Chapter 9:

The scent of burning incense wafted through the air, draping a solemn atmosphere among the congregation. Lu Han stood a little behind his father, both of them facing a table set with food and burning candles, red candles--an offering.

His father lit up three large red sticks and bowed three times in front of the offering. The feast-like offering was to Shang Di, the Divine Emperor, and later, they would be offering a few fruits for the deceased. It was odd how they continued to offer to the deceased, despite knowing that the dead would never get it. Perhaps out of tradition, a custom that everyone had gotten used to and had difficulty letting go of. After all, letting go of that meant that they were forgotten, and that was not what they wanted. The dead were dead, but they weren't forgotten.

Or perhaps it was their own odd way of remembering, of paying their respects. Certainly, there were more mundane, more simple means, but somehow, these yearly grand displays of memory for all the members of the community were their choice. Perhaps because it conveyed their yearning, the wish to once more be with their dearly departed, yet knowing that that won't happen unless they, too, pass on. And perhaps it was a clear and powerful reminder of where they were now.

Forgetting is never good, because those beautiful and sometimes painful memories make us grow, they make us see what is in front of us, and not what is behind us. The past is the past, and there is no longer anything to be done about it, but the future is yet to be made, and the present will carve tomorrow.

"Heaven, forgive us our trespasses," the Emperor asked, praying fervently.

In his heart, Lu Han, too, was praying. He was asking that countries be peaceful, he was hoping that people could learn to be less selfish. Though true peace may never really be achieved in this world, but maybe, as people, we can live with an understanding of our neighbors, and, though it is a bit begrudging, learn to love them enough, appreciate them enough, to stop killing each other.

Lu Han stood there silently, but his mouth was moving, silently muttering his prayers. Soon, tears were rolling down his cheeks as he thought of all those that had died of conflict. The innocents, those who were casualties in a battle of power...

His father stood up straight, having finished his prayer. From the back of the room, the people began to organize themselves.

They say that God listens to those whose hearts are pure, whose requests were good, and Lu Han hoped his heart was pure enough for Heaven to listen to.

~°~

Baekhyun sat in his room, reflecting, as they had been asked to do. All day long, they were asked to do exercises that strengthened whatever it was that was thought to be weak of them.

He sighed. He was tired, he was sore, and he...was missing his grandmother's 90th birthday. She'd understand, but still. 90 was a big number. It wasn't easily reached!

"Ya okay?" Aze asked. He opened one eye from his 'meditation' to look at Baekhyun. He looked more like he was extremely bored, with one hand propping his head as he sat on the floor with his legs crossed. The other hand was planted on his knee, forming a right angle. They were roommates, since now, roommates were allowed.

"I'm..." he begun, but he didn't really know what word to use.

"Tired? Hungry? Sore? Depressed because of some odd reason that I'd probably understand anyway?" he suggested.

"Yeah, all that," Baekhyun replied.

Aze chuckled. He stretched and straightened his posture. "I hear ya. I am, too. Well, except for the depressed because of blah blah blah. Those kids are likely to be out on a field trip or something."

"Kids?" Baekhyun asked with a laugh.

"Yes, well.. They are... Like kids?" he suggested in a flustered manner.

"Aren't we technically still kids, too?" he asked, now laughing.

As they were laughing, the bell rang, summoning all of them to the main courtyard immediately.

"Well, more Chinese. Yay!" Aze said with a little sarcasm, Baekhyun couldn't help but laugh.

Baekhyun got up and reached out a hand to help Aze, who took it, then they sprinted off to the courtyard.

In the middle of the clearing stood a man, roughly around the age of Victoria, in an all-black outfit with his hair in spikes, all anime-like. He had a poker face on as he watched everyone file in. This was Hangeng.

They all filed in neatly and he allowed himself to crack a smile. Yesterday's activities had pounded discipline further into their skulls, and that was always a good thing.

"Good evening, everyone. I hope that your time for reflection was sufficient?" he asked.

A collective murmur of agreement rose from them, earning a chuckle from Hangeng.

"That's probably something we cannot change," Hangeng mused, referring to their way of replying more than anything else. "Anyway, it is time for dinner. Tonight, please rest well, as tomorrow is the first day of group stages. You will be cast into teams and asked to tasks, and I hope you will perform excellently. I wish to remind you that this competition is not just about getting from A to B, but to get from A to B, or even further, gracefully. I wish you all the best. Please do well."

After the reminders, they were brought to the dining hall and left to do whatever they wished. The night was free for them, and no one would dictate anything as long as they showed up rested and ready the next day.

Apparently, the flow of this section of the competition had been altered greatly that Baekhyun could almost not recognize the layout. Originally, they were to perform on stages by fives (if he remembered correctly) and the judges would decide who was to stay and who was to go. That would have, could have, reduced their number in half. However the organizers have probably thought that that would make the competition seem too much like an audition, but these were only musings from Baekhyun's mind, and therefore, there were no concrete answers.

The next day, they were lumped into teams of five. For the day's task, they were asked to perform a scene from an opera. Just the actions, none of the singing, but with all the elaborate costumes. Then, they were to perform it that night in front of a panel of judges, some of whom performed the art at one point in time. The arrangement of the performances were to be cast by lot, and the other teams were to watch the performing teams, no one would be practicing.

Hangeng had gathered one member from each team to draw the lot for their performance number as well as their piece. They were to meet their instructors right after breakfast in the rooms indicated in their pieces of paper.

"Who did we get?" Aze asked Baekhyun. They happened to be group mates, much to their relief.

"Song Qian," he replied. "Room 430."

"Ei? Fourth floor?" Aze asked.

"Yeah."

"I thought we'd get eighth floor or something."

"Let's quickly finish breakfast and get going then," their group mate suggested. "What number did we get?"

"Hangeng took it after it was drawn, didn't get to see it. None of us got to see it," Baekhyun replied apologetically.

"I see," he replied. "Don't worry, we'll do well, a'right?"

Baekhyun nodded, grateful to have such positive teammates.

They got up to the fourth floor, a little breathless. The floors were widely spaced apart to give those practicing room for their leaps.

"Whew. The only time I've ever felt this breathless was when I went to my Uncle's office at the eighth floor!" their teammate expressed playfully.

"Yah, don't laugh too much! You might lose your balance and find yourself back on the first floor!" Aze remarked jokingly.

"Hahaha," he replied sarcastically, but did as he was advised anyway.

After a quick rest, they proceeded to look for their room, and there, waiting for them was their instructor Song Qian, whom they all recognized to be none other than Victoria. It was odd seeing her, as she struck none of them as someone who practiced Wu Shu, and seemed to be a bubbly elementary teacher or something along those lines. She greeted them warmly as they filed in after greeting her. She was clad in a big, loose shirt and shorts, a pair of boots with thick soles that could compete with heels, and her hair was pulled back in a pony tail, but her bangs were in place.

"I had hoped that there would be a girl in the group I was assigned to," she confessed. "Since girls are a bit more flexible than boys, but if you guys can do it, then why not? But since your team is an all-boy team, I expect much from you! Guys are known to be stronger than girls, aren't you?"

She had said those words so sweetly (or so they thought) that they were somewhat deceived into thinking that she was teaching them something easy, but reality was contrary. Through those words, she had indirectly warned them of the difficulty, and had set her expectation that they would do their best with it.

"Stretch!" she roared. The boys were in a line before her attempting to do splits on a thin strip of wood which were suspended from the ground. If they fell, it would hurt. However, they weren't going to get injured permanently.

The boys attempted to do so, but could not hold it well enough to satisfy her.

"You can do it," she said. "I know you can. By sheer will. You got this far, didn't you? Jia you! Jia you!"

Victoria was an odd teacher: scary and sweet. She would encourage them like cheerleader one moment, then push them forward like the coach from hell. Perhaps that was her version of the carrot-and-stick method.

"Congratulations, Baekhyun!" she cheered when Baekhyun was finally able to do it satisfactorily. "You can all get up now; we've our lead."

"Lead?" the asked in unison.

"Yes, yes," she replied brightly as she motioned for them to get up. "This is a snippet from an opera, of course it would have a lead and everything! Now, Baekhyun, who accomplished this task best--but all of you did your best I'm sure, you just have to work harder--will be our lead. He will need that skill for the main scene."

Victoria then began to explain to them the scene, and even showed them a clip of it. It turns out, it was a contemporary production, one intended to simply present the skills of the students before the masters with a simple storyline. The boys' eyes widened when they saw the scene that Victoria had described. Speed was not necessarily of the essence, but flexibility was.

"It looks daunting," she began. "And it is. Flexibility is my strength, so I can do it, no problem. I can bend over in half without breaking, but don't let that stop you. I know, I'm strict, but that's only because I know that that's the only way I can help you.

"All of you will eventually find your strengths and your specialties, and that's going to help the masters determine the school to put you in, if you advance, and the master to train under. Let me tell you! If you guys do this, not as perfectly as it was done in that video, but at least half as well, you're going to impress people. Those that will be sitting on the judging panels? They know the difficulty of this. They're the ones who chose this.

"Besides, this is a hurdle that you will face in the future, I believe it is best if you have an idea before you face it for sure. If you are willing, I will do my best to help you; but my help can only go so far. So, are you up for it?" she asked. Her voice carried the challenge, and the positive outlook that she carried. She wanted them to do this, and she believed in them.

They didn't know what she saw in them, but they were grateful for it, and they decided that her challenge was one worth trying.

Spending the whole day rehearsing the performance was tiring, and the boys weren't sure if they could do it. As they sat down for dinner and some well-deserved rest, they told Victoria their apprehensions.

"Tonight?" she asked. "No, no, no. You are mistaken! It's for tomorrow morning. Bright and early!"

"But Hangeng said-"

"Hangeng? Don't believe that! He does not have the right to dictate the events, just announce them. That guy! He's playing you to work harder," Victoria replied. "Trust me. Later tonight, he will announce that the time slot will be moved."

And true enough, Hangeng did so. It was quite annoying, but they were all grateful for it. More time to practice meant a bigger chance of impressing the judges.

The boys spent majority of the night rehearsing over and over that the next day, when Victoria came in for her routine warm-up, she was shocked to find them there. They were sprawled on the ground, sleeping peacefully, having obviously been too tired to go back to their rooms.

"What are you all doing here?" she asked loudly, startling them all awake.

"Rehearsing," Aze replied reflexively.

"You boys, really," she replied as she shook her head. She squatted down to meet them at eye level. "You don't have to tire yourselves out to do well. Being well rested is also important for a good presentation, you know. Wrapping presentations well, making the whole thing flow together smoothly even if it isn't the best in the world is important. Sometimes, even the best actors destroy their own works by acting too much especially in scenes where their co-actors aren't acting enough or are unable to.

"Besides, these are the days when having a female instructor comes in handy," she said with a wink. "There's simply something about the aesthetics of packaging and presentation that simply does wonders to any work."

Victoria began her work on them when she deemed them ready, which was after an hour-long nap, breakfast and a bath. She brought them their costumes, which were heavier than they'd expected, but not too heavy that they couldn't move. She even styled their hair (or whatever it was that she could work with), and applied a little make-up on them despite their initial resistance.

"Make-up exists not to make clowns of you! It's here to make you all look more presentable. I'm not going to put some incredibly bright red lipstick on you. I'm just going to make sure that you look good for your part," she said. "Besides, what's the fun in watching a bland performance? I'm a girl, I have needs, and one of those needs is to make sure that small details are taken care of to make the big picture look good. And you guys have to look good! I'm the only female instructor that was given this opportunity. Make me look good."

The last bit of her 'rant' had stunned them for a bit, but that got them to cooperate with her. There was something in her statement that had made them feel like she had something to prove, and that something could only be proven by their performance.

~°~

"What...are you doing?" Yoona asked her brother with a raised brow when she saw him try to do some random flip in the air.

"I'm trying the moves Baekhyun was doing," Kai simply replied.

"Kai, Baekhyun might not have been dancing," Yoona reminded.

"Yeah, but it still looked cool. I bet I could do it, too," he replied.

"Don't hurt yourself."

"I won't," he assured her.

"Have fun, kiddo," she said before trudging back to her room to-

"Hey, hey, hey!" he called, as if he suddenly remembered something.

"What?"

"You're not busy, right?" he asked.

"No, finals were last week," she said.

"Whatcha doing?"

"Reading."

"What?"

"Something you're likely not to bother with," she said.

"Wanna go to the beach or something?" he asked.

"Why?"

"Nothing. Distract me from following Baekhyun's footsteps, I beg you," he said.

"Fine," she replied. "But I am not going swimming."

"Yay! Yoona's coming!" Chanyeol exclaimed happily.

Kai had a smirk on his face as they walked towards his friends. Yoona seemed to be between annoyed and amused at his trick.

Tricked again. She was supposed to crawl into her bed with a nice, thick book and read until oblivion struck, but instead, she had entertained her brother's whims and went with him. Perhaps not a good idea on a day when you'd rather sleep than hear the loud chatter of boys.

"Hello, Yoona. I hope Kai didn't force you to do this," Suho said, falling in step with Yoona.

She shook her head. "He didn't, but I got tricked. It seems Kai doesn't really want to learn Baekhyun's moves, he just wants to play!"

He chuckled. "Eh, well. But that's only cause Kai wants you to stop reading all day and have some fun."

"But reading is fun. Better than getting roasted under the sun and looking like a chestnut. Where are we going anyway?" she asked when they reached a bus stop.

"Oh, Kai didn't tell you? The theme park."

Just as Suho said those words, Kai flashed his sister a beaming smile.