Crossed Dreams

The Excursion

Tae-joon, along with Joo-hyun and Chan-woo, explored the city. Or, well, some of it. A lot less than what they would have liked. It seemed like every time they turned a corner, they would be met with a parade of fans.

They walked around for hours taking in the sights, window shopping, and of course, trying the food. Little hidden shops and street vendors were found on almost every street.

"What's that?" Chan-woo asked him.

Tae-joon held out the greasy treat, his fingers just barely holding the grease covered stick that it was on. "Fried cheese." Chan-woo leaned down and took a bite.

"I can't believe you two are eating that. It's fried cheese."

The disgust in Joo-hyun's voice brought a smile to Tae-joon. "Hyung, some of us like the greasy, not good for you food."

Tae-joon lived for this kind of food. His family barely made enough to get by when he was growing up and he was only able to try junk food on rare occasions or when his fellow classmates shared theirs with him. Now that he could afford it, he basically lived off the stuff and no one dared to tell him otherwise, not the CEO, their managers, or even their fans.

Chan-woo swallowed the bite he had taken. "Not bad. Mine's better." He held out the deep-fried pudding filled donut that he had bought. Tae-joon took a quick bite of the offered sweet. The sugary sweetness from the donut mixed with the bitterness of the pudding made his tongue tingle. He gave Chan-woo a thumbs up.

The three of them continued with their sightseeing, occasionally going into stores. It was more like, when one of them saw a*****e that seemed interesting, that person would drag the other two in with him.

The first one to do this was Joo-hyun. He found a café and book shop where he dragged Tae-joon and a very unwilling Chan-woo in with him. Chan-woo headed directly toward the café and ordered a coffee before sitting at one of the available tables. Tae-joon decided to browse their collection for a little while before giving up and joining Chan-woo.

After an hour of sitting there sipping on their drinks, they decided it was time to find Joo-hyun. They found him in the poetry in literature section carrying a stack of books. A sighing Chan-woo marched up to him and grabbed the stack of books and went to the counter. Tae-joon pushed a reluctant Joo-hyun out the door from behind. Both had learned long ago that if drastic measures weren't taken then Joo-hyun would stay in a bookstore for hours, happily reading anything that he could get his hands on.

When they were finally able to get back on their way Chan-woo wound up being the next one to drag them into a*****e. The store that had caught his attention was one that sold high-end clothing. The three of them spent another hour browsing through the store’s collection.

Back out on the streets, the three of them made their way through the crowd. Both Joo-hyun and Chan-woo had bags dangling from both arms. "I can't believe you guys bought all that." Tae-joon laughed at his elders. Out of the six members, Joo-hyun and Chan-woo were known to be the shopaholics. They always bought a ton of things when the band went somewhere, especially if it happened to be a new city in a foreign country.

They walked around, taking pictures of themselves and anything that caught their eye. For Tae-joon, he took a lot of pictures of random people. Anyone that had caught his eye, like the elderly man sitting at the bus stop, or the young couple that was arguing in front of the flower boutique.

They were almost to the hotel when a particular store caught Tae-joon's attention, stopping him in his tracks. The other two were ready to turn onto the next block when they realized that they were short a person. Turning around, they found the youngest standing in front of a*****e pointing at it with his mouth hanging wide open.

Chan-woo dug his phone out of his pocket and started filming. Joo-hyun elbowed him, a confused expression covering his features. Chan-woo shrugged. "Just showing our fans that Tae can be a dork no matter where he is on the planet."

They walked up to the fanboy and Joo-hyun shoved his shoulder. "Don't just stand there. Go in." His words seemed to reanimate the frozen Tae-joon.

Tae-joon ran through the automatic doors finding himself in heaven. He was surrounded by anime and manga merchandise. There were shelves dedicated to volumes of various manga, blankets, and stuffed animals. Shirts and jackets hung on racks scattered throughout the store. He picked up a black shirt with a grayish outline of his favorite 'Fairytail' character, Lily.

In the back of the store, he found a section dedicated to jewelry. There were Happy earrings, 'Sailor Moon' bows, 'Cardcaptor Sakura' bracelets, and necklaces with the 'Fairytail' emblem on them. He picked up a dark blue necklace. It reminded him of the girl from his dreams. Without realizing what he was doing, he bought it along with his shirt.

. . .

Emily grabbed her purse from the table and her phone. Dialing the familiar number, she walked out the door. "Hello?" Her father's voice spoke from the other side.

"Dad, can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure. What's on my little girl's mind? If it's boys or dreams then your mother is better suited for this." His laughter told her that he was only half-serious.

"Neither." She jogged down the steps of her dorm. "The tickets for Vortex go on sale tomorrow at noon and I will be stuck in class." She pressed open the door and stepped outside. The sun bled through the treetops, lighting up the world around her. "Can you please try to get me three tickets before they're sold out. I have the money for them." Crossing at the crosswalk, she made her way to the bus stop. "Mel and Connor are graduating this semester and I want to get them tickets as a present. And it works out perfectly that Vortex has a New Jersey concert the week after."

The sound of a pen tapping against wood could be heard on the other end of the line. "I might be able to get Jerry and Pamela to help, and I think Jack and his team is almost done programming the special event in Hillside Summoning."

"Thank you!" She squealed. A couple of students walking by cast her a curious glance.

"You're welcome, sweety. Though you should wait until we score these tickets." A light knocking came from her father's side of the line. "I have to go or I'll be late for this meeting. What would the workers think if the boss showed up late." His laughter poured out and she had to pull the phone away from her ear. "Oh, and sweety, you only need to pay half. I'll cover the other half, that is if we actually are able to get them."

"Thanks, dad. Don't work too hard." She ended the call just as the bus pulled up. She really hoped that they could get the tickets. She took a deep breath to try to calm her jittery nerves, not wanting to ruin the possible surprise.