For the next few days Liz stayed at the dorm, wrapped in her blankets and mulling over her decisions.  Occasionally she had fits of depression, causing her to weep silently so to not disturb her sister and Nana. Both girls had been very careful to never leave her alone, but at the same time ensured that she had plenty of free space. 

Cat had taken over rehearsals for EXO and SHINee, knowing enough about the dancing to keep them working.  That, on top of her meetings regarding makeup designs for upcoming showcases, MVs and performances kept her very busy, a fact Liz couldn’t help but feel guilty about.  As time progressed, Cat was spending more time at the EXO dorm, wearily collapsing onto Sehun’s bed before being able to get back to her own room.  At first Sehun carried her back to her bed, but soon gave up that practice and just allowed her to sleep there with them.

Nana was around, of course.  Well as much as she could be.  Still doing classes, her homework kept her busy much of the time, with her free time being spent either with Tao or working on makeup designs with Cat. Occasionally the EXO and SHINee boys came by to visit, with Onew and Chanyeol carefully keeping their distance.  Neither group knew the entirety of what had happened, but they both knew enough to be concerned.

One day Cat woke up with a start, staring off into space.  In her funk she had completely forgotten it was Cat’s birthday, and the party was tonight!  Groaning, she pushed herself to her feet and darted to her bathroom to shower and get ready for the day.  There was still so much to do, and even less time to do it all in. 

“Nanaaaaaa!”  She whined, hoping the young girl was still home.

“Whaaaaaat?”  Nana replied sleepily, poking her head around Liz’s doorframe, her eyes still blurred with sleep as she rubbed them with her fists.  “What’s wrong?”

“Today’s Cat’s birthday.  I completely forgot!”  She groaned as she dug through her closet for something to wear.  “There’s so much stuff to do for tonight; can you help me?!”

“Yea, sure.  Gimme a few minutes to become human and we can go, okay?  What do we need to do?”  Her voice retreated a bit as she ran back to her room to get ready.

“We need to confirm the menu with the restaurant, pick up the decorations and cake, decorate the damn place, set up the DJ booth, and then get everyone there before she notices.” She listed, ticking her fingers off as she thought about each option.

Both girls soon left their dorm, sunglasses and masks on their faces, hats pushed firmly on their head. They quickly slid from the dorm, ignoring the cries of excitement from the fan base waiting outside. Once in the town they raced around the various shops, doing Liz's errands from the list in her pocket. Occasionally the paparazzi and saesangs cried questions to the duo, asking about the boys, what's next, and more.

“Nana-ssi!!  What’s it like dating Kris-ssi?!”  One particularly vocal fan cried, causing Nana’s head to whip around and stare at the girl through her sunglasses.  Quickly Liz came over and murmured for her to be calm, to not give any clues; both girls were very thankful for the masks to conceal their speaking.

Taking a deep breath, Nana forced a fake smile onto behind her mask, and bowed toward the fans.  “That’s something I’d like to keep to myself, if you don’t mind.”  She replied sweetly, waving to the rest of the group as they stumbled into the restaurant, breathing a sigh of relief as they leaned against the door.   “Well that’s not something I’d like to repeat.”  Nana muttered bitterly, rubbing the back of her neck.

Despite herself, Liz burst out into laughter, leaning against the wall and pressing her forehead into her hands.  “I’m sorry.  This shouldn’t be funny, but-…”  Giggles overtook her, and Nana stood there, staring at the girl until she finally calmed, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes.  “I’m sorry.”

Nana smiled faintly, shaking her head.  “It’s fine!  It’s good to see you laugh again.” 

Liz grinned, albeit a bit weakly, and then looked up as the manager walked toward her.  “Hello!  We’re here to do the decorating.”  She declared, holding up the bags of decorations on her arms.  “The cake should be here in the next hour or so, and the guests will begin arriving in about two or three.  Is there a way we can block off the front door to protect the idols?”

“Of course!  We’ll rope off the sidewalk and part of the street, put security at all the exits and all around the block.  We’ll make sure it’s safe, Liz-ssi.”  He replied, bowing deeply.

Nana darted over, taking a bag of decorations from Liz’s arm.  “And we’ll need time to get ready as well.  Is there a room we can change in somewhere?”

“Yes yes, there’s a small private dining room you ladies can use.  It’s upstairs and to the left.  Everything is prepared for your party, Miss Liz-ssi.  We’re quite excited to meet your sister.” 

Liz smiled faintly, bowing her head.  “Well you’ve already met her, truthfully.  She was here for the dinner with the EXO boys when we first came here!”  Chuckling, she shrugged.  “You might remember how much the guys actually ate… Pretty sure we nearly cleaned you out!”

Laughing, the manager bowed and left them to their own devices, muttering something about going to check on the order of meats.  Tossing her hat, sunglasses and mask onto a nearby table, Liz clapped her hands together and rubbed them vigorously, staring at the bag of decorations at her feet.  “Let’s get started, shall we?”

Clapping her hands excitedly, Nana dove into her own bag of decorations, pulling out numerous reels of streamers, bags of balloons and other miscellaneous decorations. Spreading them out on the table, she looked around, her brow furrowed. "Where's the helium tank?" She asked the bodyguard nearest her. "Do you have it?"

"Yes, Nana-ssi." He replied quietly, pulling over a box from the far counter and lugging it toward her table. "Nana-ssi I can blow up the balloons if you'd like. You can deal with the rest?"

"Perfect! Okay! Thank you so much!" She smiled sweetly, holding out the bags of balloons and ribbons to him and his additional bodyguard. "Just make sure that the ribbons match the balloons, and dangle them in the corners and such, please!" When the guys bowed and nodded, she smiled and nodded, then ran off toward the side of the room with streamers in hand.

Pursing her lips, Liz watched Nana as she quickly tossed up the roll, chuckling as it caught on light fixtures. "Be careful, Nana! Don't make a mess!"

"I wonnnnnn't.... Now just shush and call the guys. They need to get here soon, right?" Nana muttered as she fought with the streamers, twisting them as she darted across the room, crawling onto chairs in an attempt to reach the other light fixture. "Plus... I could use Tao's awkwardly tall height to get the decorations up."

Giggling Liz nodded, pulling her phone out of her purse. "I'll call them right now. Just... don't hurt yourself." Chuckling she flipped open her phone, instinctively beginning to type in Chanyeol's number. Sighing, she deleted the digits and instead typed in Tao's number. "Hello Tao? It's Liz. Is everyone ready?.... Okay great. Get everyone out here as soon as possible, and make sure Sehun knows it's go time! Oh and Tao? Nana needs help decorating... yea... on chairs. So hurry."

Stuffing her phone back into her pocket, she stepped back into the front room and grinned. "Nana, the guys are coming. Time to get dressed and ready! ...Oh just drop the streamers, Tao will take care of it."

Pouting, Nana dropped the streamer roll into a chair, completely ignoring it as it rolled across the floor. "Fair enough. Let's go get ual!" Crowing excitedly, she scooped up her bag with her outfit and grabbed Liz's hand.

---About an hour later---

Music bumped downstairs as Liz and Nana put on the finishing touches on their outfits. Liz was dressed to impress in tight leather pants and bustier, heeled black boots with a gold chain, a black blazer and various gold jewelry. Since Cat wasn't able to do her makeup, she did a simple black cat eye, and let her hair brush her shoulders in loose waves.

Nana had a tad more of a dramatic flair, with a painted on leopard print dress that left next to nothing to the imagination, black patent pumps and gold jewelry. Her hair was swept back in a ponytail, and she wore a deep red lip and smokey eye. Looking at herself in a mirror, she grinned and ran her hands down her dress. "Damn. We look goooood... But how will Cat get here and be dressed up?"

"Sehun has that taken care of. He said he was taking her out to dinner, and to dress nicely. He's pitched it as a sweet date." She smirked, absently rubbing her hands on her leather pants. "We need to get down there; who knows what shenanigans they're getting into."

Giggling, Nana nodded and slid her arm through Liz's, looking up at her nervously. "It'll be fine... just... just keep smiling, okay?"

Swallowing nervously, she nodded and together they left the room, making their way down the stairs. As they rounded the corner, Liz felt her breath caught in her chest at the sight of everyone. The 11 members of EXO stood there, intermingling with SHINee easily... except for Onew and Chanyeol, who stood on opposite ends of the room. Looking at Nana, she whimpered slightly, then put on a faint smile and waved. "Hello everyone! Thank you for coming! Sehun-ssi and Cat should arrive any minute now, so let's all quiet down and get ready!"

Immediately everyone scattered, hiding in various spaces in the room, except for Key, Xiumin, Liz and Nana who waited by the hostess station, flicking the lights off. The music dimmed, and Liz stated anxiously at the door, clenching Nana's hand tightly.

Soon they heard Sehun and Cat chuckling quietly outside the door. "Do you remember this place, Cat-ah?" He murmured softly, right outside the door.

"Yes! This is where I first met you, really. Bubble tea." She teased, encouraging a chuckle from him.

"Well I've arranged a special dinner for you, Kitty Cat." With a push of his hand, the door swung open and Liz immediately jumped into action, flipping the lights on while Nana started the music.

"SURPRIIIIIISE!!!!" Everyone cried, causing Cat's hands to leap to and cover her face in surprise. "Happy birthday!"

Looking up at Sehun, Cat blinked rapidly, blushing pink. "D-Did you arrange this?" She murmured, and he smirked, shaking his head and pointing toward Liz.

"Happy birthday, little sister." She chuckled, holding her arms open as Cat dove into her arms, hugging her tightly. "This is all for you." Leaning back, her eyes widened rapidly, whistling through her teeth. "Daaaaaamn Sehun; you got yourself a looker. Take a look at her everyone!"

Gently but firmly she pushed Cat into the center of the ring, causing the young girl to flush deep crimson. She was wearing a strapless red cocktail dress with a black bow belt, a black lace based jacket and matching black heels. Sehun's bracelet hung from her wrist as usual, and diamonds sparkled from her earlobes. Her hair was pulled up in a messy bun, and her eyes were a sultry and smokey cat eye.

Playful whistles blasted through the room, but Liz's eyes immediately caught the look of sad desire in Key's eyes, causing her heart to wrench. But the look on Sehun's face caused her to grin excitedly; just the look she wanted. "Alright everyone, let's get this party started! Let's get some food, eh? The back room has a bunch of tables and grills, and yes, plenty of food."

Cheers of excitement caused her to chuckle, and everyone ran into the side room, eagerly snatching up tables and chairs. Sliding her arm through Cat's, she grinned at her sister. "We have plenty of meat, drinks, and yes Sehun, bubble tea."

Cheering playfully, he reached over and slid his arm around Cat's waist, smirking. "Do you mind if I keep her over here?"

As Tao came and collected Nana, murmuring quietly about her outfit, Liz sighed, seeing both Onew and Chanyeol staring at her expectantly. Both had a chair open beside them, and she groaned quietly, but thanked the stars when she saw a seat between Nana and Cat available, immediately pouncing on it. Sliding in between the two girls, she couldn't help but grin at the people around her cheering as the hostess brought out the food.

Leaning back, she sighed, taking a much needed break. All that was left was eating, and then the gifts. So far... so good!