Work Text:
“Before hiring you, Ms. (Y/L/N), there’s something I’m obligated by Bang PD-nim himself to tell you. While you are more than qualified for this job, you must also be... personally ‘trained’ to do a sub-job that comes along with it.”
It goes without saying that you’d take the job regardless of what they’d ask of you. You needed food, rent money, and spending money: all of which this job would pay completely, and then some. You give the hiring manager a single nod, letting him know you were ready to comply with anything and everything.
You adjusted your self made, black blazer, confidently walking out of the interview after accepting the position. You were to be BTS’s new lead stylist, and damn proud of it. The position was made for you; your profound love and respect for each member’s individual and unique style overqualified you for the position. You weren’t cocky by nature, but as a fan and a lover of the fashion industry, paired with your extensive knowledge and experience in managing (yourself mostly) and assistant managing in said industry, you might as well be.
Thinking back to the briefly mentioned “Sub-position” that was a must along with your official position, a content smile graced your lips.
“So the jokes aren’t just jokes, rumors, or facades for the cameras. BTS really are joined at the hip.”
"-Yes.. I’m available as soon as possible.. Of course! I’m definitely not opposed!.. This Saturday?- hold on while I grab a pen... Alright this Saturday at.. three in the morning?.. Great! I’m excited to meet them, and once again, thank you for this amazing opportunity!... Yes, of course, the sub-position i won’t forget it... Alright, you too sir. Goodnight!” Your first business call with BigHit Entertainment lasted all of three minutes. Three gratifying minutes, confirming that in two days, you would meet the boys for the first time. The call was received the moment you arrived home after the interview. It was as if they knew the exact moment you’d slipped your keys into the lock of your door and settled down on the couch for the night.
You had previously assumed that you would meet them soon as you already memorized their schedule for the week. Said schedule was given to you the moment you’d accepted the position, and it took you all of thirty minutes to memorize it and file it away neatly in your mind. As well as the hard copy, of course, tucked neatly into your briefcase.
While not much information was given to you during the call besides the information on the location (that would not be disclosed until an hour before you were to meet them, through a text message), it wasn’t difficult to assume what the day would look like.
You’d wake up two hours early, mentally prepare yourself with a heavy pep talk and multiple shots of espresso. Following that would obviously be getting dressed in form fitting, professional yet comfortable clothing... and of course another pep talk! Once you were given the location, you’d arrive early, leaving enough room in case there’s a change of plans. Since they were to be pre-recording two performances for a routine comeback TV show (a show you were not given the name of and damn there were too many to just assume), you’d have all of one hour from your time of arrival before they were getting practice started. Within that time frame, you’d asses them from up close after introducing yourself, hope that they like you, and observe their temporary lead stylist from afar. This leaves you with an extreme total of roughly six hours of sitting with them and waiting. They begin recording for about forty-five minutes starting at twelve o’clock sharp, are given three five minute breaks, and will be finished around two. They are to sit back stage for another four hours, wait for the results, and hope for a win. They leave at six-thirty sharp, and so do you. Of course, that depends on what their managers decides at the end of the day.
You nodded, making a mental note to ask Kim Namjoon, the leader of the group, what their previous lead stylist had done to be fired, or if she resigned on her own. In the case that she was fired, you’d like to take extra precautions to make sure you would not repeat her or his mistakes. Though, there was a chance that he would not tell you, or consider it inappropriate, it was a risk you were willing to take. You’d heard enough about him, and seen enough interviews, to know he was extremely intelligent and would immediately pick up your intent, or at least, see where you’re coming from in some way.
Humming a soft tune to yourself, you peep up at your wall clock in your quaint, one bedroom apartment. Nine-thirty-four PM. The interview had lasted an impressive hour and a half. You assumed it was to make sure they weren’t hiring a sasaeng who faked their degree, experience, and references to sneak a peak at their “favorite oppas” naked.
In the quiet of your apartment, you though back briefly to the interview, raising a cup of hot medium roasted coffee to your lips, savoring the slight mint flavored milk you added into it with a satisfied full-body chill. The hiring manager was intimidating; having an overbearing aura of power, suffocating you to the point where you felt as if your pours were leaking the essence of fear. Watching his dark, catlike eye, twitch, you felt as if he could practically smell your fear. Though, you were as calm and collected as you could have been, delivering clear answers and honest ones at that. You made sure there was zero room for stuttering, that your back was completely straight, dainty hands folded over your skirted lap, and eyes staring back into his heavily observant ones. You made sure he knew, or at least felt, as though he had your full attention, and you were not afraid of or intimidated by him.
Relaxing back on your couch, you closed your eyes and enjoyed the early night silence, tapping your un-manicured fingers thoughtfully against your coffee mug. You dreaded the morning, knowing the stress from that day would leave you with a headache, sore muscles, and a slightly taxed mind.
As you tucked yourself into bed that night, pulling the covers snug over your shoulders and nuzzled under your nose, you fell asleep with two thoughts: One being what the “sub-position” would entail, and two... you felt bad for anyone who’d have to interview with that guy.
The first thing you heard was your phone: It’s incessant ringing confusing your half-awakened mind, taking all of three rings to realize it wasn’t your alarm. It was the tone you’d set for all unknown or work related numbers, so that in the case you didn’t have an important number saved, you’d still answer professionally. How fitting that said ringtone was actually Big Bang’s song, “Fxxk It.”
With a groan, you snatched the phone off your nightstand, glaring at the number on the screen. After clearing your throat to sound slightly more awake than you actually were, and fixing your pajama top as if the person on the other line could tell you were indecent, you answered the unknown number on the fifth ring.
“Good evening, this is (Y/F/N) (Y/L/N) speaking.” You mustered the best professional voice you could. Your hair brushed lazily over your shoulder as you checked your bedside clock. It was eleven-thirty PM. Since you would have woken up at twelve regardless, you weren’t as mad at the mysterious caller.
“Ohhhh Noona, so professional! Goodmoooorning Noona!-”
“Yah! Taehyung-ah she’s not even on her first day yet, why are you bothering her? And it’s not even morning yet! Who gave Taehyung-ah the poor woman’s phone number?-”
“Hyung i’m just so excited! Daejung-nim was happy with her interview and said she held up really well! I just want to know if she’ll be better than the other stylist Noona, who was really fucking-”
Taehyung was cut off by what sounded like a hallow slap to somewhere on his body. He yelped before the other voice took hold of the phone, promptly shooing him away.
“I’m really sorry about that (Y/N)-ssi. Taehyungie can really get ahead of himself. As i’m sure you’re aware, he’s extremely social. He also doesn’t know anything about socially acceptable ways to initiate conversations, especially with people he doesn’t know, and attacks people with affection and happiness,” the male laughed a bit. It was deep and airy, confirming your speculations on who it was.
“Namjoon-ssi, it’s very nice to meet you. Please, go easy on Taehyung-ssi. I’m well aware of the type of person he is, and i have no problem with it. In fact, that settled some nerves i was having about today. Now that i know at least one member is excited to meet me, i think i’ll be more at ease while getting ready.”
“Make that two of us, (Y/N)-ssi. After hearing about your interview, i was very excited to meet you. Your enthusiasm and analysis on our individual styles solely from our Twitter posts and airport fashion really impressed me. I’d love to hear that analysis in person as well. Though Daejung-nim was skeptical since you expressed that you are a big fan, he ultimately saw no harm in you, and i trust his judgement. Please, take your time, it was lovely speaking to you, and i’ll see you at three sharp.” He hung up immediately after, expressing the fact that he’d treated it like a business call. Even so, those ten minutes were the best greeting on your first day of a job you’d ever had.
Taehyung... he was a character you’d clearly have to get used to. So much hyperactivity in one human being would hopefully not prove as challenging as you thought.
Namjoon on the other hand showed to be as much of a leader as you’d expected him to be. Just from that call alone, you could tell he was strict, but loving. He definitely was used to taking charge of situations, and knew how to professionally handle them.
Though you did already have a base knowledge on all of their personalities, there’s always something different behind the camera, off the stage, and away from the limelight. You hoped, once again, that this was not the case with them.
You also hoped working with them would be full of laughs, friendship, and understanding. Being lead stylist, for you, didn’t mean forcefully taking their measurements, barking orders at the other stylists, ignoring the member’s protests if they disliked an outfit, or forcing them to wear something that didn’t fit or that they weren’t comfortable with. You one-hundred-percent wanted all seven of them to trust in your ability to dress them in things they’d be happy wearing.
With your mind full of hopes, you proceeded getting ready, slightly grateful for the early wake-up call. You might just be able to squeeze in some leftover Thai food from the night before to have for breakfast instead of the simple espresso shots you were originally planning on.
1:58am - Text From: +82 xx-xxxx-xxxx:
Nooooona! Here is the address! Com early ya? :P ~Taetae
And of course, the moment you’d swiped the last bit of your peach flavored lip gloss across your lips, you’d receive the address. A smile grew onto your lips, feeling completely reassured that at least Taehyung already seemed to like you, and was eager to meet you.
Your fingers typed touch screen of your phone, replying after you saved his contact, and before you could talk yourself out of it.
2:00am - Sent To: Kim Taehyung
I’ll be there as soon as I can Taehyung-ssi.
Placing your lip gloss neatly back into it’s case, you prepared yourself to walk out of your door. Quickly, you made sure your outfit was in check, your make-up was natural and glowing, everything that you needed was in your bag, and of course, your employee lanyard.
You slipped it around your neck, poking at the card hanging at the end of it. Your face was printed right above your name, as well as your title of “Lead Stylist.” You smiled again, checking over your self-made outfit once more just to make sure you were presentable.
Is it weird that your favorite color is grey? Though it’s a shade... right? You can’t remember, smoothing down the fabric of your grey pattern-less blazer that was secured in the middle by a single bubblegum pink button. You wore a pink, v-neck blouse underneath, with matching grey dress pants. White two-inch heals and a black purse completed the look, and you smiled once again, for the millionth time that morning, stepping out of your apartment.
Just as you were about to load yourself into your car and head to the Mnet studio, your phone dinged again. As soon as your seat belt was on, and your purse was settled in the passenger seat, you quickly checked your message. Or rather, two messages.
2:03am - Text From: Lee Daejung
I hope you are well on your way to the Mnet studio. Please, do not forget your badge, or you will be fired on the spot for your stupidity. I hope that Namjoon sent you the address as he was given directions to do so. Knowing him, he would not forget. They will see you soon, Ms. (Y/L/N). Good luck.
And for some reason, totally unbeknownst to you, the last part of his message didn’t come off very genuine. With a scoff, you replied with a simple “Thank You.” The last thing you wanted to do was reply with a snarky message in retaliation, as it could very well mean your new job you’d have yet to start.
2:01am - Text From: Kim Taehyung
Aish Noona pleeeease just call me Taetae... or Tae... or V... Honorifics don mean shit to me i barely ever use ‘em. Wait... should i curse in messages? Also please change my contact name to something less... professional... I know you have it set to “Kim Taehyung.” pfft.
One intense ID pass check to park, five more to get into the building, and a damn near entire background check by their surprisingly friendly security guards later, you were finally able to enter their dressing room at two-fifty-eight AM.
Half a studio apartment sized, bland, white room is what you walked into, jam packed with different staff members, most slightly taller than you. Some carried similar ID’s as you, while others simply wore name tags or held makeup bags to prove who they were. You gawked.
seeing as it was so early in the morning... or late at night (whichever way you wanted to look at it), you weren’t surprised to see such annoyed faces. All belonging to the workers who clearly didn’t want to be there so early. You inwardly scoffed as they brushed past you occasionally, barely noticing you were even there. If they didn’t want their job, you’d gladly take it and do it ten times better.
Still, even with that confidence, you were still tense and nervous. With the atmosphere laid out in front of you, it finally felt so real.
Yea... sure you’re damn good at your job and have plenty of experience to back it up. Experience such as actors in their own rooms and portable vans. You also worked up a good reputation as a stylist, taking personal request from different actors and entertainers that wanted to really impress a red carpet event. This was a good, steady, full time job and sure, you were nervous, but hell... you didn’t expect this.
If the staff members had goddamn wings, they’d sure as hell be using them. You barely caught glimpses of the members. Between the rush of bodies, you could see their stylists holding up color pallets and clothing to their exhausted bodies, seeing what would match what, what would impress the crowd and draw great responses.
“Aish, these colors do not work together!” You heard a male worker growl, right beside you. Your head instantly snapped to him in shock at his outburst, seeing as the room was only filled with the sound of quiet muttering.
As you blinked to adjust to the situation, you noticed a very sleepy Jin standing in front of a male stylist it seemed. He held a bright black T-shirt with the design of a bird flying upward on the neckline of it. Awkwardly in his other hand, he held a bright white knitted over sized jacket with small specks of black scattered messily over it.
To you, of course, the colors were fine. The designs were what didn’t work.
As soon as you lifted a dainty finger, and separated your lips slightly to speak and help resolve the conflict, you flinched. The stylist roughly shoved the shirt in Jin’s arms, instructing him to put it on while he looked for a suitable jacket. Jin stumbled back a bit, his eyes barely fluttering open as he nodded with a yawn.
It was clear that this wasn’t the first time something like this happened based on his reaction. To top it all off, not a single person paid them any mind no cared about what happened. Though, you were never one to just take something as it appeared, now were you? You paid attention, you saw what happened, and you were going to put that entitled shit in his place before he stepped out of it again.
Being in managerial positions, you knew how to handle these situations. Yes, calmly would be the smart thing to do. Address him calmly, report him to the higher ups and wait for a response, but no. You were going to be every single one of their managers, and if you wanted anything to get done in the future, then and there was the time to show that you wouldn’t take shit. You wouldn’t take abuse, directed at you or anyone else. You wouldn’t allow any of the members to hate what they wore, and you’d try to make them as happy and comfortable as possible.
Just as the so called “stylist” went to brush past Jin, yes, physically brush against him as if he hadn’t even seen him there, you spoke up.
“Excuse me, but please tell me i didn’t just witness a stylist physically assault their client,” You piped loudly to get his attention, the room slowly growing quiet. You could feel the eyes of very confused and annoyed workers boring into your skin. Your eyes trained thinly on the back of his head.
You took one step toward the worker who had his back turned to you, un-moving.
“Did you also brush past him as if he was a wall? An object in your way, Sir? I’d also like to know, why this so-called stylist couldn’t tell two simple patterns just wouldn’t work together-”
“And just who the hell are you?” He scoffed, turning around to face you fully. The grimace on his face screamed that he could care less what you said, and most likely wasn’t paying attention. Tucking a loose strand of your curled hair behind your ear, you arched your brow.
You scoffed. “My name is (Y/F/N) (Y/L/N), the new lead stylist for BTS. Currently, i’m here to observe and get a feel for the members personal styles, likes, and personalities so that i can style them appropriately based on their wants and according to their comebacks.” You smiled, reaching over to Jin, gently removing the shirt from his grasp to look at it clearly, examining it further. You continued to speak in a casual tone, eyes trained only on the shirt. “To clarify, i’m here to make sure they look good, feel good, and aren’t treated like Barbie Dolls that you can bend and break and force to look a certain way. Trust me, I’ve seen enough of it to know that no human likes it.” You glanced up for a moment, looking at the rack of clothes behind the stylist you were speaking too, who currently was too in shock to say a single fucking word.
You smiled, seeing a pretty knitted black over sized sweater with large stars decorated over it.
“Ah, yes. That’s perfect.” Looking over to Jin who was clearly now wide awake, you poked at his cheek. “Follow?” You asked sweetly, and he nodded with a smile of his own.
You brushed passed his stylist rather roughly, earning a pissed off groan from him before reaching the rack of clothing.
“Would something like-” You pulled out the soft feeling sweater before slipping the T-Shirt between it, showing Jin how it would look paired together. “-this be comfortable for you? Or would you rather me find something more to your liking?”
He blinked a few times, staring down at the combination thoughtfully before feeling it between his long, slender fingers. A smile and a single nod was all he gave you before you handed them back to his stylist roughly.
“Do anything like that again, and i’ll personally make sure you won’t be able to touch anything or anyone ever again,” you spoke to him softly, with a smile.
You sighed, clapping your hands together to focus your thoughts before turning to look up at Jin. “Hello-” You bowed. “Do you mind if we gather the members quickly before your practice begins?”
“No need Noona! We’re all behind you silly!” Giggled a particularly hyper Taehyung from behind you. You couldn’t help but sigh your way into a smile as you turned around to greet the other, reaching up to pinch his cheeks.
“Aish Taehyung-ssi, you’re still so hyper.”
“Hyuuuuung, can we keep her? She’s so cute! And she even defended Seokjin-hyung! C’mon please?” Taehyung whined as you kept pinching his cheeks gently. You let go with a sigh, giving a knowing look to Namjoon.
“Tae... She’s already hired. Today is her first day did you think she was a temporary pet or something?”
“Wah Joon-ah,” Seokjin began from beside you, crossing his arms over his chest. “She defended me, put her employee in his place for the sake of my well-being, dresses me perfectly within seconds and you compare her to a... a pet?”
You could tell he was joking and Namjoon simply laughed while trying to sit down as the rest of them already had, but couldn’t due to a little thing named Jungkook clinging to his side, biting his shoulder distractedly while texting someone. You squinted your eyes in confusion before noting the rest of your surroundings.
Hoseok’s and Yoongi’s hands were snug in each other’s back pockets, the elder leaning his head against the younger’s chest, slowly falling asleep. Hoseok’s nose was nuzzled against the back of Yoongi’s neck, softly blowing air against his skin. Almost immediately, Yoongi was knocked out.
Oh now you were... thoroughly confused.
“So before introductions i guess i should mention the elephant in the room, and no, it isn’t the oddly sexual but non-sexual thing the SOPE crew just did,” Namjoon laughed. Hoseok simply shook his head, nuzzling against Yoongi’s neck once again before pulling out his phone.
“The sub-position-”
“Well it really isn’t a position-” Taehyung cut in.
“Or a Job...” Jimin cut in.
“Mostly just... an adjustment? Something we lose stylists over..” Jin cut in.
“But! Since you’re from... you know... America we figured you’d be more okay with it all-” Jungkook cut in.
“More open minded about it.” Heoseok whispered, earning a chill from his sleeping hyung.
“If you would all just let me explain that’d be fantastic. Really.” Namjoon sighed, half annoyed, half amused.
Taehyung sighed, frustrated beyond belief. He’d clearly taken an immediate liking to you before knowing barely a thing about you. His smile, when given, was so genuine and full of happiness. He was so excited to have you around, just based about the information on your resume, and you barely understood why. Taehyung distractedly played with his fingers until Jimin crawled into his lap, squishing his cheeks together, and talking to him as if he was a newborn baby. Almost immediately he was all giggles and sunshine, hugging Jimin against his seated frame happily.
“Anyways, the sub-job or position or whatever, is simply us having you get used to... well... us. We’ve all learned to handle stress and anger and all our displaced emotions together, and in different ways. Yes, we are a very tight knit group. We know each other too well, for example, Yoongi-hyung can only fall asleep the exact way you just saw. Taehyungie doesn’t know how to process anger correctly, but Jimin-ah knows how to relieve that emotion completely from him. When i cannot focus or write or sleep, Jin-hyung or Jungkookie bite my shoulder. When Jungkookie is stressed, he has this habit of chewing or biting things a little too hard. When we were just trainees, he’d tear through his cheek, lip, fingernails: you name it. Now he chews on my shoulder. He’ll tear right through an object or break his teeth trying, same with his own skin. But with other’s, his mind understands that i’m not his to break or hurt, so he has control over it in that way. It’s weird, i know, but this is why you’re here, sitting with us so that we can explain to you the weird things we do so that you can adjust quickly. Of course, if you have any issues with it, you’re more than welcome to quit we honestly won’t hold it against you because this is just the tip of the iceberg,” Namjoon explains calmly.
"Many people who have worked with us call it a culture shock.” Jungkook speaks, removing his teeth from Namjoon’s shoulder. The elder doesn’t even bat an eyelash as Jungkook wipes his shoulder clean, rubbing circles around the clear teeth marks.
“But,” you began truthfully. “If this is how you all deal with your own issues and it works, and you are all closer because of it and are like a family, does it not improve your status and ethic as a group? I understand why native Koreans would feel this way, as for me, i wasn’t raised on such logic. I simply have a love for fashion, makeup, designing, and people. All at once if you will. If you’re all happy, then so am I please don’t worry.”
They all sighed in relief as they heard you say those words. It was the calm and sudden realization that they wouldn’t have to search for another stylist that would mistreat them for these habits they had. They’d be able to freely be themselves without the fear of their lead stylist being rude or forceful with them, at least. Sure, the rest of the stylists, or at least the majority treated them in such a way, but they didn’t care. So long as the one person who makes all the decisions and attends the meetings and speaks to them the most understands and accepts, then they’ll be fine.
It was a great first day for you, but a little bit of a bummer when you realized the sub-job wasn’t really a job. You’d expected it to be something exciting and difficult, but honestly, it would just make your time working with them that much more entertaining.
“There’s more Namjoon.” Yoongi piped awake, not moving from his position.
“Yes.. but we’ll get to that after practice. We’ll have a little over six hours to get everything out-”
“BTS to the stage for practice! BTS to the stage in three minutes for practice!” And at that, everyone stood up, including you to allow room for the other’s to shuffle out as quickly as possible.
If you thought Jin’s dresser was the gist of it... oh where you sorely mistaken. The words spoken the moment they left: the laughs, the taunts, the sneers. The hate, the disgust... they gave you full body chills, wracking your blood to a boil. Your tongue was pressed roughly against the roof of your mouth in attempts to keep the words that threatened to spill at bay.
While yes, you put one person in his place, that was quite difficult to do with one, no one from the seven to back you up and two, no one from the stylist department knowing who you are, let alone trusting you. They’d continue with their words and their twisted fucking thoughts.
Until I fire half of them and ruin any chance they have of getting a goddamn job again, you growled internally.
Silently humming to yourself, you were all to self aware of the names being thrown around, helpfully attached to voices you could pinpoint. While sketching on a few pieces of loose paper, you jotted down their names along with the words they’d spoken with a silent promise of an end to their career with every letter.
You were amid a beautiful sketch of Yoongi’s full body profile, deciding what looks would suit him the best, when they’d come back from practice.
“Ah hyung, i kept messing up the chorus! I know i bumped into you a few times i’m sorry-”
“Jiminie, you know it’s okay! You’ve been working yourself too hard lately. Take a breath... please,” Yoongi chuckled, ruffling Jimin’s hair when you looked up. “Hobi-hobi will help you with that one step, okay? It’s only one little step. How’s your hip?”
Jimin winced as he circled his hips slowly, the elder looking at him in worry. Yoongi pressed his fingers against Jimin’s hip, you assumed to feel for any swelling or sight of discomfort. “Surprisingly better than yesterday hyung. I’m not over-exerting myself, and while it will make for a weaker performance from me i know i just need time to heal..”
“And we all know you’re bashing on yourself for not ‘being good enough’ on the inside Jiminie, just because you hurt yourself a bit.” Namjoon sighed, leaning his head atop of Jimin’s from behind him. It took the younger a moment, but he nodded. “You’re amazing. You’re good enough Jiminie... better than enough. Do you need Jin-hyung?”
“S-seok... Seokjinie-hyung.” Jimin cried softly before the elder of the group appeared from the doorway and gently guided Jimin into his arms, singing softly into his ear. You couldn’t help the smile that formed from your once parted lips.
They really were a family.
“Kim Taehyung stop it!” You could hear Jungkook faintly but angrily whispering into Taehyung’s ear as he restrained his elder. Taehyung was struggling against Jungkook’s grip on his arms as he attempted to lunge at a stylist with tears brimming his once bright eyes. You could practically taste the snarl that he let out, the stylist ignoring him completely with a cocky smirk on his face.
“Don’t make me-”
“Yah! You brat be respectful!” Taehyung growled, whipping around to a not-so-impressed Jungkook. The look on the younger’s face could only be described as one of complete disinterest.
He grinned down at his palm as if it was the most interesting thing in the world, before calmly asking Taehyung, “Would you like for me to get Yoongi-hyung?”
“Why did i just hear that sentence, Kim Taehyung?” Yoongi spoke calmly from across the room, perched on Hoseok’s lap, and for a moment you could have sworn he was standing three seconds ago.
Taehyung visible paled, dropping his head in defeat. “I’ll be good.” He whispered, but you couldn’t hear. Jungkook smiled with a nod, dragging him to the couch, far... far away from Yoongi who was glaring curiously.
Soon enough, everyone was taking a seat all around you. The stylists and make-up artists were called in groups out to the halls to assist other stylists, go on break, talk shit, or assist other company’s they were employed with. That left you, the seven of them, two of their managers, and their social media specialist who were all in their own world.
“Well that was quite an interesting thing to witness. Are you all alright?” You asked with a smile, looking up briefly at them all who wore slightly different expressions.
“Yes that is all quite normal,” Namjoon started. “Jimin’s quite the insecure one, but he’s getting better. He still needs Jin-hyung’s reassurance and warmth. He wears him like a safety-net i swear.” He chuckled only to be cut off by a slightly annoyed Jimin
“I do not!”
“Then stop clinging Mini,” Jin giggled with Jimin sat in his lap... quite literally clinging to him.
“I refuse.”
“Then i’m correct... and continuing,” Namjoon spoke once again. “As for Taehyung, as I've told you, his anger is un-controlled. Only a few times has it gotten extremely out of had to where Jimin could no longer help, so in comes Yoongi who’s willing to put him in his place. Any threat involving him and Taehyung is down like a dog.”
The worry on your face was evident to them all. You’d instantly thought the worst most terrible things, afraid of how Yoongi actually handled the younger.
“Noona he doesn’t... he doesn’t hurt me relax,” Taehyung smiled a bit from where Jungkook had him forcefully sat. You relaxed a bit, but still felt uneasy especially with Taehyung glaring daggers at the door where the stylists had left a while ago.
“Do i want to know?”
“No,” Taehyung and Yoongi instantly said, and you nodded in agreement.
“Even i wish i didn’t know... also, i’m pretty sure you can guess-”
“Please for the love of god stop it Jin-hyung,” Taehyung groaned, drawing his knees to his chest in attempts to be small and drown out the room.
Just before the broadcast was successfully said and done, ending with a win for the boys, it was collectively decided that you’d have the following day to think and recollect your first day’s events. Namjoon and Jin had both calmly explained that while you may have immediately been accepting of everything, it was important to make sure that you were certain.
All the while... Taehyung clung to you as you attempted to do Hoseok’s makeup without messing up. You could barely focus the entire time with so many things going on at once, but after roughly two hours of observing and experimenting around, you found some sort of temporary groove you could work with.
It wasn’t anything fancy: Giving Taehyung short bursts of attention periodically seemed to make him less clingy. Showing him you still thought about him didn’t make him seek the attention much. Jungkook was a shy one, so whenever you could, you’d ask him about casual things such as the weather, or how his lyrical production was going. Nothing really seemed to knock him out of his shell until you mentioned gaming, and how you used to enjoy watching competitive play. After that, you couldn’t get him to stop talking.
Namjoon and Yoongi mostly sat huddled against their phones or a notepad, typing or writing away furiously with headphones jammed into their ears. Not many opportunities came about for you to speak with them, but you figured you’d let them be for longer periods of time than the others. Both you and Jin instantly got along, creating dad jokes of your own, some of which made no sense. With a promise to make you his favorite boba tea one day, and theories of both your favorite drama spoken, you couldn’t stop the smiles.
Hoseok spoke mostly of his family, friends, and dance. You could listen to him go on and on for hours, and you almost did until Taehyung came about demanding attention that Jimin wouldn’t give him. And Jimin did nothing but practice vocals, short bursts of dance moves to make sure he was perfect, sorted through the colors of eye shadow he wanted for that day as well as the clothes, and napped. It was rinse and repeat for him and you were lucky to catch a word with the busy body.
You woke up with a smile on your face as well as yesterday’s forgotten makeup caked and slathered against your skin. Choosing to scold yourself about the harmful affects that could do to your sensitive pours later, you hardly found it in you to care, walking to your bathroom to get ready for the rest of the day that you apparently had off.
One rejuvenating shower and a quick brushing of your teeth later, you walked into your mini kitchen to make a fresh pot of coffee. You wished you could make a nice chai latte, but sadly you’d ran out not too long ago and had forgotten completely to buy any more of it.
With a sigh, you ran your fingers lazily against your stove top, waiting for the fresh smell of brewing coffee to fill your lungs.
Your phone dings rather loudly, alerting you of a text message just as the coffee finished brewing. You poured a fresh mug’s worth, tightened your towel around your frame, and collected your phone from it’s dis-guarded position on your couch.
For a moment you wondered how it even got there, but remembered quickly how you’d thrown almost all your belongings on your couch the day before in exhaustion. You took your seat and sipped calmly at your coffee, unlocking your screen to read the text.
11:39am - Text From: Lee Daejung
Hello Ms. (Y/N). I was pleased to hear the good news from Namjoon. Welcome to the company, officially now. I’m glad they’ve all agreed to give you a day to think about this, though i doubt you will need it at all. Anyways, my reason for texting was not to welcome you, but to warn you of an impromptu and, most likely, unwelcome visit you will receive. You cocked and eyebrow up at this, wondering who’d be coming over to your apartment. Though, you highly doubted it would be unwelcomed, you being a very open person. Social attention or any attention at all was something you needed much of, despite you not having it for so long.
Your thoughts were pushed aside as another text message from Daejung appeared.
11:40am - Text From: Lee Daejung
Hoseok and Taehyung both decided to come visit you. They wanted it to be a surprise as they’d finished practice early, but it’s very early, and I wasn’t sure if you were awake. Unfortunately, they simply left practice, telling me it’d be fine. So i’m warning you, as they left a while ago. I was too busy to bother texting you about it earlier. Have a good day.
Yea asshole i’ll have a great day. “Too busy” my ass, you thought, growing annoyed at his texts. Did he truly have to be so passively... well... everything? God it was as if he hated the world.
Shaking your head, you shuffled off of your couch to get ready before the boys came over. You honestly couldn’t shake the excitement within you. This meant, that at the very least, they did like you. You wouldn’t just surprise someone you despised working with at their house to be honest-
“Noona you should really l... lock yo-your.... doors.” You could hear him before you even had a chance to see him or stop him from barging into your apartment. You stood there, an extremely short towel wrapped around your frame, staring at none other than Kim Taehyung in shock. Jesus this kid! You wouldn’t say he wasn’t welcomed but a fucking knock at least!
“-walk too damn fast Tae! Jesus could you have waited?! Aish i... I... Oh my God Taehyung get out of there!” You heard Hoseok scream at him before yanking his still, blushing, wide-eyed frame out of your apartment, slamming the door behind them.
You jumped at the sound, it knocking you right out of your state of shock.
“I’m so sorry! Noona please don’t kill him he’s still so young i promise i’ll make him clean toilets for a month for this.” Hoseok yelled from the door.
“Hyung you will do no such thing! You know Namjoon’s a monster in the toilet! Sometimes i swear that’s where his stage name is really from-”
“You just barged into her apartment without even knocking idiot! You’re lucky i don’t force you to clean Jungkookie’s laundry-”
“No... no hyung please anything... anything but that i’ll even go full on gay and s-”
“Yah! I’ll make it two months if you don’t shut it!”
Through all their bickering, you managed to tuck yourself into some black and pink pajamas before opening the door. He was still yelling at Taehyung before you held the younger in your arms. He just looked so down, upset, and bad about what he did. You didn’t want him to be scolded any longer.
“Hoseok-ssi please. I know how Taehyungie is. A while ago, a few hours before i arrived at Mnet, Namjoon-ssi told me about how Taehyungie doesn’t really know how to act in socially acceptable ways. I’m okay with it, truly. I was just a little shocked is all.” You smiled, petting his hair softly. Feeling him relax in your hold, you continued softly. “I’ll let you in as long as you don’t make him clean toilets, or tell the others what he did. I don’t think Yoongi-ssi would let this go if you told him.”
With a sigh, Hoseok agreed. Taehyung was very great full, clinging to you the entire time he was there.
“Oh! This is unexpected.” You tilted your head in welcomed shock. You’d received a message from one of the members.
“Hmm?”
“I didn’t do it hyung! It was Joon-ah again i swear!” Hoseok jolted awake from your dining room chair you’d dragged from your table and next to your couch. It only sat two people, and with Taehyung clinging to you, there was no way he’d fit.
He rubbed his eyes a bit and apologized sheepishly. You smiled and assured him it was fine, just glad the dance obsessed dancer had a chance to sleep. There wasn’t a doubt in your mind the man worked himself to the bone, worse than the other five. Jimin was an exception, no, that kid worked himself down to his soul. It frightened you a bit, but seeing as he’d been doing so for almost eight years, he had to know what he was doing or if he was overworking himself.
“I assume this text is from Jimin-ssi. He did call me Noona, and i highly doubt this is Jungkook-ssi seeing as we did speak a lot-”
“Can i see Noona?”Hoseok asked, leaning forward in his chair a bit. His eyes still seemed a bit droopy, but you nodded and gladly handed him your phone. He’d definitely know which member it was.
2:01pm - Text From: +82 xx-xxxx-xxxx
Hello Noona! I assume Tae and Hobi have been there for a while and you’re probably busy talking with them, but i’m on a small break and figured i’d text you to apologize for not speaking to you much yesterday. I tend to keep myself busy even when i don’t need to be. I like to make sure everything i do is perfect, or at least close to it. Anyways, that’s all! I’ll see you tomorrow.
“Yep, that’s Jiminie. Also, why do you have American time on your phone?"
“Noona how old are you? I just realized we call you Noona on assumption-”
“Kim Taehyung show some respect! You don’t just ask a woman her age! Jesus Christ who raised you?!”
“Jin-hyung-”
“Well aren’t you the smart mouth when you want to be!”
You sighed, and you honestly let them bicker on for a while because for once, it was nice having people near you. Even if they were just co-workers, they liked you, and it felt nice. It felt like... normal. Though it wasn’t normal for you, as you rarely spoke to anyone, it felt like it.
“Hoseok I’m not from here. These types of questions don’t bother me, nor are they offensive. Also, I use Eastern Standard Time on my phone simply because it’s easier for me to just add the thirteen hours than to remember the time you all use.”
“I’m sorry.” The both of them spoke at the same time. With a soft grin, you accepted your phone that Hoseok handed back to you.
“It’s one hundred percent fine, please do not worry. As for my age, I’m Twenty-six here and Twenty-five where i’m from. I’m Noona to all of you, but you can call me whatever you like when you’re comfortable doing so. Though i understand that it is disrespectful in your culture, and it may feel uneasy for you to do so.”
They both nod and continue watching the show you’d put on for them. The three of you had an hours worth of conversation built up and done with, so you figured you’d let them stay and relax on their free time.
You texted Jimin back.
2:09 - Sent To: Park Jimin
It’s quite alright i understand completely. Please don’t sweat it, i was observing you all yesterday and understood how you were about an hour into it. Your work is important and that comes first before your co-workers. I really admire you Jimin-ssi. Your work ethic is strong, and you only get better and better. You’re an amazing idol and i’m excited to continue working with you, and the others. Text more often! “Noona, with that text he might end up crying purely out of happiness.” Hoseok laughed, tossing himself on the ground in exaggeration. Taehyung peeped over your hands to read the message and laughed just as hard.
“Aish no one warned her about praising him!”
“Oh my god he’s gonna gush and fawn over this for at least a week!”
You were... thoroughly confused, raising a brow down at Taehyung who was half curled up on your lap. “One of you mind explaining?”
“Ah, Noona it’s just that he lives off the praise. Not so much approval, but the acknowledgement of his hard work from others. He gets all happy and jumpy when we praise him, but hearing it from those who don’t know him very well doubles his happiness.” Hoseok explained, leaning his head now calm against the chair, sitting lazily on the floor.
“Yea. Kind of like Yoongi-hyung, though he won’t ever admit it.”
“True!” Hoseok laughed a bit, smiling to himself. “Hyungie loves it. He’s secure with himself now, but he never used to be. Same for Jiminie. They both have the habit of seeking out praise now, especially if they worked harder than usual on something.”
“But again, Yoongi-hyung is sneaky about it. Sometimes we don’t even know he’s looking for it.” Taehyung smiled, scrunching up his nose cutely.
“I do,” Hoseok said quietly, messing with the end of his shirt while turning his attention to the TV. “I always know.”
“Of course you do Hobi-hyung you guys are so close.”
You smiled down at the both of them for a while before, mid conversation, it dawned on you that Yoongi was the only one you didn’t get to speak to. The younger spent most of his time in a book or on his phone as you remember from yesterday. Both him and Namjoon were so engrossed by what they were creating it honestly was a sight to see.
Your phone buzzed, jolting you out of your thoughts and prompting Taehyung and Hoseok to look over your shoulder to read the message. So you’ll continue to hold formalities with me because it’s respectful... but you’ll peep my messages. Tsk. You scoffed to yourself. Yet, you didn’t mind either way.
“Oh that’s Yoongi-hyung!” Taehyung pipes up. You instantly saved his name into your contacts after they both confirm who it is.
2:30pm - Text From: Min Yoongi
I also apologize for not speaking to you. Jimin spoke to me about texting you before actually doing it. Why? Well, you’ll come to be able to answer that question with “because it’s Jimin” soon. Anyways, we’ll talk soon.