A/N: I use a lot of Korean in this chapter. So for those of you who aren't Korean speakers, I will have the translation italicized and in parenthesis. This will apply to all chapters here on out.

The blue and purple activities took much longer than I had hoped for since there were so many fans. Each minute seemed to grow out into an eternity. I watched as girls took pictures and shook hands with the boys. I kept a close eye on the ones that would approach Jeno. He was very kind to them and smiled a lot. Gosh, that smile sent me reeling every time. 

It seemed stupid to be jealous of all those girls when he wasn't even mine, but that didn't stop me apparently. I didn't want to be jealous. I wasn't the jealous type, really. There was just something about Jeno that made me feel protective of him. Possibly the hundreds of girls drooling all over him...that might have been it.

I shook my head and mentally reprimanded myself. I didn't have a chance with him. He would see me and move on to the next fan like he was supposed to. There was nothing special about me to make him stop and stare or ask for my number. And even if he did, I barely spoke Korean and he barely spoke English. We wouldn't be able to communicate enough to even start a relationship. I have to be reasonable and realistic about this. 

Once they were done, the security guards started ushering the blue and purple fan groups out of the concert hall. Tables had already been set up nearby for the boys to sit at for the fan signing. The security guards held our group back as NCT sat down in the chairs. The girls were going crazy. There was a couple hundred of us, maybe more. I couldn't tell and I didn't care at this point honestly. I was near the front of the crowd and that meant I would get to talk to them the soonest. 

I had to take a picture with Jeno and get him to sign the album I had bought. Maybe I should give him the bracelet I had on? Nah, it was too girly. That would be weird. I also had to get Jisung to sign something for my sister. I almost forgot about that. Shelby would have killed me if I came back with nothing. I took off my bag and started ruffling through it for a piece of paper. I knew there was one in here somewhere. 

A staff member told everyone to get in line. The fan signing would start in a few short moments. Girls started pushing past each other and I realized that I couldn't find Sydney or Kira anywhere. I had to find them now or I wouldn't find them later.

I turned around in circles a few times and didn't see them. Then someone shoved me out of the way and I almost fell. Luckily, I caught myself, but it was the weirdest thing you would have ever seen. I flailed around a bit before finding something to balance myself. Unfortunately, it had been a someone, not a something. I had grabbed one of the poor girls in front of me and dangled on them with my knees almost on the floor. They looked down at me and yelled something in Korean. I was too embarrassed to catch what it was. I stood up and bowed to them in an apology.

"Joesonghamnida"(I'm sorry), I said.

She scoffed and turned back toward her friends. I stood up and glanced around to see if anyone had noticed. When I looked at the tables, my heart stopped. Jeno was staring at me, trying to hold in a laugh. I stared back for a few seconds, blushing. I didn't know what to do. He just saw me embarrass myself. I panicked a little on the inside, but I managed to wave at him and smile.

Finally, he couldn't hold it in anymore and laughed a little as he waved back to me. I laughed to myself and got back in line, ripping out a piece of paper from my journal for Jisung to sign. 

The line began moving and my heart started pounding again. Jeno wasn't too far from me now. He was going to be the first one out of NCT that I would meet. That made me pretty happy.

Fans from outside were being let in to take pictures and videos of the boys' encounters with other fans. I found this slightly odd, but I guess it was nice in case something really cute happened. It made me feel very self-conscious knowing someone might be filming me.

Just two girls away from Jeno now. I felt my face start to flush. I hoped the foundation I put on would limit the amount of red that showed up on my face. I was known for turning very red when I got nervous, angry, or laughed too hard. I didn't want Jeno to see me like that. I had already embarrassed myself once in front of him. I didn't need to do it again.

Then it happened. The girl in front of me moved on to Jisung and I was face to face with Jeno.

He was even more handsome up close. I wanted to reach over the table and hold his face in my hands. Touch his hair to see if it really was a soft as it seemed to be. His eyes sparkled as he smiled up at me, laughing a little. I could tell he recognized me from earlier. He didn't need to say anything for me to know that.

I bowed my head, "Annyeonghaseyo." (Hello.)

His eyebrows raised a bit in surprise, "Hangkukeo haljul aseyo?" (You speak Korean?)

"Ne, jogeum." (Yes, a little.) I smiled at him. 

He smiled wider in return, "Jalhaesseoyo." (You did well.)

"Jeoungmal gamsahamnida." (Thank you very much.) I bowed a little again.

I stared at him for a while, and he stared back. I didn't realize how long we had been like that until the girl next to me cleared her throat. I snapped out of my daze and quickly pulled the album out of my bag. My hands were shaking.

"Can y-you sign this?" I asked. I had reached the limit of my Korean capabilities.

He looked at me confused, so I pantomimed the action on the album. His eyes widened in realization and he took the album from me. I wasn't entirely sure, but I thought I saw him blushing. I laughed a little and watched him sign the album. 

After he wrote his name, his hand hesitated. I was confused for a few seconds...until he started writing numbers. My brain did a double take. He was writing his number. It had to be. If I wasn't red before, I was definitely red now.

He handed the album back, "Gamsahamnida."

There was a little bit of pink in his cheeks. He really was blushing. As I took the album back, our hands brushed against each other and I saw a smile tug at his mouth. I felt light-headed.

Then the moment was gone. 

Not because I had to move on to the next member. 

Not because the girl behind me had become extremely impatient. 

Because there was screaming. 

Real screaming. 

Not the fangirl kind.

The kind that was too realistic to be a joke.

The kind that made the hairs on the back of your neck stand straight.

The kind that made you fear for your own life without even knowing what the threat was.

The kind that made your heart stop beating and as chills ran down your spine.

It started out with just a few girls, but within seconds it broke into a complete uproar of blood-curdling screeches. People were falling to the ground left and right. There was sobbing. A majority of the fans started running for the doors.

I quickly looked around. My eyes couldn't believe what they were seeing. The security guards were on the floor and weren't moving. A dark red liquid stained the front of their suits. 

Blood.

Then I saw the shooters. They stood in the middle of the room and were advancing toward us, shooting anyone who got too close.

I was mostly confused for the first few seconds. Why hadn't I heard gunshots? You would have thought that with a gun as big as they were holding it should have made a sound loud enough to hear from 4 blocks away, but there was nothing. 

My heart pounded in my ears. I felt my senses heighten as adrenaline pumped through my veins. I was able to take in every detail. How the shooters walked, how they breathed. The faces of the fans lying on the floor or running for their lives. 

Dread filled my body and I felt tears start to well up in my eyes. I wanted to run for the doors, run away and never come back, but I felt like I was out of it. I felt like my body wasn't my own. That someone else had taken the reins and decided to keep me in place despite how panicked I felt. 

I looked over at the doors and watched the fans trying to get out. I could hear them jiggling and banging on the doors, but they weren't budging. We were locked in. Even if I was able to run, it wouldn't have done me any good. We were stuck. My breaths became shaky.

I turned around just in time to see Jisung suddenly jerk to the left and go limp in his seat. Blood stained his shirt like a large red flower on his chest.

"Jisung!!!" Haechan shouted.

He gripped tightly on to Jisung's limp body, trying to bring him back to consciousness. I couldn't tell where he had gotten shot, but it seemed like somewhere important. I began to wonder if Haechan would be able to wake him up at all. 

The other members noticed what had happened and quickly ran over to help Haechan. They looked frantic and I could tell none of them knew what to do.

Something about seeing how helpless they all were snapped me out of bystander mode. It was as if someone had flipped the "ON" switch in my head. 

Nobody was trying to maintain order amidst the chaos. Nobody was trying to stop the shooters or help the injured. As far as I could tell, everyone was concerned about one thing. Themselves. 

They needed someone to stand up and fight back. Sadly, something was telling me it had to be me. 

My hands were shaking like crazy and I felt like I needed to throw up. I wasn't fit to be the one to take charge. I wasn't strong. I wouldn't be able to help. This was a hopeless case. How was I supposed to save these people? God, please help me.

Then an overwhelmingly calm feeling washed over me. I felt my hands stop shaking. A new determination took hold of me as I looked around at those who were hurt. There was a purpose for standing up. I needed to save lives. Newfound strength overtook me. No matter how useless I may seem, I knew I could make a difference.

Suddenly, I was tackled down to the ground. It scared the heck out of me and I quickly pushed the bodies off, only to realize it was Sydney and Kira. They were safe.

"Madison! I'm so glad you're okay!" Sydney was starting to cry. 

Kira looked like she was trying to get a hold of herself too, but her eyes were very wide and her face had paled dramatically. I knew I felt empowered, but I probably looked the same as them.

Things were coming to my mind clearly. I remembered the training I had at school about shootings. 

"Guys, we need to stop these people. We need to help," I said.

"We'll need cover first. To hide from the shooter and keep the wounded safe." Kira said.

I looked at the tables. "Help me flip these over."

We got up and put the first table on its side quickly. I looked over to see Jeno starring at me. His eyes were wide and he looked really shaken up, but we needed help.

"Jeno!" I yelled. "Help us flip over the tables!"

He looked at me confused. I didn't have time to explain to him. We had to move on.

We grabbed the next table and flung it to the ground. There was no time to be careful. 

Jeno must have finally realized what we were doing because he called to the members and a few went with him to flip over the rest of the tables.

I hopped over one and hid behind it. Kira and Sydney did the same. I looked over at Haechan, Jaemin, and Chenle trying to help Jisung, but obviously not making a lot of progress.

"Jisung's been shot," I said.

"Yeah, I noticed," Kira said. "I'm gonna go help. Thank goodness I pay attention in my medical classes." She crawled over to the boys and started fixing up Jisung's wound.

I followed her, "Sydney and I will try to bring other wounded people back here. You're on medic duty."

Kira nodded as she tore the bottom part of Jisung's shirt and used it to bandage the wound.

"How do we get the others without being shot?" Sydney asked.

"Crap. Good question." 

I looked around and noticed the folding chairs the boys had been sitting in were metal. 

"The chairs. We'll fold them and use them as shields."

"Will that actually help?" 

I shrugged my shoulders, "It's better than nothing."

I grabbed the nearest folding chair and made it flat. Then I realized we were going to need more people than just me and Sydney. But who? Everyone here spoke Korean and there was no way I was going to be able to tell them what I needed them to do. 

Then I saw Mark and wanted to slap myself for being so stupid.

"Mark!" I shouted.

He turned his head toward us and I waved for him to get over here. He crawled next to me and Sydney.

"Grab a folding chair and use it as a shield," I gestured to what I had done with mine, "Then drag the wounded people over to Kira," I pointed to her, "and she'll take care of them. Tell other people to do the same. Got it?"

"Got it," He grabbed another chair and shouted at Jaemin.

I had to trust him to be able to handle the rest. Now we had to help people. I took a deep breath and turned to Sydney.

"I'll go out and be your cover while you drag people in okay?"

She nodded. 

We made our way to the end of the table barricade. Some of the smarter fans had noticed what we had done and were hiding behind it, crying more than they probably had in their entire life. I peeked over the edge to locate the shooters. They were yelling in Korean, but I wasn't paying attention to what they were saying. They had fans on their knees before them. They were using them as hostages. 

Just a few feet away from me was a security guard. I looked at Sydney and she nodded her head. She was ready. I took another deep breath and said a prayer in my head to God to help me live through this, to help me save people instead of making matters worse.

Then I ran out. Every part of me was yelling to hide back behind the tables. What was I doing? I would get myself killed out here! But my body didn't listen. Deep down I knew what was more important. 

I held the chair in front of me while Sydney was trying to get the right hold on the bodyguard. I made sure I was directly between them and the shooters so they couldn't get a clear shot. 

One of them yelled, probably at me. Then a bullet hole popped up on the seat of my chair. It wasn't anywhere close to where I was behind it, but I still screamed.

"SYDNEY! HURRY!"

"READY!" She shouted back and we made our way back to the tables.

Once we were safe, I dropped the chair and helped Sydney drag the poor man over to Kira. She was already tending to a fan I assume Mark and Jaemin had brought over. 

"I called the police and they'll be here in at least ten minutes. More people are coming to their senses and are starting to help out." Kira told us, "I'm having Renjun help me. There are more injured people than I can handle." She gestured with her head over to Renjun who was wrapping up a fan's leg.

"You're doing great. Keep it up," I told her.

"Don't die," she said.

"We're trying," Sydney was breathing kind of hard.

"You good?" I asked.

"Yeah, the guard was just really heavy. We have to keep going, come on." She crawled back over to the edge and pointed to another fan.

I nodded, ran out and positioned myself in front of the girl. One of the shooters shouted and another bullet hole appeared on the top part of the chair. I tried to keep my cool, but it was becoming very difficult.

"GO!" Sydney said.

We brought the girl to Kira and she started bandaging her up right away. I noticed more fans were helping take care of the injured. Knowing Kira, she had probably taught them herself while still managing to take care of more wounded fans, all the while maintaining a level head. I was proud to call her my friend.

Sydney and I repeated the process a few more times. We didn't even have to speak to each other anymore. It was as if we had become one. But every time I went out, more and more of myself started to fall apart. I only got shot at two more times, but it was two times more than I would have liked. Then only thing that kept me going was despite how many people we were helping, there were tons more out there that needed to be saved. There was no time for me to worry about my safety.

During one of the trips, I saw something that made me freeze for a second. 

Jeno was out there helping bring people behind the tables...but without any cover.

Time magically slowed down. 

One of the shooters looked at Jeno and started to advance. I felt my muscles tense. 

Sydney was almost behind the table, so I ditched her and ran for Jeno. 

I could hear my chair getting shot at, but I didn't care like I used to. Just as the shooter took aim and Jeno realized his mistake, I used my chair to body slam the man to the floor. My leg was hurting and so was my shoulder. The shooter took aim at me, but I knocked the gun out of his hands and picked it up. I looked back at Jeno.

"GO!! GO!!"

Luckily, he understood and ran for the tables. I followed him. My body was aching, but I couldn't stop. When we got behind the tables, I dropped to my knees and caught my breath. I looked up at Jeno and scowled.

"You idiot! What were you thinking going out there without someone to protect you??"

He stared at me with wide eyes, an almost horrified look. It made my heart soften, but as I remembered how reckless he had been, how he almost got himself killed, I was not going to let this fly because he was cute. He had to understand how stupid it was for him to do that sort of thing by himself.

"Neoui okay," He said.

I scoffed, "No! It's not okay! You could have gotten killed! Don't you understand that? I know you're just trying to help, but you can't do this to me right now-"

He patted his shoulder and spoke louder like I wasn't listening.

"Neoui eokkae!" 

I was about to yell at him again when I realized I really hadn't been listening. He had been saying "shoulder", not "okay". Something shoulder. I scrunched my eyebrows together in confusion. He came over to me and held my left shoulder.

"Neoui eokkae!"

Then I remembered that "neoui" was possessive. 

"Oh, my shoulder."

I looked down to see blood soaking my shirt. That's why I was hurting. I had been shot after all. I guess the adrenaline had been numbing most of the pain. Then I remembered my leg hurt too. I looked down to see blood pooling on the ground around my leg. I had been shot twice. I put my hand on my shoulder and when I took it away, it was scarlet. This was too much blood to be healthy. Then the pain started settling in. It was horrible. I cried out a little, and it probably would have been louder, but I didn't have enough energy. The blood loss was getting to me and I felt myself drifting into unconsciousness. I held onto Jeno to keep myself from falling over.

"Get Kira," I told him. It was all I was able to get out. I was too weak.

He looked panicked. My vision was blurry so I could have been wrong, but I thought I saw him starting to cry. He picked me up and carried me over to Kira. The last thing I remember was him screaming.

"Doum! Doum!" (Help! Help!)