Novelty (a T.O.P Fanfiction)

Chapter Two

Chapter Two:

Tae-Li was shocked she hadn’t chewed her lip off yet. Getting ready for the showcase had been fun, that wasn’t what was making the girl nervous. What was making her nervous was the fact that it was a showcase and every single showcase made her a nervous mess over the fear of termination. 

Minji was stretching a couple feet away when she looked over to the anxious girl. Remaining in a full split on the floor, Minji propped her chin on her crossed arms and asked, “Tae-Li, what’s wrong?” Chae-Rin, who had insisted that Tae-Li call her CL as all her friends did, looked up as well when her roommate brought attention to the older girl’s nervous state.

Looking at her new friends, the brunette admitted, “The first showcase I was in, three people in a row got dismissed right when they finished. So I get a bit… antsy.”

CL gaped at her, before commenting, “That is a good reason to dislike showcase.” Minji frowned as she pushed out of her split, then promptly thumped her roommate in the arm. Immediately, the two began to bicker over it, making Tae-Li giggle as she watched the pair.

Before the younger trainees could try to reassure the elder that she would do fine, a stagehand called out, “Kang Tae-Li, your on next!” 

Minji and CL immediately ceased their argument and hurried over to Tae-Li, both girls telling her how amazing she would do and that they wished they were going first before Tae-Li set the bar too high. Their kind words helped ease the seventeen year old and her frayed nerves as she made her way to the wings of the showcase stage. It wasn’t huge, but it wasn’t tiny either. It was a good enough size to make whoever was on it feel like they were in front of a paying crowd, though.

The boy who was just finishing- a trainee that Tae-Li didn’t recognize- seemed to be finishing decently, and after he walked off the stage, no one called for him to return, which could be good or bad. A stage hand brushed across the stage with a large dry-mop to rid the surface of any sweat from its previous occupant, and then the lights dimmed, the signal that it was Tae-Li’s turn.

She was doing something that only veteran trainee’s attempted- danced and sung. On top of that, she was taking a bigger risk by picking the American song ‘Don’t Stop The Music’ and translating it to Korean except for a few key lines. Her manager hadn’t been totally on board, but after seven years, Tae-Li needed to start challenging herself, no matter how nervous showcase made her. Besides, if she managed to pull it off, it would keep her safe from being terminated

As she moved onto the stage, she was able to catch a quick glimpse of who was watching the showcase. Tae-Li saw her manager, who was nervously chewing her fingernails. There were quite a few people in the audience this time around, and Tae-Li didn’t know any of them. She’d come to know most of the reps and managers over her years in training. But she didn’t think she saw any of them.

Tae-Li had no more time to let her mind wander, and immediately, the brunette was focused on her performance. While it wasn’t a long song, only 3 minutes or so, it felt like an hour to her. Tae-Li blocked out everything but the music and her performance. She was conscious of every little movement she made, making sure it was perfect, and every single note that came from her lips, matching it to the music as close as she could. Tae-Li made sure she took breaths at the right places, not too deep or too shallow, and kept her entire body in check, not letting it make any unnecessary movement.

As she finished, her mind wound down, allowing her to become aware of what she had been blocking out. Tae-Li nearly jumped when she realized people were applauding her, from both the audience and the wings. With wide eyes, Tae-Li looked to the wings to see Minji and CL cheering and clapping, then looking out showed that her manager and most of the audience were clapping as well, murmuring to each other. The attention made the seventeen year old flush as she bowed gratefully before hurrying of stage.