"Thank you, Miss. Chastain! That was wonderful! I could truly sense the happiness from listening to your piece! You've put a smile on face!" The black haired male heard from his seat backstage. His right leg refused to stop bouncing as he waited for his name to be called out.
 

A hand resting on his shaking leg snapped him out of his thoughts.
 

"Yoongi, stop being so impatient, your name will be called out any minute now," Jin assured him with a long sigh. Yoongi only rolled his eyes as his leg resumed shaking in anticipation, causing the older male to chuckle.
 

He couldn't help it, he was excited - and a little nervous - but excited nonetheless. He was going to play one of his new works. This was going to be the first time he'll play it in public. Only Jin and Namjoon had heard it so far.
 

But this - this was different.
 

Namjoon was a psychology major, and Jin was a home ec major, and as much as their opinion mattered to him, the judges statements would matter more.
 

If he won first place in the Seoul International Music Competition this year, he would get a chance to study music for a year at New York's top music school - Juilliard School. Not only that but, all the expenses will be paid for.

It would be like a dream come true; so many of his favourite composers had graduated from that particular institution. He wanted to win this more than anything; he wanted to be on the same level as legends like Lowell Liebermann and Beata Moon.
 

"Next up is none other than one of our K Arts students, Min Yoongi!" His ears perked up at his name being called and stood up abruptly.
 

This was it.
 

"Oh my god, okay - now, remember to smile and you've got your sheet music with you, right? - Look at your tie! God, Yoongi, you're a mess," the pink haired male exclaimed, frantically fixing his tie. He pushed the knot a bit too far up, but he'll let it slide. If anything, the older male was more anxious about his performance than Yoongi himself. That's Kim Seokjin for you - (naggy) mother of four (and yes, that included Namjoon).
 

"Even your hair is a mess, oh god—" Before the older of the two could reach for his saliva covered fingers - which Yoongi would've definitely killed Jin for, had they touched his hair - he stopped him by grabbing the other's wrist.
 

"Jin, I'll be fine. Stop fussing over every tiny detail; they're there for my music, this is not Korea's Next Top Model, jeez," He assured, with a light chuckle. No wonder Hoseok called him mum sometimes, he thought in amusement.
 

"Okay, I'll chill," Jin remarked with a snort, which only caused Yoongi's eyebrows to arch up because chill? Really? He really needed to stop hanging around with Jungkook.
 

"Good luck, Yoongi! Go knock their socks off!" Jin cheered enthusiastically. He nodded and walked out onto the stage.
 

"Alright, go ahead. Show us what you've got, Mr. Min," the greying presenter said as he nodded for him to begin before exiting to the sidelines.
 

Yoongi seated himself down on the leather stool, rolling his shoulders back. He released a large breath.
 

He wasn't nervous, although you couldn't tell from his seemingly blank face.
 

He could feel all eyes on him, trying to pierce his confidence, but he wasn't paying attention.
 

His eyes were only set on the black and white keys, like they'd always been when he was in front of a piano. Setting his long, pale fingers on the instrument, he started playing.
 

He started with a simple A minor chord, then moved his fingers slightly to the right to play another minor.
 

Closing his eyes, he allowed his fingers to act on their own accord. His feet shifted between the pedals, so that some chords were more elongated than others.
 

Only silence filled the theatre as Yoongi continued to play, and he was almost near the end of his piece. A frown formed on his pale face as he caught a few murmurs from the audience.
 

"He's good, but, there's no emotion in his playing." He heard one say.
 

No emotion - was it true?
 

"Yes, I feel as if he's playing just for the sake of playing." 
 

No. They were wrong. He wasn't. He loved playing more than anyone.
 

Yoongi thought he was conveying the emotions of his piece well.
 

The initial feeling that he was trying to express was of sadness, a broken heart specifically. He hadn't had any first-hand experience of it, but how hard could it be trying to showcase it?
 

"He has no chance of getting to the finals with that kind of playing." 
 

He felt another stab as he caught another murmur. His fingers stumbled, messing up the chord he was trying to play.
 

. He couldn't let them affect him like this; he was doing fine - he was playing well.
 

However, once he finished, he felt uncertainty cloud his thoughts.
 

Sliding his nimble fingers off the piano keys, he pushed the leather seat back and stood up. Turning to face the judges and audience, he bowed with a smile on his face. It was fake, of course, because he felt anything but happy in that moment.
 

"You played really well, Mr. Min! It's hard to believe you are still a junior!" The rouge lipped judge praised.
 

"Yes, I have to agree to Miss. Castel on that note. Wonderful playing, son. Excluding the slight slip up in the outro, I thought you were great!" The wrinkly eyed judge stated with a smile. "Thank you, and we hope to see you in the finals!" Yoongi bowed again and returned back stage, his fingers curled into fists.
 

"Yoongi," Jin tried to call out, but he didn't respond. Sitting down on the leather chair, he put his head in his hands.
 

"That didn't go as well as I thought," he said with a chuckle.
 

He'd messed up. He had allowed the whispers to affect him, and now, he probably had little chance of passing through to the finals.
 

"You did great! I'm sure you'll get a great score, don't worry. I have faith in your playing, Yoongs," Jin said coolly, placing a hand on his shoulder.
 

"Okay, babe, I think you need to stop. You really need to stop hanging out with Jungkook too much." He heard a new voice remark. Yoongi looked up and was met with a grinning Kim Namjoon.
 

Namjoon was tall (too damn tall for his own good), had fading blonde hair; a sun-kissed complexion. He had those deep dimples that every girl swooned at, but honestly, Yoongi didn't see what was so attractive about them. Then again, he didn't understand what went through women's minds 99% of the time so.
 

"And hyung, don't beat yourself up about it so much. I'm sure you'll get through to the finals with flying colours." The blonde reassured with his trademark dimpled smile. He hoped Namjoon and Jin were right, and he would indeed pass.
 

He needed to get to the top 7 in order to participate in the finals.
 

That's when he remembered the malicious whispers amongst the audience.
 

Yoongi wanted to know...did his playing really lack emotion?
 

Glancing up at his best friends, opened his mouth, but then closed it, unsure.
 

"What is it, Yoongi? Spit it out," Jin urged. He sighed and opened his mouth again.
 

"Do you think my playing lacks feeling?" He stared directly at the two men, pleading them to be honest with his brown orbs. If it was true, he needed to know.
 

Yoongi wanted to win this study year more than anything in the world, he couldn't stress that enough. If his music lacked the true emotion it was trying to convey, then he'd consider himself a failure as a musician.
 

A true musician would be able to express any emotion through his work. And if he was not doing so, he needed to change that.
 

"I guess you could possibly—I don't know, hyung, I mean," Namjoon released a sigh before continuing, "don't get me wrong, you are amazing at the piano, the best even. I just—I think you're not able to fully express yourself with it yet. Your piece is about a break up, and I should be able to feel how heartbroken you are, but I, um, didn't so much when you played it to us..." The younger male trailed off, rubbing the nape of his neck anxiously.
 

So, those people were right. He was certain he wasn't going to score high enough to make it to the finals now. The frown returned as he fell onto the leather chair again, head in his hands.
 

He was screwed.
 

Now he would never be able to go to Juilliard. He was never going—
 

"And the scores have been decided! Let's look at our top seven, shall we?" The presenter's excited voice boomed backstage. His heart was beating fast; he could feel it pumping rapidly as he waited anxiously—impatiently, for the results.
 

"With a score of 94 - it's Andrea Kofsky! Let's give her a round of applause everybody, she's the top scorer today!" The audience's cheers could be heard clearly as they clapped for the top contestant.
 

"With a score of 90, just missing out on the top spot, it's Bailey Chastain! Come on up, Bailey! Congratulations!" A girl of around his height passed by, smiling at him. He tried returning the smile, but he knew it came out awkward. Bowing slightly, she walked out excitedly.
 

"Sliding into the top three with a score of 87, it's Takumi Azuma! Congratulations!"
 

"Now, although these four did not make it to the top three, they are still on the running to fly through to the finals! And those four are—"
 

The anticipation was killing him inside.
 

"Jose Banderas, with a score of 86 - ah, so close!" The audience joined in shouting ah's in agreement. "Amelia Johnson, with a score of 84! Jacob Holland, 83! Congratulations to all three for getting through!" Another round of applause resounded through his ears, almost mocking him, taunting him.
 

"Only one spot left! But, before I reveal them - what do you all think? Who's it going to be?" He grunted in frustration, as he listened to the audience shout out various names over each other. Why wouldn't the presenter just reveal the last spot already? "Alright, alright, I heard you loud and clear!" He laughed, and he was seriously this close to punching Namjoon if he didn't get on it with it already.
 

"And your last musician is—"

A/N: Hello, new year, new story .-. but I really hope you like it! This is my first music fic so I hope I got my facts right (whenever I use them xD). Also, Lowell Liebermann & Beata Moon are real composers/painists that studied at Juilliard School in New York. See you on the next update! ^^