I looked on stunned as Nayeon sunbae and Youngjae sung together on stage.
The crowd was loving it. But this was definitely going to help Youngjae’s student president race chances.

Why was Nayeon helping Youngjae? She technically was never in Jihyo’s campaign team but how did we not know….
I turned my gaze to the people in our friend group who knew her best – Jungyeon and Tzuyu. Both seemed somewhat surprised (although Jungyeon less) with regards to what we were seeing.

“DAE-BAK.” Jimin exclaimed, spinning to face Jinyoung, “Did you know Youngjae was going to duet?!”

Jinyoung looked just as clueless as her, “Jaebum and I thought he was going to do a ballad solo….”

“…maybe he changed his mind last minute, like the earlier dance teams?” Jaebum suggested.

As my stomach churned again in discomfort, all I could do was hope Jihyo’s performance would be successful too.

Jihyo took a deep breath.

The painkillers helped a bit but it still hurt a lot.
Momo and Mina patted her back encouragingly as they all cradled their pained abdomens to stifle the stinging pain.

“The adrenaline would help cover the discomfort,” Mina noted.

“And we are going to KICK SOME !” Momo cried.

The curtains parted and lights shone on the three girls in formation.

Jihyo looked in the crowd and spotted Sungjoon smiling at her.

Momo was a great dancer and Mina was a former ballerina.
Everyone knew what to expect.

But most of the school did not know Jihyo could dance.
And sing.

I smirked as the crowd lost it over the three girls’ dynamic performance. They were in sync, powerful, with on-point facial expressions and gestures.

“OMG UNNIES~” Jimin fangirled as Momo jumped to the center and Mina played with her own hair.

Jihyo spun around and winked at the crowd.

Jackson gaped and Tzuyu look star-struck.
I think I may have gotten a heart attack.

Suddenly some saxophone solo track came on juxta-positioned with the EDM background music as the three girls turned around and swayed their hips.

Momo then slid forward and winked at Mina.
Next thing we knew, Momo has done a grand jete.

“Wait, Momo can do ballet now?!” Yerin gasped.

Jihyo then took center stage and led the other two closer to the audience.

Then, after over a minute of stable singing, she belted out a high note.

The crowd screamed.

Jihyo looked at the other girls who were panting and sweating.

“ENCORE! ENCORE! ENCORE!”

They all grinned as the crowd asked for more.
They held hands and bowed.

Suddenly, Momo noticed her arm being pulled downwards.

“Is she okay?” I asked as Momo and Mina have helped Jihyo to a chair backstage.

“She is not responsive,” Momo said, her eyes tearing up and barely standing, “It must be the stomachache…”

“Stomachache?!” I responded in shock, “Who else has it?”

Both Momo and Mina raised their hands. “I do too…” I mumbled, thinking back to what we ate together, “It’s the cookies…”

“Cookies?” Jimin cried, “The ones I got from the foodie club?”

“They should all be fine,” Jinyoung chimed in anxiously, “The rest of us are fine!”

“But the tubberware box of cookies is the only thing those three girls and I ate together…”

“It was just the box on the top of the boxes at the foodie club table,” Jimin continued, thinking hard, “Maybe it was something else…”

“The ambulance is on its way!” Bambam shouted, running back, “Can someone help bring Jihyo and Momo to the nurse’s office first?”

Mina helped Momo get on her feet.

Meanwhile, I lifted Jihyo off the chair and into my arms.

“We will be announcing the audience vote results shortly,” the MC called Heechul spoke on stage, “Now may all the performers join us on stage.”

As he noticed the performers getting on, he added quickly, “And the dance team from Jinyoung High School with members Park Jihyo, Hirai Momo and Myoui Mina will not be present for the awards as they have gotten food poisoning, with Jihyo having collapsed and getting medical attention…”

“Daebak,” noted some people in the audience, “They performed with food poisoning?”

“They managed to do that while hurting? That’s seriously jjang,” another student chimed in.

“Hope Jihyo is okay…she is seriously multi-talented.”

As Sungjoon, Momo and Mina all headed to the hospital, Jungyeon paced backstage, unable to shake off a feeling that this was some grand scheme.

Jimin was feeling terrible about getting them cookies but everyone knew it was not her fault.
But only Jungyeon had a hunch who may be behind it all.

After the award ceremony, Jungyeon saw the NCT boys with Dahyun and Chaeyoung hurrying over to her and her friends.

“Is Jihyo okay?”

“She is getting help now,” Jungyeon comforted them, “She will be fine.”

She noticed a familiar girl taking a phone call in the hallway.

“If you don’t mind excusing me,” she continued, pushing her way pass Doyoung, Dahyun and Chaeyoung, “I have someone I need to see.”