As soon as I enter the auditorium, I feel a hand wrap around my wrist as I'm yanked deeper inside by none other than Hyunjin.
"You're finally here." he whispers over the girl singing up on stage, "What took you so long, we're about to go on."
"I didn't even take that long!" I protest.
"Shhhh!"
I promptly shut my mouth and allow Hyunjin to drag me towards a row of seats where the others are sitting. The eight chefs who have now removed their hats come closer into view, and it doesn't take me long to register that they are a little nervous.
I sit in the only available seat: right next to Minho.
"Are you nervous?" I whisper.
"Not really." he replies in a murmur.
His monotone voice and stoic face would support his statement, but I can see from the way he kicks his leg up and down and the way he fiddles with his already sweaty hands that he is, indeed, nervous. So I do the only thing I can think of to help him feel better.
I hold his hand.
He makes an inaudible gasp at the contact, but I hear no complaints as I lace my fingers between his. In fact, his breathing appears to slow down and his nervous actions slowly begin to cease.
"You're going to do amazing. I believe in you." I tell him.
He takes his eyes off the stage and turns to me. Even in the darkness, I can make out the subtle glint in those beautiful eyes, and I once again find myself lost in them.
"Thank you."
Just then, the soft singing from the stage stops and the audience breaks into applause. I join them, because from what I heard despite my late entrance, that was some of the most beautiful singing I have ever heard.
The clapping ceases as an MC walks onto the podium and takes out a script.
"That was a beautiful cover of Psycho sung by Lily. And now, we have an original song and choreography, called God's Menu. GIVE IT UP FOR STRAY KIDS!!!"
The crowd once again erupts into applause, and I watch as my eight friends get up from their seats and make their way onto the stage. My heart starts beating faster in anticipation for what is about to come. I have a feeling it's going to be crazy, and I'm all here for it.
The auditorium falls into complete silence as the eight boys stand motionless onstage. I stay completely frozen, sitting on the edge of my chair. We're all waiting.
And then it starts.
The song begins with some beats and the boys execute a complicated intro that has my eyes whirling all over the place, like an optical illusion. They must have practiced months for this because it's so perfect. It's the coolest thing I've ever seen, and it's just barely started.
That's when Changbin appears out of nowhere, and I gasp the second I hear it.
"Ne sonnim~"
Changbin's powerful rap verse starts and observing the eight performers dance perfectly in sync feels actually magical. But then, as I direct my attention away from the dancing and to the actual song, I'm hit with a shocking realization: They're live singing.
Woah.
I'm so enraptured by the control in Changbin's voice that I almost miss the moment when Jisung takes the center. His speedy verse starts and I turn to Sooyun with a smirk, taking in the way her eyes are goggling up at the stage in pure amazement. His charismatic facial expressions do not make it better.
"I want it, till we serve them all..."
One particular iconic move has a good portion of the audience clapping in a mixture of excitement and amusement, the moment when they all synchronously bring their hands up as if they're eating ramen. I cannot contain my laughter as I catch Hyunjin making an overly sassy expression. I love it.
Chan and Seungmin's vocals follow the rap verses and I am once again amazed by the perfect live vocals. How does one stay so stable while rapping that fast and singing so in tune, all while dancing a complicated choreo?
When the song reaches the chorus, it's like the entire auditorium experiences a whiplash.
"DU DU DU DU DU DU!"
Hyunjin takes the center and I can practically feel all the girls around me simping for him, not just because of his handsome face with his hair tied up, but also his facial expressions. He's like the king of facial expressions.
My heart skips a beat when Minho steals Hyunjin's center, and my brain provides the unnecessary thought of just how perfect he looks on stage. Well, he always looks perfect anywhere.
I really like him.
My eyes remain stuck on Minho even after the center changes, and it's only when the chorus ends that I am forced to rip them off.
"Cooking like a chef, I'm a five star michelin..."
Every single person occupying the auditorium makes a collective gasp when the chorus ends, including me. Because it's at that moment that Felix starts singing with his deep voice. His piercing gaze seems to cut through every person here and it's nothing like the Felix I know and love. The duality is driving me crazy but it's the most amazing thing ever.
The singers, Chan, and Hyunjin each have a part before the pre-chorus replays and I clench my seat in anticipation for a returning chorus. Usually, when I watch my friends practice, I'm completely focused on the dancing. But somehow, there's so much going on right now that I'm having a hard time taking it all in, let alone the dancing. The song is just a masterpiece.
The chorus never comes. What does return is Felix's deep voice and I think everyone died. Again.
They do some cool arm movements before Hyunjin springs up from a squatted position, surprising everyone.
"Ne sonnim! DUDUDU!"
The chorus returns again and this time I take the opportunity to observe the choreography. I realize how similar it is to the concept: first they chop the veggies with the cutting board, then they wipe their hands, then they use the mixing bowl, then they sprinkle salt, and finally they serve the completed platter in an overly fancy way. It's genius.
Changbin's verse ends the song the same way it began, and the eight boys make one last "DUDUDUDUDU" before the final beat drop.
The moment the song ends, the entire auditorium screams. Myself included. You can barely hear the thunderous applause over the high pitched shouting and though the performers look utterly exhausted, they all bear a satisfied smile on their faces.
That was amazing.
That was unreal.
I am in shock.
I can't breathe.
They definitely won the talent show.
~minho's pov~
The roaring of the crowd brings out the confidence in me, along with a relieved smile. It's over. We did it. We totally won the talent show.
I look down from the stage, searching for the face of a particular girl. The very girl that was staring at us with star-struck eyes, completely awed by our performance.
But where is she?
We make our way down to our seats, but Yeona is nowhere to be seen. She couldn't have missed our performance, I literally just saw her. It's like she vanished in thin air. Where is she?
As I scan the crowd for her familiar face, I cannot help but wonder...did she leave already?
The fresh thought does not plant in my head for long as the MC speaks her next words.
"And up next we have...Park Yeona on the violin!"
Wait what?
My head spins back to the stage just in time for the next performer to walk on, and sure enough, there she is, in a luigi costume, standing on the stage in front of everyone.
She's holding a violin.
"Hello. My name is Yeona and today I will be playing Praeludium and Allegro by Kreisler. It was my mom's favorite piece. This is for you mom. I...hope your wish comes true."
Yeona makes a little bow as the crowd claps out of respect. Then, she mounts the violin onto her shoulder and brings up her bow.
She starts playing.
Holy shit she is amazing.
The piece begins mighty and powerful. The strong, accented notes are brought to life by the powerful long strokes of Yeona's bow. Her left hand moves back and forth frantically as she delivers a magnificent vibrato. The prelude of the piece builds up and up until she plays a high note, it has to be in tenth position at least.
The piece progresses into a more calm, flowy tune, her fingers dancing on the keyboard like ballerinas.
I observe her face, expecting some sort of feeling. Sadness, anger, excitement, anything. But to my surprise, she's completely expressionless, her eyes not even focused on her playing, as if she's thinking about what's for dinner.
After the calm part, the beginning is brought again but more quiet this time, like an echo. It soon crescendos into just how it was at the beginning and everyone anticipates the famous high note, so high only a dog could hear it, which she delivers perfectly. Not a single quiver or crunch. It's flawless.
And then she stops, but she isn't finished.
Her bow returns to the string and begins what seems like an entirely new piece, though I can definitely see the resemblance. However, unlike the first movement, this variation is much faster.
First, her fingers move up and down the strings as her bow bounces in a spiccato.
Then, She moves on to speedy double stops, not messy or convoluted in any way, but perfectly articulated allowing me to clearly hear each note.
Her face remains in a deadpan.
Next, she plays a long four-note chord before moving on to faster notes, in a complicated pattern that gradually travels from the lower strings to the higher ones. After that she repeats the exact same thing, and then again except in a minor key.
After that, I watch as her right elbow moves in all directions frantically, the bow catching every string in a fast state of string crossing.
She still remains stoic and unreadable.
Following that, her left fingers move similar to a woodpecker, trilling in half a second per note before moving up the E-string into higher positions.
And the entire time, Yeona's face does not change. She remains expressionless as always, to the point that it reminds me of myself when I first met her.
And then.
She plays a set of very deep notes on the G-string, and I have a feeling something is coming. She does it again but quieter, and then again louder. The suspense is about to kill me.
Something does come.
Faster than ever, she begins playing a great cadenza, fingers dancing like they are entranced by a spell, bow crossing strings relentlessly, hand moving higher and higher and higher until they're reached the very top. Every single note is perfectly in time. Every single note is perfectly in tune.
And then she does it all again, coming back down.
My jaw drops.
And still, she remains expressionless.
Finally, the grande finale. Back in first position, she plays loud and powerful chords, one after the other, and they resonate throughout the entire gym, blowing everyone's eardrums in one explosion of harmonious sound after the other.
One last time the main theme comes back, the most strong and powerful one yet, followed by more chords.
The song starts decelerating, signifying that the end is near.
Yeona still shows no expression.
The last chord is like a blow through the entire stage. Her bow flies above the violin and the piece ends. Yeona is on stage, sweating, but her face harbors zero emotion.
The crowd goes absolutely wild. I don't think this school has witnessed anything like that on the violin for a while. She makes a small bow like she didn't just blow everyone's minds and walks off without another word.
My jaw hangs low as I keep my eyes glued on the girl holding the violin, following her until she disappears behind the stage.
Stray kids have competition now.
~yeona's pov~
I breathe out a deep sigh as I exit the stage from the back, kicking my head back and closing my eyes. It feels like a huge burden has been taken off my shoulders, in more ways than one. I allow my shoulders to relax while walking towards my locker to retrieve my things, still barely keeping my eyes open. I watched Stray Kids and it was outstanding. I did my own thing and it was...okay. All I really want is to go home now.
My eyes blink open when I hear the footsteps of someone running come closer.
"Yeona!" cries Minho, placing his hands on his knees to catch his breath when he reaches my side. "What the hell? You never told me you play violin!"
I smile at the boy next to me, huffing and puffing out of fatigue. He was already super tired from that demanding choreo, he didn't have to do all that running for me. I would have waited for him.
"Oh. Yeah, I've been playing since I was four."
Minho abruptly stands up straight, his face lowkey showing offense.
"And you never told me? Or showed me?!" he scoffs, "I feel so betrayed. This talent should not be hidden!"
I force a smile. "Thanks but—"
"I thought I knew everything about you, but clearly not! Are you hiding anything else? Are you secretly a famous violinist or something?"
"Minho—"
"You're so amazing, I was so awestruck. It was so beautiful and captivating and I can't believe you never—"
"I hate violin."
Minho stops his rant immediately.
"What?"
~~~
(a/n: if you want to better understand the violin scene, you should listen to the piece! Its rly good but rly hard, yeona slayed that rly hard >> )