Hello, it’s Maisie! Here’s the final version for my story of Rika, the trainee under JYP entertainment. I had a lot of fun writing this, so I hope you have fun reading it:)

Prologue

Having grown up in a small town in Japan, 15-year-old Rika had only recently gotten used to the bustling streets of Seoul when she came to live with her dad in his tiny apartment. It was purely for her own entertainment when she decided to join her friend for an audition at JYP Entertainment, a highly esteemed company known for its many successful K-pop groups. It’s not like she would have gotten in anyway, right? Her Korean was so poor, and she could barely dance to save her life…

The Beginning

Rika’s stomach screams at her to eat, something- anything- to ease the pain, as she stumbles to the ground, exhausted. Feeling lightheaded as a wave of nausea hits, she collapses to the cold dance-practice room floor, shivering although she’s been dancing hard as ever for the past two hours. She blinks slowly as the faces of her fellow trainees fade in and out of focus, fading into a fuzzy darkness. That’s weird, Rika thinks as a slight laugh bubbles through her. Where did the little black fuzz come from? I’m so tired…

Squinting as her blurred vision adjusts to to the harsh overhead lighting, Rika slowly sits up, rubbing her aching head. Lifting her hoodie, which was draped over her like a blanket, she surveys the room. Rika can vaguely make out the form of Jooa, her closest friend, who shoots her a concerned look before refocusing on the dance instructor’s directions. The dance instructor? Why was there a staff member… Shoot! I’ve missed so much practice. Rika scurries onto her feet and brushes off any dirt from her pants, sighing with frustration. Did she just have to faint right now, as they were learning a new choreo? Why couldn’t she have just fallen ten minutes later-

“Good, you’re up,” A harsh female voice says; Cha Yuna. “Hurry up, you’re missing practice.” 

The cycle repeated itself with cruel consistency. Sleep at 2 AM after dance practice, wake at 6 AM for vocal training. The cramped dorm room she shared with five other trainees barely had enough space for their belongings, let alone privacy. Rika’s futon was squeezed between the wall and another girl’s dresser, and she’d learned to stuff all her belongings into one small dresser.

At seventeen, Rika knew she was already pushing the age limit. While other trainees had started at eight or nine, she’d only been at JYP for two years. She could barely speak Korean as well as the other girls, even the other foreigners. And every monthly evaluation brought the same harsh criticism from judges who seemed to take pleasure in tearing her down.

The mental block grew heavier with each passing week. During the 12-hour training days, she watched her peers climb the rankings while she remained stagnant. Minji, who’d started the same week as Rika, was now practicing with the advanced group. Even Yuna, their harsh dance teacher, had taken a liking to the girl. Yet somehow the company claimed that favouritism was not at all permitted… even to those who were basically supermodels.

Honestly, how in the world could RIka possibly expect to debut? It was really only a matter of time before she’d join the others, the girls eliminated, forgotten, deemed unfit and sent home for good.

Monthly Evaluations

The monthly evaluation room felt like a courtroom where Rika was always on trial. Twenty-three trainees sat cross-legged on the cold floor while the panel of judges shuffled through ranking sheets with expressions that seemed permanently etched in disappointment. Rika’s thoughts grew hazed watching each trainee perform, knowing her turn would come with its inevitable criticism.

When Judge Kim called her name, Rika stood up, sure to put on a tough face. She’d prepared for weeks, practicing the same song until her throat was raw, but standing in front of those cold eyes made her confidence crumble.

The performance felt like it lasted hours, though it was only three minutes. Every note felt scrutinized, every movement dissected. When she finished, the silence stretched unbearably before Judge Kim’s voice cut through the air like a blade.

The criticism that followed never ceased to shock Rika, how disheartening could the judges truly be? Weak stage presence, mediocre vocals, lacking improvement, too much fat, too boring, too cringy, too- it was all too little and somehow too much at the same time. Each critique felt designed to break her spirit rather than help her grow. Rika kept her head bowed, accepting the harsh assessment while her heart hammered against her bony ribs.

Judge Park’s voice was even icier, pointing out every flaw with surgical precision. The way she stumbled during the bridge, how her hand placement was sloppy, why her facial expressions looked forced. Nothing was good enough. Nothing ever would be.

The ranking announcements were always the worst part. Hearing her name called in the bottom five, month after month, while watching the annoyed undertones across the judges’ faces. They weren’t even shocked anymore—the evaluators just sat there, expecting the same bleak performance, not even shocked at the horrible quality as they were when Rika first joined JYP. It was like they expected her to magically transform overnight.

The Forgotten Meal

The dieting rules were strict and unforgiving. Breakfast at 5 AM, small lunch at noon (although most people skipped), dinner by 6 PM—and this was for those who allegedly ‘didn’t care about jeopardizing their future career.’ But during one particularly brutal practice week, Rika lost track of time. The hours blurred together in a haze of choreography and vocal exercises, and suddenly it was 8 PM and she realized she’d forgotten to eat anything.

Her stomach felt like it was eating itself as she approached the staff member monitoring the cafeteria. The woman’s expression turned cold when Rika explained what had happened. The lecture felt endless—about discipline, about professionalism, about how real idols didn’t “forget” to eat on schedule. Rika stood there, swaying slightly from hunger and exhaustion, while being told that missing meals showed a lack of commitment to her health and training. Health? Since when did the company ever care about health? The trainees balanced the precarious line between starvation and death, and she was being lectured on health? The audacity-

No exceptions would be made. She would wait until breakfast, like everyone else who followed the rules.

That night, Rika lay in her narrow bunk listening to her stomach growl, feeling the familiar lightheadedness creep in. The punishment felt disproportionate to the crime, but she’d learned not to question the system that held her dreams hostage.

Is This the End?

The monthly evaluation room felt smaller than usual, packed with twenty-three trainees sitting cross-legged on the cold floor. The panel of judges sat behind a long table, their faces expressionless as they shuffled through ranking sheets. Rika’s hands were sweaty as she watched Jooa perform her prepared song—a ballad that showcased her sweet, clear voice.

But something was off. Jooa’s pitch wavered on the high notes, and her usual confidence seemed shaken. She’d been struggling with a cold all week, barely sleeping, pushing through practices despite her obvious exhaustion.

Judge Kim’s voice cut through the silence with surgical precision, each word designed to destroy rather than instruct. Rika watched her best friend’s face crumple under the harsh critique, saw the light dim in her eyes as months of declining performance were laid bare.

The announcement of Jooa’s contract termination hit Rika like a physical blow. Two hours to pack three years of dreams. The cold efficiency of it all made her stomach turn—how easily they discarded someone who’d given everything to this place.

Rika felt helpless watching her friend’s world collapse in real time. The judges moved on to the next trainee as if they hadn’t just destroyed someone’s entire future, their indifference more crushing than any harsh critique.

Later, in the dorm room, Rika watched Jooa mechanically pack her belongings. Her friend’s eyes were red and swollen, but she’d stopped crying—just moving like a robot programmed to fold clothes and gather memories. The silence between them felt heavy with all the words they couldn’t say.

When Jooa was finally escorted out, Rika felt something crack inside her chest. But instead of breaking, it hardened into determination. She couldn’t let Jooa’s sacrifice be meaningless. She couldn’t let the judges’ cruelty win. Rika’s closest friend – her support, the one person she knew she could always rely on – was sent home. After barely being permitted a good-bye, Rika sets her mind on one goal: debut. Through sheer force of will, Jooa’s elimination will not go unnoticed, another name on another list; Jooa’s support got Rika to where she is today, and her aid was NOT going to be wasted on another pity party. Days turn to weeks, and weeks turn to months as Rika trained, harder than ever, her skills and confidence sky-rocketing. At last, everything paid off. Singing is now stable, controlling dance movements now seems much less daunting, and a newfound composure leads to a powerful stage presence. Everything was finally going as planned! Maybe there was sliver of a chance – however small – that she could debut. The odds have changed, Rika Seo-jin Fujimoto will be debuting, whether everyone likes that or not!

The Announcement

As the thought of debut draws nearer, the remaining 19 trainees are called into a meeting room, where a large screen is pressed into the wall. A video of JYP, the CEO of JYP Entertainment, flashes onto the screen. The video plays as all trainees watch in anticipation while JYP delivers the news that all contestants will debut through a survival show.  A survival show. Public voting. Only nine spots available.

The math was brutal and immediate—nineteen girls competing for nine positions. Rika looked around the room at faces she’d lived with for years, realizing that these weren’t just competitors anymore. They were obstacles between her and her dream.

The Survival Show Begins

The division into tiers, the top three, the middle six, and the bottom ten, felt like a slap in the face. Rika’s name was called for the worst team, and she watched her chances of debut slip further away. The smaller practice room, the later time slots, the leftover costumes—everything about their treatment screamed that they were second-class citizens in this competition.

Judge Park’s words during their first evaluation stung with their casual cruelty. Starting from the bottom, with the implication that some of them might never climb out. Rika absorbed the dismissive tone, the way the judges looked at the lesser team like they were wasting everyone’s time.

The psychological games started immediately. Watching the top three eat catered meals while the less-fortunate team survived on convenience store food felt like deliberate humiliation. Their practice footage was edited to highlight every mistake, while the other teams’ errors were glossed over.

But Rika refused to break. Every harsh critique, every dismissive comment, every time they made the smaller team clean up after the ‘idol-maerial’ team—she absorbed it all and channeled it into her performances.

Round One: The First Cut

Standing on stage in matching outfits, waiting for the first elimination, Rika remained strong, never forgetting her promise to Jooa. Her hands trembled as she watched Soyeon collapse when her name was called. The cameras zoomed in on her breakdown, and Rika felt sick knowing millions of viewers were watching this girl’s dreams die for entertainment.

All three eliminated trainees were from the bottom team. The message was clear—they were expendable, their dreams worth less than good television. Rika felt the familiar burn of injustice, but also a grim determination to prove them wrong.

As the cycle of sleep deprivation and lack of nutrition repeats, the toll on both the body and the mind become increasingly evident as Rika fought to rise above her peers. The other contestants all seem to be quickly moving up in ranking, leaving her in the dust. Trying to find motivation proves difficult, as the judges and staff all seem to have no trouble picking apart every single one of her flaws. Rika’s worry heightens with every day, as more and more contestants, many of whom she considered idol-material, are sent home, deemed unfit for debut. The day Jooa left, Rika made a promise: Debut. No matter the cost. So, despite the pressure, she would not crack. She would stay strong, and it would all pay off.

Living with Competition

The dorm atmosphere turned poisonous as friendships crumbled under the weight of competition. Rika found herself analyzing every interaction, wondering if kindness was genuine or strategic. The cameras captured everything—their arguments, their tears, their desperate phone calls home—turning their pain into content.

The alliance discussions that happened after lights-out made her stomach turn. Former friends whispered about voting strategies and whose breakdown would make the best television. Rika lay in her narrow bunk, feeling more alone than ever, surrounded by people who had once been her family. Rika’s closest friends, the girls they’ve all been living with for years, will not all be lucky enough to stay together. Competition overcomame friendship as all the girls become weary of one another, knowing that every person poses a risk at their spot in the debut lineup. For this particular survival show, there would be three rounds of judging, each time eliminating three contestants until only ten remain for the finale.

No matter the cost, Rika wills herself to persevere through the stages, through the harsh rounds of judging and elimination, to achieve her dream of becoming an idol, which, as it turns out, is not so far away.

What Could Have Been

The second round focused on vocal performance, and Rika knew she was in trouble. The months of restrictive eating and exhaustion had taken their toll on her voice. Standing in the bottom five, waiting for elimination results, felt like drowning in slow motion.

When her name was called for elimination, Rika felt the familiar sensation of her world tilting off its axis. As Rika makes it through the first two rounds, her faults show as she falters onstage, causing the judges to tear into her every mistake. Unfortunately, the spot for elimination is between Rika and another contestant as they perform a duet, battling for the last spot in the finale lineup… And Rika makes it! As the excitement wears down after the finale, Rika stands in anticipation as the rankings for the top seven contestants are called… none of which bearing Rika’s name.  

After

Over the next few weeks, Rika’s life is uprooted. She is immediately removed from the JYP dorms, with all her belongings- the past few years of her life- packed away in a suitcase as if it was all a blurry dream. She spent three years training, working to the bone, putting her health on the line, and for what? A lame ‘You have been eliminated, sorry…’?! Her friends are all in university by now, receiving stable paychecks from their jobs, as she sits on her bed, pondering where it all went wrong, the endless rabbit hole of what-ifs. 

Numbly adjusting to the life of a regular person, Rika reunites with Jooa, as the two of them become roommates in a quaint apartment in Seoul. Rika will slowly learn to move on, to know that her elimination was for the better, as she can now enjoy a simple, less stress-inducing life. Now free of the strict company regulations, Rika savors her newfound freedom, and, after some time to adjust, comes to enjoy her free time, making new hobbies, meeting old friends, and visiting her family for the first time in years. In the end, she’s grateful for the memories – good and bad – that she made along the way. Walking down the pathway, the shadows of leaves dancing along the path, listening to birds hum morning melodies from the trees, Rika tilts her head back. As the warm sunlight reaches her face, she thinks, Maybe this isn’t so bad after all.

Thank you for reading! I hope you will find my story interesting, as I had a lot of fun writing this! ^_^