Beyond The Stage

Only Human

Alexis's POV

I don't like this. I thought that being a translator would be cool and fun. And it is, in the moment. The members would speak, and then I translate it to the audience, and they react to it. Both the crowd and the members cheer up when the message is through. That part at least, is honestly amazing.

What I don't like, is the sight of the members dragging themselves backstage afterwards. Intermission was fine, they were sweating a lot and panting, but nothing like what happened back in Chile. What is the hardest to see, is after the entire concert.

Some of the staff practically dragged the members once the concert ended. My soulmates were using up every last bit of energy they had, to the point of overexerting themselves. They manage to keep the façade up until the very last minute, so by the time they finally say goodbye, they don't have enough energy for anything else.

One by one they pass me. They all glanced at me, and Hoseok even went so far as to smile, which I could barely return. Jimin and Namjoon had to be dragged.

One of the coordinators that I roomed with before, comes up to me. I don't even notice her until she's beside me. "It's hard to watch, isn't it?" She asks. I don't take my eyes off the boys, simply nodding my head in agreement. "It's usually hard for the new people to get used to, it looks so painful seeing it firsthand. You'd think with how pretty they looked in the cameras, everything would be fine."

As she speaks, I watch a countless number of staff crowd the boys. I see oxygen masks placed on their faces, multiple hands patting their neck and shoulders dry, fans and papers blowing air towards them. I know they are trying to help, but I can't stop thinking how suffocating it must be to have that many people close together body heat wise.

"But those boys love it so much. They love their fans will all their heart." She continues. I don't answer back, watching Namjoon take deep breaths through the mask with his eyes closed. I watch their chests heave as they gasp in air, while their limbs barely move.

I was trying to see it before, but now it's hard to miss. I see them as human. Away from the cameras, out of the crowd, exhausted after a concert. I thought that Jungkook's case was a slip-up, since the other members were up and around, but now I realize that they go through this every time.

She hands me a tissue. I put my finger under my eye, but there are no tears. "I'm not crying." I tell her, though I take the tissue anyways.

"It's for when you do." She explains. She gives me a comforting smile, then grabs the edge of my sleeve, "Come on, I have something you can help with." I finally move my gaze over to her. She looks me straight in the eye. "It might take your mind off of things." She adds.

She's right. There is nothing for me to do right now. The concert is over and so is my job. If she hadn't come, I probably would have stayed there, watching them struggle to breathe.

I stuff the tissue in my pocket and follow her over to the tech board, where the staff are unplugging the effects and wrapping cords among other things. She has me working with them for a while, but I still can't clear my head. Even though I'm not staring at them anymore, I still haven't taken my mind off of them. I can't.

I don't even notice Sejin come up until he's already behind me. "Alexis," He calls. I turn around and face him. "I need your help with something.

I nodded goodbye to the woman and went off with Sejin. I'll have to thank her later, I never asked her what her name was.

"So what did you need help with?" I ask him.

He gives me a guilty look, "I might have lied a bit." I tilt my head in question. Instead of answering, he walks me up to a door. "He asked me to get you." He opens the door, and inside the room sits Jin. A towel is set around his shoulders and he is no longer breathing heavily.

Sejin holds the door open as I walk in. "Thank you hyung." Jin says.

"You're welcome Jin." He says before closing the door.

I take my focus off of Jin to call out, "Thank you, Sejin!" I don't have a reason to thank him since I didn't ask him for anything, but he brought me to Jin. It would be rude to say nothing. I don't hear any kind of response, so I just hope he heard me.

Jin chuckles, "Why are you thanking him?"

I shrug my shoulders, "For his time?" It comes out as a question.

Jin nods slowly, his eyes fixated on me. There is a moment of silence before he speaks, "Jimin asked me to check on you. I agreed with him." He says.

I can't stop the laugh that bubbles out of my throat, "You came to check on me?"

"Why's that funny?"

"Because you all look exhausted. I should be checking on you."

"We are taken care of. Everyone's back to normal, this is the usual."

"I've heard." I speak lowly.

Jin sits up from his leaned back position. "Tell me what you're thinking. Are you okay?"

I do as he says and get my thoughts out. This might be better to say in front of all my soulmates, but this will do for now. "You know, I think I've mentioned this before, that or I've just explained it to myself over and over again." The words spew out of my mouth. "But I have idolized you guys for years. Before the concert, all I could see was from YouTube videos and Vlive. I saw edits and funny moment videos on my phone screen. So it was pretty hard to see you as... human."

My expression turns into one of regret. I'm staring at the floor so I don't have to meet his eye. "All this time I only saw what everyone else saw. What the camera saw. I know accidents happen, so I thought the situation with Jungkook was extraordinary, but after today..." My voice gets hard. "I learned- I was told, that it happens a lot."

I finally look up to see him standing close to me. I remember the tissue that the woman gave me, as the tears pool. "Shit, she was right." I scoff.

Jin takes a step closer and grabs the tissue from me. He pats at my eyes as he talks, "We're used to this by now. It doesn't really hurt us, you know. Jungkook's case is uncommon, he went a bit overboard that day. But we know how to pace ourselves." He balls the tissue up and tosses it over to the bin.

I refute him. "But it looks like it hurts. And the lights are excruciating even backstage, so I can't even imagine what it's like out there. It was humid out today, and the concert hall was packed. There were a lot of people backstage too, so it had to be hot. I heard from some of the tech people that the earplugs are extremely loud. And you guys rehearsed two days in a row befo- "

In the middle of my arguing, Jin pulls me in and kisses me straight on the lips. For about five seconds, I can't comprehend anything. It doesn't even register in my mind at first. All I can feel is the plump, moist lips against mine. They don't move as mine don't either, staying puckered and unmoving while my lips stay parted in shock. I feel him pull back, short enough to be called a peck, but so much more than that.

He only stops an inch away from my lips. His ears are about as red as my face, and I can clearly tell how embarrassed he is, but he doesn't seem to regret it. Even then, his voice sounds calming in contrast to both, "Love, we are fine."

He places his forehead on mine. "Now that you're here, we are perfectly fine."