The door to the bathroom swung open to show Jaebum walking out of it. Jinyoung had found him at last. 

“Can we tal-”

“Save it, Jinyoung. I don’t want your verbal abuse right now.” Jaebum replied impassively, walking straight past him. Jinyoung hurried along next to him.

“What do you mean ‘verbal abuse’?”

“I mean I don’t want to listen to you calling me a liar, an and a playboy for twenty minutes. We need to practise. We’ve only got a little more time left.” he stated.

“But this is important.” insisted the younger. Jaebum stopped, turning to him.

“Jinyoung, I don’t give a damn. Unless it’s life or death, it can wait. So be quiet.”

He began walking after he said that. Leaving Jinyoung standing there feeling like he had just taken a blow to the chest.

The group rehearsed in the time they had left then the staff came around to tell them what to do. They knew the order that the acts were performing in: BTS were in the middle, Got7 were last. The groups all sat down in the audience. The contest was introduced along with all the acts that would be performing. Got7 watched carefully. Some were clearly not a threat, but some were; such as a large group of boys from the prestigious school SM Academy, called NCT.

“They’re really good.” Yugyeom whispered.

Jackson nodded in agreement. “They are. SM is a really strict school. If they have something good or something becomes popular, they push it to it’s limits. It’s no wonder these guys are so amazing.”

Another impressive act came from YG Institute, a group of four girls called Blackpink.

“See BigBang?” Bambam said. The boys nodded in response. “That’s the school they come from.”

“All of them?” Youngjae said.

“All of them. The music program is insanely good there. BigBang were all students there, their teacher saw potential so he put them in a band together. And now they’re famous idols.” he said, laughing a little. “Blackpink are definitely winning this. They’re incredible.”

“We don’t know that. Keep being positive.” Jackson said.

BTS were the third and final big challenge. They were stunning. Even Jackson didn’t expect how good they would really be. It wasn’t like BigHit were known for a good music curriculum or producing musicians like SM and YG were. Then again, neither was JYP. But maybe Got7 could change that. BTS, NCT and Blackpink all got high scores, the highest in the competition. There were five judges, each able to give a maximum of ten points each meaning fifty was the highest score. The three other groups stood at this:

NCT: 41

Blackpink: 42

BTS: 45

It was going to be tough to beat.

Got7 were summoned to the stage before it was their time to go on, while an act was still performing. Jaebum took the time to give the team a pep talk.

“I know we’ve be struggling recently and all these amazing groups have probably knocked our confidence a bit, but remember how could we were. Mr Han and Principal Park were blown away by us, so was everyone else that listened to us. We need to recreate that tonight. We need to do good. We need to stun everyone, to show them that Got7 are hardworking, talented and that we’re a team. Because we are, even though we haven’t been acting like one recently.” He glanced at Jinyoung subtly as he said this. Jinyoung winced. “So for the sake of the group, we all need to put in 110% effort and do our best.” He smiled a little. “And our best is ing awesome, so let’s do this.”

The others smiled back. “Let’s do this.”

They stepped up to the stage, swallowing their nerves. There were lights shining on them, a massive crowd watching them. But they wouldn’t be deterred. Not after they’d come so far. They held their hands up to their chest to do their signature move.

“Come and get it, Got7! Hello, we are Got7.”

They bowed, smiling at the judges who already looked impressed. “Did you make that up yourselves?” one asked.

“Yes sir, we did.” Jaebum answered.

“Very nice. What will you be singing tonight?” another questioned.

“This Love by Shinhwa.” Jinyoung responded. They nodded, settling back in their seats.

“Let’s hear it then.”

The music started up, the beat like the drumming sounds of their hearts. Yugyeom was first to sing. They prayed he would give them a strong beginning. The youngest took a breath… then started singing.

“The red light, in this stopped time. Only your scent remains.”

It was perfect. Tone, pitch: everything. The group couldn’t help but smile when they heard it. It was an instant confidence booster. Youngjae was next.

“Like a dream I’m not waking from, I’m falling more and more into you.”

Perfect again. Again and again, the boys sang or rapped their lines without flaw. It was just like they practised. Except even better this time. There was no doubt that they would get a high score. And when at the end of the song, after a loud round of applause, Got7 got 44 points. This put them in second place and was their ticket to the finals. They were overjoyed. There was only one problem though.

They were against BigHit.

There was a short break in before the final performances. Got7 were still in shock they had gotten through. However they had to set that aside and focus on more important things. Such as beating BTS in the final.

“Guys, I heard the song they’re singing from Namjoon. They sound so good.” Jackson looked at them gravely. “I don’t know if we can win this.”

“We’ve got to keep positive, right?” Yugyeom said, looking at Jaebum.

“Right. And remember, we’ve always got one major advantage that they don’t. Our song is self composed, their’s isn’t. We can brag about it.” the leader replied.

“I don’t know if that’ll be enough.” Mark commented.

“It has to be.” Jaebum said. “We can do this, guys. Don’t give up now.”

“Remember what they said? They said we were… ‘lacking happiness’. What does that even mean?” Bambam scoffed.

“It’s dumb.” Mark agreed.

“No, I think they’re on to something. Remember what Mr Han and Mr Park said? They said we sound really happy when we sing, like we really enjoy it. But recently they said we sound depressed. That’s what BTS have that we don’t now. They’re all happy. They don’t have any drama going on.” Youngjae looked directly at Jinyoung and Jaebum. “You two are the leaders, I suggest you do something about it.”

Everyone was surprised to hear the usually quieter Youngjae say those words, especially to his two elders. They would have scolded him for impertinence had they not all agreed.

“We will.” Jinyoung announced before seizing Jaebum’s hand and dragging him off elsewhere.

“Jinyoung-”

“Shut up, let me speak.” the younger snapped. “I read your letter. And I overheard Seokjin and Namjoon talking earlier when I was looking for you. They both said the same thing. That you love me.”

Jaebum inhaled a little. “Yeah, and they’re both right. I love you, Jinyoung. You know that now. What I want to know is if you love me as well.”

Jinyoung looked down, gathering his nerves for the second time that evening. His heart was hammering in his chest. This was the critical moment of truth. He looked Jaebum in the eyes and spoke the words.

“I do. I love you too.”

Jaebum stared at him. “You really do? This isn’t a prank or way to get back at me? You really love me?”

“I really do. And I’ll say it again.” He took a step closer, speaking more firmly. “I love you, Im Jaebum.”

Jaebum stayed still, not doing or saying anything. Then he took Jinyoung’s hands. “I love you too, Park Jinyoung.”

The pair leaned in, their lips connecting. They kissed softly, hands entwined. Jaebum was the first to pull back, cupping Jinyoung’s face.

“You finally said it.”

“I am a tsundere anime girl, after all.” Jinyoung responded sarcastically.

“No, not that you love me. My name.” Jinyoung blinked, confused. “You’ve never called me Jaebum up until now. It’s always been JB or some dumb variation of that. But now you’ve called me by my real name. And that makes me happy.”

“You’re so weird. Why do you like me calling me by your name?”

“Don’t you like me calling your name, hmm Jinyoung?”

He hated the emphasis Jaebum put on his name, the low, almost seductive tone he used. It made him blush. He pushed against Jaebum’s chest. (Which was very muscular he noted).

“We can talk about this later. We’ve got more important stuff to do right now.”

“You’re right. Let’s go back to the others.” the elder said. They walked back to the boys who were waiting for them.

“Everything okay now?” Mark asked.

“It is.” Jinyoung confirmed.

“Got7?” It was a staff member. “The final is about to start. Are you ready?”

"We are.” Jaebum said. “Let’s go.”