Kiss Me Under the Stars

Chapter 54

~~~~~~~ September 20: Hyomin ~~~~~~~

I grabbed Ilhoon's hand and sighed. My knees were knocking together and he cupped his hands around mine gently. "Calm down," he whispered in my ear.

"I'm not nervous," I told him quietly. "I'm scared to be performing this song..."

"You'll do great," he said with a smile, patting my head with a small smile. "Don't worry about it, okay? Just try your hardest and try to enjoy yourself. No one expects more than that from you or from anyone." I nodded slowly, absorbing his words into my memory before sighing heavily.

"What if I can't do it?" I mumbled with a frown. "What if I freeze?"

"Start singing 'Freeze'," he replied with a chuckle.

I rolled my eyes with an amused smile. "Do I look like Beast Gikwang to you boy?"

"You could definitely pass off for him very easily," he mused with a giggle. I whacked his arm and then turned to face the stage again.

"Forget I asked you anything," I told him dryly with a role of my eyes. "I don't see the point in having this conversation anymore."

"Hyomin-" he began to protest with a frown.

"Hyomin, where's the mic for this thing?" Sungjae asked me, walking over and pointing at the receiver clipped to his belt. "I can't find the mic." He spun around to demonstrate and I chuckled.

"Sungjae, the mic is- Stop spinning!" I scolded, smacking him lightly on the head. I untangled the mic from his pants and sweater and then set it up properly for him with a sigh. "There you go."

"Thank you!" he exclaimed happily. "Lets do well on stage even though it's a small performance!"

"Always!" I agreed with a nod. "Lets do our best!" The knocking in my knees had faded slightly thanks to Sungjae and I sighed with relief as the stage crew adjusted the microphone and allowed me to hook it around my ear.

"I wish that Cube had let Aecha perform..." Ilhoon murmured with a frown. "It's only four days to her birthday!"

"They said she could perform but she wouldn't be able to dance," I told him with a sigh. "She should be coming soon..."

"I'm here!" Jung Maknae exclaimed, crashing into me with a huff. "I'll just sing Unnie. I'm fine without dancing!" The stage crew was already equipping her stage gear and she attempted to catch her breath before grinning. "I wouldn't miss this for anything!"

"It's going to be really short..." Sungjae murmured with a frown. "We're just performing our song and playing some games with the fans and then it's over."

"I don't care!" she insisted. "I want to perform!" Sungjae nodded as we were waved into our starting area. Ilhoon grabbed my hand and pulled me against his chest, my head curled into his body and the light shined behind us. I stared at my shadow on the white screen in front of us before the music for our song started playing.

Ilhoon and I executed our alluring dance steps behind the screen and the fans were screaming energetically, charging the air with good feelings. The intro ended and the screen rose dramatically. Ilhoon, Sungjae, Aecha, and I stepped out in sync and stared at the audience before I started singing.

For the entire performance, Aecha remained on the little podium with the screen entrance area while Ilhoon, Sungjae, and I were dancing and singing. My pain was reflected in the heartfelt words and I was in tears by the end of the song when I realized that the song's lyrics reflected mine and Ilhoon's short relationship.

He rested his arm on my shoulders while I attempted to hold back my tears. "Thank you everyone for your support and thank you for being here with us today!" Ilhoon called to the audience with a wide smile. "We are very grateful and blessed that you were able to join us for this small concert today."