From where Kikwang was sitting, at one of the empty tables, he could see it clearly: KaHee was in the middle of a tight embrace with MBLAQ’s Lee Joon. He held her tightly, and KiKwang heard him greet her “Happy Birthday” and “Congratulations for your album sales!” Next to her, RaeIn was hugging G.O. and JulSu was hugging ChunDoong. But that didn’t matter because while those two MAKIKO members moved on to hug Seungho and Mir, KaHee was still trapped in the arms of Lee Joon.

KiKwang was so entranced by the disgusting scene before him that he didn’t notice when HyunSeung took a seat next to him.

“Hey, what’s up?” HyunSeung asked, patting KiKwang on his back and shaking him from his thoughts. KiKwang looked dully at HyunSeung and simply turned back towards KaHee’s direction, resting his chin on his hand. His moping was quite reminiscent of a certain Arabian prince’s a couple weeks prior.

HyunSeung followed KiKwang’s gaze and the two friends watched for a bit as KaHee continued conversing with Joon. “Ah, I see.”

“Ah, it’s really hard,” KiKwang said, running a hand through his hair. “I wanted to spend all of today with her but I can’t.”

“Why can’t you?” asked HyunSeung.

“It’s her party, and she’s busy with all the guests so I don’t want to disturb her. I’ll just get in the way.” KiKwang sighed. “Also, it’s not like it would be good if we were seen being too close to one another, especially in front of all these people.”

“Right, paparazzi would go crazy,” HyunSeung laughed, trying to lighten up the mood.

“Yeah… I wish we didn’t have to keep what we have a secret. Now all I can do is sit here and watch while she talks to all those guys!” KiKwang and HyunSeung watched as the 2AM boys joined the conversation that the MAKIKO girls were having with MBLAQ. JinWoon ran toward RaeIn and gave her a quick hug, while ChangMin targeted JulSu for a hug. What caught KiKwang’s attention however was SeuLong, who gave KaHee a really tight hug, lifting her off her feet for a bit – making KiKwang feel even more insecure.

“SeuLong! I haven’t seen you for so long!” he heard KaHee exclaim.

“Let me get you a drink,” HyunSeung said patting KiKwang on the back again as he got up. KiKwang nodded, now glaring at both Joon and SeuLong.

——-

“Oh, look! There’s Shelly-unni!” JulSu said, tapping on KaHee’s shoulder.

“I see her!” KaHee said. She turned back to 2AM and MBLAQ. “Sorry, guys, I’ll talk to you later! I’ve got to say hi to the other guests!” The two boy groups told her it was okay and they quickly dispersed to the different stations of the party: some left to eat, some left to drink, and some left to karaoke.

“Happy Birthday, KaHee-ah!” Shelly-unni exclaimed as the MAKIKO girls approached her.

“Thank you, Unni!” KaHee replied as the two hugged each other.

“Where are the rest of the Bakery members?” RaeIn asked, as she gave Shelly a hug as well.

“They’re probably getting food. Andro couldn’t make it though,” Shelly answered. In a whisper she added, “He’s on a date with Yoona.”

“SNSD?” KaHee exclaimed.

Shelly nodded. “Yeah, but don’t tell anyone though!”

“Gotcha,” the girls replied.

“But you guys are still performing right?” RaeIn asked.

“Yes, of course! We’re just going to split up Andro’s parts. It’s going to be a bit hard without our lead dancer though,” Shelly laughed. “Who else is performing by the way?”

“Oh man!” KaHee explained, eyes shining brightly with excitement. “K.Will!”

“Yeah, and he’s going to feature Outsider!” RaeIn exclaimed, eyes shining just as bright.

“And he’s going to sing ‘Present’ for me!” spazzed KaHee.

“I still can’t believe it!” RaeIn and KaHee gushed together.

“That’s awesome! I can’t wait to see that; I love that song!” Shelly exclaimed.

“Oh, hey guys,” JulSu directed at her group-mates. “SaRang-unni texted me saying that we should meet her at the corner booth.”

“Oh, okay,” RaeIn replied. “We’ll talk to you later Shelly!”

Shelly walked off to look for her group-mates as RaeIn, JulSu and the birthday girl KaHee headed off to find their manager. They eventually found her sitting with JiYong, JerAh and HaeRi. The girls could hear them laughing as they neared the booth.

“You’re a bit over-dressed, Hyung,” JerAh laughed, smacking JiYong on the back.

“Shut up!” JiYong replied, hiding his face with his hands. “I didn’t think it would be semi-formal! They said it was a luau!” JiYong was clad in a green Hawaiian shirt decorated with random palm trees and khaki shorts. His companions on the other hand were dressed to impress with nice dress-shirts and dark jeans. SaRang wore a green summer dress. They all had leis around their neck to stay true to the luau theme.

“KaHee!” SaRang giggled, raising her arms excitedly. Next to her were a couple mugs formerly filled with beer, and a couple bottles formerly filled with soju.

“What’d you need us for, SaRang-unni?” JulSu asked. SaRang wiggled her finger, signaling her to come closer so she could say something.

“We ran out of beer, what do we do?” SaRang whispered worriedly. JulSu did a facepalm in response.

“There’s more at the bar, Unni,” KaHee reassured her.

“Really, is there?” SaRang’s eyes lit up. “I’m lazy, though. HaeRi, go get more!” SaRang pushed HaeRi out of the booth. He stumbled out and sighed in defeat. As he headed to the bar, SaRang clapped in victory.

“May I have your attention, everyone?” HyunAh’s voice could be heard resonating through the room. “MC HyunAh and MC JiYoon here, and it’s time to start our program!”

“Sorry, Unni, we have to perform now! I hope you guys enjoy the entertainment, though!” JulSu said as MAKIKO headed to the main stage in the middle of the room.

“First of all, where is our birthday girl?” JiYoon asked, holding her index cards above her eyes as she scanned the room. KaHee jumped up, waving her hands.

“There she is! Happy birthday, Unni!” HyunAh exclaimed, directing everyone’s attention to KaHee.

“And congratulations to our sisters for their daebak album sales!” JiYoon continued. “Now, let’s have them perform for us ‘MAKIKO 1S ONE’ followed by their current hit, ‘Gotta Be Kidding Me!’”

The MAKIKO girls walked up on stage to the sound of the audience’s applause. First and foremost, they hugged their 4Minute friends and thanked them for MCing, and then they took their places as the lights turned off.

They all stood facing away from the audience. Soon, the intro music to their mini-album’s introduction song started playing; it was a soft piano melody. As the song started to pick up, the spotlight appeared. After a beat, it shined on JulSu, who stood to the right of the stage. She turned and posed with one hand on her hip and the other behind her neck, playing with her hair. She was wearing a white knee-length, ruche-shoulder dress with a blue hibiscus flower pattern. After another beat, a second spotlight found its way toward KaHee, who stood to the left of the stage. She turned to pose with one hand on her hip and the other hand on her heart. She was wearing a strapless red dress with a sweetheart top, fitted to emphasize her curves. Her dress had a white hibiscus flower pattern. Finally the last beat revealed the final spotlight that located RaeIn, who took the center of the stage. She turned and posed with her arms akimbo. She was wearing a white knee-length halter top. It had a hibiscus flower pattern as well, though hers were yellow.

“Allow us to spell it out for you… In the CUBE… It’s MA. KI. KO.”

——-

“Annyeonghaseyo, MAKIKO imnida!” RaeIn greeted the audience holding on to her microphone with both hands. “Thank you so much for being here! Today we are celebrating two very special occasions, one being the successful sales of our first album—” She paused as the audience clapped. “— We are so thankful for everyone’s support! We are still learning the ropes, so please continue to help us as our friends and sunbaenims!” RaeIn bowed and passed the microphone onto JulSu.

“Yes, thank you everyone! Now, don’t get me wrong; we are very happy about our album sales. But today, what we really want to celebrate is the birthday of our wonderful maknae, KaHee!” The audience cheered again, and JulSu passed the microphone to the maknae.

“Hello everyone, I’m so glad you could make! If no one could come, the party would be cancelled,” KaHee joked. “Anyway, we’ve got a lot of entertainment for you guys. I don’t want to keep you guys waiting, so let’s welcome back our great MCs, HyunAh and JiYoon! But this time, they’ll be accompanied by the rest of 4Minute as they perform their song, ‘I My Me Mine!’”

As 4Minute walked on stage, MAKIKO walked off stage. One by one, they dispersed heading in different directions. Finally seeing RaeIn alone, or at least not surrounded by her group members, DooJoon quickly approached her.

“RaeIn,” DooJoon called out. RaeIn looked instinctively at the sound of her name, but after making eye contact with DooJoon she immediately searched for her escape route. She walked away and tried to play it off as though they never made eye contact, but she knew that it was too late; DooJoon had to have noticed their eye contact well. RaeIn’s only hope now was to get away before he could catch up to her.

“RaeIn,” DooJoon said again, grabbing her arm to stop her from getting away. RaeIn glanced at her imprisoned arm. Apparently Plan A was an epic failure, meaning RaeIn quickly had to brainstorm another way out.  

RaeIn didn’t know what to say. She looked down, refusing to make eye contact with DooJoon. She wiggled her arm around a bit, but of course she wouldn’t be able to break loose from DooJoon’s grip.

“Come on, I just want to talk to you for a bit,” DooJoon said softly when RaeIn stayed quiet, a hint of pleading in his voice. However, he couldn’t deny that RaeIn’s futile attempts at escape amused him quite a bit.

“I… um…”

“Thank you for watching our performance! Next up, we have BEAST with ‘Bad Girl!’ I bet you guys haven’t heard that one in a while, huh?”

Surprised at the announcement, DooJoon looked up at the stage. “We’re up already? Gah!” RaeIn took advantage of DooJoon’s distraction and violently broke free from his grasp. She ran off, inwardly thanked JiYoon for the opportunity to escape. At her release, DooJoon redirected his attention to the escaped prisoner. He watched as RaeIn ran up to some party guests. Realizing that there was nothing else he could do at the moment, he let out another “Gah!” before walking to the stage to meet up with s. He was defeated… for now.

——-

As RaeIn approached TOP and SoNi, she looked back to make sure that DooJoon wasn’t following her. She jumped when she heard his voice behind her, but sighed in relief when she realized that he was on stage and had taken the microphone to greet the party guests.

“Annyeong, RaeIn!” SoNi greeted her friend. After they hugged each other, SoNi pointed to the stage. “Lover’s spat, I presume?”

“What are you talking about?” RaeIn asked feigning innocence.

“I saw what happened there,” SoNi instigated. “I have to say that that was a bit awkward to watch.”

“Hah, yeah… I’ll tell you about it later,” RaeIn said, sounding a bit tired.

“Okay! By the way, if you don’t mind, I brought my twin sister with me.” SoNi gestured at the girl next to her, and she was indeed SoNi’s twin.

“Hi, I’m MiKi,” the girl said, sticking out her hand.

“I remember meeting you before! I’m RaeIn,” RaeIn replied, accepting the handshake.

“She’s a translator,” SoNi whispered proudly. “She knows 5 different languages.”

“That’s awesome! What languages do you speak?”

“English, Japanese, French, well, of course Korean and Manda…—”

“Down, down, we gotta get down! I want ya, come to me, girl~”

“Oh shoot! Their song’s done. I’m sorry guys, I’ve got to go hide now! I’ll find you again soon!” RaeIn apologized as she scampered off.

——-

“Kamsahamnida,” BEAST shouted. They were all smiling big, still energized by the excitement and adrenaline from their performance. However, when exiting the stage KiKwang felt suddenly drained when he spotted KaHee sitting at one of the tables, laughing with 2PM’s ChanSung. HyunSeung immediately noticed his friend’s mood change, and so he patted him on the back reassuringly.

“Endure!” HyunSeung cheered KiKwang on. “Once the party’s over, all of those other guys will leave, and everything will be okay again!”

“Thanks,” KiKwang replied weakly; however, a wave of determination suddenly struck him. “You’re right! I just have to survive the party. Then KaHee will be just mine again!” KiKwang thanked HyunSeung again, this time more enthusiastically, before he skipped off. HyunSeung shook his head, amused at his rejuvenated friend.

“HyunSeung-oppa!” a voice called out. HyunSeung looked towards the voice and found that it was JulSu, who was now running toward him.

“Hey, JulSu-ah,” HyunSeung smiled down at his friend.

“Good job on your performance just now!” JulSu exclaimed with her hands clasped together.

“Thank you,” HyunSeung replied, patting her on the head. “Your performance was amazing as well.”

“Thank you! What ar—“

“JulSu-unni~ Where are you?” JulSu was interrupted by KaHee’s voice, searching for her.

“Oh… I’m over here,” JulSu called out.

“There you are! Let’s go, K.Will is about to perform! Let’s hurry and look for RaeIn-unni!” KaHee grabbed JulSu’s arm and dragged her away.

“Wah~ Okay, okay! Sorry, Oppa, I’ll talk to you later~” JulSu called out to HyunSeung as she stumbled after the forceful maknae.

KaHee was on a mission: she could not miss a second of K.Will’s performance dedicated for her; her dream come true. “There she is!” She pointed at one of the food tables which RaeIn and JunHyung were standing next to. “Unni, let’s go!” With the same hand she pointed with, she grabbed RaeIn’s wrist and began to drag her and JulSu in front of the stage. Confused, RaeIn muttered a “sorry” to JunHyung as she was swept away.

“What’s going on?”

“K.Will! Outsider!” KaHee easily explained – which invited RaeIn to fangirl alongside KaHee.

“Oh, man! I was waiting for this!” RaeIn giggled.

“…singing ‘Present’ for our birthday girl, K.Will featuring Outsider!” MC HyunAh introduced.

“Nae saengae gajang areumdaun sunganeun~”

“Oh, my gosh! I can’t believe this is real,” Kahee squealed. “Best birthday ever!”

“Baby girl neon namanui cheonsa~”

“Outsider, I love you!” RaeIn yelled once Outsider took the stage for his rap feature. At this time, K.Will stepped down from the stage and gestured for KaHee to take his hand. They began to dance together, signaling the rest of the audience to dance as well.

“Argh~ I don’t know how much more of this I can take!” KiKwang complained from his seat.

“What happened to my survivor earlier?” HyunSeung laughed a bit patting KiKwang sympathetically on the back.

“I can’t watch any more of this! If I keep watching, I won’t be able to survive,” KiKwang sighed. “But it’s not like I can do anything because it’s her party. Isn’t that right, HyunSeungie?” KiKwang turned his head to his friend to realize that he was no longer beside him. Confused, KiKwang looked around. Despite his current woes, he couldn’t help but smirk as he found HyunSeung on the dance floor.

“So he finally came around, huh?” KiKwang mused. “Well, at least one of us got the girl tonight.” He thought about it again and groaned when he realized that he was on the short end of the stick. “The one with the girl tonight was supposed to be me! KaHee-ah~”

KiKwang slammed his head down on his arms that were folded on the table. After a couple seconds, he lifted his head with a determined look on his face. “All right, I know what I have to do now.” He stood up. “I need DooJoon-hyung.”