The Romantic Fandom Couples Universe

The Meeting

Jennifer was excited to attend her first kpop concert. As an ARMY and ONCE, she had been waiting for this day for so long. She arrived early to get a good spot near the front of the stage. While waiting for the show to start, she noticed a girl a few rows behind her wearing a BTS shirt and holding up a lightstick. Jennifer turned around and said “Hey, I love your shirt! RM is my bias.” The girl smiled and replied “Thanks! He’s awesome. I’m Lisa, I’m a BLINK.” They started chatting about their favorite groups. Lisa told Jennifer that she was also a fan of TWICE. “No way, me too!” said Jennifer. They realized they had a lot in common and hit it off right away. By the end of the night, they had swapped Snapchat handles and agreed to meet up again. Jennifer was excited to have found her first kpop friend. She had a feeling this was the start of a beautiful fandom friendship.

A Day Out

A few weeks later, Jennifer and Lisa met up for a day of kpop fun. First, they went to the local kpop store to look for photocard pulls and merchandise from their favorite artists. While browsing, they came across lightsticks for Red Velvet and Girls’ Generation.
“We should check them out, their music is really good!” said Lisa. Jennifer agreed and they decided to add Reveluvs and SONEs to their ever-growing fandom list. After shopping, they went for bubble tea and talked more about their biased groups. Jennifer was happy to learn more about BLACKPINK from Lisa. In return, she filled Lisa in on TWICE’s variety show appearances and funny moments. They realized they had found someone who truly understood their love and passion for kpop.

A Fandom Family

Over the next few months, Jennifer and Lisa spent a lot of time together at concerts, fansigns and other kpop events. They introduced each other to their online fandom friends as well. Soon, their friend group expanded to include other multi-fans like themselves. Stephanie was a ONCE, MOOMoo and Shawol. Andy was a NCTzen, EXO-L and ATINY. They all got along really well and had fun debating over their bias groups. On the weekends, they would have fandom watch parties for music shows and comebacks. Jennifer was glad to have found such a supportive fandom family. Even when their biases fought online, they stuck together. She felt lucky to share her love of kpop with people who truly got it. Their friendships gave new meaning to the cheer “We are one!”

A Budding Romance

At one of the watch parties, Jennifer couldn’t help but notice how cute Andy looked when he cheered for Yuta during an NCT 127 performance. When their eyes met during a song, they both shyly looked away smiling. After the party, Jennifer worked up the courage to ask Andy for his number. To her relief, he said yes looking a bit flushed. They started texting non-stop, bonding over their love of kpop and other interests like anime and gaming. One night, Andy asked Jennifer out on a date. They decided to check out the new ATEEZ and Stray Kids exhibition at the city’s kpop gallery. While gazing at the photobooks and merch, Jennifer felt Andy’s hand slip into hers. She looked up into his eyes, and leaned in for a kiss. A chorus of cheers and whistles interrupted them. Their friends had been spying and were excited for the new fandom couple. Jennifer smiled, happily embracing her new romance within the warm embrace of the kpop community.

Trouble In Paradise

A few months into their relationship, Jennifer noticed that Andy seemed more distant. He was spending more time online and talking to other fandom friends than her. At first she tried not to worry, but it was starting to bother her. One night during a movie date, Jennifer decided to speak up. “Andy, is everything ok? You seem distracted lately.” Andy sighed. “I’m sorry Jen, it’s just…with the NCT 2020 comeback coming up, I’ve had a lot on my mind. But that’s no excuse to neglect you, you deserve better.” That shocked Jennifer, was he breaking up with her? Before she could respond, Andy’s phone pinged with another message. He quickly checked it, ignoring her stunned expression. She felt hurt that kpop was coming between them after so long together. In a calm but firm tone, she said “Andy, I think we need to take a break. Kpop shouldn’t be more important than our relationship.” With teary eyes, Andy nodded understandingly and gently squeezed her hand. Their fandom love story had hit a bump, but perhaps it was just a phase…

Healing and Hope

In the following weeks, Jennifer threw herself into focusing on other fandom friends for support. Stephanie and Lisa were always there to listen and cheer her up. She appreciated how they didn’t take sides, just offered an open ear. Jennifer still missed Andy though. Looking at old photos of their kpop adventures brought back happy memories. She left the lines of communication open in case he wanted to talk things through. Deep down, she hoped they weren’t over for good. To her surprise, Andy reached out one night with an apology letter and a gift - the lightstick they had wanted to purchase together before the breakup. “I’m sorry, you were right. Kpop shouldn’t come between us. Can we have coffee to talk things through?” Jennifer agreed, feeling hopeful. Over coffee, Andy poured his heart out. His mental health had begun suffering under the comeback stress and he took it out on her without meaning to. But being apart made him realize how much she meant to him beyond kpop. By the end of their talk, Jennifer had forgiven him. She was just happy to have her fandom boyfriend back in her life again. And this time, they promised to support each other through all kpop highs and lows as a team. Their fandom love story was given a second chance.

A Festive Celebration

To celebrate the holiday season and rekindled romance, Jennifer and Andy planned a fandom Secret Santa party for their friend group. Ever the Kpop enthusiasts, they decided to incorporate everyone’s favorite artists into the festivities. The living room was decked with EXO and NCT light sticks serving as the Christmas tree. BTS holiday remixes played softly in the background. When guests arrived, they were delighted to find goody bags filled with photocard packs and merchandise from their bias groups. A potluck dinner featured all kinds of Asian dishes inspired by members’ backgrounds. There was chicken karaage like SHINee’s Onew, jaengban like Seventeen’s Jun and tteokbokki for BTS’ Jimin and Jungkook. After presents were exchanged, they put on a Secret Santa Kpop Dance Challenge music video for laughs. Jennifer enjoyed spending quality time with the ones who showed her kpop’s power to unite people from all walks of life. She was grateful for the community and romance it had brought into her world.

A New Chapter

In the years since that fateful kpop concert meeting, Jennifer watched her little fandom family grow in more ways than one. Stephanie met her boyfriend Thomas, also a multi-fan, at a fan event. Andy proposed to Jennifer after an EXO concert, with “Promise” playing in the background as he slipped the ring on her finger. Lisa moved closer to attend university with Jennifer. They lived together and supported each other’s biases like true sisters. Other friends got married or had kids of their own too. But no matter where life took them, kpop was what tied their hearts together across any distance. Jennifer reflected on how much had changed since embarking on her kpop journey. From loner fan to having a chosen family filled with love and understanding - it was everything she could’ve asked for. She couldn’t wait to see where the future led her and her beloved fandom companions on their pop culture adventures together.