Page 121 of A World Apart
“We’re getting those too,” Piped up Jihoon, which made me choke on a sip of soda until tears streamed down my face.
“Okay, fellas, when I say, ‘home,’ you say…”
This time it was Seokmin who hit the buzzer first. “Stage!” Earning him several loud cheers from the audience as the other group members ruffled his hair or patted his back.
“He’s such a sweet kid,” Becka cooed.
“Becka, that is a full-ass adult.” I pointed out, hearing Jihoon laugh from the phone beside me.
“Anyone under twenty one is a kid.”
“Unpopular opinion, says ‘huh?’” I muttered.
“Huh?” Becka turned to me, shovelling another handful of popcorn into her mouth as I just laughed and waved her off.
“Okay, okay, last one.” Jimmy turned to GVibes after several more rapid-fire questions, a serious look on his face.
“Now I need you to think about this one, because there is a follow-up question,” Jimmy warned.
“What is the word − or the person − you think about, when I say… love.”
The audience erupted in cries of ‘oooh,’ as if this was the most salacious of gossip. It took so long to die down, the camera kept panning back to the group, who were all pretending to shyly hide their faces, or just giggling. The cameras focused in on Jihoon for a moment, who, when he noticed, held up finger hearts next to his face as he winked.
“Flirt.” I hissed at him, though I smirked at the same time. He just shrugged, but had the good grace to look a bit embarrassed. Now that I knew the realJihoon, there was such a noticeable difference between the man I knew, and the person he was when he was on stage. It was a complete personality switch.
Finally, Jimmy was able to quiet the audience down enough for Sungmin to take the mic and walk a few steps away from the group. He had such a serious look on his face that the audience’s response was to quiet further, almost leaning in and I swore there was a collective intake of breath as he raised the mic to his mouth, and said…
“Vibers.”
The audience exploded with screams and cheers, and moments later, the fan chants erupted − those synchronized shouts that filled packed auditoriums and stadiums. I could just imagine the sound technicians scrambling to equalise the chaos.
On the stage, Jimmy threw down his pack of prompt cards and leaned back in his chair, clearly understanding there was no point trying to calm the crowd.
The rest of the group all stood up, acknowledging the audience in one way or another, most notably was Sungmin, ‘Lee,’ who started an impromptu dance to the beat of the chant. Becka and I laughed.
“I like him the most,” she said after a few moments, wiping away a tear.
“I’ll be sure to tell him that.” Jihoon piped up.
“You do that, idol, you do that.” Becka shrugged, but I saw the way the flush crept up her neck.
“Okay, okay!” Jimmy finally called for quiet, the noise from the audience gradually dying down, helped along by the group holding fingers to their lips tohelp Jimmy.
“It’s obvious that your fans feel very deeply for you, so I want to stay on that for one more question. So, I have to ask − there's been a lot of buzz about you, Jihoon, possibly dating Hyejin Lee from PrettyYOUngThings. Is there any truth to those rumours, or is it just wishful thinking from the fans? Come on, give us the scoop! I need to know if I should be planning a wedding or just following you both on Instagram!"
“Oop, there it is.” Becka took a loud, obnoxious pull from the straw in her soda.
I rolled my eyes, but couldn’t ignore the sudden acceleration of my heartbeat.
The mic was passed down through the group until Jihoon was able to take it. He paused a moment before answering to look directly down the lens of the camera, the studio lights illuminating the bronze tone of his irises before he turned his full attention back to Jimmy Fallon.
“Well, Jimmy, while I always appreciate the warm feelings from our fans, Hyejin and I are not dating.”
The audience let out a combination of disappointed, “aww’s”, and relieved cheers.
“It sounds like some members of the audience today aren’t too sad to hear that.” Jimmy turned his attention back to the crowd, his grin wide.
“But if not Hyejin, then is there anyone out there? I mean come on, have you guys looked in a mirror? You’re not that hideous.”
