Chapter Text
We are officially at the center that will be holding the concert. It is extremely big as one would expect it to be. “ Why is parking so hard to find” Daniel says out in annoyance as I slightly laugh at her face that shows how livid she is after having her spot being taken three times. Honestly, that annoys me too but not as much as the driver who has to find a new spot every time that happens. “ Found one! I feel so blessed.” Well, she looks happy now. As she quickly parks, she obviously doesn't want it being taken from her again, I can see the anger subsiding into happiness.
“ Bet you enjoyed that free show” Dani looks at me with a look of expectancy. “ Well, I didn’t enjoy having the parking spot stolen three times, but it surely was entertaining” I say to her while having flashbacks to a few minutes earlier. ‘ What the actual fuck, I was obviously backing into that spot! How can fans of such a good group be such a dick?!’ while banging her steering wheel, her bun shaking with her disapproval. Her glare of death holding a grudge that is probably over now.
I open the car door with my bag in hand, closing it before walking behind the car to wait for Dani. “ Girl, while in line I should braid your hair. It would make it so much more fun” I listened to her words, questioning, but agreed in the end. “ I give you full braiding access to my hair” I triumphantly say as if I am a queen delivering some sort of merciful vow. She starts cheering erratically which gets us some looks, but they probably are all thinking she is excited for the concert just like they probably are.
We walk to the building and enter the doors where a cold gust of AC air meets us. I would be concerned about how cold it would be if this wasn’t a concert with many people huddled in one building. My mini fan also has a heater mode so I will be alright. I look to my right to check up on Dani, she is not the happiest with the cold. “ Too cold for ya?” I ask to make sure she is good. “ It’s actually not that bad compared to the usual temperatures.” I mean the other two times I went with her it was colder than this so I understand. But the seat area will absolutely be colder since the idols will be getting hot from dancing and singing on the stage.
As we look around we head to the bag check. It is in fact a necessary part of concerts for everyone's safety. I mean, I wouldn't want someone to have something dangerous on them here. Even if they don’t have an ill intent some other people might so the precautions are necessary. When we enter the line I see a girl who is screaming excitedly. I then noticed someone with a similar tattoo to her on the face. She must have found her soulmate at this concert. Everyone starts cheering for her and I find myself doing it for her too. Just because I don’t find the need for a soulmate doesn’t mean everyone else has the same opinion.
Watching that moment seems to have sped up everything because before I knew it I was at the beginning of the line. I push Daniel ahead first and she nods while heading to the security who is checking bags. Not long after I head up and have my bag checked. I turned around to see a girl with a small bag having everything taken out because it was not clear. That is why it’s better to bring a clear bag. It is faster and you don’t have to worry much about other people touching your stuff. I turn back to the security who gives me a nod and my bag back. I mumble a thank you before doing a small run to Dani
“ Should we get merchandise after we check in our tickets?” I consider it and decide it would be more enjoyable. On top of that it could be a souvenir that will remind me of this experience.” Don’t see why not.” Dani nods and holds my hand while we go to the ticket check lines. We join a random, relatively short, line. “ I will braid your hair in the merch line because those always take the longest.” She is so right, those lines take forever. “ Ok bestie” I then checked the time on my phone and it’s 6:05. Let’s pray that the people in that line aren't indecisive. “ This line is actually very fast compared to how long previous lines are” I look at the people in front of us and we are next. “ This is rare but I'm not complaining. I take what I can get” Danie laughs at my response but shows obvious signs she agrees.
We scan out tickets and get qualified. The person points to the other side and we walk past the scanner where they say we are officially good. We sprint to the merch line which seems to be shorter than before, which I honestly prefer. Daniel doesn’t waste time braiding little strands of my hair in the front. She does one on each side before pulling my hair back in a half bun, leaving the two braided pierce in the front along with some hair. “ Adorable” Dani hands me her mini compact mirror and I see the cute half up-do with little braids.” I love it so much girlie, thank you!’ I say this with lots of enthusiasm hugging Dani, our faces touching from pulling each other in so close. We still have a bit of time so we wait in the line a bit longer.
“ Do we even know what we are getting?” I ask because I know we do not want to be the ones who hold the line back. “ I won’t get a light stick because I already have one. Hmm.” As she contemplates what to get I already visualized what I want. “ I will get a water bottle and photo cards” Dani snaps her head to me, “ I will get the same thing and we can match”. We both squeal excitedly. Matching was something we have always loved to do. We partly saw it as a symbol of our long lived friendship. We started matching on the first day of fourth grade and stuck with it a lot. The teachers even made a special little award for us saying ‘ The School Twins’ because we matched more than anybody else did in the school. We matched two days every week which turns out to be a lot of days since it all adds up.
Snapping out of my nostalgia, we are now the first in line and get a matching water bottle with five of the same photo cards. The water bottle was mainly a Hanuel theme with a bit of the other members. I take out my card from my phone to pay for my stuff. I look up to see Dani paying for my stuff. Again.I put my card away because it isn't needed right now. I know her parents are richer than mine ,but I also want to be able to pay for my own things sometimes. I can’t get upset with her for this because she practically sees me as family and doesn't find an issue with it so neither should I.
I grabbed the bag for us, carrying it because I didn’t pay. With all honesty this is not some form of punishment towards myself. It just makes sense because I haven't really done anything yet for the items bought. I checked the time again, it’s 6:27. And we should absolutely hurry. “ Dani, it’s 6:27, we should get to our seats fast.” I pull her along with me. “ Yeah Luze, we better run.” She starts sprinting and I end up being pulled along instead. After a couple seconds I catch up to her and we are now running at an even pace. After a bit of running we enter the performance room and go to our seats. Well, more like me following Dani to our seats since she ordered them.
We go towards the VIP section which catches me off guard. A staff member asks for the tickets and after checking them lets us through. “ You ordered VIP?!” Dani smiles at me and nods happily. I mean she does like to get closer up to the idols she watches. She especially likes that you get cute little bags meant for VIP’s that you get to take home. I guess I'm getting this concert too.
Dani points at the seats where we are supposed to sit and I plop down after her. She grabs my hands, holding them tightly while saying she is happy to be here with me. “ Me too!” We have our moment then the stage lights turn on and the lights above the seats go off. “ It’s about to start.” I whisper to Dani who whispers back. “ I know, I am so happy.” she squeezes my hand once more and turns her hand to the idols entering the stage. Haneul enters the stage first and the crowd goes wild. His straight Milk Tea Brown hair bounces as he runs on stage, his hair has a density like mine but with a bit more curve to it compared to my stubbornly straight hair. He bats his green eyes like a fairy when the lights shine upon him. As silly as the terminology I am using is, he is literally acting somewhat like a fairy. Ji-an enters right after with his blonde hair and blue eyes gleaming in the light. Last but not least Ha-eun who has black hair that is a bit curly with black eyes that are similar to the night sky.
I listen as they say hello and all the fans scream it back full of love and excitement that you can hear. After all the greeting and thank you for coming, the introduction is finally over and the music begins. ‘ Flowing so fast, Waves so vast, Wind singing in my ears, Knowing what I want, Takes me away from the grasp of fear, Let life rage on, To the seagulls in the sky, Coral reefs below, Feel like I can fly, Never a low, Got that feeling of oceans blues, It’s even stronger next to you, Yeah’ I hum silently to the song, knowing that singing out loud in a Korean concert is considered rude because you interrupt the idols. Some fans will even grill you if you do so since they can sometimes feel as if you ruin the moment.
It would be nice to have fans that support me, although I feel like an error someone new to k-pop would make should be given more lightly. Imagine only going to concerts where you can scream as loud as you want, then you go to a k-pop concert and get eaten alive by the fans. They could be nice but at the same time concert tickets are expensive so you don't want someone ruining the moment after you spent all that money.
I listen as another song comes out that I am familiar with. This one is called Palm Tree and it gives off relaxing summer vibes but is also partly a high energy one. Like I would listen to this if I was tanning, or sitting on a float in the pool. ‘ Chilling with my buddies, Drinking that stuff, Getting called crazy, Said to be lazy, But is that true, Let me ask you, Just sitting down relaxing, Living my life, Flourish in the sun and strive, Under the palm tree feeling the glow, Can’t hear the trash of the world, Oh oh oh, Listen to the waves crashing, My oh my, Constant splashing, Wings flapping in the sky, Bum dum let the coconut drop, You can’t make us stop’ This song was also for the haters who say rude things but still listen to their songs. It pretty much calls them out for being so double sided.
After some more songs there is a break, which is usually in the middle of the concert. A majority of the time it is three to ten minutes. I don’t think I could do that with a break so small. Dani is gone because she is going to get some water for us, she wanted me to stay here and look after her seat and stuff. After one time when someone took her stuff she became paranoid of leaving it alone. I mean, I can’t blame her. Imagine paying 70 dollars for a bag and three photo cards just to have it stolen. Pure rage is what I would feel.
Soon Dani is back with the water and the break ends not long after. The break was like seven minutes. If I was in that group I'd be begging for a fifteen minute break or something while gasping for air. Props to them for the commitment. Dani hands me water and I accept it with a smile and thankful nod since I had not had water for the like hour and fifteen minutes since it started plus the ride here. Taking a sip from it feels like a dehydrated person tasting salvation for the first time in forever.
“ So how do you think the concert is so far?” Dani is probably wondering since this is my first time at this group's concert despite supporting them for a decent amount of time. “ It is going well. I wish I could sing it all out loud but I know better” Dani laughs reply with “ You better know better or else the fans will be at your necks, especially since we are in Korea, the country full of respect.”. I know what she means. In Korea there is an entire respect hierarchy that feels a lot at times. But I also have to acknowledge respecting others is a major part of our culture and builds trust.
The music starts up again and the room dims while the stage light brightens. I mentally try to guess what song is going to come up. Maybe Popsicle since that song hasn’t come on yet. The trio are all in position ready to start their complex dances. ‘Sweet and sour, Hearts filled with power, Savor it like it’s something special, One of a kind, Unique find, Lick up the taste, Mind on a mental race, Let’s go, Drop the temperature low, Whoa whoa, Hot and cold’ I guessed it right. I do a mini mental celebration to myself before focusing my attention back on the song.
After a long while the concerts start to come to a close, fans cheering happily and throwing flowers. Although some throw stuffed animals, it is against the rules to take it as it can have a camera. Lots of safety rules but they're there for a reason.
I turn to face Dani who is smiling brightly, “ I feel blessed from that music, don’t you Luze?”. She seems to have been purified from their songs. “ It was really fun to listen to with you” I nudged her arm and she nudged me back. We grab our stuff before heading to the VIP room where we get to talk a bit with the members. Since we were so busy talking we were last in line which I found fine. Dani doesn’t seem to have a problem with it either, just patiently waiting with a bit of jump to it.
After all the people in front of us go, we meet the trio. I shake hands with Ji-an and Ha-eun first because they are closer. I then shake hands with Hanuel and something like a spark happens which obviously caught him off guard too. We let go of our hands quickly while the members looked at us with some concern. Dani also looks at me and Hanuel with some confusion. “ Oh, I think friction shocked us both. Wasn’t really expecting it” Dani seems to take that answer and so does the other members. I mean there would be no other explanation but that.
“ Sorry about that” I apologize to Hanuel because that shock didn’t feel good. “ Oh, no, you don’t need to apologize. That shock caught us both off guard. Let’s try it again” he puts his hand out ready to give it a second try. I put my hand out again and we got shocked. We both stared at each other wide eyed at the second shock because we absolutely thought it was friction. “ Dani, can you give me your hand?” Dani doesn’t hesitate knowing that I am beyond confused right now just as she is. Her hand extends and I hole it waiting for a shock or something of the sort. Nothing. “ If this does not sound rude, Hanuel Oppa, can you try to touch one of your members hands?” I make sure to use a polite voice. Hanuel doesn’t seem to reject the idea, instead seeming like he was waiting for that question to be asked.
“ I feel nothing “ he touches his other member. “ Well this is weird.” Dani says obviously reading the situation perfectly. She pulls out her phone to search it up and so does Ji-an. The manager yells out that they are taking too long since they have to return to Isol Entertainment soon. We all made eye contact to see if someone was going to say anything. Ji-an asks if the manager can wait until they figure out a mystery.
The manager walks in confused as to what the mystery would be that it would delay leaving. “ Anytime Hanuel and those young women touch they shock each other” Ha-eun says to the manager because he is obviously curious too. “ Well we can figure this out later, just make sure Hanuel-a doesn’t touch her again. I don't want him getting hurt. No offense Miss” the manager says. He wants to keep his group safe which is understandable but also not show disrespect. “ I take no offense at all Jaen-ssi.” I bow properly before heading off with Dani behind me. As we walk farther Dani is more and more immersed on her phone.
“What has gotten you all focused?” I want to know what she almost bumped into me like five separate times for. “ Oh, it's just I found an explanation but I want more evidence” She says, immersed in her phone as ever. “ Just tell me when we are in the car.” I grab her shoulder as we get close to the exit as I do not want her to accidentally step in front of the car. I guided her past the door and into the parking lot. I look around and see many people have left already. Better for me I guess, makes it so much easier to find the car. There are maybe twenty other cars but Dani’s car is obvious. I head towards the white Bronco with Dani in suite, still looking at her phone.
When at the car I asked Dani a question,” When do you think you will find your evidence, I do not want you attempting to drive me back home while on your phone.” You can practically see some gears turning in her head before she screams in excitement. I gave her a confused look, whatever she was looking for was exciting. “ Show me in the car.” I got into the car and she hopped in staring at me intensely. “ What is it?” I give a confused look as she starts the car.
“ You have every girl's dream! But not yours…” She says before pulling out of her parking spot. What does she mean by that? “ Explain properly before I lose all my functioning brain cells.” I give her an incredulous look signaling her to speak in words I will understand. “Ok, so what happens is something called the Zeus theory, it is a soulmate thing. Upon touching your soulmate it will cause a spark only felt between you two. After thirty minutes of contact there will be a light yellow mark on a part of the body matching the soulmate. Same shape, size, and spot. Thankfully, once the mark appears the lightning touch thing disappears.” She says this so matter of factually and seriously that I know she is not joking around. She knows better than to joke around about me having my soulmate, especially since I didn’t really plan on having one.
I was contemptuous with that but now… my fate is set in stone. Some person I have only met in person once and seen on screens is somehow the love of my life. I really don’t want this. Dani, who obviously knows of my emotions about this, takes one hand off the steering wheel and into mine. “ It’ll be fine, he doesn’t even know your name. The tickets are under my name and he probably doesn’t know where we sat other than the VIP area. If I get contacted I can say that I won’t tell or act like it was a one time meet. If they ask about the extra seat I can say that the person got sick and cancelled last minute.” Her rambling makes me feel better. Nice to know someone is on my side if my fate of love isn’t. Her thinking so much into this just shows how much of a true friend she is.I squeezed her hand and she quieted down to give me some mental time.