Call Me Noona

Chapter 48 - Competition

Celeste and Albert were outside letting their Corgi, Rupert, do his business before they left. I took the opportunity to introduce everyone. Celeste was really excited to meet him. Rupert made a beeline for Minhyuk and greeted him like he had known him for years. Minhyuk squatted down to pet him and introduce himself. Rupert was so happy to meet a puppy in human form that he could not contain himself. It was a struggle getting him to go back inside, and then he ran straight to the window to watch as we loaded into the car.

Before we got out of the driveway, Celeste was turned around in her seat asking Minhyuk a thousand questions while Albert nagged at her to turn back around. Min answered her politely. I could see he was amused.

Celeste was one of those people that it is impossible not to love. She was short, slightly plump, and full of life. Her clothes reflected her personality, very bright and colorful. After watching the Dramarama video with Tori, she asked Tori to show her some others. She decided she liked K-Pop. She hadn't decided on a bias group yet, but half of her questions were related to the way Monsta X's videos linked together to create a story. Like many of us Monbebes, she was curious about what the symbolism meant.

Albert piped up a couple of times asking his own questions. He was almost as feisty as Celeste. He hadn't really discovered K-Pop yet, but he knew who Minhyuk was because of Tori. Celeste shushed him each time and he would fuss at her then turn back to driving. It was a short ride to the rink, so thankfully Min didn't have to get too deep into the theory.

Minhyuk greeted everyone with hugs, except Bobby who preferred the man-hug with the clasped hands between them. He thought he was too cool for hugs now. Tori was warming up on the ice with the other skaters. Minhyuk had asked earlier if there was a private box where they could sit so they were not a distraction for the crowd or the judges. Nikki pointed out the VIP box over by the control booth.

"You guys can head on up there if you want. There is not much time left for warm up, so I am going to stay here with Tori."

"I am going to go up to the booth with Minhyuk. I want to be in both places, but I can't. I can still watch her, and she will know I am up there." I was feeling a little guilty not staying on the floor, but my being there would not make any difference in her performance.

"She figured you would," Nikki winked at me.

Tori finally noticed who was standing beside me. I heard a squeal from across the ice and before I knew it, Tori came sliding across the ice, skidding on the sides of her skates to come to a stop just before the wall. "Samchon!" She called all of them uncle and they loved it. Min leaned over the wall for a hug. "I didn't know you were coming! Aunt Sunny, did you know?" She looked at me and I grinned and winked at her. She just smiled back. "Samchon, did you see me skating?" she asked excitedly.

"Not yet, I just got here. But I will be watching!" He leaned closer to whisper, "the others are coming too." Tori squealed and bounced excitedly. "We'll be right up there," he pointed to the box over the ice. Tori nodded.

Nikki reminded her, "you need to get back and finish your warm-up. You have a lot of people coming to cheer you on. I know you want to show them your best." Several of Tori's classmates were coming and some family from her father's side. And now she knew all of Monsta X was coming too.

"Yes mommy. Be sure to watch, Samchon Minhyuk! And you too, Aunt Sunny!" she lilted as she skated backwards to the middle of the ice with a wave. Minhyuk smiled and nodded. He seemed just as excited as she was.

We watched as Tori did several more spins, jumps, and high kicks before we headed to our special area. I got dizzy just watching her spin! The seats were filling up as it was almost time for the competition to begin. People had already begun noticing Minhyuk, and he wanted to make sure they were focused on Tori, so we headed to our seats. On our way up, we spoke to the people in charge, and they told us of the back entrance where the other members should enter. Min texted the guys to let them know where to enter and where to go once they were inside. They were not far away now.