With the hood of my jacket up and my head down, I walked down the deserted alley where the side door to the club was, and I hoped no one would see me.

To my relief, when I knocked on the door, Chanyeol was there to receive me, just like how we planned.

“Thanks,” I expressed, and he clapped me on the back as I entered the building. We were in a stairwell. I took off my hoodie and gave it to Chanyeol who handed me a more formal jacket.

“Looks like we pulled it off,” I said.

“What would you do without me?” he asked smugly as we ran up the stairs where Areum was still oblivious to our surprise.

I waited backstage until I heard the DJ announce, “Our birthday girl in the VIP section, Son Areum, has a special guest tonight.”

Everyone perked up and looked around for this special guest.

“Byun Baekhyun!” was my cue to step out on the stage. Slipping on my sunglasses, I walked out to greet the excited screams which only grew with my appearance. I raised an arm in acknowledgment, like Hello, yes, it really is me.

I saw Areum clapping excitedly, looking incredibly delighted and pleased. Next to her was Chanyeol with his own pair of sunglasses, and he looked pretty excited too.

The crowd began clapping in unison as I began my song, Shades. “No, you can’t see me. No, you can’t be me,” I started.

The familiar rush of adrenaline when I performed flowed through my entire being. The neon lights of the club added a wild feeling, and I loved every minute of it. I took off my sunglasses and tossed it to a girl in the front row who jumped up and down in excitement as her friends surrounded her in awe and envy.

When it came close to the rap part, I pointed at Chanyeol as a heads up. At his part, he jumped out of the VIP section and onto the platform that connected the box to the stage where he began rapping, “You wanna watch me, watch this.”

As he rapped, I danced along, moving my body to the music, trying not to rob him of his spotlight. When his