Chapter 13: The Monster Vs. The Ice Prince

          “Wow, this is going to be really exciting,” L said as soon as we gained sight of the place I was talking about.

          “Of course it is,” I said.

          “I forgot to tell you, the last time I had been here –“

          “You’ve been here?” he said.

          “- Yes, and I was wearing a dress, not my school uniform,” I said.  “Do you think they’ll let us in?”

          L touched his chin. After a few moments, he straightened up and faced me. “Why don’t we try?” he said.

           “First time to break rules?”

          “Nope,” L said nonchalantly. “I’ve already broken some before.”

          The blaring speakers and the bright lights didn’t even change from the last time I saw them. The only difference was the set of people waiting outside in their flashy clothes. I looked at L, and he seemed to be really amused of the idea of going to a club… in our school uniforms.

          The two of us went directly to the end of the line. As soon as 7:00 came, the bouncers started letting people in. The truth is that I felt nervous with every step I took closer to them. I just thought maybe it was because of the fact that we are breaking rules.

          As we were approaching the bouncers, one of them moved to come toward us, but the other one stopped him. I partly stopped at the entranceway, but L took my hand and pulled me inside.

          “What happened?” I sort of shouted in L’s ears after we got into the club. He just smiled at me without telling me why. The crowd was already wild, and a pop dance music was already playing. L then left me after telling me that he’ll be buying the two of us some food and drinks. During my wait, the show started.

          The crowd started cheering for a familiar name. As soon as the curtains were lifted, the familiar group started playing a band song, but unlike before, the familiar face holding the guitar was not around. The crowd’s cheers slightly faltered because of that.

          “Everyone,” the group’s leader Doo-joon said, “B2ST knows that you’re waiting for our genius guitarist Poppin’ Dragon. Don’t you worry girls, He’s preparing something special for all of you!” After that, the dance mix played and everybody in the club gained back their energies.

          “Versatile group huh,” L said before putting down the cocktails in his hands.

          “Yes, very much,” I said.

          “Do you think Infinite’s performance can fight theirs?” L suddenly asked.

          “Of course,” I said, “That is if you’ll have a dance song too.” L chuckled before rolling his eyes. “You think so?” he said.

          “Yeah,” I said, “you’re already good looking.”

          “But being good looking and talented doesn’t guarantee popularity,” L said. Suddenly, he tilted his head and looked closely to me, which made me back away by instinct.

          “You have a fallen eyelash,” L motioned his hand to his right cheek, as if to mirror me. I tried remove it, but L kept telling me it was still there.

          “Let me remove it for you,” L stood up and brought his face closer before blowing to my eyes. “There,” he said.

          “Thanks,” I said. After that, L asked me if I wanted to dance. “I’m not the dancer type,” I said.

          “But then why do you like this place?” L asked with a slight chuckle.

          “Because,” I paused for a while to find the right words, “believe it or not, this place unleashes the real personality of every person who comes here.” L’s smile faded a little, but he brought them back before saying, “I guess that’s true.”

          Suddenly, a song started playing and several female shrieks were heard. That moment, I heard the voice I haven’t heard for days.

Oh Oh I hate you,

I don't have any trust toward you anymore

In other words, it's a rhythm without a kick

In the word of love, there is a crack

I'll shed a few tears out of courtesy

In terms of colors, I guess it's a gray color

Your clear eyes become more and more cloudy

I already felt that we were growing apart

I knew this would happen huh

I feel mo better without you baby,

I'm free got freedom lady

Before, I was scared for a tomorrow without you

But it's not like that anymore, so what I'm saying is

Goodbye Goodbye (oh oh oh oh),

             Goodbye Goodbye (oh oh oh oh)

I don't have a single bit of lingering attachment

I run away from you

          It was a song about a guy who had been cheated to by his girlfriend. The melody was catchy, and what surprised me more was that after the performance, the leader told everyone that the song we just heard was a self-composition of Yong Jun-hyung.

          “Everyone, who among you goes to this place every night?” the leader said and almost everyone in the club raised their hands and cheered. “Then all of you must know the other group who is also playing in this club every other day?” he said, and the crowd shouted yes.

          “We have a surprise tonight!” Doo-joon continued, “You know, the other group’s guitarist is here, with us at this very moment!” The crowd went wild and they kept chanting, “Ice prince! Ice prince! Ice prince!”

          “Do you want to see him too?” Doo-joon said and the girls in the crowd went even wilder. “Everybody, give it up for L of Infinite!”

          As soon as he said that, a spotlight suddenly shone towards our table, directly to L, and everybody’s eyes looked at him. It surprised me to know that Doo-joon knew L, moreover, that Infinite was playing at the same club as B2ST was playing to. I looked at L, but he seem to be not-so-surprised about everything.

          “Come on down L, you won’t want your fans to get disappointed, right?” that moment, L stood up and left the table after seriously telling me, “I’ll be back.”

          “How about a showdown between two guitar geniuses?” the leader said and everyone was so excited about it. Stage directors immediately gave L an electric lead and the lights were quickly adjusted so that the impending battle will be seen clearly by everyone.

          As soon as everything was set up, Jun-hyung started to play his guitar, but he wasn’t just playing; he was talking to L.

          There was no microphone attached of placed near them, but I could clearly see their mouths moving even when their eyes were on their own guitars. Every now and then, they would glance at each other but whenever their eyes would meet, an uncomfortable feeling would arise from my gut.

          I stood up and went down to get a closer view of what was happening at the stage downstairs, but when I was halfway the sea of people, one of them stopped playing and soon after the other one was cut. I only got a clearer view when I got in front of the crowd.

          L was clutching Jun-hyung’s shirt close to him and was telling him unrecognizable things from his tightly clenched teeth. I was about to go onto stage when two stage directors and the other members of B2ST came and pulled the two away from each other.

          “We’re sorry for the sudden performance cut,” Yo-seob glanced at me before continuing, “We didn’t expect this drama to get too complicated.”

          “It’s alright!” one of the audiences said and was shortly followed by “it was awesome!” from another.