Bring It On! HAECHAN

11 | six feet under the stars

The first time Donghyuck sang at 0 Mile, it was just him alone without the band; reason being that he wasn't even there to perform in the first place.

It was his birthday, and him and the boys had decided to have some drinks at the bar to celebrate. His friends also thought it would be funny to submit his name for the open mic night that happened to take place that day, and that was how Donghyuck found himself on stage, wide-eyed and slightly buzzed with a microphone in his hand.

No one would have expected for his horrible rendition of Muse's Supermassive Black Hole (it was only horrible because drunk Donghyuck thought it would be a good idea to recreate the iconic baseball scene from Twilight while singing) to have landed them a permanent slot for the bar's Emo Night, but here they are, performing covers and own songs alike every Friday after school.

The bar is rather small, so even from their place on the stage Donghyuck is able to make out each and every face in the audience. Most of them he can recognise as either the bar's regulars or the students he had invited during the rally, but despite that there's still only one face he wants to see.

He hasn't seen Chaerin since she pretty much ran out on him the other day. Donghyuck is sure she's been avoiding him seeing as she hasn't paid him a single visit despite the noise he's been making during practice— hell, if anything, he had even gotten the boys to amplify the ruckus, in hopes that she would storm to his door to tell him off and everything would be fine again.

The only reason why Donghyuck didn't approach her first is because he didn't want to freak her out and have her running from him again, so he decided to just leave her a text to tell her that he'd be at 0 Mile tonight if she wants to come talk after his show.

He's been secretly hoping that she'd come watch his performance too, though by the looks of it, it doesn't look like she'd turn up anytime soon.

"Relax, bro. She'll come," Jeno says from his right, as though having sensed his jitteriness. Donghyuck could only afford to nod stiffly as he looks down to his guitar, the lights on the stage slowly turning on to signal that the show is about to start.

He forces himself to swallow his nerves, plastering a confident smile on his face as he steps up to the mic. "Good evening, 0 Mile! How is everyone feeling tonight?"

The audience cheers, and it helps in dispelling some of his anxiousness.

"For those who are new here, welcome! We're Last Young Renegades. Tonight is a really special night, because I'm seeing so many of my friends here on the floor." He motions to the crowd, earning some more whoops and applause. "And to all the regulars here, thank you for always coming out and supporting our music. My brothers and I, we're excited to share this night with all of you. Let's have some fun!"

Jaemin hits his drumsticks thrice before the song begins, and Donghyuck feels his nerves melt away with each strum of his guitar. Even with Chaerin still sitting in the back of his mind, he's in his element, and the energy bouncing off the audience is enough to keep him focused.

That is, until his eyes catch sight of a familiar red-haired girl through the second song, standing at the very back with her arms crossed as though trying to blend in with the crowd— but Donghyuck sees her, alright.

How could he not? She's the only one he's been longing to see this whole time.

Donghyuck's heart starts to thump erratically, but he forces himself to keep his cool, at least enough to get him through the last half of the song. Despite the smile on his face, his eyes dart nervously towards Chaerin from time to time, and he knows that she sees him too. Except, nervousness is painted all over her features as well, and now Donghyuck feels like vomiting his guts out all over the stage.