ɪ'ʟʟ ʙᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʜᴏᴍᴇ ➻〚𝙣𝙘𝙩 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢 𝙤𝙩7〛

Flashback: Voice of an Angel

Chenle's POV- Age: 8 (two years after the last chapter)

"You got this Chenle," I whisper into the mirror, tugging on my black sports jacket. I look polished up, my hair gelled back with nice clothes on. I try to assure myself that I'll do well, but that doesn't prevent the prevalent pounding of my heart and the butterflies in my stomach.

I'm getting ready to perform on a vocal competition show here in Seoul or at least auditions for it. My goal is to make it onto the show and perform, and if I win, I'll receive tens of thousands of dollars. Then, I can give it to Jisung and his family. That would be my dream.

Jisung, my parents, nor anyone else in my friend group know that I'm doing this for Jisung. He would probably get mad if he found out because even though Jisung's family is struggling, he doesn't want any pity from anybody, let alone his rich best friend. That's understandable, but when life gives me a huge chance to make things better, I just have to take it.

Haechan has always loved singing, but for a while, it was so annoying to hear him singing practically all the time, whether it was in public, or in one of our houses during a get-together. But one day, the two of us were spending time together alone, and he got me to try it, with some coaxing, of course. And gosh, that day changed my life. Feeling my vocal cords vibrate and hum steadily, as honey-like melodies escaped my lips was such an addicting feeling. I love singing now, and I have a talent for it too, which is the most rewarding part. That's why nobody suspected me when I asked to apply for the competition.

And now I'm here, in a small dressing room, bracing my nerves for the performance that keeps nearing, my parents. My parents and all of my friends are sitting mere rooms away, nervous for me, waiting in the auditorium for my possibly life-changing performance. There's no telling what opportunities could open up for me after the public hears my performances.

But, I still have to remember that I'm only in the auditions phase. If I pass this, there's still so much I have to do before getting the privilege of calling myself the winner, and the privilege of changing Jisung's family's life.

I sigh, plopping down into a chair before the door creaks open. Jaemin comes scurrying in, Haechan, Renjun, Jisung, following behind him. My jaw drops animatedly in surprise, then Jeno comes in, followed by an out-of-breath Mark, his hand resting on his knees to recharge energy.

"What are you all doing here?" I ask, barely able to put words together, "You should be in the audience now!"

"We just wanted to wish our precious Lele good luck before you went on stage," Jaemin coos, hugging me mushily. I make a face of disgust at his affection.

"How did you even get backstage? There's a bunch of security!"

"Well, first of all, I came up with this ingenious plan," Haechan touts, leaning his arm on Jeno like an armrest, "So we may have lied to your parents and told them that we were all going to the bathroom..."

"You mean, YOU lied, Haechannie," Jeno corrects, frowning at him, annoyed.

"Same thing. Anyway, Jaemin and I led the group and we walked to the back of the auditorium and we led everyone out. Of course, Mark stayed with your parents because he's a boring, good boy. And Jeno didn't want to join because he's no fun."

"So why didn't you two stay back?" I ask Mark and Jeno, raising an eyebrow.

"'Cause they're no fun, but they didn't want to be left out," Jisung answers, Mark, whipping his head toward Jisung, glaring.

"No, that's not why! I couldn't let you all go out and do something stupid on your own. You would've gotten in trouble, and I'm practically the leader of the group, so I had to sacrifice myself as well. You know what they say, 'The captain always goes down with his ship,'" Mark explains, recovering his breath finally.