Imagine looking like Kim Taehyung, I wouldn't know how to act or cope with myself 😭 This is why I laugh whenever people try to make him out to be desperate for anyone's attention because bffr and look at the man. LOOK AT HIM. I'm sorry if I am dramatic but those pictures dropped and my brain can't fathom how someone can be that insanely good looking and be real.

Also is it just my eyes or did BH whitewash him again? 🤔

I KNOOOOW I giggle every time they try to drag him for his visuals because they all know he’s literally undraggable. I mean, look at this:

Added the Cartier picture because I love it and also to show you that yes, they whitewashed him and I really don’t understand why Bh keeps doing that it’s SO ridiculous and annoying.

And Then He Was Gray (Part One)

Disclaimer: I edited the pic I used above, but do not own the OG one. For the purposes of this one-shot, (G)I-DLE and BTS are closer in age than they are irl. I imagine the girls to be around 2 or so years older than they are currently. FYI none of them are minors, and they are all legal drinking age… I checked 😉

This imagine/one-shot was inspired by none other than… Jin’s famous gray, star-patterned crop top. I remember DYING when I first saw that footage of Hoseok taking pictures of Jin lifting his arms and showing off his amazingly toned torso… So, in honor of that magical, wonderful shirt, enjoy 💜

Note: In case it wasn’t clear, I gave Soyeon a nickname that her friends call her. They’ll call her “So-So” occasionally. It’s not based in real life at all, I just thought it was kinda kute.

Age Recommendation: 21+ (Not just a recommendation, kuties!)

Warnings: ALL of BTS make an appearance, (G)I-DLE make an appearance (yes, I like them), PDA, consumption of lots of alcohol, JiHope being the world’s cutest couple and making me pop all the UwU’s, Tae and JK being rowdy drunks, lonely angst 😔 Not much smut in this part. SWEARS, God, I nearly always forget swears 🙄

Word Count: 1,157

Summary: Your best friend Jeon Soyeon invites you to a kick-back with all of her friends and their significant others, intent on hooking you up with someone. Everyone seems taken, though, until he arrives, wearing a star-studded, gray top that makes your mouth water.

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And Then He Was Gray (Jin One-Shot, Smut, Fluff) Part One

“Stop fiddling, you look great!” my best friend said, slapping my hands away from my skirt.

“I can’t help it, I feel like the bottom of my ass is showing,” I groaned, continuing to tug at the plaid, gray fabric.

Soyeon rolled her eyes. “So what if it is?”

I scoffed. “Then I’d like my jeans back please!”

“Y/n. You do not go to a party dressed like it’s just another Friday, okay? This is a special occasion, the first time we’ve been out in ages! Please, for the love of all things holy, try to have fun,” she begged.

Rolling my eyes, I gave her a tiny nod, reluctantly agreeing to “have fun,” as she put it. My idea of fun was curling up with my favorite show, rolled up in a blanket like the lazy burrito I was. However, my best friend had been invited to this kick-back, and since all of her university friends were going to be there, and, more importantly, since the girl she was currently into was going to be there, I was forced to come along as her wing-woman. When my bestie explained why she wanted me to come, I couldn’t help feeling slighted. That was seriously her reasoning why the fuck I had to go? Couldn’t Soyeon find some other gal pal to dress up like a doll and drag places?

“Guess not,” I thought as we stepped onto the porch and knocked on the door. We could already hear music booming from the inside, accompanied by loud laughter and shouts.

A boy whipped open the door, laughing at something behind him. I was taken aback by his large stature and wide, white smile. “Ladies,” he greeted when he saw us, his smile turning into a smirk. “Come on in.”

“Nice to see you too, Jungkook,” Soyeon said, pressing a hand on the boy’s chest and pushing him aside.

The house was rather large and beautifully decorated on the inside. “Wow,” I said, looking around. “Whose place is this?”

“Mine,” the boy, Jungkook, said. “Well, my parents. But they’re out of town, so for the weekend, it’s mine.”

“It’s nice.”

“Thanks.” Jungkook motioned to the kitchen. “Grab food, drinks, whatever. Most of us are outside around the fire pit.”

“Cool, thanks,” Soyeon said, grabbing me by the wrist and making a beeline for the kitchen.

“Is that the guy?” I hissed as she tugged me along.

“Nope,” she replied as we passed a couple wrapped around each other, making out in plain sight.

“Ugh,” Soyeon said, wrinkling her nose. “That’s my friend from university, Yuqi, and Jungkook’s best friend, Taehyung. I so regret introducing those two.”

Two guys were in the kitchen, one dark-haired, the other blonde. Both were handsome as hell, but while the dark-haired one had more pointed, angular features, the blonde’s were rounded, soft, and delicate. “This is Hoseok, I call him Hobi,” she said, pointing. “And that’s Jimin. They’re only the cutest couple I know.” Soyeon leaned on the counter and squished her cheeks between her hands.

Hobi rolled his eyes, tugging Jimin closer by the waist. “Soyeon, please.”

“It’s true,” she retorted.

“Don’t let Taehyung hear you say that,” Jimin said, chuckling. “He thinks he and Yuqi are the World’s Cutest Couple.”

“Because we are,” a deep voice said. I turned to see a tall, handsome guy with dark hair leading a girl with large doe eyes and waist-length, wavy brown hair into the kitchen.

Soyeon scoffed. “More like World’s Most Inconsiderate Couple.”

“Soyeon, please. Don’t be jealous.” Taehyung’s mischievous grin did nothing to stop my bestie from throwing an empty cup at him.

Blatantly ignoring them, Hobi nodded in my direction. “So-So, who’s your friend?”

“Oh, this is my best friend, Y/n. I’ve known her since we were kids.”

“That’s cool, nice to meet you,” Hobi said, extending his hand. I shook it, shyly nodding.

Jimin poured everyone drinks before we headed outside, the boys jostling each other as they joked around and making us girls giggle. We sat in some lawn chairs circled around a fire pit, where a few people were already roasting marshmallows and drinking. “Soyeon!” a girl with long, dark hair pulled into a ponytail exclaimed, throwing her arms around my bestie. “I missed you!”

“Missed you too, Shuhua. It’s only been what, a day?”

“Feels longer,” Shuhua mock-pouted before taking a seat on Jungkook’s lap. Leaning over his girlfriend, Jungkook gestured to a guy with silvery-purple hair who was holding the hand of a girl with blonde-streaked, dark hair and gorgeous, piercing eyes. “This is Namjoon, and his girlfriend, Minnie.”

Namjoon shook our hands with a smile. “Nice to meet you. Feel free to grab some roasting sticks and ‘mallows if you want.”

Another boy with dark hair and pale skin held his hand out as well. “I’m Yoongi. This is my girlfriend, Soojin.”

Soojin had to be one of the prettiest girls I’d ever seen. Her blonde hair cascaded down to her waist, and her red-lipsticked smile was sultry yet shy. “Yoongi sure is a lucky guy,” I thought while shaking their hands as well.

After introductions were finished, I sat down in a chair, pulling my bestie down with me. “Soyeon, all of these guys seem to be taken. You said you were bringing me here to meet someone,” I whispered.

“Patience,” she hissed back before her entire face lit up. “Oh my God, Miyeon! You look amazing!”

Soyeon got up and placed her hands on a girl’s shoulders. The girl must have just arrived. Her purse was still on her shoulder and a cup full of liquid was in her hand. “Thanks,” she said, giving Soyeon an up-down, her pretty brown eyes sliding slowly over my best friend’s body. “You look good too, Soyeon.”

Ah, so this was the famous Miyeon. Soyeon hadn’t shut up about her since the day they met, and tonight was supposed to be the night my best friend made her move.

“Ten bucks they hook up,” I heard Jungkook whisper, and I turned to shoot him a grin as the others snickered. Luckily, Soyeon and Miyeon were too caught up in each other to notice.

After a while of drinking and laughing, I was pleasantly buzzed and my best friend was slowly sliding one hand up Miyeon’s thigh while the other was intertwined between her fingers. Score one for Soyeon. From what she told me, Miyeon was girlfriend material.

The other couples were also getting cozy, and I suddenly felt a chill as I realized the closest thing I had to snuggle with was bare-ass air. This was fun, and I liked meeting new people, but I knew this kick-back was going to end up with everyone pairing off. Maybe I should just go home. Snuggle my blanket. Watch a movie. You know, my definition of fun.

“Beer pong anyone?” Taehyung asked suddenly, holding up a couple of ping pong balls.

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Part Two is here! 😏

Maricolous

Member: Min Yoongi/Jeon Jungkook (BTS) Genre: Angst/Mystery/Fantasy Warnings: slight nudity, swearing Rating: Teen AU: Non-idol/Merman/Explorers/Mystery/Fantasy Word count:  7.6k

In part of the YoonKookBigBang Challenge Art can be found here

Adventures of people who have lost their souls are always the greatest, when they set their minds to something, it was almost assured that they'd get it done in order to fill the empty void that they have inside. It was similar for Jungkook and his friends, or rather, his co-workers since that's what they really are. Together, they're searching for new adventures, new mysteries to solve; they were explorers after all, always hungry for anything they could wrap their brains around. Here they sit in their headquarters, searching through books aged from time and qualified websites from Google, desperately trying to collect a hint of a new adventure, somewhere new and unexplored for them to investigate. Jungkook was searching through his typical websites, which consisted and fanatic explorers and confused hikers or travelers, but coming up with nothing. That was, until something caught his interest; an underwater graveyard, something with no explanation and no supposed previous investigator, and the coordinates were listed just under the photo of it. Brimming with anticipation and eagerness, a sly smile grew across his face. “Namjoon, I think I found our new adventure.” Jungkook whispered. “Wait what, you actually found something?” Namjoon inquired, head whipping around in response to the voice that had broken a frustrating silence between their members. Because of Namjoon's loud voice, the other two men in the room rushed over to Jungkook's desk to stare at his computer screen, looking over what they saw as Namjoon joined in. “An underwater graveyard?” One of the men, Jin, questioned, eyebrows furrowing as he leaned in closer to stare at the blurry picture displayed across the screen.

Jungkook let out a mighty huff to Jin’s response, quipping, “If you guys don't like it, I can just go by myself and you guys can stick to the old adventures that always, and I mean, always ended up with an old Greek man saying he's going to do something absolutely insane.” Jungkook took a hold of his mouse as he was about to click out of the tab, but a hand on his own stopped him. “You're not going by yourself, we've talked about this Jungkook. Just because one of us questions why you want to do it doesn't mean that we don't want to do it too, dummy. We just want your reason so we can discuss.” Namjoon reprimanded, now taking his hand off of Jungkook’s. The other man behind Namjoon wasn’t as enthusiastic as any of them were: “I don't want to go; it's in the ocean, there are sharks in, and we're going to die.” Hoseok declared, tapping his foot in what seemed like anger or extreme anxiety. “You think everything is going to kill us, you scaredy cat. I think it's a great idea, since it seems really cool, but we'll have to really research it before we go out there, since it’s near an island and all, and I'm sure we’re gonna need scuba diving training so we can collect evidence from there, so if we choose to tackle this, we’re need to start soon.” Jin pointed out, draping his arms languidly on the back of Jungkook’s desk as he smiled towards the timid man. “Namjoon, do you want to do it? ‘cause of you say yes, we’re spend the rest of today researching and finding out more about the location.” Jungkook said, looking up at the man standing beside his chair. Namjoon, being the most prominent leader of their group, always got the final say before any of them dove headfirst into the world of investigation. Namjoon raised his eyebrows knowingly at Jungkook, giving his own smirk to him before addressing the rest of the group. “Let's do it. Hoseok, you're shit out of luck my friend, we’re not going to any pyramids this time around.” Namjoon said with a laugh. He patted Jungkook’s back before walking away to begin preparations. Hoseok cried out in agony, roughly gripping his hair as he stomped away, his cowardly demeanor reigning supreme, but he was by far the best researcher that their small group had ever seen, and they had been through plenty of sketchy adventures together to know he was just nervous. Namjoon and Jungkook have been dreaming of becoming world famous explorers since they were teenagers, especially considering the fact that they're brothers and their parents did the same thing they wanted to do until they had to retire a few years back. Since then, the brothers looked around the Korea, trying to find people that thought logic was over reason, and they'd gone through at least 10 other people before they had gotten to where they currently were, with Kim Seokjin for their main evidence collector and analyzer, and Jung Hoseok as their secondary researcher with Jungkook and Namjoon filling in the gaps. The four of them worked perfectly together, their minds almost in sync with each other; they were a well oiled machine that couldn’t be stopped. Jungkook continued looking through the thread he found on this graveyard and examined photos of the island they would be staying at. Namjoon took the reigns on going fully into the the geography of the surrounding ocean and where this underwater graveyard was located, so they could travel easily and know where they were going to dive. Jin called around to find scuba diving classes for them so they could effectively explore and take photographs and Jungkook wouldn’t be heavily burdened with the task alone. Hoseok was (angrily) finding books on the history of the island and ocean what they would be expecting to encounter above and below water. They went on a researching rampage for weeks, finding every little thing they could on the island that was near the underwater graveyard, but Jungkook was still caught up with one of the photos he found of it. There seemed to be what could only called a mermaid of sorts from behind a thick veil of sand being kicked up by the photographer, picking a shell up off the ocean floor with other objects cradled in their arms. It had a black tail, pale skin that was sprinkled with freckles, and a mop of pastel blue hair, but it was only seen in that one picture, and even then it wasn’t entirely visible or reliable. It could have been edited, despite it being on the site he always used of certified photographs of adventurers. He thought of asking Hoseok what he thought it was since he had been ranting non-stop about the dangers of the ocean, but kept it to himself because it would make Hoseok not want to go even more. He shrugged it off as someone pranking the photographer or even sabotaging the photo, even after he read the photographer’s baffled explanation of what had happened how he couldn’t explain what he saw. He pushed it to the back of his mind and tried not to let it bother him too much. Another two weeks passed, and during that time all four of the explorers got their scuba lessons, their plane tickets, and a boat that they could use; Hoseok has an uncle that lives on the island and offered to take care of them while they stayed on the island as well as taking them out to where they needed to be, even if Hoseok did try to get him to deny them a place to stay so they didn't have to go in the first place. Their trip was two weeks after their scuba lessons came to an end, and Jungkook couldn't be more ecstatic for their trip, staying up all night and sharing his ideas racing through his head with Namjoon and Jin. Their unwillingness to sleep was so bad that Namjoon threatened to cancel the trip; sure, they could all sleep on the plane, but it wouldn't the greatest sleep they could get and would most likely be tired all day, but it was his own fault for encouraging the late conversations. The morning they left, they had their bags packed like they were going to be gone forever, and Jungkook liked it that way. It was his own thrill of these escapades that they go on, to think they would never come back, but he also loved the idea of returning to his comfy bed and safety of his home. The plane ride would be one of the longest they would have to go on since they had become a group, but it would be well worth it, finally stepping out of their comfort zones and doing a case out in the ocean instead of on land where they normally thrive. On the plane, Namjoon got the worst seat of the bunch, his seat was constantly being kicked from behind by a whiny four year old and he was one too many seat kicks in to even fully care once they were in the last 30 minutes of flight. Jungkook offered to switch with him at least twice as he stared at his sleep deprived brother, but Namjoon was as stubborn as a mule, putting up with it through the 10 plus hour flight. The moment they landed and got their stuff Hobi started in on his cowardly screeching about how the flight they had just been on was the worst one by far, although, that was purely his opinion, as everyone else had thought it was an okay flight. The turbulence may have been slightly more extreme than normal, but it really didn't take much to spook Hobi. Hobi’s uncle was in the airport lobby waiting for the four men to come down the stairs. Of course, the man was excited to see his nephew after it had been so many years since he'd last seen him. After a hug between the uncle and nephew, the man introduced himself to the others and started leading them towards the exit so they could get to the house that they would be staying in. However, it wasn’t so much a house, and it was less than impressive in its size, especially because the four of them were all sharing one small room in what Jin considered a peasant hut. The first few hours on the island were spent napping, as the flight had left them all drained and exhausted. It was to be expected that they would feel that way. Jungkook awoke late into the evening, long before anyone else was stirring, and softly padded through the house and went outside to go on a short walk. He ended up walking by a pier, where he sat down on the edge with his feet hanging off, but not quite touching the water. The moonlight cascaded across the water, the sheen reflecting into Jungkook’s eyes. He watched the waves hit the rocks, making soft splashing noises that felt all too calming in this surreal environment. When Jungkook initially went to the pier, he didn't intend on finding anything, but something rather curious appeared before his eyes. He saw a silhouette of a person up on a rock, sitting and bathing in the moonlight. It felt all too much like a feverish dream, as from what he could see, it looked eerily like the mermaid figure from the image he had looked at before the group arrived on the island. The hair on top of their head seemed to glow white in the moonlight, their facial features, from what Jungkook could see, were sharp but also gentle. Jungkook couldn't stop himself from standing up on the pier to get a better look at them. Letting his impulses get the best of him, Jungkook cupped his hands into an O shape and began to shout, “Hello, you over there on the rock! What are you doing out so late?” This shout seemed to get their attention, but instead of replying, they jumped off the rock and dove into the water. Jungkook waited a moment, but they didn't reappear after that. It confused the explorer, but all he could do was start walking back as he shook his head, as he needed to head back before someone else woke up and started to worry that he went missing. Jungkook arrived back at the house when the sun started rising, and the only person up was Hobi’s uncle, who seemed surprised when Jungkook stumbled back into the house looking confused yet amazed. “Where'd you go this early in the morning?” The man asked, pouring himself a cup of coffee. He took a seat on a lopsided chair that creaked under his weight next to an equally slanted tea table. Jungkook laughed quietly. “I, uh, went down to the pier, and it left me with a question.” The man hummed as he took a long drag of his coffee, encouraging Jungkook to continue. “What is it?” “Is it possible, say, that there are mermaids around here? I-I know it sounds crazy, but while we were looking up information about this island, there was this picture that appeared and it looked like, well, a mermaid. I thought a local like you would know more about it than the internet.” Jungkook questioned, twiddling with his thumbs as the man continued to take a sip of his coffee. The man only chuckled at Jungkook's question. “Kid, do you really think mermaids exist? ‘cause if you do, I got some news for you.” “I'm skeptical at best, but lay it on me.” Jungkook said, perking up and every trace of timidness leaving his body as he leaned towards the man. The man made a “come hither” motion with his fingers, telling Jungkook to come in closer. He stepped up to the table and leaned in towards Jungkook, and whispered, “They're not real. Get your head out of the clouds, kid.” Jungkook didn't say anything, grimacing as he fell back into his seat, his face saying everything for him. Hobi’s uncle seemed to feel at least slightly guilty after telling Jungkook that, but he needed to know the truth.

There was an awkward silence for a few moments before Hobi’s uncle spoke again. “We're heading out to sea in a few hours, why don't you go in and wake everyone up so they can get ready to go.” Jungkook nodded. He headed off into the shared room and saw that Jin was already awake, sitting on the edge of the bed attempting to lace up his boots. “Good morning, Jin.” Jungkook said quietly, as to not wake up the others. “I heard your conversation with Hobi's uncle. What did you see that made you think that mermaids exist?” Jin asked, quickly tying his laces as he went to stand up to face Jungkook. “I saw a man, at least I think it was, sitting up on a rock a little ways into the ocean, and I tried saying hi to him and asked him what he was doing, but I think I scared him, so he jumped into the water and didn't resurface like anyone else would have. So, I think I saw a mermaid.” Jungkook rambled on, confusion painted across his face. Jin hummed as he tapped his index finger to his lower lip. “I think you could be onto something, but then again, I believed it when I saw it the picture from a while back. Maybe we'll find out more today.” Jungkook grinned, nodding before he went to wake up Namjoon and Hobi and nag them to start getting ready. It only took an hour for them to prep and pack up food they'd need for the several hour boat trip. Hobi’s uncle drove the boat after Namjoon had given him the coordinates to the approximate area the underwater cemetery was, and it was only then that the group decided who would be diving in and checking out the cemetery. Jungkook and Jin volunteered to go and got prepared as the boat came to a stop. They both slipped into the water with their gear and dived under to be quickly met with the cemetery, but it wasn’t without surprise. Jungkook tried to gasp, but he stopped himself before he could, because the probability of choking was high. Hobi’s uncle was wrong. Mermaids were real. The same one from the photo was right in front of the pair of young men, a black tail calmly swishing back and forth, freckled pale skin crowned with pastel blue hair and all. Jin looked at Jungkook in surprise and they both swam back up. It had been less than five minutes since they’d gone down, and when they surfaced, Namjoon looked surprised when both of them popped back up so quickly, Hoseok panicking and throwing a camera he was holding in his panic. “What’s going on, what happened?” Namjoon asked, rushing to peer over at the two who were still in the water. Jungkook took out his mouth piece to speak to Namjoon. “We saw- we saw a mermaid, Hobi’s uncle lied.” “What the hell are you going on about? You probably saw a fish of all things, now get back down there and look around. We may have all day, but that doesn't mean I want to be out here for that long.” Hobi's uncle shouted from the captain's bay.

Jungkook sighed before looking over to Jin with a saddened look. Jin could only try to comfort the boy with a reassuring smile before they went back under the water. When they went back down, the mermaid they had seen was already gone and all that was left was the ruins of the cemetery, completely open for them to explore.

Jungkook swam to get closer to one of the headstones that had been previously caked with sand and seaweed, but he could make out some of the words on the headstone. Jin was right next to him with their underwater camera taking photos of each thing Jungkook had pointed out, however the photo session had ended rather quickly when the same mermaid from before came between Jin and Jungkook, looking rather upset with the two of them. The boys were taken aback. The mermaid pointed up at the surface and Jin, being the coward he is, swam up as fast as he could. Jungkook hesitated for a moment before the mermaid got fed up with waiting and grabbed Jungkook’s arm, dragging him up to the surface with no remorse.

When Jungkook broke to the surface he looked around and saw that the mermaid from before was in front of them. He was pushing his pastel blue hair back from his face and looked at Jin and Jungkook angrily. They were a short distance away from the boat.

“What are you two doing? You don’t have permission from my leader to touch those!” The mermaid yelled.

Jin and Jungkook looked at each other in shock before Jungkook replied to the angry creature. “You see, we’re explorers. We found this place, and we wanted to solve the mystery as to why it was down there in the first place, please don’t yell at us.”

The mermaid’s expression softened. “Oh… I suppose you’re not from around here, with all the legends and history and all. If you wish, I can bring my leader to you and you may ask permission to continue your search.”

Jin smiled gratefully. “That would be wonderful, uh, whatever your name is.”

The mermaid looked a bit surprised. “I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Yoongi, merprince of the Grand Isles. It’s wonderful to make your acquaintance.”

Jungkook tried not to look shocked. “Well Yoongi, I’m Jungkook, and this is my friend Jin. The rest of my friends are on the boat, they will greet you when you come back with your leader.”

Yoongi nodded and dove back down into the water. Both Jin and Jungkook looked up the boat to see the shocked faces of Namjoon, Hobi, and Hobi’s uncle. They couldn’t believe what had just gone down. It only took a matter of minutes for Namjoon and Hobi to put on their wetsuits and gear to join them in the water, and only a few more for Yoongi to return with his leader. There were a few complications, as his leader had run head first into the boat, thinking that it was a whale he had made friends with.

“Yoongi, how can you trust these people? They travel by whale and you of all people should know why we don’t deal with people who ride whales out into our area.” The leader said, holding his head as he spoke.

Yoongi sighed. “It’s not a whale Tae, it’s what they call a boat. I’m not exactly sure what that is, but it’s not an animal, that’s for sure.”

Jungkook cleared his throat to catch the attention of the two merpeople in front of him. “Uhm, sorry to interrupt, but I just needed to ask you a question.”

The mermaid who hit his head on the boat, who Jungkook assumed was named Tae, whipped around and looked at Jungkook dead in the face. “Oh, yes, what’s your question land prince?”

Jungkook tried not to laugh at being called a “land prince”. “It was brought to my attention that I needed your permission to investigate that cemetery under the water, so if you could please give us the permission to do so, that would be lovely.”

Tae hummed, bobbing up and down in the water. “You may, land prince, but Yoongi must assist you. He knows the area better than I, so I will leave this to you land princes, thank you for asking.”

Yoongi looked shocked. “Taehyung, are you sure? Wouldn’t Jimin be a better fit for this? He’s better with the land people than I am.”

Taehyung sighed. “Jimin is busy dealing with your mother and her hoarding problem, and if you’re not careful, he’ll be helping you with that next.”

“I’m not a hoarder! I just have a shell collection!” Yoongi exclaimed, crossing his arms across his chest.

Jin chuckled at the banter between the two men. “Thank you for allowing us to do this, is there anyway we can repay you for this?”

Taehyung snapped quickly to look at Jin. “Hmm, you are land people, what can you give me in return?” He pondered for a moment before looking at Jungkook, giving him a once-over. “Can I have that shiny thing around your neck, land prince?”

Jungkook looked at his neck. His small gold chain had escaped from inside his wetsuit. Jungkook nodded quickly. “You can have this one, be sure to take care of it.”

He unclasped the necklace from his neck and quickly went to put it on Taehyung. The mermaid looked at it around his neck, overjoyed and quickly hugged Jungkook before diving back down into the water, and Jungkook could only assume he was going back to wherever he lived in the ocean.

Yoongi then sighed and looked at the four men in the water. “If I’m helping, what do you want me to do?”

Jin looked down at the camera. “My tank is almost out, so can you help Jungkook by taking pictures of the things he points at? Do you think you can handle that?”

“What’s a picture?” Yoongi asked dumbfoundedly.

Jungkook felt like it was a silly question, but then he remembered, Yoongi had probably never seen a camera in his life. “You see that thing around Jin’s neck? It takes pictures. Pictures are a snapshot of something you’re seeing in this very moment, and are used for memory or evidence. All you have to do is point the end with the big protruding cylinder at what I point to, and then press the little button on the top right side for the camera to save it.”

Yoongi nodded. “I think I understand. I think I can do that, but why do you need these pictures, can’t you just stay here until you figure it out?”

Hobi shook his head. “No, we can’t stay in the water like you, we have to go back home before the sun sets and it gets dark, so we need these pictures so we can analyze them and come back tomorrow to see if we can find more stuff about the cemetery.”

Yoongi pouted. “What am I supposed to do while you’re gone? I can’t come with you to land.”

Namjoon looked a bit upset. “You have friends you can spend time with, right? We can come find you tomorrow morning when we get back out here, okay?”

Yoongi nodded, his pout still on his face. Jin handed Yoongi the camera and left Jungkook and Yoongi to take the pictures. For Yoongi’s first time with a camera, he didn’t do too bad. They only had to retake a few of the pictures that Yoongi had accidently gotten his finger in, which was impressive to say the least. Jungkook expected to have to retake a bunch more, but at this rate, he had high hopes for Yoongi being their helper.

Before Jungkook and the others got back up on the boat Yoongi stopped them and looked at the four of them with determination in his eyes.

“In return for helping you, may I ask that you teach me land prince things? I would love to know how you do things up there.” Yoongi huffed shyly.

Jungkook smiled. “Of course, Yoongi. We can help with that.”

Yoongi got a slight blush on his face, but the other men couldn’t see it as they were all climbing back up on the boat so they could head back to shore. There was only silence between the men on the boat, mainly because of the heat finally hitting them after being on the boat for so long, the trip back to the pier seeming like it took less time than it took to get out there in the first place. The moment they stepped off the boat, exhaustion hit them all like ton of bricks, whether it was from the jet lag still clinging on to them or because of being on a boat all day, but they were all ready to crash when they stepped into the the house, even if it meant literally piling on top of each other.

The only thing the boys did before deciding to go to bed was eat the meal that Hobi’s uncle had cooked up before stumbling down the hallway to their room. The room echoed with the sounds of snores of four tired men. At first Jungkook couldn’t get comfortable in the dog pile that ended up happening, he got used to the pressure of the bodies on top of him that kept him warm and cozy. Jungkook had wanted to sleep for the rest of eternity, but only after a few hours of sleep he was awoken by something strange. Luckily for him the others had all managed to roll off him and had either ended up beside him or on the ground.

He quickly got out of bed and shuffled his way out of the room and to the hallway. The house was extremely dark, the only light coming from the moon the shone through the windows. That’s when he heard the noise again, this time, more clear. Someone was crying for help. Jungkook ran to the door and slipped on his shoes before bolting outside to find the source of the screaming. He first looked over to the pier, trying to see if it was someone stuck on the sea. But he saw nothing, it wasn’t until he looked over to the small beach that he saw it, or him, as Jungkook recognized the body on the sandy beach and tried to sprint there as fast as he could.

Jungkook didn’t care how much his shoes were kicking up sand, he needed to get to Yoongi, who had somehow got himself beached about halfway up from the water. Jungkook must have gotten to Yoongi just in time, as he looked so happy to see Jungkook running towards him at full speed to save him. Jungkook quickly picked Yoongi up and ran with him in his arms towards the ocean. He let himself get to chest level in the water before letting Yoongi out of his arms to swim on his own.

“Yoongi, what the hell were you thinking, you can’t just go on land like that!” Jungkook shouted.

Yoongi covered his ears over Jungkook’s loud voice. “Don’t shout at me, it hurts my ears. I followed you and your other land friends back here and I thought that maybe if I went on land I would turn human...again.”

Jungkook looked at Yoongi confusedly. “Again? What do you mean again?”

Yoongi huffed. “It’s all sort of hazy, but I remember walking on this beach, but then everything went black and I was in the water, and I had a tail and gills. I’ve been in the ocean since then, but every now and then I get flashes of that day, I remember seeing the cemetery and I hear someone else’s voice there with me, reading some sort of incantation in the language of the sea, but that’s all I remember right now, but I have a feeling that something is going on that has to do with the cemetery and why my memories are all hazy and why I became, well this.”

Jungkook gave Yoongi a baffled look. “Yoongi, you’ve just helped us so much, I’ll explain tomorrow, but I think you just helped link a lot of things that didn’t make sense before.”

Yoongi clapped his hands happily. “I helped!”

“Yes you did, now, you stay here in the water until morning, the others will come down here with me so you can hopefully dig in your memories to figure out more about that day. I need to get back to the house before someone realizes I’m gone again.” Jungkook said.

Yoongi nodded, but quickly looked at Jungkook. “Were you the one who was shouting last night, to get my attention?”

Jungkook slowly nodded. “Let me guess, you were the person on the rock that I saw.”

Yoongi laughed lightly. “Yeah, I was… why don’t you stay here, I’ll protect you from the water and from people who like coming to the beach during the morning.”

“Yoongi, I can’t. I’m all wet and I’ll catch a cold, which isn’t ideal right now.” Jungkook said sadly.

Yoongi huffed and crossed his arms against his chest. “Fine, but can you do one thing before you leave?”

“Sure, what do you want me to do Yoongi?” Jungkook asked.

“Can you boop my nose?” Yoongi asked with slight hesitation.

“Boop your nose? Why?” Jungkook asked.

“I-I just remembered someone booping my nose before I was like this, and thought it would help jumpstart my memories and help more-” Yoongi started.

His words were interrupted by Jungkook lightly touching his finger to Yoongi’s nose and softly pressing on the tip. Yoongi got a slight blush on his face before his face went completely blank and his eyes seemed to unfocus themselves from Jungkook’s face as he fell forward on to Jungkook’s chest. He caught him quickly before he could face plant into the water. There was a slight moment of panic when Yoongi's chin thudded against Jungkook's shoulder and didn't move for a moment, Jungkook could feel Yoongi's tail moving at a surprisingly fast rate, and it made Jungkook worry. He held on to Yoongi's body until he finally rose his head off Jungkook's shoulder and looked him in the eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that, I just had something come back to me and it wasn't expected." Yoongi said, slowly pushing himself off Jungkook.

Jungkook smiled softly. "Don't worry about it, okay? You can tell me everything that you just remembered when I come back later, I promise."

Yoongi finally nodded in agreement before Jungkook trudged his way out of the water. His clothing completely soaked with the salt water and his shoes suctioning themselves to the ocean floor. Yoongi watched sadly as Jungkook walked out of his sight, his figure shrinking and finally disappearing after getting up the steep hill that lead from the road to the beach. Jungkook felt bad about leaving Yoongi down there all by himself, especially after he'd just started helping Jungkook in figuring out how the cemetery had ended up on the ocean floor. The moment he made it back to the house, he saw all the lights on and at least three people looking worried. It was dead silent when Jungkook walked through the door. Jin, Namjoon and Hobi looked at him with relief when they saw him standing in the entrance way. Namjoon had a look in his eye that only Jungkook could understand.

"Namjoon, don't you dare hug me, I'm all wet and smell like sea water." Jungkook sighed.

Namjoon scoffed and looked at Jungkook with a smile. "Fine, but where the fuck did you go?"

"I'll tell you here in a minute, let me at least put on some dry clothes before I spill what the hell is going on here." Jungkook said, holding his arms up defensively.

The three men nodded before Jungkook took off to their shared bedroom so he could throw on a new shirt and a pair of sweats. He looked at himself in the mirror before he could walk out of the room, seeing his skin had been sunburned from the day previous, maybe he should have invested in some stronger sunscreen than he had used yesterday.

Jungkook walked out of the room once more and saw the three men squished on to the small striped sofa, all eagerly awaiting Jungkook to tell them about where he'd just been and why he was all wet. He grabbed one of the dining chairs and sat down in front of them.

Jungkook cleared his throat before he spoke. "So, I was down at the beach. I was only down there because I got woken up by someone screaming for help, and I'm glad I did because Yoongi had somehow made it halfway up the beach and seemed like he was going to die, so I just grabbed him and ran into the water to make sure he was okay, but after I did that he told me something interesting."

Jin looked confused. "What was it?"

"He used to be human. He's trying to remember how he ended up as mermaid, but he said it was all sort of hazy. I told him that he could explain the rest later when we go down there later, since he remembered more after I booped his nose." Jungkook said.

Namjoon laughed. "Why did you boop his nose?"

Jungkook sputtered. "U-uh he-he asked me to."

Hobi moved himself closer to the edge and pointed his finger at Jungkook. "How did he end up all the way up here? That's my question."

"He followed us back, don't worry about it, but the thing is, I think Yoongi is going to be able to help us a lot more than I originally thought." Jungkook said.

"Why do you say that, did he say something that added to our evidence?" Jin asked.

Jungkook nodded. "I should probably let him explain, he'll have all the details."

"Are we going down there now?" Hobi asked.

Jin shrugged. "I don't see why we can't, Yoongi must be lonely down there just waiting for us, don't you think?"

"Why not, let's get shoes on and head down there." Namjoon said.

Jungkook grabbed his second pair of slides that he had conveniently brought with him. The four men walked down the quiet roads until they reached the beach, where Jungkook spotted Yoongi resting his head on a rock near the shore, where his gills were still covered and he could breathe just fine. The four of them approached slowly, letting Jungkook lead the way. He stopped shortly before Yoongi's form, he didn't stir when Jungkook said his name. Yoongi had fallen asleep in the short time of Jungkook going back to the house, changing and coming back. Jungkook squatted down in front of Yoongi's head, softly running his fingers through his pastel locks before saying his name again. This time Yoongi looked up at the smiling Jungkook, who he'd never thought he's be happier to see again so quick.

"Hello land prince Jungkook." Yoongi said, a gummy smile appearing on his face.

"I brought the others with me so you can tell them what you told me, plus tell us what happened just before I left to get them." Jungkook said softly.

Yoongi lifted his head up and mumbled to himself before he looked at the four boys in front of him. "Listen. I'm sure Jungkook already told you I used to be human, but not everything, but as he probably said, I used to be human and I somehow ended up as a mermaid, and all I remember from that day was this lady touching my nose after some incantations in the language of the sea, and then I suddenly had a tail and gills. It all seems to have something to do with the cemetery though."

"I see what you mean now Jungkook. I'll be right back, I'm gonna go grab the pictures we took from yesterday and grab some drinks for us to try to start solving what's going on here, because I have a feeling there's a reason for Yoongi connecting some of this." Namjoon said, turning on his toes to run back towards the house.

In an unexpected turn the others left the Jungkook and Yoongi alone on the beach, which confused Jungkook quite a bit, but Yoongi didn't seem to mind much. Jungkook knew that they would be right back, but he couldn't help but to think that maybe being by himself with Yoongi was a good idea, as the man had taken a liking to him and he was rather okay with it. Jungkook looked down at Yoongi from his still squatting position and softly patted his head, getting the man's attention.

“Yes Jungkook?” Yoongi asked.

“It's nothing I just wanted to pat your head. Your hair feels a lot softer than I thought it would be.” Jungkook said, softly smiling at Yoongi.

A soft blush appeared on Yoongi's face. “H-hey Jungkook, could you uh… maybe do me a favor?”

Jungkook looked surprised. “What could this favor possibly be?”

“You see, I don't remember what a lot from when I was human, and I uh, I want you to kiss me.” Yoongi said, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

“Kiss you?” Jungkook asked.

“Uh yes, but I get it if you don't want to I get it, I'm part fish and uh-” Yoongi said, but stopped.

Jungkook was leaning in towards Yoongi’s face, their lips centimeters from meeting, just when Yoongi thought he was going to get what he wanted, someone yelling erupted from the entrance of the beach.

“We got all the stuff, we can start figuring everything out now!” Jin exclaimed excitedly as he ran towards both Jungkook and Yoongi.

Yoongi groaned and Jungkook backed away quickly as the others came running back up to the two men. Jungkook sighed and turned his attention to his partners running down the beach and with sand kicking up behind them until they came to a stop in front of them. They spent hours going through their pictures to connect what Yoongi was saying to their current evidence, only to come to a dead end, the only connections that they could make was the missing persons list from the area and the headstones that lied beneath the water, at least until Yoongi had another episode when Namjoon accidentally fell into the water after almost falling asleep after being sleep deprived for the last couple of days.

When Yoongi woke back up he looked panicked and like he was ready to jump out of his skin.

Jungkook looked worried about Yoongi before placing his hand on his back. “Are you okay Yoongi, what'd you remember?”

Yoongi gulped before speaking. “Sea witch, she's the one who kidnapped me and made me like this.”

Jungkook looked at Yoongi in shock before something seemed to switch in the air before them, and it seemed to scare off Yoongi as he plunged himself back into the water, but it seemed to quickly make sense as rain began pouring down from the sky and the four men had to run back to Hobi’s uncle's house to stay safe.

The rain had truly been upsetting for Jungkook, he'd wanted to finish Yoongi’s favor. He wasn't going to lie, in the short amount of time he'd taken a liking to Yoongi, he was a pretty boy and Jungkook quite liked his personality, but it was difficult to go see Yoongi once more, storms had gone through, making things difficult to leave or even say goodbye to Yoongi, but soon enough the sun finally shone through the sky and let the sky become blue instead of the green-grey it had been for weeks now.

The first thing Jungkook did when he saw the skies had cleared and there was no more rain, he sprinted down to the pier to see if Yoongi was anywhere in sight, and he stayed there almost all day, with no success in finding Yoongi, Jungkook knew he probably shouldn't have fallen for a man from the sea. When sunset came Jungkook finally decided to turn back towards Hobi’s uncle's house, feeling dejected and upset.

The street lights illuminated the streets as the sun went down and as he went back towards the house, but something stopped him, there was a shout and the sound of feet hitting the pavement. Jungkook turned around to see someone in the distance, he'd stopped in his tracks and watched as the person stopped in the street light, that shone on him like a spot light. It was Yoongi. Jungkook felt his heart jump to his throat as he ran towards the man in happiness.

Yoongi smiled and opened his arms to let Jungkook hug him, and the impact of the hug nearly knocked Yoongi on to the ground, the smile on both of their faces was enough to say thousands of unsaid words. It was only then that Jungkook pressed his lips into Yoongi’s, their lips molding perfectly to each other. Their kiss seemed to feel like it was going to last forever, but it was truly only seconds.

When Jungkook pulled away from Yoongi, it was only then did he realize that Yoongi was completely nude and that Yoongi had become embarrassed over his lack of clothing.

Jungkook chuckled. “You're cute when you're embarrassed, but let's head up to the house, I'm sure Hobi has some clothes that will fit you.”

Yoongi nodded and smiled. “Thank you, being nude isn't fun when you're trying to find someone in the dark.”

Jungkook laughed in agreement as Yoongi took his hand and they both walked up the roads to Hobi’s uncle's house. It was busy in there as they had finished their research and Jin had started working on an outline for their report for when they got back to Korea, but everything seemed to stop when the two of them walked through the door, and almost as if Hobi could read Jungkook's mind he motioned Yoongi over to him to take him into their cramped bedroom to get him some at least decent fitting clothes. When Yoongi and Hobi stepped back out, Yoongi went right back to Jungkook's side and quickly, clinging to his arm as fast as he could.

Yoongi had helped Jungkook pack up his things and looked sad when he realized that Jungkook would be leaving him on the island, never to be seen again.

“Jungkookie, can I go with you?” Yoongi asked quietly.

Jungkook turned to the man on the floor. “I don't know, do you have a passport to get back to Korea?”

Yoongi shook his head. “I don't know where it is. I was down there for so long that I'm not even sure if I had one.”

Jungkook sighed. “I know you don't wanna stay here, but I may be able to do something, since you were on the missing persons list, I'm sure they can get you back there no problem.”

Yoongi smiled the same gummy smile that Jungkook had quickly fallen for from the moment he saw it.

Returning home was a total 180 from their flight to the island, it was quiet and very little turbulence, but as soon as they returned to the office, called the missing persons line to get Yoongi back to Korea after deciding that he would stay until they got back. The report of what was going on out in the ocean had gone out and reached government officials quickly, who quickly shut down accusations of their report being fictitious and a scam, as they had known of the existence of the creatures before they had discovered them on the island.

It only took a week for Yoongi to return to Korea and to have Jungkook back in his arms. Yoongi had most of his memories back at this point and enjoyed knowing that he wasn't going to have to be retaught everything, which was fortunate as Yoongi wanted to restart his life, but with Jungkook now in the picture, and he liked it that way.

floralyoongii © 2018

Step by Step - BTS Fan Fiction (Chapter 4)

Chapter 4 - 2k word count

"Haneul, you're biting your nails."

I snapped back to my senses with these words. A voice belonging to Young Jae echoes throughout the dimly lit, empty cafe space as he returns to his conversation on his phone with his girlfriend. After the meeting with Mr. Kim Chul Soo we've reached the decision that waiting in the cafe was the best option was for us to sit out the whole day in the cafe until it's late at night when all the crowds have left so avoid as much public contact as possible. It was also a safety concern for both ourselves and... The reputation of BTS... the CCTVs in the cafe made sure we weren't leaving anytime soon. It would've been bad if we were mobbed by overly passionate fans but... even worse in the values of BigHit to have us blabber about something else that may lead to more public outrage. How these values came to be absolutely baffled me... Although, I do admit I can see why any celebrity's livelihood would easily outweigh mine any day of the week.

I could feel my senses dulling as I drearingly sipped on my 4th latte of the day. There wasn't much I could do with my phone gone, probably sold off somewhere by now. Apart from some ridiculously old phone games, which I grew bored of within minutes, Young Jae was the only form of entertainment that I had around me all day and he's starting to wear out as well. Sleep didn't come to me at all despite how tired I felt, all the adrenalin from running through the endless scenarios of what may happen soon kept me all too awake and aware of the world that I lived in right now. The company phone ringing jolts me from my stupor. "Must be someone coming to pick us up" I thought to myself. As suspected it was a call from Mr. Kim Chul Soo himself telling us where our car is waiting for us and the plate number.

Young Jae and I left the building promptly after calling up our boss to join us. Young Jae and I were exhausted from this eventful and tiring day despite the fact that we haven't even moved around a fraction as much as we would've on any normal day. Carefully slinking about the narrow streets even though most of the crowds in Itaewon have already went home was just a precaution Young Jae and I made, we've decided today was enough exposure for a lifetime. We arrive at a black van with the same car plate mentioned to us earlier and receive confirmation from the driver that we're supposed to be the people that he's picking up. There was no awkwardness or excitement about being picked up by staff and a vehicle owned by BigHit. I've hardly ever been in a car since my time here in Seoul, nevermind such a nice one. If it wasn't for the fact that this car ride was sending me to what may possibly be the most stressful meeting I'd ever face in my entire life, I might've actually enjoyed it.

After a short drive we arrive and pull up outside the BigHit office building. I've never seen photos of the new building and it blends in inconspicuously with the other buildings around the area, no signs to signal unwanted eyes. We were guided up and into a medium sized meeting room by the man who drove us here, taking no chances for us to wander off by ourselves. Is this how it feels like to be under arrest? As we sit I notice how the bright fluorescent lights highlighted the dark circles underneath Young Jae’s eyes. I could only imagine that mine look worse. The man who drove us over asked if we would like some tea and the three of us lightly declined the offer. I’d personally would much prefer if they let us leave and go home without further ado.

Mr. Chul Soo enters the room wordlessly and holds the door open as Suga enters the room, lips pursed tight in an emotion which I could only read as a mixture of annoyance, exhaustion and guilt. Jin follows in a similar fashion as the previous. The men all sit down opposite of us, Suga and Jin meeting all of our eyes and giving us all each a polite nod. I nod back in return as Mr. Kim Chul Soo begins speaking to signal the beginning of the end of this entire fiasco.

“I hope you don’t mind as I record this meeting as I did before, I’ll also be typing up the conclusions we will reach tonight on my laptop so we get an agreement signed within the next couple of hours.” We all promptly nod and the meeting began. The air in the meeting room was thick with tension especially from me as I was expecting the most repercussion from the matter at hand… Just because I happened to be a girl…

“Let’s hear about Jin’s side of the story first, may I also add that your little late night venture was unauthorized by your manager.” Said Chul Soo expectedly

Jin cleared his throat before he began and sat up straight in his chair before he began speaking, as if he prepared this speech prior to this meeting.

“Well, you see, I was left quite hungry after our rehearsals that day. I was also finding it hard to adapt to our diet back then as we just began training up from our off season.” He flashed a look at Suga before returning to his speech, “As Namjoon suggested this cafe to us before, I was excited to go as it was a nice walking distance from our house and… I just asked Yoongi to come along with me. I know it was my fault for taking pictures with the staff together but… I…”

Chul Soo cut through as Jin trailed off, “Ok I get the idea, Suga?”

“It wasn’t really much to be honest, it happened as how Jin said it. It’s not like you guys don’t know we already sneak out for food, it just came out badly this time.” Suga said a matter of factly. Chul Soo took a deep breath in, seemingly done with Suga’s careless tone.

“I believe that this situation can be resolved easily with this newly added information. Mr Jung, let us step out for a few moments please.” The two men then left to discuss outside the room, voices muffled, leaving the four of us sitting in awkward silence.

Only now do I realize that I’m casually sitting across two internationally renowned celebrities, whom I’ve admired from afar and now I get to see them close up. Although the situation was far less from ideal I began noticing things about them which you can’t unless if you’ve met them up close, without all the makeup, costumes and lights. Although Jin’s skin was smooth and barely had any blemishes, it was just blooming a pinkish tinge around his eyes, nose and cheeks, a common result of sensitive skin. Suga had the palest skin I’ve ever seen, I know many people would kill for such a fair complexion. Despite his skin being pale there were imperfections about him, a light sheen of oil can be seen on his forehead through his bangs all the way down his nose and along his cheekbones. Small spots darkened from acne could be seen along his jawline and neck. It wasn’t until now that I was able to see them as… people. Suga then began speaking.

“I’m sorry we didn’t decline the photos, it would’ve been all cleared up by now if we kept you out of the photo.”

“Ah no, don’t worry so mu-”

“It’s technically a violation of our contract. It’s here to protect both sides but… I’m sorry. I felt rude to mention it at the time but I guess that just made it worse. I just want to apologize if I came off as rude earlier, I’m not very good at talking until I’ve gathered all my thoughts together.”

Everyone around the table pursed their lips together, I never thought far enough for something in BTS’ contracts would also be in place to protect fans’ privacy. The fact that I now know these boys had a responsibility to refuse the pictures in the first place made me feel a little bit better about my own mess up but… Also more depressing to know that they’re not free of their job’s duties even in their own time.

Mr Kim and Mr Jung then entered the room shortly and showed us the document which we had to sign. It dictated something around the usual of what I would expect, we do not discuss what happened whatsoever, the pictures are deleted from Young Jae’s phone, we don’t say anything against the official statement to be released later etc. There were arguably some grey areas but there was just one question that itched at the back of my mind.

“Does that mean BTS can’t return to our cafe anymore?” I said aloud. Chul Soo replied with a question of his own.

“Why do you want them to return? Even after all this nasty trouble?”

“I…” I gulped, “I want to be able to offer them a safe space, protect them from prying eyes and give them peace in return for their hard work. I hope that the cafe becomes a comfort to them.” I don’t know what came over me at this moment but the most heartfelt of words came to me. I so longed to be able return the gratitude that I have for these boys. Not only from the fact that they tried to apologize to me when shit hit the fan but also for being there for me in their music. For supporting me, communicating to me and saving me in my worst of times. No matter if I can give them everything money can buy in the world or if it’s only the comfort of a cup of coffee which I can provide to them then so be it.

“Well I ca-”

“The agreement never stated it explicitly.” Suga cut in,

The whole table went quiet as Chul Soo nodded and pushed the documents towards the three of us. We quickly signed the documents and which an exhale, I could slowly feel life returning to normal. Jin let out a yawn, quickly covered by a hand with crooked fingers, signalling the end of a long day.

We were ushered to leave together by Chul Soo and as I exited the room I felt a hand squeezing my shoulder. I looked back, expecting to see Young Jae standing behind me but instead I see it’s Jin who did so. He simply looked ahead as if he did it out of habit, weird. We got down to the lobby of the building and bowed to each other to say goodnight and bid each other goodbye. Young Jae, Mr Jung and I got into the same car which picked us up and were each driven home one by one, I was the last one still in the car as I lived the furthest out from the city. I thought back on what I said earlier about why I wanted BTS to keep visiting the cafe and I couldn’t help but smile bittersweetly at my feelings. As if my heart beats suddenly became painstakingly overbearing for me I felt hollow thuds pulling at my being with each beat. It must just be from the exhaustion I thought to myself, it’s stupid to think that I’d be feeling sad over something so trivial. I arrive soundly at the building which my apartment block is in and thank the staff who drove me and make my way up into the building, into the simple yet comforting little nest I’ve made for myself here. Flopping down onto my mattress, “Everything will be better when I wake up tomorrow” I think to myself as I close my eyes.