A group of friends, Yiseul, Noeul, Haneul, Chaeyeon, and Chaewon were currently getting ready for Haneul's birthday celebration. They've been friends since their university days with Noeul, Haneul, and Yiseul having known one another since they were babies whereas Chaewon and Chaeyeon were sisters. The latter only finding out just recently that the other three were part of the elite when Haneul couldn't hide it any longer.

"Aww, don't we look gorgeous!" Haneul squealed at their matching dresses, but of different colors.

Each wore an a-line off-the-shoulder asymmetrical chiffon lace cocktail dress with sequins that also came with a lace choker pendant necklace along with matching high heels and feathered sequin and lace masquerade eye masks. Yiseul wore the color petal, Chaewon wore the color sky blue, Noeul wore the color daffodil, Chaeyeon wore the color mint green, and the birthday girl Haneul wore the color cinnamon rose. The trio wanted to secure their two friends' safety and to be easily noticed in the crowd as this would be their first event with the elite. The party started in less than half an hour and the group had been going over plans if it got too much.

"Isn't this a bit too much?" Chaeyeon asked uneasily.

"No, it's pretty normal." Yiseul answered with a laugh while Noeul agreed.

"Mmhmm. She usually makes us do the whole make-up bit and hair, but she mellowed out this time around and went with a more natural look."

"Thank my lucky stars then." Chaeyeon muttered, feeling quite relieved as Chaewon chuckled.

"I don't think I would've mind the whole she-bang though."

"Of course you wouldn't." Chaeyeon responded with a scrunched up face.

"And you're more than welcome to keep the whole outfit."

Haneul shot them a grateful smile.

"Gift to y'all and no need to give me something back in return."

The duo thanked her before Chaeyeon shot Haneul a hopeful look.

"So, anyway for us to run away here if it gets too much though?"

"Of course. Absolutely. Any room you like. Just remember to input the code I gave y'all if there's a key-pad."

"I'm so excited that y'all can experience this with us and if there's anything please don't hesitate to ask us." Yiseul informed them with a smile.

"Yes, please do." Noeul interjected with a serious face and tone.

"Especially if an old and or married man is hitting on you whether drunk or sober. Do not want to get into that mess. Oh, and young ones, too. Watch out for them. They're just as charming."

"Ah, which reminds me." Haneul's voice piped up causing them to look over at her.

"They're gonna be here tonight too. My parents, well more like my mother, wanted those from HYBE Group to be invited."

She groaned as Noeul chuckled while the other two were clueless.

"I guess you're gonna have to face him eventually, huh, Haneul. Will you be okay?"

Haneul just made a face not responding. The sister looked at Yiseul and Noeul for an expalnation with Chaewon being nosy.

"Ooh, what kinda romance drama is going on here?"

"A very cliche sort of one."

Noeul smirked before spilling some tea.

"One of the male heirs of the HYBE Group, Kim Seokjin, and our lovely Park Haneul, are in talks of an arrange marriage."

"What? No way."

The pair gasped as Noeul continued with a nod.

"Mmhmm."

They looked over at Haneul, shocked, despite her showing a nonchalant attitude.

"Both of our parents are still talking about that, so it's not concrete. We've known of one another for a while and only interacted earlier this year."

"This is like one of those plots in a drama series."

Chaeyeon responded with a laugh as Yiseul agreed with a chuckle.

"Yeah tell us about it."

Noeul grinned playfully while gazing at Yiseul.

"Did I forget that Yiseul's ex-boyfriend is Seokjin's friend, too? His name is Park Jimin."

"What?"

Chaewon and Chaeyeon whipped their attention onto their friend. Yiseul brushed off the topic.

"It's in the past."

"It's not. She still has feelings for him."

"Like I said it's all in the past."

Yiseul then shot Noeul a knowing look.

"Because of that, Noeul is childhood friends with a Min Yoongi and he's friends with Seokjin and Jimin, too."

"What? Really?"

"Yes, but right now," Noeul glanced at her two friends cheekily, "What would happen if Chaeyeon and Chaewon also encounter his friends?"

Chaeyeon brushed her off.

"That's so cliche, Noeul."

"I know, but c'mon Chaeyeon. Just imagine th-."

"I don't want to."

Noeul continued like she wasn't interrupted.

"Imagine interacting with these young, charming bachelors That drama life series will be happening if it does."

Chaeyeon still wasn't keen on the idea.

"May I remind everyone that we run in different circles with different statuses. Like technically it's not different worlds, but we're divided."

She sighed.

"It may be fun and like in those shows or whatever, but when real feelings and real people are actually involve it won't be fun in the end."

"True."

Noeul agreed, but still tried to reason her thoughts with her stubborn friend.

"But look at us, Chaeyeon. We're from different circles and statuses and yes we're divided in different places of our lives, but we're the best of friends and get along with slight differences. Isn't that normal in a friendship were we all work together and one another? Anyways, I think it may work out if y'all just give it a chance and be in the moment."

Chaeyeon eyed her.

"Do they know that you wanna do this, too? Like that you're gonna set them up with people they don't know."

"No, but mutual of a mutual isn't bad."

Chaeyeon didn't comment.

"I wouldn't mind actually." Chaewon disagreed with a smile trying to diffuse the tension.

"I mean, life is life. Let's just give it a go and see how it all goes."

She cast her sister a look.

"Chaeyeon, we're still young and we should live life without being too cautious. Yeah?"

Chaeyeon didn't respond, but Chaewon knew she wasn't fully against the idea.

"Anyways, Noeul, Haneul, and Yiseul, please introduce us if the opportunity arises so we can see if this series will be good for us."

Chaeyeon tsked as Chaewon laughed.

"Might have some fun since we're here and just mingle around. I mean, who knows when we'll be attending one of these again."

Haneul gave them an answer.

"Oh, you'll be joining us frequently on these events if you're interested since we want you to be a part of it."

"You're joking, right?" Chaeyeon spoke with a disbelief tone.

"No. We want y'all to be a part of it, too."

"Anyways," Haneul directed the conversation elsewhere, "Let's have fun."

Haneul also cast them a sly grin.

"Besides, we'll be standing out fabulously as the theme is a Monotone Party. We're gonna be so colorful and gorgeous! But for real let's focus on having fun in general. That's all I really want from this now that the five of us can celebrate it with grandeur."

"Wow."

The sisters were in awe of the scene before them now that it reached early evening and everything was all set up. Everyone was mingling in the grand hall, but could come and go through the side doors to the vast back terrace of the garden and pool. What amazed the two more was that Haneul was definitely right. The guests wore shades and hues of white, gray, and black yet still dressed to impress. None with a twinge of bright colors like the group of friends and clearly the only five masked up. The friends entered the room on time as all eyes were on them with Haneul leading the way to the front towards a small makeshift stage to be seen clearly even from the back.

"Breathe in. Breathe out. Just relax. Noeul and Yiseul are here to help, too."

Haneul reassured her friends before taking a hand held microphone from one of the staff as the employee handed out the rest to the other six.

"Hello ladies and gentlemen!"

Haneul happily greeted to mark the start of her party.

"Thank you all for coming in celebration of my birthday. I greatly appreciate each and every one of you."

Haneul gazed at the crowd before her and spotted her mother and father a few feet away and waved at them before speaking again.

"If you haven't noticed yet, I'm wearing a mask to which I planned for myself and my best friends standing behind me as a masquerade party. My apologies in advance if you all feel a little uncomfortable at having no masks, but no worries as that was my intention to do so."

She smiled at the crowd before moving on.

"As for these lovely ladies behind me, please be ever so respectful towards them and please do not ask for them to remove their masks unless they themselves are willing to do so."

Haneul gave each and every one of the people in the room a firm gaze.

"Anyways, to start out this celebration I'll be sharing a special dance with my parents and all of you are more than welcome to share in this special dance with your own parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, or anyone that you're grateful for."

Haneul handed her microphone to one of staff as she made her way to her parents with giddy steps as the song began to play from a band off in a special space in the room. She offered a hand to her father as he accepted. It was a beautiful sight as the floor filled up with a sweet memory for all to cherish. She danced with her father before switching to dance with her mother for the second part of the song. The sisters were drawn to dance by Noeul and Yiseul with the latter having to lead the pair as it was their first formal dance. Near the ending of the song did Haneul have her parents dance together for the remainder of the song before returning to the front to her friends.

"I hope everyone enjoyed the dances I've shared with my parents and those that joined us as well."

Haneul spoke with thankful smiles.

"This birthday means a lot to me this year to be able to share it with you all as well as my lovely friends."

She glanced at the others before facing forward again.

"It marks another chapter of my life. So thank you all for being here to celebrate this wonderful day with me."

Haneul made a hand gesture to someone and the lights immediately dimmed while something like a movie projector got everyone's attention looking at the large white wall where it showed the number five. Haneul spoke again to explain what was happening next.

"Next you'll be watching a montage clip of me as a baby up until now. I hope I'll make many memories with all of you in the future. Whether as birthday celebrations or just any other day not a holiday or festival. Please enjoy and thank you so much!"

Haneul ushered her friends along with her where chairs had been provided for them off to the side to watch the homemade video. Haneul glanced at them with a knowing smile while some random musical piece played throughout the video.

"I hope you girls love it just as much as I do. Because it took me forever to decide what to put in it."

The video began counting down from five to four until it reached zero and a baby Haneul popped up. Everyone cooed and watched baby Haneul grow as the video continued on. It wasn't until it reached Haneul's college years that the group saw their memories together. The four silently groaned and cringed upon seeing the images or clips despite their faces being slightly blurred out. They knew it was them based on having already seen the originals from Haneul's phone.

"I knew y'all drew on my feet." Chaewon harshly whispered upon seeing the photo of them surrounding a sleeping Chaewon.

"Oh, I remember that day." Noeul recalled with a chuckle.

"We were trying to test out the methods of waking up a heavy sleeper."

"Oh, right!" Yiseul exclaimed quietly with a smile.

"We were. I forgot about that."

"Yes, we did, but that experiment was unsuccessful." Noeul confirmed with a laugh.

"Ahh, it was quite entertaining."

"Yeah, for you guys." Chaewon grumbled, but nevertheless a small smile graced her face.

Chaeyeon nudged Haneul who she was closest to with a slight glaring look.

"I knew there was a reason for you taking all those pictures and videos over the years."

"Whatever do you mean, Chaeyeon? I just happened to have them store on my iCloud and didn't want them to be hidden forever. There were so many that they just needed to be shared."

Haneul cast her friend an innocent smile.

"Mmhmm. Sure."

Yiseul nudged Chaeyeon with a sympathetic smile.

"It's gonna happen all the time, Chaeyeon. She does this every year for her birthday, but a first that she has shared the two of y'all since now you know the truth."

"Seriously?" Chaewon commented with a pointed look at Haneul.

"You have too much time on your hand."

Haneul chuckled, but didn't comment. Everyone continued to watch the clip until it ended with some animation coming at them in bold letters saying 'thanks for loving me'. The projector went black and the lights returned to normal, almost blinding everybody at the sudden brightness. Haneul and company stood to return to the center with Haneul speaking again.

"I hope you all enjoyed the clip! There were a lot of memories to share with all of y'all."

Haneul explained to her guests with a cheery tone as her eyes glistened.

"My parents and my friends have been a lifeline for me and I wouldn't be who I am today without them. All the bad, the good, and all that's in-between. They made me who I am today and I'm proud and grateful for them in my life. So thank you, Dad, Mom, these lovely ladies, and to all of you here with me today."

She bowed her head in acknowledgement to her parents, her friends and at the crowd before speaking again.

"Actually there is still one more surprise in store for y'all tonight."

The quartet were confused until another staff of Haneul's handed them each a microphone.

"This will primarily be sung by our lovely friend, Petal," Haneul motioned towards Yiseul while giving her the stage name based upon the color of her dress and doing the same with the rest of them, "I, Cinnamon Rose, along with Daffodil, Mint Green, and Sky Blue will be back-up vocals hyping her up! We're Color Me Pretty and the song is Still Into You. Please enjoy!"

The quartet wondered how it would go as they didn't practice this, but realized they had weeks prior and Haneul was waiting for the moment to spring this up on them. Chaeyeon sang first upon Yiseul missing the cue to sing knowing her friend may have felt nervous. The others followed suit to give Yiseul time to recover to which she did just before the chorus. Yiseul actually pointed at her ex-boyfriend during the part just before the chorus hit and his friends as well as the onlookers glanced over interested. Jimin just smiled and bopped his head to the music although Yiseul hoped it would mean something. The friends soon lost themselves to the beat and rocked out. The song came to an end with Yiseul singing the last line. Haneul spoke a moment later.

"Alright, everyone, that's the end of Color Me Pretty. Please enjoy the entertainment, food, and scenery until the birthday cake. Thank you!"

The group split up soon afterwards with Haneul, Noeul, and Yiseul making their way to their parents to interact with the guests while the sisters headed to the restrooms to relieve themselves and then towards the buffet table realizing they hadn't eaten at all today either.

"Hello, ladies."

A female voice greeted the duo some time later as they turned to face the person and saw three women around the same age as them. The pair had found a table away from the crowd out in the backyard to enjoy their meal and a bit of bubbly. Anyways, the trio introduced themselves to the sisters with pleasant smiles.

"I'm Jung Soya, but call me Soya."

"I'm Park Nara and you can just call me Nara."

"I'm Choi Risa. Please call me Risa, too."

"Hello."

The duo swallowed their food while trying to look presentable if possible before responding politely without introducing their real names, but their supposed stage names instead. The sisters weren't sure if this was gonna be cliche or not like they've seen in those movies and shows. Luckily it wasn't as they seemed nice enough. The one that spoke first was Nara as she quirked a brow.

"Those aren't your real names, right?"

Chaeyeon and Chaewon shook their heads, but Nara dismissed the topic nonchalantly.

"It's okay if you don't want to, but we love the performance that you put on earlier though. That's pretty much Haneul for you."

Risa initiated another conversation.

"Say, Haneul mentioned that the two of you along with Yiseul and Noeul are her best friends, but we've known her since forever and like we have never met y'all before."

"Yeah. What do your parents do?" Soya asked a moment later.

"How did y'all meet Noeul, Haneul, and Yiseul?"

"Um," Chaewon began, but didn't continue.

Before either party could speak there was a loud announcement using the stage names for the pair to report back to the grand hall.

"Ah, please excuse us." Chaeyeon told the trio.

"It was nice meeting you." The trio bid them goodbye with polite smiles.

While making their way over to the grand hall there was a sudden commotion that broke out with several older men arguing about something and even pushing one another. In the ensuing chaos the pair somehow were bumped into and they along with a few others fell into the pool. While those that fell into the pool unexpectedly tried to resurface, the onlookers weren't sure what to do. The female trio from earlier went to inform Haneul what had just happened while others just watched on with very few lending a helping hand. Chaewon and Chaeyeon swam to the other side of the pool as it was less crowded. Their masks were long forgotten as they had come off during the fall.

As the two tried to catch their breath before moving about they suddenly each felt some type of fabric being wrapped around them. It was a man's suit jacket and they glanced at the person that had placed it on them. The two barely recognized thetwo men to be the friends of their friends' partners of sorts and assumed them as good samaritins. Before the women could say their 'thank yous', their attention went towards Haneul, Yiseul, and Noeul upon hearing their voices asking what had happened and the likes.

"Oh, no. You're all drenched."

Haneul frowned upon seeing her two friends in their wretched state.

"Ah, Yiseul and Noeul, could you take care of them while I figured out what occurred here? Please and thank you."

The pair immediately assisted the sisters while dismissing the looks from two very particular people trying to discreetly get their attention. As for Haneul, she immediately, but calmly cleared the area. She informed the guests to resume back to what they were doing while trying to figure out who had caused an unnecessary scene. Several people had no clue why the commotion occurred while others kept quiet. A few spoke with little information, but it didn't help. So Haneul changed tactics knowing that she couldn't end her party abruptly and announced it was cake time.

"Alright, Noeul. What are you