For a moment, absolute silence before nearly fifty hands shot up, sparking a rolling wave of surprised laughter in the room. Even Ji Ho chuckled, clearly charmed. Min Jae snorted to himself as he smiled, also charmed, despite himself. Andy had managed to make himself look humble and approachable while also demonstrating his own immense popularity. An impressive but completely different kind of power move.
As Andy chose two more smiling, eager contestants for his room, it was hard for Min Jae to ignore his precarious position at the top of the ranks. The American was more than just a performer. He was a politician. Min Jae had no doubt that, the moment he took his eye off the target, Andy would be there to topple him.
The remaining two dozen room selections passed by quickly and with few surprises. The brothers were snatched up earlier than Min Jae expected. But the final four, roommates by default, were all in the bottom tenth of the rankings, to no one’s surprise. Afterwards, the PAs moved to a table set up near the doors to pass out room assignments and key cards. Min Jae’s card was marked with the stylized face of a tiger. Tiger Wing, Room 101. He and his new roommates—Woo Jin, Chul Min, and Dae Hyun—joined the flow of bodies heading toward the dorms.
The door for Room 101 was at the end of the Tiger Wing corridor beside a floor-to-ceiling picture window offering a shadowy view of the darkened mountain forest surrounding Sky Village. Maybe his room would have a view, too. But being at theend of the hall was a perk in itself. Less traffic passing by his door, and, hopefully, better sleep.
Min Jae let Woo Jin try his key card first. His new roommate was way more excited to see what was probably just a simple dorm room with four beds. As Min Jae watched Woo Jin swipe his card, a newly familiar voice echoed behind him. Andy, Leo, and their new roommates stopped outside the door across the hall. Room 102. Andy turned, catching Min Jae’s eye as a disarmingly friendly, almost goofy grin spread across his face—an expression so open and unguarded it seemed reckless.
“Hey,” Andy said, his voice full of a typically American, uncomplicated cheerfulness. “Looks like we’re gonna be neighbors.”
Min Jae responded with a controlled, neutral smile and nod before following Woo Jin through the open door. The American’s charm was infectious. If Min Jae wasn’t careful, he risked being sucked in, too. Andy was charismatic, carefree, and treated this life-or-death competition like a summer camp. And that made him dangerously unpredictable.
5
Andy stared at his reflection,a stranger looking back at him from a wall of brightly lit mirrors in the backstage dressing area. The person in the mirror was an idol. Polished. Packaged. Ready for his close-up.
The signal song uniform was a work of art. A charcoal gray bomber jacket, perfectly cut to fit his frame, with a row of heavy, shiny silver snaps running up the front. The hangul spelling of his name was embroidered in clean, simple silver thread over his heart. He ran his fingers over the letters, the reality of it still not quite sinking in. The collar, cuffs, and waistband were trimmed in a soft, heathered purple. Most of the other jackets in the chaotic dressing area were trimmed in blue, making the other foreign trainees, like Kenta from Japan and Alex from New Zealand, who he’d met on the bus ride back to the Vision Center, much easier to spot. A reminder of their outsider status, for sure. But also another chance to stand out.
Andy tugged the simple black shirt underneath a little lower, tucking it more into the waist of his matching, slim-fit cargo pants. They were hella comfortable, made from some kind of high-tech fabric that moved with him. His chunky black high-tops felt solid, grounded. Ready for battle.
“Damn, Sacramento.” Leo’s voice floated over Andy’s shoulder before his grinning face appeared in the mirror. Effortlessly cool, as expected, in his own matching uniform. “We sure do clean up nice, eh?”
Andy scoffed, playing the fashion victim. “Speak for yourself, dude. I feel like I’m playing dress-up at my very first fashion show.”
“Hey, it’s a good look for you, too.” Leo clapped him on the shoulder. “Way better than that jet-lagged zombie from yesterday. You look like you maybe even got some sleep last night.”
Andy grinned, the easy banter with Leo a welcome distraction from his simmering nerves. He must’ve slept at some point during the chaotic settling into their new room at Sky Village, even if he didn’t exactly remember falling asleep. He’d chosen his other two roommates purely on vibes, picking Yoon Tae Oh, an energetic maknae who looked older than his eighteen years, and Park Si On, a guy with a smile so bright it could probably generate its own electricity. They’d all totally clicked, sitting on the matching twin beds in their new room, sharing a family-sized bag of CheezyFish Leo had snagged from a snack table Andy had missed. For a brief, surreal moment, it had felt less like the onset of a brutal competition and more like what Andy imagined the first night in a college dorm would’ve felt like.
“Have you talked to him yet?”
Andy’s grin slipped as he shook his head. “No, not yet.” Connecting with Min Jae had been Andy’s number one priority that morning. He tried catching him at breakfast, only to discover that the number one contestant had already been to the cafeteria and gone. He tried catching him again on the bus ride back into Seoul, but had somehow ended up on the other bus. He tried again before they were called in to record their interview and intro packages, but the top four contestants were shown to separate tiny interview studios to record at the same time. Hewas starting to think that Min Jae was avoiding him. “I think he might be a ghost.”
Leo smirked and nodded toward the far corner of the dressing area. “Well, don’t look now, but our ghost is haunting that corner over there.”
Andy leaned over enough to see to the far corner in his mirror. Sure enough, Min Jae was running through a series of basic stretches, all alone. “Alright. I’m gonna head over. You watch the exit in case he makes a break for it.”
“You got it,” Leo agreed, chuckling. “See you on stage.”
After a final check on his hair–the show’s stylists had somehow managed to achieve a subtle wave in his bangs that he’d always dreamed of–Andy turned and casually strolled toward Min Jae’s corner. A more confident march might’ve spooked him. On the way, he mentally debated the best greeting to use. A bow would acknowledge Min Jae’s superior rank, but was probably too formal. They were the same age, anyway. So, a handshake then? A high five? Andy quietly sighed. A simple “Hey, how’s it going?” would’ve worked fine back home, absent all the complex rules of respect and propriety. He glanced at the purple cuffs on his jacket, labeling him as a foreigner. The American. Hell, may as well lean into it.
Andy stopped close enough to be heard, but far enough away to avoid startling Min Jae. “Hey. How’s it going?”
Min Jae gave his ankle a final tug as he stretched his thigh, then let his foot drop to the floor. “What’s that?”
“I just came over to say hello. I see you’re stretching, but I thought we should talk before today’s rehearsal. You know, since we’re the center pair.”
Min Jae frowned. “I know we’re the center pair. Are you not prepared?”
Andy pushed his grin a little wider, ignoring the jab. They’d all been sent the signal song choreography video weeks ago. He already knew each part by heart. “No, I am. It’s just, we haven’treally talked at all since the ranking yesterday.” He paused, hoping that was enough to draw Min Jae into an actual conversation. Nope. “I mean, our parts are supposed to sync, so I thought we could work on our chemistry.”
Min Jae’s stoic expression refused to thaw. So far, they had all the chemistry of ice water. “How do you propose we do that?”
By taking the giant stick out of your ass, for starters. “Like this. Chatting. Getting to know each other.” Another beat. No reaction. “Okay, I’ll start. My name’s Andy. I’m from California. I’m a dance instructor, and a huge Cherry Squad stan. Min Ji’s my bias.” He forced his grin even wider. “Your turn.”
Min Jae stood frozen in silence for long enough that Andy started to wonder if his brain had gotten stuck. Then he finally nodded. “I’m Kwon Min Jae. I live here, in Seoul. And, as long as we both know our parts, our chemistry will be fine.” He turned away, lifting his other leg to grab his ankle. Conversation over.
Andy turned back to see Leo watching them intently. He shrugged and walked away. Hopefully, the stick up Min Jae’s ass wouldn’t fuck up his performance too much.
