Chapter 8

"I don't know, guys," An older man wearing a dark brown shirt, loose fitted jeans beat up sneakers with high cheek bones remarked, making the Bangtan boys simultaneously make noises of unsatisfaction,

"But hyung! There has to be a way we can get to America, we don't have any schedules until our next comeback!" Jungook started, turning to Jimin for some support, "We have vacation days saved up for between comebacks, can't we use it on this trip?" 

Jimin nodded hopefully, "Please, manager-nim, there has to be a way to get there. Monique has been having a hard time lately with all this adjusting, maybe she can use a week or two away from the company and here." The manager shook his head,

"I'm sorry, guys, I highly doubt that we'll be able to take a trip to America. None the less with Monique-ah. She's new to the company, and you all know as well as I that she has to prove her worth to Big Hit. She's too much of a fresh face to be given such freedom. The CEO is trying to build her up so that she can become as popular as you. Her manager, Hyun, will most likely tell her the same thing. Please, get this thought out of your guys' heads. There's no way we can afford that big of a trip with so many people involved, anyways." He shuffled his papers and tapped them on his desk to straighten out the pile, "You can travel within Korea, there's so much to look at, I'm sure there'll be something that'll strike all your interests to go to instead of America for your vacation days." 

The taller man stood up and straightened his shirt, nodding towards the boys as he left in a slightly slumped manner. 

Jin sighed as he looked at J-Hope with an apologetic expression, "We'll figure something out." 

J-Hope looked at Jin with a sad smile and nodded, "It would've been nice to see her so happy." Jin smiled sadly in return, nodding in understanding as he glanced at the other member's depressed expressions, "How about we try a different approach?" 

The group looked towards the oldest with curiosity in their eyes, "Like what? The whole point was to bring Noona to the States to see her home and family." Taehyung spoke with bitterness behind each word, shaking his head with loss of hope.

Jin nodded in acknowledgement, "Yeah, but how about we bring her family to her?" 

The sound of crunching metal filled the air, shattering glass and the pop of airbags made a low buzz in her ear as she felt her legs pressured down against the leather seat, her eyes squeezed shut as the adrenaline running through her body kept her from feeling the obvious pain on her right side of her body, numbness swallowing her whole. Flashing lights of red, blue and white reflected behind her closed eyelids. The scream that she wanted to let loose on the world was trapped inside her, keeping it to herself as she was left to realize what just happened. 

She turned her head ever so slightly to see J-Hope's eyes looking at her, a sad smile placed on his lips as he reached a hand towards her slowly and grabbed her quivering one, nodding to her to let her know it would all be okay, a trail of crimson running down from his temple to his chin, shards of glass visible from his skin along his left cheek- but yet, he managed to smile and only focus on comforting the girl sitting beside him. 

Tears streamed down her cheeks without realization, emotionless to the pain that tinged at every breath she took, but all she could do was look at J-Hope and hope that the kindness and reassurance he had behind his chocolate orbs was the truth and that everything would disappear, which soon did as she began to have tunnel vision, but she didn't pull her gaze away from the man who laid beside her in the overturned vehicle they were in, and soon, the darkened edges even took that away.

"Monique, wake up, we have to get you to your dance practice," Monique's eyes shot open, sitting up immediately as a cold sweat ran down her forehead, her breathing shallow as she looked around the room, pressing a hand to her fast beating heart in her chest after sitting up from the couch, "Are you okay? Were you having a nightmare?" 

Monique looked up at Amber, catching her breath to sooth her beating heart, running a hand through her hair to find her hair along her neck drenched in sweat, "Y-Yeah, I'm fine, just a nightmare is all." Amber raised a brow at the response, patting the younger girl's shoulder gently, 

"All right, well, we have to get going, your final rehearsal before your debut is in an hour and a half, the guys want to pick something up to eat first." The younger nodded slightly as she pulled herself back into reality, pushing the nightmare to the back of her mind, pulling her hair up into a high, loose bun, "By the way, the guys told me about some girl giving you some issues at the agency?" 

The younger's hazel eyes flashed to Amber, blinking before shrugging, waving a hand at the question, "It's nothing, really, the guys are just over reacting." Amber raised a brow once again before striding towards a tied up bag, digging within its confinements before pulling out a shredded shirt with an accusing stare,

"You're calling this over reacting? Explain." Her voice was laced with authority and demand as her brown eyes focused on the slightly shorter girl, awaiting a response.

Monique blinked and rolled her eyes slightly before leaning on one hip, crossing her arms before shaking her head digging her heel into the wooden surface of the floor, "It's nothing now, let's just get going or we'll be late. You didn't wake me up for no reason. The guys are waiting for us," She pulled on her deep red hoodie, pulling up the hood before brushing past Amber who eventually tossed the torn fabric back into it's original bag, grabbing her keys before walking out the door,

"Don't think you're off the hook," Amber warned as they hopped down the stairs that brought them out to the cool, foggy streets of Seoul, the cool mist making all the parked cars less visible, making it look as if it were at a distance. Monique's pace slowed as she got lost into her thoughts of the nightmare that she had just experienced, the red car that was parked in front of her reminding her of the oncoming car that had crashed directly into the side of the van in her dream, the sound of metal on metal crashing into each other echoed in her ear before a hand being pressed on her shoulder snapped her back to reality, 

"Noona?" Monique quickly turned her head at the hand and saw Jungook with a coffee in one hand, "Are you okay?"

Monique smiled at him gently and nodded, "Don't mind her, she's kind of in a daze since I woke her." Amber spoke, wrapping an arm around Monique's shoulders loosely, looking past the youngest and saw the rest of the boys walking towards them, flashing them a bright smile before waving an arm in the air in greeting, "So what's the game plan for today?" 

Within a beat, the group gathered close together to form a circle along the side of the pathway, "Well, Hyun-ssi will be here soon to pick Monique up for her final rehearsal for Music Core, but that'll be in about an hour. We can get something to eat real fast," Namjoon started after a quick sip of his coffee, breathing out, "It's weird having weather like this. It's not normal." 

"Of course it's normal, just not for Seoul during this time of year," Yoongi pointed out, his own arms crossed, his hands buried beneath his armpits, sniffling slightly, "We'll be there supporting you, are you nervous yet?" He smiled tauntingly at Monique with raised brows, "There'll be so many people watching!" 

Jin elbowed the slightly younger male, rolling his eyes slightly at his behavior before smiling reassuringly, "You'll be great, don't worry. You've practiced long and hard for this." Monique sighed softly before shaking her head,

"Not really, I feel like I haven't trained enough, I don't think I'm ready..." She trailed off, biting her lip slightly, "I mean, others train for years for this moment, and yet here I am, only a few months, and I'm about to step on that stage already, I don't think I have the right-" 

"Of course you do," Her eyes looked up to owner of the voice to see Hyun with a smile on his lips, stopped in front of their little circle. The group turned to see Hyun, his hands stuffed into his black coat's pockets, a dark blue scarf around his neck, "You have talent, Monique-ah. I thought you'd realize it by now. Do you really think the company would just rush anyone out onto that stage to represent them? You're following Bangtan," He nodded towards the boys, "They're the most popular aspect of our company, the CEO himself even said in all his years, he hasn't seen anyone like you." 

Monique blushed slightly at the words, "Are you sure he was saying that positively, though?" 

Hyun chuckled softly and broke through the small group, resting a hand on her slumped shoulder, making her look up at the man, "You're a very talented young woman, foreigner to this land or not, that won't change what you possess." His words of comfort brought a tug of a smile on the younger's lips, making her open her arms to hug the manager tightly.

"By the way, Hyun-ssi," He turned to Jimin who addressed him, "What're you doing here so early?" 

He laughed and nodded, "I figured you all had plans and just wanted to tag along to make sure things go smoothly. Monique's pictures are all over the streets of South Korea right now, as well as her commercials and teasers are playing on all the major broadcasting companies, so people may recognize her, I'm just trying to take care of her." He patted Monique's head slightly, making her playfully roll her eyes,

"More like you wanted to make sure I don't get into trouble." 

Hyun smiled at her brightly, "Precisely." 

"Calm down, you'll be great, Noona!" Jimin exclaimed as he stood behind the girl who was currently getting her hair and makeup done, her hands shaking slightly in her laps. She looked up at Jimin through the mirror and bit her inner cheek nodding slightly, making the younger flash her a bright smile, "Just do what you've been doing for the past few months." 

"Yes, Noona! Be confident!" Jungook exclaimed with a bright smile, holding up a victorious fist, "You'll be the next EXO, for sure!" The girl laughed and shook her head,

"I'm a solo artist, none the less a female, I doubt I'll become that big, if at all!" She retorted with a wave of a dismissing hand, earning a laugh from the rest of the boys that gathered around her chair. Her stylist then began with her eye makeup after finishing her long locks of dark, curled, wavy hair that fell along her back in a sea of black. 

Jin curled a finger along the end of a strand of her hair and shook his head, "You're underminding the ability of male fans, when there is a female artist, you will gain support from females who aren't jealous of you and supports female power, and males go crazy for girl groups- look at Girl's Generation, f(x), Girl's Day, Sistar- your time for stardom will come." 

Monique opened an eye to glance at the tall male and smiled gently, "Wahhhh since when are you so inspiring?" Jimin spoke, playfully nudging the oldest's shoulder, making a grin appear on his face, nodding slightly in agreement,

"You've practiced long and hard, we don't even know what to expect," Jungook exclaimed with a puff of his cheeks, "You didn't let us come to any of your rehersals or hear the song! You're so mean." He crossed his arms with a huff, making Monique playfully roll her eyes,

"Then it wouldn't be as much of a surprise," She mehronged playfully, making Jungook shake his head,

"You still have to work on your aegyo, what kind of female idol doesn't know how to do aegyo!" 

"One that's a foreigner!" She responded with a laugh, earning an accepting shrug from the youngest. 

"Alright guys, we're going to have to ask you all to leave," Hyun entered the room with an apologetic smile, "It's just about to be show time." The members audibly showed their displeasure, making Monique, Hyun and the make-up artist laugh softly, "Don't worry, you'll see her again, but by then, she'll be live on Music Core, making her debut. Anyways, I'm sure some people will like to see you in the crowd rather than on stage for once." Hyun winked at the boys, giving them the signal to leave before turning to Monique, "You ready? The time has finally come." 

He clapped his hands and rubbed them together, giving her a thumbs up, "How are you feeling?"

Monique smiled at the man and looked at herself in the mirror, purple and aquamarine eye shadow cupped her lids, mascara and eyeliner in a subtle cat-like wing, light blue shimmering lip gloss coated her lips that slowly tugged themselves downward, her gaze following, "It feels amazing, but I feel like I'm not ready. I haven't practiced enough, I'm not good enough." She played with her hands that rested in her lap, shaking her head, "I don't deserve this moment as much as others." 

Hyun smiled sadly before approaching the girl from behind, nodding at the artist to excuse her, leaving the two in the room alone. He rested his hands on the girl's shoulders, leaning forward to gently tilt her head up towards the mirror, "Tell me what you see." 

Monique bit her inner cheek as she studied the breath-taking reflection with her sharp eyes, "I see a girl in a mask. A scared and lonely little girl." 

Hyun smiled reassuringly, "Well, I see a beautiful, talented, bubbly and social butterfly of a dancer. There may be others who trained longer, maybe even harder, but sometimes, things happen for a reason. Even with all that practice and time, you can't simply obtain talent. You were made for the stage, I saw it the moment I laid eyes on you. And the moment you stepped up for your audition, the CEO was watching," Monique turned her head to look at Hyun with widened eyes, "And he was blown away." 

Hyun turned Monique in the chair to face him, leaning over the chair to look her in the eyes, "You are not alone. You have many people who care about you out in that crowd, Amber, the Bangtan Boys, myself, and many others. Just remember that as you perform, the people who helped you become stronger, not only as an idol, but as a person as well." He stood up and held Monique into his arms, her face burrying into his stomach, "You'll be amazing, Monique-ah." 

She tilted her head up and nodded before standing up in his arms before hugging him loosely, the moment passing almost immediately as the door to the room busted open to reveal a man with an earpiece in, "You're up in 3 minutes, be ready off stage." He spoke quickly before stepping out of her room, she looked at Hyun and breathed a shallow breath, nodding, 

"Let's go, Hyun-oppa." He smiled and nodded, guiding her to the proper entrance, giving her a last hug and words of encouragement before making his way out to the crowd beside an exit door way. 

Monique's nerves tingled, her knees shaking slightly, her eyes watching the stage that was being transformed to her own back drop after the last artist exited. The minutes seemed to tick past quickly as Monique closed her eyes to calm her beating heart, calming her breathing and holding her mic tightly into her folded hands, squeezing every last ounce of her being into the piece of equipment.

"Monique, be on stand by, you're out in-," The man stopped speaking audibly, giving out numbers to reveal his count down, pushing the girl towards the entrance of the stage to get her and her dancers in the proper positions before reaching the unavoidable 1.

5.

4.

Her palms sweated as her eyes looked out to the crowd of darkness, black outlines revealing each head that looked her way- either in favor or in boredom, which one, she couldn't tell.

3.

2.

Her head dropped into the proper position to begin the dance when the lights to her and the two other dancers on the stage with her, almost becoming blinded by the white twinkle, but enpowered. 

She exhaled.

1.