Her phone vibrated, startling her out of her worried daze. April flipped open her phone to find a new text notification from RinA. She smiled to herself as she read the heartwarming message:

            “Mianhae for not being able to come April…TT^TT I gotta take my brother to his middle school orientation. BUT EITHER WAY, do well for me, arrasso?!!! Good luck April!!! ^^ FIGHTING!!!”

            Still too jittery to think of a decent reply, April shoved her phone into her backpack and snapped it shut—promising that she’d text her friend back as soon as the auditions ended. April observed the mixed expressions of the other contestants as they left the place; some were beaming proudly to their friends while others were drowning in their own miserable tears. She then realized that it was probably better for her to completely disregard them in order to prevent the self-pressure she was feeling from increasing and began twiddling with her thumbs—hoping that it’d take her mind off the tense state she was in.

            A man in his mid-40’s—in which April assumed was one of the staff members—poked his head out from the doors and quickly scanned the room. He suddenly broadcasted, “Next person! Number 102! Please come in! Number 102!”

            April promptly looked down at the bib she was holding in her hands and gulped, feeling as her heart began to hammer loudly against her chest. In big, bold letters was the number ‘102’ typed across the white background.

            “NUMBER 102! LAST CALL!” the man impatiently shouted once more.

            Without another second to waste, April heedlessly slipped on her backpack and quickly waved at the man before she hollered across the room, “H-HERE!”

            She entered the room, listening as the door snapped shut behind her—leaving no opportunity left for her to exit back outside. April placed her backpack onto one of the empty chairs in the chilly room and allowed herself to come face-to-face with the three menacing judges along with a large camcorder recording directly at her angle. Although the actual audition hadn’t even begun yet, April was already sweating bullets.

            “Please introduce yourself,” the female judge seated in the very center of the extended table beckoned with sternness evident in her tone.

            “You got this, April. Relax,” she mentally noted to herself.

            “A-Anyeonghaseyo. My name is April and I am 18 years old. I will be singing ‘Evening Sky’ by Ailee for you all today. I hope you enjoy,” she managed to blurt out—surprised that it had turned out a lot better than she had originally expected.

            “Alright, you can start whenever you’re ready.”

            April inhaled deeply and shortly exhaled afterwards, allowing all her muscles to completely loosen up before she took ahold of the artificial microphone in her hands. She quickly took in a gulp of air for vocal support before she began singing.

                  “I have a habit which is I cannot look up to see the evening sky any day.

                   I hate the feeling as if the whole world is gonna leave me.

                   That sun falling far away will come here tomorrow.

                   It seems that it would not the sunshine that brightened me.

                   Love comes again though you leave me.

                   Even if I had a clamorous parting.

                   You weigh on my mind over and over like this.

                   I laugh for loving something occasionally.

                   I feel the happiness more occasionally.

                   But you are deep in me…”

           April granted herself permission to open her eyes after the wave of emotions she received from the lyrics had finally settled down. She took a look at the judges—trying to decode what they were currently thinking, but was unable to figure much out through their neutral eyes. All she knew was that it was done and over, and that she had given it her all despite what anyone thought of her performance.

            “That was… Absolutely amazing!” the female judge spoke up after what seemed like forever and began the long awaited chain of applause, joyfully watching as the two other male judges smiled at April and clapped approvingly along with her.

            April grinned from ear to ear, feeling extremely proud and accomplished that she had finally been able to progress towards her lifetime dream. The judges finalized their papers and handed her a form to fill in to be returned within a week from the current date. The moment April left the dreadful place, she instantly texted RinA and her mother—still overwhelmed with bliss and joy—as she began her journey back home.

            However, as soon as she reached her apartment, her mood completely flipped upside-down. The front door was wide open, and the entire house was trashed. Glass shards were scattered all around the floor along with broken chair legs and her mother’s precious vase. At the very back corner of the place was the unfinished project she and BaekHyun had been working on, and it too, was destroyed.

            “No…” she whispered in complete disbelief and shock before running into the kitchen to find her mother. As expected, April found her on the floor in tears.

            “O-Omeoni…” was all April managed to utter out at the moment.

            “Oh April… I-I don’t think I can take this anymore…” her mother whispered in between gasps for air, “I think it’s time we move away from this horrible place, April. Away from your drunk of a father. Away from everything…”

            BaekHyun secretly watched as his seat partner sighed heavily and rested her chin onto her arms—particularly noticing her puffy, swollen eyes and flushed nose. It was obvious that the girl had been crying last night. Although curious, he knew he was no one to be snooping around in a mortal’s business, and therefore, kept quiet and asked no questions.

            April was lost in thought—worried about her and her mother’s wellbeing and future, and still unsure of how to break the horrible news about the completely wrecked project to her partner. As soon as the bell rang, she quickly caught up to BaekHyun and led him away from the flock of rushing students.

            “Yeah?”

            “I… Uhm… Our project… I…” April stuttered uncontrollably, “Our project… Got ruined by some thugs in my neighborhood. They broke into my house and completely wrecked everything including our model… I’m so sorry, I… It’s due in two days and I’m freaking the hell out… My house is completely trashed so we can’t work there and the library is still under renovation… What are we going to do…? I’m sorry BaekHyun… I’m…” her voice trailed off into nothingness as the tears began to swell up once again.  

            BaekHyun watched as the girl began to cry and felt himself growing more and more uncomfortable by the moment when he realized he was incapable of comforting her. All he had on him that was appropriate for the moment was the fresh handkerchief neatly folded in his uniform’s pocket, and that was exactly all he could offer her. Although reluctant and hesitant of whether she should soil the high-quality cloth or not at first, she gladly accepted it when her nose began to run like a waterfall.

            At the spur of the moment, all BaekHyun wanted, strangely, was for April to return to her normal self—to stop being miserable. And because of that, he took nothing else into consideration and straightforwardly offered without thinking about the consequences that soon would await him, “Uhm… Do you want to come over to my place today? We could probably finish by tomorrow night if we really tried…”

            She peered up at him, slightly taken aback at the boy’s unusual nature.  He did not seem like the type to offer anyone anything—let alone help anyone. However, that was exactly what April needed and wanted at the moment. She nodded enthusiastically, afraid that he would soon take back his words and change his mind.

            BaekHyun watched as her eyes returned to its natural glow as she wiped away the excess tears off her smooth porcelain face. She whispered a ‘thank you’ under her breath and smiled appreciatively before she left. And at that very moment, he knew that he had made the right decision when he felt his heart suddenly beginning to lighten at the sight of seeing April’s blissful smile once again.