Backstage at M Countdown is exactly as glamourous as Minho remembers. Which is to say, not very glamourous at all. Groups are shoved and squeezed into dressing rooms not built to accommodate somany people, and the combined sounds and smells of this many performers is nigh on strong enough to knock him off his feet.

“Eurgh,” Taehyun wrinkles his nose as they pass JJCC, “does no one think to use deodorant back here?”

“Sure they do, but trust me the only thing worse than the smell of two dozen idol groups fresh offstage, is the smell of their combined deodorant. It’s better this way,” Seungyoon says. As their leader, and a debuted solo artist in his own right, the others defer to him on all matters of music show competence.

As their ex leader, and ex-member of an unsuccessful former idol group, Minho is of the opinion that the only smell worse than that of two dozen idol groups fresh offstage, is the smell of Block B’s shoe closet. Surrounded by bodies sweating under the combined pressures of stage lighting and the mid August heat wave however, it seems like something of a moot point.

Their manager arrives with a sack full of signed CDs for them to hand out to their new colleagues. “Remember,” she warns, “YG or not this is your first week. Everyone here is a senior, so be on your best behaviour.”

She punctuates her last comment with a pointed stare at Taehyun, who shrugs like he has no idea what she’s talking about.

They each take a stack of albums and begin the process of handing them out. Jinwoo gets swept up by Orange Caramel almost immediately and Seunghoon slinks off to the other side of the room where Spica have just arrived back from prerecording.

Minho grabs a handful of albums and scans the crowds for a group that looks to be engaged with neither pre-stage preparations nor one of his group mates. He’s starting to think that he may have to brave Taemin when a face too familiar for television appears amongst a sea of celebrities.

“Namjoon!” Minho barrels across the room, almost knocking Red Velvet over in the process and having to apologise profusely before he can move on.

“Smooth Hugeboy, smooth,” Namjoon laughs when he finally escapes.

Minho grins sheepishly, “just trying to leave a lasting first impression.”

“I’d say you managed that…one way or another.”

“Hyeong!” a small boy with an excited face pops up at Namjoon’s shoulder, “you didn’t tell me you knew Mino sunbaenim!”

“Of course I do, Jimin! he’s Royal Class!” Namjoon throws an arm around Minho’s shoulder, “Daenamhyup and Royal Class are tight.”

The boy - Jimin - looks thoroughly impressed, and squeals with delight when Minho hands him an copy of the S/S album. “Jungkook! I got Winner sunbaenim’s album!!”

“We’re not your sunbaes!” Minho calls after him, but Jimin has already vanished into the mass of stylists crowding around Bangtan’s maknae.

“Jimin would call the pizza delivery guy ‘sunbaenim’ if he found out he had once handed Yang Hyunsuk a napkin, kid’s total YG trash.”

Minho looks around to find the source of the voice as Namjoon disentangles his arm from around Namjoon’s neck to answer the call of his manager.

“Over here.”

His eye catches the movement of someone waving their hand in his general direction as they scroll through their phone. Their hair’s different, but Minho just about recognises them from the few Bangtan MVs he’d watched when they first debuted.

He holds out a hand, grinning, “Suga, right?”

“Got it in one. Nice to meet you Hugeboy” Suga takes the offered hand but barely looks up from his phone.

“Please, call me Minho.”

“What’s wrong with Hugeboy?”

“I…don’t use that name anymore,” Minho laughs despite himself. He still can’t believe he managed to pick such a ridiculous stage name.

“If it makes you feel any better, I used to call myself ‘Gloss’.”

“Why on earth-”

“My name’s Yoongi, and in English-”

“Ooooh! Wow that’s pretty clever.”

Suga snorts, “Hardly.”

“Yoongi we need you in makeup,” a stylist pokes her head out from the swarm of people surrounding Jungkook. Suga nods and pulls himself into a standing position with all the enthusiasm of a fifteen year old getting up for school on a Monday morning.

Minho bows to him as he goes, “break a leg out there today! You should add me on kakao sometime, my ID’s-“

“Hugeboy?” Minho laughs at himself and nods in confirmation, “you don’t half make it easy for people to make fun of you.”

“Just trying to give you all something to smile about!”

Suga rolls his eyes, but Minho can see that he’s smiling. And by the time he gets back from soundcheck, he has a new kakao friend.