February 14, 2020
It was Jake's leisure phone. He propped it up on the bottle of wine.
It was Namjoon.
"Namjoon-hyung?" Jake answered the called.
"Hey, Jungkookie! How's it going in Cebu? Are you having dinner with Bella?" The leader asked.
Jake nodded. "Yes, hyung. She's right here. Do you want to speak to her?"
"Actually, I called because of business but I wouldn't mind talking to her once we're done."
"Business?" Jimin asked.
"Was that Jimin?" Namjoon clarified.
"Yes, Namjoon-hyung." Jimin replied. "It's me! What business do we need to talk about?"
Namjoon cleared his throat. "The picture that JK uploaded on the group twitter account. It's blowing up and not in a good way."
Jake froze. "What do you mean, hyung?"
"People are asking why there are four plates and wine glasses if there's only three of you celebrating Valentine's Day." Namjoon stated.
"Wait, what?!" Jake exclaimed.
"He's right, Kook! Bella moved out of the picture but we didn't notice her plate." Taehyung commented, showing Jake the picture on Twitter.
"Oh, shit." Jake cursed.
Everyone fell silent.
Bella spoke up after what seemed like an eternity. "Jake, I have a suggestion."
He looked at her.
"Take a picture of Tannie sitting on my chair."
They all looked at each other.
"It could work." Namjoon remarked. "Try it, JK."
"I'll have to hang up, hyung." Jake informed him.
"Okay. Call the group chat afterwards." Namjoon instructed.
Jake did as he was told, taking a picture of Yeontan seated where Bella was and uploaded it on Twitter. The teacup Pomeranian was on the chair, looking into the camera over a plate of pesto chicken and red wine. They all held their breath as the comments came in.
'Of course, it's for Yeontan!'
'Tannie, you're the cutest!'
'Yeontan can be my valentine anytime!'
'Yeontan is the only one I will allow Taehyung to have a Valentine's dinner with!'
'Be mine, Tannie!'
The four of them looked at each other, relieved.
"Good call, Princess!" Jake pinched her nose. "Thanks for saving my ass."
"We're lucky Yeontan came to Cebu with you!" Bella laughed. "Methinks he deserves a little bit more of that steak, V-oppa!"
Taehyung continued to feed Yeontan little bits of steak.
"Let's open the group chat!" Jimin suggested. He proceeded to make the call.
Taehyung and Jake answered on both their phones. All four hyungs answered the call.
"Oh, did we bother you guys?" Bella asked when she saw them all in bed. She and Jake were in the same frame.
"No, no, not at all Bella! We were up and awake, discussing that little Twitter near-fiasco." Yoongi said.
Jake groaned. "Sorry, Suga-hyung! I didn't notice the extra plate one bit."
Namjoon chuckled. "The funny thing is, JK is the one who is usually off Twitter and Weverse. And the one time he posts something, it goes awry."
"Good thing Bella came up with that Yeontan idea." Taehyung praised.
"She could be part of our PR Team." Jin inserted.
"Bella, would you ever consider a career doing something in the music industry?" Hobi asked.
Bella looked at Jake. "Uh, no. Hobi-oppa. I'm quite happy with my job."
"We could have her travel with us as a back-up dancer!" Jimin exclaimed. "I've seen her and Hobi-hyung practice. She's not bad."
Bella shook her head. "You've only seen me through the screen, Jimin-oppa."
"He's right, Bella. You are improving. Crisper lines and more deliberate movements and we actually could take you on our tours." Hobi agreed.
"You guys are funny! There is just no way. There is absolutely no way I could even catch up." Bella objected.
"You really think she can hang, Hobi-hyung?" Taehyung asked.
Hobi nodded. "She's got music in her soul and in her bones, V."
"Like I said before, Hobi-oppa. I love music but you guys have been training forever and are constantly improving your craft almost every single day. I just do it recreationally." Bella continued to protest.
"There's really only one way to find out." Taehyung spoke up. Everyone in the room turned to him and his face lit up into a mischievous grin. "Hobi-hyung, you said you guys have been practicing Idol, right?"
Hobi nodded, "Yup."
"Bella, hand me your phone please." Taehyung held out his hand.
Bella's forehead wrinkled but she complied anyway, unlocking her phone.
Taehyung opened up Spotify and found the song he was looking for. "Help me move this table out of the way, Jiminie."
"V-oppa.... What.. What are you up to?" Bella stammered.
"The only way that we can really decide on this is if we can all see you dance." Taehyung explained.
"What?! Are you serious?" She exclaimed.
"As a heart attack." He answered.
"Hyungs, you be the judge." Jimin said into the phone.
Jake went to stand beside Bella. "We'll dance with you, Princess."
"But.. But..." She continued to protest.
"Don't worry, Bella dear." Jin called. "You'll be fine!"
"Hobi-oppa! Help me!" Bella cried.
"You'll do great, Bella. Just give it your best." Hobi encouraged.
"Oh, dear God." She held her head in her hands.
Jake hugged her. "Princess, just think of them as our audience. Don't be scared. If Hobi-hyung has enough confidence in you, we all do too. Especially me."
"Bella, if I can get through Idol, you can too!" Jin laughed.
"He's not wrong." Yoongi agreed.
"Yoongi!" Jin cautioned.
"What, hyung? I'm just agreeing." Yoongi teased.
Taehyung clapped his hands. He and Jimin had moved the table and the wicker bench out of the way. He had gently placed Bella in the middle of the formation. Yeontan was sitting on the wicker bench and silently observing. "Okay, let's get this show on the road. Bella, take up the central position. That's Kook's spot and do what you normally do with Hobi-hyung. The three of us can adjust."
They were facing the bed now. Jimin's phone was propped on the left side table and Jake's phone was propped on the right. Taehyung had placed his phone against the pillows in the middle of the bed and unbeknownst to Bella, he was recording everything. Bella's phone was closest to them, by the foot of the bed.
"Positions, everyone." Taehyung cued. They all turned back. "Let's do this."
Taehyung pressed play and ran to his spot. The beats echoed in the room and the four of them started to move. Bella took a deep breath and listened to the song. She turned to face forward dramatically and after two beats started to dance forward, just as Hobi had instructed many times before. She continued on, her body moving as taught. Namjoon, Hobi and Yoongi's voices filled the room.
She loved the choreography to this song. It was so unique. She threw her arms up and above in a circle, jerking her elbows to the side while bending her head to the right. She did that twice. Then she kicked with her right foot and then her left. For the second line, she did what she considered the puppet move, lifting her right arm and then her left arm halfway. Then she lifted them in the same way, all the way to the top as if she were a puppet being controlled on a string, ending with raising both her arms with open palms facing inward.
The dance break was particularly grueling but Bella did not let it stop her. She was enjoying herself and did not forget to control her facial expressions. Roughly four minutes later, the song was ending and the four of them were doing the final spin into a sitting position. They were all breathing heavily and Bella moved to lay on the bed.
The four older members erupted into applause.
"Bella, that was awesome!" Namjoon exclaimed.
"It looks like it's time to practice another song, Bella!" Jin added. "You did great. I'm so proud of you."
"You can be my stand-in when we perform that next time, Bella." Yoongi commented. "I'm getting old and don't have the same stamina as I used to for that dance."
"If you're old, Yoongi, what does that make me?!" Jin interjected to everyone's roars of laughter.
"Bella, you were half a beat behind in the dance break after the leg lift. But you recovered well into the next jump. Very good extensions all throughout except for the two hand curls at Oh Oh Oh Oh. Make them more defined. Facial expressions were on point." Hobi remarked. "The intro was sexy. The two beats just before you went forward, they gave me life!"
Jake had taken his phone and was sitting beside Bella. "Oh wow! Thanks for the kind comments, Namjoon-oppa and Jin-oppa! Yoongi-oppa, I'm sure people are going to notice that you'd be a full head shorter! Really, Hobi-oppa? Are you sure the body roll was okay?" She asked.
Hobi nodded. "Better than okay. It looks a whole lot sexier when you do it versus when Kook does it. He's more manly, you're more fluid."
Jake laughed. "If only we could perform it with her, Hobi-hyung! I'd gladly relinquish my center position."
Bella punched Jake's arm. "Well, that's enough excitement for one night."
Jimin and Taehyung put the furniture back into place and were back at the table.
"Hobi-hyung, do Fire next. You've been perfecting Idol for the last three months." Taehyung suggested.
"I think she should practice a slow one next." Jimin offered.
"Airplane pt. 2!" Jin called out.
"I was thinking more along the lines of Black Swan, Jin-hyung." Jimin countered.
"That's a good one, Jimin-hyung." Jake agreed, as he and Bella rejoined the two at the table. "But then again, I'm not surprised you would think of that dance."
Taehyung ate a forkful of pesto. "Jiminie's a technical dancer, Bella. He was studying contemporary dance and it was his teacher who suggested that he audition."
Bella nodded. "It shows in your movements, Jimin-oppa. You're very graceful."
Jimin laughed and his eyes disappeared. "This chicken is just amazing, though."
"The only one here who was able to eat so far is Tannie." Jake complained. "We've barely had two bites since we were watching Twitter for the comments."
"Okay, little ones. Finish your food and enjoy the rest of the night! We're off to bed." Yoongi told them. "Happy Valentine's Day, Bella! I hope you had a blast today. And again, my offer for you to stand-in for me stands."
Bella giggled. "Your company would kill me, Yoongi-oppa! Happy Valentine's Day!"
"Let's do a Hyung Line Valentine next year, Bella! We can't have Kookie making the same mistake two years in a row!" Jin joked as Jake made a face at the eldest.
"Would be nice to see the four of you in person, Jin-oppa!"
"Happy Valentine's Day, Bella! That was a great performance, just so you know. Let's try rapping some time!" Namjoon suggested.
Bella shook her head. "Your raps are way too fast for me, Namjoon-oppa! Especially the ones in Hangul."
"Let's learn Black Swan next, Bella!" Hobi said.
"If you think I'm ready for it, Hobi-oppa!"
"I'll call you soon, okay? Watch our dance practice videos to familiarize yourself with the steps. I think we can start on Tuesday evening after you come home from work."
"Hyung! Leave me some time for a video call with her too!" Jake protested.
Bella lay on Jake's chest. "Thanks for being a good sport about it, Jake."
"Kook, ssssh... Don't you see what we're all doing here? We're making sure she's stuck to all of us so it would be harder for her to let you go." Yoongi informed him.
"We are a team, aren't we?" Namjoon winked.
Bella snuggled more firmly into Jake's chest. "Happy Valentine's Day, you guys! Go get some rest."
Jake lay his chin on her head. "Night, hyungs!"
Taehyung and Jimin said their goodbyes as well as the call ended.
"Now can we eat?" Jimin spoke.
