Page 118 of When Worlds Collide
There was one interaction between Minjae and Joon that sent the thousands in attendance into a near-hysterics.
“Don’t you guys think Seoul looks beautiful in the snow? I wish we could show everyone in another country how the city looks right now,” Minjae said, looking straight into the camera that was following them around the stage.
“Do you know what I think looks better, Jae?” Jihoon said, holding his monogrammed mic close to his lips, as he looked into the camera from beneath his lashes. From the slightly shy twist to his mouth, I knew what was coming.
“Vibers,” he said – and when the auditorium predictably erupted in delighted screams, he lifted a hand to cover his mouth, his eyes crinkling.
I don’t know how one person managed to flirt with several thousand people at the same time, but he executed it perfectly.
While I watched the performance with barely contained excitement, Hana watched with something akin to professional curiosity. Her expression was almost clinical – the same kind of detached appraisal I’d seen from managers in the practice rooms.
Given her ambition, I supposed that made sense.
Still, it seemed a shame she wanted to control something she didn’t know how to enjoy.
Later, Hana and I stood well out of the way at the side of the stage, which was now well-lit and occupied with a long table and five chairs. The earlier audience had long since been ushered out, collecting small bags with token merch as a thanks for attending. Hana and I had snuck looks this morning. The bags contained photo cards, little boxes of sweets, pins, a bracelet and some full size products from the skin care brand that GVibes was sponsored by. Unfortunately, there hadn’t been any spare bags, but that hadn’t stopped Hana trying to filch one.
I’d stopped her. She’d put it back, calling me a ‘kill joy’.
Now we watched as the press took their seats, noisily shuffling papers and setting up their electronic devices in a mind-boggling array of precise set ups.
Eventually, the members of GVibes came back on stage, changed into different outfits than what they’d worn for the performance. My eyes automatically honed in on Jihoon. He looked up and caught my gaze, very briefly, before sweeping back over the assembled crowd.
The members took their seats facing out into the auditorium, bowing in acknowledgement as the MC – an ENT public relations representative – introduced them.
The MC began a dialogue with the group, and without me needing to ask, Hana translated for me. She seemed to fall into it naturally, repeating what I gathered was a word-for-word translation.
I marvelled at how quickly she was able to do it. Korean was her first language, but she’d grown up in Auckland, speaking English at school.
“He’s asking them to describe what to expect from the upcoming album,” she muttered to me, as we both watched the PR rep grinning at the guys.
Minjae, naturally, picked up his mic to reply. I listened with half an ear to Jae, and half to Hana as she spoke.
“This is the first time each of us has directly contributed to song writing,” she said. “In the past, we’ve worked with talented song writers, and we’ve each had a creative input, but we’ve never done it ourselves before.”
She paused, and we listened to the MC respond.
“He’s asking what the album is about.”
This time, Woojin picked up his mic.
“Each track on the album represents something about each of us. Some of the tracks are…” Hana paused, humming as she searched for the word. “Darker. Less upbeat than you will have heard from us. It’s a reflection of our maturity. We wanted to show another side to who we are. We wanted to show honesty. Not everything is always perfect. We are only human.”
Hana looked frustrated, and I wondered if she was struggling with the translation.
The members went on to talk more about the album and the upcoming music videos they were filming, but it wasn’t anything I didn’t already know, thanks to Joon.
I enjoyed watching the way the members interacted with each other. It was different from how they were around each other inreal life. There was still banter, but there was something else I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Respect? Admiration? It was in the little looks they exchanged, the small moments of deference. Giving over their full attention. It was the acknowledgment of shared experience, a collective effort to become who they now were.
I could watch them for a whole year and still learn something new the next day. Their bond was something to be envious of.
Finally, the floor was opened up, and the MC began to pick members out from the press to ask questions. It was nothing ground breaking: what inspired this, or that. What country are you most looking forward to visiting, that sort of thing.
And then, perhaps predictably, the question came that made everyone in the room sit up a little straighter. It was a question that I knew had been expressly banned, but here it was.
I knew it, before I even heard Hana’s translation, especially as she nearly quavered with barely-suppressed glee.
“Jihoon-ssi, I’m sure you’re aware there has been a lot of public speculation following the leaked footage from LA. You’ve not released any kind of statement, but don’t you feel your fans deserve an explanation? Can you tell us anything about it?”
