Thank you to this person for the rad poster~

"Do you need to go backstage?" You ask him.

"I don't need to, but I will. You can come with me if you want," he says, squeezing your hand. He pulls you backstage. The people who are idly standing by waiting for the next act to start are whispering in hushed tones. They glance at you when you enter, and you give them a small nod in greeting as Kai carefully shuts the door behind him. You find Hyunsoo standing next to the boy Kris had been talking to earlier. She is reprimanding him about something and waving her clipboard around in time to her words. You carefully approach her and stand next to her quietly so she knows you're there. She doesn't notice your presence until Kai clears his throat, and when she sees you, she blushes.

"Oh. Hi," she says, guiltily smiling. The boy, whose jet black hair gleams underneath the lights, ducks his head and quickly leaves her side. You watch him retreat into another room before you turn to Hyunsoo.

"Are you the head organizer?"

"One of them," she says distractedly. "Kris is the other one. He's looking for the next act. We can't find her, she's supposed to be here, and she's performing next." 

"Who is it?" Kai asks. Hyunsoo glances at him.

"It's Miyoung," she says, and just as she says those two words, Miyoung comes barging through the doors. Everyone shushes her loudly for her dramatic entrance, and she gives them a pleading gaze that quiets their admonishments.

She runs over to Hyunsoo in her hot pink stilettos and floral black and white dress and says, "I'm so sorry, I was talking to this guy who - "

"Just hurry up," Hyunsoo says and gently pushes her towards the stage. "It's almost your turn, okay? Wait for your cue." Miyoung nods nervously as she waits for the previous act to end. When the clapping finishes and a space of silence occurs, Miyoung steps onto the stage. You hear the mic give a sharp feedback, and the audience mutters in complaint. Hyunsoo signals someone to fix the soundboard, and when the monitors are fixed, the instrumental of a song begins to play. You're about to ask Kai what Miyoung is planning to perform, but then you stop when you hear her sing.

Her voice is beautiful. It's a perfect mix of gritty and sweet. Her notes soar and dip along to the rhythm gracefully and beautifully. You turn to Kai. "I didn't know she could sing."

"I didn't know, either," Kai says, looking surprised. He turns to Hyunsoo. "Since when did she sing?"

"Since forever," Hyunsoo states. "She's always sang."

"Why didn't I know that?" Kai asks.

"Because she never sang in front of anybody until now," Hyunsoo explains. "Kinda like you, I guess. This was your first time performing like that, right? I guess you guys have the same dream."

You watch Kai as the recognition dawns on his face. A small smile tugs at his lips, and he lets slip a low laugh. "So that's what she meant." He sighs and looks at you with a beaming grin that makes your heart ache. "She's good."

"Yeah," you agree. Once the song ends, you hear the rough current of the applauding rumble beneath your feet. Miyoung returns backstage, her face flustered, her eyes wild with excitement. She looks as rich as Kai did when he finished his performance. She must have felt the same exact thing that Kai felt.

"Oh my gosh," she sputters as she runs a carefree hand through her hair. "Oh my gosh, I hope ... oh my gosh ... " she turns around and dashes out of the room. She's so lost in her own world that she doesn't even notice that she's just caused a peculiar scene, and everyone laughs at her reaction. She almost trips on her way out but manages to regain her footing right when she turns the corner. Hyunsoo grins at the hidden bumbling character in Miyoung before she signals another performer to get on.

You stay with Kai the whole night, waiting for the next acts to begin and end. He holds your hand, and you can feel the tension rippling beneath his skin. As time stretches, his anxiety grows. You give him an assuring smile now and then just to remind him that you're present, but he's fixed on the subject of his dad. You can see in the steely look in his eyes that Kai is desperate to win over his father's respect.

When the show ends, the comfortable sounds of conversation ensue. Hyunsoo becomes engrossed in another job, and because she looks stressed, you decide to leave her to her devices. Kai pulls you to the hallway, where a crowd of parents and students have formed. You see past performers being congratulated by their family. When Kai sees them, he turns away and clenches his jaw. You squeeze his hand, and he tries to give you a smile, but you can tell that it's not genuine. It doesn't reach his eyes.

You see the board of sponsors standing near the entrance doors, jovially discussing a topic of interest with one another. They look set apart in their crisp, black suits and shiny shoes. You see Kai's dad standing in the middle of it all, acting like the host of the show. His laughs are loud and steady, and he waves his arms in grand gestures to better illustrate a point he's making. Kai hesitates to near this enclosed group, but then one of the sponsors sees him and warmly greets him.

"Kai!" he says, and since Kai's name has been called, he is forced to walk forward. You accompany him as he gives a deep, respectful bow to each sponsor. His father looks on, his face incalculable. "You did a great performance tonight, son!" The sponsor says, patting Kai on the back. Kai winces, and you wonder whether he's hurt himself during his many practice sessions. "I didn't know he could dance," the sponsor tells Kai's dad. 

"I didn't know, either," his dad responds sourly. The mood turns frigid, and the sponsor awkwardly pulls his arm away from Kai. Kai looks on with barely controlled disappointment. 

"He's a natural talent, then?" Another sponsor asks. "You think you'll ever promote this piece of work?" He grins. "Look at that. You never told us you had a son this talented."

"He probably didn't want to let the public know," the first sponsor muses. "News gets around fasts. It's hard to keep things private when your company goes national."

"Indeed," Kai's dad murmurs. He looks at you, and acknowledgment flickers in his irises. He turns to Kai and, feeling obliged to say something, says, "You did good tonight, son."

"If you ever want to do something with him," the second sponsor proposes, "I'm willing to cooperate. I've got a guy who can pull a few strings for me ... get Kai in the entertainment industry. It would be easy."

"But isn't he supposed to take over the company?" The first sponsor asks. Kai tenses, and his dad remains quiet.

"You can't waste that talent in a company," the second sponsor scoffs. "You listen to me," he turns to Kai's dad. "Something like that can't go unnoticed. You got something there. He could go places. Sure, he could go places with your company. I've seen him in meetings, he performs great. But this boy could really do something big with his life, bigger than doing our line of work." He fixes his tie and smugly smiles to himself. "When he gets old, he can work in an office. But I entirely think that music is his future."

The other sponsors applaud at this speech of insight. Kai blushes, something he doesn't normally do, and tries to keep himself from smiling. Kai's dad clears his throat, and the murmurs dissipate.

"Why don't you give your friend a call?" He questions, his voice sounding strange. "And we'll see where we get with this 'future' you're talking about." 

The second sponsor shakes Kai's dad's hand in ready agreement. Kai's dad politely smiles in return but then steps out of the circle. "Let me talk to my son real quick," he says. He gives you an apologetic nod and throws a protective arm around Kai. He guides him toward a corner, and you watch as they duck their heads together and discuss what you hope is Kai's future.

You stand there trying to look mature as the sponsors continue to talk about the prospect of Kai pursuing the entertainment industry. They seem to be very ecstatic about it, and you hope that their eagerness will rub off on Kai's dad.

When they finally return from their private conversation, you expectantly face Kai. The look on his face is neither bad nor good, and it's an expression that's so mixed that you don't know how to interpret it. Kai mumbles a goodbye to the sponsors, who smile and wave and say their farewells. You let Kai pull you away from them, and you stagger to keep up with his pace. 

"Did ... what'd he say? Was it good? Bad?" You question. Kai just tugs you deeper into the crowd until you feel slightly claustrophobic. Just when you think that he'll keep pulling you without saying a word, he stops and turns to you.

"Well he said that ... I did good." Kai's lips curl into a tiny smile. "And that the sponsors are pressuring him into doing something he doesn't want to do." He laughs ruefully at this. "And that even though ... he doesn't want to entirely let me go and do anything like dancing just yet ... he'll have the sponsor talk to his friend about my doing music in the future. I mean, my dad is only doing it because his peers are suggesting it, and I guess ... it's a start. Right? And maybe as time goes along, you know, he could actually start to really care about ... this. My dream. About everything. And that would be ... great. Really. It would be."

"Well ... it's something," you reply. Kai nods.

"And something is always better than nothing." Kai looks off into the distance. "Are you going to the after party?"

"Sure," you reply. "You?"

"I'm coming," he agrees as he slips his hand back into yours. 

"Kai ... did you hurt your back?"

"Why do you ask that?" He furrows his brows.

"Well ... when that guy touched your back, he - "

"Yeah," Kai interrupts. He turns his body and lifts a corner of his shirt to show you the bandage that wraps his torso. Embarrassed, you blush, but Kai just does it without thinking. "I snapped it. I'm an old man," he laughs. "I'm sorry. I know you told me not to get hurt anymore. And I still did. But I'll get better, I swear," he says, pulling down his shirt.

He remembers. That was so long ago, but he still remembers what you said to him that day. Kai smiles sweetly at you and leans in for a kiss. A smile has never looked or tasted better than at this moment. It's a quick kiss, a light peck, but you feel like you've grown wings during the brief moment that his lips press against yours.

"Come on. Hyunsoo might need help for clean up," Kai suggests. 

"I found out her crush today." You say suddenly.

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. His name is Kris," you supply. 

"You think we should do something about getting them together?" Kai suggests. "I don't know, maybe make him park in front of her car?"

You eye him knowingly. "So that was on purpose."

"I didn't say that," Kai laughs. "But just know ... that a lot of things were. And you're oblivious." He taps your nose, and you stick your tongue out at him. "Let's go. We have a party to go to."

Encouraged by this news, you allow him to lead you out of the tightness of the crowd. His hand is a wonderful, strong assurance of his presence. You're tired, and you'd much prefer not to stay up late, but this night is too perfect to end.

Although things didn't go the way you wanted them to - you would have liked it if Kai's dad allowed his son to chase his drama whole-heartedly, but life is never that easy, is it? - but at least there's a start, and all it takes in life is a step. Once that step is taken, you can only take more steps - some forward, some backward. But the best way to go is to know that no matter which step you take, there's always a path that leads somewhere. 

Maybe that somewhere isn't always where people want to go. And when those times come, all you can do is stop, look around, and remember one thing - you just have to take life one step at a time. And as you walk with Kai tonight, his hand in yours, you know that - together - you can do exactly just that. Just one step - at a time.

Thank you for reading! This was a joy to write. I really appreciated all your silly comments and wonderful spazzing moments haha. 

I hope you guys will continue to support me! And that you will check out my new story of Luhan's Silver Heart - I have included a prologue to accompany it.

Thank you again for inspiring me to write this work! Many many thanks from this author. :)