Kibum spent the rest of the night just wondering who the mysterious person was. Even the handwriting didn’t seem similar to that of anyone he knew. He awoke when the phone rang.

“Kibum, this is Jonghyun. How are you?”

“Yeah, I’m fine”

“There’s a play next week, followed by a masquerade ball. Shall the three of us go together?”

“Jonghyun, I’m too busy with work. I can’t make it”

“Look at that. The university’s Best Actor doesn’t want to go see a play? I remember a time when you used to love watching plays, just to critique them”

“That was long ago. Things aren’t the same anymore. Nothing is the same”

“You need to loosen up. You work too hard, and you definitely need a break”

“I’ll think about it. I’m not making any promises, but I will call you if I change my mind”

The next morning, he went back to the office to find yet another note, this time accompanied by a single long-stemmed ruby red rose. “Now I can’t stop it. The habit of chasing you. You’re spreading like an irresistible addiction”. Even after enquiring with his staff, Kibum was unable to figure out who had sent the notes. The person could easily just be a prankster or some kind of ert. Almost everyone knew he had been single for a long time, and thanks to the media, people knew who he was. If this was a prankster, then that person was going to be in so much trouble when Kibum found out who he was.

Perhaps Jonghyun had been right. He hadn’t had a social life in years, and that coffee with Minho definitely didn’t count as an ‘outing’. It would be nice to just spend time with Jonghyun and Jinki, and not worry about the image he had to maintain.

“Jonghyun, It’s Kibum. I’d like to join you both for the play”

Jonghyun smiled to himself when he saw how well the plan was working.

****************************************

Over the next few days, Kibum didn’t receive any more notes which made him seriously wonder if it had been Jonghyun all along, just trying to prank him. Whatever it was, it did work. It made him want to leave his work behind him and just go out and have a good time. He bought a beautiful gold and pink Venetian style mask, with sea green feathers on it, to wear at the masquerade ball. For the first time in years, he actually felt excited. When he reached home, he saw a small package lying on the doorstep with no return address. The package contained a mask in the style of Phantom of the Opera, and it was ivory in color and gleaming was Swarovski crystals that shone in the light, creating little rainbows. As usual, there was a note “You play me all day and even if you push or pull me and I fall down, I follow your scent that embraces my body again”. The back of the note contained a two-liner that said “I would be truly honored if you could join me on stage and enact this scene with me. I’ve watched your plays before and I have always wanted to share the stage with you”. So this was either someone from his university or someone who knew his friends. All of the university plays were “By Invitation only” so there was no doubt that he had seen this person at least once. The only issue was that he had no idea who it was. The bottom of the package had the script for one scene, which he quickly skimmed through. It seemed really interesting, and he hadn’t been on stage for years. Since he would be behind a mask the whole time, no one would even know it was him so it wouldn't matter if he made a mistake. Feeling excited, he started to memorize his lines. It was really going to be an eventful, yet amazing day and he couldn't wait for it to arrive so he could deliver a truly mesmerizing performance.