OUR LOUD MINDS → bts fanfiction

Chapter Twenty-Three

☁︎

Anna

The second we stepped into the venue, music blasted through our ears. But this time it wasn't deafening. It was exhilarating. I bit my lip, trying to contain the excitement bubbling inside of me. When I turned to look at Namjoon, he seemed to be having a much different reaction than me. The class president looked like he was about to throw up. I shook my head in dismay, but felt proud. I was proud of him for venturing in. After my passionate and frustrated speech, Namjoon had simply replied with a soft "Let's go." At first I thought he'd meant to go home, but then Namjoon had started walking towards Ignis instead of away.

And now here we were, and he looked to be on the verge of a panic attack.

"Is it exactly how you remember?" I asked loudly.

"Not at all. There were never this many people," Namjoon admitted, looking around with a pained look. "Back then, it had only just opened."

I nodded, taking another minute to look around again. The venue looked like a dance club, which it probably was at some points. There was a wide stage at the back, that included a DJ booth. Balconies lined the wall, where people danced and drank. I wondered why we hadn't been asked for an ID. Why there hadn't been a bouncer.

"Is this place a bar?" I asked Namjoon with a frown. "I mean, how were we allowed in?"

He gave me a look, as if I was already supposed to know the answer.

"For profits. It's sort of like a scam, but the only people who don't benefit are the police. The bar makes a big show of placing bouncer outside, but when it opens for the evening, someone who secretly works for the owner comes and bribes the bouncer. This way they can get a larger crowd, plus if the police find out, the person doing the bribing takes the fall, not the owner."

As Namjoon spoke, I realized he was slowly becoming more calm. Acting like a know it all actually helped him. I decided it was because educating someone made him feel like he had a bit more control over the situation.

"But...that's illegal," I told him.

"Yeah. But it works. A lot of more exclusive bars do it. Especially ones as well hidden like this."

I wondered how Namjoon even knew all of this. But I decided to let it be, since I was now more interested in just exploring. I'd never been to a club before, and the thought of actually being in one made me even more excited. But then, the thought of a small, middle school Namjoon coming to this bar one night shook me just a bit. I turned to look at him, feeling sort of guilty as I watched him glance around in anxiety. But we'd already gotten so far.

"Can we go now?" He asked.

"It hasn't been five minutes yet!" I told him, though I really wasn't sure.

"I-I know...I just..." Namjoon looked around, biting his lip again. "Anna, we shouldn't have come here. What if someone from school sees us, what if we get in trouble? What if my parents find out?"

"Namjoon, stop worrying. We'll be fine. Aren't you glad we came in?"

He opened his mouth to probably say "no." But then the music stopped and a voice boomed through the venue, speaking before Namjoon could.

"I hope everyone's having a good time!"

A loud cheer came through the crowd.

"Awesome! And I'm about to make your night even better!"

I looked towards the stage to see what was happening. A shorter guy with a mike was talking, smiling widely.

"Please welcome to the stage everyone's favorite, the talented, the humble, the incredible Gloss!"

I blinked in confusion as a huge roar erupted throughout the club as people cheered and made more noise than ever. I turned to Namjoon to see if he could fill me in again. But he had a look of shock on his face.

"Namjoon?" I asked unsurely.

He started to shake his head, eyes wide.

"Namjoon, what's wrong?" I said, but he began to back away. "Namjoon!"

He turned around completely and began to rush back to the exit. Not again. Not when things were just getting exciting.

"Namjoon, wait!" I called, getting some glares as the crowd settled down to listen.

Namjoon ignored me, walking through the crowd. I wondered what exactly had triggered this strange reaction. Had it been the name of the performer? Gloss. Did he know this guy or something? I was unsure and completely confused.

Then suddenly, as if all at once, the whole club was silent. I realized this guy must have been really good. And as the backtrack of a piano started to play, I began to slow down.

"The corner of my memory, a brown piano settled on one side," echoed through the room.

I stopped, only two steps from Namjoon.

"In the corner of my childhood house, a brown piano settled on one side."

Namjoon stopped too now, his back still to the stage and me. We were both suddenly still, with the rest of the audience. The loud music, laughter, shouting; it all seemed like a distant memory. Now everyone was silent, just to hear this raw, real voice.

"I remember that time, the brown piano that was so much taller than me, when it led me..."

Only the sound of my soft breathing could be heard over the music, as Namjoon slowly turned around.

"I looked up to you, I yearned for you. When I touched you with my small finger..."

Namjoon's eyes were wide, his mouth slightly open. He turned around completely, watching whoever was on the stage. So I turned as well.

"I feel so nice, mom, I feel so nice. I played the piano wherever my hands took me..."

The boy on the stage was short, his hair dark black. He couldn't have been more than three years older than us. But his voice sounded so deep and learned.

"I didn't know your significance back then. Back then, I was content with just looking at you..."

I felt someone grab my wrist. I blinked, almost as if broken from a trance, and turned to see Namjoon beside me. He held my arm tight, still staring up at the stage with a look so full of passion. So full of desire and wonder. I knew that he was absolutely amazed to be watching, but at the same time, Namjoon wished it was himself who was up on the stage. I pulled away from Namjoon's grip, then grabbed his hand instead.

Then with a small, secret smile, I turned back to watch the mesmerizing performance, hand in hand with Namjoon.

A/N Guys! Hi!! So since this stuff is finally happening, i wanted to share a few things. I'm probably overthinking this and no one will actually care about any of these problems my book has, so if this chapter made sense you can just ignore the things below.

1) for the "First Love" translation, i used a mix of the actual video I put up and an online translation so it's not an exact version of either

2) I know Yoongi obviously hadn't written "First Love" back when he was under his stage name Gloss, but I'm just using songs I feel would fit in the situation. Plus I thought it would be cool to use his old underground name. Yay I'm so glad he's here finally

3) And also, i don't really know how bouncers and clubs work because I'm innocent, so probably my whole "bribing the bouncer" thing probably makes no sense lol, but I needed them to be able to be in a  bar despite only being 17.

I'm sorry this is so extra and unnecessary lmao