The next morning dawned sharp and cold, the kind of air that scraped clean through lungs and left everything feeling raw. Team Twelve filed into the central hall for the daily announcements, still carrying the heaviness of yesterday's whispers. The room buzzed with restless energy, three hundred hopeful idols condensed into one space, one hundred and fifty yet to be cut off every glance laced with hunger.
Rika stood with her team, head slightly bowed, trying to stay small in the crowd. Kana's shoulder brushed hers, grounding her without a word. Reina twirled her pen like she was already scribbling strategies in her head. Akari fidgeted, humming the hook of their last rehearsal song under her breath. Hina, quiet but steady, kept her gaze on the stage ahead.
Then the hall shifted. Not in sound, but in attention.
