Serendipity (18+) || pjm ||

1 - An Unexpected Gift

It was nearly two o'clock in the afternoon, and we've been standing in line for almost two hours underneath the hot baking sun. I was smack in the middle of it, and it wove ahead and behind me like a very, very long snake. A red rope surrounds the perimeter, separating us from the crowds the milled about, like we were some kind of corralled animal bound for slaughter. Dark, I know, but when your feet hurt from standing and walking since the break of dawn, you tend to harbor these kinds of thoughts. People often pause and look us with both wonder and envy. Some would stop altogether, take out their phones and snap a picture of the poster above our heads. Then, they would move on, shaking their heads despondently.

"Gosh, I'm so jealous," they would often say.

And they should be. The line to the photobooth opened at around ten in the morning, and only two hundred could get inside. Two hundred lucky souls who would get the chance to meet and greet the world-famous star, Park Jimin. Of the millions of fans, both local and foreign, who had come to his two-day concert, it was like a bloodbath.

I was forever amazed that the start of Homecoming concert coincided exactly on my birthday. Months ago, when they released this info, I was so excited about this fact even if it barely made an impact on the fandom. At least, Kyunghee, my best friend, shared my joys. I mean, how often do you get to say that one of the most legendary concerts would be held on the same day that you were born? Park Jimin was no ordinary idol, after all. He was a world star. He broke records left and right with his performances and his album sales. If some people were placed on pedestals, he was way above that pedestal. And to share this little bond with him? For a simple fan like me, it was enough to get me over the moon.

Of course, I wanted to attend. But everybody knows that ticket sales for events like this were very hard to get by. Thus, when they said that a raffle will be held for fan club members, Kyunghee and I joined immediately. Unfortunately, Kyunghee lost. Fortunately, I won. Which was why I woke up at the crack of dawn, ate through half the food in my fridge, got a shower, dressed as though I'm a walking advertisement for Park Jimin and got on the subway to Jamsil station. The old lady next door who saw me shook her head because my fashion statement was unlike anything she was used to. I'm thinking she would have had a heart attack when she saw the others like me milling around from Jamsil station all the way to the Olympic Stadium.

The whole morning, I spent my time getting my ticket and bracelet (floor seats, baby!!) then bought some of the merchandise. The stadium itself could hold up to sixty thousand individuals but there must have been millions outside of it. With all the open space of the Olympic park, people still jostled for space. You could taste the excitement in the air. There were lines everywhere. Kyunghee met me at the entrance to the merchandise line, but only those with bracelets could enter the event zone where the companies who were sponsoring the concert were holding their booths. I didn't want to go in because Kyunghee couldn't. But the meet and greet photobooth was inside and at least one of us would get to see Park Jimin up front. And by sheer force, luck, sweat, tears, and – in the case of the girl who tripped over her own merch bag – some blood, I was No. 105 in the line. There was a general air of excitement when the line was finalized, and the area cordoned off. But that was almost two hours ago. There was still the murmur of excitement but the lucky two hundred of us were stuck in this area, waiting for the meet and greet to start, baking under the hot summer sun.

About three girls up, a couple of girls were heatedly discussing the recent news that was circulating about Park Jimin. He'd been overseas since late last year, holding shows, concerts, and TV appearances, and it was rumored that he's found a little fling on the side. This caused quite a stir, especially for those crazy fans out there who think that just because they know the lyrics to all his songs, they're practically married to him. That always triggered me off. Sure, the guy's famous and all, but he's still a guy. At the end of the day, a man's gotta have his needs. I know they're mostly antis trying to bring the poor man down. But thankfully, majority of the fandom rushed over to his defense. But when a photo of him surfaced on the internet just a couple of weeks ago, I admit, I too felt a little jealous. The photo was grainy and blurred, so it could have been anyone. The guy was wearing a mask and a hat so we couldn't see his face. He was also wearing dark colored clothes, so it was hard to know who he was for sure. But many claims that it was Park Jimin seen entering a motel in the presence of one of his female staff. The guy in the picture had his arms the lady's waist.