The Republic of ARMY

9. Free Tickets

I really had a tendency of photo bombing BTS' pictures.

I needed to stop.

On Dr. Moon's way out, with me in tow in yoga pants and a hoodie, the group of Asians who had been ahead of me were boarding a number of vans while a smaller group of them took photos together and alone.

Dr. Moon's car was ready to go, so he let me sit first. Just as I got in, the group took a photo of themselves with me in the background. I didn't seem to realize it until I checked my Twitter updates later that day.

That was how I knew.

Then RM was once again, caught looking behind him at a figure that had the same exact outfit I had on. This was the second time I had been caught in their pictures.

Mercy laughed at me when I called her as soon as I got to the hotel. She told me that those were signs. This was because, for some reason, any time I was overseas, I just happened to run into him and his crew.

I wondered where he had been even, and tried to put two and two together. The angle of photography, the angle of sunlight and the possible distance between me and him in that picture.

Fans did not even seem to notice there was a girl in the background. I was thankful for that. They all just randomly commented about how excited they were to see them in Switzerland.

My hotel was some distance from the venue of Dr. Ban's meeting: the WHO building. I checked in and immediately went to take a shower. I was ready to fall asleep after the hearty meal Dr. Ban and I shared. I had travelled alone, mostly because I was on a mission to meet a few other people who would be attending the WHO meeting.

I wasn't officially invited to attend it.

Once I sat back and turned the television on, I forgot about everything and fell asleep. I didn't wake until my phone started ringing. It was a call from my mum who had finally seen my message and wanted us to meet. I quickly changed into a pair of skinny jeans, a sweater top and a long trench coat.

My mum would be meeting me at a restaurant that was a few metres away from my hotel. She waved eagerly when she spotted me. I smiled as I went up to her, only grinning wider as we sat down to talk.

She told me a lot of things. My youngest brother was doing pretty well for himself in MIT. He had settled in and was already a campus favourite. His good looks did well for him then.

My mum couldn't help laughing heartily at my funny comments about work. How Ryan always seemed to end up drinking the best porridge for breakfast, but getting the worst dinner, or how much weight he was gaining, or the possibility that hr was courting someone from my workplace.

Her eyes brightened as she thought of him giving her grandchildren soon.

We were wrapping up on our milkshakes when two young girls stopped and stared at me. I stared back, and they flushed before running off.

"Are you avoiding your old fans?" She asked.

I smiled at my mum. "No. They probably just saw me somewhere..."

"Oh. Are you busy tonight?! I got tickets to a show and I can't go alone. Would you like to come? It will just be like old times!"

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Whose show?"

"Well, they are Asian, and I think it is that band whose music you blared on your way back to Gigiri when you left? I saw you dancing to that song where they sing 'money money money' or something?"

I smiled at my mum. "It is 'Mani Mani Mani,' and the song is 'Blood, Sweat and Tears' and... Wait a minute! Do you mean you got tickets to see BTS?!"

"BTS?"

"Mum, they're almost as famous as The Beatles now! You have tickets to see their show?!"

"Yes."

"How did you get them?!"

"Well, your cousin Jemimah thought it would be a good idea to do something fun in Geneva. So she got these tickets for me."

"But-"

"She can't go with me, so you have to come with me. Okay?"

"Mum!"

"It is decided then! VTS concert..."

"BTS Mum."

"What?"

"BTS. Bangtan Sonyeondan. Bang-Tan-Sonyeondan."

"What does it mean?"

"Bulletproof Boys...? Boy scouts? Not sure, but they're bullet proof."

"They wear bullet proof vests? Like the ones your brother wears sometimes?"

I sighed. Seriously? Mum? What was I going to do now? I hadn't even rested well... Even then, choosing between sleeping and spending time with my mum was pretty easy. My mum (and BTS) won. I had seen them before in concert but I had been like a thousand seats away. This time however, I was seated up front and even had backstage passes.

Would we need them?

Was I excited?

Was I even going to be a rebel like this?