Stars Let us Shine: A Kpop Story

Ch 1: Luna

Luna's POV

All my life, I felt like someone whose only purpose was to fill the background, an extra in a movie about someone intelligent, or pretty, or fatally flawed in some gripping way that caused the movie to win just about every award it was nominated for, while I silently stumble across the screen so briefly, that my name doesn't even appear in the credits. Fortunately, this changed to some extent when three months ago, I moved out of my small rural town to Manhattan, where the three most interesting people I had ever met adopted me into their friend group.

I was jolted awake by the consistent ring of my phone on the nightstand.

"Hello?" I croaked into the speaker.

"Luna," It was Edgar, "We're meeting for coffee, are you coming?" The 'we' he was referring to were the other two people who now called me their friend, Koto and Demetri.

"Oh... uh yeah, just give me like twenty minutes or so."

I hung up, stumbled out of my bed and over to the vanity, contemplating ways to make my ordinary reflection a little more interesting. I stared at my dull appearance, unkempt, short brown curls, with eyes in the same unalluring shade. Since moving, my body had begun to look a little too thin, as my bones now slightly protruded from my pasty skin, all of which didn't help the fact that I had always been a little too tall.

My new friends fortunately appreciated me in spite of my overwhelming mediocrity, they however were nowhere near mediocre. Edgar, who just called me, was extremely rich and set to inherit his parents empire. What type of empire, however, had never been disclosed to me, or any of our friends, and typically was a bit of a sore subject. Edgar, unknowingly or not, always looked the part he was playing, he dressed most often in a business-casual style, what most people were unaware of about this, is that most of the labels were designer. Adding to his signature look, Edgar was always cleanly shaven, in fact I don't know if he's even capable of growing a beard, and his black hair was always in its appropriate crew cut.

Our other friend, Koto, was what one would call an influencer. She had an affinity for east asian culture, and looked like she came out of a cartoon in every way. I don't think anyone has ever seen her in anything but the color pink, including her hair, which is always dyed in a pastel shade. Usually I would find her influencer status annoying, but I really don't think that a nicer, more bubbly person exists in the world, so in my opinion, every follower is well deserved.

Lastly, is Demetri, and though I would never say this to him, or anyone else, he's my favorite, and I honestly think I'm his. He sings and plays the guitar at various clubs, and sometimes he'll ask me to sing with him. Yes, he's attractive, and no I don't have a thing for him, but his charisma, and his shaggy blond hair do occasionally make my heart flutter.

I was supposed to meet the three of them for coffee in twenty minutes, however our designated coffee shop was a ten minute walk away, and I had spent at least five dissociating in the mirror, so I was in a bit of a time crunch. I threw on a pair too-big jeans that I secured to my waist with a random shoelace, a black wife beater, and then a hoodie that had been oh so generously donated to me by Demitri, (it still smelled like him a little) and lastly my most prized possessions, my black run star hike platform converse.

I ran down my apartment building's stairs, and sped-walked down the sidewalks of New York. I loved the atmosphere, so many people, and not a single one cared who I was or what I was doing. I loved the tall buildings, and the noisiness of traffic and chatter. It all felt comfortable, which is probably not what most people would say, but blending in here was easy, and I loved it. I walked into the little coffee shop to see all three of my friends were already here, and was immediately surrounded by the earthy aroma of ground coffee beans.

Demitri twisted in his chair to face me, "Look who finally showed up." he said with a smirk.

I let out a nervous laugh, as I took a seat beside him. "Oh, sorry I'm late, my alarm didn't go off."

"Luna," Koto chimed in, "don't apologize, Demetri just barely got here before you. Besides, you didn't do anything wrong."

I relaxed a bit at this. I had become so used to people judging me, that I still occasionally worried about my friends not actually liking me.

"Here, drink this!" Koto thrusted a warm pink mug into my hands, causing my consciousness to shift back to the present moment, "It's a vanilla and rose buttercream latte."

I took a sip, it tasted like pure sugar on my tongue, "Are you sure there's coffee in this?"

"See Koto, I told you she wouldn't like it." Demitri said, crossing his arms.

"No, I do like it," I said hastily, "It just doesn't taste like coffee."

"It's ok," Koto, "Said, gently removing the mug from my hands, "because if you don't like it, that just means more for me."

Demitri turned to face me, "Nice hoodie Luna."

I felt my face get hot, "Ha ha, very funny Demitri. It just so happens that I like it too, so I'm not giving it back."

"Good, because I don't want it back." He said as he placed an arm around my shoulders.

I could feel my face getting hotter. This is always how it was with him, but this is how he always was with lots of people, flirty, charming, whatever you want to call it, it didn't matter, because even if I wasn't special, he still never failed to make me blush.

"So Edgar," Demitri said, his arm still on my shoulders, "what's this big surprise you called us all here for?"

"Surprise?" I said confused, "No one said anything to me about a surprise."

"Sorry about that," Edgar said as he adjusted his glasses, "I thought I told everyone."

"It's okay." I whispered. I was used to being forgotten or left out, but this was just a small mistake. At least that's what I told myself, attempting to convince my brain that Edgars slip-up really wasn't that deep.

"Anyways," Edgar continued, "My father needs me to help out with some business regarding his company's partners in South Korea, and I'd like to take you all with me."

"WHAT?!" Koto jumped up, causing everyone in the coffee shop to look at us, "I have always wanted to go to Korea! This... this is like my dream. Are you actually being for real Edgar? Because if this is just some dirty trick, then I'll start crying right here in this coffee house."

"No I swear." Edgar said hastily, "I really am taking you all to Korea."

I was dumbfounded, I didn't know a lot about Korea, but since I became friends with Koto, I thought it sounded like a really great place. Koto always talked about the fashion there, and k-pop, especially k-pop. She made me memorize the names of all the members in BTS, Twice, and she was currently teaching me about TXT. While I definitely wasn't Koto-level thrilled, I was definitely excited. "When is the trip?" I asked.

"Well," Edgar started, proceeding to fidget with his glasses, "We're scheduled to leave tomorrow morning."

Exasperated, Demitri removed his arm from around me."Woah there, you just want us to pack up and leave tomorrow morning? What about our lives, maybe we can't just pick up and leave like that."

"Um, sorry to interrupt," Koto whispered, "but I can in fact pick up and leave in the morning."

"See, Demitri." Edgar said, raising his eyebrows, "You in Luna?"

"Absolutely."

Edgar looked satisfied, "Perfect, so Demitri if you don't want to go, by no means should you feel obligated to come."

"No! I'll go, but only since everyone else already said they would."

"Yay!" Koto yelled and threw her arms around Demitri, "Family trip to Korea!"