Author’s POV

 

Backstage

 

“That was the greatest thing ever!” Scynthia says excitedly.

“I’m so pumped right now!” Hyun says.

“That’ll sometimes happen after performances,” Hyejin says as she enters the dressing room.

Royalty have now debuted.  They went back to their dressing room to change into some comfortable clothes.  Hyun and Jeong were busy chatting with their families and girlfriends.

“I’ve brought some people,” Hyejin says before stepping to the side, showing everyone behind her.

“Mom!”

“Mommy!”

“Tao!”

The three girls excitedly got up from their seats to go hug their family members.

“You all did really good. I’m so proud of you,” Ann’s mom says as she hugs her.

“Mhmm. I can’t believe my daughter is officially a kpop idol. After all that nonsense talk and dancing around my house like a crazy person, you actually made it,” Scynthia’s mom said.

“Mom! I am not a crazy person. Ann was doing the same thing,” Scynthia says.

“Hey! Don’t bring me into this,” Ann says before chuckling.

There was a knock on the door before someone entered.

“LAUREN!”

“Oh my goodness. My best friends are kpop idols. Oh my god. That was the greatest debut ever!” Lauren exclaims as the two girls hug her.

“So glad you enjoyed it!” Ann says with a smile.

Just then, BTS came in. . .or barged in.

“Yah! What happened to knocking?” Jin yells as he hits Jungkook.

“Too excited to see everyone!” he responds as he rubs his arm.

“Momma Brown!” Hoseok excitedly says in his broken English.

 

Scynthia’s POV

 

“Oh, Hoseok. It’s finally nice to meet you in person,” my mom says as the two hug. 

“The pleasure is all mine,” he says with a heavy accent.  Where did he learn this?

"Uh, when did you two get all acquainted and when did you start speaking English?" I ask them.

"We've talked a few times," my mom says.

"WHAT?!"

"And I asked Namjoon to give me some lines since I knew your mom couldn't speak in Korean," Hoseok says.  I couldn't help but melt at the gesture. 

“I hope my daughter hasn’t been any trouble. She can get quite carried away sometimes,” my mom says.

“Mom!” Aish, this woman, always trying to embarrass me.

Hoseok chuckles and shakes his head.  “No trouble. Very good.”  I couldn’t help but smile at his attempt in English.

My mom nods and smiles.  “Well, if you’re able to handle her for this long, then I guess you really like her.”

Hoseok once again shakes his head.  “I don’t like her.”

My eyes widen at this.  What did he just say?  He doesn’t like me anymore.

“I love your daughter very much,” he says with a smile.

“YAH!” I yell while slapping his arm.  “That wasn’t funny!”

He just laughs and puts his arm around my shoulder before kissing my cheek.

“Scynthia, you better marry this man quick before he changes his mind or comes to the realization of how crazy you really are,” my mom says.

“Mom!”

“Your mom is right, you know. You are pretty crazy,” Hoseok says as he looks at me.

“What?”

“You’re pretty crazy in love with me,” he says before winking at me.

“Yah!” I say before giggling.

“But I think I’m even crazier in love with you, so we can be crazy in love together,” he says.

He goes in to kiss me when I realize my mom is still with us so I push him back.

“No, please continue on. This way, I’ll have my grandbabies quicker,” she says before winking at me.  This causes Hoseok to have a coughing attack. 

“Mom! Can you not! We are not having any kids,” I say as I pat Hoseok on his back.

“Not yet.”

“MOM!”

“I happen to agree with Momma Brown!” I hear Ann suddenly yell from across the room.

“Oh my god, Ann, shut up!”

“Guess I’ll be getting my grandkids sooner than I thought,” my mom says.

Why is this happening?

 

 

 

Rose’s POV---(Tao and Rose are speaking Chinese with each other)

 

“So how has my baby sister been?” Tao asks me in Chinese.

“Never better,” I say while smiling.

“What is it?” he asks.  I give him a confused look, making him roll his eyes.

“What’s troubling that little mind of yours?” he says.

“There’s nothing wrong,” I say.

“Really? You think you can lie to your brother? Now tell me what’s wrong,” he says as he takes a seat.  I let out a sigh before sitting beside him.  Guess I can tell him.

“So it’s this guy an-“

“What? Where is he and what did he do to you? I’ll kill him!” he exclaims.

“Tao, stop!”

“Is it that weird guy who was singing that song named after you and dancing like an idiot?” he asks making me giggle.

“Yeah, it is.”

“Tch. Thought you had better taste.”

“Hey! That’s not nice,” I say as I slap him on his arm.

“Ya! It’s not nice to hit your dear older brother, either,” he says with a pout while rubbing his arm.

“Anyways, continue with your story.”

“Well, I really like him, ya know? And we’ve been on a few dates and just hanging out. But earlier today, I saw him and this girl together and I just kinda freaked out.”

“What did he tell you?” he asks.

“See, I’ve kinda been ignoring him and just pushing him off.”

“Meigui, you have to at least give him a chance to explain,” Tao tells me.

I just sigh.  “But what I saw just brought back those memories and I don’t think I could go through that again,” I honestly say.

“Meigui, not every guy is like that jerk that you were with before. Everyone isn’t a cheater. I know it’s hard to believe but there are still some good guys out there. You have to give this guy a chance to let him prove that to you. Let him prove to you that you can believe and trust him,” Tao says.

I look up at my brother.

“Do you believe that he did something with that girl?” Tao asks me and I just shake my head.

“Then why haven’t you talked to him?”

“I guess because I’m scared. There’s a possibility he could still reject me,” I sadly say.

“It’s okay to be scared, Meigui. It’s only natural. Does he know about your past?” he asks.

“No.”

“Maybe you should tell him. That way, he can know why you’ve been acting this way. Plus, it’ll let him in some.”

“When did you become so smart?” I ask him with a small smile.

He chuckles.  “I’m not in college for nothing,” he says with a shrug.

I hear someone clearing their throat, making me look up, only to see Namjoon.

“Umm, hey Rose. Could we talk for a bit?” he asks me.

I look at Tao who just nods back.  I then look back at Namjoon and nod.

Tao gets up from his seat.  “I’ll let you two talk then,” he says before looking at Namjoon.

“I have my eyes on you. Just know that I am a martial arts guru and I’m not afraid to kick your , pretty boy,” he says before looking Namjoon up and down.  “And you should work on your dancing. . .like a lot. You’re actually worse than her and that’s saying something.”

“Tao!” I yell.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m going,” Tao says before giving a look to Namjoon and leaving.

“Wow. Your brother is kinda scary,” he says, which makes me smile.

“He’s pretty cool once you get to know him,” I say.

“Can I sit here?” he asks while pointing to the spot where Tao left.  I nod.

It went quiet for a moment or two before he spoke again.

“First, I want to let you know that what you saw isn’t what it looked like. I pushed that girl off immediately once I figured out what she was doing. I told her I was seeing someone and everything,” Namjoon tells me.

I nod before speaking.  “I believe you.”

I hear a sigh of relief.  “I’m really sorry, Rose.”

I shake my head before looking at him.  “No. I’m the one who should be sorry. I basically ignored you the whole day.”

“It’s alright. I’m sure it wasn’t the best thing to see,” he says.

“It just brought up some old stuff from the past. When I saw you and the girl, it-“

“It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” Namjoon says as he puts his hand on top of mine.

 

Namjoon’s POV

 

I can tell that she doesn’t like to speak about whatever she’s trying to tell me.  But she continues on.

She shakes my head.  “I want to,” she says before she takes a deep breath.  “See, I had a boyfriend when I was back in China. We were together for about two years. When I found out that I was moving here, he was the first one I wanted to tell. As I was walking to his house, I spotted him and some girl at the park. And you can probably figure out the rest,” she says.

That ing jerk.  How stupid is he to cheat on someone like Rose?

I grab both of Rose’s hands and look into her eyes.  “Rose, I would never do that to you. You mean too much to me. And I know this is going to sound really terrible but I’m glad that douche decided to do what he did. If it wasn’t for his stupidity, I wouldn’t have gotten to know the most beautiful, strong, determined, and talented girl I have ever met.”  I see a faint smile as her cheeks start to redden.

“I know I can be really annoying and I practically break most things that I touch and I know that there are like a million better guys than me out there. But when I’m with you, I feel like I can be myself. I don’t have to act and be Rap Monster or BTS’ genius leader. I can just be Namjoon, the chill and crazy dork who loves to do and say cheesy things.”

“Don’t see yourself so short. You are an amazing guy. You’re a music genius, handsome, funny, and really sweet at times. You’re one of the few people who can deal with my sassiness and who can calm me down when I’m super pissed. You’re a good guy, Joon and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise,” she says and I swear that brings the biggest smile on my face.

“See, there’s another thing. You don’t drag or bring me down. If anything you give me even more confidence to truly be myself.”

“What I’m trying to say is that I really care about you and I would never intentionally hurt you,” I say.

I see her smile, a real smile this time.  “I know.”

“I wanted to do this in a more romantic way but, Meigui, will you give me the pleasure of officially becoming my girlfriend?” I nervously ask.

I notice her just staring at me.  Aish, I thought this was going well.  She’s going to say no isn’t she.

Before I know it, however, her lips are on mine and kissing me.  Once I snap out of it, I begin kissing her back passionately.  After a while, we pull back, catching our breaths, foreheads leaning against one another’s.

I stare into her beautiful brown orbs.  “I’m going to take that as a yes,” I say.

She smiles that smile I would love and only hope to see every day.  “It’s a yes. I would love to be your girlfriend.”

I smile and kiss her again. 

“I knew you couldn’t resist me,” I say before winking at her.

She gently shoves me away.  “Way to ruin the moment.”

I pull her back into my embrace.  “As long as you’re my girlfriend and we’re together, the moment will never end,” I say before kissing the top of her head.

 

 

 

 

Ann’s POV

 

“I’m so proud of you honey,” my mom says as we pull away from our hug.

“Thanks, mom,” I say while smiling at her.

“Mom, I think I want to come back home,” I finally say.

“Why? Don’t you like it here? Did something happen? Are you hurt?” she worriedly asks.  If only she knew.

I smile and shake my head.  “No. I just miss you guys. I miss home. I don’t think the idol life is for me,” I honestly say.

“Aw sweetie. You know you don’t have to worry about us, right? We’re doing fine at home.”

I nod.  “I know. I’ve just been thinking, though. I just think I’d be better if I were at home. I could just continue with school instead of staying here.”

“What about Royalty and everyone else here?”

I shrug.  “I’m sure Mr. Bang will figure things out. Besides, Royalty can surely continue without me. It’s not like I’m a huge asset or anything.”

“Ann, what’s really bugging you?”

And that’s when it all comes out.  Tears start falling from my eyes before I could even stop them.

I feel my mom pull me into my arms.  She holds me tight while rubbing my back.

“Mom. I don’t know what I’m doing anymore. I don’t know what to do,” I say in between my cries.

“Sweetie, no one really knows what they’re doing it. We just follow our gut and hope everything falls into place and turns out well. We just do our best and enjoy the good moments along the way while also dealing with the bad.”

“I just don’t think I’m capable of anything anymore. I feel like I can’t do anything right and that I’m screwing everything up and just hurting everyone.”

She pulls back and holds my shoulders.

“Ann Lee. Don’t you ever say that again. You are an intelligent young woman and are capable of many things. I’m not going to list them because I would be here forever. What made you start thinking this?” she asks.

“Nothing,” I plainly tell her.

She sighs before pulling me into her embrace again.  “You know, I always blame myself for letting that man do and tell those kind things to you. I just wish I could have caught him sooner. Maybe you wouldn’t be nearly as hard on yourself as you are now. I know it’s him that’s making you think like this. But just listen to me. You are none of those things he’s told you. You are truly beautiful, inside and out. You are the most caring person I know as you put everyone’s wellbeing before yourself. You just need to stop every now and then and take a breather for yourself,” she tells me before pulling away again.  She brings her hands to my face and wipes away my tears.

“But don’t ever let me hear that you’re not capable of anything because you are. You are capable of many things. And I want you to know that I am proud of the person you turned out to be. Whether you want to stay here or go back home and continue with school, I will be there and support you.”

I smile at my mom.  “Thanks mom.”

“Thank you for being an amazing daughter.”  I chuckle at her.

“Oh, I was wondering. Who’s that boy you were dancing with? Is he that Jimin boy I’ve been hearing about?”

“Mooom,” I say.

“It is, isn’t it? Can I meet this Jimin? I want to meet the boy my daughter is constantly talking about?”

“Mom! I do no-“

“Is this your mom, Ann?”  I turn towards the voice, seeing that it’s Jimin.  Oh God.

“Yeah. Mom this is Jimin and Jimin this is my mom,” I say.

“Ah, so you’re the famous Jimin,” my mom says.

“Uh, I don’t know about that,” he says before smiling, “but nice to meet you, ma’am.”

“Oh, he has very good manners. I like him already,” she says.

“Moomm. Please,” I say.

Just then, I felt a tap on my shoulder.  I turn to see Kai.

“Hey,” he says with a smile.  “I’m not interrupting am I?” he asks.

“Umm, no. Not at all,” I say.

“Hello, Jongin. Nice to finally see you in person,” my mom says.

“You, too, Ms. Lee,” Kai says.

“You two are making me feel so old,” she says before smiling.

Kai chuckles before looking back at me.  “Can we talk?”

I nod before turning back towards my mom and Jimin.  “I’ll be back. And please, don't say anything embarrassing,” I say before walking away.

"No promises!” I hear my mom say.

I sigh.  Of course.

 

 

 

 

Me and Kai find a place and we both sit.

“That was an amazing debut. Congratulations,” he says.

I smile.  “Thanks. I’m glad you came.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for anything.”

It then goes silent.  I decide to speak up.

“Look, I’m sorry about how our last meeting went. I shouldn’t have said those things,” I say.

“No. I’m sorry. I should have just listened and been there for you. I was just so pissed off that he did that to you. You know, when I came back to the dorm, I laid a couple of punches on him,” he says before chuckling sarcastically.

“I’m sorry,” I say.

“Ann, what are you sorry for? You did nothing wrong,” he gently says to me.

“I messed up your guys’ friendship and stuff,” I say.

He scoffs.  “No, Ann. You did nothing wrong. It was all that ’s fault. He deserves more than what he got. He deserves to be thrown in jail. I should be sorry because I wasn’t there for you while you were going through all of this. That makes me a pretty bad friend.”

I shake my head.  “You didn’t know. Plus, it’s not something I just tell people,” I say before shrugging.

“Well, the important thing is that you’re safe and well and that, I’m thankful for,” he says before pulling me into a hug.

“I missed hanging out with you,” he says while pulling away.  “I’ve missed my dancing, chicken eating buddy,” he says with a pout.

“I’ve missed you, too, oppa,” I say with a smile.

“So we’re friends again?” he asks.

I happily nod. “Never stopped.”  I earned a smile from him.

As I remember something, I softly slap him on the arm.

“What was that for?” he asks.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were dating Krystal? You know I had to find out from Scynthia who heard it from Baekhyun,” I say.

“Oh, eh, never came up?” he says nervously.

“Shame on you. She’s treating you nicely, right? And you’re treating her good?” I ask him.

He nods with a big smile.  “We are. I really like her.”

I smile back.  “That’s good then. I’m happy for you.”

“What about you and Jimin,” he asks with a smirk.

“To be honest, I don’t know. I think I like him but I don’t know,” I say.

“Well, I can tell that he likes you. Especially from the duet you two had. Ya’ll looked like a real couple up there,” he says.

I just look down at my lap.

“He's a good guy. I’m sure if you guys tell each other your feelings, things will work out.”

I nod and smile.  “Maybe.”

 

 

 

Jimin’s POV

 

“So, you’re the one who likes my daughter,” Ms. Lee says.

I just stare at her wide eyed.  What?  How does she know?

“A mother knows,” she says with a smile.

I let a nervous chuckle out.  “Yeah. I like her. I like her a lot actually.”

“She’s can be very vulnerable, even though she barely shows it. She’s pretty bad at expressing her emotions, too. She also doesn't listen sometimes, either. Aish. I’ve raised such a stubborn girl,” she says while shaking her head, making me laugh.

“Yeah. She can be quite stubborn but I’ve learned how to work with it. Regardless, she's am amazing woman,” I say.

She then looks at me care and saddness in her eyes.  “I think you’re good for her. From what she’s been telling me, you’ve been nothing but kind and caring towards her and I want to say thank you. Thanks for taking her out her little bubble. I can tell she’s a bit more open with others and herself. I didn’t think she’d be able to trust a guy other than her brother since her dad. I’m glad she finally has, though. I trust you to take care of her while she’s here,”

“Of course,” I say.

She nods.  “I don’t know if she’ll tell you this or not but she likes you, too. Trust me,” she says before patting my shoulder and walking away.

I smile at her last statement.  She likes me.  Ann actually likes me back.

 

 

 

Author’s POV

 

Everyone was in the dressing room chatting away.  It was a happy vibe in the room.

Unfortunately, the happy, fun get-together had to end.

“Do you have to go?” Scynthia asks her mom.

“Yeah. We both have to head back to the hotel. Our flight leaves early in the morning,” Scynthia’s mom says.

“Oh, I’m going to miss you,” Ann’s mom says while hugging her.

“I’m going to miss you, too,” Ann says.

“Remember, I’ll support you with whatever you decide and I’ll be proud no matter what,” she whispers in Ann’s ear.

Ann nods before pulling away.  “Thanks mom.”

“Nice seeing you, too, Lauren. Your parents are so proud of you,” Scynthia’s mom tells her.

“Thanks,” Lauren says before smiling.

“It was nice finally meeting you all in person,” Ann’s mom says.  “We apologize that you have to hang with our girls,” she says before laughing.

“Yeah, we know they can be a handful,” Scynthia’s mom says while shaking her head.

“MOM!” Scynthia and Ann whine out, making everyone laugh.

“I’d say we’re kidding but we’re not and we know you two know that,” Ann’s mom says.

“OHH! Ms. Lee and Ms. Brown told you two!” Hyun says before high fiving Rose.

“You shouldn’t be laughing. You’re just as bad as them, Meigui,” Tao says.

“YAH!” Rose yells out, leading to even more laughter.  But Tao eventually bring Rose in for a hug, telling her how proud he is of her.

“Well, I’ll walk you three out,” Hyejin says.

“We’ll go with you. We have to walk Dahee and Hana out, too,” Jeong says.

Everyone says their goodbyes once more.  Kai and Lauren also leave.

 

 

“We should go change so we can be ready by the time noona comes back,” Jin says to the BTS members.

“Alright. We’ll be back noonas!” Jungkook says before they all leave to their dressing room, leaving the three girls by themselves.

 

 

 

“That was fun,” Scynthia says.

“Agreed. I was so happy when I found out my brother came but Zico shocked me the most. Like I actually got his number,” Rose excitedly says.

“Yes! We did, too! And we have a future date with them!” Ann says while smiling.

“OMG yes!! I get to hang out with Leo! My goodness. That man looks even better in person! I wish I could just take him back to the dorm with me,” Scynthia says.

Rose and Ann just stare at her.  “That’s not weird or creepy at all,” Rose says.

“Wait, no! I didn’t mean it like that!” Scynthia exclaims.

“Sure you didn’t. I’ll be back. I’m going to the bathroom,” Ann says before leaving.

“So, are you two official?” Scynthia asks.

Rose couldn’t help but smile a huge smile on her face.  “Yeah.”

“I’m happy for you two. You two dorks match up well together,” Scynthia says before laughing.

“Yah!”

The two continued talking when the lights in their room suddenly went out.

“The heck just happened?” Scynthia asks.

“I don’t know. Power outage?” Rose asks.

“It was so random, though. Well, I guess it doesn’t matter since we’re ready. Grab Ann’s bag and we’ll just wait for her by the bathro-“

“Scyn? Scynthia? What happened? You okay?” Rose worriedly shouts.

“Scynthia! Answer m-“

 

 

 

 

 

Ann walked in the bathroom, letting the door close behind her.  She was headed to a stall when suddenly she felt something around . . .soon making everything go black.

 

 

 

 

 

BTS soon come back to Royalty’s dressing room. 

“Why is it dark in here?” Taehyung asks.

“The light switch isn’t working,” Hoseok says as he flicks the switch on and off.

“There’s a main circuit in the hall. I’ll see if I can fix it from there,” Yoongi says before leaving.

Jimin gets his phone out and turns the flashlight on.  “Does it look messy in here to you?” Jimin asks. 

Just then, the lights came back on.

“What the hell happened in here?” Namjoon asks as he scans the room.  The girls stuff was practically everywhere.

“Where did they go?” Jungkook asks.

“Maybe they went to the bathroom or to tell noona about the lights,” Jin says.

“Alright, Tae, Namjoon, and Jimin, you go see if they’re in the bathroom and the rest of us will go check to see if they’re with noona or the guys. Meet us by the van,” Jin continues.

The boys nod and slit there ways.

 

 

 

 

Tae, Namjoon, and Jimin walk to the girl’s bathroom.

“Umm, so who’s going in?” Tae asks.

“As leader, I command one of you to do it,” Namjoon says.

“Aw, hyung!” Tae whines.

“For heaven’s sake. No one should even be here except for the girls,” Jimin says before knocking on the door before entering. 

“Anyone in here?” Jimin yells.  After receiving no response, he walks further into the bathroom and checks under the stalls.

“Are they in there?” Namjoon asks.

Jimin comes back out.  “No one is in there. It’s empty.”

“They’re probably with noona then,” Tae says.

Namjoon nods and they head out to the van.

 

 

 

 

“What do you mean they aren’t inside?” Hyejin asks.

“We came back from changing and they weren’t in the dressing room,” Jungkook says.

“They’re not in the bathroom!” Tae yells as they join the rest of the crew.

“Where did those fools go?” Hyun asks.

“Did they go say bye to their moms and brother again?” Hoseok asks.

“No. I walked them right to their cab and they left,” Hyejin says.

“Guys!”

Everyone turns to see a running Yoongi coming towards them.

“What is it?” Jin asks.

Once Yoongi calms down a bit, he shows them what he found.  “When I came back from fixing the lights, I saw these two phones on the ground along with these glasses.”

“Those are Ann’s glasses,” Jeong answers.

Hoseok grabs the two phones, pressing a button to see the lock screen.

“This one is Scyn’s. I’m assuming the other one is Rose’s because her wallpaper is a picture of her and her family,” Hoseok says and Namjoon nods his head to confirm.

“Why is there stuff here?” Jungkook asks.

“Wait-the lights were off in the dressing room?” Hyun asks.

“Yeah and the room was a mess,” Tae answers.

“You don’t think. . .” Jeong says quietly.

“What?” Jungkook asks.

“T-they’ve b-been,” Hyun tries to say.

Jin looks at the two as he realizes what happened here.  Jin swallows hard before speaking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“They’ve been. . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

. . .kidnapped.” 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peace!