on the road

2 Fairy Tales

After that, I had almost no contact with Do Kyungsoo, and I gradually forgot that he might hold a grudge against me.
On the podium, the class monitor said, "We need to prepare programs for the New Year's Eve party. For the honor of our class, we plan to put on a group dance performance and a solo song. The school will then select the final list of programs that can be performed at the school's New Year's Eve party. We hope that at least one of our programs will be selected, and it would be even better if both of them were selected. Anyone want to sign up?"
A murmur arose from below, and after half a minute, several girls raised their hands to participate. They decided to perform a dance, and the class monitor counted the number of students.
"There are exactly nine of you. You can decide what dance to do among yourselves."
At that moment, classmate A (Do Kyungsoo's deskmate) nudged Do Kyungsoo's arm with his elbow, saying, "A bet's a bet, you know what I mean now 😊"
Do Kyungsoo narrowed his eyes, sighed helplessly, and slowly raised his hand above his head. Suddenly, a chorus of "Wows!" erupted from the class. I looked over and saw Do Kyungsoo stand up. "Classmates, I'm sorry, I lost the bet, so I volunteered to sing..." he said, then sat down shyly. The class monitor nodded in satisfaction. "We have three weeks to prepare. We'll select the participants from before and rehearse in class—consider it a formal performance."
The day of rehearsal arrived quickly. Everyone gathered in the gymnasium and sat down in a circle. For some reason, I felt a strange anticipation for Do Kyungsoo's singing performance; perhaps it was the indescribable charm of his voice. After the dance performance, Do Kyungsoo, dressed in a formal outfit and holding a microphone, walked in from the side. He politely bowed in the center of the circle. Because he was facing me, I felt a little embarrassed and lowered my head, my eyes fixed on his toes. Everyone gazed at him silently.
"Hello students, the song I'm going to sing next is 'Fairy Tale'."
I was a little surprised and looked up at him. The background music started, "...I wish I could become the angel you love in the fairy tale, spreading my arms to become wings to protect you..."
Listening to the lyrics, hearing this person's voice, and seeing his expression, why did I feel like crying so much? Through my teary eyes, I seemed to see another version of him, someone who had once stood before me at this distance, singing "Fairy Tale." My heart ached slightly, and my tears flowed uncontrollably. When the song ended, Do Kyungsoo, sitting directly opposite me, seemed to see me struggling to hold back my tears. He looked at me with some concern, and I met his eyes.
It seemed a bit rude of me, so I wiped my eyes and looked away.
Do Kyungsoo politely bowed once and left the stage, followed by enthusiastic applause from the students.