I stormed down to the main lobby, my mind made. Whether it was a weakness or a strength, I was never sure, but when I made a decision like this, I became an animal with a one-track mind. And right now my mind was focused on giving Hyuk his birthday, no matter what it took. It didn’t matter that I was in Korea. Hadn’t I been told several times I had a large fan base abroad? It was time to cash in. I know it was late evening, but I was relieved to see the receptionist still present, though she clearly was watching the clock.

“Good evening,” I blurted out as I reached her desk, leaning into it, “Is Mr. Kim still in?”

She looked up at me, “O-of course, though he will be going home soon,” she stuttered slightly, looking around quickly, as if she were double checking if I were really talking to her.

“Thanks,” I said bluntly, pushing off the desk to make my way down the hall to the line of offices surrounding the conference room. Once I found the appropriate nameplate, I swiveled to push my way into the room.

Mr. Kim stood immediately, probably on instinct at this point, and I could see his face was panicked, and he didn’t relax at all when he saw that it was me, “Ms. Mira!”

I didn’t let him continue, “Look, I know we just talked about how I was going to be patient, but I’m going out. Now.” I stepped forward, placing my hand on his desk, “I’m revealing I’m in Seoul. You can choose to announce that I’m here with Jellyfish, or we can keep people guessing, but I’d recommend the announcement.” I only stayed long enough to register his little nod, and then I was out of there.

Pulling out my phone, I began to formulate my plan. First, I needed a location. I found a hotel nearby that would work, and now I just needed to figure out how best to go about this. Not bothering to acknowledge the receptionist this time, I made my way out the door. I was blasted with warm, fresh air, and I actually hesitated for a moment. It was the first time I’d been outside in over a month. It was dark, but the heavy summer air was just as prevalent. I looked up into the darkness, the light pollution from Seoul preventing any stars from shining, but all the same, I was relieved. I supposed it was very fitting for me to re-discover freedom on ‘America Day’. But I didn’t have time to dawdle.

I hated social media. Not as a concept, I just didn’t like using it. However, now was the time. I posted to twitter and facebook ‘Hey friends, Mira here. I’m in Seoul, Korea! My new friend just told me his birthday is tomorrow, and I need help getting party stuff! I’ll be outside of the Grand Hyatt Seoul in two hours! I know it’s late and it’s short notice, but I know you guys can come through for me.’ That sounded needy enough, right? Shutting that down, I made the call to Ian.

This time he answered immediately, “Yo I saw your twitter!” Well that was fast. “Tell me what you need,” he got straight to the point, which I appreciated.

“Can you get in contact with anyone you know over here? I need a cake, preferably a ‘Happy Birthday’ cake. But really, any cake,” I spoke quickly and clearly, as if I were giving orders to a top secret operation on the front lines.

“Got it,” he replied, “I’m on it.”

“Thanks, Ian, I owe you one,” and with that the call was over. And then… I just had to wait. I looked up the hotel that I announced again, seeing it was a couple miles away. With a little shrug to myself, I began to walk. Walking along the Seoul streets at night was oddly comforting. Since it was dark and the streets were empty, only the Korean characters on the light-up signs cued me in to the fact that I wasn’t back in the states.

My mind kind of went blank as I walked, following the occasional direction from my phone. At some point I remembered that I was a wavy-haired redhead American with an American flag sundress on. Oh well. I supposed I was going to stand out anyway considering what I was attempting to do. It took me about fifteen minutes to find the monstrosity of a hotel. I had chosen well, apparently. There was a large courtyard and plenty of open space. I had absolutely no way of knowing how many- if any- people would show up to this thing.

I sat at the edge of a planter, checking my phone for responses to my postings, and was not surprised to find thousands of retweets and likes on facebook, but I knew better to expect anything out of that. I’m pretty sure Mr. Cary had bots or something to boost those numbers. Playing with the hem of my dress, I was pondering how I should have probably changed my clothes before leaving when I caught wind of whispers nearby. It was a whole hour before I said I would be here, but it seemed like I had some visitors already. I had no way of knowing if they were here for me or not.

Hiding behind some bushes, I caught sight of some young Korean girls, probably 12 or 13 if I had to guess. They were muttering to one another, glancing at me every once in a while. They were too far away for me to hear, even when I craned my neck to get a better look. “Hello?” I called to them, and they fell silent. After a silent moment, a plain looking young girl stumbled out from their hiding place. She looked to have been pushed, but she took a step toward me, her head bowed deeply. “Are you here to see me?” I asked, feeling a little awkward about the question.

Her head shot up, “Noona speaks Korean?” she asked timidly, daring to take another step forward.

“Yeah, I figured I’d learn before I came,” I tried to look as friendly and inviting as possible as I gestured for her to come closer, “You don’t have to stay all the way over there,” I said with a little laugh.

She looked around again before taking a few more steps toward me, “Where are your body guards, Mira noona?” she spoke quietly and treaded softly, as if she were about to step on a y trap.

I raised my eyebrows, not expecting that kind of question. I guess it made sense that kpop idols would generally travel with some sort of security. I shrugged, “Should I be worried?” I asked as I patted the concrete next to me, “Will you come sit with me?”

Her face lit up, and it almost looked as if she would cry, “Really?” she asked quietly as she scurried toward me.

“It’s awfully lonely,” I teased with a smile, pleased once she sat tentatively on the very edge of the ledge. “Are those your friends?” I asked, jerking my head toward the three other faces that were peeking around their shrubbery barrier.

“Yeah,” she said happily, though she was still very tense. Clearly speaking like normal humans to idols was not common. I supposed I shouldn’t be surprised. Most of my fans were pretty cool, as long as they weren’t trying to assault me to steal something off of my person, but that was pretty rare.

I remembered something, “Would you take a picture with me?” I asked, looking to the shy pre-teen next to me.

She looked at me in disbelief, “Yes of course!” she said, suddenly excited. I slipped my arm around the girl’s shoulders and took a picture of the two of us with my phone, grateful for the flash feature in the dimply lit courtyard.

I looked over to the hiding girls, “You can come, too, you know,” I called with a chuckle. However, it wasn’t just three girls that emerged. Droves of people, young and old, started coming out of the woodworks like ants. I couldn’t help but stand, turning on the spot to take in the scene around me. “Oh,” I said quietly, looking at the single girl I had interacted with, only to find that it was her turn to laugh at me.

The crowd finally gathered around me, and the atmosphere buzzed with activity. As they gained courage, individuals and groups of friends all took turns approaching me, asking me inane questions, shaking my hand, and asking for autographs. I also noticed the pile of stuff that had begun to accrue near my original seat. I saw party hats, poppers, uninflated balloons, and more standard party fare. I grinned, my plan working twofold. I was genuinely happy to interact with these fans, who obviously had never dreamed of the opportunity to not only see me in person, but to interact on such a personal level. It was a nice way to cross the cultural bounds.

Suddenly there was an uproar from the far end of the crowd, and I saw people parting like the Red Sea for Moses. Two rather large men dressed in black came into view before a much smaller, less assuming man confidently strode behind them, carrying a large box. My confusion was erased instantly when I caught sight of his hair. “Taemin,” I spoke, almost a question, as I hopped off of my concrete perch. That bleach blonde hair and that feminine baby-face was unmistakable. I had seen his video at least twenty times by now. Seeing him without the excessive makeup and over-the-top wardrobe was nice, though. He was more beautiful than handsome, but to my relief, his face looked kind.

At the sound of his name, his face lit up as he walked past his security detail extending his hand once he set the box down on a nearby bench, “Mira,” he greeted with a bright smile. He was much more youthful and obviously less intense standing there in front of me. It was comforting as I took his hand to shake it.

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” I said happily, “Thank you for coming,” I paused to look at the box, a grin spreading over my face, “and for the cake!”

“Ian sounded pretty desperate on your behalf,” he said with a laugh. “I’m glad you speak Korean,” he suddenly added with a sigh, “It’s a chore to talk to Ian, which is a shame.”

I nodded, “If I had to guess, he’ll learn soon enough,” I looked at Taemin again, and noticed that the crowd around us had grown quiet, whispers reaching us now and then, “It appears this is suddenly a big deal,” I mused.

He mirrored my actions before looking at me with a big smile. His eyes were unusually light for a Korean, and I found myself enchanted by them. I almost didn’t hear him speak, “You have a lot of fans,” he pointed out, gesturing to the crowd, “And if I had to guess, I won’t be the only celebrity to show up.”

“Oh?” I looked at him incredulously, not entirely sure what he meant by that.

He laughed, “Several idols responded to your posts. In fact I don't think you would have had quite this many people turn up if you didn't have so many celebrities reposting your tweet in Korean,” he said simply, “But we’ll see who has the guts to come out to such an open, public place.” His eyes found mine again, and he grinned, “Nice dress.”

“Ah,” I looked down, “It was a present from one of my new friends for Fourth of July,” I explained meekly.

Taemin moved next to me, leaning on the planter, “So do I get to know who you’re working with?” he asked me quietly, eyeing the apprehensive crowd again.

I thought for a moment. Technically I hadn’t gotten the okay to make any reveals, but he had done me a favor. “You came here in a vehicle, right?”

“Of course,” he said simply, clearly unsure I would ask such a stupid question.

“I’ll make you a deal,” I pitched, “If you help me bring all this stuff back, you’ll see exactly who I’m working with.”

“Deal,” he agreed immediately. He opened his mouth to speak again, but a commotion from the crowd stole both of our attentions. We both stood as a van practically drove right into the courtyard, sending people scrambling to get out of the way, “Oh no,” Taemin said sadly, “Media’s here.”

I panicked slightly. This was not part of the plan, “What should I do?” I asked him quietly.

He looked at me in surprise before relaxing as he chuckled, “Well we aren’t allowed to say anything without company permission, but technically you can do whatever you want, right?” He grinned at me, “I’d never guess THE Mira would be nervous around the media.”

“I just don’t want to piss people off in my first appearance in a new country,” I said with a nervous laugh, straightening my dress for the thousandth time that evening. A modest news crew piled out of the van and began to set up several feet away. It looked like they were going to report on me as if I were a traffic accident: inaccessible and unapproachable. “They’re not going to talk to me?” I muttered to Taemin, who seemed quite amused at my side.

“Doubt it,” he said simply, “This isn’t exactly something they know how to handle.”

“Then I’ll go to them,” I resolved.

He simply laughed, “I’m so lucky I got to meet you, and now you’re going to put on a show?”

I threw him a wink, “I am an entertainer, aren’t I?”

“We are here at the Grand Hyatt Seoul where American superstar Mira has set up an unprecedented impromptu fan meeting, and we just received word that SHINee’s Taemin has also made an appearance. There is no information regarding whether they are already acquaintances or if Taemin has arrived as a fan himself. Speculation continues on whether Mira is here for recreation or if will have the incredible news that she will be working with one of Korea’s many artists,” the reporter spoke evenly, clearly a practiced and accomplished journalist. His back was to me, but the cameraman spotted me as I slowly approached. He attempted to signal the reporter, but it clearly had no effect, “MBC is on the scene to show you the crowd that appeared on such short notice and so late at night.”

I finally reached the reporter, gently resting a hand on his shoulder. “Hi,” I greeted casually, waving at the camera with my free hand.

The reporter lost all composure for a moment as he whirled around to stare at me. I was impressed, however, when he got himself together quickly, turning back to the camera, “It appears Mira is willing to speak to us. We are truly honored,” he turned to me and bowed.

“Pleasure to meet you,” I nodded to him, and to the camera, “And thanks for turning out.”

“Is it true you organized this fan meeting to throw a friend a birthday party?” He asked suddenly, gesturing to the comically large pile of party favors and the giant cake box Taemin was babysitting.

I nodded, “Yes, he threw me a lovely Fourth of July party, and didn’t tell me it was his birthday tomorrow. Once I found out I knew I needed help,” I smiled sweetly at the camera before turning back to the reporter. I had a lot of practice with this stuff, at least.

“Can you comment on your relationship with SHINee’s Taemin?”

“Actually, this is our first meeting,” I admitted, looking back at him. Taemin gave me a happy wave, clearly entertained. “We do have a mutual friend from America, though, so I guess you could say we’ll be pretty good friends here soon enough,” I winked at Taemin behind me again. God I spent too much time with Ken, this much winking was shameful.

Suddenly everyone’s attention was diverted once again, and another security detail plowed through the crowd. “More breaking news,” the reporter faced the camera again, “It appears as though YG’s G-Dragon has made an appearance,” he continued to prattle on, but my attention was instantly diverted to the new visitor, who I saw greet Taemin respectfully.

“Excuse me,” I muttered before I jogged back to my place where another young Korean man was there waiting for me. This was someone I knew nothing about, but he had an incredible presence, despite being a good couple inches shorter than me. He had platinum blonde hair, shaved on the sides and styled fashionably. Dark eyeliner and a tiny black painted cross decorated his eyes, and he was dressed in a bright teal suit. His face was serious, borderline scary, until I approached him.

“Kwon Jiyong,” he introduced with a bow, and he gave a bright smile, his perfectly even white teeth accented by his thin lips. I couldn’t help but take him in. This was someone I had never met, but he was with YG and was famous enough for the reporter nearby to completely drop my interview. I couldn’t tell if any of his tattoos were painted or not, but he clearly had a much different image from Taemin, who was very boyish and approachable.

I extended my hand to Jiyong, or G-Dragon as I had heard him called just moments ago. “Halley Browne,” I gave him the courtesy of my real name since he had done the same.

He shook my hand happily, “It’s an honor,” he said emphatically, “I would love to work with you.”

I grinned, “Thank you!” I didn’t know how to respond to his collaboration request since I had no idea how talented this guy was or not, “You’ll have to give me your contact information.”

He slipped me a card before turning to Taemin, “Is she working with you now?” he asked.

“No,” Taemin responded quickly, “She won’t say who.”

I sighed sadly, “Sorry, it was part of the contract.”

“It’s fine, I understand,” Jiyong dismissed the thought. “Unfortunately,” he said suddenly, looking around at the still-growing crowd, “I’m not supposed to be here,” he murmured. “But I had to take this opportunity,” he smiled at me one more time, and I couldn’t help but feel charmed. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Mira,” he spoke loudly, clearly for the benefit of the crowd and reporter.

“Likewise, G-Dragon,” I responded in kind.

“GD is fine,” he shook my hand once more before turning to leave, “We’ll be in touch.”

“Well that was unexpected,” Taemin spoke once he left.

I turned to him, raising my eyebrows, “Not a sociable one?”

“He’s just always so incredibly busy,” Taemin said simply, “And Bigbang isn’t known for making too many public appearances."

“Wait he’s part of Bigbang?” I whispered harshly. Now that was a name I recognized.

He laughed raucously at my question, “You had no idea who that was,” he was polite enough to say it quietly, but I still huffed.

“No clue,” I admitted sadly. Despite my lack of internet, I’d have to use my phone to look him up. By Taemin’s reaction, clearly this guy was a big deal. “Thanks for coming,” I repeated to Taemin, looking over at him again.

His warm smile was comforting, “Of course,” he said again, “Though I feel silly having you thank me.”

I shrugged, “Ian invited me to your solo debut concert,” I spoke quietly again.

“I hope you can come,” he said sincerely as he looked around at the crowd. “Though you should probably wrap this up soon.”

The crowd was starting to get restless, and I nodded. “Help me up,” I held out my hand as I got off the ledge and turned to step up onto it. With his help, I managed to not embarrass myself as I situated myself up on the ledge, looking around at the crowd. I took a deep breath. Luckily I’d had enough live concerts with microphone issues to project my voice effectively, “I want to sincerely thank all of you for coming to see me today. I hope my friend enjoys his birthday party thanks to all of my new friends that I made here today,” I bowed as they applauded. “I have to go set all of this stuff up now, but I hope I have more opportunities to hang out with all of you soon!”

And just like that, it was over. I checked my phone to see that midnight was fast approaching. Taemin’s security was kind enough to help pack up all of the gifts into large sacks that one fan had the bright idea to bring. I carried the cake to the van myself, piling in with all of the decorations. Taemin sat next to me, and looked at me expectantly. I leaned forward to the driver and gave brief directions before sitting back. Taemin and I exchanged phone numbers, and I made a note to figure out how to type in Hangul on my phone. “So how long have you been in Seoul?” Taemin asked suddenly as the car began to move.

“A month, actually.”

“Wow, you did a good job hiding,” he said with a little laugh.

I sighed, “You mean they did a good job keeping me inside,” I mumbled irritably.

It took only a few minutes to return to the Jellyfish building, “No way,” I heard Taemin whisper. Clearly he knew exactly where we were.

I opted not to answer him as the door slid open. I spotted a familiar figure standing outside the door. “I knew you’d show up eventually,” Ken shouted at me as he pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on, “Where’d you get this van?”

Relieved to see him, I met him in the middle, throwing myself into his arms as he hugged me, “I borrowed it,” I said slyly.

“Oh my god,” he said quietly before letting go of me, “I saw your crazy twitter, but,” he approached the van carefully as the men unloaded the sacks of party decorations.

Finally, Taemin stepped out of the van, carrying the cake box, “Hello Ken hyung!” he gave a little bow with his head.

Ken stared blankly at Taemin, then at me, then at Taemin again, “I’ll, uh,” he paused, “be right back.” And with that he turned and practically sprinted back into the building.

Taemin simply laughed, “Shall we?” he asked while nodding to the doorway.

“Yeah,” I said slowly, confused by Ken’s antics. We just made it inside the now empty lobby before the rest of VIXX came barreling down the stairs.

“Taemin?” Ravi pushed through to approach us.

Taemin grinned, setting the cake box on the receptionist desk before stepping forward to greet his friend, “Hey Ravi.”

They shared a brief moment together before all eyes fell on me. “I got you some stuff,” I said simply to Hyuk, who hadn’t blinked since arrive downstairs.

“You are insane,” Leo practically stomped up to me, grasping my shoulders as he looked me over, “Are you okay?”

“Duh,” I said sarcastically, “Everything is fine, you guys need to calm down.”

“I really should go,” Taemin said sadly, “I should have been back home hours ago.”

I turned to him and extended my arms to him, “Thank you so much, Taemin.”

He hesitated for a moment, but then stepped forward, hugging me awkwardly for a very brief moment. The effort was appreciated, at least. “Tell Ian I said hello,” he paused to look at the VIXX boys behind me, “You guys are so lucky,” he grinned before turning around with a little wave. And then he was gone.

As soon we were alone in the lobby, I let out a long breath, “That was exhausting.”

“You did all this for me?” Hyuk said quietly, inspecting the bags of party favors.

“I had to call in a favor for Taemin and that cake,” I said with a little laugh, “But the rest are just from some fans who stopped by.”

“Don’t make it sound so insignificant,” N piped up, and I couldn't tell if his voice was angry or amused, “It’ll be all over the internet tomorrow.”

I sighed, “Yeah a reporter showed up, but whatever. I didn’t tell them I was working with you guys. I’ll leave that up to your PR team.”

“A reporter?” Hongbin looked over his shoulder from where he was rummaging through the sacks.

“Oh,” I suddenly remembered, pulling the card out from the fold in the cake box that I had hidden earlier, “Some fancy looking guy named Jiyong showed up, too. G-Dragon I think is his stage name.”

They all looked at me. “GD?” Ravi spoke first.

“Yeah, what can you tell me about him?” I asked, but they all looked at me blankly.

Finally Ravi spoke again, “He’s like the Korean version of you, but crazier.” When I simply shrugged at him, he continued, “He’s the leader of Bigbang and he’s not even the oldest.” The significance of that was not lost on me, at least, “He writes and produces most of their music, and they’re one of the few Kpop groups with total creative freedom,” he was sounding like a Wikipedia entry now, “AND he has a successful solo career.”

“Sooo,” I held onto the word, “What you’re saying is that I should keep this,” I held up the contact information card.

They all stepped forward, “He wants to work with you?”

“Yeah,” I said casually. I just couldn’t quite understand the fuss. I’d have to check this guy out, apparently. “But enough about that, help me get all this stuff upstairs.”

We hauled the large bags and the cake up the stairs and into the VIXX apartment. Once everything was accounted for, we all looked around at the still-Americanized room. Everyone groaned as we realized we’d have to clean all of this up. “How about we get some sleep, and we’ll set up Hyuk’s birthday tomorrow,” N suggested, and everyone instantly agreed. I was grateful, too. I was pretty exhausted from the day as it was. With lazy goodbyes, I made my way back to my room.

I became aware of footsteps following me to my room. I spun around as soon as I was at my door to find that it was Leo. “You had us all worried,” he spoke, his voice uncharacteristically firm.

“It was fine,” I insisted, “I can take care of myself.”

He sighed, “Still, you didn’t even say where you were going, and” he trailed his sentence off, simply looking at me instead, his eyes tired. It made me wonder what had happened after I stormed out of the building in the first place. By the looks of his face, I might have legitimately worried them.

I relented, “I’m sorry, I just was so touched and upset at the same time with Hyuk’s birthday thing.”

He rubbed the back of his neck anxiously, “I’m glad it went okay.”

“It was fun,” I said with a shrug, “Korean fans are so shy.”

He nodded a little, “Typically meetings like that have tight security, so they’re used to more regulation.” He sighed a little and looked me over one more time. With a little smile, he seemed satisfied, “Good night, Mira.”

“Good night, Leo.”