A/N: My chapters for this fic will be long. I'm thinking maybe two or three chapters and I'll be done. Please leave comments :) I'm also treating this fic as a first trial for slight VERY SLIGHT angst. 

 

---

 

It was the day before everything.

 

It was the day before the talent show to which he’d been practicing for restlessly. He had entered in various singing competitions before but this one was different. There were talent scouts attending the event from one of the best entertainment companies in the country. It was a surprise as to which company it was until announced at the show.

 

This was a chance for these high school students to have their lives changed.

 

For better or worse.

 

And the company was taking only one lucky student to become a trainee.

 

Do Kyungsoo, junior, spent the past month running his throat dry taking his vocal range higher and higher everyday. He loved to sing. It’s as simple as that. A passion many possessed but only certain individuals would take further. Listening to R&B music growing up helped Kyungsoo put the soul in his singing. When students passed by the music room, they were used to the melodic voice echoing through the halls. If a new person were to walk by, they could have sworn it was a recording.

 

“Damn it that’s it! You’re singing at my wedding!” Kyungsoo’s friend exclaimed as he plopped himself down on the school’s piano.

 

Kyungsoo scoffed, “what wedding? You don’t have a girlfriend.” He avoided his friend’s push and crouched to his bag on the floor. He rummaged through his books for his water bottle but he couldn’t find it. “, you got some change?”

 

“Yeah, are you getting a drink from the machine?” His friend dug through his pockets for loose change. He gave Kyungsoo a handful of coins knowing he had enough for more than two drinks. “I want a Cola.”

 

Kyungsoo walked down the hallway humming a tune to one of his favorite songs. There was a soda machine after the corner on his left, he usually avoided going to that one because it usually ate everyone’s dollars. But since he was using coins this time, it was fine. As he turned the corner he noticed a girl hitting her head against the machine repeatedly. Must be a new student.

 

“Excuse me,” he spoke up. She stiffened for a second then turned around. “Did it eat your dollar?”He asked.

Her hair stuck to her face so he couldn’t see her eyes clearly and she mostly faced the floor. She sniffled and nodded sadly. “Only use coins with this one. It’s always taking our dollars.” For a brief moment she stayed silent then nodded slowly again.

 

She moved aside noticing he had money ready in his palm. After he pressed the buttons selecting one bottle of Cola and one bottle of water, he looked back at the girl. She was now hitting her head against the opposite wall of the machine.

 

Kyungsoo’s eyes widened because above her head was a sign that read in bold: WET PAINT.

 

The clanging of his two drinks at the bottom of the machine took his attention. He grabbed for them and looked back at the girl who continued hitting her head. What’s up with her? He placed the two bottles on the floor then tapped the girl’s shoulder. “You shouldn’t do that.”

 

Play this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytnwQCEEw90

 

She turned around revealing a sticky cream substance decorating her bangs and forehead. Kyungsoo’s jaw dropped slightly and he pointed to the paint on her head then to the sign on the wall. Her lower lip stuck out in a pout as she raised her fingers to run her hair back out of her face. Kyungsoo was taken aback, at first because she spreaded the paint through her jet black locks. But his shock was taken over by how bold her chocolatey brown tear filled eyes were. Though the whites around the brown were pinkish due to her silent crying, her cheeks were puffed red and lips quivered a bit, she was gorgeous. And a stranger.

 

“I uh um,” he stammered. He shook his head to calm his nerves, “I’ll go get you napkins. Please watch my drinks.” He hurried down the hall to the closest restroom and gathered a big amount of napkins since she spread the paint. He wetted half of them and kept the rest dry. When he returned, the girl sat on the floor with her legs crossed and her back against the lockers. Her head was bowed down making him suspect she was sleepy. He sat beside her and figured he’d help clean her up if she was that tired.

 

He bunched the wetted tissues and took care of her painted strands. As he cleaned her he asked a couple of questions referring to why she cried, didn’t she see the sign before hitting her head and was she a new student? After removing majority of the paint he placed the remaining dry tissues on her lap. Thankfully the act barely took five minutes. "Who are you?” He asked her softly not expecting a response as she didn’t speak up for the other questions.

 

“Nobody,” she sighed out in the smallest voice he ever heard. If he even heard it at all, it was barely audible.

 

“I’m Do Kyungsoo,” he introduced hesitantly expecting- hoping for another word from the girl. Silence answered him and so he picked up his drinks ready to leave her to rest. But before he did, with the remaining change his friend gave, he bought the girl a bottled water, and left it directly in front of her. “Well.. see you then.”

 

---

 

“I thought you had diarrhea,” his friend said. “I was going to leave you, the bus was coming soon.”

 

“I just ran into some..,” Kyungsoo faltered. She wasn’t any trouble at all though. “It’s diarrhea. I had diarrhea.”

 

His friend got off at his bus stop and Kyungsoo decided to make a quick stop at a convenience store. The worker running the register practically yelled at him for taking too long to pay. He was distracted thinking about the girl from earlier. "Sorry," he bowed and carried his plastic bag full of instant noodles out the store.  

 

He walked back to his bus stop passing a neighborhood playground on his way. It was occupied by a few kids playing ball and a girl who went to his school seeing as she wore the uniform. After getting closer, he found it was she who also cried in his thoughts. The bus was arriving in 30 minutes, so he chose to kill time with her. She sat on a bench, head lowered with a half-eaten sandwich on her lap. He was about to say hi when he stood in front of her until a ball flew towards them hitting her back with harsh contact. The force was enough to knock her food off her and onto the dirty playground.

 

One of the kids ran after the ball and Kyungsoo picked it up to hand it to him. "Watch where you're kicking and throwing that ball around okay," he told him.

 

"Yea. Sorry lady!" The boy bowed quick and ran back to his friends resuming their game.

 

Kyungsoo looked at her ruined sandwich then to her. What is up with this girl's luck? He crouched on the ground to clean up the mess and to see a clearer view of the girl's face. Her eyes were fixed on the ground in the front of her feet. She was pouting again as silent tears flowed down her rosy cheeks.

 

After he tossed the food in the trash receptacle next to the bench he thought of a way to cheer her up. "Looks like I'm somebody's savior today," he awkwardly laughed after he placed one of his instant noodles next to her on the bench.

 

She didn’t speak. But he heard her. Her sniffles and tiny whimpers that she tried to contain within. He didn’t ask her again why she cried, it wasn’t his business to in the first place. He opened his mouth to ask a different question but stopped when the growling of her stomach answered him.

 

“Maybe you should go home and eat this,” he suggested. Keeping her head lowered she accepted the bowl of noodles in her hands. She gave a small nod and stood from the bench.

The two rode the same bus going home. He sat in the same row as her but on the opposite side thinking it would be strange to sit beside her as they only met today. She looked like she needed her privacy as well. Her head leaned against the window and he watched her continue to cry through the reflection.

 

The bus dinged alerting the location of the current stop. The girl stood up from her seat and tiredly made her way off the bus. Kyungsoo watched her back disappear into the neighborhood when she turned a corner. He looked back to where she sat and noticed she left the instant noodles. Well I hope she gets some food.

 

Talent Show

 

“The rest of the contestants can honestly go home. This is no competition,” his friend joked. Kyungsoo shook his head at how loud he was but appreciated the support. The performers were behind the curtain on stage of their school’s auditorium.

 

“Hey you’re not allowed back here,” a teacher caught his friend.

 

“I’ll see you then! Destroy some ovaries with that voice!” His friend shouted much louder to him before avoiding the teacher.  

 

Kyungsoo faced the wall embarrassed then cleared his throat to continue his vocal exercises. Each student was given a bottled water and a name tag to wear. When it was time the curtain raised to reveal all 10 contestants standing in a line. The school cheered for their peers. In the center of the audience were three judges sitting behind a table.

 

The table wore a pink cloth and on the front was printed SMTown Entertainment’s logo. Kyungsoo felt his heart beat quicken and became more aware of his actions. Their principal announced the obvious that the company visiting the campus was SMTown. Though the top prize was getting scouted by the company there were also monetary rewards for the top three performers chosen by the judges. “I hope you’re all excited and not too nervous. Just have fun out there and I can’t wait to work with one of you,” the judge in the center spoke in her mic. The performers bowed in unison and stood behind the line to which the curtain fell back down.

 

One by one they went up on stage. They introduced themselves and showcased their talent whether they sang, danced or acted out a scene from a popular soap opera. Everyone was exceptional of course, considering the cheers he heard behind the curtain. He was the seventh performer and the person before him was finishing up her song.

 

He took in deep breaths and went out there to sing his heart out.

 

It went well as expected. He swallowed down his nerves and loosened up when he was able to spot his friend holding a poster with his name on it. He didn’t stay in one spot the entire song, he walked to both sides sharing eye contact with most of his audience. However he couldn’t find the teary eyed girl. Was she watching? Is she listening? We’re all required to attend this show so she has to be.

 

Why do I care?

 

“Wow Do Kyungsoo. I can definitely see you improving if you were under our wing,” the same judge complimented. The others gave good criticism, feedback he’ll take to heart and consideration.

 

Everyone finished their segment and the judges took a moment to discuss who they’ll be taking in as a trainee. After they came to their decision, the performers were called back onto the stage.

 

“First I’d like to congratulate all of you for gathering the courage to come up here today and share your talents with us. Let’s applaud to that!” The main judge stood up clapping her hands, the school followed right after. “After a short discussion we have chosen one of you. Unfortunately we can only take in one although you all did well. And so, to avoid unwanted suspense, the lucky student to train under SMTown Entertainment is…”

 

---

Play this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXp4gB-bgjs

 

“You’re going to forget all about me when you’re a big star,” his best friend said with a sad smile.

 

“I don’t think I could ever forget you,” Kyungsoo admitted. “You’re too weird to forget.”

 

“The ladies like weird,” he whipped his head in a motion to flip his hair back. Kyungsoo laughed and looked down at the paper containing information about what happens next now that he’s in. “I am proud of you though.” He looked up at him.

 

“I’m your number one fan okay and no matter how famous you get you must sing at my wedding. No backing out of that,” his friend forced his pinky to curl around his.

 

“Free of charge right,” Kyungsoo added. His friend bear hugged him for that and decided to head home earlier today. Kyungsoo walked to the music room to practice as usual. Now that his dream was beginning to take flight, he needed to put more effort into bettering his talent.

 

He was near the room that was practically his second home but stopped from walking in when he heard a voice. “Yes but… I said I will,” it was soft and tired. “I always do. I… I’m trying. That’s something right.”

 

And it was breaking, “okay. Bye.”

 

Kyungsoo was about to leave thinking he shouldn’t interfere. He took a couple quiet steps backwards but stopped when the voice began to sing. All existing exaggerations of how beautiful her voice sounded popped in his head. She sang like an angel, she sang as though she deserved to win today’s talent show and not he. She sounded broken when she spoke. She sounded lost and hopeless. But not now. No her singing did not match her speaking. When she sang she was strong and her phrases were overflowing with raw emotion. It was silent now.

 

He stood in the doorway to find a girl hugging her knees on the floor by the wall. She wore the school’s uniform but also a vest over her shirt. It resembled the one of the person who worked at the register in the convenience store he went to yesterday.

 

Though her face was covered with her legs, he knew it was that teary eyed girl he searched for in the audience. He lowered himself resting on the balls of his feet in front of her. “I didn’t see you in the auditorium earlier,” he said.

 

A quiet moment passed until the girl lifted her head up abruptly. She wore her backpack then walked out the room wordlessly. Kyungsoo followed quietly until she went in the opposite direction of his bus stop. He sighed and decided to leave her alone. Whatever issues the new student is going through, should not be a concern to him. He was on his way to his future at an early time of his life, he has more important issues to worry about.

 

But that didn’t stop him from thinking about her.

 

---

 

“So this will be your schedule and know that it’s possible to change at any time. Some days you’ll attend your school like you do now but at one point we’ll have to pull you out to intensify your training as you improve. But we do consider your education, so the days you’re not in school you’ll still be learning. Think of it as homeschool,” the same judge from the talent show explained. He nodded at every word and paid attention to the tour of the company’s building. “Course, you can always just have our program homeschool you completely. Up to you.”

 

“Thank you but I’ll stay in my school as long as I can,” he smiled. There was no way he’d leave his best friend so soon. For a week now Kyungsoo had followed the schedule, it wasn’t too difficult, he already tested his limits with his voice over the years. He found dancing, acting and modeling interesting. He never once looked at a magazine cover and imagined he could be on it one day.

 

“See you tomorrow Kyungsoo,” a fellow trainee got off at his stop. It was a long day full of both acting lessons and regular school subjects. On his bus ride home he thought he’d buy more instant noodles from the same convenience store again. His manager wasn’t watching him so he thought he’d treat himself to at least one bowl tonight… and another tomorrow.

 

He took out the exact pay amount as he frequently bought two instant noodles from the same grocer. “Here’s your receipt valued customer,” he blinked at the soft voice. Looking up from his wallet, the register worker wasn’t the same man who yelled at him for taking long. It was the girl who cried silently every time he saw her.

 

“Oh.. thanks,” he took the paper stuffing it in his pockets. He stood still staring at the dark circles under her eyes, the bandaid on her chin and her loose black strands from her weak ponytail. “You wor-”

 

“Move it kid, you’re done!” A customer yelled from behind him.

 

He looked over his shoulder guilty then bowed to the two people in line. “Sorry,” he apologized then left the convenience store. From the window he watched her scan multiple items tiredly.

 

She scared him.

 

She seemed, to put it bluntly, dead. Her chin always lowered with her eyes looking down at the items to bag. She was moving and going through the motions. Almost robot-like but running out of oil. Just leave her be Kyungsoo. You don’t even know her name.

 

But his eyebrows perked up noticing she did have a name tag on her vest. However it would be strange of him to enter the store again just to read it off. What are you doing? Go eat your instant noodles.

 

He shook his head and was about to walk away until he heard yelling. He looked up to the window seeing the girl get an earful of an angry customer yelling at her. Kyungsoo stepped closer to the store but stayed outside. “-it can’t cost that much! I HAVE A COUPON!”

 

“I’m sorry ma’am but your coupons have expired last month,” the girl replied quietly.

 

“What? Coupons can’t expire! I only brought a certain amount of cash with me. I can’t pay for all of this!” The woman exclaimed.

 

“You can return some items so that you’re able to pay,” she suggested.

 

“No I need all of these now. Just give me my discount and next time print your expiration date in a much bigger font,” the woman sassed. There wasn’t a way for the girl to input discounts that were expired into the register. The woman didn’t seem to budge either. Though the girl was extremely exhausted she snapped.

 

“Or next time please read the coupon carefully ma’am,” the girl blurted. After she realised her inside thought escaped her and she bowed her head. “I didn’t mean that ma’am. I’m sorry.” When she lifted her head the woman slapped her with such strength it would leave a bruise on her cheek over time.

 

Kyungsoo immediately entered the store and yelled at the woman, “what’s the matter with you?!”

 

The lady scoffed, “what are you? Her boyfriend?! This is a work matter not a personal issue.”

 

Kyungsoo pulled out his wallet, checked the true price the woman owed and slammed the amount owed on the counter. “There, you’re good to go. Now please leave,” he glared at the woman.

 

She couldn’t believe the young male so she rolled her eyes taking the cash he put on the counter. “I deserve my discount. I’ll be going now,” she left the store. Kyungsoo’s jaw dropped as his blood boiled. He thought of running after the woman for the cash but restrained himself. Instead he took out his debit card and swiped it paying the amount in full.

 

“She was a real wasn’t she?” He asked the girl. She nodded before her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she collapsed on the floor. “Someone help!” He shouted to the back where other employees should be. But there was no response. He held her small body up into his arms frantic. He finally read her name tag.

 

Kim Hana

 

“Hana,” he patted her cheek lightly. “Are you awake? Where’s your boss?”

 

Her eyelids barely lifted and her view of Kyungsoo was blurred. “I close,” she breathed.

 

“Well you’re closing earlier tonight,” he told her. He propped her to sit up resting her back against the counter. He turned the lights of the OPEN sign off then began to shut off the rest of the lights inside the store. They relied on the moonlight seeping through the window. “Do you need anything?” He returned to her side and touched her forehead with the back of his hand. It didn’t seem like a cold. “I think you’re overworking yourself.”

 

“Water,” she requested softly.

 

After she drank the bottle he gave her she forced herself to stand. “Don’t push yourself,” he kept her seated on the floor. “Do I need to shut off the cameras? Is there anything else you do when you close?”

 

She shook her head tiredly and closed her eyes.

 

“Do you have the key to lock up?” He asked. She nodded again and took it out of her pocket to place in his hand. “Is your backpack in the back?” She shook her head again.

 

“No school,” she whispered. He raised his eyebrows at her statement but thought of asking another time. He crouched in front of her and wrapped her arms around his shoulders from behind.

 

“Hold onto me,” he lifted her onto his back, his hands cupped under her knees. Her chin rested on his shoulder and her temple was against his cheek. “If you’re tired then you rest. You don’t keep working.” He was walking to the bus stop, planning on taking her to the hospital.

 

She stayed silent for a while until she finally gained the energy to speak up. “Why?”

 

“Huh?” He was startled she initiated a conversation.

 

“Why are you always here with me?” She asked. “I just moved here and you’re the only person who keeps seeking me out.”

 

“Hey now it’s not like I go out of my way to look for you. I just happen to run into you,” he defended. “You know what maybe I should be asking you why you’re always appearing everywhere.”

 

She didn’t reply, making him think he came on a bit too strong. Feeling insecure about his words, he tried to think of what to say to fix the conversation. But when she tightened her arms around his shoulders, his heart felt at ease.

 

“Why don’t you speak up more?” He asked hoping for a reply.

 

“It takes energy to talk,” she answered.

 

“Says the girl who just burned up her energy from overworking,” he muttered, of course she heard him.

 

“Talking doesn’t get me money,” she whispered softly.

 

“What do you need money for?” He let the question slip out before realizing it was rather common sense. “You skip school to work don’t you.”

 

“Yes,” she said. “Talking will only get me hurt.” He looked from his peripheral view to the right, his eyes raked the bandage on her chin. His thoughts then drifted back to the rotten customer from earlier.

 

“You’re not talking to the right people,” he thought aloud. They reached the bus stop and he let her down to sit on the bench provided.

 

“Am I talking to the right person now?” She asked. He couldn’t know how to respond to that. But she continued, “will you hurt me too?”

 

He sat next to her looking deep into her marvelous brown orbs and answered honestly, “I hope not.” They stared at each other for a while. She took in his sincerity and accepted him. They looked away when the bus arrived. “Do you still need to see a doctor?”

 

She shook her head, “not the first time I fainted.” He frowned when they sat beside each other on the bus. “I can handle it.”

 

“I’m sure you think you can,” he stated.

 

“I can,” she leaned her head on his shoulder instead of the window this time. “You’re a good pillow.” He let out a shaky chuckle then looked down to her head. Her eyes were closed and for the first time meeting, she wasn’t crying.

 

 

“If you don’t want to talk, then sing.” He said. She looked up at him remembering he heard her the last time. “You’re… not bad.”

 

 

“You too,” she closed her eyes again. So she did hear me! He was about to speak again until he noticed she finally fell asleep. He remembered the stop she got off last time and made sure to wake his new friend when it neared.