Two weeks later, after Baekhyun had submitted their audition tape and received an acceptance e-mail, all five band members found themselves on the grounds of a colorful, lively festival at JYP Arts Academy. Jieun, Daehyun, and Myungsoo stared at the school festival in awe, amazed by all the booths with different activities and food. 

"This is amazing!" Jieun exclaimed, widening her eyes. "Can we get something to eat?"

"But can we go play? I mean, look at the size of that bear!" Daehyun cried out, pointing at the large teddy bear hanging on one of the booths.

"Let's go inside where it's cool and nice," Myungsoo suggested as he dragged his feet. Baekhyun rolled his eyes at everyone's silly comments while Yoseob struggled to read the brochure he had received just before he entered the school.

"We have plenty of time to have fun and all, but shouldn't we warm up a bit?" Baekhyun asked, turning to Yoseob.

"It says here that the music contest won't happen until three hours later. That gives us plenty of time to have fun, warm up, and everything. Maybe during the three hours, we might encounter Suzy and ask her to stop the bet," Yoseob said, his eyes still stuck on the brochure. "Okay, so this is going to be the plan. We'll have two hours of fun, then we'll meet at this school's music room right after. We'll practice and warm up for an hour, and we'll be ready to perform. Sounds good?"

"Perfect!"

"I want that bear."

"I'll be inside the school the entire event."

"Sure, that sounds pretty good to me."

Yoseob nodded his head and looked up. "Okay, I want everyone to stay with a partner--Where did Jieun and Myungsoo go?"

Daehyun bit his bottom lip and pointed one finger to the school's building and another to the large crowd. Yoseob groaned and rubbed his eyes tiredly. He looked at Baekhyun, who had his eyes glued on the crowd.

"Baekhyun, go find Jieun. Daehyun, you're in charge of finding Myungsoo," Yoseob ordered.

Daehyun pouted. "But I wanted to go and find Jieun--"

"I said to go and find Myungsoo!" Yoseob demanded. The two boys widened their eyes and scurried at different directions. The oldest heaved a sigh and had his eyes glued back on the brochure. "Now, if I'm reading this correctly..."

Myungsoo was never the kind of guy who had any interest in school. In fact, he dreaded school because it was always the one battle ground where socializing with others mattered. He found it quite difficult to read people's expression and understand what they wanted by their gesture or facial expressions.

Until now.

The students in JYP Arts Academy seemed to know who would like to come to their activity room, and who had other interests. They would stare at Myungsoo for a second, then move on to another person. They would exchange a small smile with him, but that was the ony sort of contact he had with anyone in the building. In short, Myungsoo was never bothered by the other students and was able to stroll around the building on his own will. He smiled to himself, and stared down at the window.

There's a lot of people, he thought, his dripping ice cream. He blinked his eyes, and saw Daehyun approaching the same building he was in. In another crowd, he managed to spot Baekhyun searching through the booths and Yoseob walking subconsciously into the same crowd.

"Drats," he muttered. "They're looking for me."

When he turned around, he gasped and bumped into a shorter girl. His eyes widened when his ice cream landed on the girl's shoulders. He quickly wiped the cold junk food with a napkin and bit his bottom lip.

"I-I'm so sorry--Jieun?"

Jieun grabbed a tissue from her pocket and tried to wipe the stain. "This ! I was going to scare you, but you turned around. There goes my luck. Maybe things would turn bad at the concert, too."

"Hey, it's a good thing that it's a jacket," Myungsoo said, gently grabbing onto Jieun's arm. "Come on, let's go find the washroom."

"No, no. It's fine. I'll wash it when I get back home. It's going to get sticky, even if I wash it," she pointed out. She took off her short-sleeved jacket, revealing a plain white t-shirt with five cute chibi characters that represented each member in the band.

"You know, I think I did a pretty good job with drawing those anime-like characters," Myungsoo said, taking Jieun's jacket. Jieun laughed and nodded her head in agreement. The two continued to walk around the building, amazed by the different activities each room held.

"So why are you up here? I thought you went to get food," Myungsoo pointed out.

"Yeah, but that was before when Baekhyun started to chase after me. I mean, hello? I just wanted some alone time. Was that hard to ask?" Jieun said, rolling her eyes. Myungsoo's eyes softened.

"You're lucky that you want to be alone," he mumbled. He looked outside, where he saw Yoseob, Baekhyun, and Daehyun freaking out. "I'm always alone..."

Jieun raised an eyebrow. "Really? What do you consider us, then? Toys?"

"More like family," he replied, shrugging his shoulders. "I mean, I'm pretty much alone to the point where teachers don't remember my name."

"Yeah, I've seen that happen once," she said bluntly, nodding her head in agreement. The two walked into a random room, where they were seated and given menus. Once they ordered a glass of water and a slice of chocolate cake, the two continued their conversation with a different topic.

"So how long do you think it's going to take for them to find us?" Myungsoo asked, resting his elbows against the table. "I'm betting on a can of soda that they're going to find us in an hour or so."

Jieun laughed. "An hour? I say that they're going to find us in, like, thirty minutes."

Both friends began to increase the bets as they got their orders and ate their snack, not realizing that they were caught up in the moment and lost track of time.

Two hours and thirty minutes later, Yoseob was infuriated. He chewed on his fingernails and pressed his other hand against random keys, causing a disturbing sound from the piano. Baekhyun yawned and tapped the drumsticks against the drum, tired of waiting for the two missing band members. Meanwhile, Daehyun kept glancing outside the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of Jieun or Myungsoo (but mostly Jieun). Finally, Yoseob banged his forehead against the white keyboards, making Daehyun gasp and Baekhyun stare at him with worry.

"They don't pick up their phones, they don't try to call us... We're missing a guitarist and another singer!" Yoseob shouted, turning around to face Baekhyun. "Baekhyun, what are we going to do if they don't come? This is ridiculous, just ridiculous! Of course we're going to lose, and of course Daehyun is going on that stupid date with Suzy."

"I'm good with that," Baekhyun said, glancing at Daehyun. "I mean, you dating Jieun. J-Just saying..."

"But I'm not okay with that!" Daehyun exclaimed. "What if Jieun misunderstands something? What if Suzy starts to love me even more on the date to the point where she wants to marry me? Oh my gosh, how do I reject, huh? I can't reject anyone! I can't reject my own father, I can't reject a girl, I can't--"

"The crowd outsides is getting even bigger," Baekhyun added, interrupting Daehyun's frantic comments. "They all must be waiting for the concert. Yoseob, when do we go on?"

"We go on after this singer called 'Fat Cat' finishes."

Suddenly, the three heard a faint chuckle at the door. The turned their heads, and were delighted to see Myungsoo and Jieun at the door, biting their lips to stop themselves from laughing.

"'Fat Cat'? What kind of name is that?" Myungsoo asked, rolling his eyes. Yoseob, still angry, grabbed a magazine, rolled it up, and smacked it against Myungsoo's and Jieun's head. The two groaned in pain as they clutched their heads with their hands.

"According to you, the singer before us sings great! Unlike you two, who haven't done any research, this solo singer is known to help girls feel more confident about themselves! Get ahold of yourselves. Where were you two?" Yoseob asked, glaring at the two.

She could've used a better stage name, Jieun thought, still giggling. "It's okay, Yoseob. Myungsoo and I were just--"

"On a date!" Myungsoo finished, putting his arm around her shoulder. Jieun widened her eyes and blushed, while Daehyun paled and Baekhyun dropped his drumsticks. Yoseob frowned and flicked Myungsoo's forehead, knowing that he was fooling around.

"Stop kidding around and get in position! We have thirty minutes to present our song, and we have to wait another hour after our performance to get the results," Yoseob informed them. Myungsoo nodded his head and walked over to get his guitar. Jieun put her jacket on a random chair and picked up a microphone as she stood next to Daehyun.

"Where you really on a date?" Daehyun asked softly. Jieun stared at him for a few seconds, then smiled.

"No, but I owe Myungsoo a can of soda, three ice cream, and a whole series of comic books," she replied, facing the mirror in front of her.

"...And that was Fat Cat with her song, 'Is Being Pretty Everything'! Next up is a band from a different school doing a song they titled, 'So Give Me A Smile.' Please, no matter how bad their song is, don't yell out any discouraging word," the senior hosting this show said, giving everyone a wink. Hearing this, Jieun, Baekhyun, Daehyun, and Myungsoo stared at the host with wide eyes. All four had their jaws open wide like an crocodile ready to snap its jaws.

"Does he know that we auditioned to get here?" Baekhyun asked, making a fist.

"I told you, this is a pretty unfair battle ground," Yoseob reminded them. "We just have to put on a big impact."

"Y-You know, I'm not feeling so well," Myungsoo mumbled, turning pale. "I mean, there's a lot of people out there."

"M-Me too," Jieun agreed, shaking her head meekly. Yoseob rolled his eyes and waited for the host to leave the stage. Once he left, he pushed the two worried friends onto the stage.

"It's fine, it's fine," Yoseob assured them. "If any of you guys get scared, look at me."

"But you're behind me," the girl reminded him. "How can I sing and turn around behind you when I should sing to the audience?"

When Jieun realized that Yoseob stopped walking, she frowned for a moment. Then, she realized that Yoseob was in charge of the piano. She stared at Baekhyun, who climbed on a staircase behind the four, preparing to take over the drums. She looked to her left, where Daehyun stood next to her and began to clear his throat. Myungsoo rested the guitar strap over his shoulders and began to play a few random chords.

"Guys, I really don't think I can do this," Jieun whispered, wrapping her tiny hands around the microphone.

"Relax, Jieun," Myungsoo said, wearing his cap. "We'll be fine."

"But what if I make a mistake and cause us to lose?" she asked. Her lips began to tremble, even though it wasn't cold outside. Daehyun forced a smile.

"It's okay, Jieun. Music isn't about winning or losing. It's all about experimenting with sounds and having fun," Daehyun told her. He looked at Yoseob, who nodded his head. Myungsoo and Baekhyun returned Daehyun's questioning look with a nod. Then, Daehyun glanced at the other students behind the curtains, signaling them that they were ready. They nodded their heads, and increased the volume of the microphones.

Baekhyun raised his two wooden drumsticks, tapped them against each other three times. Yoseob started to play the piano, and Myungsoo added some chords from the guitar. Daehyun took a deep breath, and had his hands around the microphone stand.

Yes, smile so happiness will come.

Yes, smile so the love can come into my embrace.

Even all the dreams like the stars in the sky...

Daehyun gestured Jieun to sing. She gasped, then almost pressed her lips against the microphone.

Y-Yes, get up--Don't collapse.

Y-Yes, get up--Even if it's one step per day.

Even if it's a slow walk, it's o-okay...

Jieun bit her bottom lip, cursing at herself for stuttering over the lyrics. Daehyun chuckled, and took a deep breath. Suddenly, Baekyhun's steady and slow beats became a loud sound that consisted of him slamming the drumsticks against the different parts of the drums. The main singer continued to sing to the chorus, closing his eyes and savoring the small moment he had. As soon as he finished half of the chorus, Jieun sang the second part, this time careful over not stuttering. The drums died down and turned back into a steady beat after Jieun finished singing the chorus.

This is kind of fun, Baekhyun thought, grinning while he was covered in sweat. He flipped his bangs to the side, accidentally splashing the salty liquid against Myungsoo's cheeks. Myungsoo glared at him from below, wiping the sweat with his shoulders. Baekhyun chuckled, while he turned to Yoseob. He noticed how Yoseob had made a mistake with one of the notes, but the eldest quickly covered up his mistake by calmly continuing the song.

I may fall down, but that's not failure.

Just brush it off lightly--I'm not crying

Because I can just get up and run again...

We've reached the , Yoseob thought, noticing how fast time had passed by. He looked at the guitarist, the drummer, and the two singers. Finish strong, guys!

Sometimes, I can smile for love.

Sometimes, I can cry for love.

Because everything will make me stronger...

Sometimes, I risk it all for love. 

Sometimes, I regret because of love.

But it's okay--I will dream again today

And set out the road...

Baekhyun stopped drumming, while Yoseob and Myungsoo finished up the song with the final notes. Jieun and Daehyun panted hard, not realizing until now how they were so into the song. They received a mediocre applause at first, but then the audience erupted into a blast of cheers. All the band members grinned, wiping their sweat against their hands, sleeves, or shoulders. They stood still on the stage, breathlessly staring at the audience with awe and delight.

"You five!" the host of the show whispered with a glare. "Get off the stage right now!"

Yoseob was the first to regain conscious of their surroundings. He quickly lifted his fingers from the keyboard, and stared at them for a moment. Then, he tapped on Myungsoo's shoulders, who was the third to snap out of his thoughts. Baekhyun, who was second, quickly climbed down the stairs and dragged Jieun and Daehyun off the stage. Once all five were behind the stage, they stared at each other, then at their hands.

Jieun was the first to speak. "That was..."

"Really..." Myungsoo continued quietly.

"Unbelievably..." Daehyun added.

"Shockingly..." Baekhyun nodded his head.

"Beautiful," Yoseob finished, his lips. All five looked at each other, then broke into a grin. "That felt incredible!"

"I can't believe I actually sang an entire song in front of that crowd!" Jieun exclaimed, nodding her head and grabbing onto his arm.

"Man, I think everything would've been fine if Baekhyun stopped splashing his sweat against me. Seriously, it was like raining sweat!" Myungsoo whined.

"That was my first time drumming, and I nailed it!" Baekhyun bragged.

"Maybe I don't have to date Suzy after all!" Daehyun cheered.

"Don't get so cocky," an unfamiliar voice snapped. Everyone but Yoseob gasped. The four others hid behind Yoseob, who smiled fondly at the younger girl standing in front of him.

"Hello, Suzy," Yoseob greeted her. "So? How was our performance?"

"It was okay," she said with a crossed look, "but you guys could've done better...or not."

Yoseob's proud expression quickly disappeared. He narrowed his eyes and glared at the prideful teenager.

"Oh yeah? I'd like to see you earn more cheers than ours," Yoseob challenged her.

"Certainly," she said, accepting the challenge. She grabbed the microphone Daehyun had in his hand. He blinked his eyes when Suzy smiled at him and stretched her arms. "But don't be surprised if I don't receive a lot of cheers, though. I'm trying out a different kind of style."

As she walked out, the audience quickly chanted her name as if they had worshipped her. The five kept their eyes close on her, wondering what amazing talent she held that made her so confident. 

"This is a song called 'Don't Forget Me.' I ask for all of you to hear this song carefully and understand the meaning behind the lyrics," Suzy announced. The crowd screamed in unison. Suzy cued for the music, and a delicate sound of the piano started to play. It was then, once Suzy had opened to speak the first few words, why the five knew that she was so confident about winning.

Not only was she popular, but she knew how to connect her voice with the music.

In other words, the message of the song got through to the audience, even to the five best friends.

Songs Mentioned:

'Is Pretty Being Everything' -- Fat Cat || 'So Give Me A Smile' -- M-Signal || 'Don't Forget Me' -- Miss A's Suzy