“You guys are mean.”

Silence.

I huffed as I grudgingly admired how they decided to ignore than talk to me. If they decided to talk to me, we would have childish argument after childish argument, there’s no doubt about that.

Only a few boys came, since it practically needed either two vans or a bus to bring them to get me.

I was squashed in between Doyoon ad Seungcheol, my arms locked on my sides tightly so I won’t use it to strangle them.

“Yah, I was just going to walk around a few times! I already promised I’ll teach you guys anyway,” I grumbled the last sentence, almost everyone chuckling in the van.

“Yeah, but we already know how forgetful you are, so no chances there Aiden,” Jerry stated firmly as I stuck my tongue out at the rearview mirror, Jerry’s annoyed expression reflecting from it.

“Ah, it would be boring anyway. You guys are my only friends.” I grinned as I tried to wrap my two arms around Seungcheol and Doyoon, but they probably knew my plan and squeezed me even tighter.

“What only friends? Girls have cliques right?” Mingyu asked me as I shrugged (which was quite hard, in my situation).

“Boys have cliques too. And besides, it’s one of Adam’s rules.”

”Whoa, ,”

“Yep, it does,” I responded to Ming Ming quite sadly. I didn’t like to talk about it. It just brought back the memories when my mom was still with us and she encouraged me to make friends.

“Oh, we’re here,” Mingyu commented as everyone looked out the window.

“Oh, we’re here alright. And dead.” I heard Doyoon gulp as my eyes widened. In front of Pledis Entertainment, was a hoard of hundreds of fangirls. I immediately got out my phone and checked one of the most popular K-Pop news site. I scrolled through it and saw that NU’EST was followed by a group of fangirls and sasaeng fans (which means crazy and lunatic fans).

“Oh gosh, this is not good. Is there a back entrance?” I exclaimed as Jerry shook his head.

“The back entrance is always closed. Only a few people have the key. And judging by the amount of time before those girls notice our van, we can’t go key hunting.”

”Wait. Remember Aiden got in through LITE?! Oh, there’s a bridge! Right over there! Let’s just use LITE to get into Pledis!” Ming Ming, probably the smartest one out of everyone here, shouted as Mingyu made a move to open the door.

We all piled out quietly, using the van to cover us for a few moments. We already told the driver to drive off when we shout the signal.

“Okay, stealthily and quickly. NOW!”

“AH!” We yelled as we ran towards LITE’s only entrance. Immediately, the fangirls noticed the Seventeen boys and went to meet us in LITE’s entrance. It was a war between who gets there first.

“WHAT PART OF ‘STEALTHILY’ DID YOU NOT GET?!” I demanded from Seungcheol who just kept on screaming his head off.

“For the record, we could’ve just used the van to cover us until we were in the entrance!” Ming Ming announced as we all groaned in unison.

“Thanks for the advice, dongsaeng!” Doyoon commented sarcastically as we neared the entrance. They were closing in too fast, and the only way was to jump in.

“Everyone! Follow my lead!” I ran a bit faster than Seventeen, reaching the entrance as the automatic doors opened, me soaring inside and rolling on the floor with the Seventeen boys doing the same. I quickly got up and punched in a security code so the doors won’t open.

We panted as we looked at the fangirls pounding the glass windows and doors. Honestly, I felt sorry for the glass windows and doors.

“Those – girls – are – too – crazy,” Jerry panted as he stood up, his legs wobbling a little bit. I laughed breathlessly, leaning on the wall.

“Welcome to stardom life. Come on, this way.” I led them through the designers and employees in LITE. No one questioned why I had Seventeen with me, and they just did their morning routine. Bow to me as I incline my head. I wanted to bow to every single one of them, but then I would have back pain from always bending.

“Wah, so this is where you work?” Doyoon asked me surprisingly as I shook my head, leading them towards the elevator.

“Nope. I just come here for the meetings. But then I was assigned to teach you guys, so that means I don’t have to go to those boring meetings anymore. I just come here sometimes to bring Adam lunch or hang around when I have time,” I explained as an ‘ah~” issued from the boys.

We arrived at the floor where LITE was connected to Pledis. We walked on the bridge, the boys immediately satisfied with the view.

We entered Pledis and secretly (but quickly) ran towards the practice room.

~.~

We  burst out inside the practice room, literally falling on top of each other. We actually got lost around Pledis, if you can believe it.

You would’ve thought that for how many years or months they have been training here, the boys could’ve found that practice room wearing a blind fold, two arms behind their back and hopping on one leg.

We would’ve reached the room sooner, if it was for Jerry and Doyoon who flirted with the female trainees, and we had to chase them.

“Are you guys…alive?” I heard Hansol ask as a groaned, leaning on Mingyu as sweat poured down my forehead.

“Barely.”

After a few minutes of prepping ourselves up, we were being filmed for the live streaming live. I stood in front with the white board as the boys sat down as a bunch in front of me.

“Okay. Our very first lesson will be the classification of fans. Can anyone tell me one classification? Yes Wonwoo?” I pointed at Wonwoo who raised his hands.

“Normal fans.”

“Correct!” I smiled as I drew a stick figure of a girl. They burst out laughing as I blushed red. I’m not exactly an artist.

“What’s that? It looks like a stick with a triangle on it!”

“Is that a girl?!”

I fell down from laughing too much, their comments making it hard for me to teach. I got up, using the whiteboard as support.

”Yah! Just imagine it’s a girl!” I scolded playfully.

“Then I’ll have nightmares tonight.” I saw Seokmin shudder as Seunggwan clapped his hands, laughing hard.

“Yah, pay attention! Okay, this is a normal fan. Fans like this normally watch videos of their idols, buy a few albums, almost all their music downloaded and pictures of them. These fans are the most pure and cherished fans of one group. A group of normal fans can really make any idol smile. These fans also usually learn catchphrases from their idol group, learn fanchants, and dance to their songs. Yes?” I pointed at Seunggwan who raised his hand.

“Do these fans stick to their idol group for long?” he asked as I went into thinking mode.

“It really depends. If we talk about a normal, normally, he or she can juggle at least three groups and love them equally. If that fan only likes one group and stay biased to them at first, then yes, normal fans can stick with an idol group for a long time. Now, can anyone tell me another classification of a fan? Dongjin?”

“Sasaeng fans,” Dongjin quietly stated as I nodded seriously, drawing another stick girl but put a lot of exclamation points around her, displaying her crazy personality.

“Sasaeng fans, or crazy fans, are one of the most hard to explain. To put it in a simpler way, they’re fans that love their idol too much that they go on lengths just to meet them or at least have one contact with them. Sasaeng fans are known to spike drinks with glue, send bloody love letters and also break in the idol’s dorm,” I explained gravely as I saw Samuel climb on Seungcheol’s lap, Seungcheol hugging him protectively.

“These fans don’t know where to draw the line. They sometimes travel in groups, and it’s quite hard to avoid them. When an idol leaves in a van, sasaeng fans would quickly hire taxi drivers and follow them. They would skip school to hang out in front of the idol’s dorm. They’ll do anything to touch their idols in the airport. These fans are quite obsessive and should never be taken lightly. Yes Soonyoung? You have a question?”

“Yes, teacher Aiden. Don’t these type of fans are the best? I mean, I’m not justifying their actions, but their undying love for their idol guarantees the popularity of that idol?” Soonyoung asked smartly as everyone glanced at him, some nodding in agreement.

I smiled slyly. I pointed the red marker at him.

“Now you’re thinking like a businessman,” I said to him as he smiled in satisfaction.

“Which is dangerous and stupid.” His crushed expression demanded my explanation.

“You are right, with their undying love, an idol can continue their career with those fans, since they will support them for a long time. However, that idol is already heading towards the wrong destination. They reached their dreams, their dreams of singing on stage and being recognized, but by the wrong means. They achieved it, yet who is there to congratulate him? Why would they congratulate him? He took the wrong road, but there is still hope. Sasaeng fans don’t know their limit, Soonyoung oppa. They will do anything to meet or make their idol happy, which ruins the idol completely and utterly. Yes Doyoon?”

“What are the normal things fans do for their idol?” he questioned curiously as I nodded.

“Well, they usually sit on a chair in front of a computer all day, watching videos, writing fanfictions, saving pictures, blogging and tweeting about them, etc. Everything they do on the computer can somehow link to their favorite group.”

“How do we get a lot of fans, noona?” Samuel asked as I smiled warmly at him.

”Well, a sure way to get fans, is to produce good music. Meaningful music that can touch a person’s soul-“

“But most of the K-Pop fans are international. Even if we write good songs, they won’t understand it,” Seungcheol protested as I raised a finger.

“That’s why there are talented bilingual fans who translate for us. And even if they don’t understand, they get the message if you display your emotions correctly. The next way is to be you. I already know your guy’s image, and I hope you portray it well, but these fans will go back to these live stream videos and compare the ‘you’ back then, to the ‘you’ now. They want to have a sense of connection with you. They will feel slight betrayal if you abandon your image now. They know the ‘you’ right now, and it’s up to you to either enhance it or change it. Thank you.” An applause broke out as I smiled a bit. Seventeen got up and cheered, surrounding me as I felt Samuel and the others hug me tight.

“Wah, noona is so intuitive!”

“We sure picked the right fangirl,

“Next time, can you teach us more about ‘skinship’ and ‘ships’?”

I laughed and nodded at their requests, them releasing me. I was about to tell them how school went Adam barged in with a few people that I recognized from LITE. They were holding a bunch of clothes as Seventeen and I backed up from the eccentric looking Adam.

“Fashion show time!” Adam exclaimed as our jaws dropped.

Oh dear. 

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A link to help you know Seventeen a bit more: seventeen names

Friday, April 26, 2013 6:35am