Call Me Noona

Chapter 3 - Fanmeeting (Edited)

Wednesday morning, I awoke to the sounds of Minhyuk's whale screech on my phone. I had made the sound into my alarm. I was still tired because of the time difference, but I also knew that I had a date with 7 gorgeous men later! I padded over to the window and opened the heavy curtains as far as they would go. The sun was bright, and I had to allow my eyes to adjust, but I knew it was going to be a glorious day. I washed up, fixed my hair, put on just enough makeup to even out my skin and make my blue eyes stand out, and then got dressed. This afternoon was the fanmeet, so I wore a cute little skirt and a Monsta X/Monbebe t-shirt that I had designed. My outfit for the meet-and-greet was more flirty, feminine, and a little bit sexy. I know Minhyuk prefers sexy girls over cute ones, and I hoped to catch his eye. He also prefers chubby girls and older girls, so I think I can fit into those categories too.

I met Jun in the hotel lobby promptly at 8 AM and he suggested we start with breakfast from a coffee shop nearby. We had delicious Americanos, better than I had gotten at home from that famous chain, and some delightful pastries. He presented an itinerary for the week, which included several of the places I wanted to visit. We finished our breakfast and headed out on my first true international adventure.

Just after lunch, we started heading towards Ilsan, where the fanmeet/mini-concert was taking place. I would only meet the guys across the table tonight, but tomorrow I would have a chance to get to know them better. I would be seeing them up close on the stage tonight too, even closer than last year's concert where I had UVIP and a 4th row ticket. When we arrived, Jun drove us past the crowd waiting for entry, many of whom were hoping to score a ticket. I felt a little guilty at first, but that faded quickly.

Passing through Security was easy because I was able to answer their questions without an interpreter. Finally, I was escorted to my seat... front-row, right in the middle. Those crazy butterflies were back and I could not stop smiling. My presence caused quite a buzz in the crowd. It wasn't rare to have international fans in the audience, but something must have stood out about me... or maybe they knew about the contest. I could hear all kinds of murmurs, but I was trying to ignore and pretend I did not understand them. I just let it go and focused on the stage before me. One particular girl was starting to ruffle some of the others in the audience. She was getting a bit nasty about my being there.

I signaled for Jun to come over and let him know what was happening. He bent down so that I could speak into his ear and I asked him if I should say something or not. He smelled so good that got distracted for a moment. He said he would handle it and asked me to stay right where I was. Jun stood and walked to the troublemaker's seat. He asked her to stand so he could speak with her. I don't know what he said, but she was quiet after that and shut down the others who tried to start it back up again. Every time I looked back, she was looking at me with a stunned expression. I smiled again to myself. Jun was awesome and I was going to have to ask him later what he said to her.

The lights dimmed in the studio and the stage lights came up. We all started screaming and chanting "Mon-su-ta ek-su! Mon-su-ta ek-su!" Like magic, 7 magnificent figures appeared from the side of the stage. They waved and smiled as they walked toward the audience. "Monbebe! Saranghanda! Gomawoyo!" They launched into their latest song and then stopped to talk to us for a while. They performed a couple more songs and then started playing around, chasing each other, seeing who could hit Kihyun's high notes, and other general goofery. Minhyuk was extra hyper tonight and was really "on". They kept looking at me and smiling, and I was sure they knew I was the contest winner, so it made sense. I really didn't care the reason why, they were looking at me and smiling. Minhyuk and Wonho came to the edge of the stage in front of me. Minhyuk just looked at me with this incredibly huge smile on his face, winked at me, and then went back to his place. I would have sworn he bounced back over to it. Then Wonho bent down in front of me and sent me a huge heart with his muscled arms. He just flashed that precious gummy smile of his and went back to take his spot in the lineup as well. I just about fainted from all this attention! The teenager in me went nuts, as did the rest of the crowd.

They performed a couple of older songs, one of which was my absolute favorite. I could not stop watching Minhyuk. He was so expressive in his movements and so on point. And his voice makes me melt every time I hear it. All of them were amazing dancers and they synchronized so flawlessly that I was mesmerized. I caught Minhyuk looking at me several times and he even seemed to shoot several finger hearts in my direction. I knew I was twisting it in my head, but I went with it anyway. I just kept swinging my Mondoongie and singing along.

It was time for the "meet" part and several Monbebes went ahead of me. It was finally my turn and the members were surprised that I could speak Korean well. They all spoke to me in English at first, until I spoke fluently to them in Korean. They had all been learning and practicing the past few years since they were promoting so heavily in the states.

When I got to Minhyuk, he just stared at me for a moment before that incredible smile of his appeared. He talked to me like we had known each other for a long time. He held my hand as we talked and when my time was over, he pouted and held on to my hand as long as he could and followed me with his eyes as I moved down the line to Wonho. I smiled and told him that I would be seeing him tomorrow. His smile grew even bigger. He had to turn his attention to the Monbebe now in front of him, but I caught him sneaking glances at me a couple of times. It made my toes tingle.

At the end they all shot me hearts, then they shared more with the rest of the audience. It was such an incredible experience, much more than I had even hoped for. After it was over, I was taken to a special photo area and they took some press photos of me. Then suddenly there was a commotion behind me. I turned to see what was going on and it was the guys! They all crowded in around me and more photos were taken. Minhyuk was right beside me. He smelled so good, and I just wanted to climb into his arms. He was leaning in so closely that I could feel the heat from his body. It made me feel warm all over. The photos were quick, and they did not stay around, but Minhyuk kept his eyes on me until he was out of sight. I was even more excited about tomorrow now. It seemed that maybe I had caught his eye after all.

The staff led me safely to Jun and he escorted me back to the car. On the ride back, I asked Jun what he said to the girl. He told me that he informed her that I was a special guest of Monsta X and that she would be removed from the premises if she did not calm down and be respectful of their friend. I giggled at the thought of being a friend of Monsta X! He chuckled in response.

Jun had promised me a trip to the top of Namsan Tower at night to see the city lights and that is where we were headed next. I was nervous about the trip to the top and of being up on the platform, but I needed to see this. Like Wonho, I do not like heights. I was glad to have an escort because it would make it a little easier to manage my anxiety.

The ride back to Seoul was about an hour's drive and we chatted on the way. Jun was a really sweet guy. He had been a driver for the agency for several years and knew the guys pretty well. I tried not to annoy him with too many questions about them, but it was hard not to. I would never have this opportunity again, but I did not want to come across as a sasaeng either. I told him my thoughts and he just laughed. He said if I asked anything too sensitive, he just would not answer.

The ride up to the top of the tower was a quite nerve-wracking for me. I kept my eyes closed most of the way up and practiced my breathing exercises. Once we got on more solid footing, I felt better, and the view was totally worth it. The couple-locks had completely taken over the railing, and I imagined hanging one with Minhyuk. I shook my head to bring myself back to reality. Sunny, get a grip. You are a grown woman, so stop the high school fantasies.

The sun was getting low over the Han River and the sky was a wash of orange, red, and purple. It was one of the most beautiful sunsets I had ever seen. I pulled out my tripod and snapped dozens of shots as I watched the sun drop into the water. It was simply stunning, and I needed that moment to be seared into my brain. I could have an exhibit from just this one night of photos.

My stomach decided it had been ignored long enough and started rumbling loudly. Embarrassed, I looked over at Jun and he just laughed at me. We headed back down the tower and into a nearby chicken restaurant. The chicken was even better than at home. I was going to have a hard time adjusting to that when I got back.

Jun dropped me at the hotel, and I began editing photos as soon as I got back to my room. I was so engrossed that I jumped at a message notification. It was a message from Jun sending me a photo he had taken when Minhyuk and Wonho were in front of me! Then a second one of the whole group giving hearts. I jumped up and spun around in the room until I made myself dizzy. I responded to him with thank you and many heart emojis. There was no way I was sleeping now! I decided to take a swim to calm myself and hopefully sleep. Tomorrow was THE DAY and I wanted to look my best, not puffy and tired.