Daehyun bounced on his toes to look out for Youngjae in the midst of the crowd. “Jae! Youngjae, over here!” He jumped and waved so he would get noticed. Youngjae spotted him and pushed his away to the front of the stage, where Daehyun was standing.

“You’re just on time! The dance competition’s about to start,” Daehyun announced. “Oh, you brought a friend along,” he pointed to Woojin, who was standing by Youngjae’s side.

“Yeah, meet Woojin. She’s my childhood friend who just came all the way from the States,” he introduced.

Daehyun held out a hand to her and introduced himself in his own friendly way. “Hi Woojin! I’m Daehyun, best friends with this obnoxious fella right here,” he flickered his gaze to Youngjae and then back to her. Woojin giggled, pleased to meet someone close to Youngjae. The way Daehyun teased Youngjae reminded her of how she’d back in the days. “A pleasure to meet you, best-friend-of-the-obnoxious-fella-right-here,” she replied, earning an unamused glare from Youngjae, which made her giggle more.

After a series of live performances from various bands and groups, the dance battle commenced. The MC began the show by introducing the ten contestants that were competing in the dance battle. Zelo and Jongup were introduced as the seventh, and upon hearing their names, both Daehyun and Youngjae cheered and whistled out loud to show their support.

When their turn came up, Zelo and Jongup earned a thundering cheer from the crowds with the display of their B-boy and acrobatic moves they implemented into their choreography. From the reaction of the judges, they seemed to be impressed by the skills they presented. At the end of their performance, the crowds - made up mainly of their friends from their dance school - went wild again as they applauded hysterically.

At the end of the performances, there was a short break to allow the judges to deliberately decide on the winners. So Zelo and Jongup went to meet their hyungs. “Thanks for coming guys,” Jongup gave a pat on their shoulders. “We did good, didn’t we?” Zelo beamed, satisfied that they completed their performance flawlessly. The two hyungs nodded with smiles on their faces; proud of their talented dongsaengs.

Zelo’s eyes landed on the lady beside Youngjae. It took him a while to notice who it was, but when he did, his eyes rounded in surprise. “Oh! Woojin noona?! Noona! When did you come back?!” He exclaimed and leaned in to hug her. “I missed you, noona!”

“I missed you too, Zelo. I just came back today and Youngjae brought me along. You looked really cool up there!” She squeezed his arm and showed a ‘thumbs up’ with the other hand. If there was one person she doted on while still in Korea, it was Zelo, Youngjae’s younger cousin who almost seemed like his own brother. He would always approach her to talk about his problems, whether it was school or family.

Everyone’s attention soon diverted to the stage the moment the MC spoke. “Alright, while waiting for the judges, we’ll be having an open stage session for anyone to showcase their talents! Because it’s a music festival, you can choose to sing or dance right here, right now and show people what you’ve got! All you need to do is sign up right at the side of the stage and you’re on! There will be prizes given to the top three favourites!”

Everyone shifted their gaze to Daehyun. “Hyung! You should really give it a go! It’s a rare chance for others to hear your voice!” Zelo encouraged. Daehyun gulped, knowing he could never get himself up there. Youngjae noticed his expression and comforted him. “Think about it, Dae. Take it as an opportunity. Maybe you’ll overcome it soon enough. How about giving it another shot?” He winked.

Youngjae didn’t want to force him, but all he wanted was for his friend to be able to showcase the talent he had. If his singing abilities were as powerful as Daehyun’s, he would seize every opportunity to perform on stage. He thought it’d be a loss for Daehyun to hold himself back from doing something he loved just because he couldn’t face his fears.

With everyone there to encourage him, he felt a bit burdened by it, but was touched by the very fact that they wanted to see him do what he knew was born to do. He drew a deep breath and exhaled. “I’ll give it a go,” he smiled sheepishly. The moment he agreed to it, everyone’s expression lit up in excitement.

“Way to go, hyung!” Jongup cheered.

“Hyung! You’ll definitely win everyone’s heart – if not the prize - with your voice!” Zelo added.

He finally turned to Youngjae before heading for it. “You can do it, Dae. We’re all behind you. Just have faith!” He patted Daehyun’s arm. With all the support he was receiving, he signed up – nervously - to do what he had always failed to do.