BamBam, I typed in the search box.
The top result was a video of Billy and Bam Bam, whatever that was. Obviously that wasn't what I was looking for.
The next results, I was sure was what I had been looking for. It was a Wikipedia page for a Korean boyband called Got7.
So, that's what his group was called. Got7.
I guess that made sense since there were seven of them. And Kunpimook Bhuwakul, or BamBam as he liked to be called, was the cutest one in the group.
Wait, I did not just think that.
Okay, maybe I did but I was not going to admit that out loud. Nor was I going to admit to anyone that I just searched the internet for some guy who pushed me up against a wall to hide from obsessed fans.
I had arrived at the apartment before my aunt and my mom. Apparently, they were distracted by some shops in the Gangnam area of the city. I had made it to the apartment but they weren't there yet so I just let myself in and used the phone like my aunt had instructed me to. Now I was on my aunt's desktop computer -- it was a fossil but it still worked fine -- and somehow ended up looking up BamBam's name on the internet. I would've been on Tumblr but for some reason I wanted to know more about the stranger I had met earlier.
And that was what my mom and Aunt Abbi caught me doing when they arrived back at the apartment.
"You never told me Skylar likes Got7, ate," Aunt Abbi said.
My mom shrugged. "Even I didn't know she likes kpop."
I shook my head. "I don't like kpop," I muttered. "I saw their other music video this morning and got curious." I wasn't going to tell them I met one of the members of the band. Probably not the best idea because then mom would think I was making friends with complete strangers.
"They're quite famous here," my aunt told me. "There are a lot of other good artists, too. You should try listening to SNSD or 2NE1. I bet you'll like them."
I shrugged and mom snorted. "Skye likes the screamo kind of music. I don't think she would appreciate their music."
I made a face at my mom's comment. Screamo was not the only genre I liked or listened to.
"But she's listening to Got7," Aunt Abbi said, gesturing to the paused music video of the Got7 song Stop Stop It on the screen of her dinosaur, err, computer. To be honest, it was the only song by them that I had liked so far. The song I heard earlier, which was apparentlt entitled Girls Girls Girls, was a bit too conceited for my taste. I couldn't be too sure if I liked Got7 as it has been only two songs that I've listened to.
"Nah. Mom's right," I said. "I was just curious. I want to know what I have to put up with for our stay here. They're not exactly my style."
"Oh." Aunt Abbi frowned. "You know, you could just ask if you want to change the music that's playing."
"It's fine," I said. I closed the YouTube page and stood up. "I'm going to the room now. I'm not going to eat dinner."
"Why not?"
"Not hungry," I answered stiffly.
"You don't want to meet Hyun-soo?" Aunt Abbi asked. "He's coming over for dinner."
I shook my head. "I'm tired. I had a long day. Maybe tomorrow."
"Okay then. Good night." She tried to hide her disappointment and she probably thought she succeeded. I had seen that look too many times on my mother's face to recognize it on my aunt's expression.
I didn't want to look at my mom and see her look of disapproval. She always hated that I would find a way out of socializing with new people, especially when it involved skipping a meal. She used to make dinner plans for me to meet her new boyfriend but I never joined them. I never wanted to.
I headed to the room and grabbed the mp3 player that I left charging. It wasn't fully charged but I didn't care. I plugged in my headphones and lied down on the bed, Let's Cheers To This by Sleeping With Sirens playing as I let myself drift off to sleep.
The next day I woke up alone in the room. Either mom slept on the couch or she had waken up earlier than I did. Looking at the clock on the wall, I realized it was the latter. It was almost eleven o'clock.
The door swung open and mom came in. "Oh, good. You're up," she said. "We're eating lunch with your aunt and Hyun-soo. Go and get ready. We're leaving in a few minutes."
I nodded, getting up.
Minutes later, I was ready to go. And mentally cursing myself for not letting the music player charge. I had left it on all night, which meant that the battery was dead again. And that meant no tuning everything out. I'd have to endure the conversations I just know someone would try to start with me.
The restaurant where we met with my aunt's soon-to-be-husband, Hyun-soo, wasn't too fancy but it wasn't a casual place either where you'd find a bunch of teenagers hanging around. The food was good, though. Hyun-soo made me try some kimchi and I actually liked it.
Hyun-soo was nice and, while I didn't know mt aunt all that well, I thought he and Aunt Abbi made a great couple. What I didn't like about him was how he tried to include me in their conversations.
Suddenly it was louder in the restaurant, and I saw him.
I couldn't believe that I was seeing him again -- Seoul isn't that small that I'd bump into him again -- but the dozen teenage girls standing outside the restaurant proved my eyes right.
There were seven of them who came inside the restaurant together. They weren't too loud to disturb the people eating but loud enough for me to hear them. Of course why wouldn't I be able to hear them when my luck ran out and they were seated at the table across from ours.
And BamBam was sitting on the side that was facing us. At least he was too busy laughing with his friends to notice me.
I was still watching Got7 when my name was called. I noticed BamBam tense slightly and I quickly looked away.
"Huh?"
"You're a fan of music, right?" Aunt Abbi asked.
I thought we had already discussed my music taste last night. "Yeah, I guess so," I muttered.
"But not Korean music," added my mom.
I shrugged. "It's okay, I guess." Honestly, the only Korean songs I've heard were those two Got7 songs and that one song called Gangnam Style. It was pretty much impossible for me not to have heard that last song when it was one of those songs that trended everywhere, especially in the school hallway. It put me off of kpop and mom knew that.
"Oh, then who are your favorite artists?" Hyun-soo asked.
I shrugged. "Sleeping with Sirens, Pierce the Veil, The 1975. I've been listening to a lot of The Neighbourhood lately," I answered.
They all looked confused, most likely because they didn't know thise bands. "Oh, I thought you would like other artists."
"Well, I did go through a Bring Me The Horizon phase," I mentioned even though I knew what they actually meant.
All those other more popular artists, I didn't care too much about them unless they made a song with a lit of meaning. They made good music, but just not the music that made me feel something.
"Bring Me The Horizon? It sounds like a band that the emo kids in school would listen to," said Hyun-soo.
I made a face at the comment but said nothing. I wanted to defend my music but I also didn't want to get on my aunt's bad side just a few days before her wedding day.
Actually, I was surprised she wasn't turning into bridezilla. The wedding is in three days but she didn't seem too stressed about it.
The topic changed quickly, something about my grandparents arriving soon. I barely knew them, really. They lived in the Philippines, where they prefered to stay, and we've never decided to visit then. Must be exciting for my mom to be reunited with her family.
I tuned out of the conversation, glancing at the table across from us.
What I wasn't expecting for was to see BamBam looking at me. Our eyes met and his lips curved into a smile. He raised a hand and waved at me. I just nodded before he was distracted by the guy sitting right next to him.
Now if only I hadn't drained my mp3 player's battery.