Chapter Text
"Do you remember what we were like on our debut day?"
"Excited."
"Terrified."
Jungkook and Jimin looked at each other.
"Terricited?"
Anna smiled at Taehyung while the others laughed at another one of his made-up words.
They were all having brunch on the morning of the big day. While she had thanked them all for taking time out of their - still very busy - schedules to celebrate her debut with her, the boys had brushed her off. Of course, they would make time for her today.
"Even though some of us had been waiting for that day to happen for years, it was still a little nerve-wracking."
"Namjoon-Hyung had waited for the longest, but Jimin-Hyung was so talented he barely had to wait a year."
"I feel like I'm missing the joke because Jungkook that was way too sincere."
"No joke, Hyung, but did anyone else realise that Jimin-Hyung won't be the one with the shortest trainee time anymore."
Taehyung gasped and clapped Jimin on the back.
"That's true! Anna's got you beat."
"I didn't realise it was a competition."
"Obviously, Anna's the most talented out of all of us then."
Anna rolled her eyes at the turn the conversation had taken.
"Now you're all just being silly."
"Back to the original question... How are you feeling about today, Anna?"
"Terricited? I'm excited, but I'm also nervous about something going wrong like forgetting the words, or falling over, or something."
Hoseok wrapped his arm around her.
"You're well practised so I'm sure nothing will go wrong."
"Yes, I know, but what I'm most worried about is that no one will like my performance, my song... me."
Taehyung shook his head.
"Not possible."
"I think your fans have already shown how much they love and support you."
"I think this is just pre-debut jitters, Noona. You know you've got this."
When Jungkook smiled at her, her worries all but disappeared. Her soulmates were right.
"I'm offended, Jagi. Don't you trust my producing skills?"
"Yeah! Do you know how much Yoongi's fees are now? We can't afford him!"
"Jin-Hyung!"
"It's true!"
"I'm sorry, Yoongi. Of course, I don't doubt your skills."
"Hyung is skilled at many things."
"Jimin! Really? We're in public."
"Rapping, guitar, Pilates... what did you think I meant, Joonie-Hyung?"
Everyone laughed as Namjoon’s cheeks turned red.
"What's your schedule for the rest of day, Anna?"
"Nice change of subject, Hyung."
Anna narrowed her eyes at Taehyung who raised his hands in surrender.
"Next is the pre-release countdown live on YouTube, then prepare for the music show and debut performance, and finally a late-night post-release V Live. I thought about doing the V Live tomorrow to get people more time to listen to the album, but it’s ARMY day. I'm doing a proper album review after the second music video is released on Monday."
"I know about that one. It's on my schedule."
Namjoon looked at Yoongi in surprise.
"It's on mine too!"
"Well, you did both help significantly with the album, so it's only right that you're my special guests."
The Maknae line immediately began to protest.
"That's not fair! I want to be a special guest too!"
"So do I!"
"What are you doing tonight?"
"Being special guests on Noona's post-release V Live?"
"That's right."
"Yay!"
The older soulmates smiled at how easy it was to please the younger ones.
"Noona, why didn't you have a party like Hobi-Hyung's having next week?"
"This is the party."
"But you could've invited all your Idol friends."
"I'm not sure we're that well acquainted, Tae. Besides, I like just being with my soulmates and eating pancakes. I don't need a big party."
"But you're coming to Hyung's right? I want to show you off."
"You mean, let everyone know she's yours and to stay away, right, Jimin?"
"Don't act as if you weren't planning on doing the same, Hyung!"
While Namjoon and Jimin argued, Hoseok whispered to Anna.
"I'm sorry your debut is surrounded by my comeback."
"What? It's not your fault."
"We had to move it up when I accepted the Lollapalooza gig, and they couldn't move yours without it being a big fuss because everything had already been confirmed. I don't want to steal your spotlight."
"I don't think anyone would ever accuse you of stealing anything."
"Anna..."
"Hobi..."
"I love you."
"I love you too."
They shared a sweet kiss, and when they broke apart, they noticed that Namjoon was sitting back down. Apparently, he'd had to take a call.
"I just heard from security. They don't want us all to go with Anna to the music show later. It's too much of a security risk."
"What?"
"No way."
"I'm not leaving my Princess by herself."
Anna shifted nervously in her seat before clearing her throat.
"Actually, guys... I'd like to go alone. I want to do this by myself if that's okay?"
"Okay? Of course, it is, Sweetie. It's your decision."
Jin's seriousness almost made Anna laugh.
"It's not that I don't want you there, it's just..."
"We understand, Noona. You got this."
"Thank you. For everything."
"No need to thank us, Jagi. We're in this together, no matter what."
Anna smiled knowingly at Yoongi and repeated his last words back to him.
"No matter what."
"Aww, I love you all so much!"
At Namjoon's outburst, Jimin teased the leader.
"Oh dear, Hyung's getting all sappy on us again."
"You love it when he gets like this."
"Yeah, I do."
Jin whispered loudly across the table.
"But how much has he been drinking? It's not even the afternoon."
"Hey! Can't I just tell my soulmates how much they mean to me?"
The rest of them looked at each other before answering in unison.
"No!"
A little while later it was time for Anna to head back to the company to get ready for the pre-release show. Fifteen minutes before her title track music video was set to drop, her YouTube live began.
"Hello, everyone! My name is Anna and welcome to the pre-release show for my first album, Wonders of the Heart. Thank you for joining me."
She repeated herself in English for any international viewers.
"As you can see, I’m wearing pyjamas and you might be thinking that it’s an odd choice of outfit considering the time of day it is here in Korea. Coming up to 1 pm. The reason behind this is in recognition of any international fans who are watching this in the middle of the night. I remember when that was me, so a special big thank you to those people."
Aww's were heard from behind the camera, and Anna looked up to see her soulmates with their hands over their hearts, showing how touched they felt on behalf of international fans.
"Obviously, there isn't much I can say right now without giving spoilers, but if you have any questions about the album, I will be doing V Live later tonight. I will also be doing another one on Monday evening after the second music video drops, which will be more like an album review. Like Namjoon used to do. Okay?"
She picked up the iPad to read the comments.
"'How are you celebrating?' I'm celebrating right now with you all."
Anna laughed.
"I had brunch with all of my soulmates this morning to celebrate. 'Are you nervous?' Am I nervous? Yes? About the album release, the music show performance, everything really, but I am a nervous person in general, so... Umm, 'What is your favourite song?' Has everyone seen the tracklist? My favourite song is, well, Rock Paper Smile, is a fun one, and of course, I love the title track, How To Land. What track are you looking forward to most?"
She gave them a moment to reply and looked over the comments.
"Wow! All different ones. I guess you're looking forward to all of them. I think we have time for one last question... 'Is there a significance to the number of songs?' Ah, yes. There are eight songs on this album. Some of you may have guessed that this is because I am in a soul-group of eight, and you would be correct. The album is about love, in all its forms, so it seemed fitting that there be eight songs to represent the loves of my life."
Her eyes glanced over at her soulmates, and she smiled when she saw Jin throw her a flying kiss.
"Okay, it's almost time! Let's start the count down! Goodbye, everyone. See you later!"
The Live ended and BTS wrapped their soulmate up in a big hug.
After the release of the music video, time seemed to drag for Anna. Her soulmates had warned her that things like recording for music shows took a long time, but this seemed ridiculous. Hours later, it was her time to go on stage. She took one last look at the messages she had received from her soulmates, her friend Rose, and the members of TXT and ENHYPEN, before leaving the waiting room.
When she was given the cue, Anna walked onto the stage and got into position. She waved and smiled at the audience who were shouting out to her. It was a good sign that some of them were her fans or at least knew who she was.
Standing on the stage, it was like she had imagined a year ago when she had stood on her soulmates' stage during their tour. Only this time there was an audience in front of her and she would be performing her own song.
Then the lights went out and she took a deep breath as she waited in the dark. When the lights turned back on, the spotlight was on her.
The music started and Anna began to sing.