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It was one hell of a night.
The ball was doing better than Donghyuck expected. The turnout rate was higher than previous years, people were having fun and the aesthetics of it all were the talk of the crowd. He had a brief thought that the masks would cause chaos but the mystery instead added a certain charm to the event, though he did have to intervene when one male student started kissing anyone that was in his way. His excuse was that he was looking for his girlfriend—to which Donghyuck called him a disappointment of a person and walked away.
Leaning against the wall, Donghyuck admired the disco ball that reflected purple light over the whole hall. A disco ball didn't exactly seem fitting for a masquerade-themed party, but apparently one of the sophomores on the decorating committee was a huge Taylor Swift fan and Donghyuck had to admit that it had its charm.
"Dude, you've been standing here all night like that meme with the guy in the party hat in the corner of the room," Haknyeon, his assistant, pointed out.
It was true. Donghyuck stayed true to his role and rather than mingling with the crowd, he was glued to the side of the stage where he could keep an eye out on everyone and everything. The glass of punch in one hand and the bowl of sweet almonds in the other were his only source of companion, seeing that Renjun and Jaemin were with their classmates.
"Why don't you go loosen up? I'll take over for a bit," Haknyeon offered. "You planned this whole thing, you should enjoy it too."
Donghyuck was reluctant. If anything were to go wrong tonight, it would be on his head. But once Haknyeon plucked the almonds out of his hand and nudged him towards the floor, Donghyuck couldn't find it within him to say no. Maybe it was time for him to take a little break. Maybe he could find someone to dance with, maybe hit it off and maybe he could finally forget about the person that lingered in the back of his mind the same way her symbol dangled around his neck.
The whole crowd being masked up meant that Donghyuck genuinely had no idea who was who. It amused him a little bit to see that people who didn't come with their friends would have to find them on their own or make new ones. For him, personally, he could spot his friends from a mile away even with decorative masks on their faces.
"Hey, chaperone," Renjun slurred as he threw an arm around Donghyuck. "Why so serious?"
"This event is pulling every stress string I have in my body and I can't drink. I'm stuck with stupid punch for the rest of the night," Donghyuck grumbled.
"You don't drink, how are you more drunk than Renjun is?"
Jaemin smirked lazily, his eyes a long gone haze. "Accidentally—" hiccup. "Drank Renjun."
"Gross." Donghyuck grimaced at Jaemin's oddly worded sentence. He then watched as Jaemin and Renjun both collapsed after bumping their heads into each other, having a giggling fit on the floor. Classy.
