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Jimin had told you to be at the karaoke bar just outside of Hannam the Hill at eight. He said they would be there. He said that one of their managers knew the owner, and that they had rented out one of the rooms for the whole night. He said it was important to him that you’d be there, that he had missed hanging out with you, and that after such a long and grueling tour, he and the guys just wanted to let off some steam.
You checked the time on your phone. 8:13.
Sighing, you leaned against the building. You had half a mind to call a taxi and go home. You hadn’t even really wanted to go out that night--you told Jimin you had two morning lessons. But then, by some divine intervention, they both cancelled, and you really had wanted to see Jimin and his friends. So you agreed to meet them for karaoke. As if none of you sang enough in your daily lives.
You felt your phone vibrate. A text from Jimin. “Sorrysorrysorry!! Running late. Be there in 10!!!” followed by five hearts. You thought about texting him back, but slipped your phone into your pocket instead. They would be there soon enough.
And, sure enough, nearly 10 minutes later, the seven men descended upon the karaoke bar. You heard them before you saw them, joking and laughing amongst themselves as they walked. It wasn’t even that they were particularly loud, but that the late-July evening was particularly quiet, the unseasonable humidity having driven most everyone indoors. As soon as he saw you, Jimin waved, his hand straight up in the air, a big, bright smile on his face.
When they were closer, you greeted all of them warmly. You had met each of the guys at one point or another, having accompanied Jimin to various recording sessions when he was unsure of something, so you were familiar, but you could hardly say you were particularly close with any of them. You knew Taehyung the best, partially because he and Jimin were a packaged set most of the time, and partially because he had made it his mission to get to know you for some reason.
You followed them through the bar to the room they had rented for the night. As you slid into the booth between Namjoon and Jimin, you could feel Jimin’s hot breath on your ear. “The offer still stands, noona. Now would be a great time. You’ll like him--I promise. You could go out after this.” You glared at him, and he held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. Just let me know if you change your mind.”
“I don’t need you setting me up with your friends,” you whispered sharply, just loud enough for him to hear.
He chuckled, shooting you a wise grin before turning to the rest of the group. “Who wants to sing first?”
It took all of four seconds for the room to devolve into pure chaos. Taehyung was the first to sing, choosing some bright, heartfelt trot. His performance was serious, standing in the middle of the room between the two tables, shaking his hips and dancing along with the cheesy saxophone and electric guitar. You heard Jimin groan from beside you, his head falling onto your shoulder heavily.
On the other side, Namjoon handed you the drink menu and the little tablet to order. “Jin ordered enough fried chicken for everyone, but feel free to order whatever you want.” Namjoon smiled politely at you. “But be prepared to share. The maknae are vultures.”
You laughed, glancing at the drink menu. “I’ll keep that in mind. What’s good? I’ve never been here before.”
By the time Namjoon was done pointing out the best drinks on the menu, it was Seokjin’s turn to sing. He chose some 80s American power ballad, which he sang directly to Hoseok, and which of course had everyone else groaning.
At some point in the night, seats got shuffled, and you found yourself sitting between Jungkook and Yoongi. You had met both when Jimin had been recording “Promise,” but Namjoon had been so polite and warm, and Jimin, pest that he was, had a way of making you feel more comfortable around his friends. To his credit, Jungkook was making an effort, asking you about your job and your students and your life.
“You were an intern?” Jungkook’s eyebrows were practically in his hairline. He had been asking about how you came to have Jimin as a vocal student, and you had confessed that it had mostly been luck, seeing as there were only a few years’ difference in your age and Jimin’s.
“A very lucky intern.” You raised your glass in Jimin’s direction, who beamed at you from across the tables. “If the head coach hadn’t been taking care of his sick mother at the time, he probably would have taken the job. Instead, the nobody trainee from the nobody company was assigned to the nobody voice teacher. Guess we showed them.”
Jungkook hummed in thought, taking a bite of the fried chicken Seokjin had piled in front of him. It was clear the maknae was curious and had more questions, but before he could ask anything, Taehyung called your name.
“You should sing something!” he called, motioning for you to take the microphone from Hoseok, who had most recently sang.
“I don’t know-”
“You should do a duet with me!” Jimin excitedly stood and went to retrieve the other microphone from the stand near the door.
“No me!” Taehyung shot Jimin a look. “You probably get to sing with him all the time.”
“I don’t understand why you’re fighting over me? I’m not that great, I promise.”
“It’s not every day you get to sing with a professional,” Seokjin chimed in, a shit-eating grin plastered on his face.
You felt your brain sputter at that. “I… what?”
“Rock, scissors, paper.” Jimin concluded, grabbing the extra microphone.
The seven boys played several rounds of rock, scissors, paper, some more enthusiastically than others. In the end, it came down to Jimin, Jungkook, and Yoongi. Two rounds later, Yoongi was declared the winner.
He stared at his hand, confused. “I don’t want to sing,” he protested lightly as Jimin pushed the extra microphone into his hand.
“Why did you play if you didn’t want to win?” Jimin’s tone was teasing. You pretended not to notice the flush on Yoongi’s cheeks.
You let Yoongi pick the song as a sort of consolation, choosing instead to glare at Jimin, who simply shot you a wink and motioned for you to perform with his hyung. You heard a small “oops” and then the opening notes of “Drunk in Love” started playing.
“I wanted the one under this,” Yoongi explained softly, his eyes not meeting yours. “I can go back and change it if you want?” Namjoon and Jin booed at his suggestion.
You shrugged. “That’s up to you.” He didn’t have a chance to reply as the intro ended and you started singing.
You had forgotten how deeply sexual the song was. It definitely would not have been your first choice to sing at a karaoke bar with a bunch of near-strangers watching you. Both of you had remained seated, which you were glad for because you could turn yourself away from the rest of the group so you wouldn’t have to see their amused stares or Jimin’s shit-eating grin.
By the time Jay-Z’s rap came around and Yoongi took a breath to start, you could tell your face was beet red. You sighed. So much for “professional.” Yoongi’s rap was even worse than your part, and he got through it surprisingly well despite how tense he seemed. You could hear Jungkook laughing at him from behind you.
When the song ended, the guys clapped and whistled as you and Yoongi passed the microphones around the table. Through the noise, Yoongi apologized to you softly and politely excused himself. He was out of the room before you could even respond. You glanced at Jimin and he shrugged.
When Taehyung stood up to sing another trot, you slipped out of the room, mouthing ‘bathroom’ to Jimin when he raised his eyebrows at you. You walked outside, passing the rest of the karaoke rooms on your way--all empty except for one other one.
The sun had started to set over Seoul, the streetlamps and neon lights were beginning to flicker on. Yoongi stood just outside of the door, leaning casually against the brick of the bar. He offered you a shy smile when you stood beside him.
“I think if I have to listen to Taehyung sing one more trot, my ears are going to start bleeding,” you said softly.
He laughed at that, but otherwise stayed quiet, choosing to instead stare at the 7-11 across the street. After a moment, he sighed. “Sorry I couldn’t change the song.”
“Don’t be.” You waved him off. “It’s a good song.”
Yoongi nodded, and again fell silent. Surprisingly, the quiet was fairly comfortable, the only sounds came from the city surrounding you, the traffic and bustle of Seoul in the evening. Beside you, you heard Yoongi scoff, and you turned your attention to him.
“Jimin has been telling me to ask you for help,” he confessed softly, his eyes meeting yours for what felt like the first time that night. God, his eyes were pretty. “Apparently, you know music.”
You laughed lightly, leaning against the bricks beside him. “You could say that.” You offered him a smile, which he returned after a moment, the barest hint of his gums peeking out from behind his lips. “What do you need help with?”
“Just some composition stuff.” Yoongi shrugged. “My music theory is admittedly rusty.”
“Lucky for you I know a voice teacher.”
“Would you mind stopping by my studio sometime soon? I’m kind of under a deadline, and-”
“Sure. Just let me know when.”
Yoongi stared at you for a second before pulling out his phone. He tapped on a couple things and handed it to you. You noticed your name already filled out, and you quickly added a blue heart beside it before typing in your number. When you handed it back, he smirked, and mentally, you kicked yourself for your momentary forwardness.
“I’ll text you,” Yoongi promised, gesturing slightly with his phone before shoving it back into his pocket.
You opened your mouth to respond, but the door opened before you could say anything and Jimin burst out in front of you.
“There you are!” he grabbed your hand before looking between you and Yoongi slyly. “Sorry, hyung. Tae and I want our turns at cute Beyonce duets.” You laughed and allowed Jimin to drag you back inside. Yoongi followed silently, and you couldn’t help but notice the slight pink on his cheeks.
You hoped he wouldn’t wait too long to text you.