I was enjoying such a good dream when I was rudely awoken by one of my hyungs. Shaking my head and scrunching my eyes closed attempting to go back to sleep failed tremendously. Sighing loudly, I dragged my body off the bed and grabbed my phone that was on the nightstand next to the hotel bed. Blinking my eyes to make sure I was seeing the time correctly, the phone displayed 6:30 AM. No matter how many days we get up at unearthly hours, my body never has been able to get used to it. The life of a KPop idol can be extremely strenuous. There have been numerous days where we have worked 15 hour shifts. I guess that’s the only downside to being popular like this. There is no 9-5 schedule; the work is done when it is complete. Mornings for me are just not my thing. I can easily be mistaken for a walking zombie. After stretching my body as I yawned, I shuffled my way over to the bathroom…only to be met with a closed door.

            “YAH! If you guys are going to be so rude as to wake me up from my peaceful sleep, at least have the bathroom available so I can get ready.” I groaned, as my fist pounded on the wood. Two minutes later I heard the lock being switched over and saw the doorknob being twisted to reveal the culprit.

            “Mianhae…hope you haven’t been waiting long.” Kevin said as he made sure the towel was draped around his waist as he opened the door enough for me to enter. I was immediately bombarded with the heat from the shower he had just taken. He picked up his toothbrush and after smearing enough toothpaste to cover the bristles and wetting it with some water, he started to brush his morning breath away. I was going to wait until he was done, but it seemed like years were flying by while he was completing this simple task. I shrugged and turned my back on him and shucked off my clothes before adjusting the temperature of the water for my morning shower. I was lost in my own little world as the warm water bathed over my skin.

            “Dongho, are you almost done? We’re going to be leaving in about 45 minutes and figured you’d want to have some breakfast before we left.” Soohyun said as he popped his head around the door. Turning to face him, Kevin had already left the bathroom. I wonder just how long I had been daydreaming in the shower.

            “Yeah, lemme just wash my hair and I’ll be out. Kamsamnida.” I mumbled loud enough for him to hear. The door closed and I spent the next few minutes rinsing the shampoo and conditioner out of my hair. Once every inch of me was spotless, I turned off the shower and reached for my towel…except I didn’t see one. Aish. “YAH! Are there any towels left around here?” I yelled out to anyone who could hear me. I was starting to feel goosebumps pop up all over my skin.

            “Did you say something?” Kiseop asked as he opened the door. I was hiding behind the shower curtain.

            “Where did all the towels go? I’m freezing. Please don’t tell me we used them all.” I groaned. Kiseop looked around and said he’d be right back. Thankfully, he found me two and I got to drying off as quickly as I could. Upon exiting the bathroom and changing into some clean clothes, I noted that I had some time left to inhale some breakfast before our crazy schedule started for the day. While I was munching away on some fruit, our manager was giving a breakdown of what our schedule consisted of today. It was the usual: radio appearance, press conference, two hours of free time to do a bit of sight-seeing, and then getting ready for the concert later on that night. Today we were in Singapore. It had been three years since our last appearance. A lot had changed since we had last been here. Sadly, the biggest change was that Alexander and Kibum were a part of U-Kiss back then. I miss them like crazy. Don’t get me wrong, Hoon and AJ are awesome to work with…I just think it’s extremely messed up how NH Media went about doing what they did in regards to that situation. I still talk with them as time allows. All of us were excited to hear about Kibum’s Korea debut and how Xander had starred in his first movie, 3 Peas in a Pod. U-Kiss has certainly grown over the years. I can remember when we first debuted, how I used to have my hair in cornrows for our “Not Young” music video. I was only 13 at the time. Goodness that was a long time ago!

            “Dongho, are you paying attention?” AJ nudged me. I blinked for a second and noticed everyone was staring at me. Oops…my bad. I must’ve been too deep in my train of thought.

            “Mianhae. Guess I’m not fully awake at the moment.” I replied sheepishly. Manager-nim continued saying a few more things and after we had all finished eating and given a chance to freshen up; we were out the door to get into the van waiting for us outside the main lobby. As soon as the bell to the elevator dinged to alert us of reaching the ground floor, the first thing we noticed was the gathering of some KissMes waiting for us. How did they always know what hotel we would be staying at? I guess I will never know the answer to that question. Here comes the tricky part; I never know how to react around the groups that swarm us at the hotels. I completely understand how this may be their only opportunity to see us, but we need some privacy as well. I tend to freeze up and pray to God they don’t go crazy and start putting their hands on us. Sometimes I interact with them if they are calm and seem nice. If they go the other route, I shut my mouth and make the quickest escape possible. My heart is starting to beat a bit quicker as we are making our way to the entrance of the hotel. Glancing around, I see our bodyguards next to us which puts me at ease. The automatic doors detect our motion and open up as we started to descend the stairs. In a sense, it’s kind-of funny to see our KissMes reaction to seeing us face-to-face. Are they star-struck? We’re just normal guys to be honest. I know we could definitely go the route of being stuck up and not acknowledging our fan base, but that would be stupid. Being a KPop idol can get very lonesome at times. It’s because of our KissMes that we can thank them for where we are today at this very moment. We will forever be in debt to them and their tremendous support! Luckily, this group of fans was nice and we signed a few autographs and received a few gifts before we were ushered into the van. The day was going very well. I was in a good mood since we were able to get some iced coffee from a local Starbucks. Caffeine always helps us get thru our long days. We were enjoying the local sites later on that afternoon and taking as many pictures as we could with our phones. It was nice to relax and spend time together as a group without having to worry about being chased by saesangs. I was feeling extremely thankful for the opportunity to visit all the countries that we have travelled by being a member of U-Kiss. It’s such a neat experience to visit our KissMes all over the world and experience their culture and way of life. Unfortunately, just as we were starting to enjoy our free time, we were notified by our manager that we would have to leave to get ready for our concert tonight. We begged and pleaded with manager-nim with tons of aegyo to be able to sight-see for a bit longer, but he didn’t budge. Reluctantly we made our way to the van and were soon being driven off to the venue to get ready.

            “Are you excited about the concert tonight?” Hoon asked as we were changing into our outfits for tonight’s event.

            “Yeah, I think this will be a lot of fun. I’m sure our KissMes will be more excited than us since we haven’t been here in a few years.” I replied, looking into the mirror ahead at my appearance. Sometimes I wonder if our stylist picks our outfits trying to see who will sweat the most. The lights from the stage, in addition to our choreography, can really make us douse what we’re wearing in buckets. Tonight’s attire was black combat boots, olive green pants, a black shirt, and a black jacket on top of that. Lovely. Well, I’m sure the females wouldn’t mind at all. It’s just sometimes when we get the chance to do meet n’ greets, we don’t always have the opportunity to freshen up or change depending on the venue. A few minutes later we were sitting in salon-style chairs to get our hair and makeup done. All of us were starting to get a bit anxious as the time was drawing nearer for us to make our appearance on stage. Once that was complete, our vocal coach came in to the room and we went over some warm-ups. I grabbed a nearby bottle of water and let it soothe my parched throat. There were some gifts that we had received from some KissMes that contained some food and we nibbled on that while we waited. Our KissMes are so thoughtful and kind. They always take good care of us. Passing the time, I opened up my phone and started to mess around with a few apps. I felt a tap on my shoulder and was given the signal to make my way to the backstage area. Once we reached that destination, all of us gathered into a circle and per tradition, put our hands on top of each other. Soohyun gave us a little pep talk and after he finished, we threw our hands up in the air with a big “HWAITING!” Our name was called by the host of the venue and we bounced onto stage waving, making hearts, and blowing kisses to the audience. Making our way to our designated spots for our first song, the lights went dim and seconds later the speakers blasted to life. I can’t really explain the feeling I get when I perform on stage. It’s a tremendous high that makes me feel alive. I feel like my body is on auto-pilot as our entire bodies move in sync to the dance moves for each song. Hearing the fans chant and sing along is like no other feeling in the world. We were half way through our performance when we decided to take a mini break before we started our next song. We like to interact with our KissMes and see how they’re enjoying the show. Thankfully, hand towels and bottles of water were close by that we could use.

            “Are you guys enjoying the show so far?” Soohyun asked the crowd as they erupted into screams. He cupped his right ear with his hand and leaned that side of his body towards them, as if to say that they weren’t loud enough.

            “I don’t know…I don’t think they are. I could barely hear them.” Eli chuckled as the crowd screamed even louder.

            “Hhhmmm…I wonder which side will be louder? Should I try to see who it will be?” Soohyun asked the others. We played along with his joke. Myself, Kevin, and AJ went to the right side of the stage while Soohyun, Eli, Kiseop, and Hoon were on the left. After going back and forth, it was a very close call between sides, so to be on the safe side we announced a tie.

            “How about we pick someone from the crowd to come up on stage?” Kevin asked Soohyun as he got a twinkle in his eye.

            “That sounds like a great idea. I wonder who I should pick.” Soohyun teased the crowd. Everyone in the first few rows was jumping like crazy hoping to be picked. I laughed at their excitement. After patting my face dry with the towel and placing the bottle water behind me, I turned around to see Soohyun had already chosen a girl. AJ was helping her up on stage and holding her hand. I immediately did a double take. She was gorgeous. Because we were in Singapore, some of the girls had the traditional hijab attire on. She stood out from the crowd with the outfit she was wearing. Her pink shirt had a skull face on it with a plaid bow on the top of its head. Underneath was a black long-sleeve shirt. Her skirt was a jean material with a plaid skirt underneath that. Then she was wearing pink plaid tights that led down to black Mary Jane style shoes with pink bows. Her black hair was very curly and a pink headband with a bow was in the middle of her hair. She wore pink glasses as well. Running towards her, I bowed gracefully, welcoming her to the stage. I was hoping she would be close to me so I could gaze at her some more, but AJ dragged her to the opposite side of the stage. Aish. The only thing I could do was listen closely to hear what her name was.

            “What’s your name? How old are you?” Kevin asked.

            “I’m Emelia Jensen. I don’t want to say how old I am…that’s a secret.” She said as a blush started to creep up on her cheeks.

            The others started to try and get her to say her age since she made such a big deal about it being a secret.

            “I think she looks 32.” I said into my microphone. All eyes switched on to me and Eli, Hoon, and Kiseop started hitting me at my response.

            “DONGHO..she’s still young!” Kevin gasped. Emelia wasn’t even looking at me now. Why on Earth did I say that? “Smooth move, Dongho.” I scolded myself.

            “Who’s your bias?” Kevin continued as I looked down at my combat boots.

            “Dongho.” Emelia said shyly. My head instantly shot up and my heart skipped a beat.

            “Mwoh?” I said to myself in shock.

            “If there was anything that you could do with your bias, what would it be? It could be a hug or a kiss.” Kevin explained. Did I just hear that right? Oh my word, if she gave me a kiss, I would be all for it. My heart started to palpitate faster just thinking about it. Maybe it was me, but I could have sworn that he placed emphasis on the word “kiss.”

            “Um…I would like a picture with him.” Emelia replied after thinking for a few moments. Aw, man. Just a picture? Well, it’s better than nothing. It would give me a chance to be close to her. As much as I was about ready to do just that, my whole body froze. Everything seemed as if it was happening in slow motion. The next thing I know, I hear Emelia mention a group photo and out of the corner of my eye saw everyone gather around her. “This would be your cue to go over there and get next to her!” My brain screamed at me. Getting behind the guys, I saw that Kevin was standing next to her. I politely tapped him on the back and made a motion with my hands for him to step aside; her bias was here to save the day. We started taking pictures and I gently placed my hand on her back as we posed. We were hearing the cue off stage for us to wrap up the fan session on stage to continue the concert. Emelia was going around getting hugs from all the members and soon it was my turn. I gave her a side hug so it looked normal to everyone else. I wanted to be greedy and just hold her there in my arms. What was coming over me? Why was I feeling this way? Sadly, it was time for her to move off stage and we continued with the rest of our songs. Luckily we still had some time after our performance was complete to mingle with a few of the fans. I was hoping to see Emelia in the crowd. I made it look like everything was okay, but I was scanning the crowd for her face. We interacted with our KissMes for a few minutes before we were being ushered to make our way towards our van to go back to the hotel. My heart sunk as I was unable to find Emelia. Just as we were getting ready to step into the van outside, I heard a familiar voice.

            “Dongho, here…this is for you.” Emelia said almost out of breath. One of the bodyguards was about to haul her away, but I called out to him and he stopped. I stepped out of the van and graciously accepted her gift. Without even thinking, I reached out and drew her into a hug, capturing the faint fruity smell of her hair. It smelled divine. “Cheong mal kamsamnida!” I whispered into her ear. I slightly withdrew from the hug and wrapped my right arm around her, guiding her closer to the door of the van where she could peer inside.

            “Hey guys, look who I found!” I exclaimed as their faces lit up. They waved and said their “hellos” as she stuck her head inside.

            “Did you enjoy the concert?” Soohyun asked excitedly.

            “Yes. Very much so! Thank you for bringing me on stage. It was the most amazing experience in my life.” Emelia replied.

            “It was a pleasure meeting you. We’re glad you had fun. Hopefully we’ll see you soon.” AJ said as Emelia nodded in response.

            “Actually, you will. I’ll be at your next show in Jakarta.” She grinned. My heart skipped a beat. I felt like the clouds parted and a choir of angels was singing just for me at her announcement.

            “Well, we’ll keep an eye out for you then! Have a great night and get home safely.” I squeezed her one last time and climbed into the van, situating myself in the seat. She stepped back with enough room for us to close the door. We waved like crazy at her until she disappeared from view.

            “Emelia seems like a really sweet girl.” Kiseop grinned as the van made its way towards the hotel.

            “Very sweet. Too bad her bias is Dongho…” Soohyun chuckled.

            “YAH! What is that supposed to mean?” I snapped as I turned around to look him in the eye.

            “Because if she didn’t like you, I’d try and make a move on her.” Soohyun replied cheekily. I stuck my tongue out at him and waved her gift in the air.

            “See this?” I pointed at it. “It has my name written all over it.” Soohyun shrugged and pretended I didn’t say anything. Jealous, perhaps? I had a smug grin on my face and closed my eyes until I heard Eli sing, “Dongho and Emelia sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G, first comes love, then comes…” I turned around and smacked him hard.

            “OUCH! What is your problem, squirt?” Eli sulked as he rubbed the red mark that was appearing on his forearm. “I would think you would be happy at my suggestion of that happening.”

            “Just leave me alone. Aish.” I mumbled as my fingers rubbed over the folded up letter she handed me. I sighed and closed my eyes for the remainder of the ride. Eli would not let up with his taunting. He was going to pay for that. Mark. My. Words. As we pulled up to the hotel, I was thankful that no fans were there. Getting out of the van, we made our way into the lobby and took the elevator up to our rooms. I shared mine with Kevin and Kiseop. Going over the gifts we had received from our KissMes, we took time once we had showered and changed into our pajamas to open each package. Our hearts were ready to burst at the seams from all the love that our KissMes poured into each gift to us. The smiles on our faces were not going to fade away any time soon. Kevin and Kiseop decided to retire to bed an hour later, which gave me the perfect opportunity to open Emelia’s gift to me. I tenderly unfolded her letter and was immediately blessed with a photo of her. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her face. I would cherish this photo and easily gaze at it for hours. Bit by bit, my eyes scanned over the words of her letter to me. I read them over and over what seemed like a thousand times. It excited me so much that she would be at our next show. I had to think of a way to talk to her one-on-one. I didn’t know if an opportunity like this would ever come my way again, so I wanted to make sure I made the most out of our upcoming Indonesian show. Sighing contently, I placed her letter on the nightstand next to the bed and laid her picture mere inches from my face. I probably could have burned a hole thru the photo from how long I was staring at it, but before my eyes closed for the last time that night, I had the biggest smile on my lips.