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"Glad you came early! We have a lot of work to do already." M/n's manager spoke as they walked hastily to the spot that M/n was assigned to be today.
M/n worked for Kcon as a summer job that he applied for just as a joke. His friends have always told him how lucky he was for knowing Korean and told him about the job. When he had gotten a call for an interview, M/n realized that his summer job was actually going to exist.
"It's no problem, I don't have any problem coming here early." M/n responded with a smile as he followed his manager backstage where the groups that were participating would be.
Looking around, M/n could tell right off the bat that this was going to be something big once the event was going to start. He wasn't really interested in Kpop since he never found it interesting, to begin with for him. But with his friends, he couldn't escape the trap and had to listen to a few groups.
"So, you'll mainly be working backstage with the idols to make sure that they're comfortable throughout the night." His manager explained as she gave him a paper that had all of the groups' waiting rooms so that he could navigate easily.
He nodded his head and walked her outside since she was going to another worker that was going to be working with the stage crew. "I should've listened to more groups." M/n laughed out of pity for himself when he read the names of the groups that were going to be attending the concert for the first night.
Folding the paper, M/n decided to check all of the waiting rooms to make sure that the cold bottle of waters was already there as well as snacks. As he checked, the stage crew was doing quick sound checks before the groups were to arrive so that there wouldn't be any technical malfunctions while groups rehearse.
"I could never perform on stage." M/n said to himself when he went to take a peek at the overview of the empty stadium.
The loud music echoed throughout the empty stage as the stage crew would come together to talk about the microphones and the way things were going to be set up when the groups come in. Checking his phone, M/n decided to head back to his designated spot and wait for the groups to arrive.
In order to kill time, M/n played a few mobile games as well as calling his friends who were on vacation. "Dude, I'm here too early." M/n said to his friend who was in Korea to visit his family.
"This was supposed to the year where we travel together to Korea. Why'd you have to work this year?" His friend asked while pretending to be upset.
"You should go ask the rest of our gang that. I didn't think I was gonna get this job." M/n laughed and ran a hand through his hair.
M/n continued to talk to his friend for another hour before hearing the sound of multiple feet walking towards his area. "Yikes, I gotta go. I'll call you back when I'm off." M/n said and ended the call so that he could help the first group that made it to the area.
He quickly took the folded paper from his pocket and waited for the group to appear. M/n looked at his appearance from his phone's reflection, wondering if he looked presentable to idols. When the group finally walked around the corner, M/n felt every self-confidence that he had slip away from him.
"Hello, I'm M/n and I'll be helping you guys today." M/n introduced himself in Korean while giving the group a bow and asking the manager for further questions.
The embarrassment of not knowing the group was the only thing that lingered in his mind when he had to ask the manager what group he was standing in front of. The soft chuckles made M/n want to sit in a corner and think about his life choices.
"We're Stray Kids. I'm Chan the leader, and I think it's fine if you speak English." Chan explained while giving M/n a friendly smile.
M/n didn't want to embarrass himself any further so he decided to just show them their waiting room and that he would be outside in the hallway if they ever need anything. After they had arrived, the other groups began to make their way to M/n and would happily introduce themselves to him. They found it cute how he didn't know most of them that were performing and would even tease him for that.
"I need a break already." M/n sighed as he sat on the chair that one of the idols gave him so that he wouldn't have to stand all day.
He felt defeated and embarrassed for picking up the job offer where he didn't know most of the groups. Every time one of them would ask for help, M/n would willingly do it but stay quiet whenever he would go to the room.
It was almost time for the idols to rehearse for the concert and that meant that M/n had to restock the rooms with water and snacks. As he began to fill his bag full of water, M/n stopped when he saw one of the members from Stray Kids walk out of their room.
"Ah, do you need more water?" M/n asked the member as he shook his head and simply watched him work.
"I'm Jisung, nice to meet you." Jisung started as he waited for M/n to respond so that he could continue with his question.
M/n gave him a slight bow since he had already introduced himself when they had first met. Jisung had just realized that and closed his eyes, hating how he might've came across as forgetful.
"If you haven't eaten already, do you mind tagging along with us to go eat dinner when the concert is done?" Jisung asked with a smile, wanting him to say yes so he could try and become friends with the worker.
Looking around, M/n had to make sure that Jisung was asking him and not someone that was around him. "Are you asking me? An ordinary person with no life?" M/n asked in shock, causing the idol to chuckle and nod his head.
"Of course, who else would I be asking? If you're up for dinner, then wait in our waiting room when we get back from performing since we're near the end." Jisung explained and went back inside the waiting room, with a cheeky smile on his face.
The life of a regular summer job teen was starting to change thanks to one idol.
