Rise of a Star - a Minsung Story

Chapter 9

Author's note

I'm so sorry I didn't post for the past days. I had to prepare a 25 minute presentation for school within four days and I spent every free minute I had on it. 

Enjoy reading and have a lovely day!

Akira

The filming of Stray Kids' first music video wasn't as special as they had expected it to be. Of course, getting styled and their make up done was new to most of them but besides that, it wasn't really exciting. Maybe it was because everyone was too stressed thinking about the upcoming monthly evaluation, maybe it was because they were working with many staff members they already knew or because they had gotten used to the cameras because of the survival program. Last episode, the CEO of their company had announced that Minho and Jeongin were candidates that could be eliminated if they didn't perform good enough and of course that was taking its toll on everyone. The group was under a lot of pressure and although filming for 'Hellevator' was fun, it felt more like a waste of time they could have used for practice.

"Alright, boys. That's enough for tonight, let's head back to our dorm. It's already 1am and we need to be fit for tomorrow", Chan said, ending practice as everyone was getting tired. He was very satisfied with them, they had all mastered their performances. Everyone could just hope it would go this well tomorrow.

The eight boys all made their way back to their dorm, getting ready for bed in silence. Everyone was just too tired and too nervous to talk. Jisung and Minho got into the younger's bed together, cuddling very close. "Jisung", Minho asked into the darkness after a few minutes of silence. "Yeah?", the younger asked tiredly and Minho turned around to face him, his breathing was slightly hitched and Jisung just then noticed how much his boyfriend was shaking. "I-I'm scared", the elder admitted, suppressing a sob, and Jisung pulled him closer to his chest. "I know, love. I know. But everything is going to go great, okay? You are going to do an amazing job and we will debut together in a few months, living our dream", Jisung tried to motivate his boyfriend but for some reason Minho knew the next day wasn't going to go as planned. It was just a feeling and maybe everything would be good but it just felt like it wouldn't.

The next day, everyone got ready to perform. Today's evaluation would be taken in sub unit of two to three members and the first two groups had already performed. Chan was very satisfied so far, as was everyone else, since nobody had made a mistake but of course they weren't done yet. Minho's group was the last one left and after getting a soft smile from Jisung, the older smiled and tried to focus on doing good.

Jisung's eyes widened in fear and he held onto Felix as Minho badly messed up his part. This wasn't good, he had already been on the list of getting eliminated and now he made such a drastic mistake. The second oldest accidentally had sung the second verse when he should have sung the first one. The members felt devastated, they knew what this could possibly mean for the group.

As the performance came to an end, the eight boys were asked to stand into a line while listening to their CEO's words. "You made a mistake, Minho. What was the problem?", the man asked and Minho gulped, before looking up. "I messed up and sang the second verse", he admitted, biting his lip. Mr. Park nodded, before going on with his criticism. "Jeongin, I can see how much effort you put into today's performance. And it makes me sad that it still is not enough. There isn't anything special about you, neither your looks, nor your singing or dancing. Thousands of people are like you and this just doesn't attract fans", Jeongin felt his heart break just a little more than it already was, hearing such criticizing words. He had believed, he had done good and was proud of himself and his performance until just a second ago. How could he have showed such a bad performance, if none of the members had scolded him yet. JYP went on with his criticism and spoke to everyone directly. Especially Hyunjin and Felix had to hear a lot of strict words, both of them hadn't been able to show their best today.