My own BTS part 6
2379 Words
Chapter Six
The morning began with laughter.
It ended with a secret.
Seo-yeon stood behind the little roadside stall, watching seven of the most recognizable young men in the country eat food from plastic bowls as if they had never eaten before.
Seokjin had already asked for more rice.
Hoseok was telling her mother how good the food was.
Taehyung was asking what spices she used.
Jimin kept thanking Seo-yeon every time she brought something to the table.
Yoongi was quieter, but he had finished his entire bowl.
Namjoon was talking with Seo-yeon's mother about the business.
And Jungkook...
Jungkook kept looking at Seo-yeon.
Not constantly.
Not obviously.
Just enough for her to notice.
Every time their eyes met, he looked away first.
She didn't understand him.
She didn't understand any of them.
Why had they come back?
Why had they bothered to find her?
Why were they sitting at her mother's tiny food stall as though it were the most normal thing in the world?
And most importantly...
why did she feel strangely comfortable around them?
She didn't want to admit that last part.
Not yet.
“Seo-yeon.”
She turned.
Seokjin lifted his empty bowl.
“More, please.”
She laughed.
“You've already eaten twice.”
“I know.”
“And you're still hungry?”
He looked offended.
“Are you saying I'm eating too much?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Seo-yeon laughed again.
It surprised her.
She hadn't realized how long it had been since she had laughed without forcing it.
Jimin noticed.
“So you do laugh.”
Seo-yeon looked at him.
“What?”
“You always look serious.”
“I don't.”
“You do.”
Taehyung nodded.
“Very serious.”
Seo-yeon looked around the table.
“You're all very annoying.”
Hoseok laughed.
“She's learning.”
“Learning what?”
“To insult us.”
Seo-yeon smiled.
“I can learn quickly.”
Jungkook laughed quietly.
And that small sound made her look at him.
For a moment, they simply looked at one another.
Then Seo-yeon looked away.
She suddenly became aware of how close he was.
How familiar his voice had begun to sound.
How strange it was that the boy she had once been afraid of was slowly becoming someone she felt safe around.
That thought frightened her.
So she went back to work.
When they finished eating, Namjoon stood.
“Thank you.”
Seo-yeon's mother smiled.
“You're welcome.”
He reached for his wallet.
Her mother immediately shook her head.
“No.”
Namjoon stopped.
“We need to pay.”
“You've already eaten.”
“Exactly.”
She smiled.
“Then come again.”
Namjoon laughed.
“Deal.”
But Seokjin had already placed money on the table.
Seo-yeon's mother pushed it back.
“No.”
Seokjin looked confused.
“Why?”
“Because you came as customers.”
“Yes.”
“And customers pay.”
He smiled.
“Then we're paying.”
Seo-yeon watched them argue.
Eventually her mother accepted the money.
But she added extra food to their bags.
“Take this.”
Seokjin smiled.
“Now we're even.”
Her mother laughed.
The seven boys left.
Seo-yeon watched them walk away.
She didn't know why.
But the stall suddenly felt quieter.
That afternoon, Seo-yeon's phone vibrated.
She looked at the screen.
Unknown number.
She almost ignored it.
Then a message appeared.
Hi. It's Jimin. We got your number from your mother. Is that okay?
Seo-yeon stared at the screen.
She typed:
How did you get it?
The reply came immediately.
Your mother gave it to us. She said you're okay with it.
Seo-yeon smiled.
She did not ask me.
A laughing emoji appeared.
Then:
Should I delete it?
Seo-yeon hesitated.
She should say yes.
She knew that.
Instead, she typed:
No. It's okay.
A few seconds later:
Good. We wanted to invite you somewhere.
Seo-yeon's smile disappeared.
Where?
You'll see.
She frowned.
That's suspicious.
Very.
She laughed.
Then another message came.
Don't worry. We won't kidnap you.
Seo-yeon shook her head.
That's exactly what someone who plans to kidnap me would say.
Jimin replied:
Fair point.
She laughed again.
It was becoming a problem.
She was getting comfortable.
Two days later, Seo-yeon met them again.
This time, not at the stall.
They had invited her to a quiet studio.
She almost didn't go.
She stood outside the building for ten minutes, wondering if she had made a mistake.
Then the door opened.
Hoseok appeared.
“You came!”
Seo-yeon smiled nervously.
“Apparently.”
“Come in.”
She stepped inside.
Music filled the room.
There were microphones.
Speakers.
Instruments.
Sheets of paper scattered across tables.
And the seven boys were there.
They weren't celebrities in that room.
They were simply seven friends working on something together.
Seo-yeon looked around.
“Do you come here often?”
“Sometimes,” Namjoon said.
“What are you doing?”
“Working.”
“On what?”
“Something new.”
Yoongi looked up.
“Don't tell her yet.”
Seo-yeon raised an eyebrow.
“Why?”
“Because Taehyung will ruin the surprise.”
Taehyung looked offended.
“I don't ruin surprises.”
“You told Seokjin his birthday present.”
“I forgot.”
“You forgot?”
Taehyung nodded.
Seokjin sighed.
Everyone laughed.
Seo-yeon smiled.
For the first time, she wasn't thinking about their fame.
She was simply watching seven friends being themselves.
And she realized something.
They were comfortable with one another.
They teased each other.
Argued.
Laughed.
Interrupted.
Forgave.
They had become a family.
Seo-yeon wondered what that felt like.
To belong somewhere so completely.
“Do you sing?” Jimin asked.
Seo-yeon froze.
“Sometimes.”
“Sing for us.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because.”
Hoseok laughed.
“That is not an answer.”
“It is for me.”
Jungkook was sitting quietly in the corner.
He hadn't said anything.
But he was watching her.
Seo-yeon noticed.
“Why are you looking at me?”
He blinked.
“I wasn't.”
“You were.”
He smiled.
“Maybe.”
She shook her head.
“You're strange.”
“You ran away from us twice.”
“That's because you're famous.”
“That doesn't make us dangerous.”
“I don't know that.”
Jungkook laughed.
“Fair.”
Namjoon finally spoke.
“You don't have to sing.”
Seo-yeon looked at him.
“Thank you.”
“But,” he added, “you should know something.”
“What?”
“You have a gift.”
Seo-yeon looked down.
Nobody had ever said it so seriously.
She didn't know what to do with the compliment.
So she changed the subject.
“What are you working on?”
Namjoon smiled.
“Business.”
“Business?”
“Yes.”
Seo-yeon looked around.
“You're musicians.”
“We're more than musicians.”
That answer stayed with her.
They began telling her about their plans.
Not everything.
Some ideas were still private.
But enough.
They wanted to build something that would help young people.
Something creative.
Something that would give people opportunities.
Something that could become bigger than themselves.
Seo-yeon listened.
Then asked:
“Why?”
Yoongi answered.
“Because we know what it's like to start with nothing.”
Hoseok nodded.
“We don't want other people to think their circumstances are the end of their story.”
Seo-yeon became quiet.
Those words touched something inside her.
She thought about the poster outside the music academy.
The registration fee.
Her old uniform.
Her mother's hands.
Her notebook.
Her dreams.
“What?” Jimin asked.
“Nothing.”
“You're thinking.”
She smiled.
“I always think.”
Namjoon laughed.
“Now you sound like me.”
The boys didn't realize it immediately.
But Seo-yeon began becoming part of their lives.
Not suddenly.
Slowly.
She started receiving messages.
Jimin asked whether she had eaten.
Hoseok sent her funny videos.
Taehyung sent photographs of random things he found interesting.
Seokjin asked whether her mother had created any new dishes.
Yoongi occasionally sent a song without explanation.
Namjoon asked her opinion about business ideas.
And Jungkook...
Jungkook sent almost nothing.
But whenever they met, he noticed everything.
If Seo-yeon looked tired.
If she hadn't eaten.
If she was unusually quiet.
If she was smiling.
He noticed.
He didn't know why.
That was beginning to bother him.
One evening, the seven were together without Seo-yeon.
Hoseok looked at Jungkook.
“You like her.”
Jungkook nearly dropped his phone.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“No.”
Seokjin laughed.
“That's exactly what someone who likes someone says.”
“I don't like her.”
Yoongi looked up.
“Then why do you know everything about her?”
Jungkook frowned.
“I don't.”
“You know when she hasn't eaten.”
Jungkook was silent.
“You know when she's upset.”
Silence.
“You know when she's pretending to be okay.”
Jungkook looked away.
Namjoon smiled.
“You're worried about her.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Jungkook didn't answer.
Because he didn't know.
That was the truth.
He wasn't ready to call it love.
He wasn't even sure it was love.
It could be concern.
Curiosity.
Friendship.
Something else.
Whatever it was...
it was growing.
And he didn't know how to stop it.
But the boys weren't the only ones keeping secrets.
Seo-yeon had one too.
She had been hiding something from them.
Something important.
She still owed money.
Not her mother's debt.
Her own.
Months earlier, she had borrowed money from someone to pay a school expense.
She had promised to return it.
She hadn't.
The person had started demanding payment.
At first, the messages were polite.
Then they became threatening.
You said you'd pay.
When?
Don't ignore me.
Seo-yeon deleted the messages.
She didn't tell her mother.
She didn't tell the boys.
She didn't want their pity.
She didn't want help.
Because she was afraid that if they knew how difficult her life really was...
they would look at her differently.
Especially Jungkook.
She couldn't bear that.
One night, Seo-yeon was walking home when her phone rang.
Unknown number.
She answered.
“Hello?”
A man's voice.
“You still haven't paid.”
Seo-yeon's stomach tightened.
“I told you I'll pay.”
“When?”
“I don't know.”
“You have until Friday.”
“Please—”
“No excuses.”
The call ended.
Seo-yeon stood beneath a streetlight.
Her hands trembled.
Friday.
Three days.
She didn't have the money.
She looked at her phone.
A message arrived from Jimin.
We're meeting tomorrow. Don't forget.
Then one from Hoseok.
Bring your notebook!
Then another.
Jungkook says you're going to sing tomorrow.
Seo-yeon smiled despite herself.
Then the smile disappeared.
She looked at the message again.
She didn't want them to know.
She couldn't let them know.
The next day, she arrived at the studio.
Everyone was excited.
“She's here!”
“Finally!”
“Come in!”
Seo-yeon laughed.
“You people are too loud.”
“You're becoming one of us,” Taehyung said.
She smiled.
“One of you?”
Jimin nodded.
“Of course.”
Those words warmed her.
But then she noticed Jungkook.
He was standing by the window.
He looked at her.
She smiled.
He smiled back.
For a moment, everything felt perfect.
Then her phone vibrated.
She looked at the screen.
Another message.
Friday. Don't forget.
Her smile disappeared.
Jungkook noticed.
“Seo-yeon?”
She quickly put the phone away.
“Yes?”
“Are you okay?”
She smiled.
“Yes.”
He stared at her.
“You're doing it again.”
“Doing what?”
“Pretending.”
She looked away.
“I'm fine.”
Jungkook stepped closer.
“You don't have to tell me.”
She looked at him.
“But?”
“But you don't have to pretend with us.”
Her eyes became wet.
For a second, she almost told him everything.
The debt.
The fear.
The messages.
The shame.
Everything.
But then she remembered how her mother had struggled.
She couldn't become another problem for someone else.
So she smiled.
“Thank you.”
Jungkook nodded.
He didn't believe her.
But he didn't force her.
Not yet.
That evening, the eight of them stayed late.
Music played.
They ate together.
They laughed.
They argued over small things.
For a few hours, Seo-yeon forgot about Friday.
She forgot about the debt.
She forgot about poverty.
She forgot that she was supposed to feel like an outsider.
She belonged.
Just a little.
And perhaps that was the most dangerous thing of all.
Because once you finally find a place where you feel safe...
the thought of losing it becomes terrifying.
Near midnight, everyone began leaving.
Seo-yeon gathered her things.
Jungkook walked beside her.
“Are you going home?”
“Yes.”
“Want me to walk you?”
She shook her head.
“I'll be okay.”
He looked at her.
“Promise?”
She smiled.
“Promise.”
She walked away.
Jungkook watched until she disappeared around the corner.
Then he noticed something on the floor.
Her phone.
He picked it up.
The screen lit up.
A message appeared.
He didn't mean to read it.
But he saw the words.
You have until Friday. After that, we're coming to your mother's stall.
Jungkook's smile disappeared.
He stared at the screen.
Suddenly, everything made sense.
Her fear.
Her silence.
The way she had looked at her phone.
The reason she kept saying she was fine.
He looked toward the street where she had disappeared.
“Seo-yeon...”
He didn't know what to do.
He didn't know whether he should tell the others.
He didn't know whether she would be angry.
But he knew one thing.
Whatever happened on Friday...
she shouldn't face it alone.
And for the first time, Jungkook understood that his feelings weren't simply curiosity anymore.
He cared.
More than he should.
More than he knew how to explain.
And somewhere ahead of them, Friday was waiting.
To be continued...
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