After the dance showcase, Jimin got changed into a white sweater exposing her left shoulder, black shorts, and knee-high boots. She was now leaning against the wall outside the gymnasium, waiting for Yizhuo. The choir's performance showcase has just come to an end.  She hears rushed footsteps approaching, and when she looks up, she sees her best friend who has already changed into her casual clothes as well.

"Jimin unnie!"

"Hi Yizhuo." She gives the girl a hug. "How was your performance?"

"It was cool. I missed performing on stage like when we were in our previous school."

"I'm glad you enjoyed." 

"I did, but enough about me. How was your showcase?" Yizhuo smiled as the two of them descended the stairs.

"It was great." Her mind went back to the moment when Minjeong looked up and met her eyes on stage.

"Looks like you really had a good time. You're smiling from ear to ear." Jimin stiffened when she realized that Yizhuo has just caught her smiling on her own.

"I'm just excited for the upcoming stages later on, that's all."

"Oh yeah! I didn't actually get to ask Aeri unnie what kind of stages we'd be watching. They turned around the corner, making their way towards the field, where they were supposed to meet Aeri and Minjeong. As they approached, they noticed that the field was beginning to get crowded with people. Lights were set up strategically all around, and booths were lined up by the edges, surrounding the entire mass of land. The stage had a huge backdrop with 'SM University Festival' in big fonts.  

"Jimin!, Yizhuo!" Aeri and Minjeong were approaching the duo from the right side of the field. Yizhuo was ecstatically waving back at them, but the tall girl beside her could only smile, eyes glancing at Aeri for a brief second, before automatically fixing on the blonde. Minjeong was now out of her all-black outfit from earlier, and was now wearing a black turtle neck topped with a black leather jacket, a pair of jeans, and a pair of black boots. Jimin trailed her eyes back up, and noticed that Minjeong was staring back at her. She immediately looked away, suddenly finding the green grass on the field more interesting.

Yizhuo hugs Aeri as soon as she came in arms- length distance, with the latter hugging her back just as much.

"Aeri unnie, I missed you so much!"

"You keep on saying that, but you never visited me!"

"I'm sorry! I was about to one time but I crossed paths with the choir president so she dragged me along to practice with her."

Jimin stood there awkwardly as two of her friends bickered. She was contemplating whether to say hi to the other idle girl or not, but just as she decided not to say anything, Minjeong spoke up.

"Hey Jimin." 

"Hi Minjeong."

"You were amazing earlier. Just thought I'd say it again."

"Thanks." Jimin bit her lip, keeping her answer as short as that, although she did return Minjeong's megawatt smile with her own shy one. After what felt like forever, Yizhuo and Aeri finally broke off from their hug. The student council secretary looked at her watch after breaking the hug. 5:02 pm. 

"The show won't start for another 30 minutes, so I suggest we eat first. We're gonna be needing a lot of energy later."

"Why is that?"

"Well, let's just say things are about to get reaaally loud." She smiled as they headed towards the isle of booths and stalls lined up at one of the edges of the field. 

Jimin and Minjeong ended up buying hotdogs and smoothies, while Yizhuo and Aeri decided to take a look at what the other food stalls had to offer. The two of them squatted on the field, setting their smoothies down. 

"Oh gosh, I'm starving." Minjeong took a huge bite, about one-third of her hotdog already gone. The blonde looked up, noticing that Jimin was just staring at her. "Are you okay, Jimin? You've barely taken a bite. Are you not hungry?"

Oh Jimin was hungry, alright. She hasn't eaten anything since lunch, and the dance showcase drained all the energy out of her. But there was something else that was bothering Jimin, more than the rumbling of her tummy, and the soreness of her arms and legs. It's been bothering her eversince Yeji went up to talk to her after their dance showcase.

"Do you not like hotdogs? What do you want? I'll buy it for y--"

"Minjeong, can I ask you something?" Jimin cut her off, before she was able to get up from the ground.

"What is it?" The blonde looked at her in curiosity.

"Did you ditch the kendo tournament championship to watch my dance showcase?" Jimin looked at her straight in the eyes, causing Minjeong to lean back a bit.

"H-how did you--"

"Yeji came by after the showcase and she was looking for you. She said  you had a kendo tournament at three pm. That's the same time as the dance showcase."

'" I uh...." Minjeong looked down and sighed. "Yes."

Jimin raised her eyebrows, even though she had a hunch the blonde really did anyway. She was actually hoping to hear that it wasn't the case.

"But why? Yeji said it was important to you. She said you trained so hard for that tournament. Why didn't you just decline when I gave you the ticket and offered you to come watch the showcase?"

"It's simple." The blonde looked back up at her. "Because I wanted to watch you."

Jimin blinked, finding it kinda confusing that Minjeong was answering her like what she had just explained wasn't important to her. Her eyes fixed on her melting smoothie and sweating smoothie cup, following a water droplet til it reached the grass.

"But you had a championship..."

"So what?" The taller girl furrowed her brows, frustated at Minjeong's nonchalant attitude.

"Minjeong..."

"Jimin." 

She stiffened. It was the type of voice Minjeong would use whwnever her vice president mode was on. It caused her to look back up, expecting a stern- looking Minjeong, but was surprised to see that she was wearing a soft-gaze. 

"Jimin..." She repeated, softer this time. "I told you I would be there, right?" 

"Yeah, but--"

Minjeong suddenly placed her hand over hers, effectively wiping her mind blank.

"Look, I'm gonna be honest. Was I sad that I missed the kendo championship? Yes.'But would I have been sad if I missed your dance performance? No." Jimin felt her heart sink, and was about to open . "--because I would've been devastated."

Minjeong brought Jimin's left hand holding the hotdog she bought up to her lips, unconsciously making her open to take it. 

"So if I were you, I'd stop feeling guilty about it, because I really meant it when I said I wouldn't miss your version of Karina's hairflips for the world." Jimin took a bite and started to chew absentmindedly. They could both hear Yizhuo and Aeri's footsteps approaching.  "I'd always choose you over anything else, Jimin." As soon as Minjeong finished her statement, she winked, causing Jimin to suddenly choke on the hotdog making its way down .

"Finally! The line for the popcorn stand took forever to disappear!" Yizhuo stated as she immediately squated next to Jimin. Aeri did the same beside Minjeong. "Jimin unnie, I know you're hungry but damn, slow down." Yizhuo rubbed her back as Aeri and Minjeong just laughed it off in front of them. 

-

The four of them went towards the center of the field when the sky dimmed, and the lights surrounding them went on.

"Looks like the show is about to start." Aeri stated while craning her neck. And just like on cue, a figure was seen making its way up the stage with a microphone in hand.

"Hey guys, how's it going? Are you ready for tonight's performances?" The lady emcee asked through the microphone. The crowd roared in excitement as a response.
"You better be, 'cause first in the line-up tonight is SMU's very own alumnus, bringing his newly-debuted group together with him to perform for tonight."

Whispers started going around, and the emcee had to giggle at everyone's confused expressions. "Yep, you guys are right. I'm talking about no other than Mark Lee."

"Oh my Gosh??" Aeri gasped.

"Did she just say Mark Lee??" Ningning asked, open in shock.

"I'm pretty sure she did. That means the group that will be the opening act is--"

"Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for NCT 127!"

The crowd squealed in excitement as the members went up the stage to take their initial positions. As soon as the music started kicking in, everyone suddenly began pushing forward. Jimin could feel people bumping against her shoulders, and she did her best not to lose her balance. But just as she found her footing, someone rushed past between her and Yizhuo, untangling their linked arms, dragging her along with the rushing crowd.

"Unnie!"

"Yizhuo!"

She felt herself being moved away even further along with the crowd as they began scrambling to get as close as they could towards the stage. A quick scan around her, and Jimin could no longer see any of her friends. She did her best to push back towards the opposite direction, but it was no use. Jimin felt like she was an empty-fueled car driving in the opposite side of the road. People were pressing up against her, making it incredibly hard to breathe, or even move. She began to panic in the sea of hot, sweaty, and noisy people.

"Jimin!" The tall girl looked back, trying to see where the voice came from. 

"Jimin, over here!" A hand was raised in the air, and a wave of relief washed over her when she saw a familiar face in the crowd. 

"Minjeong!" Jimin pushed back, but again found it useless. She then saw the blonde extend her arm towards her, and Jimin immediately took it once she was able to wiggle her arm free. Fearing they would be separated again, Minjeong pulled herself towards where Jimin was. She wrapped her arm around Jimin's shoulders in a defensive stance, and together, she pushed themselves away from the crowd until they reached an area where they could once more move and breathe freely.

"Are you okay, Jimin?"

"Yes, That was just... wow." Jimin said as she caught her breath. "Thanks."

"You got us all worried when you got dragged into the crowd like that."

"That was crazy, yeah."

"Do you need some water?"

"I'm fine, thank you. I just need some fresh air."

The crowd screamed louder when when the song reached the chorus, and Jimin couldn't help but glance.

"Do you know the group?"

"Yeah, they're NCT 127. They're a newly-debuted group, but they quickly gained lots of fans most especially SMU students because one of the their members, Mark Lee, once studied here. I had no idea that they were the opening act though, it was always a surprise every year. If only I knew they would be inviting such a popular group, I would have taken better precautions and you wouldn't have been dragged into that crowd." Minjeong looked down, obviously disappointed in herself.

"Minjeong... It's not your fault, okay? Like you said, you couldn't have known. I'm okay. You did a great job. See? every single person in the crowd is literally having a blast!"

Jimin's eyes trailed over the crowd several feet away from them, then she blinked, realizing something.

"Wait. Where's Yizhuo and Aeri?"

Minjeong looked around, until she has completed a 360 spin. "Oh . I thought they were right behind me."
She immediately pulled her phone out, checking her messages to see if Aeri at least sent her something.

"No message from Aeri."

Jimin whipped her phone out too.

"None from Yizhuo as well." She ran her fingers through her hair, typing 'Yizhuo, where are you? Are you okay? Please text me back as soon as you can.'

"Hey Jimin.." Minjeong placed her hand on her shoulder. "Yizhuo will be okay. I'm sure Aeri and Yizhuo are together in the crowd right now."

"I just can't help but worry."

"I know. But we can't look for them right now in a crowd like this." Minjeong gestures towards the mass of people going crazy when one of the members, which Jimin assumed was the Mark Lee, walked closer towards the edge of the stage, posing for the phones and cameras held by the people in front.

"You're right." Jimin says with a sigh. 

"I've got a proposal." Minjeong smiled playfully.

"What's that?"

"Since I'm pretty sure you aren't as into this boy group like I am, how about we ditch the first act and take this time to roam around and take a look at the stalls and booths instead? NCT 127 will take around twenty minutes anyway, so we've got plenty of time. What do you say?" Minjeong brought her hand out in front of her, silently asking for Jimin to take it.

The taller girl looked at the boy group performing on stage. It was true, she hasn't heard of the group before, or maybe she did-- from Yizhuo,  but she wasn't so sure. Giving up watching the first twenty-minute opening performance to spend time alone with Minjeong? Jimin thought she'd be a fool to ever refuse such offer. She carefully places her hand on top of Minjeong's waiting one, and the blonde's thumb brushes over the back of her hand so tenderly, making Jimin's insides do a mini-somersault.

"Sounds perfect."

-

Minjeong led Jimin towards the left side of the field, where the stalls were located. Since most of the students were glued to the night's opening act, they were able to try almost every stall there was, including the photo booth and the shooting booth, and even bought some snacks in some stalls while they roamed around. They were laughing as they walked away from another booth, finding it funny that the man was trying to look for his glasses, but didn't realize that he was wearing it all along.

"That was fun."

"Yeah, definitely." Jimin replied as she wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes.

"This is our last song for tonight, hope you guys enjoy. This is Kick It." They heard the leader's voice through the speakers, which was then followed by another wave of screams from the crowd. 

"Shall we head back?" Minjeong stated, her eyes still on the group currently performing on stage. She has barely taken a couple of steps back, when the other girl suddenly grabbed her wrist. 

"Wait!"

Minjeong turned her head back, curious. 

"We haven't checked that booth out yet." Jimin pointed at the small booth at the end of the isle, barely even noticeable if one wouldn't look hard enough. Minjeong allowed herself to be pulled towards it, stopping just outside the small booth, wrapped in nothing but black cloth.

"Fortune teller booth." Jimin muttered as she read the sign above the entrance. Minjeong squinted at it.

"I don't remember the student council approving a booth like this."

"Maybe it's one of the surprise ones? Just like NCT 127?"

"Hmm.. maybe, but I dunno."

"Do you wanna try it out?" Jimin turned towards her.

Minjeong shrugged, looking back at her. "We've got nothing to lose, so why not?"

Together, they entered the small and dark booth. Minjeong drew the black curtains aside to reveal a woman wearing a maroon cloak with a black mask covering half her face seated across the table. Jimin and Minjeong sat down on the long chair right across the woman.

Jimin has heard a l