"Whoa..." I couldn't help but make my surprise obvious as the lights in the stadium died down, the loud cheers erupted from the floor and surrounding stands and a narration began to play from the large screen above. It wasn't the animation and the storyline that got me amazed, it was the pure energy that was in this room. The air was filled to the brim with the buzz of excitement from seeing the power that was arguably one of South Korea's biggest boy groups, waiting to take the stage and amaze. The introduction finished, the screams began, the yellow glow sticks lit up in the darkness and with the steady beats of synthesizers five men appeared on the stage. "Whoa..." I said once again, and lost myself easily to the music thereafter.

 

This was their life. This stage was what made them who they were and this music was the air that they breathed. As sets and stages went by their breaths started to become a little heavier, beads of sweat formed on their foreheads, clearly seen through the humongous HD screens receiving feed from the dozens of cameras which followed the members around religiously. Yet not once did they seem tired. If anything it made them more alive, jumping, shouting and dancing as if there was no tomorrow. It was so easy to get lost with them. 

 

Then for brief moments, they would show his face up close on the screen. His sharp features all strong and intimidating had a goofy smile not been planted on it. Or maybe it was the horrible slap stick dancing that ruined that image. Regardless, I pretended that I didn't see him. I pretended that he was just another celebrity in this industry sitting up high on his pedestal only for people to look at and never touch. And I pretended I was nothing more than just one face in a million of his beloved fans. And the most difficult of all, I thought, as he takes his mic and raps to the melancholy strumming of 'Haru Haru', I pretended that he was never once mine. I quickly wiped away a tear that was threatening to fall, adamant on not embarrassing myself. 

 

"Shin-Ae."

 

"What."

 

"Look, look."

 

"What?"

 

"You need to turn around!"

 

"Mm. Yeah give me a second." I continue typing on the computer, eager to get this stupid essay of mine done and over with. It was one of my final assignments in high school, a milestone I was willing to pass quickly.

 

"Now!"

 

"What!?" I press the space bar hard in annoyance and finally swivel my chair around to see him dressed from the waist up in a Hulk body suit, complete with a green mask and a brown wig on top. 

 

"Wait, wait. Don't move." He runs outside and turns the stereo on, and suddenly Dragostrea Din Tei, the soundtrack from Chicken Little, booms throughout the apartment. And then with nothing but pure confidence in his skills, he starts dancing. And just like that my frustration disappears and I crack up laughing.

 

 

 

The concert came and went so quickly, even I was surprised. The aftermath of an extraordinary encore stage lasted long after the lights and the show was declared at an end. Not once did the energy die down here. Maybe it was because this was their last show in Seoul before embarking onto international stops for a whole year, or maybe this was just the way they were each and every time. I pulled my hair down from its short pony tail necessary considering all the jumping that was involved for a long concert, and checked to see how my beloved companion was doing. 

 

"You okay?" I asked her, smiling as I saw her awestruck expression. 

 

"Dae.....bak, unni. Really," she said. "Admit it, you enjoyed yourself as well."

 

"Fine, fine. You win. I don't regret it one bit," I conceded.

 

"See! I told you! Tell me, who's your favourite? Be honest."

 

"Mine? Tae Yang."

 

"What, because of his body? You know Dae Sung oppa's one doesn't lose to his right? He just doesn't take his shirt off as much."

 

"Really now?" I arched one of my eyebrows up at her, not sure how comfortable I was listening to my 13 year-old baby sister count the number of times guys twice her age took off their shirts. I preferred her when she was only undressing Barbies.

 

"I'm telling you."

 

"Well, little miss ert. You know I'm an RnB type of person... but it helps that he's amazingly hot as well."

 

"What about T.O.P-oppa? Isn't he handsome?" I laughed. It's like asking me if a banana was a fruit, of course the answer is 'Yes'. My baby sister continued to rant about him as we waited for the crowd to disappear, not at all eager to push through the throng of people. I stared at the hall that was slowly emptying before us. This place is absolutely humongous, I realized, and there were many more sold out shows like this to come. They've built themselves to really be something huge, I said to myself. They've really done it.

 

"Unni."

 

"Mm?" 

 

"Guess what?" I turned to look her adorable face and saw the two backstage passes that were in her hand. 

 

"How did..."

 

"Appa. He got it for us. Can you believe it?" I couldn't. It was the last thing I thought my dad would ever do. Actually, letting my sister and I go to this concert was the last thing I thought he would ever do, but he's surprised me on that front when he suddenly gave us permission a couple of weeks ago. But what wouldn't my dad do for his youngest? 

 

"When was this?" I asked her.

 

"Last night, after he came home from work. So?" 

 

"Uhm..." I don't know if I want to go. Coming here was a feat in itself already. Ten thousand states of anxiety went through my head all at once and a sudden surge of panic ran through my body. 

 

"Unni?"

 

"Huh? Oh... uh. Yeah. Okay." I exclaimed, standing up and she basically skipped towards the exit, dragging me along with her as if we were on the yellow brick road. Mind blown. That was how I felt as we walked around the building through a back entrance guarded by security and surrounded by eager fans waiting for their beloved oppas to come out.

 

"How jealous would they be when we're let inside?"

 

"Now, now let's not cause a ruckus. What did I tell you about humility?" She just shrugged, her bob of hair bouncing with her movement, and grinned. She's a princess, that girl is. My dad spoils her way too much. We showed our passes to the guard who let us through to the obvious whinging of the awaiting group of fans we left behind, asking who the heck we were and why we were allowed in. I might've gotten a little scared for a brief instant. Backstage was full of activity, dancers and staff members, some zooming around and some just loitering in the hallways still getting cooled down. It was insane to say the least. 

 

"Excuse me, where are the members?" my sister asked a man who looked like he was somewhat important, shouting instructions through a head set. He gave us a once over, maybe ruling out the fact that we were estranged fans, and pointed to the general direction. With a 'thank you' we continued walking. I could feel my palms start to sweat a little the further in we walked, dodging and avoiding people, and I brushed my hair back several times in exasperation. , maybe this wasn't a good idea after all. 

 

"Nara..."

 

"Found it!" she half-whispered, half-yelled at me, cutting me short. There they were, all five of them, just hanging out on the couches in the changing room. Their stage clothes were off and all they had were plain black tees or wife beaters with jeans on. G-Dragon and Daesung was passed out across a long sofa, a towel over their faces, while Tae Yang and T.O.P were resting back on arm chairs, all conversing with one another. Seung Ri on the other hand had found some joy joking around with the make-up artists, bringing laughter to everyone in the room. On and off stage, you could just tell that these people were different. Something about them...

 

"Can I help you?" someone who looked like their manager approached us at the door.

 

"Uhm, sorry to bother. We've got some back stage passes and we were wondering if we could get an autograph," my sister said in her ultimate aegyo voice, a talent which she could just switch on and off in an instant. 

 

"Ah, you're..." he replied, suddenly realizing who we were. I gave him an apologetic smile. 

 

"We'll be quick," I added.

 

"Hey, guys," he called out over his shoulder. "We've got guests." All five members looked up at us. First, at the adorable Nara who was grinning from ear to ear and then when their gazes reached me, I could sense that six years wasn't as long a time as I had previously thought. Like dominoes, one by one their faces changed in realization as they looked at this girl standing by the door with a teenager at her side. Her straight black hair fell messily to her shoulders, her face a little older and more feminine than what they had remembered. She was dressed casually in patterned jeans and a white button-up blouse, and her right hand was waving a little awkwardly in greeting. 

 

"Hi," I said. "It's been a while."

 

 

 

 

AN: First impressions? I hope you'll enjoy this story as well, a little more planning has gone into it than OML and TOS. I'll be finishing off OML too don't worry =D. Thanks again everyone!