Yunho doesn't know how he can put up with this .

Currently, he's investing half of his October along with his band member, Changmin, into the Halloween themed live performance – officially marketed as Halloween Rave. The idea is derived from a seasonal holiday from North America: on the last day of October, children would dress up in scary costumes, pretend to be monsters, and knock on neighborhood doors demanding "trick or treat" - which translates to either the house owner give them candy or else they would play naughty tricks. On that specific day of each years, houses are draped with cobwebs, skeletons hanging down from the eaves, and pumpkins carved with twisted facial expressions. The concert is collectively pitched  by a team of publicist of various Entertainment corporations that are willing to collaborate to help fund Free the Children charity. A concert that is inclusive of the concurrent pop icons will be an efficient way to boost their reputations and raise large sums of money at the same time.

When the band TVXQ is first pitched with the idea by their manager, both Changmin and Yunho decided that it will be a perfect chance to solidify TVXQ's unwavering kingly position in the industry, despite its controversies from the lawsuit years ago. Both Yunho and Changmin loved the concept. They both remember dressing up as vampires for a photoshoot years ago; they were monkeying around the studio with their huge black capes and pasty faces. He still has Polaroids from that day, and it is a part of the colorful collections he has of his career up until now.

But so far, Yunho doesn't know how he can put up with this .

It just so happens - coincidentally - that his ex-girlfriend is the chief planner of the show. It was her proposal to begin with, which instigated a chain reaction of praises and approvals from the CEOS of various Entertainment corporations. Being a professional singer and dancer herself, she will also participate in the performance as well; in fact, from the rough draft of the line-up that has been emailed to Yunho earlier, she is actually performing four solos, and will most likely participate in many more segments because of her dance experience.

Which means she will have to collaborate with TVXQ at some point. Which means coming to contact and actually interacting with her.

Yunho winces at the thought.

     Now, he has a tainted history with his ex-girlfriend. They met in their early twenties, about the time when Yunho's career as a band leader and singer is soaring and Rita's was just budding. It was the cheesiest way to fall for a girl, but he fell for her - quite literally plummeted into the ground - when he saw her for the first time. From there, it was an inferno of chase for her love, until she finally says "yes" to being his girlfriend. At the time, there were a lot of oppositions swimming around the flimsy new relationship: nobody - not any of his friends or the band member - approved. There was too much controversy around this new girlfriend, because Yunho - as a renowned band leader – was under the watch of millions of prying eyes. And with a trainee, too! It was just a scandal waiting to be dry by vicious reporters. Finally, under the pressure of authorities, he broke up with her while she was caught in the thick of their relationship...

Yet, Rita is now a successful dancer, singer, and a creative producer recognized by numerous advertisement agencies and Entertainment corporations. They haven’t crossed paths in years, and suddenly - BOOM - their courses are just going to collide, and Yunho has to work under her.

"What a ing mess." Yunho stares at the line up in front of him and shuts down his MacBook.

***

Jiyeon is officially meeting Rita for the first time today. They’ve only met once before – at the MAMA Ceremony in Seoul about two years ago. He remembers that Big Bang’s performance was immediately following hers. He has always thought that it was tragic that Rita’s performance had suffered a fatal technical glitch at such a formal occassion. But, boy, did she make a dent in the universe that night. Despite the short-circuiting microphone and the failing stage lights, she fought through, sang on the top of her lungs, her voice pealing through the audience and danced on the tip of her toes with only one working spotlight.

     He remembers the five members of Big Bang had jumped on stage right after, pumping with. As the leader of the band, Jiyeon had invited Rita to stay with the quintet for their performance. He could care less that she was drenched in sweat and her fiery orange hair (at the time) was plastered to her forehead. He didn’t even care that they would have to compromise with her on stage, because she had no idea about the structure of their choreography.  They didn’t even talk at that time – not really – he just grabbed her hand and held her there. For the ensuing minutes, they simply danced, the five members of the band enveloping her into an intricate circle, and no words were needed when a handful of talented dancers were entangled in the power of movements.

     They never met nor spoke again after that night.

     It was almost like an one-night-stand, except on stage and through the mutual love for dance. It had seemed so natural then – it was a spur of the moment but a silent understanding. Now, as the host of the Halloween Rave, Rita is officially meeting him and the band for business. And for a change – actually sitting down and talking. It seems an odd concept to Jiyeon.

     The backstage is teeming with set-up crew running around, and volunteers working on huge wooden props for specific segments of the show. The volunteers make minimal clamors as Jiyeon winds through the chaos of backstage. He figures they must be professional or mature artists that are entirely focused on visual aesthetics of the show. After all, he knew the Halloween Rave features two highly acclaimed bands – TVXQ and Big Bang – as well as two reputable dancers in the industry – Rita herself, and her duet twin Betty. He figures that the hiring of the staff must have had required intense filtration, or else the prep period would be bombarded with heart-throbbing fans and the place would be a mad house.

     Today, Jiyeon is alone with TOP while the rest of the band handled other personal affairs. The two of them are led through throngs of people to a small, cramped office shoved in the back alley.

     In his baritone voice, TOP says, “I seriously hope this isn’t some fan-scam and we are getting .”

     Jiyeon ignores him and sits down on one of the leather couches. The room is lit with cheap fluorescence and has a fake pot of umbrella plant in the corner. There is an espresso machine on the desk adjacent of him and he generously brews himself a cup while TOP pokes his nose around this fishy room. As Jiyeon listens to the painstaking whirring of the machine, it becomes clear to him that the “office” is a temporary set-up: the room doesn’t even have a coffee table! And only one sofa, one chair.

     Right after TOP thoroughly examines the ramshackle state of the room, the door swings open again by the secretary. This time, however, it is Rita that follows her suit. She rushes into the room like a summer tornado, her cheeks flushed pink and her hair done in a casual braided updo. She is wearing black jeans, a plain white t-shirt and carrying an armload of files. When she sees TOP and Jiyeon in the room, she stumbles once, her eyes the size of light bulbs.

     “Oh, it is you! You are both here!”

     Both Jiyeon and TOP are very much confused by her outburst.  Being at the choreographer and producer status, they both certainly expected a much more “formal” greeting. And of course it is them! They spoke on the phone just yesterday.

     She tentatively shakes TOP’s hand first, because he is closest to her, her face now a shade of tomato red. She inhales deeply to steady herself. “I’m Rita. God, sorry for being rude.”

     “I’m TOP. It’s just going to be Jiyeon and myself today.” TOP said diplomatically. “The other members have personal affairs today.”

     Rita nodded, then walks up to Jiyeon to shake his hand. Her palm is clammy and hot. “I’m really excited to meet both of you.” She said after Jiyeon introduced himself, seeming flustered. “I’m so excited, I can’t even stop repetitive word use. I’m just such a fan.”

     From the corner of his eyes, Jiyeon sees TOP arching his eyebrows. “You are our fan?” In both the dance and music industry, Rita has a respectable, almost deity status amongst the female authorities. Not only is she the youngest female producer yet in the circle, she has also been nominated and won numerous dance awards overseas in USA. It isn’t saying that Big Bang isn’t an equally renowned band – it’s just unreal that someone so successful within the circle can be so humble.

     Rita nods fervently again, then presses the back of her hand against her cheek. “I’m sorry. This is suppose to be a professional meeting and we have a lot of discuss on the agenda. I apologize again for my childish behaviors.”

     “Not at all.” Jiyeon replies mildly.

     He thought she is cute – it’s a vague term, yet a perfect description of Rita. She is like a mayflower, standing there, all crispy clean and full of life. “Should we start talking about the arrangements for the Rave?” Jiyeon asks.

     “Yes, yes!” Rita says, motioning towards the sagging leather couch. “Please sit and excuse the rustic setting. As you both realize by now, the structure is all temporary and everything will be evacuated in exactly two weeks times. So I thought there really is no worth to jazz it up with fancy furniture.”

     “That’s okay. We won’t be sitting around too much, will we?” TOP remarks, his tall body fitting like a giant in a child’s stool on the sofa.

     “Exactly.” Rita replies. “Halloween Rave is a dance focused performance after all. Yesterday I made the pitch to your manager regarding the fact that this is a charity driven event.” She stacks the files on the desk into a neat pile and folds her hands on the desk, “I don’t know if he mentioned to you that eighty percent of the profits will be given to charity, and the remaining twenty percent will be made as payments to the participating bands?”

     Jiyeon and TOP collectively shake their heads.

     “He only mentioned the fact that mild advertisements will be involved in this event,” Jiyeon paused, “Just because this concept is being embraced by a number of major sponsors?”

     “Right. Although we have a lot of funding, none of the performers will need to wear slogans on the back of their shirt the whole night.” Rita answers, then smiles. “But it doesn’t mean the artists aren’t getting paid accordingly. Like I said, about eight percent of profit income will be given to Big Bang, the other ten percent for TVXQ, because they have more tracks that will be suitable for the theme …”

     “Let me guess, the remaining would be paid to you?” TOP finishes the sentence.

     “Yeah.” Rita blushes.

     “Quit being a smartass,” Jiyeon mutters under his breath. When he looks up at Rita again, he saw that she is intently waiting for their response. “The pay really isn’t a problem – I’m pretty sure finance is already considered when our manager okayed this project.” He pauses, “I wonder what the line-up is like?”

     Rita’s hand moved onto the file right on top of her pile and pulled out a sheet. “Well, you two came right on time, because I just finalized the line-up for the show and made photocopies.” She walks up to them with a stack, then, without a table to place them onto, she awkwardly drops it onto TOP’s lap.

     “Um, feel free to distribute them to your band members, your manager, or your publicist and your crew,” Rita murmurs, pacing back to her chair. “But this is it, the final line-up.”

 

Halloween Rave Official Line-Up

INTRO – Selected horror clips mash-up from The Blair Witch Project, Carrie, Paranormal Activity, Exorcism of Emily Rose, Friday the 13^th.

1. Bloody Mary – Rita, Betty

A tableau-styled dance performance, featuring Gothic dresses. Vocals by Betty.

2. Android – TVXQ feat. Rita

3. Monster – Rita, Betty, Big Bang

4. Lucifer – SHINee

5. Mirotic – TVXQ feat. Rita

A re-creation of the she-devil – a Siren – whose voice invades men and lures them to their death. In this choreography, similar to the one portrayed in the original Mirotic music video, will feature Rita as the devil who traps TVXQ singers in an intricate maze and casts them under the spell of confusion.

6. Crooked – Big Bang feat. Rita, Betty

Narrates the life of an outcast, who is attracted to a popular girl in his school. This is a re-creation and improvises the original plot line of the beauty and the beast. The outcast (G-Dragon) is marked by an animal mask on his head. He tries to approach her, but his reluctance to conform and his style shuns him even further from the popular crowd. The girl he falls in love with, however, does notice the boy outside of the circle and even tries to speak to her. However, she too, due to social boundaries, fail to make contact with him. In the end, heartbroken, the boy breaks down alone in a park setting. To his surprise, the girl he falls in love with approaches him and unmasks him at the end of the song, representing the fact that appearance does not matter. (See Attachment 1 for script in detail)

7. SCREAM – TVXQ feat. Rita

Takes on the deadly, obsessive love concept. Rita will be the female antagonist, via the lover, who becomes obsessively smitten with both members of TVXQ. The choreography will represent a lethal hunt for love through a combination of jagged movements, twisted formations, power struggles between the members of TVXQ and Rita, along with the rapidly changing stage lights to represent the intensity of the interaction.

8. Disturbia – Betty

9. Monster – Big Bang

10. Gods and Monsters – Rita

11. Gorilla – Guest: Bruno Mars

12. Cray-ON – G-Dragon (Jiyeon)

13. Wonderland – Rita, Betty

14. Humanoids – TVXQ feat. Rita

15. Fantastic Baby – Big Bang feat Rita, Betty

The themes remains identical to that portrayed in the Fantastic Baby music video: music rebels rally against the riot police; their rebellion thus liberates the five kings of beat jailed under the tyranny of noise police. The only addition is that the leaders of the riot police will be portrayed by Rita and Betty. The exact details of the choreography are outlined on a separate attachment (See Attachment 2).

FINALE:  Thriller – TVXQ, Big Bang, Rita, Betty