Act 8: Lively 11
The prac tests of the Future Performing Arts High School usually took around 4 days to finish.
You might wonder why it lasted for so long but it was in fact because there were too many departments. The piano department had their test at 9 o’clock while the flutes had theirs at 11 and the opera department’s was at 1 pm…
In addition to how the departments had their own tests, the first-graders, second and third-graders all had their tests on the same days so there were a lot of people sitting their tests.
Plus there was the Visual Arts and the Dancing Departments and… it was pretty much the entire school sitting their tests at one place.
8 am.
I sat down within the school cafeteria where the warm sunlight was seeping in through the windows and looked forward with my chin resting on my palm.
In front of me was Chloe eating big spoonfuls of rice.
Her tray was filled with food like always and she seemed hungry as if she had nothing to be nervous about. Well, I guess it was natural because Chloe was originally the top student of the piano department and after awakening at the composing department, there would probably be no-one that could contest with her.
“…”
Seeing Chloe chew diligently before placing some kimchi on top of braised-beef, I made a bitter smile.
…Wasn’t she way too relaxed?
Let alone the side dishes, she ate even a strand of spinach that had been floating inside the soybean paste soup. Watching her, I realised this was what it felt, to be full by just watching others eat.
“…You like Korean food?”
“Uun?”
With the spoon inside her mouth, Chloe widened her eyes.
“Ah, I mean, things like soybean paste soup are a bit hard to eat if you’re not accustomed to it right?”
Our school’s soybean paste soup was especially so.
It might’ve had less smell if it was the Japanese miso but our school’s soybean paste soup had a relatively strong smell so it could appear very strange to foreigners. That was what I thought but Chloe was casually eating it.
I stared at her with a curious expression as Chloe pulled the spoon out of her mouth and waved it with a smile.
“I ate it a lot at home so it’s okay. Huhuh.”
“At home?”
“Yes. My father used to make it sometimes.”
After that, she started bragging about her father, from how he used Korean quite often at home to teach her Korean to how he taught various dishes to his wife who didn’t know Korean food to teach them a new culture.
She seemed to be fond of her father quite a lot and appeared happy with her eyes sparkling.
But now that I heard about it, it sounded like he perhaps just wanted to be comfortable himself?
I thought with my head tilted before opening my mouth in curiosity.
“Oh yeah, your last name wasn’t Korean – Denjelle was it? You didn’t get the last name from your father?”
“Uun… Because it’s awkward? to use a Korean last name in France, we decided to go with my mother’s last name.”
Blinking my eyes, I heard her speak and soon nodded my head.
Right, there was quite a bit of racism in France as well. If it was to the point that she couldn’t even take after her father’s last name, it must be a lot more severe than I thought.
Was her dark aura before the time travel perhaps because she didn’t really get along with her friends in her childhood? After guessing around for no reason, I shook my head to get rid of stray thoughts and glanced around the cafeteria.
The cafeteria that had always been packed was a lot quieter.
Thinking that it must be because of the prac tests that they are not eating breakfast, I stared blankly before opening my mouth.
“When was the piano department’s prac test again? 9 o’clock was it?”
“Yes~ but we have to draw lots at 8:30 so I think I need to go early. Huhuh.”
Looking at her clean tray, I waved my hand.
“Alright. Off you go and good luck on your test. You’ve prepared a lot right?”
“Of course! I will take first place so don’t be surprised~”
“You sure can talk.”
“I learned from you Yunjae. Huhuh.”
When I saw her gazing down at me with a tall nose, I had a guilty conscience thinking that maybe… I was turning her into a weird child. I’m pretty sure that she was a mysterious girl with few words at the start of the term though…
In any case, we chatted like that and right when we were about to separate after our greetings, she opened her palm and reached out towards me with it.
Was she asking for a high five?
I blankly matched it with my hand after which Chloe made a small fist as a gesture to cheer up and smiled.
“I will be going then! Good luck on your test as well Yunjae!”
“Yeah, thanks.”
Relaxedly I watched Chloe’s distancing back before slowly standing up from my seat with the tray.
I needed to finish my practices before lunch time.
Because the prac test was at 1pm, there were a few things I had to check.
First off, the song itself was relatively polished up to a level that a short practice wouldn’t change much. What I could do from now on was to warm up my throat so that there wouldn’t be any mistakes during the test.
Since the throat was the instrument in opera, it was extremely important to warm up. Because a single issue in the throat could result in a totally different sound.
“Hmm…”
While walking towards the practice room that I had reserved, I glanced around the surroundings.
There were kids walking busily down the corridor and I could see lots of familiar faces. Since the test was coming up soon, they all came to warm up.
I saw Jun Shihyuk stiffening his expression after seeing me and entering the practice room as well as Lee Suh-ah who had hollow eyes from staying inside the practice rooms for who knows how long. Han Dasom walked past after giving me encouragement and Song Mirae busily tried starting conversations…
And at last, I had reached the practice room.
Quietly, I stared at the door knob before pushing it open.
It was practice time until the prac tests.
*
When it was time to draw lots, the students gathered at the test venue. It was time for the first event before the start of the prac test – the casting of lots.
Sitting down on the seat, I was munching on some chocolate when teacher Ku Mingi walked up to the front of the room.
“Hmm. Is everyone here? There’s no-one that didn’t show up right? Let’s see… Yeah, I don’t think I’m missing anyone.”
After a nod, the teacher then carried his feet and approached the box in the centre of the room. He calmly gazed at the hole on the top of the white cube before opening his mouth.
“Now, before we start the prac tests, I will have you draw lots. Come out one by one and take out a paper each. Also, don’t forget that the students going first and second need to help as helpers of the prac test!”
“Yes!”
With those words as the signal, the students of the opera department got in a line and walked up to the box one by one.
They were in a serious mood.
There were students with closed eyes taking in deep breaths, as well as those grabbing onto their friend’s hands while screaming, and trembling students.
If someone who didn’t know what was happening was to see this, they would think we were voting for the president or something.
…In fact, we were just putting our hands into the box to take a paper out in order to decide the singing order. I looked forward with such thoughts and saw the first student who drew the lots making a teary expression.
“Ah… number 3! It’s at the front…”
“Hey. It’s better to just get it over and done with early on right?”
“I hope yours is over.”
“Number 17! Why!”
“I’ll lose all my focus… Huk.”
From the mere singing orders, they laughed and cried. At a glance, it might be hard to understand why they were so emotional but it was easily understandable if you thought about it.
From the songs that lasted 10 or so minutes, the final marks of the first semester would be decided.
Anything that could even slightly affect those marks would naturally be annoying and would attract their attention. That was why they had to draw lots to decide on the orders.
“…”
Quietly, I was waiting for my turn and soon when the box was right in front of me, I reached out and picked a paper out.
A stiff feeling touched my fingers and when I grabbed onto it to take it out, a number appeared from within – seven.
“…Number 7.”
Repeating the word in my mind, I thought with closed eyes.
The seventh was around the middle of the twenty opera department students and it was neither too early or too late. It was right in the middle.
‘Perfect.’
I made a satisfied smile and nodded.
Seventh – I liked how it was in the early to mid stages.
It wasn’t too early that the teachers would be harsh on their marks and it wasn’t too late that my memories of the song would be fading. Besides, wasn’t 7 just such a good, lucky number? At this rate, it was okay to say that the singing order selection was a great success.
But soon, I stopped my smiles and stiffened my face.
‘The most important thing is who comes before and after me.’
I just hoped that it wouldn’t be anyone super good.
Thinking as such, I glanced around when finally it was Lee Suh-ah’s turn to draw her lots. Indifferently, she took out a paper and glanced at it before turning towards Song Mirae.
“Number 8.”
8…?
8 is straight after 7 right…
“Ah…”
Oblivious to my crumbling emotions, Song Mirae floundered her arms and jumped around in joy.
“Oh good good! The middle is the best! Our Suh-ah is lucky as well!”
“What number are you?”
“I’m number 12!”
Blankly, I watched them talk when I caught sight of Kim Wuju inserting his hand into the box from the side. After casually taking it out without much thought, Kim Wuju then handed it over to the helper next to him.
“What number is it?”
“It is number 6, young master.”
“Oh~ number 6~ Right in front of Yunjae?”
“…Hahah.”
Seeing Kim Wuju smiling amusedly, an empty laughter escaped my lips.
So was it like this?
Number 6 Kim Wuju, Number 7 me, and Number 8 Lee Suh-ah.
“…Hahahah.”
Interesting; it was the best. So I could now have a real battle with the greatest geniuses of the school, huh? As expected of lucky 7.
While I was letting out empty laughs, eyes of sympathy fell on me.
“Wow… wasn’t he number 7?”
“Between Kim Wuju and Lee Suh-ah… I feel sorry for him.”
“It’s a hellish position.”
Then, Noh Jusup placed his hand on my shoulder and let out a scoff.
“Hey, did you commit a grave sin in your previous life or something? What’s with your luck, puhuhuh.”
Heaving out a sigh, I opened my mouth disheartened.
“Ha… Don’t sing at a church drunk man…”
“Have you gone mad? Kuhuk.”
After that, I joked around with Noh Jusup a bit before slapping myself awake.
Whatever.
Somehow, I ended up in the middle of Kim Wuju and Lee Suh-ah but thinking about it, it was a good opportunity.
In the end, I had to surpass Lee Suh-ah to lay my hands on the scholarship and had to surpass Kim Wuju to enter the Prac High-achievers Concert.
Besides, it was a good opportunity to fight them head-on like this.
‘Right. Everything will be made clear once we all sing together.’
In the middle of my self-brainwashes, the prac test finally began as students started leaving for the test room one by one.
Number 1, number 2, number 3…
As the number of students leaving the room increased, the mood of the waiting room turned heavier. The faces of the students stiffened as silence was the only thing filling the room.
They were forced to feel with their bodies that their turn was surely arriving.
“Number 6!”
“Yes~”
Finally, Kim Wuju stood up from his seat with a smile as my turn to sing was right before me. Sitting on the seat, I quavered my leg and quickly repeated the song inside my head.
Elf King. After going through it one more time, I didn’t really like it.
‘Should I add a more dramatic effect during the vocalisation change? No, I can’t change it right now. I haven’t even practised it but… it feels somewhat weird right now. What should I do? Should I exaggerate it?”’
Countless thoughts appeared on my head and I bit my lips when suddenly I felt something touch my hand.
“Yunjae.”
When I came to myself, I realised that Han Dasom was sitting next to me. The hair that covered her small face was pulled back and there was a cute hairpin on her hair. It was Han Dasom’s face which I had become accustomed to.
“…Hu.”
I felt myself relaxing down.
Ah, I was nervous huh.
Lightly, I breathed in and out to settle my heart as my head turned a level clearer.
Reopening my eyes, I opened my lips while staring at Han Dasom.
“Thanks. I must have been nervous because I was right behind Kim Wuju.”
Glancing into my eyes, Han Dasom made a bashful smile before fidgeting with her fingers and taking something out. On the wrinkled paper, the number 10 was written.
She whispered with her clear eyes.
“I’m also behind Suh-ah…”
“Wow what is this. We’re all clumped up. Isn’t this rigged by the teacher?”
“Huhu… I don’t think so? There’s in fact only 20 of us so…”
“Yeah I guess.”
Seeing me nod, Han Dasom smiled.
“Un… just a coincidence. Both you… and me… When I saw my number was close to Suh-ah’s, my heart was shook, you know…?”
“Yeah. Why did she have to pick that number?”
“You’re right.”
She then turned her face to stare at a distant place before opening her mouth.
“But… it wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be.”
“Un?”
My blurry eyes caught sight of Han Dasom moving her lips.
“You taught me Yunjae, to sing confidently whenever.”
“…I did.”
“That’s why… I’ll try doing just that. Like when doing the chorus… and like when I was at the concour…”
Her eyes bent into beautiful crescents.
“I believe it would work out well this time, like how it had always been.”
“,,,”
With confidence…
I faced down before breaking into a bright smile. Yes, no matter Kim Wuju or Lee Suh-ah, I will go and sing my own song. Rather than singing with shrunken shoulders, that would have a higher chance of winning right?
“Yeah. Lee Suh-ah’s nothing much. Let’s do it. Let’s try beating her Dasom.”
“Un!”
Lee Suh-ah who had been watching us from the side made a dumbfounded expression.
“Can you not speak like I’m a final boss or something?”
“Oi! Number 7! They’re telling you to come in!”
Shooting out from my seat, I turned around.
I saw Lee Suh-ah wearing a pouty expression and Song Mirae smiling awkwardly next to her. There was also Jun Shihyuk sitting in the distance with folded arms and Noh Jusup waving his hand.
Good. Let’s do this prac test.
Finally, I glanced at Han Dasom who seemed to be slightly quivering and made a smile.
“Hey after making a great speech, you seem to be slightly nervous yourself.”
“U…un. A bit…”
Well, since she had come third at the concour after losing to Lee Suh-ah, it was natural for her to be nervous. I made another smile before raising my finger up.
“What was the solution I told you? It was to exercise and get rid of your excess strength. Running would be a bit weird here so… do you want to do squats?”
“…Un?”
“You can do squats inside right? Do it if you feel like it. I’m going then!”
I flicked my body away and followed the student who was in charge of guiding us to the venue.
My heart started thumping pleasantly.