A/N: OMG I'M SO SORRY GUYS FOR NOT UPDATING LATELY !  It's just that school has started for me recently, and I've been busy with homework and such.  But it's the weekend, which means another chapter is coming !  Thank you for being patient with me you guys.  Hope you'll enjoy ! (:

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Aerin’s POV

His words surprised me so much that my eyes literally flew wide open upon his request.

“I CAN’T SING!”  My volume was a bit louder than it should’ve been, but I mean come on, I was in shock.

“Yes you can!  I recognize talent when I hear people.  Please Aerin!  I was really looking forward to this show, and it’s going to pain me that I can’t participate just because my partner bailed on me!”  Jinwoon flashed me puppy dog eyes, and it seemed like any minute now, he would break down crying if I didn’t answer him.

 “But I don’t even know what song you’re singing!  And I might not know the lyrics to it!”  I was pouring out all the excuses I could think of to get myself out of this.

“I’m singing ‘Can’t I Love You.’  I know you know this.  It was played at the Valentine’s Day Dance.”  He smirked.  I guess I am totally over Kikwang, since I didn’t feel any pain when Jinwoon mentioned the Valentine’s Day Dance.

I couldn’t lie; I did know the song.  “B-but, I still–”

“Aerin-ah,” Hyunseung cut me off.  “You should help Jinwoon.  We know you’ve got skills.”  He attempted at his persuasion while the rest of the members just nodded their heads in agreement at whatever he said. 

“You’re a good singer, I know you are.”  Yoseob turned his body towards me and away from Jinwoon; then with a wink and his adorable smile, he added, “I’ve heard you.”

Though I was still uneasy about singing a duet with one of the school’s best singers, my heart was feeling lighter after the pep talk the guys gave me, so I agreed to help Jinwoon.

“Thank you Aerin!  I owe you big time!”  Jinwoon grinned like a fool, and then gave me instructions about what my parts were.  “I sing first verse, first chorus and the bridge.  You sing second verse, second chorus, and then after the bridge we sing the chorus together.”

“Uh... okay... I-” I was still a bit uneasy about the whole singing thing, but since I promised to help Jinwoon, I would.  Before I could say anything else, a couple of girls pulled me into one of the change rooms and handing me a silky white dress.  Though the design was simple and wasn’t bedazzled with a thousand sparkling jewels, the dress looked gorgeous on me.  After I was done changing, the same 2 girls who pulled me in the change room rushed to either sides with makeup palettes and brushes, lightly feathering my face with them.

Yoseob’s POV

Few minutes later, Aerin gracefully walked out of the change room with a beautiful white dress on and a face caked with simple and natural-looking make up.  The elegant white dress made her look like a fairytale angel who sits on puffy white clouds and plays the harp all day.  My eyes were literally hypnotized – though it wasn’t my first time seeing her all dressed up.  The other BEAST members were just as mesmerized as I was.

“You look great!”  Jinwoon complimented.  “Okay, we’re going on after BEAST.”

Right when Jinwoon said our name, the insides of my stomach suddenly felt tight and a wave of nervousness flushed my body.  I just hope my voice would still sound exactly like in rehearsals, because I have high notes that I don’t want my voice to crack at.  I squeezed my eyes shut when the voice of the talent show’s MC interrupted my thoughts, followed by a wave of applause.  “Please welcome BEAST with an original song, ‘Bad Girl’!”

“We’re up!”  Doojoon said as excitement with a tad of nervousness flashed across his face.

“Good luck,” Aerin was suddenly beside me, interlocking my hand with hers and gave it a tight squeeze.  “You’ll do great.”  With a smile, she turned towards the other members and sent out more encouraging words.

The boys and I straightened out our clothes one last time just before walking out on to the stage to face a sea of audience.  We got into our starting positions when the lights dimmed, and the music began.

“I’m heart sick, heal me.” Kikwang’s voice echoed in the room through the help of the microphone headset which was attached on to his ear and taped securely to his cheek.

After Kikwang’s English intro, the lights abruptly lit up while our 6 voices blended perfectly in unison, “Down down, we gotta get down.”  By then, my stomach had settled, causing my vocalizing to be perfect and on tune.

The song ran through, and we burst into our choreography without any mistakes.  Our faces couldn’t help but smile and grin at the audience upon all the fun we were having on stage.  The song gradually came to an end, and when it did, whistling and cheering and loud applauding from the audience almost blew us off the stage.  We took each other’s hands and bowed.  At that moment, I felt incredible, and a sense of belonging.  I knew I belong on the stage.

Aerin’s POV

Upon witnessing the amazing performance BEAST had put up for the talent show, I literally jumped up and down from excitement at backstage.  When the guys came in hi-fiving me and Jinwoon with brilliant smiles on their faces, I couldn’t help but smile back.  With a hug and a swing, Yoseob picked me up from the ground when he came in at the end of the BEAST line.

“I am so proud of you guys!”  We closed in for a cozy group hug, though it looked more like a football team huddling before the big game.

“After that exciting performance, we now have a more relaxing and mellow duet from Jung Jinwoon and Song Aerin, singing ‘Can’t I Love You’.”  The MC stated, with another rain of applause trailing behind his voice.

“Now it’s your turn!”  Junhyung said with a little teasing in his tone after we broke the circle.

“You’ll do fine,” said Doojoon.

“Break a leg!” said the maknae of the group.

The rest of BEAST sent Jinwoon and I their encouraging words, and then Yoseob’s bright smile gave me the last bit of strength.

“We didn’t get a chance to run through it, but are you ready?”  Jinwoon’s voice was filled with concern and uncertainty, doubting whether or not I could take this challenge.

I wanted to break down and say that I didn’t want to do this, and I could’ve backed out, but then remembering the promise I made to Jinwoon, I swallowed hard and with a convincing voice, I said, “Yeah, I think so.”  Despite little beads of sweat breaking out on my forehead and the wrenching of my intestines, I forced my voice to come out steady as I clutched on to the microphone with shaky fingers.

Once we’ve made our way to the centre of the stage, I looked out into the audience, and my body was frozen in shock that my eyes couldn’t even blink.  I’ve never had to sing in front of such a large audience before, so I never developed stage fright.  A couple of cameras flashed, and I saw a few red lights from camcorders that parents brought to record their kid’s performance.  Suddenly everything seemed blinding.