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58. opening night

[ synopsis ] choi beomgyu has spent his entire senior year slacking off and causing mischief. but, due to his inattentiveness, his slacking off went too far and if he doesn't improve the grade in his literature class he'll guarantee himself a seat in summer school. yn has big dreams to be on stage and star on broadway. however, she needs to impress recruiters with one last production as the lead in order to earn herself a spot in a new york based school. when beomgyu's literature teacher makes him join their drama club for extra credit, their futures quickly become intertwined and dependent on each other.

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Opening Night.

The night everyone has been working up to—the night where dreams are given a second chance or taken in an instant. The stakes are high and tensions are rising every second cast and crew spend getting ready backstage.

The auditorium slowly filled with family, friends, and peers. The chatter grew louder and louder as people found their seats and discussed who they were there to see and support. Eunchae peered through the curtains, watching Mr. Kim guide the two NYU recruiters to their reserved seats near the front row. The two American recruiters were polished, dressed to impress, and beaming as they looked around the auditorium. They seemed to be excited to conduct their final review of their two most promising applicants, each holding what seemed to be fancy clipboard books that held the review papers for each applicant.

Eunchae took a deep breath before rushing back to the dressing room area where all her friends were doing their final touches and getting in position. She barged through the door, swiftly shutting it as she faced the three girls. YN sat in her chair, staring blankly at her reflection as Yunjin helped her pin her hairband. She was in her first costume: the soft, long yellow skirt, white short-sleeve blouse, and matching yellow cardigan draped over her shoulders. Sandy’s iconic opening costume.

Her makeup was light, bringing out the sweet innocence in her features. YN reached for her blush brush, lightly tapping it in her blush palette and gently dusting her cheeks with more color. She didn’t need more, but she desperately needed to do something with her hands before she started pulling at any threads in her clothes. She couldn’t help the anxiety building up in the pit of her stomach. Anything could happen tonight. Soojung’s plans, whatever they were, could prevail. Or, she could beat her at her own game with the plan Kazuha and Taehyun came up with.

“The recruiters are here,” Eunchae softly announced.

YN’s grip on her brush tightened, slightly bruising the knuckle of her middle finger. Her heart began to race faster, nearly at a pace she could barely feel or hear. It’s almost time.

“Any news on Soojung?” Chaewon asked, putting the finishing touches on her curls.

“Nothing yet,” Eunchae said. “But Yeonjun is alone getting ready, so I think it’s time to move.”

“Okay, remember YN can’t be left alone not even for a second,” Chaewon reminds. “Who knows how low Soojung is willing to stoop to get what she wants.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. Eunchae exited the room, on her way to relay the same message to the boys.

YN took a deep breath, holding it for a moment, before exhaling shakily. Her throat felt tight like it was millimeters away from closing shut. Yunjin noticed her increased tension, putting her hands on her shoulders and bending over to stare into her reflection. Her soft smile relayed back to YN, “You’re gonna do great. We won’t let anything happen to you.”

YN smiled, nodding gently. She trusts her friends to keep her safe and make sure her performance tonight will go without a hitch. But, she couldn’t help but worry about what could go wrong. Who knows what Soojung is up to? What she’s capable of doing tonight? What if even after all their precautions, the recruiters still don’t like her performance? What if this was Soojung’s plan? The stress was eating her alive, she couldn’t help but feel like she was falling into a trap by letting Soojung back into her head.

Beomgyu, on the other hand, was frantically pacing in his dressing room. His thoroughly gelled hair didn’t budge a bit even with every sharp pivot he took to turn back around. He shook his hands to his sides, trying to shake out his jitters and dry the sweat accumulating on his palms. He wasn’t nervous about his performance. His job was to make sure YN would shine, and that wasn’t going to be difficult at all. But, he was worried about how YN was doing. Was she stressed? Was she having a hard time? Could she be having a nervous breakdown? He needed to see her…

Eunchae knocked on the door, opening it slowly before peering her head through the crack.

“Ready to get into position?” She asked.

Soobin hopped up, brushing off the sleeves of his T-Birds leather jacket, “Ready!”

Soobin and Taehyun walked out of the room, assuming their planned pre-show positions. Beomgyu sighed, shaking his head before following behind them.

“Hey,” Eunchae whispered, grabbing his arm before he left. “YN is fine. Everything’s gonna be okay.”

Beomgyu smiled, thanking Eunchae for her reassurance before following Soobin and Taehyun to the end of the hall just before the stage entrance. They waited patiently, hearing the growing noise of the audience chatting and the sound crew testing their equipment one last time. Beomgyu looked around, waiting to see the familiar lean figure of his best friend walk out of one of the dressing rooms. Suddenly, one of the doors clicked open, and out walked Yeonjun. The clicks of his shoes could be heard even through the noise of the other actors in the hall.

Yeonjun sang to himself, focusing on adjusting the security of his mic pack to the holder in his back pocket. He almost didn’t notice himself walking towards the friends he hadn’t spoken to in days. It wasn’t until he saw a similar pair of black shoes did he slowed down his pace. He lifted his head, eyes meeting with Beomgyu.

“Oh,” Yeonjun managed to breathe out, “Beomgyu. Hi.”

This was it—the start of phase one. Beomgyu felt himself choke up. He hadn’t spoken to Yeonjun in days, thinking he was just a terrible friend. Seeing him here in front of him now, Beomgyu was suddenly filled with guilt. He didn’t know. His friend was being taken advantage of and who knows how he might react after learning the truth.

“Do you need something?” Yeonjun asked, eyebrows furrowing.

Beomgyu reached out, grabbing onto Yeonjun’s arm, “Come with me!”

Beomgyu pulled on Yeonjun’s arm, causing Yeonjun to stumble as he reluctantly followed Beomgyu to a secluded area backstage. No one was around and it was dark. They were going to be called any minute, they didn’t have time for whatever this was. Before he could protest, Beomgyu put his finger to his lips and shushed him. He could barely see Beomgyu’s face, but Yeonjun could vaguely make out Beomgyu’s eyes and how they were wide with worry.

“I’m sorry Yeonjun,” Beomgyu whispered. “I haven’t been a good friend to you lately and I want to make it up to you. We all do.”

“We?” Yeonjun muttered.

“The benchwarmers,” Beomgyu smiled sheepishly. “Tonight is really important for a lot of people and we want to make sure you know we’re here for you.”

Confused, Yeonjun stood silent for a moment. He didn’t know what Beomgyu was referring to, but he didn’t care to focus on it too much. All he cared about was how Beomgyu was saying it. He hadn’t heard Beomgyu speak to him in such a gentle tone in what felt like ages. He felt his eyes start to sting.

“Wait? Does that mean you forgive me? For everything I did?” Yeonjun asked, his voice shaking.

Beomgyu nodded, “I forgive you! I miss my best friend I can’t be mad at you forever.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats and turn off all cellular devices. The show is about to begin.”

“We better get going!” Beomgyu said, grabbing Yeonjun’s sleeve again and pulling him back to their designated stage entrance.

Once they got back, Beomgyu quickly scanned over the other actors until he found the one he was looking for. There, standing in front of Soobin and Taehyun, was Soojung with her arms crossed. She was looking around, trying her best to appear calm but in reality, she felt like her legs were going to give out. It wasn’t until her eyes landed on Beomgyu and Yeonjun walking toward her did her scowl turned into a look of fear. She shook her head, trying to pull herself together while Beomgyu smirked as he walked passed her and next to Soobin. Yeonjun, unaware of the tension, smiled at Soojung and stood next to her. Soobin and Beomgyu exchanged glances for a moment, sending each other a silent signal that they each did their part.

Step 1: Let Soojung know they’re watching

While Beomgyu was staging his apology to Yeonjun, Soobin, and Taehyun took it upon themselves to give Soojung a taste of her own taunting medicine. She had walked out of her dressing room and immediately towards Yeonjun’s, the color draining from her face as soon as she realized he wasn’t anywhere to be found. Her fears grew as she stumbled into Soobin and Taehyun staring at her with shit-eating grins plastered across their faces, watching her every step.

“Looking for someone?” Taehyun asked, crossing his arms.

Soojung frowned, trying her best to ignore him. She turned on her heel, ready to walk in the opposite direction to find Yeonjun when Soobin’s voice suddenly stopped her in her tracks.

“Beomgyu’s talking to him,” Soobin said. “Couldn’t tell you what about though. He said it was important though. Said it was something Yeonjun needed to hear ASAP.”

Soojung turned back around slowly, taking careful steps toward the two towering boys. She didn’t say a word as she placed herself in front of them, standing her ground.

“I don’t know what you mean, but I would appreciate it if you mind your own business and stop meddling where you don’t belong,” she snapped.

Soobin bent forward ever so slightly, patronizing Soojung with his height. His face was mere inches away from hers, a cocky grin painting his lips. Soojung felt herself falling back, quickly taking a single step back to stop herself.

“We know it was you,” Soobin whispered.

Taehyun joined him, bending forward next to him. “We all know it was you.”

“What are you talking about?” Soojung mutters, trying not to submit to their gazes.

“You know what we’re talking about,” Taehyun says. “And soon, everyone will know. Including Yeonjun.”

“Good luck tonight,” both boys said, standing back up straight.

Soojung stood speechless. She was ready to go searching for Yeonjun herself when the announcement was made and was forced to stay put. She looked through the rest of the people filing in for Yeonjun, and when she didn’t see him, she felt like the whole world was slowly caving in. This can’t happen yet. She needs to act fast. She needs to finish this…

Everything felt like it was happening so fast. Pausing even for a moment made YN feel like she was going to fall on her face into the consequences of tonight. She couldn’t help but feel like everything was going to catch on fire. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe she should’ve just done the noble thing and not tried to force-feed Soojung a taste of her own medicine. Maybe it was bait and this was all a trap and she fell right into it. Maybe…

“We’re on in three… two…” Mr. Kim’s voice boomed across the hall, prompting everyone to get into position.

YN could feel her hands get clammy and her knees begin to buckle. It’s time.

Music rolling. Audience cheering. Lights blaring.

The show has started.

The opening scenes went on without a hitch. Every beat, every note, every line. Everything was going as rehearsed. The Rydell High introduction scene. The introduction of the Pink Ladies and the T-Birds. And finally, the introduction of Sandy.

YN walked on stage, her stride curious and full of wonder. She twirled her skirt with every turn she took and her smile almost twinkled every look she gave out to the audience. She was mesmerizing to watch and Beomgyu couldn’t take his eyes off her from the stage wing. It couldn’t be clearer that she was born to perform on stage. Her talent and charisma were undeniable and captivating. The audience falls in love with her just as Beomgyu does every time he gets the pleasure of being a bystander watching YN be the star she was meant to be.

She deserved that spot at NYU.

Step 2: Talk to Yeonjun every chance you can in front of Soojung

It was no secret to the rest of the school that Beomgyu had strong feelings against drama club. So, it was a shock seeing his name along a leading role in the spring production. No one knew the story behind his sudden involvement and interest, but everyone had been looking forward to his performance as Danny. And, since he managed to beat out Yeonjun for the role, expectations were high. Yeonjun built a reputation as being the IT boy when it comes to leading roles. If you wanted someone with immense talent and charm, Choi Yeonjun was the obvious choice. But, as soon as Beomgyu stepped out on stage, the audience was captivated.

Beomgyu had everyone glued to their seats, reacting to the musical as if it were their first time seeing the classic story. His progress was clear to everyone in the club, but to everyone else, it looked like he had been born to be a performer from the start. His performance alongside YN during ‘Summer Nights’ had people swooning, falling in love with their dynamic immediately. It was obvious the audience was in love with Beomgyu and YN. Even during Danny and Sandy’s fights, the audience couldn’t stop swooning over them. And, this made Soojung’s fingers twitch.

They were only a few scenes away from the first scene highlighting Rizzo’s relationship with Kenickie. Although her performance as Rizzo has been phenomenal thus far, Soojung felt she couldn’t compete with the overwhelming audience support for YN and Beomgyu—and the recruiters have taken notice.

All the work she put into making sure their relationship was strained was gone in an instant. She knew the moment Bahiyyih cut her off was the beginning of the end. She was counting down the minutes, waiting for a sign that the word was out. And, just when she thought she could let her guard down, she saw the messages. She couldn’t ignore them, the way Yeonjun’s phone kept buzzing and lighting up. He had gone to the bathroom when the messages started rolling and when she read them she felt her heart sink. If Yeonjun had seen them, everything would’ve been ruined. So, she did what she had to do to save at least half of her plan—she deleted them and blocked his friends on everything. She managed to keep Yeonjun occupied and off his phone just long enough to get to opening night, but as soon as they got separated at dressing room assignments, the nerves started to take over again.

Every second Yeonjun spent talking to any of them, Soojung felt every muscle fiber in her body tighten. Between every scene change, switch out, and brief pass, they engaged with Yeonjun. She knew what they were trying to do. She knew they were trying to scare her by anticipating the moment they would finally let him know the truth.

Step 3: Deliver the Blow At the Right Moment

The competition between the two main couples was intense, evident in how the recruiters hadn’t put their pens down since the production started. Based on their profiles alone, they were already biased towards one girl. But, they were starting to think they were wrong.

Soojung and Yeonjun scurried off stage after their sleepover bail scene, transitioning into the next—the iconic Sandy solo. The lights cooled, shining a spotlight on the porch set where YN stood behind the door, waiting for her cue to walk through.

Soojung stood in the wing, watching as YN stepped through the door, and listened to her music begin playing through the auditorium. She glanced over to the recruiters, who for the first time, set their pens down and watched with bright smiles as YN’s melodic voice carried through the audience.

This was YN’s shining moment.

Her stage presence, even in the simplest scenes, was oozing with charisma. She just walked, singing ever so delicately, pouring her heart into the song that everyone was looking forward to the most. You couldn’t look away even if you tried. And Soojung was not exempt from that effect. Soojung stood still, watching from the wing with her face sullen. She should’ve been Sandy, not YN. She deserves to be a star, not YN. She should’ve gotten into NYU, not fought for a spot with YN. She should’ve gotten into Juilliard… Soojung was tired of having to prove her worth. She was tired of her hard work being overshadowed by someone who didn’t even have to try to be great. She was tired. So, so tired.

YN was in her element. When she was performing, she didn’t care about anything else. She didn’t care about the audience. She didn’t care about the recruiters. She didn’t even care about Soojung. But, she couldn’t help but care about one thing. One person who was watching her from the sidelines with the brightest smile on his face. The boy who changed everything within a matter of what felt like minutes.

YN can’t pinpoint the exact moment, but it felt like someone flipped a switch in her head. She knew from that moment she wanted nothing more than to keep Beomgyu in her life for as long as she possibly could. Since meeting him, she couldn’t see her future without him there. It started as an act to build their relationship on stage, but it evolved into a real relationship she simply cannot live without.

The recruiters watched her intently, watching how YN expressed her longing and heartache with such intensity. Her voice melted over every word, coating every sound with honey and melancholy. Hopelessly, irrevocably devoted up until the very last note.

The lights dim slowly with the ending of the song, and the auditorium was left in darkness. For a split second, it was dead silent. Not even a single breath could be heard. The audience was left in awe and just as quickly as their silence came, it left and they erupted into intense cheers. It almost felt like the auditorium was shaking from the sheer volume. The effect YN had was hard to ignore. She had her audience glued to their seats whenever she stepped out on stage—a feat unheard of for a high school theater student.

As she exited the stage, YN crossed paths with Soojung, nearly freezing in place as their eyes met. The look on Soojung’s face was different. She didn’t try to intimidate YN or make her squirm. She just looked at her, eyes tired and cheeks sullen. Soojung never passes an opportunity to make YN squirm or intimidate her, but for once, she let her pass by without a word.

This was just the beginning of Ahn Soojung’s downfall.

Soojung grew more and more irritable as the production progressed. Her confidence was dwindling and she felt defeated. All she could do was wait for the inevitable: Yeonjun turning his back on her again and yet another school rejection. Maybe it was time to give up. But, she had one more chance to make a lasting impression that not even Yeonjun could take from her: her solo. It was the only chance she had left and maybe it was worth something.

“I’m sorry to hear you’re in trouble, Rizzo,” YN expressed.

“What are you going to do — give me a whole sermon about it?” Soojung grumbled, slamming closed the locker door.

“No. But, doesn’t it bother you that you’re pregnant?” YN clutched her books closer to her chest.

“Look, that’s my business,” Soojung hissed. “It’s nobody else’s problem.”

YN sighed, walking off stage and leaving Soojung alone. The lights focused in on her position, her music quietly beginning. She started confidently, pouring her heart into the song.

There are worse things I could do

Manipulating Yeonjun and Bahiyyih. Trying to take YN’s spot at her dream school. Pushing anyone and everyone out of her way to make sure she had the spotlight.

There were worse things Soojung could have done.

And throw my life away

On a dream that won’t come true

She wasn’t a bad person for wanting to succeed. She wasn’t a bad person for doing what she had to do. She wasn’t a bad person. She wasn’t.

Tears brimmed in her eyes. Soojung looked off to the side, attempting to wipe them away. But, as she looked up briefly, she met eyes with Yeonjun who was standing in the wing watching her. His face was cold, his stare hard. Beomgyu and Soobin walked up beside him, each putting a hand on his shoulder, trying to pull him away but he refused.

Soojung felt her heart stop, the realization setting in.

The way he looked at her like she was scum of the earth. His usual soft smile vanished and the blush on his cheeks drained. They finally told him the truth. Yeonjun knew what she did. He knew she was using him. He fell right into her trap and he felt like a fool. He thought her feelings were real and she was truly turning a new leaf. He wanted to believe she was being true to him. But, it was all a lie. All she wanted was to use him to ruin Beomgyu and YN’s relationship. She never actually cared about him. He never meant anything to her, when she meant everything to him.

But to cry in front of you

That’s the worst thing I could do…

Soojung broke down on stage, running off before the music could come to a stop and the spotlight dimmed. It looked like it was part of the act as far as the audience was concerned. They clapped, praising Soojung’s emotional performance, not knowing it wasn’t a performance at all. It marked the start of Soojung’s spiraling end.

Cast members gathered in confusion and curiosity, Soojung trying her best to push past them to get to her dressing room. She cried, frantically trying to run away from the situation before it could get worse. She didn’t want to face Yeonjun. She didn’t want to hear what he had to say. She couldn’t handle more rejection.

“Soojung, what happened?” Someone asked, trying to hold her back and console her.

“Let go of me!” She sobbed, wriggling herself out of their grasp.

As soon as she broke free, she was pulled again. Someone grabbed her elbow, forcefully pulling her back and crashing her into their chest. Soojung was startled, looking up to meet eyes with Yeonjun. His jaw was clenched and his eyes were red from him trying to force back his tears. He wasn’t angry. He was hurt. He was heartbroken.

“How could you do this to me?” He asked, his voice low and broken.

Soojung was speechless. She didn’t know what to say or what to do. All she could do was look into Yeonjun’s tearful eyes and watch as his heart shattered into dust the longer she stayed silent.

“I thought the love of my life came back to me,” He whispered. “But, it’s clear to me now she never actually existed.”

Yeonjun let go of his grip on her arms, taking a step back. When Soobin and Beomgyu approached him, he wanted so badly to believe this was all some sick joke after all and that none of it was true. He didn’t want to believe he was weak enough to be manipulated so easily. But, his friends would never lie to him about something like this. His first instinct was to find Soojung and hear it from her himself. But, when he met eyes with her while she was on stage, the look on her face told him everything he needed to know.

“Yeonjun, wait!” Soojung cried, reaching out to him before he could walk away. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I swear.”

“Then what did you mean to do? What do you think could have possibly come out of what you did?” Yeonjun said, exasperated by her baseless pleas.

He didn’t care the rest of the cast and crew were watching them. He didn’t care his next scenes were coming up. He wanted nothing to do with the production now. The last thing he wanted to do was to go back on stage and act like he was in love with Soojung.

“You betrayed my trust and ripped my heart out like it meant nothing to you,” Yeonjun said between clenched teeth.

He turned around, not once taking a second to look back or even stop. Soojung fell to her knees, her whole world crashing around her. It was over.

There were still the last few scenes of the production left. Mr. Kim didn’t know what was going on between the main cast, but he knew whatever it was could wait until they closed out the final number to be dealt with. The atmosphere was different and it was hard to conceal. Yeonjun was nowhere to be found, however, leaving his understudy to finish the night out for him. No one knows where he ran off to after he confronted Soojung.

Yeonjun sat alone in the hall, staring blankly at the white wall across from him. He didn’t know how to process any of the emotions he was experiencing at that moment. He was hurt, angry, disappointed, betrayed, all of the above. He couldn’t bring himself to walk back out on stage and act like everything was okay for the sake of the show. Not even a seasoned drama club vet like he could do that.

Soobin and Beomgyu approached him so carefully, telling him they had to tell him something urgent while they finally had him alone. Yeonjun thought something terrible had happened, so he was preparing to hear the worst; but, nothing could have prepared him to hear them spill the whole truth to him. He stood like a frozen fool, mouth agape and eyebrows tightly knit. It was absurd, there was no way Soojung would go back on her word like that. She promised she had changed. She swore she just wanted her best friend back. And, he believed her.

It all started to make sense now that he had a chance to think everything over. She was too involved with Beomgyu and YN. She was purposefully giving Yeonjun terrible advice, knowing he was so easily swayed. Yeonjun was too emotionally involved, he couldn’t notice to blaring red flags dancing in his face. He was in love. He had always been in love with Soojung since he first met her. He was blinded by his admiration for her, it took him being a victim to realize how terrible of a person she actually was. Twice. He fell for her façade twice. He wanted so badly to believe she was the person she presented herself to be. But, it was all an elaborate lie.

Yeonjun sighed, knees caving and sprawling his legs straight across him. His vision blurred as hot tears began falling into his lap, leaving him to finally confront the pain he felt in his chest and back. He couldn’t even bring himself to wipe his tears or muffle his sobs. All he had the energy left to do was cry. Cry and cry until he cried himself dry. He relied on the muffled sound of the audience cheering to help cover him. Opening night was over. It was all over.

The cast took their final bows of the night, smiles bright until the curtains came to a complete close. The auditorium quickly filled with the sounds of the audience leaving and enthusiastically discussing the show. None of it was enjoyable tonight after what happened with Yeonjun. It would’ve been better to wait until the very end to tell him, but by that point, it could’ve been too late. They had to tell him as soon as he was completely separated from Soojung. They knew it would hurt him, but he had to know. And still, they wish there was a way they could’ve protected him from the heartbreak anyway.

This was how the night was supposed to end.

Right?

[ note ] i am so sawry yall (and yeonjun) this is a mess

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