Euphoria | BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan)

"See you soon, Aegiya"

Jungkook and I stay sitting on the floor of the studio for the next 10 minutes or so, just talking. I learn about how he first started with BTS, his debut, his love of photography, his hobbies and goals in life and his passion for food (the man loves pork belly). Talking to him is easy and he's right, it's like we've known each other for years. Conversation comes easily and effortlessly between us. He asks me the standard 'get to know' someone questions like where I'm from, how long I've been a photographer and what my favorite ice cream is (he jumped up and cheered when I revealed I'm a huge Mint Choco fan). He asks me more questions, seemingly wanting to know everything there is to know about boring old me. Before we knew it, the other members were coming back and it was time to continue rehearsal.

Jimin comes skipping toward us and sits cross legged directly in front of me. I still can't get over how absolutely beautiful he is; a perfect mix of raw masculinity and divine femininity. He leans in and taps my camera and says "may I see?" I nod and turn the camera on and lean away from the wall to show him. I giggle as he oooh's and ahhh's at the photos; teasing each member as we scroll through and when we come across the photos of him, he jokingly shouts "oh Jimin! You handsome man!" As the minutes go by, I find myself more and more comfortable. The language barrier still makes me a little uneasy but they seem to get around well enough and Jungkook helped me download a reliable translator app for my iPhone so that I can communicate with them as well.

After a few more minutes of light banter and conversation with JK, Jimin and Taehyung, Namjoon comes in, claps his hands together and says "Ok boys, lets get it" and they all stand and return to the center of the room. Practice continues and I'm able to get so many incredible shots. If this is the rehearsal, I couldn't even imagine what the live show would be like. The amount of energy put into their performances is crazy and this was just a run through. I was blown away. The guys continue to be silly and throw funny faces at me or blow kisses as I'm working and it makes my heart so happy. I was so worried I wouldn't be able to form a connection to them, which makes for not the best photos, and now all that seems like a distant memory.

"Okay, we are just going to run through solo's really quickly and then we can be done," Namjoon looks over at me and smiles. I smile back and can't even believe I've already been there for 3 hours; time is just flying by. The members separate and I hear them banter back and forth over who's going to go first. They finally all gang up on Jungkook and force him to go first. They all spread out at they let him stand at the center of the room. My head immediately springs up and I audibly gasp when I hear the familiar strumming in the first few bars of the song. It's the song I listened to in the car, 'Euphoria' and of course, it's a JK solo. I look up at him and see that he's looking at me, he smiles and I give him a crooked grin. I'm sure he is confused as to why I had such a strong reaction. Yeah, no big deal, just the first BTS song I really listened to and it happens to be sung by the one man who's ever made my insides feel like I'm riding a rollercoaster.

Jungkook starts singing and I begin moving myself around him, lost in the way that he is performing so passionately. The sound of this voice is smooth and sweet. He gracefully moves to the song and I'm in awe of him. He makes it look so easy. Before I know it, I'm standing in the center of the room and Jungkook is moving around me, singing to the song and playing it up for the camera as I keep the shutter consistently shooting. He continues to dance around me and I hear the other members shouting at him playfully. As the song draws to a close, Jungkook stands directly in front of me, places his fingers under the lens so that all I see in the viewfinder is him reaching his hand out to touch me and stares right at the camera and gives me a wink and his cute little bunny smile. The music stops, I bring down my camera and look at him. How is this guy even real and what kind of voodoo magic shit is he casting over me. I look at him and he raises his hand in front of my face, gesturing to give him a high five. I raise my hand and tap it to his; before I can pull away, his fingers interlock with mine and I feel a shock run through me and he smirks.