Chapter 27: Take A Bow

“Nuna,” Skye said as he suddenly looked up at me. “How do you girls bewitch people?”

I stared at him, speechless. What the heck was he babbling about?

“Ya, Skye… kwaench’ana?” Jae Joong said as he tapped Skye on the head.

“Chintcha, nuna… I need to know. How can you be annoyed with someone all along and suddenly, all you think about is them?”

“Bye, Skye…” Jae Joong said as he pulled me away.

“Ya… nuna! Answer my question!!” Skye looked up and shouted after us as he continued to sit there.

“We’re leaving…” Jae Joong sang as we walked further. I turned back and looked at Skye, then turned to Jae Joong.

“Am I the only one who still doesn’t get what just happened?” I asked Jae Joong. As soon as we were some distance away, he started laughing hysterically, covering his mouth with his hands as he did and jumping up and down around the place. He always covered his mouth when he laughed. It may seem a little sissy to those who watch him, but to me, that was part of his charisma.

“What happened?” I laughed as I chased after him, grabbing his arm.

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten?” he said as he continued laughing.

“Forgotten what?”

“Remember how Hae Rin fell earlier?”

“Yea…” I said, then it dawned on me. “Ooh…” I exclaimed softly.

“Right… oooh,” Jae Joong laughed.

“Stop laughing at me?” I said and punched his arm softly.

“I can’t help it. You were so dense back there.”

“Dense?!!” I yelled. “Ya! Do you have a death wish?”

“I’d die happy now,” he grinned.

“Kim Jae Joong!!”

“Okay… you’re not dense… just a little slow,” he smiled. I punched him again and he pulled me to him for a hug.

“I like it when you’re slow,” he whispered in my ear and kissed my head. I pulled away and smiled at him.

“So, you really think there’s something going on with Skye and Hae Rin?” I asked him.

“Haven’t you noticed? They fight like cats and dogs whenever we’re out with the gang.”

“And?”

“After that incident just now, I noticed Skye avoiding Hae Rin like the plague. As in he didn’t even have any snide comments for her like he used to.”

“Wow… You’re so observant.” I said. “But why aren’t you like that with me?”

“Cos when I look at you, I forget everything else,” he replied as he pulled me over and put his arm around me. I wrapped my arms around his waist and we walked back to the dressing room together.

Skye arrived a short while after Shoei and I had begun to get into our outfits.

“Where have you been?” Shoei asked Skye as he tossed him his outfit.

“Nowhere,” he said and he went into the makeshift changing room they’d constructed in the corner of the crowded dressing room.

Skye, Shoei and my outfit were bright and sporty beach attire in yellow, apple green and sky blue. The guys wore tank tops and long pants while I wore a halter and pedal pushers and the three of us had matching sneakers for our outfits. Our backup dancers dressed in all white outfits.

“5 minutes!” The PD yelled at us. Super Junior had already gone ahead right before us. I checked myself in the mirror once more before we went to line up back stage.

“That was Super Junior everybody… let’s give them another round of applause!!” the MC said and we could hear loud, enthusiastic screaming from the audience. “Next, a trio who are no longer just faces in the crowd. A trio who have just sailed the charts with their single, ‘Ghosts’, Sierra, Skye, Shoei… S-Cube!!!”

The we ran onto the stage into our positions.

“Annyong!!” Shoei shouted to the audience and waved.

“In 3-2-1,” we could hear the PD in our ear piece.

We raised our hands in the air as we sang the first line.

S-Cube: Summertime of our lives
Summertime of our lives, our lives

Shoei: Hey girl the feeling is right
You've gotta get out in the sunlight

S-Cube: (Sunlight)

Skye: Hot sand holding your hand
You keep me jammin' in the morning
'til the moonlight

S-Cube: We'll have the time of our lives
In our wonderworld
Time of our lives
There's a boy for every girl come on
Summertime of our lives our lives
Summertime of our lives our lives

Shoei: Cool breeze kissin' the sea
I've got a sunbeam shining on me

S-Cube: (on me)

Sierra: Blue skies sea in your eyes
Let the groove move my people
All around me

S-Cube: We'll have the time of our lives
In our wonderworld
Time of our lives
There's a boy for every girl come on
Summertime of our lives our lives
Summertime of our lives our lives

Summertime summertime
Sugar candy cherry world
Summertime summertime
There's a boy for every girl
Summertime summertime
Sugar candy cherry world
Summertime summertime

Summertime summertime
Summertime summertime
Summertime summertime
Summertime summertime

We'll have the time of our lives
In our wonderworld
Time of our lives come on
Summertime of our lives our lives (come on)
Summertime of our lives our lives (come on)

Baby get ready get down
Are you up for it get down with it
Baby get ready get down
Are you up for it get down with it
(come on)
Baby get ready get down
Are you up for it get down with it
Baby get ready get down
Are you up for it get down with it
(come on)
Summertime of our lives
Summertime of our lives
(come on)

The audience was dancing with us by the time we sang the first chorus. There was such adrenaline in the atmosphere as we moved and sang and engaged the audience. S-Cube has never had a solo concert yet and performing here tonight, which is the closest we’ve ever gotten to performing at a large-scale concert, really showed us what it would be like if we did.

The concert ended with a song sung by all of the artistes. We performed together in a choreographed danced and ended with a lot of goofing around and waving at the audience. Some of the guys formed a conga line and were bouncing around the stage, dragging the others to join in as they progressed. Dong Hae and Skye even took off their shirts and flung them into the audience, which started a frenzy of screaming and grabbing.

Suddenly, I felt the stage move. I grabbed Jae Joong’s arm and he quickly pulled me toward him. The audience were screaming and straining against the barriers of the stage so much that the foundation had been shaken.

“Get off!!” Yun Ho shouted as he waved for all of us to descend the stage through the exit in the wall at the back.

The trainees started running offstage and we followed behind since we’d been at the front of the stage. As the movement of the stage increased drastically, we could hear a scream. It was Hae Rin. She’d fallen and was sprawled on the stage floor. In a split second, Skye rushed forward to her and pulled her up to the exit before she was dragged to the ground with the stage. The huge speakers and screens crashed to the ground and huge sparks of electricity burst into the air as we watched in horror. Then, the entire stadium was plunged into darkness.

Backup lights in the corridors automatically came on and the producers and managers started to usher us to the nearest exit and out to our bus. Hae Rin had twisted her ankle and Skye was carrying her as we moved out.

“What about our stuff?” I heard someone say.

“We’ll have them collected for you later,” a producer replied.

“Kwaench’ana?” Jae Joong asked me as we reached the parking lot where the busses were parked, waiting for us.

“I’m fine,” I replied as we started to board the bus. We picked the nearest available seat and plopped down. The thought of what just happened was so overwhelming that the bus was rather silent until Dong Hae spoke.

“Ya… We could’ve died back there!!” he said.

“Keurae,” Chang Min piped in.

“Everyone just try to calm down. Is everyone here?” Yun Ho said as he stood up to do a headcount.

We now had an extra person in the bus since Skye had carried Hae Rin up with him. I stood up and leaned over the seat in front of me to look at Hae Rin. Her face was pale with shock. Skye was sitting beside her, silent and breathing raggedly.

“Hey, guys,” I called to them, “Are you alright?”

“She’s sprained her ankle and she’s got some scratches on her legs,” Skye answered for her.

“It might be broken. We’ll need to drop her at the hospital then,” Yun Ho said and he walked to the front to inform the driver.

“Why were you behind us anyway?” I asked her. “Why didn’t you get off the stage with the trainees earlier?”

“I wasn’t dancing with the trainees,” she replied, her face still emotionless.

“You weren’t?” Skye said.

“I was dancing beside Jae Joong oppa at the end,”

“I didn’t notice you beside me,” Jae Joong said as he scratched his head.

“It doesn’t matter now,” I said. “We’re just glad that nothing has happened to you. We’re gonna get you to the hospital now, alright?”

She nodded silently. I sat down beside Jae Joong and leaned on his left shoulder. He put his left hand around me and his right hand came up to stroke my head.

“It’s all over,” he said. “Just close your eyes and relax.” Somehow he knew that even as I showed my concern for others, I was actually still in panic myself. He must’ve felt my heart palpitating like crazy.