You Rock My Heart

True rockstars

The competition was today. Seonghwa was shaking with nervousness and anticipation. He was so excited to perform for their fans but he was also incredibly worried that they wouldn't like the new song. It was deep from the heart, something he'd never tried before. He felt like he was exposing a hidden part of him and basically showing the whole world how he felt. Well, everyone but Hongjoong.

He hadn't realized before but with Hongjoong hospitalized he wouldn't even be able to see the performance that they'd worked so hard on, and it really bothered Seonghwa. I mean, wasn't that the whole point!? Maybe he'd catch it on the hospital TV? But he'd probably be resting as he was on a lot of painkillers and had a lot of healing to do.

Seonghwa shook his head, needing to get his mind off of Hongjoong if he wanted to do well today. He needed to focus.

He didn't need to wake up Wooyoung today as they had both woken up early due to nerves and were already showered. They both sat on their beds completely ready to go, but about an hour early.

"I'm so nervous hyung. It's so exciting to get to see our fans but oh my GOD I'm nervous," Wooyoung blurted.

"Me too. Our song is so different from our usual work and I'm worried it's not going to go over well. I just hope saving it for last wasn't a bad idea. If the judges don't like it they'll really take off points—"

"You're worried about your song!? That's the only reason I'm not a total wreck! That song is our saving grace, Hyung! I'm just worried about messing up! They've got such a good guitarist on their side so we're already at a disadvantage as is."

"It really sucks that they're down a guitarist though, it's not a fair competition—"

"I wouldn't underestimate them. They're pretty incredible."

"I wasn't—" Seonghwa started but he could tell Wooyoung knew. He smiled. "You're right. Otherwise they wouldn't be worthy competition."

"Exactly," Wooyoung smiled.

Just then they heard a knock at the door and opened it to see Mingi and Yunho who were also dressed and ready to go early.

"You guys couldn't sleep either?" Mingi asked.

"Nope," said Wooyoung.

They all decided to get a head start on the day anyway and grabbed some coffee. They then head over to the performance arena to see if they could check in early.

They were let in and brought back to their own private preparation area. It was a smaller room but seeing their band name on the door and each of their own names above a mirror made them feel like true rockstars. They didn't perform until that evening but all of the bands had to come early for a sound test so they grabbed out their instruments and headed to the arena to get going.

The time slots for testing were in the same order as performances so that the first two bands would have time to get ready before the show, so Seonghwa and his bandmates were waiting back stage for a while. It was pretty cool to get to see legendary bands like Day6 warming up and performing a few different songs right in front of them. They even got a chance to talk to the group and ask for some tips.

"Just don't get in your head out there. Feel the music and the fans and just perform," smiled Sungjin, their leader. Seonghwa bowed gratefully and the group left to their preparation room.

After a while, Fever was called forward, meaning they were up next. Seonghwa almost didn't want to listen as he liked to hear things authentically the first time but it was still incredible to see the group in person. He had listened to most of their music to try to get a feel for the competition but it was so different hearing it live.

Wooyoung had been right about their guitarist—San, was it? He was amazing. With or without Hongjoong, they would definitely score some points off San's playing alone. Their lead singer was also incredible. When he did his individual mic test he belted notes higher than Seonghwa knew was possible.

He was definitely in awe of his rivals. But he had faith in his band.

Finally they were called to the stage for sound check and he wanted to make sure Fever got the same first impressions that they did. They were careful not to play any of the love song but every other song they warmed up with went really well. When Yunho had to test the keyboard he played his signature solo, his hands gracefully gliding up and down the piano. Mingi did a few tricks with his drumsticks and thankfully didn't drop them. Seonghwa knew he had practiced hard on that but didn't expect him to pull it out at the sound check. When it came time for him to sound check he definitely didn't belt out high notes but he thought he had pretty strong notes nonetheless.

They finished up and were brought back to their preparation room to wait for the rest of the show. They were provided with catering so they had bagels, donuts, and muffins to eat as well as coffee and juice. They ate some while they were getting their hair and makeup done for the show and then got dressed in their performance outfits.

After that they sat in anticipation, too nervous to chat. Mingi drummed out his parts on the arm of the sofa. Yunho played through some parts on his keyboard with the volume off. Seonghwa and Wooyoung got together to look at chords. Eventually Mingi and Yunho got a bit tired and took a necessary nap, laying on top of each other on the couch.

After hours and hours of waiting, finally a staff member came to the door and called for them.

"Wonderland is on deck. You guys ready?"