Jaemin was currently on his way to the audition, he was waiting for them to invite him into the room.
He felt nostalgia.
He had passed this audition before, and he was a lot more nervous that time. It was for another company as well, but all the auditions are very similar, so there was no need to worry.
He knew that he would be a trainee again, for sure. And this time, it would be a trainee for JYP.
He passed the last time he did it, and he had changed so much. There's no reason why they shouldn't accept him, he thought.
He kept filling himself with confidence so that he would be less nervous.
"Kim Min-jae?"
A woman came out of the audition room.
It was time.
"That's me."
He stood up, prepared his heart and followed the middle aged woman into the audition room.
He saw five people, three females and two males. They were the judges, the ones who were going to decide if he could become a JYP trainee.
They looked tired at first, probably because they had to judge a lot more youngsters.
But when they saw him, their faces lit up.
He couldn't help but inwardly smile.
His visuals are really helpful in this situation, probably his visuals alone earned him a spot. There was no need for you to be super good in singing or dancing if you were as handsome as him. Just like the CEO of SM has always said: "Talent can be taught."
"Annyeonghaseyo, what's your name?" The woman with the flowery one piece spoke up first, she looked quite excited. Her excitement was even noticable through her voice.
"My name is Kim Min-jae, and I'm fifteen years old." He bowed a few times, being polite was absolutely necesarry.
"Mm, good, do you have any special talents?"
Hehe, he does.
"Yes, I can play the guitar and the piano. I believe I can also sing and dance pretty well. I can also speak English"
They all looked quite suprised, if everything he said turned out to be true, then he was a very talented person. They quickly looked at each other and nodded, basically confirming that they were sharing the same thoughts.
He had practiced those two music instruments for a very long time, almost more than two decades. And he was actually quite talented in playing those two instruments, so he was very comfortable mentioning them.
Moreover, he could speak English like a native. He was a big fan of everything American, he had watched a lot of movies and series ever since he was a little kid, so learning English came naturally for him.
The fat judge got up from his seat, and grabbed something right behind him.
It was a guitar.
They wanted him to play it, if he wanted, he could even sing a song as well.
Jaemin quickly approached the judge and took over the guitar from him.
"What song shall I play for you?"
He wanted to impress them.
"Choose whatever you feel comfortable with."
The lady with the one piece looked at him lovingly.
That's what he wanted.
"Mm, can I?. Can I do 'He Is We'?"
Her eyes widened.
"I love that song! Sure, go ahead!"
So it was a good choice after all. He had hesitated if he should choose it. It was originally an english song, but he was going to sing it in korean.
This song held some emotional value to him. In his past life, he had played this song for one special person in particular. His first, and last girlfriend.
Those were the times he had enjoyed the most in that life.
When he looked back, a part of him felt lonely. He had often thought about wanting to just leave everything behind. That's why he comitted suicide, so that he could forget about all of this.
But he couldn't.
He had been given something way more precious, and that was a new chance at life. So he should treasure it, and stop thinking about past matters.
But that was really hard, especially when he was playing a song that was so important to him.
His eyes were slowly turning red, eventually becoming watery.
Ahhh, he hadn't even started playing and he had already started tearing up.
"Ah, are you okay?" The female judge looked worried, he just suddenly started crying after all. Everyone would be startled.
"I'm sorry, I'll begin."
His hands were steadily grasping the snares of the guitar.
He couldn't mess this up, his emotions couldn't get in the way. Nothing could prevent him from becoming a trainee.
He took a deep breath.
And...
He started playing.
He hadn't played the guitar for a very long time, but this is something he couldn't forget. The notes and lyrics of the song were still firmly etched into his mind.
They came out beautifully, like a calmly flowing river.
The sound of his guitar seemed to elevate his voice to another level.
But the most important thing was, that his emotions were visible through his playing and singing. His eyes were closed the whole time, since he was focussing on the sound too much.
When ones emotions are visible through their music, that's something that's truly wonderful and mystical.
The judges all paid close attention to him. Amazed by his performance. They hadn't been so heavily impressed by someone in an audition, ever.
His visuals were top notch, his singing was amazing, he could play the guitar beautifully, and even the piano as well.
The female judge started silently crying.
She quickly grabbed a tissue to wipe the tears off her face.
The end of the song was approaching.
"I wouldn't mind it, at all. I wouldn't mind it at all...."
Phew, he was done.
The judges started clapping.
"You did great."
"I agree, look, I got goosebumps."
"I agree as well, I got so emotional."
He was happy to hear that.
He quickly wiped his own tears off his face, and smiled towards the judges, and the camera behind them.
After this audition, the judges and the scout will help me put together a one minute video that they will send throughout the company, and if they like it, they will contact me in about one or two weeks time. Which will confirm that I would have become a trainee.
"Did the scout already explain what a closed audition is?" The lady was apparently the boss of the judges, since she was the only one that talked to me aside from evalutating.
During the ride here, he had indeed told him about the different steps about a closed audition.
"Yes, he told me everything about it."
"Good, we will use a piece of this audition in the video, we will also take a few pictures of you. And finally, you will dance to a song of your choice."
Closed auditions are way better than open or private ones. Most of the trainees are 'harvested' through closed auditions.
"Got it."
Everything went smoothly.
His dance was good, not as good as the special routine his instructor taught him, but still pretty good.
The pictures, perfect.
The one minute video got completed quite fast. The judges and the scout told him that they would send it to their superiors, etc. And that he will hear from them if he received the contract in about two weeks, since the video and everything needed approval.
The scout was very nice to him, he even brought him home.
Now, the only thing he needed to do was...
Wait.