jiae could feel her bones vibrating as music pulsed through her skin. her hand was tightly gripping yuxi's as the younger girl pulled her through the crowd in search of their seats.

though they tried convincing all their friends to come, only five were either willing or had tickets. miles arrived earliest, scoring snacks for the girls and making sure no one tried to steal their seats. soyi and juhee were running late due to the lack of parking, so that left jiae and yuxi.

"there!" jiae shouted over the music, pointing her finger towards a manic miles as he jumped up and down and swung his arms to get their attention.

jiae had purchased a light stick at the concert venue entrance, as well as a t-shirt, and she was now waving both to communicate to miles that they saw and were making their way to him.

as they carefully crowded into their seats, the blonde girl swallowed a gasp when she realized they were in one of the first rows. her fingers wrapped clumsily around the metal railing separating her from the drop falling to the floor below, but she seemed to be the only one who noticed how flimsy their protective barrier was.

despite being a college student, jiae had never gone to a concert before. she didn't like being around that many people in an enclosed arena, and after covid, there wasn't much open to attend anyway.

however, standing above a sea of green with excited cheers that made her ears ache, jiae could see the appeal. more than that, she felt proud.

"do you think i have time to get more food?" yuxi yelled over the fans, but before jiae could reply, the arena lights dimmed and the cheers turned into screaming. she had to lean away slightly when yuxi and miles shot out of their seats, screeching at the top of their lungs.

shaking her head, jiae stayed seated and silently watched the videos playing across the big screen. the music hadn't started yet, so she secretly pulled her phone out of her pocket and decided to pass time.

jiae
omg

jiae
yuxi and mikes are actually
losing their minds rn

jiae
when are you coming out

jiae
ik you can't answer cause you're
probably about to come on stage but
my body is vibrating this is weird

jiae
but like good weird

jiae
why is this video like an hour
long COME OUT RNNNNN

jiae
i havent seen you in months
i em eye ess ess why oh you

jiae
oh there you are

tucking her phone safely into her pants pocket, jiae rose to her feet and cupped her hands over her mouth as she cheered. they boys had come on stage when the lights were still off, so they appeared one by one with the help of spotlights.

when haechan appeared on the big screens, jiae felt her cheeks heat up. he looked a bit thinner in the face than from when she'd seen him in his cousin's conveniences store, and she made a mental note to buy a meal for him once this was over.

the music blasted, and the members proved that their mics were on. jiae was familiar with all the songs, but yuxi and miles seemed to have every single lyric memorized, and even danced along some to the choreography.

finally, as the concert ended, the lights dimmed and a new sound filled the arena. it wasn't anything jiae had ever heard before, and she didn't notice the giant smile that covered her entire face.

"broken melodies!" they sang together, and jiae allowed herself to jump up and scream with all the other nctzens in the crowd.

as they performed this new song, jiae smiled when she saw something different. there were parts of the song that weren't choreographed, and during those parts, she noticed a certain boy lingering only on her side of the stage.

when haechan looked up into jiae's part of the crowd, those around her lost it. obviously, they thought that the lee haechan of nct was looking and waving at them, but jiae knew different.

she doubted he could see her that far away with his naked eye, but the fact that he was trying to made her heart swell. without meaning to, jiae accidentally turned her new light stick off. panicking, she quickly turned it back on and hoped it was still synced.

it did, but the moment of fluke was enough to cause the idol on stage to spot the one struggling girl in the ocean of green light. her light blinked on a after a few seconds, and when she looked up, he was looking directly at her.

suddenly, haechan showed a smug smile and pointed at her. as expected, the fans in her row went crazy. they didn't know he was looking at her and only her.

yuxi
oh
my
god

yuxi
the concert

yuxi
i think i have post-concert depression

sosuke
glad u guys had fun

miles
fun isn't the word i'd use

miles
that was

miles
life changing

miles
when chenle or haechan sees
this please tell jisung that he did
amazing i think i cried

soyi
tell him yourself. juhee and
i got us backstage tickets

miles
HUH?????????

jiae had never been behind a stage before, so she didn't know what to expect as she followed soyi and the others as some staff members led them backstage.

there were some fans giggling and crying as they passed by the group, and jiae assumed they'd just come from their own personal fan meeting with the members. she smiled when one of them said, "they're so much more handsome in person!"

"i think i might pass out," miles's voice grabbed jiae's attention and forced her to face forward. they'd stopped in front of a closed door with nct dream written on it, and the staff who brought them there decided to leave after soyi and juhee showed them their work ids to confirm how they knew the boys.

jiae could hardly hear what was going on around her. her nerves were scattered all throughout her body, her mind a gaze as soyi twisted the knob.

"soyi!" jiae heard someone call, and she took a step back as the door swung open to reveal jisung and renjun standing in the doorway. they greeted juhee next as yuxi, miles, and jiae hovered awkwardly behind the ex-cafe employees.

"welcome back!" soyi said, and jiae could tell she was smiling just by the cheerfulness of her voice. the two girls walked into the room, leaving the three others in the hallway.

glancing over her shoulder, soyi rolled her eyes and reached out to grab jiae by the arm. "come on! we paid good money for this fan meeting!"

jiae pulled yuxi and miles in after her, and soon the five friends stood in the dressing room with the seven members of dream. juhee closed the door for privacy purposes, and jiae couldn't help but cringe at how awkward the air got.

after a few seconds of pure silence, miles cleared his throat and nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "wow, um, i really thought i'd be more confident than this..."

thankfully, jeno and mark laughed at his expense, and chenle pointed at yuxi. "aren't you twinkatyong?" he asked, and renjun shot her an incredulous look. "you're twinkatyong?!"

jiae turned around just in time to see yuxi go bright red. she threw a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing as the younger clasped her hands in front of her and stammered over her words. jiae found it adorable how hard yuxi was trying to make herself smaller, despite being taller than renjun in her heels.

"y-yeah, i am..." yuxi finally said, and renjun was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet as he asked her questions about where she gets her inspiration and how she can possibly post so often despite being a student.

as they talked, jiae felt someone staring at her. she turned, searching the room until her eyes met those belonging to someone who made her heart skip a beat. she couldn't stop the smile from pulling at her lips, and he quickly copied the look.

while soyi and juhee introduced miles to the remaining members, jiae quietly approached haechan, who had separated himself from the others so that they could have a small bit of privacy.

when she was stood in front of him, jiae's small smile had grown into a full-sized grin. without meaning to, haechan reached out and carefully took a strand of jiae's blonde hair between his fingers with a smirk. "i see you're gatekeeping the pink."

"we haven't seen each other in months, and that's the first thing you say to me?" she joked with a playful scoff, fighting the urge to look away from his intensely pretty stare.

haechan shrugged and released her hair. "what? see, i'm growing my hair out just for you so that you don't have to see me bald."

jiae couldn't help but laugh at that. thinking back, she didn't even know why she'd been nervous to see him again. despite being one of the most popular idols in k-pop, he felt so genuine to her.

"so, after this, i was thinking..." jiae began softly, leaning slightly closer as if they were sharing a secret. "we could go raid the rest of your cousin's melon bars."

she watched the boy's eyes light up and felt her pulse quicken. "i'll meet you there at 11."

•
jihae/dream and friend squad reunionnnn 🫶