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“No food hall, but the restaurant is that way.” He pointed.

“Can I get something to eat?” His presence made me feel like I needed to ask for permission.

He shrugged. “Not alone.” He pointed to the security guard.

I agreed easily, and headed towards the hotel restaurant, but when we got there, I couldn’t see anyone else from the tour. It didn’t tend to matter what time of day it was, breakfast, lunch or dinner, there was usually at least someone grabbing coffee, or a snack.

“Where is everyone?” I turned to ask my guard, who’d asked that I call him Mr Yoon. He didn’t speak a word of English, so it was convenient I spoke Korean.

He looked down at me, and it was a little bit like being scrutinised by the Terminator, and I wondered idly if ENT ever hired security that weren’t built with the approximate dimensions of a fridge.

“Most of the crew are not staying in this hotel.”

I frowned. “Huh?” I replied, inelegantly.

Mr Yoon blinked down at me, expressionless, and repeated his answer as though I hadn’t understood the first time.

“Yeah, no, I got that,” I said, “but–I’m here?”

“Yes. For security.”

He turned away. Conversation over. My hand rose to fiddle with my necklace as I turned toward the expensive-looking restaurant as the information settled over me. I’d been moved to a different hotel. What I now knew was the hotel GVibes, and thus the upper management team was staying in, while the rest of the tour would be staying somewhere else.

Oh.

“I think maybe I’ll get room service, instead,” I muttered, turning on my heel.

Mr Yoon didn’t reply, only followed quietly.

July 19th

I went with Mr Yoon to the stadium in a private car. It was weird, going through the barricades, with a security detail, as though I was someone more important than just another member of the crew.

Once we were inside, Mr Yoon was able to blend back into the normal security detail, as we’d moved into a heavily secured area. I breathed a sigh of relief as I moved through the corridor, following the colourful stripes on the floor that led to the different areas around the venue. I’d never been here before, but so many stadiums had this exact, same set-up that it wasn’t difficult to navigate.

I found myself settling into the familiar rhythm of observation. People moved around me, familiar voices, familiar tasks, and I soon found myself near one of the tunnels that led out into the standing pitch.

Soundcheck had finished an hour ago. The concert wouldn’t start until later, so the stadium wasn’t full yet. I watched for a while, arms wrapped around myself as I absorbed some of the excitement that floated over to me from the small crowd of VIPs that lingered after soundcheck.

It was hot, the sun glaring down, and I admired the resilience of some people to queue for hours in the unforgiving heat, only to then stand in a cramped space, just to ensure their spot at barricade. I’d done it a time, or two, and it was gruelling.

“Kaiya,” a voice called, and I jumped, spinning around to see Sungmin jogging over.

I frowned, moving back down the tunnel and away from the exposed entrance.

“Lee? What’s wrong, are you okay?”

I looked over his shoulder, but the tunnel was deserted, save for a few techies who glanced curiously in our direction. Lee shook his head, breathing heavily. “Can you come? Please?”

“What? Why? Where?”

Lee pushed a hand through his hair, his face screwed up for a moment before looking around and then leaning closer. “Jihoon-hyung.”

My eyes widened before I comprehended his meaning.

“Where is he?” I asked, already moving.

“A room,” Lee shook his head, “I don’t know the word. I’ll show you.”