a fancy discoball was hanging from the ceiling. white and red ballons were all over the place, decorating the location with matching banners that were adequate for the event. sparkling lights lit up beautifully the enourmous ballroom, creating an immaculate atmosphere.

there was a buffet at the side of the venue, containing various drinks, fingerfood and treats. there was even a tiny chocolate fountain – a highlight for many students.

at the other end of the room, a gold fringe curtain served as photo background. a hired professional photographer was setting up his equipment, preparing himself to take photos for the night.

a photo booth and a voting stall for the prom king and queen were positioned in the venue too. a dj was present for the prom as well, having already tuned in upbeat music.

there was also a tiny stage nearby the dance floor where the announcement of the prom royals will be held.

the place was already loud and crowded when the drama club members minus the seniors showed up. they were all dressed in magnificent evening gowns, looking totally stunning.

"woah, they really have high school music as their theme for their prom", yejoon gasped in admiration, scanning his surroundings.

jaemin glanced at yejoon with a 'i-told-you-so' manner, wearing a proud grin.

renjun, on the other hand, just facepalmed himself at his comment and shook his head in disappointment. "why do you act so surprised when mark and haewon told you that beforehand, you dumbfuck?"

"speak of the devil", donghyuck joked and pointed at the said seniors who had just spotted them in the crowd, "they are coming."

the two oldest members of the friend group had to show up earlier at the location due to organizational reasons. they were not only members of the drama club but also members of the prom commitee.

"my sweeties, you guys have arrived!", haewon squealed and walked to the group before letting out a loud gasp, "you all look so good in your dresses and suits!"

"you look beautiful in your prom dress, haewon!", jaemin complimented her back, the rest of the group agreeing.

"yooo what's up, dudes and dudettes?", mark followed in suit (literally). a charming and joyous smile was tugged at his lips the moment he examined his friends. "damn, you all look stunning."

"says you with your fine tuxedo", donghyuck immediately dropped, making the canadian feel flustered.

"as a bi king, i gotta admit you both look very smash", the purple haired boy commented proudly, flashing them a bright smile.

"thanks hyuck", mark thanked shyly, rubbing at the back of his neck while heat up his face.

"aww, thank you!", haewon giggled happily before pulling her friends into a sweet group hug.

after everyone pulled away from the embrace, they started to chat a bit until mark came up with an idea.

"guys, wanna go to the photo booth and take pictures together?", the canadian suggested joyfully.

"omg yes!!", chenle agreed enthusiastically, "let's get it!"

[ ★ ]

"the pictures turned out to be really cute", sooyun remarked when looking at the printed photos from the photo booth.

"but i look so cursed in them", haewon mocked when taking a glance at them.

"i personally find you really beautiful in the pictures", jieun added sweetly, making haewon's heart melt once again.

"for real. you should take a look at hyuck in this photo", jeno commented and pointed at his best friend in the picture.

"he looks definitely cursed", he teased, making the purple haired boy gasp loudly.

"HEY, I LOOK AWESOME!", donghyuck defended himself and gave the older one a smack on his arm.

"hey guys", mark called, drawing everyone's attention, "haewon and i gotta go."

"by chungha?", jeno mentioned proudly, wearing a shit-eating grin on his face.

"and he's back with the female artists song references", donghyuck sighed while jaemin gave jeno an approved thumbs-up.

"why?", jisung asked confusedly, referring back to mark's words.

"the seniors will perform something this year and we have to get changed for our performance", haewon shared excitedly.

mark placed one finger to his lips, indicating not to tell anyone about it. "that's a spoiler so keep it for yourself", he mumbled and winked playfully.

"can't wait for it!!", chenle whispered-yelled and was hyped for it.

"when will you perform?", renjun asked curiously, looking forward to it as well.

"in about fifteen minutes", mark responded, "but i'm kinda nervous to be honest."

"you will slay, king", donghyuck reassured him and wrapped his arm around his shoulder, "you got this, dude."

"be confident. embrace your strengths and believe in yourself!", jeno quoted the canadian, giving the older one flashbacks to their ice skating duel.

"damn, bro. that was smooth", mark praised chuckling, "thanks for your support!"

"always", jeno nodded with a wide grin, "we'll always support you, man."

"now get ready to be on the stage and be the king you are", the purple haired boy encouraged smiling and patted his shoulder before letting go of him.

a warm smile was plastered on his face as he appreciated their help. "see you later", the canadian bid goodbyes and turned around, walking off with haewon and leaving the group alone.

"fifteen minutes... enough time to check out the buffet", chenle grinned before looking at his friends, "anyone wanna come along?"

yejoon, jisung and donghyuck raised their hands, joining the chinese on the way to the buffet.

"don't come late to the performance", jaemin reminded warningly, the four of them nodding understood.

"got it, momma nana", the orange haired boy smiled to him before turning back to the squad, "let's go, bros. we don't have much time!"

"can't wait to try the chocolate fountain!", jisung exclaimed happily, jumping slightly in joy.

"ME TOO OMG", yejoon and donghyuck shouted at the same time, giving jeno the chills once again.

"WHY ARE YOU SAYING THE SAME THING AT THE SAME TIME IN THE SAME TONE AGAIN??", the blonde haired boy whined, feeling creeped out, "WHAT ARE THE ODDS??"

renjun, jieun and sooyun chuckled amusedly at jeno's reaction, finding it hilarious once again.

"there, there, jen", jaemin laughed and patted the back of his friend, rubbing circles on it, "it's okay. the universe is full of surprises."

[ ★ ]

"you guys almost came late!", renjun scolded the buffet squad when they barely managed to come in time.

"almost", donghyuck empathised and smiled mischievously. however, his smile faltered when he received a punch from the two-toned haired boy.

"OUCH, BITCH."

"SHUT UP, SONGDICK. THE PERFORMANCE IS BEGINNING."

the seniors were standing in the center of the dance floor, surrounded by the guests who were all standing in a circle to watch them perform.

mark stood at the front, glancing briefly at his friends with a smile before looking at the dj.

"ay-yo dj, give us the beat!", the canadian exclaimed in a cool manner, seeing that person nodding and tuning in a song.

"oH EM GEE, THEY ARE PERFORMING HIGH SCHOOL MUSICALS SONGS!", the purple haired boy gasped loudly when he heard the first seconds of the track 'high school musical'.

jeno facepalmed himself at his comment while jaemin was happily filming the performance like a proud mom.

"SHUT UP, HYUCK", renjun whispered-scolded the purple haired boy again.

the younger boy turned to face him and earned a glare from his friend. in return, he winked at him as a mischievous smirk was tugged on his face. "make me."

"wrong timing, hyuck, wrong timing. focus on the damn performance, idiot", the chinese muttered lowly, finally succeeding in shutting him up.

mark and haewon were at the front, dancing passionately to the song. hearing cheers coming from their friends made them smile brightly and boosted their motivation to give their all.

in the middle of the song, it changed to another track named 'a night to remember'. it fitted perfectly for their prom.

jaemin, jeno and donghyuck were constantly vibing and lip-synching to their songs while yejoon secretly enjoyed it as well.

another change happened in the middle of the song. it switched to the track 'we're all in this together'.

sooyun watched amusedly the seniors dancing while jieun was impressed by the performers.

chenle and jisung danced to the songs as well, pretending to be one of the high school musical cast while messing up the choreo.

as their performance came to an end cheers and praises from the crowd filled the room.

the seniors grabbed each other's hands and bowed, thanking them for watching them perform.

afterwards, the dj played party songs, wanting everyone to get moving and to start dancing.

"haewon! mark! you guys ate!", yejoon praised them when the seniors approached them.

"thanks guys", haewon gave him a smile, catching her breath, "we practiced so hard for it and i'm glad that it turned out well."

"i'm so proud of you two!", jaemin added happily and lifted up his phone, "i've filmed your performance and can send it to you later."

"yoooo thanks bro", mark grinned, cherishing it, "anyways, we need to get changed but we'll be right back."

[ ★ ]

when mark and haewon returned in their evening gowns, they spotted some of their friends being on the dance floor.

well, all the boys were on the dance floor while sooyun and jieun were standing on the side, holding drinks in their hands while having a conversation.

"haewon, i'm gonna join the bros", the canadian mentioned, stealing a glance at the dance floor.

"alright, have fun", his best friend wished joyfully, "i'll stick along with the girlies then. you know where to find me."

the black haired boy nodded smiling before going to the seven boys who were dancing passionately.

haewon walked up to the two girls, greeting them with a wide grin. "your queen is back!", she announced, seeing the happiness on both their faces.

the three of them immediately immersed in the conversation with laughter being exchanged in between.

however, the girls' conversation got interrupted when a guy approached them.

"hey sooyun", geon called, drawing everyone's attention. the blonde girl turned to face him, her smile faltered the second she saw him.

if looks could kill, then geon would have been dead the way haewon was glaring at him.

jieun was confused and didn't know who he was but she could tell that he was bad news.

"i'm happy to see you at prom", geon commented, giving her a smirk that disgusted sooyun.

"oh, really? i can't return it. i don't feel the same way", the blonde girl retorted, forming a forced smile and surprising him and his other friend who accompanied him.

haewon and jieun were also surprised but in a good way. they exchanged quick glances, both of them intrigued by the scene unfolding in front of them.

"wow, damn chill", geon scoffed, still wearing that smug smirk on his face, "you've become more savage since you hang out with dongfuck."

"it's donghyuck", sooyun corrected him in a harsh tone, her forced smile fading. "it's not that hard to remember his name, my boyfriend's name, correctly", she added, feeling annoyed by his words, his 'mistake'.

"yeah, yeah, whatever", he mumbled ignorantly and rolled his eyes, making the three girls mad.

haewon was so close to snap at him, however, sooyun stopped her from doing that. "i can deal with it, trust me", she announced calmly while her rage was sparkling in her eyes.

the senior glanced to geon and then back to her friend before giving her a nod, letting her manage the situation.

"okay but where's your boyfriend? i can't see him", geon remarked, wearing a mischievous grin, "looks like he dodged you for his friends. what a bad boyfriend."

sooyun's blood boil when he talked bad about him. her anger grew stronger at each ridiculous comment he had left.

"no, he's not. he didn't dodge me, i let him have fun with his friends. i'm not so toxic, obsessive and possessive over someone unlike a certain someone", she called him out indirectly, making the girls gasp silently.

"hey, no need to come at me like that", geon started and stepped closer to her, "you can dodge him for me. i'd be there for you without leaving your side, sooyun. that's not toxic, you know, i'm here for you."

hearing his words made sooyun laugh. his words were pathetic, he was pathetic.

"oh please", she responded mockingly, "i'm not going to cheat on my boyfriend. especially not with a person like you."

geon frowned at her words. "what do you mean? why wouldn't you want to date me? i'm an awesome person."

confusion was written on his face while haewon rolled her eyes, wanting to punch him for his arrogance and dumbness. she barely managed to hold herself back from teaching him a lesson.

"let me tell you precisely", sooyun gave him a bright smile, taking a deep breath before elaborating.

"you are fucking disrespectful, ignorant, arrogant und rude. you gossip and bad mouth about people you don't know all the time. you mock names on purpose and you don't aknowledge your mistakes at all. you encourage cheating on partners if it's for your own benefit. you constantly cross boundaries. you can't read the room that a girl dislikes you and has no fucking interest in you. you flirt with a girl that's taken even though she has told you that several times and she is clearly uncomfortable to be around you. you are a fucking asshole."

sooyun breathed out, feeling satisfied now. "wow, i finally got this out", she shared in relief, "you know, i meant to text you that much earlier but i tried to be kind and nice to a scumbag like yours."

a proud grin was plastered on her face when she saw the faces of geon and his npc friend. they were clearly speechless, not knowing how to react.

"i'm glad i didn't text you that back then. it would've been a pity not to see your reaction. telling you that straight into your face is better anyways", sooyun added mischievously.

haewon and jieun were pleasantly surprised and supported her for roasting and snapping at geon.

"woah... sooyun", the guy blinked a few times before continuing, "i didn't know you felt like that."

"it was time", sooyun commented coldly, turning around "and it's time to say goodbye."

"wait!", geon protested and grabbed her wrist, wanting to stop her from leaving.

sooyun's eyes darkened when she felt his hand on her wrist. she immediately freed herself from his grip, pulling her arm back.

"don't touch me ever again. leave me alone", she warned him, glaring at him. haewon and jieun were alarmed when he did that, ready to fight him when he did one more wrong move.

"you haven't seen the real side of me. i'll give you a chance to get to know me. i can change the way you feel about me", geon protested desperatedly, trying to persuade her.

"are you seriously dumb? why don't you understand a no? stop crossing boundaries. stop hitting on girls, particularly when they are taken. stop bothering them", sooyun snapped, feeling her rage increasing.

"but sooyun! i'm totally different! let me show you how i really am", geon still tried to convince her, his ego being too big and too proud to let him stop.

"leave me alone, asshole", she grumbled, pouring her drink (which she still held) at him and throwing the cup at his head as she was enraged.

geon's mouth was opened agap in shock while his suit was completely drenched. his friend gasped in disbelief with his eyes being wide open.

"let's go", the blonde girl mentioned pissed off and pulled on her friends' arms, dragging them somewhere else where they were alone and away from geon.

the girls decided to go outside the venue for a bit to grasp fresh air. sooyun needed peace for a moment, it was too much for her in the ballroom.

the moment they stepped outside the venue, they were met with silence. it was a bit fresh, however, sooyun didn't care about it. she needed the cold to calm down since her blood was previously boiling from anger.

the blonde girl leaned her back on the wall behind her, crossing her arms and closing her eyes to collect her thoughts.

"hey sweetie", haewon broke the silence, making the younger girl open her eyes again.

"i'm really proud of you for calling him out and telling him your honest opinion", the senior mentioned softly, giving her a warm smile.

jieun nodded eagerly, wearing an adorable smile as well. "you did a great job, sooyun! i admire you so much. it must have taken so much courage to do this", she added and gave her a thumbs-up, "like haewon would say, you're a girlboss!"

"heck yeah, you were so cool out there!", haewon laughed and felt amused when jieun quoted her.

sooyun felt her heart swelling with warmth when her friends said that.

"aw girls, you guys are too sweet", the blonde girl mentioned before sighing, "i'm sorry for dragging you all into this."

"girl, don't be sorry", haewon scolded her and nudged her with her elbow. "i'm glad we were here with you. it would be such a loss to miss out on their reactions", she grimaced, remembering clearly their expressions.

"you should've seen their faces", jieun commented giggling, "they were so shocked and stunned!"

"it was really nice to see them like that", sooyun chuckled, "it was time that geon's bubble gets busted and that he gets hurt by his own ego and dumbness."

"you say it girl", haewon agreed completely, smiling amusedly. "i was even ready to fight him for you", the oldest among them added proudly with jieun nodding in approval.

"she really would", the junior confirmed giggling, "speaking from personal experience when haewon protected me."

"always", haewon grinned at the two girls, "i love protecting my girls."

sooyun couldn't help but smile softly at the two of them, appreciating having them as her first female friends that are actually kind and have good intentions.

[ ★ ]

while the girls had a deep talk and bonding session at the same time, the boys were powered out by dancing to the songs.

therefore, they decided to step aside the dance floor to catch a break. they took something from the buffet to recharge their energy.

"hey guys", jisung called out, drawing everyone's attention, "where are haewon, sooyun and jieun?"

"probably doing something sus together", donghyuck joked but got smacked on the back of his head by jaemin.

"how dare you assume that? they are just friends and sooyun is your pretend girlfriend!", the pink haired boy scolded jokingly and raised one finger, saying that in a voice of an old man.

"it's haewon and she crushes on girls, especially on jieun. plus, sooyun just pretends to be my girlfriend which means she could make out with somebody else", the purple haired boy justified, shrugging his shoulders.

"bro is onto something", mark agreed, giving hyuck a high-five while jaemin just shook his head in disbelief.

"attention, please! we'll announce the prom king and queen now!", another senior said through a microphone, gaining everyone's attention. gasps and murmur filled the room as anticipation rose.

"hey, it's chuu!", the canadian beamed while confusion was written on the rest of the group's faces.

"she's in the prom commitee too", the black haired boy explained whispering while chuu held a short speech about the exciting election.

"10.000 won if mark's prom king", donghyuck placed a bet, murmuring it to his best friends.

"okay but 10.000 won if haewon's prom queen", jeno added grinning, observing how the pink haired boy rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"come on, guys! do i have to bet against both of you?", jaemin complained whispering, seeing the two of them nod and smile mischievously.

"you know the rules, jaem."

"fine... bet."

"okay, i'm not letting you guys wait any longer", the girl chuckled, holding the envelope with the result of the prom royals in it. "let's start with the prom king!", she raised the envelope before opening it.

"the prom king is...", chuu announced before looking at him, "lee mark!"

"WHATTT? DUDE, YO... NO WAY??", the canadian expressed loudly in shock, not believing his eyes.

claps and cheers filled the venue as the drama club members celebrated it, particularly donghyuck was fond of it.

"BITCHES, I TOLD YOU ALL", donghyuck shouted in victory while jeno and jaemin looked at him in defeat.

"hyuck, shut up for the 127th time", renjun whispered-scolded him once again as his yell drew too much attention.

"mark, please come on stage!", chuu called him and waved at him, gesturing him to get moving.

the black haired boy smiled sheepishly at the attention he received as he quickly headed to the stage.

mark was crowned as the prom king, wearing a little cute crown on his head while a bright smile was plastered on his face.

the drama club dudes were all happy for the canadian and cheered for him. chenle took so many pictures of mark while jaemin recorded the moment.

"damn, the girls are missing out on something", yejoon commented giggling, hearing the crowd (mostly hyuck who acted like mark's biggest fanboy) cheering.

"true but chenle and jaemin's got their backs", renjun added amusedly, the two mentioned boys acting like proud parents who exploded their camera roll with mark pictures or videos.

"let's move on to the prom queen! who will it be?", chuu stated and showed the second envelope that she held.

"who has to dance with mark?", donghyuck wondered, curiosity was written on his face.

"hopefully haewon or else it would be kinda awkward", jeno laughed with his friends agreeing.

"wait, why does mark have to dance with someone?", jisung asked, tilting his head in confusion. afterall, he was a freshman and did not know about all the customs about the school.

"it's a tradition in our school!", chenle responded, "the prom queen and prom king have to dance together to a slow song. it's quite hetero and i don't know why we do it but for the vibes i guess."

"woah... would be personally so awkward for me", the youngest of the group declared chuckling, hoping he would never be in the shoes of the prom king.

chuu had already opened the envelope, reading out the result now. "the prom queen is lee gahyeon!", she revealed, gasps and cheers engulfed the room once again.

"aw man...", jeno whispered in defeat once again while jaemin and hyuck jumped in joy.

"gahyeon, please come on stage!", chuu requested and searched for the prom queen in the crowd, however, she couldn't spot her.

another prom committee went up on stage and whispered something in chuu's ear, sharing the whereabouts of the prom queen.

"oh... uh... gahyeon is currently not here. she's uhm...", the female senior tried to find the correct words, "... busy. but she's somewhere in the venue and she'll pick up her crown later!"

"everyone knows that she's busy kissing her girlfriend", yejoon dropped randomly to his group, shocking all his friends.

"how do you know?", jisung questioned confusedly, frowning.

"the majority of people know that she has a girlfriend and i've also seen her making out with her partner at some hallway", the curly brown haired boy explained laughing.

"what about the prom royals dance?", someone from the crowd yelled, drawing the attention of the people on stage.

"oh well...", chuu didn't know what to do and so were all prom commitees, including mark the prom king.

the canadian stood awkwardly there, scratching the back of his head, "i mean we could cancel it too, guys... it's not a big deal..."

"i volunteer!", donghyuck shouted and raised his hand, resulting to surprise and shock everyone, especially mark.

his head perked up at hyuck's call as his eyes widened. he couldn't believe his friend would do such a thing for him. he couldn't believe that out of all people, it was him who wanted to dance with him.

mark glanced at his younger friend in disbelief, nonetheless, a little spark popped up in his eyes.

the purple haired boy felt all the attention on him but he just shrugged his shoulders.

"what? it's the seniors' prom and it's a tradition for the prom royals to dance!", hyuck defended himself and crossed his arms, looking into the crowd with a judgemental look.

"besides, can't i do a favor for my friend and dance with him? especially after he's the prom king? i can't let this moment get wasted for him, it's an opportunity you only get once", the junior argued and raised an eyebrow.

"he's onto something", chuu agreed thoughtfully, the members of the prom commitees nodded as well.

"okay, then the prom king chooses with whom he wants to dance!", the female senior grinned and glanced at mark who seemed nervous.

"oh? me? hahaha... oh my god, dude. damn, yooo", the black haired boy rambled and laughed awkwardly, feeling his heartbeat fasten.

mark locked eyes with hyuck, seeing his genuine joy in them. he noticed a smug grin on his pretty face, causing his heart to ache at his beauty.

"alright, then... i guess i'll dance with my best man", the canadian agreed, smiling softly at his friend.

donghyuck beamed brightly and went to the older boy, not caring about all the looks he received.

mark walked off the stage, going to the center of the dance floor and meeting the purple haired boy.

"hi hyuck", the older male greeted, giving him a sheepish smile.

"hey markie", donghyuck smirked before bowing down, "i feel honored to share the dance with the prom king."

"dude, don't exaggerate it", the black haired boy giggled, "but yeah, i appreciate it that you volunteer for dancing with me."

"i always got your back, mark", hyuck mentioned, wearing an amused grin on his face.

"hey, you quoted me!", the older boy noticed and gasped in shock, making his friend laugh wholeheartedly.

"wise words from a dude", the purple haired one gave him a wink before hearing the dj tuning in a slow song.

couples or friends all gathered on the dance floor and started to move along to the music.

"guess it's a sign for us to start dancing", donghyuck giggled and decided to take the first step.

the purple haired boy took his hand in his while placing the other hand on his shoulder.

heat shot up mark's cheeks as he had to get used to being this close to hyuck.

the older boy thought where he should place his free hand, considering putting it on his waist. his cheeks remained flushed at this thought.

"hey.. uh... is it okay if i place my hand on your waist?", the canadian asked, internally panicking because of their proximity.

he wanted to make sure that he didn't cross his boundaries as he didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable in any way.

"i don't mind. it's okay", donghyuck reassured him, flashing him a soft smile.

"okay", mark breathed as he cautiously put his other hand on his waist.

the two of them started to dance along the song and held a conversation at the same time. hyuck started to yap a bit with the older boy listening attentively and admiring him at the same time.

mark adored him a lot.

sparks lit up his eyes when he was around hyuck. the purple haired boy was like a fullsun to him.

donghyuck was always energetic and happy. he radiated pure warmth and positivity, making mark smile like a fool.

he couldn't help it. the way hyuck beamed and shined in his own light led mark's heart to be engulfed with affection.

he couldn't hide his smile — it was difficult to suppress it like his feelings for the purple haired boy.

━━━ ☆★☆ ━━━

[ author's note ]
FINALLY THE PROM CHAPTERS ARE COMING, I'M SO EXCITED TO SHARE THEM ALL WITH YOU JSKSKS

btw prom is going to be a looooong night, it's just the beginning

and sooyun has finally snapped at geon let's go 🔥🔥

part 1/3 of prom chapters! <3

stay tuned ;)