If growing up with money has taught Soleil anything, it’s that right people are stingy about opening their wallets, right up until there’s an opportunity to do it under a spotlight where everyone can see just how generous they are. The amount of upper class fetes they’ve been dragged along to, forced into suits with their hair styled Just Right by a professional stylist hired by their mother, both in Seoul and abroad, has given them enough insight into the minds of people with money, and just how to get it out of them.
So when the student council of their university announces a competition of sorts to see which club can raise the most money for a local charity, they aren’t afraid to finally play the ‘I’m rich, you know?’ card.
(Thankfully, the rest of Z0NE and B4SE are right alongside them in the plan.)
The crew is an almost even mix of backgrounds, ranging from the highest echelons (the twins, more specifically, and Mystique, a politician’s daughter), all the way down to those who had experienced true poverty (and Dokkaebi only sometimes makes faces at the frivolity behind some of the expenditure he witnesses, far too used to his small-town rural life). It makes splitting jobs easy, with those with networks to grease up with a promise of positive image setting off to write emails and invitations and put a price on tickets.
Soleil excuses themself from that particular group, leaving Oberon to handle matters on their behalf, and instead teams up with the other members. There’s a stage to secure the use of, odd items to collect for an auction, tickets to design, a dance to choreograph, and a number of other logistical requirements.
It takes almost two months of planning.
(It had originally taken a month, but they had received a more positive response to their ‘pay what you what’ tickets than first expected, which required them to not only book a bigger venue for the performance and auction, but to organise more items to auction off for a second night of the show.)
The performance goes off without a hitch, and Oberon and Mystique hold the crowd captive with their MCing throughout the night, and Soleil finds their belief that most of B4SE should be models instead of street dancers reinforced with the way they dress up and walk the various auction items around the tables of guests (and there’s a brief moment where they don’t wonder if the amount of money goes so high on some items more specifically for the dancer showing them off).
The largest benefactor comes in the form of their own father, announcing that he personally will match the price of the highest bid in any of the auctions as his own ticket price, and Soleil is sure they’re about to break into tears on stage.
It takes them a week to remember this had all started as a way to win a competition at the university, but, by this point, they’re not interested in a competition.
Instead, they gather together in one of the studios on a late Saturday evening and run through all of their totals, and take votes on which charities the money should go to. Dokkaebi, Misfit and Kirin hold the heaviest sway, with their own personal experiences in being less fortunate than the rest and having had to reach out to charities themselves growing up.
Lillia makes the final decision with a suggestion (her first of the night after hiding quietly behind her bottle of beer).
“Give them a third each,” she murmurs, quiet and yet still able to cut through all of their voices. “Take it home. Give it directly back to the groups that helped you.”
No one challenges her.
(Dokkaebi hides his face and watery eyes, while Misfit and Kirin both sweep her up into a tight hug.)
