Howon did not waste a single second of his time to prepare and train for the competition. On the weekdays, he begins training straight afterschool and coming with new choreography to make his dance look more outstanding, and also matching it to the music that he has chosen. On weekends, he only allows himself to have eight hours of sleep, before waking up to practice starting from the early morning. He puts as much efforts as he can into his practice and is determined to win the competition. Dongwoo complains on how focused he is with the competition that he barely has time for him. Although said, the younger tries to spend more time with the elder during lunch time and still not sparing any free time one school ends.

But above all else, there is one place and one visit that he puts above any other else, even the competition and that is to where he’s brought up, the orphanage. One may ask that he could practice even longer with the time he used for the visit but Howon will never do it. To him, that place is the only place where he can call home despite the lack of parental love but he’s satisfied. He keeps contact with his orphanage brothers and sisters till this date and his own existence at that place feels magical in the eyes of the orphans. Howon knew how tough it is to have no parents while growing up and it is not the external issues such as bullying and discriminating looks but the will to steel themselves from those issues. He had once thought of running away from reality but he was glad that the orphanage care keeper is L, for without him; Howon may be dead by now.

L is a very mysterious man. Of so many years Howon has known the other, L has never revealed his age. His body never seems to grow old as with each passing year when Howon begins to change due to puberty, L stays exactly the same. There isn’t any wrinkles or brown spots but just milky skin that all ladies envy and the extremely good looking. Howon suspects of possible plastic surgery for his youth but the male continues to deny and puts the glory on the dairy product, milk, in which of course Howon doesn’t believe. Howon did try to ‘investigate’ L but only manage to discover one piece of evidence that he moved into this town seemingly just ten years ago. There is much mystery that surrounds L but Howon eventually gives in and respects the other male’s privacy.

Time flies extremely quickly and in the blink of an eye it is the day of the competition. He stretches body in preparation for his turn. There is a feeling of nervous growing within him but it is not detrimental to him because he has practiced it countless times, leaving no room for failures. He lets the whole dance routine play mentally within his mind while he waits for his turn. This competition is special because it isn’t carried out in a tournament format in which most competitions are but in a way that within that period of given time, the dance must impress the judges and the audience as well. The judges’ vote will yield seventy percent while the audiences’ vote yields the remaining. Howon knows that he may lose in terms of audiences’ vote but in some way, he feels extremely confident on winning the major bulk of the scores.

When his turn finally comes, he clears his mind of all unnecessary thoughts and let his muscle memory do all the work. With the music blasting loudly, Howon indulges himself into the sea of audience. With each movement he makes, the cheering from the crowd grows even louder and it boosts his confidence and morale. He lets his muscular arms move with such flexibility in which earns screams from the females and envy from the males. Howon feels that he did make the right choice to come with a sleeveless shirt to show off his Adonis-looking body. His birthmark adds on seemingly like a tattoo, which boosts the level of badass-ness of his dance, to which he aims for. His movements start to become more fluid and his transition between move sets becomes smoother. This performance of his could be his best yet. As he ends his performance with a single-hand handstand, the crowd stands up and cheers loudly for him. He lands back on his feet and despite his chest heaving inwards and outwards for oxygen, he feels extremely energized – all due to the strength audiences hold.

He bows politely to the judges and the audience before heading backstage. He crosses path with Dongwoo and gives the elder a high-five, in which the elder gladly returns the gesture. Howon wishes the elder all the best before heading towards the waiting room to rest. Although he wishes to see Dongwoo’s performance but he needs rest above all. All the long hours of practice are taking their toll on Howon’s body and he can feel the strain and soreness.  Though he won’t be able to partake in the elder’s performance, Howon has high hopes for the elder and that Dongwoo will put up a fantastic fight. He receives his answers when he hears the loud cheers echoing from the corridor that leads to the stage. As expected, the cheers are slightly louder than the performance prior but Howon is confidence that he will win without doubt.

After all the performances, the judges are given an hour to decide on the winner and that during that one hour, the audience will vote as well. Most people will definitely vote for either Howon or Dongwoo as those two are ones whom are expected to win.

Soon, it is time to announce the winners. They chose to announce the winners for the Group category first. The prize goes to a team of four senior year ladies, whom they call themselves SISTAR but they do deserve the win. With their near-perfect choreography and their gorgeous curves, it doesn’t go unnoticed when most of the cheers are slightly low in pitch when the winner is announced. Leaving for the most exciting category last, the announcer requests a lap drumroll from the audience for some suspense.

“And the winner of the annual Woolim’s dance competition, solo category goes to…”

Howon closes his eyes with anticipation as he waits for his name to be called. The sounds of the drumrolls become louder in his ears, with his heart beating extremely quick. His heart nearly skips a beat when he hears the announcer take in a breath to announce the winner.”

“Mr. Jang Dongwoo.”

To be continued in Chapter 25: Black Star

A/N

I hope this chapter isn't too late! >_< 

I feel kind of bad for Howon, really >_<.... No worries, Howonnie! You'll get a beautiful end, I promise! :D