May 26, Thursday, After School: GARDENS

You are at the gazebo with Kyuhyun the dog and you're practicing your chosen song for the placement auditions tomorrow with a minus one of the song. You are getting a bit frustrated with yourself.

"No, that note's not right..." you say to yourself. "Let me try it again."

...

"Ugh, I can't seem to get that part right," you scratch your head. "GAAH. How do I make my voice sound boyish and GOOD at the same time?" o_O

...

You slump down inside the gazebo hopelessly as Kyuhyun the dog your hand. "Kyuhyun, what do I doooo?"

She just whines and tilts her head at you.

"I chose this song because it was the easiest to make it boyish... And the lyrics are very boyish as well! But it just doesn't seem to want to work with me..." You look at the puppy and hug her tight. "Can we trade places? I want to be a dog the whole day tomorrow... TT TT TT Kyuhyuuuuunnnn..." 

"What?" you hear a voice say.

You are startled. "Did you just talk?" you ask the dog.

"Yeah, I did."

You check her underbelly. "I thought you were a girl," you say, puzzled. "Why do you sound like a boy?"

Oh god, I'm going crazy...

"I am a boy. It's me, Kyuhyun."

"WHAT??? How did you turn into a dog???"

"What the heck are you talking about?"

You shake your head to snap yourself out of your seemingly vivid imagination. The real Cho Kyuhyun is standing beside you. He looks weirded out.

"OH, you're here," you exclaim. "Ehehehe..." 

"Yeah, I am," he replies tilting his head like Kyuhyun the puppy. "What are you doing?"

"Wallowing in a pit of self-pity," you say lifelessly.

He sits down beside you. "BESIDES that," he chuckles.

"Trying to practice this song for tomorrow's placement in the music club. Since I can't play an instrument because of my broken wrist (which is your fault by the way), I need to sing instead."

"So what's wrong with that?"

"I need to sing well enough PLUS have a boyish voice." =_=

"Hm, tough," he says. "What song is that anyway?"

"Isn't She Lovely by Stevie Wonder. Do you know it?"

"Yeah, I used to sing that in noraebangs a lot."

"Can you give me some tips please?" you beg.

"Maybe you need to sing it on a lower key," he says.

"Hmm... it's kinda hard to do with the minus one of the song though..."

"Here, I'll show you what it's gonna sound like on the normal key," he says. "Listen to me and then take it an octave lower so that your voice becomes low as well."

You play the minus one of the song and Kyuhyun starts to sing.

O_O

You are extremely surprised at his voice. "Why did you not tell me that you could sing?? Godammit..."

He's really good. Like, REALLY REALLY good.

"Nah, it's just a little hobby," he says. "My voice isn't SUPER good..."

"But it is!! No joke!" O_O

He turns red and smiles.

"Thanks..." he says shyly.

"Why don't you audition for SM Entertainment or something?" you ask.

"Nah, I don't think I'll be able to get in," he says. "That's like a shot to the moon. I'll just keep going to noraebangs and singing there. As long as I'm singing, I'm happy."

Aww... this guy can actually be so down-to-earth... :D Although he still has his douchebag moments hahahaha

"Anyway," he starts. "Let's try singing that song at a lower key, shall we?"

You practice with Kyuhyun until it gets dark. You feel ready for the auditions tomorrow thanks to him.

"By the way, Haneul," he says. "If you want to find me to hang out or something, I'll be at the shrine."

"What shrine?" you ask. o_O

"The shrine inside the school," he replies. "Oh, you've never seen it? Let me show you."

You both get up and he takes you to a part of the garden you've never seen before.

THE SHRINE

"Woah, what's THIS doing here?" you say.

"I have no idea," Kyuhyun says as he steps closer to the shrine. "I found it while I was wandering around. This is my favorite spot now." 

"Isn't it scary?" you ask, looking around you nervously. "What if someone died here?" o_o

"Nah, I don't think so. It's a shrine. It should be kept sacred. Anyway, Haneul, now you know the way. I have to go now because I'm meeting a friend from Incheon who has come to see me. Let's walk back together."

You decide to stay at the gazebo in case Flashlight Guy shows up tonight.

You take out your music player and listen to some more songs. You fall asleep with Kyuhyun the puppy.

Late Night: GAZEBO

When you wake up, it's really dark already. You can see the lights of the dorm from here. There is no sign of Flashlight Guy.

What the hell... Where ARE you? It's been so long since I've seen him. Maybe he's doing something for his club tomorrow? But those other days when no one was busy with anything, he wasn't here either...

What if something happened to him?

You see a figure coming out of the dorms. He is wearing glasses and business attire.

Is that a teacher?

Nah, it can't be...

You remember the incident last night when you were rushing to go outside.

Kim Kibum? o_O

He's going out again tonight? But he said he was going to just get a package yesterday. He CAN'T be getting another package today. What the hell is he doing?

What if he's been going to clubs every night in secret? .____.

You want to wait until Kibum returns to interrogate him but you remember that you have school early tomorrow plus an audition that you don't want to be tired for.

You return to your room.

ROOM 101

Heechul is dancing by himself to an American hiphop song. You try to stifle your laugh because he just looks really awkward. He sings along to the song, "YEAH! YEAH! aksjdnfjnjksnfm YEAH! YEAH! ksajdfkajnknsjgns YEAH! YEAH!" 

"You don't know the lyrics to the song, do you, hyung?" you grin.

"Oh, Haneul! You're here," he pants. "Argh, you caught me practicing my ultra-secret ultimate dance moves! Oh well."

"HAHAHAHA," you burst out.

"You may be laughing now but someday, I'm telling you, I will be a famous international singer-dancer!" he says with conviction.

"Whatever you say, hyung~" You plop onto your bed. The room is silent. You peek down at him. "Why did you stop dancing?"

"Because you're here and you didn't join the dance club, so my ultra-secret ultimate dance moves will be spoiled!"

You laugh sheepishly. "By the way, hyung, have you noticed anything strange about Kim Kibum?"

"All the time," he says. "Why?"

"I mean, anything STRANGER than that," you say flatly. =_=

"Hm, not really, why?"

"I saw him just now going out."

"All students go out every now and then, stupid."

"He also went out late last night. He was wearing a suit and tie."

"Hmmm... That IS strange even for Kibum," Heechul says as he takes off his shirt. You look away. You've gotten used to these things by now.

"Where do you think he's going?" you ask.

"I honestly don't know," he says. "But it's surprising that he actually has a social life. I'm so jealous~ I want to go to a club but we have school tomorrowwww."

I'll find out sooner or later, Kim Kibum.

Stupid bookworm.