Marilyn was so excited. Today was the most important day of her life to date. Tonight, she was attending the BTS concert in Pasadena, California. She would get to see Taehyung in a few hours. She could hardly contain her excitement!
She jumped out of her hotel bed and ran to the window, her long, dark hair falling in beautiful waves down her back. She stared out at the city below her. Was Tae close by? Was he already at the stadium? Would she run into him today? Or just stand in the stadium watching him from a thousand yards away?
She had wanted floor seats, but by the time her turn in the queue had come, they had all been purchased. So she’d had to settle for two seats high in the stands. It didn’t matter. She was going to a BTS concert! With her best friend! She’d get to experience the whole, amazing thing from start to finish! She’d get to hear Tae sing and see him dance! Live! In person! She’d get to hear his deep voice speaking in English. Maybe, if she was lucky, she’d get to see him cry sweet tears because he was so happy to see her.
She hugged herself with happiness as a voice spoke from the bed behind her. “Hey, what are we doing for breakfast? Is there a buffet at this hotel or a continental breakfast or something? Or are we going out somewhere?” Lily had just woken up. Her gorgeous, auburn hair hid her face from view.
“Let’s head to that little cafe down the street. There’s no breakfast here. Just let me get ready to go.” Marilyn looked at her friend. “And you need to climb out of bed, sleepyhead!”
—
A few minutes later they settled into their seats around a little, square table at The Breakfast Nook, a chic little cafe that closed at two o’clock in the afternoon. After Marilyn had ordered pancakes and Lily had asked for eggs, their attention was captured by a deep voice a few feet away.
“I’m here for a to-go order,” the soulful voice spoke. “Rupert.”
Lily’s big, brown eyes met Marilyn’s lighter brown eyes, shock radiating from them as they stared wide-eyed at each other for a moment as they both simultaneously recognized that voice. It couldn’t be! As one, they turned towards the sound of that beautiful voice. And both nearly fell out of their seats. Standing at the counter behind Lily was none other than Taehyung!
They both gasped. Then the waitress’s echoing voice broke through her shock, “Rupert?”
Rupert? Tae had placed an order under the code name Rupert? That was so funny!
Marilyn stared in awe at all five feet ten inches of Tae’s beautiful form. He was hiding under a beret and a pair of sunglasses, but she would have recognized him anywhere, even on the moon!
Lily looked at her as she whispered, “What should we do?”
Marilyn shrugged. She should probably tamp down on her first impulse, which was to run over to Tae and throw her arms around him and declare her undying love for him. Maybe she could act more mature and wander blithely over to the counter, covertly sliding in to stand next to him, her attention seemingly on the waitress while she asked her for a bottle of ketchup. Perhaps Tae would turn towards her, see her beautiful face, and fall instantly in love with her. Neither one of these scenarios was very likely anymore. She sighed. She actually couldn’t feel her legs right now, so standing up seemed to be out of the question.
She glanced at Lily. She seemed to be having trouble breathing. Was she hyperventilating? “Lily, are you ok?” Marilyn whispered.
Just then Tae shifted his weight, and Marilyn caught his movement out of the corner of her eye, changing her focus from her friend to her one true love. He happened to glance her way at just that moment. Their eyes collided. Fireworks went off inside her. She was locking eyes with Taehyung!
Then he suddenly grinned at her, his boxy smile lighting up his whole face and her entire life. She beamed back at him before he turned away to speak again to the waitress as he received his order. Then he…was just gone. He walked right out the front door. Marilyn felt…deflated.
She jumped up and ran to the window, watching as he climbed into a white van that quickly pulled away from the curb. The good news was…her legs seemed to be working again! The bad news was…Tae was gone! Any chance she’d had of meeting him had evaporated as she had sat still, unable to move. What was wrong with her?
Disappointed, she turned towards Lily. “We missed him! He was right there,” she turned to point at the spot Tae had occupied just a moment before. “He was right there, and I missed my chance to meet him!”
“It’s ok. At least we got to see him up close,” her friend tried to comfort her.
But Marilyn was filled with frustration. Her dream had almost come true…well, in part, anyway. She sighed and shook her head as she slipped into her chair. Her waitress had just arrived and slid her pancakes onto the table in front of her. She stared down at them forlornly. She had just lost her appetite.
“Forget pancakes! I want Tae!” And if I hadn’t frozen up, maybe I could have had him!
