-Project Friendship: Sunggyu-

Level 5

            There was an abundant amount of fans gathered and with Yeri being entirely new to these kind of events, she was getting a little overwhelmed just standing in the sea of people that were all waiting to see INFINITE. She had received a ticket to their showcase a week ago from Sunggyu, he mentioned it was a special ticket meaning she could sit in the organisers’ section not that she knew what that even meant or if she should be following the other girls (well at this point it was more like she was being pushed along with the crowd). Thankfully she found a staff member that seemed to know exactly where to put her and led her through a different area past the queuing area where the other fans were waiting.

            While following the staff Yeri noticed a few fans standing around the back area who looked slightly familiar but then it should not be too surprising considering how many fans she has come across in the last few weeks when she visited the Woollim building or even simply when she was passing by (with the comeback drawing closer more and more fans have began appearing in the neighborhood). Yeri was momentarily startled when she met eyes with one of the girls but to her surprise she nodded back at Yeri (more politely than anything) before turning back to her friends, that was odd and certainly unexpected… but it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing either?

            Still feeling slightly confused Yeri was soon brought to an upper seating area that seemed to be a private box, her seat was near the back of the section but she could already tell that these were the best seats in the venue (at least the most comfortable). There were already some fans sat down below but many of the seats were still empty as they were still being let in, it was her first time at a concert-like event and she was getting excited just watching the audience enter. She wondered if it would be all right for her to message Sunggyu right now; she wanted to wish him luck but she thought that he would also probably want to know if she had arrived without a problem.

            As she began typing a message the door behind her opened again and she turned around and was hit by another gorgeous face that she had never expected to see in person, standing less than two meters from her was SHINee’s Key and he looked just as surprised to see her before the staff from before pointed to his seat which was conveniently in front of hers. Yeri watched with wide eyes as Key thanked the young man and sat down in front of her, her heart was doing flips as she couldn’t help but stare at the back of the man’s head; was this considered normal? Was it normal to see handsome idols everywhere? This reality was too much for her and she felt like she needed to get some air but before she could the man sitting in front of her turned around. Key swiveled all the way around and with his legs crossed stylishly he rested his elbows on the armrest, propping an arm up to hold his chin up as he gave her a devilishly handsome smile.

            “So who are you?”

            “… Uh…” Yeri looked down at her lap, this was seriously too much; just as she’s gotten used to L and Woohyun’s presence she had to be hit face first with another incredibly attractive idol. “I’m Yeri…”

            “Sunggyu-hyung’s friend, right?” he asked and she looked up with a quick nod surprised that he already knew. “Woohyun told me about you… you’re a little different from what I imagined.”

            “… How so?”

            “For someone that hangs out with Sunggyu… you’re… prettier than I expected?” he tried and when he saw her face go red he laughed and patted her shoulder in an overfriendly manner. “Aw come on, it can’t be the first time you were told that.”

            It was not the first time but it was the first time someone as attractive as he was did and she did not know how much more she could take before she reached her limit. Key was friendly but not overbearingly, though there was a different kind of aura surrounding him… he felt a bit more intimidating than INFINITE? Or perhaps it was because she had no warning signs and did not have time to prepare herself, it was a similar feeling when she first met Woohyun and L… in fact Woohyun and Key gave off the same vibe… the kind of intrusive friendly… well they were friends after all so it did make sense.

            Yeri was thankful he let her recover a bit as he pulled his phone out and as he started typing away the door opened again and Yeri seriously hoped it was not another idol but surprisingly it was a middle-aged couple, they must have been around their 30s or 40s and she dipped her head as they walked by and Key also greeted them briefly.

            “Myungsoo’s parents,” he whispered to her once the couple was sat down near the front and it took her a moment but then her eyes widened when it hit her that they were L’s parents.

            “… Are there usually a lot of family and friends at these events?”

            “More than what fans would think,” he shrugged. “I would not usually come out for a showcase but this one is a bit special since it’s been over a year they had their comeback and it’s in such a big venue… Selca?”

            “What?”

            “Selca,” he repeated with a smile as he held up his phone, it was the first real smile she’s seen from him and she could not believe it was because of a selca. The screen on his phone showed what looked like Instagram and she shook her head immediately fearing of the reprimands that would come with appearing on a famous idol’s SNS. He looked a little dejected she did not want a photo with him but took one of himself nonetheless. “So are you going to date Sunggyu-hyung? If not you should date Woohyunie.”

            “E-Excuse me?” she could hardly keep up with his pace, it seemed as if he was just talking about the showcase moments ago and now they were talking about dating? Key really seemed to move in his own world and she got the impression that he would not wait if she got left behind in the conversation. “I’m not… interested in that.”

            “Why not? Woohyun said you two already act pretty couple-like,” he said as he picked a filter for his selca. “Though I can’t really imagine Sunggyu-hyung dating anyone…”

            Yeri was feeling more and more confused and frankly she did not know how to reply, thankfully her phone buzzed and she quickly remembered that she was meant to send Sunggyu a message. Amazingly enough it was a message from the man in question and he was asking if she got in, she peeked over at Key and when she was sure he was also occupied with his phone she typed her response. With her sole attention on her phone screen she did not notice Key sneakily snap a selca before sending it to his friend waiting backstage.

            It was surprisingly frantic backstage, it was not the first time they’ve performed in front of a large crowd and it certainly won’t be the last but the members were all jittery since it’s been a year they were all on the same stage together. Woohyun especially was unable to keep still as he continued pacing around the room even after they had all gotten their makeup and preparations done, the more the members watched Woohyun they more they grew restless themselves.

            Sunggyu had just messaged Yeri asking if she arrived all right, Myungsoo mentioned that his parents just got here and most of the members have received word from their families or friends that would be attending the showcase. As he stared at his phone, waiting for her reply he heard Woohyun’s phone vibrating on the table and he called for Woohyun who had not noticed. “Woohyun-ah, your phone’s going off… Woohyun!”

            When there was no response he looked up and saw that Woohyun was no longer in the waiting room, Sunggyu glanced over at the members who told him he just left moments ago and Sunggyu groaned as he reached for Woohyun’s phone. Turned out it wasn’t a phone call just an incredible amount of messages coming through, Sunggyu watched the notifications pop excessively and he was going to put the phone back down until he saw his name mentioned in a message.

            Sunggyu unlocked the phone and scrolled up to check the messages and he was shocked to see a messy selca of Key… or half his face the most prominent subject of the photo was none other than Yeri, it looked like the photo was taken in secret and he captioned it with a sad emoticon – ‘I think she’s annoyed by me’. Sunggyu stared at the photo, he was not even informed that Woohyun had invited Key and he kind of felt sorry for leaving Yeri with him knowing how overwhelming the idol was. He was not able to read the other messages before Woohyun came back and snatched his phone out of Sunggyu’s hands.

            “Looks like Yeri’s here,” Woohyun murmured as he scrolled through the messages, a short smile appeared on his face and he made a reply but the smile disappeared as quickly as it appeared and he was back to pacing anxiously.

            “Woohyun-ah.”

            “Hm?”

            “Did you only invite Key-ssi?” Sunggyu asked, if he remembered most of the members had family coming apart from Howon who invited his friends but he could not recall if Woohyun was bringing his parents.

            “And my mum,” he replied from the end of the room where he had walked over to. “Did you only invite Yeri?”

            “Yeah.”

            “Is she coming to dinner afterwards?” Sungyeol asked all of a sudden and Sunggyu looked to him with a bemused expression. The members were a little taken aback by the unexpected look on their leader face but thankfully it did not seem to faze Sungyeol. “… What?”

            “Should I ask her?”

            “Sure, I mean if he could bring his friends so can you,” Sungyeol elbowed Howon lightly causing the older member to grimace and shake him off. “It’ll be fun plus we have not seen her since we met her.”

            “Yeah, there’s a reason why I want to keep her away from you lot…” Sunggyu murmured quietly but Myungsoo caught it and voiced out childishly, Sungyeol joined in to the whining but paid the remark no mind as he only wanted Yeri to be invited. “Okay, okay. I’ll ask her after.”

-

            The showcase ended spectacularly and Yeri was completely blown away by their performance and the overall atmosphere of the arena. The crowd was still incredibly active after and Yeri was in awe as she watched the fans pour out of the venue, no doubt rushing off to try to catch a glimpse of their idols as they leave. INFINITE only performed four songs this showcase but it was still magnificent to watch and when the members spoke she found herself touched, especially when Woohyun broke down crying (that was something she never expected to see… though she was pretty sure she saw Key yawn).

            Once most of the crowds have dispersed below, Yeri got up and prepared to leave but the moment she got into the large hallway she was pulled aside by Key who had been behind her. “W-What?”

            “We’re going this way,” he said as he dragged her down the opposite direction from the entrance, when she tried to pull away he told her that they were going to have dinner with everyone but even then she had no idea what he was talking about. When she tried to question him again he just rolled his eyes and told her that he was following Sunggyu’s orders, it may have looked rude but she knew he meant nothing by it… she has gotten somewhat used to Key’s dramatic mannerisms. Yeri followed him silently after as he led her through a small door and down some stairs to what looked to be a parking lot, there he finally released her wrist and proceeded to make a phone call. “We’re here.”

            Soon a van pulled up in front of them and Key immediately opened the door, he stepped aside and motioned for her to get in and she hesitated but got in when he widened his eyes with an exaggerated groan. Key hopped in after and shut the door before greeting the driver who turned out to be another one of INFINITE’s managers. Yeri did her best to greet him with her thoughts still in a jumble and Key trying to direct her to move to the backseat.

            “We’re going around to pick them up at the back…” Key said once they were sat at the back of the van and he pulled his phone out and began typing as they drove out of the underground parking lot. “There’s only one van so we’re gonna have to squish… and do your best to hide.”

            “Hide from what?” she asked as the van circled around the building towards the back entrance and it was then when she saw through the tinted windows what he meant.

            “Fans, they’re going to be swarming around the van when they’re coming in…” Key looked distracted as he also watched the situation by the building, at this point the manager driving them was on the phone with the other manager and they were communicating what the best way of doing this was. “Okay duck now.”

            It all happened so quickly, all of a sudden the van door was opened and she could hear the crowds’ voices and screams amplified, then she heard people enter the van and the empty seat between her and Key was occupied and just like that the door was closed again and they were preparing to leave.

            “Yeri, you can sit up now,” she heard Woohyun laugh beside her and she turned around to see him grinning down at her. “Also whose lap do you want to sit on?”

            “What?” she asked as she sat back up straight and she took a good look around the van, her eyes immediately found Sunggyu who was sitting at the front beside the manager. Then she noticed Sungyeol sprawled over Dongwoo, Sungjong and Myungsoo in front of her, she realised there weren’t enough seats but also that there was also a member missing. “Where’s Hoya?”