Foreigner

Quiet on the set

I was in and out of the broadcasts daily. I had gone from a silent temp, to part of the crew. So Hee had me running around doing errands. The PDs had me checking in on the guests. I was basically everyone's personal assistant. Finally I took a break, sitting down in one of the back rooms to practice more Korean and complete some online courses. Quiet and alone Just a little moment of peace before the door opened. I shot up startled and staring at the door way. "Oh. S-sorry." He looked at me then straight toward the ground. I could tell from his voice that he was startled as well.

*in korean*

"You're fine, it's ok." I muttered yet he still avoided eye contact. He busied himself with grabbing whatever it was he needed before quickly escaping. I spent about another thirty minutes with my school work before heading back out to the broadcast. The guests were the stars of the show but my attention was focused on So Hee. She was bubbly and flirtatious, tantalizing to anyone who approached her. It was break for lunch So Hee stuck near the guests, and I awkwardly followed her around.

*in korean*

"You guys are really my favorite to broadcast with it's usually so boring here." So Hee beamed and they all smiled back. One of whom looked at me.

"And you're also an MC ?" He smiled in my direction. She shook her head answering for me. "Not yet she's still training . She's actually my roommate, an exchange partner from the states." I smiled and bowed politely.

"My name is Kim Namjoon." He smiled showing a dimple proceeding to introduce the rest of them. "-Hoseok, Jimin and our youngest Jungkook." I looked toward him and smiled. I guess you could say we already met. "I'm Joy. It's nice to meet you all."

"So what part of the states are you from?" Namjoon spoke in English. My eyes lingered on Jungkook for a moment, trying to remember where I'd heard the name before. "I was born and raised in New York." I smiled shyly." New York? Ah I love New York!" Taehyung beamed. His smile was contagious so I couldn't help but to return the gesture. "We should let you guys enjoy your lunch." So Hee smiled, and they bowed before we both walked away.

*a few minutes later*

"How are you liking the whole process so far?" She spoke through a mouth full of food. I nodded and gave her a thumbs up. "They're cute right." She giggled and slouched back in the chair. I laughed lightly and smiled small. "I guess." I smiled and she quickly sat up. "Did you see his dimples!" Dimples as she put it were, a true lady killer.

"I could totally see you with a guy like him." She teased. "He's very chic."  I scoffed and smiled a bit. "Yea ok." I grabbed my drink. "You just want me to disagree so you can pair yourself up with him."  I mocked making her smile. "You're not wrong." She smirked and grabbed her drink. Don't get me wrong. He's cute and all but I'm here for work. "Lunch is about to be over, I have to get back out there." She stood heading for the door. "I'll catch up with you later." I spoke as she nodded before leaving the room.

As I walked around the back end of the set, his name popped up in my head. Jungkook. Whatever memory I was trying to recover was keen on trying to disappear. The curiosity was clawing at my brain like a knife so I went digging. Twitter, Instagram, loads of pictures of them plastered on every timeline. From chubby faced trainees to the slim cut men now, there was no reason to wonder why they were famous. My thumb scrolled down the screen feeling the new divot in the glass where it'd recently cracked. I scrolled over group pictures, selfies and airplane posts when I finally set eyes on my curiosity release. A picture of that day. Him in the same black shirt, the same eyes but this time he'd been smiling. The corners of my lips peeled up in a sort of smile. "Joy." I jumped slightly, quickly placing my phone face down. "We can start to pack up." My eyes fluttered as I made a slight bow. I headed towards the door stopping at the threshold . My curiosity was gone but something else took its place. Just the thoughts of delving deeper into this meant a whirlwind of lost time, but it seemed I didn't mind.