"Oh my god!" Wonho said once walking back into the room. "Are you okay, Jiyeon?"
My dress was covered in tomato juice, which they might have confused for blood. "It's just tomato juice." I laughed.
"Did you get it on video?" Jooheon asked excitedly.
I smiled at him, "Of course!"
The boys grouped together to see the video. I pulled out my phone and showed them the five minute clip of the girls coming into the room and throwing the juice on me.
"Wow... they're..." Hyungwon started saying, "Absolute idiots! Why did they tell you all of that?"
I shrugged, "I think some people are so full of themselves that they have to tell even their victims about their diabolical plans. Like in the movies. I guess it's bragging."
"Anyway, they've exposed themselves." Kihyun said. "We post the video later."
"That was easier than I thought it would be!" Changkyun laughed, "We didn't even do anything!"
"Now we just have to post it to Youtube!" I cheered, although inside I was very upset about my dress being ruined again.
"We must celebrate!" Jooheon cheered, "I mean, it's not everyday you get to knock those queens down a couple pegs."
"Good idea!" Wonho said.
"I second that." Shownu added.
"Alright." I laughed, "Let's celebrate, but I want to change first."
I was smart enough to plan ahead for an outfit change. So the guys stepped out of the room while I brought out my second outfit. It was a white lace dress with bell sleeves, it tied in the front. I fixed up my makeup and then stepped out.
"Alright, where to?" I smiled at them.
"That dress isn't much better than the other one!" Hyungwon huffed, crossing his arms. I gave him a quizzical look.
"He means that this dress is also very...provocative." Shownu translated for me, laughing.
"You don't have something that covers up more?" Hyungwon asked, referring to the deep v-neck in the dress, but I was very flat chested so there wasn't much to see.
I pouted, "I like this dress."
"I like it too." Wonho added, linking arms with me. "Let's go have fun, don't worry about Hyungwon. He's just worried about other guys staring at you."
I blushed as we left in the van together.
"Let's go to a club!" Jooheon cheered. "We never get to do that."
"I don't know about a club..." The manager said from the driver's seat.
"Oh, come on!" Minhyuk pleaded, "We'll be careful! And we have Jiyeon with us!"
"Yeah!" Wonho agreed, "It's not like we're going to cause a scandal or anything."
The boys begged and pleaded with the manager before he caved in, "Alright, fine. You can go to the club. But be back to the dorm by 12 pm. Jiyeon, make sure they don't stay out later than that." He looked over at me through the rear view mirror.
"I promise." I said, giving him a thumbs up.
The van pulled up in front of a club that is popular with idols. It's high profile, anyone without a large fan base isn't able to get in. So we were safe to a certain extent. We would be surrounded by idols, which would be considered the perfect environment, but idols have proven to be very snakey.
I stepped out of the van first, paparazzi that were waiting outside of the building snapped pictures of me.
"Choi Jiyeon! What was it like being pelted with eggs?" One of the camera me asked.
"Are you going to press charges?"
"Please, let us know who did this to you." Another person yelled.
I guess I should have expected this to happen, the video got well over a million views. I'm sure everyone in Korea had seen it by now. But I ignored them, knowing that sweet revenge was in my phone, tucked away in my purse.
Monsta X followed out of the van after me, paparazzi moving on from me to them.
"What are the plans for tour?"
"Any upcoming collaborations?"
Once we were all together, the eight of us walked into the club. The bouncer recognized us immediately and opened the door to let us in, the blaring music becoming louder. Once my eyes adjusted to the lights, I saw that it was very different from the clubs I had been to back to in America. There were lots of booths, most people not speaking to each other. A small portion of the club was set aside for dancing, a couple of celebrities I recognized dancing along to the popular music. It really wasn't meant for socializing so much as drinking with friends.
We found a roomy booth that could fit all eight of us, ordering drinks already.
"We're going to destroy those girls!" Hyungwon cheered, "Once we get back, post that video immediately!"
"I will." I smiled, leaning back into the plush booth.
My eyes scanned the place, taking in the atmosphere.
'So this is where idols go to party in privacy.'
The waitress brought by our drinks, all of us ordering beers, and I took a sip of it. As we were settling in, a large group passed by us, stopping in front of our table. I looked up to see it was the guys that had been staring at me earlier.
'Was it BIXX?'
They too seemed to have a dark concept, wearing all black and pants that looked like leather.
"Hi!" The most American-looking one said to the table, "I don't think we've all been introduced yet."
"I don't believe so either." Shownu said, standing up to shake their hands.
"Shownu, right? I'm known as Ken." He smiled, turning to the table and pointing everyone out, "You're Minhyuk. Jooheon. Wonho. Kihyun. I.M. And Hyungwon, right?"
"Right." Kihyun smiled.
"Well, this is Leo." He pointed to the gloomy one that was staring at me earlier. He was still staring me down now. "And this is Hyuk, our maknae." He pointed to the tallest one among them. "This is Hakyeon, our leader." He waved, smiling at us. "Ravi, our rapper." He pointed to the grey haired one, "Lastly, this is Hongbin." He pointed to the last member. He was handsome and smiled brightly.
"We work near each other all the time, but we've never all worked together." Hakyeon laughed, "We have to change that soon."
"Of course!" Shownu laughed. "You and I only see each other on Lipstick Prince."
"So, who is this?" Ken asked, motioning in my direction, "A girlfriend?"
I shook my head, laughing, "No. I'm their bodyguard."
VIXX looked shocked, all of their eyes widened. All but Leo who seemed the most emotionless out of the group.
"You? A bodyguard? Really?" Hyuk asked.
I nodded. "Yeah."
"How did you learn Korean? You speak it very well." Ravi asked.
"I'm half Korean." I chuckled, tucking hair behind my ears. "So I learned it from my mother."
The conversation seemed to change as the guys broke up and talked to the member that corresponded with their position in the group. Ravi and Jooheon chatted with one another, both of them lamenting about the stigma of being an idol rapper. Ken and Kihyun talked about their favorite songs to sing, Leo sitting quietly a couple of feet away from them. Hakyeon and Shownu talked about being the lead dancers of the group, the both of them also the leaders, chatting about what styles of dance they were familiar with. Hyuk and Changkyun talked about what it was like being the maknae of the group. Hongbin and Minhyuk swapping suggestions for skincare.
I watched all of them, happy they had found some friends.
'I guess not all idols are bad.'
I took a swig of my beer, feeling the need to get up and dance. I pushed myself up from the booth, heading towards the dance floor.
I mean, maybe I would make some friends while here too.
They were playing Beyonce's new song Ape Shit, and I loved it. I didn't let my lack of rhythm stop me from having a good time.
I sang along to the lyrics:
"Stack my money fast and go...
Fast like a lambo (skrrt, skrrt, skrrt)
I be jumpin' off the stage, ho..."
'Wow, this is poetic.' I thought, really enjoying myself. 'Beyonce really had a way with words.'
I danced along to the music, rolling my body and putting my hands up in the air. Girls on the dance floor watched me closely, all of them avoiding me and creating a large gap between me and everyone else. I felt like an outcast in a place that should be fun.
I tried to ignore it when I noticed that one of the members of VIXX had followed me. It was Leo, and he had placed a hand on my lower back to get my attention.
"Do you want to get a drink?" He leaned into my ear, pointing at the bar.
Leo must have noticed I was getting uncomfortable with all of the blatant discrimination.
I nodded, following him to the bar.
"You're pretty quiet." I said once we had sat on the stools. I ordered a cocktail. He ordered some scotch.
"Yeah, I guess." He replied, staring down at his stout glass. "I just don't like places that are too loud."
I chuckled a bit.
Leo raised an eyebrow at me, "What?"
"Well." I smiled, "It's just that you picked the wrong profession if you don't like noise. Those music shows are extremely loud." I laughed. "And having screaming fans can be pretty loud too."
Leo smiled a bit, the first smile I had ever seen from him. "I know." He replied, "I'm pretty shy so interviews can be hard for me. But I really love music. So I'll fight through it."
"That's admirable." I said, "I'm sure your fans appreciate that."
He nodded, smiling, lifting the glass to his lips. I, too, took a sip of my cocktail.
'I guess I'm making a friend.'
"So is being a bodyguard fun?" He asked. "I can't imagine it's easy."
"No, it's not easy." I laughed, loosening up, "But not for the reasons you'd imagine. I mean, I'm sure you saw the video."
Leo shrugged, "I mean, I did. What they did to you was crazy..."
"The girls have been really coming after me." I shook my head, staring at the glass. "I thought I'd have to deal with crazy fans, now it's just crazy idols."
"It's because you're really pretty, Jiyeon." Leo said nonchalantly. "Monsta X is very popular among female idols, I'm sure they wished they were in your place."
I blushed, looking over at Leo to see he was checking me out.
'I guess he's not trying to be just a friend.'