The Concert (4)
Before heading into the concert venue, there was one last thing to do: dinner.
Choi Saeron had promised to take us to an incredibly delicious restaurant, but...
"A dakgalbi place?"
"Hey, dakgalbi is delicious."
"I mean, yeah, it is."
I was just caught off guard by the unexpected choice.
Come to think of it...
There weren't really many other options around here for us.
It was either too cheap or too expensive.
Beef restaurants or omakase were way out of budget.
And an all-you-can-eat tteokbokki buffet didn't exactly feel like treating someone.
She probably put a lot of thought into this.
I could understand why she ended up choosing dakgalbi.
"It's nearby, so let's get going."
We walked a bit further and arrived at the restaurant.
After grabbing a table, I picked up the menu, but...
Why is this so simple?
The menu was incredibly sparse.
Aside from the dakgalbi itself and various toppings to add...
...the only other options were fried rice for the end and drinks.
Is it always like this?
I wouldn't know, since I'd never been to one before.
I handed the menu over to Saeron.
"Should we get three servings of dakgalbi and the assorted toppings?"
"Hmm... I think that might be too much."
"Too much?"
"We have to eat the fried rice at the end, too. Wouldn't two servings be better?"
"..."
Normally, two servings of this kind of food never actually felt like two servings.
Even with pork belly, two guys would easily eat four servings.
If they were hungry, they could easily polish off six.
Is she worried about the cost?
I wondered if she had spent all her part-time job money on her new bass.
But my worries were completely unfounded.
"Oh, right, you probably eat a lot. I forgot I was hanging out with a guy..."
Saeron nodded and agreed to order three servings.
"I'm so used to hanging out with Dain or Seolah that I forgot how much guys eat."
"That makes sense."
I could understand where she was coming from.
After all, I had no idea how much girls ate either.
"Ooh...!"
Having placed the order, Saeron's eyes sparkled with anticipation.
"I wonder if they'll do that thing again at this concert."
"What thing?"
"When they performed in Japan before coming to Korea, they picked someone from the audience and brought them up on stage."
"Orchid did that?"
"Yeah! They called up someone who didn't even know how to play an instrument and taught them step-by-step. They even did a short jam session together!"
The reason she was bringing this up was obvious.
"And you want that to be you?"
"Of course!"
Hmm...
Honestly, it didn't seem completely impossible.
Assuming Orchid did that performance again...
...we would be sitting in the VIP section, which meant we had a high chance of catching their eye.
I explained this logic to Saeron.
"Oh, please, let it happen...! They even give you autographs if you go up on stage!"
Saeron squealed, already imagining herself up on stage.
Soon, the dakgalbi arrived.
After we thoroughly polished it off...
...I popped a mint from the counter into my mouth and watched Saeron pay.
"How much was it?"
"Fifty thousand won."
"Huh, that's pricier than I thought."
"Well, we got three servings, added the assorted toppings, and had fried rice. Oh, and a drink each."
"True..."
Returning to our table, we gathered our things.
As we were packing up...
Wait.
I noticed a familiar outfit.
It looked like the woman who had bumped into me at the crosswalk earlier.
I guess she's going to the concert too.
Seeing how our paths kept crossing, it seemed almost certain.
"Got everything?"
But I decided not to pay it any more mind.
"Yeah, let's go."
Whether her path overlapped with ours or not had nothing to do with us.
"Let's walk around a bit before heading in. Need to digest."
I checked my phone. It was 6:40 PM.
The concert started at 8:00, so we still had plenty of time.
"Don't we need to go now? Isn't it better to get there at least an hour early? The lines are going to be huge."
"We have VIP tickets, so we use a separate line."
"Ah...!"
Saeron's face lit up instantly.
"So that's what VIP seats get you...!"
Since there was a decent walking path nearby...
...we strolled along it slowly.
Actually, I hadn't planned on walking this slowly, but...
Her stride is so short.
Saeron's steps were incredibly small.
Granted, she had great proportions.
Her legs were actually quite long, but...
She's still short, after all.
For every step I took, Saeron had to take two.
"So anyway, Neville and Moore got into a fight back then! And not just a verbal argument—they actually threw hands, no holds barred!"
Meanwhile, Saeron was still talking about Orchid.
We had been walking for about ten minutes now.
And for the entire ten minutes, she hadn't stopped talking about the band.
"But how did they not disband? I guess they made up in the end?"
"They did. Neville felt bad for throwing the first punch, so he gave him money."
"With money?"
"Yeah! Moore is absolutely obsessed with money!"
If someone asked if I minded listening to this, I didn't.
It was just... a little fascinating.
I wonder if I could ever become like that.
Watching Saeron rattle off Orchid's history and trivia, I felt a sudden desire to become a composer who had fans that cheered for him just as passionately.
I wanted to be someone who inspired that kind of devotion.
It won't be easy, of course.
Building a fanbase as a composer was much harder than doing so as a singer.
But it wasn't impossible.
Finding motivation like this was important in its own right.
"Shall we head back?"
Ten minutes of walking was plenty.
Considering the time it would take to walk back, we needed to head to the venue now.
"Sure!"
Saeron readily agreed, seemingly thinking the same.
As we turned around...
...the woman in the beige zip-up hoodie caught my eye again.
It was the same person who had bumped into me and eaten at the same dakgalbi restaurant.
I suppose she could have gone for a walk after eating too, but...
...our paths are overlapping way too much.
The frequency of these encounters was becoming hard to ignore.
It has to be a coincidence.
If it wasn't, it meant she was following us.
But that makes no sense.
There was absolutely no reason for her to do that.
Still, the reason I felt a slight sense of wariness...
...was because of her outfit.
She had her hood pulled up, but the bottom zipper of her hoodie was pulled up as well.
Her midriff was exposed, yet her face was completely hidden. It was hard not to feel a bit suspicious.
I should just try my best to ignore it.
She wasn't causing us any harm.
And I couldn't exactly walk up to her and ask, "Why are you following us?"
The best course of action was to focus on something else.
...They seem to be getting along great.
Kwon Dain stole a glance at the two of them.
Every time Choi Saeron spoke, Jeong Jisul let out a soft chuckle.
And whenever Jisul spoke, Saeron would playfully nudge him.
Nudging a guy every time you laugh is such a classic fox move.
According to what she had read online, that was a notorious flirting tactic.
Yet, even knowing that, there was nothing Dain could do.
...Why did I even come here?
In this situation, the only thing she could do...
...was watch the two of them chat happily.
Instead of feeling better...
The tightness in her chest remained unchanged.
No, if anything, it felt even worse than yesterday.
The uncomfortable emotions piling up in her heart tortured her relentlessly.
...Looks like they're heading to the venue now.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jisul and Saeron turn around and start walking.
The two of them maintained their friendly, intimate vibe.
They were always like this.
As if they were on the exact same wavelength, they talked frequently.
Indeed, they had grown close at an alarming speed.
As those thoughts filled her head, a sharp, aching throb pierced her tight chest.
Dain knew this was a terrible sign.
Calm down.
Was this what people meant when they talked about being emotionally unstable?
Dain stroked her chest, trying to soothe herself.
It's not like they're going to start dating just from hanging out for one day.
If she didn't rationalize it like this, she felt she might actually lose her mind.
We finally entered the venue.
Just as I had mentioned earlier, thanks to our VIP tickets...
...we breezed through the ticket verification process in no time.
The interior was quite noisy.
Even though the show hadn't started yet, the excited chatter of the crowd filled the air.
I frowned slightly at the wall of noise.
Just then, Saeron spoke up.
"If you need to use the restroom, you should go now."
"The restroom?"
"Yeah. Even if you don't feel like it, they say you should always go before the show starts."
True. The concert was scheduled to run for two hours.
Leaving in the middle of the performance would be a terrible idea.
It would ruin the flow, just like leaving in the middle of a movie.
"Let's go, then."
We stood up at the same time.
Saeron headed toward the women's restroom...
...while I made my way to the men's room.
On the way, I crossed paths with the beige hoodie yet again.
But this time, I didn't feel any wariness.
I think she just entered through the VIP entrance too.
Since we were inside the venue now...
...encountering her here simply meant she was also here to watch the concert.
That explained why our paths had kept crossing.
Maybe it's her first time at a concert, and she was just following us to figure out where to go.
Having cleared up my doubts, I finished my business in the restroom...
...and returned to my seat first.
From what I had glimpsed earlier, the women's restroom was packed with a long line.
Saeron would probably take a bit longer.
But that wasn't what mattered right now.
What truly demanded my attention was...
...She's sitting right next to me?
The fact that the beige hoodie was in the seat right next to mine.
"..."
I sat down as naturally as possible.
I leaned forward to grab a bottle of water from my bag.
Why does she flinch every time I move even a little?
Every time I made the slightest movement, the person in the beige hoodie visibly shuddered.
How am I supposed to ignore her when she's acting like this?
"Wait."
About an hour into the concert.
"Hey, hey...! You're on the screen!"
An unexpected situation occurred.
"Wait, isn't he telling you to come up?! Isn't this the same thing they did in Japan?!"
"...Why me and not you?"
"I don't know, just get up...! Moore is gesturing for you to come up!"
The sudden, unexpected situation of me being called up onto the stage.