‘Okay everyone,’ the teacher began speaking, ‘today is very important. Do any of you know why it’s important?’ the stout old man asked the audience at the whole school assembly.

No one answered and the mass of students was dead silent. So Eun didn’t know the answer so she didn’t dare put her hand up, and so did the rest of the students. The teacher sighed as he reached up to scratch the little bald patch at the top of his head. ‘It’s the big performance,’ he answered for all the students, sounding disappointed. Go Ara seemed uninterested as she was always chosen to either play the lead role or to sing a solo at if the ‘big performance’ was a concert.

‘To all of you who don’t know what this event is, it is as the name suggests: a big performance. This year however, I thought that we could combine a play and a concert all in one,’ the rounded teacher explained. Then, he motioned to the sheets of paper on the desk that was usually at the front of the school hall and spoke again, ‘You could either sign up as cast, musical performances, crew, or orchestra.’ The teacher exited the room straight after, saying nothing concerning where he was heading. But other teachers were there to supervise, so that wasn’t a problem. So Eun couldn’t help but notice how close Changmin now was with Ara, it was like he had found a replacement for her. And that didn’t feel good to be replaced.

So Eun decided to sign up as a part of the orchestra until Sunny walked over to her and persuaded her to also sign up as one of the musical performances. ‘Come on, you have to,’ she said.

‘No, I won’t be able to perform alone,’ So Eun answered her eager friend.

‘Then ask the teacher for an accompaniment after the audition,’ Sunny persisted.

‘But…’ So Eun tried to object.

‘Come on,’ Sunny whined. Then she did the best puppy dog eyes she could and clasped her hands in front of her chest in a pleading matter. Sunny even went as far to pout and stick out her bottom lip. So Eun tried to resist Sunny’s cute little baby face, but she ended up falling for Sunny’s little trick and signing the sheet. Seriously, who wouldn’t fall for that puppy dog face?

‘Happy now?’ asked So Eun. Sunny nodded, sending her long hair flying up and down. ‘YAY!’ Sunny cheered and then she went over to an apprehensive Yoona who looked like she was deciding on what sheet to sign.

After everyone in the classroom signed a least one sheet, the short teacher came back in the classroom and picked up the four pieces of paper. ‘Wow. Well, at least we won’t have a problem in recruiting extra performances,’ he said, looking at the number of signatures and names on the papers. ‘Alright, we are going to move to the auditorium outside and some more teachers and I will hold the auditions,’ he announced. Once he had said some more things that So Eun didn’t really pay attention to, she and her fellow classmates walked out of the school hall and into the auditorium next door. The school’s auditorium was rather large, with a tiered seating and a huge stage. But above the stage were a little balcony and organ pipes. A sleek, black grand piano was located at the right side of the stage and looked marvellous. And to pull that all together, a fine red curtains were draped at the sides of the stage. All in all, this place was very magnificent to So Eun that her eyes widened in awe. But the teacher’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts. ‘Alright, cast, you go to Mr Lee to audition,’ their teacher instructed while pointing to a tall, serious looking man. ‘Musical performances, you go to Mrs Chu to audition,’ he said, pointing to a petite looking woman. ‘Orchestra, you can all come with me to rehearse and the crew, you guys go to Mr Wang,’ the teacher finally said as he pointed to a burly looking man and motioning to the students in the orchestra to follow him. So Eun decided to meet up with the rest of the orchestra after she auditioned in the musical performances.

Mrs Chu was a fairly nice teacher and nearly everyone who auditioned passed. So Eun noticed Changmin standing near the his group of friends and she couldn’t help but feel a little pang in her heart. What is this feeling? She asked herself as she gazed at Changmin’s tall, handsome figure. I liked Yunho but now…

‘Alright everyone,’ announced Mrs Chu, breaking So Eun’s train of thought. ‘I have made a plan of what the musical performance is going to be like…’ then she began listing names endlessly until she said, ‘… Mei Ying will be performing a duet with Shim Changmin.’ So Eun’s eyes widened as she heard this and she looked at Changmin to see that he had reacted very similar to her. When I asked for an accompaniment, I wasn’t expecting it to be him! So Eun panicked.

After the teacher had organised everyone and the performances, she sent all of them to rehearse with the people they would be performing with or alone if they would be doing solos. Mrs Chu walked over to So Eun and Changmin and spoke, ‘Would it be okay if you two perform an original song?’ she asked. The pair looked at each other and then they agreed to write a song to perform.

So, now they were trying to think of a song to write. But all they had were a bunch of messy words on a sheet of paper. The school bell rang, signalling the beginning of recess and So Eun and Changmin couldn’t even figure out the first line of the song. The tall boy sighed and spoke tiredly, ‘Why don’t we work together after school?’

‘Alright,’ So Eun agreed and smiled brightly, hoping to brighten up her friend. Changmin smiled a little before he ribbed his eyes and said he needed to go to his locker. The games were still on, but So Eun thought that it wouldn’t be bad to at least still act friendly towards him.

As he was on his way, thoughts were running in his head. How come I wasn’t able to even make up one line of that song? He asked himself. Usually, it was very easy for Changmin to write songs as he was very intelligent. In fact, when the Shim heir was small, he used to make up lots of songs. But now, when Changmin tried to think of lyrics for So Eun’s and his song, his mind goes blank.

X

X

After all the classes had ended, So Eun decided to meet Changmin outside to go to his house. Apparently, Changmin was already by her locker door, so she didn’t need to go look for him.

‘Ready to go?’ he asked.

‘Yep,’ So Eun replied as they both headed outside. ‘So, where’s your car?’ she asked the boy beside her.

‘Well…’ but before Changmin could finish his sentence, So Eun’s eyes widened at the sight before her. A sleek, black limo was parked at the sidewalk of the school. And to top it off, a groomed butler was standing right next to it. ‘Master Shim,’ he said while bowing lower than necessary. So Eun was frozen on the spot with her eyes wide and slightly agape. Changmin chuckled quietly at So Eun’s shocked expression and led her to inside the limousine after she failed to move when a few minutes had already passed.

So Eun stared in awe at the interior of the inside of Changmin’s huge limousine as she stepped in. ‘Are you just gonna gawk at the limo the rest of the way?’ Changmin asked, bemused by his friend’s shocked expression. Then So Eun snapped out of her revere and playfully slapped Changmin’s arm. Then Changmin chuckled some more and settled in his seat. They talked comfortably with each other during the limo ride and So Eun slowly began falling for Changmin…

X

X

If So Eun reacted that way when looking at Chagmin’s limo, she was in complete awe staring at the Shim’s huge mansion. Changmin sighed as a gentle smile etched its way onto his face. He grabbed So Eun’s hand and half dragged/ guided her inside the mansion. So Eun made a mental note to herself to never EVER mess with Changmin who could possibly be the richest kid in Asia, or probably the whole world! You never know, the sweet boy could have a secret force of police under his sleeve.

‘How much room’s do you have in this place anyway?’ So Eun asked as she looked at the number of maids, butlers, and waiters bustling around. ‘Around fifty,’ Changmin replied casually. So Eun just stared at him in disbelief while Changmin nodded, saying it was true. As they walked down the halls, all the maids, butlers and what not stopped to bow to Changmin while he nodded his head in return. She couldn’t help but notice the rather large picture of a cute little girl hanging on the wall. So Eun couldn’t help but think that she has seen this girl before.

‘Is she your sister?’ asked So Eun, admiring the portrait.

Changmin looked at the picture of his long-gone friend and felt a deep stab in his heart. He tried to suppress the tears that threatened to fall as he answered, ‘Uh, no she… She was a close childhood friend of mine. I’m an only child.’

So Eun looked at her friend worriedly as she heard a crack in his voice. Changmin looked the other way and tried to stop the tears welling up in his eyes. ‘Changmin sunbae?’ she asked. Changmin then turned his head back around to look at her and tried to smile the best he could to assure her that he was fine. ‘I’m okay, see?’ he asked while smiling. So Eun smiled as she held his hand in a friendly manner to cheer him up. She didn’t release his hand as they continued to walk so Changmin blushed a little while gripping her hand a little tighter in return.

Then they progressed further through the mansion and ended up in front of a large, finely carved, oak door. Changmin reached out his hand to touch the polished, golden doorknob and twisted it slightly, letting the large door open and reveal a room just as magnificent as the hallway and main room. It had large, red drapes that partially covered the fine glass window behind it. In the centre of the room was a little study table, an acoustic guitar and a grand piano. Changmin was about to say something but then So Eun released his hand and walked over to the two instruments. Strangely, Changmin felt an absence and was slightly disappointed when So Eun’s hand was not clasped tightly in his. ‘Do you know how to play these?’ So Eun asked with a big, bright smile on her face.

‘I only know how to play the guitar. My mother played the piano all the time until she… passed away,’ Changmin answered sadly.

So Eun sensed that the topic was getting to sad for her friend so she walked over to him and placed her index fingers right above either side of Changmin’s mouth. ‘Come on, turn that frown upside down,’ she said playfully as she raised her fingers, trying to draw an imaginary half circle on his face, that would hopefully look like a smile. It was best to not pry into his business, So Eun decided. Then Changmin smiled and even chuckled a bit. When So Eun finished her successful attempt to cheer up Changmin, they both walked over to the little study desk and sat down on the two chairs near it. They finally figured out the lyrics and the melody of the song after about three endless hours. The sky had just turned dark and the twinkling stars started to appear as well as the magnificent moon. They ate the biscuits and the tea a maid had brought for them so they weren’t that hungry.

‘Let’s see how it sounds,’ Changmin suggested as he picked up the guitar and started strumming the intro of the song.

He played masterfully till he reached the note before the first line.

Late at night when all the world is sleeping

I stay up and think of you

And I wish on a star

that somewhere you are thinking of me too

She felt every note and every word of it. She stared how beautifully Changmin played the guitar and how he sang so angelically. She at once saw a shooting star come across the sky. How she wished she had reached it that she may have wished even once. Her thoughts were then pulled towards his singing voice.

No wonder he could catch her room-mate’s heart…

No wonder he had caught hers…

Cause I'm dreaming of you tonight

Till tomorrow I'll be holding you tight

And there's nowhere in the world I'd rather be

Than here in my room dreaming about you and me

Still, they both didn't know the reason why they had wrote such a song. It was one of the best songs Changmin had ever written, he'd admit but he just couldn't figure why of all song themes, this is what they wrote and composed.

It was just a lonely, sad night.

As he played the instrumental, he signalled So Eun to be the next to sing.

So Eun got the signal and caught up the song easily. For it wasn't rocket science to her. As if she knew the song so well…

As if she was destined to be the one to breath life into its lonely urge to be sung.

Wonder if you ever see me and

I wonder if you know I'm there

If you looked in my eyes

Would you see what's inside would you even care

She sang it so beautifully. Her voice suited this composition just as well. He drowned in the tones her voice was weaving. The song had turned realistic.

So Eun felt every line pierce fiercely into her veins and her heart.

'Would you see what's inside of my heart Changmin? Would you care?'

The song seemed so real… so hurting.

I just wanna hold you close but so far

All I have are dreams of you

So I wait for the day (wait for the day)

And the courage to say

How much I love you (yes I do)

He saw her deliver it so realistically…

So soulful.

As if she had experienced it.

Did she ever dream of anyone?

Who was she singing for?

Yunho?

I'll be dreaming of you tonight

Till tomorrow I'll be holding you tight

And there's nowhere in the world that I'd rather be

Than here in my room dreaming about you and me

She wanted to cry at the song's sentiments. She had hoped that being with Changmin right now wasn't only a dream. She had dreamt and wished upon so many stars that he'd notice her somehow but he seemed so naïve to her.

So passive.

She hoped she knew how Changmin loves a girl…

She suddenly felt a sudden and faint brush of jealousy.

Ahh ahh

I can't stop dreaming of you

I can't stop dreaming

I can't stop dreaming of you

Changmin joined her in singing that part to her surprise.

She felt his gaze turn to hers.

Hands on the guitar.

Eyes on hers.

Late at night when all the world is sleeping

I stay up and think of you

And I still can't believe

That you came up to me and said I love you…

No.

Karma.

Its fangs had struck her so bad.

Its poison was slowly creeping into her mind.

She, who felt was the predator, was no longer what she wanted things to be.

Her plan and mission failed.

Backfired.

Fell into the hands of karma.

Into the arms of the hunter.

Stabbed by her own attack.

She was the prey.

Drowning at his gaze…

Tears slowly fell from her eyes.

Silently but in pain.

She couldn't restrain it now.

He sang the left-out line. As his head slowly came up near hers, bending down, still continuing the rest of his song as he moved near her tear-stained face.

…I love you too…

He kissed her.

Yo! Ppl! That’s it for now! I’ll try to update soon and I hope that the previous chapter wasn’t that short… Ayway, see ya next chapter!!!