'I don't wanna look at anything else now that I saw you.'
Coming from a wealthy family was never the major flex in her life. To others, she might come off as a rich spoilt brat but the reality was far from what they perceived her to be.
In a world...
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The moment they reentered the auditorium, the overwhelming glitter of stage lights and the low hum of audience chatter clashed jarringly with the storm brewing in their minds.
Jeonghan, Wonwoo, and Dino hurried to their seats, each heartbeat pounding like a ticking clock inside their chests. They kept their heads down, trying not to draw attention, but every step felt heavy, like the air around them knew what was coming.
Jeonghan leaned close to Seungcheol the moment they sat, his voice barely a whisper but urgent, laced with panic beneath its practiced calm, "Don’t react. Just listen. Miyeon just called—she said there’s a bomb. Somewhere here. Inside the hall."
Seungcheol’s face didn’t move, didn’t twitch but he stiffened. He blinked once and nodded subtly, barely glancing at Jeonghan before turning to whisper the same into Joshua’s ear.
Across the row, Jeonghan leaned toward Sohee and Yewon, both of whom were trying to smile for the cameras they could feel aimed at the front row. Their smiles dropped slightly, but they masked the fear well—just like trained professionals.
Joshua tapped Taehyung’s shoulder next to him, murmuring quickly under the cover of the stage announcement starting up, and Taehyung’s expression stiffened imperceptibly. Beside him, Mingyu caught the look and understood instantly that something was wrong—deeply, dangerously wrong.
Then came the sudden voice from the stage.
"And now—ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to felicitate our best performers. Those who lit the basketball court the brightest. It's time for the awards ceremony to begin!"
Nari’s voice rang through the auditorium, but there was something off about it. Jeonghan glanced up and caught her eyes, wide with barely hidden concern as she spotted the subtle shaking of his head.
She paused, God bless her presence of mind, and immediately switched gears.
"But before that, we have a special surprise performance lined up!", she said brightly, masking her own panic with effortless professionalism. Jeonghan nodded, grateful.
As the audience began to clap, distracted by the change in sequence while the organizers looked quizzical at the sudden performance, the group quietly rose from their seats and slipped backstage.
Backstage was buzzing with movement—staff preparing, stylists running around, performers lining up.
But amid the noise, Jeonghan, Wonwoo, Joshua, Mingyu, Seungcheol, Sohee, Yewon, Taehyung, and now Seungkwan, Dokyeom, and Hoshi found a dark corner near the prop storage and gathered tightly.
As the everyone huddled near the darkened corner of the prop storage, their eyes flicked toward the side of the stage where Nari stood, stiffly nodding as Professor Kim spoke to her in a low but pointed voice.
