It was evening and Taehyung sat in his living room, looking over his notes, studying and preparing the next practice because until the next performance wasn't much time left anymore, as it suddenly rang on his doorbell. Taehyung didn't expect anyone, so he was a bit surprised that someone came at this hour, especially since Jungkook was still at Choi Seunghyun's house. He stood up from the sofa and walked through his apartment to the door, opening it slowly. When he saw the person in front of his door, his eyes grew big in surprise. "Jinah..."
"Good evening", she greeted him and Taehyung let her in. They sat down on the sofa while Taehyung collected the bulk of paper which laid crisscross over the table. "Were you studying?"
"Yeah... What is it?", Taehyung asked and looked at her shortly before he kept collecting his papers.
"Actually, I wanted to talk with your neighbor, but I guess he's out", Jinah said, catching Taehyung's attention.
"My neighbor?"
"Yeah, your neighbor... Jeon Jungkook?", she nodded and pulled an envelope out of her handbag, holding it to Taehyung, "I wanted to give this to him." Taehyung took the envelope and looked inside, it had a ticket for the new performance of Taehyung's dance crew and it was for a seat where Jungkook would be able to see Taehyung perfectly. "It seems like he's trying very hard. I wanted you to turn to me somehow. But that boy... in order to walk at your side, he's trying his best to catch up with you, right? It will be great if he does well in the final round."
"Yeah...", Taehyung answered with a thin voice and looked down while nodding slowly.
"Well I will go...", Jinah spoke and stood up from her seat, walking to the door, but then she stopped again and turned back, looking at Taehyung, who kept sitting on the sofa, "You too. It'll be your last performance in Korea, right? Do your best!" Then she smiled and left the apartment.
"The last...", Taehyung whispered when Jinah was gone. He still didn't realize that he was able to go abroad and that the time would come quickly for him to leave.

After the ambulance had taken care of Jungkook, the boy was laying in the bed, cannulated, so that his body would get medicines easily and enough water. Boyoung kept changing the cold cloth on his forehead over and over again. "The fever is still high, what should we do, Seunghyunnie? Maybe it would have been better to let them bring him to the hospital", she talked.
"It's very late, let's see how he does from now", Seunghyun said.
"Okay... I hope the meds help soon."
Seunghyun sighed and sit down on the chair next to Jungkook's bed. "Because he's always strange, I didn't realize something was wrong with him. He's overdoing it, by not eating... He's at the peak of exhaustion from this competition. Time's surely up now. Get good rest."
Jungkook wasn't sleeping calmly. He kept moving a lot, because he was dreaming badly.

Jungkook was wearing the animal costume, which he wore on the school festival, when he was performing with the S-Group on stage. He didn't know where he was, because around him everything was black, so that he couldn't see anything. But suddenly many fire rings appeared in front of him. "The prize for going through these fire strings is three million won", a deep voice said.
"Kookie can get through these!", Jungkook shouted to himself.
He was about to jump through the fire rings as suddenly the boy from his kindergarten class appeared. "Let me tell you. If you fail, you have to swallow thousand needles as punishment", he spoke and pointed at a door, which slowly appeared in the dust, "You remember, right? You were in that room, right, Jungkookie?"
It was the door to the kindergarten class where the teacher used to slap his hands badly every time he did something wrong. Suddenly Jungkook wasn't wearing the animal costume anymore and he turned back into a child and the teacher started running towards him, because he wanted to punch his hands with a stick.

When Jungkook woke up because of his screams, he was sweating badly and panted heavily. He took a deep breath and hid his face in his hands, trying to calm down again. His fever got better and he felt stronger again. He stood up after a while and took a shower. Outside the daylight was filling the room through the big windows. After Jungkook had finished his shower and he had dressed up, he took place in the dining room where Boyoung had prepared a light breakfast for him. As soon as Jungkook had finished eating he wanted to keep practicing. He knew the first piece since he had practiced it a lot, but until his teacher came back he listened to the second piece on cd. This time he needed to learn it by listening since there was no time anymore.
"It's a story about a puppet, who is given live by a puppeteer", Seunghyun explained the story behind the piano piece to his student, "Who eventually wishes to be a real human. It's a sad story."
Jungkook listened carefully to each note he heard with his eyes closed. "It's like... a festival in a lively toy land", Jungkook said, causing his teacher to laugh. Suddenly Jungkook noticed something in the piece and his eyes got round, he started the piece from the beginning again and listened more carefully to it and his hands started to move to the piece.
"Impossible, even if you have good ears, you won't make it. Give up! You can't recognize the whole piece from listening to it", Seunghyun talked.
"Kookie! It's time already", Boyoung said when she rushed into the room, "We have to go to the competition! We have to rush!"
"What? NO! I have to listen to it a bit more...", Jungkook babbled while his teacher's wife was dragging him out of the room.
"We couldn't even prepare for one complete piece", Seunghyun sighed while ambling after them.
In the bus Jungkook kept learning the second piece while studying the notes through the score. In his head the piece was playing over and over again. "He hasn't given up?", Seunghyun thought when he looked at his pupil, who was concentrating on his score book only. His fingers moved to the notes he read in the book as suddenly a phone rang loudly behind them. It was two boys, who were playing around with their phones until one of them rang loudly, so that it irritated Jungkook. He turned to them, while he hands were shaking and he gave the boys a dark glance, which gave them a fright, so that they stopped laughing and playing around.
"Hey! We're here", Seunghyun said, "Jungkook-ah, let's go!" He and his wife pulled Jungkook out of the bus and over the place in front of the hall, where the competition had taken place. 
"Kookie, hurry up!", Boyoung shouted over the place, because Jungkook just ambled after them, while reading into the score book. Boyoung rushed back and grabbed Jungkook's arm to pull the boy with her. "Come on, Kookie! Hurry up!"
In front of the building Seunghyun stopped and turned around to his pupil. "Jungkook-ah, you've really done well! But, you shouldn't perform the second piece in this condition. You may be disqualified by doing this...", he talked but Jungkook didn't listen or looked up to him, so Seunghyun shook him a bit until the boy looked at his teacher, "Hey! After the first piece,  leave the stage. Okay?"
Jungkook didn't say anything and turned back to his score book and walked into the building. They followed him and went backstage, because Jungkook still had to change and prepare for his performance. Jungkook was one of the last participants, who had to go on stage.
The final round had started already and Taehyung was sitting in the middle of the audience and listened to the first participants. "As expected of the final round the skill level is high", Taehyung thought while looking at the flyer in his hands, where all participants and the pieces they would play were listed.
Also Namjoon, Yoongi and Hoseok came to see and encourage their friend on his first competition. "Will Kookie be alright?", Hoseok whispered.
Jungkook was sitting backstage and kept looking over the score. He wanted to be able to play it so badly, he wanted to win so badly, he wanted to be able to go abroad with Taehyung. "Jungkookie", a voice appeared and Jungkook looked up. It was his formed classmate from the kindergarten class, "That mouth... Clown face Jungkook."
"Changwon-ah...", Jungkook mumbled while looking at the other one.
"So you were still playing the piano. I was surprised to see you in a competition. Today, Hyun seonsaengnim is here too", Park Changwon talked and stepped closer to Jungkook, looking at the score book, "Hm... so you can play such a piece already. How wonderful, Jungkookie. But I won't lose to you any longer. They say, a prodigy is just a normal person after the age of twenty." Changwon turned around and left, while Jungkook looked sadly after him.
"I've heard that he's the crowd favorite for first place", Hoseok whispered when Park Changwon entered the stage and the audience clapped their hands.
"Indeed. What a presence he has", Namjoon admitted while staring surprised at the small boy, who had such a dark glance.
"He's good", Taehyung thought while watching the boy on the stage closely, "The chords sound good and the lyricism of the variation is superb. Amazing. No mistakes."
"What is he scared of?", the French juror asked quietly while watching the participant carefully.
When he had finished his performance the audience gave Park Changwon a warm and loud applause.
"Next is Kookie, right?", Yoongi asked and his friends nodded.
"I wonder how he'll do", Namjoon mentioned nervously.
"Schumann and Stravinsky...", Taehyung thought, looking on the flyer once more, "Two piece... Can he really play them?"
A huge murmur went through the audience when Jungkook entered the stage. "It's Kookie", Hoseok said and shook Yoongi, who sat between him and Namjoon.
"Huh?"
Jungkook was wearing a white tuxedo, which let him look older and like a prince. He stood in front of the piano and turned to the audience, bowing deeply. Taehyung, who was clapping his hands as well, wasn't sure if he really saw Jungkook on the stage or someone else.
"What an outfit", Yoongi chuckled, "He's outdone you at your own game, Namjoonie!"
"ARGH", Namjoon screamed into his jacket, so that nobody would hear him.
"Calm down! Calm down", Yoongi laughed quietly.
Jungkook sat down in front of the piano and looked up to the place, where Changwon had sat the last time, but the place was empty. It was quiet and everyone was waiting for Jungkook to start. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to find back his concentration.
"To catch up with his boyfriend, he's been doing his best", Boyoung whispered, "Oh God, please bless him!"
Jungkook laid his hands on the keyboard of the piano and started his first piece. "When did he learn to play like this? It's as if he's possessed by the urgency of the rhythm", Taehyung thought and looked closely at Jungkook, "This is my first time to see him play like this."
Yoongi and the others were holding their fingers crossed for Jungkook. They felt the huge pressure on Jungkook's shoulders, but the way he was playing, felt like all the stress was slowly vanishing with each note.
"Don't lose control, baby-ah! You came here for something right?", the French juror talked to himself, with his head leaned on his hand.
When Jungkook had finished the first piece the audience gave him a warm applause and the boy kept sitting on the seat in front of the piano. "There's still one piece left, but listen to the audience", Boyoung mentioned and her husband nodded.
"Well done, Jungkook-ah! But... this is it... Stand up now and bow to the audience", Seunghyun spoke to himself, but he hoped that Jungkook would follow his advice to leave the second the piece.
"Kookie?", Taehyung thought while looking at the younger one, who was looking down on his hands, which laid on his thighs. 
"There's still more you can do, right?", the French juror mumbled.
Jungkook looked up to the piano again and Seunghyun thought he would follow his advice and leave but Jungkook didn't move an inch, so the audience slowly got inpatient, because nobody knew what was going on.