Chapter 20 – The Festival

 

Insook and Soonja walked into the school grounds sometime after 1pm.

 

“Woooow…” exclaimed Soonja, “your school is really something else!”

 

They stood inside the school gates as the taller girl took in her surroundings: the large, newly built buildings, the expertly elevated food stalls, and the hundreds of people milling around. “This is nothing like my school” she mumbled, as they walked through the gates.

 

“It’s alright I guess” mumbled the shorter girl as they made their way in.

 

They were quickly assailed by students handing out fliers, shouting out advertisements for various events, and trying to bully them into trying out the wares from various food vendors, but they ignored most of them, just walking around and poking their noses into the various stalls.

 

“Don’t you wanna show me your class?” asked Soonja, after they’d just exited one stall that was selling handmade bead bracelets.

 

“Nah… our café’s really lame…” Insook shook her head and her friend looked at her funny. “Aren’t you hungry? Let’s try some of these…” she said, dragging her friend to a stall that was selling Japanese-style fried noodles.

 

“This is really cool” said Soonja, “a lot better than my school festival…”

 

They chatted more as they stood in line – this particular stall was obviously very popular – and finally managed to get their order in after about 10 minutes. Once they got served, they went over to a more secluded corner and sat down on a stone bench to eat their yakisoba in relative peace.

 

As they chowed down, Insook overheard some underclassmen’s conversation as they passed them by.

 

“Let’s go, let’s go!!” one girl was saying, “I heard J-Hope Oppa and Park Jimin are doing a special dance performance in the small gym!!”

 

“It’s not on the schedule though…” the other girl was saying.

 

“No, no… I swear, Hana told me, it’s true! It’s starting in 10 minutes! Let’s go!” said the first one before dragging her friend away by the elbow.

 

Insook stared at them as they passed, her attention piqued, and then she looked at her friend, who stared back in confusion.

 

“We should go too!!”

 

“Why?” wondered Soonja, with full.

 

“Cuz J-Hope!!” she exclaimed, as if it was explanation enough.

 

“but... foodz…” muttered Soonja, looking longingly at her half-eaten plate of yakisoba, but Insook just dragged her by the arm, saying “come on!!!”

 

*

 

The gym was already pretty packed by the time they got there. There was a band on the stage playing a rock song, and most people were jamming along to it. They finished soon after they’d arrived and then an MC came on to announce the next act.

 

“And now, ladies and gentlemen, a surprise! Two of our school’s greatest hidden talents! Please give it up for Jimin, and J-Hope!!!”

 

The crowd cheered as the MC exited the stage and the lights dimmed. Spolights appeared a few seconds later, revealing two boys in snapbacks and dressed all in black, standing on stage with their backs to the crowd. The upbeat music of a Bruno Mars song came on and the boys burst into movement. The crowd erupted into cheers, and so did the two girls.

 

“Damn, those boys have skills!!” exclaimed Soonja, head bopping along to the music, eyes glued on the two swivelling shapes on the stage.

 

“Of course,” said a cocky voice behind them, “wouldn’t let just anyone into my band.”

 

The girls turned around to see Rapmonster standing there grinning at them.

 

Insook, who was busy smiling at him, didn’t notice the look of pure disgust that her friend threw his way.

 

“Is Jimin part of your band too?” asked Insook.

 

“Humm… sorta.” replied the blonde boy, scratching his head, “J-Hope likes the kid, so…” he chuckled, “Who’s your friend?” he asked casually, looking at Soonja.

 

“Oh! This is Soonja. My best friend. She goes to another school.”

 

“Nice to meet you” Rapmon winked at her and she nearly gagged. But she knew she had to act innocent in front of Insook, so she took the hand he was extending to her and shook it weakly; all the while shooting fire out of her eyes at him as he tried to contain his laughter. He’d obviously done that on purpose. Luckily for the both of them, Insook was still busy watching the performance so she didn’t notice much about the exchange.

 

“They’re amazing!!” she exclaimed, as the pair on stage executed a particularly spectacular move, and both Soonja and Rapmonster redirected their attention to the stage.

 

“Yup, they’re definitely something” agreed Rapmon.

 

The dance only lasted about 4 minutes, and the two boys exited the stage to massive cheers from the audience – louder than any of the previous acts yet. After they finished, another band took their place, but they were only tolerably talented, so the small group started chatting again.

 

“Hey, have you girls checked out our haunted house yet? You should go!” suggested Rapmonster.

 

“Aaah… thanks, but that’s really not my thing…” Soonja answered, voice dripping with barely concealed venom.

 

“Oh, but I worked on it too! We should check it out!”

 

“You did?” exclaimed Soonja, surprised.

 

And while they were debating what their next move was going to be, two shapes appeared behind them.

 

“Heeeey!!!” exclaimed J-Hope, throwing an arm around Rapmon, “how were we?”

 

Soonja made a little gasp of surprise as she recognized the two dancers, but they were both so mirthful that she couldn’t help a smile, even if they were associating with the boy that she despised.

 

“You guys were great! You were so good!” Insook piped up, “Jimin, I had no idea that you could dance like that!” she said, genuinely impressed.

 

“Ahh… well… you know…” the boy blushed, rubbing the back of his head with one arm up.

 

“Aaah, look at our Jiminie” laughed J-Hope, “he’s so shy!!”

 

And then before anyone could add anything, a third boy materialized, shouting: “hyung!!!”

 

They all looked up to see Jungkook jumping up and down next to Jimin, “that was so cool! You were both so cool!!!” he exclaimed, holding Jimin’s hands in his and the older boy beamed back at him.

 

“Did you really think so?”

 

Everyone chattered in a lively manner for a little while, congratulating the dancers about their performance, and Soonja siddled up to Insook, asking her in a side-whisper, “I thought you had no friends??” and Insook just gave her an embarrassed smile and shrugged.

 

“Hey we were just gonna head over to the haunted house our class made, why don’t you guys come?” suggested Rapmonster.

 

“Oooh, we can’t!” exclaimed Jungkook, looking at his watch, “We got our play in like 30 minutes!”

 

“Yeah,” added Jimin, “and V is already gonna murder us for being this late so…”

 

“Oh yeah! The play!” exclaimed Insook, and everyone turned to look at her.

 

“What??” she asked, trying to look innocent. “Hum… we should go watch it too!” she said, trying to wriggle out of explaining that V had actually invited her to watch it. “Where is it?”

 

“On the 5^th floor,” answered Jungkook, “in the reception hall. Why don’t we all go together?”

 

And so they agreed and all headed up there together. On the 5^th floor, the big room that usually (though very rarely) served as a reception hall, had been transformed into a mini-auditorium for the day. Jungkook and Jimin left them at the front for the “actors’ entrance” at the back, and the rest of the group made their way inside the room through the main door, where a bunch of folding chairs had been set up for the audience to watch the performance.

 

They all sat down together; Soonja, Insook, Rapmonster and J-Hope, in that order. Soonja whispered to Insook “why do we have to stay with them??” after they’d sat down, but the shorter girl shushed her for being impolite, and her friend just rolled her eyes.

 

“So,” she asked after a while, “where’s that other kid that’s always with you two? The one with the red hair?”

 

“Suga?” inquired Rapmonster, “he’s on duty at the haunted house. He’s playing a ghost.” And at that both he and J-Hope cracked up as if it was the funniest thing in the world. Insook and Soonja both looked at each other, not getting it.

 

“Suga?” asked the wavy-haired girl, “why do you all have such weird nicknames?” she sneered at the blonde boy.

 

“They’re our rapper names.” explained Rapmon, and to his credit, his voice was devoid of any kind of condescendence, “we’re in a hip-hop group.”

 

“Oh yeah, I heard.” retorted the pretty girl, unimpressed.

 

“You should come watch us sometime,” suggested Rapmonster, “both of you.”

 

Soonja opened to say “no thanks” but Insook sushed her and quickly said “we’d love to,” putting a hand over her friend’s mouth and smiling brightly.

 

Rapmon chuckled as Soonja glared at Insook. “I’ll hold you up to that.” he went on, as the lights dimmed, indicating that the play was about to start.

 

The play lasted a little over an hour. It was a contemporary play. Some weird plot about a guy who lost his voice in an accident, and who was trying to get on with his life, but couldn’t. V was the main character and was surprisingly good. Jimin and Jungkook had minor roles as thugs that showed up only twice during the whole thing, but did alright, considering neither of them had practiced very much over the last few weeks. Rapmon and J-Hope cheered loudly when they came on and were shushed by several people around them, which made the girls chuckle quietly.

 

But what was the most surprising, was how intense Taehyung was on the stage. Insook couldn’t take her eyes off of him. He seemed like a completely different person: quiet, intense, and emotionally distant. He also gave off an aura that made him look incredibly attractive for some reason. And even though the plot was terrible, the cheers that erupted at the end, when the cast came onstage, told her that she wasn’t the only one who thought that way.

 

Everyone got in one big line and took a bow as a group, but when V walked up to the front to take a bow by himself, the crowd cheered even louder and she heard a couple of girls squeal “Taehyung-aaahh!!!” which made her chuckle.

 

He smiled and waved at the crowd, and at that moment, his eyes fell on Insook and he paused for an instant, before breaking into a huge, guileless smile. His eyes twinkled and Insook couldn’t help but smile back as she clapped.

 

“Wohooo!!!” she cheered, and Soonja turned to look at her with one eyebrow raised, but her friend never noticed.

 

Once the curtain fell, most of the crowd cleared out, but their group hung back since they wanted to stay and congratulate their friends. After a few minutes, most of the actors came out and were greeted by family or friends, who were waiting with flowers, presents or just congratulatory hugs.

 

As soon as he saw Jimin walk off the stage, J-Hope bounded off to him, tackling him in a bear-hug that nearly threw him to the ground. Jimin laughed as he tried to regain his balance, and they started chatting casually. Rapmon trotted over a few moments later, ruffling Jimin’s hair and then pinching his cheek, to the obvious displeasure of his younger friend.

 

The two girls stayed at the back, not really knowing what to do since they weren’t really part of their group, but ended up deciding to follow.

 

Jungkook came out from behind the curtain and joined them, eager to be praised by his hyungs as well, followed by another, older boy that Insook didn’t recognize.

 

“Is that guy for real..?!” Soonja whispered into her friend’s ear.

 

“Oh, hi Jin,” said Rapmonster politely, “nice to see you again,” he added as they shook hands, “are you in this club as well?”

 

“Yeah,” answered the pretty boy, smiling softly, and Insook threw a funny look at her friend, who was mooning at him despite herself.

 

“He’s so pretty…” mumbled the tall girl, without even seeming to notice, and Insook cracked up, though she tried to supress it.

 

“We didn’t catch you on stage though… or did I just miss that?” Rapmon was carrying on, unaware of the effect Jin was having on the girls.

 

“Oh no, I’m afraid I can’t act at all. So I just direct.” replied the brown-haired boy, somehow managing to make his answer sound poised and graceful.

 

“You directed this play?” echoed Insook, speaking up for the first time and making everyone turn and notice them.

 

“Yes,” he smiled at her, his eyes crinkling up prettily.

 

“Wow, you did a really good job!” piped up Soonja, and Rapmon turned and gave her a suspicious look, like ‘why is she being so friendly all of a sudden??’

 

He was gonna speak up but was interrupted by Jungkook, who suddenly exclaimed, “oh my god, look at V! hahaha…”

 

All 7 heads turned in the direction of the ashen-haired boy, who stood a few meters away, surrounded by a gaggle of girls, arms laden with flowers and giftbags, grinning but also looking terribly embarrassed at the same time, like he was trying to escape but didn’t know how to do it.

 

“Woah, didn’t know that kid was so popular!” chuckled Rapmon.

 

“Well he wasn’t up until today!” exclaimed Jimin, and he and Jungkook started cackling.

 

“Well I’m not surprised,” said Soonja, who was the only one in the whole group who had never met him, “he was really amazing onstage.”

 

“Hhmm… yes, but off-stage, that boy is something else!!” laughed Jimin, and Jin gave him a little smack on the arm, making him go “what??” but Jin just gave him a look.

 

As they chatted, V somehow managed to extricate himself from his adoring fans, and walked up to join their little group.

 

“You came!!” was the first thing out of his mouth, and everyone stopped talking to look at him. But he was only looking at one person, and that person was Insook. He stood there, flashing her the brightest of smiles, and no one else was talking because it seemed so out of the blue.

 

“Hum, yeah…” she said, awkwardly, feeling as if she’d been put on the spot, “you were really good!” she added, and he beamed at her, as if that was the best thing she could have said.

 

“More than good!” added Soonja, trying to break the tension, “you were amazing!” she added, honestly.

 

“Oh?” said V, turning to look at her, “who are you?” he piped up in a tactless, but endearingly child-like manner.

 

“Ah, V, this is my best friend, Soonja” said Insook, with a little introductory gesture towards her friend.

 

“Oh!” he exclaimed again, this time with a smile, “then you’re my friend too!!”

 

Soonja cracked up, mouthing to Insook “is he for real?!” and the shorter girl nodded surreptitiously as she chuckled. “I like him” she declared, patting him on the shoulder as the boy just grinned back at all of them.

 

“Are you guys all done here?” Hobi asked Jimin and Jungkook, changing the subject, “cuz we’re gonna head over to Suga’s in a little bit…” he grinned, and then paused for dramatic effect before he announced: “after party.”

 

“Oooh…” there was a general sound of approval.

 

“You guys are welcome to come” he waved a hand around indicating everyone was included in this statement.

 

Jungkook nodded eagerly, Jin politely, and Jimin embarrassedly.

 

“You too of course,” Rapmon added, gesturing to the girls, “and Tae” he added belatedly.

 

V looked at him for the very first time since the beginning, with a look of cold indifference.

 

“No thanks” he said, politely, though it was obvious to everyone there that the comment implied more than the words just let on.

 

“Ahh… why not?” asked Insook, “It’ll be fun!”

 

At that, both V and Soonja shared the same exact look of contained horror.

 

“Come on guys! I’ve never had an after party after a festival!” pleaded the shortie.

 

“That’s cuz you never went to the festival…” Soonja muttered under her breath which made Hoseok laugh.

 

He put his arm around Soonja’s neck and said, in a knowing voice “Aaah… but that’s cuz you’ve never been to one of Suga-hyung’s parties” and Rapmon, imitating him, put another arm around her on the other side “Suga-hyung’s parties are unforgettable. And very exclusive.”

 

Jimin, Jungkook and Insook were all chuckling, but Soonja rolled her eyes at them and shrugged both boys off of her.

 

“Well, I guess I don’t mind…” she muttered, finally.

 

Insook nodded, feeling victorious, and then turned to Taehyung, asking him “V?”

 

The boy just shrugged and said “well I guess if you’re all going….”

 

She squealed, and then jumped to give him a quick little hug, which left him very surprised.

 

“What are you doing, inviting all these people to my house??” a low, grumpy voice suddenly spoke up behind them.

 

They all turned around at the sound, and there was a collective gasp amongst them. Even Insook jumped a little and hung on to V’s arm for support.

 

Standing in the shadows, in a white robe, messy wet hair, and heavily eyelinered eyes that made his pale skin look even more ethereal than usual, Suga really did look like the ghost he was meant to portray.

 

“What?” he asked, suddenly, stepping into the light, and Insook felt stupid for not having recognized him before.

 

Everyone laughed as Suga just cluelessly repeated “what?!!”