Tinnitus

Chapter 3

Today was the day. The day Miyoung would get to see her best friend perform on the stage for the fist time! Although she had witnessed him practice and practice throughout the year, she knew seeing him perform in front of a live audience would be a different kind of amazement. There was no doubt that Yeonjun was a talented idol. He can rap, sing, dance, you name it. An all rounder in the industry. 

As a trainee, Miyoung rarely had opportunities to go see her fellow trainees debut stages, but with Yeonjun's she just had to. She had to be there to witness his debut. 

After trying and failing to clear up her schedule for the day of the performance, she decided the only conclusion was to sneak out of her dorm. And that is exactly what she did.

Dressed in a simple black hoodie with a beanie and mask, she tried her best to not look suspicious. Although she wasn't known to the public yet, Miyoung felt like she had to be extra stealthy as she slipped out of her dorm room.

And before she knew it, she was sitting among the audience of fans from all different fandoms, waiting for the performance to begin. Removing her beanie, she stared up at the stage in awe. 

"I'll be up there one day." She thought to herself, a sudden wave of inspiration flowing over her at just the thought of being able to perform in front of an audience. 

Watching performance after performance only built up her anticipation to see her friend on stage. Seeing the different artists in person was a completely different experience than watching them perform on TV or her phone. You could feel the excitement, feel the energy they were pouring out in every note, every move on stage. It was beautiful to say the least.

Looking down at her watch, she wondered when Yeonjun would go on, although she hadn't been gone long, her anxiety began to bubble in her chest. Taking a deep breath, she shook those anxieties away and faced the stage, watching as she saw a couple young men scurry onto the stage. A huge smile grew on her lips. It's time. 

The crowd grew quiet as the rookies got into their positions, her eyes taking in the sight before her, making sure to get every detail of this day and engrave it in her memory. The music cued and before she knew it, Miyoung was witnessing her best friend's dream become reality. The biggest smile on his face as the performance started. She looked at each and every one of the boys up there. Soobin, Beomgyu, Taehyun and Huening Kai. She knew each of them and how hard each one worked to get to this moment. The smiles on each of their faces were quite literally contagious. Miyoung couldn't remember a time in which she smiled so wide, so wide that her cheeks hurt. She was so happy, maybe not as happy as the boys up there on stage but almost. Proud is an understatement to what she was feeling right now. 

Even though they have only known each other for a little over a year, she thought of Yeonjun as one of the closest people in her life. He was her home away from home. Being able to witness this moment meant so much to her. 

Before she knew it, the performance was coming to an end. The audience cheered and hollered as each of the members stood their with smiles on their faces, sweat dripping down their brows, and happiness practically filling the atmosphere. 

Miyoung's eyes landed on Yeonjun and she couldn't help but tear up. Removing her mask, she gave the widest smile ever, and although she's not quite certain, she swears that Yeonjun spotted her and returned her smile just as wide. She could see that spark that she longed to achieve in his eyes. The spark that screamed, "I did it!"

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As her eyes fluttered open, Miyoung couldn't help but groan at the feeling of a migraine forming. Turning to her side, she pulled her pillow over her face, molding herself into the mattress. 

After Yeonjun left, it took not even ten minutes for Sara to come bursting into the room to find a crumbled Miyoung curled up on the floor. She tried her best to quickly recover from the emotional moment she had just gone through with Yeonjun before fixing up her makeup and walking out of the room as if nothing happened. The rest of the day went by smoothly, her fans saw her off as she left the building and right when she arrived back at the dorm she went straight to practice. And before she knew it, she passed out in bed. 

Reaching through the dark, she felt around her bed until she found her phone, tapping on the screen she noticed she had woken up about an hour before her alarm would sound. It was only four in the morning, but she decided to just get up for the day. 

Having to be in the practice room in about an hour, she rolled out of bed before grabbing some clothes and hopping into the shower. 

Washing away the thoughts and feelings of yesterday, she took a deep breath as she exited the bathroom shortly after. Walking over to her fully body mirror that hung in front of her bed, Miyoung stared at her reflection. 

"Today is a new day, Unity." She whispered to herself.

And to her surprise that was it. No other whispers filled her head. She just stood their in her dimly lit room, staring at her reflection. 

"Woah, I guess that shower actually worked." A laugh escaped from her lips before she smoothed back her hair into a high ponytail.

"Let's do this."

Turning on the back of her heels, she slowly opened her door and looked down the hall, expecting to see Sara's light on across the hall. But it was off, meaning she was still probably asleep. Tiptoeing out of her room, Miyoung grabbed her backpack she had prepared yesterday and left the dorm. 

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Walking into the empty practice room, she flipped on the light and pulled out her phone. 

"Morning, decided to start practice early, I'll be in the studio at the scheduled time." She typed out before pressing send to make sure Sara wouldn't freak out when she wakes up.

Settling her bag in the corner, she slipped out of her hoodie and placed it on a chair. Pressing a couple buttons on her phone she pulled up the audio of her debut single, "Harmony" and plugged the aux in. 

And just like that, her practice started. Miyoung went over her choreography over and over again. Even though she could perform the song in her sleep, she knew she did stumble at least once at yesterday's performance. She had to practice harder and harder. There is no time to rest. Now that she has debuted, things would only get more difficult. 

Before she knew it, almost an hour had passed. Slumping against the wall in the corner of the room, she reached into her backpack and pulled out a towel. Patting her face with it, she took a couple deep breathes attempting to steady her breathing, a technique Yeonjun had taught her all those years ago. 

"That's all you got?"

"Pathetic as usual."

As if on cue, there they were once again.

"All that work and you're still like this?"

"Disgusting."

Miyoung laughed to herself, so loud that if anyone else were in the room they would think she was crazy. Grabbing the side of her head she closed her eyes as tight as she could.

"Get out of my head." She mumbled.

"He probably thought the same thing you know?" A voice said.

"I bet he was disappointed in who you've become." Another said with a laugh.

"Please.. get out." Miyoung pleaded to herself  through a quiet sob. 

And just like that, they stopped, leaving her alone in that empty room. This feeling was all too familiar, and that was enough to bring Miyoung to tears.

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WORD COUNT : 1350