Chapter Text
This was it.
The big day.
You barely hold in your excitement as the lights above the crowd dim and the lights on stage begin to shine. Even standing in front of the stage, part of you still can’t believe it. You had saved every penny, all but sold your soul to your part-time job, and stayed up all night more than once to finish your assignments for the coming week early, and now you were here, at the BTS concert.
Next to you, your friend bounces on her toes. You can see her mouth moving and lean closer to hear what she’s saying.
“Thisisitthisisitthisisit.” She chants under her breath and you laugh.
“I still can’t believe we were able to get right in front of the stage.” You whisper shout in her ear as the crowd around you begins to chant.
“I know!” She says excitedly. Then, “Oh! Here they come!”
She grabs your arm and screams. You join in, caught up in the excitement around you.
They’ve played half the show - and you’re not sure if you’ll be able to talk for the next week from all your shouting - when it happens. They are singing and dancing and you’re not ashamed to admit you’re entranced when suddenly Jeon Jungkook stops in front of you. He gets down on one knee, still singing, and holds his hand out to you.
You blink and try to step back as the spotlight hits you but your friend is holding you tightly in place, even trying to raise your arm for you.
You’re frozen as he stares at you, your eyes wide and unsure. He smiles and beckons you, wiggling his fingers, waiting for you to accept his hand. A second, maybe two has passes, but it feels like an eternity. Then, even more unexpected than Jungkook holding his hand out to you, Min Yoongi stops next to him and crouches down, holding his hand out to you as well.
Your mind is blank, and your heart is racing. This… this is the last thing you had expected to happen. They never and you hadn’t….
“Go! Omg! Take their hands.” Your friend is shouting in your ear and the noise rushes back in. Around you girls are screaming and holding out their hands, and now all seven of them are staring at you and you’re pretty sure if you take their hands, you’ll faint from the blood rushing to your head. You shake your head and step back, breaking your friend’s grip on your arm.
You briefly meet each of their eyes before looking down.
Next to you, another fan starts screaming as they pull her on stage to sing with them. Your ears are burning and so are your eyes and you know that later you’ll regret not going up on stage. But right now all you feel is cool relief washing through you.
“Hey, hon, it’s okay.” Your friend’s soothing voice is in your ear and she’s rubbing your arm as she pulls you into her side. “It was a shock. I know you don’t do well with surprises. Or being on stage.”
You nod, thankful she’s with you and understands. “You wanted me to go up.” You say and smile ruefully at her.
She laughs, “Well, duh. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity and I was just as shocked at you were! But you know I don’t want you to do anything you’re uncomfortable with?” She asks and turns you so you’re facing her.
You nod and smile and she draws you into a real hug. You both move back to your spots in front of the stage. The girl who had been on stage is standing next to you again and you can see that she’s completely star struck and probably more than half in love.
Deep down, you envy her for being brave enough to take the chance you didn’t.
-0-0-0-
You’re waiting in line for the fan signing now and you hope they won’t remember your face and ask you about what happened. In front of you, your friend is bouncing again and you shake your head, chuckling at her antics. You’re close enough to see the members and a thrill of excitement races through you.
You’re staring, the same as everyone else in line, when suddenly Jungkook looks up and your eyes meet. His widen, and you’re sure yours do too. After less than a moment, he looks away and you let out the breath you were holding. You look away quickly, not sure how you’ll handle it if he, or any of them, look at you again.
He recognized you.
And now you’re not sure if you can stand in this line and sit in front of them. You tap your friend’s shoulder and she turns to look at you, “I think, I’m not feeling good. I’m going to wait for you outside.” You say with a grimace.
“Are you serious? Are you okay? I can come with you.” She says, and you shake your head.
“No, stay. Don’t miss out because of me.” You give her a half smile, “Maybe see if you can get their autographs for me.” You say and start to hand her your book.
“Sure…” She trails off and her eyes go comically wide as she looks behind you.
Someone taps your shoulder. You turn and see a large man in a suit with an ear piece behind you. Your knees go weak.
“Miss, you’re to come with me.” He says, his voice low as he places a large hand on your back, ushering you in front of him. You throw a bewildered look over your shoulder to your friend, but don’t protest. You’re too confused to do much of anything other than follow the pressure of his hand on your back as he leads you through a door and down a myriad of hallways. He stops in front of one closed door, opens it, and gently pushes you inside, “Wait here.” He says, then closes the door, leaving you alone.
The second the door closes, you pull out your phone and message your friend to let her know you’re okay. She messages back relieved looking emojis and asks what you think she should do.
You [10:39pm]: Just wait for me at the hotel, I guess? I don’t know what’s happening, but I’ll try and find someone and get back there as soon as I can.
BFF [10:39pm]: Are you sure??? I can wait here. I don’t want to leave you!!
She messages back quickly, and you bite your lip, thinking. You open the door and peek out. You can’t see anyone and you don’t remember all the turns it took for you to get where you are.
You [10:41pm]: Yeah. The big guy told me to wait here, so I assume someone will come get me. Hopefully!
She texts you back a thumbs up and you put your phone in your pocket before looking around the room you’re in.
On one side, there’s a long table full of food and drinks. The back wall has a large TV mounted on it and there are chairs and couches scattered around. Most of them are facing the TV but some are in the middle of the large room facing each other. Your stomach growls and you take a step toward the food but stop yourself; you don’t know who it’s for, but you’re starting to get a vague idea in the back of your mind. Turning your back on the food, you walk over to one of the chairs in front of the TV and sit, crossing your legs on the seat in the process. You manage to sit still for maybe 3 minutes before you’re bouncing your legs and bored. You see a couple remotes on one of the couches and grab them before settling back in your seat. It only takes a glance for you to see which one controls the TV and which one the DVD player suspended under it that you hadn’t noticed before. The TV is loud when you switch it on, and you wince, turning it down. A movie is already playing and you lean back in your seat, content to wait and watch for the time being. Before you get too comfortable and forget, you send a quick text to your friend, telling her of your suspicions and promise to get pictures if you’re right.
You’re not sure how long you’ve been in there, but it’s been long enough for you to begin sympathizing with the villain, when the door opens. You jump a bit and grab for the remote, fumbling with it as you hurry to shut the movie off. Finally, it clicks off and you turn to see BTS filing in through the door.
“Oh my god…” You breathe out.
Jungkook notices you first. He shouts something and makes his way to you, followed by the rest of the band members.
You laugh nervously and try to stand, briefly forgetting that you’ve been sitting on your legs. You manage to stand for a second when your legs suddenly give out from under you. “Ah!”
Before you hit the ground, a strong pair of arms catch you. He says something, and you can feel your face heat, you don’t understand a word he’s saying. You might be in Korea, but you’re still learning the language.
“Um, I can’t, I’m sorry, I don’t speak Korean.” You tell him in English.
His eyes light up and he switches over, “Careful.” Jungkook says, smiling. A bit dazed from being so close to an idol, one of your favorite idols, it takes you a minute to gather your feet under you so you can stand on your own. His arms are still around you, holding you steady and at this point you’re not sure if you should step away or if that would be rude.
“I’m so glad you came, I was worried you wouldn’t.” He continues excitedly as the others surround you. “But here you are, did you have to wait long? Thank you for waiting.”
“Jungkook-ie. Calm down, let her breathe.” Yoongi says, his voice even and calm compared to Jungkook’s.
“Right, of course, hyung.” He says and releases you.
“I, um, thanks for inviting me. But, er, why did you invite me?” You ask, taking half a step back so you can see them better. You wonder if your heart rate will go back to normal after this night, because right now it’s racing wildly, beating against your rib cage as if it’s trying to escape.
Suddenly, Hoseok is standing directly in front of you, cupping your too hot face in his warm hands and staring into your eyes. He smiles brightly, “You looked so nervous when we tried to have you sing with us. We wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“Oh.” Your answer comes out as a squeak when arms wrap around you from behind. “Erm, thank you. I just, I get nervous?” You explain.
He nods, and you can feel whoever is behind you put their head on your shoulder. You think you should probably move away - they are very close - but you’d be lying to yourself if you said you weren’t enjoying the casual contact.
“What’s your name?” You flick your eyes toward the speaker, face still in Hoseok’s hands. Seokjin is looking at you with his head tilted to the side slightly, as if he’s studying you.
“It’s, it’s” you hesitate and lick your lips, “It’s (y/n).”
“Do you need anything, (y/n)? You must have been waiting a while.” The person behind you asks.
Hoseok releases your face and you turn just enough to see that it’s Jimin behind you. “I’m okay” you assure, right before your stomach growls loudly enough for the entire room to hear. The guys all laugh, and you join them, finding their laughter contagious. Your laugh is a bit tense, but thankfully no one comments, and you relax a fraction.
“Let’s eat.” Hoseok says taking your hand like it’s the most natural thing in the world and leading you to the table.
You watch in a bit of a daze as Taehyung and Namjoon argue over which food to put on the plate they insisted on getting for you. Your hand is still in Hoseok’s and you’re trying to decide if you should pull away. Not because you don’t like it, but because you do. Holding his hand is comforting and normal and feels like something you’ve been doing forever. Before you can think about it too much, he’s leading you back to the couches. He tilts his head toward the couch, telling you to sit and you comply. He moves to follow, but before he can sit, Jimin and Yoongi slide in on either side of you.
I’m dreaming, you think to yourself bemusedly, This is a crazy wonderful dream and I don’t think I want to wake up.
You’re not sure how much time passes while you’re with them - you stopped looking at your phone some time ago - but you know it’s getting late and your friend is probably waiting up for you. You’ve been enjoying spending time with everyone and your nerves at being in the same room as celebrities slowly vanished as you realized they really weren’t that different from you. Aside from the singing. And dancing. And being famous…
“Thank you all so much, I’ve really enjoyed, well, everything, but I should get going. My friend is probably worried sick and waiting for me.” You say when the conversation lulls and smile a little when they make noises of despair.
You know they’re acting more upset than they really are, but your heart still flutters a little at the thought that they actually enjoyed spending time with you. Checking your phone, you see that its’ dead, “This is-” you sigh, “can I borrow a phone to call a cab?”
“Oh! We’ll take you! We have to get to our hotel too. Where are you staying?” Jungkook asks suddenly.
You think quickly, you only have a bit of cash left on you, not wanting to bring too much to the concert - just in case. It’s enough for a taxi, probably, but not having to spend it would be nice. Besides, you want to hang out with them more, even if it’s just for the short ride to the hotel. You tell him where you’re staying with your friend and startle slightly when he shouts, “But that’s where we’re staying!”
“Really?” You know the hotel you’re staying at isn’t awful, but it’s definitely not the place you’d expect international stars to stay.
They exchange glances, then Seokjin smiles answering your unspoken question, “There was a mix up. We actually have rooms in a different hotel set up for next week.”
“Oh…” you draw the word out, “that makes sense. I suppose.” You bite your lip, “In that case, I accept. If we’re all going to the same place anyways…”
They cheer, and you laugh at their exuberance, so different from just moments ago.
Someone makes a call or presses a button or something, because within minutes there’s a knock on the door and you’re all escorted out a back door and into a waiting limo. It’s one of the SUV ones and you close your mouth with a snap when you see just how big and luxurious it is on the inside. Once more you seem to be in the middle of everything, only this time it’s Namjoon’s hand on your knee and Taehyung’s arm around your shoulders and you’re certain you’ll have to make an appointment with a cardiologist after this.
You’ve seen RUN BTS videos and their vlives and pictures and you know they are rather physically affectionate with each other, but you didn’t think the behavior extended to outsiders as well.
The ride to the hotel is quiet, but not uncomfortably so. You wonder if their seemingly boundless energy is beginning to wane. In contrast, you feel wired. There’s a chance it’s from how overtired you are, but you suspect it’s really from being around the members of your favorite kpop group. Maybe a combination of both.
You don’t have time to think too hard about why your heart continues to jump every time one of them meets your gaze, because you’re pulling up in front of the hotel and everyone is getting out. You stop in the lobby and a pang of sadness goes off in your chest. Your eyes follow the driver as he walks off to talk to someone at the front desk- not wanting to look directly at any of the guys.
“Well, I guess this is goodbye. Thank you all so much. I had,” you pause and look down, forcing yourself to smile through the odd sense of hurt, “I had so much fun. This is, without a doubt, the best night of my life. Thank you.”
You lift your hand in a wave and turn not wanting to linger, but someone catches your wrist. You turn your head, seeing that Jungkook has you and he’s smiling, “At least let us walk you to your room. It’s late.”
You laugh softly and roll your eyes, “Because hotel hallways are so dangerous at this time of night?” You tease.
“You never know what kind of people are wandering the halls.” Yoongi agrees, taking something from the driver and putting it in his pocket with a small smile playing around his lips.
“Well, if you insist. I’m on the second floor.” You tell them happily and lead the way to the elevator. If they really wanted to walk up with you, even if it was out of some sense of chivalry, you weren’t going to argue.
The ride to your floor is as quiet as the ride to the hotel had been, but much shorter. As you walk down the hall, you turn back to see them all trailing behind you and stifle a giggle at the image of ducklings that pops into your exhaustion fueled mind. Room 223 comes into view all too quickly.
“Well, once again, I suppose this is it. This is my room. Where I’m staying.” You ramble as they surround you in a loose half circle.
You’re feeling around your pockets, searching for your room key, “So, yeah. Um. Great night. And, and good night. And, shit.”
“What’s wrong?” One of them asks, but you’re not sure who because you’re looking down at your key-less hand.
“I don’t have my room key.” You pout.
“Can you knock? Your friend is inside.”
Your head pops up and you turn to knock on the door. You wait.
And wait.
You knock again and wait some more.
You knock a third time, loud enough to hurt your knuckles and probably wake the occupants of the other room. Still, you hear nothing from the other side.
“Can I borrow a phone?” One is thrust over your shoulder and you toss back a soft ‘thanks’ before quickly dialing your friend.
You press your free ear against the door and hear her phone going off on the other side. You stay on until her voicemail picks up. You try one more time, only to get her voicemail again. “Okay. Well. I’ll just go back to the front desk and get a spare.”
“Or you could just come with us.” Jimin says.
You blink, “As in, to your room? And, what?”
“Hang out.” Hoseok says, taking your hand. “Are you really ready to sleep?”
You tilt your head, considering his question. No, you really were’t ready to sleep. You probably wouldn’t sleep for days at this point. Not until your body gave out.
“No. I guess not. Okay. Sure. Why not?” You agree.
“Wonderful!” He says with a sunny smile you can’t help but return before he’s leading you back onto the elevator.
“What floor are you on?” You ask in general. You notice them shifting and turn to see them all looking at each other, “Do you not know?”
“Uh, seven.” Yoongi finally says, looking down at a key card and the others nod.
“Seven?” You giggle. They look at you curiously and you giggle more, “It’s just, you’re on the seventh floor, there are seven- nevermind.” You say and shake your head as you press the button for their floor.
A thought suddenly occurs to you, “Where’s, like, your manager? Or bodyguards? You have those, don’t you?”
“Our manager is probably sleeping already and guards, we don’t really need them to stand outside our doors.” Jin says.
“Oh. Okay.” You agree, because, really, what do you know? Besides, they’re all adults. It’s not like they need someone watching them all the time.
On the seventh floor, Yoongi takes the lead, and you all stop in front of room 703. You watch him approach the door with a single room key in his hand. No one else has pulled out a key, all watching Yoongi instead.
“Are you all in the same room?” You ask, slightly horrified at the thought of seven people sleeping in one room, even if there are two beds.
“Ah, no. There are three rooms.” He says and looks at you over his shoulder, hand still on the door.
“We all want to stay together. It’s hard to do that in separate rooms.” Namjoon says, mouth close to your ear. You shiver a bit as his warm breath hits the side of your neck. You hadn’t realized he’d gotten so close. “At least until we’re ready to sleep.”
“Oh. Um, right. Of course.” They start to walk into the room, and you find yourself frozen in the hall. The implications of being found in a room with these particular 7 men rising to the forefront of your mind. “This…. is okay, right? No one will, um, get in trouble?”
“Nervous?” Namjoon asks, still behind you. He wraps an arm around your waist, pulling you into his warm chest, “Don’t worry, we won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Okay then.” Your voice is a bit breathy, but you don’t think he notices as you both walk into the room.
It’s large, two beds off to one side, a small sitting area with a mini fridge in a very small bar closer to you. A large window takes up most of the wall near the beds and you pull away from him to look out at all the lights. You place one hand against the cool glass, close your eyes, and let your forehead fall forward gently until it meets glass. You stay like that long enough to gather your thoughts and get your bearings. It was a lot to take in. Meeting them and almost immediately after, spending the night with them. Even if nothing happened… it was a lot for your poor heart.
After a few deep breaths, you open your eyes and step back. You can see everyone’s reflections in the window and can’t stop your smile at the picture it makes. You wish your phone wasn’t dead so you can take more.
“Does anyone have a spare charger? Sorry for asking, but since mine is in my room…” you glance around and don’t notice the looks they’re exchanging. “Where are your bags?”
“Probably in one of the other rooms.” Taehyung is quick to say.
“We’ll look for a charger in a bit. Come, sit down.” He says as he takes you by the shoulders and directs you to one of the beds, completely ignoring the two chairs and couch. He pushes you gently until you sit.
“Do you want a drink?” Namjoon asks as he walks toward the bar.
“Sure.” You shrug and try to stand, but Tae’s hands, still on your shoulders stop you.
“I’ll get it.” He says moving away.
Once everyone has a drink, they settle on the beds and you move back so you can see them all, pressing against the headboard and crossing your legs.
“What do you do, (y/n)?” Jin asks. Yoongi fiddles with his phone and soft music starts playing.
“Like, for work or?” You take a sip of the drink Tae has pressed into your hand and hum your appreciation. “This is good. Thank you.” Namjoon smiles at your compliment and you look back at Jin who nods, “I’m a student, mostly.”
“Exchange student.” Jungkook says with a nod, “How long will you be in Korea?”
“Ah. No. Not an exchange student. Um. I kind of live here now? I’ve only been here a few months.” You pause trying decide how much you should disclose, but they’re all watching you so intently, as if hanging on your every word… you shake your head to clear the silly thoughts.
“My aunt, she wanted someone to stay at her place while she travels, and I wanted to travel for school. So, this seemed like the best solution for both of us.”
The alcohol in your drink seeps into your veins, warming and relaxing you as the night goes on. At some point, someone knocks on the door and delivers a charger for your phone. Once it turns back on, you take more pictures with each of them in turn, and one as a group, all squished close together on the bed so everyone is in the frame. The eight of you talk and laugh the hours away and night slowly begins to turn to dawn and soon you’re yawning with your head on Tae’s shoulder and your feet in Jungkook’s lap.
Tae bends his head and kisses your temple, making you smile. “Sleep, babe.”
You shake your head but close your eyes anyways. “No point in it now. We have to leave in a couple hours. Literally.” You say yawning again.
“We’ll make sure you get back to your room before your friend leaves.” Namjoon assures you.
“If you’re sure…” you sigh feeling Tae pull you closer to him. “Just- I’ll just close my eyes for a minute…”
-0-0-0-
You’re moving.
That’s the first thing you notice.
The second is that you’re definitely not moving on your own, but you’re still too tired to really care.
The third is that whatever is moving you is warm and smells good.
“Mmm.” You hum and rub your nose closer to the scent. The smaller, slightly more awake, part of your brain tells you that you know this smell. The larger, sleepier part tells you to just enjoy it. You hear voices but can’t understand what they’re saying. You rub your face closer to the wonderful smell again and hear someone chuckle.
Suddenly, you stop moving and you hear a knock on a door. You’re more awake now. Awake enough to realize that you’re being carried on someone’s back. Immediately, you begin squirming, trying to get down.
“Stop. Stop moving. I don’t want to drop you.” Jungkook says and you gasp.
“You can put me down! I can walk!” You say, but he just tightens his hands on your thighs.
“You just woke up. Give it a- hello!” He says.
You look away from his profile to see your friend staring at - you glance around and see everyone has come down - staring at all of you in the hallway.
“We just wanted to make sure (y/n) got back safe.” He says and slowly loosens his grip on you until you’re sliding down his back. Once your feet touch the ground, he turns and places his hands on your shoulders.
“Goodbye, we’ll talk again. Soon.” He promises and leans in to kiss your cheek.
Each of them in turn says goodbye with a hug or small kiss on the cheek. Namjoon’s lips seem to linger just a bit longer than the others, but you’re not completely sure because your mind is still fuzzy from just waking up then being hugged and kissed by each member of BTS.
When they step away, you raise your hand and wave, “B-bye guys. I had a wonderful time. I’ll never forget it.”
Jimin winks at you and grins, “Don’t worry, we don’t plan to let you. See you around baby.”
You and your friend watch them walk away. Once they are out of sight, you turn to look at her and you’re not sure who’s more dazed.
“Oh. My. God. What. Did I. Miss?!” She ends on a shriek and pulls you into the hotel room.
“I don’t- I’m not-” you pause and pat yourself down, finding your phone in your pocket, you sigh in relief when you pull it out and see it’s fully charged.
“I have pictures!” You show her the phone proudly. Before you can unlock it, it begins to vibrate. When you see the seven different notifications in your messenger, you laugh happily.
Their numbers, they gave you their numbers.