The Ark finally made their comeback and had been invited to M!Countdown to perform. Not only were The Ark thrilled to see their fans but to finally meet and get closer to other idol groups. When promoting their debut song the only idol group they formally got to meet was EXO. Although meeting EXO was a huge honor, the girls all hoped to be introduced to other groups as well. Once the girls got to the M!Countdown they were led to their waiting room. The staff were going through the order of the performances as the girls got the finishing touches on their make-up. For some reason Yuna was more tensed than she was for her debut. The Ark’s debut got overall positive reviews but little traction. Now with their comeback they were finally being recognized! Yujin had been diagnosed with vocal nodules and had to undergo surgery. This caused their comeback to be delayed but now they were ready to shine. Yuna was the only one worried. The other girls were anticipating the stage and the crowd. Jane and Halla were bouncing off the walls with elation while Yujin and Minju were calmly watching the maknae line. Yuna looked herself in the mirror and tried to calm down. This isn’t even your first time. Stop stressing out. Just go on stage and do what you did at the rehearsal. As Yuna was staring herself down in the mirror she felt a hand grab her shoulder.

“You’ll be amazing up there”, Minju said smiling warmly at Yuna. She gave Yuna’s shoulder a tight squeeze before heading back to her seat. The Ark went to the hallways because they were scheduled to do a Q&A. After that they finally arrived backstage. Idols filled the area with constant movement everywhere. People going on and off stage, props being tossed around, nonsensical chatter all over the room. The perfect place to watch idols dancing and singing up close. Also the perfect place to meet them.

“Where should we stand? Should we go near the stage? Oooooo, I see Red Velvet sunbaenim! Can I go over there? Please?!”, Jane said gripping onto Minju’s arm.

“Let’s just stay together for now okay?”, Minju said peeling Jane’s hands off of her. The Ark slowly made their way to see the stage. VIXX was performing now. They were all in awe of the sight. VIXX has been in the industry for four years now so going on music shows were nothing for them. VIXX made their way off the stage and greeted them. The Ark bowed and briefly said hi to them.  

“Wow! Vixx is daebak!”, Jane said with her thumbs up and mouth wide open. She was still staring at them after they already passed them. The rest of the girls laughed at Jane but recognized that VIXX was on a completely different level than they were. The Ark decided to move away from the stage and to introduce themselves. It was a lot easier than Yuna expected.  They started with girl groups first. They were able to meet GFriend, Lovelyz, Oh My Girl, and Red Velvet. Jane and Halla were able to catch up with Yeri since they attend the same school. After talking to Red Velvet it was now time to move onto boy groups.

“What to do?!”, Halla said scanning all the boys groups in the room and shaking Yujin’s shoulders.

“Can’t we just walk up to them and say hi?”, Yujin said bluntly.

“But it looks like they’re all busy.”, Jane said pouting. She wasn’t lying. All the guy groups were either talking to other groups or preparing to go on stage.

“That’s okay. Maybe we can-”, Minju said before getting interrupted.

“Excuse me?”

The Ark quickly turned around to the voice behind them.

“Are you guys The Ark?”, Jackson asked.

The Ark froze for a second until the situation registered in their heads.

“Yes sunbaenim”, Minju said as the confident leader she is.  The girls knew Minju well enough to know she was freaking out just like they were on the inside.

“I thought so. Hi it's nice to meet you!”

Jackson bowed as he shook their hands.  Mark, JB, Yugyeom, and Youngjae walked over to them as they saw Jackson. They all proceeded to do the same. The Ark tried to keep their composure but excitement glowed in their faces. The Ark looked at each other.

“We are big fans of Got7!”, Minju squealed.

“Thank you. We are fans of The Ark.”, JB said.

“Really?!”, Jane blurted out loud. Earning a laugh from everyone.

“Yeah. We love your new song!”, Youngjae added.

Jackson started singing and dancing to The Ark’s new song causing Got7 to be thoroughly embarrassed. The Ark watched in approval and clapped in appreciation.

“Wow! Amazing!”, Yuna said sincerely. Yuna had always been a fan of Got7. She loved all their songs and highly respected them. Getting to share the same stage as them was now a reality for her.

“Thank you. I know.”, Jackson said jokingly as he gave his signature hyena laugh.

“When are you going on stage?”, JB asked.

“We don’t go on for another hour and a half.”, Yujin replied.

“Oh wow. We go on in about an hour then we have to leave right after.”, Yugyeom added.

“Oh.”, The Ark replied understandingly. Got7 are one of the hottest boy groups in kpop so of course they couldn’t stay for their performance.

“I wish we could see stay to see you perform live.”, Yugyeom said disappointed. There was a awkward silence that followed but luckily Jackson broke it.

“Next time, ok?”, this caused everyone to stare at Jackson and break into laughter. Somehow everyone ended up breaking off into groups. Apparently Yugyeom was a fan of Minju when she starred on Kpop Star season two. Yujin and Youngjae were talking to each other animatedly, surprised by how much they had in common. They were both born in the same year, trained for seven months, and the main vocal of their groups. Mark and Jackson chatted with Jane and Halla. Yuna could hear their chuckles from across the room. Bambam and Junior hosted M!Countdown so they couldn’t be backstage with Got7. That meant Yuna was left with-

“Are you nervous?”, JB asked curiously.    

“Yes sunbaenim.”, Yuna said awkwardly. Usually Yuna wasn’t like this around strangers. She was sociable and bubbly. Now she was staring at floor, rubbing her hands together. What is wrong with me? The time of The Ark’s performance was drawing near and it didn’t help that she was continually reminding herself. Yuna lifted her head slowly to meet eyes with JB. She immediately regretted it. She moved her eyes to see what JB was doing. He was looking around the room with his hands in his pockets. Yuna has a big fan of Got7 so she knew all about them. She knew JB use to have a anger issue but had learned to deal with it. She knew JB could come off as cold and standoffish but was a dork at heart. She knew how much he loved and cared for the members. She knew that through all the inner conflicts he had he still turned out to be a great leader.

“That’s what makes you so admirable”.

“Excuse me?”, JB said.

Oh crap. Yuna’s neck snapped up in attention.  

“Oh! Nothing, sunbaenim.”, Yuna said a little too fast. She was now staring JB straight in the eye. She couldn’t lie to herself, he was intimidating. His piercing eyes were scary and it didn’t help that he had that rigid jaw. His stare is so frightening but I can’t look away. It was spine-chilling but hypnotizing at the same time.

“No, tell me what you said.”, JB said in a gentle but commanding voice. Why is he smiling at me like that? Yuna shook her head to get her thoughts together to reply.

“Um, I know a lot about you. I mean Got7 and I, was just thinking about uh, how I really respect you. And I said it out loud accidently so, yeah. Sunbaenim.”, Yuna blurted out. She gulped out of fear of what would happen. Just kill me now. This is one of the worst moments of her life. She would never live this down.

“Ha!”

JB was laughing at Yuna. Why is he laughing?! Yuna was blushing now. She was even more embarrassed now by how loud JB’s laugh was. People were now looking at them.  What did I do to deserve this?

“I’m sorry it’s just-”, JB choked on his own laugh. Yuna felt like crying at that moment. She kept her head down staring at her shoes in self-pity. JB regained his composure and started speaking again.

“I’ve never had someone I just met say that to me. Thank you. I appreciate it.” JB said now with a warm grin on his face. Yuna face changed from sheer panic to relief. She cracked a smile and laughed. Now this is the side of JB she wanted to see. Happy, eye smile JB. While JB was laughing with her Yuna took the time to examine his face. He was truly beautiful. He seemed to radiate at that moment.  His hair perfectly tousled, white teeth exposed,  skin shinning-

“What is it?”

Yuna snapped back into reality. She could've swore that she didn't say anything out loud. Maybe she was staring at him to long.

“You look like you have something on your mind. Say it.”, JB said.

“Um, I’m just worried about messing up on stage. That’s all.”, Yuna said embarrassed. That was partly on her mind. The other part was fantasizing about JB’s cheekbones.

"I use to be like that. It gets easier as time goes by. Just channel your nervousness into doing well.", JB said.

"I'll try. Thank you, sunbaenim.", Yuna replied.

"What year are you?", JB asked suddenly. Yuna paused for a moment, forgetting what year she was born in.

"94."

"I thought so. I was born in '94 too, that means we can be friends.", JB smiled. Yuna nodded her head, feeling uneasy about calling JB without an honorific.

"Hyung! It's almost time to go on stage!", Jackson yelled from across the room. JB facepalmed himself. Yah! This kid.

"I have to go. Good luck on your stage!", JB said bowing goodbye. Yuna bowed and before she could say anything else he was gone. The Ark reassembled together to watch Got7 perform.

"Mark and Jackson sunbaenim are really funny!", Jane said giggling.    

"Youngjae is very nice. He told me, 'The Ark fighting!'", Yujin said beaming.

"Yugyeom is such sweetheart. He's a good kid.", Minju said looking like she was ready to adopt him. Everyone was now looking at Yuna.

"What was JB sunbaenim like?", Halla asked.

"He was very wise and polite.", Yuna said simply. Once the words came out of she felt disappointed. The girls got along with the Got7 members just fine but Yuna was awkward and shy. It was her fault for not connecting with JB more. I should apologize. Yuna promised herself that next time she saw him, she would be her normal self. Got7 performed their stage and immediately left. The Ark slayed their comeback stage and Yuna didn't mess up. JB's advice ringed in Yuna's head as she was in the car, heading back to the company. Then she remembered accidently saying her thoughts out loud. I'm such an idiot. Yuna covered her face with her hands trying to forget what happened.