Jaehyun did call her, and it felt weird because he could see vividly the expressions she would be making even though he could only hear her voice through the phone. Perhaps he had been paying too much attention to her without himself knowing.

The weekend comes quickly, and Jaehyun is glad that he hasn’t got much work to do. School requirements have settled down, and he’s on the finishing touches with finishing his song with Doyoung.

Right. He’s going to ask her tonight. To see him perform his song at the competition.

There’s only a few days left and there’s a nervous energy constantly pulsating at the back of Jaehyun’s mind, and he’s turned into an anxious mess at the thought of just asking the girl to be there. It has been quite a while since Jaehyun had gone on a date (or is this even a date?), yet it’s the first time he’s felt this high-strung.

He tries to keep it cool. ‘Tonight, I’m going to have fun,’ he berates himself. ‘We’re going to listen to some good music, chill, talk a bit… just have fun.’

Which reminds him, it’ll probably be the opposite for Doyoung — jazz music isn’t exactly Doyoung’s idea of fun. He’d always been a pop kind of guy, and Jaehyun recalls his friend’s hiphop trap phase during first year. Exactly why Jaehyun bribed Doyoung again with the promise of free tickets and free food.

And he didn’t tell him Taeyong was coming along, too.

When Jaehyun pulls up to the venue, Doyoung looks just about ready to throw Jaehyun out the window, hop into the driver’s seat, and go back home.

He doesn’t and Jaehyun silently thanks whoever designed the seatbelts keeping his best friend steady on the passenger’s seat.

“Dude, what the — you didn’t tell me he was going to be here.”

“Hm? Who?” Jaehyun asks just to see him get all riled up.

“You know,” Doyoung literally points at the window to the guy he’s referring to, eyes wide and frantic, “Him. Taeyong. Jaehyun, what the hell.”

“Pointing is rude, you’re lucky my windows are tinted,” Jaehyun unbuckles his seatbelt as he manages to successfully reverse-park into the tight space. He switches the engine off. “Taeyong’s cool.”

“I’m not going down there,” Doyoung crosses his arms and makes no move to unbuckle his own. “I hate you,” he says as he looks away with a pout.

“I’m paying for your food and —”

“I don’t care.”

“Goodness, grow up,” Jaehyun takes his phone and wallet from the center console and opens his door slightly, not stepping out. “Don’t keep them waiting. And it’s fine, really. We talked a bit and Taeyong isn’t mad. Just go talk to him.”

“After what happened?” Doyoung finally uncrosses his arms. “No.”

“You two got along really well. You’d be good friends, really,” Jaehyun says sincerely, yet also a bit amused at how agitated Doyoung is.

“Ugh,” the two get out of the car to meet the girl and Taeyong standing by the entrance of the venue. It’s an open space and the lighting is a bit dim, a dull orange with some fairy lights strewn all over the place for decoration. They’re in a quieter part of the city and the place is perfect for some music, idle chatter, and maybe some drinks if Jaehyun weren’t driving. The moon shines bright above them.

Taeyong notices them and waves them over, saying something to the girl’s ear to let her know they were there.

They’re close and Jaehyun is about to say hi, but the word gets stuck in his throat. The girl in front of him, also the same girl he has a crush on, looks ethereal under the moonlight. Hair pulled back, her earrings reflecting some of the light, her eyelashes casting shadows onto her cheeks. Taeyong has his hand on her lower back, slightly caging her as his body is slightly pressed against hers, and that’s when Jaehyun notices the girl’s outfit might be a little too cold for such evening.

Jaehyun wants to hold her.

“Hey,” Taeyong manages to say first. He looks at both of them but gives Doyoung a meaningful look. Knowing Doyoung, Jaehyun thinks he’s probably pretending to not notice.

“Hi, Jaehyun,” the girl says and Jaehyun’s eyes level down onto hers — she was significantly shorter, only reaching up to Jaehyun’s chin. “Is Doyoung with you?”

Jaehyun resists the urge to wrap her in a hug, instead replies with, “Hello to you, too.”

Taeyong coughs loudly from beside her (it actually sounds kind of forced to Jaehyun), and the girl elbows him in the ribs, causing him to let go of his hold on her back.

Confused and a bit stunned at that moment, Jaehyun snaps back to reality and follows up, “Doyoung’s here, too.”

The two exchange greetings and catch up (Doyoung carefully pretending that Taeyong is not there), before Taeyong tells Jaehyun and the girl to go inside and save them a good seat while it’s still early.

“I’ll stay here for a while. Need some fresh air after being at work all day,” Taeyong continues. His gaze travels to Doyoung straight-on and Doyoung visibly tenses, “Doyoung here can keep me company.”

Doyoung begs with his eyes for Jaehyun to stay, but it turns into a look of betrayal as Jaehyun accedes with a smile of feigned ignorance. He’s having a bit too much fun with making his friend suffer. And besides, he should give them some time to talk, too.

The girl sidles up to Jaehyun, pressing up against his arm but not really holding onto it. If she feels him startle, she doesn’t mention it, and Jaehyun is glad the place is too dark for anyone to see the heat creeping onto his face.

“So… L-Let’s go?”

“Um, yeah. Okay.”

The two find a seat a few tables away from the stage as some performers set up their equipment. They fall into easy chatter like usual, before being joined by Taeyong and Doyoung some minutes later. The atmosphere is more relaxed now, and the two have probably already made up.

An hour and a half passes, and they’re halfway into their food when one of the performers stops playing for a bit, speaks into the microphone to ask volunteer to sing for them onstage. He says the song title and Jaehyun’s ears perk up in recognition.

“Oh, Jaehyun you love that song,” Doyoung says and looks over to him.

“I… I guess I do,” he replies with an awkward laugh. He sees the gears working in Doyoung’s head and he starts to get scared.

“You know all the words to it, too,” Doyoung says with a wide smile, more gums than teeth, and Jaehyun just knows he’s up to no good. He gets an idea of what Doyoung is plotting, and oh, is this revenge for leaving him alone earlier? Jaehyun curses inwardly.

“It’s a classic, everyone knows it — Doyoung!” Jaehyun tries to physically stop his friend from raising his hand, but the performer has already noticed and is looking at them expectantly. Taeyong and the girl are quiet next to them, looking very amused by the friends’ banter.

The hand Doyoung raised crooks down to point at the top of Jaehyun’s head, and Jaehyun shrinks into his seat. He tries to back out, but the crowd starts clapping at him and Jaehyun wants nothing more than to leave and never come back.

He looks around nervously until he feels a hand wrap around his elbow, giving it a tight squeeze. He didn’t realize he’d been shaking, and he looks over to the girl beside her who is giving him a reassuring smile.

“You got this, Jaehyun.”

Jaehyun shakily stands up and walks to the stage. He stands at the center and finally looks up to see the audience, and he’s hit by self-consciousness when he sees everyone stare at him. He’s suddenly worried if he’s dressed up too much, or too casually for such event, but he sees Taeyong give him a thumbs up and Doyoung make a heart with two arms. In between them is the girl who has captivated him the minute they first met.

Should his clothes even matter, when the person most important to him tonight can’t even see them?

The girl is still smiling that same smile she gave earlier, not quite looking in Jaehyun’s direction but he knows she’s listening with full attention. He finds comfort in that, and so he decides that for tonight, only she matters.

Jaehyun stands there, not sure if he should introduce himself or give a ment or maybe a shoutout to his friends, but before he gets a chance to, his ears fill with the sound of cymbals counting down to the beginning of the song.

This is it.

Jaehyun had never done this before, never sang for more than one person at once much less an entire audience, but it’s a fear he needs to overcome. He starts off the song on a sour note, the nerves making his throat tighten, and the first line he sings is a bit rocky. His eyes desperately seek his friends in the crowd and their smiles urge him to go on.

He relaxes a bit, all those years of vocal lessons taken in secret starting to show through, and the venue turns silent as Jaehyun runs through a smooth falsetto over the soft instrumental. He’s encouraged and the tension leaves his body bit by bit, his naturally deep voice serenading the audience. He gets to the chorus and everyone starts swaying to the music, all attention on the performance, and he looks up at them with a confidence he didn’t know he had.

The song ends a bit too soon, and maybe Jaehyun wishes it were a bit longer, but the sound of applause is also pleasing to listen to. He looks at his friends who are whooping and hollering; even the girl has joined in on the mess. He thanks the audience and makes his way back to his seat.

The second he sits down, the girl searches for his hand on the table and places her hand over it, warm and so admiring. Doyoung and Taeyong are both back to their own business after giving their congratulations, and Jaehyun, still high from the adrenaline, figures it would be now or never.

“Jaehyun, that was amazing, I —”

“Go out with me next weekend.”

The girl blinks. Mouth opening and closing a few times, unsure of what to say, before he continues.

“My performance. Come see me perform the song I’ve been preparing, please?” Jaehyun is hopeful.

“I… Yes, I’ll come. I’ve already said it. You know I’ll be there.”