Chapter 271 - Comeback (31): Passion of a Fan

Inside the stadium, a group of fans were excitedly taking selfies. A blonde girl directed the camera at herself and her friends who were posing while another group, DX3, was performing in the background.

"Say cheese!" the blonde girl named Sua exclaimed as she put her finger on the click button. But as soon as she was about to press it, a notification popped up on her phone. She lowered her hand.

"Sua take the pictures!" her friend Mina whined. But Sua was reading the message, frowning.

"Sua what happened?" Mina demanded but her friend's face was drained of all color. Suddenly, she also got a notification on her phone. Mina took it out to read it, her face shell shocked at the message.

Soon, all throughout the stadium, everyone's mobile phone began to beep. The notifications were wild as people read it. They began to murmur amongst themselves.

"Is this true?" one fan asked.

"An attack on KJ?" another fan exclaimed.

"It's the same person who attacked him last time!" Another fan shouted. "He wasn't caught?"

"KJ's life is still in danger?"

"That person is here!"

The notification went viral amongst everybody. The fansites and social media users spread the cryptic message which popped up in several online forums.

"Hello, this is a staff member of Mystic Entertainment. All of you must be wondering why there is such high security inside the TNT Stadium. I was told to stay quiet but I couldn't help it for the sake of KJ. 

His life is still in danger. The person who had attacked him a few months ago is still loose and he threatened us that he had entered the stadium to finish his incomplete work. Despite our high security, he managed to sneak in. We're afraid he would harm KJ again when he performs on stage. This time, he might be successful.

It's a request to all the fans. Please keep an eye out for anyone suspicious.! Please save KJ oppa!"

The fans were outraged at the prospect of the attack on their idol. They spread the message all throughout their sites, hoping to get it noticed by the ones inside the stadium.

"Let's keep an eye on oppa!" one fan shouted.

"We'll form human chains in front of the stage!" another fan suggested. "Don't let anyone near him!"

"Let's look at the hiding spots as well!" a red headed girl spoke out. "All the fansites, divide into groups and search the usual spots!"

The message had done its trick. Within minutes, several hundred fans gathered around to plan their next course of action.

"That man has already broken through the security," Mina was saying. She was the owner of EXOTIC Live, the largest fansite for KJ's followers. Her members had responded to her crisis call and rushed to save KJ. "Team A will go check the halls. Team B will check all the bathrooms. Team C will keep an eye on the makeup rooms. Especially on 7A. They are part of Ash Park's agency. Who knows what they will plan. And Team D will assist the other fanclubs to find any possible hiding spots."

Sua, the manager of Horatia, KJ's second biggest fanclub also gathered her members. "We've been inside this stadium several times," she told her members. "There isn't a single spot unknown to us. We have the map memorized in our heads. Remember, this person may be armed so if you find him, prepare a sneak attack."

"I can help!" a girl named Jinri volunteered. "Me and my friends here are taekwondo experts. We can take down a fully grown man. Armed or not! After all, we beat up those thugs from 1004 last night. They were armed too but we bashed them good!"

"Alright," Sua said. "Each of you will lead a team and look into all the hiding spots."

Every fansite manager assigned their groups to hunt down the culprit. They had seen their idol suffer enough for years. The man who had defined their generation through his music and treated them like his friends was in danger. The fans were not afraid to line up to protect him. It did not matter to them whether the assailant was armed or not. Their oppa was in danger.

Soon, the groups departed to carry out their missions. While the other group performed on stage, the fans of EXOTIC and the Jesters hurried out to look for the culprit. The guards were suddenly overwhelmed by the nosy fans who were defying all protocols.

"You can't go in there!" One of the guards protested but the fans were enraged.

"Our oppa's attacker is in there!" a fan yelled.

"But-"

Suddenly another guard came up to him and whispered urgently into his ears. The other guard was astonished to hear the new orders.

"We are to help the fandoms to catch the culprit?" he frowned.

"Yes," his friend said. "Lead them and find the assailant. That's our new orders. But do it as secretly as possible. The fandoms have also been notified to work in secrecy."

The new order baffled the guard but he did as he told. "Alright," he said. "Let's search everywhere."

He went into the room with the fans, looking thoroughly. Soon, all the groups were joined by a guard who was aiding their mission stealthily. They kept on checking all the nooks and crooks.

"There is nothing here!" a guard lamented as they finished searching the music room. But one of the fans stepped forward. He was touching the walls, as if looking for a certain spot.

"Aha!" he exclaimed as he pressed one spot. Immediately, the metal bar of the ventilation bar popped open. The guard stared in awe as the fan climbed into it.

"Nothing here!" he claimed.

"How did you know this was there?" the guard asked the fan.

"You really don't know the passion of a fan do you?" the fan chuckled. "We want to meet our idols at any cost. Most of us have the map of this building memorized. This ventilator leads to the makeup room of several artists. People use it all the time."

"How many passages like these exist?" the guard wondered out loud.

"A lot of them!" the fan replied. "Even the toughest security in the world can't uncover all of them. When one is closed, we break in through another way. It's quite common during concerts and public shows. How else do you think we get the secret camshots of our celebrities?"

Fans are scary, the guard thought. He took out his walkie talkie and spoke into it.

"There are secret loopholes in the building," he told his men on the other end. "Take help from all the fanclubs and uncover them. Now!"

Meanwhile, Sua and her team were looking into the washrooms. They even checked the toilets for any secret entries but there were none.

"No luck captain!" one of the members said. 

Sua bit her nails, thinking hard. The message had said that the attack would be during the performance. Which meant, the attacker would have to be at the stadium. But the stage was too high for a close range shot. So the shot must be long range.

"The attacker will be somewhere upstairs," she concluded. "Not amongst the fans. It would be too conspicuous to get a weapon inside the stadium where fans can spot it…"

Suddenly, Jinri spoke up. "I know a place!" she claimed. "We were there when we visited EXOTIC's last stage performance here with KJ! Follow me!"

She quickly led them back to the stadium. They ran all the way to the end until Jinri stopped in front of a cleaning cabinet. Upon entering it, they saw a hole on the wall.

"I think we found where he's hiding," Jinri claimed triumphantly. "Call as many guards as you can!"

….

Back in KJ's makeup room, everyone was pacing around, anxious about what was happening outside.

"You really think it worked?" Mirae asked. She was very nervous about the plan. KJ was relying on amateurs. They were not professionally trained and could possibly be at risk.

"I'm positive," KJ said confidently. "If there is something you can count on, is the devotion of my fans. They've been protecting me for ten years. And they will do it tonight as well."

"But it's a huge risk," Hyun Jung pointed out. "They're kids. They may get hurt!"

"They might be kids," Dasom chipped in. "But these kids are as good as highly trained spies. They can find any hiding spot better than our guards. I'm sure they have already found millions of them in this stadium. Trust me, the assassin has no chance."

Mirae bit her lip, scared of what was about to happen. She glanced at the clock. There was only fifteen minutes left. 7A was going to perform now and KJ was right after them. 

KJ got up and held his wife's hand, silently consoling her. "Have faith in me," he whispered. "I won't leave you alone. Never."