Twice One Shots

23. Falling in Love with Chaeyoung at a Fansign (1)

   The room was buzzing with conversation and the lights were bright in the small auditorium. People were carrying various items with them including lightsticks, stuffed animals, food, and other homemade gifts for the members of Twice. You stood there in a homemade Twice t-shirt your friend made, a headband with bear ears, and a pair of dark blue jeans. Your friend was standing in front of you in line and practically buzzing with how excited she was. It was your first fansign event but you couldn't have felt more neutral about it. Sure you had listened to a few Twice songs before and knew the names of the members, but you had never really gotten too into them. Their music wasn't really your style, but the album you bought along with your friend, Haneul, was a lucky draw. You would have given the chance to attend the fansign to one of your other friends but Haneul insisted that you go with her.

   As the line slowly moved, you looked at the little stuffed tiger that Haneul had given you. You wanted to just say hi and get signatures from the members but Haneul gave you the little tiger to give to Chaeyoung. You didn't know anything about Chaeyoung, but Haenul said something about the younger member resembling a baby tiger. You fiddled with the tiger as you waited in line, unsure of what Haneul meant. "Ya Haneul. What do you mean that Chaeyoung looks like a tiger?"

   Haneul turned around and playfully rolled her eyes. "Silly. I'm sure I've shown you a million of pictures of Chaeyoung before. She looks just like a baby tiger. You'll see what I mean when you get to say hi to her." Immediately answering your question, Haneul turned back around, fully focused on the idols who were now only a few people away from her.

   You sighed and looked at your watch, wishing that the line would go a little faster. The excitement from the room could almost be physically felt and you enjoyed watching everyone meet their favorite idols, but you wish you felt the same. If it was a fansign for a movie star maybe you would have been a little more excited. Since your father is a classical musician and your mother is a music teacher, you never really grew up with too much pop music. Your childhood home was mainly filled with sounds of jazz, classical, and whatever artists your parents listened to back in the day. Once you started to explore music on your own, you ended up mainly sticking to what they listened to. You felt like there was just too much to listen to with all the idols and groups that you didn't know where to start.

   The line slowly inched forwards and as you got closer to the long table where the Twice members were sitting, you felt yourself start to get nervous. You couldn't quite understand why since you had no real attachment to any of the members. As the wait felt like it was becoming longer and longer with each passing second, your grip on the little stuffed tiger started to tighten. The lights in the auditorium were getting a little blurry and the noise around you started to get increasingly louder. You felt your body moving but you weren't sure what do do with your heart beating so fast.

   At last, it was your turn. Thankfully you had been alive for long enough that your body just moved even when you didn't think you could take a step forward. Your body and mind went on autopilot for a moment as you greeted the first few members of Twice. You smiled and tried to make light conversation with the minute you had with each of them, trying to pretend that you were excited to be there and not so nervous that you felt like you were going to pass out.

   Haneul glanced over at you every so often to make sure you were okay, noticing that you seemed a little off. She knew that she only had a minute to talk to each member though so she just kept an eye on you, making a note to ask you later if everything was okay. She was excited to finally be at a fansign since the pandemic had started but she was a little worried about you.

   Your body kept moving and so did the words coming out of your mouth, but you had no idea what you were saying or what was being said to you. You just moved when you were told and said what you thought was appropriate. Eventually, it was time to move to the last member sitting at the table. You vaguely realized that Haneul had finished talking to all the members and you only had one person to talk to.

   For the first time in the past 20 minutes, the noise behind you was almost completely faded out and the lights felt as though they were getting dimmer, leaving one spotlight on the girl in front of you - Chaeyoung. You blinked a few times and tried to say something, but nothing came out. Instead, you just handed the younger member the little stuffed tiger and smiled.

   "I really like your shirt. Did you make it?" Chaeyoung asked this with a big smile as she signed the album you had also brought with you. Seeing as it wasn't her first time doing this, she was able to keep eye contact with you as she signed her name.

   You just blindly nodded and stuttered out a response. "U-uh yeah. My name is y/n. My friend who was in front of me helped me make it." As you continued to chat with Chaeyoung, you felt your face start to get red. Now you could see what Haneul meant when she said that the younger member resembled a baby tiger. She was cute but also extremely beautiful. She was wearing a plain black t-shirt and had her hair pinned up with little strawberry clips. Even though she had minimal makeup, she was stunning and her smile seemed like it lit up the whole room. Without thinking, you took the headband off of your head and handed it to her.

   Chaeyoung took the headband from you, thanking you and blushing a little. "Oh thank you. It's so cute. Are you sure you don't want to keep it? Did you want me to sign a picture or something for an exchange?"

You just shook your head and smiled. "It's okay. I think it suits you better anyway, Chaeyoung." As you said this, the last minute you had to talk to the Twice members was up. You got out of the seat and bowed to Chaeyoung, thanking her for taking the time to talk to you and all the fans in the room. You held your hand out for her to give you the album that you had brought back, but before she gave it to you, she quickly scribbled something on it.

   Chaeyoung handed you the album face down so you wouldn't see what was written on it right away and just smiled, saying goodbye to you before turning her attention to the next person who was now sitting in front of her.

   You walked down the few steps off of the stage and sat back down beside Haneul, holding onto the Twice album. You looked through the signatures on it, smiling at how creative each member was with their own signature.

   Haneul looked over at you and smiled, softly punching you in the arm. "I thought you weren't that into Twice." She laughed as you rolled your eyes and you pulled her into a hug. It was sudden but Haneul wasn't one to reject hugs.

   "Thank you for making me come to the fansign, Haneul. I really wasn't sure about it, but I'm glad that I went. I really see why you like Twice so much. I'll try to listen to more of their music from now on and try to become a fan." You smiled and let her go, playfully messing up her hair. Haneul just stuck her tongue out at you and continued to look at the things she was able to get signed.

   As you waited for everyone to finish meeting the members, you looked at the signatures again, flipping the album over. Almost immediately, you realized that this sign only had the signatures of Chaeyoung and Dahyun, who was sitting in the seat before Chaeyoung, as well as a number with a short note that read:

Up for a chat? Call me after. :) - Chaeyoung