Chapter 3 : Exceed in Dreaming

LE was busy surfing the net when a few links attracted her attention. “Hmm… There seem to be a few videos trending around YouTube right now. They have hundreds of thousands of views already. Wow.”

Hani was alerted. “What kind of videos?”

LE slowly read the title of the video. “Busker duo rock the streets with incredible performances.” She then continued reading the description of the video which piqued her interest. “Hey, both of them also have an account on Smule. They gained tens of thousands of followers in just less than a month! That’s amazing! We should collaborate with them some time. What do you think?”

“Really? What’s their Smule account names?” Hani still hasn’t realized who the busker duos are.

LE then scrolled down and continued reading the description. “One of them is called Lord Voldemort and the other one is called SOUL.G.” She suddenly frowned. “SOUL.G?”

Hani’s eyes widened. The name attracted a lot of attention from LE. Right when LE was about to click on the video to confirm her suspicions, Hani immediately placed her hand on LE’s to stop her from clicking on it. “Hey, do you wanna go to the mall?”

“Now?”

“Mhmm…” Hani nodded sweetly.

“Wait, let me watch this video first.” LE turned back at her screen and clicked on the video, ignoring Hani’s suggestion for now.

“No!” Hani immediately turned off the laptop.

“Hey, what’s the matter with you!?” LE frowned.

“Come on. Let’s go to the mall~” Hani whined and pulled LE’s arms.

LE finally nodded. “Alright. Let me change first.”

Hani sighed in relief as LE went into her room to change. Then, Hani the laptop and clicked on the video. Her suspicions were right. The busker duo who rocked the streets with their incredible performances were none other than Solji and the lady whom she saw the other day, Hyerin. Their duet were absolutely stunning, especially Solji’s voice. It would have been a huge trouble if LE were to watch this video.

“Alright, I’m done.” Just then, LE exited her room.

Hani managed to switch off the laptop just in time. “Oh, you’re done? Let’s go out then.”

Hani knew she will never be able to keep this secret from LE for long. It’s only a matter of time before she finds out the truth about Solji being the real PaperBagGirl. She acted selfishly and told a big lie that hurt Solji but all she wanted was to get close to LE. She chose the wrong way to do it and probably regretted doing it. All she wanted right now was to keep this lie up for as long as possible. But we all know that once a selfish deed was done, whether it was intentional or not, it will never end well for her. The truth will always prevail in the end.

“Hani.” LE called.

“…” Hani’s mind seemed to be wandering somewhere else.

“Hani?”

“H-Huh?” Hani looked surprised.

“What’s wrong? You don’t look that well.” LE expressed her concern.

“O-Oh, it was nothing. I was just…thinking… Hahaha…” Hani faked a laugh. Of course Hani isn’t feeling well. LE almost sought the truth back at home. It will only be a matter of time before she finally hears Solji’s real singing voice.

Hani and LE were having a walk after having a meal at a restaurant. As they were walking by the boulevard, they spotted people crowding at an area, holding their phones up, as if to take a video or photo.

“What’s happening there?” LE asked as she pulled Hani along towards where the crowd were.

Hani felt nervous somehow as they were approaching. She stopped in her tracks and gripped LE’s hand tightly. “I-It’s probably nothing. Let’s j-just go.” Hani’s voice started shaking.

“Let’s check it out. It could be the famous busker duo who were all over the internet.” LE said as she continued dragging Hani across the road.

Hani pulled LE back as she started panicking. “I wanna go home! Let’s just go home!”

LE got really frustrated and frowned. “What’s wrong with you? You’re acting really weird today. Why don’t you want to go watch their performance?”

“Because…” Hani couldn’t think of an explanation.

“Let’s watch for a minute alright? Then we’ll go home.” LE convinced as she dragged Hani closer and closer to the crowd.

Despite not being able to see anything from the back of the crowd, they could still hear some people introducing themselves through the microphone.

“Hey, everyone. I’m Hyerin. I’m here with my friend again.”

“Uhuh. You can follow us on our respective Smule account, Lord Voldemort and SOUL.G. We do solos and also duets. Be sure to check them out.”

The voice caught LE’s attention. “Wait. That sounds a lot like Solji’s voice.”

As soon as LE heard Solji’s voice speaking, she immediately released Hani from her grasp and forced herself through the crowd. Hani was desperately asking LE to come back but to no avail. “Hey, LE! Come back!”

Hyerin cleared and spoke into the microphone. “Thank you everyone for coming today but unfortunately, I won’t be performing today. Instead, my friend right here will be performing in my place with the song ‘Don’t Forget’ by Baek Ji Young.”

The crowd cheered like mad when they heard that. “Woohoo!!!”

Hyerin screamed into the microphone. “Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, SOUL.G!!”

Solji smiled at the crowd and placed the microphone near . As Hyerin sat down I front of her keyboard and started playing the music, Solji started singing with all her soul.

Uri seoro saranghaenneunde

Uri ije heeojineyo

Gateun haneul dareun gose isseodo

Budi nareul itji marayo

While fighting her way to the front of the crowd, LE was stunned by the most amazing voice she has ever heard. But the thing was, it sounded awfully familiar. “This voice… It can’t be…” This made LE more desperate to get to the front.

Chagaun barami sonkkeute seuchimyeon
Deullyeooneun geudae useumsori
Nae eolgul bichideon geudae du nuni
Geuriwo oerowo ulgo tto ureoyo

Ipsuri gudeobeoryeoseo
Malhaji motaetdeon geu mal

“I know this voice… This rhythm… I know this singer…” LE finally made her way to the front of the line and looked at the busker’s face immediately. Hani too reached the front line at almost the same time. LE’s eyes widened in shock when she saw Solji singing beautifully in front. The voice, the feelings, and the soul. LE recognized them all. It was of the PaperBagGirl’s. Seeing Solji singing exactly like the original PaperBagGirl made her terribly confused.

“H-how…” LE was at loss of words then she looked at Hani. She then turned back at Solji who’s singing her heart out in public.

“…” Hani was completely speechless. She knew this was going to happen soon. Her secret was never meant to stay for a long time.

Right at that moment, Solji’s eyes met with LE’s. It was a surprising sight for Solji but it didn’t even made her stutter. Solji professionally continued singing the song with all her heart while her eyes locked onto LE who was standing in the crowd. There’s a hint of longing look in Solji’s eyes when she stared at LE.

Uri seoro saranghaenneunde
Uri ije heeojineyo
Gateun haneul dareun gose isseodo
Budi nareul itji marayo

LE felt the pain Solji felt when she sang the song. Then, all the memories of her and Solji came flashing through her head. All the hurtful things she said to Solji that time made her clench her fist.

Hoksi algo innayo
Dwidoraseo gaseum jwigo
Geudael bonaejudeon geu saram

Geu sarami baro nayeyo
Geu sarameul saranghaejwoyo
Gateun haneul dareun gose isseodo
Eonjenganeun dorawajwoyo

Uri seoro saranghaenneunde
Uri ije heeojineyo
Gateun haneul dareun gose isseodo
Budi nareul itji marayo

Budi nareul itji marayo

Solji’s eyes were locked onto LE’s all the way till the end. As soon as the crowd started cheering wildly, Solji immediately came back to her senses. She put down the microphone frantically and excused herself from the scene without saying another word. “…”

“She’s the real PaperBagGirl…” LE said softly as she looked upon Solji leaving the area.

“Huh?” Hani started panicking.

“Solji was the PaperBagGirl…” LE then turned towards Hani in anger. “You lied to me!?”

“I…” Hani was completely speechless as she already got caught.

“Why would you do that to me!?” LE felt completely betrayed.

“I just don’t want to lose you!” Hani said desperately.

LE became dumbfounded. “So you’re really the fake one… Solji was telling the truth. You made me say bad things to her!”

“LE, please…” Hani tried to grab onto LE’s arm but got pushed away.

“No… You’ve done enough.” LE was really angry.

“…” Hani started crying.

LE immediately chased after Solji and grabbed onto her hand tightly. “Solji, wait!”

Solji immediately freed herself from LE. “Hey, hands off the merchandise!”

“I was wrong!!” LE shouted at her direction.

“…” Solji took a deep breath and turned around, forcing a smile on her face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about?”

“I’m very sorry.”

“Sorry for what?”

“I’m sorry for not believing you back then. I was being ignorant thinking that Hani was the real PaperBagGirl… I jumped to the conclusion too fast. But after hearing your real singing voice, I realized that it was you all along. The feeling and everything…”

“I tried telling you.” Solji answered with a dejected tone and pointed at Hani. “Apparently Miss Foxy right there managed to convince you otherwise.”

Hani was in tears when Solji pointed at her. “…”

“I see the truth now… Please forgive me.” LE begged.

“After saying those hurtful things to me? Wow. You must think of me as someone that cheap.” Solji stated.

“No, I didn’t mean to sound like that. What must I do in order for you to forgive me?” LE asked.

“Well then you’d probably owe me ten diamond rings if you want me to forgive you.” Solji said coyly.

“T-Ten diamond rings? You’re not serious, aren’t you?” LE was shocked.

A smile slowly crept up Solji’s face. “Pfft… I was just kidding. You should have seen the look on your face. It’s already priceless.”

LE sighed in relief. “I really thought you were gonna ask me to buy you ten diamond rings… So… Are you gonna forgive me?”

“Mhmm…” Solji nodded. “I hate holding grudges.”

“Are you sure? Just like that?” LE sounded doubtful.

“I plan to let go of the bad memories. It’s not healthy.”

As LE and Solji were having their conversation, Hani slowly backed away with tears filling her eyes. Just as she couldn’t hold it in anymore, she immediately ran back home and cried her heart out.

Solji who managed to sneak a peek at Hani running away from the vicinity, asked LE. “Hey, your paper bag princess is running away. Aren’t you going for her?”

LE acted dumb. “Hmm? But my paper bag princess was here all along.”

Solji almost choked on her own saliva before letting out a fake cough. “Wow, you change girls real quick, huh? What a player…”

“To tell the truth, I wouldn’t have been in a relationship with Hani if she had never told me the lie that she was the PaperBagGirl. I got confused because of the name she used. The one I obviously like the original PaperBagGirl so much more.”

“Are you confessing to me?” Solji asked in a chic manner while folding her arms.

“Is it working?” LE asked.

“Well, it will if I was still the PaperBagGirl. Too bad the original PaperBagGirl has gone down the drain. Just like your confession, down the drain. I’m SOUL.G now. So your confession doesn’t work on me anymore.”

LE squinted her eyes. “I never knew you had this much sass.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Solji winked and grabbed LE’s hand.

“Why are you grabbing my hand suddenly?” LE asked.

“We’re going to find Hani and clear things up.” Solji said.

“What!? I’m not meeting her again!” LE complained.

“Hey. You wanna be in good terms with me, then you must be in good terms with Hani too. Because I’m about to get back my best friend whether you like it or not. Deal?”

LE rolled her eyes. “Alright. Deal.”

Solji and LE then went to Hani’s house and clicked on the bell. “Hani? It’s me, Solji. Open up.”

“Go away, please!” Hani was heard crying out loud from inside.

LE then took over. “Hey, Hani. You gonna open up the door or would you like me to break it down?”

“I’m a pathetic liar! I don’t want to meet anybody! I don’t want to cause trouble anymore! Go away please!” Hani was still crying.

Solji continued. “Hani, if you have anything to say to us then open the door and tell it at our faces.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“Hani?”

The door slowly clicked open to reveal Hani with red eyes and nose from crying so much. As soon as Hani’s eyes came in contact with Solji’s eyes, she burst into tears immediately. “I’m so sorry, Solji… I’m so sorry… I was wrong… I was selfish… I was conceited, self-centred and egotistical…”

“…” Solji sighed. “So you do realize the amount of damage you’ve done to me, do you?”

“I know… I know… I couldn’t even sleep at night after that incident happened.” Hani’s tears couldn’t stop flowing from her eyes. The amount of guilt she felt was beyond words. All she wanted was just to get LE’s attention and she hurt her best friend along the way. She was so in guilt that she fell on both her knees to beg for forgiveness. “I just wish I could make things right again.”

“Hey, don’t kneel! Get up!” Solji was surprised with Hani’s action. Solji knew that Hani wasn’t the type of person to kneel. It must have taken her so much to be doing this in front of her now.

“LE, Solji! Please forgive me for all the bad things I have done. Please! I swear if you forgive me, I will walk away from your life and not bother the both of you anymore. I just need your forgiveness for this. That’s all. I never wanted to cause this much trouble…” Hani cried.

Solji crossed her arms. “You’re supposed to be full of pride, Hani. You need to stop this.”

“If you don’t forgive me, I will never be able to forgive myself in the future…”

“…” Solji sighed and pulled Hani’s right ear.

“Ouch!” Hani felt her head getting pulled along as well.

Solji then let go of Hani’s ear and smiled back at her. “Done. Apology accepted.”

Hani blinked. “Huh? Just like that?”

Solji shrugged. “Yeah. Just like that. What else do you want me to do?”

“You don’t hate me anymore?”

“Well, sure I hated you that time for what you did, but now I’ve let go of that. I can feel that your apology is sincere. And I doubt that you’ll ever make the same mistake again. So you’re forgiven.”

“Solji!!!” Hani cried even louder and hugged Solji tightly. “Thank you so much…”

Solji returned the hug and patted her. “Alright. That’s enough crying.”

“I can’t believe you still forgave me for what I did…” Hani continued crying as she looked upon LE as well. “I’m so sorry, LE. I never meant to lie to you. I just like you a lot and I didn’t want to give you up.”

LE sighed and nodded. “I get it. People make mistakes sometimes. I do made a lot of mistakes. Just as long as we’ll stay in good terms from now on.”

“Thank you so much! I love you guys!!” Hani cried all over again as she tightened her hug on Solji and LE.

Eventually LE forgave Hani for what she did, and the three of them became best friends once again. Not only that, now the three of them were closer to one another than before. Solji allowed Hani to hang on to the PaperBagGirl persona permanently since she doesn’t need it anymore. The three of them do meet up with Hyerin once in a while in a café to discuss about their passion on music.

As usual, Solji, LE and Hani were hanging out at the shopping mall when Solji suddenly remembered something. “Hey, today is Tuesday.”

“Uh, what of Tuesday?” LE asked.

“Have you both tried singing in public?” Solji asked suddenly.

“Not really…” Both Hani and LE answered simultaneously.

“Oh? If that’s the case then you both must experience it.” Solji placed one arm around Hani’s shoulder and the other holding LE’s hand tightly. LE blushed at the sudden action.

“Experience what??”

“The fun of busking.” Solji smiled and dragged both LE and Hani across the road. “Hyerin should be holding a performance now.”

There, Hyerin was having her busker performance as usual. Solji who stood together with LE and Hani in the crowd, caught her attention immediately. As soon as she noticed Solji, Hani and LE, she stopped her performance right away and gestured the three of them to come over.

“???” LE was definitely confused.

Solji grabbed LE’s hand and smiled. “Let’s sing something together. It’ll be fun.”

“But I haven’t done any public performances…” Despite being a strong character, LE does have her shy points.

“Aww… Your friend here is shy? Or not having any talent in singing?” Hyerin provoked.

“Give me the damn microphone!” Hyerin managed to ignite LE’s flame of competition as she grabbed Solji’s hand tightly and walked front.

Solji merely chuckled. “Good job, Hyerin. You got her to sing in public.”

“That’s what I do.” Hyerin shrugged in a cocky manner.

Solji noticed that Hani was still standing among the crowd, hesitant to go up front. “Hey Hani, come here!”

Hani’s eyes widened as she slowly backed off. “No no no… Not me.”

“Hani!” Solji called out before running into the crowd and grabbing her. “Come and sing with us. Where do you think you’re going?”

“…” Hani answered without even looking back at Solji. “I don’t deserve to sing together with you after what I did to you, Solji.”

“Pfftt… Good joke.” Solji didn’t even hear Hani out. She kept on dragging Hani towards the centre and passed a microphone to her. “If you don’t sing with me, then you really don’t deserve to be my friend. Come.”

“You guys ready?” Hyerin asked. “I hope the three of you are familiar with the song ‘I Feel Good’ right?”

“I absolutely love that song.” Solji looked over at LE and nodded her head. LE replied with a smile and a nod as well. Then a silence from the crowd came. After taking a deep breath, Solji placed the microphone near and got into the mood.

[Solji] I’m feelin it~ and I feel good~~~~~

As soon as Solji’s voice was captured by the microphone, the people around started cheering and screaming in awe at her fantastic vocals. They’ve probably never heard of such a good control of vocal before. Just then, Hyerin turned up the music as LE started rapping.

[LE] Hey everybody
I-I-I-I Feel G-G-G-Good, I-I-I-I Hey everybody
I-I-I-I Feel G-G-G-Good, I-I-I-I Hey everybody

Hey Say Need more basses
May Day Stop and game set
Baby I feel good yo
Michindeut norajwo deo keuge jijeo dallaguyo
Beat it Get it
I’m so High uri kkiri
I I I I Feel

[Solji] Now I feel good gibun joha
Oneureun dasi oji anha Baby
Nawa jigeum gibun joha
Jigeumi animyeon andwae I feel good

[LE] Hey everybody!
I-I-I-I Feel G-G-G-Good, I-I-I-I Hey everybody
I-I-I-I Feel G-G-G-Good, I-I-I-I Hey everybody

[Hani] Oneul bam Party night nawa hamkke chumeulchwo
A-ha A-ha (Oh) A-ha A-ha
Wait a minute
Bamsae dorok na na na na na (Na na na na na)

[Hyerin] Never stop the music
Oneul kkeutkkaji
Please don’t stop the music
Jeo haneul wiro
Soneul nopideureo
I bamui kkeuteul jabgoseo Oh let me go!

[Solji] Now I feel good gibun joha
Oneureun dasi oji anha baby
Nawa jigeum gibun joha jigeumi
Animyeon andwae
I feel good good good tonight

[LE] NA NA NA NA NA NA
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
I-I-I-I Feel G-G-G-Good
NA NA NA NA NA NA
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
[Solji] Dasi hanbeon deo I feel good

[Hani] Hwaryeohan bulbit jomyeong arae
Neowa naega hana doeneun bam
[Hyerin] Du nuneul gamgo chumeul chwo
Now I feel good

[LE] Kkamanbam neowa na ibameul hwanhi balghyeo bolkkana
Um uh uh jamkkanman
U know I like the way you move slow down ([Solji] Now I feel good~)
 

NA NA NA NA NA NA
Don’t stop jebal meomchujima
Get high michingeot cheoreom
I yeolgie jeongsinirado irheungeot cheoreom

[Hyerin] Never stop the good night
Haetteul ttaekkaji
Please don’t stop the good night
Jeo haneul wiro
Soneul nopideureo
I eumage momeul matgyeo Oh let me go!

[Hani] Now I feel good gibun joha ([Solji] Gibun joha)
Oneureun dasi oji anha Baby ([Solji] Oh baby jigeum)
[Solji] Nawa jigeum gibun joha jigeumi
Animyeon andwae I feel good

[LE] Hey everybody!

I-I-I-I Feel G-G-G-Good, I-I-I-I Hey everybody ([Solji] Oh~I’m feelin it, I feel good~)
I-I-I-I Feel G-G-G-Good, I-I-I-I Hey everybody

“WOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!” The crowd went crazy. Solji and Hyerin had never seen such a wild response in busking so far. There were probably hundreds of people standing there watching their performance. The people wouldn’t stop screaming for an encore, almost like an idol performance. “ENCORE ENCORE ENCORE ENCORE!”

It made the four of them laugh in satisfaction as people swarm in and tossed their money into Hyerin’s guitar case. Hyerin laughed. “Wow, I haven’t seen such a response from the audience in my life.”

Solji then placed an arm around Hyerin’s shoulder and smiled. “It simply means the four of us were meant to sing together.”

“Hmm… Not bad for first timers.” Hyerin nodded at LE and Hani’s direction.

“Yeah, how do you feel?” Solji smiled at them.

“It feels pretty good.” Hani shrugged.

“Love it. Especially the audiences… Maybe singing in public wasn’t a bad idea after all.” LE said.

“Great. Then we can do this more often.” Solji clapped in excitement. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go somewhere.”

Hani called out. “Hey, where are you going?”’

“None of your business, Hani!” Solji replied as she slowly walked away from the scene.

“You’re not going to take a dump, are you?” Hani called out.

“Yes I am going to take a dump. Happy? Now shut it.”

Hani blinked. “I regret asking her that.”

Solji went to the toilet to relief herself and washed her hands. Right when Solji closed the tap and looked at the mirror, she saw LE standing right behind her. “…”

“…”

“…”

Solji squinted. “Are you here to take a dump too?”

“Uh, no. I just wanted a time alone with you.” LE said.

“And why is that?”

“To tell you exactly how I feel about everything that’s going on now.”

“Oh…” Solji nodded in an awkward manner while she leaned against the sink. “Well… I do have something to say about that too but you first.”

LE cleared before starting. “You know… It’s been a few months since we first met, I think? And a lot of things happened between us and all. But truthfully, I developed feelings for you ever since you were still the PaperBagGirl. And the fact that I scolded you for being the fake one really did hurt me as well. I’m sincerely sorry about that, really.”

Solji could definitely sense the sincerity in LE’s words. She nodded. “I know. I already forgave you for that.”

LE shook her head. “No, it’s not only that. I’ve actually been missing you a lot these past two months when I was dating Hani. It’s strange, you know? During this time, all I know was that Hani was the PaperBagGirl. And yet, I still think of you more often… Then it made me realize something… Even if you weren’t the PaperBagGirl, I’d still fall for you.”

“…” Solji felt her heart racing, sending large amount of blood into her face.  “You mean, if PaperBagGirl and I were two different people… You’d still date me?”

“I really liked the time we spent together… So yeah. I would.” LE confessed.

“…” Solji’s face was literally red in color. Her feelings seemed to be swayed already. She shook her head hard and tried to get rid of her confusion. “No no no no… You chose Hani over me. So stop confusing me.”

“I was going to confess to you when you come back from your grandparent’s place that time.”

“You what!?” Solji didn’t see that coming.

“Hani coming out to me as the PaperBagGirl really did confuse my feelings. That’s why I was a foolish person back then. It was a stupid mistake, I know. I should have thought about it twice.”

“…”

“…”

Solji sighed. “Nobody is perfect. People make mistakes… Do you wanna know something?”

“What?”

“I too have feelings for you.” Solji confessed.

“You do?” LE seemed surprised as well.

“Yup.” Solji nodded. “And even after that incident, I still can’t shake my feelings for you off me. So I was pretty scarred badly. And from that day on, I told myself that no matter how much I like you, I would probably not date you anymore… I’m sorry.”

LE nodded in a depressing manner. “I see… Well that’s a shame then.”

“…” Solji too looked dejected. She obviously still like LE a lot but she just felt that she couldn’t trust her anymore.

LE then took something out of her pocket and gave it to Solji. “Then I want you to at least have this.”

Solji looked at the item that resembles a locket on her hand. “What’s this?”

“It’s a musical locket I made myself. I spent a lot of time on this. I was gonna pass this to you when I confess to you but well, it didn’t work out as planned. But I still want you to have it.” LE smiled.

Solji opened it and saw a small picture of herself and LE while the music of their favourite duet song, ‘Some’ played. Solji’s eyes were locked onto it. “You made this…for me?”

“Yeah. I mean, it may not be of use for you anymore but I just want you to keep it. I spent a few nights making this.” LE then let out a deep breath and smiled back at her. “Let’s go. Hyerin and Hani are waiting for us.”

As soon as LE turned around, Solji grabbed her hand tightly. “…”

“Solji? What’s wr-”

Without any warning, Solji pulled LE in for a kiss. It wasn’t a normal kiss. It was a super intense kiss that includes one hand grabbing onto LE’s back of the head while the other caressing her back lustfully. It seemed like Solji poured all her feelings out with that single kiss.

LE then pulled away from Solji, panting hard from the sudden kiss. “Didn’t you said you wouldn’t date me anymore??”

“Quiet!” Solji shut LE up with another passionate kiss. It became a little violent as Solji kept on pushing LE against the wall and kissing her uncontrollably. LE too started kissing Solji lustfully and holding one of Solji’s thigh up. After some pushing and pulling, they finally ended up in one of the toilet stalls. Without even looking, LE reached her hand towards the stall door and locked it tight.

As LE’s hand worked its way up Solji’s thigh, a few moans escaped Solji’s mouth. And then, she came back to her senses. “Stop, stop!” Solji immediately pushed LE away from her as she was already feeling too hot. Her heart was beating way too fast. Her face was completely red in colour and she was panting very heavily. “You need to stop. This is the public.”

“I’m sorry.” LE apologized. “But you started it.”

“Oh my goodness, what was I even doing… I blanked out for a few seconds.” Solji started fanning herself awkwardly. “Hoo… It sure is hot in here… Haha…”

“You’re not entirely true to your feelings, it seems.” LE stated.

“Can we not talk about this already?” Solji continued fanning her red face, embarrassed after what she did. “I don’t know why I did that. It just sort of…happened.”

“Okay then. You wanna get out?” LE asked, which Solji nodded to. As soon as they opened the toilet stall, they were greeted by Hyerin and Hani whom were holding in their smiles while staring back at them.

Solji couldn’t believe it. Both Hani and Hyerin heard whatever sound they made in the stall earlier. “OH.MY.GOD.”

“You guys having fun in there?” Hyerin held in her smiles.

“You didn’t hear anything…weird, did you?” Solji faked a laughter.

“You mean the 2 times you moaned? Nope. Didn’t hear a thing for sure.” Hani answered sarcastically.

“Mhmm…” Hyerin nodded silently and was still holding in her smiles.

“Arghhh!!!!” Solji’s face was literally flushing red and started smacking LE. “This is all your fault!!”

“You pounced on me first. Don’t blame me.” LE shrugged.

“YOU POUNCED ON- OHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! CAT OUT OF THE BAG!!” Hyerin and Hani both hugged each other unconsciously like fangirls. “Solji, I never knew you were so wild!”

“ARGGHH!!!!” She quickly covered her face and dashed out of the toilet, embarrassed.

“Good job, LE.” Hyerin winked at her before walking out of the toilet.

“Uhm…” Hani hesitated to ask a little as she was feeling a little hot from the sounds she heard earlier. “You both didn’t happen to…you know…do the ‘unthinkable’ too in the stall earlier…right?”

“Why are you so interested to know?” LE asked.

“I…I don’t know…” Hani’s face suddenly flushed red. “Oh my god. Why am I thinking of weird things?” Hani went to wash her face to clear her mind.

Months had passed, and the four girls started to grow closer to one another. Hani and LE too joined Hyerin and Solji in their busking activity. Their busking performances became a huge thing in the internet and they always managed to attract a little too many people. They’ve become sort of a celebrity on the streets with their audiences seemingly becoming larger and larger in size. Any larger, and they will start causing traffic jams everywhere. After wrapping up their performance for the night, the four of them went to a café to have some drink when they were suddenly approached by a man in a suit.

“Hello girls.” The man greeted.

“Uhm… Hello?” Solji greeted back. “You are…?”

The man cleared his throat and begun. “I’ve seen the four of you perform on the streets and on the internet, and I have to say that I’m really really impressed by your singing.”

“Thank you for supporting us, but looking at the suit you’re wearing… I’m sure there’s more to this than just complimenting us?” Solji who sat beside LE asked in curiosity.

“You’re as bright as your voice, Miss Solji.” The man then took out his business card and handed it to the four girl as they read the details written on it.

“Banana Culture Entertainment? So they entertain people with bananas or something?” Hani mumbled a little too loud which made the man faked a laugh before explaining the details to the four of them.

The man offered them to join his company as a new girl group because he saw a lot of talent in them. “It will be a waste if you use your talents in singing only in the streets. You need to go big. You need to make the whole world hear of your names.”

“…” The four of them were quite shocked at his explanation.

Hyerin squinted. “Is this a hidden camera? Because this isn’t funny at all.”

LE continued. “Yeah, this is literally our dreams you’re talking about so we wouldn’t joke about this matter a lot.”

Hani was silent as she looked at the man without even blinking. “…”

“I can assure you that we are 100% legit and real. We are very interested in hiring the four of you into our company as real idols. For the four of you to perform on the stage instead of the streets. You can call my company if you need any more enquiries.”

“Call your company for enquiries?” Solji frowned. “More like when can we start?”

“I’m in! I’m in!” Hyerin put her hand up.

“Count me in too.” LE said.

“…” Hani was still speechless.

“Hani? We’re waiting for your answer.” Solji said.

“So we’ll be idols after I accept the offer?” Hani asked.

“Yes, you will.” The man smiled and answered.

“I’ll be an idol…” Hani leaned back on her chair and blinked her eyes in a blank manner.

“…”

“…”

Solji rolled her eyes. “That’s a yes from Hani, apparently.”

“Great! I will contact the four of you very soon.” The man nodded excitedly and shook hands with the four of them before leaving the café.

“…” Hani still looked incredibly shocked.

“Hani?”

“I’ll be an idol…” Hani said softly.

“Huh?” Since Hani was a little too soft, Solji couldn’t really hear a thing.

“Solji, you hear that!? We’ll finally get to be idols! This is a dream come true!!!” Hani grabbed Solji’s arms and cheered loudly.

Solji had no comments on Hani’s excitement. “…”

“I’ll be an idol!! WOO!!!!!” Hani grabbed her coffee and started running out of the café, bragging to everyone else on the streets. “Watch out, everyone! We will be the best idols Korea has ever seen!!”

Little did she notice that she ran into someone accidentally and spilled her coffee on that person. “Oh my god, I’m so sor-”

Hani was silenced by the sight of an incredibly handsome male standing right in front of her, patting off the coffee stain off his shirt. He wasn’t any typical male you can find strolling in the streets. He turned out to be a very famous idol. “It’s alright. Are you okay, miss?”

“…” Hani still had her eyes and mouth both wide open from the shocking sight. Her heart started beating quickly and her face turned red. “I…”

“Hmm? Are you fine?” The male idol smiled a little and waited for her to reply.

“You’re so fine…” Hani blurted.

“Excuse me?”

Hani finally came back to her senses. “No, I mean, I’m fine. Thanks for asking. I’m so sorry about your shirt. I should get you a new one.”

The male idol shrugged it off. “Nah, it’s alright. The stain will come off after I wash it. I’m J-”

“I know. You don’t need to introduce yourself.” Hani intercepted before clearing shyly. “You’re JYJ’s Junsu, right? I’m a huge fan.”

“I see…” Junsu nodded. “Earlier you were screaming about being an idol? What was that about?”

Hani stated. “Oh, it’s just that me and a few of my friends just got scouted by Banana Culture Entertainment. The CEO wanted to offer us to debut as a girl group in his company. So yeah… Guess I’ll be an idol in the future? Haha…”

“Oh? That means we’ll get to meet more often. That’s nice. I’ll be looking forward to it, Miss…?”

“Oh, it’s Ahn Hee Young. Or Hani for short.”

“Hani… That’s a nice name. Guess I’ll see you some time in the future then.” Junsu shot a wink at Hani and walked off from the scene, followed by his group of fangirls chasing him.

“JYJ…Junsu…just…talked…to…me…” Hani froze in her spot for at least five minutes. Her heart was racing and her face was completely red in color. She then slapped herself on both sides of her cheeks. “Argh, Hani stop it! You can’t be falling in love all over again!”

“OH MY GOODNESS!!! WASN’T THAT JYJ’S JUNSU!?” Hyerin had both hands on her forehead, being mind blown at the fact that Hani just spoke to a famous male idol. She immediately clung onto Hani and asked. “WHAT DID HE SAY TO YOU!? TELL ME EVERYTHING!!”

“Don’t be a creep, Hyerin.” Hani then frowned and remembered something. “Hey, this scene seemed awfully familiar…”

“What?”

Hani then shook her head. “Nah, forget it. Let’s go.”

It was already night time. Solji and LE were having a walk in the park and enjoying the night view. Solji noticed that LE was zoning out for quite a bit so she decided to ask her. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

LE then came back to her senses. “Hm? Oh, I was just thinking about our decision earlier.”

Solji shrugged. “What of it?”

“Don’t you think it was too rush or something?”

“Too rush? Nah…” Solji then noticed that LE still has the troubled look on her face. She then reached for her hand and intertwined their fingers. “Look, LE. We’re all in this together, okay? It had been our dream to become an idol ever since we created our Smule account, remember? You always told me how you’ve always wanted to experience the life of an idol, right?”

“Yeah, you’re right. I guess I was also a little worried about our…you know…relationship.”

Hearing that made Solji look at LE for a bit and smiled. “I know where you’re getting at. But, I don’t see why we need to declare anything about us to the public. As long as you know how I feel towards you, I’m okay. What’s more important right now is our dream.”

“Hmm… You sure are going to be a great leader, you know?” LE complimented her.

“Pffttt… Me? A great leader?” Solji said proudly and flipped her hair. “Thanks for the compliment.”

“Uhuh… You’re a proud person.” LE nodded her head. “Exactly what we need as our leader.”

“Hey, Ahn Hyojin” Solji tightened her grip on LE’s hand.

“Yeah?” LE too tightened her grip.

Solji then smiled sweetly at LE. “Let’s reach our dreams, together.”

The four of them soon received the call from the chairman and finally got the green light to debut as a girl group. Instead of a 4-member group, the chairman had decided to add one more member for the new girl group. On the fated day, as the four of them were sitting in the office lounge waiting for their next instructions, the door opened to reveal the chairman and another young girl.

The chairman introduced. “Girls, I would like you to meet Junghwa. She will be the fifth member in your group.”

She bowed politely. “Hi, I’m Park Junghwa. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Aww… Aren’t you a cutie pie?” Hyerin proceeded to pinch her on the cheek before hugging her.

“Ah, our rumored maknae… Come here you.” Hani proceeded and hug Junghwa.

“Oh my god, she’s so cute! Hey, I wanna hug her too.” Solji added the hug.

“Don’t leave me out.” LE hugged the entire group.

“…” Junghwa who was stuck in the middle of the group blinked her eyes blankly. “Am I missing something here?”

Solji then pushed everyone away. “Alright break it up, guys. We don’t want our precious maknae to suffocate.”

The manager then continued. “Solji, you will be the leader of this group.”

Solji squinted her eyes at him. “You’re kidding, right? Why me?”

“Somebody snuck a proposal letter into my room last night, explaining the advantages of you being the leader, Solji. I’m pretty impressed by the proposal, I must say. So I have no doubts about it.”

“Somebody gave you a proposal…” Solji’s eyes then rolled over towards LE. “It was you, wasn’t it?”

LE pointed out. “Hey, I just gave like two points. It was Hyerin and Hani who gave the rest of the main points.”

The chairman then looked at Junghwa. “What do you think about Solji being the leader, Junghwa?”

Junghwa scratched her head. “I don’t really have any opinion about this, but since the unnis have so many good points about her then I’ll just go along with everybody’s decision.”

The chairman clapped his hands. “It’s done then. Solji will be the leader of this group.”

Everybody nodded in agreement. “Cool with us. Solji is the best choice.”

Solji squinted back at them. “Are you guys sure about that?”

“Sure, why not?” Hani shrugged.

LE added. “Yea, I believe that Solji will be able to lead us well.”

“Oh well, if you girls say so, I accept. I just can’t help but be awesome sometimes.” Solji flipped her hair in a cocky way.

“Now I regret saying that.” Hani said.

Solji then asked the manager. “So what’s the name of our group?”

He showed the five of them the design of their group logo. “Your group name will be called ‘Exceed in Dreaming’ or in simple letters, EXID.”

MUSIC IN MY SOUL
END

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