Looking around, all you could see was a sea of heads, jittering as they too waited to meet her. Clenching your fists, you tried your best to contain your nerves. 

You were about to meet her, Kwon Eunbi. 

This time, however, you wouldn’t be seeing her on a screen or a piece of paper. You would be seeing her in real life. And to be frank, that thought scared you. You had never been to a hi touch event, but from what you’d heard, it’s VERY brief. Quite literally, ‘touch and go’.

But it’d be enough. 

Seeing her is always enough. In real life? well, that’s even more than you could ever ask for. 

As the line started moving at a faster pace and you could see her booth up ahead, you held your hand to your heart. Months ago, you had scrambled to buy as many copies of IZ*ONE’s new album as you could and now, you were actually about to meet her. 

It was a cold day so you quickly stuffed your hands back into your coat pockets and warmed them up with heat packs. After all, even if you were only getting a quick high five, you couldn’t high five her with cold hands. 

Seeing the booth right in front of you, you prepared yourself, going over the message you had planned in your head.

Walking into the booth, your heart beat a million miles an hour as you were merely metres away from her. Looking down at the bright nametag you had made prior, you prayed that somehow it would be enough to make you stand out from the rest.

The line continued to move swiftly and suddenly there were only 3 people left in front of you now. After a short message, it somehow became 2. And the next thing you knew, it became 1. You could hear your heart thumping in your ears as the person in front of you finished.

It was your turn now. 

Stepping up nervously, you couldn’t even bring yourself to look her in the eye, but saw her right hand held out waiting for the high five and immediately, but softly, high fived her back.

Caught up in the moment, you couldn’t help but interlock your hands and hold her’s for a little longer as you squeezed your eyes shut and blurted, “EUNBI UNNIE/NOONA SARANGHAE!” 

Surprised by your cute confession, you heard her laugh amusedly as her soft hand tightened the grip. “Nado saranghae!,” she replied cutely. 

As you slowly opened your eyes, you saw her bright smile as she looked straight at you, like you were the only one around. You knew she was beautiful, but she was even more beautiful in real life. 

Feeling a security guard nudge you, you started panicking, not ready to let go and move. Mind racing, you frantically wished, “Himnaeseyo!“ while still holding on tightly to her hand.

Looking at her one last time, you saw her bright smile as she waved and said, “Annyeong Y/N!”

As you were pushed away, you tried your best to keep holding onto her hand, but could feel both of your grips loosening as her fingers slowly slipped away from yours and the next thing you knew, she had to move on to the next person.

Forced to turn forward as you walked out her booth, you stared at your right hand as a wide grin formed on your face. “She noticed me,” you told yourself. 

Looking back at her booth once again, you knew that all that time and money, spent trying to secure a slot, was worth it.