There should have been a harp playing in the background. There should have been a bright, hazy white light and an iridescent shimmer, because I had to have been in heaven

There was a group of boys nearer to me and Semmi than any other, and for the first few seconds I stared at them unabashed. It took a little while for it to click, but I recognized them as MYNAME; Seyong's red hair stood out, and his smile was almost unparalleled. His gaze flickered between Semmi and I and the fans who were already speaking with his group, but his smile never faltered. It only got bigger when it was directed towards me and Semmi, as if it were itself a silent welcome.

And what a welcome it was.

Semmi squeezed my arm, bringing me sharply back down to Earth.

"Look," she said into my ear with something reminiscent of a squeal, "there's A Pink. They're so pretty, aren't they?"

I looked to who I assumed was A Pink, although I didn't know for sure. I just saw a band of pretty girls and thought it was safe to say they were the rookie females. I wasn't concentrating on them really, because the thought of pretty girls reminded my that Trouble Maker had performed that day, too. Was HyunA somewhere in the room? And Hyunseung? I would honestly, legitimately die if either of them so much as looked at me. They were on a whole other tier of idolism.

"Oh, and Fat Cat," Semmi continued to coo, moving me to a slightly different angle. I couldn't bring myself to focus on searching for one single face, so I settled for scanning the room methodically, not even taking in any of the features on anyone at all. If I recognized anyone else I'd seen on stage, I'd just get even more anxious, regardless of if I was a fan or not. Celebrities were celebrities.

I couldn't help but glance back at MYNAME from the corner of my eye, since I'd already spotted them and didn't see the harm in taking a longer look. I hadn't realized that the group wasn't all MYNAME members. Looking closer, I recognized at least two of them as members of AA, the one that looked like an older version of SHINee's Jonghyun and the blonde who, to me, looked more Japanese than Korean. I could pick out Chaejin from MYNAME there, too, but couldn't tell who any of the others were. They were close and in good enough view since only a handful of girls were gathered around them, but I wasn't exactly going to gape until I could identify who was who. That would just be weird.

I looked away from the boys just as Teen Top's Ricky and L.Joe walked in from another door on the other side of the room. Like magic, my eyes were drawn to them instantly.

For some reason, I didn't freak out. My first thought, actually, went to Hae Woo. She'd said she was a fan of Ricky's so she'd probably throw a fit if I got an autograph for her. I'd be the coolest person in her world.

Something like that was easier said than done, though. The point of fan meetings were so that fans could meet their idols, and vice versa, but how did people actually do that? How did girls out there just stalk right up to the guys they dreamed about and start talking? I would never understand it. Even if I hadn't had a history with Teen Top I wouldn't have been able to do it.

I on my tongue, internally weighing my options, until Semmi started shaking me. My attention went to her, but her eyes were locked on the spot mine had just left.

"You were staring at Teen Top," she observed. She turned to me then, slowly, with a wicked glint in her eye and a smirk teasing her lips. "Let's go see them. They only just got here and no one's hogging them yet."

"What?" I squawked, but there was no competition. Semmi pulled her nerve out of thin air and began dragging me, again, to a place we both knew I didn't want to want to be. But wasn't that what friends were for?

Semmi pulled me past clumps of conversation and fidgeting bodies, but it was pretty impossible to avoid them all completely. I was vaguely aware of bumping into someone -- not just someone, but Choiza, if I wasn't mistaken. Kill me now! -- before stumbling to a halt as Semmi directed in front of Teen Top. I was a second behind Semmi, looking at the two boys with wide eyes, before we both sunk down into deep bows, chorusing our greetings. I waited an extra few heartbeats after Semmi straightened up, since I'd been a little late going down, before in a deep breath and facing my foes.

I tried to smile, and it probably worked alright, since my muscles felt like mush. Ricky was beaming at Semmi and I, practically glowing, and his enthusiasm somehow calmed me down. Since I seemed to be safe with Ricky I didn't chance a glance at L.Joe, just in case he did anything to shatter my clean record of relatively unembarrassing behavior.

"Annyeong-haseyo," Ricky chirped, bending forward at the waist. L.Joe did the same beside him. I watched the rapper from the side of my eye as he came out of the bow, a hand going up immediately to flatten his hair. It'd been dyed brown for their new concept, and it looked really good. L.Joe was undoubtedly a good looking guy.

"Did you two enjoy the show?" Ricky asked, clasping his fingers together in front of him and rocking on his feet. I wasn't normally crazy about aegyo, but I suddenly loved it on Ricky.

"Yes," Semmi said, stretching the word out so that it was more dramatic. "It was the most fun I've had in a long time. Daebak!"

"You guys were great," I voiced, not wanting to stand there like a mute. I could feel my face get hot when Ricky's eyes fell on me, but I kept the smile on my face and forced myself to maintain eye contact. "Your comeback was the best part of the show. It got everyone really excited, so I know it's going to be a huge success."

I looked over to L.Joe to include him in the praise and let him know I wasn't ignoring him permanently or for any real purpose. My gaze met his for all of a second before it returned to Ricky. I had to double-take, though, when the sight turned out to be something I wasn't expecting.

L.Joe was staring at me.

It would have been fine for him to be paying attention to me since I'd been speaking, but there was something off about L.Joe's look. It was a too intense for the situation, and he didn't seem happy at all. Not necessarily angry either, maybe, but not happy. His mouth was unsmiling and his expression was grim. His dark eyes were drilling into me like spears, probing my insides.

I was more aware than ever of my heart thundering in my chest and what felt like a cork screw pulling my guts out through my belly button. I hadn't said anything weird or wrong, and I didn't think I was coming off as the type of fan you had to be afraid of. Had my hair gotten messed up at some point, or was my make-up smudged? I should have thought to stop in a bathroom to check before I'd let Semmi drag us back stage. What was wrong with me? Why was he looking at me like that?

I'd been pretty confident about my appearance when I'd left the house that morning; I'd thought I'd looked pretty. Maybe there was nothing wrong with me. Maybe L.Joe was staring at me because he thought I looked pretty, too.

Yeah. Totally.

"Thank you," Ricky sang, sinking down into another shallow bow. I zeroed in on him again, imaging that I had tunnel vision that tuned L.Joe out. If I devoted my focus to Ricky, he'd probably make me feel better. "We'll continue to work hard for our Angels. Please keep supporting us!"

At the mention of supporting them, Semmi brought out her copy of 'It's' and asked the two Teen Top members to sign it for her. Ricky obliged right away, using Semmi's shoulder as a desk. I smirked at her silent fangirl-ing and ducked my head to fish my album out of my bag. I might have just been paranoid, but I wondered if L.Joe was still watching me.

With 'It's' in hand I came back up to find Ricky waiting for me and L.Joe giving Semmi the same treatment she'd received from Ricky. The visual maknae sent me a gleeful grin and motioned for my CD. I handed it over, looking at our hands as they came so close to touching, and turned around for him, offering my back.

"What's your name?" Ricky asked me. He was close enough for his breath to hit my skin. Even though I didn't even like him like that I had trouble finding my voice and putting together a response.

"Sol Mi," I answered. On the surface, I was surprisingly put-together. Inside, I was mildly flipping out.

"Pretty," Ricky commented, making my lips quirk. I stayed as still as possible, not wanting to make him mess up by moving in any way. My breathing was shallow until Ricky pulled away, taking the pressure off of my shoulder blade and cueing me to turn around.  I took my CD back with a shy smile and short bow before turning to L.Joe.

The rapper was waiting expectantly and, rather than bore at me like he had before, he sent me an awkward but honest half-smile. His eyes weren't nearly so piercing -- there was actually a nice glimmer in them. Had I imagined the whole zombie-like episode a few minutes earlier?

L.Joe lowered his head and held his hand out for my CD, snapping me out of my momentary funk. I passed it over and twirled around on the spot. I could feel him advance on me from behind, and the hairs on my arms stood on end.

"What's your name?" L.Joe asked. Like Ricky, he was close enough for his breath to hit my skin. And even though I didn't like him like that either, all of the noise in the room sounded like it was underwater with all the blood that rushed to my ears.

"Sol Mi," I said simply. L.Joe didn't comment on whether or not he thought it was a pretty name. He just leaned in a little closer, one of his palms resting half on my shoulder, half on the CD, and wrote whatever it was he was writing. The hand that was touching me went back and forth between pressing down and inching away, like he was afraid of putting too much weight on me. The idea made me bite back a simper, and I kept nibbling on my lip just to make sure I wouldn't squeal or giggle.

The moment lasted for just that, a moment, before L.Joe pulled away. I was a lot slower turning around to take my CD back than I was in handing it over, but I did eventually face L.Joe again and accept the album. He sent me another quirky smile that I was vaguely aware of returning.

"Thank you," I murmured, my voice soft and eyes averted. I gave a small bow to L.Joe before taking a step back and bowing again to both him and Ricky.

"Thank you for coming," Ricky said. He stepped forward, his arms held out, and offered a hug. I didn't know what to do, but it wasn't like I was going to turn him down. I shuffled into Ricky's arms with what had to have been an expression as brainless as a scarecrow's. I was unsure of whether or not I should hug him back, but my body reacted on its own and I looped my arms around his waist. The hug lasted all of three seconds before I was released. I stepped back, feeling just a little lightheaded, and looked to L.Joe out of instinct.

L.Joe's teeth were showing in his bashful sort-of smile, and he reached up to straighten out his already styled hair. Once he was done petting himself, he took a half step forward to meet me. My mind didn't have time to think before my legs brought me closer, into L.Joe's chest. His hug was more timid than Ricky's, his arms more hovering around my shoulders than embracing them, but he made up for it by holding on for a good millisecond longer. But my hug with him ended, too, and I had to move away to let Semmi have her turn.

I lowered my chin and picked at my fingernails while Semmi hugged L.Joe. It felt like I barely had to wait before she was back at my side, almost bouncing with energy, and the pair of us gave Teen Top once last, deep bow.

"Come see us again, if you can," Ricky said with his everlasting exuberance. "We love meeting our Angels."

Ricky and L.Joe waved, and Semmi and I sent them a "Hwaiting!" cheer. They returned it, Ricky more enthusiastically than L.Joe, before taking their leave. They didn't make it far before they were accosted by a few more girls, and even though they were still in sight, they were gone.

And with that, my second meeting with Teen Top was over.

Semmi bumped into my side, wordlessly gushing over her signatures. I glanced down askance at mine, not even really seeing them. The rush was catching up with me, and my fingers were shaking too much for me to get a clear view of the scribbles.

"See? That wasn't so bad," Semmi said to me, nudging me a second time. "You said you weren't going to be able to talk to them, but you said more than me, liar!"

My lips pulled up in a legitimate grin, but my mind was preoccupied. I had handled myself alright, hadn't I? I honestly don't know how or why I was so okay meeting famous people when my first attempt had been so disastrous, but I decided not to question it; there were still more famous people to meet and I had no desire to jinx my good luck.

Reading my mind, Semmi sent me a partly giddy, partly fiendish smirk. "Let's go get more autographs."
 

Since Semmi and I had been delayed in arriving to the meet-and-greet, we didn't have all that much time to mingle after our encounter with Teen Top.

But we still got the job done.

Semmi had dragged me over to A Pink, and although I wasn't a fan I complimented them on their performance, since it had been good. I'd been uncomfortable at first standing next to so many female idols who were all dawdled up and had the personalities of sugar and honey's love child, but after one of them told me she like my outfit, and another that she like my hair, I felt more at ease.

Boyfriend had been huddled close to A Pink, so Semmi and I migrated over to them after our conversation with the girls. Even though the boys seemed a little uncomfortable they were gracious hosts, and I resolved to look more into them once I got home. As it was, I was pretty sure I was crushing on Minwoo and JeongMin, despite my claim of not liking cute boys.

After those three successful visits I was walking on the air, my confidence at an all time high. Unfortunately, I didn't get to take on anymore stars, since staff members came in and told us the event was over the idols who had remained to chat had to get back to their schedules. I was disappointed that I didn't get the chance to look for anyone else that I really wanted to see, but I had to be thankful for what I'd accomplished.

Outside, most of the fans that had gotten backstage gathered around to compare stories. If I'd been at home thinking abut a bunch of girls who didn't even know each other practically having an over some idols they had just met I would have rolled my eyes at the ridiculousness of it. But since I was one of those girls, I was having a ball with it.

Semmi and I did eventually leave, our hearts heavy but happy. As we walked to the train station Semmi hung off my arm like she had in the Music Bank studio. We didn't talk for a while, too busy reflecting on our day, but Semmi wasn't one to enjoy silence for too long. She turned to me just as we steered into the station.

"You know, I wasn't going to say anything back there, but L.Joe was definitely staring at you," she gossiped, her expression serious. I fidgeted under her gaze, letting out a frazzled scoff.

"No way," I shot back. It was a lie, of course, since I'd known he'd been staring at me, but it didn't mean what Semmi was going to imply it meant.

"He was," she insisted, nodding to herself before facing ahead. "But I'm not jealous, because he's not my bias." A frown came onto her face then. "I wish Chunji would have been there. And Niel. And Changjo."

"And CAP," I said, leaning into her and stressing the name of the member she'd left out. Semmi and I had to separate to get our tickets checked and pass into the station, but we met up again on the other side and I continued where I'd left off. "He's my bias."

"Don't be greedy," Semmi snapped playfully. "You've already got one rapper on your side, so don't whine about not having the other. Do you know how many girls would kill to have caught L.Joe's attention?"

I pursed my lips and did my best to seem like it didn't really matter to me and I was too modest to believe it, but in actuality my ego was getting a major . I hadn't imagined L.Joe staring at me. L.Joe had been staring at me. An idol had been staring at me. A really hot idol!

"Whatever," I said as we arrived at our platform and began waiting for the train. "So what if he was? It's not like he's gonna hunt me down after this or anything. That was the last time I'll ever see him."

"But it's still really cool," Semmi settled in one rapid breath, turning to me and giving me a good shaking. I laughed with her, making the two of us look like fools, but I didn't care in the least. It'd been one of the best days of my life.

What I'd said, though, was the truth: I never would see L.Joe in person like that again, and I probably wouldn't ever see any celebrities in person like that again. The experience was once-in-a-lifetime, and I'd already cheated the system by getting two shots. The first had been a fraud, but the second was one to remember. I would look back every day and still feel bubbly when I thought about that time I went to Music Bank. It hadn't just been the best day of my life, but it'd made my life complete.

I was utterly content to return to my normal, fame-free routine now that I had that memory.