“Who said that TV is all fake?”

You jumped up and down nervously, waiting for your mysterious partner to come and start the race. You had been waiting at the starting line at the 2k run for more than 15 minutes, the rest of the cast and guests had to weave their way through the intense traffic that plagued the streets everyday in downtown Seoul. You laced your shoes for the 3rd time, zipping up your sweater even tighter. You pulled you hands tightly into your sleeves, balling them up before hopping from one foot to the other, your ponytail swinging from side to side, threatening to come loose at any second. Nervously, you whispered words of encouragement to yourself as you waited. What kind of a celebrity would come and run with you today?

You always enjoyed running, especially for races and competitions, training nearly every day. You were extremely competitive, never backing down from a challenge, even provoking others to compete against you. You were an idol, and the athletic one in your group of 7 members. Being the 3rd youngest, you never had the chance to stand out among the others. You were pretty enough, you could sing well enough, dance well enough. Enough.

However, when it came to variety, you were the queen. You would always be able to come up with something that would make headlines for days. You were not afraid to sacrifice your image (and sometimes your group’s) in order to make the show as entertaining as possible. Your athleticism helped of course, landing you on famous shows, such as Running man or Dream Team.

Two other female idols were standing next to you, Gummi from Crayon Pop and Krystal from f(x). They were known to be incredibly athletic, and also very popular. How could you compare to them? All you could hope for was a good partner that would match your level of competitiveness, or someone who could put up with you even. 

Krystal looked at you before leaning over to get your attention and resting her chin on your shoulder. 

“Yah, who do you think you’re going to get paired up with? Have you mentioned male celebrities at any point in you career before? They’re usually the ones that you get paired with, so companies like dispatch are able to make money off of writing crappy articles about a suspected idol couple, and make a lot of money” She said with a touch of smart- personality.

You giggled before looking at Gummi and tapping her arm.

“Unnie, who are you hoping for?”

Laughing, she simply patted your back and looked at Krystal understandingly and they both burst into merry peals of laughter, looking at you as is you were a small puppy that didn’t know what it is doing.

Going down a list of the most famous Korean celebrities, you mentally sorted them into two columns, those who you would love to be partnered with and those you didn’t care for.

Super Junior Siwon,- Amazing partner

Lee Kwangsoo, - Umm, probably not

SHINee Choi Minho - #GOALS

This went on for quite a while, as you thought about all those who were mentioned by your manager at one point or another. You had scoured the internet for nearly an hour on this singular topic, however you came up short. Oh well. Good things come to those who wait.

You saw a large white van pull-up to the parking lot nearby, and a crew of staff members came rushing to it, pulling out papers and pens, trying to get a word in to speak to the people inside. You tilted your head quizzically, wondering who could be in the van. You brushed your stray hairs out of your face, and turned towards the staff that had all their cameras trained in different directions. 

Wondering out loud, you asked the staff,

“Who is coming today?”

“Just a few boy group members.”

Your heart started pounding, as you stood on your toes to look over the crowd, but with no success. As the sea of staff members parted to reveal three boys walking towards you, you smiled, trying to look pretty. Soon, the three of them joined the three of you, standing shoulder to shoulder facing the cameras.

One of them tapped your shoulder, and whispered

“Hey partner”

~

It turned out that your partner was Park Jimin of BTS. You didn’t know him very well, nor his group, although they were one of the nation’s top rookies. You kinda liked the attention he gave you though, even before the race started. He talked a lot, especially about a so-called “game plan” that he prepared for the race, apparently. 

Soon, all the staff members and managers had set up accordingly, and the race could soon begin, and the filming could start. You lined up with Krystal and Gummi and stood at the starting line, preparing to begin. In front of you, the MC’s were introducing the show, along with the boys. As soon as you heard your name being called, you made your way forward, smiling brightly before taking your spot next to Jimin. Although he wasn’t tall, you still were a considerable height shorter than him. He looked down and smiled his signature eyesmile before facing back at the cameras.

When the time for team spirit began, the two other groups awkwardly exchanged handshakes and hugs before hiding their faces and running back. As Jimin and you approached the Cameras, you could feel your heart beating faster and faster, as well as your cheeks turning red. You looked down at your feet awkwardly and squeezed your eyes shut as Jimin started introducing you. 

“Yah, we’re going to win right?”

“Oh, um yeah, of course!”

He held his hand up to signal a high five, and you went for it, however you did not expect that when you made contact, he would close his fingers over yours, and interlock them, couple style, the kind that you would only see in dramas. You looked up at him, and it his eyes showed no sign of joking, only care. You didn’t know what to make of this.

Overcome with strange emotions, you laughed and bowed your head as you saw the MCs at the side going absolutely crazy, screaming and jumping around like embarrassing ahjussis. Your face turned crimson, and Jimin just stood there laughing. You stumbled your way back to the starting line, however, the way Jimin looked at you was never the same again.

~

After the race, as you were packing up with your manager, you put your cold hands into your jackets and felt a small slip of paper that you were sure hadn’t been there before. Pulling it out, it read,

Without the cameras this time?

(XXX)-XXX-XXXX

Jimin