May 12, 2033

Jin sat at his desk in the spacious office, quietly signing papers. He put his pen down with a tired sigh and adjusted the name plate on his desk that read: Kim Seokjin--CEO. It had been a long day of meetings with producers and coordinators. Leaning back in his leather swivel chair, he took a long look around the room as he had done hundreds of times before. On the left wall were framed pictures of him with the other BTS members during historic moments in their musical career: their Rookie of the Year award from Melon back when they just debuted, their first win with I Need U, their Billboard Social Artist of the Year award, and many more, along with a glass case showcasing their multiple awards throughout the years and copies of all their albums from debut until disbandment. Of course, Jin looked impeccable in all of them.

On the right wall were pictures of him with celebrities he was close to, from Bang PD, his mentor and adopted father figure, to the latest rookie groups that Big Hit produced. After succeeding Bang Si Hyuk as the new CEO of Big Hit Entertainment, Jin himself was now a big name in the industry.

On Jin's desk were framed photographs of him and his families: one of high-school age Jin with his parents, grandparents, and siblings; one with Jin's wife and daughters; and a picture of BTS, backstage after the last day of their On Stage: Epilogue concert tour, sweaty and red-faced, with the brightest smiles and tears of joy. It was one of Jin's favorite moments as a group. The memory of it brought a smile to Jin's face now, as he picked up the last frame and reminisced on how that path led him here.

_________

It was after one of their concert tours ended back in 2018. While the other members got excited about producing their own music and writing lyrics, Jin felt he was lacking in those areas. He felt he rarely contributed when the group gathered together to pick parts to put into their songs. He rarely got enough lines as it was. As much as Jin loved music and singing, he felt like he wasn't cut out to be a producer, unlike Rapmonster and Suga, who had even moved to writing songs for other artists, or J-hope, who wrote his own raps and had steadily improved since their debut in 2013. Even the maknae line were seeking RM and Suga for guidance in writing their own songs. However, Jin remained cheerful and positive, and did his best in writing lyrics, even earning praise from the other members for his heartfelt words.

In one of those company meetings, Bang PD noticed how quiet Jin got when it came to the topic of writing songs for the new album. After the meeting, he called Jin aside.

"Seokjin, I have to talk to you," the CEO said in a serious tone.

"What is it, PD-nim?" Jin, suddenly aware of the tone of the conversation, suddenly started thinking all kinds of things--how he tripped onstage in Tokyo last month, how he gained weight from the American tour, his role in the group--and he wondered which of these reasons were involved in this conversation.

"I have a proposition for you--I want to groom you to be my successor."

Jin could not process what he had just heard. "W-what? PD-nim, why me? Aren't there lots of other people in the company? What about Lee Hyun hyung or Jo Kwon hyung? I don't understand!"

"I'm not leaving that early. They're pretty old already, they have no interest in running an entertainment company. Besides, after all, you've got real experience with music and producing compared to them! And you've got a more caring, nurturing side to you, which I think is important."

"Does this mean I can't promote with the members anymore?" Jin suddenly thought that he would have to leave BTS--the thought scared him very much.

"No, no! Of course not, Seokjin. But it may mean you have to spend some additional hours in the company, more than before. Do you think you can handle that?" For Jin, time was not an issue. Namjoon, Yoongi, and Hobi spent hours in their studios just for producing songs, but Jin spent a lot of time in the dorm doing housework. He could definitely relegate some of that work to the kids who were a lot older now.

"Think about it for a while, alright? I'll wait for your answer, but I will accept a no if that's what you want." Bang PD put a gentle hand on Jin's broad sholders and then walked in the direction of the office, leaving Jin in deep thought.

That night, Jin sat all the members down and told them about the conversation. All six of them were extremely excited and encouraging, but also very shocked.

"Does that mean you become our boss? We have to take orders from you??" Taehyung asked.

"No, not until Bang PDnim retires. And you little punk! I'm older than you, you should take orders from me!!!" Jin said in typical uncle-like fashion.

"Wow, I'm so surprised. But now that I think of it, I think the role suits you well, hyung." Namjoon said with a nod of his head. 

"So, are you saying yes, Jin hyung? I mean we'd be happy for you if you said yes, but we'd also support you if you said no." Yoongi said, trying to calm down Taehyung and Jungkook who were now yelling over the couch.

Jin heaved a sigh of relief. He wasn't sure what to say, but he was glad his boys were behind him 100%. No matter what, they would stay by his side. But truthfully, in his heart, Jin already had an answer.

_________

Jin's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the frosted glass door. The door swung open a bit, enough to let in a head of green hair. "Hey hyung, your secretary was out, so I thought I'd just go ahead and knock myself. Hope I'm not disturbing anything."

"Yoongi! Come in, what's up?"

Yoongi came in the rest of the way, closing the door behind him. Without need for invitation, he sat on the soft couch across Jin's desk, leaning back and crossing his legs. He was wearing his regular "company wear"--a worn hoodie and jeans. His green hair resembled dried seaweed. "Well, I just wanted to let you know we finally finished recording the debut album of the new girl group. It went great, by the way. Their voices are amazing. I'm sure they're our company's next big thing," Yoongi stated coolly.

"That's great to hear, Yoongi! I'm sure with you as their producer, their album is bound to be a big hit!!" Jin put emphasis on the last words, chuckling his windshield wiper laugh. "Get it? Get it?"

"Hyung, I know!!! You don't have to make that joke every time one of our artists release an album. It was never funny!!" Yoongi cried in exasperation.

"Yah, that's an exaggeration." Jin defended. "Anyway, how is Kookie's new solo album? Have you started writing?"

"Namjoon is in the studio as we speak. Kookie sent in lyrics for a couple of new songs, and they're good! Do you want to see?"

"No, it's alright, I'll wait until everything is decided. I trust his lyric skills, after all." Yoongi responded with a nod and said, "well, if you want to check up on him, he's in the recording studio now with one of the finished songs that you approved last week."

Yoongi suddenly noticed the frame in Jin's hand, and when he caught a glance of the picture, he smiled. "Yah, what great memories. Who would have thought we'd grow up like this?"

Jin chuckled. "What are you talking about? We all knew you'd become the biggest producer in the industry! It's been your dream forever!"

Yoongi gestured to Jin's nameplate on his desk. "Yeah hyung but look at you, bigshot CEO of an entertainment agency at only 40 years old! Not everyone can claim they did that."

"I guess it pays off to dream big, right? I did say I wanted to be like my dad." They smile at each other with wistful expressions. They definitely went through a lot together since their trainee days.

Jin gets up and dusts off his suit. "Alright, let's go check on Kookie in the recording studio!"