The White Rose

“LEE HA YOON!”

I heard my manager’s bellowing voice, almost making me drop my phone. I fumbled to switch off my phone, my fingers shaking as I turned to face him.

“Are you done stacking shelf B? I told you we had a new stock coming in”

Panic shot through my body, my eyes widening in horror. Crap! The stack of books I was supposed to organise lays untouched beside me, along with my half-finished schoolwork. I shove my phone in my pocket, my heart sinking.

“I’m on it!” I called back, grabbing the nearest book and rushing to the shelves.

My manager’s disgruntled sighs never left my side as I picked up a stack of hundreds of new manga novels to reorganise the manga section of the bookstore. At least the new “White Rose” album contains all their live performances in this world tour. My heart raced, caught somewhere in between dread at my manager breathing down my neck as I stacked shelf B and the pure and unadulterated excitement I felt every time I watched a concert live stream on YouTube to see Kang Ji Hoon, White Rose’s lead singer and my ultimate bias, sing for the second last time in this world tour. It was a bittersweet moment for us Roseheads because Ji Hoon is allegedly taking a break from music to pursue acting. I don’t mind it; I’d watch every K-drama he’s in. But the idea of not hearing his voice live stung — I’d never seenWhite Roseperform in person.

By the time I was done stacking the whole shelf, the store was winding down for the evening. I thanked the manager before I packed my bags and left after finishing my shift. As a part-time student and full-time fangirl, I have many simple joys in life, one of which is cycling back from the bookstore to my dorm on a windy night in Seoul, blaring my White Rose playlist with the songs from their new album “Kiss of Death” in my headphones. What I don’t like, however, are interruptions. And this time, it was a phone call.

“Ha Yoon ah”, my best friend and roommate Choi Eun Hee’s cheerful voice burst through the line as I reluctantly picked up her call. “Come to the convenience store, the one we always go to. You have your ID, right?”

I stopped in my tracks and checked my bag for my wallet, my ID visibly claiming that I was 21.

“Yeah, I have it,” I replied. “Why?”

“Beer, of course! Just come, okay?”

“Hell-” I was going to ask her if we were eating tteokbokki too. But the connection ended. I sighed and kept riding my bike, stopping by a tteokbokki stand in case she forgot to buy some for me. After cycling for what felt like hours (thanks for the traffic, Seoul. Much appreciated), I finally reached the convenience store.

Inside, Eun-Hee was waiting by the instant ramen section, a plastic bag already brimming with cans of beer and takeout. She waved enthusiastically, her small bob cut bouncing.

“You’re late,” Eun-Hee teased as Ha-Yoon approached.

“Blame my manager,” Ha-Yoon replied, grabbing a can of beer from the bag. “So, what’s the big news?”

“Take a guess.” she beamed “It’s something you’ve wanted for a VERY long time”

“A private life without a roommate?” I inquired sarcastically.

She reached out from over the table to hit my head. “How mean!” she fake gasped “You’re gonna love me when I tell you this.”

“Tell me what,” I said in an irritated tone.

“I got us tickets to White Rose’s last concert tomorrow. VIP passes. Meet and greet included”

I spit out my beer in shock, almost not believing what I just heard “Say that again. I swear to god if this is one of your horrible pranks again--”

“No, I’m serious”, she said with a laugh, cutting me off mid-sentence. “You’ll get to see Ji Hoon and the rest like you’ve always wanted. Even talk to them for five minutes.”

The excitement hit me like a tidal wave. My chair scraped on the floor as I jumped up. It startled a couple of shoppers going into the store, but I didn’t care. I even did a little dance out of joy, my voice rising in pitch as I exclaimed, “oh my god, oh my god OH MY GOD”

Eun Hee burst into laughter at my dance moves. “Sit down, Ha Yoon.” she pointed at my seat, unable to control her laughter.

“I got them from that guy I told you I like from my Korean literature class,” she said with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

The rest of the night spiralled away into a series of excited chatter and giggling as I envisioned just what I would say to Ji Hoon when I met him.

I’m a huge fan of yours. Your music saved my life.No too simple.

I love you to the depths of the sea--.GOD no, too cringe. He would think I’m an idiot.

By the time we stumbled back to our shared dorm, the weight of my responsibilities was a distant memory. Instead, there was a buzzed anticipation for tomorrow as I beamed at my posters on the wall at the smiling Ji Hoon.

“See you tomorrow”, I mumbled to myself and closed my eyes, my tipsy state putting me to bed the moment my head touched the pillow.

***

My heart thumped in anticipation as I sat in Eun Hee’s car to go to the concert. I wore a white button-up shirt and a short black skirt with high-heeled boots and a black leather jacket, and Eun Hee wore blue jeans and a white shirt with her bias Park Do Hyun’s face on it. I always loved all of the White Rose members, but no one as much as Ji Hoon.

As she sang along to some of the songs on the radio, I corrected my eyeliner and reapplied my lipstick.

“Ha Yoon ah, calm down. Your makeup is fine. I’m sure Ji Hoon loves his fans, makeup or no makeup”

“I know, I know,” I said “I’m just nervous, I guess”

I joined Eun Hee in belting some songs on the radio, the joy radiating from both our faces. At that moment, I just felt. No, I knew that whatever happened, Eun Hee would always be there with me, even if the world became a traumatising place. She would just drive her car, make fun of my inability to pass a driver’s test, which she cleared on her first attempt, and we’d drive away till I forgot all my troubles.

Speaking of trouble, I felt a sudden jolt in my body when Eun Hee stopped her car for a pedestrian to cross. We had nearly reached the venue.

“hey, ASSHOLE,” she yelled at the man wearing all black and a mask to shield his face. “Watch where you’re going. I could’ve run you over.”

He glanced right through her for just a brief second and kept walking along to the other end of the road.

“Let it go, Eun Hee,” I said, patting her shoulder to subside her anger. “We’re gonna be late for the concert”

We find the closest parking space we can to an already crowded stadium brimming with fans and curious onlookers, with stalls set up for food and band merch. I held Eun Hee’s hand tightly and ran into the crowd, where we bought glow sticks and tee shirts for ourselves, all the while talking to fellow Roseheads and making cardboard posters with song lyrics or simple messages for our guys. I even clicked a photo with all the cardboard cutouts of The White Rose members, all five of them: Park Do Hyun, the sensitive brooding one, Chae Min Seong, the songwriting genius, Moon Jae Sik, the flirtatious one, Jang Min Woo, the funny one and my bias Kang Ji Hoon, the charismatic face of the group.

When the clock struck 7:00 PM, we all pushed our way into the stadium and Eun Hee and I made it to the front of the line without being trampled on. I admired the crowd from afar as the fans took their places, and Eun Hee tugged at my arm.

“I heard some important people are coming. Someone on Reddit even said that the Presidential candidate Hwang Man Soo is also coming with his daughter. She’s a huge Rosehead, too.”

I rolled my eyes and said, “These politicians, I tell you. They’d do anything to get our vote. I bet his daughter is nicer than him, though.”

Eun Hee scoffed in agreement as the lights went out. The air of anticipation and the loud cheers from us and the fans captivated the whole stadium. I could even hear the fans standing outside cheering just as loudly, even though they couldn’t get tickets. A spotlight then shone at the centre of the stage, and the loud footsteps of someone walking on the stage towards the spotlight echoed.

And there came Kang Ji Hoon.

A man more ethereal in person than the one smiling on my phone screen during every live stream, more breathtakingly handsome than the man whose poster on my wall welcomes me after a tired day of classes and bookstore shifts, and more enigmatic than the one I always gush about to my friends and family. His white suit perfectly brought out every part of his body; his half-buttoned-up shirt showed some of his muscular torso and his skin glowing.

The spotlight was made for him.

I cheered the loudest I could for him as he sang the opening song, and the remaining band members came, each more charming than what I’d dreamed of. I could feel the flush on my face and the tears in my eyes as he sang. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I danced and sang every lyric of every song that they sang, not caring about waking up with a sore throat the next morning.

An hour and a half into the concert, with songs and the boys exchanging banter with the fans, Ji Hoon said, his voice shaking with emotion, perhaps moved by the love towards him.

“Since today is the last night of our Kiss of Death World Tour--”

The groans and frustrated sighs of Roseheads echoed into the stadium, with an occasional yell like “Don’t go, Ji Hoon” and “We’ll miss you, Ji Hoon.”

He laughed softly into the mic and continued, “We’ve created so many memories with you all. From Tokyo to Los Angeles, you’ve been nothing but the best fans we could ever ask for, and we owe all our success to you, especially since “Kiss of Death” has been nominated for six different VMAs--”

The fans roared, cheering on the bandmates. Ji Hoon smiled his beautiful smile and continued.

“So, to thank you, we’ve prepared a surprise just for our lovely fans in Seoul. Wait here. Don’t go anywhere.”

Ji Hoon left the stage, and the lights went out. I immediately thought they’d bring a special guest performance. In their London show, they brought out Ed Sheeran for a guest performance. I wondered who they’d bring now. J-hope? Taylor Swift? My mind was riddled with the wildest of guesses.

The lights came back on, and we all whooped loudly. But the surprise wasn’t what we’d anticipated.

Ji Hoon was lying on the stage, his body jerking and convoluting, blood oozing from his mouth, spilling all over his clothes. The shakes got rougher as if he was having a seizure.

Panic erupted as fans ran around. The on-ground security hurriedly opened the doors and rushed the fans out of the stadium, starting from the back.

Screams, cries, horror, blood, too much blood. My vision became hazy as the people around me ran into a panicked stage.

“This isn’t real,” I whispered, clutching Eun Hee’s arm as if holding on to her could stop my world from falling apart.

But Ji Hoon didn’t get up.

Why wasn’t he getting up?

Why didn’t he get up?

The stage lights flickered, bathing his still body in an unnatural, ghastly glow.

And then, for the first time in my life, I wished I hadn’t been here to seeThe White Roselive.

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so this was the first chapter of my new web novel that genuinely NEEDS to be a K-drama. I really hope you liked it. Comment your thoughts and be sure to recommend it to other users. I’ll be releasing a new chapter every sunday.

Byeeee.