"Woah."

"Woah indeed," Soojung murmured, stepping out of the taxi cab.

The two girls were introduced to a large gated mansion with the initials "OH PROPERTY" engraved on one of the white pillars near the door. It was a pleasant cream-coated building with glass walls stacked upon each other. Marbled steps welcomed the girls as they approached the door. Seulgi nervously stared at the unique door knocker guarding the door. It was a golden snake wrapped around a circle. In its mouth, it held a round door knocker, tempting its guests to come in at their own will.

While Seulgi took a little longer to observe the modern mansion, Soojung took the initiative to knock using the door knocker. The two girls waited for a moment before a well-groomed butler opened the door.

"Invitations?" the butler asked. The girls handed the butler their invitations. The man took it and stamped it. Then, he gestured the girls to come inside. They walked in, and he closed the door behind them.

"Where is everyone?" Seulgi asked, noticing that the front entrance was completely empty.

"The party is a little further into the mansion," the butler explained. He led them to a series of doors. "Choose one door, change, and use the door on the other side to leave. Make sure you wear your mask. Failure to keep your mask on all night will result in you being kicked out of the party."

"Wait, so we separate from here?" Seulgi asked him.

"You'll separate and will rejoin at the party room. However, you will have to find each other," the butler explained.

"No way!" Seulgi turned to Soojung. "How will I know if it's you?"

"I'll find you," Soojung assured her. "I'm not going to go in here and be alone all night."

"We need a code!" Seulgi suggested.

"Pawn."

Before Seulgi could clarify if 'pawn' was the code, the butler pushed the girls into different rooms. He closed the door on Soojung and was about to close the door on Seulgi until he remembered something.

"I wish you," the butler said, "the most memorable evening tonight."

Seulgi dropped her jaws and was about to say something, but the door closed on her. She turned around, then froze when she saw two women holding flat irons and curling irons. They smiled at Seulgi, who gulped nervously as she knew that she was in for a complete new make-over.

/ / / / /

Seulgi felt very uncomfortable with her outfit when she stepped outside of the changing room and into the party. Her hair was tied up into a high ballerina bun with a well decorated silver hair comb locking the bun in place. She was wearing a snow-colored ruffled mini-dress that had a strapless bustier black contrast lace around the upper waist. Her silver mask, which had clear jewel and bead embellishments, was tightly secured by a white satin ribbon tied around her head. The only thing on her small face that people could see was the nice rosy blush on her cheeks and her glossy pink lips.

Her black laced-up heels tapped against the ground as she tried to find her way through the crowd. She nervously rubbed her hands together, which were covered by elbow-length white gloves. The goal was to find Soojung as soon as possible, but it was difficult to look for anyone in particular, especially since everyone looked so unfamiliar.

It would've been nice if they'd let me take my belongings into the party. I could've just called Soojung, Seulgi thought bitterly. She started to make her way to where all the snacks and drinks were. She reached over for a cookie and started to nibble on it while she uncomfortable looked at the party guests.

The room seemed large enough to hold three full-grown elephants. The floor was neatly polished and reflected off the floral chandeliers that dangled on the ceiling. At the very end of one side of the room, there was a large staircase that curved up to the second floor. It took her a minute to realize that the stairs directly led any of the guests to a clear windowed room. The see-through room looked like some sort of office, except when she considered the current setting, it looked like an observatory box. She could see three figures gazing down at the guests from above. Two of the three figures were clearly men, while the third figure was a girl dressed in a lavish black prom gown.

I wonder if Sehun or Jongin is in there, she thought. She frowned. If those two are in there, then that girl is probably Hyeri. God damn it.

"Pawn."

Seulgi gasped loudly. She whirled around, only to see a slightly taller girl standing behind her. She squinted her eyes, then gasped.

"Soojung? Is that you?" Seulgi whispered. She couldn't believe her eyes.

Soojung's hair was styled in a loose waterfall braid with fake flowers lined up neatly against her braid. She was wearing a long chiffon bridesmaid dress with beads scattered around her chest. Every time she swayed her body, her rich blue dress would soar briefly in air, bearing her ankles and quickly hiding them like the ocean retreating from land. Her mask was made out of a bright blue cloth with a cream-colored appliqué swirls on one side and crystals dotted around the eye on the other side. Hers, too, had her mask wrapped around her head with a white satin ribbon.

"Yes, it's me." She groaned. "I hate these shoes." She started to stop her black square-toe shoes against the floor. "They are so uncomfortable to walk in. Like, how do they expect us to dance?" She sighed before looking up at the observatory box. "I see that you've noticed the popular crew over there."

"Why are they only three?" Seulgi asked.

"You got the birthday boy, the birthday boy's best friend, and the birthday boy's childhood friend," Soojung explained.

Seulgi blinked her eyes. "Wait. Repeat the last part."

"The birthday boy's childhood friend?"

Seulgi stared at Soojung. "Are you saying that Hyeri is Sehun's childhood friend?"

"Well, yeah. It's a bit unclear, but from what I've heard, her dad and his dad are close friends."

"I've never heard such a thing."

"It might be because she doesn't live with her father anymore. She only lives with her mother. Oh, but that doesn't mean that her parents are divorced," Soojung said. She stopped herself. "Don't ask for the details. It's not very important."

Seulgi, although curious, nodded her head. "So what now?"

"It looks like there isn't anything big going on yet," Soojung said, looking around her. "They're still playing classical music, so it seems like things are warming up. I've only heard stories of how epic or life-changing Sehun's parties are, so I'm sure that this isn't just a regular masquerade ball." She smirked. "I don't have my notebook right now, but that doesn't stop me from listening to people gossip. This party will give me a good idea of who hates who and all that."

"How are you going to accurately identify people when they're all wearing masks?" Seulgi asked her. She squinted her eyes. "Everyone looks the same. They all look flashy."

"Take this as one of your popularity lessons: identifying people. Recognizing people face-to-face is good, but anyone can do that. Take note on people's behaviors. Some people just can't hide bad habits," Soojung said. She tapped on Seulgi's shoulder. "I'll see you in a bit."

"Wait, Soo—"

Before Seulgi could call out her name, Soojung had disappeared into the crowd. Seulgi scowled and looked around, feeling lost in the sea of costumes and masks. She took a deep breath, scanning her area. She looked up at the observatory box for a brief moment before she blended in the crowd, trying to hide from everyone's eyes like Soojung.

/ / / / /

"…So, why did you have three people up there?" Jongin asked, observing the office room. "Won't people think that they're us?"

"Exactly," Sehun said, glancing at the three figures in the observatory box. "It's just a way for us to hide in the crowd. If people didn't see us up there, then they'd try to look for us. Wouldn't that be more annoying? It's best for us to disguise ourselves as everyone else and act innocent."

"What if they do something to ruin our image?"

"Don't worry. They're our butlers and maid. If they screw up, they'll be fired."

"Okay, but Hyeri's probably freaking out. She's probably thinking that girl up there is someone else and that we're actually the two guys in that box," Jongin pointed out.

"No, she's aware. I told her prior to the party."

Jongin stared at him. "I thought you weren't going to let people know about the details to your party."

"I only told her about the dummies up there. She doesn't know anything else," Sehun assured him. He glanced down at his watch. "Thirty seconds."

"What?"

"Look."

Jongin gazed up at the box once again. He adjusted his simple full-faced white mask when he saw the three imitators leave the room. The music died down and everyone held their breaths. Jongin was amazed by the fact at how everyone looked up at the figures with pure admiration.

They don't even know that those people are phonies, Jongin thought. Amazing.

The three figures stopped at the middle of the stairs. The figure who was pretending to be Sehun turned around, his chest facing the audience. He cleared his throat loudly, and started to open his mouth.

"Welcome!" His voice boomed throughout the party floor. "I, Oh Sehun, personally welcome you to my eighteenth birthday." 

People started clapping. Jongin's eyes widened as he stared at Sehun.

"How are you there while you're physically here?" Jongin whispered to him.

"I pre-recorded my voice," Sehun whispered back.

"For this year's theme, I chose to hide everyone behind a mask. We are all capable of doing something, but sometimes we fear to show our capabilities and hide it. However, tonight, there is no need to hide your capabilities. We are all behind a mask, and we don't know who we are. I request that everything that happens at this party stays at this party." A wide smirk appeared on his lips. "Therefore, we shall commence with the first activity of the night!" Loud cheers erupted from the crowd. "At this very moment, everyone will receive a card. The cards all contain numbers that correspond to the room you will enter."

The butlers and maids came by, passing everyone a card. Jongin and Sehun each accepted their cards and started to compare it.

"I got five," Jongin said.

"Seven," Sehun said, showing his number. "Guess we're going to separate."

"It seems so," Jongin murmured.

"After receiving your card, please start walking up to the doors and enter your designated room. From there, further instructions will be given. Failure to follow instructions will result in you being kicked out of the party."

"I'll see you later," Sehun said, giving Jongin a quick pat on his shoulder. He tightened the ribbon to his crow mask and began to follow a certain crowd. Jongin quietly nodded his head and began to walk in another direction.

After a full ten minutes of walking through the crowd and arriving at his room, he spotted a small group wandering around inside. He gulped nervously and started to inch closer to the other side of the wall. He wasn't used to approaching people, so he patiently waited for someone to approach him. However, no one seemed interested in him. Instead, they were all surrounding the phony Sehun, who ended up in the same room.

How funny, Jongin thought simply. They seriously think he's the real Sehun. He started to see less and less people enter the room. He yawned quietly, looking away. This is getting boring. No one interesting is coming in. He sighed. I should've just switched numbers to be with Sehun. He always made things interesting.

"Doors will close in one minute!"

Jongin looked up at the ceiling, searching for the source for the announcement. He spotted a speakers hidden at the corner of the room. He looked around, but noticed that no one cared. Again, they were all interested in the fake Sehun, who remained quiet and stood tall.

I don't look that different with the mask on, do I? he wondered, fixing the mask again. He sighed and glanced up.

At that very moment, his heart almost stopped. His eyes widened, and his lips parted away in amazement. He knew—he knew by heart—who the girl running into the room was. She was out of breath, tired, but she managed to step inside before the door closed behind her. A few people looked at her, surprised to see her run inside, but turned away when Sehun started shifting his weight to one side.

"Damn it," Soojung muttered, looking at the door behind her. I didn't get to find Seulgi in time.

She looked around, observing the new territory. At one side of the room, she saw a bunch of people surrounding the masked man from earlier. She slowly nodded her head as her eyes were on the fake Sehun.

He's obviously not Sehun, Soojung thought, walking to the corner of the room. Out of coincidence, she stood next to Jongin, who stiffened and felt his face heat up. There's a reason why Sehun put out imposters, and it's probably to hide in the crowd. That means that I actually have to approach people and talk to them before figuring out who they are.

Oh god, Jongin thought nervously, awkwardly standing still at a very uncomfortable position. I didn't think she'd be at this party. Why is she here? Does she have an interest in Sehun? No, that can't be. She's usually in her own little world. Wait, does she even know who Sehun is? Then does that mean she knows who I am?

I won't know anything unless I start talking, Soojung and Jongin thought in unison.

Just when she was about to approach someone else, Jongin stopped her by grabbing her wrist. Soojung turned around, surprised. She squinted her eyes, trying to get a better look at the man who stopped her from interacting with anyone.

"Are you…Sehun?" Soojung asked quietly. If he's Sehun, it makes sense to why he's wearing a full mask.

What do I do. What do I do. Jongin started to freak out. She took me for the wrong guy. She thinks I'm Sehun. Do I say that I'm Sehun? I can't do that. I can't disguise myself as him. I can't. I just can't.

"I know that the 'Sehun' over there isn't the real Sehun," Soojung revealed. She leaned closer, and Jongin arched his back backwards. "Or maybe you aren't Sehun…It's hard to tell when your whole body is covered with a tuxedo and gloves. It would be a lot easier to identify you if you spoke or removed your mask…"

"W-Wait!" Jongin exclaimed, cracking his voice. He froze and stared at Soojung, who stared at him with her eyebrows arched upwards. His cheeks burned and he felt his heart pound against his chest. That's it. I'm done for. My voice cracked. How embarrassing. She probably knows who I am—

"I must've gotten the wrong person," Soojung said, flashing Jongin a quick smile. His heart skipped a beat. "I'm sorry."

Jongin wasn't sure what to say, so he just nodded his head. She returned to her position, straightening her back and leaned against the wall.

Did she not recognize me? he wondered.

"I actually came here with my friend, but I lost sight of her," Soojung continued. "So I'm looking for Sehun for personal reasons, but he doesn't seem to be here at all."

Jongin kept quiet. He didn't dare to speak. He just nodded his head, hoping that she would just ramble on her own.

I'm not going to have my voice crack again, he thought to himself, his cheeks still crimson from before.

"Are you enjoying the party?" she asked him. He nodded his head. She forced another smile. "You're not much of a talker, are you?" He shrugged his shoulders. Soojung pressed her lips and nodded her head. "Well, I don't talk much either…"

This isn't good. If he doesn't talk, then I'm just wasting my time with this guy, she thought, looking around the room. How long are we going to be stuck in here? Are we ever getting out? I wonder how Seulgi's doing…I hope she doesn't screw anything up.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Everyone looked up at the ceiling, trying to find the voice. Jongin and Soojung stared at the corner of the room, knowing exactly where the announcer was coming from. "You will be in this room for an hour! Feel free to talk and chat, but do not use your real name! Code names are allowed! After the time is up, we will make an announcement that will lead you to another room. For the time being, please enjoy your evening with the guests around your circle!"

"An hour?" Soojung repeated. She scowled. Great. I'm here for an hour and I'm not going to do anything. This party .

For some odd reason, Jongin felt extremely blessed. His heart fluttered a bit as he shyly looked down at his feet, enjoying the silent moment he was having just by standing next to Soojung.