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‘’________, over here!’’ I look at the direction where Lee’s voice was coming from. When I spot her, I do a double take. How much merchandise did she buy?
She decked herself completely in multiple items and was holding the cute looking lightstick in her hand. Walking over, I wonder where Joon was, and once I’m close enough I burst out laughing, seeing him holding all her stuff. He blended right in with everyone

‘’Ya, I didn’t know you were a fanboy.’’

‘’Don’t say anything.’’ He looks displeased. ‘’I’m only doing this for Lee.’’

‘’Well, guess now we know what her obsession truly is.’’ I give him a meaningful look.

‘’Guys, I’m right here.’’ She takes something out from her bag. ‘’And I got you this. Tada!’’
She holds out a zip-up hoodie version of the T-Shirt that she was wearing and helps me slip it on. Fumbling with something, she then presses her palm above my chest, I look at her weirdly.
When I look at that area, I see a sticker stuck there. ‘’They didn’t have member customized hoodie’s so I got this instead.’’

‘’Thank you, Lee,’’ I say.

‘’Oh, and the fansites sold these.’’ I look through all the banners and photo cards, impressed by the huge fanbase that is called ARMY. They really are an army.

‘’We got seating tickets. Do you know what that means?’’ Before I can even think of a response she reveals it herself. ‘’We might see their family members.’’

‘’You sound creepy, my friend.’’ I look around worried that security people might ban us from getting in because of her.

‘’Our number is up,’’ Joon says all of a sudden his eyes focus on the sign.

‘’Are we the first?’’ I help Lee gather her many things and together we walk over to the staff. ‘’It’s still two hours until the concert.’’

‘’I think the seats on the balcony are first.’’ We follow the small stream of people and look for the correct line to stand in. I have to admit, it's kind of exciting.

~ ~ ~

Finally sitting down in our designated seats, I put my bag on the space in front of me and relax, tired from rushing here after work.

‘’Excuse me.’’ I look up at the man, surprised, and peek at Lee, she shrugs her shoulders not knowing either. ‘’Are you Miss ________?’’ Uncertain why he was asking, it takes me a while to say yes.
‘’You are on the list of people that were invited backstage. If you would follow me.’’

Taken off guard, I stand up but then stop. ‘’Can my friends come with me?’’

‘’How many?’’

‘’Only two.’’ I look at Lee and Joon.

Reluctantly, he agrees and together with Lee holding my hands tightly, we walk into the backstage area. ‘’Do you think I’ll get to meet J-Hope?’’ She whispers in my ear, so the staff wouldn’t hear.

‘’I’ll try to— Oh, look, there he is.’’ Hoseok walks out of a door, looking handsome with some kind of uniform on. ‘’Hoseok-ssi!’’

‘’Oh, ________-ah. You’re already in the venue?’’ Smiling, he walks towards us and Lee clenches my fingers more tightly.

‘’Yes, we got the balcony tickets.’’ I pull Lee out front. ‘’This is my friend, Lee. You are her favorite.’’ She pokes me in the sides and I stifle a laugh.

Hoseok smiles wider and holds out his hand. ‘’Nice to meet you, I always knew that the prettiest have me as their favorite.’’

Lee shakes hands with him timidly, still holding onto me with the other. I watch her shyly talk to him about what she found so amazing about him and smile genuinely at her happiness.
Then I remember Joon, who to my surprise also looked happy for her. I had thought that he would be jealous but instead, he stood back and watched her.

‘’Is he your boyfriend?’’ Hoseok asks her after a while. She blushes and nods her head shyly. ‘’He’s handsome.’’ He smiles and shakes Joon's hand also.

After some more friendly talking, a staff walks over to talk to Hoseok, making him excuse himself, leaving us there.

Lee turns around and hugs me. ‘’My heart, I feel like I’m going to explode.’’

I smile at her. ‘’You have to thank Jungkook-Oppa for that.’’

‘’He is probably waiting for you.’’ She nudges me.

‘’Oh, yeah, right.’’ When I take her hand to go together she tugs on it.

‘’You go on alone, I’m already very contented, I don’t need to meet him.’’ She goes and loops an arm into Joon’s. ‘'We’ll wait for you back outside.’’ Then, they turn around together and leave me there alone, and I notice that the staff who had taken us here was nowhere to be found. 

Wandering around while not daring to open any doors was a disaster destined to happen. Another door opens and I see a familiar mop of hair. ‘’Jimin-ssi!’’

He looks over his shoulder and smiles when he also sees me.

‘’Oh, charming,’’ I comment on the uniform.

Jimin touches his collar and pretends to be smug for a second but then is back to smiling. ‘’Are you looking for Jungkookie?’’

‘’Yes, I’m a little bit lost.’’ I follow him as he starts walking further down the hall.

‘’I think he is getting his makeup done.’’ He opens the door and pokes his head inside. ‘’Not in here.’’ Just following him like a lost puppy, I wait patiently.
‘’Ah, there he is.’’ Jimin opens the door wider for me but doesn’t follow behind me.

‘’Thank you, Jimin-ssi.’’ He nods his head with a smile and closes the door behind him.

I see Namjoon sitting in front of the mirror with a book in his hand getting his make up done, next to him is Taehyung, dozing off in his seat.
I greet Namjoon quietly when he notices me through the mirror and turn to look for Jungkook who had his back to me and freeze when I see him talking to someone already, a middle-aged woman. Then I remember that he had told me about his mother coming. I am glad that he finally gets to see her again. Not wanting to interrupt their much-needed reunion, I take a seat next to Taehyung just as he opens his eyes.

I brace my elbow on the table and lean my head on my hand. ‘’Taehyung-ssi, you’re drooling.’’

Sleepy, he wipes his hand across his mouth and grins half awake. ‘’________-ah, good to see you.’’

I breathe out a laugh and high five his hand that he had held out to me. ‘’You’re not in your outfit yet.’’

‘’Hm, I’m usually one of the last.’’ He grins. ‘’Need to catch up on my beauty sleep.’’

‘’Taehyung-ah, it’s your turn.’’ The makeup artist calls for him as Namjoon stands up.

‘’Just in time.’’ I smile as the two of them exchange seats. ‘’Do you read a lot?’’ I ask curiously. Namjoon generally appears to be a very knowledgeable person.

‘’Yes, it teaches me a lot of things about life.’’ So wise. ‘’Do you like to read?’’

‘’School books?’’ I joke.

‘’You should make Jungkook study more, sometimes I really worry.’’ Half joking, half serious, he shakes his head.

‘’I need to study more myself, I don’t think I have time to worry about him.’’ His shoulders shake once in a laugh, his deep dimple appearing.

‘’Aren’t the exams coming up?’’

I purse my lips at the mention of those dreadful exams. ‘’Yes, that’s why I have to study.’’ I sit up straight. ‘’The good news is, that we have the two weeks break after.’’

‘’Ah, the best time during each semester.’’

‘’That’s right.’’ To be honest I was getting sleepy sitting here in the quiet room.

‘’Why is everyone always so tired?’’ He exclaims seeing my eyelids drop.

I laugh. ‘’I have an excuse. I came straight from work.’’

‘’Wow, you’re more hardworking than us.’’

‘’I don’t think that’s possible, not on my end at least.’’ I smile with my eyes closed.

My phone vibrates inside my bag, when I take it out to look at the caller ID I frown. The number seems familiar. I excuse myself and walk over to the door. While doing so, I catch Jungkook’s mother’s gaze and my eyes widen like a deer caught in headlight.

I don’t know why I was reacting like that but I was just not prepared, and I don’t even know if she’s aware of my relationship to Jungkook. I bow deeply and she smiles politely in return, interest in her eyes.

I smile awkwardly and grab the handle to walk out before the call disconnects. “Hello?”

“_________-ah. It’s me Minhyuk’s mother.” Now, I know why the number seemed so familiar.

“Oh, hello Auntie.” I greet her thrown off by her call. It has probably been years since I’ve gotten one from her.

“You sound surprised.”

“I am surprised. But it’s nice to hear your voice again.”

“Really? Or are you just saying that?” I laugh at her quirky remarks.

“Honestly, I’m just glad to have someone else call me than my brother.” I can hear her laughing.

“Sounds just like him. Always checking on his precious little sister.”

“How is Minhyukie?” He was younger than me by a year and me and Lee always about being the youngest in our group.

“________-ah, you won’t believe me,” she sounds thrilled by whatever news she had. “Minhyukie is going to return to Korea in the summer.”

“Oh, really. That’s good news for you. You must have missed him terribly.” I was happy for her, to see your only child once a year must be hard.

“Of course. This brat just never wants to stop studying. I should have never taken him to that exhibition.” She mutters the last part.

I giggle as I walk around. Again just a habit of me not being able to stand still when I’m on the phone. “For how long will he be staying in Korea?”

“3 weeks.” She sounded astonished. “I can’t believe it myself, a miracle must have happened.”

“Not a miracle, he must have missed you terribly, too.” I coax her sweetly.

“Even after all these years, you know how to flatter me, ________.” She sounded nostalgic, and this whole conversation seemed like a dip into the past. “What are you doing, right? Do you have time to talk?”

I look around the hall and the closed door where Jungkook was. Giving him more time with his mother was a good thing. “Yeah, I have time. Why are you asking?” I ask her curiously.

“It’s just, I haven’t seen your application.”

From around the corner, a few stylists come out rolling some racks behind them, I see Jimin in the back. When he sees me he smiles and holds out his hand for a high five once he is close enough. Slapping his hand lightly, he then turns around on his heels and walks into the door where the others were. Funny, he took the couple steps just to high five my hand.

“________-ie?” Ahjumma sounds concerned on the other line.

“Oh, sorry. I just saw a friend. What were you saying?”

“About the internship…”

“Ah, that.” I scratch my head, sheepish. “About that, I’m not too sure. I’m sorry I should have notified you somehow.” I felt bad for having her wait.

“No, don’t be sorry.” She is quiet for a second. “Is it because of your mother?”

I blink a few times. I guess it’s pretty obvious “Yes. I just haven’t been at the Theater in so many years, I don’t know if I will be OK if I start an internship there.”

“How about a short visit just to check things out?”

“I’m sorry, but I’ve been busy with school and even work,” I say apologetically, although it does sound like a good idea.

On the line, she makes an ‘mhm’ sound. “You are from SOPA, right?”

“Yes.”

“Great, then I think I can help you out.” She sounds excited.

I frown, confused. “With what?” Is she going to help me so I don’t have to write my exams?

“I’ll make it so you can visit the Theater without having to waste your free time.” OK, so maybe the exam thing was a little bit far stretched.

“How so?”

I can hear her snapping her fingers. “I can’t promise anything yet, but I’ll organize a short school trip for your class.”

Even though it was a good intention, I was doubtful. “Auntie, I didn’t know you had that much influence.”

“Honey, you haven’t seen me in a few years. My influence here has skyrocketed.” She sounds smug. Yeah, Minhyuk definitely had that from her.

“Really?”

“No, not to that extent but trust me I will make it happen.” We laugh.

I breathe out happily. “Ah, it’s really great to speak to you again, Auntie.”

“I feel so, too.” She sighs. “It’s like you’re more my daughter than Minhyuk is my son.”

“No, Minhyukie is a great boy,” I remember how he always did those little things to make us laugh, such a goofball.

“Yea, he is. You should catch up with him when he visits.”

I smile wistfully. Another splash into the past. “Sure, I’ll definitely make some time for him.”

“Great, I’ll call you about the details later.”

“Thank you for calling, Auntie.” Thank you for reaching out to me first.

“Always, ________-ie. Always.” Her voice. She knows what I really wanted to say.

After hanging up, I stare at the phone and expect myself to react the same way as the last time. But instead of getting emotional, I smile and breathe out normally. I guess things have changed.

Turning around I move to open the door but before I can touch the handle the door gets pulled from the inside giving me a small fright.
Jungkook’s mother appears as the gap gets bigger, Jungkook appearing behind her as he opens the door for her.
I catch Jungkook’s gaze as I step back to give them some space to exit, feeling nervous all of a sudden. Is that how he felt when he met my brother for the first time?
I wasn’t sure if I should greet her or wait for Jungkook to introduce us. But before I can make a decision, Jungkook beats me to it, sounding happy to see me.

‘’________-ie, you’re here.’’ His eyes are particularly round today, his features seemed sharper than usual and the white dress shirt that he was wearing, made him look more mature and manly.

‘’Yes.’’ Somehow with his mother here I felt the sudden need to use formal speech.

‘’Eomma, this is ________.’’ He looks up from his mother to me and gives me a quick wink with his eye. ‘’My girlfriend.’’

Instantly, I bow deeply folding my hands over my stomach. ‘'Hello, Auntie. I'm ________.’’ I smile at her feeling shy as this was unplanned.

‘’Hello, it’s nice to meet you, ________.’’ She holds out her hand and I accept it gladly with both hands.

‘’It’s very nice to meet you, too.’’

She smiles warmly and looks at Jungkook who was standing behind her. ‘’Jungkook-ah, you were right, she is really pretty.’’

‘’T-thank you, Auntie,’’ I say sheepish by her compliment. ‘’Jungkook-Oppa is also very handsome, I can see why now.’’

I wasn’t just saying it to return the flattery, she really is pretty in a mature kind of way. The beauty that I sometimes see in Jungkook definitely comes from her. Her eyes were also big and round, her lips were also small and in general, her figure was petite and feminine. But she did look quite youthful and didn't really look like a mother of two.

Her smile softens. ‘’Thank you, ________. I keep hearing he takes after his father. It’s nice to hear that there is some kind of resemblance to me’’

‘’There is.’’ I nod my head reassuringly. ‘’Your eyes remind me a lot of Jungkook-Oppa’s.’’

‘’That’s right, his father’s eyes are definitely not like that.’’ She looks up at me with curiosity in her eyes.

‘’I’m happy that I don’t take after your height, Eomma.’’ Jungkook teases her playfully.

‘’Son, you’re getting too tall.’’ She half glares at him. ‘’My neck won’t work with me anymore if you continue to grow like that.’’

Jungkook steps up to his mother and puts both his hands on her shoulders. ‘’It has stopped.’’

‘’That’s what you said the last time.’’ She says accusingly.

I watch them with a smile as they banter lightly, happy to have him just casually converse about these simple things with his mother after such a long time.

‘’Anyway, it’s time for me to return to my seat.’’ She reaches out to touch my arm. ‘’It’s great to finally put a face to the person he always talks about.’’

‘’Yes, it was also great for me, Auntie. Do you know the way back by yourself?’’ I look at Jungkook for a second, thinking that he might have led her here.

‘’It’s just turning a few corners and then… Through the door, right?’’ She sounds uncertain. I frown concerned that she might get lost so I offer to take her, since Jungkook obviously was in a difficult situation. 
‘’No, ________. You just arrived here. I couldn’t ask you to do that.’’

‘’Auntie, that’s not a problem at all. I’ll just walk back after I take you back to your seat.’’ I convince and relieve her worry that it would be a bother. ‘’Jungkook-Oppa can wait.’’

She smiles, probably knowing that her son was not the waiting type. ‘’Alright, thank you, ________.’’

I lift my gaze to Jungkook to see him smiling gratefully at me, his eyes soft and bright.

‘’Jungkook-ah, see you on the stage.’’ She reaches her arms out and he immediately wraps his around her. ‘’You’ll do well, I have no doubt.’’
This moment feels like an intrusion on my part so I look away. A mother and son’s moment so rare should be kept private, but I had the privilege to witness it.

Looking back at them as they finish their temporary good bye, I wave at Jungkook as we walk down the hallway. I open the big exit doors for her and slip out after her into the dimply lit backstage area.
‘’Auntie, do you mind grabbing my arm? There is equipment on the ground everywhere.’’ I ask her just in case she would mind. Staff were also rushing around.

She smiles and grabs the hook of elbow. ‘’________, you are very thoughtful.’’

‘’Thank you.’’ I begin walking slowly as not to drag her or hurry her.

‘’I’m glad Jungkook has someone like you by his side.’’ She says deep in thought. ‘’Knowing that someone as caring as you is his girlfriend makes me worry less.’’

‘’Auntie, you must have worried a lot for him ever since he left his hometown.’’

‘’Yes, he left us at such a young age and started working so hard to achieve his dreams.’’ She sighs and tightens her hold on me. ‘’I’m just glad he is healthy.’’

‘’Don’t worry. I will make sure he takes care of himself.’’ I comfort her and pat her hand gently. ‘’But trust me he is doing great on his own.’’

‘’Yeah, he has grown up so much in such a short time.’’ I can’t see her expression too well but I think she was frowning sadly. ‘’He must have suffered a lot, and I was not by his side.’’

I stop and turn to her, right before walking through the curtain which leads to the seating area. ‘’Auntie, you are always by his side, because you are always in Jungkook-Oppa’s heart.’’ I didn’t want her to feel like she was a bad mother for not being able to be there for him physically.
‘’Even though he probably had moments when he wished he’d never left your side, him knowing that he has your unconditional love and support probably was his fuel to go on and chase his dreams.’’ I look at her genuinely. ‘’A mother is always her children’s strength.’’

Her gaze doesn’t waver as she looks at me for a long time and I wonder if maybe I’ve said too much. I mean we did just meet for the first time less than 10 minutes ago.

‘’You’re wise for your age, ________. It seems like you, too, had to suffer at a young age.’’ She concludes cautiously.

‘’Yes,’’ I take a deep breath. ‘’Hm... my mother passed away a few years ago.’’ As a mother I’m sure this was enough to make her understand, I don’t elaborate more.

She grabs my hand firmly in hers, it felt safe there. ‘’You are a really strong person. Your mother is proud of you.’’ The way she phrased it using present tense, makes me tear up a little, since she also is a mother. 
‘’Never doubt yourself, even though she isn’t here to reassure you and give you strength in person. She is up there, watching over you.’’ 

I had been doubting myself. I'd believed I'd been slacking off and feeling like a disappointment to the bloodline. These words were like balm to those worries.
‘’Auntie, would you mind if I hug you?’’ I say, sniffing by the time she finishes.

She smiles and hugs me tightly and my hair softly. ‘You must have gone through so much. But you still grew up to be such a wonderful young woman.’’

I don’t dare to say anything since it feels like I might bawl right away. Hugging her felt like hugging my mother and that calming aura engulfs me. ‘’Auntie, thank you. I think I’ve needed for a mother to hug me, it’s been so long.’’ I pull away and she wipes a tear that must have fallen with care.

‘’I will gladly do it again.’’ I smile at her thankfully and sniffle.

‘’You should get back to Jungkook before he starts to worry.’’ She squeezes my hand for a moment, warmth spreading thought that simple gesture. ‘’I hope my son is giving you as much strength as you are giving him.’’

I nod my head, thinking of how he made me feel. ‘’Jungkook-Oppa has made me happier.’’

‘’I’m glad to hear that.’’ She inclines her head. ‘’Makes me proud to see you two take care of each other at such a young age.’’

‘’Thank you.’’ I bow my head and watch her and she nods her head with a warm smile on her face. ‘’________, I will see you later, I hope.’’

‘’Yes, of course.’’ She releases my hand as she walks through the curtain that would further lead to the venue. I wipe down the side of my face as I breath out shakily, a bunch of emotions running through my body

Making sure that there were no tears left on my face, I turn around and make my way to the door leading to the bright hallway.
Pushing through the entrance, I jump when I see Jungkook leaning against the other door with his arms crossed. ‘’Aish, you scared me. Have you been standing here the entire time?’’ I fix the hoodie that had fallen down one side of my shoulder and see something dropping to the ground. The sticker. I take it from the floor and press it against the hoodie, hoping that it will stay stuck there.

‘’That’s clever.’’ I look up at him to see him eyeing the sticker.

‘’That was Lee’s idea. She’s got Hoseok-ssi’s.’’ I snicker, remembering how Joon had rolled his eyes at her.

Jungkook uncrosses his arms and takes my hand. ‘’Did everything go well with my mother.’’ He sounded worried, probably because it took me so long to return.

‘’Yeah…. She reminds me of my own mother.’’ I breathe out heavily. ‘’I’m really happy I got to meet her.’’

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Instead of entering the makeup room, he opens the door next to it and lets me walk in first. When I see a small conference like room, I turn to look at him. ‘’Oppa, don’t you have to get ready?’’

‘’I’m already done. Make-up and hair is done.’’ It was the first time for to see his darker hair set to the side instead of hanging into his eyes.

‘’Oppa, your hair looks good like that.’’ He smirks and walks over to me only to sit on the conference table, making him shorter than me by a little. He holds something out, a black tie, which I hadn’t even noticed he had in his hand.

‘’Don’t you know how to do that yourself?’’ I say lightheartedly. Not having to look up was a refreshing change.

‘’I do, but I want you to help me.’’ He responds shamelessly.

I shake my head still smiling at his boldness but take the tie from his hand and step over to him. And since I have to be at arms length, I step in between his knees, that as usual were already spread apart. I flip up the collar and reach around him to lay the tie flat against the fabric. ‘’Does it need to be a special knot?’’

‘’A regular one is OK.’’ To be honest, being that close to him, with his face the same level as mine, was quite distracting. Of course, his eyes keenly looking at my face didn't help.

I tilt my head and frown in concentration. ‘’Oppa, can you lift your chin, please?’’ He does as I tell him and it’s even worse than before because his jaw line was right in line with my eyes now.
‘’Have you eaten, yet?’’ I ask him in an attempt to distract myself from his face.

‘’Hm.’’ He responds lowly. ‘’We all had some food earlier.’’

I pull the tie through the loop and push the knot up his neck and flip the collar back down after I’ve shifted the tie so it looks neater.
‘’Done.’’ I step back looking at him as a whole and pretend as if him sitting there with his business-like attire and a face like that wasn’t alluringly attractive.

Jungkook looks right through me and reaches out to pull me back to him by my zip up hoodie. I brace myself on his shoulders, my heart beating rapidly as I slap his shoulder in response. ‘’You could have just told me to come closer.’’

‘’This method is faster.’’ He zips up my hoodie up to my chin and reaches for the hood, lifting it up to my head. ‘’No one is allowed to see your pretty face.’’ Since the hoodie was too big for me the hood itself was too large as well.

‘’Oh, but everyone is allowed to see your face.’’ I counter in bewilderment, crossing my arms.

He smirks up at me and puts his hands on my hips lightly. ‘’I thought you don’t get jealous.’’

‘’I’m not. Oppa, you started it.’’ I half glare at him but my gaze softens when he keeps on his cute smile. ‘’No one is going to see me anyway. This is like a cloak.’’

Jungkook’s hands tighten against my waist. ‘’People shouldn’t be looking at anything but your eyes anyway. Or not at all.’’

‘’Says the one who has a song about a girl looking her best from the front and the back.’’ I shake my head. ‘’Tsk, tsk, tsk. Oppa, I never knew you were such a hypocrite.’’

‘’You do look good from the front and back.’’

I cringe and shudder. ‘’Please, stop. I told you such words coming from you are just…’’

‘’Yes, I’m a bad boy, so I like bad girl.’’ Even though he was just reciting the lyrics, the look in his eyes made my stomach do several flips.

‘’Unfortunately for you, I’m not a bad girl.’’

‘’No?’’ He asks challengingly.

‘’No,’’ I respond with the same tone.

‘’Really?’’ He squints at me then tabs his index finger against his lips. ‘’Kiss.’’



~~~
so..... anyone still alive after the BS&T mv? cause I sure had a hard time not screaming the last two days.... I kinda fell off my chair lol... I was also a bit busy streaming and staying up to date with all the record beaking and what not... but I think things have calmed down a bit, so I will be able to post more ^^... don't get me wrong I'm still ded.. it's just not as much lol