ch. 47

"let's set this party off right."

-24k magic

"well you look as beautiful as ever, ms. park!"

eunbi flashes her vocal instructor a smile when she enters her dressing room.

"thank you," she shyly says, a small blush forming on her cheeks.

knowing the drill, the student grabs the outfit that mrs. hwang is holding before changing her attire. she quickly puts on the black wide-leg pants and pulls on the same-colored blazer, covering the white, cropped tank top she is wearing. she tosses her wedges to the side where her red dress is located and slips on a pair of white nikes before sitting in front of the mirror.

her teacher slightly adjusts the makeup on the girl's face and hands her the same white mask she wore the night of the showcase. she attaches the accessory to her face and rushes out of the room with a quick goodbye.

heading to the rehearsal stage, she accidentally bumps into someone on the way there. the two of them fall backward as their hands flail in the air. groans of pain echo throughout the hallway and pain blooms in their bottoms.

"ah sorry," eunbi apologizes while she stands up and dusts her clothes with her hands. "i wasn't watching where i was going."

she approaches the person with her hand out to help them and immediately regrets it when she recognizes them.

"it's okay, it is also my fault for not looking."

san takes her hand and lifts himself up with her assistance. she awkwardly waits for him to finish checking his outfit before he suggests the both of them to walk to the stage. side by side, he escorts her to their destination without initiating any conversation.

on the way there, they pass by the line that leads into the multipurpose room and are stopped by a familiar girl running up to them with a sweet smile plastered on her face.

san's date.

"hey san!" she exclaims. "you on your way to rehearse the opening performance?"

"yeah!" a small smile pulls his lips.

her eyes then land on eunbi, who simply stands off to the side to not disturb them. "are you the masked singer?"

i don't know, am i? the vocalist asks herself, mentally rolling her eyes. i'm clearly the only one wearing a mask and i don't think someone would wear an outfit like mine to a semi-formal dance.

nonetheless, she answers with a nod.

the girl takes another step to her and leans in close to her ear. "if you ever touch him, i will find out who you are and expose you to the whole school. he is mine."

achievement unlocked: met another crazy, obsessed girl!

when will this end?

with an innocent grin, she nods once more and takes a few steps. looking back, she ushers the black-haired male with her hand before any more time could be wasted. he obliges and they resume their journey to the stage, where everyone else was waiting.

when they enter the building, they see the remaining members of kq fellaz rehearsing the dance as the music blasts throughout the silence. all the boys notice their appearance and run over to them with slightly annoyed expressions on their faces.

"san, you are late!" hongjoong scolds. "it doesn't take ten minutes to go to the bathroom and come back. we don't have much time left until the event starts!"

being the polite person he is, he apologizes to his team leader before they climb the platform positioned in the front of the dance floor. jongho and yeosang fall behind the group and walk beside the female.

"so yeosang knows too?" the youngest male asks, noticing his presence. "i thought i was the only one."

"he was eavesdropping on one of my vocal lessons with my teacher," eunbi explains, shrugging in the process. "but what's done is done. the whole school will eventually find out about my identity, so it's whatever."

"it was a good thing i found out," the blond male adds. "because she was able to help me with my vocals for this performance. i am forever grateful, really."

the three of them hear someone shouting at them to hurry up, causing the trio to run onto the stage. the female performer stands off to the side since her appearance will happen later throughout the event and the music cues in.

the sound of low brass and drums starts off the rehearsal as hongjoong slowly moves up to the stage, his blue blazer swaying along his movements. aggressively, he lifts up his microphone to his mouth and raps his lines with passion.

"all eyes on me now

if you still doubt mine

it's too pointless

we're still young and wild

we gonna find new world to be mine.

the island is where the map calls

a dream and a fear of all people

at the end, i start dreaming, spread my wings

forever immature like peter."

once he finishes his part, all the members join the short, blond male to the front while the background vocals continuously repeat a phrase. in a little bit, yunho sings a small part of the song before immersing into the dance.

as always, the masked singer watches with amazement at the group's synchronization and their sharp execution of dance moves. her eyes pay close attention at the little details as she nods her head to the beat.

she never thought hongjoong and mingi were good at producing songs.

after ending the first section of the performance, another song comes through the speakers and the members position themselves for another dance. compared to the first piece, this tune is more bouncy and lighthearted as they continue dancing.

once wooyoung appears in the center of the group, he begins singing to his heart's content.

"i'm curious about everything how's your day

oh tell me (oh yeah oh yeah, ah yeh ah yeh)

what makes you happy

oh text me (oh yeah oh yeah, ah yeh ah yeh)."

"your every picture," yeosang then sings. "i wanna put it on my bedside oh bae."

after yeosang, yunho comes in and steals the spotlight.

"come be my teacher

teach me everything

your one, your two."

seonghwa slides in the middle of the group, microphone by his mouth.

"listen my my baby i

i'm flying high in the sky."

"with the two wings you gave me then," hongjoong adds on the side.

eunbi still can't get a grasp on the fact all her friends are talented; they perform this song as good as her relatives.

"boy with luv" by bts.

she got permission from them to use this song as their opening act, and she does not regret it.

hearing jongho's part come to life, she prepares herself to join the group, excitement running through her veins.

"it's too high now

i want to fit you in my eyes

yeah you makin' me a boy with love."

she runs onto the stage and proudly stands on the riser behind the boys with a smile on her face.

"oh my my my, oh my my my

you got me high so fast."

"i want to be with you all," san finishes as eunbi walks into the middle of the stage.

together, jongho and her harmonize together with their shared line while dancing with all their energy.

"oh my my my, oh my my my

you got me fly so fast."

"now i know a little than a boy with love." wooyoung flashes a wink to the area where it will soon be filled with people.

the rest of the rehearsal goes well and the chaperones notify them that they will be opening the multipurpose room in five minutes, giving them enough time to shake out the nerves. everyone goes over some of the dance moves and their lines until they hear the door open and people chattering.

eunbi feels a nudge on the shoulder to see yeosang holding his fist towards, and she gladly bumps it with hers.

"good luck," she says with a grin. "i'll see you out there in a little bit."

"you too."

and he walks onto the stage with the rest of his group.

time to get this party started.