MOON
A Daenseu Boys Novella
By VIOLETTE PARADIS
This is a work of fiction. All characters and events reside solely in the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual people, alive or dead, is purely coincidental. All characters are eighteen years of age or older. Although it may not be referenced to in the text, protection should always be used during intercourse.
This title is for adults only. It contains explicit sex scenes, adult themes, and strong language. Please keep out of reach of children.
Cover image used with permission from Deposit Photos.
© 2020, VIOLETTE PARADIS. No portion of this work can be reproduced in any way without prior written consent from the author.
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MOON
Vanessa made her way through customs at the Incheon airport in Seoul as she dragged her suitcase behind her. After only two hours of sleep on the red-eye flight, she felt tired and disoriented. She was ready to go to her hotel room and settle in.
Looking around the baggage claim area, she looked for her little sister. She spotted her long brunette hair across the room. It was no surprise that Madison was standing near the doors, preoccupied by her cell phone.
“Maddy!” Vanessa called out.
Her sister spun around and squealed with glee before rushing across the room to give her a hug. The spectacle was loud enough to garner attention from nearby passengers.
“Oh my god, oh my god!” Madison squeezed her. “I can’t believe you’re finally here!”
“Careful.” Vanessa pulled back. “I’ve been on a plane for eighteen hours. I don’t smell great.”
“Oh, shush. You smell fine.” Madison pulled her in closer. “I’m so excited you’re here!”
Vanessa smiled. “Me too.”
When she finally pulled back, she inspected her little sister. Madison’s keen green eyes inspected her back.
“I can’t believe how long it’s been.”
“Psh, it hasn’t been that long. I saw you at Christmas.”
“Still.” Vanessa pulled her in for another hug. “I missed you.”
It was the first human contact Vanessa had in months. She took her time squeezing her sister and breathing in her familiar scent.
“So.” Madison pulled herself free. “Welcome to South Korea!”
Vanessa looked around with glee. “I love this place already!”
There were decorative waterfalls and advertisements for skincare masks being projected onto the walls.
“I can’t believe you live in this city!”
“I know, right? This place is so cool. Come on, I want you to meet my friends on campus.” She linked her arm in Vanessa’s as they walked outside and found their ride.
As the car drove to the university, Vanessa stared out the window in awe at the cool buildings surrounded by lush green trees and perfectly manicured greenery. It was a far cry from her suburban neighborhood back in New York.
Madison pointed out all the landmarks and beautiful buildings as they drove.
“There’s the big bank that I go to every few weeks. And that’s where the famous coffee shop is from that Korean rom-com that came out last year. Ooh! That’s where my student council group meets up every Wednesday.”
Madison’s sharp green eyes looked for more places to name. Madison moved to Seoul almost two years ago for school. Although the family was hesitant about her decision to move so far away, especially somewhere where she didn’t speak the language, they were all pleasantly surprised to find that Madison had built a life in Seoul.
Vanessa smiled at her sister.
“I’m proud of you,” Vanessa said. “I love seeing you so happy.”
“I have a good life here.”
“I don’t know if I could ever be this adventurous.” She looked out the window.
“Of course you can. It’s not like you haven’t been adventurous in the past.”
“That’s true. I went on all those concerts before I met Eric.”
“Hell yeah, you did whatever you wanted. You were my role model back then.”
Vanessa touched her heart. “Really?”
“Yeah, man. If it weren’t for you, I never would have taken the chance and moved here.”
Vanessa smiled. “Thanks, Maddy. It feels good hearing something like that after having my heart ripped out of my chest.”
Madison smirked deviously. “You know, now that you’re here, this is your chance to reset everything. Get back to that adventurous side of you.”
“That’s the plan, isn’t it?”
This was her first spontaneous outing since her horrible breakup with Eric. The whole relationship caused her to put all her dreams on hold. And now that she was on the other side, she felt like a ghost of her former self.
“Is that one of your designs?” Madison grabbed Vanessa’s wrist and inspected the bracelet made of wire and silver thread.
“I made it after the breakup. I thought I should have something nice to wear on my fancy vacation.”
“It’s beautiful.” Madison let go of Vanessa’s wrist. “This is going to be such a good vacation, you’ll see.”
“It’s too bad you still have classes to attend.”
“Oh, whatever. They’ll go by fast. After today’s class, we’ll go out for food, and then we have tickets to the Daenseu Boys!”
Vanessa furrowed her brow. “Sorry, the who?”
“Oh my god.” Madison’s eyes grew wide. “You did not just say that.”
This was usual for her. She knew more about pop culture than anyone else. And she always acted like it was a crime that nobody else knew what she was talking about.
“Seriously, you don’t know the Daenseu Boys?”
Vanessa shook her head. “Should I? Is that like a movie or something?”
“They’re only the biggest k-pop band in the world! How have you not heard of them?”
“K-pop?”
“You’re seriously more hopeless than I thought.”
“I’m sorry.” Vanessa shrugged. “I don’t listen to that kind of music. You know that.”
“But if you did, you’d love it. Trust me. They sing, they dance, they rap. And their message just blows my mind every single time. There’s literally nothing they can’t do. Look!” Madison pointed out the window.
There were groups of girls dressed with glittery scarves and pink boots.
“What’s that?”
“They’re dressed for the concert tonight! Pink shoes are Kong’s signature style.”
“Oh god, you’re not going to make me dress up, are you?”
Madison’s smile disappeared as she sat back in her seat and crossed her arms. “Oh, you’re no fun. This is just like that one Christmas where you didn’t want to carol with me. But when you finally did we had an amazing time.”
Vanessa laughed. “That’s true. Okay, fine. I’ll go to the concert with you. But I get to dress the way I want.”
Madison smirked. “We’ll see about that.”
***
As the car continued through the city, Vanessa saw that the Daenseu Boys were plastered all over the city. There were projections on buildings, electronic billboards, and even sidewalks. The images showed a group of young men dressed in stylish street-wear. Crisp white t-shirts, fitted jeans, colorful sweaters, and spotless sneakers. A video of them projected onto the side of a white building showed them dancing in such a mesmerizing way Vanessa couldn’t pull her eyes off them. They moved in perfect unison, looking like each other’s shadows.
“Holy crap, how many of them are there?”
“Six,” Madison said.
“Six?”
“If you think that’s crazy, Charm My Heart has seventeen
members.”
“Seventeen?” Vanessa didn’t think her eyebrows could raise any higher.
Madison laughed. “I know, it’s kind of crazy. They have bops though. Ooh, here we are!”
Vanessa dragged her suitcase through campus as she followed Madison on an impromptu tour.
The campus was just as beautiful and high-tech as the airport and the rest of the city. When they finally got to Madison’s dorm, Vanessa got to see just how crazy obsessed her sister was with the Daenseu Boys. There were posters all over the walls.
“You really have a problem don’t you?” Vanessa asked as she looked around, not sure if she should laugh or be horrified.
The Daenseu boys were a lot more expressive than she expected. In half the posters their hair was different shades of cotton candy. In the other half their hair was in the exact same black shaggy style. In one poster they were all wearing white formal wear with lots of ruffles and flair. In another, they were wearing street-wear in shades of neon.
And the makeup! She saw smudged eyeliner, cherry glossed lips and blushing rosy cheeks. There were sparkling dangling earrings and flashy rings. One guy even had knuckle tattoos that spelled out the word “love”.
She was sure that these guys were more beautiful than she was.
Their ability to express themselves with such flair while also coming off so confident intrigued her. There was something sexy in that kind of confidence.
“Don’t judge me,” Madison said. “They make me happy.”
Vanessa sat down on the bed. “Are you really so sad that you need something to make you happy?”
“No,” Madison said. “Guys in real life don’t compare to these guys.”
Vanessa laughed. “You know it’s all an act, right? It’s all just lyrics and image. They probably have secret girlfriends.”
Madison looked at her, shocked. “They don’t! They’re not allowed to date anybody. Some of these k-pop managers are super strict.”
“They don’t date anyone?” Vanessa raised her eyebrows.
“No. Dude, you don’t get how hard these guys work. They barely get time off. They couldn’t date even if they tried.”
Vanessa didn’t fully believe it. Looking at the pictures of the guys plastered all over the walls, she didn’t know any guy who was that talented or handsome who didn’t get laid. And she did admit to herself, some of them were very handsome. All of them, in fact.
“What a waste,” she said, looking at them. “Cute guys like that deserve to be kissed every once in a while.”
Madison was staring at her.
“What?” Vanessa asked. “I feel judged.”
“I hope you’re getting out there.”
“Madison!” Vanessa threw a small pillow at her.
“What? It’s true! Don’t tell me you’re still wallowing over that shit-head Eric. I can’t believe he dumped you on your birthday. What a loser. Him, not you.”
“Thanks for the clarification,” Vanessa mumbled. “And I’m not wallowing.”
“But… you’re not getting laid either.”
“You know, I miss when you were younger and more innocent and you didn’t meddle in my sex life.”
“Pfft, sorry to say but you need to hear it.”
“At least I’m not pining over unattainable guys.” Vanessa gestured at the posters.
“Oh my god, but they’re so cute. Come to the concert tonight and you’ll fall in love with one of them, I promise you.”
“Can we bet on that? Loser has to buy the winner dinner tomorrow.”
“Deal!” Madison grinned menacingly. “You’re on, sister. These guys are impossible to resist.”
There was a knock on the door. Madison pulled it open.
“Oh, hey Mi-cha. This is my sister, Vanessa. Vanessa, this is my roommate Mi-cha.”
Mi-cha had long dark hair and freckles on her nose.
“Hi!” She said in a chipper voice. “Just to let you know, everyone here is going to call you Phanessa.”
Vanessa furrowed her brow. “They will?”
“There’s no v-sound in Korean. I just thought I’d warn you.” She grinned. “Are you coming to the concert tonight? I’ve got the tickets!”
“Oh my god!” Madison stared at the tickets with wide eyes. “I can’t believe it’s finally happening.”
“I know!”
They were practically squealing. Vanessa wasn’t sure if she was endeared or amused.
“My sister is not a Daenseu girl.” Madison pouted.
“What?” Mi-cha looked at Vanessa in shock. “We need to change that! Let’s give you a quick rundown of all the guys.”
“Is this really necessary?” Vanessa asked. “I should be able to check-in at the hotel in about twenty minutes so maybe I should&emdash;”
But it was no use. Mi-cha was already pushing Vanessa back onto the bed so they could look up at the posters.
“So there are six guys. He’s my favorite.” She pointed at the guy with the knuckle tattoos. “His real name is Cho Dae-jung, but he goes by Daejung. He used to be a ballet dancer but he also does some street dancing. He’s the heart-throb of the group. Isn’t he the cutest?”
Vanessa stared at the poster. “Am I going to be quizzed on this?”
They ignored her. Madison took over.
“Then there’s Lee Chan-ook, but he just goes by Chanook. He’s the artsy one of the group. He mixes the beats and does the production and all that. He’s basically the musical backbone of the whole group.”
“That’s why he looks so tired all the time,” Mi-cha added. “He’s always up all night working. Okay, next there’s Gin Jun-sam. But we call him Sam.”
“Or Three.” Madison held up three fingers.
“Three?” Vanessa asked. “How many names do these guys have?”
“They call him three because he’s the third oldest.”
“Of course,” Vanessa mumbled. “Because that makes sense.”
“Anyway, Sam is half American. He’s the rapper.”
“The rapper?” Vanessa already forgot his name.
“Then there’s Kim So-kyong,” Mi-cha continued, pointing at a guy with a wide smile and manic eyes. “Otherwise known as Kong, or King Kong.”
Vanessa laughed. “There they go with the nicknames again.”
“He’s another street dancer but he’s freaking good.”
“And then there’s Bae Ki-moon.” Madison pointed at the guy with soft features, dreamy bedroom eyes, and a seductive stare. “We call him Moon or Bae. He’s so cool.”
“And he’s got a deep sexy voice,” Mi-cha added with a sigh.
“Thanks for the lesson but I’m not going to remember any of these names,” Vanessa admitted as she stood up. “I should probably get going to my hotel.”
“We’re not done!” Madison pointed at the guy crouching in the bottom right corner of the poster.
Vanessa sat back down in defeat.
“This is Pak Yong-sun, or MC Yongsun.”
“That’s it?” Vanessa asked. “Only two names?”
“We also call him the dragon,” Madison said.
“There it is,” she mumbled to herself. “So that’s what, sixteen or so names I have to memorize?”
Mi-cha laughed. “We don’t expect you to remember all that, but how about we listen to some of their songs?”
“Ooh, yeah!” Madison clapped her hands together in excitement. “We can get you familiarized with the hits so you can sing along during the concert!”
Just as Vanessa tried to form an excuse in her head, the alarm on her watch went off and not a moment too soon. She had been wearing the same clothes for over sixteen hours and the hobo shower she took in the airplane bathroom wasn’t keeping her nearly as fresh as she would have liked.
“Oh, shucks. You know what that is? Check-in time at the hotel. I should really go drop my stuff off so I can get ready for our big day.”
“Fine,” Madison said. “But you will be obsessed with on
e of these guys by the end of the day. I promise you,” she started singing.
“I promise you&emdash;ou&emdash;ou,” Mi-cha joined in.
Vanessa smiled.
“How about I go get settled in at the hotel, take a shower, and we meet up in two hours for lunch?”
“And then we get ready for the concert!” Madison squealed as she jumped to her feet and hugged Vanessa. “I have class in half an hour but I’ll text when it’s done.”
“It’s a plan.”
***
Walking through the campus down the white-tiled road and perfect trees, Vanessa felt like she was walking through a dream. The air smelled so fresh.
This was the first time she had taken a vacation in years. She went to the Caribbean after graduating with her degree in design. She remembered how happy she was. She felt like she had the whole world in her hands.
So what happened?
Eric happened. He was everything she thought she needed. He was serious and sophisticated. Since he was going to med school and he worked part-time, he was constantly busy. She somehow became his cheerleader. She put her career on hold to help him.
Why?
Why was it so easy to see what was happening only once it was all over?
Breathing in the crisp Seoul air, she looked around.
From now on, she was ready to bring joy and fun back into her life… after she showered.
Walking to the curb, she waved at an idling taxi. As she reached for the handle, so did someone next to her. Their hands touched and they both pulled away.
“Oh, I didn’t see you there,” she said. The man was taller than her and had the hood of his black sweater up hiding his unruly black hair which fell into his incredibly beautiful eyes. He was wearing fitted jeans and crisp black sneakers, no doubt influenced by the Daenseu Boys.
“Joesong haeyo,” he said. His voice was deeper than his young face suggested.
“Oh. I’m sorry. Umm… naneun hangug… erm…”
Vanessa brushed up on a few phrases before making the trip but she was totally blanking. She wanted to say that she didn’t speak Korean. It was clear that she was getting the point across because he was watching her with an amused smile on his face.
“Where… are you going?” He asked in an incredibly cute broken accent.
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