The concert hall was packed. I’d spent half my paycheck trying to get front row seats and backstage passes to see them. I could feel the anticipation in the room. The concert hadn’t even begun and it was already loud. I looked around me. Not a single foreign face. Korean fans shouted and waved their hands, impatient for the concert to begin. Like me, they’d been waiting for quite some time.
I twirled my long brown hair and stared down at my black flats, trying to calm my growing nerves. This was it. I’d finally see them. The lights started to dim and the screams around me seemed to grow louder as everyone cheered for them. One by one, they came onto the stage. First it was JB, that smirk of his plastered on his face. Next was Youngjae with his goofy smile. Then came Mark with a backflip and the entire audience seemed erupt. Next was adorable BamBam and Yugyeom. And finally, it was him. Jackson. He walked onto the stage with a pair of baggy pants and t-shirt, his hair hidden by a cap studded with “WANG”.
Others around me went nuts as the music came on and Girls started but I drowned it all out focusing on Jackson. I became one with the music, finally experiencing what it felt like to be an IGot7 upfront and personal. I sang along to every song and wove my hands in the air and cheered for them as song after song came on. They were amazing and I loved them all but each time Jackson’s solo came on, I ignored everything else and focused solely on him. I loved the way his hips swayed when he dance and I loved the way he smiled out at the fans. I envied a few of the girls he winked at but I knew it wasn’t anything special.
The concert continued and when the final song ended, they gave their thanks to their fans and went off the stage. Those with backstage passes were asked to wait in a separate area meet with the members and so I followed the other lucky girls.
I felt odd and out of place. Being the only foreigner who didn’t really understand much of the language was hard enough but I also realized how plainly I was dressed. Being a girl who preferred personal comfort over fashion, I wore a plain blouse and skinny jeans and a pair of flats, heck I didn’t even do anything special to my hair.
Oh well. When the concert hall emptied out, the others and I were escorted to another sitting area where we waited a little longer. The anticipation and nervousness from before seemed to come back tenfold. I sat silently, thinking about everything I had to do to get here.
Three months ago:
“I’m shipping to Korea in a month. Can you guys at least try to be happy for me?” I groaned at my mom.
“We are happy for you dear, it’s just we are concerned. You’ll be living there all by yourself.” I looked at my mom and couldn’t help but shake my head. It wasn’t easy being the youngest. Adding the fact that I’d joined the army when I was supposed to be finishing college didn’t help either. Still, it was my only chance at freedom and I took whatever I got.
“Look, all mom is trying to say is that you’re our baby and we just worry for you. While you’re there, be safe and don’t make any stupid friends. Oh and when you finally do see you’re Got7, please don’t faint.” My older sister teased. I smiled at her.
“No promises. I don’t know what I’ll do if Jackson comes in front of me.”

Two months ago:
After a tearful goodbye with my family and a million promises to take care of myself and call home every day, I boarded my flight to South Korea. Once there, I was met by military personnel that helped me settle in before I reported for my first day of duty.
Two months of grueling basic training and six months of on the job training taught me all the skills I needed to support the army base in Seoul. I was a geospatial engineer working for the U.S. army now and my job was to serve the U.S. and protect South Korea. Wonderful.
After admiring the capital city while on our way to the base, I was introduced to my staff sergeant. The rules were all laid down in front of me and shown where to do my job and what schedule I would follow. After being allowed to retire to my temporary barracks, I reflected on my decision, still unsure if it was right or wrong.
Several days passed by with me being stuck at base as I gradually grew accustomed to the lifestyle and made friends. I was surprised to meet many people my age, growing especially close to an African American girl named Gabby.
Gabby was a little upset to learn I’d be living off base but she promised to come over all the time and I welcomed it. When I first saw my tiny one bedroom apartment, I fell in love instantly. It wasn’t in an especially busy area of Seoul and it wasn’t too far from the base so the morning commute wouldn’t be horrible.
It was small but it was home and I got plenty of help to settle in. It took me several days to get things just right and the way I wanted, but between work and the online classes I promised to continue because of my parents, I didn’t get around to doing much.
I was dying to see the rest of Seoul, so when my first free weekend rolled in, I hit up Gabby and the two of us discovered the city together. Gabby, already being there for a few months, knew some of the places and happily showed me her favorite spots. Our last stop before dinner was at a large department store much like Macy’s back home and I purchased some extra towels and some decorations for my tiny apartment.
That night, I lay in bed smiling as I recalled my day out in Seoul. It was amazing and scary at the same time to think I was hundreds of miles away from home, in a foreign country, all by myself.
“That’s not right, I’m not away from home, this IS my home.” I said aloud to myself. Not feeling sleepy just yet, I turned on my laptop and went on Youtube. There I watched videos of Got7 until I finally passed out.
One month ago:
“I’m going.” I said as I stood up from my couch. Gabby looked up at me with surprised eyes.
“Really?”
“Hell yeah, that’s practically the whole reason I came to Korea in the first place. I want to meet Got7 and this is my chance. I’m going to the concert.” I picked up the plates with leftover food and placed them in my fridge as I continued talking to Gabby. She walked over and started to help me with the dishes and I gave her a thankful smile.
“I guess you’re right. I can’t go though. That’s the week I’m flying to America.” That was right, Gabby would be away on a two weeks leave for her sister’s wedding. She’d insisted that I go but I was saving up my vacation days so I couldn’t.
After Gabby left, I did it. I got my tickets for my first Got7 concert. That night I fell asleep and dreamt of my first meeting with Jackson.
Present day:
Too lost in my thoughts, I was surprised when the group made their entrance. The other girls rushed towards them but I remained seated, too shocked to move. They were mere feet from me and I cursed at myself for not being able to get up. The first one to notice me was BamBam and he smiled at me as he walked towards me so I slowly got up and bowed, greeting him formally.
He started speaking to me in Korean and I picked up on a few of the words but not enough to really understand what he was saying. He stopped talking and waited for an answer as I stared at him dumbly.
“BamBam, what are you doing? She probably doesn’t understand Korean.” I looked past him to see Mark approaching us.
“Oh,sorry…” BamBam looked a little embarrassed and I smiled at him kindly so as not to make him uncomfortable.
“Do you speak English?” Mark asked me in English and I nodded dumbly.
“Yes, I do.” Mark rose a brow and I wondered if I said anything wrong.
“An American accent, are you from America?” I smiled at him and nodded and suddenly, he broke out his dazzling smile and I thought I would faint. He was even more beautiful upfront and I couldn’t help but admire the brilliant red of his hair.
“Nice, I found a fellow American! Where are you from?” He asked excitedly.
“I’m originally from New York, but I live in Florida…or at least I used to.” I said.
“East coast. Nice.” Mark said as if he approved.
“Oooh! American!” BamBam exclaimed excitedly. “Foreigner!”
“You’re a foreigner too!” Mark said to the excited BamBam.
“I guess.” BamBam said in English and I couldn’t hold back my giggle. The two of them looked at me and smiled.
“Come on, let me introduce you to the others.” Mark surprised me by grabbing my hand and I followed him to the others having a good time with the other fans.
“Thank you.” I said nervously.
“JB, we got ourselves another foreigner, nice right?” Mark said and JB looked up from where he was sitting and up at me, greeting me with a smile.
“Nice to meet you. I am JB.”
“I know.” I said and smiled as I bowed. It was just as I expected, probably even better. They were all so sweet. All in all, there were only five girls so there was a lot of Got7 to go around. JB laughed and stood up.
“So you are from America like Mark? Are you also from LA?” Yugyeom asked, his accent thick.
“No, I’m from Florida.”
“OH! Florida? Miami?” Youngjae asked.
“No, but Miami is an hour away from where I’m from.” I said. I looked nervously at the other girls who seemed to look upset and not getting as much attention as I was. I was a little upset that Jackson wasn’t here yet and I wondered if he would come at all.
Junior said something to me in Korean and once again I gave him that dumb expression that I understood nothing.
“She doesn’t understand Korean.” Mark said before turning to me. “He asked if you came all the way to Korea to see us.”
“Oh.” I looked at Junior and smiled. “In a way, yes. I actually moved here because of my job.”
“Oh.” That was all he said as he smiled before another fan caught his attention.
“Where do you work?” Mark asked as he escorted me over to a table full of drinks and food put out for the fans and members to enjoy. He picked up a few nuts and popped them in his mouth as I picked up a glass of lemonade.
Mark waited patiently as I took another sip of the refreshing drink. I was about to reply when I realized something was wrong. I looked across the room as one of the girls started to creep up behind JB while his back was to him. I wouldn’t have thought anything of it, but my glass clad eyes caught the shimmer of something sticking out of her sleeve. I narrowed my eyes at the girl and followed her closely as I quietly sat my glass down. Mark stopped munching on his snacks and looked over at me.
By the time I realized what it was in the girl’s sleeve, she was mere feet from JB. I broke out into a run as I shouted for JB to move. Everyone looked at me surprised and the girl stopped for a second looking at me surprised before flipping out the blade just as I tackled her. I was glad for the strength I had acquired from my vigorous training but amidst the confusion and shouting, it was a little hard to concentrate. The girl swung at me and cut my right upper arm. I held my arm as I narrowed my eyes at her, ignoring the other’s shouts for security. Careful to stay away from the blade, I circled the girl and when she hesitated just as I got close, I grabbed her arm and twisted it hard. She yelled out something in Korean as the blade fell from her hand and in one swift motion I pushed her down onto the ground and straddled her from both sides, using my weight to keep her down.
Everyone remained frozen for a second but chaos broke out just as security rushed in. Assessing the situation, they dragged me off of the other girl, assuming I was the attacker. This angered me but I remained calm and let Mark explain. He spat a million words per minute as he looked at them and at me. The girl on the ground was shouting and screaming obscenities as she was cuffed. The blade was retrieved by another security guard and there was blood dripping from it when he held it up. My blood. I realized as my adrenaline rush began to fade, that the pain grew and I clutched my arm. I’d lost more blood than I thought and I swayed lightly and was about to fall but Yugyeom, who was standing closest to me caught me in time.
“Hey! Are you okay?” Mark said rushing towards me.
“Yeah…it’s just a little cut.” Mark looked at the wound and glared at me.
“You call that little? We need to get you to the hospital.” There was much fussing after that but in the end, the girl was dragged away and the fan meeting was cut short as medics arrived and I was taken to the hospital. I fell asleep in the back of the car, Mark and Youngjae accompanying me. JB and the others were taken aside for questioning before we left.
“Hey, wake up. We are here.” I opened my bleary eyes and looked up at the emergency sign to the hospital blaring red outside the car window. My arm was bandaged but the medics decided I needed stiches since the cut was deeper than I’d thought. I just went along with it.
Mark helped me out of the car and I looked up into his kind eyes, grateful for having his help.
“What is it?” Mark said since I wasn’t moving.
“You’re very kind, doing all this for a stranger.”
“Are you kidding? You took a knife for us. And you’re an IGot7, that makes you a stranger and a member of our family.” I smiled at Mark and together, the three of us were escorted to the emergency room.
The wait wasn’t very long as we waited. I was asked for my identification and I handed my card to the nurse. She looked up at me and then at the card again. I smiled at her weakly as she put my information into system. She handed me the ID card back but I dropped it and Youngjae kindly picked it up for me and was about to hand it back to me before he stopped and looked at the card.
“A-yana.” My name sounded funny coming from him and I giggled. “OH! Army?!” Mark scrunched his brows and looked at Youngjae before snatching the ID and looked at it himself.
“You’re in the army? No wonder you looked like you knew what you were doing back there.” Mark beamed one of his brilliant smiles and I blushed. Seeing that I was flustered, he stopped teasing me and continued reading the rest of the information on the card.
“You’re 21?!” Both of them looked at me surprised and I blushed even deeper. What were their reactions supposed to mean? “I honestly thought you were 18 at most.” Mark said, laughing.
“Yes, me too.” Youngjae said as Mark handed back my ID. Before I could say anything, the nurse interrupted and I was taken to a room where she unwrapped my bandages and assessed my wound.
“Yes, you will need stiches.” Her English was a little sketchy but I was grateful. I looked over at Mark and Youngjae who were sitting quietly reading magazines.
“Hey Ayana, you think I look good in this picture?” Mark suddenly said as he turned the magazine and I saw a solo picture of him. Good? Did he just ask me that? He looked GORGEOUS! Of course I didn’t say that though.
“You look great in that picture, Mark. Oh, sorry…I called you Mark but you’re older than me…am I supposed to call you oppa or something?” Long before I came to Korea, I knew respect for those older than you was a big thing here. So I had to be careful not to disrespect anyone local at least.

“No. We are both from America. Things like that don’t matter there. Besides, I don’t want to be your oppa, that makes me your older brother. I want to be your friend.” I blushed at that for a moment before being distracted by the needle the nurse was preparing for the stiches. I didn’t notice the look Youngjae gave Mark as he continued to look at me.

Notes

I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter. It's my first time writing a Kpop fanfiction, so forgive me for any errors. I LOVE Jackson but this story will be a bit complicated and involve a reverse harem of course, because one girl vs seven guys is awesome <3 Leave any comments, complaints, reviews, suggestions, etc to let me know what you, my readers, would like from the upcoming chapters. Once again thank you for reading. (IGot7's fighting!)