The Request (5): Wild

Jinhyun was scrutinizing Yoona. She was approaching the stage, looking a little apprehensive. Her usually, confident demeanor was muted and she seemed demure. Or was he overthinking? 

"Wow she's pretty!" Jenna exclaimed. "With that face, body proportions and attitude she can be a top idol." 

Jinhyun merely smiled. He wanted to remain unbiased but there was just something about Yoona which scared him. It was very difficult to pinpoint exactly what it was. 

Yoona stood in the middle of the stage, glowering at everyone. The audience cheered for her and chanted her name. But little did they know, she was not listening to any of their applause. 

Her mind had shut out everything except one thing. The man sitting directly across the stage. Their eyes were staring into each other. Her emotions were unreadable. 

Jinhyun tried hard to look away but her gaze had him locked. He froze in his spot, unable to move. She was looking at him as if he was the only person in the world. There was no one else around for her. Only him. Yoona gave a mysterious smile. She raised her right hand. 

And the music started. 

Putting her whole weight on one foot, she kicked off ahead before stepping into a ball change. Isolating her legs, she made an improv and moved her neck, quickly sliding across the floor, landing into a freestyle floor skid. 

Her fierce movements caught everyone by surprise. She was not the pure beauty who mesmerized the audience. In front of them was a crazed tigress, marking her territory. Her movements were wild like an animal. 

There was a madness within her as she moved her whole body with the fast beat of the music. Her burning rage exploded out of her as she made a clean somersault, spreading her legs into a 180 degree split on the ground and spun them around with quick, crisp movements. 

All this time, her eyes were solely on Jinhyun. There was not a single break in her gaze as she kept on dancing with her mad energy. She did not miss a single beat and despite her wild moves, she was precise with her choreography. The girl was a natural idol and there was no question about it. 

But Jinhyun read too much into her performance. If she was this crazy during a simple showcase, then he shuddered to think what she would do during a proper live performance. 

Yoona ended her dance with another somersault. The audience, who was caged by her madness, took a while to come to the senses. She stood there, patiently. 

Then suddenly, one clap was heard. Then a second one followed. And then a third. Soon, the entire audience followed suit, applauding her. Her mad performance had won them over as they came out of their reverie. It felt real to them. Her animalistic energy coupled with the strong stage presence made her a winner in their eyes. 

Jenna was also clapping hard. Everyone was cheering except Jinhyun. He was trying to figure out the true face of Yoona, but this time she averted his gaze. 

Sedong came onto the stage. 

"Amazing work Yoona!" he exclaimed. "Let's see what the judges say." 

"I think Yoona was just wild!" Jenna commented. "Her dance had infinite energy. Her expressions, clean steps and smooth transitions only makes her a formidable contestant. To me, you were perfect." 

Yoona did not smile but bowed. She then turned to Jinhyun, who was still frozen. For a few seconds, he did not realize that they were waiting for him to speak. 

"Jinhyun, say something," Jenna hissed. 

"Umm, yes," he began to say. "Ms. Sung, your dance was very energetic. I hope you'll surprise us even more in the coming rounds." 

He gave her a reluctant smile. Yoona returned it but was very well aware that he did not give her a direct compliment. 

"Thank you," she said with a bow. There was no doubt that she made it to the next round. But it was not enough for her. 

Once she entered the green room, Semin came crashing onto her, hugging her tightly. Yoona stood there for a few seconds before hugging her back. 

"You were simply amazing, unnie!" she squealed. "I think both of us will make it to the next round! Will you be singing for the next episode? I think I will…" 

Semin went on and on about her plans for the next episode. Yoona simply smiled and occasionally replied with "Ahh," and "I see." The younger girl did not realize that Yoona was barely listening to her and was instead counting down the time on her watch. 

"Semin," Yoona finally cut through her blabberings. "I have to go to the washroom. I'll be back." 

"Sure unnie!" 

With that, Yoona exited the room. 

… 

Jenna stretched her limbs. "Finally, it's over!" she exclaimed. "The trainees are amazing Jinjin! You've chosen well." 

"It wasn't easy," Jinhyun admitted. "I had to go through thousands of applications. Finding this lot was hard." 

They were walking towards their respective vanity rooms when Jinhyun spotted Cherry at a distance, dismissing her team. 

"You go ahead, Jenna," he said. "I'll join you in a minute." 

"Alright!" Jenna chirped and waved him bye. Jinhyun ran up to Cherry, who looked warily at him. 

"Hey!" he greeted. 

"What do you want?" she asked bluntly. 

"I only wanted to say hi," he said sheepishly. 

"You've said it," she said with a sarcastic smile. "Now bye!" 

She started to walk away but Jinhyun tailed her, keeping up with her pace. 

"Let's go out for coffee," he said outright. 

"I already had coffee with you on that bench," she said dryly. 

"No, I meant as a date," he said. Cherry stopped in her steps. 

"Listen up and listen carefully," she said clearly. "I would rather face a million fireballs than have coffee with-" 

Suddenly a loud alarm echoed through the entire building. People around them started to run around. Jinhyun grabbed Cherry and pulled her to safety as a hoard of panicked people began to rush through the corridor. Chaos spread across the building. 

"What's going on?" Cherry yelled over the screams. But her question was answered by the strong fumes blowing their way. They began to cough violently as the smoke engulfed them. 

"The building is on fire!" Jinhyun exclaimed. He looked around to see where the smoke was coming from. His eyes widened in realization. 

"We've got to get out of here!" Cherry coughed but Jinhyun was not listening. Instead, he rushed towards the smoke. 

"Jinhyun!" Cherry called after him but he kept on running. 

The smoke was coming from the vanity rooms and Jenna was in there.