I took a deep breath in an attempt to calm my nervousness. I wasn't sure if I wanted to participate in this singing competition anymore, now that I was about to go. I knew it was a little late to start thinking that but I couldn't help it. I was unsure of whether I was really ready or not.
To try and distract myself, I went to a corner and did voice exercises. I didn't want to disturb the few contestants left in the waiting room, who had all warmed up earlier. I regret not doing so, but I couldn't think about that. I had to focus.
Once I finished, the anxiety slowly crept back. I groaned internally as I thought of other distractions. The best I could come up with was listen to my song, lip-sync to make sure I had the lyrics correct, then play the instrumental to assure myself of timings.
"Moon Taeil!" A staff called out to one of the contestants.
At the other end of the room, a guy stood up, and I couldn't help but admire him, though I tried not to stare as he passed me and made his way out. The image of him lingered in my mind, and I got curious. What does his voice sound like? I stood up and neared the closed door. What I heard was a blessing to my ears.
I could only describe his voice as one of an angel. I felt myself calm down as I listened to him sing, the high notes sending small shivers running down my spine. He sounds amazing...
I heard footsteps approaching from the other side, so I backed away to my chair, though I didn't sit. The door opened, revealing a staff member.
"Min Y/N!" I went towards the door and smiled shyly at the staff. She returned it and then led me backstage. "After you hear the intense clapping, be ready to get on. They'll call your name, then you appear on stage. Got it?" I nodded. "Okay. Good luck." She smiled before leaving. I looked around the empty space, trying my best not to think that I was only a few seconds away from performing. I instead focused on Taeil's voice; how he easily controlled his voice, how there was no hint of nervousness, how he sang the words of the song...
Then it ended. There was the clapping, then the "thank you" from judges and contestant, then the off stage. I must have been on the wrong side, since he almost ran into me, but I managed to back up first.
I apologized, adding, "Was I on the wrong side?" as I laughed awkwardly.
He laughed in return, replying, "No, there's no specific side to be."
"Our next contestant, Min Y/N!" A voice said from a mic. I took a big breath in and smiled at him.
"Good luck." He said, moving aside. I thanked him, then went on stage.
In the end, I got second place, Taeil getting first, though that didn't come to a surprise to me. I wasn't all that disappointed with second, since I was surprised I even made it to top three.
Having nothing better to do, other than celebrate my win on my own, I decided to stay behind and help clean everything up.
As I was rolling up a chord to a mic, I heard a small thump. I immediately looked towards the direction of the sound. There stood Taeil, looking down at one of the big speakers as if he was disappointed. I could only guess he dropped it while trying to pick it up. I slightly shook my head, supressing a smirk as I continued to roll the chord.
Once all the speakers were put away, mics were cleared up and chairs were stacked on top of each other, I gathering the few things I had brought, then double checked that everything was at their place. I turned towards the exit, satisfied with how this ended.
"I saw an angel~" I heard Taeil's voice sing [A/N: These next lyrics are from their song, Angel. I'd suggest listening to it as you read :) ]. I spun around. There he was, on the stage with a wireless mic. Looking around, there was no one but us two. "Neol cheoeum bwasseul ttae, haneureseo naeryeoon cheonsagachi bitnasseo, gunggeumhaejyeosseo neon nugureul talmaseo, geuri areumdaunji, I'll be your morning star, and you are my angel, you are my angel (I saw an angel, When I first saw you, you shined like an angel from heaven, I got curious, who do you resemble to be that beautiful? I'll be your morning star, and you are my angel, you are my angel)" He smiled, motioning for me to come closer. I went right in front of the stage, gazing at him. "Eotteokhae nega neomu joha nan (What do I do? I like you so much)" I felt my cheeks burn as he jumped down from stage. "Cheot nune banhaebeoryeosseo (It's love at first sight)" Putting the mic down on the stage, he took my hands in his and looked at me right in the eyes, his cheeks coloured pink.
"You're not just singing that for fun?" I asked shyly. He shook his head.
"I was curious about you when I first saw you, in the waiting room. After almost running into you as I was getting off stage, I realized that this was love at first sight. Hearing you sing made me fall in love with you completely." He explained, the colour in his face turning redder. I giggled.
"Your voice also allowed me to fall in love with you."
"Then would you allow me to call you jagi instead of Y/N?"
It took a second for me to recover from how straightforward that was before nodding. He beamed, hugging me. I couldn't believe how quickly that happened but was happy that our passion in singing allowed us to meet. This truly was one of the luckiest days of my life.