TWO

We have finally arrived in Seoul. Being able to walk around more than a few feet makes me less anxious about the impending meeting with BTS. As soon as we enter the public space of the airport, my team and I are greeted with dozens of paparazzi and fans. People from many different age ranges are cheering and yelling my name. Martin waves, eating it all up. My heart is in my throat.

Martin pats my back and lowers his lips to my ear so I can hear his instructions over the screaming fans. "You will stand here for a few minutes and allow them to take a few pictures of you. Once they seem satisfied with what they have, we will head to the van that will take us to the studio. Understood?"

All I can do is nod. I am so nervous by all the people that are here. In America, the number of people that wait for my arrival at an airport has never been like this. I clear my throat and stand awkwardly by myself as Martin and my team watch from the sidelines with the group of people. No wonder Martin demanded an outfit change and some makeup. He must have anticipated something like this.

After only five minutes, Martin waves me over. We walk off to the exit and into a white van big enough for the entire team. I shove my backpack off and toss my hair up in a messy bun. Everyone is already on their phone to see what the local blogs are saying about my arrival. The comments range from my outfit to 'what are her intentions?'. I am tempted to check my phone as well, but I resist and keep it in my bag. I lean my head onto the window.

Martin notices and softly pinches my arm. He is being unusually nice to me and it feels awkward. The entire plane ride he checked on me constantly to make sure I was in good spirits. Any plane ride we've had together, we ignore each other and only speak when necessary.

"How are you, Jess? I know you're nervous, but it'll be over soon. I'm sorry for putting you on the spot like this, but this has been our goal since the beginning. Cheer up, please."

I give him a small smile. "I'll feel better when this is all over with."

He nods and leaves me alone for the entire ride to the studio. After a thirty minute drive, we arrive at the studio. The building is huge and is covered with windows. There is not a single space of wall that doesn't have a window.

I walk behind my team with Martin right by my side. As we walk, I notice more paparazzi with cameras. I try to walk confidently but fail miserably. Martin puts a hand on my shoulder and guides me softly to the entrance of the building.

Once inside, Martin speaks to the women at the front desk. After a brief exchange, they lead us to a greenroom with my name on the door. Just a few doors away, I see another name that almost makes me faint. The other door reads 'BTS'. I walk inside quickly, afraid they'll come out and I'll have to meet them before I am ready.

As I am getting my makeup done, a knock on the door startles everyone. Martin opens it and welcomes a woman into our room. She is Korean, but she speaks in such perfect English that we are all taken aback. She explains the schedule of the show and what to expect. When she is done, she turns to me with a huge smile on her face that makes me nercous.

"Jessie, the boys have just arrived. They're all very eager to meet you. Apparently they're all huge fans of yours. Would you like to meet them now, or would you prefer to wait until we start filming? I asked them what they wanted to do in regards to meeting you and they all agreed the correct thing to do would be to allow you to make the choice."

My eyes shoot over to Martin who is standing right next to me. He smiles and gives me a small shrug. "Up to you, princess. However, I think it'd make great TV to get your genuine reaction to meeting them for the first time."

All I can do is nod. The woman claps her hands and is almost jumping up and down with excitement. It seems everyone is more excited about this encounter than I am. "I will let the boys know. I think they'll be disappointed, but they'll understand. I'll see you out there, Jessie!"

Almost an hour later I am waiting at a door waiting for my que to step out onto the stage of the talk show. I am so nervous; my palms are ridiculously sweaty. Martin stands just a few feet away from me. He is saying reassuring things to me but I can barely hear them over the beating of my heart in my ears. I am only minutes away from meeting BTS. I am only minutes away from being face-to-face with a man I have strong feelings for but have never met.

"Jess?" I notice Martin staring at me with concern in his eyes.

I smile at him as I wipe the sweat from my hands on my dress. "I'm fine. I'm sorry."

Suddenly, the doors start to open and the man conducting the interview yells my name. I take a deep breath and walk out onto the stage with trembling legs. How I made it to the couch I will never know.

The man, Tae Min, shakes my hand and seems almost as excited as the fans in the audience. I smile warmly at everyone and I feel my face begin to warm up.

"Jessie!" He also speaks perfect English. "We are so excited to have you on the show! This is probably the most anticipated interview in the show's history. Our viewer count keeps going up! Now, Jessie, did you get a chance to meet BTS before the show?"

I laugh. "Thank you for having me! Seoul has welcomed me so warmly and with open arms. In regards to your question, I have not. I was asked if I wanted to, but we figured it would be best to capture my reaction to meeting BTS for the first time on camera."

"From what I heard, there is a specific member you revealed having feelings for on this show in America. Can you refresh our memories as to who that member is?"

I almost faint. I have to admit to having feelings for Jungkook again? I take a deep breath. "Jungkook."

The crowd erupts and I suddenly feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn around and see the man I've fantasized about meeting for years right in front of me. Jeon Jungkook.

He is beautiful. He is wearing all black: a black button up shirt with black jeans. He has a huge smile on his face and offers the hand that was on my shoulder to me. I unsteadily place my hand in his and he stands me up, taking me into a sudden embrace. I return the hug with jelly arms and legs. When he lets go of me, I fall into the couch and cup my face. I see myself in the monitor just a few feet in front of me. I am red and my mouth is hanging open. I try to close it but I can't. Jungkook is now sitting next to me, his leg just a few inches away from mine. He has his arm behind me, resting on the couch.

Tae Min is also cupping his face and blushing. Now speaking in Korean, he turns his attention to Jungkook. A device that was given to me before the interview is in my ear. The person on the other end of the device is the woman I met earlier. She is there to translate everything that is said on the show. Every member of BTS, except Namjoon, was also given one so they can understand when I speak English.

"Jeon Jungkook! You are being unusually forward with Jessie! Is there a reason for that?"

The audience goes crazy again and I still can't take my hands off my face.

"I'm a huge fan of hers. We all are, actually. I'm not one who can easily hold back."

The audience whoops uncontrollably. I take a quick glance at Jungkook. He smiles at me and winks. I finally remove my hands from my face and stare at Tae Min.

After a few minutes of small talk and a short recap of the last time I spoke about Jungkook, Tae Min finally announces the other members. They all walk out and are met by more cheers than I was. I smile and also do my own bit of cheering. Each member approaches me one by one with a small hug. Taehyung, however, manages to squeeze between Jungkook and I. It's now his arm that is resting behind me on the couch. Jungkook seems unbothered, not saying anything or making any faces to Taehyung. Now that there is some space between Jungkook and I, I can finally breathe and act more like myself.

"Jessie, tell us how you feel about the other members now! We all know how you feel about Jungkook, I'm sure the other members are curious to know your feelings towards them."

I giggle. "Tae Min, you love to cause trouble, don't you? Well, let me go in order from oldest to youngest. Seokjin gives me a motherly vibe. I feel like he would make a great husband, and that he would take great care of me. Yoongi is someone I would go to if I just wanted company, but didn't want to be bothered with small talk or going out. I feel like he's the cool uncle you can say anything to. Hoseok is someone I would go to if I was feeling down. He would be someone I would seek to make me smile. Namjoon strikes me as a father figure. He is someone I can go to if I need advice, but I wouldn't want to approach him about something like boys, whereas with Yoongi, I feel that's something I can speak to him about. Jimin is someone I can talk to like if he was my best friend. Like Yoongi, I feel I can speak to him about literally anything. Jimin is someone I would like to hang out at the mall with or just go to the park. Taehyung, actually, is second place when it comes to having my heart. He is definitely my bias wrecker. As for Jungkook…we all know how I feel about Jungkook."

All the members seem satisfied with the answers I give. The interview continues with Tae Min asking both BTS and I questions that were submitted by fans. They all seem to ask if Jungkook feels the same way about me as I do for him. Every time the question is asked, he laughs and avoids answering. I am a little bummed at first, but I prefer to keep it that way. At the end of the interview, Taehyung stands and takes a group shot of us all with his new photography camera. Right when we think filming is about to wrap up, Tae Min asks us all to sit.

"Bangtan, Jessie, viewers. As you all know, we love to surprise our guests on this show. We have devised a plan that we feel would be great for the highly anticipated release of BTS's new album."

I raise an eyebrow. What the hell was he talking about?

"BTS. Your new album releases in just one week from today, correct?"

They all nod.

"There are seven members, correct?"

Again, they all nod. My eyes widen as my mind begins to race. What the hell was planned?

"We have decided to set up dates with Jessie and each of the members individually! Tonight will be the first date of the seven she will go on. Each day she will see a different member, and each date will be different. It will be a combination of what Jessie and the other members have said would make an ideal date. At the end of the week, before the release of the new album, Jessie will tell us which date and member she enjoyed the most."

My jaw is on the floor. The audience is going insane while the boys of BTS—except for Jungkook-are laughing and clapping their hands. Everyone but Jungkook and I seem to enjoy the idea. This was only supposed to be a simple interview and then we were out of each other's hair. How the hell did it become this?!

Namjoon is the first to respond. "I think we all can agree it would be a very funny thing to see. However, I think it would only be appropriate if Jessie decides it's ok."

All eyes are suddenly on me. I search the studio frantically looking for Martin. When my eyes finally find him, he is arguing with one of the producers of the show. He also had no idea this was going to happen. I really hope the boys don't think this was all my idea in order to get a date with all the members.

"Jessie?" Tae Min puts a hand on my shoulder, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I turn my attention to Tae Min. "T-Tae Min! This is so sudden!"

He laughs and claps his hands. "What'll it be, Jessie?"

I look at each of the boys. Again, everyone but Jungkook is smiling. I take a deep breath and look to Tae Min again. "Umm…y-yes. Let's do it."

From the corner of my eye I see Martin turn to me suddenly. He is clearly annoyed with me.

Tae Min is practically jumping out of his seat and so is the audience. "Alright, Jessie! Who will be the first person you go on a date with?"

I gasp. "I'm choosing?"

He laughs. "No, we just wanted to see that reaction. We all felt it would only be appropriate for you to have Jungkook as your first date."

Jungkook blushes and keeps his eyes on the floor. Tae Min says goodbye to all the viewers. When the audience complains about not knowing the outcome of the date, Tae Min urges everyone to calm down.

"No worries, viewers! Tune in to our webshow in order to view the entire date, and the reactions everyone has at the end of every date!"

Everyone cheers again and the filming wraps up with Jungkook and I walking to the doors we entered from together. All I notice is Jungkook's look of displeasure with all this. I keeps my eyes down and hope for the best on this date.