Before you disappear

Chapter 15

When the rehearsal ended, Jungkook turned to look at the two empty seats at the edge of the outer stage. He'd seen the two girls while they did a few songs on that stage. They'd seemed to enjoy themselves a lot, but it had bothered him that one of the girls hadn't looked up as they performed 'Bapsae'.

Perhaps she was just flustered.

He knew the dance moves were a big thing to ARMY, but they had always given an enthusiastic response to the song. This girl seemed completely the opposite and her response bothered him more than he was willing to admit.

"I saw the two girls,"Jin said as he wrapped his arm around Jungkook's shoulder and pulled him close. "The one grabbing your attention... She was the one eyeing us during 'Bapsae' right? I mean, that girl was pretty darn cute!"

Jungkook wanted to object and tell his eldest that he meant the other girl, but he stopped himself just in time. If he told Jin he had meant the other girl, he was sure Jin would want to know more. And with the way she'd responded to them while singing 'Bapsae', Jungkook wasn't sure if he could explain himself. This girl seemed so different from the girl he'd had that magical moment with.

Was it magical though?

Their fingers touched. Electricity sparked between them.

Yes. It was magical.

But it was also just a moment. It didn't mean anything.

"That other girl was a bit weird, wasn't she?" Jin continued. "I tried getting her attention, but it was as if she looked straight through me."

"She must've still been flustered," Tae said as he had eavesdropped on their conversation. "Right before we started 'Bapsae' she'd been copying our dance moves with her friend, but remaining on their seats. It was pretty cute so I crouched down before them as 'Save me' ended and waited until they looked up at me. The cute one started giggling, but the other girl froze as she saw me notice them."

"Ah, the Tae stare!" Jin called out, hitting his younger member on his shoulder. "Those are lethal! No wonder that girl was so awkward afterwards. You should be careful with those stares, Tae. You know ARMY can't handle them!"

"Where they ARMY?"

Tae looked at Jungkook and shrugged at his question. "Might be."

"But how did they come in then? I mean, I thought ARMY wasn't allowed at rehearsals?"

"Pretty sure they were brought in by some of the staff," Yoongi said as he came to stand next to them. He used a towel to remove the sweat of his forehead. "I saw one of the guys from the sound booth approach them as we concluded the rehearsal."

"Where did they go?" Jungkook asked, but Yoongi shrugged indicating he had no idea.

"Perhaps we'll see them during the concert," Jin said, turning to Tae. "And then you need to make up for your stare, Tae."

"Why?" Tae said innocently. "ARMY loves it when I look at them like this." He gave Jin the same glare as he'd given the girls, pouting his lip and then sticking his tongue out just a little.

Jin held his hands in front of his face and started screaming. "Nooo! You can't use that look on me! Stop it!"

Tae laughed as Jin approached him with his hands stretched out, ready to tickle him into submission. He ran away, followed by Jin.

Jungkook watched them and then turned to take a seat on a nearby couch. He pressed the towel, given to him by one of the staff, against his face and sighed into the fabric. Several thoughts flooded through him, but only one seemed adamant. I'm so tired.

He looked at his watch. He had about two hours before the concert would start. Usually those two hours would be used to get something to eat and rest, but right now, all Jungkook wanted was the latter. He slumped down onto the couch and pulled his legs up. Perhaps if he just closed his eyes for a moment, get some rest, he'd be less tired when the concert would start.

***

"Where's Jungkook?" RM asked as he looked at his band mates joining him at the table to get something to eat before their concert.

"Last time I saw him was backstage," Tae said, glancing at Jin.

"He's still in the backstage room," one of the staff member said. "He was resting on the couch."

Jin shot a worried look at RM who nodded slightly. They both thought the same; Jungkook didn't seem himself. He usually was the one with the most energy, especially during rehearsals and right before a concert.

Jungkook being so exhausted wasn't something they were accustomed to. Perhaps when they first started with BTS, but definitely not from recent years.

"Can someone go fetch him, please?" RM asked. "He needs something to eat, before we go on stage."

One of the staff members nodded and bowed in response, before walking out of the restaurant area.

RM sat down next to Jin and heaved a sigh.

"You're worried, just like I am," Jin whispered so only RM would hear.

RM nodded. "I think it would be a good idea for JK to see someone tomorrow."

"Someone?"

"I don't like this exhaustion he's showing," RM continued. "Maybe he's coming down with something. We need to make sure he's in good health before we go to our next destination."

He took his phone out of his jacket and stood up. "I'll be right back," he said and walked away. Jin watched him as he left the room and then turned his attention to his other members. Some had started eating, others were talking about the rehearsal and going through the sections that had worked and the ones that they felt might be better if they'd do it differently.

Jin's eye fell on Jimin who was the only member not eating or talking to another member. Instead, he looked straight at Jin. He nodded towards where RM had left the room and then held up his hands as if to ask what was going on.

Jin swallowed. He didn't want to alert Jimin to his worries about Jungkook. He knew how much Jimin cared for all the members' wellbeing and how it could affect him if one of the members wasn't okay.

Jimin stood up, walked around the table and sat down on the empty seat next to Jin. "It's Jungkook, isn't it?" he asked softly. "He's not himself."

"He'll be fine," Jin said, trying to sound confident but failing miserable. "He just didn't sleep as well last night."

"You don't need to put on a brave face for me," Jimin said. "I can tell from both you and RM's expression you're just as worried as I am. JK's exhaustion showed during the rehearsal. That's not just because he had one night of bad sleep."

"RM's handling it," Jin said, trying to close the subject and avoid Jimin to get more worried. "Let's focus on doing a great concert for ARMY tonight."

Jimin bit his lower lip as he understood his eldest' unsaid words. He needed to stop focusing on Jungkook and start focusing on the concert. But Jimin couldn't just put one before the other. In order to give a great concert, all the members needed to be okay. 

***

Author's note

What do you think of the dance routine from 'Bapsae'? For me, whenever I see a video of the guys doing that song and dance, I'm just frozen - looking at the screen going like 'SIR, EXCUSE ME! CAN YOU NOT?'  But I wouldn't want them to stop their moves just because I'm just getting flustered by them. LOL Inwardly, I'm actually enjoying the confidence the guys are showing and, well, the song just deserves that kind of confidence, right?