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There’s a feeble-looking boy clad in nothing but a loose-fitting white shirt and white pants. His name is Lark, and he has his hands pressed tightly together as he mutters under his breath.
“Please… please…”
He is surrounded by children of similar ages, each of them dressed in the same way.
All eyes are on a large screen above them. Their ID photos are flashed, each one joining the complicated spider web of competitive matchups.
“Please, anyone but hyung… please put us as far as possible…”
Cale doesn’t know what Lark is praying to.
Once upon a time, mankind believed in God and had religion. They believed that things that couldn’t be solved by human strength are the will of God and believed the entire universe revolved around Earth. They thought that the place above skies, which they could not dare to reach, was the place where God lived. They believed that if they prayed to these higher powers, their wishes would come true.
But the moment humanity was enslaved and taken away from Earth, everyone forgot the existence of God. And if God actually existed, God must’ve forgotten about them too.
“Heuk…!” Lark stops breathing when his photo finally makes it on the screen. The photo next to him scrolls through a list of contestants rapidly, until…
Stage 101:
Lark vs Cale
Lark’s face twists with despair.
“This… how…” Lark stutters in disbelief.
Cale grips his fist tightly as he looks at Lark, at the boy he grew up with. Lark looks like he’s about to cry.
Let’s go to the end together, Hyung!
A scowl twists his lips as he thinks of how hopeful Lark had been until today. Those sick alien bastards. He’s been noticing a trend with these matchups, and what they had feared had come true.
“Lark. Let’s do our best,” Cale said firmly, placing a hand on Lark’s shoulder. “Okay? Promise me you’ll do your best.”
They grew up believing they would have their wishes granted if they proved themselves to be good performers, but today they were told a different story. At the end of their debut stages, the elimination matches , only one winner would be allowed to live. Their hopes of earning their freedom were completely and utterly dashed.
Lark tries to smile. It’s a wobbly thing, unconvincing, and Cale has to subdue the pang in his heart at the sight of it.
“Yes, hyung. At least… at the very least, we can have one last performance together, no matter the results.”
In the year XXXX, aliens descended on earth with their thousands of spaceships and invaded Earth. They enslaved human beings and kept them as expendable toys and food sources. The most popular way to enjoy a human being is to consume their emotions as a snack. These emotions come through the best in songs. The alien bastards particularly like the taste of desperation, so they came up with the sick idea of raising human children as singers and pitting them against their closest friends.
Even though Cale has no hopes of surviving, he refuses to give in to despair.
“What song… what song do you think we should sing, hyung?” Lark looks at Cale with glossy eyes. He’s trying to hold back his tears but he’s not quite succeeding. He’s looking at Cale for guidance, even at this point. He’s always been depending on Cale ever since they became friends at a young age.
How could a soft person like Lark survive the harshness of the elimination matches?
“We’ll sing the song you like the most,” Cale says softly.
“Are you sure?” Lark blurts in surprise. “But, it’s, what about-”
“I’m sure,” Cale replies with a smile.
He’s always been better at faking a smile compared to Lark.
Their upcoming performance is announced in a strange language they’ve never been taught. Unable to see where he’s going, Lark is tugged along unceremoniously up the steps until his bare feet touch the cold metal floor of the round stage. The lights shining down on them is hot on his skin, and he’s blinded momentarily when the blindfold around his eyes is removed.
He flinches and takes a step back.
There are aliens as far as the eye could see. The sheer number of eyes on him, watching his every move is frightening. Lark has never seen so many of them before. The weird colors, the bulging eyes, the gaping mouths, the sharp teeth, the endless limbs and tentacles… so many different species of aliens are here as an audience, and all of them look so, so different from him.
His heart accelerates with fear.
It’s hard to breathe.
“Lark,” a quiet voice reminds him by his side.
He comes to his sense at that moment.
The instrumentals of their duet have already started, and he rushes to lift his microphone to his lips.
Oh my Clematis
Hope bloomed in the abyss
Lark sings too quickly and stumbles over the lyrics due to his nervousness. A sense of doom overwhelms him, causing his heart to fall like a heavy rock.
No, how could he mess up?
How could he mess up when it’s the last time he can sing with Cale?
Tears sting the corner of his eyes and he squeezes them shut.
This is it. He's going to lose. He knows how good of a singer Cale is.
…
The instrumentals continue, but no one sings.
Cale lowers his mic and looks at Lark as murmurs erupt in the crowds. Terribly confused and afraid, Lark opens his eyes and turns to Cale.
He doesn’t get it. What is Cale doing?
Cale mouths 'Sing' but Lark is rooted in place, staring at the unfamiliar expression on Cale’s face.
“Hyung?” Lark whispers, his voice too soft to be picked up by the microphone. He knows it’s Cale’s turn to sing.
"Sing!" Cale screams.
Lark jolts and immediately starts singing again, covering both his and Cale’s lines.
You bloomed from the huge black wall
This time he doesn't stumble, because he can hear Cale singing in his mind, in their shared memories as they practiced the song together again and again. The lights in the gigantic concert hall are sparkling and spreading like hazy fireworks as he blinks the tears away. He doesn’t look at the fancy lights or the cheering aliens. All he does is look at his hyung, who’s looking at him in the same way, looking at him like nothing else mattered on this stage.
The galactic starlight in your eyes spreads out
He remembers the first time Cale held a hand out to him after he’s been tripped by the other children. The warmth of that hand, the anger in Cale’s voice, the gentleness as he dusted Lark off is something Lark will never forget for as long as he lives.
In the endless darkness, I find you with your scent
He thinks of the nights they spent lying in bed, speaking softly to not alert the guards. He remembers talking about God and life beyond these walls and life after death. He remembers wondering if their souls will stay here or return to Earth. He remembers their shared dreams of earning their own freedoms and leaving this small institution to explore the galaxy together.
Even if I sleep in infinity, don’t leave my universe
He doesn’t want it to come to an end.
Oh my Clematis
Hope bloomed in the abyss
With tears falling down his cheeks, Lark sings more beautifully than ever as Cale smiles at him. Cale doesn't look away. Cale doesn’t stop watching Lark do his best, as he promised Cale he would do.
Lark wishes Cale would sing, because he knows what's going to happen after this. He stares at Cale, pleading, hoping Cale understands.
Please, hyung.
Cale relents. He steps close to Lark and sings with him. Not into the mic, just loud enough for Lark to hear over the music, a performance just for the two of them.
Oh my Clematis
Always be by my side
Cale refuses to give in to the aliens. He refuses to sing for the aliens. He refuses to give them the satisfaction. This is the last ‘fuck you’ he can give to them.
He only sings for Lark, his dongsaeng who’s so bravely trying to sing through his tears.
“Survive,” Cale tells Lark sincerely when the song comes to an end. He smiles. “Don’t be scared. Hyung will be watching you.”
There’s a dramatic sound effect as the votes rush in on the screen above them. But Lark and Cale don’t pay it any mind. All they do is stare at each other, their eyes saying more than words ever could.
And then the tallying stops.
Bang!
In the midst of cheers, a gun is fired.
Lark drops the mic and falls to his knees. He stares at the puddle of blood growing bigger, getting closer and closer until its warmth touches his hands and knees. He feels the click of the collar around his neck as he’s restrained and taken away, but he never stops staring at the smiling expression on Cale’s face.
Hyung… when we die, do you think our souls will stay here or return to Earth?
Hmm… I’m not sure.
I hope we’ll still be together, hyung.
I’m sure we will.