The school auditorium was glowing.
Banners waved overhead. Lights shifted from warm to golden to deep crimson as each club took the stage with pride — the Photography Club's slideshow of emotion, the Art Club's cherry blossom hanger tree (yes, it stood), and the Science Club's volcano that thankfully didn't explode.
By late afternoon, only one club remained: Literature.
A hush fell across the room.
The curtain lifted.
And there they stood.
Sera, in a flowy ivory dress . Her hair half-braided, skin glowing under the dim spotlight.
Jisoo, dressed in a sharp, minimal black. No frills. Just presence. Still. Towering. Silent — until he looked at her.
Until their eyes met.
The crowd disappeared.
The Performance Begins — "The Ashes of Verona"
A Reimagined Piece Based on Shakespearean Tragedies
(The set is bare. A bench. A lantern. A dead rose between them.)
[Enter LUCIA, weeping softly. She kneels beside a broken sword.]
LUCIA (Sera):
O love, thou art the wound I willingly nursed,
And bled beside for sake of stolen time.
Thy name was etched on every breath I cursed,
Thy voice, the churchbell in my solemn rhyme.
[Enter EVANDER, quiet. His face is marked by war, his heart already undone.]
EVANDER (Jisoo):
What ghost dost speak with lips I long have kissed?
Art thou not gone, undone by fate's cruel hand?
Yet here thou stand'st, and all my soul is missed,
Scattered like dust upon thy dying land.
LUCIA:
The gods denied our vows, our thread unspun,
What sin bore we to suffer love's decay?
We held the moon, and now it hides the sun—
We spoke forever, and ran out of day.
EVANDER (softly):
I would have died for thee.
LUCIA (choked):
Thou did.
EVANDER:
But not enough.
(He reaches for her hand. She flinches. The rose at her feet crumbles to ash.)
LUCIA:
Why didst thou leave me thus?
Was death thy gift? Thy farewell kiss?
EVANDER:
I lived in silence, cursed by breath alone,
A coward soul that dared not share thy tomb.
If dying once be brave, I should have known—
Yet living twice hath sealed my heart's own doom.
(Beat. He kneels. Looks up at her like she's both heaven and his punishment.)
EVANDER:
One word, and I'll undo it all.
One touch, and I'll forget the blade.
One look, and let the heavens fall—
If thou wouldst stay.
LUCIA (tears falling):
O fool. O heart.
What hath the world to do with gentle love?
(She steps back. He does not follow.)
EVANDER:
So be it. I'll not beg. But in this breath—
Know thou wert all that stayed the hand of death.
(He turns to go. The lantern flickers. She speaks, broken.)
LUCIA:
Evander, stay.
(He stops. But doesn't turn around.)
LUCIA (whispers):
If ever I was thine, forgive me.
(She reaches out, but too late. He is gone. She falls to her knees.)
LUCIA:
O love. O curse.
We are the ash, not the flame.
We were the song, not the name.
(Blackout.)
The Lights Rise
The auditorium was dead silent for a beat.
Then someone sniffled.
Then another sob.
And then—
Thunderous applause.
Minjeong stood. Taeyang clapped with wide, stunned eyes. Even Eunbi — arms crossed and stubborn — couldn't hide the goosebumps on her arms.
But Sera and Jisoo?
Still standing.
Still staring at each other.
Breathless.
Together in silence, like they hadn't just bared their souls in front of hundreds.
Until Sera looked away.
And he blinked.
The moment passed.