Page 19 of Teach Me K-Pop

He answers almost immediately. “Yeoboseyo. Greetings from the future. To what do I owe the pleasure of talking to you at this extremely unpleasant hour of the day?”

“Hi. I just have some questions,” I tell him. “Like, why didn’t you mention that Nikko was really fucking famous?”

There’s a pause that stretches long enough I wonder if maybe the call has dropped or he’s hung up on me. Then I hear him burst out laughing, long and loud.

I squawk, offended like one of the teenage girls from my library. “What the hell, Kija?”

“Seriously?” he asks, still obviously amused.

“Yes, seriously. I had to find out this afternoon from a few superfans,” I say. “Imagine my surprise while learning about biases that there’s probably a whole legion of women who would kill me for access to my laptop and his contact information!” It only occurs to me that it’s true as the words are coming out of my mouth.

“That is accurate,” he replies. “I knew you were kind of clueless, but I thought it would just mean you could be cool about things. I didn’t realize you actually had no idea.”

“Why would I have known?” I flip the lid from my drink and watch it roll off the counter, then clatter onto the floor and startling Noel.

“I mean, I work for the label he’s on. I told you he was an important client. I guess I figured you were smart enough to put it all together.” His voice is still amused.

“I thought he was your nephew or something!” I huff.

Kija snickers. “Jase. You know I’m an only child.”

I did know that. I’m not sure I ever even thought about how he was connected to Nikko, actually. But, then again, I never have been great about getting all the details before I jump into something.

“Is it going to be a problem?” he inquires, like he’s worried now that I’m in a snit.

“No. It’s okay. I just… it really caught me off-guard. I don’t want to make it weird for him.” I also don’t want to make it weird for me, but mentioning that seems unnecessary because I’m pretty sure Kija already thinks this whole conversation is ridiculous.

“Just keep doing what you’ve been doing and it will be fine,” Kija pronounces, like it’s just that simple.

“Sure.” What else am I going to say?

“Go make dinner or something. Some of us have to get to work. We’ll talk more later, yeah?”

I nod like he can see me. “Of course. Have a good day.”

“Jalga, Jase.”

We hang up and I wander to the pantry. Looking for something quick and easy, I snort as I reach for packets of ramen without even thinking. Seems appropriate for what I have planned for the rest of the evening.

I feed Noel and prepare the noodles, telling myself it’s healthy enough if I toss in some vegetables. Killer ramyeon is one of the many things I miss about Korea, but this will have to do for tonight. I grab my favorite pair of chopsticks—red, smuggled back home in my luggage so many years ago—and drop onto my couch, turning on the TV.

Back on YouTube, I type in Nikko’s name, and am immediately rewarded with hundreds, if not thousands, of videos dedicated to literally everything about him. “Cute Choi Nikko Habits.” “Nikko and Lalo are in LOVE.” “Nikko’s hottest thirst trap edits.” “Best Choi Nikko Dance Moments.” “Nikko being Adorable in TINY.”

I don’t understand half of what those titles mean, but damn right I’m going to watch all of them and find out.

??

Noel barks at the dog on screen, and I jump, pulled out of whatever trance I’d apparently fallen into. There’s a video playing that has one of the members running around an open field with a dog, shouting gleefully as it nips at his heels. I can’t tell who it is, but glimpsing at the title I am informed that it’s “Tang, animal lover extraordinaire.”

I didn’t click on this video. I haven’t clicked on any video in hours—instead just letting them play, one right after the other, trusting my fate to the algorithm. I don’t know what time it is, or how much content I’ve actually consumed. I’ve seen all kinds of things—from official music videos to fan-made edits that are sweet and wholesome and others that are wildly suggestive.

I have watched some compelling arguments on the variousshipswithin the group—the pairings of members that fans think have undeniable romantic chemistry or evidence that seems to suggest they’ve at least hooked up. Nikko’s main partner in these appear to be Lalo, and I’ll admit I could see it in some of the clips. But if I had to go with my gut on any of the so-called couples, I’d think it was ChiRyo who are most likely to have actually had some kind of relationship beyond just the sibling-esque bond they all seem to share.

It makes sense to me now, the way Nikko has spoken about his brothers and his friends. It’s obvious from these moments captured on camera that they are a kind of family—that their lives are so intertwined they’re difficult to separate from one another. It’s also obvious the amount of time, effort, and practice that has gone into everything they’ve done. I’d be lying if I said I was not deeply impressed.

Glancing at the clock I realize it’s almost 3:30 a.m.

I have to be up for work in two hours.

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