62 Hidden Gems

"So you guys remember two week ago, when I was blasting music at the training facility?" Isabelle said "It has really been a stressful past two week for me. So, I blast music all the time whenever I'm stressed, it really helps me calm down a concentrate and all."

"Yeah, concentrate" Jordan said rolling his eyes "I could still feel my eardrums pounding the next morning from that loud music."

"Anyyyways, so that's where it all started" Isabelle said

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Two Week Before

Training Facility

Monday

Jordan is currently helping June with doing sit ups and currently June is in his 200th sit-up, and it looked like he won't be stopping anytime soon. Jordan couldn't hold it anymore so he just went ahead and said it.

"Isn't the music a little too loud!" Jordan shouted over to June in complaint

"Pearl said it helps Isabelle concentrate" June responded while still doing sit-ups

"Is the loudness really necessary? Can't she tone it down a notch?" Jordan said, banging his head lightly on June's knees as he holds his legs.

"I guess we all deal with stress in all kind of unique ways" June said, stopping at the 250th sit up "C'mon, your turn"

Jordan then switch places with June and started doing sit-ups as well

"I mean I have no problem with her blasting music like there's no tomorrow, but her song choices are a little too eccentric for my taste." Jordan said

Jordan wasn't wrong, since what's blasting through the speakers at that time was in french. It could be said that Isabelle's taste in music really is eccentric.

It was a very long day for Isabelle and she's finally finished with all her work that day. The training room was already deserted and she was the only one left there. Leaning back on her chair, she rubbed her tired eyes and let out a sigh, just as her stomach rumble, wanting for it to be noticed. She hasn't eaten for most of the day, always forgetting to take a break. Hungry, she stood up, stretched before heading out of the training facility and headed to the kitchen.

Isabelle's mind was on the process of deciding which food to eat when suddenly a beautiful voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Her steps halted when she realized that it was coming from the kitchen. Wanting to know who it was, she took a careful step, then peaked inside the kitchen. Not sure what she was expecting, but she was so surprised she saw Shiro belting out a line from one the song she was playing at the training facility, while chopping something.

She was in total shock as to what her eyes was seeing, but then a sudden idea lit up in her brain. Taking out her pen-corder, then pressed record.

Shiro came to kitchen a little earlier because he was in charge of preparing the ingredients. So that means chopping, peeling and whatnot. Everything that he was doing was just the everyday normal process for him. Then a sudden knock made Shiro jump in surprise. Turning around he saw Isabelle entering the kitchen.

"Hi Shiro, perfect you're here" Isabelle greeted excitedly

"Hi" Shrio greeted back nervously "W-what can I help you with?"

"Is there something I can eat in here?" Isabelle asked expectantly

"Well dinner time won't be until later but there's leftover pasta in the fridge, do you want me to heat it up for you?" Shiro said, as he walks over to the fridge to put out the pasta. Thankfully he quickly remembered about the pasta, or else things could have been worse.

"Thanks! That would be great!" Isabelle said, as she sat down on one of the island chairs.

"So what're you guys making for dinner?" Isabelle asked while waiting. She wanted to be close to everybody, so she started a conversation.

"Cam wanted to try his hands on Mexican" Shiro answered as he heats up the sauce on the stove.

"Ohh… Mexican." Isabelle said in fascination. Because really, who gets to eat food from all over the world everyday. The past lunch they had was Italian, hence the pasta, now they were having Mexican; Let's just say that meal times are always an exciting one for everybody.

"So how long have you been cooking?" Isabelle asked

"Not long. I honestly just learned recently when I joined the Guild" Shiro answered as he pours the hot sauce to plate full of pasta.

"Really? That's amazing" Isabelle said, really impressed

"Nah, I'm still learning. Cam and Sharon are the ones really doing the job in here" Shiro said, as he places the plate in front of Isabelle.

Getting a whiff of the scrumptious aroma of the food in front of her made her almost drool if she hadn't already. She let out a delighted moan before taking a fork full of pasta.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, what you do is amazing, and without you here I'm pretty sure Cam and Shawi will always have a hard time preparing the foods" Isabelle said, while her mouth is still full, making a small grin lift from Shiro's face.

"Thanks" Shiro said, feeling a lot better. He didn't know why he was being so worried about being alone with Isabelle (Maybe because the lingering memory of a friend being shouted at by the person he was speaking to made him that way), but everything turned out to be just fine. Isabelle was really cool, and kept Shiro company until Shawi and Cam arrived.

"Isabelle, what are you doing here?" Cam asked curiously

"Nothing much, I was just keeping Shiro company" Isabelle replied

"That's so nice of you, I know he's a little shy but he's a really good person to chat with" Sahwi said, lightly bumping Shiro's shoulder with hers

"Oh trust me, I know" Winking at Shiro "We never ran out of things to talk about. He's amazing" Isabelle said, making Shiro blush really hard with embarrassment. "Anyway since you guys are here, I'll be going first. I'll see you guys at dinner" Isabelle waved before heading out of the kitchen.

As she was heading to her room, she plugged her earphones to her pen-corder and listened to Shiro sing. Isabelle saw the nervousness in Shiro's face when she entered the kitchen. Playing along, she entered the kitchen as if she didn't caught him singing because he clearly was hiding the fact that he could sing. She didn't open the topic because she wanted for him to open it up himself but the topic might be one of the things Shiro is keeping private from anyone else, almost like it's a dark secret that can never come to light.

It was Friday, and Shiro was nervous for the whole week whenever it was time for training. He thought that Isabelle hasn't noticed but Isabelle already did, from day one, when he kept sending Isabelle his covert nervous glances.

When Isabelle left the kitchen, Shiro could finally let out a relieved breathe. But as the hours pass by, a nagging thought kept popping in his head, making him very paranoid by the end of the day, carrying it over to the next day.

Isabelle didn't say anything when she saw Shiro and just went to proceed to training immediately. Shiro's heart was beating so fast the entire training, but when they finished Isabelle just told them that it was time for self training and dismissed them like the usual everyday routine. When Shiro saw Isabelle enter the facility center room, Shiro finally let out a sigh of relief. He really was just being paranoid, he thought to himself, and finally relaxed.

The day went by and everybody was doing their self-training, when a sudden loud scream came from the center room, making everybody stop what they were doing.

Caleb immediately knew that it was Isabelle just from her voice. He dropped whatever he was doing and rushed to the center room like there's no tomorrow, followed by everyone, hot on his heels. As soon as doors slid open, his brows furrowed. He was expecting that something bad happened to Isabelle but clearly that wasn't the case, since the Isabelle that's in front of him was very much alive and apparently, cannot contain her excitement. Seeing Isabelle so excited, placed a smile on Caleb's face, easing the worry form earlier.

"What are you so excited about?" Caleb asked, as he entered the center room

Hearing Caleb's voice, Isabelle turned and delight filled her face even more.

"Oh My God! Caleb, It's out! It's finally out!" Isabelle said with so much happiness

"What's out!?" Caleb asked in confusion, clearly not following.

"This" Then Isabelle snapped her fingers then pointed at Pearl.

As soon as Pearl's finger tapped her MGC, loud music blasted through the speakers.

"You know who it is

Coming 'round again

You want a dose of this

Right now

It's K/DA, uh!"

"It's the new song from the game I'm playing!"

"Game?" Caleb was confused at first but then realized what she was talking about "You mean the online game you keep playing on your free time? I didn't know they also make music"

"Oh believe me, it is more that just a game" Isabelle said, while grooving to the beat of the song

"Oh! And by the way, I'm just forewarning you guys, I'll be blasting this song on repeat today." Isabelle shouted over the loud music

"Not again" Jordan groaned in complaint

"Caleb, you have to stop her!" Jordan begged

"I can't really do anything about it" Caleb said in pity for Jordan, but in truth he really wasn't bothered by it, so long as Isabelle's happy.

It has really been a while since Isbelle went back to her old happy self, since the events at Crystal Mist, and Caleb wasn't gonna break that happiness just because of a song being played on repeat.

So alas, Isabelle made good of her promise and blasted the song on repeat through the whole training facility. Listening to the song once or twice was okay, but on repeat? That turned out to be a huge challenge for everyone. It turned out to be a separate training for everyone, on the patience and focus departments.

Once Isabelle announced that everyone was free to go, they all let out a collective sigh of relief and got out of there as fast as possible.

Everyone was already gone when Isabelle stepped out of the center room. She walked through the quiet halls, heading to the exit of the training facility, with a bounce in her every step while joyfully humming.

She was passing the locker rooms when suddenly her feet froze, ears twitching, as she heard someone singing inside the boy's locker room. Her curiosity almost got the best her, thankfully she was able to stop herself from entering the boy's locker room. She wouldn't want to have another awkward moment with half naked, handsome (sexy) guys staring at her.

But then she thought "I thought everyone already left?" Making her wonder who was the person left behind with a voice that could only be described as "Sexy".

Yes, "Sexy". That was the first word that popped up in Isabelle's head, describing the person's voice. But what really got Isabelle's attention was that whoever was singing in the locker room, was not just singing any other song but singing the exact same song that she has been blasting at the training facility on repeat.

He was hitting the high notes, the runs, the ad-libs and added some swag in it as well.

The moment was just too valuable to just let it pass. So Isabelle, fished out her MCG out of her pocket; peeked inside the locker room, when she saw that the room was empty she sneaked inside and it really didn't disappoint. She could hear the singer's voice more clearly. The quality and the tone of the singer's voice was just right, it was almost perfect, Isabelle thought. Almost, because the tiny imperfections in his voice was the one making his voice whole and perfect, making it a bit ironic but just right.

Isabelle didn't waste anymore time, she moved closer to the shower rooms and pressed record on her MGC.

Isabelle was really enjoying listening to the singer, that when the water stopped running from the shower, her heart stopped for a second. Not wanting to get caught, she dashed out of the boy's locker room and continued running until she was at the mansion. She kept running in fear that she was gonna get caught and get labelled as shameless for frequently entering the boy's locker room. To her defense it was only the second time and the first time was unintentional, Isabelle thought as she walked to her room.

Entering her room with a tired sigh, she placed all of her things on the coffee table and flopped down on the sofa. She closed her eyes as she rests, when a sudden realization made her sit up straight.

"Wait, I didn't get to see who the singer was! Arrrgg!" Face palming in frustration, wanting to do a table flip. But when she was about to, another realization stuck her "I could just look it up" she said, smirking.

She does have access to the security cameras around the training facility. So she could just look it up, the moment that person leaves the locker room.

Picking up her MCG on the coffee table and accessed the admin drive. She pressed the security cameras link, then pressed the camera close to the exit of the boy's locker room. Inserting the time, the clip played showing her rushing out of the locker room. Her face heat up watching her embarrassing stunt, but she shook it off and focused on the clip as it continues to play. Five minutes passed and finally the doors to the locker room slid open and a person walked out.

Isabelle didn't know who she was expecting, yest again, but she wasn't expecting it to be Nadet. Her eyes widen as she watched a still damped haired Nadet walked the corridors.

"So first it was Shiro, now Nadet? This guys are really full of surprises" Isabelle marvels, as she placed her MCG down on the coffee table and leaned back on the sofa. Closing her eyes, letting out a satisfied sigh, Isabelle rested on the sofa with a smile plastered on her face.

The next day Isabelle needed to talk with Charlotte about something that she's been working on about her training. When Isabelle entered the dorm house, she was amazed at how big and gorgeous that inside was. She always saw that dorm house from the outside, but this was her first time seeing it from the inside. Isabelle was drawn to the architecture and the internal design of the dorm house, that she ended up admiring them for too long.

After some time of much needed admiring, Isabelle focused herself back to what she came to the dorm house for. But then she remembered, she has no idea where Charlotte's room was. Nobody was really out on the hallways of the dorm house for Isabelle to ask directions. So the next thing she could do is start walking and hope that she'll bump into someone who can give some directions. Wandering around the dorm house, Isabelle took a few stopovers to admire the art, while also taking some selfies along the way.

It's not long before Isabelle realized that she was really lost.

"Where is everyone anyway?" Isabelle said, since she hasn't seen anyone form the moment she entered the dorm house till that time. It was eerily quiet as well, making her question if anybody really does live in the dorm house. Plus it's the weekend, everyone should be having their free time. Was everyone still sleeping? She thought, she looked at her watch and it states that it was still ten in the morning.

"They might still be sleeping" Isabelle then said, thinking that everyone was having the time of their lives sleeping in.

She decided to keep walking with the thought of "Eventually she'll see a familiar face"

As she walks, she started to hear a soft voice. "Finally! Someone!" Isabelle fist pumped internally. She started walking, following the voice, which will lead to the source of it.

As she gets closer and closer, she realized that it was someone singing, and not just singing but singing very soulfully, making the hairs on Isabelle's arms raise.

She wondered who's the mystery singer this time. It's becoming really a pleasant surprise for her, as she discovers her student's talents one by one.

Slowly turning to the corner, the person singing was revealed to her. It was Chen, who sent goosebumps all over Isabelle's body. Looking like she wasn't discovered, she took a careful step back making the wooden floor creaked.

"Uggh!" Isabelle wanted to smack herself in the head for being careless. As she froze in place, eyes closed.

Thankfully she wasn't discovered, she lifted her head and saw that Chen had his earphones on, while he was cleaning the corridor. Letting out a relieved sigh, she thank the Lord and slowly retreated, making sure that she's as quiet as possible.

Anyone seeing her right now would think that she was creepy stalked, which probably is, but to Isabelle, this was research. As a journalist you need to know the ins and outs of not being discovered in dangerous times.

Fishing out her MGC, she stood in the shadows while she records her discovery.

While being sneaky, making sure that she was hidden perfectly, she crouched on the corner carefully not making a sound.

"What are you doing?" A voice suddenly popped out from behind her, making her yelp in surprise. Realizing what she had just done, her hand flew over her mouth, covering it.

She turned her head, glaring at the culprit and saw that it was Apollo.

Staring daggers at him, she whisper shouted "Has anyone told you that sneaking up on people is bad?"

Apollo was confused as to what was Isabelle mad at him for. He walked further and turned the corner.

"What are you doing?!" Isabelle demanded through gritted teeth.

"Who are you sneaking up on? There's no one here" Apollo said, gesturing at the corridor.

"What are you talking about?" Isabelle asked, brows furrowed as she took a peak at the corridor and saw no one.

"I swore-" Isabelle was about to reason that Chen was just there, cleaning, but then a thought came to her. If she revealed what she was really doing then she would really be pegged as a stalker, and she can't let her reputation be tarnished. So quickly thinking of a way, she stood confidently and said.

"I- I- was just examining...." Then she saw the patterns on the walls "The patterns on the walls….. Yeah, I was just examining the patterns on the walls"

Apollo gave her a strange look, but before he could say anything Isabelle beat him by a second.

"By the way, do you know where I can find Charlotte? I've been walking around and as embarrassing as it sounds, I'm kinda lost"

"Uhhhhh….. This is the boy's wing, you should be looking on the other wing" Apollo said, internally scratching his head.

"Oh" Isabelle was the only word that came out of her

"Do…. you…. want me to show you the way?" Apollo offered, taking pity on her

"Really, sure! That'd be great" Isabelle said with a grateful smile. "Lead the way"

"Okay" Apollos said, then started walking ahead while Isabelle followed.

"Nice save Isabelle!" Isabelle thought, internally patting herself in the back proudly.

Isabelle was really bored so she went to the living room and popped in a movie or two. Ever since she arrived at the Castle, when she saw that huge glass TV on the living room, she made it one of her mission to make sure that she gets to watch a movie on the huge glass TV. Unfortunately she wasn't able to check out that mission since she has been crazy busy, until now. So she relaxed on the sofa, ready with her tub of ice cream and some snacks, before playing the movie.

The movie was just starting when Ji Soo walked in, making Isabelle turn to him.

Ji Soo noticed the movie on the screen and asked curiously "What are you watching?"

"Oh, It's The Greatest Showman" Isabelle said "You wanna watch with me?"

Ji Soo has always been a shy guys so he was really hesitant. When Isabelle saw the hesitation in his eyes she said "C'mon it'll be fun, there's some snacks too."

Ji Soo didn't see anything wrong for him to refuse, but why was he still hesitant to say yes?

Isabelle saw the internal struggle in Ji Soo. She knew that Ji Soo's a really shy person, and with the things that happened to him, she can understand why he's so withdrawn.

Wanting to help Ji Soo loosen up a bit and relax, Isabelle stood and rushed over to Ji Soo. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him over to the sofa. He wanted to protest but it was already too late. The next thing he knew, he's sitting on the sofa with a tub of ice cream on his lap and a spoon in one hand.

"Relax and enjoy" Isabelle said with smile, winking at him, before playing the movie.

Both of them watch the movie in silence, only hearing the occasional crunch of a potato chip being eaten. And by the end of the of the movie, silent tears fell down Ji Soo's cheeks. He can't even remember the last time that he watch a movie, but he connected with the story of the movie that it really touched him, so hard that he didn't even notice Isabelle taking the tub of ice cream from his lap. He was so engrossed to the movie that he didn't even get one spoon full of ice cream.

"You wanna watch another one?" Isabelle offered

Before Ji soo could think, he was already nodding, making Isabelle giggle. While preparing the movie, Ji Soo suddenly started signing one of the song for the Greatest Showman, making Isabelle freeze midway on what she was doing. She slightly turned her head to see Ji Soo signing while examining the bags of potato chips. His voice was so innocent, which is the perfect word to describe Ji Soo. Secretly pressing the record button on her laptop, she recorded Ji Soo's voice while setting up the next movie.

A Few minutes later, Isabelle returned to the sofa and this time she put on Crazy Rich Asian. As the title screen appeared, Ji Soo's eyes were glued to the glass screen. Before Ji Soo knew it, for the first time in so long, he let himself relax and have fun. And by fun, I mean really have fun. Both him and Isabelle were howling in laughter as the movie went by. He didn't shy away anymore when Isabelle offered him some ice cream and some snacks. For the whole night they watched and just had fun.

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"So that's how I discovered their talents" Isabelle said, ending her story.

"By being a stalker?" Jordan teased.

"I'm just going to pretend I didn't hear that" Isabelle said, not even looking at Jordan.

"It's really amazing, if you think about it" Isabelle said "But also sad"

"What do you mean?" Caleb asked her

"Chen, you go tell them" Isabelle said, urging Chen, making everyone turn to them

"Ummmm….. Signing is forbidden at our previous Guild. Actually anything that would be considered as a distraction from being strong was forbidden." Chen said, "And we had to learn that the hard way. You guys already knew how cruel Master Egor's Guild is. Let's just say that what we went through was brutal, when we were discovered. It made us literally scared of singing again."

"It was the only way for us to relax and take our minds off of the stress of training. Not being able to do what you love was truly heartbreaking but we had to comply. When we transferred we still had that mentality, so when Isabella went to talk to us about it, we thought that we were going to be kicked out of the Guild"

"That's crazy!" Bobby said "I never thought that Master Egor was that cruel. I guess, I made the right choice coming here instead of there"

"Andrew plays the violin, Alisa dances, Bobby skates, and June? Even June reads all the time. Why do guys still think that you aren't allowed to express yourselves here?" Miayaka asked

"When things are drilled in your head for so long, it also sticks with you for a long time" Chen explained.

And everyone understood where he was coming from. A person can't suddenly change in an instant.

"Isabelle said, that we have to leave the past because what really matters is today. She really helped us slowly open up to the fact that we can do what we love to do. Talking with Isabelle helped us see that. When Isabelle told us to sing in front of everybody, we were really scared but then she told us that this is our fist big step into really embracing everything about who we really are"

"She even assigned each of us a time when to mean with her, to take 'sessions' with her" Ji Soo added

"So not only are you a teacher, but also a therapist now huh?" Caleb looked at Isabelle proudly

"It really nothing" Isabelle said, bashfully

"It is something" Shiro said "And we will forever be thankful to you for helping us"

"Well if you guys put it that way, then it was my pleasure to help" Isabelle said, with a smile "Plus, It really helps me a lot too with getting to knowing you guys deeply. So it's a win-win for all of us"

For the rest of the afternoon, Everyone stayed in the music room. Some jammed while others chatted with each other. Charlotte's sipping her tea in the corner, while chatting with Minerva. Kai's sitting next to Bobby and Apollo who are placking some chords on the guitar, jamming. Pan, Shawi and Jewel are laughing in one corner. Cameron and Charlie have became really close friends. Teddy one the other hand is really getting along with Clara.

"Is it really a good idea for Teddy to be hanging out with Clara, most of the time?" Isabelle asked, in concern

"He's fine, it's good for him to socialize and just be a kid a again" Caleb said, reassuring her

"You're right" Isabelle said with a smile, as she rests her head on Caleb's shoulder.

Then all of a sudden a huge explosion shook the Guild house, making everybody alert.

"What was that?!" Sophia said in panic

"Are we being under attacked?" Alex guessed, as every one huddled up.

"I dunno, but what ever it is, it doesn't sound good" June said

Everyone's currently racking their heads, trying to make sense of the situation, when Maria entered the the room, looking as calm as ever.

"Lady Maria, what's happening?" Jewel asked

"Well, everybody I have an announcement to make" Mari said calmly, like everything okay

Then another explosion happened, shaking the whole Guild mansion again.

Teddy ran to Caleb; Caleb wrapped his around the little boy as he trembles in fear.

"Uhhh... Maria if you have something to say, I think now is the best time to say it!" June said with an urgent voice.

"You're right, we don't have much time" Maria said, acknowledging June "Well everybody, the Games has just started and the first round is currently commencing"

"THE GAMES?!" Everyone who came form the Castle shouted, in surprise

Form the way they all said "The Games" Everyone form Crystal Mist started thinking that it has to be some kind of a big deal.

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Hey guys! If you are wondering what the four were signing in this chapter when Isabelle discovered them, then here is the play list.

Shiro was belting out "Chandelier" By Sia

Nadet was singing the new song released by the fictional K-Pop group (K/DA) of League of Legends, which was "POP/STARS"

Chen was listening and singing "How to Save a Life" by The Fray

And finally Ji Soo was singing "A Million Dreams" from The Greatest Showman.

And the french song that was being played in the training facility was "Dernière Danse" by Indila