#yuzuk

it's written right there on their email: recording of the first episode. whatever she did could actually air and this could also mean embarrassing herself in front of the entire nation and, possibly, the world. she was only a girl in chicago once watching the stages of previous seasons and next week she was actually going to be in one.

there's an immediate blank in her mind when it comes to choosing something to perform. she'd need to at least dance, but was she feeling confident to try and sing as well? would she be able to in the heat of the moment? maybe...

she goes through each chichi song she knows which is, virtually, all of them, but concludes it's better not to. this is her time to show everything she got to make her way into the show. they said it in the e-mail that so far nothing was decided and only if you passed this next challenge would you actually be considered a contestant on the show. she had to achieve that. her one true consideration was of 'genie'. she had mentioned it in her interview and its 10 year anniversary had gone by recently. sadly, she couldn't brush off the thought that her attempt of doing it could simply be seen as nothing more than a cover and going for something else would do her better. creativity should be just as important as charisma for these things, after all.

it takes her some time to find something she actually likes and it's not something she knows by heart. most of the lyrics can come to mind, but there's work to do. as it comes with nakyung, outfits always come as high priority in preparations, and this time it is no different.

the set is gorgeous to walk into. it's not something out-of-the-world, but it's as gorgeous as any other set she has ever been to, which is none. her real outfit - the shiny, gorgeous dress - is hidden under a coat which she made sure actually hid everything. her thing was the element of surprise and she didn't want to accidentally ruin it.

nakyung goes by herself exactly because she didn't tell anyone outside of her family. she wonders if jiwon will watch the first episode and maybe get some sort of reaction close to what she had felt when the other was on television, except more on the end of surprise than upset. she hopes everyone at home would get some dose of surprise at the very least.

the seat she takes is random, a seat away from the closest person. it's what you'd normally do anywhere you go to. nakyung pulls at her own fingers to get rid of any nerves that may be onto her before a voice comes from her side. the girl a seat away invites her to move closer and nakyung does as told. she'd rather not create an awkward air at the first chance she gets.

they introduce each other and that's when she finds out the girl is named choi yena. even if the other is older, they get along well. she's rather cute, even, and nakyung can't help but de-stress with a random conversation before recording starts.

"oh my god." it's her one true reaction when the ceos make their way into the set after being announced as the judges for the very first round of auditions. it's going to be a long recording and her eyes can't leave the sight of katie lee. people really are more beautiful live and it feels a bit unfair. it is like meeting anna that time in the coffee shop, or haknyeon one day on the streets. she wonders when her luck will run out. probably sometime on the show.

"lee nakyung." so jisub calls her name. something in the back of her head tells her it's because they know the lack of attention she's been showing for royal's latest girl group. she wonders if the moment she reaches the center of the stage he'll just laugh at her, but nakyung knows that's all her mind playing tricks. there's nothing to fear there except for failure and still her expression smiles at the judges before bowing to each of them. "hello! my name is lee nakyung, i am 18 years old and a final year in high school. thank you for having me here."

the man nods her way and tells her to start whenever she's ready. after she bows once again, nakyung starts to remove her coat, revealing the sparkly dress below it. the coat quickly sees itself out of the stage as the girl simply throws it towards the side of she had been sitting on and then turns her back to the judges, ready to start her performance.

her song of choice was released back in 2009 when she was only eight, and it was still the one she had chosen. it was all meant to add onto her surprise factor and nakyung hoped she was doing it well. the song starts strongly, she likes to believe, and so she points a finger up to the sky as strongly as she can, trying to match the energy. the first thing is a dance portion and if her first impression is good all the girl would really need to do was keep up with the energy and not mess up. they weren't notified how many would be eliminated, after all, so her focus was on doing well and trying to secure a spot on the next episode. there are 100 people there so she simply had to be better than some of them, not necessarily all of them.

when it's time to turn around, nakyung keeps her expression intense but with a bit of a smirk. the song was a dance tune about a saturday night, after all, so she wanted to stay some part mysterious, but another playful and fun. the dance leads straight into the chorus as they're told to cut their performances under two minutes and nakyung had made sure to make the best out of it. she has to sing now, but the girl believes it's not as demanding as another song could have been. it's more about charm than actual talent. make it half air, half singing, or something like that. as long as she didn't sound bad she was sure she could do it.

there's a bigger burst of energy when it comes to the iconic part of the song when it mentions the title and nakyung's wrist does a good job of delivering everything it's asked of it. she takes this moment to look at other people too, the ones sitting on the sides rather than only at the judges. she throws a random wink when she locks eyes with someone and then moves on as if it's only natural.

she manages to keep her voice consistent throughout the performance, even if most of her focus is set on making the movements as great as she can. this means she doesn't sound like the greatest singer, but at least it's consistent. it's better to keep going than to forget the lyrics, or maybe decide to stop singing to catch your breath. what's important is that her expressions also keep consistent in their aura, but change accordingly so she won't keep the same face throughout the song. this is her true area of expertise and she will make sure to show it.

as soon as the chorus is done she jumps into a dance break, and while the movements aren't hard at all to go through it's something different and she's having fun. when it's time to return to the chorus, there are new stops in the song and every new thing gives her more energy and a brand new expression. the final pose is the same as the one at the start and nakyung holds it for a few seconds before turning around with a bright smile and bowing at the judges once again. "thank you so much!"