Closer than Ever

Chapter 14 - Too Hot

We got the go-ahead on Lighthouse, and are doing some revisions before we meet with the in-house producer who is going to talk Taehyung through producing it. He really wants to do the production himself for the album, other than the tracks that Yoongi is producing, but PD Bang suggested this meeting with Hiss Noise, first.

I tag along to the meeting, intending to take some notes for my own budding interest in producing. Plus, I've never met the legendary producer of several of Tae's solo songs...

Hiss Noise looks younger than I anticipated, and has nice manners. Although I had planned to be very attentive, his conversation with Taehyung gets so technical that pretty soon I've lost the thread, and start daydreaming instead of paying attention. They are still deep in conversation when I realize that I have a great excuse to duck out - it's almost time for the premiere of the Permission to Dance music video!

I have been dying to see the Permission to Dance mv ever since they filmed it, and it's finally ARMY day. A couple of dozen staff members gather in the music appreciation zone around 12:30 p.m., where a giant screen is playing the pre-release countdown.

I greet a woman standing nearby, who introduces herself as Choi Minji. She is a stylist's assistant for TxT, and has the kindest eyes. She entertains me with cute stories about the TxT members; I confess to her that I'm pretty new and don't really know most of the BTS guys yet, so can't say much about them.

We all count down the last 10 seconds all together, and then the scene opens with a waitress carrying pancakes.

"Wow, it really does look like the American desert, doesn't it?" I say to Minji. She nods, her whole body moving along to the beat.

"Oh, Kim Namjoon's hair color!" We both laugh.

"That's wild!" I say.

"Kim Taehyung looks good in red," she smiles.

I nod. "I'll tell him you said so." She blushes and puts her hand up over her facemask.

"Is that sign language?" Minji asks.

"Oh, wow, I think it is! Very cool."

We both sing along with the "Na na-na na-na-na-nas," and laugh when Jimin hucks his jacket at the camera during the outro. When the mv is over, Minji shyly asks if she can have my phone number so we can go have coffee some time. We save each other's numbers in our phones, and promise to get together soon.

I suspect that Taehyung is probably still in Hiss Noise's office, so I head to the library instead of his studio, and find a copy of Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Namjoo. People on one of my ARMY Facebook groups have been raving about it, so I am eager to read it.

Sipping instant coffee from a china cup, I am just turning to page ten when I sense someone approaching. I stand up and bow slightly to Kim Namjoon, smiling. "Namjoon-shi! It's good to see you!"

"Eunen Sae-shi! Nice to see you again. What are you reading?"

I show him the cover.

"Oh, yes, I loved that book. It's really disturbing and thought-provoking."

I grin. "I should have known that you had read it. Some ARMYs were talking about it on Facebook, and I was intrigued. I'm only ten pages in, but it's already shaping up to be pretty frustrating. I feel so much empathy for these women!"

Namjoon nods. "Yes, we should discuss it again once you've finished it. Actually, do you mind if I have a seat?"

"No, of course not, please sit!" I say, surprised.

Namjoon switches into English. "I wanted to ask you... since you're spending a lot of time working with him, how do you think Taehyung-ie is doing these days?"