Not Alone || Jung Jaehyun

Chapter 22 | "tell you"

"Second place: Jung Jaehyun from the Seoul University All Stars!"

Jaehyun's face fell as he rose from his spot, doing his best to hide his disappointment with a tight lipped smile as he collected his award. He turned to look at Hyemi, meeting her eyes with a sad nod before sitting back down. She felt horrible for him, she could see how upset he was and she wanted nothing more than to get up and hug him, but she couldn't. Not then.

"And in first place, your sectionals men's solo champion is... Ten Lee from Korea University's The Next Level."

She and her team clapped politely as he went to go and take his award, his team cheering loudly for him. Hyemi let out a sigh, this boy was good. And she didn't know if they could beat him.

"Alright and now it's the time you've all been waiting for, who will be going to nationals? Taking the best solo score for each team in both the men's and women's category and combining that with the score for the overall group dances, we have our top 5. The top 2 teams will be advancing to nationals."

Hyemi grasped the hands of Jaemin and Momo next to her, seeing all of the rest of her teammates nervously holding hands, their eyes closed and heads lowered as they listened for the results.

"In fifth place, the Konkuk University Fireworks!"

"In fourth place, the Yeonsei University Phoenix Crew!"

She felt Jaemin excitedly squeeze her hand when he heard that one of their rivals wasn't going to be heading to Nationals.

"In third place, the Seoul University Black Dragons!"

Hyemi's eyes shot open, instantly turning to her brother's team to see the heartbroken expressions on their faces. She quickly released Jaemin's hand, leaning over to give her brother's arm a comforting squeeze before settling back down.

"And in second place, also advancing to the National finals in Busan... the Seoul University All Stars!"

Hyemi and her team instantly let out a breath of relief, not even caring about not winning. They all began hugging one another.

"Hyemi... WERE GOING TO NATIONALS!" Jaemin shouted, pulling her into a tight hug.

She quickly turned to Jaehyun, seeing him still sitting with a frown deep on his face.

"Hey. It's alright. We're going to nationals and we'll just have to find a way to step up our game, but for now, let's just be happy we made it." She said, rubbing his arm.

"Thanks, Hyemi."

"Of course."

They all quickly returned to their seats as the announcer prepared to declare the first place winner, even though they all already knew who it would be.

"And in first place, also advancing to the National Finals in Busan, your sectionals champions will be... Korea University's The Next Level!"

Hyemi clapped with a tight lipped smile as once again, the team from Korea University celebrated their win.

- - -

"Hyemi, have you seen Jaehyun? The van is here to drive us back to school." Sana said, walking up to Hyemi as they waited by the entrance.

"No, I haven't. But I'll go find him. We'll meet you back here."

Hyemi set off to go find him, first checking their dressing room and the hallways but didn't see him. She then ran backstage, but didn't see him either. She was about to turn to leave but decided to peak out onto the stage for one last time before they headed home. It was her first sectionals after all.