Finest Jin

Revealed

"Brigette; let's go!"

"Coming, Eomma!" The littlest of my children raced out of the lobby to meet us at the taxi. 

"Did you lock the door?" 

She slid into the back seat. 

"Yes. Let's go to the concert!" The vehicle eased into traffic as everyone buckled up. 

Thursday had come faster than I anticipated. I had texted Jin every night that week. Vague conversations. Getting to know each other again. I felt like a teenager. I got butterflies in my tummy when I thought of Jin...among other things. No mention of Diva had ever come up. I knew that it would have to be hashed out eventually but at the moment, it didn't seem relevant. Same with Minho. Options were still open. We were both testing the waters before committing to any swims. 

Tonight was the talk. I had carefully rehearsed in my head how I would tell him. I knew that this sensitive topic had to be treated very carefully. 

He would hear it first from me.

No high emotions.

No extra people in the room. 

Break it to him gently.

No ultimatums. 

I would give Jin time to process and decide how he wanted to deal with this together or not. I hoped that he would see how calmly I was coping with things and that he wasn't needed to rescue me. He could participate or not; no pressure.

Then it was up to him to take it from there. Who does he tell? Does he share with anyone at all? How does he break it to Bang PD Nim? Or does he? Jin was far better versed in the idol world than I was, so I was prepared to fully follow his lead on that count.

Tonight would go perfectly.

And a concert starring several of our favourite acts, including our beloved Bangtan Boys, was just the start of it.

Inside the stadium, a lot of the ground level was standing only. I worried for the younger children and decided to stay in the back third of the crowd to avoid them being overwhelmed by bigger people, but still centred enough for a great view. We had brought our Bangtan bombs and the boys hooked us up with bomb rings too. The kids all wore their BT21 shirts, but mine no longer pulled over my tummy. I was in a flowy blouse that fell below my bum. 

MonstaX...MamaMoo...EXO...Ateez...NCT...BlackPink...Twice...

We cheered and screamed until our ears rang and our throats were dry. Many seated in the assigned seats had abandoned their spots in favour of joining those on the floor. We were being gradually pressed forward and squeezed tighter in the crush. 

"Hold hands!" I shouted, not wanting us to get separated.

Treasure Box was on stage. A rookie group. BTS was next, followed by their new debut maknae group TXT. The emotions in the audience were crackling to a mass hysteria. Sure enough, when Bangtan rose onto the stage, everything erupted. They opened with Idol and the feeling had gone from concert participant to survivor of a wrestling match. Many here were foreigners and all protocol was being ignored. A massive surge crunched us from behind as the mob thrust towards the stage. I began to feel panic. I could only imagine it being much worse for my children. I clung tight to Atticus and Brigettes' hands, trying to extricate us from the anthill of human bodies straining to the stage, the air rippling with the sheer volume of their screams. We were carefully backing up, ducking around fangirls and allowing them to slip past us in the wave towards the front. Though I didn't imagine it possible, the volume of the crowd increased to a deafening decibel. Brigette let go of my hand to clamp her hands over her ears. I bent down to pull her against me. As I looked up at my older girls, I felt the crush of people closing over us and I strained up to see. In a bizarre happening, the sky blotted out as the form of a man was passed hand over hand, over us, riding the wave of hysterical fans. I grabbed on and saw his face as he went.