BTS: Behind The Scenes

4

I locked eyes with Namjoon Kim.

Namjoon Kim?!

In that short moment, I couldn't help but notice how different.. yet unchanged he was. It feels like I can't find the 'stick bug' looking boy I made fun of, in the man sitting in front of me. I can sense how.. tall... he's become, even though he's sitting down. He looks just as surprised as me, like he's surprised at how different I look too. I guess I have changed a lot too.. It has already been almost 10 years since we've seen each other..

...and while we stare at each other, the duo starts to get uneasy.

Jackson proceeds to grab my arm and pulls me to the spot next to him and sits me down. 

Taeyong clears his throat and starts explaining.

"Soooo.. Namjoon actually reached out to me after one of our performances, Saff. I had thought at first that he didn't remember/recognize me but he explained himself.. Uh, Joon, what exactly did you say again??", Taeyong turns to look at Namjoon.

Namjoon smiles shyly, as I keep staring at him.

"Well... I said that I wanted to become successful before reaching out to you.. To all of you..", he says, clearing his throat and looking at me.

And just like that, suddenly I understand what Taeyong said.

"Wait.. Taeyong, did you just say you saw him after one of your performances.? Namjoon.. What exactly do you do that you say you're successful now...????", I ask Namjoon, my mind becoming muddled.

'No way. He can't be an idol too.. right......??????!', I think to myself.

Namjoon opens his mouth to answer me, but Jackson interrupts him.

"I...I'm---"

"You didn't know???? Joon here, is RM. Rap Monster. Leader of BTS.", he matter-of-factly says and raises his eyebrows.

Nothing comes out of my mouth for a bit.

Then I accidentally scoff... but something immediately clicks in my head.

Every time I heard a BTS song... Why something felt so oddly.... familiar...

"...You've got to be kidding me.", I mutter under my breath.

The guys start laughing at me for some reason, and after a while, I join in..

"So you all turned out to be in the entertainment industry? Seriously?!", I say, laughing at the coincidental turn-out of events.

The rest of the night is spent catching up, and I can't help but swoon a bit at how much Namjoon has really grown into a man.

Masks on, we all step out into the crisp evening air. It's about 10PM, so we all need to go our own ways. Jackson tells Taeyong he'll take him back to his dorm where he and his NCT 127 babies-- uh.. I mean, members, all live. Taeyong gladly accepts and they both then turn to me and Namjoon.

"Ummm, yeah I took a taxi here so.. I'll be taking one home, ok byeeee!", I try to go before they make Namjoon take me home but Taeyong grabs me by my arm before I can make a perfect escape.

"Oh nooo you don't! Joon, you drove right??", Taeyong asks. 

Namjoon nods his head.                        

"Okay then, take Saff home won't you?", he asks.

"Yeah of course. Saffron, I'll take you home. We can catch up more during the car ride anyways.", Namjoon smiles, his dimples prominent just like when we were kids, and I can't resist saying yes.

So I smile and comply. 

"Ok, ok, you're taking me home."

We all say our goodbyes and go our own ways.

Namjoon leads me to his car, and opens the door for me. Once I'm in, he closes the door and gets in. 

As soon as we get going after putting my address into his car's GPS, it's.. well, kind of awkward. So I decide to take the initiative, and start the conversation.

"So, Namjoon.. uh.. tell me about the members!", I smile.

He looks over at me, surprised, but quickly recovers and smiles back. He takes a second to reply. "Hmmm", he says, thinking.

"Well, I guess I can start with Seokjin hyung. He's the oldest member in our group, and he's taken on the role of our mom. He's an amazing cook and takes care of us. Oh, and I can't forget how...well... confident he is. He goes around saying he's the worldwide handsome..! Not that anyone disagrees with him though. But he's actually quite down to earth, and is a great listener really."

Namjoon takes a breath and continues.

"Yoongi hyung is more of the silent caring type. We like to say he's like a cat because he's pretty sensitive and moody at times but he's pretty cool about it.. most of the time. He's a big introvert but he always knows how to make any of us feel better when even we don't know we're feeling bad. I'm really glad I have him as a hyung."

"Hoseok is technically older than me by a few months, but he's one of my good friends. He's the most positive person I know.. he just brightens up any room he walks into. But he's a killer onstage. His dancing is just incredible, not to mention his rapping. I depend on him a lot, and he just has a way of getting us to follow his lead most of the time."

Namjoon takes another breath before he continues.

"Jimin is an amazing performer. He just really shines, you know? Off stage he can be sensitive, but you can't help but adore him. He just has the charm.. he pulls you in, and once you're in, you don't make it out. I think that's what makes him such a great performer. Oh, and we make fun of him all the time because he's the shortest.. but we still love him.", he laughs.

"Taehyung.. is similar to Jimin in a way. They're the same age, by the way. Oh... they're the same age as you! Taehyung is two different people on and off the stage. His duality is crazy. He's also the most bipolar member, honestly. His mood swings are all over the place. He always hugs on us... kind of like our koala. Oh! He's an amazing actor too! He was in a drama called Hwarang like two years ago, you might've seen it..."

"...and our maknae! Our youngest is Jungkook. Did you know he's known as the Golden Maknae? It's because he's good at pretty much everything, hah. But he's still our youngest so we baby him a lot, especially Seokjin hyung, but we're all convinced Kook actually loves it. Jungkook is very sweet natured, but he's also pretty introverted and tends to spend most of his time alone. But I love to talk to him, because he really is quite mature for his age."

I look over at Namjoon smiling big, thinking of his members.

'He really must be a great leader like everyone says... His expressions say it all...', I think to myself and can't help smiling too.

"Joon, they sound wonderful.. and they're so lucky to have you as their leader.", I smile at him.

Just in time, we pull up to my place, and he turns to look at me.

"Hey.... Saffron??", he calls my name.

"Yeah, Joon?", I say.

"Do you... want to meet them??", he suddenly asks, an excited grin on his face.

************

A/N: Yayyyyy a longer chapter! Over a thousand words, finally!! :)