Chapter Text
Namjoon stared at his shoes that were just a little too tight, resisting the urge to wipe his sweaty hands on his suit. He glanced at the rest of his companions in the limo before quickly looking back at the floor. He marveled at how relaxed they seemed, being in this circumstance. His stomach also churned uncomfortably at how attractive they all were.
Not for the first time, Namjoon cursed his friend, Taehyung, for signing the two of them up for this show together. Tae loved The Bachelorette, being the odd romantic that he was, and no amount of Namjoon criticizing the show and its obvious fakeness could dissuade him from entering. Tae continuously pestered him to join as well, saying that it would be “fun” and “boring to do it alone” (which, as Namjoon had pointed out, was contradictory, but Tae just rolled his eyes and kept insisting he should join).
Namjoon reluctantly agreed to sign himself, sure he’d never get chosen. Clearly he had been mistaken.
“Gentlemen,” the host of the show, Sejin, said, breaking his thoughts. “Please get ready. We’re entering the property soon.”
Namjoon gulped and fidgeted in his seat. He was somehow supposed to make a good impression to some girl he’d never met before and even worse, he was going to be recorded for the entire world to see.
Just imagine it’s an interview or a presentation, he told himself. Yeah, a presentation that hundreds of thousands of people can see and judge, a voice in his head added bitterly. I’m going to kill Tae.
The soon-to-be dead boy shifted in the seat ahead of him and turned back to grin at Namjoon. Namjoon couldn’t help but smile back weakly. As much as he hated this, he didn’t want to ruin the younger’s enjoyment at participating. That could happen later, after he inevitably lost the first round and could watch Tae on the show from the safety of their shared apartment.
The car pulled up at a gigantic mansion and Namjoon gaped at it. Maybe this wouldn’t be too bad if they got to live in a place like this.
Then he saw the girl standing there and his nerves increased tenfold.
She was beautiful of course, Namjoon supposed, with dark, straight hair with golden highlights and a long, blue dress that complemented her light skin tone. He still didn’t feel too excited about the prospect of getting to date her, though. Maybe that would come later, once he had gotten to know her better (that is, if he didn’t have to leave before he got the chance to).
He watched tensely as the first guy left the car. There were a lot more Asians this year than any of the previous seasons (which he only knew because Tae made him binge-watch them for “preparation”), and he guessed it was because they were trying to become more inclusive. That’s likely why both him and Tae were chosen—they were up against a smaller pool.
He made a mental note to ask Tae about this as the first candidate introduced himself to The Bachelorette lady—Isabel, Namjoon had to remind himself.
“Hi, my name is Jimin,” the guy said with so sweet a smile even Namjoon could feel his cynical, detached heart melting. “I’m very glad to meet you, Isabel!”
Namjoon groaned internally. How was he supposed to compete with people like this? The next person was just as charming, with a chiseled jaw, windswept blond hair, and tanned skin. He introduced himself as Chris with an almost blinding grin.
It didn’t get better from then on. Or rather, it did, just not for Namjoon. He kept waiting, almost hoping (though he felt bad about it), for someone to mess up so he would look better by comparison. The he realized that he was likely going to be the one who messed up and had a mental freakout that only ended when it was Tae’s turn.
Tae bowed over her hand and kissed it before introducing himself with a wink. Namjoon was gratified to see Isabel giggle and pretend to fan herself after he went inside. He hoped Tae wasn’t chosen to leave too quickly, but he doubted that would happen. Tae had a sort of eccentric charm to him that almost no one was immune to. He was also a rather outrageous flirt when he wanted to be.
Finally it was Namjoon’s turn. He took a shaky breath and clambered down from the limo. He straightened up to his full height, knowing it was one of the few advantages he had, and made his way to the woman waiting for him. He shot her a smile he hoped was charming and leaned in to give her an awkward side-hug as Tae had instructed him to do. She smelled like some sort of flower—maybe lilacs, he thought absentmindedly.
“I like your dimples!” she said once he’d let go and taken a set back. His smile faltered for a second, surprised, before softening and returning, less fake this time.
Thank you,” he said sincerely. It was a compliment he’d heard tons of times before, but still. It was nice to hear.
“I hope you enjoy it in there,” she said, nodding towards the house.
“I’m sure I will,” he said, laughing. He lingered for a second more before entering the mansion.
Okay. That had been fine. He definitely wasn’t going to be a fan-favorite or anything, but still. At least he managed to get through it.
Before he could over-analyze the interaction, though, he heard a shriek and whipped his head to see what it was. It seemed as though a few of the contestant had already found the alcohol supply and were now trying to push each other into the pool outside. That was fast, he thought noncommittally.
He moved along the room, avoiding people as best he could, to try to find Tae or a quiet place to think (as the two together would regretfully never be possible) and finally gave up on the former. He decided to stay by a window perpendicular to where Isabel was standing, so he could see the contestants as they were coming in. He felt a bit like a creep, but it was one of the few quiet places in the house and he was genuinely interested in how others would try and impress both Isabel and the audience who would later be watching at home.
Most of the entries were relatively calm, but there were a few more memorable ones. There was one guy who very earnestly—and very well—started dancing as he came out of the car, wearing a paper crown on his head, ending by dramatically sliding on his knees to where Isabel was standing, who looked just as impressed as Namjoon felt. He wouldn’t be surprised if he was a professional dancer.
There was another guy, who introduced himself as Yoongi, that Namjoon only remembered because of how intimidating he seemed. The contestant had forgone the usual limo for riding in on a motorcycle. But rather than revel in how cool he looked, Yoongi had just gone through the entire process with an almost bored expression on his face, as though he couldn’t care less about what was happening. Namjoon respected and was slightly terrified of him immediately (though less so once he realized how short he was).
After a few more-or-less regular meetings, Namjoon’s eyes started glazing and he started looking around to find Tae again, surprised they hadn’t found each other yet. He was about to leave his quiet corner and look for him when he heard gasps coming from outside.
He stared out the window to an incredible sight.
There was a man dressed in armor, riding a beautiful chestnut horse. A true knight in shining armor, Namjoon couldn’t help but think amusedly. But what really struck him was when the man removed his helmet as he dismounted the horse gracefully.
Namjoon almost gasped out loud. The man was—there was no other word for to describe it— ethereal . He had smooth, pale skin with cheeks touched a light pink, chestnut colored hair that looked silky and effortlessly amazing, large and pouty lips, broad shoulders with a slender waist, and doe eyes that actually seemed to sparkle in the dim light.
The man started walking towards Isabel who, though Namjoon couldn’t see her face entirely, seemed to be awestruck as well. Just as he reached her, the man nearly tripped but rightened himself immediately.
“Looks like I fell for you,” he said smoothly. Namjoon couldn’t help but snort quietly at the quick recovery.
As though he had somehow heard him—though Namjoon knew realistically that was impossible—the man turned to look at him at that moment. Namjoon’s breath caught in his throat, unprepared for what to do, and the man seemed equally caught off guard. That only lasted a moment, though, as his lips curled into a smile and he turned back to Isabel in the next second, exchanging pleasantries. Namjoon hurriedly crept away from the window the second the mysterious stranger (as he’d taken to calling him in his head) looked away from him.
He let out a deep breath. Oh god, what had he gotten himself into?