Chapter Text
„WOW! Lee Siyeon, just wow. You have the voice of an angel. So beautiful! So much talent! You hit those high notes perfectly. And your vocal range is really impressive.” Their music teacher clapped after every other word, looking completely smitten by the girl standing in front of him. “I’ve never had such a good singer in one of my classes before. You are truly exceptional. Of course I will recommend you for the solo auditions. If it was up to me, you would get the solo without even auditioning.”
There was nothing more than the faint ghost of a smile on Lee Siyeon’s lips as she gave the teacher a short nod and thanked him. That was her usual reaction to compliments. A nod and those two words, nothing more. The hint of a smile was actually already something special, probably only showing because she was getting what she wanted yet again.
“I wanna wipe that smug look off her face, “ Yoohyeon whispered to her best friend Gahyeon. “She’s truly exceptionally conceited.”
“Conceited? I think she is pretty humble, “ Gahyeon said. “And you have to admit, her singing is so good. I could listen to her all day.”
“On what planet do you live that you think Lee Siyeon is humble?”
“Just look how shy she gets when someone compliments her.” Gahyeon sighed. “She is so talented and still so down to earth.”
Yoohyeon rolled her eyes. Gahyeon had some sort of crush on Lee Siyeon. It didn’t matter to her at all that Lee Siyeon had been her best friend’s rival for years. She only cared about Siyeon’s voice and her looks. Whenever she did anything that hinted at her having a bad personality, she found a way to turn it into something positive. In Gahyeon’s head, Lee Siyeon was some sort of flawless goddess that couldn’t do any wrong.
“Kim Yoohyeon, you’re next, “ the teacher announced.
“You can do it, “ Gahyeon tried to encourage her. “Just believe in yourself.”
Yoohyeon took a deep breath and went to the piano in the back of the room, trying to stay calm. Her biggest goal this school year was to get the solo at the school concert. The official auditions for that would be held in two weeks, but because many people wanted that position, there was a pre-audition held in every music class. You could only enter the official auditions if your music teacher recommended you. And a music teacher was only allowed to recommend three people per class. Gahyeon and Lee Siyeon already had his confirmation that he would recommend them, so there was one spot left. If Yoohyeon couldn’t impress him now, it was over for her.
“1, 2, 3…” the teacher counted down before he started playing an old song he had chosen for the pre-auditions.
Yoohyeon just had to be at least as good as Lee Siyeon. She had to be recommended for the auditions. There was no way she was losing again. Last year, Lee Siyeon had made it to the auditions, but Yoohyeon hadn’t. Siyeon actually would have gotten the solo, but she missed rehearsal twice and was replaced. Everyone knew that it was basically sure that she would get the solo again this year. But nothing was set yet and Yoohyeon was determined to win that solo.
But when she started singing, her voice was shaking. She could hear her own fear of failure in her ears. She missed a few notes and then a few more. That was it for her dream. It was over now. She wouldn’t even get into the choir this year. Her whole singing career was over. Every day, she would have to endure seeing Lee Siyeon being celebrated as the voice of the school and being laughed at by Lee Siyeon and being looked down on by Lee Siyeon because she fucked up the pre-auditions so horribly that she didn’t even get a place in the choir.
Yoohyeon looked around to room to find something to calm her down. Gahyeon was showing her a heart and a thumb-up from the other side of the room, an encouraging smile on her face. She tried to concentrate on her best friend and her constant support, but it didn’t work.
Then her eyes fell on Lee Siyeon in the first row, carefully watching her with that arrogant look on her face. She was probably happy to see Yoohyeon failing horribly. She could basically feel her satisfaction over the fact that her enemy hadn’t even made it to the auditions again. Did Lee Siyeon even see her as an enemy anymore? She was probably not close to being good enough for that.
No. Yoohyeon couldn’t let her win like that. No way in hell. She couldn’t give up without a fight. If she got a hold of herself now, there was still a chance. She was only on the first verse. Enough time left to turn her performance around.
She closed her eyes for the chorus and focused on her voice. She tried to stop worrying about what she sounded like and just sing like she did when she was alone at home. A thing she would be often from now on and was looking forward to a lot. Just thinking of that cheered her up and brought a smile to her lips. She imagined herself dancing around in her beautiful new apartment. That got her through the rest of the song.
When the piano music ended, Yoohyeon was smiling brightly, opening her eyes again. Gahyeon was clapping for her, but everyone else just seemed as bored as before.
“The beginning was… weak. But it got better. Good job, Yoohyeon, “ the teacher said with a nod. “I can send one more student to the auditions.” He looked down on the list in front of him. “And I guess that’s gonna be you.”
It took all of Yoohyeon’s energy to not completely freak out. She tried to imitate Lee Siyeon’s cool way of taking compliments, but she probably looked like an idiot when she nodded and said “Thank you”. And then she said “Thank you” again, which probably made it even worse. “I mean… thank you so much for giving me a chance, “ she added, like the idiot she was.
She could see Lee Siyeon shaking her head out of the corner of eyes, but Yoohyeon didn’t even really care about that right now. She’d be able to go to the auditions. That’s all that counted.
“How did the auditions go?” Lee Yoobin asked Yoohyeon during lunch break. They were sitting on a bench right outside of school, sharing the food Yoohyeon’s mother had made for her.
Yoohyeon smiled at her friend brightly. “Guess.”
“You got in!” Yoobin returned her smile. “I’m so happy for you. You’re gonna get the solo, I feel it.”
Yoohyeon wasn’t sure about that, but she hoped more than ever that Yoobin was right. “Did you audition?” she asked.
Yoobin nodded. “I have a chance of getting into the choir. My teacher said that she wished they would allow rap during the school concert just so that I could show off my talents.”
Yoohyeon laughed. “They should really do it! I don’t get why they don’t. It would just make the program more diverse and interesting and they’d be able to show off more talented students. Like you.”
“True. But of course they are doing the same old boring concept as last year and the year before and the year before that. Slow ballads only, a focus on vocals, but also slow and sad songs on the piano and classical orchestral pieces. Nothing wrong with any of those, but they should change it up a bit.”
“I know. I’d die for something more rock-y or upbeat. Singing ballads is fun and all, but they always want us to keep a straight face and look like bored zombies. It’s so tiring to do that for a whole evening.” Yoohyeon mimicked the face the teachers expected from them. She could pull the empty look off for one or two songs, but she loved nothing more than smiling, so it felt wrong to force down any expression for a whole concert.
“If you get the solo, remember not to get into it too much. I heard once the soloist started crying on stage because he was getting so emotional. He never got to sing again after that.”
“I think it’s beautiful if the music touches someone enough to make them cry. The teachers are just a bunch of idiots, “ Yoohyeon sighed. “They should let the students do their thing.”
“Definitely.” Yoobin took out her phone and frowned. “You have to tell your parents goodbye from me. I have dance practice tonight and tomorrow. I can’t see them off.” Yoobin’s and Yoohyeon’s families had been close since forever. Yoobin was basically like a sister to Yoohyeon.
“I will. They’ll be sad not to see you, though.”
“I’m also sad, but I can’t skip practice. Sorry that I won’t be helping you move.”
“It’s okay, “ Yoohyeon said. “Gahyeon’s helping. But you definitely have to come by as soon as you have time!”
“Maybe I can help you unpack in the evening”, she suggested.
“That would be nice. Just text me before you’re coming.”
They smiled at each other for a moment, then Yoobin started to tell Yoohyeon about the book she was reading at the moment. She was only half listening, because Lee Siyeon had just left the school building. A girl was waiting for her, waving excitedly in Siyeon’s direction. She looked vaguely familiar to Yoohyeon, but she was too far away for her to recognize her.
Lee Siyeon didn’t wave back, of course not, she just slowly walked towards her. The girl hugged Lee Siyeon and then kissed her cheek. They walked away together.
“I didn’t know Siyeon had a girlfriend, “ Yoobin said. “I didn’t even know she liked girls.”
“Girlfriend?” Yoohyeon repeated. “They just hugged.”
“Looked girlfriend-like to me.”
“You think?” Yoohyeon tried to get one more look at the both of them, but they were already around the corner. “I don’t think Siyeon likes girls. They are probably just friends.”
“Maybe. But it would explain why Siyeon turns down every single boy that ever made a move on her.”
“She also turned down all the girls.” Gahyeon was always talking about every single person that ever tried to talk to Lee Siyeon, so Yoohyeon was sure about that.
“Because she already is in a relationship, “ Yoobin said.
Yoohyeon shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t get why she is so popular anyway.”
“Same.”
After Gahyeon sat down the last moving box, she took Yoohyeon’s hand and danced around the room with her. “You’re living alone! Actually living alone! I’ll always hang out here from now on.”
“I’m living alone!” Yoohyeon was laughing as Gahyeon made a turn with her.
“And this apartment is great?” she stopped their dance to take another look around. “It’s big, there’s a lot of light, the bathroom’s nice, everything’s clean… also those stairs here are pretty fancy.”
“Plus, there is a big fridge.” Yoohyeon nodded to the kitchen.
“Important.” Gahyeon sat down on the stairs. “I’m actually jealous. It’s so cheap. Once my parents let me, I’m moving in here with you. You have an empty room anyway.”
“Please do that. Just imagine us living together!” It would be amazing. Yoohyeon actually was a bit worried about living all alone. She would have to cook for herself and she got scared easily at night. If Gahyeon would be moving in with her, she would feel 100% more secure and comfortable.
“It would be a mess, but wonderful.” Gahyeon smiled. “I have to go now, will you be fine unpacking the rest by yourself?”
Yoohyeon nodded. “I’ll just unpack what I need and do the rest tomorrow.”
“We both know that if you don’t do it now, you will still live out of boxes in a year.”
“True.” Yoohyeon laughed. “I’ll do as much as I can, I promise. Yoobin might come over later, so I can get her to help me.”
“We should hang out with her more often. She is incredibly cool with her rapping and dancing and all, but you’re keeping her all to yourself.”
“Now that I have my own apartment, you two can come over anytime.”
Gahyeon stood up. “Trust me, I will do that so often that you’ll regret saying that.”
Yoohyeon accompanied Gahyeon to the door and gave her a hug. When she closed the door after her best friend, the apartment immediately felt way too big and way too lonely for her. She wouldn’t be able to handle living on her own. She would starve or die of thirst or freeze to death because she was too dumb to do basic tasks. Or someone would break in and steal all her stuff. Or she would slip and fall down the three steps in the living room and break her neck and her body wouldn’t be found for a month.
To distract herself, she went into her room to unpack a few things, starting with her computer. After that was set up, she felt a bit more comfortable. She put on some music to fill the silence and sang along while arranging her clothes in her new closet.
She didn’t notice that someone had entered her apartment until the door to her room was opened. Lee Siyeon was standing in the door frame, frowning when she saw Yoohyeon on the floor unpacking a box.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Lee Siyeon asked.
Yoohyeon stood up to turn off the music. “I could ask you the same thing. How did you get into my apartment?”
“Your apartment?” There was genuine shock on her face. “This is my apartment. I’m moving in here today.”
“Can’t be. I’m moving in today.” Yoohyeon pointed at her stuff lying around everywhere.
“You must be on the wrong floor or in the wrong apartment or something like that.” Lee Siyeon was taking out a piece of paper and looked at it. “Because I know for sure that I am right. This is my apartment.”
Yoohyeon took the paper out of her hands. It was Lee Siyeon’s contract. And it looked exactly like Yoohyeon’s. She walked past Siyeon to the kitchen to get her own contract from a shelf and compared them. They really did rent the same apartment. They both were paying the same amount of rent starting from this month.
“This is probably just a mistake, “ Yoohyeon said. “They got mixed up with the contracts or something and one of us is actually supposed to have another apartment.”
Siyeon tore the contracts out of her hands, studying them carefully. “We got tricked. I’ve heard of these kinds of scams before.”
“Tricked? So… what do we do?” Yoohyeon thought about how careful her parents and she had been when they were looking for a place for her to live. The man they had made this contract with had seemed really nice. Did he actually trick them?
“We go talk to the landlord.” Siyeon already was halfway out of the door before Yoohyeon even had the chance to get her jacket.
They walked to the office of the landlord in silence. How bad Yoohyeon’s luck had to be that she wasn’t only the victim of a scam, but victim of a scam together with Lee Siyeon. At least Lee Siyeon also got fooled.
Yoohyeon was curios why Lee Siyeon was living on her own. She had always assumed that she came from a relatively rich family, why was she moving out now? Yoohyeon couldn’t think of any reasonable theory.
When they reached the office listed as the address of the landlord, they found an abandoned building.
“Fucking hell, “ Siyeon cursed. “What now?”
“We could talk to someone else in the real estate business? Maybe they know what we should do, “ Yoohyeon suggested.
Siyeon immediately took her phone out and started typing. “Follow me.”
The two girls walked to the nearest real estate agency. It was already late Saturday afternoon, but they were lucky. An older woman was still working and kind enough to take a look at their situation.
“Well. You’re the victims of a scam, “ she confirmed. “These contracts are basically a waste of paper. This apartment is currently on sale, but definitely not that cheap. If one of you wants to continue living there, I can help you get a real, valid contract.”
“I want to live there, “ Yoohyeon immediately said.
“I want to live there, “ Siyeon repeated her words. “But how much more money per month are we talking about?”
“Almost twice as much as this.” The real estate agent nodded at their contracts.
“Twice as much?” Yoohyeon repeated. Where was she supposed to get that money from?
“Almost.”
Siyeon looked at Yoohyeon, then the real estate agent. “Do we have to decide right now?”
“I’ll give you both till Monday to think about it. I know the landlady is desperate to find decent tenants, so she will be pleased to hear that I found such lovely girls that are interested. You can come again Monday afternoon.”
Siyeon nodded. “We will do that. Thank you.”
Yoohyeon smiled at the woman. “Thank you for your help.”
As soon as they left the building, Siyeon turned to her. “I don’t have that kind of money.”
“Me neither.” Yoohyeon was already thinking about where she would be able to stay till she found a cheaper apartment. Gahyeon’s? Yoobin’s? But if she stayed at Yoobin’s, her parents would find out and she’d have to leave the city, the one thing she wanted to avoid at all costs. Her parents couldn’t find out about this. She had to solve this situation alone somehow.
“Why do you have to live on your own? Can’t you just live with your parents?” Siyeon asked.
“My parents moved to the countryside. I’m staying here to graduate, “ Yoohyeon explained. “I have nowhere else to go except some tiny village or that apartment.”
“But don’t you have friends that could take you in for the next days, just till the agent finds a new apartment for you?”
“Don’t you?”
“I need that apartment. I’ll figure out a way to pay the rent… “ Siyeon sounded really desperate. “Just go find another place for the next few nights.”
“No. I am sleeping in my bed in that apartment.”
“Then I’ll guess we’ll have to share the apartment until Monday.”
What? Sharing an apartment with Lee Siyeon? Never.
“Or do you have any other options?” Siyeon asked.
The only other option would be going to the countryside. If her parents found out about this scam, that was it. She’d rather survive the two nights in the same apartment as Lee Siyeon. After all, she was just a girl her age that she knew from school, so it was maybe annoying, but at least it was safe.
It was only for two nights and one day. She could do that.
“I guess we don’t really have a choice.”