“Wait, what?” Jonghyun asked dumbly. Everybody was confused with Luna’s sudden statement. Why would they go perform when they hadn’t practised yet? They hadn’t even heard each other sing!

Luna was sure their hearts were racing, but she was too busy locking up the house to bother comforting them.  Eventually, she finished securing the house and opened a door the boys had not visited yet. Inside was an ascending staircase, curving around a corner. She gestured the unsure teens to follow, closing the door behind them and venturing upstairs.

“There’s no need to worry, it’s not a major performance.” She tried to ease their worries. “Naverland folk like to have a get together once a week. Your fans want to see what you’re made of, anyway.”

“We already have fans?” Jinki was no more than three steps after her, trying to keep his balance and not trip.

“Of course.” Luna sighed, reaching above her head and feeling for a wooden plank. “People only care about the looks, nowadays.”

Lips pursed in determination she lifted the plank away, immediately greeting a weak sunlight. Hoisting herself through the hole above her, she turned and saw she was right next to the SHINee tree.

“You can come up now.” Luna called, dusting off her light blue jeans. After a bit of struggle and yelling everyone was soon outside, gazing at the purple sunset peeking through the trees.

“Why didn’t we just enter that way?” Jonghyun grumbled. But Luna just shrugged without a care, saying something about slides being more fun. At this, Kibum gave her an irritated glare which the blonde ignored, taking Jinki’s advice and skipping further into the forest like she hadn’t just made eye contact with a murderer.

No less than ten minutes later, the travellers found themselves in the Naverland village. The buildings were rather earthy looking, most of them made of wood. Luna led the boys to a special building which stood out from the rest. An emerald sign flashed brightly along the rim, reading ‘Party Time!’  Rising high atop of it was a miniature clock tower, crumbling away at the edges.

“Is that safe?” Kibum cocked a brow as a number hung upside down, threatening to fall at any minute.

“It’s okay.” Somebody laughed. The teens jumped slightly, seeing Kevin standing in front of Party Time with a big smile on his face. “The clock is there for show. The crumbling is just special effects.”

“Kevin!” Luna ran up to the boy excitedly, grinning from ear to ear. “Is she here?”

“Why wouldn’t she be? The minute she heard you were here, she didn’t hesitate to fly over.”

“Good good good!” She applauded, her grin not faulting. “Let’s go indoors. It’s getting quite chilly out here.”

Party Time was quite similar to a club. There were circular tables scattered around the room, a stage up in the far end of the hall and a bistro in the corner. Boys and girls of all ages sat at the tables, chattering casually. Kevin showed Luna and the boys to an empty table at the front, some of the audience stopping their conversations to watch the unfamiliar guests take their seats.

Taemin tensed in his seat, leaning close to Luna. “They’re staring at us…”

“They’re taken back by your beauty.” She smiled after waving goodbye to Kevin. Taemin just looked away, frowning in disbelief.

All of a sudden, the room turned dark. A low bass played through the speakers and the audience cheered enthusiastically in anticipation. Colourful lights shone onto the stage, revealing seven boys in matching grey suits. The tempo picked up and they began to dance, taking turns in singing their lines.

“Without an end, never end, this is Naverland!”

They performed with confidence and charisma, girls fawning and chanting the members’ names. Kevin was also one of those members on the stage. He sent Luna a cheeky wink before starting the dance break.

Luna tore her eyes away from the dancing boys to watch the ones sitting with her.  She chuckled softly at their wide eyes of amazement. Jinki noticed and tilted his head, curious as to why she was laughing.

“These guys… ” She spoke over the loud music, pointing back to the stage. “… Are your competition.”

“Competition?” By now, the others began to listen in on the conversation.

“They’re called ‘U-Kiss’. Very popular here, in fact. If you were to compare Naverland to the fictional land called ‘Never Neverland’, Kevin is Peter Pan… Without the tights.”

“They’re using a backing track.” Kibum commented. He watched the singers with a critical expression.

“Don’t you go judging back tracks, Kibum. You’ll need one soon too.” The table stayed rather silent after that, waiting for the performance to end.

U-Kiss finished their performance with a bang, all of the members walking off stage except for Kevin. He walked up to the apron of the stage, waving at the still cheering crowd.

“Good evening, everybody!” He greeted cheerily. “Before we start the show I would like to call my fellow co-hosts to the stage. You all know who they are, right?”

“Yes!” The crowd replied as a boy and girl entered the stage together, taking their places next to Kevin.

“I LOVE YOU IU!” A random boy screamed from the audience.

Luna bounced in her seat, cupping with her hands as she screams back louder. “NO! I LOVE YOU MORE, BABY BOO IU!”

The girl on stage covered as she laughed shyly, nodding and grinning at the audience. “I guess I don’t need an introduction, do I?” The fans in the hall laughed with her.

“Both you and Kevin steal the spotlight so easily.” The boy next to her complained before facing the audience and saluting. “This is Lee Hongki, at your service!”

“I see quite a few newcomers here tonight.” Kevin said after the crowd calmed down. “And you are in luck, for tonight we have special guests.”

“They are a very new boy band. Surely you’ve heard of them by now.” IU continued. “They must be incredibly nervous, we didn’t even tell them they were coming today. Please warmly welcome SHINee to the stage!” 

“Hey hey hey, get on up there before you embarrass yourselves.” Luna whispered to the stunned boys.

Jinki was the first to stand, grinning wide and bowing awkwardly to the audience as he advanced towards the stage. The other members followed soon after, bowing with less effort and sending smaller smiles. Luna stayed at the table, her fingers drumming on the edge as her heart beat nervously.

Hongki pulled his microphone away from his mouth as he muttered. “Well come on! Introduce yourselves.”

And so the boys did just that. They all introduced themselves separately like they had practised, and the audience patiently listened.

“As you can see, these young ones are all very frightened.” IU spoke once the introductions were finished. “However, they shouldn’t worry. Everybody here are friends, right?”

“Yes!” The audience chorused in reply.

“But we still don’t quite know SHINee yet. So we politely ask of them to do a little performance each.” IU looked over to the boys with hopeful eyes. “That shouldn’t be too hard, right?

“Not hard at all!” Hongki interrupted before they could decline. “Any volunteers who would like to go first?”

SHINee all looked to Luna for help, but her eyes were glued to Jinki. She nodded once, giving him a small smile. Jinki took the hint, stepping forward and raising his hand.

“I volunteer! I volunteer as a tribute!” He laughed, amusing himself with his own joke.

“Fantastic!” Kevin said. “While Onew is talking to the DJ about the song he would like to sing, I would like the rest of the group to go and sit back at their table.”

Three or four minutes passed and Jinki was standing on stage alone, a hand holding his microphone while he used the other to wave. A slow song began to play and he closed his eyes, softly singing along.

His voice was pleasantly calming and Luna couldn’t help but smile. The song was an English one she hadn’t heard before, but her heart beat fast nonetheless. The audience was still. Jinki glanced over at Luna. Her smile grew wider. And as he held the last note, a grin tugged at his lips too.

“I’ll be the one to love you, forever more.”

 The second person to perform was Minho. He started with his back to the audience, fixing his leather jacket. The music began and he turned to the front, shrilly screams echoing through the hall. All the girls stared with dropped jaws as Minho danced to the music.

“Why isn’t he wearing a shirt?” Kibum frowned, clearly not amused.

“I don’t know, but I’m proud.” Luna leaned back in her chair, clearly amused. “Now we know who has the appeal in SHINee.”

The song ended with loud cheers from the crowd. Satisfied, Minho waved goodbye and left backstage to collect his shirt. When he returned to his seat, he collapsed with a happy sigh, obviously pleased with his performance. Or maybe it was the fan girls taking photos of him shirtless. Luna liked to think it wasn’t the latter.

“Oh my God!”

Next on stage was Kibum, posing with a smirk on his lips. He flicked his bangs off his face, beginning to sing and dance. The tempo picked up almost immediately and Luna recognised the song as something by Lady Gaga. He danced strongly, eyes fierce with passion.

“Luna.” Said blonde turned her head to the voice. Taemin had moved to sit next to her again and honestly, he looked terrified. “I don’t think I can do this.”

“Really? Because I know you can.” She smiled, ruffling his hair affectionately. “You see Kibum right now? He’s just as scared as you are.”

“As if. Don’t lie to me.”

“I’m not lying to you.” Taemin continued to look at her with disbelief, so she kept talking. “He is just a pro.”

“A pro?”

“Yeah, a pro actor.” Luna nodded. “Sometimes acting confident actually gives you confidence. That’s what Kibum is doing right now.”

Taemin bit his lip uncertainly. “Still…”

“Hey.” Jinki tapped the younger boy’s shoulder, sending him a gummy smile. “Stay positive. If you need help, I’m always here for you.”

Taemin just nodded mutely, watching the performance.

The song suddenly changed, switching to another title by Lady Gaga. A dance break began and Kibum dropped to the floor, swishing his hair back and forth. Does Kibum belong on the stage? Such a question almost seems childish. Kibum was born for it.

“I’m as free as my hair.”

Jonghyun was next in line. He smiled at the audience, a piano playing a slow melody in the background. He lightly pressed the microphone to his lips, head tilting to the side as he sang. The audience calmed down instantly, wanting to hear more. As Jonghyun’s sweet voice filled the room, nobody made a sound. He hit the falsetto notes almost perfectly, and his puppy-like smile remained for the whole performance.

“Nothing better, nothing better, than you.”

He finished the last note and the song ended. There was a loud applause and cheers from the audience. Jonghyun bowed proudly and nearly skipped back to his seat, nudging Kibum’s arm.

“Key… Key… Key… Key...”

“What do you want?” Kibum finally asked, irritated with the shorter boy’s unnecessary excitement.

Jonghyun looked up with puppy eyes. “What would you say if I told you I thought of you when I sang?” 

“Sorry I’m not sorry, but I’m straight.”

Minho joined in. “I think your performance says otherwise, Kibum. Lady Gaga? Really?”

Kibum scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Music inspires, not influences uality or lifestyle. Lady Gaga is no exception.”

The debate ended like that; Kibum holding his head high in victory and Jonghyun and Minho mocking his facial expressions.

Taemin gazed at the audience in front of him, his legs shaking no matter what position he stood in. He was going to dance. Yes, he was. Even with so many people staring right into his soul, expecting a fabulous performance like Kibum’s, or a charismatic one like Minho’s. But Taemin couldn’t do that; he would disappoint everybody and never get back home. He was neither ‘a pro’ nor ‘ually appealing’. He was just Taemin the nobody. The weird kid who nobody wanted to befriend.

Music started to play and Luna eyed the boy carefully. It was playing for 10 seconds and he still hadn’t moved. He was frozen, lost in his own thoughts. Then he seemed to realize he was on stage, for his eyes enlarged and he stepped away from the spotlight, shaking his head.

The light was blinding him, so he held a hand over his face. The air was suffocating, so he took deep, uneven breaths. His eyes were stinging, so he let a tear roll down his red cheek. The music was stopped short, just like his heart. The audience being to whisper amongst themselves. What was he doing? That’s what Taemin was thinking, too. The question repeated itself over and over like a broken tape.

What was he doing?

What was he doing?

What was he doing?

The silence was interrupted by the sudden screech of chair legs scratching the floor’s tiles. Luna lifted her head to see Jinki standing up with a different expression than usual. It wasn’t a goofy grin this time. It was a confused, concerned yet determined expression. He nodded to himself and headed to the stage, wrapping an arm around Taemin’s smaller body and passing him a microphone. His normal smile was back and he uttered something in the boy’s ear.

Jinki sent a signal to the DJ and a happy, simple song started. After a quick squeeze from Jinki, Taemin sang. His voice was shaky and a little croaky, but he was singing. Another person appeared next to the maknae, and Taemin turned his head to meet with a grinning Jonghyun who also wrapped his arm around the young one protectively. The three of them sang the chorus together, bopping comically to the beat.

It was then too, that a reluctant Kibum pulling along an equally totally-don’t-want-to-do-this Minho entered the stage. Jonghyun brought them closer, an arm curling around Kibum’s waist and gripping his shirt. The five sang merrily, holding back the temptation to laugh away the embarrassment. Taemin, whose tears had now dried away, smiled shyly at Luna. She gave him a thumb up, extremely touched by the boys’ act of kindness and support.

They were all helping a stranger who they only just met less than three days ago. But to the audience, it seemed like they had been friends for a long time. A bunch of awkward, dorky friends who just wanted to sing on stage. You could say they were faking the smiles. It was all for show or just to cover up Taemin’s mistake.

And maybe, it was. But Luna could see a potential in these boys she hadn’t seen in a long time. So maybe, possibly, those fake smiles also held a truth. A truth that they felt a sense of adrenalin while singing on stage and the fellow bandmates tucked under their arms would be a reason to keep going until the end.

“This is our fate, I’m yours.” 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The amount of references in this story is shocking. There are more to come, too. See if you can spot them all. 

This is my little Christmas present to my lovely subscribers. Who'd have thought I would updating twice in two days? Not me! 

I feel so evil, knowing what happens next while you are all predicting stuff. But keep doing it! I love hearing your thoughts. It gives me courage to keep writing.

Incase you're wondering: Onew's Solo , Minho's Solo ,  Key's Solo , Jonghyun's Solo , Group Song

I love you all. Wishing you a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and stay safe during the holidays!

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