"Guys, I really don't think this is a very good idea."

"Shut it, Tao. You're making me more nervous than I should be."

"I'm serious, Lichen. And I've still got my accent. Why couldn't we sing something in Mandarin anyway? Sojin likes JJ Lin. Luhan knows JJ Lin. Yixing can play the guitar. We should've just made this an acoustic duo."

Lichen, dressed in a pale blue dress, withdrew from peeking through the keyhole and glared at Tao. "I'm going to wushu you if you don't stop whining this instant, I swear."

I chuckled silently. They'd been bantering since we picked Lichen up from her flat earlier. I thought of chiding them, but we weren't at school so no need to act Prefect-ish. Lichen blew on her fringe and went on to once again rant at Tao - this time regarding his sloppily-done tie.

"She's just as nervous as we are, she's venting it out on Tao." Yixing clucked his tongue. "Poor kid."

"Yeah," I replied. "I am nervous, though."

"About the performance or about seeing Sojin?" I hadn't noticed Baekhyun creep in. He grinned at me while he wiggled his torso and shoulders in a very unmanly kind of way.

"You're not a puppy," I voiced out my observation. "You're an old mutt."

"Hah!" He wiggled his index finger this time. "Wait 'til you hear our band's composition and watch Sojin fall to her knees and beg me to sing to her all the days of her - whoah!" He belched out a loud laugh as he escaped my couch pillow attack.

I was waiting in a separate room with Lichen, Yixing, Baekhyun and Tao for, well, I wasn't exactly sure what we were waiting for except that we were presenting a special number for tonight's birthday celebration disguised as a charity ball - as if Sojin weren't aware of such a lame ruse.

I knew Sojin's family was, to put it mildly, rich; her choice of Christmas gifts was proof enough of that. But when we had entered a colossal golden gate to a grand manor more than an hour ago, I had come to the conclusion that the Yang's were undoubtedly filthy rich.

The front yard was enormously extensive, as wide as two football fields sitting on either side of the inner pavement that led to the entrance of the mansion. Perched by the end of the road was a mini fountain that I rounded before I finally parked by the designated parking area. The grassy yard was teeming with vibrant flora; their accompanying scent mollifying.

The residence's glory didn't stop there. As soon as we had entered the mansion, we'd been greeted by a spacious hall that rose three floors high and conjoined to an ornate ceiling. A carpeted staircase sat by the opposite end of the double doors while chandeliers of varying gems and sizes hung in mid-air.

I had studied every guest my eyes could've possibly covered and suddenly, I was relieved that Lichen had insisted on tuxedoes and ticktacks. Because if my memory served me right, we were like time travelers to a Victorian Era royal ball.

I looked through the tinted glass window to an empty porch below, wondering where Sojin could be at a night of celebration. Was she at the center of it? Did she know this birthday surprise had still been pursued despite her silent objections? How did she take it then?

My forehead collided with the glass frame as my mind processed these thoughts. How would she react to our presence - assuming, of course, that she wasn't aware of it yet, which was highly unlikely.

When are they going to call us out anyway?

"When are they calling us, seriously?" Lichen echoed my thoughts. When I turned to face her, she was wringing her hands and was pacing around the room like a crazed prey expecting to be devoured by her predatory panic. "I am so nervous, gosh! This is going to be my first piano recital, I'm gonna die."

Her statement earned Yixing my diabolical look. I narrowed my eyes at him. "So," I started, "piano, huh?" The bloodied unicorn rubbed his non-unicorn nape. "Why are you a sly jerk?"

"I'm a gentleman who grants free piano lessons to anyone interested."

Gladly, there was still available pillow on the couch beside me so that Yixing's face was now the target of my assault. The pillow landed on the unicorn's unexpectant face. "You wouldn't even teach me basic guitar."

"I'm busy." He tossed the pillow back to me.

Across the room resonated Baekhyun's falsetto pitch that had gone way beyond hearing range. It sounded familiar. Sojin's ringer tone?

"So I want you to be my lady
You've got to understand my love~"

The 'love' part went inhumanly high, it could've been easily mistaken as a broken siren. I was about to confront him about the song and perhaps about how many other recordings he had stored in Sojin's phone when a lady servant finally came to fetch us.

Where we were ushered to, a stage was mounting in the middle of the ballroom floor, equipped with full band instruments. This would only be the second time I was going to perform to an audience and basing on previous experience, it deemed way better that they remained anonymous to me. Thus I imagined it should've been comforting that we barely knew anyone - at least I didn't.

But then there's Sojin: the ultimate cause of all my mental and emotional turmoil. The thought of her finally hearing me sing was starting to devastate my calm resolve. I couldn't remember the last time my knees were horribly shaking. This was even worse than an episode of acrophobia. Why the heck did I even agree to this in the first place?

As if to validate my dread, Sojin suddenly emerged from a huddle of people just as Baekhyun and Yixing, along with Chanyeol and Kyungsoo - when did they get here? - ascended towards the central platform.

And I was thunderstruck.

Sojin was downright gorgeous. Her light gold dress clung luxuriously around her petite body all the way to the tips of her glass heels. Her hair was styled up in a messy bun that didn't look messy at all. The few strands that managed to escape framed her small, ashen face. She looked young and elegant, simple yet catchy, classic and just utterly attractive. I wondered if my initial judgment of her beauty - plainly weird, I recalled - was just instinctive defense that I clutched onto because I knew, deep down, that she was beautiful and it was matchless.

A hint of horror grazed her eyes the instant her uninvited friends' identities registered in her thoughts. She scanned Baekhyun, Yixing, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo with weary eyes. And then she went on to search the room further.

Her eyes were about to reach our corner when they jerked back towards the stage as a sharp response to the mic's feedback.

"Good evening to all.." Baekhyun greeted warmly as Yixing settled behind an onyx piano and Chanyeol atop a beatbox.

Meanwhile, Kyungsoo was adjusting his own microphone stand when Baekhyun was just concluding his speech. "To our sweetest princess, Yang Sojin, who has touched my heart and soul - and I believe I'm speaking on behalf of many others - the way nobody ever has." He made a pause, a serious one. "You're always strong, Sojin, but this song.. a song you might as well have composed owing to the depth upon which it is inspired by you.. it's.. what I'm saying is that at times, it should be your friends' turn - our turn - to lay everything down for you. And that no matter how grim the outcome, you should not grieve it. And, well," he added, tapping his chin and morphing his expression to frolicsome, "just don't mind Yixing's idea of this being somewhat dedicated to a, uh, mermaid." He gave Yixing a funny look, to which Yixing responded with a dimpled smile. What's with this kid really? First, unicorn and now, mermaid. He must spend an awful lot of time contemplating magical creatures.

The first notes hit the piano, soulful and nostalgic, tugging upon the ambiance at once. Across the room the golden lights dimmed then focused to a single spotlight directed towards the stage. At first it was just Yixing and his hands dancing along the black and white keys, and then came Baekhyun's voice. Very slowly, his face grew illuminated by a second spotlight.

"Deoneun mangseoriji ma jebal.."

As soon as his voice filled the air, my gaze snapped towards Sojin; Sojin and her gentle features, her droopy eyes, her tired smile, not wanting the attention but appreciating the thought all the same.

My heart unwillingly, painstakingly clenched.

Baekhyun had always been a good friend, boisterous and unrestrained but without a doubt awesome. I'd been occasionally bothered by his deep connection with Sojin; how he was always able to relate to her like they'd been friends for life. It h