Evenstar

10. Realities

"We have a packed schedule so I hope we'll all be ready." Namjoon briefed them on their tour schedules for the coming year. Packed was an understatement. It meant 5 months of being on flights and hotel rooms in 7 countries, 3 continents, 38 concerts in all.

"Can we even fill a stadium with limited choreography?" Jin didn't want to make new memories of half-filled venues.

"Let's have a little faith." Suga was willing to try, and he didn't want them to lose the momentum of their comeback concert in Seoul.

"Can we afford this?" Hobi knew what it took for HYBE to organize their concerts overseas.

"We're working on it," Jungkook replied. This was larger than he had ever imagined his company would do, but he was willing to give everything to make it happen. If they were successful, then they would have everything that they wanted - they could continue making music that was meaningful to their generation, on their own terms.

"We did this before. It was hard enough when we were younger." Jimin was worried that he may not be able to keep up. Although their choreography was now limited, a concert required a lot of energy that he wasn't sure he could give consistently for consecutive days.

"We'll limit dances to just one or two numbers, the rest we'll do freestyle." Namjoon was concerned too. Jimin was still recovering, and although the first concert date was still eight months away, once it began the schedules may prove too much.

"You have to listen to your body, Jimin-ah," Hobi said. "Don't do anything that doesn't feel right. ARMY knows what you've been through, they won't demand it of us."

"Taehyungie?" Jin asked. Taehyung had suffered serious injuries too when they had a stage accident in 2022. Although he seemed normal to everyone and had started working right after he was given the medical clearance, Taehyung would always go along with what needed to be done even if he was suffering.

"When we rehearse the setlist, I'll know if something's not right. I'm more worried about the schedule. I still have shoots until April." He had three more TV series to shoot between now until the start of their tour, not including all promotional activities in between. He was thinking of Dae Eun too, now that reality was setting in. How could he spend time with her?

They agreed to discuss all their concerns before finalizing the schedules, venues and the setlist.

"Guys, I met someone." Taehyung decided to tell them before he made any more moves. They were his family too, and what he did could affect them. "There's a girl I'm trying to get to know."

All the members seated around the conference table at JKL stopped talking and looked at him.

"You're serious about this?" Namjoon asked after a long pause. Taehyung had been associated with many girls before, but nothing became of it.

"Yes, she could be the one." Taehyung knew it the moment he saw her. He had a feeling about these things, even with people he met for the first time who eventually became his friends. It may take a while before it happened, but he could see himself getting t0 that point.

"Wow." Hobi's face was a mixture of surprise and worry. He knew it would happen - should happen - to all of them one day, but he didn't expect it to be so soon, and not when they were about to begin again as a group.

Jin looked at Taehyung squarely and asked the hard question, "Is she ready for ARMY?" Taehyung had the largest following among them, and his stans were a powerful group, capable of propelling any of his content to trend at the top of any platform within minutes.

"I haven't gotten that far. I only met her once."

"But you like her?" Jungkook asked. His heart ached at the thought of any of them starting a relationship outside of Bangtan, especially his Taehyung-hyung.

"Does she like you?" Suga asked. They all laughed. Taehyung's personality was something to adjust to if you were getting to know him for the first time. This girl would have her hands full trying to understand him.

"I might. She might. We'll see. But this schedule makes it nearly impossible for me to spend any time with her."

"There's always the phone," Jimin suggested. "You can be creative. When are we meeting this girl?"

"When I see that it's possible. It could get complicated." He was thinking about ARMY, whom all of them confessed to be their collective girlfriend. There was no room for any other person in their lives outside of family and friends. If ARMY found out that any of them had a girlfriend, it could spell trouble - for everyone.

"I think it's a brave move, Taehyung-ah." Namjoon affirmed. He had also wanted to have a relationship, but was too afraid of the consequences. "Guys, we wanted to start again on our terms, right? That's why we're managing ourselves now, not letting anyone manage us. We get to decide what to do, when to do it and how. Not like in the past when somebody else plotted our future and we just followed wherever they led us. I want our plans to include our personal lives too. There has to be room for us to grow as an individual person, or else we'll get stuck in the same grind."

"We're just starting again. Any scandal could affect us." Hobi laid out the realities. They had invested a big chunk of their hard-earned income into JKL. If they were not received well, they could lose more than just that investment. They could lose their value as a group.

"I think we should forge ahead and do what we want to do," Suga said. "We've always been advocates of being true to ourselves, and ARMY needs that. We need to live that out, and not just treat it as a slogan. If any of us feels that they want to do something, let's support it. Let's support each other. It's a way of setting the example for ARMY. If we've learned anything these past ten years, it's that our lives matter - should matter - more than our career."

"Up until our muster, we thought we'd lost everything, didn't we? We were proven wrong. I believe ARMY genuinely loves us. And if that love is real, it should include all the people we love too." Jin realized that this was also a chance to prove ARMY's love. Maybe some would leave them if they found out that their biases were starting to live their own lives. But those who remained, they would be the real ARMY. Their love would be authentic.

"I think ARMYs understand that we can't remain single forever. I'm sure every one of us is looking forward to that time when we can have our own families. We've talked about this many times but haven't really done anything to make it happen. I think Taehyungie is going in the direction we should all follow." Jimin was also longing to find his soulmate, someone he could spend the rest of his life with.

Jungkook was silently listening to his hyungs. They all had a point, and they were right. But he was a businessman now, and as the CEO of JKL he had to protect their financial interest too. He had to find a way to keep all of them happy, Bangtan and ARMY, for this to work out. He was also trying to steel himself because he was feeling sad all of a sudden. This could start a major change in their lives, a change that could last forever.

"Jungkook-ah?" Taehyung asked his baby maknae who was staring blankly at the center of the table. More than anyone, he was most concerned about Jungkook whom they were all protective of. He may look all grown up now, but they all knew how sensitive he could be.

Jungkook looked up at Taehyung from across the table, this hyung who had taken care of him during his trainee days and whom he admired and loved more than a brother. He held his sadness in.

"Tell us everything. I'll make a plan."