression was hard, impassive as ever. Mijung never doubted her talents, her drive. It was her personality that always seemed to let her down. MixedUp was, after all, half talent competition, half popularity contest. Did she have enough skill to carry her past her oh so obvious faults? She made it that far but how much further could she count on going?
But, it wasn't just about her. None of this was. Mijung had teammates, now. She wasn't just a lone trainee, fighting for a spot against all others. Her success depended on them. In turn, if she failed, Mijung would bring the others down with her. Mijing was, had always been, the responsible one in her family. If her parents, sisters, cousins, anyone asked her for anything, she'd jump. That heavy feeling of responsibility was almost comforting. She was used to that; she could use it to push her. But Mijung wasn't used to being so dependent on others. She wasn't sure she liked the feeling.
Mijung watched as her lips screwed up into a twisted sort of frown in the mirror. She shook her head and began to stretch. Arms first, then neck, and so on. The others would be there soon and Mijung wanted to be ready to jump into practice as quickly as they could. The girl's team was good, that was obvious. But so were the boys. They had to, needed to, do better to end up on top. They were so close. So, so close. The weight of the competition might not have rested soley on Mijung's shoulders but she would be damn sure that she'd carry as much as they'd let her.
