But at the end of the day, it’s all been worth it. There really is magic in the music, and there’s magic in meeting the people who connect to it. Being a K-pop idol means being part of something bigger than myself.

The energy from tonight’s crowd was wild. Shanghai was the last stop on our multicountry Glow Asia Tour. Months of being on the road, a new city every couple of weeks. It’s been a whirlwind, and there were times when I found myself missing my own bed. But up onstage tonight, I realized just how much I’ll miss this once we’re back home in Korea. It’s January and we won’t tour again this year until the fall, so this is our last big group performance for a while. And you could feel that in the air. We gave 110 percent tonight, and the fans gave it right back to us. Now it’s time to celebrate.

I look around the Peninsula Shanghai’s ballroom. The promoters have really gone all out on this one. Brilliant teardrop-crystal chandeliers line the ceiling, shining down on the waiters in glossy tuxedos weaving through the crowd with silver trays of champagne flutes, music pulsing against the walls as people dance and mingle. They’ve converted part of the ballroom’s dance floor into a miniature roller rink. Electric pink and fluorescent yellow cocktails surf by me on glow-in-the-dark platters—an homage to the title track off our latest album, “Glow.” It’s a true bop, and it dominated the charts this past summer. For the party tonight, they’ve rigged a projector to display themed images from the music video against the walls: glow-in-the-dark bowling alleys; fields of fireflies; a Ferris wheel riding to the top, with the twinkling city lights spread out below like candles on a birthday cake. Honestly, it’s enough to make you forget that it’s the dead of winter and currently a whopping three degrees Celsius out tonight.

Just as I’m reaching for a champagne flute, a voice behind me calls out my name.

“Rachel Kim!” A wiry man with red square-rimmed glasses and a warm smile walks toward me, extending his hand for a handshake. “I’m Park Hyunbae, VP of programming at SOAR Drama and Entertainment. I was hoping to run into you tonight.”

SOAR is one of the biggest media broadcasting companies in Korea. We’ve appeared in a few of their TV programs, but DB always handles the business side of things, so I’ve never met one of their executives in person. “So nice to meet you,” I say, shaking his hand.

“I hope you don’t mind.” He reaches into his pocket and sheepishly produces a pen. “My daughter is a big fan of yours and she’d kill me if I didn’t at least ask. Could you sign this for her? Her name is Park Miyoung.”