Notice: I am so sorryyyyyyyyy..

Okay I got some explanation to do; the last month was a bit of a mess: Finals, family, sickness (twice can you believe it?), and of course my own issues... So yeah nothing to worry about (those are the times that life is just a bit overwhelming and you feel like drained but dont worry guys its not like I am unlucky or smth its just life as everyone experiences. l am sure most of you can relate to it, I hope when you gusy have those times you take care of yourself and keep fighting with all you got even if it isnt always easy...). But like I said I was simply a bit overwhelmed and I barely had time for myself so thats why the long radio silence...I saw the new subs (Thank you so much everyone, this is so great), and the lovely comments (thanks also for everyone who was worried, I am sorry and luve you guys so much) and yeah from now back again an update twice a week ;)

Again Luve you so much guys; here you go enjoy;

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Mark had never liked those so called “social parties”, where his uncles and Appa were frequently invited. And those were a lot, and in all sort of kinds.

Jaehyun Appa’s family owned a big Korean-American corporation, so he attended a lot of business events. Uncle Yuta was invited to modelling awards ceremonies and fashion parties, while his uncle Doyoung was invited to all kinds of events as he was the son of the famous ex-actress and drama/movie director Kim couple, who also happened to have a famous entertainment agency, where Doyoung was signed up for as television host and variety idol.

In the beginning Mark had attended them too, because his Uncle Doyoung had wanted to bring him along, as he was sometimes too busy to spend time with Mark alone.

But after the fifth social party, Mark decided that attending those kind of events was nothing for him; he knew no one, felt out of his element and could not find something as simple as common conversation subject. Moreover, the one who accompanied him, being it his Uncle Yuta or Uncle Doyoung, always ended up surrounded by cameras, making him very uncomfortable to stay around. So yeah, it was not his cup of tea, he preferred those underground dance or rap competition by tenfold, thanks.

So, when Yuta and Jaehyun heard from Taeyong that Mark would attend their project launch with friends, it was understandable why they could not help but feel excited. Yuta had hand picked him some clothes from his special private design collection, and Jaehyun proposed to give his son a ride to the party. Seeing their enthusiasm, Mark did not refuse the clothes nor the drive, but he refused the make-up his Uncle Yuta wanted to apply (it was just to sticky on the face but his uncle Yuta disappointed face made Mark allow him to apply him eyeshadow) and he asked his Appa to bring him to the entrance, as he had already made an appointment with his friends. Taeyong laughed as he saw his annoyed eldest (Taeyong &Doyoung had taken a thousand selfies with him, bragging how handsome he was. Mark had to evade a couple of kisses and hugs) before being dragged down to the car. Taeyong smiled when he looked at the picture. Ten would commit a murder for it. His looked gorgeous in that outfit, and the smokey eyes made him look sharper, which made Mark looked for once more like Taeyong then Ten.

Taeyong smiled again at the thought before he felt a nudge on his sleeve, so  he looked down to find Jeno with his eyesmile, a box of legos in his hands.

“Daddy, can we play together?” he asked shyly.

Taeyong laughed at his cute son. Although his eldest was going out to have some fun tonight, he would also have a good time at home with the rest of his precious kids. He bended down, picnhing softly Jeno's cute cheek.

“Sure, what do you want to play, love? Daddy will play anything you want!”

Herin looking at her silver watch she had around her wrist, fidgeting, her black heels making the annoying tik tak sound because she could not stay in place. Koeun, who was standing next to her, watched with amusement how Herin asked for the fifth time if her hair was still okay and if she should still have picked that black gorgeous dress instead of the simple classic, elegant purple dress she was wearing instead.

Koeun smiled: “Yes you are fine and no, this outfit is enough.”

Herin didn’t look convinced.

Koeun smiled slyly, “Are you asking because you want to impress Mr. Nakamuto or because you want to impress someone else?”

Herin whined. “Koeun!”

Koeun couldn’t help but laugh.

However, at that said moment, a black car that would not lose to Herin’s uncle (who was a huge luxury car lover) came towards their direction and the passenger door opened. A person appeared and said some simple words towards the driver before closing the door, coming in their direction.

Herin and Koeun were speechless, the person who’s intense aura shined sharply against the cool night, was wearing  the classiest yet coolest clothes they had never seen before, making people unable to move their eyes from him.

It was Mark.

Herin and Koeun had never cared about Mark’s background, but to say that they had not heard the stories that were spread in school would be a lie. Everyone knew Mark was an honorary student, with a very simple background, his only parent figure being a too beautiful and young guy who was always in black hoodies or comfortable clothes that normal parents never wore. Herin and Koeun were not even sure if he was Mark’s real father; he looked so…young. And he did not really resemble Mark in a genetic way. Mark was an outstanding student, but with a such empty background and his very cold nature that made him unable to make some “influencial” friends, he was considered quite plain in their school. A nobody, if it were not for the fact that Herin had started to drag him into her circle of friends.

So, it was really no surprise that the girls were quite speechless at Mark’s arrival: be it the luxurious car or the clothes, the latter could clearly only be branded, it was completely unexpected.

Herin’s mind went black; Mark in their ugly blue uniform was a sight to behold, but this…Herin did not know if she would survive the party but she was so thankful that Koeun had managed to drag Mark at this party.

And as her date.

Gosh.

She was going to die for sure.

Mark looked discretely around the table, feeling quite annoyed. On his left, stood Herin, charming in her simple elegant purple dress. On his right were Koeun, who had opted for a vivid green dress, and her date…Mark forgot his name. (Maybe he should pay more attention to him next time)

Across him, stood the source of his annoyance, Mingyu. Said person didn’t even hide his fierce glare at him. He was accompanied with a very pretty girl, who looked quite proud, putting on some airs. Mark did not like her. Sometimes you looked at people you never met before, and no matter how beautiful they were, you could not help but feel a dislike even though those people are strangers to you.

Next to Mingyu and his date (Again Mark had no clue if she was even from the school as them, bless his social skills), stood another annoying pair, consisting of Mingyu’s friend and partner. (Yep you have guessed it right, again he didn’t know their names. And he didn’t really care, thanks.)

Mark sighed internally. If it was not for his Uncle Yuta, he would have never considered coming here. Yet with the presence of those people, the social party turned out to be even more annoying than it should originally be. Mark could only hope the show would start soon. Their table was quite close to the uplifted glass-made podium, where a host would officially open the competition. After that came some food, followed by a reception and a wild after party on the dancefloor. Or at least it said so, on the neo-glowing card that was left on their table.

“Neo got my back…”

The intro-music, that blasted out of the speakers, surprised the hundreds of teenagers that had been talking quietly, as the light dimmed, leaving the room dark, besides the glass-made podium that glowed a neo-green colour. Each table contained some crystal lotus flowers, who now slowly started to glow the same colour.

Mark smiled, admiring his Appa’s and (probably most of) Uncle Yuta’s artistic work.

“Hey yo, young people” a clear mischievous minted voice made its entrance after the intro ended, “lets have a good time tonight with NCT.”

A handsome person, who had the body proportion of a model, appeared on the stage, and everyone cheered, “I will be your special MC for tonight, UNITED Hwang Minhyun at your service.”

Mark smiled a bit. Minhyun Hyung was asked by his dad to do this favour, as NCT wanted a trendy idol to represent their image. Amongst UNITED, Minhyun Hyung was the one that represented a sweet y, yet dignified perfect image which was very representative of the collaboration of his Uncle Yuta and NCT corporation. He was also a model (as were most of UNITED members), and his MC skills were quite good which was why Taeyong had asked him to accept this offer. Minhyun of course was glad to, he liked to do a favour for his beloved teacher and the offer itself was alluring as he quite liked Nakamuto’s design. NCT corp was also no little deal, so he had accepted directly after approval of his leader.

Minhyun spotted Mark, as he was quite close to the stage, giving him a bright smile and a secret wink before he continued his speech;

“Let me first reveal the name of this amazing collaboration, the future brand name that some of you guys might be lucky to represent: “Cherry N””

An elegant logo, consisting of a purple cherry and a vibrant red N appeared on the screen behind Minhyun.

“The word “Cherry”, represent the image of the brand; fresh and alluring. As for the word “N” it represents the common syllable of NCT corp. and Mr. Nakamuto. The official first launch, will be in two weeks. Are you guys excited?”

Everyone responded loudly: “Yes!”

Minhyun laughed: “Good, me as well. Their first line will be dedicated to teenagers, which is why you guys are here, as we are looking for some future representatives. I bet every one of you carefully picked his or her outfit tonight, right? Well you have done well, as we have a jury that is currently looking at you,” Minhyun pointed towards the right, where a glass table stood a bit out of the rest of them. There were 5 people sitting around it, each holding a tablet while smiling at the crowd that were looking at them. “They are all great fashion bloggers, who have worked several times closely with Cheryy N’s designers. Each table has a number, and so does each seat creating thus an unique number series for each of you. While you guys will be busy with the first test, the judges will add a score to your number series.”

Koeun looked at the judges as she bent slightly to Herin’s side to whisper: “So that’s why they have been staring at us. I think we should be okay, our outfits are quite in similar tones with most of the girls present. As for the boys…I say, Mark’s definitely passing the first test with flying colours.”

Herin blushed as she nodded, glancing at Mark, who’s dress code was certainly the most impressive of tonight’s evening; not only was the outfit stunning, it also fitted him perfectly, accentuating his high cheekbones and broad shoulders. As the saying goes, the first clothing is the face.

“So, for the first test, I hope you guys are not too bad with quizzes.” Minhyun winked playfully at the groan that was heard from several teenagers. “Don’t worry, the subject of tonight’s quiz is not history or math but Cherry N. After all we can’t let you represent them, if you don’t have some basic knowledge and understanding about them, right?”

Minhyun took out a phone, it was an N phone of course, and continued: “I am sure everyone already noticed the free wifi over here, and for those few who are not connected yet, please do as we will log in on “quiz pop”.

Everyone took out their phone, including Mark. Herin’s eyes glanced briefly over his phone, Mark being the honorary student he was, he had never taken it out in class.

It was a N-phone, with a phone case “Mark Lee” on it.

Herin could tell the model was recent.

Behind the podium a projection was shown with the Quiz Pop site, the login and chatroom being displayed.

“Okay, everyone, our quiz pop room is Ncherry127. Login is 127… Everyone connected?”

When everyone was, the quiz started;

“What was the first clothing brand NCT launched; A) U Sense B) Limitless C) BLB  D) Vision?”

Mingyu smirked, looking at Mark. He wanted to see how that garbage would do in such a quiz; fashion knowledge was after all easy for people of their level. But for that garbage?  Since he did not know his limits by coming here, let him humiliate himself!

Mingyu clicked A on his smartphone and watched with glee how Mark’s finger clicked C.

He smirked.

“Alright voting closed, now second question; Nakamuto’s brand has two official lines, one of them being “Don’t Stop”. Where does this unique come from? A) The designers dream B) the designers secret lover from the past C) The message of being fearless D) none of the above.

…

At the end of the quiz (who had not taken longer then10 minutes), Mark’s head was spinning as if he had been dancing one of those complicated choreos of UNITED. He really wanted to tell his Appa and Uncle that such a test was just asking everyone to fail. If Mark hadn’t been an insider he would have felt awful not being able to reply most questions. Mark did not know that in reality, NCT’s fame was enough to have some hard-core fans, who kept updated with everything the corporation did, thus creating such a difficult test to be fair.

The lights got back, and Minhyun hyung came back on stage; “Alright the scores have been collected and have been added with your quiz results. Let me announce the podium of tonight!”

The room got deadly silent, as everyone could not help but be nervous despite their excitement. Herin fidgeted next to Mark. “You nervous?” she whispered to him.

Mark shook his head lightly. Why would he? He just came because she asked him to come and because he had wanted to support his uncle and Appa. The competition didn’t interest him in the least, as all he wanted was to go home already.

But there was still the dinner and wild party after this… *sighs*

“Oh, it seems we have a clear King for tonight! The judges are still debating for his future Queen… In a second I will call them both up, and they can sign an exclusive contract to represent Cherry N for a year!”

The excited whisper in the room got louder and Mark wondered who would represent his Appa’s and Uncle Yuta’s brand. He hoped for them it would be someone good, and not someone nasty as Mingyu who could give a brand image to the brand.

“Ah the judges have decided! Let us see the podium of tonight!”

On the screen behind Minhyun appeared numbers:

“Lets start with the ladies first. The top 5 will be announced and will also receive a special price! And here goes number 5… 5th place for the ladies: Lady Koeun.”

Koeun let out a small scream as she smiled and everyone congratulated her, while the room applauded.

“Pitty..But I guess its not that bad.” Koeun smiled. “Maybe you will be higher?”

Herin smiled, “I don’t dare to hope so, but I am already happy for you.”

Koeun smiled, hugging her best friend.

“Number 4…goes to Lady Lisa!”

Another light excited scream was heard and everyone applauded for the girl.

“Number 3… a warm applause for Lady Hyuna!”  The arrogant girl, that was Mingyu’s partner frowned but she quickly smiled towards Mingyu: “Not bad right? I guess it’s because the quiz was so difficult, what a pity.”

Mingyu just hummed, not really affected.

“Number 2… who was beaten by a very slight margin,… a big applause to you Lady Nayoung!”

A very beautiful girl next to their table smiled warmly, and Mark felt it was a pity she was not chooses, as her conduct was far better than Hyuna.

“And now….lets go to the boys!”

“EHHH?!” everyone exclaimed.

Minhyun hyung laughed; “It’s good to let you guys wait a bit more, but hyung is not teasing on purpose, let’s call the King and Queen together, alright?”

Herin smiled to Koeun, “Well its anyway finished, I am glad you got in top 5! Don’t forget about me when receiving your special price!”

Koeun smiled back: “There is still the number 1 place left!”

Herin rolled her eyes; “Let’s be realistic.”

Koeun rolled her eyes back at her, before a sly smile came on her pretty face; “Mark what do you think, does Herin have a chance to be number 1?”

 “Of course, she does.” Replied Mingyu. “I am pretty sure you will be the first.” Hyuna who was next to him eyed Herin with a discontent face, while Koeun looked irritated at him; “I was asking Mark.”

Mingyu humped, “What does he know about fashion? Does he even has something called ‘decent taste’?”

Koeun nearly lost it, but before she could snap at him Marks calm voice intervened:

“I don’t know if you will be first, but I would be happy if you were.”

Herin blushed, her eyes meeting Mark’s serious gaze. No flattery, purely sincere words.

Herin really didn’t care about first place, those words were more than enough, she couldn’t