20ft. From Forever | Jeon Jungkook [On Hold]

2 • The Comeback

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Well-timed flames appear seemingly at his command, the fire shooting into the air around him reflecting poetically in his eyes, and Winter can't tell which one burns more intensely. He looks like a fire elemental, one who would be comfortable sitting at the summit of a volcano holding in his hand embers as red as the hair on his head.

His entire audience is enraptured and immersed in the performance, chanting lyrics like an incantation, and his name like an invocation. The combination sparking veneration, leaving Winter star-struck, a feeling she had never experienced in her twenty-six years of life with the exception of seeing her father perform, nor in her career singing behind many other artists.

She stared unblinking at the inferno before her, barely breathing, possibly from the pounding bass pushing the oxygen from her lungs, possibly from wonderment temporarily seizing the automated process. Goosebumps erupted over her skin, making the downy hairs on her arms point towards the sky, and she wiped the sweat from her palms for what felt like the tenth time.

His tenor was both smooth and powerful. He exhibited expert control over his instrument in the midst of complex dance moves, something that she couldn't dream to attempt without sounding staccato at best. Those movements were executed effortlessly and with precision, betraying the fact that he had ever made a mistake in his past as the previous video montage illustrated. Everything was perfect.

This wasn't just a show: this was an experience.

A smiling Quinn nudged Winter's arm, painfully snapping her from her reverie, and a slow smile crept onto Winter's face as well. This was amazing.

By some stroke of luck, or twist of fate, however one wanted to look at it, this was who she would be working with. This was what she was now a part of, and the solitary flutter of a butterfly's wings in her stomach had doubled.

Just the first song felt cathartic and Winter wondered what the rest of his set had in store for her. He finished it breathlessly, his heated expression morphing into the warmest smile of genuine appreciation for the crowd's reception of him.