Everyone knows that going on stage isn’t easy. The anticipation and extreme terror you feel right before you go on stage can have you awake for days on end, but all to vanish the second you step into the spotlight. In Jooheon’s case, this was exactly what was happening. It was 4 a.m. in the morning, and he hadn’t slept a wink. For the third day in a row. To call Jooheon a scaredy-cat was just a slight understatement. For starters, he needed a nightlight and a whole barricade of pillows to sleep at night, which was inconvenient for hot days. He was scared to talk to girls, strangers, professors, and his strict grandpa. Sometimes he was scared to look in the mirror, because that’s where all the ghost showed up in horror movies. There were probably more things Jooheon was scared of than he wasn’t. Even Minhyuk and Hyungwon intimidated him when they first met. The worst part? Jooheon owned a scary face, which often made people mistaken him for some sort of gang leader. How ironic was that? Jooheon focused his mind, along with our minds, back onto the topic of performing. He knew he had practiced his cello for days on end, but he still felt that it wasn’t enough. The performance was in five days, and he was running out of time.

   “You know what, sleep.”

Turning on his lamp, he set up his music stand, and practiced some more. He would have to apologize to his neighbours afterwards.

---

   “Whoaaah, that was amazing! Seriously, you’re awesome!” Minhyuk gushed, right after Jooheon played the last note. Minhyuk and Hyungwon sat on cushions on Jooheon’s floor, having just watched the most impromptu cello concert ever.

   “Really? T-thanks so much!” Jooheon said, bashfully, causing Hyungwon to scoff.

   “You shouldn’t be shy when taking in compliments.” He said, scowling. His expression then softened a bit. “But you really are good. Your performance is in four days, which gives you plenty of time to practice. I don’t see why you’re so nervous?”

   “You’re really asking me?” Jooheon smiled, raising a brow. “If I’m scared of sleeping at night without a light, performing in front of people should be terrifying.”

   “Well to be fair, you’re Jooheon, so that’s enough of a reason.”

   “Hyungwon, be nice!”

Jooheon laughed, but it was true. He hated performing, but it wasn’t something he could escape. After all, he was an aspiring musician. But just thinking about performing made his stomach drop and his face turn pale. Minhyuk seemed to notice.

   “Look, if you’re really that terrified, we’ll get you some help.” He reassured. Hyungwon’s eye twitched.

   “No, we aren’t, you are. I’m busy today.”

He turned to leave, but Minhyuk already had an iron grip on his wrist.

   “You aren’t going anywhere until we fix Jooheon’s issue, because I know you aren’t busy, you lazy .”

Hyungwon groaned. Troublesome things like this were the worst, and he was planning on marathoning SKET Dance as well...

   “Can’t you just get Kihyun to give him a pep talk? As our respective group mom, he’s really good at those.”

---

   “Sorry, but I’ve got nothing.”

Seriously!?

   “I’m sorry, but I don’t have many experiences with going on stage.” Kihyun said, a little annoyed. I mean, how high were their expectations for him!? “I’m a painter, after all. The most worked up I’ve gotten were when exhibits and auctions happened with my works. Doesn’t happen that often, though.”

   “I see.” Jooheon said, looking visibly upset.

   “Seriously, you let your emotions show so easily.” Kihyun chided. “I have one idea, and it isn’t much, but it’s something. There’s this kid I know makes these really weird concoctions that help you deal with fear, clumsiness, all that. I’ve tried one for anger management and it worked really well.”

   “Huh.”

Hyungwon and Minhyuk had impressed expressions on their faces. If this kid could hold down Kihyun’s god-like anger, he must be some sort of prodigy.

   “But what’s this kid’s name?” Minhyuk asked.

   “Changkyun.”

...Changkyun? Hey, hey, didn’t we hear that name last chapter?

   “Changkyun!? Hey, hey, didn’t we hear that name last chapter? I don’t think this is the best idea!”

Cue the war flashbacks from Chapter 6

---

Hyungwon knocked on Changkyun’s door.

   “I’m telling you, this is a bad idea!” Minhyuk whined behind him. “Being nervous before performing is natural, and what if something bad happens? I think this is much more dangerous than just dealing with it.”

Hyungwon rolled his eyes.

   “Then that’s not my problem. I’m just helping him like you told me to, and I’d like to avoid trouble by all costs.”

Minhyuk pouted, and Jooheon sighed. It was just like Hyungwon to be this crude. However, Hyungwon had his own doubts. Sure enough, Kihyun had given them the right room number, right? Even if Kihyun had given them the wrong number, now bad could it be? Well it is this kind of story so- BANG!

   “Oh deary me, I didn’t notice you there~”

A man dressed in a wig, a skirt, and nine-inch high heels stood in the doorway, towering above Hyungwon, Minhyuk, and Jooheon. All three of them stood, frozen in shock. Leaning down, the man(?) placed kisses on each of their foreheads, his(?) lipstick leaving gigantic marks.  

   “You three are so cute! Would you like to come in?”

   “W-wrong door…” Minhyuk managed to make out, “WRONG ING DOOR! RUN! THIS CAN’T POSSIBLY BE CHANGKYUN!”

The three of them dashed away as fast as their legs would take them. They rushed down a stairwell, and across another hallway, where they incidentally found the right door.

   “Man, I can’t believe we took the room right above.” Jooheon panted. All three of them lay on the ground, panting. “It’s just convenient that this kid hangs a name tag outside his door.”

Just then, the door creaked open, and a guy, of pretty small stature by the looks of it, poked his head out.

   “Oh! Are you Changkyun?” Minhyuk asked, his face lighting up. Changkyun nodded. “Can we come in?” Changkyun nodded again.

   “Is nodding all you can do?” Hyungwon raised an eyebrow. Changkyun nodded. Wait, he shook his head. “Oh, so you can shake your head too, wow that’s some astonishing personality you’ve got there.”

There were no signs of Changkyun wavering as he led the trio into his room.

---

   “S-so all I need to do is drink this orange juice and my nervousness will be all gone?” Jooheon asked skeptically. He held up a small bottle of orange juice, labelled “Cool and Collected.” It apparently contained Changkyun’s weird drug. Changkyun gave a small “hm” of approval. “So the effects start around two hours after drinking it, but bre you sure this is safe?”

An annoyed look was shot in Jooheon’s direction, as if Changkyun was miffed that anyone would doubt his work.

   “Well even if it isn’t safe, do you at least have a drug that would return him back to normal?” Minhyuk worriedly examined every bottle of weird liquid on every shelf for an answer. ‘Oh I spilled-” Another bottle of orange juice was shoved in front of his face, making him sigh in relief. However, Minhyuk’s face paled as soon as he read the label, which said; “XTreme Passion.”

   “Seriously, what’s with the naming sense!? This makes my trust go down into the negatives!”

   “Wow, you’re facial expression is too funny.” Hyungwon laughed, watching Minhyuk freak out over the bottle of orange juice. He turned to Changkyun. “If Jooheon somehow isn’t reverted back to his original state, the Glitter Slitter will be lodged inside your neck, you got that clear?”

Changkun nodded rapidly, backing himself into a corner of his room. He didn’t know the capabilities of the Glitter Slitter, but the look Hyungwon was giving him explained more than enough.

   “W-well the drug wears off on its own after a day…” He murmured, but nobody heard him. In the end, Jooheon wound up chugging the orange juice. The trio left, with Hyungwon sending death glares in Changkyun’s direction. Changkyun sighed, then turned to his giant wall hanging of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Kneeling down, he prayed with all his might that nothing bad would happen, but he knew he was asking for the impossible. He got up, and went to organize his shelf, after Minhyuk had made a mess. Goodness sake, people worry too much.

---

It was Monday morning, and everyone was disgruntled, having the weekend just ended. Minhyuk and Hyungwon were no different.

   “I could have finished SKET Dance if it weren’t for you.” Hyungwon grunted, “Dragging me to some random kid’s room to help Joohon. Couldn’t you have just done it yourself?” He laid his head on his bag, using it as a pillow.

   “Well,” Minhyuk chided, “I mean I could have, but that ruins all the fun, y’know?”

Hyungwon rolled his eyes as Minhyuk waltzed away to check up on Rumi, who seemed a little too quiet this morning. That Minhyuk. He thought. He just has to make sure everyone’s happy, doesn’t he? Hyungwon rested his head back onto his bag, and dozed off. However, he was rudely awakened only a few minutes into his nap by someone rapidly tapping his shoulder with a crazy amount of force.

   “Wha-”

Hyungwon looked up to meet Jooheon’s ice cold eyes gazing down at him. Of course, only Jooheon’s cello fingers could exert that much force.

   “Chae Hyungwon.” Jooheon said, his tone laced with malice “Why is it that you think sleeping in class is okay?”

Hyungwon just stared with a muddled expression. Who was this?

   “Jooheon a-are you alright? Do you need some water or something?”

   “I’m doing just fine.” Jooheon replied curtly. “But you sleeping in class is not okay.”

   “Well I’m sorry?”

   “Saying sorry to me isn’t going to do anything. I hope you know that.”

Jooheon then flipped his hair, and walked off cooly, a trail of snowflakes following him. Hyungwon could only inwardly scream, as he just knew the reason behind all this. Minhyuk came waltzing back, with a gigantic smile on his face.

   “Hey, guess what happened!? Yoonmi complimented me! She said I looked cute today-”

   “Minhyuk, we’ve got an emergency. Your infatuation with Yoonmi is completely irrelevant as of now.”

   “Hey! I never said I liked her!”

---

   “Jooheon isn’t cool and collected!” Minhyuk exclaimed, jabbing a finger at Jooheon. “He’s downright cold!”

It was lunchtime, and Changkyun found himself cornered by those three headaches from yesterday. He winced, as he saw Hyungwon whip out the Glitter Slitter. Irritated, he led the three into the science room.

   “So I see you’re in the science club.” Jooheon commented, looking around, after Changkyun had unlocked the door. Changkyun nodded. “But this is a music school, so I really don’t see why a club like this exists.”

Realizing the effects of his own concoction, Changkyun hurriedly gave Jooheon the bottle of orange juice labelled “XTreme Passion.” He could have just told them to wait a few more hours, but he didn’t know if Minhyuk and Hyungwon could hold out.

   “Just drink it for now.” He quietly said, making all three of them lean in to hear hear what he was saying. “I’ll develop something that’ll return you back to normal.”

Begrudgingly, Jooheon drank the contents of the bottle.

---

The “orange juice” started to show its effects during English class, when Jooheon suddenly sprung up from his seat.

   “Jooheon, what’s wrong?” The English teacher asked, giving him a confused look. Jooheon almost never raised his hand in class, and this happens. Maybe he could answer the question on the board?

   “Everyone!” He passionately yelled, a hand over his heart, “Where’s your love for the English language!? This question… This question is difficult, but if we put our minds to this, we can surely do it!”

The rest of the class fell silent in utter shock. Was this the scaredy-cat and shy Jooheon they knew?

   “Let’s put our hearts into this!” He continued, propping one foot on a chair, “I know we can push through!” Tears were starting to form in Jooheon’s eyes, and the rest of the class felt a sudden burst of inspiration in their hearts. “All for the love of the English language!”

   “Yeah!!”

The class was then thrown into chaos, with everyone cheering their hearts out, and yelling incoherent English phrases.

   “I want my raise…” The English teacher weeped, as he hid under his desk.

In a classroom nearby, Hyungwon was reading a book when he suddenly heard shouting from outside the room. If this is Jooheon I swear... He thought to himself. However, it is this kind of story. He cringed.

---

Changkyun sighed for the upteenth time in the hour. They were back, and complaining again. Jesus Christ, couldn’t they just chill?

   “But when are you gonna be done with that thing that, you know, reverts him back to normal?” Minhyuk anxiously asked.

   “Maybe tomorrow.” Was all Changkyun could say. But he had to admit, Minhyuk had a perfect reason to be anxious. As we are reading right now, Jooheon was reciting Shakespeare’s Hamlet, to a bottle of “orange juice” in extremely broken English.

   “Couldn’t you be any faster?” Minhyuk urged, “He has a performance in three days!”

Sighing yet again, Changkyn shoved another bottle of “orange juice” in Minhyuk’s face, this one labeled “Chill”. Jooheon having a performance in three days wasn’t any of Changkyun business, so frankly, he didn’t give a . In fact, they had brought it upon themselves- didn’t they know not to trust things like this? It was probably better to fix things as quickly as possible, before things got out of hand.

---

During the last block of the day, Jooheon had another personality change. He was in orchestra with Minhyuk.

   “The sky is so blue today…” he muttered, swaying side to side, staring off into space.

   “Uh we’re inside right now.’ The guy sitting next to him said, “We don’t have any windows here.”

Jooheon didn’t seem to pay any attention as he brought his bow to his D string, still dazing off.

   “I can hear the birds chirping, a beautiful voice singing…”

   “I think that’s just your cello.”

Minhyuk winced, watching Jooheon from the violin section.

   “Minhyuk, you okay?” His fellow violinist, Yoonho, asked.

   “Oh, I’m fine. Jooheon, on the other hand, I doubt. I think he’s been playing the same note for around a minute now.”

There was a sudden loud thud, bringing everyone’s attention to the cello section. Jooheon had dropped his instrument, and was now spitting out nonsensical rhymes while his upper body swung in small circular motions.

---

Done! Finally done. Changkyun watched proudly, as Jooheon drank the “orange juice” that would bring him back to his senses. Minhyuk and Hyungwon were standing there as well, with cheerful expressions on their faces.

   “You know” Hyungwon said, “Dealing with stage fright is a natural part of being a performer, and nothing should change that.”

   “That’s the first time you said something so, well, positive! I’m proud of you” Minhyuk smiled. “Is what I’d like to say, but you just basically repeated what I said a few paragraphs earlier you tard.”

A/N

so I recently discovered the reply button in the comments section. now i get to reply your comments whoop

References:

SKET Dance is an anime that y'all should watch. This chapter was loosely based off one of the episodes.