It’s Saturday afternoon, and the remains of autumn are still visible all over this university. I lightly run towards the clubs’ building on the west side of this school, and get intrigued when I see a few unfamiliar people coming in and out from the band club room. I see my classmate Jinseok quietly standing near the door, overseeing what’s inside.

I get closer, and see the room is being prepared with a complete band setup. There are four people, dressed a bit too fancily with colorful, heavily patched jerseys and hairstyles with tones as funky as their clothes. They’re each in charge of one instrument, but the vocalist position is empty.

“Hey. Who are they?” I slide to Jinseok’s side and watch the people inside getting ready.

“An idol group. They’re shooting their music video here.”

I furrow my brows. “Here? Our school?”

“I know right.” Jinseok chuckles.

Here, in our very ordinary suburban campus? I look around. This seems kind of empty for a music video shooting, until I notice something. “Where are the cameras?”

Jinseok points to the direction of two people who are setting a phone on a tripod. I throw him a silent shocked look, and he shrugs.

“They must be super broke.” he whispers. “And not to be rude, but these guys don’t look like idols.”

“And you’re here to…?”

Jinseok folds his hands on his chest. “Not sure, actually. The school just asked me to monitor, since I’m a member of the band club. And you?”

“Ah, Buyong sunbae asked me to fetch something from the storage room.”

“Well then. Be careful. You know, the door.”

I tap his forearm lightly. “I know it too well. I’ll get going.”

The clubs’ storage room has been a legend among the students because it can’t be opened from the inside, and to avoid getting trapped we need to either bring an extra person or put a brick on the gap between the panel and the frame on the floor. The school apparently prefers those two alternatives instead of actually fixing the door. We sent a complaint three months ago when it got broken though.

The room is located on the second floor of the building, at the very end of the corridor. The door is currently closed. As someone who regularly goes to this room, I’m a pro on putting the brick on the gap. After opening the door and getting inside, I notice that the light is already on as my eyes stay on the floor, trying to locate the brick inside and prepare to hold the door.

“Excuse me -”

I lift my head and let out a loud gasp when I see someone on the corner of the room near the shelves. The guy is wearing black, long-sleeved knit sweater and long pants with the same dark color. His eyes are smeared with thick eyeliner, and his slick moussed hair glistens under the light. My God, is he a ghost?

The door knob slips from my hand and the door closes shut. “Oh no!” my mouth opens looking at it, and the guy’s shoulders drop. I spend a few seconds trying to figure out who or what he is in my head until finally I get some strength to talk. “Who are you?”

He blinks once, and gives me a light bow. “Hello. I’m a member of idol group Idyllic -  “

I didn’t catch his name, and focused on the former part. “Sorry? Member of what?”

“Idyllic. We’re currently shooting our music video here.”

I tilt my head. “The ones who are in the band club room?”

“Yes.”

“But - “ I scan his all black look. “The group downstairs? Really?”

“That…” he looks away. “It’s the concept. I can’t tell you.”

“Uh…” I close my mouth. “How long have you been here? What are you doing here?”

“Um, I was just resting then realized I can’t open the door. It’s not been that long. I tried shouting but no one came.”

I scan him a bit, and deduce that he’s empty-handed. I take out my phone and try calling Jinseok, to no avail. This room has no windows and there’s only a strip of ventilation above the door. “Hello?!” I resort to shouting through the gap. I loudly exhale, and lean to the wall. “I’ll try calling again. And hope someone notices we’re missing.”

The guy fidgets on his spot, and I glance at him. “So… I don’t really follow idols. Is this for your comeback?”

“No, this is our debut MV.”

“Oh, wow. Congratulations.”

The sides of his mouth go up for a second, then back to his flat face. “Thank you.”

That’s it? I met rookie idols in Hongdae and they were so excited to promote their group and ask for support. I think this one’s too disinterested and gloomy to be one. Does he have star syndrome already?

“Idols dance, right? Are you going to shoot a dance scene here too?” I ask.

“That… I also can’t tell you.”

I look away. “Alright.” I try calling Jinseok again, but still no answer. After one more shouting attempt, I massage my temple and look at the guy. He’s just standing still, and I start to think he actually doesn’t want to get out of here.

Beneath that hideous styling, I can tell that he’s a handsome man. He has big and clear eyes, plump lips, and good skin. He’s not that tall, but still taller than me. Judging from his deep and rough voice, he seems weary. I reach for my pocket, and take out a small pack of candy I bought on the way here. “This isn’t much, but here.”

The guy looks puzzled as he sees the candy, then moves his sight to see me. His eyes are peculiar - they make him look like a curious little kid. Or probably he’s actually younger than I think. I walk closer to give him the candy, and he slowly accepts it. “Have some strength.” I say.

“Thank you.” he holds onto the candy and smiles. “What’s your name?”

“Me? Min Anna.” I answer. “And yours? Sorry I didn’t catch it earlier - “

The sound of people and footsteps getting closer startles us both, and I run to the door. “Here! We’re inside!”

The door is opened with an unnecessarily strong bang, and I’m almost hit by the panel. Behind it is a middle aged man with a furious expression. Is it the group’s manager? Jinseok is behind him. The man looks at me sharply, then finds the idol inside.

“HEY! What are you doing here?!  Are you ditching the shooting to meet your girlfriend?!”

My eyes widen. Jinseok looks alarmed after the manager yells, and he takes a step closer to me. “This is my friend, she’s a student here.”

The all-black guy quietly walks outside. The manager glares at me and Jinseok, then starts walking away. The guy bows to us, and catches up with the manager.

“I called you!” I whine to Jinseok, and he laughs as he takes my shoulder.

“Sorry, my phone is charging. Is that a member of the group? Why is he dressed like that?”

“Yeah. You haven’t seen him before downstairs?”

“Nope. So what did you do inside with him?”

I look at the guy’s scrunched back as he walks slowly behind the manager, looking defeated. He suddenly looks back, and our eyes meet. “Nothing, of course.” I say after a one-second pause.

*

During the bus ride home, I searched up the group’s name, and almost nothing popped out. I found it hard to type it in Korean at first until I succeeded in finding the English spelling - Idyllic.

There’s only one article, from a small news site. Idyllic is a five-member group set to debut next month, from a new agency. The article features a photo of the members with casual clothes, and I instantly recognize the one I met earlier. He’s in the center of the group, and his look with minimal makeup is so much better than whatever I witnessed before. Even in this photo, he looks like he has no energy.

 The caption of the photo indicates his name as Soo, the main vocalist. “Soo.” I slowly say the name. “Good luck.”

*

It’s the first day of spring semester, and my friend Yebin comes running to me with an important question as soon as I enter the gate. “Hey, do you know that an idol goes to our school? Do you remember the group who shot the music video here?”

“Um… Yeah?”

“No longer an idol, actually, the group disbanded. Anyway, it’s the main vocalist. He’s the same age as us, but he becomes our junior. He knows you! And he looked for you during orientation.”

“Me?” after racking my brain, my mind goes to the all-black guy. Is it him? But how can he remember me? It’s been months.

Yebin continues to fawn over him as we reach the common space near the class buildings, and I see a group of students surrounding someone who’s sitting on a bench. They look like they’re having a good time, laughing and talking. Yebin realizes who the center of attention is, and pulls my arm to get closer to the commotion. “Hey - “

“Here! It’s Min Anna!”

As we get closer, I catch a look at the person sitting on the bench, and strangely I instantly realize who it is by his clear, big eyes. It’s - if I remember it right - Soo.

There’s no trace of the dark concept I saw last year, instead now he’s wearing a comfortable white hoodie, jeans, sporting shorter hair and no makeup at all. He stands up, and flashes a bright smile. 

“Hello, Min Anna."