“My name is Jeongguk,” he announced.

The MC was surprised when he got a closer look at him and spotted his school uniformed. “You go to Big Hit Academy? Eyy, you’re one of those smartass rich kids aren’t you. How old are you? 14? 15?”

“Not exactly…” Jeongguk muttered while rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m 17.”

“How’d you find out about this? There aren’t many students from Bit Hit who wander around this neighborhood, especially at this time of day.” He asked curiously.

Rap Monster elbowed him to stop talking so they can start the rap battle and he got the message. “Well you don’t have to answer that because we need to begin.” He motioned the DJ to start the music.

“Kid, I’ll start first if you don’t mind,” said Rap Monster.

“Go right ahead.” Jeongguk had no idea what he was going to do. He was confused of why he even volunteered himself to be in the situation he was in now but he had no time to think about that. He needed to come up with a free-style rap and quick.

Rap Monster began rapping with confidence that he was going to win. He was also going to have fun with this. It wasn’t every day that he would have a rap battle with kid he didn’t know from Big Hit Academy. He was interested to see what his skills were like.

“Rap Monster, like my name,
I can eat up any kind of beat like a monster
I’m loyal to my name – guys come here, take a preview,
I put a twist to being an rapper
Haha, hyungs who only had hip-hop pride told me it’d be impossible but
Look carefully, I place a period after impossible
I’m possible, now are we all set, boy?”

With that, Jeongguk took everything he had in him to rap the best he could. *Well here goes nothing.* He took a deep breath then let it out.

“The name is Jung Kook, my scale is nationwide
Holding a ballpoint pen all night
I close my eyes after the sun rises in the morning
Double standards and opposition everywhere
The limits inside me that I crushed
Becoming a rapper because you can’t sing
The title of rapper is a luxury to you.”

This wasn’t the first time he was ever in a rap battle. There were a few times in school where he’d be listening to rap and hip-hop music with his friends and for fun they would make up their own raps. But this was different. There was a crowd around him and he was against someone who had real experience.

His heart was racing but it wasn’t over yet.

Listening to his rap, Rap Monster was quite impressed. Although Jeongguk could work on it a bit more with the beat, it was pretty good considering his background on where he came from. He smirked. *Maybe he can join the group.*

“Look at my profile,
there’s nothing there yet
Not a beginner but rapper man,
yeah I do know that’s nothing
I contemplated a lot but now I don’t need anything
You’re still an amateur, I’m in the majors,
hope you’ll rot like that.”

Rap Monster ended with a roar from the crowd. The people around them were satisfied by what they were watching in front of them. They all thought the new kid had potential. Jeongguk even gained several fans because of the verse he instantly came up with.

*Here we go again…* Jeongguk rapped more lines out of his mouth.

“Everywhere I go everything I do
I’ll show myself as much as I’ve sharpened the knife
All those people who’ve ignored me now
Oh if you’ve done as much as me throw a rock
I go hard I’ve got no fear.”

(BTS – We Are Bulletproof Pt. 2 + modified)

After him, Rap Monster rapped another verse.

“Everyone’s a burning marathon
They continuously want something
And live on, ignoring the steep steps that come towards them
That’s the difference between you and I
I’m running endlessly without a break
Accept it now, that we’re on different levels title.”

(B.A.P – Punch)

How long was he going to keep this up? The answer is, until the battle ends. But, he knew for sure that he had no chance against Rap Monster.

“I-I…” Jeongguk stuttered, not knowing what to say next.

That’s how it ended.

Rap Monster smiled and held out his hand. “Nice job.”

“Thanks, but you won. Congrats.” Jeongguk reached out to shake it. “It’s my first time doing something like this,” he confessed.

“Well you’re you pretty good for a newbie.” Rap Monster said it with a straight face. “I’m not joking.”

Jeongguk smiled. “Thanks.”

“Rap Monster wins again!” The MC shouted. “If there aren’t any more contestants, I’ll be handing over the money now.”

No offered to go against him anymore so Rap Monster won the money.

Jeongguk didn’t feel bad of himself because he didn’t win. He actually felt kind of proud. He was complimented by a great underground rapper and that was good enough for him.

Everyone who was once surrounding them dispersed. Others left the area while some were talking with one another. Rap Monster went to collect his money.

Jeongguk looked around the underground subway. It would have been completely dark if not for the lights put up for the rap battle. Other than that, the only light came from entrance where the stairs were only shined on.

The old tracks were quite dirty and probably haven’t been used in a very long time. A few people were sitting and chatting by the edge of where the tracks were. The entire scene seemed like a place where people would just hang out and chill out.

“Yo kid!”

He turned around and Rap Monster was there. “Jeongguk is your name right?”

Jeongguk nodded. “What’s up?”

“You should come back more often and enter the battles. It’s good experience if you want to improve and also gives you a little extra money. You have potential kid.” Rap Monster slapped his shoulder. “Have you ever tried creating your own beats to rap to? You should try it.”

“Look, this was just a one-time thing that I got myself into.” Before Jeongguk could say anything else, someone screamed excitedly.

“GUYS! SUGA AND JIN ARE HERE!”

 People began rushed towards the entrance where two guys dressed in business attire came walking in. Everyone seemed to know who those two were.

The first guy had a pale complexion compared to the other guy. He had black hair that went above his eyes and smiled as he walked passed everyone. The other had brown hair and was a bit taller than the other dude. He came in with a smirk on his face.

They walked towards Rap Monster and Jeongguk and stopped in front of them.

“What are you two doing here?” Rap Monster did a handshake with the two then looked at what they were both wearing and raised an eyebrow. “Did you guys come straight from work?”

“We thought we’d pay you a visit.” One of them looked around, seeing no rap battle anywhere. “Looks like we got here a bit late though.”

The two noticed Jeongguk standing next to Rap Monster and asked who he was.

“This is Jeongguk, one of my opponents today. That’s Suga and that’s Jin.” He pointed to the paler one then to the one with brown hair.

“Hey, you go to Big Hit Academy! Jimin and Taehyung go to school there too. Do you know happen to know them?” Suga asked.

He was soon interrupted by another scream.

“HYUNG!”

The next thing they knew, Suga and Jin were tackled from behind. To their surprise, it was Jimin and Taehyung that had appeared.

“Speak of the devil.” Rap Monster laughed.

“Dude! Don’t do that!” shouted Jin.

“Sorry hyung. We thought it would be fun to scare you guys.” He laughed while Jin playfully pushed him away.

Suga had Jimin in a headlock when Jimin noticed Jeongguk. “Hey! Coincidence seeing you here.”

“So you guys do know each other,” said Suga.

“I met Jimin after our school’s assembly the other day,” Jeongguk replied. “He and Taehyung are really good dancers.”

“It’s nothing really,” Jimin said, being modest. “So what were you guys talking about before we got here?”

He looked over to Suga and Jin and they looked to Rap Monster. “Yeah, Rap Monster. What were you and Jeongguk talking about?”

“Well,” Rap Monster started. “I was thinking of asking Jeongguk to join our group.”

Jeongguk looked at him curiously. “What group?”

“You don’t know about us?” Jin sounded surprised. “We’re the Bangtan Boys!”

At that moment, his brain clicked. Jeongguk remembered hearing about Bangtan. The group of talented underground rappers, singers, and dancers. That meant the rumors at school were true, Jimin and Taehyung really were part of that group.  

Now they want Jeongguk to be a part of them too.

“Wait, wait, wait. Why him?” Suga asked.

“I think he’s got potential. He’s a pretty good rapper,” Rap Monster replied. “Probably even better than Jimin too.”

“Hey! I’m mainly vocals and dance alright. Rap? Not so much…” The rest of them were making fun of him so he changed the subject. “I did hear my dance teacher say that he was a really good dancer so I don’t see why not.”

“You have my approval!” Jimin smiled.

“Mine too!” Taehyung added. “What about you Jin?”

He thought for a moment. “Well it sounds like you some talent. Suga?”

“He seems like a pretty cool guy.” Suga shrugged a bit. “I don’t mind.”

Rap Monster looked happy. “So it’s settled. You in?”

Five pairs of eyes were fixed on Jeongguk as they waited for his answer.

He took a deep breath and exhaled. “Sure.” *Joining them wouldn’t hurt right? It’s not like they’re drug dealers or anything.*

This was something new that he hoped something good would come out of.