Chapter 4

“An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all.”

Junsu POV

            Jaejoong-hyung frantically unlocks the door to the room, ushering all of us in. I risk a glance behind me. The fans had taken a turn into one of the different hallways, but it’ll be a matter of time before they think of a plan to find us. I gently push Anika in and rush in myself. Jaejoong slams the door shut, and stands against it, arms spread out. Slowly, he sinks down onto the floor, letting out a shaky, relieved sigh.

Everyone squirmed around, settling on the floor. The room was big enough for all of us to sit and be pretty comfortable, but because of the fact that we were being chased by rabid fangirls, we weren’t exactly in a very…cheery mood. Ryeowook and Yesung sit cross-legged on the right side of the room, Hyuk Jae plops down next to me on the left side, and Yoochun, Anika, and Henry sit side-by-side in the middle of the room, facing Jaejoong, who still has his back pressed against the door.

I thump Hyuk Jae on the back of his head. “Yah!” He exclaims, glaring at me while rubbing his head. I thump him again and hiss, “Be quiet!”

He sighs in annoyance, but lowers his voice. “What was that for?”

I whisper incredulously, “What do you mean? You’re the one that got us into this mess! You just had to moonwalk into the building; who even does that in public?!”

Yesung nods his head in agreement. “Eunhyuk, you knew that we were trying hard to stay low-key. Anyone would recognize your dancing, or just see a flash of your face, for that matter. Now, we’re stuck here.”

Jaejoong puts his ear against the door, straining to hear for any sounds outside. He turns to us, asking, “Anyone have a plan on exactly how we’re going to get out of here?”

Ryeowook shakes his head, saying, “Let’s just sit here for a bit and try to think. Glancing at Yoochun explaining everything to Anika, he adds, “If we just go out without a plan, and Anika-ssi’s with us, there’ll be serious trouble.” The others nod in agreement. If the fans see her with us…God knows what they’ll speculate. We sit in stiff silence for a couple minutes.

“Well, I don’t know about you guys,” Eunhyuk yawns, stretching out his limbs, “but I’m hungry.” To justify this, his stomach lets out a loud grumble. Jaejoong winces, glancing at the door, and I resist the urge to roll my eyes. Babo.

“I think I’ll order some pizza or something.” He takes out his phone eagerly, but doesn’t even have time to blink before Yesung and I both smack him on the back of the head again.

Ignoring his yelp of indignation, Yesung scolds, “Idiot! How can you think about food right now? Just wait until I tell Teuk-hyung when we get out of here!”

“If we get ever get out of here,” I mutter, just loud enough for Hyuk Jae and Jaejoong to hear.

Jaejoong pats my back, saying, “We will.” I smile weakly but notice that while he said that we would, he looked slightly unsure himself.

Anika POV
 

“The fans are still around trying to find us, but don’t worry; we’ll find a way out,” Henry explains to me, trying to look reassuring.

I bite my lip, listening as the others talk, most likely about ways to get rid of the fans. How in the world did they get in the building? I shake my head. K-pop fans…

Yoochun puts his arm around my shoulders, and peers at me worriedly. “Are you alright? I know it’s a pretty scary situation to be in…” Everyone averts their attention to me, and I feel my ears immediately heat up. It’s not every day that idols you’ve fangirled over for years are all worried about your well-being.

I manage a small smile. “Really, I’m fine. We just have to get rid of them somehow…I get the feeling they’re not going to give up so easily.”

“Well, I’ve just tried out my phone,” Yoochun mutters, eyebrows knitting together in frustration as he stares at the screen. “Aish… there’s a weak signal…like, it’s only enough for me to talk with someone a few feet away or so…not enough to call for help, I don’t think…”

Everyone else takes out their phones as well, their replies echoing Yoochun’s statement. Even my own can’t reach too far. Great. We can’t even call anyone for help. At least I’ve got Yoochun and Henry to translate everything the guys are saying in case we think of a plan. For now, everyone just sits, occasionally muttering to each other, but mostly deep in their own thoughts.

I’m having…interesting thoughts myself. Glancing around at all the members (the Super Junior members, specifically), I involuntarily feel a rush of excitement and awe course through me. I’m in a room with Super Junior members. I’m sitting right here, breathing the same air as them, stuck in the same situation as them. I peek at Ryeowook and Yesung. And to think one of my biases is here. Honestly, what fan wouldn’t be internally (externally, if they were crazier) spazzing at this? I’m surprised I’m still calm; Super Junior was my intro to Kpop, and I’ve been in love with them ever since. Not to mention, that right now, I’m surrounded by two legendary Korean idol groups. Lord… I sigh quietly. The way I’m thinking right now, I may as well be out there with all those girls.

Shaking my head, I disperse of those thoughts. Sure, I’m a big Kpop fan and all, but it’s just not like me to do something like break into the agency and force the idols into hiding so they won’t be mauled by vicious fans. There are probably many ways in which I’d get along with Korean fans due to similar tastes regarding their culture…but, this is out of line. I glance at the JYJ members, hoping they have an idea.

I notice that Jaejoong’s eyes keep flitting to some point above our heads. Following his gaze, my eyes land on the air vent. I shoot him a quizzical look. Uh…no way, dude.

He raises an eyebrow. “You don’t think it’ll work?”

I shake my head, “It’s risky, and I don’t really think any of us would be able to move around in there.”
Yoochun turns his head to us, catching on to the conversation, “What are you guys talking about?”

Jaejoong quickly explains to the others his plan, but I could pretty much tell that some weren’t looking too sure, if Henry’s creased forehead and Ryeowook, Yesung, and Junsu’s exchanges of doubtful looks were any indication.

Junsu speaks up, “Hyung, I’m not sure about this plan. I think Anika’s right…it’s risky and I don’t think we’ll even be able to get the air vent open.”

“Are we supposed to just sit here or something, then? Who knows how long the fans will be out there,” Eunhyuk grumbles.

“You got us into this mess! Do we have to keep reminding you?” Ryeowook huffs, resting his head on his crossed arms.

“Can we stop the blame game?” Eunhyuk whines. I bite back a smile. It’s truly interesting seeing idols and their true behaviors outside of professional things. Glancing behind me, I watch as Yesung and Yoochun lazily play Kai Bai Bo, the Korean version of Rock, Paper, and Scissors.

Junsu glances at me, and says, “What we need is some sort of distraction. We can distract the fans and just be able to get out quickly and inform the CEO.”

A distraction… I stare absentmindedly at one of the walls, my mind whirring with possibilities, images, and words. As the last pieces of my plan click into place, I look up, murmuring, “Distraction…I can be that distraction.”

Jaejoong’s forehead creases in confusion. “You’re going to distract them? How?”

I start slightly in surprise, not realizing that I had spoken aloud. Everyone’s eyes come to rest on me, and I feel my palms start to sweat from nervousness.

“Um,” I clear my throat, “well…it’s just a thought that I had. It’s probably too risky or dangerous, anyway. I-It was nothing, really.”

Yoochun gives me a small smile. “It’s still worth sharing aloud, isn’t it? No matter how “risky” or “dangerous”?

I sigh, giving in. Wouldn’t hurt to tell them what I think, would it? Forcing my gaze up from the floor, I look at them and speak. “Well, I feel like there’s one thing idols don’t understand fully about their fans. Sure, they’ve got all these methods on how to track and stalk their all of you. I bet right now, they’ve already somehow memorized or even take a picture of you guys. Somehow, they know how you look and they’ll be on alert to catch you if you’re spotted. But, your fans do have a weakness.”

I paused, looking at each of them in turn. I’m gonna need their help and who knows if this’ll work, but I’ve gotta try, right?

“A weakness?” Yoochun’s eyebrows furrowed in thought. “What weakness?”

I fish around in my shoulder bag, grabbing a few pens and a pad of sticky notes. Before I can explain, Jaejoong purses his lips in amusement. “Pens and paper…don’t girls usually carry around makeup and stuff?”

I scoff. “I’m not like most girls. Besides, I saw the eyeliner in your pocket earlier.” This causes a few snickers from Henry and Yoochun, while Jaejoong playfully glares at me.

Shaking my head, I proceed to fill them in on my idea, Henry and Yoochun acting as translators to the others.

The others excitedly take the sticky notes and pens, carefully scrawling on them, making multiple copies of the precious notes. I notice Junsu looking hesitant as he scrawls on the sheets as well. Noticing my gaze, he sighs and speaks up.

“You’re going alone, aren’t you?”

I nod slightly, avoiding eye contact with everyone. Immediately, the soft protests start up, causing me to wince slightly.

“You can’t go out there alone,” Yoochun argues, with Yesung and Eunhyuk contributing consent.

“Well, none of you can go out there either,” I counter. “I don’t think the fans saw me, so if I go out, they’ll probably just think I’m one of them.” I pause, mulling over the possibilities. Would communicating with them be too risky? Yeah, probably…may as well just get the job done.

Almost instantly, Junsu fervently shakes his head at my statement. After a few more minutes of assuring him that I’ll be fine, he finally relents.

Going over the plan with all the members and making sure everything was intact, Jaejoong and I make sure that no fangirls are outside the door. Taking his sunglasses and pulling my hood over my head, I give them all an encouraging smile and a thumbs-up. They all signal back to me, some confidently, others worriedly. With that, I slip out.

Flashback:

“Alright, so this is what I had in mind,” I started, explaining my idea. “All of you will make multiple copies of your signatures on these sticky notes. I’ll take them and head out, where the fans are.”

Henry blinked in confusion. “What’ll you do with them?”

I grinned, looking at them in turn, “This is where you fan’s weakness will come in. I’m going to secretly post the signatures around the building. I’m sure the fans will find them and be distracted by the signatures.”

“Ah! And then, we can sneak out! They’ll be busy with the signatures, they won’t notice us!” Jaejoong replied, excitedly.

“Exactly.” I nodded. “So many of them are obsessed with their idols to the point where tiny things will excite them. By doling out signatures, they might even start fighting over them.” I stopped and thought for a second. Well…maybe that’s not the best thing to initiate…but it’s a distraction, right?

“But…what if it’s not enough? What if we still can’t escape?” Henry translated from Yesung.

I shook my head, and said, “We’ve still got to try; it’s better than nothing. Plus, this is the weakness I’ve been talking about. Fans will jump at the chance of obtaining some sort of authentic memento from their idols. They’ll fight each other for them! I’ll run back to you all and free you while they’re distracted.”

“It could work,” Yoochun nodded. “We just have to get out before they see us since they won’t be distracted for too long.”

“And then we can inform the CEO and have him clear this all up and get the fans out of the building.” Junsu added, slinging an arm around Eunhyuk, satisfied.

End of Flashback

I press my back against the wall of the corridor, faintly hearing the murmurs of some girls a few feet away. Um…yeah…I just had to act totally brave in front of the guys… Truth is, I’m scared witless. Holy crap. Cringing, I walk a bit near the girls, but they don’t really regard me as anything suspicious. In fact, they’re wearing scarves and sweaters that can hide their identities as well. Huh. Definitely sasaengs. Why else would they hide their faces? Looking around oh-so-casually, I walk a little ways away. Facing my back to the wall, I gently pick out a sticky note from my bag and stick it on behind me, all the while, keeping an eye on ththe girls.

I walk a little ways away, and then dramatically turn around, running back up to the sticky note. “What’s this?” I gasp at the girls, waving it up in the air. They curiously bound up to me, taking the note in their hands. The taller one eyes me suspiciously, and then looks down at the piece of paper in her grasp. I bite back a smile as her eyes widen and she hurriedly talks to her friend. The other one squeals excitedly, and I catch the words, “Yoochun-oppa…” That must be Yoochun’s signature then. The girls whip out their phones excitedly screaming into them, no doubt telling all their other fellow wackos to come up here so they can start a search for more. Huh…I knew they’d recognize his signature. Jerking down my cap even more, I quietly head into another corridor, placing two more sticky notes a couple feet away from each other for the girls to find.

Just as I put up some more sticky notes in another hall, I hear a commotion behind me. Darting towards the noise, I see a bunch of girls yelling and tugging on a couple pieces of paper. I roll my eyes, sighing. There are shouts here and there of “Ryeowook-oppa!” and “Jaejoong-oppa!” and “Eunhyuk-oppa!” and some of the other members along with general sounds of arguing.

I glance around, and squeeze past the screaming groups to slap on some of the last signature sticky notes up. I hold my breath as I inch away from the group, knowing they’ll see the sticky notes soon. It’s funny how they’ve just assumed I’m like them when I haven’t been exactly acting normal around them. Heck, I’m sure they know I’m a foreigner, but I guess celebrity signatures are far more interesting…

I fish around in my bag for the next batch of notes, barely skimming the content before discreetly placing it on an opening of doorway, a couple feet away from the shrieking girls. The next set of sticky notes has more writing than the other for a stronger reaction and purpose.

Flashback:

I watched as all the guys filled out the notes, murmuring to each other. My eyes gazed absentmindedly as Yoochun scrawled his signature, even topping them off with some Mickey Mouse ears. Poking his shoulder, I asked, “Your fans…have you ever seen them get into, like, fan wars or fights over you guys?”

His eyebrows rose slightly, but he slowly nodded. “There have been instances where they’ve fought over which member is the best, depending on who’s their favorite. Or, when the three of us broke away from S.M. Entertainment, there were a lot of fans fighting over whether they’ll support one group or the other or both.”

That got me thinking even more. It’s not like it’ll be really wrong if I were to make this happen, right? It could be an efficient distraction…

Pulling even more notes out of my bag, I handed them out to the others again. I turned to Eunhyuk, I said, “Write Super Junior is better than SHINee.”

His eyes grew large with confusion and surprise, “Bwoh?” Everyone else stared at me, equally mystified.

I give a small, slightly bitter smile. “It’s not like I think that Suju is better than SHINee. I really love both groups. But…there are fans that think differently. Some are biased towards other groups that they even pick fights or dislike other fanbases.”

Ryeowook nodded, speaking up. Henry translated to me, “Ryeowook-hyung agrees. He, along with everyone else, has seen fans getting into serious fights over groups.”

I winced slightly, my thoughts darting for a millisecond to some particular groups fans are known to fiercely fight over. “Well, I hope the plan that I have in mind won’t lead to anything too serious. If you guys write things that criticize or compare other groups will make the fans argue with each other and that way, we can—”

“We can go past the distracted fans out there and escape,” Jaejoong finished, grinning.

“Brilliant!” Henry clapped, making everyone smile as well.

I grinned as well, and turned back to Eunhyuk, “Well? You can write that, if you want.”

He nodded, laughing softly while penning the request. I then said, to be fair, “Now, write the opposite: SHINee is better than Super Junior.”

“Arasso, arasso.” Eunhyuk smiled, filling out another note. The others pitch in, writing comments as well.

“Well,” Yesung started, smiling, “it’s not like I think this, but I remember hearing some girls talking about how they think 2PM is better than 2AM…so, I’ll write that.”

I shook my head. “Geez, they shouldn’t be flat out saying that. Both groups are great, they just have different styles; it’s not fair to compare them like that.”

Henry thoughtfully tapped the pen on his chin, and then suddenly smirked. “Ah! I’ll write Super Junior-M is better than Super Junior!” He started scribbling furiously across the paper, playfully ignoring s’ protests at such a comparison.

I laughed as the others shout out more fake bashings on other groups, chattering about stories of fans fighting about which group is better and which member is the most popular.

I heard playful snippets of “Infinite over B1A4” and “2NE1 is more talented than SNSD” and even “Little PSY is funnier than the actual PSY”.

Yoochun described how he saw comments from fans talking about how B.A.P. is so much better than EXO and how that conversation went completely south. I sit in awe as the guys relate to such incidents. Gosh, do people really put out such opinions like that? I mean, sure, you could always like a group better than another one, but that’s no reason to become so opinionated and rude that you can swerve into heated arguments with other fans.

“There!” Junsu puffs his chest out proudly, jamming his note into Eunhyuk’s face. Yoochun reads it out loud to me, fighting back a smile, “Xiah Junsu is smarter, more handsome, and more talented than Lee Hyuk Jae.”

Of course, this resulted in an outburst from Eunhyuk, and more teasing from the other members. Sighing, I smiled to myself. Yeah…if idols can fight about who is better, the fans sure will. This’ll have to work; we need more time and more of a distraction.

End of Flashback

Placing a few all over a door and the wall next to it, I jump as more girls swarm into the same hallway. I almost cringe fearfully at the way their eyes are hungrily looking for more signatures, as though little pieces of paper are their life sources. The reactions are almost immediate. Hands rise up, snatching at the notes, and squeals start  as they recognize their “oppas’” handwriting styles, but, die just as quickly as they actually read what it is that has been written. I curiously glance over the fans’ faces as their eyes widen in shock and their mouth run a mile a minute.

I hear some murmurs of “SNSD” and “Infinite” and others. Looks like it finally hit them. Now, all they have to do is—

I don’t even finish my thought when a loud, defiant screech is let out to my left. Two girls are head-to-head, red-faced, screaming gibberish at each other. I strain to hear anything familiar (since, most group names are in English), and sure enough, I hear something: the names “Leeteuk” and “Onew”.

Ah…they’re fighting over who is the better leader, right? Despite being groups that thrive in the same company, E.L.F.s can still clash with Shawols. I shake my head sadly. I’m sure this will prove to be a good distraction, but why can’t everyone accept other groups and not create such biased trouble over them? Isn’t it better to just keep your thought about idols to yourself and accept others’ likes and dislikes without conflict? (1)

Lightly treading around various clusters of debating fans (thank God there’s no fist-fighting…yet), I listen in a few times to hear which note reached the hands of whatever fan. The B.A.P. and EXO supporters are steadily escalating in sound and vigor, and the Junsu vs. Eunhyuk group seem to be joking around more…of course. I hold back a laugh as some girl shouts, “Eunhyuk-oppa, saranghaeyo!” Ah…delusional fangirls are actually quite entertaining. I’m sorry, but, being this obsessed with idols just pushes you away from them even more.

As I watch an intense argument between a couple of Primadonnas and Boices, my ears perk up and the mention of …Jaejoong vs. Kim Hyun Joong. Really? They’re best friends! People actually fight over who they think is better?

Scanning the fans around me, I figure this would be a good time to retrieve the guys. The hallway I’m in right now is right next to the one with the little storage room the idols are currently hiding. If I can quickly get them out of there without the fans noticing, we can run for the back exit a couple halls down and escape. Practically all of the fans are in this hall and the ones before it, all of them either squealing over signatures or bickering over idols and groups.

I inch toward the next hallway, my eyes never leaving the swarms of squabbling/spazzing girls. But then, a particularly loud and heated argument reaches my ears. The two names that I hear included in the verbal fight causes me to exhale deeply and desperately. I didn’t even realize that I had been holding my breath the entire time. I watch in surprise and dread as all of the attention is focused onto two of the groups in the center, clashing back and forth, neither of them looking like they’re going to stop anytime soon. Hadn’t I known that this battle would come? Maybe…But, I so desperately didn’t want it to come up…especially not now, not in this situation. Oh, God…this plan shouldn’t have come to THIS argument…I never meant for them to start clashing about Tong Vfang Xien Qi vs. JYJ…

Junsu POV

    I nervously twiddle my fingers, glancing at the door every five seconds. Where is she? It’s almost been half an hour. The other members are getting restless as well. Sighing, I push myself up and gently nudge Jaejoong away from the door with my foot.

He stares up at me, surprised. “What are you doing?”

“She’s been gone too long. What if something happened? We need to find her.”

Carefully inching the door open, I peer through the crack. Starting in surprise, I see an all-too familiar figure’s back facing to me just a few feet away from the end of the hallway. What’s she watching?

Just as I’m about to step out of the doorway to go over to Anika, my ears perk up immediately as I hear a certain something someone says. I close my eyes briefly, shaking my head slightly. I guess I’m too used to this now…

I feel a soft pressure on my shoulder, and look back to see Yesung looking towards the direction of the commotion. “They never stop, do they?” he whispers, shaking his head. “Is it really necessary to fight so much about the past?”

I shrug. “It’s hard to let go of the past…but I guess I was selfish to think that this whole DBSK/JYJ feud would go away completely.”

Yesung points at Anika’s back. “There seems to be another person who’s “selfish” too, then.”

My eyes shoot back towards Anika. She looks as though she’s completely frozen, most likely numbly staring at the group of fighting girls before her. Great…I bet she’s feeling guilty, I think, feeling guilty myself.

I turn to Yesung, voice low, “If those fans are too busy fighting right now, then isn’t this the perfect time to run towards the back door while we can? We can’t risk taking too much time.”

The Suju member nods immediately. “I’ll get the others. When coming out, get Anika and let’s all make a run for it.” A minute later, everyone’s huddled around the doorway, ready to flee.

“1…2…3…go!” Yesung says and we all surge forward, aiming to twist around this hallway where the back door’s waiting to set us free. Most likely hearing our advancing footsteps, Anika hastily turns towards us, eyes wide. Just as we’re close enough to her, I grab her arm and blindly pull her along with us as we take the sharp turn to the other hallway. Ignoring the near-suffocating dread of maybe not making it before the fans catch up to us, I turn to face Anika.

Expecting to see her face reflecting the same fear the rest of us felt, I’m a bit startled to see her face slightly pale and her eyes looking distracted and…sad?

Realization dawning on me, I lean forward to whisper to her, half of my attention on still pulling us down the hallway where the exit was a mere few feet away.

“You know…I learned a new word in English not too long ago…” I start. She glances up at me, confused.

“It was “inevitable,” I explain. “These feuds were inevitable…right from the start of it all.” I smile slightly at her. Understanding what I mean, she purses her lips, most likely still feeling a bit guilty (even though there’s no reason for her to be), but she gives me a small smile nonetheless.

I barely register the fact that we’re finally outside, all thoughts on “inevitable” and all kinds of fans…the ones that don’t realize they hurt you…and the ones that care enough to share the same pain as you.

Hey, y’all :D It’s been nearly a month since I last updated >.< Ugh, I’d be just as frustrated as you guys if I had to deal with a ish updater like me >.> Life’s just been throwing itself at me and I’ve had more schoolwork than ever, and Physics and PSATs are killing me! D: But, enough whining, I’m here now, and that that’s all that matters XD I’ve noticed that I’ve actually been making my chapters really long, and that may be a contributing factor to my slow updates, so, I’ll try to make shorter chaps from now on so that they convenience both me and the readers. Hopefully, you guys like this chapter, and I really hope my writing gets better^^ Also, I wasn’t sure to address this whole DBSK/JYJ thing so soon, but it won’t be too relevant in the story, and I just used it to move things along XD But, a recurring theme will definitely be SASAENG FANS, so stay tuned for that, since it’s a subject I feel strongly about and a lot of things pertaining to these psycho “fans” have been happening lately -.- Anyway, here’s Chap 4! Tell me what you guys think^^

Author Notes:

(1)   Sounding a bit too preachy about fangirls and their fan wars…sorry…>.<…But, I never really liked fans being so hostile towards one another…normal fantasies are ok (this is why we have fanfiction! ;)), but the wars are annoying and being too delusional is…dangerous O.O