“Thank you very much for your time.”

“You’re welcome. I hope you feel better soon.”

She hung up the call with a sigh. It was the tenth call of the night, and she was getting tired already. Volunteering as a telephone counsellor, she would have to listen to problems of the people who called in, and try her best to advise them. Mostly though, she knew these people only wanted her to lend an ear. They wanted to be listened to, they wanted to pour out their frustration and they wanted support.

It could be rather tiring, having to deal with so much negativity. But she loved her job. After all, she was known to be a good listener. As her friends had put it, she’d be the one they turn to whenever they had a problem, and they always relied on her sound opinions to help them get through their difficulties. She was trustworthy, and very much dependable.

The telephone rang one more time. She briefly glanced at the clock hanging on the wall, noting that her shift was ending and this would be the last call she’d take. She picked up the phone and said, “Good evening. You’re calling XXX Support Line. My name is Yoon Mi. How may I help you?”

There was a brief moment of silence, followed by a small chuckle.

Her eyebrows knitted together. Was this a prank call?

“Hello. I’m Yoon Mi, how may I help you?” She attempted again, trying to sound as calm as possible.

“Right…hi. Am I calling the right place? XXX Support Line?” It was a man’s voice.

“Yes, sir. Is there a problem?”

“Um… So… This conversation would be strictly confidential?”

She could hear uncertainty and a hint of nervousness from the man’s tone. His question was, in fact, rather common. Most people were often afraid to let others know that they needed counselling.

“Definitely sir. This would just be between both of us. How may I address you?”

“Right… You can call me Min.”

“Min-ssi, do you have anything you want to tell me?”

“Yeah of course. Otherwise I wouldn’t have called, would I?”

Huh, what’s with all this sass? She thought to herself, but she kept quiet, willing the man to continue.

“I am a celebrity, or an idol to be more specific.”

Now that definitely caught her attention. A k-pop idol calling for counselling? She knew idols always had it tough, having to keep a perfect image all the time in front of their fans. But never had she ever received a call from someone well-known.

Trying to hide her curiosity and keep her professionalism, she replied, “It doesn’t matter to me whether you are a celebrity or not, I’m just here to try and help you whatever possible way I can.”

“I like you already. You seem… down to earth… real.”

She smiled at that compliment. “Thank you Min-ssi. Now is there any way I can help you?”

“Tell me, Yoon Mi-ssi. How do you think you can help me?”

“I can’t really tell when you haven’t told me what is the problem, Min-ssi.” She hoped she didn’t sound too exasperated.

The man’s laughter rang through the ear piece. “I suppose I have not. But it is really hard to tell you. I’m in a highly successful k-pop group, our popularity is rising quickly. We are loved by our fans, and my members are like family to me. I get to write my own music. I am generally happy, you see. Now tell me, what is my problem?”

Yoon Mi was at a loss for words. Was this person pulling her leg? Was this somehow a kind of joke to him? Teasing a stranger just for fun?

“I don’t seem to find any problem, Min-ssi.” She stressed the ‘ssi’ word, annoyance already crept into her voice.

“Hahaha. You sound infuriated, Yoon Mi-ssi. It also seems as though I’ve called the wrong person.”

Something in her suddenly snapped. The mocking tone of the caller’s voice was definitely not pleasant to her ears, and she was absolutely annoyed that her ability was being doubted. Everyone knew she was a good counsellor. Heck, there were even people who specially called her back to thank her for her help. And now this guy here was just undermining her in just a matter of few minutes.

“Look, Min-ssi. I’ve only just spoken to you for a few minutes and I don’t know anything about you except that you’re an idol, or so you claim. Based on what you have just told me, it seems as though you’re leading a very fulfilling life. Your dreams are coming true and as an idol, I think that’s what you want to gain most, isn’t it? You have a great life from everybody’s point of view, even to yours, but every side of a beautiful story has a sad one. I do not know what is it in your case. It may be that you’re feeling regretful over things that you’ve sacrificed to get to where you are, or that you have an unexplainable emptiness in you that you’re feeling guilty of having, because you know you’re a very blessed person and so you think you shouldn’t complain about life. Whatever is it, I believe you’re on the right track and you should just keep moving on with strength. And as my favourite group BTS puts it – I’m sure you know them – just live life how you want, your life is yours; don’t try so hard, it’s alright to lose.”

There was a long silence as she ended her speech. Even though she could not see him, she could feel that Min was startled at her sudden outburst. And so was she. She had no idea what just got into her, she just knew she had to somehow prove herself.

Her thoughts were disrupted as Min suddenly broke into laughter. “Interesting. Well I apologize for taking up your time. Have a lovely evening, Yoon Mi-ssi.”

He hung up the phone, leaving a stunned Yoon Mi at the other side of the line.

 

 

 

The next few days passed by uneventfully, except that Yoon Mi was constantly feeling frustrated. She didn’t really want to admit it, but that night’s conversation with Min had been occupying her mind and whenever she thought about it, a strange bubble of annoyance and infuriation would pop up. She didn’t like being taken lightly of, and she especially didn’t like it that his response to her comment about him was contained to a single “interesting”.

A week came and left. Min did not call back. Not like she was expecting him to, and she certainly did not wish to interact with him again. That’s what she told herself.

But things always happen when you least expect them.

One week later.

Same time. Same place. Same thing. Until –

“Yah Yoon Mi! Some guy here is specifically looking for you.” Her colleague Su Kyung was suddenly nudging her with the telephone, asking her to take over the call. It wasn’t very surprising to her. Some customers preferred to talk to the same counsellor whenever they called. It made them feel more comfortable.

“Good evening. You’re calling XXX Support Line. My name is Yoon Mi. How may I help you?”

“You sound formal again, Yoon Mi-ssi. Where did all that sass go?”

“Min-ssi?!” The familiar voice made her exclaim so loudly that Su Kyung immediately gave her a suspicious glance. She quickly turned her back away, trying to calm herself down. Here he was, Min the idol, calling back without any warning. What a pleasant surprise.

“Mhm.” He replied back. His voice sounded blurry.

“Why are you calling back? You need me to analyse your feelings again?” She answered, a hint of annoyance laced her voice.

“I’m sorry.”

“For… for what?” His sudden apology did not go quite well with her expectations.

“Well… I drank quite a lot that day… And I was rude. So… yeah… sorry.” His voice slurred.

“Well, it’s okay I guess. You actually sound more drunk, are you alright?” She wasn’t very sure what’s going on, but she felt slightly uncomfortable.

“Mhm.”

There was a long silence. Neither quite knew what to say.

Then he broke the silence. “Can I call you again?”

 

 

 

Nothing much really changed after that. Life went on as usual. Yoon Mi went to work every evening just like before.

Except now she had a regular caller.

She didn’t exactly say yes to Min the other day, but when he called back again the next evening, this time not sounding drunk, they talked. And they talked every night. Every night he’d tell her about his day – about how he was very pleased with his newest composition, about how he was very annoyed with the maknae line for disturbing his sleep, about how his whole body sored so much from learning their newest choreography.

And so Yoon Mi found herself energetically going to work with increasing days. She was somehow looking forward to each call with Min. Every night she’d sit in the same office chair, and when the phone rang around the same time he’d call, she was the first one to pick up the phone. She couldn’t wait to hear how his day went.

I’m just being nice. I’m a good counsellor. I just want to be helpful. She told herself repeatedly.

But their conversations got longer and longer each time. Minutes turned to hours, and she had to point out to him that nobody else could call in if they spoke to each other for so long every night. Besides, did their conversations actually count as counselling sessions?

“Just give me your number then.” That was his simple solution.

So he starting calling her on her personal number. His and her call logs were just filled with each other’s names. And they texted each other all the time. Even though he was often busy from his hectic schedule as an idol, he’d make sure to send her a text every night.

She began to get used to it. That one night when he didn’t contact her, without a single call or text, she was worried sick. She called and messaged him, but all she got was the voicemail message. The following night when he called back, she practically shouted at him, “What the hell Min? Where did you go? Why didn’t you answer any of my calls or message?”

He only laughed back at her. “Aww are you actually worried?”

“I’m hanging up now.”

“I’m sorry. Don’t get mad, Yoon Mi-ah. I left my phone in the dorm the day we left for Japan. I could only get it back today.” He chuckled lightly as he answered.

“Well, okay. That’s good. I just thought you know… you could have been abducted or something. There’re so many saessang fans out there, anything could happen right?”

“That’s true. But don’t worry. I’m not that popular. I doubt any saessang fans are gonna abduct me.”

“Exactly. You’re not even BTS! Those guys are like the most talented people, and funniest, and sweetest people in the whole wide world.”

He laughed at her fan girl moment. “Hmmm… what if I tell you I’m a BTS member?”

Yoon Mi was stunned. “No way…”

“I’m just joking Yoon Mi. You won’t find out who am I. It’s late now, go to sleep.”

“You’re so bossy.”

“You know I’m right. Sleep now.”

Yoon Mi hung up the phone, tucked herself into her bed, and went to sleep with a smile on her face.

 

 

 

It was another day on the phone with Min. She had her phone on speaker mode as she lied on her bed, making circling motions on her temples with her knuckles. Her head felt heavy today. Urgh, stupid hangover.

“Yo, Yoon Mi! Are you listening to me?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ve heard you. You were saying how one of the members had accidentally dropped your toothbrush into the toilet bowl right? Hahaha that was really funny. You must be so mad!”

“Yeah yeah, never mind about him. Are you okay? You seem a bit… tired.”

“Of course! Well, except from receiving calls from you every night, everything is as perfect as it is.” She . It was something she was beginning to grow fond of.

“You know that won’t work. I bet you miss me every night. Remember that night when I didn’t call? You howled at me so loudly that I thought I was going deaf.” He was laughing at the other side of the line now.

Yoon Mi’s face flushed with embarrassment at that memory. She most certainly did not miss him at all. “Hah! Missing you? Over my dead body, Min!”

“Lying doesn’t suit you, Yoon Mi.” She could almost imagine him, even though she had no idea who he was, smirking at the other end of the line. “So, anything interesting happened today?”

Yoon Mi smiled at his question. It was Min’s thing, asking her how her day went every time they talked. He reasoned that it was a fair exchange – he’d tell her about his stuffs, and she’d have do the same in return.

“You’re one weird individual, Min. I’m the counsellor here, and the last time I check, the counsellor is supposed to listen to people in need, not the other way round! Besides, who’s got a story to tell every day?” She argued back. It felt strange at first, revealing things about herself to someone she didn’t even actually know. But deep inside her heart, she knew Min was a good listener. In some ways, she somehow trusted him too.  

“Doesn’t matter. Just tell me anything.”

“If you must know, I’m currently cursing at my stupid hangover.”

“Hangover? You okay? What happened?”

“Well, I went out with my best friend last night, remember the guy I told you about last time? The one whose girlfriend cheated on him. Turns out that they got back together again, and he wanted to buy her a present to, I don’t know, celebrate their reconciliation? Anyway, his girlfriend is about the same size as me, so I helped him try on some dresses and shoes.”

“Wait, you went out shopping with him just so he could get you to try on things for his girlfriend?” Min asked in disbelief.

“Well, yeah. It happens all the time, people asking me for all sorts of help. I’m used to it. Now where was I again? So yeah, before we could even decide on something, that mean girlfriend of his called and asked to breakup up with him. She’s so evil, I swear, if I meet her one day I’m definitely going to fight her. Anyway, that left my best friend in a pretty bad shape. He was absolutely devastated and he just kept crying. So we went to the club because he just wanted to drink and dance to forget his pain. That night was the worst. He was so drunk, I don’t even know where I found the strength to bring him home, and – ”

“You went to the club with him? And he was drunk? Did he do anything to you?” Min suddenly interrupted her, his voice laced with urgency and panic.

“Of course not. He was so drunk he couldn’t even walk by himself. Some guy who stank so much of cigarette smoke tried to my though, thank goodness I was quick enough to – ”

“ing hell!” Min interrupted again, this time sounding so mad that it gave Yoon Mi a huge fright.

“Calm down Min. Nothing serious happened okay? I slapped him hard on the face and he literally scrambled on his feet running away from me.” Her voice was soft, almost turning into a whisper.

A long, almost painful silence answered her back.

“I can take care of myself, alright? Don’t worry.” Yoon Mi bit her lips, feeling worried.

“You’re asking me not to worry? What an friend of yours! Using you all the time and even put you in such dangerous situations! God knows what else could have happened!”

“But – ”

“I’m tired Yoon Mi. I’ll talk to you soon. Good night.” He hung up on her.

 

 

 

Yoon Mi didn’t know when or why the stranger idol who called her every day started taking an important place in her heart. Perhaps it was the day of his sudden outburst at her encounter in the club. She was angry at him for hanging up on her so suddenly, and when he called the next day to apologize, she found herself feeling warm in the heart, knowing that he had actually meant well and was just worried about her.

Or perhaps it was because he made her feel special. She could tell he was introverted, and to know that he’d open his heart up to her so much, it made her feel different from everyone else. One night he actually confessed to her that her long speech she made during their first call was true on every word. He had felt the same exactly as she’d described, he said. And the next few nights were spent on her teasing him on how right she was.

“Urgh. Why did I even admit to that?”

“Because you know I’m smart.” She pumped her fist into the air, as though Min could actually see it.

“Ah… How I wish you can be smart like that all the time.”

She could only huffed back in annoyance. He enjoyed seeing her get mad at his teasing, and he loved it when she’d argue back with him. Putting aside her occasional frustration towards him, she was however grateful to have him as a friend. He was unlike anyone else around her, whom often only seek her when they were in need. He was genuinely interested in getting to know her, and he listened to her stories every time with full attention.

“Yoon Mi-yah, call me oppa.” He randomly said one night.

“No way.”

“Why not? I’m older than you. Call me oppa.”

“Nope. No proof at all. I don’t even know exactly who you are. Because a certain someone wouldn’t tell me.”

“Who is the one saying she is a professional counsellor?” He shot back.

“Yep. I’m professional. So I won’t call you oppa, because I’m not supposed to know who you are, right?” She argued back.

“What if I tell you?”

She fell silent for a moment. To say she didn’t want to know would be a lie. It was true that she was curious since the first day they had talked. She wondered who he was, who was this special celebrity that had been talking to her every night.

But did she really want to know? A few times when he told her about his day, or when he spoke about s, he nearly revealed himself. She knew that if she paid close attention and did some digging around, she could definitely find out who he was.

But she found herself not really caring as time passed. She’d blocked these little hints that she had picked up, trying to prevent herself from guessing who her friend was.

Everything would change once I know. Would he still want to talk to me after I know who he is?

“Don’t tell me if you aren’t Suga from BTS.” She decided this was the best answer.

“Sorry to disappoint, Yoon Mi. What do you like about him anyway?”

“Well, for one, he’s hardworking and talented. His music and lyrics are so on point. And he’s nice, do you know he makes personalized gifts for his fans on his birthday? How sweet is that!”

“Ah… charming guy indeed.”

“Yep. I wish I can meet him one day.”

“I guess I’m not important enough huh.” She could hear disappointment in his voice.

“Are you jealous?” She laughed.

“Maybe.”

“Oh.” She could hear her thumping loudly against her chest and her face was suddenly blushing furiously.  

“Yoon Mi-yah.”

“Hmm?”

“Happy birthday.”

She glanced at the calendar. She had forgotten it was her birthday.

But he did not. He remembered.

“Thank you, Min.” She whispered, a surge of warmth gushing over her.

“Check your email. Gotta go now. Good night.” And he ended the call.

Curious, she quickly grabbed her laptop and opened her inbox. How did he even get her email address, she wasn’t sure. But when she saw a new email titled “happy birthday”, she smiled to herself. I can’t believe he actually remembered my birthday.  

The contents of the email gave her a greater surprise.

It was a special ticket to BTS fan signing event next Saturday.

 

 

 

Yoon Mi stood in line with BTS’s newest album Young Forever clutched to her chest. Excitement was bubbling inside her and she simply couldn’t wait to meet her favourite idols. She could already see the maknae line, and they were simply adorable playing with each other.

Then she saw Suga. The rapper was doing aegyo in front of an ARMY and she couldn’t help laughing at him. Aegyo was totally not his thing, but him doing it make it extra cuter. She felt her heart swell with happiness. She was finally going to meet him!

After having her album signed by all the other members, she was finally in front of suga. She handed her album to him and he gave her the most charming smile ever.

“Suga-ssi! I… um… really really like you!” She was suddenly at a loss of words in front of her favourite idol. Don’t be an idiot Yoon Mi! Don’t waste this precious chance!

Before she could rephrase herself, Min Yoon Gi was laughing at her. “I know, Yoon Mi.”

Her jaws dropped. Realization hit her.

Suga. Min Yoon Gi.

He’s Min. The Min that called her every day.

Oh my god.

She finally realized it was him.

All of a sudden, she remembered herself quoting BTS’s song when she first talked to Min. She remembered herself fangirl-ing over BTS to Min.

And here he is, standing right in front of me. Min is Min Yoon Gi, oh my gosh.

And before she knew it, her album was tucked back into her hands and she was lightly pushed forward by the security guard in order for the queue to move.

She opened her album in a daze.

There was a special VIP backstage pass.

And a message scribbled on top.

Dear Yoon Mi my biggest fan,

I knew you were in love with me.

Meet me later.

Signed,
Min.