Sun-kissed

Chapter 10

Amina walked into the auditorium and noticed a section of the Hall roped off for fans.  She scanned the room for the row furthest in the back with an aisle seat.  It wasn't hard, considering how all the VIPs were already crammed up front, close to the first row which was marked "reserved".  But as she walked down the aisle, she overheard a few fans whisper and point at her.

Amina quickly grabbed the hat and shoved it deep into her purse.  As sweet of a gesture it was for Youngbae to give her his hat, it the last thing she needed.  She didn't want to deal with hundreds of angry VIPs tonight.  She needed to figure a way to give the hat back to him.  Amina sat down, thankful for a moment of rest. Her headache still lingered.  She removed the hair band from her ponytail and let her hair down.  A little bit of the pressure around her head eased, but the pain was still there.  She closed her eyes and rubbed her left temple with her fingers.

"Unnie... Who's your bias?" a squeaky voice to her left asked.

Amina opened her eyes.  It was a small girl with a short bob hair cut.  She appeared to be twelve or thirteen and was there with her mother. Or was it her grandmother? Amina couldn't tell, but the woman appeared to be in her mid fifties.

"Oh.. mine?"  Amina replied when she realized the girl was asking her the question.  "I don't know... I like them all the same, I guess."

"Mine's Taeyang-oppa..." she whispered.  "He's the best."

Amina nodded and smiled secretly.  "Well my friend's bias is Seungri, so don't tell her that when she gets here.  Yuri thinks Seungri's the best."

The little girl nodded. "I won't say anything."

Amina smiled.  "What's your name?"

"My name is Jin-Ju."

"Well it's nice meeting you Jin-Ju."  Just then the lights flickered off and on, lighting and dimming the room to signal the start of the show.  A few fans cried out in excitement and started chanting "Big Bang!" over and over.  Yuri appeared out of nowhere, panting.

"Aish! Unnie... why are sitting all the way back here?  I was looking all over for you." She squeezed in between Amina and a few seats away from Jin-Ju.

"Mianhae... I don't know if I'm going to last the whole show."

Concerned, Yuri turned to face Amina.  "Are you okay?"

"Neh... I feel a bad headache coming on, that's all."

Just then, the boys appeared on stage with Jiyong in the lead.  When Youngbae appeared at the end of the line, hobbling behind, a loud roar of cheers echoed throughout the Hall. He smiled, waved, and acknowledged the welcoming.  But instead of clapping with the others, Amina completed a quick evaluation.  She saw that Youngbae didn't need crutches to walk across the stage, but noticed a slight limp when he stepped down with his right foot.  She wondered if it pained him much to walk so soon. 

Stop! Amina told herself.  Tonight, she was off duty.  She needed to turn off her doctor mindset and just enjoy the evening like any other person here in the auditorium. Her thoughts were interrupted by Yuri's loud screams.

"Unnie..." Yuri whispered loudly to her.  "They're having mock auditions!"

"What?"

Seungri's voice resonated throughout the Hall.  "Neh... Why should we do all the work tonight? Show us whatchu got, VIPs!"  A loud cheer went through the room. Seungri enthusiastically clapped in response.

Jiyong eyed the maknae with a slight humorous expression.  He briefly explained the rules of the game. "The winners will be decided by us and will receive a gift bag filled with goods.  So if you think you can dance or sing, please line up next to the stairs by the stage.  We'll only take the first fifteen."