Both Kyungsoo and Suho had been called up and were now gone. Baekhyun had been able to hear them from the back stage room and was pleased that their voices had been flawless. The depth of emotion that the two could conjure into their voices was enough, in Baekhyun’s view, to sway anyone’s opinion towards them, and for this he was happy. He wasn’t nervous, he knew that he could do it, and that he knew all of the words, he had prepared so thoroughly that he knew that there was nothing that could go wrong; he just wished that his turn would hurry up. Kyungsoo and Suho had left for their turns after a mere 30 minutes, so Baekhyun had been sat alone musing in the dark room, for over an hour and a half. There were now only five contestants left to go on stage before him.

He looked around the dimly lit room and recognised the person who was sat a few seats to his left with his head lolling back on his chair. It was Kai, he had his dark hair styled up off his face and, similar to Kyungsoo was dressed mostly in black, only with a white jacket adorning his broad shoulders. Baekhyun smiled to himself as he imagined what Kyungsoo’s reaction would have been had he been sat in Baekhyun’s place. He let out a small chuckle as he imagined Kyungsoo’s forever flapping hands moving about like he was holding an unwilling bird. Not wanting to be caught looking at Kai, Baekhyun lowered his gaze to the tip of his shoe. Noticing a slight scuff on the otherwise fresh white rims of his converses, Baekhyun leaned down, his thumb, and began working away the dirt.

“Dude, if your head falls back any further you’ll ruin your hair.” Said a voice to his left, so deep and gruff that it was unparalleled, and its owner could not be disputed or mistaken. Baekhyun’s breath caught in his throat as he hurriedly began to rise from his awkward crouched position. A loud thud reverberated around the room as Baekhyun, having not noticed the proximity of the chair opposite him, whacked his head against the seat on his way up. “!” He yelled, whilst clutching his head. The room went still and he looked up to see all of its occupants staring at him in shock, “Sorry.” He mumbled, continuing to rub his bruised scalp as everyone else went back to their own preparations and worries.

“Hey, are you all right?” It was Kai’s calm voice that he heard; Baekhyun glanced over and saw both boys looking at him with concern. He watched as he saw the recognition dawn on the elder’s face as his caramel shot eyes rounded in realisation.  

“Are you feeling better? You looked terrible earlier, it was so scary.” Chanyeol reached his hand across and placed it upon Baekhyun’s wrist, “I was really worried. You’re all right now?” Baekhyun felt the same warmth spread from the point of contact that he had felt earlier that day when Chanyeol had touched him. Baekhyun could feel his mind shutting off, paralysed at the closeness of his obsession. He couldn’t afford this now, he had to get away. With all the effort that he could muster he pulled his hand away from Chanyeol and stood up from his seat, hoping beyond hope that his legs would be able to support him. Breaking the contact between the two of them his head cleared a little and he managed to mumble a quick stuttered excuse, of which Kai and Chanyeol only heard the words sorry and bathroom, and rushed from the room. Chanyeol looked at his friend confused and hurt at the boy’s sudden departure, “Was it something I said?” He mused.

Baekhyun burst into the boys’ toilets, breathing hard, and rushed over to the solitary sink. He the tap and scooped up the gushing water, splashing it over his face. He sighed and leaned against the counter, gazing at his reflection. The cold of the water calmed his racing heart and he counted as his heart slowed to its regular pace. “Not now.” He said to his reflection, “Not ing now Byun Baekhyun.” The look in his eyes turned from that of flustered torment to one of resolve as he reapplied his eyeliner and fixed his hair.

He strode back into the back stage room with confidence, undeniably still a little bit shaky on the inside, but he had his assurance in his performance back. Luckily as he glanced around the room he noticed that his previous distraction had left and so had Kai. He knew that Kai had been number 99 and so took a deep calming breath knowing that any moment his name would be called. Not even a minute after this thought did he hear through the speakers, “Now for our final performance we have…Byun Baekhyun!” The head teacher said as with a shove from the coordinator Baekhyun was ushered onto the stage.

 The lights momentarily blinded him and the noise of the crowd cheering and clapping filled his ears, overwhelming his senses. Baekhyun managed to find the centre of the stage, had he not sang there before he wasn’t sure that he would have been able to. Stood in front of an audience of nearly 1000, all of Baekhyun’s heartache and worries about Chanyeol disappeared into an unreachable place at the back of his mind. He grinned and flashed a wink at the crowd as his heart settled and warmed, he felt at home. This was where he was meant to be, this was what he loved. The music began to play and Baekhyun melted into the sound of the music, his voice becoming one with the instrumental. He had never felt more free, his heart soared high above him as he let lose all that he had offer, lulling the crowd into a silence of reverence and awe at the soft and lilting and yet powerful and shocking sound of the young boys voice.