(Request from anon)

“And we are back with the hottest international pop band of the 21^st Century, Purple Sun!” the TV host shouted.  You waved at the camera and smiled your killer smile that got all the boys to swoon.  The live audience went nuts, screaming and cat calling like there was no tomorrow.  You were wearing a short dress with ruffles around the waist in the worst color on the planet, neon pink.  You hated your manager for making you wear this.

Your three bands mates sat next to you on the couch: Nathan the keyboardist, Andrew the drummer and Spencer the guitarist.  You were the lead singer and leader of the group, but you always considered yourself to be on the same level as your band members and best friends.  You all have known each other since you started the band in high school.  It’s all been uphill from there, with 4 albums, two international tours and millions of fans from all over the world.

“Okay quiet down,” the host said in a heavy Irish accent.  You were currently in Ireland on your tour around the globe advertising your up and coming 3^rd international tour over the summer.

“Well you all sure are popular,” the host laughed at his own lame joke and you had to join along.  “I think most of the credit can be attributed to our lovely lead singer.”  The host winked at the audience as an uproar of male voices started yelling your name.  You blow a kiss to them and giggle.

“Well no denying that fact.  But back to business, before the break you were telling us about your trip to Korea during your last tour.”  You nod, feeling a tad bit embarrassed.  “You said that you met someone.  Can you give us a little more detail?”

“Well, while in Korea, we appeared on a show called Star King.  There were a couple of other groups there too.  One of the groups was Exo , a Kpop group.  I’ve been a fan of their music for a long time so I was pretty excited to meet them.  Well one of the members, Tao, kept looking at me all through the show and afterward, he asked me for my number.”

There was a unison “oooh” from the audience, including from the host.  “He asked you for your number?  But how?  Does he speak English?”

“Well not exactly.  He’s learning, but he asked me in Korean.”

“Did you have a translator there with you?”

“Well yes, but I speak Korean.”

The audience responded with a unison “ah” of understanding.

“You speak Korean?”  the host asked again.  You were always going tired of the repeated questions that always seemed to come up on every show you guys appeared on talk shows.

“Not very well, but I am studying it and I try to practice as much as I can.”

An hour later, you were finally free from the show and heading to the airport for your next location.  You were exhausted.  To say that you had jet lag was an understatement.

Your manager was informing you of all the events for the next couple of days, but you blocked him out, already knowing the schedule by heart.

“I bet it gets tiring that every show we go on asks you about Tao,” Nathan said.  You were sitting next to him in the back seat of the rented van.  You nod your head before laying your head down in his lap.  He rubbed your back softly as you closed your eyes.

Your phone beeped in your pocket.  Without moving from your position, you pull your phone out to see you have a picture message.  You open the text to see a picture of Tao smiling at you with a V sign over his right eye.  The message beneath it said, “I miss you.” 

You giggle to yourself.

“What is it?”  Nathan asked.  You sit up a little, until you’re lying on his shoulder.  His hand falls down to your waist, but you don’t mind.

“Tao sent me a picture.”  You show him the picture.

“I miss you,” Nathan reads.  “He really is sweet isn’t he?”  He says, boarder lining on sarcasm.

“Oh, shut up.”  You hit him on the leg, playfully.  “You know he doesn’t know much English.  He is getting pretty good though.”  You open the camera on your phone and snap a picture of yourself with the brightest smile you can muster, which is not a great one.  You type the message, “Miss you more!  See you in three days! :*”  (you loved using emoticons in your texts)

“How do you know that?”  Nathan challenged.  You lay back down in his lap.

“I talk to him almost every day.  Sometimes it’s via text, other times it’s on the phone or video chat.  It’s easier with texting, because we can text each other in English or Korean and we both have translators on our phone.”

“Do you text him in Korean?”  The car stopped suddenly and Nathan grabs your waist tightly so you don’t fall forward.  You hear the driver say a few choice words to the guy that cut him off.

“I try to.  He says I’m not very good yet.”

 

Tao looks at the message on his phone.  He smiled at your picture and read your message.  After a minute or two he was able to understand the English.  He felt proud of himself.  He looked at the picture again and frowned.  Looking closely, he could see that you were lying on some guys shoulder.  He could see the curve of his neck and a little of his jawline.

Tao heart beat hard in his chest as he thought about his girl with another guy.  Sure you two didn’t get to spend much time together, but he knew you were the one for him.  He thought about you coming back to Korea.  Even if it was for just a day, he was determined to spend as much with you as possible.

However, he couldn’t help but feel a little pang of jealousy.

~Three days later~

You get off the plane, more tired than ever, but you were still happy.  You loved Korea.  It was one of your favorite places you’ve ever been to.  That, and Tao was here.  You couldn’t wait to see him.

Andrew came up behind you and put both hands on your shoulders.  “Ready to see your lover?  If you thought the questioning about Tao was bad in other countries, what do you think it will be like here?”

“I don’t even care.  I just can’t wait to see him.”  You push Andrew off, but he grabs you around the waist instead.  “Since when did you get so hands-on?”  You ask laughing.

“I’ve been cooped up on a plane for like 7 hours.  I need to have fun somehow.”  He whirled you around, lifting you off your feet.

 

Tao was eating in the living room watching the news.  He was waiting for a text from you to tell him where he could meet you.  He canceled all of his plans for the day, so that he could see you no matter where you were.

“…pop band sensation ­­­Purple Sun arriving today for their interview before their 3^rd international tour starting on…”  Tao’s attention was focused on the screen as he heard the familiar name.  The screen showed a distant view of Andrew holding you around the waist and twirling you around.  Tao’s blood rushed to his head.  There you were again with another guy.  He didn’t understand why you would let another guy touch you let alone hold you close. 

Does she not care about me anymore?  He thought.  He picked up his phone and sent her a message.  In the rush, he wrote it in Korean.

 

You check your phone, after you get in the car.  You were on your way to the interview.  You saw the message was from Tao.  You got excited.  But the message was in Korean.  You try to translate it in your head, but after a few minutes of struggling, you finally put it in your translator.  The result said, “So, are you here yet?  When can we meet?”

You type out “Have an interview at Noon, then I am free until my flight at 10 pm.”  You put it in your translator and send the message to Tao.

 

Tao looked at the message.  Now that his head was cooled down, he got excited at what he read.  They had half the day to spend together.  Though he wasn’t sure with how they should spend it.  It’s not like they could talk about anything and everything.  Until he was fluent in English or you in Korean, that was not going to happen.  Maybe we can just come to the dorm and watch a movie or something.  At least then I’ll be able to spend time with her and not have to worry too much about talking. 

It sounded kind of pathetic when he put it that way.  He wrote his reply and translated it before he sent it.

 

You check your phone again, eagerly awaiting the reply.

“You can come over to the dorm after your interview.  I’m alone today.”  Your heart skips a beat as you reply hurriedly in English.  “I would love that.  I’ll see you soon. XD” 

You bounce a little on your seat.  Forget feeling tired.  You were now so full of energy, you couldn’t contain it any longer.

“I thought you were tired,” Spencer asked, yawning at the end.

“Not anymore.  I’m going over to Tao’s dorm after the interview.  You guys can do whatever, except come along that is.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”  Nathan asked.

“Yeah, what if he tries something on you?”  Andrew added.

“Please guys.  He’s not like that.”  Your three best friends exchange glances before going back to whatever they were doing.

 

After the interview, you grab a cab and ask him to take you to the address Tao sent you.  You felt proud of yourself that you could do that in Korean.  You text Tao that you were on the way.

When you arrived, you started to get a little nervous.  You hadn’t seen Tao face to face in a year.  You were hoping his feelings for you didn’t change.  Yours hadn’t.

You knock on the door and wait patiently.  When Tao comes to the door, you use every ounce of your will power not to jump into his arms.

When Tao sees you, he says your name before pulling you into a hug.  He was so much taller than you, that your face just hit his hard chest, but you squeezed him back regardless.

“How are you?”  Tao said in English.

“I’m great.  And you?”

“Daebak.”  You giggle as a feeling of perfection washed over your body.  Being with him was absolute perfection. 

He pulls you inside and leads you to the couch, where there was a small present on the table.  He picks it up and hands it to you.

“Open,” he says shyly.

You open the little box to find a beautiful necklace with a heart pendent.

“Thank you.  It’s beautiful,” you say.  You hug him again before taking it out of the box.  Tao takes it from you and puts it around your neck.  Seeing your neck made him think about the picture you sent him.  He felt the jealousy build up again.

You look down at the necklace on your neck, marveling at its beauty.

“Question?”  Tao said.

You look up at him.  He had pulled out his cell phone.  “Yes?  What is it?”

He turned the phone around and showed you the picture you had sent.  “Who is that?”  Tao pointed to the neck in the background.

“Oh.  It’s Nathan.  From my band?”  You wanted to be sure he understood that.

“You……uhmm……boy..”

“What?”  This was defiantly the hardest part about having an international boyfriend.  Language.

He turned the phone back around and started typing something.  He turned it back around for you to see.

“Is he your boyfriend?”  You read out loud.  “No no, Tao.  He’s not.”  You shake your head back and forth.

Tao sighed and looked away, like he didn’t believe you.  You pull out your phone and start typing away.  “He is not my boyfriend.  We are just very good friends.  You are my boyfriend.”  You show him your phone after hitting the translate button.

He reads the message and looks up at you in surprise.  Neither of you had ever referred to each other as boyfriend or girlfriend yet.

“Saranghae,” you say, shyly.

Tao looks up at you and pulls you into a hug.  He forgot about the picture and the video on the news, because he knew you were his.

“I love you,” he whispered in your ear.  He tilts your head back a little, before placing a soft kiss on your mouth, breaking any language barrier that ever stood in your way.