Myungsoo’s POV

Lunch was noisy and hectic, and it wasn’t just at our table. Everyone seemed to be excited and was too busy chatting to even focus on their food. I silently took a sip of my kimchi stew and observed my surroundings once again. The showdown has been a hot topic this week; everyone was talking about it, even our teachers.  

“I think 4Minute will win, they’re such good dancers! And their y moves will surely excite the fan boys,” said Dongwoo, pointing his chopsticks at Hoya.

Hoya tilted his head. “Hmm, I don’t know, Dongwoo… Eunhee’s band, The Syndicate, isn’t bad either. I think their music is much better and original, we can also relate to the lyrics too,” stated Hoya.

“Then let’s make a bet, for ten thousand won, how about it?” Dongwoo asked with his foolish grin. 

“Deal!” Hoya agreed, extending his hand for a handshake.

I shook my head and continued on eating my food after listening to their conversation. Those two never fail to turn any event into a bet. Hoya won most of the time though, and today I was hoping that he’ll win again.

“I’m going to vote for 4Minute, how about you?” I heard Sungjong ask Woohyun.

“Yah, don’t just straight away decide who you want to vote for, just because you like girl group dances. We haven’t even seen the whole performances yet,” reminded Woohyun as he pinched Sungjong’s nose.

“I agree with Woohyun, I have to see their performances first before deciding on which group I want to vote…” said Sunggyu, nodding in agreement.

“Hey Myungsoo, where’s Sungyeol?” Dongwoo suddenly asked, turning his attention to me.

I put down the glass of water that I was drinking from and wiped my mouth before answering, “He’s probably already at the auditorium saving us seats. He told me that he’ll meet us there.”

“Alright! I hope we’ll get front row seats!” Sungjong exclaimed, dancing on his chair.

Woohyun lightly pinched Sungjong’s cheek. “There’ll be teachers watching the show too, so don’t get your hopes up.”

“Yah! stop pinching me, will you?” complained Sungjong.

“Well, guys, should we get going then? The showdown will star soon,” I swiftly said before they start another catfight.

After finishing our lunch, we all stood up and followed the crowd that was headed for the auditorium.

~~~~~~

When we finally stepped into the academy’s auditorium, we saw that it was already half filled by students. We were all looking around trying to find Sungyeol among the sea of people when we faintly heard someone calling us.

It was Sungyeol, alright, standing near some empty seats at the third row. “Guys! Over here!” He called us once more while waving his hands up high.

We lightly jogged down towards him, and both Sungjong and Dongwoo immediately sat down.

“Thanks for saving us seats,” thanked Sunggyu, patting Sungyeol’s back before he, Hoya, and Woohyun took their seats respectively.

“No problem, guys,” replied Sugyeol, slinging his arm around my shoulder.

I drew up a smile. “Here’s a token of our gratitude, buddy,” I whispered as I handed him a pack of sandwiches.

He was grinning as he took the pack of sandwiches and sat down. “Myungsoo-ah, you saved my life. I was practically starving waiting for you guys,” he said while opening the plastic wrap.

I finally took the seat beside Sungyeol. Seeing him munch on the sandwich hungrily, I chuckled. Despite the little rivalry and misunderstanding that had happened between us, I’m glad that we’re on speaking terms again. How I missed him…

“Ah, ah, checking, one, two, three.”

The auditorium that was filled with excited chatter and buzz gradually quieted down and everyone’s attention was turned to the front.

“Whoa, there’s even a Mr. MC,” murmured Hoya.

“This is going to be the showdown of the year,” muttered Woohyun, comfortably leaning back on his seat.

“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen and students of all ages! May you please take your seats, because the showdown between 4Minute and The Syndicate is about to start!” The MC greeted.

Then everyone started to clap and cheer with anticipation while some were even whistling. Looking at the members who were joining in, I smirked.

“Alright now! Without further ado, let’s welcome our first performance by 4MINUTE!”

The audience gave another round of applause when suddenly there was a loud boom. Confettis were flying around as the curtain drew open to reveal the five girls who were standing in line with Jihyun in the middle.

Then a techno, digital beat was heard and Jihyun chanted "I’m the best" as she started to dance. The other members followed suit chanting "bom ratata", hypnotizing the audience. The fans screamed louder when Gayoon sang the first verse.    

I snickered. So they did a cover of 2NE1’s "I’m The Best". It’s understandable since they were only given a week to practice. It would be better if they did an original piece with their own choreography, though; it shows more of their creativity. They did pretty well during last year’s showcase. I wonder why they were not confident enough to do it again this time.

Since 2NE1 has only four members and 4Minute has five, I gave points for their improvisation on their dance steps and routine. Their synchronization wasn’t bad either, but compared to us, they still have room for improvement. Even so, I could still see flaws, especially from Sohyun when they were already halfway through it. It wasn’t really noticeable since it happened so fast, and the other members had done a good job covering it.

I looked around and saw that the audience were captivated and hooked by the performance. Woohyung and Dongwoo had their mouths slightly opened, Sungjong was literally dancing on his seat, and even Sungyeol was nodding to the beat.

I ran my fingers through my hair as I nervously sighed. 4Mintue will surely gain a lot of votes since many are enjoying the show. I hope that Eunhee and her band had prepared something much better to win the majority votes.

Finally, their performance was nearing to an end as they chanted "bom ratata" for the last time. As expected, they finished their piece with another boom; followed by an uproar from the audience as 4Minute stepped down from the stage.

“Let’s give another round of applause to 4Minute for their strong opening!” The MC cried, it was followed by a thunderous round of applause.

This made me even more nervous given that Eunhee was coming up next. I don’t even know why I am nervous since I wasn’t the one performing. I took a glance at Sungyeol, and he was anxiously biting his nails. I gave out a small chuckle. I guess I wasn’t the only one.

“And now! For our last performance, let’s welcome The Syndicate!”

Sungyeol and I joined the audience as we applauded and screamed. I didn’t really care if the other members were giving us weird looks.

We gradually became quiet as the curtain drew open once again.

Standing there on stage was E-Young with her electric bass and Injoon behind the drums. What surprised me was that Eunhee wasn’t standing there with them. Where did she go?

Suddenly a big screen rolled down from the ceiling at the back of the stage and a video was . There sat Eunhee behind the academy’s grand piano. Everyone was clearly taken aback and was murmuring curiously about what would happen next.

“Hello everyone!” Eunhee greeted in the video, waving her hand.

“Today we will perform our own song titled ‘Sleepless Dream’ that we preformed on last year’s showcase,” said Eunhee, smiling at us. How I missed her smile…

Wait a minute, so they’re doing another acoustic piece? This has got to be good…

“A one, a two, a one, two, three, four!” Injoon signaled while tapping his drumsticks together.

When the first chord was played on the piano, the sound of an electric guitar and Eunhee’s voice were clearly heard.

Close your eyes and listen…

Most of the audience were looking around trying to find the source of her voice. It was clearly wasn’t from the video.

Dreams that never sleeps…

Suddenly, her figure rose from under the stage playing what looks like a high-tech instrument in the shape of an electric guitar. Almost everyone screamed and applauded in exhilaration, including me, when we saw her appear. I didn’t really expect her to use the raising platform, and the idea of using a video was clever too since they don’t have enough members.

“Whoa, cool entrance… and that instrument is just… daebak!” Hoya whistled. I couldn’t agree more.

We’re all walking the same path…

Let’s breathtakingly think…

The drums and bass started to join in as Eunhee sang the last sentence of the first verse to make it have a rock and roll feel. I knew Eunhee’s smart when it comes to composing and arranging songs. I couldn’t believe she changed the genre of her own song and made rearrangements here and there.

Let’s lighten up the sky when the sun is blinded…

I’ll hold your hand and let’s fly free…

Like the stars that glitter in the dark,

Someday I’m going to shine up our hearts!

As she sang the chorus, the audience was practically mesmerized by her voice, her guitar playing, the lyrics, and the music. We were literally jumping on our seats and nodding our heads with our hands up high. I felt optimistic that she has the chance to win this showdown.

By the time the song was half way through, almost everyone at the back were standing up and jumping to the beat with excitement. I was already grinning ear to ear. Eunhee really did rock the stage and she looked beautiful than ever. We could really see and feel the passion she had for music. Her blissful expression while playing her instrument just showed it all.

Sadly, all of this excitement had to come to an end as the song was about to finish. When the last chord was played together by the piano and the guitar, The Syndicate was surprisingly given a stand up ovation by the audience. Our deafening applause echoed throughout the auditorium even after the band had stepped down from the stage.

“Wow! That was such an amazing and energizing performance!” The MC exclaimed.

“Now that we have seen both of the performances, it is time to vote! Right under your seats, there’s a remote device that’ll be used to vote. All you have to do is just press a button: red for 4Minute, and blue for The Syndicate. All of your votes will be counted immediately and the results will be shown right there on the screen,” explained the MC.

I took out the device from under my seat and got ready to vote. The other members followed suit.

“And Now! Let’s vote!”

Eunhee’s POV

Holding on to E-Young’s hand firmly, we anxiously watched from the back of the stage as the voting process took place. I was extremely nervous that I was literally trembling. 4Minute’s performance was really good and I’m sure that the fanboys loved it too. I felt that our performance was still lacking in some parts. But still, I really hope that we’ll win because we truly gave out our all and my dancing mark was on the line here.

Injoon’s grip on my shoulder tightened as the bar chart on the screen started to rise. My heart was beating rapidly and my breathing quickened. We were practically neck-to-neck with 4Minute, so we couldn’t really see who was leading. The wait was just nerve-racking, so we all closed our eyes in anticipation.

When the last vote was counted, we slowly opened our eyes to see the chart. My eyes grew wide when I saw the results. Injoon was totally speechless and I heard E-Young gasp.

Then we all heard the MC shout out, “From the chart, we can see that the winner is…!”

******

This is how Eunhee's performance sounds like

Finally done with this chapter, tell me what you guys think ^.^

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'Till next time ^_~