Chapter 12: Unexpected Shift

“Ah, who do I pick.”

“Who?”

“Lauren’s role. I’ve narrowed it down to about five, but I just can’t decide.”

I stopped my hand mid-reach for a cookie and looked up at Sophia.

“Lauren’s role?”

“Yeah. These are the best of the bunch. Want to look at the self-tapes they sent?”

“What would I know from looking?”

“Still, look with me. You’ve read the script several times because you’ve been working with Raymond, so you know the image well.”

I scratched my head and moved to sit beside Sophia. She opened a video on her laptop, and an Asian man began with a self-introduction and then started acting.

His face fit the image of Lauren I had imagined. But his acting was very clumsy.

“This one has the best face, but his acting is a bit off, isn’t it? Among the five, we’re also planning to cast the Chinese character Li Fulan. Ah, this is hard. Hard!”

Sophia showed me three more videos with a serious face unlike her usual self. Then she opened one last file, saying it was the final video.

“Huh!”

I didn’t even realize I had let out a suppressed sound. I stared blankly at the video. My body froze in place.

Sophia, not noticing the change in me, kept talking, but none of it reached my ears.

“This one looks okay too. His acting seems decent. But the corners of his eyes are upturned, so his impression is… Huh? Seungwon, what’s wrong?”

Even at Sophia’s question, I couldn’t take my eyes off the person in the video, my face stiff. My hand trembled slightly at the face of someone I had thought I would never see again.

I checked several times, wondering if my eyes were wrong. But it was him. The person who, not long ago, had appeared in my dream and spat harsh words at me with a venomous face… It was Lee Jaehoon.

“…won! Seungwon!!”

“Ah, uh… yes.”

By the time I came to my senses, Sophia was looking at me strangely. I forced an awkward smile to avoid showing my surprise. My stiff muscles wouldn’t move well, and the corner of my mouth twitched.

“What’s wrong with you? All of a sudden?”

Not just Sophia, but Matthew and Raymond, who had come over before I knew it, also seemed puzzled by my sudden strange behavior.

I forced down my racing heart and stood up as if nothing was wrong, then went back to sit beside Raymond.

“No, it’s nothing. Raymond, let’s start practicing the script.”

They still seemed doubtful, but thankfully they didn’t ask further.

“So you got the text? Separately from the support team… Oppa? Oppa!”

“Huh? Uh…”

“What is it, since earlier. Why are you like this today? You were weird from the moment you came. Did something happen?”

“No, what was I saying?”

Because I had been spacing out, I couldn’t remember anything, so I asked back like an idiot. I couldn’t even remember what I was doing or how I had gotten here. Only Lee Jaehoon’s face from the video kept flickering before my eyes.

It was the same face I had seen in my dream, unchanged. Exactly as I remembered. The only difference was that in the video, Lee Jaehoon looked more innocent than anyone.

He stood before the camera with the fake face he always wore for broadcasts.

As I repeated those thoughts, nothing anyone said reached me. Lisa seemed to be talking earnestly about something even now, but it didn’t register at all. When I just stared blankly ahead again, this time she lightly shook my shoulder.

“Oppa! You’re really weird today. What is it? Tell me.”

“Yeah, Seungwon, did something happen?”

Dylan, who was beside us, also seemed to think my behavior was odd, and he pressured me along with Lisa, looking worried.

“No.”

“Oppa… Ha, never mind. Fine, if you ever feel like talking later, tell me then. Then you’ll listen to my story now, right?”

Feeling sorry, I nodded obediently.

“Yeah, sorry.”

“The special stage show application we submitted last time. Didn’t you get the acceptance text?”

At Lisa’s words, I took my phone out of my pocket.

“It says the support team will be formed soon. From then on, we can decide on a place and practice with the team members.”

Sure enough, the acceptance text was there, just as Lisa said. When had it arrived? I must have been so caught up thinking about Lee Jaehoon that I hadn’t even noticed the text.

Honestly, I had wondered if they would support us this much. But now that it was accepted, the pressure felt even stronger.

The heart that had been filled with expectation began to show a little fear. With hope and fear coexisting, my feelings wavered several times a day, so I never had a comfortable day.

“Nice to meet you. I’m James, the leader. I play electric guitar in the band.”

A tall, slender man who looked to be in his mid-twenties held out his hand in welcome. I doubted I would ever forget him because of his flashy orange hair. I smiled brightly and shook his hand.

The support team for the special stage show came together faster than I expected. Today too, I received a text telling me to come straight to the practice room, so I had come here instead of Lisa’s house.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Seungwon Park.”

He led me over to the band members sitting on the sofa on the right.

“This is Tyrell, on drums.”

James pointed to a blond man with a good build.

“Hello.”

The man smiled brightly and waved his right hand widely over his head.

“Nice to meet you!”

Next, he pointed to a handsome man with purple hair and a nose piercing sitting beside him.

“This is Nathan. Bass.”

Nathan, who had been wearing an indifferent expression, looked up at me and gave a short greeting.

“Let’s do well.”

“Please take care of me.”

I looked around. It was a fairly large practice room. In the middle, a piano and microphone were set up for me to practice with.

Since practice hadn’t started yet, the band members were lounging comfortably on the sofa. I looked for a place to go and walked over to sit at the piano.

James, watching me, smiled as if something had come to mind.

“We went as your school’s support team last year too. We watched all the performances by the other teams, and everyone’s skills were amazing. You were chosen as the representative, so I’m looking forward to it?”

His words made me feel pressured, so I gave a slightly awkward smile. Of course, normally the person chosen as the representative for the special stage show was acknowledged as the most talented in the class, but I was here as a laughingstock rather than because I had been acknowledged.

When I didn’t answer right away, James seemed to take it as agreement and stood up with a beaming face.

“I’ll be looking forward to it. Now! Shall we start?”

I wanted to tell James not to expect much, but the members were already busy setting up their instruments, so I missed the timing. Thinking I really had to work hard to avoid embarrassment, I flexed and stretched my fingers.

I glanced toward James, and he nodded as if preparations were done.

The piano started slowly, and the other instruments joined in one by one. The grandeur was completely different from playing piano alone. Several sounds merged into one, and a beautiful melody flowed out.

I let my body ride the rhythm and began to sing. While singing, my eyes met James, who was playing guitar beside me. He grinned widely and nodded. The first ensemble ended.

It fit so well it was surprising. I was amazed by their skill in naturally following my rhythm. These people really are professionals, I thought.

The festival wasn’t far away, so I had been worried whether we could mesh well, but after one performance, all those worries disappeared. Now that I had actually played with them, I thought choosing to perform with the band was a great decision.

Just as I was elated, silence fell in the practice room. Soon Tyrell, the drummer, broke the silence.

“Wow, you’re really good. You don’t seem like an amateur at all!”

I smiled at his sincere praise. Still, I had been something of a professional in Korea, so my tense body relaxed, relieved that they might not criticize me. Fortunately, it seemed I wasn’t bad.

“I learned a little when I was in Korea.”

“A little? If you think about last year’s special stage show level, someone like you could aim for first place.”

When Tyrell tried to count his chickens before they hatched, I quickly shook my head in denial.

“There’s someone a grade below who’s really good this time.”

“Really? This year’s special stage show is going to be really fun.”

Lisa’s talent was so outstanding that I thought she had a high chance of taking first place. James, who had been watching our conversation with a smile, chimed in.

“This year’s special stage show is really worth doing. Actually, the student who stood on stage with us last year…”

James grimaced as if remembering that time.

“Did something happen?”

“He did well during practice, but once he got on stage, he was so nervous he couldn’t even sing one measure and came down.”

Nathan’s face beside him twisted as well.

“We prepared so hard, but that time felt like such a waste.”

James and Tyrell nodded in agreement. Seeing their expressions, I felt I had to do well without any mistakes. Somehow the pressure felt a little heavier than before…

“I’ll practice hard.”

James smiled brightly at my words and nodded.

“Just don’t get nervous on stage and do exactly like this. ‘Stay With Me’ is a song where vocals matter more than instruments. Honestly, when I heard you chose this song, I was going to persuade you to change it because it requires so much power and emotion. But after hearing you just now, it felt exactly like your song. The sorrowful emotion comes through well even though it doesn’t match your age.”

At James’s high praise, Tyrell added playfully with a grin.

“Right, that’s an emotional line someone your age couldn’t possibly produce. Be honest, did you lie about your age?”

“Huh? Ah… thank you.”

As I smiled shyly, James clapped his hands once.

“All right, all right! Stop teasing Seungwon and go back to your places. We still have a long way to go. For some reason I can see potential, so my motivation is burning even more. Practice starts again!”

At James’s words, Tyrell and Nathan returned to their positions. From then on, serious hard practice began. I couldn’t even remember how many times I played the piano. But I was sure I had played without rest. My fingers felt numb and stiff.

“Let’s push a little more. Just one more time and then we’ll really finish!”

I turned to James in surprise. He had definitely said the current song was the last. I glanced at Tyrell and Nathan, and they just shrugged as if it was already familiar.

The performance started again, and thinking this was truly the last, I poured all my strength into it, but it took two more performances after that before we could finally stop.

“Okay, shall we stop here for today?”

At James’s reluctant expression, I sprang up from my seat, afraid that if I delayed even a little he would say, “Let’s do just one more!” I stretched my stiff back.

My body felt more tired because I had been tensing up, afraid of making mistakes. While I was organizing the sheet music, James came over to me.

“Tomorrow we’ll practice with the chorus team. Just so you know!”

“Ah, yes!”

“Good work today. It was hard, wasn’t it?”

“Still, it was fun.”

“That’s a relief. The special stage show isn’t far away, so let’s hang in there until then!”

I nodded at James’s words. He overflowed with charisma during practice, but at times like this he was very gentle. I hadn’t known him long, but even in that short time I could feel he was a good leader who could bring people together. He also seemed like a good person. It was great luck to be able to stand on stage with people I clicked with.

Tomorrow was the festival. I didn’t know how time had passed so quickly. The festival came faster than I expected, and somehow the practice period felt even shorter.

The special stage show would be held as the last event on the second day of the festival, so fortunately I wasn’t performing tomorrow right away. At least I had one more day, and I should be grateful for that.

But as the performance day approached, I couldn’t help feeling my heart tighten. Still, perhaps thanks to James’s harsh practice load, the band team, the chorus team, and I had become so perfectly in sync that we almost looked like one team.

“Now, let’s run through it just one more time and then really finish!”

Today too, James’s wishful torture continued. I thought he had said that earlier too. By now I was used to it, so I just accepted it and put my hands back on the keys.

I also wanted to perform in a more complete form. Everyone here probably felt the same.

That was why no one was frowning or complaining. They just focused on practice. My body, on the other hand, grew incredibly tired day by day.

“Wow! Oppa, let’s go over there too!”

Lisa ran toward the food stalls with an excited face. Dylan and I quickly followed. The area with food stalls sold food from all kinds of countries, and there were many dishes I had never seen before.

The smell of food made me hungry. I was looking at a stall selling Thai food, wondering whether to buy something, when…

“Oppa, Dylan! Come here!”

At Lisa’s call, I slowly walked to the stall where she stood. The sign had the familiar country name “Korea” written on it.

I never thought I’d see the word Korea at this school. Curious, I quickened my steps. Wait, could it be…

I looked around. I was checking to see if Fred, who always hovered around me looking for something to tease me about, was there. Fortunately, I didn’t see him.

Not only that, there were hardly any people. Only a few people were visible here and there. It was really quiet. I had heard many outsiders came, so I thought it would be pretty crowded.

When I arrived at the stall, a sudden wave of nostalgia hit me.

“Wow, tteokbokki…”

“No way, amazing. Oppa, you have to eat this.”

As Lisa and I stared at the tteokbokki with sparkling eyes, Dylan looked at us curiously.

“What is it? It looks really spicy.”

“Um, it’s a snack Koreans often eat, but it’s not that spicy.”

“No, it’s a little spicy. But it’s really good.”

To Lisa, who had lived in the US, tteokbokki seemed spicy. We took a paper bowl piled high with tteokbokki and sat on a nearby bench. I was curious what foreign-made tteokbokki would taste like.

Well, tteokbokki taste would be tteokbokki taste.

Lisa, Dylan, and I each picked up a rice cake and put it in our mouths at the same time, recalling the taste of the tteokbokki from the snack shop in front of our middle school.

“…”

“…”

“…How should I describe the taste? It’s a bit unique.”

Dylan was the first to speak. But Lisa and I couldn’t say anything. Just as Dylan said, the tteokbokki tasted so unique that we were speechless. It wasn’t spicy at all, but… I don’t know. It was just a taste I had never had before.

Even Lisa, who had a good appetite, quietly set down the tteokbokki she had bitten into.

“I’ve lost my appetite. Let’s go practice.”

When I opened the band practice room door and went in, James greeted me with a puzzled expression.

“I heard it’s your first festival? Tomorrow you won’t even have time to enjoy it. You should have stayed out longer.”

“…It’s fine. And there were fewer people than I expected, so it was quiet.”

“It’s probably because it’s early. The chorus team isn’t here yet, so let’s run through our parts first.”

“Yes.”

While we were practicing for a while, the practice room door burst open. It was the chorus team. We had practiced together for the past few days, so they had become as close as the band team.

The team was made up of four women and two men, and they had considerable skill. Their personalities were all bright and good, so we became friendly quickly. Among them, Emma, whom I had grown closest to, spotted me and waved widely.

“Oh, what? You’re already here practicing?”

“Ah, hello.”

“You didn’t come to practice because James pressured you instead of having fun, did you?”

When Emma looked at him suspiciously, James laughed loudly.

“Emma is too quick to catch on. Since you know, go back to your places before she catches on again!”

Everyone laughed at James’s shameless words and found their places. In a cheerful atmosphere, serious practice for tomorrow’s stage began.

“Whew, whew! Seungwon, you weren’t nervous, were you?”

Tyrell, who seemed more nervous than me, asked while patting his chest.

“I’m okay. Are you okay, Tyrell? Our rehearsal order is first, so we’ll have to go up soon.”

Nathan, standing beside Tyrell, who nodded with a stiff face, slightly frowned and crossed his arms.

“But why are we first? With your skill, Seungwon, it wouldn’t be strange if you got the last stage.”

“Well, who knows…”

I didn’t know for sure, but I suspected being Asian had a little to do with it. Not just me, but Lisa had been placed second as well.

Usually the best performance slot is last. The earlier a stage is, the faster it gets erased from the audience’s memory. It was so familiar to me that I didn’t care, but the support team people couldn’t seem to accept it easily.

As much as they had prepared hard, this stage was precious to them too. I felt a little sorry that they had received unfair treatment because of me.

“The first team, please come up!”

At the words we had been waiting for, we hurried onto the stage. I could see several people in the audience. The most noticeable was a man in a gray suit who looked to be in his fifties.

He seemed to hold considerable authority, and he stood with his arms crossed, watching this place closely. Even from this distance, his presence was palpable. I guessed he might be the person in charge.

When the instrument setup was done, I walked straight to the piano and sat down. I did a short test with “ah, ah” into the microphone to see if the sound was coming through.

It seemed a little quiet, so I gestured to the engineer to check, and it was adjusted perfectly. Beside me, the band was testing their instrument sounds. Soon James nodded as if everything was ready. I began playing the piano as usual.

Even after the song ended, no signal came to go down. Everyone seemed unsure whether they should just leave, as if it was their first time.

The man who seemed to be the person in charge in the audience and the people gathered around him whispered with serious faces. After a little time passed, a signal came that we could go down.

“What was that? It feels unsettled. Why are they whispering like that?”

“I know, right. Anyway, there isn’t much time left until the performance. Let’s go back to the practice room and run through it a bit more.”

At James’s words, we shook off our unease and headed to the practice room. I wanted to greet Lisa, who was second in order, but she looked busy, so I couldn’t talk to her.

While I was playing the piano for a while, my pants pocket vibrated.

“Ah, one moment. I have a call.”

I took out my phone and saw an unknown number. Who is this? I wondered whether to answer or not, but because practice had stopped, everyone’s eyes were on me.

I thought it would be better to finish the call quickly and focus on practice, so I answered.

“Hello.”

–This is Centrals School. You are Seungwon Park, participant in the first stage of the special stage show, correct?

“Yes, that’s me.”

–I’m calling to inform you of a change.

“A change?”

–Your stage order has been changed to last.

“What? Why all of a sudden?”

–It was changed based on the opinion of the person in charge who watched the rehearsal. Please understand. Goodbye.

The call ended just like that. What was that? As I stared blankly at my phone in disbelief, James approached curiously.

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