STARSTRUCK

~Chapter One: The Encounter~

My life as a college student was coming to an end, as I was planning on dropping out. Just sitting in classroom after classroom, day after day, ramen noodles after ramen noodles, I was sick of it. I had no major, I barely passed my core classes, and didn't have many friends to begin with. That was, until I met him.

I was always a fan of Park Jimin's novels. Mystery, comedy, a dash of romance, I had read every one of his books. So, naturally, when I heard he was doing a book signing at the college bookstore, I lost it. My roommate, Min Yoongi, (somewhat) tolerated my excited ramblings, until he ultimately told me to shut up and just go see Park Jimin.

The line was... well, there was no line. I had ran to the bookstore on campus as fast as I could, wearing my finest suit and holding a bag full of books for Mr. Park to sign. And when I got to the door? Uhm... they weren't even open yet. See, Yoongi's clock is always an hour ahead. Not because it's broken, he just doesn't really care. So, I left at what I thought was 7:30 A.M., but got to the signing at 6:34 A.M.. I stood outside for what felt like forever, and then the door creaked open.

"Excuse me," a man spoke behind me "are you here for the signing?" I swung around to see a relatively short man, shorter than Yoongi. He had to have been 24 or 25. His fading-orange hair was nicely parted, and was wearing a white button down shirt with a blue overcoat. I nodded, and he smiled shyly. "Well, you must be excited, hmm? Come on in!" He stands to the side and gestures me into the bookstore. I'm not sure if it was shock or adrenaline, but I had no idea who I was talking to, nor the mess I was getting myself into.

He meandered over to his booth and stared at it for a moment. "You know," he began "it's strange to come back to this bookstore and see how nothing has changed. Have you read Jamming Out? It's one of-"

"Oh, of course! It's one of my favorite books of Park Jimin's! Do you think that it was based off of this bookstore?" I sounded like a child gushing over their crush's art. The man looked over his shoulder and smiled shyly. "So, you're a fan? I don't suppose you've read Baepsae: The Silver Spoon Chronicles?"

"...Wait, oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, Mr. Park! I had no idea it was you! I-" his chuckle cut me off and he waited for my answer regarding one of his more recent works.

"I'm... I'm not sure if the ending was stellar." I managed to choke out. He sat down in his chair, and gave me quite a puzzled look. "Really? Interesting thought, Mr...?" I hadn't even introduced myself, how stupid am I?! "Kim Taehyung! I apologize if I had come off too eager, I've been..." My words trailed off as Mr. Park was smiling and nodding along, actually listening to me. "I get it quite a lot, Mr. Kim. May I call you Taehyung? Anyway, I'm actually glad you brought that up! I wasn't satisfied with the last few chapters myself. I'm glad someone educated, like yourself, noticed." I smiled and nodded, I was transfixed with his words. He could tell a story about potato farming and I could tell you every word of it, he was that captivating.

"Have you ever thought about creative writing, Taehyung?"

"I-uh-no, I haven't, sir. I don't have a major."

"Hmm, I would consider it! You seem like you know the elements of a good book. And I'm the professor for the class! Not to be egotistical or anything, haha!" He laughed with his back turned to me to attend to another fan. "And please, Taehyung," he looked back at me with a warm smile "call me Jimin."

And now, here I am, sitting in the front row of Jimin's Intro to Creative Writing course. The new chapter in my life is about to begin. Is that cheesy? Maybe it is, I'll have to ask him about that one.