Chapter 42 – You’re the one that I want

Insook and Soonja stayed up pretty late, gossiping and trading strategies for the next day, and even when she went to bed, sleep remained elusive because she was so nervous about what would, or could happen, that Insook didn’t manage to fall asleep until the wee hours of the morning.

Several hours later, and a few hours after the alarm that she’d slept through had already rung, she woke up in a panic, staring at her clock in disbelief. It was only 40 minutes til BTS’s big showcase performance, and that was IF she left right now.

Distraught, she threw clothes on without looking at them, threw her hair into a messy ponytail and ran out the house.

***

The boys were done getting ready and waiting nervously in a small building behind the stage. V kept fiddling with his earpiece as he peaked through the door to try and catch a glimpse at the crowd that was watching the act just before them as if he was searching for something.

“Crowd ain’t going anywhere kid” said Namjoon, placing a hand on his shoulder as he appeared next to him.

“Oh no, I’m not worried about that, I’m trying to look for Insookie.” replied the boy without turning to look at him.

“Oh, is she coming?” asked the blonde boy, his voice showing a little hint of hope.

“She said she would, but she hasn’t replied to any of my mails from this morning…” said Taehyung, frowning as he looked at his phone for the 100^th time that morning.

“Ahh… maybe she ain’t coming then…” said Rapmon, scratching his neck as he looked away.

“What?!” wailed the younger boy, which made Rapmon look at him guiltily.

“Something kinda happened on Friday… I think she might be mad at me…”

“She’ll come…” said V, nodding to himself as he looked outside again.

Namjoon tilted his head and sighed, “Well, maybe she’ll come for you then…”

That comment made V turn around and look at him.

“Good luck, kid.” said the older boy, patting him on the shoulder, and leaving Taehyung to wonder if he meant it for the show, or for the girl.

A few moments later, the previous act entered the room after finishing their set, and a staff member ushered the BTS boys outside. The crowd gathered there was already pretty big, although a lot of people seemed to be leaving after the last act, and V’s eyes scanned the first couple of rows for the familiar, round, childish face as the 7 of them climbed onto the stage, but Insook was nowhere to be seen. Frowning inwardly, he put on a smile and waved at the crowd. They cheered louder.

***

Insook heard the sound before she spotted the stage. Rapmon was rapping and she’d recognize that voice anywhere. She ran towards the music, and only stopped when she’d reached the back of the crowd, to pant and catch her breath. When she looked up, Jin was singing. All other thoughts were pulled out of her head for a moment as she watched the stage. All seven of them moved as one on the elevated platform, dancing fluidly – even Rapmon – to a fast-paced, slightly hip-hop-sounding song. It was catchy; smoother and easier to listen to than their regular hardcore rap, and she could see why the crowd around them kept getting bigger and bigger, as the last few bars of the song came to a close.

They launched into another one a few seconds later and Insook waddled into the crowd. About halfway through she paused to stop and stare, in awe. Having the vocals in there changed everything, and their dancing was so good, she would never have believed that they’d only rehearsed for a week if she hadn’t known it for a fact.

She watched them all in turn. Jungkook was signing now and he looked nothing like the bratty little boy she knew. He looked so cool and sure of himself, like he’d been doing this his whole life. Then Jimin took his place for the second part of the chorus, and her eyes widened as he hit a really high note. After that, it was J-Hope’s turn, and he rapped with such fire, she could hardly believe it was the same person who always laughed so freely at the smallest thing and made such a big fuss about going on roller coasters...

Then the chorus came on again and V took center stage. She heard his low, beautifully raspy voice again and just stared. His hair had gotten sweaty from the dancing and stuck to his face in certain places, making him even more attractive than usual. He moved through the dance gracefully, like he didn’t even have to think about it, even though she knew he had no dancing experience. She just stared at him in wonder.

It seemed to Insook that only a few moments had passed but the song was already over and she was brought back to reality by the clapping. Namjoon took the mic to announce that they had one more song, and Insook started pushing through the crowd to get closer to the front.

Though it wasn’t a terribly big crowd, the fangirls at the front were reluctant to let her through, so she had to settle for being about 3^rd or 4^th row from the very front, but since it was a small stage, she was still close enough to see the sweat pearling on their temples and the ripples in their shirts as they moved. This song was a bit slower than the first two and V opened it up with his low, smooth drawl.

She kept staring at him, and it suddenly hit her, like an anvil falling on her head that she liked him. All uncertainty completely washed away as she stared at him in that moment. This sweet, ridiculous boy, who always smiled at her, even when he was sad. This caring boy, who offered to defend her honor, without worrying about the consequences. This boy, who hadn’t taken away his friendship when she’d turned him down time and time again. This boy who stood in front of her now, singing his heart out with his eyes closed, without even knowing she was there. Her heart swelled up and she felt like crying and screaming out for joy at the same time. She wished he’d open his eyes and look at her. ‘Notice me!!’ her mind screamed, but even when his eyes opened, he was looking at Suga, who was the next to come on.

She didn’t look at anyone else for the rest of the song.

In fact, she was so intent on the object of her focus that she didn’t even realize that one person on the stage had indeed noticed her presence. Rapmon spotted her during one of the choruses but his face fell when he saw what she was looking at with such a passionate expression. It was only for a second though. In a moment, his professionalism had returned and he’d finished the performance without anyone being the wiser.

When the last note finally fizzled out of the loud speakers, the crowd erupted into cheers. Insook turned around, surprised by its loudness, to notice that it had almost tripled in size since she’d first gotten there. She stood, clapping with everyone else, as Rapmon thanked everyone and they exited the stage.

Insook looked left and right, as the crowd started to clear but wasn’t too sure where she was supposed to go. The boys had gone inside a little building behind the stage and she wasn’t sure she’d be allowed in there, so she just kinda stood there, til she felt her phone ringing in her pocket.

[Did you come? Did you see it?]

It was a message from V and her face broke into a huge smile.

[Yes! I’m outside!]

She replied, hastily.

[Oh, thank god! I was so scared when I couldn’t find you in the crowd! I thought you wouldn’t come!]

Insook smiled at his childlike honestly, and then pressed her lips together to prevent the smile from getting even bigger, and people thinking she was crazy.

[Can you wait a bit? We’ll come out in a little while. Just gotta wait for the crowd to clear] he wrote again.

[Actually… could I talk to you alone?]

[Alone?]

[Yes]

Insook’s stomach grumbled nervously as she hit the ‘send’ button.

[Is everything ok?]

[Yeah] she replied cryptically.

[Ok, I’m coming right now]

[You don’t have to hurry]

She kept staring at her screen, but he didn’t reply instantly like for all the other messages, in fact, he didn’t even read it so she wondered if he’d been called out by one of the boys or something. But before she could even debate the possibilities, she heard someone calling out her name.

“Insookie!”

She looked up to see Taehyung running towards her, and then stopping, right in front of her, panting. She couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped her lips.

“Why did you run?” she asked, trying not to laugh.

“I was worried!” he exclaimed with a little pout, and she bit her lip again. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. I told you I could wait,” and she paused, shaking her phone in his face to indicate that he’d know if he’d just read it, “but you just came running here like a crazy person…”

“Sooo… why did you want to talk alone?” he asked her, his voice tinted with uncertainty.

“Hmm… let’s walk…” she said, eyeing some of the leftover fangirls who were looking at them curiously, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the path.

“Insook you’re acting weird.” said the boy, looking down at her as she just looked ahead at the pretty scenery in the park.

“Doesn’t this remind you of something?” she asked lightly, not looking at him.

He shook his head and half-shrugged cluelessly.

“That time. At the park. Near school.” she said, pausing between each little bit.

“Ah!” he exclaimed, remembering, “Aaaaahhh…….” he then added, in a sad, awkward tone, as he remembered how that particular walk had ended.

“I was wondering….” Insook started her sentence but left it hanging.

“Yes,” he asked, looking at her inquisitively.

Insook looked down at the ground and stopped walking, so he did too, then she turned to look at him.

“Does the offer still stand?”

She looked up at him sheepishly, biting her lip and holding her breath, terrified that she might somehow be too late.

“What offer?” he asked, not getting it.

She looked away for moment, and then right back into his eyes, willing him grasp her feelings without her having to voice them out. Suddenly, his eyes grew enormous as understanding came over him.

“Oh!” he exclaimed, his lips forming a perfect O as he stepped, back a little. “Wait… what? Huh??!?” he exclaimed again, making such a ridiculously shocked face that Insook couldn’t help cracking up.

“Insookie, you wanna be my girlfriend?!” he spurted out, dumbfounded.

She looked up at him from under her lashes with the tiniest smile and nodded.

His expression didn’t change.

“What? But… how?!?”

“I just…” she started, and then she just shrugged, and gave him a little half-smile. “I just realized you’re the one that I want…”

“Really?” he asked, putting his hands on her shoulders and bringing his face super close to scrutinize her face, as if he’d somehow be able to detect the lie if he stared close enough. Insook burst out laughing.

“Yes, really!!” she exclaimed, giggling.

The boy straightened up, his face softening as he whispered, perhaps more to himself than anything else, “Really…?” as if he couldn’t believe it.

She nodded and gave him a genuine smile.

Taehyung’s next reaction came out nowhere. His face split into a huge grin, and he smiled at her like an idiot, as if he was trying to show the world all of his teeth, and he grabbed her around the waist without warning, picked her up, and spun her around 3 times as he shouted “Wohooo!!!”

A few passerbys stopped to give them odd looks, but Insook didn’t care, she was too busy laughing, and screaming “Kim Taehyung! Put me down!”

When he finally did put her down, he did so with such gentleness than she hardly felt her feet hit the ground; and he looked down into her eyes so lovingly and brought a hand up to cup her cheek as he whispered once more:

“Really?”

“Really.”

Insook grinned back at him with a smile she imagined looked just as stupid as the one he was flashing her. ‘Idiot couple’ she thought, ‘that’s what we are.’ But she found that she was totally okay with that.

She waited for him to kiss her. That was what was supposed to happen after a successful confession, right? But Taehyung just stood there grinning at her like an idiot. So, taking matters into her own hands, she pulled on his shirt to bring his head down to eye level with hers.

“I think this is the part where you’re supposed to kiss me…” she told him in a stage whisper.

Taehyung’s face, which had relaxed in surprise, lit up again and he brought a hand up behind her head to pull her face onto his. With her eyes closed, she felt his lips press against hers and her insides exploded into a million butterflies. He laced his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him as he deepened the kiss, and she did the same as she melted into him.

Who knows how long they stood there, unaware of the sweet, annoyed and amused looks they received from people who had to go around them to carry on walking on the path. But one thing’s for sure, when they finally did pull apart, they certainly didn’t intend to let go.