eclipsed | sim jaeyun

21.

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The next 2 weeks were filled with lots of exhausting, but fun, dance practice sessions.

Then, it was time for nationals.

The atmosphere in the arena was electric. The lights dimmed as the audience hushed, and I could feel the excitement building in my chest. It was almost unbearable. Minjeon, Yunjin, Giselle, and I stood backstage, our hearts pounding in unison as the final moments before our performance ticked by.

"We've got this," Minjeon said, giving me a reassuring smile.

I nodded, trying to push the nerves back down. This was it. Nationals. The moment I'd been waiting for.

Yunjin, ever the calm one, shot me a thumbs up. "Remember to enjoy it. We've worked so hard for this."

I felt the adrenaline course through my veins. Our coach gave us a final pep talk, and before I knew it, we were up.

As we took our place on stage, 'Whiplash' by Aespa started blaring through the speakers, and for a moment, I felt like everything else faded away.

We were off, moving in sync like we'd rehearsed countless times before. My body flowed with the rhythm, every muscle engaged as we hit the sharp moves of the choreography. There was no room for mistakes. This was a high-stakes performance. I glanced to my side and saw Yunjin and Giselle, both perfectly in sync with me. Minjeon led us with her sharp precision, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride—pride for us, for how hard we'd worked to get here.

The energy in the room was electric. The final chorus came, and we were hitting each move harder, faster, and with more intensity. I could feel the sweat trickling down my neck, but I didn't care. All that mattered was executing the routine perfectly. And when the music reached its final beat, we struck our last pose. Silence fell for just a beat, before the audience erupted into applause.

I let out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding, and exchanged tired but elated glances with the girls. We had done it. We had given it everything, and now it was done.

---

The results came hours later, but my nerves were still running high. Sitting backstage with the girls in our competition outfits, I could hardly stand the waiting.

"Third place..." The announcer's voice echoed across the arena.

My heart raced. Could this be it?

"And Second place goes to... the team from Seoul, 'Seoulful'!"

A cheer erupted from the crowd, and we all jumped up, exchanging excited, overwhelmed hugs. We hadn't won the trip to Jeju, but second place was still a huge accomplishment. We had worked so hard for this. It felt amazing.

Giselle, ever the optimist, was the first to speak. "I'm so proud of us. Second place is amazing!"

Yunjin grinned, the medal around her neck swinging as she adjusted it. "We didn't get the Jeju trip, but honestly, I'm still happy. We gave it everything."

We were all beaming. We received a smaller prize—dance gear and a trophy we could proudly display. The win wasn't the grand prize, but it felt like one.

---

The whole time, Jake, Jungwon, Niki, and Sunwoo had been sitting in the audience, cheering us on. I hadn't noticed them at first, too caught up in the performance, but now, as I caught sight of Jake, I felt a strange flutter in my chest. Even though we hadn't spoken much since bowling, it was hard to ignore the way he looked at me. Proud. Supportive.

Jungwon leaned forward from his seat. "They were incredible. I knew they'd do well."

Niki nodded. "Yeah, I didn't expect them to be this good. They really brought it."

Jake's gaze didn't leave me as he spoke, but there was something different in his eyes. Something that wasn't just admiration.

"Second place," Jake said, stepping up to me after the performance. "That's amazing, Haeri. Seriously."

I smiled, feeling warmth flood my chest at his words. "Thanks, Jake. It means a lot."

Jungwon gave me a proud smile as well. "You guys killed it. I'm so proud of you."

Niki added, "You really did rock it."

I looked at all of them—Jake, Jungwon, Niki, and Sunwoo—grinning at me with the kind of genuine admiration that made me feel like the world was a little brighter. And even though we hadn't won the trip to Jeju, this moment—this feeling of standing here with my friends, my team, knowing that we'd given everything—was more than enough.

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can you tell i know nothing about dance comps😭

no but i actually hate this chapter SO MUCHHH
i'm sorry you had to read this absolute filler of a chapter but i just needed to finish up the little dance arc thing so that people wouldn't yell at me later on saying that i forgot about the dance competition😍