*
Amber left sound check feeling perplexed but yet weirdly overjoyed. Her body felt as if it had been pumped full of caffeine and whenever she just thought about her first sound check experience, a goofy grin spread across her face. She tried to lump it to having finally heard IDOL live for the first time but really it was more than that.
The short video of her catching Oliver's sunglasses was trending on Twitter. A fan had secretly filmed their interactions despite the no-phones-during-sound check rule. Thankfully, Amber's face was obscured by the screaming girls beside her, and the video was angled such that the words on Oliver's lips were unreadable.
Thank God for that.
Amber didn't know how the fans would react if they had seen him say 'give it to me later'. The number of theories that would pop up after that would definitely be as explosive as a whole pot of corn in a popcorn machine.
Someone had also taken a video of Hikaru's blush through a crack in the door from outside the venue. Using a superzoom camera, the person had managed to capture the whole 'blush-wink-blush-run' thing that he did. Another fan had filmed the MinJae and Hikaru exchange resulting in a whole bunch of hashtags like #Minkaru and #HikaJae trending on social media.
Honestly, she would have gushed over that video if she had not known the context to it. Amber chewed on her lips at that thought. Miri had been very serious about her claims. She had solemnly sworn on their friendship that Hikaru had been looking at her. Amber had debated over and over again with Miri of the possibilities of that.
How could he have blushed so vividly under her gaze? It was impossible. Hell, she wasn't some kind of succubus or an insanely famous model. She wasn't that pretty. Amber was just plain old Amber and there was no way he could have reacted so violently to just her face. She rubbed her cheeks gingerly, furrowing her brows.
Miri had then asked, are you secretly a porn actress on PornHub or something? To which Amber had spluttered and choked on her saliva, after screaming a flustered NO! Choking on saliva might truly be her hobby at the rate she was going.
Nonetheless, Miri's words got her really thinking. Did she look like a porn actress he liked? She nibbled on her lips, chewing at the flesh. That would make a lot more sense. Or did she look like his ex? She winced at the thought. Maybe not his ex. That would not explain the blush.
Watching the two videos again had sent her heart racing into speeds that she was so sure would send her into cardiac arrest. And those sunglasses Oliver had given her? That shit was GUCCI.
G.U.C.C.I.
Hell, they cost more than her entire net worth and she trembled just holding on to them. The brand name and the serial numbers carved into the inside of the temples of the sunglasses seemed to taunt her.
Now she was afraid to look at the camo jacket sitting in the hotel room. It was definitely from some luxury brand with prices that could feed thousands of families for a month. And she had no clue how she was going to return those things to Oliver. Either way, Amber was very sure that she would have them vacuum packed and sealed for protection the second she got home.
They were currently sitting in the queue waiting for the actual concert to start, and Miri was busy video calling Deok-Su to update him on the current situation. Amber didn't want to eavesdrop on the English conversation as the only other fluent English speaker in the two-metre radius of fans sitting beside them.
She opted to head out in search of a water cooler to refill their empty bottles. She had a pretty shitty sense of direction so she found herself wandering around the stadium a few minutes later.
Amber frowned, perturbed. The toilets were directly linked to the exterior of the stadium hence the large metal bars preventing access. That explained the presence of the portable restrooms.
But water coolers were usually located in the toilets, right? Where the hell were the portable water coolers?
She turned the corner, moving to an area that was much more secluded, intending to ask one of the staff members for directions, only to be stopped by a forceful pull on her arm. She twisted around, inhaling sharply as pointed fingernails dug into her skin and large sweaty palms clamped onto her arm.
Ow! That hurts!
Her eyes drifted upwards meeting that of a girl with a rather fierce and determined expression. The stranger was panting and she looked as if she had run a mile just to catch up to her. Amber was startled by the sudden intimacy as the girl leaned in closer, invading her personal space. What the hell?
"Give...me," the girl stated slowly, her tongue sloppily curling over the English words. She was clearly an infrequent user of the English language and it took Amber a while to decipher her choppy rendition of the language.
Amber swallowed nervously, her eyes trailing over the girl's face, brushing across the huge pom-pom earrings and the jewelled choker on her neck. She was immaculately dressed—her hair was swept into a high ponytail and her makeup was impeccable even if it did lean towards the heavy side. She would have looked delicate and pretty if not for the sharp glint in her eyes and the ugly expression on her face.
"Sorry? Please let go of me," Amber replied in fluent Korean an attempt to better converse with the girl. Perhaps she was a local Korean? She looked the part with snowy white skin and flatter, softer facial features.
"I'll pay." The girl snapped back in Korean. "GUCCI right? I'll pay two times the market price." Amber's eyes widened at her words. Her mind immediately linked to the sunglasses Oliver had given her.
Shit. She was talking about the glasses! Amber frowned, trying to wrench her hand out of her death grip. But the girl refused to let go of her arm. Her long manicured nails were piercing sharply into Amber's flesh and forming indents on her skin.
"Sorry. I can't." Amber swallowed thinking back to Oliver's words.
He did specifically tell her that he would be wanting them back. And while Amber knew that the odds of her meeting him again were close to zero, she would respect his wishes. They were not her glasses after all. How could she sell them? The girl pulled tightly at her arm, breathing hard and fast, her nostrils flaring.
"One million won? (US$843)" She suggested eagerly. Amber's expression must have said it all because she licked her lips, raising the price quickly. "Two million won? (US$1,686)"
Amber faltered. What in the world? That was five times the original price! Her eyes drifted to the fan's clothes, lingering on the Louis Vuitton print label at the edge of her collar. The stranger appeared to be very serious about paying her for the sunglasses. Very, very serious. Amber swallowed thickly, her resolve starting to waver as she persisted.
"I'm sorry, it's not for sale. Please, let me go," Amber shook her head, tugging at her arm. Selling it would be like selling Oliver's kindness to a stranger. She did not want to sell it to her only for Oliver to find it on Amazon for US$5000. That would be embarrassing. The stranger must have seen the resolution on her face because she changed her tactic, giving her a pitiful expression.
"Please, I really need it." Desperation clung to her words, her voice sticky and disgustingly sweet. "Oliver is my everything," the stranger explained, a fond almost crazed smile on her lips. "I love him to death and without those sunglasses, I will, literally, die." The girl pleaded.
The sheer amount of desperation in her every word was shocking to Amber. The way she begged made it seem as if they were fighting for something much more precious than a piece of metal.
She felt a little shaken at the way the stranger implored her to give up the glasses. But, this was no desert and what the girl wanted was not a sip of water. This was just a pair of sunglasses that Amber could not give her.
"I'm really sorry, but I've already promised to return this..." Amber's voice trailed off into a whisper as she watched the girl before her grow increasingly hostile.
The girl growled, her eyes turning wild and crazy with her annoyance. Her pupils were darting all over Amber's face as she ground her teeth together. She dug her manicured nails into Amber's skin harshly tearing into her flesh.
Amber yelped, watching wide-eyed as the girl loomed over her. Her shoulders were heaving with each laboured breath. What the fuck?
"GIVE IT TO ME!" She shrieked, her beautiful face contorting into a demonic expression as she screamed into Amber's face.
Her rancid breath was fanning across her face and bits of spittle spewed from her painted lips. Amber trembled as she watched the girl with wide eyes, having never seen such an unreasonable person in her life.