The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

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Jieun’s POV

            Just a few weeks ago, I remembered being equivalent to a zombie moping around my house without Wooyoung in my life. After that unexpected meeting, my pathological mind decided that it was time for me to let go. A person can’t live if their eyes see only one other person; it just doesn’t make sense that way. When I thought back to how easily I fumbled at the sight of him back in high school, I could only laugh at myself for holding onto foolish hopes. No matter how much I thought about it, Wooyoung and I would never work out. Ever since I began writing my new song for the audition I’ve dropped those foolish hopes and left them behind with the last rainfall of that week. The night I finished writing, the rain stopped and the following morning, the clouds completely disappeared. Was this some sort of sign from heaven telling me that my days would be clearer after letting go? As of now, I still don’t know.

            You could say that since then, things have been slightly different between the two of us. I still considered him a dear friend to me—my only friend in this case, but that was as far as it went. I never blushed again when he teased me and eventually he stopped. When my dad discovered that I was hanging out with him again he was furious, and it made me wonder why I had to be the girl who had to make sacrifices with my family for friendships. I had already chosen Wooyoung over my father and there was no going back. After a week he stopped bothering to ask where I was, already assuming I was with Wooyoung and eventually I just stopped talking to him. When we ate at the dinner table we never spared each other any glances. It was just as if we were invisible to one another, and my mom made no efforts to fix anything. Being with Wooyoung still made me genuinely happy, but it was different from before in a way I couldn’t explain. The only difference I could identify at this moment was that my feelings towards him were restricted to friendship.

            Now I was struggling to find something appropriate to wear to my audition, digging through my entire closet and causing a figurative tornado in my room. I didn’t even find time to brush my hair yet, and I wanted to scold myself for not picking out an outfit the night before. Just when I thought I found a pretty dress that could match the emotions of my song, my cell phone rang.

            “Yeoboseyo?” I answered, huffing as I shoved unfolded clothes messily back into the closet.

            “You sound out of breath.” Wooyoung chuckled. I stuck my phone between my shoulder and neck as I skidded to my mirror to fix up my hair.

            “I’m scared that I’ll be late for the audition.” I choked out as my mom rushed into my room and began feeding me a freshly baked muffin. After swallowing, I sniffed once and grabbed the dark blue dress that sat on my bed.

            “I’m outside your house.” He informed, his voice was followed by a few birds chirping outside.

            “I’ll be outside in five minutes!” I declared after a deep breath and then hung up. This last minute thing really doesn’t work well for me!

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            “You’re one minute later than you promised.” Wooyoung glared at me the moment I stepped out the door and slammed it shut behind me, almost catching the end of my dress in between. Rolling my eyes at him I ordered,

            “Let’s go!” A week ago, Wooyoung finally obtained his driver’s license and his rich parents bought him a brand new car on the same day. He had generously offered to give me a ride to Seoul’s Institute of the Arts and support me at my audition, which I was thankful for. I sat in the passenger seat with the window down, smiling at the cool air that blew by as we drove down the street. Originally I had planned to curl my hair for today but there was obviously no time, so I compensated for it with a floral headband that complimented by dress. I glanced over at Wooyoung who was concentrated on driving, and examined what he was wearing. It seemed much more formal than usual. Why does he need to look nice to sit in the audience? I shrugged it off and continued to stare outside, admiring the blazing sun that shone high above in the clear blue sky. Today felt like a great day, and I had a good feeling in my gut about the audition. Just then, I realized that in my morning rush I had forgotten something important.

            “My guitar!” I half gasped, half squealed. Wooyoung jumped in his seat at my sudden outburst but continued to drive smoothly.

            “I forgot my guitar!” I cried, feeling the world crash down on my shoulders.

            “There’s no time to turn back.” He stated, keeping his steady driving pace. My head was filled with internal panic; I could feel the tears pushing to pour out. Wooyoung noticed my distress and asked,

            “Can’t you sing without your guitar?” I stopped for a second to think about it and bit my bottom lip. My guitar had always been my biggest support through my hardest times, and I was looking forward to having it with me when I overcome this hurdle towards my success.

            “I don’t know how confident I’ll be without it…” I admitted, sniffing twice to hold back my tears.

            “Jieun, even without the guitar I know your voice will stun the judges just as much.” He reassured, taking one hand off the wheel to pat my shoulder. To be honest, it did calm me down but along with that, it sent involuntary shivers down my spine. Even though we were friends I was still not comfortable with physical contact. I pulled out my phone and flipped it open for the time. We had ten more minutes to get there; definitely not enough time to make a round trip back for my beloved guitar. In defeat I sighed to myself,

            “Please let me do well…” I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the headrest of the seat, quietly reciting the lyrics to myself. I knew them inside out, and hoped that I would be able to sing the right pitches without musical accompaniment.

            We arrived at the Institute with two minutes to spare and sprinted as fast as we could from the west parking lot to the auditorium, following the red arrows they posted on the walls to guide unfamiliar people to their destinations. I almost embarrassed myself by bursting right through the door, but luckily Wooyoung grabbed my arm to stop me. I suddenly remembered reading on the pamphlet that these were closed auditions, meaning that only students auditioning to get into the school were allowed to sit in the audience.

            “Wooyoung Oppa…” I began, about to tell him but before I could, he pulled the door open and walked through, pulling me along with him. The teacher standing by the door didn’t try to stop him either. I must have read wrong then. We both sat two rows from the front, close enough to the judges to get a clear view of them. There were three judges seated on chairs much taller than the audience chairs. The middle judge was an intimidating looking middle aged man; his eyes scorned the shiny floor of the stage with his fierce stare. I quickly scanned the entire room, watching all the seats fill in with promising looking students, some holding guitars, some violins, and others like me with nothing at all. The auditions were about to begin. One of the female judges with a friendlier face than the rest adjusted the microphone up near and announced,

            “Seoul’s Institute of the Arts 2011 auditions will now begin. Contestants will be told the results upon the closure of their audition.” My heart froze at the thought of how embarrassing it would be to be rejected right in front of everyone. Wooyoung poked me, making me turn to face him and receive an encouraging “hwaiting” gesture. I took one deep breath and looked back up on the stage as the first contestant in a light pink dress stepped up with her guitar.

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            “Lee Jieun,” The scary male judge called my name after just harshly rejecting the last performer on stage. I watched as the girl, about my age, walked off with tear filled eyes. I wished that my guitar was here with me so that at least the attention from the audience could be shared, but fate never allowed for it. I pushed through the rows of chairs until I was at the stage of the stairs, taking steady steps upwards. When I was finally on stage I felt relieved that I didn’t embarrass myself by tripping. Nervously, I made my way to centre stage bare handed and faced the judges. All three of them stared straight at me with expectant eyes, burning holes in my already broken self esteem. I took another deep breath and declared,

            “I will be singing an original song written by myself titled ‘Someday’.” My soft voice echoed through the entire auditorium. Unlike several previous performers who received claps after announcing their performance, the crowd stayed completely silent for me. I remembered Wooyoung telling me that the stage would give me the answers, that it would tell me whether I was ready or not. This was it. The next three minutes will determine my future. Firmly, I held the microphone to my lips and without the cue of my guitar, I sang.

♪Eonjengan i nunmuri meomchugil
Eonjengan i eodumi geodhigo
Ttaseuhan haetsari i nunmureul mallyeojugil♪

            By the second chorus, the entire audience was swaying their heads to my acapella, including the judges. I myself was surprised by how well I sounded without my guitar, and couldn’t help but smile as I sang. Music really did wonders for me, because the moment the lyrics began to flow out of my mouth the butterflies in my stomach took flight and flew away. On stage, I was in my own world where I could dream. Now, on stage, I was taking one big step towards my dream. At the end of my song, I took a small bow and brushed my bangs out of my face. The crowd was completely silent. Does this mean it was bad? After three seconds, every single being in the auditorium stood up and was clapping vigorously, cheering my name. I felt like a thousand burdens had been lifted off my shoulders, but it wasn’t the audience that determined my success, it was the judges. After waving to several strangers, I quickly looked back towards the judges who were ready to speak.

            “Lee Jieun,” The stern judge began; his expression was indifferent.

            “Ne,” I answered, nervously anticipating his next word.

            “You were fabulous.” His wrinkled face broke into a smile as he clapped. My eyes shot wide open at what I just heard. This wasn’t a dream right? Just to make sure, I lightly pinched myself on the hand, causing half the audience to chuckle.

            “Kamsahamnida!” I bowed ninety degrees, smiling more than I ever had this whole summer. One of the female judges raised her hand to silence the chuckling audience and said,

            “You’re the first person so far in the audition who has perfect pitch.” She smiled sweetly at me, but I confusedly stared back. What was she talking about?

            “Perfect pitch?” I repeated quietly, knowing that everyone probably thought I was a complete idiot for not knowing what it was. As expected, all three judges laughed at my idiocy. Smiling still, she answered,

            “You will discover what it is soon enough, because we are welcoming you to our school with open arms!” She held up an envelope and I rushed off the stage to receive it, almost tripping on the stairs. The envelope was stamped with the school’s crest, and on the corner was my name; Lee Jieun. This has got to be the best day of my life so far! When I finally returned to my seat next to Wooyoung, he gave me a high 5 and nudged my head jokingly. I couldn’t help but smile the entire time, despite my hair being messed up into a tangled web.

                “Next up is Jang Wooyoung.” The male judge announced. Wooyoung got up from his seat and straightened out his shirt. I shot him a confused stare. He applied for this school? Why did he never tell me? I thought he was going to Canada! Before I could question him, he already made his walk to the stage with no hesitation. His face radiated confidence, but why did my own stomach feel nervous by watching him? He glanced at me in the audience from the stage ahead and sang his solo with pride and confidence, but there was something missing in his voice—his heart. He sang every note perfectly and though the ballad lyrics filled the imaginary canvas of my mind with images of an unfortunate parting, the emotion was not there. I stared into his empty eyes as he redirected his stare to the judges beside me who looked frustrated and unsure. When the music stopped at the signal of one judge raising his hand, Wooyoung’s signature smile adorned his face.

            “You have an excellent voice, but it doesn’t matter how great your vocals are if you can’t convey the emotions of the song.” explained the male judge in an almost monotone voice; his strictness was reinforced by his unwavering frown. Wooyoung did not answer. The judge sighed before asking,

            “Jang Wooyoung, what is your ambition in life?” Wooyoung’s eyes were unreadable and his face was stiff as he took a few seconds to think. I could feel his nervousness radiate from the stage causing my heart cringed with uneasiness.

            “I don’t have one.” He replied with a cool voice of certainty; his mindset appeared to be as motionless as his stiffened body.

A/N: Yay for a long chapter? :D My usual chapters are like 4 pages, this one was 6 xP! Finally the plot is moving forward! Sorry if the previous chapters dragged on too much. ^^ Do you recognize the ending of this chapter? It's this fanfic's forewords! The next chapter is going to be intense so look forward to it! Leave some thoughts below? (: