GUARDIAN ↻ XIAOJUN

005

Kira nudged Yumi as soon they sat down in the cafeteria with their meals. “Hey,I’ve heard voix organization will be having auditions on the upcoming org week. Are you gonna try?”

Yumi had her eyes cast down on her meal pushing the diced carrots in circles as she listened to her friend. She sighed. She gained confidence throughout her stay in Uni, however, it’s different with her singing voice. Only her friends knew how much she enjoyed it. She’s afraid how others would react to her singing - if they would find it okay or not. “I don’t know.” She uttered before popping a gyoza in her mouth.

“You definitely should though. You sing well.” Kira assured her, giving her a small smile.

“Well, are any of you gonna join?” Yumi questioned, her voice was small as she eyed her friends back and forth.

Arin bursted out laughing and took a sip of her water. “Please, Yumi, you know singing isn’t for Hyojin and I.”

Hyojin joined in Arin’s laughter, agreeing with her remark.

Yumi glanced over to Kira who sat beside her. She looked at the latter, pouting a bit. “Are you…”

Kira was quick to cut her off. “Oh no. You know I’m pretty busy these days with architecture.” She shook her head before her lips curved into a smile. Her hand on Yumi’s shoulder and squeezed it. “You should audition though. You have such an angelic yet powerful voice and it would be a shame if no one besides us could hear it.” Kira assured Yumi. And with those words, Yumi’s confidence meter slowly rose up.”Maybe I would.” She smiled before taking another gyoza, but deep inside she still wasn't sure.

Days slowly went by until it was finally Thursday, the day Yumi was dreading. The day she would stand in front of people who would judge her skills.

In the past few days, she was indecisive of what to perform. She was even indecisive if she should audition or not as she kept changing from one song to another until Kira suggested that she should do BoA’s Woman. At first she wasn’t sure about it and wasn’t fond of the idea. But when she sang it infront of her three other friends, she changed her mind and settled on it seeing how satisfied they looked.

Yumi's eyes were shaking as she bit on her bottom lip. There she stood in line for the audition. Her forehead started beading out sweat and so were the palms of her hand. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other and slightly shook her hands, trying to shake away the nervousness that ran through every part of her.

At the sight of Kira who was running, her worries slowly drained and seeped out of her body. Not totally though. But her friend who went out of her way despite the busy schedule just to support her really calmed her nerves.

Kira gave her a tight hug and apologized for both Arin and Hyojin who couldn’t come as they were in their own respective classes. Yumi understood of course, and nodded her head in response.

Time went by until it was her turn. Kira hugged her tightly and squeezed her as a sign that she believed in her skills and Ayeon understood, even without words.

On her way to the front, her eyes were trained on the floor and she slightly shook her hands. Once Yumi reached the front, she stood in place and let out a breath she unknowingly held. With that, the auditioner raised her head to meet the eyes of the 4 students who would judge her. 

Yumi’s eyes widened and her once expressionless face was replaced with a wide beam that appeared upon spotting a familiar face. The three other judges turned to look at who Yumi smiled at to see if they knew her, but the sophomore boy only held a straight face with his sharp eyes on her, unblinking. The three other judges shrugged and focused back on Yumi who had a crooked smile on her face, obviously nervous about what's about to go down. 

Yumi knew he was a part of the organization but she didn’t know that he held a higher position than just a member and that he would be one of the judges.

For a brief moment, she closed her eyes and when she opened it again her aura was different than the soft usual Yumi. Her eyes reflected a bit of seduction and confidence. The corner of her lip was slightly raised into a smirk and she bent her head sidewards for a second, giving more power and playfulness.

Her voice filled the room as she started to perform the song. She practiced her moves and gestures even though she knew they would mostly focus on her vocal skills as the organization was about singing. Yumi also made sure that she held eye contact with each of the judges, but upon meeting Xiaojun’s sharp gaze, she almost didn’t hit the exact note. Good thing Yumi quickly averted her eyes away from him. Although, they probably noticed how she took a breath at the wrong moment.

The song ended and Yumi took a quick bow and flashed them a crooked smile due to nervousness. She was able to hold eye contact with the three other judges except Xiaojun. The young woman was scared to meet the male’s gaze knowing he almost threw her off. He really did manage to make her nervous with just his gaze. His aura was different than when they were in class. He was more sharp and terrifying.

One of the male judges, who seems to be known as Taeil based on the label in front of him, told Yumi that she did a good job and when the results would probably be posted. To that, she made her way out of the room.

Once Yumi was out, Xiaojun announced that it was a no from him as he tapped his pen down the table, eyes on it as well.

Taeil and Jihyo, the other judges, had their heads turned to him, shocked. 

“She was great. What do you mean?” Jihyo questioned, bewildered. Taeil nodded in agreement.

Xiaojun gazed towards the senior, Kun, who sat on his other side. It only took one look from the younger boy to defy the two other judges and agree with him instead. Taeil knew they couldn’t do anything to change the results as Kun’s the president and he favored Xiaojun the most.