"Welcome to Seoul, Republic of South Korea. We hope you had a great flying experience with us. This is Incheon International Airport."

After successfully losing my bags and finding them for the last hour, I finally made it out of the airport.

Who knew flying international was that difficult?

Anyways that. My first quest for today was going to the company I got hired for. I go to the taxi which apparently looked friendly and safe enough for me to ride with.

One thing I learned from kdramas were never trust anyone who smiles A LOT. I've trained well I guess.

I avoided all sorts of food and drinks given to me as welcome treats. Paranoia has its perks for real.

The driver quietly drives down the road as I marvel over the city view. It's so.. surreal.

I've been wanting to come here since my teenage years. Both as a kpop fan and kdrama enthusiast. One can say i used to be a k-life freak. Of course I'd avoid all the dark, shady stuff about it like any other 14 year old, not wanting to worry my fantasies. But the more I started acknowledging them growing up, it made me aware of stuff around me and now that I'm here, I've been nothing but cautious.

The 5 hour flight jetlagged tiredness melted away the moment the car started slowing down. It took about an hour from the airport to here. I pay off the driver, gave him a small bow of respect and walked straight into the building.

HYBE Ent. of Yongsan district. One of the most controversial yet most talked about entertainment company. Mainly famous for its boy group that's famous all around the globe.

The amount of drama behind this company might probably be even better than your regular soap operas. Seriously. The shit went down in the last few years was genuinely hilarious.

Even after knowing all that shit, I've still managed to get accepted into their staff hiring program. They're looking for new and honest staff to help around for their upcoming shows and events. I was unserious at first cuz knowing my luck, it'd be like trying to touch the moon from your 5th floor terrace. Yet somehow, I got the acceptance email last night. It was a do or die thing for me then. So I took it.

The lobby was bustling with people running around with.. various of stuffs. Looked like it was another busy day. Kpop companies are hectic as I've known. At one corner some new kids doing tiktoks for their fans and on the other side, name tagged people rushing into a room which looked like new trainees.

I smile at the atmosphere. It's rare to witness all these as a kpop fan.

After some time of soaking myself into this busy room, I trud towards the front desk.

The lady smiles at me as I show her my printed email with bold words saying "Accepted" and runs me through a few details about it.

It's already noon and I'm on my way to the nearest grocery store. I've seen endless videos online of people trying delicious foods from these stores. So I'd have my lunch there.

I walk in and greet the worker with a small "anneyong" and look through the shelves. Suddenly my phone starts to buzz.

"Mum. Yeah I got off the flight hours back...yes I lost my bags and found them-dont blame me it's my first time flying!"

I hold my phone between my shoulder and face as I observe the pink tteokbokki bowl.

"Mum they took me in. Im out for lunch now. No I haven't found a place to stay at..I'll think of something."

As I kept the bowl inside the shop basket, I try reaching for the drink pouches. Suddenly. A familiar tattooed hand reaches behind me.

I froze.

"M-Mum. Lemme call you back, Kay? Yeah love you bye!"

I quickly cut the call, throw it inside the basket, and look at my side.

There he was. Clad in his black puffer jacket, baggy pants and a beenie. Black surgical mask to cover that infamous face. Yet, I'd always recognize those big doe eyes of his.

I try to play it cool, plaster on my confused foreigner mask and smile at him.

He hands me the drink pouch, the chocolate one.

"Thought maybe you wanted this."

Oh dear God..even in person his voice feels like smooth honey. How can a human body react this way over a mere voice?

"Oh, Jeongguk?" I ask softly.

"Oh, ARMY?" he replies, eyes bigger with realization that he stumbled upon one of his fans.

I smile at him, with reassurance that i won't tell a soul that he's here.

"How'd you know I needed this?"

"Well..you were looking at that tteokbokki bowl for three full minutes. So assumed you didn't know Hangul."

Another reason, which he didn't say, was the language I was talking on the phone with. It was my native language.

"I guess one can tell I'm not from here." I shrug. This time, he takes his mask off.

"How'd you know me?" Curiosity lingering in his tone.

To which I rolled my eyes. "Oh come on now. Who doesn't know you or your tattoos? Plus as an eagle eyed ARMY, I can find you even in a crowd."

Jokingly of coarse. Thankfully he thought so too. Cuz it did sound kinda creepy.

He then said he came here for a quick drink before clocking into his studio. Which he did, grabbing a beer can and a chip bag, bid me bye and left.

This. This is what I loved about Seoul. You can randomly meet your bias or any idol, talk casually like they've been your friend for ever, or even just get a glimpse of them from a far distance.

Talking with Jungkook gave me a feeling that you feel when you meet your old friend after ages.

My heart was happy and giddy while I paid for my food, made them and silently enjoyed it at the sitting area.

Took some rice and tteokbokki, a boiled egg and a chocolate drink with banana milk.

The combination made me tear up.

Okay maybe I was being too dramatic over convenient store food but nevertheless, it was amazing.

And don't worry. There's no way I didn't make a video of them. Just minus the part where I met my all time bias.

Can't let the media know I saw him here, right? That'd be a problem for him and I love him too much to let that happen.

I stayed there for a really long time. The heater was nice, I kept buying stuff from them while using the WiFi. Then came the obvious question.

My place to stay.

Fuck.

I'd talked to the lady in charge if there was a place, like a dorm for me to stay at. She did say that some staff at training stayed at the staff living quarters just few blocks away from the company. I'd stay there for a month while training and after that, I'd have to look for my own place.

To which I happily agreed. I can get paid while being trained and save up enough for a single person apartment.. or share it with one of the staff members as a roommate. But that's a month after me's problem.

For now, I gotta focus on my training.

Did I mention what job was I in for? Well. I won't call it a dream job but it's the only thing I've ever wanted to do, other than writing books.

It's a position of an assistant of idol group stylist.

(...to be continued)