She was definitely a crazy, obsessive fan; Amber realised, seriously regretting walking to the secluded area. She had heard of fans buying pee off eBay that was claimed to be that of a singer's. Heard of fans that kidnapped their idols. Fans that stalked idols in airplanes. Fans that sold personal information of the idols. Obsessive fans did anything and everything to get closer to their idols. There was simply no reasoning with them.
Shit. Was this what IDOL had to face each day?
"Could you please let go of me?" Amber asked, her voice steady despite her quickening heartbeat.
"Give it to me!"
"Let go of me!"
The girl raised her hand, her eyes flashing with her irritation. Amber grimaced, squeezing her eyes shut as she moved to brace herself for the attack. Shit!
"Excuse me!" Amber turned to see an older woman march up towards them in quick strides. "Please stop this. I will be reporting you to the police if you continue to harass this girl!" The crazy fan visibly froze, letting go of Amber's hand and taking a wide step back.
The sudden release of pressure was painful and Amber exhaled, raising her arm to inspect the damage. There was a circle of deep red on her skin, along with moon-shaped wounds from the stranger's fingernails. She gently prodded the redness and winced.
Bad move. Amber cursed under her breath as pain spread across her skin. That was definitely going to bruise. Her body had muted the feelings of pain in her moment of fear. And now with the protection from her saviour, she was starting to feel the pain in its entirety.
The older woman approached her, murmuring words of pity as she dabbed at her wounds with an alcohol cotton swab. The older lady turned to glare daggers at the fan, her eyes narrowed into slits.
If looks could kill, Amber swore that the fan would be shot by a rifle gun, bombed by a landmine and shot with a missile from her saviour's glare alone.
"Shame on you!" The woman spat out hotly. "Hurting others when you can't get what you want? Shame on you!"
"Aunty...I just wanted—" The fan tried to reason with her, looking embarrassed."—the glasses. I-it's Oliver's glasses."
"Excuses. Go away before I call the cops!" The woman barked, wagging a finger at her. The girl faltered, eyes darting towards Amber and a chill ran up her spine as the fan gave her a dark glare. Shit.
"I am not afraid of risking my ticket to get you out of here, young lady!" The older woman stated pointedly, stepping up to the fan. The girl stumbled back. "Go!" Amber watched as she dashed away without looking back.
Good riddance. The woman turned to look at her with pitiful eyes. "Are you alright dear? Oh no, if only we had some ice to get rid of the bruising." The lady fussed over her, dabbing at her skin quickly. "She was such a rude girl!" She clucked her tongue shaking her head in a motherly fashion.
"Thank you ma'am?" Amber fumbled a little trying to switch her Korean to the more polite and formal variation of the language. "Without your help, I would not have known what to do to get her to leave. Thank you so much." She bowed deeply with respect for her hero.
"It's alright. Please get up." The lady rubbed her shoulders gently. "I'm assuming you were looking for water as well?" The woman smiled kindly at her and Amber was taken aback by how good she looked.
The older lady was beautiful. She was a classic Korean beauty with huge doe-shaped eyes framed by thick lashes. She'd aged gracefully and had pretty wrinkles at the corners of her eyes—an indication of a lifetime of constant laughter. And her skin was barely affected by her age remaining perky and bright, very unlike that of her peers.
The woman looked thirty-five, but Amber reckoned the woman was above fourty. The way she talked to her spoke volumes of her actual age, indicating that she might have a child that was about Amber's age.
"Oh yes," Amber nodded, replying to the lady's question.
The lady spoke. "I've checked the entire section here. It's really quite unfortunate but the nearest one on this side of the stadium is not working. Perhaps, we should head towards the other direction?" The woman gestured towards the direction Amber came from.
"Oh? That's too bad. Alright!" Amber nodded as she led the way to the other direction.
As they walked, Amber couldn't help observing the sweet lady beside her. With her hair in a classy bob, she was dressed impeccably in a cadmium yellow coat, a cotton long-sleeve and ripped jeans. Her fashion choice deleted years from her age, making her look younger than she probably was.
"That coat looks so good on you!" Amber said. "Where did you get it?"
Tip of the day: Praise women for things they could change.
"My son bought it for me." The woman blushed prettily, her face lighting up at the mention of her son. "I'm not too sure where he bought it, the rascal never tells me anything. But it's pretty, isn't it?"
So cute. Amber swooned in her mind. Her son was clearly old enough to purchase clothes for his mom. At this point, Amber was sure that the pretty woman before her must be in her mid-forties.
"Wow, he has a good eye! It's a really happy colour and it makes you look young!"
"Aw, you're just being sweet dear."
"Oh no, I'm not kidding. I have clothes in a similar shade." Amber swiped through her phone, showing the woman a picture of her outfit at the art museum. Yes, that accursed art museum.
"This art museum?" The woman gasped, recognition fluttering through her eyes.
"Do you go to this museum too, ma'am?"
"Why, yes I do." The sweet lady nodded. "They sell jewellery that I just love to buy in support of the local artists."
"Me too!" Amber beamed brightly at her. She couldn't help but smile at the warmth of the older woman. The older lady's soft hazel eyes seemed to glow with motherly affection and it made Amber feel safe and secured.
Amber now understood why princesses married the princes who saved them. She just couldn't help but see her saviour in a holy golden light and the more the woman talked the more she liked her.
Amber paused to pull out her purse from her tote bag, fishing inside of it for the jewellery. The earrings consisted of two resin plates that were reminiscent of the moon. Along each plate was a golden line that cut across the smooth resin in webs of brilliant shimmery gold.
Honestly, she had wanted to give the pair to Miri at the end of the concert. But she needed to reward her saviour in some way. Amber would just have to get Miri something else.
"Oh my! That's so beautiful!" The lady gasped, marvelling at the earrings.
"They're such a work of art aren't they?" Amber nodded in agreement. "I just visited the art museum a few days ago and came across these from a new seller."
She glanced at the older woman and watched as the lady's gaze grew warm with longing. Her eyes were twinkling as she cooed over the earrings.
"Do you want them, ma'am?"
"Huh?" The woman froze in shock, looking a little sheepish. "Oh no, I couldn't possibly." The lady shook her head frantically, waving her hands.
"Please take them," Amber smiled. "I really can't thank you enough for your help."
Honestly, if not for this woman Amber would have been absolutely fucked. Goodwill should always be rewarded. Plus, Amber was sure the woman would look lovely with these earrings.
"Ah, no-"
"Please, I insist. They're yours."