On the day of the choir competition, Jongwoon wakes up late which rarely happen. He blames it on thinking too much of his friends the other night and how he will tell them he’s leaving. He falls on his bed as he tries to get up as fast as he can, trips on his blanket and falls on his face again. He tries to brush his teeth, take a bath, get dressed and convince everybody in their house that he needs to go now all in fifteen minutes.

He still has about ten minutes to go to the university and meet their meetup time but when he runs out of the house, already completely breathless, and gets to the bus stop, he doesn’t know if fate is screwing with him again or aliens has gotten hold of all the bus on their block because there is literally no bus.

He’s already pacing back and forth the waiting shed, as if doing that would somehow magically drop a bus that would take him to the university. He figures he can ask his father’s driver to come and pick him up but he doesn’t want to trouble his father especially that he still has to settle many things before they can go and settle somewhere not here.

Jongwoon looks at his wristwatch just as the longer hand finally move to twelve.

They’re all probably there by now and are wondering what happened to Jongwoon, especially Ryeowook and Maestro Jang. He looks at the empty road for one more time and is close to deciding to run his way to the university when a motorcycle stops in front of him.

To be honest, he is about to run away from the motorcycle, remembering men wearing all black and bad memories that comes with them, but when the man on the motorcycle removes his helmet, Jongwoon’s face breaks into a grin as he catches a helmet thrown to him.

“What are you still doing here? I thought you guys are meeting at three?” Heechul shouts at Jongwoon, going over the speed limit even though he mentioned to Jongwoon before that he hasn’t renewed his driving license in Korea since he came back.

“We are,” Jongwoon answers back loudly. “I woke up late, hyung.”

Heechul laughs, “Not like you, Jongwoon.”

Jongwoon smiles and looks at Heechul’s back. He thinks he will really miss him even though they haven’t spent that much time in reality since Heechul only got back. But Heechul is a friend who always stay close to Jongwoon’s heart no matter where he is or where Jongwoon is. He hopes it will also be like that this time when he is the one who needs to go for a while.

“Hyung!” Jongwoon shouts again, as loudly as he can.

“What?” Heechul asks.

“I’M SORRY!” Jongwoon shouts like his life depends on it and he hopes it doesn’t only reach Heechul’s ears.

“DON’T DO THAT AGAIN, YOU IDIOT! ESPECIALLY TO ME!” Heechul shouts back, matching the volume and intensity of Jongwoon’s voice.

Jongwoon rests his head – or helmet – on Heechul’s back for a second, kind of like he’s saying, I know, hyung, I know.

Heechul is glad Jongwoon’s behind him and can’t see his face. He smiles and ignores something misty on his eyes. He doesn’t know what bugs him more. The fact that Jongwoon is leaving and almost does without saying goodbye to him or the fact that Jongwoon is leaving even though they both know he doesn’t really want. Either way he knows Jongwoon doesn’t deserve that much pain he is getting here.

You take care of yourself, Jongwoon.

Heechul stops in front of the university where everyone is already waiting on the bus that will take the university choir at SNU. Jongwoon doesn’t understand why some girls cheered like they’re watching a drug race or something but it must be the way Heechul removed his helmet like he’s shooting a damn shampoo commercial film.

He sighs, quickly removing his helmet and throwing it to Heechul before running towards Maestro Jang and Ryeowook who seems more worried that they should be for waiting for someone who is already there now.

“What happened to you?” Maestro Jang asks first.

“Sorry, Maestro. I woke up late,” Jongwoon answers sheepishly, really apologetic.

Maestro Jang slightly shakes his head at Jongwoon and motions him to quickly join everybody in the bus so everyone could move. SNU isn’t that far but no one really knows what can happen, right? So it’s better to move early than get there late and the competition they’ve all been waiting for all year is over.

Jongwoon looks back and shouts a Thanks, hyung! to Heechul before he goes inside the bus with Ryeowook.

They arrive at SNU a little after four which is just the right time to register everyone. There has been a pre-registration but the competition coordinators are keen to make sure that everyone who is really singing that night are going to get the credit they would be getting if they won – or simply being part of the prestigious competition. So there is another registration booth prepared at the entrance of the auditorium venue for the participants.

Maestro Jang instructs his kids to register while he coordinates where their waiting room is and how the competition will flow.

“Youngwoon-ssi said he’ll be here before six, right? Before the competition starts?” Ryeowook asks Jongwoon after they both registered.

Jongwoon can sense the worry in Ryeowook’s voice. “Yes, he’ll be here, Wookie. Don’t worry,” he reassures the younger with a squeeze on the shoulder.

They are all awed at SNU’s facilities as Maestro Jang and one of the coordinators assisted them to their waiting room. All universities who are part of the competition are given waiting rooms as they wait for their turn. They can watch other universities’ performances but they can also wait and prepare at the waiting rooms they are given.

“The order of the universities to perform is decided through draw lots,” Maestro Jang informs them, showing them three pieces of papers. “Of course, the solo competition goes first from six to seven-thirty, the duet competition from seven-forty-five to nine-fifteen and finally, the group competition from nine-thirty to eleven-thirty. There are twenty-five universities who pre-registered and as each participant arrives, they’re going to pick in which order they will perform.”

“Seriously, Maestro?” some of them snickers because of the conventional yet unexpected way of deciding which team performs in which order.

Maestro Jang strictly looks at them and they all silence themselves.

“As I was saying,” the maestro continues, “I was already asked to pick. For the solo competition, Ryeowook, you’re twenty-fourth.”

Ryeowook takes a deep breath and looks concernedly at Jongwoon. He doesn’t really know if coming first, middle or last is a good thing or not. He doesn’t even know which of the three gives the most advantage but it’s a solo, right? There’s really not much advantage or disadvantage he can get because he’ll be up on stage alone and he’ll be singing alone and he’s mind is running with a million things he is worrying about like what if he forgets the lyrics or what if he doesn’t remember to breathe properly or…

“Wookie, Wookie,” he doesn’t feel Jongwoon shaking his shoulders. “Breathe, Wookie, breathe.”

Ryeowook takes another deep breath and finally sees Jongwoon looking worriedly at him. “Hyung, I don’t know if I can do it,” he is close to breaking down.

Jongwoon smiles at Ryeowook and holds both the younger’s shoulders. “You can do it, Ryeowook,” he simply tells his friend. “Of course you can do it! Maestro didn’t choose you for no reason and we all heard you sing. We couldn’t agree more! You can do it, okay? You can do it.”

He still looks unsure at Jongwoon but manages to give him a small smile.

“You can do it,” Jongwoon says again as he gives one last shake at Ryeowook’s shoulders.

Ryeowook smiles at Jongwoon and wonders why he is always being misinterpreted by people. “Thanks, hyung.”

“For the duet competition,” Maestro Jang continues as he turns to look at Jongwoon, “Youngwoon and Jongwoon are up thirteenth.” Then he regards to everybody, “And for the group competition, we’re up sixteenth.”

Like Ryeowook, Jongwoon doesn’t know if he should feel good because they’re on the middle of the range or not. Should he feel good because they won’t come first or not because then, on the middle they’ll be pressured and their agony will only be prolonged, unless of course they withdraw themselves from the competition?

He walks around the auditorium without really knowing where he is going, telling Ryeowook that he’ll only get something to drink somewhere. He hasn’t eaten anything since dinner last night and because he woke up late, he didn’t have any chance to grab even a sandwich.

Well, technically, when you sing, you only sing. It’s your voice and not your stomach but if he faints while singing because of an empty stomach, then he should be worrying about how his stomach is grumbling now and he isn’t seeing any vendo machine around.

He is nearly hopeless as he turns around to go back to the waiting room because there is no vendo machine around and he isn’t sure if he wants to go out and look for a convenience store because he’s too nervous he’ll get lost or something and won’t be able to perform like he should. He figures he will survive at least through the night and then, he can faint after or he’ll pull Youngwoon and Ryeowook to the nearest restaurant and treat them.

His head is down as he walks and he doesn’t notice two young women walking towards him until they all bump unto each other.

“Oppa!”

“Sooyoung?” Jongwoon recognizes the voice even before he looks at the face. Surely, when he looks up, it is Sooyoung and Joohyun. “Joohyun! What are you two doing here?”

“Oppa, we’re here to support you and our university choir,” Joohyun says with a smile, helping Sooyoung stand up.

Jongwoon remembers Heechul’s words and he knows by now, Sooyoung and Joohyun probably know he is leaving. As much as he prepared an apology, a sorry speech even, when he sees the two of them and he remembers two young girls who were mistaken, but took him as an older brother and whom he took as two younger sisters as well, two friends who were there before, during and after, two people who looked after him, who supported him and who wouldn’t let him go even if he was ready to let them go without saying goodbye, and somehow, everything is lost in Jongwoon.

“Joohyunie, Sooyoungie,” he starts and it may not be the best place and the right time but he can’t wait much longer.

Sooyoung and Joohyun already knows what he is going to say and as much as it hurt them when they found it out through Heechul, they were there when everything happened to Jongwoon at school and they were firsthand witnesses when it hurt Jongwoon, when it broke Jongwoon, and when it killed Jongwoon. They knew where Jongwoon is coming from and they understand him.

“Oppa, it’s okay,” Sooyoung softly says.

But Jongwoon needs to say it. He owes them this much. “I’m sorry!” he tells them loudly, even bowing to his younger friends.

Joohyun and Sooyoung don’t know what to do. They aren’t embarrassed because they are being accused freak or delinquent but they are embarrassed because Jongwoon is bowing to them. They love Jongwoon with all their heart and they may be hurt but they understand Jongwoon.

“No, no, Jongwoon-oppa, please straighten up!” Joohyun frantically says.

“No,” Jongwoon says with a shy smile. “You deserve it. You both deserve it. I’m really sorry.”

“Then it’s fine!” Sooyoung quickly says. “We forgive you, okay? You don’t have to do something like that again, oppa. It’s fine. We still love you.”

That momentarily stops Jongwoon but then Heechul suddenly appears with Sooyeon and Miyoung.

“What is this? A confession?” Heechul jokes. “I thought we’re here for the biggest competition in Jongwoon’s life and we have to support him?”

Jongwoon isn’t even able to process that everyone is there to support him and the university choir before a full grin breaks on his face and he jumps to put his arm on Heechul’s shoulders. “Hyung, what am I going to do without you?”

“You die, Woonie, you die,” Heechul answers and laughs in the most evil manner only he can do in the most prestigious university in South Korea. “By the way, you haven’t eaten anything, right?”

“I should be fine until the competition ends, hyung,” Jongwoon answers, looking at the others who worriedly look at him. “I’ll treat you all to dinner after! Let’s also invite Youngwoon and Ryeowook.”

This time, it’s Heechul’s face that breaks into a full grin. “Really? You’ll treat us all?”

Heechul might be forgetting something because Sooyeon frowns and rolls her eyes on him, “Oppa, we prepared something, remember?”

Jongwoon looks from Sooyeon and Heechul curiously. “What did you prepare?”

“We prepared picnic!” Sooyoung announces.

At first, Jongwoon isn’t sure if having a picnic is alright when they’re less than a couple of hours away from the most awaited competition for the choir but since this might be the last time they’re going to eat dinner with him (and then it’ll be a long time before they can get the chance again, maybe after Jongwoon comes back already) and they prepared something for him, he gives in and they find themselves on the staircase. Heechul suggests they go to the field but Jongwoon says the staircase will do because what really matters is they are together but Heechul tells him he’s just freaking out and he doesn’t want t0 be lost. Jongwoon doesn’t argue back.

“But you said it already, okay? You’re still going to treat us to dinner later,” Heechul tells Jongwoon, grabbing one of the sandwiches Joohyun prepared for everybody. “Of course, after you and Youngwoon and Ryeowook won.”

A/N: Have you guys heard Yesung's album? If yes, what's your favorite track? If not yet, listen to it~ The songs are all really good ^^ Let's support Yesung's solo debut~ Let's give him lots of love because he deserves it! ^^

Take care, guys! - Elle