Aera walked out of her interview feeling confident. 

Not just because she was apparently the only applicant to have been interviewed by the CEO himself, thanks to the many words of praise she'd gotten from Manager Park. Not just because he'd told her decisions would be out by the end of the day. Not just because they seemed to get along so well. 

No, she was confident because of her skills. She hoped they could speak for herself. Now that she'd experienced some sort of love and heartbreak for herself, she felt as though her songwriting had drastically improved. Now, everything she wrote really did come from the heart. It felt raw and real, because it was. 

And she sensed that everyone would be able to feel that too. 

That's why she walked out of the interview confident. That's why she went home with a bounce in her step. 

"I'm back!" she called out, entering the apartment. Her dad was cooking dinner, and her mom was following him around the kitchen, talking to him about her day while he stared at her lovingly. 

"You're back!" her mom echoed, running over and giving her a hug. "My baby," she said playfully, pinching Aera's cheeks. 

"Mom!" Aera complained, swatting her hands away. "You're acting as if you didn't see me yesterday." 

"We hardly did," her father grumbled, coming over to them too. He pretended to glare at her, but there was no actual anger in his eyes. "You stayed for a minute and then went to your boyfriend. I think we're being replaced," he said, sighing dramatically. 

"Don't listen to your father," her mom said, rolling her eyes jokingly. "He's overdramatic. How is Heeseung? Was it nice to see him again? And how was the interview?" 

"Heeseung's fine," Aera said, laughing. "I mean, he's a bit annoyed about the whole fiancée situation, but hopefully that'll work out," she said, frowning when she saw the worried expressions cross her parent's faces. "I'm fine, really," she said, before they could ask her again. "And the interview was great!" she said, quickly changing the subject. "I don't want to jinx it or anything, but I really think-" 

Her phone binged, letting her know that an email had entered her inbox. She gasped, barely daring to glance down at her phone. "It's them," she whispered, suddenly feeling very very anxious. "Do you think I got it?" 

"I think you'll never know unless you open it," her father said, excitement in his eyes. "Don't keep us in suspense." 

She laughed again, opening her email. 

Ms.Shin Aera, 

We are pleased to welcome you onto TXT's songwriting team. You will be working with the members themselves on their latest album. Please let us know your schedule and we can coordinate accordingly. 

For a moment, she couldn't say anything. She just stared at her phone, eyes wide in disbelief. 

"Aera...?" her mom said tentatively. 

"I got it!" she finally screamed, jumping up and down. "I got it! I'm really going to be a songwriter!" she said, happy tears rolling down her cheeks as her parents hugged her and jumped up and down with her. "I really did it."