The Performance

It was D-day. Suhae woke up and started to get ready by covering the bruises on her arms with makeup. Her hair was too short to be curled so she simply clipped on a silver bow. Then she pulled out a beautiful gray dress her mom bought for her.

It's been hiding in her closet for years, just waiting for the day to make Suhae shine. Suhae gently packed the dress into her bag along with makeup and two copies of the music. Taking a final look in the mirror for any flaws, she then proceeded out the door, heading towards Seul Arts.

At school, everyone was buzzing with excitement. Senior girls were in the bathroom fixing their makeup hoping that their favorite oppa will notice them when they perform.

Suhae walked in and everyone's attention directed to her. The queenkas grimaced with disgust. "I bet she's trying to cover up how horrible her song is by dressing up like that and acting all nice and what not." someone said. "I know right?" "She probably stole that dress from someone." "Ew she looks digusting."

These whispered sentences could be heard by everyone and Suhae, saddened, walked to the bathroom. Don't cry, don't cry.

NU'EST came over to disperse the crowd.

Once the bell rang, everyone piled into the auditorium. It was quite loud with students yelling at their friends who sat rows away. The lights dimmed and everyone settled down.

Mrs. Park stood in the middle of the stage. "Ladies and gentlemen, today is a very big day for our seniors. They have poured their heart and soul into composing a song they'll be singing on this stage to you all today. Please give each student your absolute attention." she looked at the students.

Then she turned towards the senior class. "In addition, we have invited guests from Woollim Ent, TOP Media, SM Ent, LOEN Ent, Pledis, and a lot more. Each company will only take one student, so for those who worked harder than everyone else, your hard work of pulling all-nighters and constant practice will pay off when a representative chooses you to become their trainee." she took a breath.

"Now first up is Kim Myungsoo."

---

It was almost time for Suhae to sing. She went backstage to change into her dress and make any final touchups.

"The last performance for the day, next we have Kang Suhae."

It's my turn.

With shaky steps, she walked on stage and like all the previous presenters, gave a short explanation about her song.

"My song, The Real Me, doesn't really fit the requirements that Mrs. Park gave because... I had a difficult time trying to write about those topics. These fours years haven't been... the best times and I never really did change.." Suhae looked at Mrs. Park who wore an expression between anticipation and confusion.

"So instead of writing about my four years here or about my change over the past four years, I wrote a song of how I'm going to change, this moment, right here, right now, in this auditorium."

After the little speech, Mrs. Park pressed play and the oh-so familiar melody started playing. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, everything melted away; the auditorium, the students, the teachers, and the guests. It was just Suhae, the mic, and the music flowing from the speakers.

the song

I've always been the kind of girl
that hid my face.
So afraid to tell the world
what I've got to say.

But I have this dream
right inside of me.
I'm gonna let it show,
cause it's time to let you know,
to let you know

Suhae looked at the audience and sang with her whole heart.

This is real, this is me
I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be now
Gonna let the light, shine on me!

Now I've found who I am
there's no way to hold it in.
No more hiding who I want to be
This is Me.

By now, all eyes were on the not-so-shy-nerd on stage, even the heartless kingkas of Infinite and Teen Top. Her voice is so pretty Sungjong mused. Wow I can't believe that nerd was really like this hidden inside Hoya thought.

L.Joe just stared at her with wide eyes. He recognized the melody the moment it came on. It's her.

Do you know what it's like
to feel so in the dark?
To dream about a life
when you're the shining star.

Even though it seems
like it's to far away
I have to believe in myself,
it's the only way!

From the corner of her eyes, Suhae saw Mrs. Park nod with approval. Suhae was elated. Mrs. Park likes it. MRS. PARK likes it!

This is real, this is me
I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be now
Gonna let the light, shine on me!

Now I've found who I am
there's no way to hold it in.
No more hiding who I want to be
This is Me.

This is it, it's the finale. Suhae thought. She put forth all her energy and delivered the strong ending.

This is real, this is me!
I'm eactly where I'm supposed to be now
Gonna let the light, shine on me!

Now I've found who I am
There's no way to hold it in.
No more hiding who I want to be
This is Me!

As soon as she stopped singing, the audience burst with applause. Infinite, Teen Top, NU'EST, and everyone else had to admit that her song was the best out of everyone else's.

Minhyun smiled. She finally came out of her shell he thought.

Suhae looked around at everyone giving her a standing ovation.  Looking out at the audience, she smiled. A genuine smile of happiness.

She is no longer Kang Suhae, the introverted shy nerd who gets bullied by others. After singing this song and showing the real girl hidden inside of her, she is Kang Suhae, the confident and shining girl she was born to be.

She could see the representatives walking towards the backstage area, fighting for a chance to talk with her. She was one step closer to fulfilling her mother's dream.

Umma, I did it.

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Originally, I was going to have L.Joe sneek behind the stage and walk on singing the guy's part... but then I decided against it. Since there was no guy singer for the guy part, I took it out, and replaced it with a final repeat, that's why the lyrics don't match the youtube link.

I was also debating whether to use the original or acoustic version... What do you think? (please comment below and if more people like the acoustic then I'll change the link to an acoustic version!)

Did anyone get the hidden message in the song?

I really put a lot of effort into writing this chapter because it's the (and possibly the ending if I don't know how to write on). I really hope you all enjoyed it! Comments are appreciated!