----- One hour before the Talent Show ----- 

You're nervous. Which doesn't make sense at all, since you're not the one who's going to be performing on stage. Nonetheless, you're nervous, and those nerves have nothing to do with yourself and everything to do with Kai.

You grab your purse and rush out of your room. You promised to meet Hyunsoo backstage an hour before the talent show is supposed to start, and you're already running late. As you run across the field, you see students lounging around the grounds, killing time as they wait for the show to begin. You take out your phone and send a quick, encouraging text to Kai: "I'm on my way. I don't know if I'll see you, but good luck!"

Arriving at the school building, you pull open the doors and head straight towards the auditorium. The echoes of your footsteps ring darkly in the vacant halls, and you quicken your pace to keep from distracting yourself. You scan the closed doors, searching for the one that will hold a label stating 'Back Room'. Finding it, you push the door open and step inside.

It's a bustling, frenetic environment. Backstage workers hurriedly panic over the sound board, and various students bring props back and forth. A wonderful, electric ambience fills the large room. One person is sitting on a chair in the corner and reading a book while a girl is stretching her arms and legs. It's such a large space, and there's so many people and things to see, that if Hyunsoo hadn't been wearing a hot pink fedora, you wouldn't have noticed her.

"What are you wearing?" You ask her as she approaches you, a clipboard in her hand. She looks pretty tonight. Her hair looks especially silky underneath the tungsten lights. 

"It's catchy, right?" She says, gripping the rim of her hat. She smiles at you. "So thanks for coming, but I'm not sure I can tour you around or anything ... "

"That's okay," you tell her. "I can tour myself around." You search the sea of people and squint. "Is Kai here?"

"Not yet," she shakes her head. 

Confused, you repeat, "Not yet?"

"Was he supposed to come early?" She says.

"Ugh ... well ... "

"I don't think he has a reputation for coming early," she jests. "Even if this is an important date. Gotta maintain his rep, you know?"

You laugh. "Yeah. I know." You walk beside her as she circulates the room, checking things off her list and calling people to organize the set. 

"How many microphones do we have?" She asks someone who jogs by her. He stops to show her five fingers, and she nods to say he can go.

"So ... where's your crush?" You ask, trying not to sound overly curious. You glance at her, and although the lights are dull, you can tell she's blushing.

"I mean ... he's - "

"Hyunsoo!" Someone shouts. You both turn to the source of the voice. You see a young man walking toward you and are immediately struck by his handsome, bold beauty. He has murky brown eyes that add to his stern stare, and his tall height accentuates his long legs. His hair is a faded shade of sand, and his jaw is set firmly as he nears Hyunsoo and asks, "Did you print the programs out?"

"Uh," Hyunsoo stutters, glancing at you before looking back to the guy. Her cheeks are even redder, if that's possible. This must be her crush.

"It's fine if you haven't, I'll do them myself," He says. 

"No, I have," she assures him. "I put them on the back table."

"Alright. I'm gonna set them out. I'll talk to you later," he says and promptly walks away. You watch him as he grabs a stack of pamphlets off the back table and strolls into an adjacent room. You stare at Hyunsoo with a teasing smile until she turns to you. 

"What?" She asks.

"So?"

"So, what?"

"So, who was that?"

"So, none of your business," she mutters. After some consideration, she whispers, " ... that's Kris."

"Your crush?"

"I didn't say that."

"But he is, isn't he?" You laugh. She just glares at you, but there's barely any hostility in it. "He's cute," you say. 

"Are you even allowed to say that?" She retorts.

"Kai's cuter," you stick your tongue out at her, and she makes a playful face at you. 

"You might wanna get seats," she suggests. "If you want good ones. We can chill after. I think there's a party when the show ends. I'll see you around, okay?" She says. You nod and say goodbye to her before you turn around and exit.

You do as you're told and enter the auditorium. There are already groups of people standing between the rows, idly chatting to each other. You see the guy named Kris stand near the entrance doors. He's busily giving instructions to a younger, inexperienced-looking guy, who intently listens to everything he says. This younger guy, who has a dark, almost lethal appearance, looks especially vulnerable underneath the gaze of his senior. You smile to yourself at the sight and search for a good seat near the front row.

You busy yourself for the next half hour by looking around your surroundings. You watch as the performers slowly file in. The stage lights are checked, and the microphones are constantly being assessed. Through this whole time, Kai doesn't text you back. You assume he's arrived backstage and is focused on preparing a flawless performance. Trusting him to achieve just that, you tell yourself you can wait.

With only two minutes left until the show starts, the auditorium fills up completely. Students who are not participating in the event loudly chatter to one another, and accompanying parents try their best to look young. You find the school's main donators sitting at a sectioned row on the right. Kai's father is sitting in the middle of the row and is jovially talking to an older man beside him. You briefly send a mental message to him stating that you hope Kai's dad will be impressed and, just as the lights dim to commence the show, you turn back to the stage.

There are five acts that occur before Kai enters the stage. You watch one girl sing a lullaby, two boys perform on the guitar and piano, and see other diversities of musical performances. When the clapping and the whooping for the last performance comes to a close, a spotlight glares at the middle of the stage. The music begins - music, you discover, that you don't recognize - and Kai steps onto the stage.

He isn't performing the same song he had practiced in front of you weeks ago. Although this dance is more powerful and stated, the moves flow just as easily. You observe Kai's dad from the corner of your eye. He is bobbing his head to the music, but other than being aware of the beat, he isn't responding. You sigh and turn back to Kai, who is seriously performing the most memorable stage he can ever attain. You can feel the whole auditorium hold their breath with each progressive note to which he dances, and when the song finally ends and the last bits of music dwindle to nothing, the crowd immediately stands up and gives him an overwhelming applause.

A standing ovation. Kai received a standing ovation.

Even though the show isn't a competition, nobody can deny the fact that, so far, Kai is the best act of the night. You try to catch a glimpse of his dad, but there are too many heads and waving arms in your way. You hear a shower of calls hit the ceiling, and a bubble of laughter erupts. You clap as hard as everybody else does and cup your hands around your mouth. You shout louder than the people next to you, shout with your whole entire heart, shout even when you feel like your throat will break. When Kai bows, you throw him a thumbs up sign, and even though there's a small chance of him seeing you, he notes the action and gives you a subtle, embarrassed wink.

You clandestinely make your way out of the auditorium and find Kai standing in the hallway, heavily panting. Impulsively, you shout his name and run over to him, and he pulls you into a hug and lifts you a foot from the ground. You savor the feeling of his strong arms holding you to the sky until he gently guides your feet back on the floor.

"You changed your song," you comment.

"I can't impress the audience if they're fainting, can I?" He smiles. He pulls back and stares wonderingly at you. "I've never been ... so drunk on music ... in my life," he breathes. "Did you see that? They stood up for me. They all did. This is what I want to do, you know? Perform. I mean, when I was up there, I felt ... I don't know, I felt ... " he pauses, searching for the words. " ... like gold. And I know that doesn't make sense, but that's what I felt like, like I was worth that much, and when everybody stood up, for a second, it felt like they knew they were gold, too." He calms down, but he's shaking his head, as if trying to confirm that he didn't just dream the moment. "I wonder ... if my dad liked it."

You hold his hand tightly. "There's only one way to find out, right?"

Kai looks into your eyes and smile. "Right."