Page 56 of I'll Be the One

There’s a commotion backstage, and all of a sudden, Davey Kim comes running out onto the stage. “Sorry, everyone,” he says, addressing the audience. He’s all sweaty and flustered, but he speaks with a cheerful calm. I can see why he was hired to be the emcee. “There seems to be an issue with the main camera. We’ll continue with our scheduled performances shortly.”

The audience boos and makes other sounds of disappointment. Personally, I’m not sure how I feel about the delay. Part of me is relieved, but another part of me just wants to get everything over with already.

“You doing all right?” Henry asks quietly after Davey leaves the stage.

By now, the crowd must be resigned to waiting, because the noise level drops to a dim roar that’s quiet enough for us to clearly hear each other.

“Yeah,” I say. “I mean, the delay sucks, but I guess it can’t be helped.”

I chance a glance up at him. His eyes are still on the ground, and despite how hard he’s trying to hide it, I can see from the way he’s frozen stiff that he’sreallynervous. At first, I think I’m imagining it, but nope, he’s really shaking from head to toe.

“Hey, areyouokay?” I ask him. He’s usually so calm thatit’s scary to see him like this.

“Yeah. Sorry. Just stage fright.”

“Ah.” I think back to how he was also visibly nervous before the first elimination round. Curiosity gets the best of me, and before I can stop myself, I ask, “You’re so good with cameras and people, though. How do you have stage fright?”

He shrugs. “Photo shoots and interviews... all of that is different from being onstage like this. I’m not a K-pop star. And I’m not a stage actor.”

“True. But if you have such bad stage fright, how did you audition for this show?Whydid you?”

“Pure determination and adrenaline. And the only reason I auditioned for the competition was because...” He winces. “You’re going to think I’m really shallow.”

“Try me.”

“My ex. I was trying to prove a point to my ex.”

I resist the urge to eye-roll. “Melinda? Is that why you guys had that fight on the first day of practice?”

He narrows his eyes, and I immediately regret bringing it up.

“No. That’s not why,” Henry says softly. “Well, I guess it’s kind of related, because it all boils down to her being an unkind person. I auditioned because she told me I was nothing but a pretty boy that got lucky.”

I don’t say anything, since this is exactly what Lana and I said the first day we saw Henry at auditions. Now I know that’s not true, because I know how hard Henry works to maintain his modeling career and how busy he is.

“So,” I start. “Sorry if this is the wrong time to bring it up, but... Melinda and I had a little... ‘chat’ two weeks ago. And she said you guys were just on a break.”

Henry groans. “Oh no, I’m so sorry you had to deal with her. But no, we’re done. Definitely.Shedumped me, and I don’t do take-backs. After we broke up, I was really depressed. But then I found out about this competition and went, fine, I’ll prove to her that I’m good for something. I’m not just a pretty face. Honestly, I don’t care if I win or not. I just want to last longer than her in this competition.”

I can’t help but laugh. Despite our differences, Henry and I auditioned forYou’re My Shining Starfor the same reason. We both wanted to prove to someone that we’re more than our appearance.

“What’s so funny?” Henry asks, looking slightly hurt.

I explain, and he laughs. “Honestly, you have a far nobler cause,” he says. “I’m just being petty.”

“Petty or not, I need your help to make it to the next round, okay? I know you’re nervous, but just do what we did in practice and you’ll be fine. You can creepily stare into my eyes for the entire performance if that helps.”

“I’m notthatbad,” Henry replies. “Honestly, by the time we start dancing, I’ll shake most of it off. It’s the waiting that always gets to me.”

Davey comes out again, grinning widely.

“They’re finally ready,” he says. “Thank you for waiting, everyone.”

The audience roars in approval and excitement. He gives the crowd a quick bow before getting off the stage.

Henry tenses up again, and I give his hand a reassuring squeeze.

“We can do this,” I tell him.

---