{EDITED AND PUBLISHED}
It was the second day of practice for the week, and the concert was getting closer. Just the thought of it made David nervous and anxious. He wanted to make Johnny and Ten proud with his performance skills but wow was it stressful to just think about it.
He sat on the dance studio floor going over his lines. He warmed up his voice with some of the things Ten had taught him and practiced the high notes that were given to him. It was early in the morning so his voice wasn't in its best condition.
However, the fact that he was alone in the studio helped him sing with more confidence. The others had gone to go buy coffee and energy drinks before they started practice because the energy was needed. He didn't feel like going so he just told Jian to bring him whatever.
Now he found himself trying to hit high notes in the early morning of Tuesday. He then practiced his duet with Emma, which would actually be the opening of the concert. Therefore, he could not mess up his performance with Emma. Not only did he not want to disappoint her but he didn't want to disappoint the neos.
He practiced until the others got back with their coffees. Jian walked up to him and gave him an energy drink. "got you this and it's even in your favorite flavor "simping for Emma"
"Thanks" David responded with a fake smile as he strongly patted his best friend's back.
Jian smiled back in pain and patted David on the shoulder. "You're welcome"
Before the two could start a conversation, they heard a loud clap followed by Emma's voice. "Alright is everyone ready to start practice?" She asked cheerfully.
"Yeah" most of them answered with not as much energy as her.
"Not really" Jian answered playfully which made David chuckle.
Emma looked at Jian with a smile that said 'well you better find the energy'. "Sucks for you now get in position for moonwalk"
Once everyone was in position and ready to go, they started actual practice.
"I don't like Taeyong's plan", Ten said with a pout as he threw on the bed. He was gonna take a nap, but before he was gonna complain to Johnny.
Johnny looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "and that is because?" He asked his boyfriend.
"I don't just want to sit here and let everyone do the work" Ten explained with a sigh. He wanted to go out and use his brain to figure something out, but Taeyong had told him to just do what he has been doing and stay at the apartment.
"okay fair reason", Johnny told him. He sat on the bed and continued to lay next to Ten. "but you do realize that Taeyong has a point? we can't put ourselves in danger when we have David"
"I know" Ten responded because the last thing he would like to do is put his own son in danger.
"and we can trust Donghyun, Yeongdo, Zach, and Josh to look for clues and have them figure something out", Johnny added slowly.
"I know"
"then what's the problem?" Johnny asked his boyfriend.
Ten turned to him with a serious expression. "my BEST Friend is missing, I should be doing something"
"she's also my best friend, and we both know that she wouldn't want us risking the idea of exposing us and our plan" Johnny stated knowing that if he didn't reason Ten out the idea of doing something then the Thai would go on and do something.
Ten sighed and hated to admit the following. "not to mention, that there's a chance that Kangmi's father is spying on us"
"yeah and Xiaoyu will kill us if we put ourselves in danger" Johnny added and it took them a moment to figure something out. Who would know how to deal with this? and who is ultimate best friends with Kangmi? and who knows almost everything about the girl.
"Xiaoyu!" They both exclaimed as they sat up straight.
"Maybe she can help", Ten said with a hopeful tone.
Johnny nodded. "I forget that she is best friends with Kangmi and knows basically everything about Kangmi"
"no shit, now call her", Ten told him as he threw his phone at him.
Sometime later, Ten and Johnny found themselves explaining everything to Xiaoyu. Xiaoyu looked at them with a blank expression and took a moment to process everything.
"and you guys tell me this now!" She exclaimed with disbelief.
"we forgot", they both said defensively.
Xiaoyu rolled her eyes. "just who's searching for stuff?", she asked them.
"Zach, Josh, Donghyun, and Yeongdo" Johnny answered and could see her trying to stop herself from making a comment. She just wanted to know why men were stupid? she could have probably solved this by now.
"Alright, okay I'll talk to them while you two", she said and pointed at them, "go back home and act like nothing is happening, I will keep you informed about everything but just keep planning the wedding because you have to go through it"
"But what if-" Ten started but was interrupted by Xiaoyu.
"no what-ifs, one thing I learned from Kangmi is that she never fails to go through her plans", she said firmly, "now get out and go back to your apartment"
Johnny and Ten did as they were told. For some reason, after going to Xiaoyu they felt like everything was gonna be fine and they were just gonna have to listen and trust her. On the way back to the apartment, they bought some food for themselves and David. Oh, and some Ice cream.
Once they got home, David was already there and waiting for them outside the apartment since he had forgotten his key inside the apartment.
"you forgot the passcode didn't you?" Johnny teasingly asked David.
David laughed before pointing at himself. "me? yeah, I did" He admitted with tiredness.
"oh my sweet smart son, how can you be so stupid sometimes?", Ten said as he opened the door and let them in.
David shrugged and pointed at the bags they were carrying. "you guys bought food?"
"not for you" Johnny commented.
"yes we did, so go wash your hands", Ten told David and pushed him towards the sink. He placed the bags on the table and started taking everything out. "and bring drinks"
"mmm okay"
CONCERT DAY pt.2
1 pm
All of them sat in the waiting room eating their lunch. On this lovely day, they were having kimchi stew. However, since most of them were nervous and anxious they couldn't really eat properly or were just able to take one to two bites of their food before leaving it alone. In about an hour, they would start getting ready for the concert. they would be getting their hair and makeup done but for now, they were just enjoying their time to rest.
Some decided to take a small nap to recharge their energy, others decided to practice their lines and choreography, and Emma was drinking her third cup of coffee while practicing her rap. All of this as they waited for the first person to be called for makeup and hair.
4 hours left until the concert......
Miyoung, Emma, and Jieun were the first ones to get their makeup and hair done while David, Jinwoo, and Jian changed into their outfits.
The boys grabbed their outfits and changed in the restroom since they didn't want to change in front of the girls. David's outfit consisted of black ripped jeans, a black button-up shirt, a black velvet jacket, and black shoes. Jinwoo's outfit consisted of black jeans, a wine red silk button-up shirt, and black dress shoes. While Jian's outfit consisted of black slacks, a black button-up shirt, black dress shoes, and a red velvet blazer/jacket.
After changing, they had to wait about two hours before the girls were finished with their hair and make-up. During those two hours, they made sure to practice their lines and choreography while also saving up energy.
Once the girls were done, the boys sat on the chairs and got their makeup and hair done. The girls grabbed their outfits and went to the restroom to change. Emma was to wear black ripped jeans, a black corset shirt that had red flowers, black 3-inch boot heels, and a black blazer. Miyoung's outfit consisted of a black and red skort, a red shirt with the words 'ill make it last', and black boots. Jieun's outfit consisted of black shorts, a red wine silk blouse, a black choker, and red vans.
4:30 pm
Thirty minutes before the concert, they started putting on the in-ear-monitors, and everything they would need. All of them got nervous as the time for them to perform got closer.
4:55 pm
Five minutes before the concert they stood in line waiting for the cue to tell them to get in position. However, the first performance was only David and Emma, so the rest would still have time to prepare themselves mentally.
"get in position for your first song", a staff told Emma and she informed David. Emma and David gave each other a hug and a reassuring smile. They got on stage and got into position, while the rest stayed behind and watched nervously. The two on stage could see NCT seated on their seats and were trying to ignore how nervous they were. However, the lights were off so the neos couldn't really see who was on stage
At exactly five pm the light turned on and the concert started. As soon as the two teens heard the song and cue in their ear, something shifted and they were now in perform mode. NCT also got excited as they hear the beat of 'baby don't stop'.
Emma and David moved right on the beat. Throughout the song, they could hear the NCT members cheering, and screaming the fan chant which was quite impressive. Soon the song was coming to an end and the others were getting ready to go on stage and perform the second song.
"Pi pa pi pa pa (Stop baby don't stop)
Pi pa pa ru la pi pa pa (Stop baby don't stop)
Pi pa pi pa pa (Stop baby don't stop)
Pi pa pa ru la pi pa pa (Stop baby don't stop)
Stop baby don't stop" The two ended the song and waited for the lights to go off before getting into position for the second song.
"woohoo!" Taeyong yelled as he swung his neobong in the air. Jaehyun had to place an arm around Taeyongs waist to calm him down and stop him from swinging the light stick too hard.
"THAT'S MY SON!" Ten screamed proudly. David tried to stay serious but couldn't help but smile. Taeyong and Ten watched the performance proud of David and Emma.
The lights turned once again and 'regular' started playing. NCT took a second and most of them panicked as they tried to figure out whether it was the English, Korean, or Chinese version. However, they managed to figure it out in time. They clapped and cheered for them during the performance while swinging the neobongs and chanting the fan chant with all of their strength.
Donghyuck was happy and went crazy when he saw David covering his part, and almost made David break into laughter when he screamed "I wish I had money to throw at him".
After performing the first two songs, they felt the adrenaline. Now they understood why people like performing, it was fun and the rush you felt was amazing. Once the song finished, they had about 1 minute to get ready for the third song, "love talk" by WayV.
After performing "love talk" and two more songs, it was time for them to introduce themselves. They got in a line while panting as those four songs, and five for David and Emma, tired them out but it was just the beginning. The five teens all excitedly waited for their leader to count them down.
"1 2 3" Emma counted down.
"to the world! Hello, we are NCT C!" They bowed and introduced themselves in unison.
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................