[ +4.5 ]

Despite having been successful for a few years now, my fame and fortune still never ceased to amaze me, a by-product of years spent struggling before landing my big break. Unlike many other trainees and idols, I’d never been rich. My family were farmers, so struggling with little money wasn’t a new concept to me when I’d been a trainee. When I’d had finally won the role of a member of BTS, the group had become a huge success, the irony of which hadn’t passed me by.

My group may have seemed to have exploded in popularity seemingly overnight, but it did nothing to erase the time I’d spent perfecting my craft, the hours I’d sweated it out in dance studios or the many hours I’d spent learning to play the saxophone to give me a creative edge over other trainee hopefuls. I’d lived poorly as a trainee, surviving on an allowance less than minimum wage – which was only marginally better than my life at home on the farm.

I’d been a trainee since Nov 2011, before debuting in 2013. Everything since then had been a whirlwind. Tours, music shows, recording sessions, practices, interviews, award shows, photoshoots fan signings... It really was chaotic - but the fun kind. Living my dream every day was something I'd never take for granted, except...

I was being followed.

Being in the industry as long as I had, I'd noticed almost immediately. The girl was hanging back, doing everything in her power to remain inconspicuous, but I knew she was following me. She'd been doing it for days now, lurking around my dorm, always trying to get a picture of me when I was with JooHyun. The thought made me stomach churn, because more than anything else I didn't want them to know about Joohyun; she didn't deserve the type of 'love' saesang fans offered. They'd tear her apart for fun, hurt her just because s