Chapter 4: Little Miss Insider
"Hahaha! Stop, that's bullshit!"
Click.
I hit the spacebar and press a combination of keys to mark the exact moment Jackson swore on cam—and in English no less. He was teasing Mark about something while waiting backstage before their Inkigayo performance.
"Hyung, we're still filming!" Bambam said in Korean, his hand still on the camera.
"Jinjja?!" Jackson confirmed before covering his mouth in embarrassment. Mark giggled, clearly enjoying the mishap. "Oh, jeosonghamnida!" Jackson slapped his mouth several times.
"Love Noona, please edit that out..." Mark said directly to the camera with a warm smile.
Click.
He said what?! I go back, hitting the keys like a maniac.
Click.
"Love noona..."
Click.
"Love noona..."
Click.
"Yah!" I take my headphones off to look at Mina who sits right across me. "What is wrong with you? You keep hitting they keys like you want to break your keyboard!" There's a look of annoyance on her face so I apologize quickly before gesturing for her to come over. "What is up with you?" I hand her my headphones wordlessly.
Click.
"Love noona..." I watch annoyance, surprise, and amazement pass through Mina's face in a matter of seconds. I press my ear against one side of my headphones, hoping to hear the rest of the things they're saying.
"Mark hyung, who are you talking to?" Bambam asked, shifting the camera towards the eldest member. Jackson seemed to have momentarily forgotten the fact that he said a bad word on cam and was waiting for Mark's answer.
"I was talking to Love noona" Mark answered, his face placid except for the playful smile on his lips.
"Who's Love noona?" Jackson asked.
"She's the new video PD" Mina gasps beside me. He remembers me. I really shouldn't be so surprised because we basically work in the same business unit, but this is definitely unexpected. "Love noona, annyeong haseyo! Jackson, say hello," Mark ordered. Jackson immediately cleared his throat in response, eyes focused on the camera.
"Annyeong hasseyo, noona! Please remove this clip from the video, mianheyo!" He said, smiling sweetly.
Click.
"I am so keeping this clip for myself," I whisper. Mina's mouth is still hanging open minutes after seeing the clip, making me laugh. I can't believe an accidental encounter with Mark would lead to this. For a new JYPE employee, this is huge progress.
"Sarang-ah, since you're friends with them now, you have to promise you're going to introduce me to Jaebum, okay?" Mina says, holding both of my hands. I nod enthusiastically, though I'm not entirely sure if "friends" would be the right term to use in this situation. I really don't think a chance encounter—in the dark and through a very awkward introduction—constitutes as instant friendship.
Aside from the secret shout out, I also did not expect to find myself swamped with additional video projects. Mina and I had to split the edits for the next fan DVD and the amount of behind-the-scenes footage I have to go through might just be detrimental to my mental health. By the end of the workday, I'm just about ready to never see Jinyoung's angel face ever again. Or not.
Me gustas tu, me gustas tu...
My phone jolts me out of my reverie.
"Hello?" Says the voice on the other end of line. I glance at my phone again, taking note of the unknown number on my screen. "Hello? Is this Love Kangjeon's phone?" The distinctive accent seems rather familiar.
"Yeah, may I know who this is?" I say, letting my natural Australian twang flow. I can see Mina smiling at me from my peripheral vision while I pack my belongings.
"Love, it's me, Olivia! I'm here in Korea!"
"Oh my god, Liv! Where are you? I'm getting off work right now d'you want to meet up?" I ask, excitement flowing through my body as I wave goodbye to Mina. She nods at me, and casually reminds me of my half-made promise before mouthing "Annyeong!"
"Well I'm actually still in a meeting right now but I'm free at around 10PM, do you want to go clubbing? I promised you I'd treat you when I visit, right?" We agree to meet at the speakeasy club we once went to in Gangnam. We both say our goodbyes and I immediately put my phone down to hail a cab. That's when I notice the fangirls and fanboys waiting patiently outside our building—a sight I'll probably never get used to in a million years. They all look so disappointed to see me get out of the building. They're probably waiting for WonderGirls, or 2PM, or even GOT7.
"Excuse me," Says a tiny voice in English. A kid, who appears to be just around 9 or 10 years old, is pulling at my right sleeve cutely. She's wearing a pink beanie on her head of brown hair and is standing beside a shy teenage girl who's quietly holding a huge paper bag adorned with fancy colored tissue papers inside. "Do you know Jackson from GOT7?"
"Yes, he's my friend!" I answer, stooping down to face her and giving her my warmest smile. Her face suddenly lights up. Don't get me wrong, I hate having to lie to her—or to anyone for that matter—but the look of desperation on her face is killing me.
"Is he inside?" She asks.
"Oh sorry he's not there. GOT7 is out filming something today so they won't be coming any time soon." I look around to see other people eavesdropping on us and I realize they must have waited a long time to see the boys too. I also realize that I have missed several taxis while talking to the girl.
"Oh okay..." The little girl says, her soft voice barely audible. She sighs and looks to me with renewed hope. "I have gifts for them from Canada. Do you think you can hand it to them for me?"
"Of course, sweetie! Does it have your name on it so I can tell them who it's from?" She nods at me in response and then turns to the teenage girl who I assume is her sister, just because they have the same hair and eyes. The teenage girl hands me the paper bag and I stand properly to take a look at what's inside. It contains seven neatly wrapped care packages but one of them looks bigger and heavier than the others. "Oh my gosh, these are so pretty!"
"Thank you! I'm Emily and this is my sister Ellie. We came all the way from Canada to see them, but our flight back home is tomorrow..." The teenage girl ends her sentence with a sad smile and it makes me feel terrible for lying and whining at work. It's not every day that I get to witness how awesome my job is, just staring at these guys on my screen nine hours a day, even seeing them at shoots or around the office every once in a while.
"Oh don't worry, I'll make sure they get this," I say, guilt starting to creep in. I immediately flag a cab to remove myself from the situation, especially since the other fans are eyeing us curiously now. "I'm sorry, I have to go now but I'll bring this to them tomorrow, I promise."
"Thank you very much," The teenage girl finally speaks up. "May we know your name before you go?" She further asks with a grateful smile.
"My name is Love, nice to meet you! Bye bye!" I wave at them before getting inside the taxi. I can see them waving back joyfully outside the car, tears almost springing from their eyes. I start to panic. How the heck am I supposed to give this to GOT7?
I think about all the possible ways to get the gift to them on the way home. This includes asking the directors, the stylist noona, and even JYP himself. But I scrap that thought immediately because not only am I not personally close to these people, I also have a feeling I'm not supposed to receive gifts for the artists. What was I thinking?! I might get fired for this!
I decide to forget the problem I have made for myself and concentrate on my current situation instead—I have less than two hours to prepare for a night out, which I haven't done in quite a while. This should be interesting.
An hour and a half later, I'm waiting for Liv in a posh basement bar in Agpujeong. Above it is a wine shop that's barely noticeable except for a vintage blinking light with an arrow pointing downwards. I remember spending three hours trying to find it the first time Liv and I came to Korea because we heard it's where most K-Pop stars hang out without having to deal with fans and paparazzi. You can't get in if you can't tell the wine seller the correct password, and it took Liv a lot of research to find out and text me the code for tonight, apparently so that I can sit and sulk by myself at the bar.
Right now, though, my main concern is my best friend. I have called her phone number six times already to no avail. We've known each other since college and we've traveled a lot together so I know it's not uncharacteristic of her to be late, but it is not like her to not be answering calls.
I'm almost done with my first drink when my phone rings. "Hey, Liv, where are you?" I ask, trying to mask my irritation.
"Love, listen, I'm really sorry but I don't think I'm going to make it tonight."
"Why, what happened?"
"I'd love to tell you now, mate, but it's a really long story."
"Can you at least tell me where you are?"
"I'm in the hospital right now."
"Oh my god, are you okay?!"
"Yes, yes, I'm fine. Listen, I have to go now but text me your address, I'll be there tomorrow and I promise I won't sit you up this time." We end the call, and a sigh escapes me. I quickly finish my drink, prepare to pay the bill and leave. I hate to admit I have wasted an hour fixing my hair for nothing.
"Excuse me," The good looking bartender says in his impressive English. "I hope you're not leaving yet because someone just bought this for you," He sets a beautiful red and orange cocktail in front of me and my eyes go wild as I look around. This is the first time someone's ever bought me a drink in Seoul. "It's from our VIPs," He adds before leaving.
I take a sip of the drink, consciously looking around the dark bar for the mystery VIP until my eyes zero in on one of the tables. A group of people are gathered in a cozy, velvet-upholstered alcove at the far end of the room. I shift in my seat to get a better look. Why do they look familiar?
My eyes latch onto another pair of eyes looking directly at me. He's wearing a stylish printed jacket, a plain black shirt, and super tight pants. He raises his glass of liquid to me, his plump lips upturned into a pretty smile.
Fucking hell...