The Republic of ARMY

10. Wet Towel

My mum leaned back in her SUV as we were driven to the concert grounds. It was a huge indoor stadium a little out of town. Traffic was already starting to pile as fans hurried to the venue. We just barely made it in time. We ended up meeting the Meet and Greet session before the concert, so we simply took our seats and waited for the show to start.

Mum and I enjoyed the noise. It was a welcome break from the silence. Watching hundreds of ARMY dance along to BTS was really eye opening. Some of them didn't even know Korean, but now they sang along to the boys' songs like they were fluent in it.

I was one of them. Gomawo.

While everyone jumped up and down and along to their music, I clapped with mum. We had fun dancing instead of jumping. It was hard not to move, despite how hot and tired we got after the fifth song.

"Are you happy?" My mum asked. I nodded, smiling at her for a short moment before a damp towel fell over my head, limiting my sight. The fans next to me started to scramble while I pulled it off, only noticing that it had come from Jimin when he fell. Two of his mates, Taehyung and Jin, were picking him up.

"That went... Well," I managed as the girls behind me tried to reach for the towel. "I might not have Jimin as my bias, but this went well. You need to stop," I told the girls behind me who kept grasping at my shoulder to try and pull it off me. "Or I will cancel you."

"Yah-"

"Ani, stop," her friend yelled at her. "Oppa is looking here. Oppa! Oppa!" The Twp girls, along with other fans looking over, started to cheer and yell. My mum poked me on the shoulder so I turned to see that Kim Namjoon was staring right at me, his jaw slack. He looked like he had seen a ghost.

This brought a few other people to look. They were all very curious. I turned to my mum who kept asking if I knew them. I shook my head instead
How could I know them? I was merely a fan passing through Geneva, and I so happened to run into them.

"I am so sorry!" Jimin said as he apologized to me. "Did I hurt you?" He asked, looking genuinely concerned. Suddenly, all seven of them were crowding in front of me and staring in surprise.

"Are you sure you don't know them?" My mum asked as they started to bow and leave one by one. They went on performing, while girls screamed. "They act like they know you."

"Mum, just because I was a successful singer for a while, doesn't mean everyone knows me. I only did that to spite dad."

"You should keep singing."

I smiled and nodded before choosing to continue dancing to 'Best of Me.' It was one of my favourite songs. That and 'Pied Piper' from their more recent albums, while I enjoyed 'Boy In Luv' and 'Satoori Rap.'

Watching these boys dancing was making me so happy and nervous. I couldn't wait to go do a cover of 'Pied Piper.' Ideas flowed back and forth in my head. Eventually, I found myself shoving them out and just choosing to have fun.

The concert finally came to an end. We cheered for the boys as they bowed and straightened. Once again, Kim Namjoon had his eyes on me. I wondered why he was paying me attention. Maybe mum and I looked curiously familiar? I had heard that South and South East Asians couldn't differentiate between dark skinned Africans.

I didn't know if it was true.

We had to leave before the concert was completely over. My mum hated traffic, and so did I. We left while singing along to some of their songs which played on the stereo.

She dropped me off at my hotel so I went up immediately and fell asleep as soon as my head touched my pillow. The exhaustion from the trip had finally caught up to me. That night, I dreamt of Jimin's wet towel smacking my head again and again. It didn't hurt, but it was humiliating.