The group stage had the longest duration of practice before the live stage out of all the stages. Overall, it would be composed of two weeks. Although some of it was not merely practicing for the performance.
Some of it had a small program called... team building. Voice Arena wasn't only a singing competition but also a variety show, so they included some small programs that could be associated with the current stage.
On the group stage, four people would need to be together and show the audience their practice rehearsals and even how they got along off stage. And in the first week of the group stage, each group had the opportunity to visit places that four of them agreed to spend the whole week at.
The catch was that it needed to show their bond as well as the progress of their performance. In a way, they would be raising their connection through this trip.
In fact, Aerine had to admit that she was excited because of this trip. This was her first time going on a trip, even with others. The four of them decided to visit the countryside.
On this trip, the four of them didn't have any assistants or managers. Also, they weren't accompanied by the staff of the show, as the contestants were required to film their trip themselves on raw footage.
Although they were given instructions to set up some moving cameras inside the places they rented, they weren't that strict on the amount of footage either, and the contestants didn't need to make it seem as though they were being filmed all the time on this trip.
The four of them weren't famous, and they didn't need to bother with being recognized like some contestants on the show. So, going on the trip with just the four of them was still possible.
"It's hot!" Sheena grumbled after the four of them climbed out of the van, which was only there to send them to their destination before it left them.
Divine rolled her eyes under her glasses and looked around.
"It's summer; of course it's hot."
Aerine didn't have as many complaints as everyone else did. She was used to the humidity, especially on the island, which... Being reminded of her home, she was forced to shake her head and throw it again in the back of her mind.
She diverted her attention to the new environment in front of her. Unlike the city, this place was much quieter and even seemed more peaceful. The town they were in wasn't a famous tourist destination and could even be said to be completely unknown to the outside world.
Still, when they were all given a choice, the four of them decided to take this place as their team-building location.
"Stop complaining," Ronald spat out to the girls, and holding his luggage, he moved forward first. "Let's check on the hotel first."
He didn't even wait for their reactions before he walked ahead of them.
Divine scrunched her nose and criticized him. "Rude bastard."
Aerine could only shake her head. At least, the two of them were doing their best not to fight openly, which was already enough for her.
She looked at them and decided to follow Ronald.
"Let's go,"
Divine and Sheena didn't say anything, and they followed her obediently.
This town was surrounded by desert and was close to the border of another country. Nevertheless, Aerine and the others were still satisfied with the location that they picked.
Especially so for Aerine, as it was her first time seeing the desert closely. As she looked ahead, she could even faintly see the fine sand and sand dunes not far from them.
The town was medium-sized at best, with not even ten thousand inhabitants. They also rarely get tourists, but the four of them were still greeted warmly at the hotel. It was said that it was the only hotel in the town, and it was only a small hotel.
As though they were the only guests after a long time, Aerine and the others were especially served really well, to the point that Aerine suspected they were part of their show. Perhaps it was a possibility.
They decided to rent four rooms to give each other privacy, and while they were given a fixed budget for this trip by the production, the rent in this small hotel was cheap, so they could afford it at least.
The rooms on their floor were occupied by them, and it was also inconvenient if they wanted to practice their song and visit one of the rooms.
When Aerine entered her room, she was greeted by a clean yet small space. Of course, she didn't expect too much, but she was glad that it was clean. There was a single bed, a space for her belongings, a living space with a small table and a couch, and a terrace. Oh, of course, there would be a personal bathroom inside.
Aerine put down her bag on the bed and went straight into the terrace. Their room was on the fourth floor, and it was high enough for her to overlook the whole town.
She swept her eyes around for a bit before she looked at the desert in the distance. There were pine trees surrounding the town, but it was not too much of an obstruction to see the desert.
"It's obviously different from the sea, but... It has the same characteristics. From as far as my eyes could see, I can only see sand," Aerine mumbled, reminiscing about the beauty of the sea.
The novelty, though, soon faded, but she would make sure to try to feel the sand and the activities later on.
Just like that, the four of them spent their first day in this town, close to the border.
When the four of them were at the diner not far from the hotel to try out the dishes and specialties of this town, they also filmed themselves during it. After they finished eating, they put down the filming equipment and talked calmly to each other.
"This town is really quiet. I'm a bit... amazed," Ronald brought up as he leaned on his seat and looked at the diner.
Aside from them, there were a few customers inside, but they were only minding their own business; even when they were filming earlier, no one bothered to ask.
Aerine agreed; even she, who was living on a small island, was rather fascinated by the entertainment world, but this town seemed not particularly interested in this at all.
"Amazed?" Divine lifted a brow as she sipped on her juice.
Just as Aerine and Sheena thought that Ronald would argue or answer her sarcastically, he only calmly responded.
"Yeah, don't you feel it strange?"
Aerine wiped her lips with the cloth.
"Strange?" she asked with a confused gaze.
Ronald nodded as the three women looked at him. He leaned over and whispered.
"I don't know; maybe I'm just overthinking things since I'm used to city life. But... This town is too peaceful to the point of being strange."
Aerine tilted her head, not quite getting it. As she wasn't even used to city life, she didn't know what was strange about a town that was so peaceful. She acknowledged that it was different from the city, but this was the countryside after all.
The two women were the same as her; they seemed to not feel anything strange at all.
Sheena snickered at him. "What's wrong with being a peaceful town? I even like it, since I can be away from the loud city for a bit."
Divine nodded and agreed.
"You're already missing the city when we're not even here for a day."
Ronald's expression crumpled at Divine's words.
"You don't know shit."
Divine and Sheena laughed at him.
Aerine, though, looked at Ronald. She was pondering his words seriously. And then she looked at the diner and the outside that could be seen through the glass.
She also didn't feel something was wrong. Hopefully, this trip went smoothly.