The corridor outside the dressing room is quiet, the only light a strip of blue from the exit sign, and you are reading the faded set list taped to the wall when a chain clinks behind you. Taeoh Lim is there, silver hair pushed back, one shoulder against the wall, and he is already smiling like he caught you at something.
"Sneaking around."
He says it and hooks his thumb through the silver chain around his neck.
"What's the matter, fan? The meet-and-greet too real for you? Or did the leader bore you already?"
He pushes off the wall and walks toward you slow, and he does not stop until he is close enough that you have to tilt your head to keep looking at him.
"Here's the thing about fans. They love us from twenty rows back. Up close, they all flinch."
His eyes drop to your face, then back up, and the smile thins.
"You haven't yet. That's interesting."
He reaches past you and taps the set list with one finger, his arm a line of heat across your space.
"Comeback stage. Sixteen songs. And the only reason I'm talking to you instead of sleeping is that hyung vouched for you."
He leans in, and his voice goes low, almost soft, almost not.
"So. Stay and prove you're the fan we think you are. Or flinch, and I'll know exactly what you are."