The crowd's cheers filled Jimin's ears, his whole body seemed to feel light and free as he burst out the choreography he practiced day and night. He could hear the fan chants loud and clear, echoing back and forth off the walls of Gocheok Sky Dome. He felt his lips form the slightest of smiles, and his body move to the beat of the music. His in-ears had fallen off at some point between the choreography and he couldn't have bothered to put them back on. He memorized the moves by heart, what comes after every swift movement like a domino effect.

As the end of the music began, he kept his eyes fixed to the rows of white lightsticks and admired its beauty with sincerity. His dream, his passion and his energy had always been dedicated to this. This noise and this movement. But as the music disappears and the lights begin to dim, he felt the reality hit him back. 3 minutes of freedom, he realizes as always, and hours and worry and anxiety. He tries to smile in the darkness of the dome now, the cheers still there. Was it all worth it? Will his freedom ever last longer than the music? Or will he forever be a slave to the pressure of an idol?

"Jimin-ah." He hears his name being called. The crowd was still there, the lights had turned back on at some point, and he fixed his mic as he replied quickly.

"Nae?" He pants out.

"You were moving around so much I almost lost my balance, you know." Jin says to him with a mask of amusement. He could see under it, though. There was worry. 

Jimin had always confided to his oldest hyung the most lately. The reason for it, Jimin has yet to know, but perhaps it was because Jin had been struggling too as of late, with trying to get more lines and trying to improve his dance. He was worried of getting left behind someday, and Jimin could understand him. He had always been like that during his school years.

"Really, hyung? Ah, mianhae, I got carried away I suppose." He let out a short laugh.

"Don't do it, again, or I'll have to push back eventually." Jin jokingly ends. The crowd squeals and laughs. Jimin could never decide whether the ments were the best part of their concert or the performance.

As s carried on with the script and their improvisations, he smiled and waved to several members of the crowd. He didn't know why, but it always comforted him to do so. To meet the people who appreciated his dance and his dedication. But then sometimes he would face one person in the crowd, and sometimes they would just stare blankly at him. Those people would always unnerve him, but he was always thankful to them.

His fans were the reason he practiced hard. His haters were the reason he practiced harder. 

His mindset had never changed, not even after the media had labelled them as things like "International K-pop Sunshine". He would always wonder then if he really was all that. Was he worth it?

His mind tended to go all ways during the quiet moments when the music ends and the lights fade. He overthinks. He loses sleep. He practices to comfort himself. He lived because of music. Well, music and coffee.

As s started to move into the next choreography positions, he followed suit, his heart thumping with excitement and hope. Hope that the music will comfort him, even if it would last 3 minutes only. 3 minutes was more than never at all.