I don't know how to feel about this chapter- I miiiiight have rushed it? But I hope you'll like it nevertheless! I wanna sorta rewrite everything in the future after I've completed Side A.
(Lol at the sudden dramatic chapter title though)

Quick Vocabulary:
annyeonghigaseyo: "Leave well" (same as jalgayo, but seems to FEEL a bit more formal)
geuraeyo: "Is that so?" or even "I see..."
maknae: used to refer to the youngest person in a group of people
mwo: "what?"
kkkkhhhhhh: this is just how I like to write out that throat sound that Korean people make lol Makes it easier to incorporate into the dialogues

 

**Just a note! When I have a line of space between paragraphs, it means that some amount of time has passed between events- whether several minutes or a few hours; short to fairly short intervals of time, basically. I like to use the horizontal rules when the current events are taking place a longer time after the previous ones. Hopefully this won't be confusing to you! ;u;

---

 

As PDogg got to his feet, the door was opened, and a hesitant figure appeared from behind it.

"Oh, Soonae-yah, come on in."

Namjun and Hoseok, who had been talking amongst themselves, stopped and watched as Soonae walked towards PDogg.

"Annyeonghaseyo," she greeted them briefly over a pant. They responded quietly, their expressions a cross between confusion and curiosity.

"Did you run a marathon to get here?" PDogg joked.

"Anieyooo," Soonae replied with a little laugh, still catching her breath. "I was late, so I had to hurry over."

"Yahhh, it's not like you have fixed times you need to come in by..."

"I knowww." She pouted. "But I like it here."

PDogg smiled at her. "Is that right?" He reached over and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Well, you're here now."

Soonae smiled back. "Ne."

Though a month hadn't passed as yet, the two of them had grown close; a relationship akin to that of a doting uncle and his niece. And Soonae was fitting right in with the rest of the Big Hit family.

"Alright, I was about to head to the bathroom," PDogg said, shifting past his chair and Soonae. "I'll be back in a moment and then we can start the recording."

"Ah, ne."

[Soonae POV]

I watched him until he was closing the door behind him, then turned to the other two. From what I remembered of my minimal research on the members of Bangtan, these two were from the rap team- and one of them was the leader. They spoke quietly, probably feeling a bit too awkward to behave like their usual selves around me. I pouted and made my way to the chair on the other side of PDogg's chair, thinking it best to leave ample space between myself and the guys.

"...Excuse me," came a voice.

I looked up, a bit excited about being spoken to first. It was the leader.

"You must be PDogg-hyung's student, right? Kim Nam Joon, but you can call me RM."

"Ne," I replied, receiving his handshake. "Kang Soon Ae."

"Ahh. So I hear you study music."

He was trying to break the ice, and I felt very grateful for that. I nodded. "Do you know Myungsok?"

"Myungsok...University?"

"Anieyo, Conservatory."

"Ahhh... I don't think I've heard of it."

"Wellllll, it's sort of an underdog right now, so I understand."

"How come?" He was genuinely interested.

And so, I became acquainted with yet another couple of Bangtan members, though this time, we actually spoke to each other. They were pretty cool guys.

As the conversation about my school's battle with societal prejudice came to a close, the studio door was reopened and PDogg-nim rejoined us.

"Are you kids getting along well?" He asked with a fatherly smile.

We chatted with him for a bit, but there was no further casual conversation from that point on, as PD-nim switched into professional mode and started going over the schedule for today's recording with the guys. He sat down around the mixing board and made a few checks while Namjun headed into the booth and prepared his voice.

 

I wasn't quite sure, but just from watching these two members working, I felt as though I knew why Bangtan became so famous. Their keen attention to detail and the way they kept finding ways to further personalise their song; it made me realise how much they love music. I still knew next to nothing about the type of people they were, but I could relate to their passion, and that simple fact made me happy. It was something like a mental connection between creators.

 

J-Hope had left soon after he finished up his parts, reason being that he had a personal project to work on. Now Namjun was done.

I stretched upwards as I rolled back my seat a bit, and PDogg-nim continued working on mixing the track.

"Sugohaesseubnidaaa." I said to Namjun, who was now out of the booth.

"Neee, sugohaesseoyo," he replied, a bit hoarsely.

"Is your throat okay? I have candies that can help." Not looking away from him, I hesitantly turned towards my bag.

"Ah you have them? Then, if it's not too much trouble..."

With that, I reached down and ped the front compartment in search of the cough drops. I plucked one out of the tube-like packaging and handed it to Namjun, who thanked me with a nod since he was drinking water at that moment.

"Our maknae producer takes care of others, huh?" PDogg said, though still a bit distracted with his mixing.

I smiled as I zipped up my bag and moved it aside.

"Oh? Younger than Adora?" Namjun asked around the candy in surprise. I'd been told jokingly before by one of the other producers that I'd hijacked their maknae's role, but I had yet to meet that person since she was away for a while. Namjun looked at me, a finger slightly pointed as he asked, "Which year were you born in?"

"Ah, me? Ninety-six," I replied. "I was born in April."

"Jinjjayo?" He turned to PDogg. "Hyung, Jeongguk would have to call her noona," he added, seemingly amused. Perhaps I looked younger than my age? To me, he explained, "Jeongguk is Bangtan's youngest, born in ninety-seven."

"Ahhh, ne...Jeongguk."

"Have you met him?"

"Eoh, sort of. The bunny..." I trailed off, but it was too late to cover up that last bit.

Namjun laughed. "He really is a bunny, isn't he?"

I nodded shyly. "We met when he was doing the guide. Ah, someone else was there too. Tae...hyung-ssi?"

"Oh, V was?"

"Mm," I responded, vaguely remembering V being one of the members' stage names. I guess it was Taehyung.

"If he'd waited two more days to be born, he'd be your chingu, that one."

"Jinjjayo?"

"Eoh. You said April, right? I guess he's the closest person in age here right now."

I gave a thoughtful pout, deducting that the reason why Jeongguk and Taehyung got along so well was because they were on the younger end.

"Hyung, how's it coming along?"

I returned my attention to PDogg-nim, who had been playing back parts of the song as he edited.

 

"Annyeonghigaseyooo," I said before Namjun closed the door behind him.

We were done with Bangtan-related work for now; or well, PDogg-nim was. After all, the most I do in these situations is observe him and ask him questions and stuff. Though, I suppose shadowing also takes energy.

"That's good, huh," PDogg said suddenly.

I looked at him in question. He was leaning back comfortably with a leg across his knee as he regarded me with a warm look that I couldn't quite make sense of.

"You made a friend."

"I did?" I asked, genuinely confused. "Namjun-oppa?" Earlier, Namjun had requested that I speak more comfortably with him, but that was about it.

"He's interested in people," PDogg explained. "Meeting you was good for him. I think you two would get along well, even if only for music alone." He looked thoughtfully at the mixing board, then back at me. "That goes for all the members actually. It's nice to have another young person around."

Shifting my gaze to the side, I nodded slowly in understanding, in spite of that part of me that didn't understand.

"Well... we'll see how it turns out by the end of Summer, right?" I managed a smile, suddenly feeling a bit disappointed that I would be on my own again after the next few weeks. When I looked back across at PDogg, he seemed to be in thought again. "What's on your mind?"

"...Soonae-yah, you definitely like it here, right?"

"Ne... Waeyo?"

"You know... there's a possibility." He was speaking a bit hesitantly. "Well, it's ultimately up to Sihyuk-hyung, but... if you're interested in a permanent job here..."

I let out an involuntary gasp, causing him to chuckle.

"Like I said, it's ultimately up to the CEO," he said, making defensive gestures. "But there's always room at Big Hit for people who seriously love working with music."

"Do you think he'd let me stay? Bang PD-nim."

"Hmm, well, I don't see why he wouldn't. I shared your assignments with him before, and he seemed impressed."

The thought made me feel hopeful and excited.

PDogg laughed a bit. "Go on now. You're free for the rest of the day."

"Ne~" I picked up my bag and got to my feet.

"Don't go dreaming about the job tonight now."

"I'll try not to~"

 

---

 

"Soo-yah, do you still like seafood?"

"Ah, ne," I replied, glancing at Hyejin's mother over my shoulder as I put a placemat in the centre of the table.

"Yahhh, suddenly seafood's on the menu? You seriously need to come over for dinner more often."

I smiled at Hyejin. "I'll even move in if you ask me to."

"Who says I want you around all the time?" She raised her chin at me before placing the last pair of chopsticks on the table.

"Hyejin-ah," Someone called from the kitchen; Hyejin's older brother, Jihoon. "Are you done with the table? Go get dad."

"Eohhh," Hyejin responded lazily before heading towards the staircase.

Left to myself now, I folded my arms loosely and scanned the table to make sure everything was in order.

"Hothothot," warned Jihoon as he hurried over, carrying a pot with stove mitts on.

I stepped aside with a smile. "Oppa, this concept really suits you." I tugged on the apron tied around his waist while he placed the pot on the bamboo placemat.

"Handsome, hardworking doctor by day and handsome, hardworking son by night." He akimboed and looked off into the distance dramatically.

"Kkkkkhhhhhh," Hyejin responded.

I couldn't help laughing at her disgusted expression as she looked at her brother from the opposite side of the table.

"Mwo?" Jihoon asked with a threatening look, to which Hyejin responded with mimicry. Siblings like these were always entertaining to watch.

"Seriously, what are you two doing?" Their mother whined, entering with a tray of side dishes. "Go get the rest of the food. Hurry."

Both of them started walking, though Jihoon purposely moved slowly at first so that he could get Hyejin with a surprise attack when she was passing him. She managed to slip away though, and he ended up chasing her into the kitchen. I shook my head with a smile.

 

"So basically, you might get a promotion? That's great!"

"It's not really promotion..." I murmured, carefully choosing my ice cream.

Dinner with Hyejin's family was great! I felt a bit ashamed of myself for not making time to stop by more often this whole time. They always welcomed me as their own daughter (and sister, on Jihoon's part).

When Jihoon-oppa was heading out to go meet a friend for drinks after dinner, Hyejin and I tagged along for a ride to the closest park so we could hang out a bit. We stopped by a nearby convenience store first though, where we could get some frozen desserts.

"It would be great if it worked out for you though, huh."

I finally picked up a Crunky Cone and slid the fridge door shut. "Eoh. Any good company would be fine with me, but I feel sort of attached to this one for the moment." We made our way towards the counter. "It would be way less scary to have my first job placement at Big Hit, since I at least know the people there and get along with them."

"Having friends is always nice. Especially in unfamiliar places."

"Majayo."

Hyejin greeted the cashier and got ready to pay for the items.

As we headed towards the park, I made an utterance of pleasure at the flavour of the ice cream. Hyejin giggled, still busy opening hers.

"Looks like your dreams are getting closer though," she said. "I'm happy for you."

I looked at her and was met with a warm smile. Smiling back, I linked my arm with hers and we continued like that until we found a bench to sit on.

There, just like in our high school days, we talked. And talked. Annnd talked some more as we idly chewed on our then remaining wooden ice cream sticks.

"What time is it?" I asked when I started to feel the weight under my eyes.

Hyejin looked at her wristwatch with a yawn, but resorted to checking her phone instead when she couldn't see anything properly. "Oh, it's already after 12am," she said, a bit surprised. "I'll call oppa to let him know we're coming."

"Eoh," I replied, tiredly rubbing one eye.

"Give me your garbage."

I handed her my ice cream wrapper with the stick inside and she crumpled it together with hers as she got to her feet. After a brief stretch upwards, she went off to find a bin.

Feeling too tired to move, I sat there, dreading the walk we would have to make to the bar where Jihoon was hanging out. It wasn't that far, but I still wished we didn't have to walk. Hyejin had made it a point of her duty to take charge of the drive back home though, out of concern for her brother's state of mind after all the drinks he would have had with his friends.

With a groan, I hung my head back for a few seconds, then forced myself to get up. Pressing my hands against the small of my back, I pushed out my chest in as deep a stretch as I could manage, before I had to cover my mouth for a yawn.

For some reason, I looked to the side, and then I caught sight of someone. Curious about what they were doing, I studied their figure more keenly. Suddenly, it looked familiar; the loose cropped pants, the oversized shirt... And when he turned at just the right angle, the light of one of the park lamps confirmed that this face was also Kim Taehyung's.

I was a bit surprised to see him here. It looked like he was taking pictures of the sky with some sort of camera. Should I approach him? Maybe he wants to be alone right now though... That's how it works for famous people, right? I pouted at the thought as I tucked my hands into the pockets of my hoodie.

Almost as though he could hear my thoughts, he looked up from checking his camera and directly into my direction. I flinched a bit. He stared for a good couple seconds before returning his attention to the camera. Oh wait. I looked behind me to see Hyejin a short distance away, talking on her phone.

Her voice could be heard from where I stood, though faintly. Maybe that's why Taehyung looked around.

"Excuse me."

The sudden voice startled me. I looked up at the man. "Ah...ne?"

"Is everything okay?" He gave me a concerned look and glanced over at Hyejin.

"Ne?" I was a bit confused. "Ah, I mean, everything's fine."

"Soonae-ssi?"

We both looked around at Taehyung, who came to a halt as he approached us.

"Do you know each other?" The man asked him.

"Eoh, sort of. She works at the company."

"Then..." He gave Taehyung a questioning look.

"It's alright."

The man nodded then turned back to me. "Have a good night."

I gave a slight bow as he walked off and watched as he stood next to a nearby tree, though with his back facing us. He must have accompanied Taehyung here.

"Are you alright?"

I looked up at Taehyung in question now. He was staring expectantly. "Ah, I'm fine," I finally replied. "It was just a bit sudden..."

"Sorry for frightening you."

There was something pure about him, the way he spoke politely and considerately. I smiled a bit. "Anieyo. He was just doing his job, right? It would be bad if fans noticed you and got too excited."

He nodded, with a smile and expression that somehow managed to convey agreement, gratefulness, and even hints of pity and sadness, all at once.

Upon noticing this, I felt my own smile fade into an expression of mild concern. Was he okay? I wanted to ask, but at the same time, it felt strange since I was only an acquaintance. So instead, I decided not to pry. Tucking my hands deeper into the pockets of my hoodie, I turned around slightly and looked up at the sky.

"The moon is really pretty tonight," I said, trying to make conversation. A part of me also saw it as a way of indirectly cheering him up. "It's a good thing that the sky is clear tonight."

"Eoh, I always try to come look at it, the full moon." I glanced at him as he looked up at it too. "I'm too busy most times though. Like now, with the new comeback."

"Ahhh, I can imagine..." I pouted. "At least you managed to get the time now though. Ah, were you taking pictures of it?"

"Eoh, I bought a camera recently." He showed it to me momentarily. "I can't really take clear moon photos with this lens, but... That's the charm. I guess you could say it's my concept?"

I nodded slowly in understanding as I looked from him to the moon again. "It's a nice concept."

He thanked me with a quiet voice, seemingly a bit shy.

"Hmmm...Does your camera use film?" I asked.

"Mhm. I have to get it developed each time."

"Ohh. That's pretty cool."

We were quiet now, and just watched the sky. Well, I was watching it at least. When I looked at Taehyung again, I was a bit surprised to find him staring at me.

"...Waeyo?" I queried.

"Ani," he responded, shifting his gaze away with a curious look. "It's just, you're surprisingly easy to talk to."

It wasn't the first time I'd been told that, but the context this time seemed to elude me. With a confused pout, I tried to process it.

"...Ahh, don't get me wrong," Taehyung said, his tone a bit urgent now. He turned to me with an apologetic expression. "It's not a bad thing. It was just...unexpected."

I wanted to ask him why it was unexpected, but I found myself breaking into a smile instead. Not losing my smile, I gave him a suspicious look. "Geuraeyo."

After a second of processing my reaction, he looked away again, chuckling to himself a bit.

"I guess I could say the same for you," I said. "Although, you're still so mysterious somehow."

"Me?" He raised his eyebrows. "How?"

Well, for starters, he was quite a pretty fellow. His voice was deep, and almost haunting with the right words atop it. His clothing choices were... interesting... in the artsy type of way. And here he was, after 12am, taking photos of the night sky with what appeared to be a vintage camera.

But I didn't mention any of that.

"You're just... Mysterious," I said, a bit quietly as I turned away again. I could feel his eyes on me for a few seconds, probably filled with that same curiosity from earlier.

"Geuraeyo," he said simply, and I chuckled at the way he'd adopted my response from just now. "Ah. That's your friend, right?"

I glanced at him, then turned to the direction he was looking in. There, Hyejin was standing around, idly moving her foot along the shapes in the stone pathway.

"Ah right- I should get going." Feeling a bit bad for making her wait, and also for this abrupt end to the conversation, I gave Taehyung an apologetic look.

"It's alright," he said reassuringly. "Sorry for keeping you."

"Anieyo..."

He gave a cute smile. "Jalgayo."

Stepping back, I bowed slightly then turned around and hurried over to Hyejin.

She playfully attacked me with slaps when I got close enough and complained despite my apologies. At some point as we were walking away, I looked back over my shoulder and saw Taehyung watching us. He held up a hand in a motionless wave, and I waved back timidly.