you never walk alone | pjm

Chapter / 10

"Ugh that was so tiring and nerve-racking," JHope said in the waiting room.

All the members nodded and sighed in agreement. I guess featuring in a variety show with the legendary Yoo Jaesuk wasn't easy.

"I'm sure you guys did great," I said, leaning on the wall.

They smiled and 'whooped', cheering themselves on. As they changed back into their own clothes, I stood outside - giving them some privacy. In about 5 minutes, all of them came out of the room. Taehyung ushered me over to them and we took the elevator back downstairs. Their manager said he'd come down after talking about some things with the PD-nim and asked us to go down first.

I guess I somewhat under-estimated the number of Korean ARMYs because as soon as the elevator opened, I could see an ocean of female and male fans screaming and holding up signs. Some of them had their arms reaching out, hoping to touch a member.

Quickly, we left the elevator and 'hid' behind a wall. The members started laughing. Honestly, I was panicking; I had a fear of crowded and small spaces (claustrophobia). 

No one knew about it - not even Taehyung. I was diagnosed a few years ago when I fainted at a concert. After that, I'd avoid crowds in any way I could. This is exactly the type of thing I was scared of. I couldn't breathe properly. Trying not to show it to any of the members, I turned away from them and leaned my head against the wall.

"Hey," Jimin said from behind me. "Are you okay?"

"Uhh," I stuttered, taking deep breaths. "Yeah I'm fine."

"No you're not," he said, worried. "What's wrong?"

"I... I'm claustrophobic." I whispered.

He put his hand on my shoulder and said that it'd be okay. When the manager came down, he came with 4 other men; bodyguards. It made sense since the boys would get hurt in violent crowds like these. We formed a line and started walking towards the exit, where the fans were. Even though the bodyguards were pushing fans back and making way for the us, we were all still being squished between everyone.

I couldn't breathe.

My walking slowed. Since Jimin and Suga were behind me, I had to walk faster for all of us to get out but I couldn't. Then, I felt a hand slip into mine. I turned around, it was Jimin. He nodded. Squeezing my hand, he ushered me out. Not letting go, I pushed through with the bodyguard beside me. Eventually, we made it through without anyone seeing my hand in Jimin's. If any fans saw, they'd go crazy.

Outside, I collapsed to the floor. Kneeling, I took a few deep breaths and tried to calm down. The members surrounded me. Taehyung knelt down closer to me and asked if I was okay. I nodded and stayed down for a few more minutes.

"What's wrong?" Jungkook asked.

I couldn't answer.

"She was knocked around by a few people," Jimin said. "They were pretty rough so she got a little scared. She's fine."

I stood back up and nodded in agreement. The manager looked concerned and patted my shoulder for support.

"Let's get in before any of them come outside to harass you," the manager said and opened the door of the car. I let everyone go in before me, catching me breath. I went in last, next to Jimin.