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YURI

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Yuri’s not going to lie.

After she got hit by the tennis ball, and was left alone and accused by the person that she protected, she felt an insane amount of anger build up inside her. She’s not sure what she’s angry about so she made sure that no one will get affected by it. So she went straight home and spent all of her energy directing all the negativities towards the punching bag in her personal work out area.

She felt so exhausted once she calmed down.

Her first thought after that was to contact Hana and make sure that she’s safe, but when she checked her twitter account, she saw how happy she was with Jiyeon. So she decided to postpone their talk the following day. She knows that there’s a possibility that Jiyeon would take advantage of the situation, but she’s also thankful that she’s making Hana smile like that.

So when Hana approached her and apologized, she was just thankful that her friend’s pride didn’t get in the way. But either way, she was determined to apologize to Hana and make her feel that she was sincerely just trying to be friends with her.

After Hana got out of the gym, she immediately turned around not minding the girls who were obviously trying to get her attention. She then approached Jiyeon and thanked her for telling Hana the truth, and in exchange, her teammate apologized for what happened too. Because of this, she now has high hopes of being friends with everyone.

“What’s up with Hana? Why did you make her cry? And Jiyeon? Are you okay with her now?” Charlee started bombarding her with questions.

“Hana’s fine. I didn’t make her cry. Jiyeon and I are hopefully fine now too.” Yuri was in the mood to answer her bestfriend’s questions.

“And you’re in a good mood now.” Charlee said matter-of-factly.

“Yes.” Yuri couldn’t help but smile at the thought of Hana reconciling with her.

“Maia told me that they will all join the music club.” Charlee offered

“Oh, really?” Yuri just smiled at her information that her friend offered, because she already knew about it. “By the way, I need to go. I’ve already told the coach about it.”

“Wait, bro! Are you going to the music club auditions?”

“I might.” Yuri chuckled at her friend and waved goodbye.

Needless to say, Yuri will take her last encounter with Hana as an opportunity to get close to the girl.

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HANA

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It’s the music club auditions and Hana was simply not prepared because of what happened yesterday.

Kim Hana, although used to being in the spotlight, was not that comfortable performing around a lot of people. Sure, she spent most of her time singing and practicing, but it’s still nerve wracking for her. So when all five of them walked into the audition room packed with people, only Nia was still confident.

The music teacher told them to wait a little bit more and asked them about their pieces and if there’s any requests. Hana just provided a flash drive for the instrumental of the song that she chose to sing for today. If Nia did not nudge her, she wouldn’t have given it because she’s inside her own world right now.

She knows that she should be confident, because she knows that she could definitely sing. But given that she’s unable to practice, the anxiety kicked in.

Hana was startled by her phone ringing.

She raises her phone to see who’s calling but it was from an unknown number so she was hesitant to answer, but as to not disturb the other applicants, she decided to just answer the call.

She could hear a familiar voice on the other line, “Yuri?”

There’s a pause and she could barely hear Yuri’s voice because for some reason it was loud, like she’s in a place where lots of people are talking.

“I’m sorry, but can I come to you?” Yuri responds finally. “It’s almost time for our audition, can we talk later?” Hana asked, clearly not fazed that she’s talking to Yuri over the phone or as to why she has her number because of the nervousness.

“Just wait for me. Okay?” Yuri said then hung up.

“Weirdo as ever.” Hana muttered under her breath. She doesn’t have time to think about Yuri right now, because she has bigger problems to face. She’s the one who offered to audition in a music club, and by the looks of it, she’s the only one unprepared.

After a couple of minutes, the door opened slightly and from it, Yuri’s head came into view. She was clearly looking for Hana. Mona was the one who noticed her and excitedly called the newcomer, “Yuri! What are you doing here?”

Hana’s head whipped towards the door which she purposely ignored earlier, and she was surprised to really see Yuri. The girl then opened the door large enough for her to come in and then approached Hana.

Yuri entered and happily greeted everyone, giving Hana a friendly smile. Hana also noticed how Yuri was already dressed differently. Yuri’s hands were raised as if offering a truce, and honestly, Hana was not in the mood for any argument, so she silently prayed that Yuri’s presence would not add to the negative emotions that she’s feeling right now.

“Are you okay?” Yuri asked with one leg kneeling before her. “I heard that you’re joining, and I swear I just came here to personally offer my support.”

It was a good thing that Hana was sitting at the corner most part of the room, so that they can have a semblance of privacy. “I— I’m nervous, I was so worried about what happened yesterday that this audition completely left my mind.” Hana responded.

“It’s going to be fine,” Yuri assured her, as she reached for Hana’s hand and rubbed it using her thumbs. “Don’t you worry about it, baby. You’ll nail it for sure.

“What if I’m not any good?”

The question was delivered in a small voice, and Hana was not even sure if Yuri heard it, because she’s really doubting herself now.

“You can't seriously be asking me that.”

“Well, I am. I am so nervous and I’m serious… What if I’m not any good?”

“Baby…”

“I mean it, Yuri. What if this turns out to be a horrible idea? And that I’ve been lying to myself that I can sing, or what if my parents were just indulging me, and here I am trying to audition in front of a lot of people. Or… or… what if I’m good, but I’m not good enough? What if I’m not good when it actually matters? What will I do then?”

“Hana,” Yuri gently said, “I need you to tell me what I can do for you.”

“I need you to tell me the truth and be honest with me. Can I really do this?”

Hana was not really sure why she asked that question to Yuri. She could’ve asked Maia if she wanted to be consoled or reassured. Or she could turn to Nia or Mona if she wanted tough love. Jia could knock some sense into her, and that she’s being ridiculous right now, given that they are a tightly-knit group that could offer emotional support to each other. But Yuri… she was someone that she could trust that would give the truth without any hesitation, because she wanted nothing less than total and complete honesty right now.

Yuri looked down, searching for the exact words she needed Hana to hear. How can she put words to something like this, a truth as fundamental as her need for air?

“Hana… baby,” she began, “Do you not hear your own voice? It’s perfect. I’ve heard you sing a couple of times since we were kids. And you know that I hate fairy tales and fantasies, and that I know that this world is so corrupt right now that its ugliness can’t be covered anymore. But you, your presence and your voice, your gentleness— it’s like the moon shining through the darkest of nights and you force me to believe that maybe humanity isn’t so bad after all. It can’t be, if you’re literally sitting right in front of me, right? If it can produce someone as beautiful and full of life as you, then it means that there’s still hope after all. You’re going to be great, Hana. They’d be stupid not to accept you. And if they don’t, then I’m going to create a separate music club, and I won’t share your talents with them, because they don’t deserve you.”

Hana and her friends heard every single word that Yuri uttered, and there were a couple moments of silence before Nia recovered. “WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT SPEECH? That’s it! If Jae can’t tell me something like that, I’ll remove her from my crush list.”

Other people in the room laugh at Nia’s outburst.

It was Hana who recovered last, “I— I don’t know what to say. You are talking about me as if I’m perfect, when you’re one of the most genuine people I’ve ever met.” Hana sounds like she’s choking back tears.

“I mean all of it,” Yuri reassured her. “I believe in you.”

“Thank you,” Hana sniffs, still trying not to cry.

“I think I need to go now. Don’t cry, okay? I’ll be rooting for you.”

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You can do this, Hana thinks as she clasps both of her hands together.

Yuri’s words definitely helped her although she still hates the feeling of being watched and judged.

A couple minutes more of waiting, and the first applicant was called out. They were about to go out of the room, but they were instructed to just stay inside.

Hana doesn’t know what to feel about this. Should she be thankful that she can’t hear the others sing? Or should she be more nervous not knowing their skills?

“Girls, I— I’m really thankful that you all agreed to join me in this audition.” Hana suddenly said, and her friends looked at her. “I know that we always hangout together, but after a couple more years, we will be choosing different paths for us and I just thought that it would be a good thing for us to have something in common during our high school days.”

“Don’t worry, Hana. We all feel the same.” Jia held her hand. “And I know that you know that we all believe in you, right?”

Hana nodded and smiled at her friends who were now reaching hers and Jia’s hands. “We love you and we can do this!”

“We may not say those beautiful words like Yuri, but we definitely think along those lines too.” Nia teased.

Hana couldn’t help but giggle because Nia surely can’t pass up on the opportunity to . “Yeah, I know. Thank you so much, girls.”

She stood up and opened her arms and all four of her friends stood up too and they hugged.

“Miss Im Nia?” One of the facilitators called.

“Goodluck, Nia!” They collectively said.

“I can do this, of course.” Nia even winked at them which made them laugh. Hana hopes that she has that much confidence.

One by one they are being called, and Hana’s nervousness starts to come back. All of her friends were called now and she’s the only one left behind. She guesses that the sequence must be random since she shouldn't be last if it’s in alphabetical order.

“Kim Hana?”

Hana was finally called. And she slowly stood up as she took a very deep breath. “I’m here. I’m coming.”

“Goodluck, Hana!” The remaining people greeted her and she smiled at them. She can do this.

She was then ushered towards the stage, where she saw that the whole auditorium was packed with people. Her friends were now seated in the front seat and were waving at her, full of smiles.

In front of them, there are a couple of teachers or instructors that she guessed would be judging them today.

Hana then started to approach the mic in the middle of the stage, but not before she noticed a familiar girl sitting in front of the piano.

Kim Yuri, what are you doing?

“Everyone might be confused as to why Miss Kim Yuri was present. The main reason for that is because she’s already part of the music club and volunteered to help in the audition process. She’s only available for today’s audition because today’s her only vacant period for the week.” The host explained. “Now, Miss Kim Hana, are you ready?”

Yuri’s lips tugged into a wide smile and nodded at her encouragingly, while Hana felt like she’s dying due to the nerves but Hana nodded nonetheless.

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