“Okay, night shift starts in like ten minutes, so be fast!” So Min ordered as she and Jiha burst into a 24-hour convenience store near EXO’s dormitory complex. “Grab what we need and then lets go! I hear the other girls are already there!”

Jiha pushed back the hood on her raincoat and began wandering the store. It was going to be a long night of waiting, and she knew that the other girls could use something to lift their spirits, last them through the night, and reward them for their steadfast watch. She had taken some money from her rainy day fund in order to buy everyone in their group hand-warming packs, Red Bull, rain ponchos, picnic blankets to sit on, and other little snacks. It definitely wasn’t conducive to their nightly watch that it was raining, but no amount of water could dampen these girls’ love for EXO. Jiha smiled; that was precisely what she loved about this particular group of girls. If EXO had to perform, rain or shine, then so would these fans. 

Jiha went around the store, putting cans of energizer drinks into her basket, along with warming packs. So Min was in the other corner of the store, looking for extra batteries for her DSLR, which had suddenly died on their way to the store. Jiha made her rounds about the convenience store, picking up any items that they may need throughout the night. The store was relatively empty at this hour. Aside from herself, So Min, and the service clerk, there was just another woman picking up something hot to drink and a young man in a sweater with the hood up, his shoulders wet from walking in the rain. 

But something about him seemed a bit familiar. Jiha squinted her eyes, but he hid his far so well that she couldn’t confirm her suspicions. It wasn’t uncommon for folks in their city to wear face masks, especially during Yellow Dust season or when it got too cold to leave your face bare. But even with half his face obscured by a mask and a hood, Jiha felt she recognized something about him. Jiha put the shopping basket down for a bit and decided to follow him as surreptitiously as she could. He was holding a basket as well with about a dozen energy drinks in it. He was slowly making his way to the back corner of the store. Jiha analyzed his movements, took account of his height, his approximate weight, she even scrutinized the way he walked and the shape of his fingers. Her heart was pounding. 

Could it be? It certainly could, Jiha thought. The store was close enough to the dorms that it wouldn’t be a stretch to believe that it would have been frequented by the members of EXO. This hooded stranger could very well be the person she thought he was. All the signs were clear; that was his stride, those were his arms, his knuckles, his nail beds, and that was his height. Hell, she could even recognize the sound of his breath. Jiha’s steps became more hurried as she followed the stranger, and at this point, he had realized that he was being followed and shuffled faster to the corner of the store, where the bathroom was. He turned for a split second, and Jiha caught his gaze, and this time she was sure. 

Kai tried to rush into the men’s restroom to get away, but Jiha, breathless and elated, bolted in front of him, blocking his passage into the bathroom.

“It is you!” she said in rapturous joy. Kai rolled his eyes and tried to turn around and walk away. Jiha grabbed his sleeve and kept him from getting away. “I knew it was you! Even though I couldn’t see your face, I just knew! I’d know you anywhere!”

Kai took his mask down and frowned at her. “Let go of my sleeve.”

“Of all the places in Seoul, we meet here!” Jiha continued. “Who could’ve known that we’d both be here at the same time?”

“You followed me - ,”

“Almost like it’s fate or something - ,”

“Let go of my sleeve!” Kai said, raising his voice a little, but not enough to draw any attention to himself. Lord knew the last thing he needed at the moment was even more unwanted attention. Jiha stared at him with pure wonder in her eyes, marveling at his beautiful face, which she was finally able to behold up close and personal. 

Kai tried to hold himself together externally, but on the inside, he was falling apart. He wasn’t sure how much more of this he could take. He turned his face away and stared off into the near-distance the entire time this silly girl professed her undying love for him. When he couldn’t stay silent any longer, he finally spoke up:

“Why are you doing this?” he asked, his voice breaking and his throat seizing up with every syllable.

Jiha fell silent. Her initial elation began to subside as his question echoed again and again in her mind. Why was she doing this? Well didn’t he already know? Hadn’t she made that quite obvious?

“Because…” she said, “Because I… love you.” The statement sounded more like a question that Kai’s question did. It was true, though, wasn’t it? Jiha nodded, but it felt like the gesture was more for her own confirmation than as an answer to anything Kai had asked. Kai sighed deeply again, not meeting her eyes. Typical, he thought. He wasn’t sure why he expected anything else from a sasaeng. When would they ever learn?

“Look,” he said, gathering his strength. “If you are really a fan of mine - ,”

“I am!”

“Then let go of my sleeve!” he said, snatching his arm away from her so quickly and so violently that Jiha jumped back in surprise. 

“I’m sorry - ,”

“Don’t follow me anymore!” Kai said, raising his voice. “Don’t stalk me into public restrooms. Don’t give me gifts. Don’t follow my van. Don’t call or text me or talk to any of my relatives. Don’t wait fro me at the airport. Don’t hurt my other fans, and don’t wait in the rain in front of my apartment!” 

Jiha stood, petrified like a dead tree. She had seen Kai’s anger before, on TV shows and on the internet, but that anger had never been directed at her before. It used to be her dream to see him smile at her in person. But the longer she stared into his face, the more clear it became that he could never be happy with her. Not as long as she continued to be like this. Jiha had had many opportunities to gaze at Kai’s face, but up close like this, she felt that it was her first time really seeing him. Here and now, in this convenience store, he wore no makeup and his hair wasn’t styled. He had scene scars on his jawline and forehead, and his skin didn’t glow the way it did on stage. Here and now, with his bare face, he wasn’t the glowing K-pop idol Kai, he was Kim Jongin, a normal boy. Here, he was just a regular boy whose rapid rise to fame has stolen his privacy, his freedom, and his dream. And Jiha’s heart sank at the realization that she had actively taken a part in the theft. In the few fleeting seconds, Jiha retraced her life as an EXO fan and realized that something was indeed terribly wrong. 

The moment was interrupted by the sound that could only be So Min squealing. Jiha looked to her right and immediately, there was a flash as So Min snapped a picture using her cellphone. 

“Oh my god! I can’t believe it! Jiha, girl, I’m so happy for you! Kai, look over here please!” So Min said, snapping picture after picture. Kai turned his face away and trying to hold in his frustration. The last thing he wanted was to make a scene or run into sasaengs on what was meant to be a short trip to their neighborhood store for a quick Monster run. And he had just happened to run into the craziest ones of the bunch. Jiha looked between her shutter-happy friend and at Kai, her favorite idol. It was painful to see him hiding his face. Jiha took a step back from the situation, and she was finally able to see clearly what she had been doing to him all along. 

“Hey!” the service clerk said, marching over to them. The clerk grabbed So Min and Jiha by the sleeves and began dragging them over to the exit. “You leave my customers alone, you hear! We’re all just here to shop, and the last things they need are nuisances like you! Now go on and get home before I call the police!” 

“Ouch!” So Min said, rubbing the part of her arm where the clerk had held her. Jiha looked through the glass doors of the store and swat he service clerk bowing and apologizing to Kai. She realized then that she didn’t get the chance to apologize to him, either. She sighed, supposing he didn’t want her apology anyway.

“Oh well,” So Min said. It had stopped raining for a bit. Jiha’s friend checked the pictures of her phone and frowned.

“They’re all a little blurry,” So Min said. “Oh well, nothing that a little PhotoShop can’t fix. Sorry I didn’t get many with you in it though, but you know the followers aren’t there to see you anyway. Damn it, I wish Kai would have just looked this way though, he’s covering his face the whole time! That twit.”

Jiha just stared through the glass doors, watching as Kai checked out at the counter and left through the back exit. She was confused again, she couldn’t even pay attention to So Min at the moment.

“Whatever,” So Min said. “I got my batteries already, and we still got the night shift later. We’ll see him again. Hey, good looking out, though! Can’t believe you actually saw him, and you got him before he could hide in the restroom! Nice initiative! Ready to go?”

“Actually,” Jiha said, turning to So Min. Her friend raised an eyebrow at her.

“Hey, what’s up?” So Min asked, noting her friend’s sudden pallor. “Oh I get it; you’re still recovering from that encounter, huh? I totally get it, I would have been starstruck, too, if it were Sehun.”

“So Min, I feel a little sick,” Jiha said softly. So Min looked confused.

“Oh… okay?” So Min said. “You wanna go back in and get an Advil or something?”

“No, that’s okay,” Jiha said. “I… um, I think I’ll actually just go home.”