Yongguk opened his eyes the next morning, trying to move his arms and legs to stretch and finding himself completely pinned by other members who were still asleep. He sighed and lifted his head, the only mobile part of his body, to check the time. It was already ten o'clock in the morning, and though their concert wasn't until the next day, Yongguk knew they would have a hard day of practice ahead of them. So he laid back down and closed his eyes, reveling in the semi-conscious state of partial sleep until Youngjae stretched, hit Daehyun on the shoulder, and caused a chain reaction of groans and involuntary spasms that woke up the rest of the group.
"What time is it?" Zelo yawned.
"Ten o'clock," Yongguk answered.
"That late?" Jongup said.
"What's for breakfast?" Daehyun asked.
"We should probably start practicing," Himchan said. "Did everyone sleep well?"
"My back itches," Youngjae said.
"I have to use the bathroom," Jongup said. "Get off my leg, Daehyun."
"Are you feeling better, Zelo?" Yongguk asked.
"Much, hyung," Zelo answered.
The group paused and checked to make sure Zelo's words were true, and they all breathed a silent sigh of relief when they saw that both his color and vibrant spirit had returned.
"Drink some more tomato juice," Himchan said, tossing Zelo a bottle that had been lying on the floor.
Zelo needed no convincing. In under a minute, the bottle was finished off and tossed someplace for the maid to get later.
"Boy, you can really drink that stuff, can't you, Zelo?" Daehyun said.
"That's why none of us could beat him at that juice drinking contest we had last night," Youngjae said. "My breath still smells like grapes."
"We'd better move to another hotel room, gang," Yongguk said. "The maid's got a big job to do in here, and if we're here, she won't be able to work." He frowned at the large streak on the carpet and pulled out his wallet, everyone else doing the same. After all six of them chipped in for the maid's tip, Himchan came up with the idea to give her a picture of B.A.P that was signed by all six of them. After all, they were famous. If she knew who they were, then she'd be overjoyed to find something of theirs in her possession. If not, then at least she'd be able to sell it for some money.
"Why do you sign your name as 'kitten,' Zelo?" Daehyun asked.
"It was during our debut, remember? They asked me what animal I was most like, and I just blurted out kitten," Zelo said.
"I guess it fits," Jongup said.
"Come on, everyone, help me get me and Yongguk's stuff out of the hotel room," Himchan said.
"Why?" Youngjae asked.
"After what happened on the Los Angeles streets yesterday, I don't want to take any chances having our stuff stolen," Himchan said.
Everyone agreed and soon the hotel room was cleared out of any stuff that B.A.P would regret having stolen.
"We should start practicing," Yongguk said. "Which hotel room should we do it in?"
"Because we can't go outside," Jongup sighed.
"Unless you want to get mauled by fans," Himchan said.
"Or kidnapped," Youngjae said. Everyone nodded in agreement.
"How about me and Youngjae's room?" Daehyun said. "That way we won't have to go out for breakfast."
"You brought enough snacks for breakfast?" Himchan asked.
"He brought along enough snacks for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the next week," Youngjae said, nudging Daehyun with a smile.
Everyone piled into Daehyun and Youngjae's room, and within five minutes the room was converted into a dance studio by pushing the beds aside and marking the center of the dance floor with several pieces of tape. Zelo sat on a nearby bed, six bottles of tomato juice near him, and the practice began.
Yongguk thought that Zelo would simply be there for moral support, but he actually turned out to be a great help during their practice. After each run through of the song, Zelo pointed out errors in the choreography or certain dance moves that needed to be sharpened or intensified for better visual stimulation.
"Daehyun, during the second chorus, make sure to snap your arm back in and freeze for a second before sliding to the left," Zelo said. "Besides that, you guys looked perfect."
"You're really good at this," Youngjae said.
Zelo shrugged. "We practice, don't we? We're all really good, but I think we could get even better if we had a member step out of the choreography every now and then to watch us and see how our dances would look from an audience angle. What do you think, Yongguk-hyung?"
Yongguk was already nodding. "I think that's a great idea, especially for now since we're not in the dance studio and can't see ourselves performing the dance since there aren't any mirrors."
"It's just like onstage," Himchan said. "When you're up there, you need to remember how the dance feels, not how it looks in a mirror."
"But I'm sure the fans would like it just as much if we just stood up there and did a bunch of body rolls," Jongup said.
"And took our shirts off," Youngjae said.
Their laughs turned to groans as they considered this, and they ran through their song list one more time before taking a break for lunch.
"What's for lunch, Daehyun?" Jongup asked as they lounged on the beds and caught their breath after practice.
"Well, I brought some kimchi and ramen," Daehyun said. "You guys know what that means."
Yongguk licked his lips, already savoring the taste of such a nostalgic dish. "Army stew."
"That's right; all I've got to do is heat it up."
Lunch was prepared and served individually this time, but everyone still reclined on Zelo's bed as they ate due to habit.
Himchan was busy going back for seconds when there was a knock on their door.
"Did you — " Yongguk began.
"No, I didn't," Himchan replied, opening the room door with a frown. He stepped back as their manager entered. Everyone visibly stiffened.
"Hello, you guys," he said, bowing. No one bowed in response, but simply watched and waited to see what he would do.
"What do you want?" Yongguk asked coolly.
"I'd like to apologize for my behavior last night," he said. "My wife called, she and I had an argument, and after that I — anyway, the things I said weren't right. I ask you for your forgiveness, and will reward you all with as much Korean barbecue as you can eat once this tour is over and we get back to Korea."
At the mention of food, everyone brightened. They passed a glance all around, then looked again at their manager.
"We forgive you," Himchan answered for everyone.
"Thank you," their manager said. "Hyungs," he quickly added, leaving the room before anyone had time to gasp.
Yongguk and the rest of the group sat in shock for a few seconds, stunned by their manager's behavior. "I can't believe he just said that."
"I know," Jongup said in awe.
"Just goes to show how guilty he felt for the way he treated us last night," Daehyun said.
"And now we'll get Korean barbecue!" Zelo said.
Youngjae was chuckling. "At least he didn't slam the door on his way out like last night."
"Isn't that Zelo's job to slam doors?" Daehyun said.
"Yeah, when he's angry," Jongup said.
Zelo blushed. "That was only during puberty."
"Aren't you still in puberty?" Yongguk joked, knuckling the side of Zelo's face.
"Now you just punch the walls of the dance studio when you're angry," Himchan said.
Youngjae turned to Daehyun and pretended to punch him for a few seconds before sitting back and grinning at Zelo.
Zelo blushed a second time, then got off the bed. "I'm getting more stew," Zelo said, causing everyone to laugh.
Lunch was finished, and practice resumed. Halfway through the sixth song, Zelo couldn't take it anymore and jumped off the bed, performing his dance solo with perfection. After that, he joined the rest of the group in practice, doing just as well as if he'd never fainted. He followed the choreography, soloed perfectly, and laughed the entire time. After running through the song list a final time, Yongguk and the others fell onto the bed in exhaustion. It was good; they were finally B.A.P again.
Himchan glanced at the clock. "Exactly one day from now, we'll be performing our first ever American concert."
Yongguk nodded. "How does everyone feel?"
"We are B.A.P, yes, sir!" everyone shouted.
"Do you guys want to chance it and go out to eat?" Daehyun asked.
"I don't know," Jongup said. "It's dangerous out there."
"After being poisoned and almost mobbed to death, I don't think we're ready to brave the outside world just yet," Yongguk said.
"Let's stay in and eat more kimchi," Zelo said.
"I brought two jars of the stuff," Daehyun said. "Along with enough snacks to get us through a five-day weekend."
"Sounds good enough for me," Himchan said.
A simple dinner was prepared, and the group ate with a hunger that comes only from a six-hour-long dance practice session. Then, with stomachs full and spirits content, they sat down on the bed and practiced the vocal parts of their songs before sleep began to drag at each member in turn.
"Tomorrow's the big day, everyone," Yongguk announced.
"We have to get up at five and run through practice one more time before hitting the showers and getting outfitted for the concert," Himchan said. "After that is our makeup, then a quick fan chat before we hit the stage."
"We'd better get some sleep, then," Youngjae said.
"Yeah, we want to be in tip-top shape for our first ever American concert," Jongup said.
"B.A.P!" they all yelled.
Dinner bowls were tossed to the floor and somehow or another, a queen-sized bed held six. Six pairs of eyes closed, and they all dreamed of what the next day would hold when they were finally onstage and performing as one group to one nation. They knew America like the back of their hands, but soon, America would see them perform and finally know them as well.
"Do you think so?" Zelo asked.
Yongguk frowned, keeping his eyes closed. He knew that it was still nighttime since there wasn't any light shining in through the hotel window. Why was Zelo awake at such an hour? It certainly wasn't time to get up yet.
"I'm positive," Jongup said. "You don't need to worry about it."
"But yesterday during our practicing, I could feel my body giving out," Zelo said. "I don't think I'm fully recovered from that drugged orange juice yet."
"My body was giving out, too," Jongup said. "We were practicing for hours, remember?"
"But what if I pass out or something while onstage tomorrow?" Zelo asked, now sounding worried. "What if I miss a step and throw everybody off?"
"Have you ever before?" Jongup asked.
"No, but I've never been so nervous in my life before," Zelo said. "I mean, this is our debut in America. What if I mess up?"
As Yongguk's sleep-sluggish brain began to put the pieces together, he started to realize what Zelo and Jongup were talking about. A pang of guilt went through him. He'd been so busy dealing with everything that had happened since they arrived in America that he didn't even consider the fact that the group might be nervous for their concert or scared that something might go wrong. Their group had performed in Korea so many times that Yongguk simply assumed they wouldn't be nervous any more, however, as Yongguk himself thought back on all their previous concerts, he realized something. Before each and every concert, he'd always felt a sense of nervousness, whether or not he was conscious of it. Each concert brought with it a feeling as benign as nerves or as intense as pure fright. And if he, their leader, felt such strong emotions before an unimportant concert, how much more would the younger members of the group be feeling these emotions right before their debut in America — one of the biggest concerts in their entire career?
"Hey, it's okay. Don't worry about it, Zelo," Yongguk said, sitting up. Even though the darkness, he could see Zelo's surprised expression, followed by a blush.
"I didn't know you were awake," he muttered.
"I don't think anyone's asleep anymore," Himchan said, sitting up as well.
"You're not the quietest, you know," Daehyun said, rolling onto his stomach and resting his chin on his arms.
"And tomorrow's the concert," Youngjae said, stretching with a yawn. "I doubt anyone expected us to sleep as long as we did."
"Sorry for waking you guys," Zelo said, blushing deeper.
"Don't worry about it," Yongguk said. "Everyone gets nervous."
Zelo sighed. "But what if I mess up and — "
"So what if you do?" Himchan said. "Everyone's human, and we've all messed up before."
"You just got to trust in yourself and do your best," Daehyun said.
"But I'm not used to being this tired after practice," Zelo said. "What if I can't make it through the whole concert?"
"Then we'll have an intermission," Yongguk said.
"Or we'll start a song that has mainly vocals and not much dancing," Himchan said.
"You act like we'll force you to keep going until you faint again," Jongup said.
"But this is America, guys!" Zelo almost shouted. "If we don't do well — "
"Zelo, come on. You think you're the only one who's worried and scared? We're all scared." Yongguk knew that he'd spoke the truth when he glanced around at the rest of the group and noticed they were all avoiding his eyes, not wanting to acknowledge it any more than he did. "This is our first concert in America; we're terrified."
Zelo's eyes went wide. "Really? I thought hyungs never got scared."
Yongguk let out a bark of laughter. "I wish that were true, but as Himchan said, we're all human. Just because we're a little older doesn't mean we don't get scared."
Zelo looked around. "Is that true, guys?"
Himchan frowned and punched the bed. "Yeah, Yongguk's right."
"That's why we're a team," Youngjae said.
"So we can rely on each other," Daehyun said.
"And you can rely on us," Jongup said.
"All of us," Yongguk finished, clapping a hand on Zelo's shoulder.
Zelo's worried expression finally broke as he looked around at all the other confident expressions around him. He smiled, then reached out to Yongguk and punched him on the shoulder. Yongguk punched Zelo playfully, then soon everyone was punching and pushing each other. Then they sighed and reclined next to Zelo.
"Tomorrow's the concert, but we're ready, team," Yongguk said. "Because we are . . . "
"B.A.P, yes, sir!"
