before you love me | jjk

chapter thirty-nine

━━━༻ ˚✩‧₊ august 2020₊‧✩˚༺━━━

Narae hummed a tune happily as she walked through the store, picking out items and adding them to her basket. Life had been good for the past few months. Since the confession, it really felt as if she was floating on air, like nothing could bring her down.

She woke up most mornings with Jungkook smiling at her as he brushed the hair away from her face. She still hated waking up early, but if it meant that she could spend more time with him before their schedules started, she'd do it. When they could, they'd curl up on the couch and watch TV together or spend time practising in the studios late into the night. It was the little things that kept her happy.

The album was completed with majority of the music videos being shot for it, and Butter was set to be released soon. They had begun preparations for the tour, which meant their schedules were even more hectic, but it didn't put a dampener on Narae's spirits in the slightest. Jungkook's birthday was also just around the corner, and she'd been working hard to make sure that it would be special for him. She was more than excited for him to see what she had planned for him.

On a day similar to this one, as she ran through her blissful memories of her time spent with Jungkook, she had realised one very important fact – they still hadn't gone on a single date. With this in mind, she had decided to make the first move and plan an outing for the two of them, which was why she was in the store for the last items for their date.

As she shopped around, she noticed some whispers from the teenage girls in the aisle with her. When she looked at them, the whispers got louder then quieter, before they pushed one of the girls towards her. The young girl nervously made her way towards Narae fiddling with her skirt before stopping in front of her.

She stumbled over her words, speaking in accented English, "H-hello, m-my friends and I w-wanted to know if you were Moon Narae?"

Most people tended to address Narae in English by default but Narae knew instantly that this girl was a fan. Once she had been asked on live which language she preferred speaking in and she had said English. She was comfortable in both English and Korean, but her mother tongue was English, so it was always preferrable. Since then, fans had always approached her in English out of respect for her preferences, though Narae didn't mind either. The fact that the girl had called her by her full name and not her stage name was the more clear indicator though.

Narae responded back in Korean, lowering her voice conspiratorially, "I am, but let's not let anybody else know okay?" The girl nodded empathetically before turning to her friends and giving them a thumbs up, "Are you a Supernova?"

Supernova was what Narae's fans were called. Whilst in ECLIPSE her branding had been around the her name Luna; wanting to reflect the love that her fans give her, just as the moon reflects the Sun. As RÆ however, she wanted to be the source of that light and love, shining on them brightly and bringing them warmth.

Supernovae are created inside a star's core and spread all over space. By this, Narae wanted to say that not only are her fans a part of her, but they exist far beyond herself and what she does. Supernovae are one billion times brighter than Sun and by that logic, her fans are one billion times brighter and more important than herself. Even when her career ends, the light that her fans bring will continue to last.

"I am! I've been following you since pre-debut and I've got all of your albums, even the ones from ECLIPSE! I love Dangerous Woman and I love all of your music and you're even prettier in real life! My name is Eunjae by the way, jaeandrae98 on all SNS no spaces. I don't know why I just told you that sorry. Hello!" Having gotten over her initial shock, she was now rambling excitedly which made Narae smile fondly. She didn't always like being approached in her free time, but meeting genuine fans always did bring her joy.