Chapter Text
The day had finally come. The RFA party would finally be held. Alone in Rika's apartment, MC couldn't help but twirl around giddily in the dress she picked out. She hoped that everyone would like it. MC had worked hard to get the party up and running, in only eleven days too! But finally, she could rest. So much had happened in those eleven days, when she thought of it all her heart couldn't help but flutter. It felt as if MC's heart flew away when it hit her that she would be seeing all of the RFA in person for the first time. Seven already knew what she looked like, but she hoped that all of the other members wouldn't hope that she looked too bad either. She fiddled with her hair nervously.
MC was sure the rest of the RFA would all be excited for the party as well. They all had known each other for much longer, and experienced loss. MC was grateful this week and a half she was able to give them some sense of closure. When MC thought about how happy they must be to have the party as well, to reunite in Rika's honor, her cheeks became flushed red with how hard she smiled.
For nine days, MC knew that the party would happen. She sent emails to guests and had everyone prepare, yet the thought never truly sunk into her head. To actually have reached that day, it felt all so surreal to MC. She was even slightly worried that all this might be a dream. That she'd wake up in the morning, only to discover nothing she went through was real. She had to pinch and pull at her sink to reassure herself that it wasn't. She paced around the room ecstatically. Even if this wasn't a dream, it sure did feel like one had come true. She knew the hacker was malicious, but still she thanked them for the opportunity they had provided her. Downloading some silly, funny-looking app to trying to defend a charity organization from a cult while simultaneously planning their party was one heck of a butterfly effect that MC never saw coming.
MC tried to calm herself down, as the coordinator, it would only make sense for her to have to give a speech. Plus she wanted to look presentable, cool, and collected. Perhaps the other RFA members wouldn't mind, but she knew Jumin might say something about it. Seeming like she had everything together would probably elicit at least bonus points from everyone else. She could imagine all of their reactions and blushed even more. Okay, maybe MC's ideas of what they would think were a little fantastical, but still she wanted to seem confident, just in case.
MC spent quite a while in Rika's apartment trying to calm herself down. She would look in the mirror, clear her throat, adjust her gown, and lift her head to emit an opulent aura. Yet soon, she'd remember what she was doing it for and turn back into a flustered mess. The cycle repeated for a bit too long, at one point MC glanced at the clock and realized the party was about to start! She took one last deep breath as she ran out of the apartment, fidgeting trying to close the door properly while still going fast, which ultimately just wasted more time than if she shut it normally.
She dashed down the hall to get to the elevator. I kinda feel like Cinderella rushing to leave the ball haha. Except this time I'm going to meet my royal scions. MC could feel her face getting hot again as the imagery of the romantic, lovey-dovey fairytale endings appeared in her head. She clutched her cheeks and squealed as she finally reached the elevator. She pressed the button and it seemed like the elevator was going at a slower speed purposefully since she had somewhere to be. MC tapped the feet hurriedly in disquietude waiting for the shaft to arrive. A bit of tension was released as she heard the elevator's 'ding' go off, and she sped inside.
MC took the time she had in the elevator. To try and calm herself down and recollect her composure. Once more, MC gave off an elegant atmosphere, yet that was quickly shattered as she realized she hadn't yet clicked the elevator button. She berated herself for wasting even more time, before clicking the button to take her to the first floor. She was at least grateful that she didn't fumble and click the wrong button, that seemed about where her luck was today. MC hoped that all this wasn't some kind of bad omen for what the day might turn out to be.
Once more, the elevator seemed to be taking an eternity to get down out of malignity towards MC's joy. MC groaned and buried her face in her hands, then let out a chuckle with how irritated she was getting with an inanimate object. She felt a bit better now, but still was worried with how long the elevator was taking to get down. She hoped she wouldn't get stuck in it. The ding of rapture came once again and MC exited the elevator, heading towards the parking lot. MC got in her car and smoothly cruised to the venue location.
She arrived, and she knew the venue was going to be huge, but. Wow. MC was breathless with how grand the building looked. It was such a huge place, truly like a palace, and even then the parking lot was filled. MC knew that she had communicated with a large variety of people, some stranger and more memorable than the others, but she never really thought about the number of people invited. Of course, the huge truck from the oil prince caught her eye first, but there were so many types of cars from more than MC could ever afford in ten lifetimes to beat down family hand-downs. It was a slightly moving moment for MC, knowing she brought so many people here together for once cause, but she also had to find room to park herself...
MC circled around the parking lot, looking for a space she could fill up, but it seemed she didn't have to worry about it at all. An area was marked down as reserved for RFA members with two open spaces left, presumably for her and V. She was a little bummed out V couldn't attend, but there wasn't much she could do about it at this point. She glided into one of the open spots and put her car in park. This was it. She was finally here. Her heart fluttered and beat out her chest, but she tried to keep her face as stiff as possible. MC got out of her car, and approached the front of the venue.
As MC stepped into the first section, it took a bit for her to absorb. The venue was already grand from the outside, but the inside was even more luxurious. Golden, bright chandeliers accompanied with the color choice of the wall. The ceiling was at least twice as tall as MC. Lavish red carpet sat below MC's feet and rope barriers traced against her sides. Not to mention the beautiful paintings hung against the wall, and even the door looked extravagant. Everything was so palatial, MC almost felt bad for thinking the place had a new car smell. The scent wasn't a bad thing, it smelled lovely, but it was such an underwhelming word for the fanciful location. MC cursed her lack of a plentiful vocabulary for undervaluing the splendid venue she was in.
"Welcome, are you on the guest list?" A voice interrupted MC's awe. MC recognized the voice instantly of course. She turned and it was none other than Jaehee. MC found it a bit funny yet awkward that Jaehee couldn't recognize her, to no fault of her own of course.
"Oh, it's-" MC was cut off.
"Ah, I recognize your voice. MC, aren't you?" She asked. MC nodded. "You look very beautiful. I'm so honored to meet you in person! I can't believe we're finally meeting... You truly did an amazing job with the amount of guests you managed to invite given such a short time period. I can see a bright future for the RFA. Again, I'm looking forward to working with you, MC. You can go inside, the rest of the RFA is there. I'll be inside once all the guests have arrived." MC couldn't help but blush at Jaehee's compliment, still she had to appear level. MC looked away for a moment, took a deep breath and faced her again.
"Thank you." She said softly with a grin she couldn't keep down. "If you don't mind me asking, how many guests showed up?"
"We have forty eight here right now, and fifty three total are scheduled to show up." Jaehee replied. MC was shocked with the number. That was almost six guests a day on average that she communicated with since she heard there would be a party. She was surprised that she never got burned out, but she was very grateful. MC thanked Jaehee once more as she headed inside to see the rest of the RFA.
Almost immediately upon stepping in, she collided with another person heading out. MC looked up to apologize, and realized she had bumped into Zen. His face was absolutely charming. Zen had sent so many pictures of himself in the chatroom, but seeing him in person was something entirely different. He appeared as if he was glowing, and MC was hypnotized, enamored with his appearance.
"Ah, careful there! Wouldn't want a pretty lady like you to get hurt." He flirted. MC's heart beat as fast as a hare could skip. Once more, her face was turning red and she had to bashfully look away.
"Sorry, that was my fault, Zen."
"Oh you know who I am! Are you a fan of... wait that voice, MC?" MC shyly nodded. The way Zen said her name was so different from any way she had ever heard it. Not in pronunciation, but there was something about it that made MC even more nervous than she already was. "Wow, I finally know what you look like, to be honest I was anxious all day about that. You truly are gorgeous. I'm glad I bumped into you! You did an amazing job with the party, MC. There are so many people here!"
"Zen, I hope you are not bothering our lady of the hour?" MC didn't even have time to recompose herself before Jumin appeared behind Zen. "Her face is bright red, so I hope you haven't been harassing her?"
"Of course I haven't! How did you recognize her immediately?" Zen asked.
"Well, I know what she sounds like and I heard her talking to you." Jumin replied simply. He turned to face MC. "Congratulations on the wonderful party that you've organized. Would you like me to escort you to a table seat so you can cool down a bit?" Jumin was also extremely attractive, MC could barely look him in the eye. He gave off a much more lavish aura than MC ever could have in the many attempts that she attempted to. MC, rendered completely speechless, gave a quiet nod in response as Jumin outstretched his hand. MC nervously looked down at his palm, looked up at his face, then back at his palm again before daintily accepting it like royalty at a ball. Jumin was trying to help, but holding hands with him only made her face more hot. Jumin guided MC away from the doors and towards a table where she took a rest. When MC's and Jumin's hands clasped together, Mc could practically feel Zen's jealousy fuming out of him. Jealousy wasn't a positive trait, but MC found it quite endearing of him.
MC leaned back in her chair, letting the cushion support her back and let out a sigh. She closed her eyes, letting herself relax and regain composure, hopefully for the last time today. "...MC" A voice called out. MC peeped her eyes open and saw Seven. Seven was always a jokester in the chat, so to see him dress up so formally made MC's just calmed down heart start its fluttering once again. "Oh, and Jumin as well."
"Why do I just get an 'oh'?" Jumin asked, but Seven ignored him. Seven bent beside MC's chair.
"You look even more cute than you did in the cameras." He said breathlessly. MC took in another deep breath so her face wouldn't turn red, still her stomach was filled with butterflies.
"Thank you." She replied. "And thank you so much for protecting me over the last few days."
Seven looked shocked for a moment, then blushed and turned away. "It was nothing..." His bashful reaction surprised MC, but flustered her as well. Soon, Zen and Jaehee came to join the table as well. Seven tried to adjust himself to seem as confident as he always did in the chatroom.
"Everyone's here, except for Yoosung." MC said.
"Oh, you'll see him soon. There's a reason we're all gathered here." Zen informed her. With impeccable timing, everyone heard a tap on the mic. The chatter slowly died down as every attendee faced forward.
"Ah, ah." Yoosung conducted a mic check, then cleared his throat. "Welcome everyone to the RFA's Party. I'm glad everyone could attend on such a short notice. Unfortunately the head of the RFA could not attend this time around, but I, Yoosung Kim, stand in his place. First of all, I'd like to thank all the members of the RFA for making this possible to happen, especially our party coordinator, MC." Yoosung motioned to the table where the other RFA members stood. The guests broke applause for MC. Somehow, Yoosung saying her name made her more nervous than all the guests looking at her. She stood up from her chair, waved, and smiled politely to all the guests. Once the applause was finished, MC sat back down and Yoosung continued his speech. "Secondly, I'd like to dedicate this party to Rika the founder of RFA along with her fiancé V. Rika tragically left this world around two years ago, but as her cousin, I can say she was a very bright person who always put others before herself. She always said her dream was to help everyone smile. Even if she couldn't find a smile of her own, I hope that she can observe from the beyond and watch as the RFA continues to push her dream.
"Hello, everyone. Good Afternoon. As Yoosung said, I am MC, the new party coordinator. I joined the organization recently, just ten days ago and though our time together was short, I certainly enjoyed every moment I spent with the RFA. Every member is so supportive, and behind all of their eyes I can see the joy they have to be able to help others. I never knew Rika personally, but I feel every RFA member radiates with the love that she bestowed upon the world. I look forward to the future I have with the RFA, and I look forward to being able to help so many more people through this organization Rika and V started. Thank you all very much." MC bowed as applause rang out for the final time and she stepped down to regroup with the RFA. "Yoosung, your speech was lovely." MC smiled brilliantly at him.
"Ah- t-thank you." Yoosung was obviously flustered by MC's compliment. MC's heart beat strongly around him too, but for once MC felt as if she had the upper hand. Yoosung was so cute, no wonder the other members frequently teased him.
"Shall we make cheers?" Jumin offered.
"I think we shall." Zen replied.
All of the RFA sat down at a table. Their cups were all filled, and everyone raised theirs up. They all slid their hands mid-air toward the center and let the cups clink together. "Cheers!"
Hours passed, and the party had since ended. All that was left were the people who cleaned the venue up, and the RFA who partook in light conversation, catching up between the ones who hadn't seen each other in some time. None of them knew, MC had another thing planned.
MC took deep breaths and she prepared herself. This would be it. Of all the time her heart fluttered and beat today, they were now doing so more violently than all those occasions combined. MC stepped up to the podium, step by step, with shaking legs. She pursed her lips, she was nervous. Was this really a good idea? She had only known them for eleven days, but she was so fond of them she had to. When would she get another opportunity like this where they were all in the same location? Step by step, she teetered up to the top of the podium. MC seemed so fragile as she tapped the mic.
The feedback was already enough to catch everyone's attention, but still MC went on. "A-ah, ah... Will all the RFA members meet up at the table?" And with those words, MC's plan spiraled into inexorable action. She made her way down the podium, shaking even more, but managing to arrive at the table where everyone was gathered.
"MC, you called?" Jaehee said. MC nodded. MC took a deep breath as she began her confession.
"I know, we haven't known each other for that long, but I think we all did so well organizing the party. For all the ten days I spent with you, I felt so warmed and welcomed. I've really grown fond of all of you and I want to continue our relationship together... as more than just organization members." MC gripped the bottom of her shirt and looked down. She took one last, deep, powerful breath in as she yelled it all out. "I want all of you to be my romantic partners! You too, Jaehee. I'll love all of you fairly and equally, so please be my boyfriends and girlfriend!"