“Go, go, go!”

One of the staff members yelled over the top of the screaming fans as he ushered the girls who were waiting backstage on to the stage for the finale of the concert. The six girls ran up the stairs and appeared from the side of the main stage, waving wildly at the crowd. From the other side the iKON members also ran out as ‘Go Up’ started playing. Running from one side of the stage to the other, with the backdrop of tens of thousands of glow sticks illuminating the arena to create a sea of lights, Haru had never felt so energized in her entire life.

As she danced alone and skipped around the stage, picking up confetti and singing, Haru felt a strong arm wrap around her shoulder. Looking up, she came face to face with Mino who was drenched by water, his hair spiked up chaotically, wearing his famous smirk. With the microphone to his mouth and looking directly at Haru unabashedly, he sang in time to the song, “Beautiful… Loveable… Yes you, yes you, let’s go until the end…”

Haru, not resisting his hold, tipped her head backwards with laughter against his arm, bracing herself for the punch line. Mino grinned widely and held the microphone to Haru’s mouth in anticipation. Haru pushed the microphone back towards him and yelled over the top of the music and the crowd, “Good try!”

“…Oppa Gangnam style!”

With his arm still wrapped around Haru, the two of them broke out into dance at the chorus, Haru laughing the entire time. An arm came between them halfway through, separating Mino from Haru as Bobby wedged himself between them, his hands up defensively, as if jokingly attempting to protect Haru from Mino.

Mino, feigning defeat, walked away after shoving Bobby with a grin. Haru clung on to Bobby’s shoulders and stuck her tongue out at Mino as he turned away.

The two of them continued to dance and sing together, until ‘Gangnam Style’ ended and the final encore song, ‘Fantastic Baby’ by Big Bang started playing. The cheering from the crowd shook the arena, nearly louder than the music itself. Bobby and Haru began shouting the lyrics in time to Big Bang and as the beat dropped at the chorus, they continued to dance recklessly and carelessly, Haru’s hair whipping from side to side. Haru grabbed a water bottle sitting near the edge of the stage and smiling, opened the cap, and just as Bobby had turned around, Haru poured the water bottle over Bobby’s shoulders, completely soaking him. When he turned around in shock Haru yelled, “Now you don’t have to feel apologetic for earlier! I got you back!”

Bobby shook out his hair, the water in it whipping outwards as he did so. He looked up to face Haru and pretended to agree with her, but then with a devilish grin, picked up another water bottle and began charging towards Haru with it. Haru put her arms out in front of her to protect herself, laughing and screaming at Bobby to not do it as she ran in the other direction across the stage.

“Don’t you dare! Don’t do it!” She shrieked and laughed as she began backing away from the open water bottle facing her in Bobby’s hand.

Bobby advanced upon her, water bottle at the ready, laughing gleefully. He teasingly the open water bottle towards her causing Haru to squeal and duck.

Hanbin, who had stopped to drink from his bottle, caught sight of Bobby and Haru joking and laughing at each other. Without a second thought he began to approach them, the opened water bottle in his hand. Just as the song was about to reach its again, Haru, who was still backing away, felt herself collide with someone behind her. She turned around and before she could even comprehend whom it was, Hanbin emptied the rest of his water bottle over Haru’s head. 

“…Wow. Fantastic baby.”

Feeling the deluge of water completely drench her hair, she yelped out loud and stood rooted to her spot, her arms stiff by her side and mouth hanging open.

Bobby stopped in his tracks, looking slightly annoyed that Hanbin stole his thunder but burst out into laughter at the sight of Haru.

Hanbin himself couldn’t help but smirk and began walking away backwards, tossing the empty water bottle behind him with a flippant attitude, “Oops, my bad…”

“YA!! KIM HANBIN! STOP RIGHT THERE!” Haru voice ripped through as she wiped the water from her face furiously and charged after him.

Bobby let out his own battle cry and sprinted past Haru to capture Hanbin, holding him in a deadlock around his chest, Hanbin struggling to get free. Haru, seizing the opportunity, emptied the remaining half of her water bottle over Hanbin’s head, leaving him equally, if not more drenched.

Bobby and Haru high-fived each other in triumph, Haru turning to face Hanbin who was bent over with his hands placed on his knees, the water dripping in streams from his hair that hung in front of his face. Hanbin flipped his head back whilst straightening up, his eyes shut. His slick hair flicked over and back, the droplets of water that were flung from the ends of each strand showering skywards, falling like sparkles as they caught the stage lights behind him. Hanbin opened his eyes to look back at Haru, his mouth opening into a smile. It made Haru stop and stare. It’s that smile again. Why do I become an idiot when he smiles at me like that? And just like the last time in the recording studio, time seemed to slow. He was walking towards her now, his face glistening with water that trickled down his temples and down his neck, accentuating his jaw and Adam’s apple. Haru remained in her spot, as if in a trance, as Hanbin came up close to her. She could see the tiniest crystals of water hanging in his eyelashes as he looked down at her with tapered eyes.

Before she could make a move, the moment was broken as Hanbin dipped his head down towards Haru’s face and began shaking his hair furiously, causing Haru to shriek and cover her face from the human sprinkler system in front of her. Bobby, seeing this, approached Haru from the other side and leaned forward in the same way to shake out the water in his hair over her as well.

Screaming and laughing, Haru began to take off down the stage, the two boys chasing after her.

✼ ✼ ✼

Without Haru even noticing, the two shows in Osaka had been completed, leaving her lying awake in her hotel bed late at night, the sound of the fans chanting and screaming still ringing in her ears. The past two days had been the most exhausting but remarkable days of her entire life. Up on that stage, facing the sea of fans, Haru had felt unshakable. It was like catching a glimpse of her dreams. Being so preoccupied with the concert and its excitement, Haru didn’t even have time consider anything else, living unapologetically in the moment.

Her fatigue finally embraced her and she fell into a restless slumber, fading in and out of consciousness and only to wake up a few hours later. She turned to look at the clock beside her on the bedside table and sighed. It was 5 in the morning.

Perhaps it was the stillness of the room, the sounds of distant traffic, or the way the lights of the buildings outside her hotel window twinkled at her, but Haru felt her previous waves of elation subside, her mind coming to stand still and becoming motionless. Her thoughts were replaced by worries as she wondered about her father and Hwayoung, as well as how confused and lonely Hyunjoon must be feeling in her absence. She felt sorry about leaving Hyemi behind, having been less than attentive to her as a friend since she started training at YG. Her concerns conjured up new waves of emotion, hounding her, and Haru felt the anxiety inside her chest begin to weigh her down like stones. She sat up in bed and looked at Yoonhee who had her back to Haru, her breathing steady as she slept. Feeling claustrophobic, Haru threw her sheets off and slipped into her shoes. She grabbed a jacket and put it on over her large t-shirt and shorts, quietly leaving the room. Haru wandered down the empty hallway of the hotel until she reached the lifts. Unsure where exactly she was going, she studied the labels beside each button in the lift. Her eyes came across the top most button which read ‘rooftop’ in English and she immediately pressed it and sunk into the back of the elevator as the door slid shut.

Arriving at the rooftop, Haru slowly exited the lift, scanning her surroundings warily. The rooftop was relatively bare, with concrete floors and barriers. There were a few empty benches here and there facing the city that surrounded her. Haru walked over to the barrier that came up to her chest and leaned against the concrete, her arms resting on them and her chin placed atop of the back of her hands where they met. Even though it was summer in Osaka, the weather this early in the morning was refreshing and mild; Haru almost didn’t need her jacket.

She wasn’t sure how long she was there for, just gazing off into the heart of Osaka, that was already beginning its day from the consistent sounds of traffic below, lost in the sea of her own mind. The sound of the lift arriving behind her snapped her back to reality as she quickly spun around.

“Bobby…?” Haru squinted her eyes, the backlit figure against the bright interior of the lift made it almost inscrutable to see whom it was, though Haru made a guess just by the person’s stance.

As the figure approached and the lift doors shut, Bobby indeed, came into view. He was wearing grey slacks, a large white t-shirt, flip-flops and holding a plastic bag, his bed hair standing up sloppily.

“Haru?” Bobby looked genuinely surprised. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” Haru responded with a smile.

Bobby joined Haru, leaning his side against the tall barrier to face Haru, one arm resting on the concrete propping up his head by the temple, “Early bird?”

“No way… Just couldn’t sleep,” Haru returned to her original position but turned her head to face Bobby so that they were at eye level. “What about you?”

“Same,” Bobby smiled at Haru, blinking his crescent-shaped eyes a few times cutely at her before shifting his gaze towards the view.

“Something on your mind?” Haru looked at Bobby staring thoughtfully into the distance. This side of Bobby always surprised Haru when she encountered it, for it seemed so different compared to his usual vibrant self.

Bobby took out two cans of soda from his plastic bag and handed one to Haru, “Lucky I got two…”

Haru thanked him and opened up her soda with a crack and took a gulp, “Seriously, what’s up?”

Bobby also took a large gulp of the soda and placed it back on the concrete barrier with a loud, “Aaahhh…” He looked back at Haru and replied, “I used one of the manager’s laptops to Skype my parents yesterday night,”

“Where are they?”
“They’re in America,”

Haru looked at Bobby, “America? So you’ve been on your own for the past three years?”

Bobby, still looking forwards, nodded. He took another sip of his soda and continued, “I miss them a lot and sometimes I think our Skype conversations do more damage than good. It makes me sad and wish that they were here with me.”

“It must have been so difficult for you… Both you and your parents have sacrificed something big for you to be here Bobby. It shows you know your dreams and that your parents believe in you enough to let you go. You must have a great relationship with them…” Haru responded, attempting to comfort Bobby.

Bobby didn’t answer but Haru knew he heard her. She looked away and also stared out into the distance, “I guess what I just said could be applied to me as well…” Not wishing to speak about her own problems she quickly added,  “We’ve all had to sacrifice something to be here right?”

Bobby still looked deep in thought as he nodded solemnly. In the proceeding silence, he turned to look at Haru who was still facing the views of Osaka ahead. Behind her, the sky was beginning to redden, like someone had begun to paint it using watercolors. Splotches of pink and orange began to spread as the sun started to rise, shifting the colour palette of the canvas from a soft grey to a peachy rose colour, speckled with tangerine and deep red. Bobby, however, seemed to be more captivated by the girl leaning against the concrete barrier beside him, her face upturned as she marveled the vicissitude of the