It was him. Lee Taewon. My mind short-circuted. My feet felt unsteady. I didn't know whether to scream or keep silent. I chose silence - barely. The Lee Taewon, my bias in Skyline, was standing right in front of me. April wouldn't believe this one. I didn't think I believed it myself either. If this was a prank, it was the best prank I had ever gotten. Only, It wasn't April Fools - No pun intended. In fact, I think I would be happy to be pranked like this every day, and that was delusional.
Act cool. I told myself to act cool. It was nothing. It was just a celebrity who happened to be my bias and was coincidentally on the same rooftop as me. It then dawned on me. The first conversation we had. Right there and then, I wished the earth would swallow me whole. I even hoped inner earth beings, lizard people, or whatever would come and kidnap me and take me in as one of their own. I was ready to manage the heat that they went through in the inner earth.
I recalled it, and it sounded worse in my head. I asked if he was dreamy. Worse, I said his voice saved lives. I, a dedicated stan, didn't even recognise his voice in real life. In my defence, TV and real life were different. I had totally fan girled in front of him on the day we met. To make things more earth-shattering, I called my idol rude. Of all the days to not suddenly faint from exhaustion, it had to be that moment. He loved rock music, and his English was great because Lee Taewon was born and raised in America. Lee Taewon was a producer, singer, songwriter, and dancer. He was a quadra threat, and I was the fool who doubted him and thought that he couldn't be an idol. How wrong I was! The whole fandom called him bami because he was a night owl, which made sense why I would meet him mostly at night. I had all the clues in front of me and missed every one of them. He would have been at the Alchemist pub because of the vinyl rock music. He was a rock music fan, so that place seemed more or less his scene. I wouldn't have been surprised if he owned it. This was my worst nightmare. I used to think that totally fangirling in front of my idol was a nightmare. I considered that at that point as a dream. Insulting my idol and having him hear my most intricate delusional thoughts like the fact that I thought he was dreamy was a nightmare. Thank God, on that day, I never said anything about him living on my mind rent-free. Bamians would kill me if they found out, or be jealous of me and still murder me, because hello, he was freaking Lee Taewon.
I tried controlling my already rapid breathing. He was definitely right. It wasn't the right time. I should have gone along with the mystery, but even then, I would've said more delusional things. I closed my eyes and folded my palms on my sides. I counted from five, hoping that it was all a nightmare and I had slept on the rooftop. I opened them at one, and he was still standing there holding his cap. He then placed it back on his head.
"Are you okay? " He asked. I wanted to rant, and I already thought of the words that I wanted to use. How was I supposed to be okay, Lee taewon? Would he be okay if he met Avril lavigne, his favourite female rock artist. Would V from BTS be okay if he met Selena gomez? Maybe he would but still didn't change the fact that he would be affected a bit. They are trained for it. I'm not trained. I just knew how to lose my mind.
"Yeah, sort of," I stammered. I took a deep breath and was ready to play it cool.
"You are really that much of my fan?" He teased.
"I mean, have you met you? " I teased back. He smiled, and this time, he didn't bother to hide it. It was really an awe moment.
"Every day when I look at myself on the mirror," He sarcastically replied, making me laugh. I'm glad I saved that one. He walked towards me and stood next to the railing as he stared at the city.
"I expected a different reaction, " He stated. "Considering you said I was dreamy, " he added teasingly. I wouldn't live this one down. I tried to hide my face, but I wasn't like him, always carrying a hoodie or a cap.
"Could we forget about that, please?" I begged.
"It was cute, Maria," He said. I almost had a heart attack. I wasn't sure if it was from embarrassment or the fact that he said I was cute. It was the latter. I'm black, so I wouldn't get rosy cheeks, but I could definitely feel my cheeks heat up. I just wanted to hide. I was distracted that I hadn't noticed that he had said my name. When I did, I turned to him almost, all my shyness gone with the quiet wind that blew in between us. He was taller than me, his height looming over me. Was it possible for someone to look more handsome in person? It made more sense why he preferred the night. The moonlight complimented him. He said that he was nobody, but if he could see himself through my eyes, he would see himself shine so brightly.
"How did you know my name?" I asked.
"At the pub, " He replied. It felt almost like a lie. Had I shouted that much when I introduced myself? Maybe I did.
"And now you owe me," he said bluntly. "An IOU, Mari. " It reminded me of what he said on the rooftop on the first night. He said he was rude, blunt, antisocial, and could be the most terrible person. But to be honest, I couldn't stop myself from holding my breath when my name rolled out of his tongue so effortlessly. He was officially the one person who I definitely enjoyed hearing my name come from his mouth. That was delusional, too. But it proved that he heard it from the pub. I just couldn't remember anyone being around when I said it unless he was the bartender.
"When are you going to call it?" I asked curiously.
"You'll know when I do. " he calmly spoke.
"It should be something I could afford." I reminded him. He chuckled as if it was amusing. I didn't see what was amusing about that. He literally went to Versace Paris fashion week. That is crazy expensive. If I calculated from my earnings, cancelling rent, food, and other things, it wouldn't be enough to afford anything versace. It was, however, fascinating how different he was when he wasn't on stage or in the limelight. This was the real, Lee Taewon. Rude, blunt, and antisocial.
"You can afford it. "he whispered in my ear. I shivered. He stared at me, a smirk forming on his face. I finally understood why people camped on concert grounds because they wanted to have this close proximity. There I was, Maria Bahati, having experienced what everyone would have killed for. I was indeed the luckiest fan at that moment.
"So, when are you going to collect? " I asked. Almost to himself, he muttered something in Korean. If April was right beside me, she would have translated it to me or tried to.
"I can collect now if you want. " he said, turning to me. I shivered. Was it possible to feel the sun shine at you at night? That was what I felt. I found it hard to breathe.
"You should go home. It's getting late. "He advised. I nodded. I felt disheartened and crestfallen. I wanted to spend more time with him, but what he said made sense.
"I should." I replied as I took my first step away from him.
"Mari," He called out to me, stopping me in my tracks. I turned. He watched me, his expression unreadable. "You can't tell anyone." his voice was quieter, almost pleading that all this was to remain a secret, and I understood why.
"You know -" he started to explain, "I understand. Plus, I don't think I would want to tell anyone." I interrupted.
"Why?" He asked nervously.
"Why what?" I questioned.
"Why wouldn't you tell anyone?" he asked. "I mean, every fan would literally go on instagram or tiktok and post about it."he explained further, "And you didn't even take a picture. It's weird."
"Maybe I was too starstruck. " I replied sarcastically. It never crossed my mind. Even if it did, wouldn't it be better if I asked for permission first. It would be creepy to take pictures of someone without them knowing. Plus, he preferred to be anonymous, I should leave him be. I respected that.
"No one would believe me if I told them. Maybe April would, but the rest of the world would judge me harshly. " I explained. "Even if I had receipts, the press control and marketing at Aether would eat me up. " I added.
"I'm just a simple tech worker. I want to keep it that way. "
"You must really love your job. " He replied almost in disbelief.
"I guess I do. " I vaguely responded.
"But Mari, you were starstruck, and you thought I was dreamy?" he teased.
"I thought we forgot about that, " I replied shyly.
"I didn't agree to anything, " He replied as he placed on his hood above his cap.
"I would be keeping this as a secret from April, so it would be nice if you didn't constantly remind me. " I bargained.
"You said it yourself, Aether would murder you. So you didn't do it for me, You did it for yourself. " he confidently said, surprising me. He always said a few words to me, and that was the most he said to me.
"So the I owe you still counts?" I asked, hoping it didn't.
"Yes, it does. " He said seriously, and it felt dangerous to even ask.
"Damn it!" I cursed as I stomped my right foot on the floor. I hoped he would have removed the IOU bounty on my head, but I felt even more burdened knowing he would constantly tease me. Imagine meeting him on the rooftop again, and the first thing he said to me was, "Hey, Miss. I'm so Starstrucked by Lee Taewon. "already gave me nightmares.
"It's embarrassing," I begged, hoping he would let go of the dreamy thing.
" For you. " he heartlessly teased. "It's not every day I get called dreamy and make someone starstrucked. " He joked.
"You literally do it all the time to your fans, " I complained, amused by him, but also annoyed by him.
"I know. But when it comes from you, it's somehow exhilarating, " he added.
"Why me? " I questioned.
"It's cute, " There went my stupid heart again.It pounded like crazy because Lee Taewon called me cute.
"And embarrassing," He teased.
"But not as embarrassing as you saying, My voice saved lives. " He joked again. "You surprised me. "
"Can I just run home and not come to work tomorrow? " I asked sarcastically.
"You have to come. " He ordered. "Who else will I tease?" he asked as he walked towards me. But I definitely didn't care about him wanting to tease me the next day, but I cared that he wanted to meet me again. That's all I heard. I finally understood how hot it was to be around the sun. I melted. He held my shoulders and turned me around. It reminded me of when I almost fell at the Alchemist. He saved me then from another embarrassment, but I didn't want to be teased like that. We waltzed towards the elevators. I was lost in thought for a second, trying my hardest not to fangirl.
"I do wonder, whose life did my voice save? " He asked, his tone more serious. I didn't want to answer. I kept silent for a while as the elevator ping distracted me from my thoughts. We entered in silence. He didn't bother to push for an answer to his question. He pressed his floor and mine too.
"My life. " I muttered to myself when we reached the fifth floor. He got out of the elevator and turned to stare me as the steels doors closed. I hoped he heard me, but I also didn't want to add another item to the lists of things he could tease me about. I leaned on the elevator and took a deep breath. It was an intense situation. The whole rooftop thing was intense. I packed my bags and called for an Uber. I arrived home, and April was seated on the couch, monitoring the time. I had completely forgotten about that. April Summers. On the bright side, she wasn't hiding in her room.
"It seems you are making this a norm, " she said calmly, and that was more scary. I preferred the April who would scold me than the April I was to face.
"April, you wouldn't beli-" I started excitedly, but then I remembered my promise to Lee Taewon.
"Believe what? " April asked with piqued interest.
"My code didn't work. That's why I am late. " I replied, hoping it would make sense to her.
"Really? " She questioned curiously. It felt as if she were the detective, and I was the criminal on the other side. It was a first for me to hide something as big from April. I felt sorry about it and could feel a fat man sitting on my chest. I wanted to tell her but I knew I couldn't. She knew everything about me. I hoped I hid it well.
"So you want to tell me you weren't on a rendezvous with your mystery stranger?" she asked sarcastically.
"No, really, It was the code. " I didn't falter. I couldn't. She seemed to believe me.
"But we are kind of even." I added.
"Mari; what's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, you worried me when you set me up with a guy. " I brought it up again, completely taking her away from Lee Taewon.
"Revenge, huh? By making me worry about you? " she asked in disbelief.
"Real classy, Mari." she responded angrily to her own question.
"You did worry me. " I said, guilt trapping her.
"I apologised when I made you dinner." She bargained. I shook my head.
"You bought the dinner. " I accused and corrected.
"I did. But would you prefer to go to the hospital for food poisoning? " She bargained, and she had a point. If she had food poisoned me, that would hurt, and I wouldn't have met bami.
"Thanks for not giving me food poisoning. " I thanked her, and I meant it. The last time April gave me food poisoning, let's just say, I could never forget it.
"You must be in a good mood, " she told me as if reading my mind. I mean, how could I not be in a good mood? The headache that I had from my code not working was miraculously healed.
"But I'm sorry, Mari. " She said as she walked towards me to hug me.
"He was Jisoo's neighbour. " she explained.
"He told me, " I replied. "I can't even remember how he looked like." I joked, but really, I couldn't.
"He was ugly as his heart," she added, making me laugh.
"I won't set you up with anyone again. I promise. " she swore. She had bought dinner again as expected of April Summers. She still felt guilty about the whole thing.
"I take your word for that, " I believed her. She never broke her promises unless it was necessary. We sat at the table and ate. I felt a bit of weight lifted away from me. Being unable to talk to April for one day was hard. Keeping a huge secret from her felt worse. We both received a notification from instagram. We looked at each other, knowingly. It was definitely Skyline. April took out her phone and saw it was Kim Taeyoung that had posted. He was at the studio with Lee Taewon, and they were talking. It had a caption of bet on us in korean. They were already in the process of making new music for us, and the whole fandom loved that fact. I noticed that Lee Taewon was wearing the exact same clothes he did when we were on the rooftop. April wrote in the comment section, "We are betting on you."and posted it.
April always commented, but I never did. I never had any interest in commenting and stuff. Plus, I was working at Aether Entertainment, and I didn't want to lose my job. April didn't have that kind of pressure on her. After I finished eating, I walked towards my room and liked the photo on my instagram. I freshened up and popped onto my bed. I was about to sleep when I received a text message from an unknown number saying, "Hi Mari." I completely ignored it because everyone I knew had my number and vice versa. I never accommodated texts from people I didn't know. Another alert came in, and I read it. I was utterly shocked. How did he get my number?