It's almost the signing. You got into the venue and saw hundreds, maybe more, of GLADs standing in line. It was the first time to be this close to their fans. It kind of took you by surprise. The guys were walked by the security and you were following behind. You haven't had time to talk and socialize with them because they were too caught up in it. Your camera was set and everything was ready to go. You were back stage with them as they get their makeup fixed. Yeon Moon looked at you and smiled. You smiled back. You couldn't resist but take a picture of him. When he was done with his makeup he came towards you to thank you and you could anticipate it: the thank you.
"I swear to the gods if you say thank you!" You said jokingly. He laughed nervously and bowed.
"Fighting," you said. As he walked away, Nak Yum approached you.
"You know? When you left, Moon didn't sleep." He said. You were concerned. He followed, "he wrote something down and then took off to bed. When I saw it in the morning, I found it soothing and beautiful." He said. "He told me that those were your words to him. He also mentioned that he wants to use it in one of his upcoming tracks"
You teared up. That was precious right there. Your heart got all warm and you felt thankful.
"Thank you, Kaesolin. Or should I say Kae." He smiled and left. All the boys stood for a picture. As they were leaving, they bowed and went up.
The screaming was hysterical. You started shooting as they got up. Their faces perk up and they smiled. They smiled genuinely. The fans had very flirty approaches and it nearly made you laugh out loud but you held it in. A couple of hours later, everything was done. As they got back, their managers were quick to talk about the concert that is to come. They didn't really acknowledge what they did. The hours they sat and the efforts they put. Maybe they got used to it they no longer give it a second look. You felt like approaching them and thanking them for the effort but the only one up close was Ji Seon.
"You did a great job, guys. Thank you!" You whispered to him. He smiled so huge and high-fived you. It wasn't your time to rest, though. You took off to the arena to checkup on everything. The drones, the fixed cameras and everything. You had a team meeting with everyone.
"Alright!" You said. "I want to thank you first for everything. You're the dream team, really. I am always proud of your progress and your accuracy. Thank you for being my backbone." You never fail to thank anyone who contributes. You find it that everyone deserves to be acknowledged somehow. At the end of the day, those people aren't their jobs. They need their persons to be acknowledged.
"Well, tomorrow is our first day. I know some of you are probably afraid and some are just doing fine because they've done this before. I know you guys can do it."
"I need everyone to be at post. No one leaves something uncovered, specially your angles. Don't cover more than your designated angle so we could have the cleanest footage we can have." You asserted.
"Last thing, I pray that we all do the best! That that day becomes our phenomenal start to a new season and a changing opportunity. I also pray that the boys have a good time, be safe, and blessed." Your dad comes to your mind every time you pray. Most of your team is non-religious but they always appreciated the good words. "Fighting!"
You went back to your hotel and slept for the next day.
It was frantic! You saw thousands and thousands of people. All different, yet all the same because of their love to the boys. It was almost an hour till they start. They were getting ready. When you got into the room. You saw them gathered around and talking encouragingly to each other. You kept taking pictures of them. Everything was happening too fast. Your heart was racing all the time. You couldn't process anything because you were jumping from one spot to another, taking one picture after the other. You were prompt to run to areas that suffered from lags and errors.
The concert was a bomb. Your heart almost exploded from the happiness you experienced. The fireworks and the lights, it all fit perfectly in sync. It was over too soon. There was a whooping 30 hours of footage. Your editing team sure has a long process.
You were inviting them out for a drink, your treat. When San Jin overheard he barged in like a kid. "Well, we had a long day, too." He said all sweaty. "Take us with you for a drink." You were going to invite them out but since the boys were to come you decided to take it back to the hotel.
"Alright!" You clapped once. "Let's go!" After everyone moved back to the hotel. Last night in Japan. You all celebrated with a drink. The editing team didn't want to drink much so they had a couple and left. You were left with the boys on your own.
"Let's play a game!" Ji Seon said.
"Oh! Oh! I've got an idea." You said all excited. You've drank enough to loosen up and act like a kid. They looked at you, "Flip Cup!" It's your favorite drinking game only because you were an expert at it back in LA.
"We get divided into two equal teams. Each one tries to flip this water bottle until you land it straight, every time you fail you take a shot. The team who finishes first, wins!" You made your own tweaks to it because there were no cups that you could flip there.
Nak Yeom went in to divide the teams. "Rock, paper, scissors and the first 4 to win are together in a team." Ji Seon won, Yeon Moon, Tae Yoon, and Nak Yum won. So you were left with San Jin, Jung Ho, and Jeon Seok.
"I am bad at this!" Jung Ho said.
"Ah! He gets drunk way to quickly." Jeon Seok laughed.
You didn't get as drunk quickly. You were a heavy drinker back at university. One of your coping mechanisms was drinking. You didn't drink to the point that it impaired your performance. At the end of it you were the valedictorian anyways.
You started. You were already hazed so it was several times before you landed it, ending up with more shots than anticipated. Tae Yoon and Nak Yum were already done by the time You were done. Jung Ho came in and he did it first time. Your team won and you went all hyper and jumped around.
"You lose, I win. You lose, I win." You chanted and danced.
San Jin interjected, "We all won, Kae!" He said referring to your team.
You danced around. Unaware of any boundaries there is. They were mostly drunk. But Jung Ho was drunk the most. A song played that you liked so you started moving to the beat.
"Oh, noona is a good dancer!" Tae Yoon exclaimed.
"Stop it, you guys, with noona and shit. Call me Kae." Yes, you were that lost into it. The boys didn't mind seeing this side of you. They were, in fact, amused. They didn't picture you as this carefree child.
Jung Ho came towards you and asked in English, "Can I have this dance, m'lady?"
"Why, yes!" You said. It's been a while since you talked in English.
He took you by the waist and started dancing. The boys started dancing together as well so you seeing them that way made you laugh louder. You move in sync with Jung Ho and he twirls you around. You giggle and he takes you closer into him. It was starting to make you nervous. Your body was already hot and the alcohol amplified your anxiety.
You tripped. Jung Ho couldn't catch you on time so you fell and scrapped your knee. They all got you up and San Jin being the oldest one advised to do first aid on you. They supported you and as San Jin was done. They all took you back to your room and made sure you were okay. You wondered why they were this worried when you didn't even bleed that much. You felt thankful though.
After all was done you were ready to sleep. While the alcohol effect was fading, taking your clothes off, you watched your body. You brushed your boobs and walked your fingers over to your abs and to your belly button. It's been a while since you felt wanted. You've spent the past couple of years on booty calls and one night stands. This felt a bit more intimate than getting unclothed in front of someone you barely knew. You shook it off and went to sleep. No medications. Naked. Vulnerable.