Chapter 128

Chapter 128: Chapter 128
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Suddenly, the white light, pouring up ahead, disappeared, and coal-like darkness prevailed around the space. Nothing was in sight, even Yi Ruda, who was sitting beside me. I stared directly at the stage.
A bright light then flooded in the stage. A moment after, only a dim red light remained as the whole space sank into the dark again. It was such a weak light; thus, it was hard to figure out the faces on stage, but, at least, it was enough for us to see their silhouettes. In front of the slender shadows, there stood a familiar black long hair shining purplish under the red light.
After a second, the five silhouettes pumped their bodies alongside the rhythms and, at the same time, shouts of other’s outcry echoed from the crowds.
Someone yelled out loud, “OMG! It’s Boom Boom Pow!”
‘Holy Christ!’ I gazed in front while breathing in deeply. The others selected their talented classmates who knew how to dance to represent their class in their performance. Thus, everybody on the stage had great moves; however, none of them were as outstanding as the girl in the middle. Her arms were slim and slender like those of a bird, but her dance was surprisingly powerful.
When the white lights opened, she finally unraveled the entirety of her beautiful face completely. The girl in the middle’s beautifully curved pale forehead, small straight nose, and transparently black eyes came into my sight. The beauty before us was, indeed, Ban Yeo Ryung. The sight of her alone was enough to take everyone’s breath away, and I heard the very second everyone gasped upon seeing her on stage.
The pouring roars during the dark vanished in a flash, and soon, the entire space grew quiet as if it sunk underwater. I understood the sudden change in the atmosphere. Ban Yeo Ryung’s magical charm sent the auditorium as a whole into a deafening silence.
At the next moment, a massive outcry broke the ice. I, however, forgot to cover my eyes and just stared at the stage.
It wasn’t a sexy dance that girl groups mostly performed; however, Ban Yeo Ryung did wonders in her moves while following the choreography. Her long hair waved and strewed to the beat. When a bizarre electronic sound came out, their heads hung down slowly as if someone flipped the switch.
After their time on stage, there was nothing but madness all around.
Someone raised his head and shouted, “Ban Yeo Ryung, marry me!!”
Some kids looked at each other in excitement while chatting about how amazing Ban Yeo Ryung was and how brilliant she was in doing everything.
The lights went off again. At that moment, a few kids who sat on the corner of the stage ran into the middle. There were noises similar to that of firm metal hitting the wooden floor, but it soon turned silent. I bit my lips tightly and looked at the direction of the sound.
When the bright lights opened, everyone screamed at once. This time, the girls shrieked overwhelmingly to the stage, which was deafening.
“Ahhhhhhh!!!!”
“Wow, can you believe that?”
“How could all four of them be on stage?”
Some kids murmured like that. I agreed to what they said at some point before looking at what was happening in front again. On the stage stood six chairs, and a boy sat on each of them with their legs spread open. They had their elbows on their knees while resting their chins on their hands.
Each of them wore jet-black dress pants and a contradicting white dress shirt on top. That was when the speaker sent out a loud thud. They moved their knees a little before tapping the floor gently with their shoes.
After a moment, screams poured out of the crowd again.
Wild Eyes, a song by SHINHWA, played on the speakers. This song boasted a legendary dance step that involved using a chair that each member of this boy group performed.
Instead of showing his face to us, Eun Jiho dropped his gaze at the floor with his characteristic cold gaze, which he mostly used to strangers. When his feet moved a little again, his silver hair twinkled under the light. Kwon Eun Hyung, who was sitting beside him, didn’t show any hint of a smile on his face. The light illuminated Yoo Chun Young’s jet-black hair and spread a spring of blue light all around him.
The one who surprised me the most was none other than Woo Jooin. He was over 170 cm tall now. He was not short at all, but his adorable character still made me think of him as a small and cute boy. Wearing the jet-black dress pants, his legs stretched, and his golden eyes under his golden-brown lashes didn’t show a hint of his usual playfulness.
I always thought that he had friendly eyes, but from the pose he had, while resting his chin on his hand without showing a smile, he looked like a total stranger. At that moment, his eyes seemed to be directing this side. The music then started with an intense beat.
The lighting went on vigorously. My ears rang from the prolonged shouts of glee. When I glanced beside me, I saw Yi Ruda fastening his gaze on the stage. ‘Oh, yeah, since Yoo Chun Young is on there,’ with that thought in mind, I felt a sense of awkwardness.
‘I don’t know, it’s just…’ I clenched my hand into a fist. The boys on the stage looked so different compared to how they usually looked that I dropped my gaze at Kim Hye Hill’s back.
‘I don’t know… they can always look and act differently like that no matter what I think…’ That was why I felt complicated.
“Ahhhhh!!!”
Their performance ended with a shower of screams. Dragging the chair out of the stage, Eun Jiho smiled at this side as if he felt quite satisfied tonight. Yoo Chun Young, who still looked uninterested at all, fixed his blue gaze before him, and Kwon Eun Hyung showed a generous grin on his face.
As soon as Woo Jooin returned to his class, a few girls poured out some words to him while grabbing his arms. Woo Jooin then bent his knees for the girls to talk comfortably. He was especially kind to his classmates, which was why kids liked him so much. As I looked at Woo Jooin, Yi Ruda, who was beside me, asked in a cheerful voice.
“Then, should we stand up now?”
“Ladies and gentlemen, the next stage is Class 1-8! The title of their performance is… let’s see… it’s ‘Love & War.’ Wow!”
‘What is he talking about?’ I turned my head to look at Yoon Jung In as I stopped walking after Yi Ruda. ‘Who made that title?’ I asked as I glued my eyes onto Yi Ruda. She just shook her head as if she also had no idea.
Before I walked up to the stage, I stood at the staircase and took a deep breath out of nervousness. Shin Suh Hyun, who was beside me, spoke in his usually nonchalant tone.
“Don’t put yourself into too much stress. The script is so bad that it can’t get any worse.”
“True. We already screwed up.”
“We invited danger to this stage.”
“Hey, if you say things like that, then what are we supposed to do?”
Those who wrote the script shouted complaints from the side. Furrowing one of his eyes, Yoon Jung In introduced us loudly, ‘Our future screenwriters!’ and, at the same time, the crowd burst into waves of laughter.
We grew a little chilly. I clasped and opened my sweaty hands back and forth. When the stage became completely dark, we all rushed onto the stage. At last, a white light streamed into our heads.
Grabbing a mic in my hand, I sat on an old desk that looked like it came straight out of the supply room.
Hundreds of eyes were looking at me. I felt like someone was snatching my heart; however, I tried not to expose how stuffy I felt.
A kid who played the role of a teacher tapped the whiteboard with a pointer.
He said, “Oh, there’s a new student in our class. His name is Yi Ruda, the heir of Songsam Group and the top-ranking student nationwide. His IQ is 200, so he’s always the top student in school, but he can never fall in love because of a sad past.”
“…”
A moment of cold silence hung in the space as if it struck a sore note. The boy then continued his lines while looking behind the whiteboard.
“Okay, come in!”
At the same time, Yi Ruda walked out of the back of the whiteboard. I noticed that not a single strand of her hair was out of place. She then stood in front of me. The boy then spoke while waving his pointer.
“You, take a seat beside Ham Donnie.”
“Yes, sir.”
With that short reply, Yi Ruda walked toward me before suddenly stretching out her arms and grabbing my shoulders. Her wild action made everyone inhale deeply. Holding my breath, I stared at Yi Ruda, who got closer to me.
Standing with her back facing the audience, Yi Ruda spoke on the mic. Her voice sounded like it was enveloped in profound grief.
“You… you remind me of my half-sister, my first love who passed away.
“Excuse me?”
“Be mine.”
Yi Ruda then pulled my head into her arms without reason. A moment of silence soon spread out everywhere, then a burst of laughter and shrieks came over from Yi Ruda’s shoulders.
‘Bahahaha, what the hell is that!?’
Some kids said those words with a dumbfounded look on their faces, whereas some just screamed with a reddened face. ‘Are they really in a relationship? Is that just acting? How can he hug her so tightly like that?’
Regardless of what they said, I dusted my hair off and got up from my seat.
“What are you doing? We met just now. I don’t like this.”
“Geez, she sounds like she’s reading a book!”
With that remark, people laughed out loud again. Leaving Yi Ruda there, I strode toward the whiteboard. The boy who was playing the role of the teacher was already gone.