Sungjong’s P.O.V.

As we climbed up the stairs to the hall, we were surrounded by groups of girls whom were congratulating us. They gave us lots of cards and presents and wished us. Lately, rumours have been going around that we were going to win since we’re considered to be the cream of the cream, and not the cream of the crop. But despite so, we still had to practice hard and today, I’m going to give it my best shot. We were in the waiting room, waiting for the emcee to call us up to perform. I was practically shaking after watching the other performances brought up by other groups. The confidence level within me was falling rapidly and could even hit beyond zero if that was even possible.

Myungsoo hyung saw me sweating and shaking a lot so much that he came forward and embraced me. “Just take it as one of our usual practices.” He said and kissed my forehead.

“G-Gomawo h-hyung.” I blushed and stuttered. But that still did not boost my confidence level. I whipped out my phone to reread the message from Woohyun hyung, hopefully to increase my self-confidence. But as I was reading it through halfway, the emcee called us up.

“And now let’s invite the duo, Kim Myungsoo and Lee Sungjong, to bring us their wonderful song ‘Only Tears’.” The emcee announced.

We took our positions on stage; Myungsoo hyung sat on the stool and picked up his guitar whilst I sat in front of the piano. I cleared my throat before singing, “Saranghanda mianhada. Geurae deoneun andoegesseo.”

Throughout the song, I scanned the audience for Woohyun hyung but he was nowhere to be found. I turned my head left and right looking for him but soon, sadness welled up in my heart and I began to tear. Where is Woohyun hyung? Why isn’t he here to support me? Why did he even send me that message in the first place? Why did he even do so much for me if he wasn’t going to turn up? Why must he leave my side during such an important moment? These were the five questions that ran through my mind. I carried on sobbing, hoping that no one would recognize that as I continued playing on the piano. Myungsoo hyung looked at me with concern halfway through but I assured him with a nod. After we were done performing, the emcee asked us a few questions.

“Sungjong-ssi, why were you crying during your performance? It’s quite noticeable from here.” The emcee asked.

“Ah… whilst I was playing, it reminded me of a dear friend whom isn’t here today to see my performance. So I started to tear up a little.” I replied.

“Oh is that why the song is called ‘Only Tears’?” the emcee questioned.

“Ah… neh.” I nodded in acknowledgement.

“Now moving on to the next question. Myungsoo-ssi, what do you think of your fellow band mate, Sungjong-ssi?”

“Well… he’s more than just a close friend and a band mate. He’s someone very important that everybody needs, just like sunlight, water and air. He’s the inspiration and motivation to every person he comes into contact with.” Myungsoo hyung answered and turned to face me. He lifted a hand and held my chin, slowly moving in.

“H-Hyung?” I stuttered and evaded him. Myungsoo hyung released me and smiled at the audience. The crowd went wild and cheered at what we did.

The emcee then interrupted us, “Alright thank you so much for the fan service. Now we’ll proceed to collect the votes from both the judges and audience. 50% is allocated to the judges and the remaining 50% goes according to the audience’s votes. So please send in your votes for your favourite performance now!”

Meanwhile, we headed back to the waiting room to rest and prepare ourselves for the results. “H-Hyung w-what w-were y-you t-trying t-to d-do j-just n-now?” I stuttered at Myungsoo hyung.

“Well… it was quite obvious wasn’t it? You mean you didn’t get the hint?” he teased.

“A-Aniyo!” I yelled and stuttered at the same time whilst waving my hands in front of him.

“So you’re saying that you want it now?” he continued to tease whilst closing the distance between us.

“H-Hyung i-its j-just t-that… e-erm…” I hesitated.

“Just that what?” he asked and raised an eyebrow. The distance between us now is just a centimetre apart. It was so close that I could feel his breath on my lips.

Just then, the door burst open only to reveal Chorong noona. “Yah lovebirds! Get your asses out there! It’s time to announce the results! You can continue your make out session later on!”

“Noona!” Myungsoo hyung shouted at her and stormed out. I blushed and followed him out onto the stage. All groups were called to stand in front on the stage and wait for the results.

The emcee exclaimed, “Now I have in my hands the results for the music competition. Who do you think will emerge victorious?” The crowd went wild and cheered out the names of the performers.

“And the winner is…”