With the support and good wishes from everyone, we celebrate our second anniversary today.

 

“You can’t exchange tickets with anyone!” I make Byeol promise me for the twelfth time since this morning. It is a day of extreme emotions for us because today is also the day we’re holding a solo concert, our largest one to date. Unlike our other concerts, there is only one show for this.

 

“I won’t,” Byeol says, and I don’t have to look to know she’s rolling her eyes at me again. Am I being a bit too obvious? Byeol catches on to things really quickly. I take deep breaths to calm down.

 

“Your dad’s coming too, right?” Yoongi asks to confirm, and Byeol nods in response. Wasn’t he the one who gave her two tickets in the first place? She looks down at the passes for VIP seating. We’re currently preparing for the final full dress rehearsal before the actual show. Backstage, everyone is in a rush to ensure everything is perfect.

 

“Fighting!” Byeol gives us a cheer as we are called out to the stage. Feeling tremendous strength from her, I smile widely before following the guys out.

 

On standby, the music comes on and the stage lift rises with a nervous jerk. We exchange looks with one another before running into position. Our first song is led by me so tightly holding on to my mic, I rap as if we’re starting the actual concert. I don’t notice at first but two songs in, I see Byeol watching us from the mosh pit. I wave to her slightly and she makes a big heart with her arms. I keep my eyes on her the whole time and my heart sinks when I see her turn to leave, disappearing backstage. Nevertheless, we finish our rehearsal smoothly with final changes made.

 

“Let’s rest for a bit and get ready for the interview,” our manager comes in to tell us. Scattered around the waiting room, we’re still trying to catch our breaths from the earlier performance.

 

“Where’s Byeol?” I ask around, but no one seems to know where she’d gone. She’s not here and I’m not sure where else she’ll be at.

 

“Maybe she went to fetch her dad,” Hoseok tries. A logical explanation, but something seems off. Taehyung plays around with Jimin and Jungkook while Jin is busy stuffing his face with snacks from fan support. Yoongi… where did he go too? Just as I’m thinking about him, he comes in through the door with Byeol behind him.

 

“Where were you?” I ask her as she jumps into my arms. Unwillingly, I push her away. “I’m sweating.”

 

“Don’t care.” Tiptoeing, she plants a quick kiss on my cheek. I laugh and wrap one arm around her waist to pull her close.

 

“Get a room please.” The maknae rolls his eyes. It’s interesting how it’s already been so long and he still hasn’t gotten used to it yet. Byeol sticks her tongue out at him before turning back to me.

 

“You look really happy today,” I say, tucking her hair behind her ear.

 

“Of course, today is a special day!” Despite her usual tough demeanour, she becomes like a little kid when she’s excited. “Such a grand concert!”

 

Hmm? That wasn’t what I was expecting her to say…

 

“Alright, Byeol,” Yoongi calls her from across the room as the stylist unnie makes finishing touches on his hair. “Let him finish preparing first.”

 

“Let’s go somewhere after this,” I whisper into her ear as I let go of her. “Just the both of us.”

 

On any other day, Byeol would blush and run away but today she is full of surprises. Her lips by my ear, she says softly in her melodic voice, “Okay.”

 

My eyes widen and I swallow nervously at her suggestive tone but oblivious to my mental breakdown, she smiles a pretty smile and heads out the door.

 

"Yah, Kim Namjoon! Hurry up, will you?” Jin shakes his head at me. Snapping awake, I allow the makeup artist to do her job.

 

Outfits donned and accessorised, we are ushered into another room where cameras are set up and our interviewer sits inside. We go through the interview like any other, posing for a few shots at the end for the article. Once we’re done, we bow and thank the staff before returning to our waiting room. It is now half an hour to the start of the concert and the members are all over the place doing their own thing to calm their nerves. I make use of the last bit of time to go through some dance moves. Soon, we are called on once again for standby. With hurried footsteps, we move to our respective positions under the stage.

 

The concert kicks off and runs just like we’d rehearsed. My eyes naturally find Byeol and her father in the crowd. She sits with our ARMY bomb waving in the air, blending in nicely with the surrounding fans. Even her father is holding up our slogan. Gaining confidence just by looking at her, I turn my attention back to our fans and enjoy the concert to my fullest.

 

Time passes by too quickly and we are soon at our last song before encore.

 

“ARMY’s!” I scream into the sea of sparkling bombs. The crowd returns with cheering of comparable passion.

 

“Is everyone having fun?” Jimin asks, and the crowd goes wild.

 

“Are you having fun?” Jin repeats the question to prompt for louder cheers. Our fans respond with in one voice, a voice loud enough to bring the stadium down.

 

“Everyone,” Hoseok starts, “We’re almost at the end of our concert.”

 

"This last song that we’re going to sing is a bit special,” Taehyung says. The stadium quietens down a bit in curiosity.

 

“Our next stage is specially prepared by Namjoonie hyung,” Jungkook teases, “because we have someone really special among us today.”

 

Instinctively, I turn towards where I know Byeol is seated to find only her father there. Where is Byeol?

 

“Actually,” I’m suddenly shy as I speak. “Today marks my second anniversary with Byeol.”

 

The crowd whistles and I feel heat creep up to my cheeks. I rarely speak about my relationship with Byeol publicly but today is a special day and I have an event planned just for her.

 

“Our Namjoonie is all grown up now, doing things like this,” Yoongi pats my back as the crowd screams and cheers. Byeol is still nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, movement backstage catches my eye. I turn sharply and see Byeol standing behind the curtains. From the casual blouse and jeans she was wearing just now, she’s changed into a dress that’s simple yet brings out her features beautifully. I wonder for a moment why that dress looks so familiar until I remember that it’s the one I’d bought for her on our first anniversary.

 

She smiles breathtakingly at me from where she is.

 

“This next song that we’re going to sing,” I tell our fans, “if you know it please sing along.”

 

The lights dim and music starts to play.

 

 

This is originally a song for the group’s vocals but we arranged it so I get some lines too. This is, after all, a song to Byeol that I’m dedicating. Our fans sing along in a tearfully beautiful harmony.

 

 

 

The crowd goes silent as the music is cut off. No… this can’t be happening! Looking around, I see that no one else is as flustered as I am. In fact, they all look as if they had been waiting for this to happen. What in the world is going on?

 

As if things couldn’t get any weirder, all lights in the stadium suddenly goes off. Even the bombs of our fans are being extinguished one by one. When we are eventually engulfed in pitch darkness, music suddenly comes on again and… oh? This isn’t our song. A spotlight flashes on with a ‘boom’.

 

Byeol…?

 

With a mic in hand, she takes small steps towards me.

 

 

My goose bumps are triggered as her singing echoes in the quiet stadium. She continues to walk towards me while I’m rooted shocked to where I’m standing. By this point, I see no one else but her. It’s as if the surrounding has melted away and it’s just the both of us in this dimension.

 

 

She holds out her small hand to me, and I hesitantly take it. As she sings, she looks right into my eyes and I can see the love in her own as they hold my gaze.

 

 

 

Caught in her entrancement, she slightly breaks her hold when she points to the audience. Following her line of sight, my eyes start to water when I see our ARMY bombs light up and start blinking softly in calculated sections of seating.

 

I… love… you.

 

It’s like a painting with stars in the night sky – a painting that spells out the three words I’ve been waiting for. When did Byeol coordinate this? With a tug on my arm, Byeol brings my attention back to her as she finishes her last verse of the song.

 

 

She hits the notes perfectly and unable to hold back anymore, I let the tears fall.

 

 

“Why are you crying?” Byeol whispers as she lowers her mic, her fingers gently wiping my tears away.

 

Without thinking, I pull her into a tight hug. In the distance I hear the crowd cheer and I turn to them to take another look at the light formation. I don’t even blink so that I can fully capture this scene in my head. “Thank you.”

 

“No, thank you.” She frees herself and caresses my face. The next words that she says strike me square in the heart and it beats so quickly I fear I’m about to go into cardiac arrest. “And, Kim Namjoon, I love you.”

 

As if on cue, the spotlight on us goes off. Taking my hand in hers, Byeol pulls me along as she leads me off stage. Back in the main stadium, the lights are slightly brightened and as it shines over, I see the glow of Byeol’s face.

 

“How did you-“

 

She cuts me off. “The show’s not over yet,” she tells me.

 

“Encore, encore, encore…” Hearing this through the speakers, I furrow my brows as to who could do that but then I see Taehyung on his mic. Following him, the fans outside continue to chant for encore.

 

“You can kiss her later, but let’s finish up this concert first.” Yoongi drags me by my collar back onto stage.

 

Of course, being the professional that I am, I somehow manage to end the show without squealing or spazzing or just running back to Byeol. Lined up in a row hand-in-hand, the seven of us bow to the audience in every direction. The cheering continues even after the lights go out for the final time, signalling the real end of the concert. It slowly dies down when fans start to calm down and leave the venue.

 

Back in the waiting room, I see a text message from Byeol saying that she’s bringing her father home first, and that she’ll meet me in my studio.

 

So meet her in my studio I did. I was even excused from the team dinner we usually go on after concerts. Running to the studio, I push open the door to find Byeol sitting cross-legged on my chair, casually scrolling through her phone. She turns around when she hears me enter.

 

“Did you run here?” She waves me over and taking a piece of tissue dabs at my forehead. My breathing is rapid as I try to catch my breath. Byeol shakes her head but a small smile hangs on her lips. “Why did you rush? It’s not like I’m going anywhere.”

 

She tilts her head cutely at me with one eyebrow raised. I must have been staring at her for a tad too long. But gazing into those mesmerising eyes of hers, a spark lights up in me. My focus is unknowingly brought down to her lips and acting on its own, my heart prompts me to pull Byeol in as I lay my lips on hers.

 

She seems to have been caught off guard by my action but regains composure as she responds to my kiss. Deepening the kiss, it slowly intensifies to a point where I might actually die from the lack of oxygen. Fingers tangled in hair, we pour out every ounce of our passion and desire into this one kiss.

 

When we finally break apart, my head is spinning and I have to lean against Byeol for support.

 

“Byeol,” I whisper her name, leaning back so I can meet her gorgeous eyes. Those eyes that sparkle brighter than diamonds every time I call her name and whisper sweet nothings to her.

 

“I love you,” she beats me to confessing. Her fingers gentle on my face and her gaze soft in my eyes, she brings me close and lets her lips touch mine one more time.

 

“I love you, too,” I say, leaning in for yet another kiss. 

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