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A large crowd had formed in the mall, where the fan meeting was being held, and rowdy, restless chatter buzzed throughout the entire structure as the fans waited anxiously for their idols to make their entrance. Quietly, Arang observed the hectic scene from the sidelines with their manager, who was too busy looking at his phone to pay any attention to her. She noted that the majority of the people there were, no surprise, flowing with estrogen and Arang silently chuckled, shaking her head in disbelief.

A few weeks ago she’d rather be dead than get caught attending one of these events and now look at her, voluntarily choosing to be here instead of spending her precious time doing something else. Had she gone completely insane? Quite possibly. And it was all because of a boy by the name of Kim Taehyung.

Bloodcurdling shrieks erupted, rippling through the air, and Arang nearly had a heart attack when the man beside her jumped up and yelped, his cellphone escaping from his grasp and dropping onto the floor. She didn’t expect him to get startled so easily. It didn’t match his appearance. Then her eyes found their way toward the stage and she spotted the seven boys bowing and greeting their guests, bright and bold smiles plastered over their faces. They were all undeniably handsome but only he stood out to her. Without knowing, a tender expression settled over her features as she listened to the boys converse excitedly to their Japanese fans while the host did his best to translate.

Next, she watched as the girls lined up in order to get their autographs. BTS’s popularity was seriously no joke. Suddenly, however, her countenance became sour and distorted at the sight of Taehyung making hearts with his fingers and the girl in front of him burying her face into her hands. It was most likely her futile attempt in trying to conceal her inflamed cheeks and Arang pursed her lips. This was nothing to fret over. She had to maintain her composure. When Taehyung reached over and affectionately ruffled the girl’s hair, though, Arang couldn’t suppress the urge and scoffed out loud as she diverted her gaze elsewhere.

Was he always this friendly? She shouldn’t be jealous. She had no reason to be. He was only trying to make the people who had been supporting him happy; it was nothing more than that. Yet, she was jealous and she didn’t know how to go about eradicating the little green monster which had already made itself at home inside of her heart. She had never been the type of girl who received many visits from envy, especially over such trivial matters, and to think that there was this kind of side to her left Arang utterly dumbfounded. Who was she? Saeyoung?

The manager excused himself, since he was needed, and left Arang alone. She sighed and turned her back to the stage, kicking the air with one foot, her lips hitched to one side. What was she supposed to do now? Perhaps she could check out a couple of stores and pick up some souvenirs for her family while she waited for them. The event was supposed to be two hours long and Arang was beginning to question her decision. What was going on in her mind? She didn’t come here to watch her boyfriend make googly eyes at other girls, but what was she expecting? It was part of the gig. There was not a single thing he or she could do about it either, even Arang knew that.

She was planning to send a text to Taehyung, in case he would try to search for her amongst the crowd later on, when she saw that the device was dead. That’s right. She forgot to charge it last night! Stealing one last glance of the boy, she found him taking a selfie and her shoulders deflated. He probably wouldn’t even notice that she’s not around anyways. So, with her phone stashed in her bag, Arang abandoned the area, making sure the mask he had gifted her was securely wrapped around her face since the place was overrun with fans of BTS. The last thing she wanted was to be chased down in a mall by a group of angry girls... again. Once in her lifetime was more than enough.

Although Arang didn’t know how to speak the language, she was able to read numbers and count without an issue. She had done a currency exchange at the airport and now carried approximately three hundred dollars at her disposal. She had stumbled upon several peculiar shops that sold, well—peculiar items and nothing had caught her eye. Arang, on the other hand, caught the eyes of almost every employee she crossed paths with. The mask she wore convinced them that she could be a thief but no one dared to act recklessly since the alarm never sounded.

Arang had no idea how long she had been wandering around, but what she did know was that her efforts were absolutely fruitless. She couldn’t seem to find anything her family would like, nor was she able to figure out the purpose of half of the merchandise she stumbled upon. Maybe she should just ask them directly. It would make things a whole lot easier for her.

While she was riding the escalator down from the fourth floor, she felt somewhat uneasy. She couldn’t really explain what it was. It just felt like someone was watching her, studying her. Arang’s heartbeat quickened at the thought and her palms started to get clammy. She glanced back but found nobody behind her. Her grip on the strap of her shoulder-bag unconsciously tightened as she turned back around and faced forward.

What was wrong with her? Why was she getting paranoid? “You’ve got nothing to worry about,” she whispered to herself as she stepped off the escalator. There was no way the stalker had crossed the ocean and followed her to Japan. She was simply letting her nerves and lack of sleep get the best of her. Yeah, that was it. Once she got back to the hotel and hit the hay, she would be fine. Trying to dist