bodyguard ; kth

37 ; BLACKED OUT

i swiftly opened the door to the dressing room. aera was sitting in front of her mirror, getting help with her makeup.

"what happened? i lost connection," gun looked at me, asking with a worried expression. i shook my head and replied, "don't worry, the staff took my mic because it was interfering with their signal. we'll find another way." i looked back at aera, she was getting ready to go on stage.

"you will present the award for best sound. after you hear two beeps, follow the stage crew back to your dressing room," the stage manager told aera to which she nodded with a smile.

"let's go people! we have three minutes!"

a sudden wave of panick ran through my body. soon, aera would be in front of a big audience. the killer could be sitting in the audience. that thought alone caused goosebumps to rise on my skin.

"aera, let's go!"

what if when the killer sees aera, he aims his gun towards her and...

"taeby?"

i blinked out of my trance. aera was looking at me with a concerned expression. she must have seen my worried state. she asked quietly, "you okay?" i mentally cursed at myself for looking stressed.

snap out of it, taehyung.

before i could reply, the manager was next to aera.

"come on, darling. we're going to be late!" he urged her to move, she looked at him and nodded, following him. i followed suit, standing behind aera.

we walked to backstage. several cameramen and other staff members surrounded the area. my eyes scanned around the place.

"stay here for a second," the stage manager instructed before leaving.

i turned to aera who seemed weirdly quiet. she had a blank expression, staring at the stage entrance with big eyes. i placed a hand on her shoulder, saying quietly, "hey, hey. what's wrong?" she looked at me, gripping on my hand. she smiled while shaking her head, "i'm fine...just a little scared."

i smiled at her. "as long as i'm here, nothing will happen to you, okay?" i told her. she smiled and nodded, giving my hand a little squeeze.

the stage manager came back. "okay, darling. off you go this way," he told her, gently pushing her towards the curtain. aera gave me one last look, i smile and whispered, "i'll see you soon." she sighed and nodded, turning around to the curtain. i watched as she made her way up the stairs, lifting her dress to avoid tripping.

i walked to the side of the stage, i stood between the curtains. this way, i had a view of the stage where aera was going to stand. i watched the overhead projector, the t.v commercials came to an end. a bell rang. the cameramen switched on their cameras and started filming.

good luck, aera.

aera's pov

i anxiously stood behind the curtain, waiting for it to open. i fiddled with my fingers, picking my newly manicured fingernails. taeby looked so nervous back in the dressing rooms, i wonder why.

oh, my god, i didn't think i would get this nervous. i've been on a stage countless of times and never got nervous.

it's okay. like taeby said, he'll be there to protect me.

"welcome back to the show! now to present the award for best sound, please welcome kim mingyu and mae aera!" the host announced with a wide smile.

the curtains drew back, making my eyes squint from the spotlight. i released a deep breath as i walked down the steps to the stage. it was a full house, thousands of people sat in front of me. i smiled as the crowd applauded. i stood by the podium as my co-host stood next to me. we exchanged smiles before starting to present.

"we are thrilled to be here today to present the award for best sound," mingyu spoke into the microphone. it was my turn. i cleared my throat and read the words from the monitor, "over...over the course of the...the...the year, we've had many...marvellous soundtracks..." i looked down at my hands to realise they were trembling. my throat felt suddenly dry.

what's wrong with me?

my eyes looked at the seated audience members. all their eyes were on me. everyone...was looking at me. it felt so overwhelming at the moment.

mingyu gently nudged my arm, signalling me to read my line. i opened my mouth but nothing. i became tongue-tied, no words came out.

after a few moments of silence, mingyu cleared his throat and read my line instead. i continued looking at the audience with wide eyes. i felt sweat starting to form all over my body.

relax. just fucking chill, aera.

everywhere i looked, there were people looking at me. it suddenly became unbearable to stand on the stage. my eyes started frantically searching for taehyung.

he stood on the side of the stage. i caught his stare. he nodded at me encouragingly. i shook my head at him, telling him i wanted to leave the stage. taehyung smiled a little, telling me everything was okay. i released a deep breath and tried to calm down. mingyu nudged me again. i looked at the monitor and started reading.

"all right. let's find out...who the winner is."

"shall i do the honours?" mingyu smiled as he held the envelope. i watched as he freed the flap of the envelope, taking out the card slowly.

but something was wrong. i read the words written on the card.

you have everything, i have nothing.

you have sinned, i am pure.

your life is ticking away.

your time has come, mae aera.

your time has come to die.

that letter. those words. the killer's here. he's coming to kill me.

it was suddenly hard to breathe. my head started spinning, making me clutch onto the podium for support. tears started forming in the corner of my eyes. i was losing control, i needed to get out. i slowly backed away from the podium and sprinted off stage.

"the winner is joe hisaishi!" mingyu said into the mic, watching in confusion as i left. the audience cheered loudly despite being confused over my actions. i kept running until i was off stage.

i stopped once i was backstage, catching my breath. the room was spinning around me. darkness consumed me as my eyes rolled to the back of my head.