Youkyung was almost at the point of biting her nails.

She was visibly shaking from the nervousness after doing a headcount. Everyone in AoA was present in the backstage of the small concert hall except for Jimin. She asked Choa (who was tired, but had a certain “happy glow” to her) about her best friend’s whereabouts, but Choa also had no clue. The last time she saw was when she drove off to whoever knows where, but after that she could only remember things getting “heated”, so to speak. Youkyung left a fantasising Choa in disgust while the older vocalist sighed in her daydream. Yuna was huddled with Mina, practicing their lines and their songs while Youkyung continued to search past the other band members gathered backstage in search of her rapper. She weaved and meandered through groups of variously dressed bands, ranging from groups with uniformed dresses to tastefully styled suits, with some odd choice of outfits for some of them. 

Youkyung caught sight of a group of 5 men near the entrance of the backstage. She grimaced when she realised it was her rivals, and tried to sneak away from them before they caught her. Just as she was about to sneak between another set of boys, she heard the dreaded voice call her name out.

“Oi, Youkyung!”

The drummer froze, scared to turn around and face that horrid smirk of her rival. She felt a shiver when she felt a soft hand on her shoulder. She slowly turned to see a different reality than the one she expected. G-Dragon didn’t have the smirk she thought he would have, but rather a more solemn, and serious smile.

“Hey, sorry for the teasing,” he apologised. “I was just caught in the mood of competition for the past few years, and felt that harmless rivalry was a good thing.”

Youkyung blinked once.

Twice.

“Eh?” Youkyung’s heart rate was rising. She was expecting mental and vocal jabs at her band’s talent, but not heartwarming words that burned her cheeks. 

She mustn’t be caught off guard. 

“If this is a joke or a mind game, it’s in poor taste.”

“Youkyungie!”

The leader whipped her head as quickly as her memory returned. She was supposed to be looking for Jimin, because AoA’s performance can’t run without their rapper.

Right.

Youkyung’s face heated up even more when she felt a pair of comfortable arms wrap around her. She sighed when she felt a bundle of hair and adorableness rest on her chest, and couldn’t help but rest a hand on the soft hair.

“Yes, Mina?” Youkyung laughed when the smaller, her new girlfriend, nuzzled her head on her chest. “I’m still looking for our Top Madame-“

“She showed up!” Mina raised her head with a face full of heart-melting cuteness. “She was just managing some last minute stuff at her cafe.”

“Jeez,” the leader exasperated. “I was about to murder her when I found her anyways.”

“But you won’t because I’m here, right?”

Mina pursed her lips and widened her eyes, looking up to her new girlfriend and poked her shoulder. She then gave her a quick peck to the cheek, causing Youkyung to clench her eyes shut. The leader growled as she stared into the smaller’s large, but glimmeringly beautiful eyes. 

“I hate you.”

“I love you too.”

Youkyung sighed and looked back at a disheartened rival with s behind him.

“Sorry, G-Dragon,” Youkyung said weakly. “My band calls.”

“Oh,” he said softly. “It’s fine…”

“Youkyung!” T.O.P. called out, adjusting the grey, heather scarf he had tightly. “Can you remind Choa about our date tomorrow?”

“Sure…” The leader slowly nodded, a bit uncomfortable at how casual he could mention their relationship. “I’ll do that, even though you could tell her yourself after the show.”

“I know,” he clarified. “But I just want both of us to remember.”

“Why are so awkward about it, Youkyungie?” Mina asked. “They already went for the home run, so let them be as they are.”

Everyone stared at the tiny bassist with amazement. T.O.P. blushed hard and slowly hid behind G-Dragon, who was still looking crestfallen. Daesung and Seungri started laughing hard, while Taeyang face-palmed and shook his head. Youkyung was still staring incredulously at Mina, as if she changed into a different person.

“What?” Mina was innocently confused. “There are love marks on his neck behind his scarf that trailed downwards.”

“How do you even know what that looks like?” Youkyung asked as she smiled like a maniac. 

“I read fanfiction,” Mina said in a deadpanned manner, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Duh.”

“Well this is getting awkward quickly,” Youkyung segued efficiently. “I’ll see you all in the battlefield and crush you!”

Youkyung raised a fist and walked away with Mina in hand. She caught sight of a G-Dragon with a lowered head before walking away, meandering past the other loud and boisterous boy-bands and girl-groups in the backstage. When she saw her band, she felt her blood boil at the tiny redhead that was not there before as she was talking happily with Yuna. Choa was looking into the distance, imagining (or remembering) some event that seemed to have brought a small smile to her face. If it wasn’t for Mina and her cooling hand on the drummer’s heart, she would’ve shoved both of her drum sticks up Jimin’s-

“Hey, boss!” The small rapper waved vigorously at Youkyung before bowing quickly. “Sorry for being late, I was having some trouble with my new employees.”

“Wait, wait!” Yuna quickly rushed to Jimin’s side. “What do you mean, ‘new employees’?”

“Those 7 boys from earlier this month,” Jimin explained. “I got Chanmi to look over them while I’m gone while she’s taking over the cafe temporarily.”

“Since when was Chanmi-“ 

But before Yuna could finish her start her rant, a stage personnel in all black came up to them.

“AoA?”

Everyone nodded, tension quick to form in their chests.

“You’re up.” Before he moved on, he quickly said, “You’re drum kit has been assembled and your amps have been set up, so adjust them quickly before you play.”

Everyone nodded as they picked up their instruments of choice before going on. Jimin and Choa gave other a glance before looking away quickly, regretting the added pressure in their hearts. They both decided internally that they would put aside their issues for the performance and deal with them afterwards. 

The crowd cheered as they all walked onto the stage, which the band members returned with bright smiles and waves to the crowd. They were all dressed in all blackJimin even yelled to get the crowd even more hyped up, and was pleasantly surprised when the crowd cheered in return. As they all quickly plugged in their instruments while Youkyung silently adjusts the heights along her drum set, they all gave each other reassuring smiles. Yuna and Mina smiled the brightest at everyone, even going so far as to give synchronised thumbs-up. 

“Fighting everyone!” Yuna was excited, but also composed like Mina and Youkyung. The front(wo)men, on the other hand, were slightly shaking and gripped their guitars tightly to compensate. They both nodded with clenched teeth, their skin paler than normal. 

Jimin took a deep breath.

“How are you guys doing?!”

The crowd cheered loudly, followed by Jimin’s power chord blasting through the speakers to excite the crowd’s vibe.

“We are AoA, the Ace of Angels, the prettiest ones in your heart. We’re good, we’re fresh, we’re fly, and we’ll make your heart melt!”

The crowd cheered once more! Choa was disheartened when she didn’t find her roommate in the crowd, but was curious to see Seolhyun there instead. She was cheering loudly while holding a banner with “Jimin!” written on it between hearts. The Top Madame saw this and blushed while laughing with the crowd’s cheer. 

“This is, ‘Like a Cat’!” Jimin yelled. “I’m the Top Madame, Jimin, and hit it, Yuna!”