Author note: I wanted to add that I know nothing of the Korean language and have no intention of offending anyone with different names or customs I know nothing about. If I happen to use a Korean word or name that is not in the correct tense or just plain wrong, please feel free to let me know. I am simply going by what occurred for me in my dream. Also as for the M rating... I plan on getting to heavier scenes later on, but have background and mild fluff to go through first. Enjoy!
Chapter two
The bright white walls of the never ending hallway did not help my eyes any to readjust to the atrocious lighting. Many confused back stage workers were passing us by, their faces all covered with black BTS face masks. The massive crowd being housed inside the building suddenly became more apparent as cheers and screeches echoed down the hall. "Was I holding up the main event? Are they touring with someone to keep the crowd busy?" The thought of keeping them from performing was making me nauseous. Right as I was about to express these fears, Jimin happily linked arms with me pulling us through one of the many door frames lining the bleak wall. "We finally made it to the breakroom!" He shouted for my sake. Not wanting to fuss over me, everyone shuffled into a well-lit medium sized room. The walls followed suit being painted in a thick bright white paint adorning various posters of concert hall info and show times. There were long tables all lined up in the middle of the room horizontally touching to make room for all the band members to sit. Our shoes clacked across the concrete floors and chairs screeched loudly being dragged out by various members to sit down. Piles of dark duffle bags, wires, and stage equipment took up the rest of the room and added at least some sort of scenery to the dull space. "It's about time, I was started to get worried", a muffled voice rang out. Jin, who was face first in some type of broom closet, had made a pile of what appeared to be towels, water, and large metallic boxes reading "Medical" across the front. A chair lightly scraped across the floor in protest as he pulled it out in front of the faux wooden tables, beckoning for me to sit down. As I made my way over to him I quickly glanced around the room, noticing that all eyes were on me.
They pulled the chairs to the back of the room in an attempt to give us space, leaving Rapmonster and J-hope out towards the front. Their simple chairs were turned backwards so they could rest their face and arms on the tops of the wooden monstrosities. V and Suga were behind them doing scary looking lean backs on the chair's legs, positioning their backs against the wall to put their feet up on various boxes in the room. But what I really wanted to know was where he was. Upon arriving at the chair dedicated to me I decided to shed the heavy leather jacket, as being watched was making me nervous. After handing it back to Jin a loud "Slap!" rang out through the room. Surprised, we all turned to look at Jimin who playfully was hitting Jungkook with a black baseball hat. "Dude why is it always your name! Where's the love for me!" Jimin barked out between laughs. J-hope, realizing his hat had been stolen, started them all rough housing and carrying on in order to retrieve it. A warm blush spread across my face as I met Jungkook's gaze once again. He had taken up a small spot in the back adjacent Jimin, carefully assessing the items Jin was pulling out of the boxes. "That's right. I do have his name across my back in bold white lettering." Unsure as to whether or not I should be embarrassed or proud, Jin pulled me down into the chair with a large smirk.
He had been the only one to have seen the lettering before now, confirming his suspicion as to who I liked. The others were caught up in their own world, taking some of the tension off of me for now. A strong smelling astringent filled my nose as a cotton ball covered in bright green slop made its way towards me. "Hold still", Jin warned as he lightly dabbed it on the abrasion above my eye. The smell alone was enough to make me cringe, but the stinging that followed was even worse. Not wanting to look like a huge wuss, I decided to try and make some sort of small talk as a distraction. "How bad is it doctor? Will I survive?" Jin caught on to my teasing tone and handed me a damp towel to wipe the rest of my face. In an attempt to be sneaky, I stole another glance in Jungkook's direction. Fiery Jimin had one arm around Jungkook's neck and another roughly tussling his hair, causing them both to laugh uncontrollably. "I'm afraid not. It appears that you have Kookitis, extremely contagious and fatal." While laughing off the tinge of embarrassment from being found out, Jin used it as an opportunity to move in closer. His violet red hair brushed past my cheek as his cupped hand found its way behind my ear. His sultry hushed voice made my body heat up from being so close. "He likes you too you know. I can tell." Backing off just a little bit to turn and look at him we spoke in hushed whispers, unnoticed by the rest of the group. "How can he possibly know that? Maybe he knows more than he is letting on." "You see, Jungkook has been asked out thousands of times. Girls from all over the world pour their heart out to him on a daily basis." Not exactly encouraged by his words I let him continue on. "Not one has ever succeeded. Out of everyone in this room he is the most insecure and refuses every single beautiful girl that comes his way. Why do you think that is?" "Don't ask if he's gay, don't ask if he is gay", my own thoughts scolded me. "He isn't into men right?" "Nailed it". After a well-deserved cry laughing from Jin he collected himself enough to finish the thought. "No that is not it. He has never found 'the one' he wants to go after." Without missing a beat, "yeah nothing like meeting 'the one' in a dark alley after being attacked by three other men", echoed out of my mouth before I could stop it.
The florescent lights above us hummed in the awkward silence, overpowering the joking and laughing behind us. Up until now not a single person has asked about the incident, which for that I was grateful. A nearby table started to make a low pitched buzzing noise, grabbing both of our attention. "Perfect!" Jin exclaimed grabbing his custom looking yellow smartphone off of the shaking table. Without warning it immediately ended up in my hands, displaying empty text boxes to add information. Understanding, I proceeded to add my name and number into the respective boxes completing his request. Low pitched ringing started to echo off of the walls in the room as it appeared everyone's phones were going off. Stopping their commotion they looked at each other thoughtfully. "Some kind of alarm?" My thoughts were too slow as the boys started throwing their shirts off in a hurry to put on matching button up long sleeve shirts and black skinny ties. Flashes of muscles, abs, and white shirts caught me off guard, more so than the swarm of staff making their way in like a school of orderly fish. Rapmonster and Jin getting dressed first, whispered in a corner glancing at me every so often. "They look like they are up to no good", I gulped as they grabbed the arms of two middle aged Korean women and booked it to my location.
The ladies wore matching oversized white and black striped shirts that fell to their knees, embroidered with "BTS" in silver stitching on the front breast pocket. White washed blue jeans smeared with what appeared to be multiple types of cosmetics, messily laid underneath the shirts. The similarities were uncanny between the two, making it almost impossible to tell them apart. Greying hairs peeked out from behind dark locks, cut into a sharp bob right under their ears. "This is Minseo and Seoyun", Rapmonster started. "They might be ancient, but they are very talented makeup artists." Incoherent high pitched noises came from the sisters as they whacked him for the age comment, justifiably so. "Listen we have to get back to the stage, but I think this would be the perfect opportunity to use your help." Glancing around I noticed the changing of clothes had ceased, leaving impatient eyes on us. "It's kind of a grand finale if you want to call it that. Our manager added a twist to make the final show something really special, but…" Rapmonster trailed off getting smirks from the other members who were finally understanding his plan. "To be honest we have been terrified about it this whole time", He admitted scratching the back of his head nervously. Suddenly feeling more anxious than ever, Jin leaned in to finish his thought. "All you have to do is follow Minseo and Seoyun's instructions and then join the crowd to enjoy the rest of the concert. Easy." He winked hastily adding, "plus since you interrupted us tonight you aren't really in any position to refuse us." "He is right. I owe it to them to do whatever crazy scheme they are planning up for me regardless of what it may be." The second the words of agreement left my mouth the staff whirled to life like a well-oiled machine, hustling around to their respective posts. Feeble, but oddly strong arms wrapped around mine pulling me out of the room at extreme speeds. Speeds I did not think short elderly women should be capable of. Before being hauled out of yet another room against my will, a soft confused voice caught my attention. All of the members were beaming at me, like they knew something I did not. Everyone except a confused looking Jungkook who was frantically asking, "Guys what is going on?" over and over.
If an answer was given to him, it was already too late for me to be able to hear it. Without wasting a second, the makeup experts had me right where they wanted me. A giant red plush barber's chair sprawled out underneath me groaned as I put my feet up on the welded metal triangle, attached for such a purpose. A lengthy mirror was positioned above a rough looking oak desk, covered in multi colored stains and hundreds of beauty products. A light burning smell filled the air as an expensive looking curling iron sat in a metal bin attached to the desk, rapidly heating to temperature. While the masters worked to crank out perfect curls in seconds I noticed something absolutely horrific. The reflective mirror highlighted all of the flaws that had previously been hidden to me. The now bruising abrasion on my forehead was swelling and turning light shades of blue and purple. Dark mascara and eyeliner that had been in place before the incident had dried down my cheeks in disorganized lines and smudges. Faint hints of red lipstick remained in blotches, only to be practically wiped down my chin. Noticing my change in demeanor one of the sisters, I assumed to be Minseo, spoke to me in short curt sentences. "You no cry. We make beautiful again." This woman did not even know me, but was trying her best to make me feel better. While thinking of a way to express my gratitude, a strong smelling make up remover was slathered all over my face to put in some work. Noting the dark bruises starting to form on both of my wrists she mumbled barely audibly, "been through too much. You rest now". Beautiful shades of brown eye shadow, eyeliner, and bright pink blush were transfixed, looking like it was straight out of a beauty magazine. While the makeup was being applied, the other sister finished cascading perfect curls down past my shoulders that bounced back with vigor as her hands skillfully tussled them around.
A lighter shade of lipstick was being added when I noticed something out of place in the small room. Flickers of orange bobbed in and out of view through the open door way, visible to me through the light studded mirror. V had snuck in, toting mystery items behind his back that were barely out of view. He scrunched his face up into various positions and did a goofy dance, rocking back and forth rapidly. A short laugh escaped my lips causing a streak of light pink lipstick to sprawl onto my cheek. Seoyun being anything but amused, was on him in a second, toting some kind of yard stick that she procured from an unknown location. "You brat!" echoed off the walls followed by little whooshing noises of the yard stick. "Ow, no I come in peace I swear, I'm sorry!" V pleaded for his life and seemed to convince her by being sincere. He brought one of his hands out from behind his back, clutching onto a thin leather strap that hung down a few feet to attach to a light grey bag. Dark blue C's covered the body of the small pouch, wrapping around to a flip over top that latched with a silver magnet in the front. A blue and white lanyard poked out from one of the open sides shimmering with the pendulum movement of the bag. I flew out of the chair wiping the smudged lipstick off on my way. "My purse! But where- How did you-" Coherent sentences refused to leave my mouth staring dumbfounded at the smirking V.
"The cops finally showed up to grab those two losers outside. It's a shame I didn't have more time with them." He ran a hand through his hair angrily causing a few strands to stay sticking up awkwardly. "There was an official sweep with a dog and everything to find the guy who took off. No luck though." Gratefully, I accepted the bag doing a minor inventory glance. The contents appeared to be untouched leaving my phone, wallet, and check book all in the regular spots. A small smudge had surfaced on my BTS lanyard causing my face to contort in confusion. "I took the liberty of signing my name by my picture. You'll thank me one day." V giggled at my drawn out sigh realizing the smudge was an impressively written "V" that would give calligraphers a run for their money. "The hell." A wadded up piece of paper tinged red caught my attention, laying between my phone and the smooth inside of the purse. Unfolding it revealed, "I'll be watching", messily scribbled out in a scarlet color. It was bleeding onto the outside of the paper like it had gotten wet at some point. I quickly shoved the piece of paper back into the depths of the purse feeling a bit uneasy. "V thank you, but aren't you supposed to be on stage right now?" The faint sound of "N.O" being sang found its way down the hallway to reverberate into the room. V withdrew his other hand that had been resting behind his back to reveal a flowing piece of material and dark matte heels. "I had something I needed to take care of first", he laughed mysteriously shoving all the remaining items into my hands.
"These are his favorite, use them wisely." Minseo hustled over grabbing a polished silver tube off the top of the item pile, eyes glittering like a child on Christmas. Before V was able to escape through the door my hand went out before I knew it, grabbing the back of his white tucked in dress shirt. Wide eyed, he stopped to whirl around with ease being drawn into a huge hug. Without any hesitation he returned the hug with one arm, using the other to brush a hand across the underside of his nose to complement his sexy wink. Shoes clacked down the now deserted hallway as Seoyun was already shedding my blood soaked dress for the new one V had brought. Smooth black fabric of a flowy skirt landed a few inches above my knees and fell a few inches lower in the back. The skirt had attached ruffles underneath that gave it volume and flair as I twirled in a slow circle for effect. The form fitting dress tapered in at the waist and continued up to have a corseted look that stopped at breast level. A piece of black mesh fabric branched up vertically where the initial fabric stopped to be held in place by a small cloth collar. Minseo hustled over reaching up to dexterously remove the light shade of lipstick with a damp wipe. Eyes still gleaming, she opened the pretty engraved tube revealing a romantic shade of deep red. "Special", she proclaimed as the velvety substance rolled onto my lips like it was made for me.
Inky matte heels rang out off of the concrete floor with every step as I made my way down the hallway once more. The twins had shooed me out after what felt like hours of prep time, but in reality took about ten minutes. "Amazing. After the show is over I am definitely asking them what their secret is." Lost and confused I kept following the one way stretch of building in hopes that an end would be in sight. The sisters had given me directions in what sounded like a weird Korean proverb stating, "Look for he who is strong and wise". Following the sound of incessant cheers and shrieks was my best bet as more staff seemed to appear in those directions. Suddenly the ground started to tremble, shaking the small cork boards and little signs adhered to disinterested walls causing the remaining staff to scatter. A large ghastly shadow stretched out in front of me, looming over from behind. Expecting to see a full sized T-rex behind me, I dramatically turned around to face the Cretaceous beast head on. The first thing to come into view was a comically oversized name plate reading "JEFF" in all capital letters, made out of a slivery metal. A burly Korean man, who had to be at least 6'5, hovered over me covered in multiple tattoos and facial piercings. Like most of the staff he was dressed in an informal work uniform consisting of a black shirt, work pants, and a leather belt to fasten it all in place.
Terrified by his appearance I was at a loss for words, staring mouth agape and astonished. "I'M JEFF", he finally yelled a little bit more loudly than I would've liked. The noise startled me causing an involuntary jump in a direction away from the sound. Immediately, he brought both of his bear sized hands to his tattooed face and covered it fully. Red as a tomato, his eyes refused to meet mine and focused on anything else in the vicinity. "Jesus Christ he is adorable." "I am sorry for startling you, please I will be your escort in the concert hall", finally tumbled out with an audible lisp between his words. Relieved that he was incredibly nice, a smile broke out across my face, "Thank you Jeff that would be lovely." Seeming to relax just a little, I caught a hint of a faint smile starting to appear on his face as the heavy double doors swung open, revealing the biggest concert hall I had ever seen in my life.