"Is this her?" asked a teenage boy from beside Dong-Geun.
He nodded and took a deep breath. Kim DaeSeong patted him on the shoulder as his son straightened his suit.
"Where are we going, Dong-Geun?" asked another boy.
There were two teenage boys standing with the father and son waiting for Nari to arrive. As she pulled the car to a stop, Dong-Geun shrugged.
"She and my father haven't told me," he replied.
Nari hopped out of the car and came around to meet the boys she would be taking to the concert. She chuckled at their suits and nervous smiles.
"Good evening, Mr. Kim!" she said with a bow. "Hello, Dong-Geun!"
"Hello, nuna," Dong-Geun quietly replied.
He bowed and tried to straighten his hair and suit again.
"Good evening, Nari," Kim DaeSeong replied. "Let me introduce you. This is Park Daehyun and Nam Shin," he motioned toward a tall skinny boy and a shorter, rather stocky boy, respectively.
"Hello, nuna," the boys responded with a bow.
"Hello, Daehyun! Hello Shin!" she replied.
"The boys didn't know how to dress, and I wasn't certain how much I was allowed to say," Kim DaeSeong smiled.
She had previously told him her plans so she could get his permission, but she made him promise to keep it a surprise.
"They look great, Mr. Kim," she replied. "We'll be stopping off somewhere first so they can get what they need. I'll keep you updated throughout the night so you and their parents will know they're safe and well."
"Thank you, Nari!" Kim DaeSeong replied.
As he reminded the boys to be on their best behavior, checking in, etc..., Nari held open the rear door and the front passenger door. Everyone waved their goodbyes as they climbed in and buckled up.
Nari pulled away and drove on to their first stop.
"Can you tell us where we're going, nuna?" asked Dong-Geun from beside her in the front passenger seat. "My father said you wanted it to be a surprise."
"It will be a surprise until we get there," she smiled mischievously. "Don't worry," she told them. "You will definitely like where you're going. We're going somewhere else first so you can change clothes."
The boys looked at one another in question, then looked around as they passed up buildings and traffic. When she pulled into the back parking lot of a clothing store, they looked at one another again. It was a shop well known for its outlandish fashion. Most kids they went to school with avoided it because it wasn't in line with the high-end labels. Older people avoided it because it was too "wild" and unreserved.
"Come on," she told them as she climbed out. "Hurry, hurry! We have to be out of here in an hour to get where we're going on time."
"Have you ever been here, nuna?" asked Shin.
The boys looked up at the neon lights above the door and watched her knock for someone to open it. There was a "closed" sign hanging and the lights were all out.
Suddenly, a light popped on toward the back, followed by several more until the entire store was lit. A woman hurried to unlock the door and waved through the glass.
"Come inside!" she invited.
Nari motioned for them to follow her.
"Hello, Eun-Ji!" greeted Nari. "Thank you for doing this."
"Not a problem, Nari!" the shop owner replied gleefully. "This will be so much fun! Do they know yet?"
"No," Nari replied. "They will once we pull up."
She and Eun-Ji laughed, which made the boys more nervous about their destination.
"Let's pick out some clothes," Eun-Ji told them. "You can pick one outfit to keep. Top, bottom, shoes, and everything in between. It's all been paid for."
"How do we know what will be appropriate if we don't know where we're going, nuna?" asked Dong-Geun.
It wasn't an attempt to get a hint or direct answer. He was nervous and already starting to blush being in a shop that sold such eccentric clothes.
"Don't worry," Nari told him as she patted his back. "Pick what you like, and we'll let you know."
The three teenagers were hesitant at first, unaccustomed to wearing anything other than their school uniforms, suits, and proper casual clothes. As they looked through the racks, their worries started to give way to excitement. When they picked out their complete outfits, Nari and Eun-Ji helped with their hair and accessories.
"Say, 'cheese'!" Eun-Ji said as she held Nari's cellphone poised for a photo.
The group of three boys posed first, then Nari joined them. After taking several photos to show their new clothes and smiling faces, Nari texted the photos to Dong-Geun's father. He replied with skepticism at their appearances but was happy to see his son smiling and having fun.
"Grab your bags with your suits and let's go," Nari called out as she ushered them to the door.
"Thank you, Eun-Ji nuna!" the boys called out as they hurried to the car.
"It was my pleasure," she called back. "Have fun tonight!"
Nari set the car in the direction of the concert venue as the boys took photos of each other and talked about their clothes. As she neared the concert hall, they began to take notice. Daehyun was the first.
"Wait ... isn't TD5 performing at the arena tonight?" he asked.
They all looked at the increasing traffic and the lit-up billboards advertising the concert blocks from the venue. They shared wide-eyed gazes and finally looked at Nari. When she only laughed, they didn't know how to react.
"Nari nuna!" said a bewildered Dong-Geun. "Is it true? Is this where we're going?"
The boys all looked down at their clothes as the suspicion started growing. It all made sense just then.
"I don't get it," Shin said. "The tickets have been sold out for months, but this was just planned for us, wasn't it?"
"I didn't buy the tickets," Nari replied. "Open the glove compartment box," she told Dong-Geun.
When he withdrew the four VIP passes and four additional tickets, she explained. "I know the group. I drive them from time to time. I told them I had some friends who needed a better place to go than a boring high school dance. They gave me four VIP passes, four backroom passes -- no one gets those but family and close friends, and a box of concert gear and souvenirs. It's in the trunk."
The boys began to jump in their seats and scream in excitement. Dong-Geun passed out the passes, which were hard plastic on lanyards with the group name. "VIP" was marked on the concert passes and "Special VIP" on the lanyards of the backroom passes. Each had their names engraved into the plastic and small face photos for security.
"Your parents texted me your photos so they could be put on the special passes," she explained further when she saw them sharing wondering glances at the pictures. "It would be best not to lose them, but if you do, no one else can use them."
As she turned onto a drive away from the lane that would lead to the main parking lot, they watched carefully. She pulled the car around to a covered area, where they saw a black van they knew to belong to the group. There was a tour bus on the other side of it.
"We're in the private performer garage!" shrieked Daehyun.
She laughed at their growing excitement as she put the car in park.
"Let's go see a concert!" she announced as she exited the vehicle.
They jumped out and followed her to the trunk of the car. She opened it and then opened a box inside. Within it were concert light sticks exclusively for TD5, water bottles with straps, souvenirs, and extra gear they wouldn't need for the concert.
"Leave the bags, posters, and other stuff here," she told them as they slipped on the large t-shirts over their clothes.
They were emblazoned with a shiny, holographic-style TD5 emblem that had the head of a tiger and body of a dragon. Across the black background of the shirts were claw marks in bright neon colors.
"Ready?" she asked with a smile.
They quickly nodded their heads and started filming themselves with their phones as they followed her through a back door.
They walked down a few hallways until they reached an area closely guarded by several security guards. They had passed a few along the way but were allowed to continue when they showed their passes.
"Nari!" came a loud shout past the wall of security.
"Duri!" she replied with a wave.
"Follow Yung hyung to your seats," he called out as he walked backward. "I have to get ready."
She held up her thumb to signal she understood as the boys started jumping up and down in excitement for seeing one of the members.
"This way, Nari," called out a man a few years older than her.
She and the others turned to see him motioning for them to cross a barricade and follow him. They went around another pathway and wall until they emerged into the fan seating area of the arena. It led directly to the front row of seats.
She glanced back at all of the people and shut her eyes tightly as she sat down.
"Are you okay, Nari?" Yung asked quietly beside her ear.
He was one of the guards who helped her the day she met the group.
She nodded and smiled. "Thank you, Yung."
She looked around to be certain the boys were seated. The glow on their faces was accentuated by the large, open mouthed smiles as they looked around the arena and up at the stage. She pulled out her phone and took pictures of them for their parents, then sat back down as the overhead lights began to dim.
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