1

 

Making her way towards the bulletin board beside the student council room door, Dahyun found herself in the clutches of her old-time friend Chou Tzuyu. She adjusts her round glasses when the taller woman hugged her. Removing the hood of her jacket, she noticed the grin on Tzuyu’s face. She looked around—a bunch of average women passing by—but found none to catch Tzuyu’s attention.

 

 

“There’s no gorgeous lady,” Dahyun said, her eyes back again to the jolly woman. “What are you grinning for?”

 

 

“Here, there is none.” Tzuyu leaned closer to Dahyun. “I saw her when I’m making my way here. More like follow her but I lost her.”

 

 

“Creep.”

 

 

Dahyun shrugged and ignore Tzuyu’s behavior. Walking towards the bulletin board once again, she heard her friend whine about her being mean. She is not, Tzuyu just has a lot of energy that sometimes she can’t handle. Sighing, she explores the board with her eyes and didn’t found the club she wants to join. She pulled to her bag strap, the luggage moving from her side to her back.

 

 

“What club?” Tzuyu nosily asked.

 

 

“Go home club.”

 

 

Tzuyu buzzed like a bee. Dahyun sneakers and smiles. Her eyes fixated on Tzuyu’s pouting as she walks. The next thing she knew was papers, scattered to the ground. She immediately hoards it, embarrassed at her lack of awareness. She picked up half of the papers and got up, giving it to the woman who doesn’t have any reaction nor words before going again to the ground and picking the rest. She broke a sweat when she finished and apologized. Looking at her side is Tzuyu, frozen like a statue. She knew what that means.

 

 

She decided to inspect the woman she bumped to, her eyebrows raising to find the woman’s eyes darted at her. She was intimidating, Dahyun’s first thought, and decided to lower her head. She once again apologized and grab Tzuyu by the arm so they can get away, keen to her way as she looks for their room. Her heart racing when they reached the front of their room. It was a brief intense moment for her. Dahyun can’t help but cower when their eyes met.

 

 

“Tzuyu,” Dahyun said, now giving her attention to her dazed friend. “Tzuyu.”

 

 

“She’s the one.”

 

 

“What?”

 

 

“I said she’s the one! Did you not see? She’s so gorgeous!”

 

 

Dahyun let out a disappointed sigh and ease her nape. Looking at their surroundings, Dahyun bit both of her lips. This situation is so embarrassing for her but she’s glad Tzuyu’s a beauty and fashionable so it can be brushed off.

 

 

“Oh, my gosh. You saw her, right? She’s so gorgeous, right?”

 

 

All she can do is nod all the while Tzuyu shakes her. She holds to her glasses and removed Tzuyu’s hand from her. She needs to stop her or others might think she’s crazy because she’s been at it for a while now. Raising her arms, she pressed her palms to Tzuyu’s cheeks. Her lips now protruding yet her speech is yet to cease.

 

 

“Let’s talk about her when we take a break after classes,” She said with a forced tight-lipped smile.

 

 

Tzuyu nodded, the sparks in her eyes are yet to subside.

 

 

The tension inside the room was noticeable except for a few who already knew each other. Some social butterflies also making their way to meet their classmates, Tzuyu included.

 

 

Being left behind the entrance, Dahyun didn’t take it offensively. She rather watched her high school friend converse rather than join her in her quest to find someone to flirt with. It was exhausting for Dahyun and she’s not the type who can talk to everyone.

 

 

Moving to the back of the room—passing Tzuyu like some kind of stranger—she found a free seat next to a woman wearing blue headphones.

 

 

“Can I sit?” Dahyun looked at the woman who’s busy looking outside the window and didn’t hear her. She cleared and try again, this time, much clearer. “Can I sit?”

 

 

“Yeah.”

 

 

The woman did not even bother to see her face. She found it rude but somehow comforting because they don’t need to exchange awkward greetings.

 

 

She gets her music magazine from her bag and starts reading. It’s the latest release and she can’t help but be grateful because the usual bookshop she goes to have stocks. Going to the featured artist section, she can’t help but smile as her favorite rapper is featured. Immersing herself in the magazine, she didn’t notice the woman sitting beside her is peeking from her side. She suddenly jolted when she heard the petite voice of the woman.

 

 

“His raps are fire.” It was a compliment.

 

 

“Y-yeah.”

 

 

It was uncomfortable as another silence befell them.

 

 

Her palms sweating and her hands become stagnant as the woman continues to peer at her magazine. Screaming inside, she decided to glance at the woman whose music is hearable outside her headphones. She was astonishing and the mole at her nose bridge is eye-catching Dahyun’s first impression. She was too late when she realized the woman is also staring at her.

 

 

“I’m sorry,” The woman spoke which confused her.

 

 

“N-no, it’s okay. Just… just spacing out. Yeah, spacing out.”

 

 

An anxious laugh—more like a whimper—escaped her lips. She covers . The redness of her face is undeniable against her pale complexity. Her eyes dilating, biting her lips out of embarrassment.

 

 

It was all witnessed by the woman who snorted before turning to the window again. Dahyun is beating herself inside. Beating herself as she can’t even hold a proper conversation. Her mind doodling as she took a deep breath and placed her magazine inside her bag. Placing the gray hood on her head, she rested her forehead on her arms and waited for the teacher to come. Shrinking to embarrassment once again as she regrets her actions and words.

 

 

The day ends with Dahyun’s ears numb because of Tzuyu’s frequent giggles and squeals. Her friend’s reaction will hunt her till sleep if she doesn’t wash it away. She submerged herself in music as she took the train. Seeing her reflection in the window, she can’t help but be nervous because of what she will do. Her grip on the bag strap tightens, gulping as she makes up her mind.

 

 

It’s been her long-time dream and now that she’s already in college, she can fulfill it. It that there is not a single live band in the all-girls college she enrolled but there is somewhere where she can practice, the Underground Stage where she can have her concert. If she can enter that is.

 

 

She chuckled.

 

 

Her mother might have a heart attack if she knew her ‘conservative’ daughter is aiming to be a rapper.

 

 

She reached the venue for the stage she’s expecting. It was fairly simple, even unnoticeable from common folks. Only people interested in this kind of setup will know that it was a huge hang-out for people who love loud music.

 

 

She reached the metal push door leading to a small vandalized room. Pulling her bag to her chest to avoid a bad occurrence that might happen inside. A ripped bouncer beside the two-door entrance stares at her. Panicking, she gets the flyer from her bag. Her hand shaking as she raised the flyer for the bouncer to look.

 

 

“I-I’m here to audition for a live band.” She shrinks to her place as the bouncer observes her from head to toe. “I… I heard they’re looking for a rapper…”

 

 

Another silence before the bouncer opened the door and nodded, instructing her to get to the leftmost room. She immediately did and did not mind the stares of the few people present. It was still early for some audience to enter the Stage, except that she is not an audience but an aspiring performer.

 

 

The hall was filled with rock tunes as she zoomed towards the room she’s aiming for. She took a deep breath before she knocks, two times. A few seconds later, a woman opened the door and stares at her.

 

 

“What?”

 

 

“I’m here to…” She showed the flyer. “This. I want to join.” She sounded confident unlike before.

 

 

“Can you rap?” Demeaning question from the woman with a distinct y look as she crossed her arms around her chest, letting the door open for her bandmates to see her.

 

 

“Yes.” Dahyun cough. “Should I start now?”

 

 

The woman nodded and leaned to the doorway.

 

 

Gulping, she told herself it is now or never, and just like that, her embarrassment faded as she spits her self-composed rap she’s been meaning to show. The flow was butter, toned with her vocal range, and her confident look as she shows it—she owned it. She took a deep sigh and bowed when she finished, catching her breath as sweat started to glide inside her clothes. She refracted her fingers to her palms and feel cold. It started sinking to her—her nervousness.

 

 

She gulped, her eyes finding the woman with an amused expression, same with the people in the room. Her eyes shifting from the woman and her bandmates and back again to the woman. She saw the woman observed as the bouncer did. It made her anxiousness restless.

 

 

“Not bad,” The woman said, lifting Dahyun’s confidence a little.

 

 

She was given thumps up and nods from the others. The woman invited her inside and let her sit. Introducing everyone and telling her that they will give her a shot so she should do better than what she did before.

 

 

“I’m Im Nayeon, the vocalist. This is Young K, the bassist.” She pointed at the guy busy fixing his hair. “Dowoon, drums. Jae, guitarist. And Sungjin, also guitarist and vocals.”

 

 

“I-I’m Kim Dahyun. I study i-in all-women college two stations away.” The shaking of her legs where nearly visible when she stood.

 

 

She bowed to every one of them, hazily turning her heads to introduce everyone which earned a giggle from the few.

 

 

“You look so badass when you rap but you’re all wobbly when you introduced yourself,” Jae said and anchor his arm to her shoulders. “You should chill. We don’t bite, except for Nayeon.”

 

 

It gained a massive uproar in the room—the guys teasing Nayeon and laughing as Jae runs for his life. She finds it amusing and decided to loosen her shoulders. She smiled. This is it, a step towards her dream. Her anxiety somehow faded but she knew it lingers near. She needs to do her best and enjoy it all the same.

 

 

A knock stops the ramble coming inside the room. It was Nayeon who held the door and was elated as she saw the visitor. She peeked and saw a beautiful woman in her white shirt tucked in in her ripped jeans. She was embarrassed that’s why she equipped her hoodie so the woman won’t notice her. It was a good thing that the woman who greeted Nayeon did not bother to come in because of the insistence of Nayeon herself for the woman to not come in.

 

 

“You’re shy?” Jae whispered to her ear which made her flinch and moved farther away.

 

 

“Y-yes… I’m sorry.”

 

 

“No need. Dowoon also only talks to his drums.” Jae shrugged, giving her a thumbs up while grinning.

 

 

She chuckles which made Jae laugh.

 

 

The band started rehearsing, leaving Dahyun below the stage. She needs to sit on this one as she’s a newcomer. She’s not complaining because she was accepted, it will be all too good if she got to perform so suddenly.

 

 

Throughout the performance, she can’t help but bob her head to the rhythm. Body moving on its own, not even thinking about what other people see. She was ecstatic, the night making her swoon with the band she just joined.

 

 

The night was still young, yet the hall starts to be packed. She was pushed closer to the stage, uncomfortable because she’s in front of the speaker. As much as she like rock music, she can’t stand too near to the booming speaker, it makes her ears ring. Checking her surroundings, she saw a pathway to avoid being pushed forward. She successfully escaped her dislike and decided to end the night. She’s not used to many people surrounding her that’s why performing on the stage… she’s not so sure if she can.

 

 

Either way, she will try.