Time was running out, and they had less than ten minutes to make the performance work. Woohyun needed to make several amendments without Hyunmi’s meddling, which he knew would only bombard his ideas had he not asked for her trust beforehand. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to share his ideas, but time was limited.   “Okay, listen up, everyone,” Woohyun called out, halting everyone in the middle of their argument. “We’re going to make some last minute emergency changes.”   The idea was so absurd they had a hard time processing it. Almost immediately, all eyes shifted to Hyunmi, awaiting her confirmation to officiate the rebellious idea.   “Hear him out.” She uttered, folding her arms. ‘Last minute changes’ were the exact words she dreaded the most, leaving her with no option but to fully place her trust in the musical genius.   “Taemin, I want you to keep playing the keyboard as practiced. Hoseok, Chiyeon, and Jineul, keep trying to fix the audio issue. The audio may appear midway.”   The four people in question nodded.   “Let’s pray for a miracle,” Seulyi chanted,folding her arms in prayer to the gods.   “Since the melodies will be carried by the guitar, we need to minimize the percussion. We’ll build things up differently,” Woohyun instructed Chanyeol and Sungjong with a small example, to which they nodded at.   Yerin didn’t realize her worried stare directed towards Chanyeol. For once, the cheerful and happy guy looked so stiff, his face filled with hundreds of unanswered question marks. His first instinct was to look up at Yerin, finding her staring back at him. The older girl firmly nodded, pumping her fist to tell him he got this. The simple move immediately rekindled Chanyeol’s lost spirit, which he radiated through his usual goofy smile.   “I need to borrow two iPads that aren’t used by the mixers,” Woohyun interrupted, frantically searching around him. He breathed a sigh of relief when Chanyeol and Hyunmi provided theirs, allowing him to tinker with it.   “Oh, the others are finally here!” Biah suddenly cheered, watching their friends appear just in time. She waved her hands to greet them, Jangjun and Rika being the ones who cheerfully waved back.   “Sorry we’re late! Donut had to go number one!” Jangjun yelled out loud from the other side of the cafe, zero consideration to other customers.   “God, you are so stupid and embarrassing. People are looking at you,” Rika said, pulling her hoodie over her head to avoid exposure.   “They’re looking at me because I’m handsome,” Jangjun justified himself, leading his way through the cafe like a boss.   Rika shook her head, completely embarrassed by his mere existence. As she followed him to a table, her eyes immediately went to Myungsoo who sat with the guitar on his lap. She did not even know he could play the instrument and anticipated the performance. It didn’t stop her from smiling, holding two thumbs up for her friend who smiled back.   Mira didn‘t know what to feel when everyone was present, except Minhyuk. Even Kihyun had appeared, along with Jooheon the random broadcast dude. So where was her supposed to be boyfriend, Lee Minhyuk? Not that she cared anyway. Mira had to focus on their performance. She only needed him in case people started questioning his whereabouts afterwards.   Woohyun finished briefing everyone regarding the changes. Their focus were mildly interrupted when Leeteuk suddenly appeared.   “I want you to know how proud I am of every single one of you. Don’t worry about imperfections—our aim isn’t to be perfect. When you love what you’re doing, your joy will spread to others like a contagious healing remedy. So enjoy it,” Leeteuk said, giving another pep talk before the performance. He had the students in awe, feeling fire blaze out from their previous dejection.   “Alright guys, we got this!” Kibum led the second rally, stretching his arm towards the middle to start a huddle. Everyone soon joined, feeling their team spirit unite as one. Suddenly, all worries and possible errors no longer became their focus. They had been given the chance to perform live in front of an audience and should therefore give it their best.   “So do we raise on or after three?” Jaehwan asked again, still not memorizing their routine.   “After,” Yerin said impatiently, deciding to do the count to make it quick. “One, two, three...”   Everyone burst out in random interpretations on how to finish the countdown. Some yelled out Crescendity, while others uttered yeah. One may even have heard a faint “I love pink” which they knew, without a doubt, came from Biah. They should definitely take a course in team cheer synchronization 101.   Sungmin signalled the performers when it was officially time to start. He held his breath in, along with the remaining choir members in the audience. The three teachers were at ease, expecting the best. As for the Bs? They were ready to find fault.   “Hello, welcome to Moonbucks. I hope you’re enjoying your drink, since this is is the best place in town to get cheap and affordable coffee,” Maerin spoke into the mic, taking charge as a temporary MC. Rika and Jangjun cheered so loud it almost embarrassed her, but she welcomed their warm support nonetheless. “We’re from Crescendity, and to accompany you today, we have prepared a song we hope you’ll enjoy.”   Maerin returned to her seat, which was a tall and elegant barstool taken from the bar. Chanyeol and Sungjong silently set up the tempo, cueing Myungsoo and Jaehwan to start playing the guitar and for Heejin to start singing.   (Click here)
  Her voice was as adorable as her personality, but what surprised everyone was a different incident. They heard a faint electric piano accompanying the guitar, despite both keyboards’ muted state. Taemin’s fingers were momentarily halted, meaning it didn’t come from him.   In that short moment, everyone immediately understood what had happened. Using the iPads he borrowed, Woohyun accessed a virtual piano app, connected the tablets to the speaker, and played through the iPad instead of the actual keyboard. It was a brilliant solution when time was pressed. He was a musical genius, after all.   Yerin truly lived up to her rumors. When she sang, even the outdoor breeze stopped howling for a second just to listen along. The softness in her voice soothed the broken hearted ones, and offered hope to others. From her peripheral view, she saw Chanyeol’s total fanboying over her. If he weren’t in charge of the cajon, he’d probably hold a large banner with her name printed in ugly bold red letters.   As they entered the chorus, Hyunmi was more concerned directing other musicians instead. Her fingers tapped along, guiding Sungjong to play his egg shaker in the one drop beat. Woohyun turned around, surprised to hear the arrangement in his head being brought to life by the girl. It was as if she knew exactly what he intended to create without being briefed beforehand.   Sungjong safely followed the beat, moving the egg shaker on every third count. At the realization of his success, a big satisfied grin appeared on his face. Jineul, sitting from the audience, looked at him with extreme pride.   Before it was Mira’s turn, the cafe door opened, revealing Lee Minhyuk in his glorious blond hair from underneath the beanie. Finally. There was a sudden peace in her heart that allowed Mira to sing more comfortably now.   Biah and Seulyi followed afterwards, showing sweet vocals of a soprano. Both Jaehwan and Myungsoo continued playing the guitar, Jaehwan doing the fingerstyle melody whereas Myungsoo faintly strummed the chords with advanced skills. Sungjong diligently continued shaking the shaker.   When Maerin was about to sing, she suddenly caught the returning melody of the keyboard played by Taemin, causing her to miss the first beat. Everyone stood amazed at the miracle, like watching summer rain falling unto parched land. Knowing Woohyun’s playing was limited to the iPad, Taemin played a different variation to add a build up to Maerin’s part, emphasizing on her soulful vocals.   Only when they moved on to the final set of chorus did Chanyeol add his cajon, neglecting the one drop beat lesson when Hyunmi subtly permitted him to change it up.   Whatever it was, Biah was extremely happy with the way things turned out to be. Looking at the expressions of the audience, they were each bobbing their head or tapping their foot to the rhythm, completely enjoying themselves.   By the time they finished, the audience showed extreme satisfaction through their boisterous applause. The three teachers stood by like proud parents, rendered speechless by the clever show. Sungmin was already thinking of ways to hire them for the next gig.   “We did it! Great job, guys!” Heejin cheered, hugging Yerin. Chanyeol did not miss his chance to join and hugged both girls, soon being joined by nearly everyone. They actually did it! Despite the setbacks, people loved their performance.   “Well, I suppose the musical genius title truly fits you,” Hyunmi said, trying to act as nonchalant as possible when she went to Woohyun first thing instead of joining the group hug.   “You’re actually the only person who calls me that.” Woohyun chuckled, releasing a big sigh of relief. It suddenly became clear to Hyunmi that his calmness was just an act to make up for her lack of it. The small crook on his lips and faint quiver of his fingers were a giveaway of his passing worries.   Just when she thought she couldn’t possibly admire him even more, he continued to prove her wrong. She pursed her lips a little and bashfully looked away from him. “My judgement stands correct. You were… great. Thank you.”   “That’s all? After I saved the club from what could’ve been a mediocre performance, I only get a thank you?” Woohyun asked, a flicker of amusement crossing his face.   She did not expect him to stare at her like that—not with an obnoxious smirk she wished to knock off his face, but with a smile of pure bliss she wouldn’t mind keeping forever.   “W-what more were you expecting?” She asked dumbfounded, truly thinking letting go of her pride and complimenting him was the best reward she could offer.   “Oh, stop talking by yourselves and join the celebration already,” Kibum suddenly appeared to put their conversation to a halt, glomping the two and pulled them to the festive circle.   “Everyone did great,” Biah repeated again, applauding themselves.   “Myungsoo’s guitar was amazing! I didn’t know you could play so well,” Seulyi said, trying her best to compliment him.   “I didn’t know either.” Myungsoo smiled, glancing at Hyunmi whom he had to owe it to. If she didn’t volunteer him for it, he probably wouldn’t have picked up the guitar in a long time.   “How did Taemin’s keyboard suddenly appear during Maerin’s part?” Chiyeon asked, looking at her boyfriend’s iPad for any sign.   “I didn’t change the setting,” Hoseok shrugged, and Jineul stared along blankly, having no idea what even happened.   “It must’ve really wanted me to accompany Maerin,” Taemin said calmly, smiling in his usual adorable way that would normally tickle Maerin’s heart, but today, broke it instead.   Perhaps it was the bittersweet lyrics of the song itself, but Maerin was reminded of her status as a mere friend. She couldn't bring herself to enjoy these secret heart fluttering moments when in the long term, it would bring her heart to complete devastation.   The sombre atmosphere in her heart faded at the sound of a familiar voice, or rather, a squeal that became louder and louder by the second. Before she knew it, someone had greeted her with a big hug.   “That was soooooo good!” The female continued squealing, slightly jumping up and down. She then released herself from Maerin, and everyone witnessed the arrival of Seol Hana. “I love what you guys did with the arrangement. It’s not too soft and not too much either. This is exactly perfect.”   “Thank you,” Jaehwan immediately said, flipping his hair. It was time people recognized the entire group’s talent, but he’d accept the compliment since others were too shy. “But who are you again?”   “I’m Hana,” the bright girl spoke, and without a second of silence, continued pointing out all the things she liked about the performance. She could even write an entire essay.   “Hana goes to the same church as Hyunmi, Sungjong, and I,” Maerin explained, noting others’ confusion.   “Along with Jisoo too,” Hana quickly reminded, accidentally mentioning his name so loud, even the guy himself could hear it from the table he was sitting it. Jisoo calmly waved at them.   “What are you doing here? Did you come to watch our performance?” Sungjong asked with a big grin.   “Yeah, Hoseok said you’d be performing today, so I came extra early to watch. Well, actually all of us did,” Hana told them.   The words caught Woohyun’s attention who quickly put two and two together. If Hana went to the same school with Hoseok, she must b