The tall lanky staff guy in his twenties pushed the two raccoon mascots out of the room and into some small cinema area. 

"Palle. Let's go to the small ballroom and take the backstage. The kids are waiting. Lotty and Lorrie fighting!"

Tiffany and Taeyeon were dumbfounded, struck by the clear randomness of events happening to them, but both raised their furry fists in response to the guy who just cheered on them. The young man smiled and left them by the backstage door of the small amphitheater. From the audience side of the stage, both raccoons could hear kids and their parents rustling in their seats. At the backstage, other mascots started to arrive and paced quickly. Everyone was getting ready for the show.

Tiffany took a peek from the stage curtain. Kids ranging from toddlers to early teens sat in front of the cramped stage and were eagerly waiting for the show.

"Taeyeon, what are we going to do? We have to get out of these costumes?", Tiffany mumbled while still looking at the kids.

Tiffany was fidgeting in her costume and is ready to just jump out and run. 

"Let's perform." Taeyeon paused as she took also a peek from the curtain looking at the small kids ancipating for the show.

Tifany shook her head and tried to hold on to the mascot pate. "Anniyo!"

"I don't want to disappoint those kids." Taeyeon whispered under the mascot mask, low but enough to be heard by Tiffany.

Despite the huge raccoon face and the cheesy prince-like blue outfit, Taeyeon's tone and actions became serious. Tiffany drew back from the curtain and looked at Taeyeon from under the pink bowed racoon mask. For the first time, Tiffany was amazed with what Taeyeon had said. Under those pretentious antisocial behavior and mischievious pranks, a caring and sensitive kid was still hiding. There seems to be so much more that she doesn't know about her artist.

"But how do we? I can't perf-----I mean, what are we going to do------" Tiffany stammered and  slouched as she closed back the curtain.

"There you are! I've been waiting for you two. You guys what to do, Lotty and Lorry?"

Taeyeon and Tiffany abruptly turned their backs around from the curtain and faced back. Just then, a short and plump ahjussi joyfully addressed the two mascots waiting at the backstage. He had a a clipboard in his right arm and his left hand on his waist. It seemed like he was the director of the mini-show. He looked at the two and scrunched his forehead. He glanced from Lotty to Lorry and then back to Lotty. He scratched his bare forehead and wondered.

"Strange, you two seem to be...uhmm...shorter than usual."

Both Taeyeon and Tiffany frowned under the mask.

Ahjussi...yes we know we're SHORT but you don't have to EMPHASIZE it.

Taeyeon faked a cough. "Ahjussi, so what do we do again?" Her voice was unrecognizeable under the huge head.

The old man still glanced at them with a confused expression on his face but since the show was starting, he shrugged it off. "We're doing Cinderella, remember? Just act out while the narration goes. In the end, we do the usual, dance around and act cute in front of the kids. Wait, how could you forget, you do this every single day."

Tifanny interrupted. "So we just go out, act and dance, right?"

The man looked at Lorry, "Yeah, yeah. Both of you are acting so strange. Just go out of the stage on my cue. You'll both come out on the second half of the show. Now, now, get ready, the show's about to start. Aish. Don't tell me you're getting jitters. Come on guys, this is for the kids! Now, fix yourselves, I have to check on other stuff."

The corpulent man walked away but turned his head once more, raised his brow at the two mascots and turned back front before heading into the other side of the stage.

"We can do this manager Hwang. Are you with me?", Taeyeon said while she looked at the other in her pink Victorian princess clothes.

"Easy for you to say. The prince only comes out near the end of the story," Tiffany groaned.

"Hey, you were the one who wanted to be the princess.", Taeyeon stuck her tongue out but Tiffany couldn't see it.

"Aish.Seriously... How did I get myself into this..."

Taeyeon laid her hand on Tiffany's shoulder and comforted her. "C'mon. Just this once, okay?"

"Like I have a choice. Fine, let's go." Tiffany responded with a huge sigh and swiped Taeyeon's hand from herself.

-----------------------------------------

Music started and the kids hollered as the show began. Magicians and clowns entertained the children and adults for the first half, performing old and new tricks to amaze the crowd. Even the two marvelled at the performers who were gaining a lot of applause from the audience.

A few minutes later, the short showcase ended. Some guys switched the stage backdrop and placed in some props. The old director came back to Taeyeon and Tiffany and handed Tiffany a broom and prodded her. Tiffany was already sweating under the costume but she regained her composure.  The narration for Cinderella story began. The plump ahjussi nudged Tiffany and signalled her to enter the stage. 

I am surely gonna get you for this Taeyeon!

Tiffany thought of revenge and was feeling a great surge of regret for agreeing to this mess but once she came out of the stage, her thoughts changed as she saw little kids age 4 to 10 looking up with the hands on their chin and their dreamy little eyes happily watching the show.

Tiffany listened to the narration and just followed the story's plot, acting out her best. Little by little, she was enjoying the show and she smiled as she performed in front of the kids. Other mascots/ actors came into the scene and executed the play as they had practiced long before but there were times that they wondered at the randomness of some of Lorry's actions. Most of them ignored it and continued, thinking it was a slight improvisation from the actor's part.

At the backstage, both Taeyeon and the old director were observing Tiffany's performance. Taeyeon was laughing under the mask while the old guy was scratching his head once in a while as he looked at the sequence of scenes on his clipboard.

Taeyeon didn't realize that her operation rollercoaster manager would end up like this. All she thought the evening before was to scare Tiffany out of her wits at the terrifying rides in the theme park but this mascot-wearing acting in a small play was way better.

Taeyeon crossed her arms over her belly and continued to laugh; tears starting to well up in the corner of her eyes. The director looked at Lotte and slapped the mascot's back.

"Oww", Taeyeon yelped as she felt the slap.

"You're up."

The part of the story where Lorry, aka 'Cinderella', had to come to the party of the prince came. Taeyeon was pushed by the director out into the stage and the spotlight was on Taeyeon. She froze for a moment, looking like a terrified mouse in front of a huge grinning cat.

She snapped back to her senses and flung her arms to her sides. She flared  the prince's cape and acted boisterous as she raised her furry hand in search for a princess on the ball's dance floor.

"Cinderella came to the party and the guests were amazed at the beautiful princess who just entered. The prince saw Cinderella and he fell in love. The prince approached the beautiful princess and asked her to dance..."

The narration continued on and Taeyeon acted out on every word. Rather than being a cool prince, Lotty was becoming more comedic as he approached Lorrie, hopping and prancing like a jester in a court. The kids laughed as Lotty knelt down in front of Lorry and swayed his torso in a very exaggerated manner as asked for the princess to dance. 

"What the heck are you doing Taeyeon?" Tiffany muttered as she looked down on the cheesy raccoon prince.

"Acting", Taeyeon snickered as she stood up and took Tiffany's furry hands and started to twirl the princess around.

She spun Tiffany about 4 to 5 times which made the manager dizzy. The kids laughed again, as Tiffany stopped twirling and tried her best not to stumble, holding on to her mascot head so it wouldn't drop. Taeyeon ignored Tiffany and smiled as she bowed in front of the crowd. The toddlers clapped their hands in delight.

*DING DONG DING DONG

"The clock struck twelve. Midnight. Cinderella had to leave before the prince or the magic will wear off. She excused herself and quickly left the prince at the ball without giving a reason. The prince was confused and he chased Cinderella out of the castle. Cinderella climbed down the stairs and since she was in a hurry, she left her glass shoe by mistake."

Seeking revenge, Tiffany acted out the part.

Instead of casually leaving the glass shoe, which actually looked like a clear plastic cut out flipper, she flicked her heel and sent the huge shoe flying through the air. The 'glass' shoe twirled in mid-air and landed with a loud smack on Prince Lotty's mascot face and fell to the ground.

The entire audience bursted into laughter at the hilarious scene. Slapstick comedy never failed to entertain. Taeyeon balled her hand into a fist and gritted her teeth as she pretended that the humiliating scene did not happen. The narration carried on as they switched to the next stage of the plot.

"Cinderella resumed to her daily chores as her step mother and step sisters arrived from the ball. The next day, the prince announced to the entire kingdom of his search for the princess whom he met in the ball and reported to have had lost her shoe. Whoever fits the shoe, he shall then marry for he has fallen deep in love with the girl.The prince arrived at Cinderella's house and requested the women in the household to fit the glass slipper"

Taeyeon knelt down and tried to fit the shoe into the other mascots' feet. She then acted like he was in despair, again, exaggerating every little action. She was enjoying he reaction from the small kids who were giggling in glee.

"The prince was very sad for it was the last house in his kingdom. He walked silently when he saw Cinderella out of the corner. His face lit up and quickly ran up to Cinderella to fit the shoe."

Tiffany lifted her foot as she balanced herself waiting for Taeyeon to put on the shoe. Taeyeon grabbed the plastic flipper and shoved the footwear into Tiffany. Unexpectedly, Tiffany lost control of her balance and fell unto the stage floor with a vociferous thud.

Everyone in the small auditorium clamored in laughter. Kids were pointing at both the raccoon prince and princess, playfully mocking the two for their comedic act. Tiffany rubbed her bum and groaned.

"Oww. That hurts Kim Taeyeon!", Tiffany grittingly murmurred and glared as she pushed herself up from the stage floor.

"Ooops, sorry". Taeyeon teased as she helped pick up Tiffany from the ground.

"The shoe fit! The Prince had found his princess! Cinderella's stepmother and step sisters were very surprised but they congratulated Cinderella for finding her true love.  A wedding announcement was given by the prince and everyone in the kingdom rejoiced at the delightful news. Cinderella and the prince were glad to have finally found each other. The town celebrated as the couple were wed."

Taeyeon grabbed both Tiffany's hands and faced her. She brought up their arms and reduced the gap between them. She looked at Tiffany through the huge raccoon face and drew her head closer to Tiffany. The raccoons' pointed noses touched each other.

Tiffany was very surprised at the very close distance of their heads even though they had the costumes on.  She abruptly wihdrew from the contact, her eyes wide open as she remembered it was Taeyeon behind the other raccoon costume.

What the heck? Was that a kiss?

"And they lived happily ever after..."

The narration stopped and a joyful merry making song played. The other mascots in the mini-show joined the stage and started to dance. Taeyeon faced the crowd and placed her arm over Tiffany's shoulder and waved to the crowd, acting cute and all cartoony. Tiffany took the opportunity and elbowed Taeyeon which caused the other raccoon to curl up abit. Taeyeon rubbed the portion below her rib and turned her racoon face to Tiffany.

"Yah! What the heck?" Taeyeon said while gritting her teeth but still waving to the crowd.

That's what you get, you, you..ert.

"Smile and wave Kim. Smile and wave." Tiffany replied as she tried to hold her laughter from her revenge and waved back to the crowd.

The show ended and the mascots took a final bow. Kids sprawled on the floor stood up, clapped and cheered on the characters. The kids as well as the parents had a really great time with the show.

"That's it for today kids and folks. Thank you for watching Lotty and Lorry's Cinderella show."

The other mascots left the stage and some guys started cleaning up the props.Taeyeon and Tiffany were about to leave the stage too, but children and parents came up to them. Toddlers raised their hands to the two raccoons and parents requested the two to have their pictures taken with the kids. Tiffany was anxious to leave but the cute little fellas melted her heart and Taeyeon just laughed as she adored how the kids grabbed her costume. People fell in line and the two raccoons graciously posed for pictures with the kids and parents alike. 

If they only knew they were actually having their pictures taken with a hallyu star. Tch. I may even sign an autograph for them. Taeyeon thought merrily in her head as she posed with a peace sign together with some kids.

"That's it kids. Lotty and Lorry have to rest now. Thank you for enjoying the show." The short ahjussi returned from the backstage and told the parents and kids that they have to bid goodbye. He dragged the two mascots into a backstage room and shut the door behind him. Taeyeon and Tiffany looked at each other, nervous about the next thing that would happen.

"Ok. Who are you guys?", Mr. Ahjussi-director faced them and crossed his arms above his belly.

Both popped the raccoon heads and bowed 90 degrees to the old man.

"We're sorry sir. Chaesonghamnida", Taeyeon said as she stood back up.

"Kim? Kim Taeyeon-ssi?". The director gasped as he recognized the hallyu star and realized he was talking to Korea's hallyu star. He coughed a little and questioned again. "Wha- What were you doing? Why are you in that costume?"

This time, Tiffany interrupted. "Sorry sir. I'm Kim Taeyeon's manager. Hwang Tiffany imnida. We were trying to escape Ms. Taeyeon's fans earlier and we kind of stumbled into these costumes. We were brought here and one thing led to another. On behalf of Ms. Taeyeon, please accept my apology. I hope we didn't ruin your show." Again, Tiffany bowed to apologize.

The ahjussi blushed at Tiffany and asked her to stand up. "Anniyo. Forget it. Instead, I'd like to thank you both. The kids really enjoyed the show today. I've never seen the crowd laugh so much before. You've made everyone really happy. Anyway, you two better go before the others start to notice. The show today was pretty strange so the other actors might be curious about you two."

"Thank you sir. And if you don't mind, I hope this doesn't come out in the public." Tiffany added.

"Ah, arasso. You can count on me. My mouth is zipped. You better go and change out of those costumes. You can just leave them here in this room."

"Uhm..ahjussi. Is there anything I can do for you in return?", Taeyeon asked while she settled Lotty's head on the table.

"Well, could you sign something for me? I'll give it to my daughter. She's a fan of yours.". The stuffy little man held out his clipboard for Taeyeon to sign. Tayeon agreed, took the board and kindly gave the autograph. 

"Thank you", the old guy said and pulled out two tickets under the clipboard. "Here, take them. It's my way of thanking you both. They're tickets to the laser show tonight. You might enjoy them seeing that this might be the only time for a hallyu star like you to enjoy a theme park like this."

Tiffany did not hear the two converse since she was busy removing the costume from herself. She had sweat a bit under the costume and she was glad to get rid of it. Taeyeon accepted the tickets and held hands with the ahjussi, thanking him. She quickly changed out of the costume and donned the hood of her hoodie back to her head to cover her locks.

The director faced Tiffany, who was already out of the costume.Tiffany carefully folded the mascot costume up and placed it on the table. This time, the old man took something out of his pocket and handed over to Tiffany a couple of cute green bear face masks.

"Here Miss Hwang, this might help you both in hiding." Mr. ahjussi smiled and headed towards the door.

Before finally opening up the door, he looked back at the two and waved his hand. "It was great meeting you both. Thanks again and haeng un (good luck)!"

The two bowed again as the door closed in front of them. Taeyeon stretched her hands up into the air and exclaimed. "Ah! That was fun!"

Tiffany tossed one of the face masks to Taeyeon and the other girl caught it. "Wear that. We have to leave. We're done with your phase 2!"

Taeyeon smiled and responded,  "I got it", and put on the mask.

Tiffany stormed out of the room silently with her mask on and Taeyeon followed right after. They snuck out of the ballroom and casually walked out into the public and blended into the crowd. Nobody noticed that the two had just performed in the little matinee show except for the kind old plump director who was smiling from the back of the stage. Two phases down and one more to go.

What would Taeyeon think of next? Ah! I wanna go home!

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