page fourteen

“Are you excited? I still can’t believe we’re going to an underground club,” said an excited Jiyul. She’s practically jumping on her seat like a schoolgirl on her first trip to the circus.

“I hope it won’t be dangerous.” Unlike her best friend, Yejin is wary at the thought of going to such a club. It’s definitely unsafe for underage girls like them, isn’t it? With all the illegal weeds and the kind of music they play…

“What are you talking about? Of course it won’t be dangerous. Baekhyun and the other guys will be there. They’ll look after us. Besides, this might be a good time to mingle with superstars gonna be.” Jiyul then gasp. Not the shocked one, but the excited, unbelievable one. “What if we meet Rap Monster? Or maybe Zico? GD?” She squealed while Yejin covers her ears.

“Look, I don’t know who these monsters or WB are, but I do know that Baek and his mates will be busy preparing themselves. The audience will surely crowd them and scream at them. To put it simply, they won’t have time to look after us.”

Just then, the car slowed to a stop, and Jiyul thanked the driver and whoever it is that controls the traffic for letting them arrive at the right moment. Jiyul turn to look at Yejin. “I know the risk just as you do. But for just tonight, let’s just enjoy ourselves, okay?”

Jiyul got out of the car after thanking her driver, and Yejin got out a moment later. The two of them are now standing in front of a building that looked like a lair. The outer façade is filled with colorful graffiti –some of them even glowed. There’s a set of staircase that leads underground and there are quite some people hanging around the entrance. Yejin could hear a little bit of music from where she’s standing, but not loud enough to wake up the entire neighborhood. She guessed being underground has its own advantages; secluded, sound-proof, and it keeps those who aren’t invited away. Yejin turns to look behind her and found out that Jiyul’s driver and car had driven away.

“Are we going to spend the night standing here? Or are we gonna go in and see Baek perform?” Jiyul grabs Yejin’s arm and pulls her toward the staircase and into the lair they go.

The interior isn’t that bad. Although Yejin couldn’t be sure since she’s never been into a club before. She heard some of her classmates talk about going to a club –which she suspect is illegal; none of them has an ID card yet! So when she stepped into the place for the first time, she was surprised at how dark it is, only a few spotlights beams the stage. She was also surprised by the number of people present. And when she looks closely at them, she recognizes some of them from school. Baek and the others must have invited their friends.

“You made it!”

Baekhyun’s chirpy voice cuts through the ever growing murmurs. Yejin and Jiyul turn their heads toward the voice and found Baekhyun dressed in a leather jacket and matching pants. He looked adorable yet badass at the same time.

“Hey, Baek. You look awesome.” Jiyul said while ogling him like all the girls nearby are doing.

“I know. It’s the gel.” He raked his hand carefully onto his hairdo.

“When are you performing?” Yejin had to yell now that someone had played a loud hip-hop song on the sound system. She watches from the corner of her eyes, people start bobbing their heads to the beat. Should she do that when her friends perform? Will it look ridiculous on her?

“After this.” He shortly replies before turning to face Jiyul. “Do you want to go backstage? Someone’s waiting for you.”

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out whom he’s talking about. “You should go, Ji. He’ll perform better if you cheer him.” Yejin grinned. She likes the idea of a guy crushing on her best friend, especially someone as nice as Chen. If they one day come to her for her blessing, she would definitely, without a doubt, say yes.

With a light push from Yejin and Baekhyun, Jiyul reluctantly made her way to the back of the stage, where her prince charming is waiting for her.

Yejin and Baekhyun shared the same smiling look when they watched Jiyul walk away from them. That girl is secretly attracted to him, she’s sure of it. It’s just a matter of time before she’ll throw herself at him voluntarily.

“Thanks for inviting us.” Yejin figured she should thank him before she forgets to.

“You owe me lunch.” He said with a serious tone.

“Sure. I’ll make sure to include cucumbers in it.”

“On second thought, I’ll be fine. Consider this my one last act of kindness.”

“Oh how gallant of you, Mr. Byun.” Yejin said with her best imitation of British accent.

Baekhyun laughed at this, and Yejin followed, playfully hitting him on the shoulder. He was about to say something when someone suddenly called for him. He gave a curt nod to that person and heaves a small sigh.

“That’s my cue.” He squared his shoulders. “Pray for me?”

“I will. I’ll even ask Him to kiss you, if you want.”

He smiles at her. “Well, wish me luck. I hope I won’t break any leg.” And with that, he joins his group. She could see them all standing near the stage, wearing similar getups as Baekhyun.

Jiyul stood next to her a moment later. She didn’t even see her coming. She involuntarily looks at Chen’s way. He definitely looked significantly happy, alright.

Jiyul see the small smile playing on Yejin’s lips while looking at Chen. “Not. One. Word.” She said each and every word clearly. And Yejin is smart enough not to defy her best friend. Something must’ve happened for her to be this feisty. Yejin guessed that she’ll get to that later. Right now, she’s going to have fun with Jiyul and give Baekhyun and his friends some support.

As the lead singer of the band, Baekhyun was the one who introduced the band to the crowd. His adorable face did wonders to the older girls in the crowd. They practically swooned an actual swoon, and made Yejin and Jiyul had to refrain from laughing out loud. Anyway, after he managed to make the crowd laugh by one of his jokes, he introduced the first song they’re going to play.

“So the first song we’re going to sing is called, “The Star”.”

[EXO – The Star]

The crowd gave them a round of cheer before Kris opened the song with his seductive rap. Yes, she just openly admits that Kris is hot. Well honestly, what kind of a girl who doesn’