On the second day of auditions, the remaining potential members turned up for their opportunity to be auditioned. One man stayed outside while he waited, smoking. He didn’t really care to be near the other people. His reason for being there was unlike the others, too.

  The man’s silver hair glistened in the morning sun. The start of a new day. The start of a new life. That’s what he hoped for anyway.

  “They want you.” A voice was heard from the doorway. The smoking man inhaled on his cigarette again before throwing it onto the floor. As he walked past, the caller’s blue eyes followed him.

  Upon entering the audition room and handing his bio over, the man stood on the designated spot. The sixty-eighth auditionee looked each of the judges in the eyes with an intense glare. When the Managing Director had finished speaking his usual introductions, the possible group member was silent momentarily. He took the opportunity to choose the best words to make him seem the most suitable for the position. A gentle smile appeared on his face, though the sincerity of it was non-existent.

  “Hello, everyone. I’m Lio. Twenty-six years old. I have a lot of experience with performing. I have ever since I was a young boy, actually.” His icy light blue eyes softened as he pretended to reminisce. “I starred in a couple of school musicals, where I had to sing a little in different languages, too. The song that I’ll be singing today is one that will reveal my abilities the most.”

  After finishing his speech, Lio closed his eyes and let out a strong but gentle voice. The voice he held showed no hint that he could’ve lied about his past, yet that was the case. His performance exhibited a range of levels to his vocals, and Lio’s sound never faltered.

  “Well, that was unexpected.” Carter told the room with mild surprise in his voice.

  “Where to begin?” Chris murmured to herself. “Your voice is amazing. It would be an honour to work with someone like you.”

  “I couldn’t agree more!” Charlene interrupted, much to the relief of Chris. “It surprises me that you’re not already working in this profession with a voice like that. I can’t believe you weren’t discovered while performing in those musicals. There can’t be much I can teach you, but I’m interested to see how far you can go.”

  The praise Lio received from her amused him. If the information he’d provided were correct, that’d be the likely outcome of it. Unfortunately, his life took a different route, and singing didn’t seem necessary until things changed.

  “May I see your dancing?” Daniel questioned, wanting to move on; they still had plenty of people to observe.

  With a short nod, Lio started his dance routine. His movements were slow and fluid to begin with, but then they transformed into rapid, sharp motions; almost as if he had a feeling that needed to come out.

  “I feel a lot of passion and strength from you. You’re clearly fighting something.” Lio’s eyes shifted to the side, but Daniel continued without noticing. “I imagine, there’s quite a bit I can get from you.”

  As the judging ended, Lio asked almost desperately.

  “When will I find out if I made it?”

  “It’ll take a week or two.” Carter replied without looking at him.

  “There’s no way to know sooner?”

  The man didn’t answer. Lio took this to mean that the audition was over, so he left the room.

  As he crossed the waiting room, he spotted someone approach him out of the corner of his eye.

  “Hey.”

  Upon hearing the word, the man stopped walking. He took a cigarette out of its packet.

  “How many women are there?”

  Without so much as a glance at the man, Lio uttered. “Two.” He placed the cigarette in his mouth, lit it, and then pushed the exit door open.