Emi stood in the audience with Charles, their family, Lia, and Kai. Charles was with his phone to take in the memory of seeing a K Pop band on the stage of GMA as well as his family enjoying their culture.
Lia, Emi, and Mimi cheered with the crowd as the group members performed some of their hits. Lia and Emi felt a sense of relaxation in those moments as they danced along with the music. Kai and Charles filmed the ladies in their element. The smile on Emi's face as she danced for the moment, the experience. This was a moment that she would not forget.
The past few months of hard work and constant schedule changing led to this moment. She was eager to see more. Where would this path take her?
As the concert concluded, the guests were called back to stage and were to finish their hosting responsibilities. Flashes of light and a sea of phones dominated the background of the photos. In her periphery, she could see Mimi, Trish, and Auntie Suk Yong cheering and snapping pictures. It reminded her of her graduation. That was a bittersweet moment.
Eomma was cremated the day before she walked the stage. Auntie Suk Yong barely convinced Emi to walk the stage, reminding Emi that moment was important for her. Mimi and Trish were screaming their heads off as the announcer declared Emi's graduation from university as a speech therapist and pathologist. Charles was on set that day and video chatted in, wearing a suit and tie, knowing Emi would want a picture with him. Emi held that memory as she looked out to them at the audience.
She suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder.
"May we take a picture with you, Ms. Kim?" Namjoon initiated as the rest of the group waved at her. She nodded as she made her way to the middle of the group. Charles signaled to Emi to throw her phone to him and he immediately snapped as many pictures as he could as they prepared.
Emi was guided by Namjoon to stand in the middle. Emi felt as if she needed to bow to each one of the members and shake their hands before the photo. Each member bowed to her, reciprocating the respect they had for one another.
"One, two, three," a Bangtan team member signaled as many pictures were taken. Charles put down Emi's phone for a moment, noticing her smile and her body language. She was nervous, but it was different than before. Her smile was more shy and he could see her fidgeting her hand a little to stop herself from shaking the rest of her body.
Once the photo session was finished, Charles and Yada were called over by their team to discussc their next engagement. Charles looked back at Emi who was in conversation with two Bangtan members. She was holding one of her arms behind her, continuing to fidget, but this time with the back of her outfit.
Emi was speaking in Korean, "Again, thank you for letting me perform to your songs. It was really an honor."
"It was a pleasure seeing you perform. We heard you were here to promote your show for the first time. Your first guesting, noona?" Jung Kook asked as they were given water and being called to take a few more solo pictures on the stage.
"Yes, this is my first time doing anything in the media. It was great to be with you all. I hope you get some down time as you adventure here in the states as well as on tour."
Taehyung joined in on the conversation, "What is this show you are doing?" Emi took her time explaining the show to Jung Koon and Taehyung, who gave their undivided attention. She made it a point to mention both directors and their love for the fantasy world, hoping to bring more of the Korean folklore into Western media.
Charles walked over as Emi's conversation ended, along with Lia and Kai, who wanted to film a dance number on the stage to celebrate Emi's first appearance on TV. "You really want that song in the video?" Kai asked Lia, who was stretching out.
Lia answered, "Come on, the fans from our channel have been supporting Emi and have been bringing so much traffic to the channel and videos on the Ancestors trailer, we could at least give them this. We can plan something more elaborate later, but this is a great song."
"Kai, I agree with Lia on this and I have this choreo memorized a little bit better than the other songs we have lined up," Emi discussed with the team.
"Hey Team Emi, the sound guy says that he is good to go when you give him the signal, but we just need the back to be clear," Charles said as he asked some team members to move. Mimi, Trish, and Auntie Suk Yong were able to make it up on the stage. Mimi was ready with her phone, commenting that she could finally see Emi perform live for their channel.
Emi was the only one on camera for the start of their video. Love Never Felt So Good by Michael Jackson featuring Justin Timberlake blasted through the speakers. Emi's nervous expression changed when Charles signaled her that recording was happening. She began her solo dance for the intro of the song. Lia and Kai came in once Michael Jackson's voice began singing. The three of them kept the same triangle formation as the song moved along. As the bridge of the song came, Lia and Kai brought Mimi, Trish, and Suk Yong on camera to dance along and add to the celebration. Emi realized that since Charles was holding the camera that she would be unable to get him in the video.
Charles moved in with the camera on the celebration and got an up close shot of Emi smiling. Suddenly, the camera was taken from Charles and Emi pulled him into the video, losing all sense of rhythm and just having fun dancing with Charles. Just as they did when they were younger. Charles was having the time of his life and Emi felt like there was no weight on her shoulders. As the song ended, the final shot of the video was Emi getting a piggyback ride from Charles, Trish and Mimi carrying Lia, and Auntie Suk Yong dipping Kai.
The recording had ended and Emi grabbed the camera from their cameraman who also held up his phone. "Thank you so much, Taehyung oppa." She bowed to him and brought the camera to the group. He waved goodbye to her and she waved back with a shy smile. The members of Bangtan were called for their next engagement. Emi's family was given time to eat out before heading their separate ways and engagements.
YOU ARE READING
Threads and Strings
Fanfiction"I know there will be more people in your life that will be become more than someone you pass by." As a speech pathologist working with little kids, Emi Kim had been through enough in her 24 years of life that could have broke her, especially in 201...
