Chapter 6: Hiding Behind a Mask

[DongWoo POV]

Wow, people keep complimenting my laugh. Is it really ‘contagious?’ I didn’t know laughing could make people catch a virus!

This school was really big. Like… super big! I ended up roaming around the school during study hall. SungYeol might think I'm childish for being so curious, but what does he expect? I'm a childhood plush!!

Something that caught my eye was the bulletin board near the entrance of the school. I noticed it on my way to Theater class. There was a bright, neon orange paper pinned behind several other flyers. I nudged them to the side to get a view of that orange flyer:

Do YOU like hip-hop?
Do you like to RAP and DANCE?
Come to our team meeting, yo!
Currently recruiting for a new performance
team, so come to our auditions
THIS FRIDAY!
*.*.*.*. THE UNDERGROUND SQUAD .*.*.*.*

Hip-hop? That sounds fun! What...What is hip-hop, though? I’ll ask Hoya. He really likes dancing and rapping stuff, so let’s ask him!

---

Lunch.

“The Underground Squad?” Hoya munched on his protein bar, “Like a team?”

“Yeah! They wanna recruit a performance team, so you should go to the auditions this Friday!”

Hoya’s face was mixed with contemplation and excitement. He was shaking his legs and then stopped.

“This Friday, you said?”

“Mhm!”

“...Will you come?”

“Me?! I can’t rap or dance!”

“Well, have you tried?”

“...No, but I dunno.”

“Please, come…” Hoya pouted, “I don’t want to be that random new kid in town coming in for the audition by himself… Look, just come and play the music for me. You can just stand on the side and not audition, but you can click the button for me when I cue for music, okay?”

“....Okay,” I gave in. Hoya’s a really great guy and I’d hate to see him not join this performance team just because he’s shy.

"What are you guys talking about?" SungYeol plopped his metal tray onto the table and took a seat next to Hoya. A few seconds later, the rest of the group settled down in seats as well.

SungYeol nudged me. I turned over. He smiled, "Hyung, it looks like you got a secret admirer!"

"What's that?" I looked down and saw a pink sticky note loosely stuffed into my pocket but just barely sticking out. I pulled it out.

Your smile is so beautiful

"That's a girl's handwriting, I'm pretty sure..." SungYeol said as he looked over my shoulder.

I quickly threw it back in my pocket, "Yah! Stop peeking at my private messages!"

"Anyway..." SungYeol lifted his head and looked at the rest of the table, "How was your first day of school, guys? Let's start with SungGyu hyung."

"Oh, boy...! School is really a jackpot! There's this thing called 'books' that are filled with such wise words!" SungGyu exclaimed, his voice getting higher and higher from excitement, "There's even this book room!"

"They killed so many trees for those 'wise words' you speak of," WooHyun pouted, "And what do you mean by book room?"

"He means a library," MyungSoo rolled his eyes, "C'mon, get with the program..."

"Yah, not everyone is a genius, okay?" WooHyun's eyebrows started coming together, "And when will you start calling me hyung?"

"When you earn some of those 'wise words,'" MyungSoo chuckled before taking a bite of his salad.

"Y-Yah, you--" WooHyun raised a fist, "I may be a tree, but that doesn't make me afraid to fight a cat!"

"Okay, come at me then," MyungSoo raised his fingers, revealing his long nails. WooHyun flinched back but quickly tried to regain his cool facade.

"Okay, enough, enough. WooHyun, it's your turn," SungYeol tapped on the table.

WooHyun cleared his throat and sat up straight, "The humans really enjoy me. They invited me to join their football team. Can you believe it?! I love being human because I have legs!"

"But how come you didn't get any brains when you became human?" MyungSoo sarcastically remarked, which was immediately followed by WooHyun raising his fist again.

"Why I ought to knock some sense into your fur--"

MyungSoo stuck out his tongue.

"What's your tongue mean?" SungJong blinked.

"It's what humans use," MyungSoo replied, "They do it in the movies a lot. It means you win the argument-"

"Anyway..." SungYeol tried to interrupt their quarrel again, "MyungSoo, your turn."

MyungSoo lowered into his seat and smiled sheepishly, "I made a new acquiantance, or should I say, a friend..."

"Ah... You do have that 'cool' aura, so of course it's easy to make friends!" Hoya laughed.

"Me? Cool? I'm literally a nobody!" MyungSoo furrowed his eyebrows.

"In human standards, you're actually above average in beauty, MyungSoo," SungYeol remarked, "In other words... You're handsome