Idols

Complete novel

I

It all began when for work I had to start traveling a lot to Asia to open new offices in that continent. We visited Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea, and some other countries, but since our parent company already had representative offices in Hong Kong and Singapore, then Korea was the chosen destination.

Several of us were traveling to Seoul, to set up our operations there. We started hiring Koreans because we needed local talent and some necessary foreigners.

I must say that I loved Seoul and Korea, a wonderful, beautiful, organized, although very traditionalist and elitist country.

With my colleagues we went lo Latin parties, to karaoke bars, restaurants and we often visited Itaewon, a neighborhood with many restaurants and has a more international vibe and we had a great time.

At work everything was going well, but the frequent traveling was exhausting, there are no direct flights from Chile, so we had to take two or three flights which took many hours, so I decided to stay six months there and then spend a month in my country. This routine went on for about two years during the office set up. My boyfriend and I saw each other when I traveled back to Chile.

I found out that Bruno Mars had decided to visit Korea and hold a concert there. Since I would be in Seoul on the date of the concert, some co-workers and I bought tickets to his show. The day of the concert was very hot, even though spring had just begun. The venue was packed with people.

The concert was insane, we danced, sang, screamed, and our adrenaline was through the roof.

At one point, someone spilled a drink on me, but that was all part of the fun with my group of friends and coworkers. Koreans on the other hand were not as expressive and were quite orderly.

After the concert, as we were leaving the venue, the crowd was so huge that I got separated from my colleagues. We had agreed to meet up at a bar later, so I headed to the restroom to freshen up and remove the stain from my shirt. It was an individual bathroom, so I took off my shirt, leaving me just in bra. I started washing my shirt and trying to remove the stain when suddenly, I heard screams. I tried to peek out to see what was happening, but just as I opened the door, someone pushed me back in, locked the door from inside and turned off the lights.

Both of us were breathing heavily, I was scared, and he was probably tired or frightened, I couldn't tell. He started speaking in Korean, but I couldn't understand much since he was speaking so fast. I told him in English that I didn't speak Korean, hoping he would understand something. Fortunately, he also spoke English and he explained that he was hiding from fans who were harassing him. He had to escape because his bodyguard got left behind in the crowd.

I reassured him that he was safe with me, as I wasn't his fan and wouldn't harass him. He chuckled, we both laughed. Right then, his phone rang, and he started speaking in a hushed tone almost whispering, I assumed he was talking to his bodyguard, then he hung up. He turned on his phone's flashlight and looked at me. It turns out he was a member of one of the most famous K-pop bands in Korea, I recognized him immediately.

I wasn't a huge K-pop fan at that moment, although I knew many of their songs and liked them. He was very handsome, with a blend of boyish charm and mature masculinity. He smelled amazing, his perfume was captivating, and his gaze held me captivated. He was dressed in worn jeans, a white shirt, and a leather jacket.

He asked if I minded staying there with him for a while. My legs were shaking, and my mind was somewhere else, I couldn't believe what was happening. While he was talking, I was just thinking how lucky I was to be there with one of them. I was going to tell my friends who I'd been with, but obviously they wouldn't believe me. In any case, I couldn't act just like another fan, so I decided to pretend I didn't recognize him, even though I did know who he was.