Seven sweaty heads lay close together. The young mens' backs lay flat on the ground as their chests rose and fell vigorously. It was time for another comeback which meant learning new routines. Running through their old songs was only a warm up to the hell that was to come. Dancing until they couldn’t any longer served to kick their butts into shape after the holidays.  “The sweet smell of exhaustion and sleepless nights,” Yoongi joked after taking in a deep breath.

        The boys laughed. “You mean sleepless nights for me and you,” Namjoon corrected.

        “Hey, we stay up too! I practice the choreography until I’m doing it in my sleep,” Seokjin scolded.

        “If only it helped,” Hoseok jabbed.

        “Listen here J-Horse, do you want to only eat steamed rice for a week?”

        “Yah, yah, I’m sorry hyung,” Hoseok cackled.

        “I’m at least better than Namjoon, right?” The young men pondered aloud, taking an excessive amount of time to respond. “I guess it’s steamed rice for everyone.”

        “You’re the best, hyung,” Tae nearly pleaded.

        “I can’t even keep up,” the Golden Maknae augmented with a ridiculous smile on his lips.

        Jimin shoved Jungkook due to his exaggerated lie. Suddenly smacking one another in their human circle of chaos. “Kids,” Bang abruptly announced. They swiftly sat up and said their polite greeting as they gave him their full attention. “I have news.” Seven pairs of eyes stared at him raging from excitement to anxiety. “Jae Toma, how many of you know of her?”

        Eyebrows rose, all of their hands hesitantly raising. “What about her,” Namjoon questioned.

        “How does a collab with her sound?” Some gaped, others chuckled lightly. Yoongi’s heart pounded rapidly in his chest. “What? But how? I’m sure she’s insanely busy,” he replied, a little winded.

        “She just debuted,” Hoseok added.

        “She just collaborated with EXO sunbaenims,” Jungkook interjected.

        “She’s SM,” Seokjin finished.

        Bang smiled. “Yeah… It’s a good thing she personally asked to work with you guys.”

        “What,” Jimin exclaimed “Seriously? Is that even allowed?”

        “President Lee has approved it.” He scoffed. “I didn’t want to say anything until it was a sure thing, but your concept, choreography and music video have already been determined. Practice begins tomorrow.” The look of shock did not disappear from their faces as he slowly made his way to the practice door. “Sleep well, I expect you all to be on your best behavior tomorrow.”

        Yoongi was the first to return to their initial positions, looking at the practice room ceiling.  The rest soon followed, releasing a breath. “She’s coming,” Yoongi whispered.

        “Scarf girl,” Hoseok laughed. “What a life.”

        “Wah, she’s beautiful,” Jimin sighed.

        “And an incredible dancer,” Jungkook joined.

        “Multilingual,” Namjoon awed.

        “Rapper,” Taehyung continued.

        “Guys, stop,” Seokjin interrupted, half laughing. “This is a part of our job.”

        “Ha, come on hyung. It’s impossible not be interested,” Yoongi returned with a dreamy grin.

        “Yeah, it’s too bad you already have a girlfriend though.” The pale faced man turned, to find Namjoon’s calculating eyes on him. He wasn’t wrong. 

*     *     *

          She walked by the big boss' side, slightly afraid to make eye contact. Her eyes hesitantly studied him and she found herself fearing him less and less with closer observation. He was a short and pudgy man. His hair oddly enough dyed a very bright blonde and his face somewhat resembled a frog. “I must warn you, the boys are excessively active. I try to tire them out by keeping them in the practice room all day, you know keep them out of trouble, but their energy never seems to stop.” Jae smiled. “Their manager can control them relatively well and they always listen to Seongdeuk.” They made eye contact and she couldn't help grinning again. “I know you're from a different company, therefore accustomed to other working conditions. Don't be afraid to put these punks in their place.”

            Jae chuckled once more, covering to keep her laughs from echoing in the hallway. Which was sort of useless as loud laughs from the rehearsal room overpowered hers dramatically. Upon opening the door, she captured the individuals making all of the ruckus. She had memorized their faces along with their names to avoid any kind of disrespect, prior to that day. She had been the one to request a collaboration with the group after all.

            The two brunettes, Taehyung and Jimin, ran from a seriously annoyed Hoseok. He was clearly out for blood. The youngest and eldest, which Jae had to admit were unbelievably handsome, were at the side trying to practice a dance move. To her surprise it was to one of the new Girl's Generation songs, and Jungkook couldn't help making fun of Seokjin’s clumsy moves. At the center of the room stood the leader, looking incredibly handsome and absolutely amused by the chaos. Namjoon's eyes slowly met her gaze, and her heart accelerated as a dimpled smile appeared on his lips. However, he only seemed to hold her gaze for a split second before her brown eyes trailed to the figure behind him. She gulped with some difficulty as she had tried to remain calm. Yoongi. He stared at her in pure shock. He’d known she’d come, yet, the overwhelming feeling of awe took over him.

            The room hesitantly went silent as they noticed their visitor. Namjoon was the first to break the silence. He bowed and attempted to appear nonchalant before the gorgeous girl. “Welcome.” She bowed and smiled, doing her best not to blush in front of the group of good-looking stars. She bit her tongue as the situation felt entirely familiar. No. This was not the time to think of them. “You," Yoongi interrupted with a disbelieving expression.

            She smirked. “Nice to see you again.” All the members looked back and forth between Yoongi and Jae. It was clear now that she remembered him, that all of it couldn’t have been a coincidence.

            “How did the scarf turn out?”

            The casual conversation between the two, left everyone else speechless. Namjoon gulped as he realized she was even more beautiful than he had ever imagined. “Magically, I think it might have brought me a little luck since I'm standing before you.” It was a bittersweet statement, after everything that had happened. The blushing girl dug into her bag to pull out the scarf. "I brought it back." He shook his head, politely signaling for her to keep it. Abruptly, she noticed the six other men surrounding her and how this was clearly not some sort of one on one catch up. “Oh! Sunbaenims, my name is Jae and I am honored to be able to work with you. I am a huge fan. I will work hard,” she introduced as she bowed.

            They too did their formal group salute before her, their eyes trailing her every move in awe. “Wah, Yoongi hyung was not exaggerating when he said you were beautiful,” Jimin breathed.

            Jae's cheeks flushed and Yoongi elbowed him. “Well you’re not bad to look at either sunbaenims,” she complimented right back, leaving all of the members slightly flustered. Bang PD smiled at her as she left the members lost for words. Perhaps she could handle herself. He had to admit to having his doubts in allowing another company's employee into his own projects. There of course, was no denying that the girl was talented and breath taking. From the research presented to him, she had boosted the sales in her previous endeavor. Her performance was expected to bring more money and attention to his own. He could only hope she was able to handle the hard work of two CEOs breathing down her neck.

            Her smile widened. "Shall we get started?" The boys excitedly agreed. She gave a small nod to Bang and gave herself her own stern nod. This time had to be different. She had to keep things professional. The Bangtan Boys were not her friends. Simply colleagues. That is all they could be. She'd allowed herself to care last time and it nearly broke her apart. Not this time.

            Seongdeuk, their talent choreographer, grinned ear to ear. “That’s the spirit. Ha, I like her.”

            Unfortunately for Jae, within the few hours of practice she noticed just how impossible that goal of professionalism would be. The harder she tried to ignore their charm and the more she forced herself to dislike them, the more she loved them. .

Author's Note: So they appear. Ha, love BTS! Happy Holidays!