"Ken!" I shouted between sharp breaths as my friend weaved through the crowd toward the side of the arena, dragging me along. I was clueless when we started running, but as we passed more people, I realized what was actually going on. Mainly because as we ran past them, I caught them either gasping, squealing, or eventually pointing at us. No, not us, but just at Kenji. This idiot. I'm going to kill him after this.
Kenji started waving even before we reached the barricade keeping the crowd of concertgoers in their respective lines. As we got closer, I noticed whom he was trying to signal to, his manager, Maria. Her pretty face suddenly paled, and she immediately ushered a few men to the barricade. A part of the barricade was moved in seconds, and a way was made for us. We immediately slipped into the space and were guided into a metal door which gave off a loud sound when finally shut by Maria.
"Whew! That was close." Kenji said, half-laughing.
"What were you---" I heard Maria start from behind us but was immediately cut off when I suddenly smacked Kenji in the back. The type that makes a loud, sharp noise and would definitely hurt.
"Ouch, what was that---" Kenji tried to complain but decided against it when his eyes landed on my face.
"You freaking idiot, what were you thinking?" I asked, fuming. "You could have at least parked closer to the arena, or you could've tried to disguise yourself. But no, you walked the streets as if you owned them!"
"Thank you." Maria jumped in, obviously agreeing with me.
"Look, I didn't know they were gonna react like that when they see me and ---" He stopped again when I scowled at him.
Sometimes, this friend of mine could really be an idiot. Wasn't he aware of how popular he was these days?
Besides being my childhood friend, Kenji was also one of the most popular young actors in the country. He might not be as popular as Raiden, but he was not far from it either. I would never admit this to his face, but the guy is somewhat close to being perfect. He has this pretty face that women love. Brown, always boyishly styled hair, a pair of almond-shaped chocolate brown eyes he got from his Japanese father, and perfect thin lips. He was also tall and had a nice body which he maintained as part of his job.
Furthermore, he was rich. His family was well off in Japan, but he does pretty well on his own in our country. You might think his popularity was all thanks to his good looks, but nope. He was also a crazy good actor and well-respected in the industry. Which also explains why he has a cult-like following of his own.
And now, he's saying he's not aware of it? I wanted to smack him again, on his head this time.
"I'm sorry, okay?" he said with hands lifted as a sign of defeat. "I thought I would not be noticed since it was Raiden's concert. You know, the most popular man in the land?"
"Nope, not reason enough," I answered. "If a crazy fan kidnaped you while on my watch, I'd be the most hated woman in the land then."
"That's exaggerated. Besides, we're safe now, so everything's peachy, right?"
"You dragged me all the way here, risking my life at the hands of your hordes of fans!" I said, wide-eyed.
"I know, I know. And I truly am sorry. I'm about to make up for it."
"How?" I asked suspiciously.
"Come on," he grabbed my hand and started dragging me again, but we were no longer running this time.
I looked back to Maria, who was still standing where we had left her but was now busy on her phone. When she caught me looking, she smiled widely and waved us on.
"Where are we going?" I asked again.
"It's a surprise," Kenji answered mysteriously.
"Like the surprise run we had earlier?" I lifted an eyebrow as I eyed him suspiciously.
He laughed, but I just narrowed my eyes at him.
"No, you'd like it this time." And he winked.
"No, no, no, no," I said, shaking my head as I looked at the writing on the white paper currently taped at the wooden door in front of me. There, written in bold letters, was the name of the man I'd idolized for almost half of my existence. Raiden Von Perez.
Shit! My mind shouted as I turned and tried to bolt my way out, but Kenji caught my arm and kept me in place.
"Get me out of here," I said firmly.
"Stop being weird. This is every fan's dream, meeting their idol in person." Kenji said, his brows furrowed.
"Well, this fan is not ready to meet her idol. Look at me! I'm in a shirt and shorts. And I just ran roughly a mile with you earlier; I look like shit." I pointed.
"You're here to meet him, not marry him, so you should be fine. And he won't mind. You're going to be just another fan. We'll grab you a photo with him, and we'll bolt, so stop overreacting."
"But---"
"Look, I've personally begged him for this, so we can't just leave. Can't you even appreciate everything I've done for you?" he cut me off and gave me his infamous puppy dog eyes.
"Ken, you know it's not---"
This time, my speech got cut off by his phone ringing. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the screen.
"I have to take this." He said and started to walk away. When he caught me following, he held his hand in front of him to stop me. "No, stay there. I'll be right back."
"Ken---" he gave me a warning look, so I surrendered. "Fine."
With a sigh, I rested my back against the white wall beside the scary-looking wooden door and looked at my white rubber shoes. Why didn't it come to mind before? Kenji was under the same agency as Raiden. They must have met a few times already. They could have been friends for all I know. It would not be that hard for him to set up this meeting for me.
But maybe this wasn't a bad idea after all. As Kenji said, I would just be another fan of Raiden, so it wouldn't matter what I wear. It's not like there was a chance he would fall for me if I wore something prettier. Besides, this is something to tick off my bucket list before I die… and before he does too.
A somber feeling seeped through my heart at the thought of him dying. And loads of questions came flooding in again. Everybody loved him, so why---
"Are you okay?"
My head snapped up when I heard that low captivating voice. I gasped and held my breath as I gazed upon the most handsome face I had ever laid eyes on in my entire life. Is this really happening, or am I still dreaming? My last remaining brain cells are malfunctioning.
Raiden!