Chapter 12.

Je-kyung took in a deep breath and adjusted his beanie. He felt a little nervous as he looked at the record company he stood in front of. Some people who were dressed in different types of suits all walked past him and entered the building's main entrance.

You can do it, Je-kyung! He inwardly encouraged himself before stepping inside the building through the sliding doors.

The security man pointed directions to where the auditions were being held. A lot of people were moving about and they all looked very busy. Je-kyung felt a rush of excitement when he passed by the huge recording studio. He then reached the door to the auditioning room and took in a deep breath before walking in.

"Good afternoon." Je-kyung said repeatedly as he bowed to everyone he saw in the room.

A woman showed him to a chair where he could sit on while awaiting his turn.

He also got a number tag.

Je-kyung looked to his left at the boy that sat nearest to him. The boy wasn't looking anywhere in particular but his lips were moving as if he was silently practicing. He looked to his right and saw that the other boy had his eyes shut and was rubbing his sweaty palms together. Je-kyung stretched his neck and saw that almost all the fifteen boys wanting to audition were acting rather strangely, an indication of their uneasiness.

He sat straight in his seat and took a good look around the room.

There were three desks, all lined together and the company staff sat behind each of them. A landline was beside each computer that was on each of the desks. The seat he was seated on was also in a straight row with the other chairs in the room. As someone entered the room, the lady whose desk was nearest to the door, smiled and pointed to an empty seat which the person could occupy.

A man stood up from behind his desk and gave the boy who just entered a number tag like he had done to Je-kyung. Soon an adjacent door was opened and a boy walked out with his head bowed. He immediately exited the room where Je-kyung and the others sat. The second lady that was behind the desk suddenly picked up her landline and spoke a few words to the other person at the receiving end.

"Number 23 should go in please," she said, raising her head to look at all the applicants who were seats in the room.

A skinny-looking boy stood up and walked through the adjacent door the other boy had come out of. All eyes followed him till he left the room. Once he had gone, everyone went back to what they had been doing previously.

Je-kyung looked at his number.

He was number 31.

The sitting arrangement wasn't according to their number as they were free to sit anywhere they wanted.

Suddenly a girl about their age walked in. Most of the young boys turned in her direction at once, including Je-kyung.

She wasn't intimidated by the fact that she was the only female applicant in the room and she went to have her seat after getting her number tag. After she had settled down, everyone went back again to what they had been doing before she made her appearance.

A long while passed.

Some people came out and took their seats again while others simply walked out through the exit door. Some numbers were called and some new people walked in as well.

More females had also entered the room.

Je-kyung took in a deep breath as he watched number 30 walk into the adjacent door. Soon it would be his turn. After a while the boy came out and walked out through the exit door. Rejected. Je-kyung's heart hammered rapidly within him as he watched the boy leave dejectedly.

"Number 31 should go in, please," the lady said in the same light tone that she had been using.

Je-kyung felt nervous all of a sudden.

"Number 31?" The lady called again when he didn't stand up. Some people were already checking their cards to see if they were the one.

Je-kyung drew in a shaky breath and stood up on wobbly legs. "Im sorry." He bowed respectfully as he stood on his feet.

"Its okay." The lady smiled kindly at him before pointing to the adjacent door people had been walking in and out of.

Je-kyung closed his eyes as he willed his feet to move towards the door.

You can do it, Je-kyung. He said to himself silently before entering the room.

There was a small podium with lots of rows of chairs facing it. Representatives of other companies were there as well; perhaps to also hand-pick the talented ones amongst the applicants. Je-kyung gave a small smile as he went to stand on the podium. He saw the cameras and knew instantly that they were recording the audition straight on.

He bowed slightly to the people in the room. "Good afternoon!" he greeted with a small smile.

A murmur of responses swept through the room before everywhere became deathly silent again.

"My name is Han Je-kyung," Je-kyung went on, still smiling.

A man seated in the front row nodded his approval. He leaned closer to the podium and asked, "Je-kyung, what type of music do you like?"

"Hip-hop," Je-kyung replied with a grin.

"How old are you?" The woman next to the man asked with a small smile.

"I'm fifteen ma'am," Je-kyung replied politely.

"Alright," the third man started as he nodded at Je-kyung. "Show us your skills, son."

Je-kyung nodded and cleared his throat.

He rapped to his song 'Better life' for three and a half minutes. He could tell he impressed most of the people who were seated in the room, watching him. By the time he was done, he received a few applauses from some of the people seated on the chairs before him.

The man that had first spoken to him when he came in, spoke again. "Would you mind waiting outside until you're called in again? You've passed this first round," he said and leaned back on his chair. A small smile hovered on his lips.

"Really?" Je-kyung yelped out and started bowing profusely.

"Thank you!" he exclaimed softly as he bowed once more before leaving the room.

He entered the waiting room again, elated this time. As he took his previous seat, the lady called unto the next number. Je-kyung smiled, feeling pleased with himself but he was still a little bit nervous as the boy whose number had been called walked into the room he had just exited.

After a while Je-kyung was called into the auditioning room again. He walked into the room the second time that day.

"Congratulations on qualifying for the second round," the woman told him and he bowed a bit. "Let's see if you can get through with the last round," she said.

"Begin," the man nodded at him.

Je-kyung nodded and rubbed his palms together.

He ought to rap to 'Butterfly', a song he had recently composed.

But as his eyes scanned the room and the people seated there, watching him, he felt his throat suddenly go dry. Come on, Je-kyung. He thought as he started getting afraid again.

Someone coughed as the silence lingered.

"We're waiting," the woman said impatiently.

Je-kyung tried to smile but it didn't reach his eyes. He bowed and said apologetically, "Yes." He licked his lips and tried to start the song but no words came out. The words...the words...what are the words of the lyric? He thought frantically.

"We can learn a thing or two from the butterflies," he started on a shaky note and then his voice faltered into silence.

What comes next?

His head started to hurt.

"Is there a problem, Je-kyung?" One of the men asked him with an eyebrow raised.

Je-kyung shook his head miserably but he still couldn't recall the song. "Yes," he admitted sadly as he tried to concentrate. "I've..." He closed his eyes and opened them again as he stared in apprehension at the people in the room. "I've forgotten my lyrics," he muttered sadly.

A murmur went round the room and Je-kyung looked down at the floor. The representatives of the other companies leaned closer to discuss amongst themselves, so did the six representatives of Splat entertainment company where Je-kyung had hoped to train in.

Soon they all sat back up properly again.

"Je-kyung, you have very good skills that can take you to the top if you keep at it," One of the representatives of Splat entertainment company started.

He hadn't said a word all the while; usually it was his colleagues that had been talking to Je-kyung.

Je-kyung looked at him.

"However," the man paused and Je-kyung had a feeling of dread at what the man was going to say next.

"I'm afraid Splat entertainment company cannot simply have you as one of our trainees. Have a good day." The man went back to sorting out his files.

Je-kyung bowed respectfully again and walked out of the room. Once he was back in the waiting room, the hot tears he had been holding back gushed out. He covered his face as he silently cried bitterly. He had been rejected.

The next boy walked past him and entered the room.

"Are you alright?"

Je-kyung looked at the girl that had spoken. She had also qualified for the second round.

"Yes," he replied gloomily and walked slowly out of the waiting room.

He leaned on the wall and let out a breathy sigh, as he tried to gain his composure back before he went on home.

As he was about to take a step towards the entrance, someone yelled from behind him.

"Wait! Je-kyung!"