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                “What brings you here?” He said as soon as he noticed my presence. He was cutting the withered parts of the plant.

                “She came just as you predicted.” I rubbed my fingers against the delicate petals.

                “That child appeared earlier than expected.” He accidently touched the point of the scissor with his finger. A droplet of blood formed on the wound and dripped into the soil. I gasped.

                “Some things cannot always be foretold.” He took his work towel and wiped the blood off. The redness mixed in with the brownness of the dirt creating a mahogany color. “Is that all you came here for?” He finally turned his attention away from the plant and faced me.

                “I have already made my move. What do we do now?” I plucked a petal off the flower and smelled its sweet fragrance.      

                “We wait.” His voice got deeper. I dropped the petal. “The child’s future can only be manipulated by her own decision.”

                “Shall I convince her a little?” I asked.

                “You’re free to do so, but I can’t guarantee it’ll change anything. I believe that the answer is already determined within her heart.”

                “So which one will she choose?” I held up two flowers, one on each hand.

                “Like I said, we need to be patient and wait.”

                “I got it.”I placed the flowers back down.”But grandpa, why are you doing this? I thought you’ve stopped prying into one’s life years ago.”

                “Nothing particular. It’s just that the child’s eyes told me an interesting story.”

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Jaelyn’s POV

                “This is already your third bottle of water. You’re going to end up needing the bathroom during your performance.” Hyuna handed me the bottle.

                “Hyuna, what should I do? I’ve never been this nervous in my life. My throat feels dry no matter what I drink.” I squeezed Hyuna’s hand.

                “It’s okay. Most people are like this on their debut performance.”

                “Argh. Why can’t I be one of the few people who doesn’t get nervous?”

                “Now you’re just talking gibberish. Stop worrying and just give it your best.”

                “I think I need the bathroom again.” I said quickly.

                “Oh Junhyung, Kikwang! Good timing, you guys take care of this girl. I need to go on an errand. Bye, and hwaiting!” Hyuna rush out of the room in the backstage.

                “What’s wrong?” Junhyung asked.

                “I don’t think I can do this. I’m so nervous!” I said as I faced both of them.

                 “Your fans outside are anticipating you. You can’t just let them down now.” He put his hand over mine. “You have to stay strong.”

                “I’m trying really hard to right now. But every time I think about the audiences, my mind goes blank.” My whole body was shaking.

                “Jaelyn calm down, look at me.” Kikwang placed his hands on my shoulders. I looked into his eyes. I noticed that he has no eyeliners on. “Remember everything that you did?” I nodded. “You trained really hard for this day.”

                “I know I did.”

                “So that’s why you should step onto that stage and shine. Isn’t that your dream?”

                “Yes it is. But what if I mess up?”

                “Where did the confident Jaelyn that I know go?” Kikwang asked. “The Jaelyn that I know can always remove any obstacles that stand in her way. Who are you?”

                “I’m Song Jaelyn.” I answered.

                “Don’t worry about what the others think, just give it all you’ve got. Okay? We’ll cheer you on from the backstage. Right hyung?” He nudged Junhyung by the shoulder.

                “Yes, of course we will.” Somehow I felt more comfortable after their encouragement.

                “Miss Song Jaelyn, please step onto the stage!” Someone yelled from the door.

                “I’m coming!” I yelled back. I got up quickly and started walking.

                “Jaelyn hwaiting!” Both of them said as I turned about one last time before I entered the stage.

                The lights were dim as I stepped onto the center. I could hear the crowd chanting my name. Then, the spotlight and focused on me. I took a deep breath and started performing. I completely forgot about my audience. It was all over in a flash. Then, the crowd exploded with cheers. I was out of breath as I bowed and gave my thanks. It felt great. The performance ended successfully.

                When I went to the backstage, I saw Hyuna sitting on the chair clapping.

                “Wow Jaelyn! You did awesome!” She praised.

                “Thanks.” I wiped my sweat with a towel then I looked around. “Uh where are Junhyung and Kikwang?” I asked.

                “They said they were busy so they had to leave.”

                “Oh.” It felt like a smack across my face. Nice. Kikwang lied to me. Even Junhyung did.

                “We’re having a party after.” Hyuna said. “You’re coming right?”

                “Um, I think I’ll pass. I want to go back to my dorm and rest.”

                “True, you must be really tired. Get changed quickly. I’ll take you back.”

                “Okay.” The ride home was quiet. How come I’m feeling so down? I should be really happy. Instead, I felt a bit lonely.   

                “Have a good night, Jaelyn.”

                “You too.” I forced a smile back and waved her goodbye.

                I took my keys out and unlocked the door. The moment I stepped in, the lights . Confetti’s are being dropped on me. There was a banner saying “Congrats on Jaelyn’s Debut!” against the back wall.

                “Congrats on your debut!” Two voices said.

                Kikwang appeared with a party hat and blew on a party blower. Junhyung appeared from the kitchen afterward. He had a party hat on too.

                “His idea.” He pointed to Kikwang in embarrassment.

                “I… I thought you guys left!” I started tearing and laughing at the same time.

                “Yes we were busy preparing this surprise.” Kikwang replied proudly.

                “How’d you guys get in here?”

                “Hyuna.” He smirked as he held up the set of keys. So Hyuna was part of this too? “So did our surprise attempt work?”

                “You guys got me good.” I admitted.

                “What are we waiting for? Let’s drink until we pass out.” Junhyung held up a box of beers. We all sat down and started drinking while we chatted.

Junhyung’s POV:

                “Junhyung...” Jaelyn placed her hand clumsily on my shoulder. As expected she was drunk after one can of beer. “Leh me tell you a secwet.” Her speech was slurred.

                “Hmm?” I said.

                “You rememver the first time we eber met?”

                “Yea, you were injured that day.”

                “Well, leh me tell you this, the chuth was-” Suddenly Kikwang placed his hand over . Her voice was muffled.

                “Jaelyn, you’re really drunk, stop talking.” He said nervously. I was confused. He faced me and chuckled. “God, what is this girl trying to say.”

                Finally she calmed down. She opened a new can and started drinking. I took another one as well. Kikwang suggested that we see who can drink the most and I agreed. We all ended up passing out on the floor.

                I woke up in the middle of the night from a slight motion. I opened my eyes and saw Kikwang kneeling down in front of the sofa. Jaelyn was fast asleep on it. He tilted his head forward and eyed her adoringly. Then, he closed his eyes and kissed her lightly on the lips. I quickly shut my eyes when he turned around to check on me. I felt like dying on the inside as I pretended to be asleep. After two hours, I was finally able to fall back asleep.