Seoul Men's Academy
Thunderous Music Fest
TWENY SEVENTH CHAPTER
WEEKS PASSED and, finally, the 3-day music fest has come. Everyone's effort will pay off after this event.
"Are we ready?" Kai said, looking down at Jiyeon with their foreheads against each other. Jiyeon nodded, breathing heavily. Kai smirked, thinking, 'We're going to own it.' Kai placed a towel on Jiyeon's head. "Alright, that's for the day." Then he ruffled Jiyeon's hair, and walked to his bag on the side of the room.
The Round 3 competition, the competition which Jiyeon and Kai joined, will be tomorrow—the 2nd day of the music fest. This will be their last practice, and they will rest, and enjoy the music fest the whole day. So their bodies won't be worn out for tomorrow.
Jiyeon and Kai changed to their uniforms so they can participate in the music festival.
Seoul Men's Academy is always crowded every time the Music Festival approaches. Because SMA is one of the few schools in S. Korea that celebrates Music Festival. And besides, many artists visits SMA to judge performances depending on what field (i.e. Dancing, acting, singing etc). Just like Kim Hyun Joong, he'll judge for the Round 3 competition that Jiyeon and Kai joined.
A loud roar from the crowd greeted Jiyeon and Kai once they left the building. Big vehicles that were entering the academy were surrounded by non-SMA fan girls. Probably the people inside those vehicles were celebrities.
Someone suddenly patted Jiyeon and Kai's shoulders while they were walking on the hallway. "Oh, there you are," Sehun said, pretty tired. "God, there's so much people around here. I can't find anyone I know," he whined.
"What's up with you?" Kai asked.
The tired Sehun abruptly became excited and said, "Snoop Dogg's here, bro!" He shook Kai shoulders while grinning, like a fan-boy.
"What?!" Kai and Jiyeon said in unison.
"Where is he?" Kai asked, suddenly got excited.
"Why is he here?" Jiyeon asked, dumbfounded.
"He's at the auditorium with sir PSY, one of the act club directors. He's the surprise judge for the rap competition."
"W-What? That's what Tao and Kris joined, isn't it?" Kai stuttered, couldn't blink an eye.
"Right! C'mon, let's watch them. Before the audi becomes full," Sehun stated.
"Which audi?" Jiyeon asked, hyped up to see a Hollywood artist.
"Right behind you," Sehun pouted to point the door that that was just right behind them. Sehun scoffed when both Jiyeon and Kai gave him a glare for being stupid. "C'mon, don't you want a good view?" Sehun placed his arms to Jiyeon and Kai's shoulders and they went inside the auditorium.
Unfortunately for all of them, the auditorium was already full and the program has already begun. No matter, they just stood up behind the last seats so they could, at least, watch at the competition. PSY and Snoop Dogg were currently singing and rapping the song "Hangover" on the stage. The audience hum/sing along with the catchy lyrics as the artists sing.
"Hey, Hey, There's Tao and Kris," Kai elbowed Jiyeon, and pouted to point at the stage where he saw Tao and Kris.
Jiyeon gawked to find the two, and there she saw them behind the stage, watching their idols sing in one stage. "Tao seemed nervous," Jiyeon concluded, when she noticed that there were no traces of excitement, or happiness on his face.
"He's always like that!" Kai kinda shouted to Jiyeon due to the loud music around the room.
Everyone clapped and gave great remarks by shouting after PSY and Snoop Dogg finished their amazing performance.
Sehun leaned towards Jiyeon and Kai, then said, "Hey hey, place your bets. Who's going to win?"
"TaoRis all the way," Kai said, without any doubts. Sehun scoffed.
"GD&TOP," Sehun placed his bet.
Kai slapped Sehun at the nape of his neck. "TOP didn't enter the competition because he had an oral surgery."
"What? How come I was not informed?" Sehun said, confused and upset.
"That's I why my money's on TaoRis," Kai smirked.
"My money is on where ever CL is," Jiyeon said. "She won rap contests a gazillion times in SWA." Jiyeon grinned at the two, playing with her eyebrows—feeling confident.
"You traitor," Kai teased. "Betraying your own section." Jiyeon just laughed.
"See? I told you she'll win," Jiyeon shrugged arrogantly at the two. The competition's finally over, and, Jiyeon was right about whoever is CL with, they/she will win. CL and GD joined forces and rapped the song "Dirty Vibe". Even Sehun and Kai's jaws dropped with their jaw-dropping performance.
Tao and Kris did not won an award nor a place; they got overthrown by the duo AKMU.
Kai, Sehun and Jiyeon went backstage to greet Tao and Kris.
"This is all your fault," Tao whined to Kris. "If you didn't ditch practice, then we should have won." Kris just rolled his eyes, and ignored what Tao just whined. Because Kris already knew that they had no chance on winning against their sunbaes—CL and GD.
"But, I think CL was awesome," Kris just commented on CL's performance, ignoring Tao's complaints.
"How dare you ignore me." Tao glared to Kris, annoyed.
"Hey, guys," Jiyeon tried to interrupt the two, especially the hot-headed Tao. "You did well on the stage." She complimented their performance.
"Naah. She actually betrayed you. She betted on CL&GD," Kai bluntly said, exposing Jiyeon.
Jiyeon's eyed widened and faced Kai, then she glared at him. "I'm going to kill you," she mouthed to Kai.
Kai smirked. "Kill me with your love," he also mouthed back. Jiyeon just rolled her eyes and tries to control her smile.
Tao sniffed, "How dare you, Jiyeon." Tao pouted as he was changing his jacket.
Tao and Kris decided to rest first, then, participate at the fest afterwards.
While checking out some booths at the school's quadrangle, Jiyeon noticed a familiar car parking itself at the parking lot. "Hey, Kai. Isn't that Jei's car?"
Kai looked at the direction where Jiyeon was looking. "Oh right, that's hers." Kai dropped the thing he was holding from a booth, and then he hold Jiyeon's hand. "C'mon, let's go to her."
Jiyeon's heart pounded fast as soon as Kai took her hand, and dragged her to Jei. Jiyeon was only looking at their hands, intertwined. She almost forgot the feeling of someone special holding her hand. It was exhilarating, and she felt safe.
She suddenly remembered the day that Kai kissed her. Jiyeon suddenly blushed from that thought. "Oh, my goodness," she mouthed and bit her lip to release some of those exhilarating feeling. Since Kai was looking at a different direction, anyway.
Jei was currently looking at her phone, texting.
"Jei!" Kai greeted Jei from a range that she will hear him.
Jei hesitated to look at Kai first because she was texting somebody. But after she send the text message, she greeted Kai back. "Hey, Kai! Hey, Jiyeon!" Jei noticed Kai and Jiyeon's hands were intertwined. "Woah, Luhan told me you two weren't dating."
Jiyeon immediately removed their hands because it became awkward. Kai clenched his jaw, then gave Jei a tight-lipped smile. "He did?"
"Yeah," Jei smiled which made Kai kinda annoyed. But he tries to compose himself since he and Luhan had talked about this. "Aren't you going to watch Luhan's play?" Jei did not wait an answer from the two, and said, "C'mon, let's watch him. It's going to start within 20 minutes."
Jiyeon looked at Kai, "Shall we?"
Kai, who seemed has no choice, just nodded and went to the academy's theatre on which the play will take place.
Finally, they had a nice place to seat. They were seating at the middle of the middle—basically, they were seating at the center of the academy's theatre. Kai was seating on Jiyeon's left, while Jei was seating on her right.
"So, what is this play all about again?" Kai asked Jei.
"Musicale," Jei corrected Kai. "High School Musicale."
"Oh, really?" Kai was shocked. "Pft. Is it the first, second or third High school musicale?" Kai mocked.
"Hey," Jei glared at Kai. "Don't be like that to him."
"Oh, that's right. I forgot. You two are now dating," Kai teased Jei, and he leaned back to his seat to hide then laugh.
"Aigooo." Jei just shook her head in annoyance.
Kai cleared his throat. "I'm still not used that you two are now dating, though." Jei did not response.
Jiyeon suddenly felt an outcast from Jei and Kai. Because she couldn't connect herself to their conversation. Moreover, she was seating between them. She felt like she was sinking, that later on she'll pop like bubble—disappeared from their sight. She suddenly felt a prick in her heart. It hurts.
Finally, the lights went out—meaning, the show will start in a few minutes. They started the musicale with the sound of a ticking clock. Lights on the stage faded in, and everyone saw probably 18 students sitting on their armchairs, and 1 teacher at front.
Jiyeon spotted Luhan who was sitting at the front row, he was wearing a cocky lazy face, twirling his pen around his hand. This Luhan was new to Jiyeon, but she has to keep in mind that he was acting that this Luhan she sees is a fake one.
Everyone on stage threw the things on their table once the school bell rang, and they started singing "What time is it?". Jiyeon finally realized that Luhan has the main role in the musicale, and she was shocked from it.
Jiyeon leaned to Jei's ear and whispered, "Oh, Jei, you're so lucky."
Even with the dim light, Jei eyed Jiyeon. She got what Jiyeon meant. "Whut? You find him handsome?" She said in disbelief, she could burst out of laughter within seconds.
"What?" Jiyeon asked, confused all of the sudden with Jei's reaction.
Jei shook her head and said, "You're the one who's lucky."
Jiyeon faced Jei. "What do you mean?"
Jei pointed at Kai's direction with her lips. And then, they both saw Kai—already sleeping on his seat even though the musicale just started. "He's a great guy."
"You think so?" Jiyeon smiled, looking at Kai who was drooling on his seat. "He's pretty clingy, though," she added.
Jei scoffed. "Yeah, I can tell." Jiyeon also scoffed that Jei also agree with her. There was a moment of silence between them despite the loud music that was coming from the musicale. Jei leaned nearer to Jiyeon and said in a low voice, "I want to tell you something, and you looked like someone I can trust. But I hope you won't take this in the wrong way."
Jiyeon, without thinking, said, "Sure."
"I actually had a crush on Kai in middle school." Jiyeon was taken aback that her speculations were right. She speculated that Jei maybe has feelings for Kai. "I hope you're fine with it."
Jiyeon gulped, feeling stuffy inside. She tried to smile even though Jei could not completely see Jiyeon's face because of the dim light. "Ha. Ha. T-that's fine."
"But anywho," Jei looked back to the stage and added, "That was then, it's different now. You're such a lucky girl, Jiyeon. You just don't know it yet."
Jiyeon tilted her head with furrowed eyebrows, confused on what Jei just said. "What does that mean?"
Jei took a deep breath, forced a smile and patted Jiyeon's shoulders. "Haha, nevermind. That's just me, saying weird things."
Jiyeon tried to laugh, though, still confused. Jiyeon tries to focus herself so she could understand the play. Besides that Luhan's still not yet on the scene, she felt jumbled all of the sudden. Jiyeon looked at Jei. "How's your relationship with him?"
Jei blinked from the question. "Luhan, huh?" She looked upwards to think. "Uhmm. He could be cold sometimes. But you know Luhan, being cold is in his nature and blood. But I can bear with that since it's him." Jei smiled from the thought. "Uhmm. He's not very open, but you'll love him more once he opens himself. He's a martyr most of the time, I mean—sometimes. Despite his cold attitude, he actually consider the feelings of others, especially the ones he care about. I've known him more than anyone, but he never fails to surprise me. Basically, he's actually a great guy once you get to know him."
Even though Jei did not exactly answer Jiyeon's question, Jiyeon was surprised on what she was hearing—the great side of Luhan. She slowly nodded as an acknowledgement, while trying to digest everything she just heard. "So, you love him?"
Jei flinched, and then tried to ignore Jiyeon's gazes. "Of course, I love him." Jei looked at Jiyeon, "W-What do you think of him?"
Jiyeon was surprised for the unexpected follow-up question. Jiyeon sat properly, trying to think what to answer. "You know him more than I do. But, all I know is that there's more to him."
Jei smiled, "I'm glad to hear that, Jiyeonnie." And they went back watching the show. Jiyeon could not focus at first, because she's reflecting first on what she have learned about Luhan. 'Who knew that Luhan could be like that?' she thought.
Until finally, she slowly was immersed into the show. It was fun to see Luhan act, and as well some people she know who's part of the play like: her friend, Eunjung and Dara. She could not cheer for Eunjung well because she only has little parts in the play.
Finally, the show has ended and the loud applause woke Kai up. Subconsciously, Kai stood up to clap. Jei and Jiyeon laughed because he's one of the few who stood up to clap his hands. Kai realized what he did, then, felt embarrassed. So, he scratched his head and slowly sat on his chair.
Kai leaned towards to the two ladies and said with a loud and clear voice due to the crowd's noise, "Excuse me, ladies, I think I have to use the restroom." Both Jiyeon and Jei nodded.
Jei hold iyeon's hand. "Let's greet Luhan at the backstage." Without any answer from Jiyeon, Jei simply just dragged her to the backstage.
Luhan is nowhere to be found at the backstage due to the number of staffs, crew, casts, and some students that were invading the backstage. Jiyeon and Jei just scratched their heads from trying to find Luhan; and also Eunjung, for Jiyeon.
"Jiyeon, is that you?" Suddenly, a familiar voice entered Jiyeon's ears. Jiyeon raised a brow, and turned around to find this person.
Jiyeon's eyes widened in disbelief when she saw her guy-friend from middle school standing at the end of the hallway. "THUNDER?!" Jiyeon examined his face first to confirm that it was him. "OMG, it is you!" Both of them smiled to each other, with lips extended to the end of their cheeks. They were happy to see each other again after so many years. They ran to each other and reached out their hands to hug one another. "Oh, my god. I missed you, Cheondoong."
"We missed you too, Jiyeon," Cheondoong stroked Jiyeon's back, happy to see his friend again.
Jiyeon and Thunder removed themselves to each other. "Damn, you became a giant from a dwarf. We're like the same height in middle school," Jiyeon teased.
Cheondoong smirked. "Haha. Time flies, Jiyeon."
"How are you? How are you?" Jiyeon asked him, excited. But before he could answer, she turn her back to Jei, and then she held her hands to Jei. "Oh, by the way, this is my friend, Jei."
Jei twitched an eyebrow, and hesitantly walk forward to them. Jei gave Cheondoong a forced, awkward smile. "Jei," she introduced herself.
"Cheondoong." Cheondoong reached out his hand to Jei for a handshake. Jei shook his hand.
Jiyeon shifted her eyes to Jei then to Cheondoong, and started to have some speculations. She saw how they look to each other. There was something.
While giving Jei a handshake, Cheondoong tilted his head to a certain direction. Both Jiyeon and Jei looked at the same direction where Cheondoong was looking. They all saw Luhan, frowning. Luhan got no choice but to walk straight ahead to their direction. He immediately went to Jei and kinda pulled her away from Cheondoong.
Cheondoong smirked, and reached his hand out to Luhan. "Cheondoong."
Luhan looked at his hand first, still glaring at it. He rejected his hand and just said, "Luhan."
'Am I missing something?' Jiyeon thought. Confused on what was happening.
"KKE-DOONG-AH [Dog poop]!!!!" A quirky voice suddenly interrupted the intense atmosphere that that was going around. All of their heads turned and they all saw Dara—smiling happily after she saw her brother backstage.
Cheondoong blushed, embarrassed on his nickname named by his sister. He just smiled to them and said, "I have to go. It was nice meeting you, though. Bye."
"What? So soon?" Jiyeon pouted, sad to see her old friend go.
"No, I believe we'll see each other more often now," he smiled and hugged Jiyeon tight.
Jiyeon patted Cheondoong's back, "Ok, I'll be waiting for that."
"Sure, you will." He waved his hand, likewise as Jiyeon.
Kai finally found them after he went to the restroom. "There you are, what did I miss?"
xxx
JAE'S NOTE : Sorry for the late update!
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