Page 16 of Teach Me K-Pop

I actually do laugh this time, at the shock on Harper’s face and the annoyance in Savannah’s expression. People are always telling me that I have to be crazy to work in a high school, but the daily drama around here is better than any reality show I’ve ever caught a snippet of on TV.

Before anyone gets legitimately upset, I turn my attention to Harper. “Happy birthday! Do you have big plans for after school?”

She sighs, “No, my brother has a baseball game. Like, a big one or something. So we’re going to celebrate over the weekend. But whatever, it’s fine. I got my present this morning with my latte and crepes.”

A latte and crepes sound amazing in comparison to the gas station hot dog and energy drink I slammed on my drive in to work. “Was it a good one?”

“The best!” Alita exclaims, hands clasped in front of her heart like it was her gift instead.

Harper looks smug. “Yes, itisthe best. I got tickets to the RYSING show! It’s not for like, another month, but it’s been sold out for like, a year, and I wassosad. But my dad scored some for me somehow and now…” she pauses for dramatic effect. “I can finally meet the love of my life.”

“Oh wow, you get to do a meet and greet?” I ask.

“Meet and greet?” Alita gasps. “I would simply expire just from being that close to Lalo.”

“I would happily die for the chance to have him smile at me,” Savannah remarks.

Alita practically swoons. “Same.”

“No meet and greet, but I wish,” Harper says. “We’re just going to lock eyes during ‘here by now,’ and he’ll know I’m The One.”

“Totally,” Savannah and Alita agree simultaneously, as if that scenario was actually plausible.

There’s a part of me that wishes I had that youthful optimism (or is it delusion?)—the certainty that impossible things like a celebrity crush falling in love with you could just work out.

I’m more than willing to humor her dreams for now, though. “Oh, of course. That’ll be quite a story to tell your grandkids.”

“I know, right?” Harper whips out her phone and shows me her lockscreen. “Look how beautiful he is. Our children will be gorgeous.”

“Absolutely,” I assure her, peeking at the picture of a striking man. He looks like a model, somehow both soft and sharp at the same time. The make-up he’s wearing highlights his features in a way I find so attractive that it kind of surprises me. “And what’s his name again?”

“UGH. Mr. Kitson! How do you not know who he is?!” she yelps. “I know you work in the library, but you like, leave here sometimes, right? They’re, like, the most famous groupin the world.”

I feel like the Beatles or the Rolling Stones or, I don’t know, Nirvana, would have something to say about that, but I’m not going to argue with her.

Alita seems to pick up on the fact that I am still clueless and tells me, “That’s Lux, he’s in the vocal line of RYSING.”

“Vocal line? So he’s a singer? In a band.”

Savannah giggles. “Yes, he sings. In a k-pop group.”

“And you and Alita also like this Flux guy?” I gesture in the general direction of Harper and her phone again, where she’s pulled up an impressive collection of photos.

She squeaks, “Flux guy?!”

Alita fully turns around to hide her laughter at Harper’s offended reaction, while Savannah explains, “We’re all VOX, but we have different biases.”

I blink. Sure, I recognize all the words she just said, but have no idea what any of them mean in context of how she’s using them. “Huh?”

Harper gives me an epic eye roll and says, “Come on. Get the projection screen going. We have to broaden your horizons.”

As an educator who professes to be dedicated to lifelong learning, I feel obligated to follow the three of them across the library over to the presentation area and let Harper have access to the laptop that controls everything.

Savannah pats the table where she and Alita have just sat down, “Join us, Mr. K. Welcome to your crash course.”

Dropping into the chair, it occurs to me that I will have to tell Kija about this later. I can practically hear him laughing at the idea of me getting schooled about the industry by a group of enthusiastic teenage girls. I clap, rubbing my hands together, like this is the greatest thing that could be happening to me at the moment. “Right. Teach me k-pop.”

Alita takes a deep breath like she’s about to impart the wisdom of the ages. “Okay, so k-pop performers are known as idols. And there’s lots of different groups, but the one that we love is RYSING. Every k-pop group fandom has a name and RYSING fans are called VOX. There are six members. Four singers, two rappers. Sav and I have the same bias—”

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