“Tour Guides!” Both Paije and I exclaimed even though my mouth was stuffed with a heavenly bagel given to me by Kim Hyun Joong.

“How else we’re you going to experience Seoul?” Lee Seung Gi smiled.

“We’re just trying to experience BIGBANG first” Paije whined.

“There is more to Seoul than meeting idols.” Hyun Joong stated. “They can’t be all you came for”

                Paije looked at me and she mirrored my same response. YES!!!! That was what we had come for. Sight-seeing in Seoul didn’t even cross our minds, especially with winning this contest. The city would just be the setting, not the main event. Paije and I had decided that we we’re going to spend every waking moment filling our days with BIGBANG…more than usual. Why? Because we were there and going to meet them. Fan-girling in the day, meeting them at night telling them over and over again how much we loved them and how they needed to do a tour to the United States. In between dance rehearsals for the upcoming audition, because I was determined to get one of those five final spots to be featured in their upcoming music video; and the photo-shoots up close and personal with T.O.P, G-Dragon, Seungri, Daesung and Taeyang would fill me up with enough joy to uplift 100 depressed people. And on top of all this two celebrities, one of them being an idol, wanted to casually hang out during the week. Never in my wildest dreams did I think my life would change this much.  But it did.

“Paije can go, but I’m not sure-”

“Devon,” He said my name like an adult trying to convince a child to eat their vegetables. “Is this all because of T.O.P that you are willing to let your friend wander off around Seoul looking for someone?”

“Just for the record I’d like to point out that you are more than someone to me.” Paije sounded like she was reading passionately from a history text book; Lee Seung Gi smiled brighter.       

 “You're beginning to wound my ego. Most girls would leap for a chance like this-”

“I know” I whimpered. “I’m one of them; however I came here on a mission to meet T.O.P and spend time with BIGBANG.”

                I was determined to meet T.O.P. I had won an amazing opportunity and this was my chance to express my feelings for this man.  Not just one man, all five. Not even, and I hate to admit it but not even Kim Hyun Joong, the most beautiful, graceful, savior from one of my favorite dramas could keep me from T.O.P. I realized now how much wifey material I really was, to turn down my favorite actor for him? That automatically should get me an engagement ring.

“I wonder if I have any fans as dedicated to me as you are to T.O.P?” he wondered aloud while leaning in.  “I hope you aren’t disappointed.”

                I smiled apologetically and let a few minutes pass.

“Is your offer still on the table?” I asked after thinking it over.

“About meeting us?” Seung Gi interjected. “Absolutely” he added giving Paije another look-over.

“I wouldn’t want to wound your precious pride” I teased.

                We all took each other’s cell phone numbers, Seung Gi was still holding on to Paije’s as he typed his number in. I kept asking Hyun Joong what his number was but he snatched the phone out of my hands before I could access the address book. When he typed his number in my phone he glanced up to look at me.

                I wish he would stop looking at me like that. His expression was unreadable, like I couldn’t tell if he was thinking or admiring my face. I sort of wished he would be clearer about his intentions like Seung Gi. It was totally obvious that he was interested in Paije, but she didn’t notice because she was still caught up in the fact that we were still talking to them, which is totally understandable. Paije loved Daesung, like die-hard love. When Daesung was in his accident, Paije cried over him like he was family. She literally put herself in mourning until the entire situation cleared; my point is there is no question of dedication to her bias the only problem is she has more than one. Her ultimate musical bias is Daesung, but for Korean dramas? Lee Seung Gi without a doubt. I was so glad I didn’t have this problem. Kim Hyun Joong was my ultimate drama bias, but my love for T.O.P out shone them all. I guess you could call me a “V.I.P for T.O.P.”     

                Our flight landed on schedule and the breezy air greeted us almost immediately. We walked down the ramp and into the airport terminal. Lee Seung Gi and Kim Hyun Joong put on baseball caps to try and blend in with the surroundings; so far no one came up to them running around screaming their heads off. Maybe it was because they were with us, two Americans they were able to blend in so well. They had our numbers and schedules thanks to Lee Seung Gi who emailed it to himself to make sure we worked in time to see them. They walked us over to where it said our names and we noticed Madison and Rachel standing next to a man dressed in a black business suit.

“How was your flight in coach” Madison teased.

“Perfect. Amazing” I answered as Paije nodded in fierce agreement stealing more glances at Seung Gi.

“Well, you missed out. Lee Seung Gi and Kim Hyun Joong were on the same flight. They sat next to us.” Madison was bragging, no…she was gloating. “But that’s what happens when you fly in the best.”

Rachel rolled her eyes; she seemed more annoyed with her than usual. “We only saw them for about 5 minutes and then I guess they caught another flight” she admitted making it sound more realistic.

“How did you two seem to pass the time? It seems like you’ve made some friends.” Madison asked appraisingly totally checking out the tall figures standing next to us.    

“Yes!” I interjected. “This is Kim-” Paije tugged on my arm shutting me up picking up the hints quicker than me.

“Kim Choi Seung” he said using a deeper tone smirking from under the baseball cap. “This is my friend Kang Dae Gi”

                Now was it merely a coincidence that they chose to use parts of our favorite bias’ names as code-names now? I don’t think so, that smirk under the baseball cap seemed to totally be intentional.

“Oh…pleasure” Madison flicked her wrist towards them casually.

“It’s really nice to meet you” Rachel stated warmly with a slight smile.

“Excuse me? Are all of the winners here?” the man in the black suit asked.

“Yes! We’re here!” I shouted too loudly.

“Okay if I can just see your passports for verification, then we can be off.”

                We turned and bowed to Seung Gi and Hyun Joong before we turned to showed her our passports. We then followed her outside to a compact car with the words YGENTERTAINMENT blazing in white letters on the side which brought on a round of fresh hysteria that Rachel joined in. When we got into the car, Madison took the front seat while Rachel, Paije and I sat excitedly in the back. When Paije looked out the window she waved at the two boys waving back. Madison pulled down the visor mirror and began checking her hair.

“I don’t understand how you can be so calm” I stated towards her.

“It’s not my fault you’re not accustomed to the finer things in life” she laughed. “Everyone can’t scream and yell like a bunch of underprivileged monkeys”

“I am not going to apologize for my excitement. However, I don’t feel that a chance like this should be wasted on someone who’s going to turn their nose up at it.”

                From the rearview mirror I saw the representative smile.

“Are you really even a fan?” Paije asked in disbelief.

“Of course! How dare you insinuate such a thing?!”

“Who’s your bias?” Rachel joked quietly. Both Paije and I jerked our heads at her because neither of us we’re expecting her to get in this mini riff.

“Uhmmm, what’s his name?” She said quietly but loud enough we all heard it anyway.

                That did it. All three of us in the backseat started groaning and in unison. With my “Oh C’mons!” and Paije’s “Stop the car now’s” and Rachel smacking her head repeatedly; we couldn’t believe this twit didn’t know her bias. Which automatically meant that she wasn’t a fan of BIGBANG. Even an imposter for another group would be smart enough to at least know the members, to decrease the chances of getting beat up if they ever found out. My only reason to try and like this chick was because we were both U.S V.I.P’s, but she wasn’t a V.I.P she was a fake. An absolute fake who didn’t know or care about any of them. If she was close enough I think I would’ve hit her. She was maddening!!! Why would she dare to waste this opportunity and she didn’t even know the group?

“Do you know how many people wanted this spot????!!!!” Paije bellowed.

“You’re a Fake!!!” I yelled. “You know we’re going to see BIGBANG right, or did you think this was a free trip to see SHINee?”

“Do you even listen to K-pop? I bet you can’t even name 3 bands!!!!” Paije laughed harsh, she was clearly as upset as I was.

“Uh-huh. Can too!” Madison sounded like she was three. “Uhmmm, 2NE1, SHINee and BTWOST!!!”

                Rachel smacked herself harder.

“Who the heck is BTWOST?” I asked.

“Oh Miss Queens of K-Pop? A group you haven’t heard of? I’m really surprised; they are only the hottest group around. I’m shocked really.” The snooty tone came back into her voice.

“2 things. 1…BB is the hottest group and 2…Are you trying to say BEAST?”

                You see this is why I loved Paije; she was always a few steps ahead of me.

“No! I’m talking about BTWOST. How else do you pronounce B-2-S-T?” she looked at us as if we were deaf, blind and mute. “BTWOST”

                All three of us looked at each other again and hollered with laughter. In all my years of loving k-pop did I ever think of calling BEAST (written either BEAST or B2ST) BTWOST. Even the representative’s chuckle of laughter became more noticeable. Madison glared at all four of us as we laughed even harder.  The car twisted and wound itself down a long road until we reached the downtown areas of Seoul. The driver pulled in front of a tall building with windows leading up to the sky. It had to be the most beautiful building I had ever seen which became more extravagant when we reached the lobby of the hotel. The representative led us to a conference room where we saw other girls and a few guys clearly from different parts of the world. The representative stood near us protectively.

“Hello fellow V.I.P’s” a young woman who looked like she was in her early thirties spoke clearly into a microphone set perfectly on a medium sized clear podium. “My name is Kim Mi-Hi”

                Her name sent excitement down my body. This had to be the same Kim Mi-Hi I spoke to on the phone.

“WHERE ARE THE BOYS!!!” a boy with a deep voice and a heavy British accent shouted from among us.

“Si Si! Donde estas los chicos!!!” a girl shouted louder.

“Oui! Je voudrais G-Dragon!!!” another one shouted.

“Ladies and gentlemen, if you please will calm down” Kim Mi-Hi sighed. “If you listen carefully you will receive all of the information. For those of you who don’t understand English, your designated representative will translate.”

                The room quieted down as we became even more eager to find out what to do next.

“You're representative will be your guide. He or she is fluent in your native tongue and will be able to answer all of your questions. As for today we have planned a Welcoming Tea for your arrival where you will get a chance to meet each other and BIGBANG.”

                With that the silence disappeared. Paije, Rachel, Madison and I we’re the only ones who kept quiet throughout the series of fan-girling and fan-boying that took place when she mentioned that we were going to meet BIGBANG. I hate to admit it, but maybe Madison was taking the right approach. With so many crazy fans (who I desperately wanted to join in celebration), maybe taking it cool would be the way to stand out. Besides, it would take more than just the mention of their name to get me going, I would need to see them in order to believe.

“Now your fellow country winners will be your roommates…”

                At that I felt my mood sink. There was no way I was going to survive three weeks or more with someone like Madison. It sounded awful but I wondered if I could switch rooms or sleep in the shower of the hotel; maybe she would want enough privacy she’d get upgraded to a better room and then Paije and I could be happy. Rachel was more than welcome to join our circle of happiness.

“In your rooms you will find all of your things. You have a half an hour before you are expected to meet at the rooftop garden for the Welcome Tea. See you in 30 minutes. Welcome to Seoul!” She smiled before disappearing out of the room followed by an army of people in black suits and sunglasses.

                We walked over to the elevator and we were shocked to find the same deep British voice complaining that the elevator was too small. He was a semi-tall lanky muscle boy with sandy brown hair and deep blue eyes. His looks screamed Ralph Lauren and Polo in a really good way.

“This simply will not do.” He raked his finger over the elevator glass checking for dust. “This isn’t an elevator, this is a cupboard.”

“Well, if you don’t like it, shut-up and take the stairs” I challenged as I walked by him not in the least bit impressed stepping lightly onto the elevator followed by Paije’s laugh and the representative’s nod.

“You’ll have to forgive her” Madison interjected on my behalf. “She’s new to these kinds of standards, but I’m not.” Rachel stepped into the elevator and Madison held the DOOR OPEN button.

                She clearly was flirting, and part of me was hoping that they would hit it off so she could be less of a pain, but then the other part of me figured that they would probably just go around complaining together.

“Obviously! Do you not know who you’re speaking too?” He started to glare but I could tell that a large part of him was baffled.

“No, and I really couldn’t care. Are you going to get on?” I asked impatiently.

“I happen to be-”

“Taking too long. Later” I smiled while removing Madison’s hand from the button and pushing the floor we needed to get too.

                The representative laughed quietly. I could already tell that I was going to like him, because we shared a sliver of the same sense of humor.