Chapter 1

Jasmine, a tanned young woman, sat in bed on a cool spring morning, propped up against two enormous pillows. Her pale blue drapes were drawn closed.

Except for a single lamp on a nightstand beside the bed, the bedroom is completely dark. A light brown notebook was on her lap. It was open to a partially finished drawing of herself dancing on a stage. She could hear the front door open and close. Then there was the pitter-patter of feet running down the corridor. Jasmine clicked her tongue in irritation and rose from her bed.

The bedroom door burst open before Jasmine could reach the knob. Her best friend and roommate burst into the room, breathing heavily.

"Lucy, what the hell is going on?" Jasmine inquired in sign language.

"A concert is tonight," the brunette added as she sat on an adjacent chair. Jasmine spotted the flyer in her friend's hand.

"No, not again," she signed, shaking her head.

"They are cute, and you can't hide in this room forever," Lucy replied. Jasmine huffed as she crossed her arms across her chest.

"If I say yes, let me do whatever I want next time," she explained.

Jasmine spotted a link on the flyer. She took out her laptop, turned it on, and typed in the website address. On the screen, a picture of seven boys appeared. She went to the profile section and read over each boy's profile.

"They seem like ordinary guys instead of being idols," Jasmine observed.

A few hours later

"I better not regret agreeing to this," Jasmine said as they left the house.

"You'll have fun," Lucy promised. After they parked the car, the girls went inside and found their seats.

Tsumugi Takanashi, an eighteen-year-old young woman, stood in front of the seven young guys in the green room. Her red, wide eyes sank to the floor.

"I'm sorry; I didn't organize the concert better," she apologized, bowing her head in sorrow. The inquiries came one by one.

"How many people came? "One, two?" Yamato Nikaido, a brown-haired, green-eyed young man, inquired.

"Um, nine," the blonde woman replied gently. Her cheeks turned pink. Tsumugi looked up, surprised, when the room burst out laughing.

"We expected as much," seventeen-year-old Lori Izumi replied calmly.

Everyone was ecstatic when the conversation concluded. The seven young men entered the stage, beaming brightly. When the song "Monster Generation" started, the audience cheered and clapped loudly. Multicolored lights waved in the air. When the concert ended, everyone was in the green room, changing and resting. Nagi narrowed his blue eyes in curiosity when Mitsuki left the room. One by one, everyone headed to the minivan. Nagi headed out to the seating area to search for Mitsuki. The older Izumi walked towards him, a rolled-up piece of paper in his hand.

"We better move or they'll leave without us," the tall blonde remarked.

"I'm sorry; I wanted to have a quick look around," Mitsuki apologized. They reached the vehicle just as their manager exited to look for them. Mitsuki stashed his findings in his brown jacket and sat behind his brother, Lori.

Cough Cough

In another part of town, Jasmine sat up in her bed, coughing loudly. The blanket was pulled up to her chin. The door opened, and Lucy entered with a sorrowful look on her face.

"Here, drink this," she said, handing Jasmine a cup of hot peppermint tea. Jasmine blew on it and took a sip. "I'm sorry; I didn't realize it was going to be that cold," Lucy apologized. Jasmine sipped some more of the tea.

"It's alright; I should've prepared better," Jasmine signed.

"I'll see you in the morning." Lucy smiled. "If you have trouble sleeping, you know where to find me," she said.

Meanwhile, at the dorm, Mitsuki sat in his room, on his bed. He glanced over the photograph of the seven of them performing together in his hands. The initials JS on the back piqued his interest.

"Who is JS?" he pondered. The 21-year-old unlocked his wardrobe, reached up, and placed the picture on the top shelf.

Knock, Knock

When he heard a knock, Mitsuki quickly locked the closet door. He opened the bedroom door to find Nagi smiling happily.

"What do you want, Nagi?" Mitsuki enquired.

"I want to see what you're hiding," the tall blonde remarked.

"I'm not hiding anything," the young man answered. "Nagi, I'm tired, so please leave," Mitsuki remarked. The blonde walked away with a frown.

Jasmine and Lucy prepared for their day a week later. "What do you plan on doing today?" Lucy inquired.

"I'd like to draw in the park," Jasmine expressed her desire.

"Don't forget to bring your phone," Lucy said. "I'll text you when I'm done at the office," she promised. Lucy received a thumbs-up from Jasmine. Lucy left Jasmine at the park and went to work, which was only a few blocks away. She sat down on a metal bench and got her drawing supplies. She opened her sketchbook to the next blank page and began drawing a 5-year-old redhead boy walking a brown labritriver.

The sound of a vehicle's engine distracted Jasmine. She turned around to see a yellow and white minivan pull up. When seven young men emerged from the van, she exclaimed and nearly dropped her art equipment. Her gaze was drawn to an orange-haired idol. When they walked past her, she quickly looked down at her sketch and closed the book. Anxiety and nervousness caused her heart to accelerate.

"Phew, that was close," she reflected. She glanced back up when the idols performed "Monster Generation". A small crowd of people appeared a few moments later to watch them sing and dance to their song.

Jasmine's respiration became more rapid as the crowd became larger. Her heart rate increased, and her hands began to sweat. She coughed as her chest tightened.

"I've got to get out of here," Jasmine reminded herself. Voices and people around her got distorted. When she turned to leave the park, her legs gave out from under her. She collapsed to her knees, panting for oxygen. Everything dropped from her hands and landed on the ground in front of her. A hand reached out to Jasmine, but she passed out before she could see who helped her.