The crowd became silent, almost like the world froze. The woman, whose face was covered with a mask, was in June's arms, being cradled in his embrace.
Fortunately, Jay acted quickly and helped the woman up before swiftly leading the boys inside the building.
The bodyguards stayed outside to ensure that none of the fans were going to make it in.
As soon as the group was in the elevator, they heaved collective sighs of relief, leaning against the cold, hard metal.
"I can't believe that just happened," Akira said, placing his hand over his chest. "That was my very first experience getting mobbed! Jaeyong and I didn't even experience this when we were in RAVEN."
"That's because your group was only fairly popular," Jay said, making Jaeyong and Akira shake their heads.
"Anyway," Jay quickly added. "I told you guys—you're very popular right now. Almost like CHAOS-popular."
"How can this happen in just one week?" Jisung asked, feeling a bit overwhelmed.
"Goodness, are these the consequences of our actions?" Ren asked. "Everybody's hooked on Luster these days. Even the salon that I usually go to is treating me like a world star now."
Casper crossed his arms in front of his chest before looking up at the ceiling. "I knew it. Luther is a drug that nobody can escape."
Zeth chuckled as he observed his members. "Why do you guys sound so upset about this? Isn't it great that we're becoming more popular?"
Ren shook his head. "As expected from our narcissistic member. Of course, you love the attention."
Zeth scratched the back of his head, not really denying Ren's accusations.
They finally arrived at the shoot, where they were quickly tended to by the staff. Even now, June could feel that there has been a difference in how other people treated them.
These people treated them like kings—like they were the next big thing.
And honestly, June didn't know what to feel.
***
The shoot had just ended, and they were resting in one of the rooms that the brand had provided.
Jisung scrolled through his phone and stopped when he saw a post with a huge amount of likes. Then, when he clicked on the video, it was actually June's video from just a while back!
"Holy cow!" Jisung exclaimed. "Even the incident with June a while ago acquired 50,000 likes."
"Really?" Jay asked, standing from his seat to confirm if what Jisung said was right.
And indeed, another video of June was going viral around the internet.
Jay bit his lip and anxiously pressed on the comments.
"Goodness. You might get a lot of hate for this," he muttered.
June perked up and also stood from his place to read the comments along with his members.
- Kyaah! This is such a K-drama moment!
- I can't believe this happened in real life. Me next, please.
- This man is so handsome? Who is he?
- He's June from EVE. Go follow him here!
- Such a gentleman.
- Other idols wouldn't even help their fans. I'm glad that June has good manners.
"Well," Jay pleasantly surprised. "It seems like you've gained more fans."
June glanced at his phone and saw that he had earned yet another 100,000 followers in the past hour.
He sighed and shook his head before sitting back down on the couch.
Casper noticed June's mood and nudged his shoulder.
"Aren't you happy about this?" Casper asked.
June nodded.
Of course, he was happy that EVE was finally getting the recognition that they deserved.
However, June just couldn't help but think that all of this was going too fast.
The one thing the world does is that it gives…but it also takes back—that was what June believed in for so long.
You can never be truly happy because, in a way, you'll be paying the universe back for the happiness you've received in one way or another.
"I just feel like everything's moving too fast," June confessed.
Maybe he would appreciate a gradual rise better—similar to the one he had during Rising Stars.
"I feel that way too," Ren sighed, already feeling a bit pessimistic. However, he was definitely still grateful for the opportunities being handed to them.
"I think we should just enjoy it," Zeth said as he patted June's back. "I know that all of this is hard to believe, but we should make the most of what we have right now."
"Yeah," Jaeyong nodded. "It won't always be like this, so let's live in the moment."
June nodded—except there was still a lingering voice inside his mind.
Somehow, he just remembered the idols that made it big in the industry—the ones who became household names even in the West.
June didn't think much about them before, but now that he thought about it, he could gradually see the loss of sparks in their eyes. As their songs started charting higher, their morale slowly depleted.
Truly, the higher you are, the bigger your responsibility is.
So, June was just being cautious to not let this fame get the best of him since he didn't want to lose his true essence.
Just then, his phone rang, so he flipped it over to look at the caller ID.
There, he saw Minjun's contact name, causing a small smile to appear on his lips. He missed the little (not so little) kid even more now that he was busier, and he couldn't wait until they met once again.
Minjun called June whenever their group achieved new heights, so June smiled at the thought of his little brother congratulating him for EVE's rise in fame.
He quickly answered the phone and placed it over his ear.
"Little bro," he started off.
"June," Minjun said in an urgent tone, causing June to frown.
He had never heard Minjun speak to him in such a tone before, so he instantly knew that something was wrong.
"What happened?" June quickly asked.
"Grandma," Minjun started off.
June froze after Minjun said those words.
This was what June was afraid of.
As expected, the world never fails to give you a break.
Was it taking away the happiness that it had given so soon?
"Please, bro. I don't know what to do. She's in the hospital."