I couldn't believe our luck. We were finally able to perform in America. Glancing through the window, I stare at how different the scenery is compared to our home in Korea. The butterflies in my stomach are rampaging now but beneath all of that, I can feel the excitement.
"Do you think they might have amazing food here?" Hajoon, our eldest, asks seriously as he stares out the window. "I wonder if they'll have amazing Korean food here."
"You're in America. Why do you want to eat Korean food?" DaeDae, the youngest, snorts behind me.
"Korean food can be eaten anytime and anywhere." Hajoon turns, pinning him with a look.
I cover my mouth to keep from laughing.
Someone taps me on the shoulder and I twist my head to look at Sunshine who's pointing at something.
"Can you believe we're playing there this weekend?”
Everyone watches the stadium where we're doing the concert as we pass by. Our faces are plastered on the huge screen outside the stadium. "Wish, the new hottest Korean band will be performing this weekend." I laugh at the advertisement. We knew we were getting popular in Korea, but we didn't honestly think we were going to hit it big in different countries. Just knowing that our fans, the Stars, were supporting us enough to allow us to do this was absolutely mind blowing.
"Your hotel is coming up." Manager Taejin replies from the front seat. "Do you want to start bickering now about your rooms or wait until we get there?"
I grin. He knew us so well.
"We wouldn't bicker." Jay, the leader of the group, leans back in his seat.
"Like hell," Dragon mumbles. His head is against the window with his eyes closed. "We fight about everything."
I point a finger at him. "Play fight."
"I don't know." Jun shakes his head. "Dae tried to take Hajoon out over that pastry the other day."
Hajoon nods. "Almost bit my finger off."
"I told you it was mine," DaeDae grumbles. "You knew it was mine."
"Sharing is caring." Hajoon reaches over and pushes his head playfully. "Didn't your mother teach you that?"
Dae reaches over and smacks him. "Wouldn't know. I've been with you most of my life."
"So you're saying I haven't taught you manners?" Hajoon puffs his chest up. "I might need to do better."
Dragon sits up, his hair going in different directions as he blinks sluggishly at us. "If you want to be alone, let's play rock paper scissors." He starts to sing. We all get into position before he finishes the rhyme and we throw our hands out. Groans go up in the car as Sunshine, Jun, and Dae throw out scissors. Hajoon, Dragon, and Jay throw out paper and I'm left with rock.
"Ha!" I cackle. "I win."
"Best two out of three." Jay leans over. "Don't do this to me."
I send Jay a smirk. "No can do, brother."
Jun waves his hands. "We know good and well that Kang is the one who enjoys sharing a room with someone. By the end of the night he's going to invite one of us-"
Raising an eyebrow, I turn away from them. "Not tonight."
"Kang!" Sunshine whines. "I'll do anything. Don't leave me with them."
I would think about it. We pull up in front of the hotel and like a unit, all of us step out in order. I raise my arms over my head, stretching as the kinks from the drive leave my body. Taejin ushers us inside and we greet the manager. She's an older woman, her hair slightly grey and eyes as deep as the sea.
"Hello." She beams. "My name is Angelica and thank you for staying at our hotel. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask." She holds out the keys for our rooms as Manger Taejin takes them.
My head immediately goes to Jay, the English speaker of the group. We've been studying hard, but I still feel somewhat shy of speaking someone's language in front of them. What if I screw up?
"Thank you." Taejin responds while he clasps his hands together just as Jay nods while saying "We will."
Angelica motions for us to get on the elevator. Dae hits the button to the floor and holds his key out to inspect the room’s number.
"She's nice."
"She is." Jun agrees.
The elevator chimes and the door opens to let us out. I look out into the hallway to make sure no reporters have camped out. All clear. The others take off, running to their rooms, trying to lock each other out as they hiss insults at one another.
"I'm willing to pay." Dragon sidles up next to me. He takes his sunglasses off and gives me a pleading look.
"Are you willing to put up with me cuddling you?"
He wrinkles his nose. "Never mind." His voice rumbles as he pushes the others out of the way. Dragon seems the meanest but deep down, he's the softest. Just don't let him hear you call him sweet. Walking to my door, I step inside, amazed at the view I have. This was all to myself!? I drop my messenger bag onto my bed and collapse on top of it. A carefree laugh escapes and I do a little dance.
Someone knocks on my door and it opens with Taejin peeking his head inside. "Are you settled?"
"Manager!" I lean up. "It's rude to burst into someone's room." My voice comes out with a slight tease.
Taejin steps deeper into the room and crosses his arms. His muscles bulge, the shirt tightening across his chest. With his dark hair ruffled from all the times he ran his hands through it today, he raises his eyebrows.
"Rude? Then should I put you on wake up duty for DaeDae?" He tilts his head.
I curse under my breath. That was a punishment worse than eighteen hours of dancing.
"Nope. You can keep the key." Dropping onto my back, I groan. "I might take a nap though."
Taejin nods. "None of you really slept well since you left Korea. Get some rest and all of us will talk tomorrow about the concert."
I wave at him. "Night, Manager!"
He opens the door and Jun sticks his head inside. "Kang! We're ordering food."
Food? My stomach rumbles. Food sounds good. "I'll be there in a moment."
"With whose money?" Taejin rubs Jun's head.
Jun looks away. "Uhhh." He takes off. I chuckle.
I can hear Taejin groaning. "I should've worked with a girl group."
"But you wouldn't have nearly this much fun." I call out before the door closes. Should I really get up just for food? I barely think about it before I'm already rolling out of bed. Who could deny food? Padding across the carpet, I throw the door open and shuffle my way across the hallway to Jun's room. With a quick knock, I wait.
"I'll only let you in if you let me room with you." Dae calls out from behind the door.
"Open the door or you'll be rooming in a hospital." I warn.
He snorts. "Like I'm afraid of you."
Pulling out my phone, I begin to dial Hajoon's number. "Last chance."
"Kang..." I can hear the apprehension in his voice.
Tapping the call button, I put the phone up to my ear. On the other end, I hear Hajoon answer it with the others laughing in the background.
"Dae won't let me in."
"Let him in!" I hear him bellow over the phone and behind the door.
Dae opens the door with a scowl. "Cheater."
I put him into a headlock, pulling him down to my height. "What was that?"
He kicks my leg out and we both go crashing as he lands on top of me. Dae shoots me a grin. "I said cheater."
"Enough." Jay sighs. "Let Kang order."
Dae crawls off me and helps me up. I wrap my arm around his shoulders and we move to the others.
I look through the menu. "Everything looks good. Can I have one of each?" When the others shake their heads, I frown. "I guess this and this." I point to the items as Jay writes them down. I sit on the window settee and stare outside. "It's beautiful here."
"We're so high up we might be able to touch the stars." Jun leans over me as he touches the window. "Are you excited?"
Sunshine stirs behind me. "I'm excited but I feel anxious. What if they don't like how we perform or get bored?"
"I would hate that." Hajoon agrees. "We’re used to knowing how our Korean fans react. This is going to be new for us.”
Jay taps the window sill to get our attention. "We're Wish. Nothing will bring us down and we will do the best shows of our lives here. This isn't the time to doubt yourselves. Do you hear me?"
"I hear you," I whisper.
"We’ve got this under control. Our stadiums are sold out. What more can we ask for? Our fans won't let us down and we won't let them down." He looks around the room. "Now, food has been ordered, do you want to go get washed up before we start eating?"
A few leave and I'm left with Dragon lying on the couch with his head buried into a pillow and Jay. Jay stands up and grabs the blanket off the bed, laying it across Dragon.
"After eating we should all rest." His voice grows softer.
I pull my legs up to my chest. "Do you think we can really do it?"
He turns, his blonde hair falling into his eyes. "Of course I do. I trust all of you."
Yanking on my own silver hair, pursing my lips I mutter, "We trust you."
"As the leader you should." He teases before making his way back to the chair near the window. "I'm excited. Maybe we can spare some time and explore the city. I've always wanted to see what America looks like."
"You're trying to see the whole country in a tiny city?" I laugh.
He throws a pen at me. It bounces off my arm and lands on the ground beside me. "Hush."
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