Walls Over Flowers

[[2]] Closer

The next few weeks seemed to pass by in a hurry for Sae. She busied herself preparing for her audition, looking at the application and praying every night for good luck. When the day of the audition finally arrived, Sae remembered to dress carefully check over all her things before she headed out. Finally prepared, she stepped out the door with her guitar case slung over one shoulder and headed towards the direction of the company. 

After a couple of minutes of walking, she arrived at the company. It didn't take long for her to reach there; she only lived a couple blocks away. Looking up from her phone, she was taken aback. Many people were lined up, waiting to take their audition as well. As she waited on line, she silently prayed for herself. However, she felt that many eyes on her while she waited. 

From somewhere behind her on the line, she heard a feminine voice say "Wah...do you see that girl with the guitar case? She looks so cool!" 

Sae was appalled. Cool? She had never thought in a million years that someone would call her cool. She lowered her head, embarrassed at herself. Finally, it was her turn to go in. She made her way to the audition room where many people were already practicing their acts. The judges made their first rounds to see if there were any particular people that stood out. Sae decidedly made her choice that she didn't want to be conflicted by the judges and sat down on a stool, pulling her guitar out of her case. She began to practice the song she had planned to sing, "Light Up the Darkness," by VIXX. However, it was a bit difficult to practice because of the noise around her. 

A bit frustrated, she tried to concentrate but found herself having trouble. How was she supposed to perform in front of a large crowd when she couldn't perform here? This thought wandered in her mind until suddenly, she was tapped on the shoulder by a girl with blonde-dyed hair. Her flowing hair hung to her waist in a straight style; it was aesthetically pleasing to look at. 

"Hey, seems like you're having trouble. Would you like some help?" she asked.

Sae stared at the girl in confusion. Were other audition people allowed to help one another? The girl, realizing the way that Sae stared at her, laughed. 

"Sorry, I must've been very rude. I haven't even introduced myself yet. Nice to meet you, my name's Baek-Ah," the girl said while reaching out a hand for Sae to shake. Sae continued to stare but realizing the girl's extended hand went to quickly shake the girl's hand. 

"Oh...oh! Sorry, I'm just a bit taken back. My name's Sae," she said. 

"Cool name. So...about the practicing...?" Baek-Ah said. Sae realizing the girl's originated question quickly smiled, replying with a simple "Sure, I would like the help."

"So...what song are you going to sing?" asked Baek-Ah curiously. 

"Light Up the Darkness by VIXX," replied Sae, holding up the piece of paper with the notes and lyrics on it. Baek-Ah took the paper and grabbed another stool to sit next to Sae. She took out a pencil and began to circle parts on the paper. 

"So I'll take Ken and Ravi's parts and you take Hyuk, Leo, N and Hongbin's parts. Is that okay?" she asked, giving back the piece of paper. Sae looked at the parts and nodded. Baek-Ah had given her most of the parts. "Can I hear you sing this note?" Baek-Ah said, pointing at Leo's high note. Sae nodded and sang the part. 

"Hm. For this part, I recommend using falsetto. Although it's for male singers, your voice is a bit on the alto side so reaching this note would be no problem with falsetto," said Baek-Ah, grinning. Sae smiled confidently. 

"Let's start then shall we?" said Sae. Baek-Ah nodded in agreement. 

"1.2.1.2.3 and..." Baek-Ah counted and Sae began to play her guitar as Baek-Ah covered Ravi's dialogue. Sae was surprised at how much knowledge Baek-Ah had in auditioning. Perhaps she had auditioned before many times. But soon it was her turn to sing and thanks to Baek-Ah's advice, she carried it out perfectly. As both sang, many people in the audition room turned to look at the two. They were confident and that was important. At the end of their song, people began clapping. Sae was astonished, she had never thought she'd get this much attention. As people clapped, a judge approached her and asked "Number...21?" Sae nodded in reply. 

"That performance was impressive. Perhaps after your audition, you could stay behind?"

Sae hurriedly nodded in reply but then asked: "Excuse me, but what about the girl next to-." As she pointed to Baek-Ah she found no one there. The judges' face contorted into confusion. Sae awkwardly smiled and reassuringly said "Nevermind." The judge smiled and left on her way. Sae was confused. Where was Baek-Ah? But thanks to her, she was one step closer to achieving her dream.