ch. 30

"top star with that spotlight."

-idol

"hey hana?"

the girl shifts her focus on the stage to the person beside her. "yeah?"

eunbi puts on a sickly expression, wrapping her arms around her stomach. "can you tell me what happens in the next performances? i'm going to head to the restroom and i don't think i will make it back in time."

"oh sure!"

with that, the unwell female grabs her bag and rushes out of the theater once the recent performance ended, entering the hallway of the building. she lets out a sigh of relief when she notices no one lingering in the area and releases the grip on her abdomen.

slyly, she makes her way to the dressing room assigned to class f and quickly enters the room without alarming anyone in the passageway. mrs. hwang looks up from the clothing rack at the sound of the door opening and ushers her student in before anyone can notice her.

"ms. park, you are late!" the woman shoves a piece of clothing into her student's hand. "hurry up and go change! there is one more performance before you're up!"

the girl obliges to her teacher's order and quickly changes into her showcase attire before settling herself in a seat in front of a mirror. she can feel pieces of her hair tangle into braids as she stares at her reflection, her feet tapping one another. preparing for her performance, she warms up her throat with some exercises.

she is nervous.

she does not know why, but she is.

is it because of the number of people in the audience?

is it because of the thought of her being all alone on stage?

is it because of the sight of all eyes watching her the moment she takes a step into the light?

whatever it is behind this, she hopes this feeling goes away soon.

through the walls, the two females can hear the crowd's applause, meaning that the recent performance has ended. the girl's adrenaline begins to pump in her veins as her mind starts the countdown for her appearance under the spotlight. images of her poor singing play in her head, fear traveling down her spine.

a hand pats her shoulder, breaking the girl from her trance.

"you will do amazing out there," mrs. hwang consoles. "remember, 'don't you worry 'bout a thing.'"

hearing a familiar phrase, laughter erupts from the student. the atmosphere that was once tensed lightens up a little.

looking off to the side, the girl's eyes notice a plain, white mask laying on the wooden surface. her hands reach over to the object to observe its small features, flipping it back and forth. she hovers it in front of her face and notices that it only covered the upper part of her face, which she is grateful for.

abruptly, someone bursts through the door of the dressing room with a clipboard in their grasp and a pair of headphones on their head.

"you're up, masked singer."

fortunately, the performer has the mask concealing her identity when the scheduler averts their gaze toward the mirror. eunbi pulls back the elastic band and brings it over her head, which now completes her outfit, and lets out a shaky breath. standing up, the student flashes her teacher a small smile before embarking her way to the stage.

as the sound of their footsteps echo throughout the empty hallway, the vocalist bites her bottom lip due to her nervousness. her eyes constantly observing her surroundings and her heart is pounding against her rib cage.

out of all the days, her stage fright had to come out to play today.

the tunnel of vision slowly gets darker with each step taken before they enter backstage. there is barely any light shining in this area, crowded with the members of the stage crew. whispers fill the silence as everyone prepares for the next performance.

eunbi peers over to the side of the curtain, barely sticking out, and spots the announcer pacing around the stage while entertaining the audience with jokes. the crowd laughs and claps to their hearts' intent, forgetting about the main purpose of the showcase.

the mc glances to the back to check on their current schedule and accidentally makes eye contact with the girl behind the curtain. confirming their position in the showcase, they bring their gaze back to the people before them and hover the microphone close to their mouth.

"but wait," they say, a smile twitching on their lips. "i believe i have the best joke of the night."

they spread an arm to their right, indicating the next performer. "may i present you, the masked singer from class f!"

instead of a polite applause, laughter rings throughout the room once more as eunbi walks onto the stage. her white surplice dress sways side-to-side, brushing against her knees, with each step taken and her fingers fiddle with one another. the announcer departs from the spotlight and passes by her, snickering at the thought of the performance.

with no one else beside her, she stands alone on the stage

like an angel lost in the dark

with no hope in sight.

the crowd bring their hands out and present her a collection of their thumbs facing downward while their 'boos' bounce off the walls of the building. their expressions scrunch into disgust when they see the singer's hands reach for the microphone stand.

not wanting to look at the audience, the girl looks up to the sound booth and notices her teacher standing behind the sound manager. the woman has her hands on her hips as her foot taps impatiently for the music to start, her eyes focusing on the computer.

when she averts her gaze from the screen, she notices how timidly her student stands on the stage. from the room, her ears can make out the dissatisfaction of the viewers through their shouts of discouragement.

making eye contact with one another, the older female smiles and mouths a single word to the performer.

"sing."

eunbi was hesitant at first, but then she reminds herself the reason behind her appearance. taking in an unstable breath, she gathers all her courage to bring her attention to the shiny metal rod before her.

sing, a voice repeats in her mind. sing.

she forces herself to move forward so the microphone is close to her mouth and she lets out a few notes to warm up.

everyone goes silent.

sing.

now with no interruptions, she clears her throat before singing a little.

"everybody's got a thing," she begins slowly. "but some don't know how to handle it."

her eyes make their way to the sound booth again, seeing the sound manager nodding their head eagerly for her to continue as they jumble between machines. the piano accompaniment is brought to life and the audience simply stares in amazement and surprise while the performance blooms to life.

"always reachin' out in vain

just takin' the things not worth having."

she grabs the microphone stand and pulls it closer to her.

"but don't you worry 'bout a thing,

don't you worry 'bout a thing, mama."

looking up once more, she sees her teacher lifting her fingers up, a sign for her to sing louder.

"'cause I'll be standin' on the side

when you check it out."

eunbi closes her eyes for a second to calm herself when the sound of trumpets and drums blares throughout the auditorium. a smile pulls on her lips as excitement surges through her body, her voice performing to her heart's intent.

"they say your style of life's a drag

and that you must go other places."

in the corner of her view, she can see hana begin clapping her hands to the beat while rocking side-to-side. the audience was reluctant at first, but they eventually join her as they move to the music.

"just don't you feel too bad

when you get fooled by smiling faces."

with enough confidence, the performer yanks the microphone off its stand and prances around the stage. she decides to improvise on the melody of the song, adding different runs and riffs to the lyrics.

"don't you worry 'bout a thing,

don't you worry 'bout a thing, baby.

'cause i'll be standing on the side when you check it out,

when you get off your trip."

suddenly, she stops in the middle of the platform, bringing her microphone far away from her mouth. the crowd watches with anticipation and lean forward from their seats, their eyes gleaming with exhilaration.

"don't you worry 'bout a thing.

don't you worry 'bout a thing."

she gradually builds the volume of her voice as she drifts from the melody little by little.

"everybody needs a change,

a chance to check out the new.

you're the only one to see

the changes you take yourself through."

the instrumental starts to become choppy, signaling her to improvise once more. with no words to follow, her voice climbs the scale of the song in different patterns. when she arrives at her desired note, the accompaniment dies out and she allows the note to resonate in the room with a vibrato.

no one dares to breathe at this moment of glory.

when she comes to a stop, she faces the audience for a reaction, which was silence at first. but then, someone stands up and claps before the entire theater joins with applause and whistles.

a cheeky grins tugs on the vocalist's lips.

the instrumental returns to the stage after a few seconds of quietness and she resumes entertaining her viewers with her singing. once in a while, the crowd sings along with her with their arms up and moving along the flow of music.

eunbi is enjoying the attention, the exhilaration, the satisfaction of singing this song.

"don't you worry 'bout a thing" by stevie wonder.

in her perspective, this song is about living life to the fullest despite facing the struggles of reality.

and right now...

she is definitely living her life to the fullest.