Asclepsius

Chapter 4: The Unexpected Encounter

AM's POV

"Am?"

I looked toward Suga.

He was watching me with that suspicious little expression.

"Are you searching for something?"

He paused.

"Or, more certainly... someone?"

My heart nearly stopped.

"No-no!"

I quickly shook my head.

"I was just looking around the place. It's beautiful."

A lie.

A terrible lie.

But fortunately, Suga only hummed.

"Hmm."

I let out a silent breath of relief.

That was close.

I settled into my seat and tried to look as casual as possible.

The members continued talking and laughing among themselves while I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Nearly forty-five minutes passed.

Then finally, the door opened.

Jungkook walked in carrying lunch for everyone.

I immediately recognized him.

And, strangely enough, I felt relieved.

At least now I wouldn't have to wonder when I would finally meet the person I was going to be working with.

Jungkook stopped the moment he saw me.

His eyebrows lifted in surprise.

"Hey, Am! What a surprise. I thought PD said you were coming tomorrow?"

I stood up politely.

"Hello!"

I smiled.

"I was supposed to start working tomorrow, but PD-nim told me to come today and get introduced to everyone. That's why I'm here."

Jungkook nodded.

"Oh, okay."

He glanced around the room.

"So, did you get introduced?"

"Yes. I got introduced to everyone."

I smiled.

"Thank you."

He looked slightly confused.

"For what?"

"For telling me how I'm supposed to address you."

He laughed softly.

"Oh, right."

He pointed toward himself.

"You can just call me Jungkook."

I nodded.

"Okay, sure, Jungkook."

I glanced at the time.

"Well, I'll leave for now."

The members looked toward me.

"Bye!"

I smiled and waved.

"Bye, everyone!"

I walked toward the door.

Finally.

I had survived my first unofficial meeting with BTS.

As soon as I stepped outside and closed the door behind me, I let out a long breath.

"That went better than expected."

The members hadn't seemed uncomfortable with me being there.

They had actually been surprisingly welcoming.

I was grateful.

I took two steps forward.

And then...

Thud.

I bumped into someone.

"Ouch!"

A sharp sting ran through my shoulder.

I immediately stepped back.

"I'm so sorry, I..."

I looked up.

And froze.

JIMIN'S POV

I had just finished a dance class with the trainees and was heading back toward the members' room for lunch.

My phone was still in my hand as I walked down the hallway.

I was reading something on the screen when suddenly...

Thud.

I bumped into someone.

A brief sting shot through my nape.

I immediately looked up.

A girl stood in front of me.

She looked familiar.

Very familiar.

Before I could even process what was happening, she spoke.

"Oh my God, I'm so..."

She stopped.

I stopped too.

For a moment, neither of us said anything.

Then she smiled politely.

"Hey. I'm Lee Amungi. Nice to meet you."

I stared at her.

"Why are you here?"

She looked slightly surprised by the question.

"Oh!"

She smiled.

"I forgot to mention that."

She gestured toward the room behind her.

"I'm Jungkook's new makeup artist."

My eyes widened.

"What?!"

She blinked.

"Yeah."

She laughed awkwardly.

"If you don't believe me, you can ask Jungkook or the other members."

I was still trying to process it.

"So..."

I paused.

"When are you starting?"

"Tomorrow."

"Hmm."

I nodded.

I tried to keep my expression neutral.

But inside, I was far more surprised than I wanted to admit.

She looked at me.

"And you can call me Am."

She smiled.

"Just in case you ever need to ask me anything."

"Okay, Am..."

I paused.

"Wait."

She looked at me.

"You didn't ask my name."

She gave me a slightly amused look.

"It's not really necessary."

I blinked.

She continued.

"You can go now. The others are waiting for you."

"Oh."

I smiled.

"Nice meeting you, Am. Bye."

"Bye."

She smiled and walked away.

I stood there for a moment.

She didn't even ask my name.

I looked toward the direction she had gone.

Then shook my head.

Why am I thinking about that?

I turned around and walked toward the room.

For some reason, tomorrow suddenly didn't feel like an ordinary workday anymore.

Back in the Members' Room

I walked inside with a smile I couldn't quite hide.

The moment Taehyung saw me, he raised an eyebrow.

"Jimin-ah..."

I looked at him.

"Why are you looking like your lover just kissed you?"

"Tae, shut up."

I grabbed a seat.

"I just had a good day."

Taehyung stared at me.

"Hmm."

He knew me too well.

One look at my face was enough for him to realize that something had happened.

Namjoon called from the table.

"Jimin, come and eat."

He glanced at the clock.

"We need to sleep early. We have a mini concert tomorrow."

"Okay, hyung."

I joined the others for lunch.

The conversation quickly returned to normal.

Schedules.

Food.

The concert.

Random jokes.

Everything felt ordinary again.

But somewhere in the back of my mind, one thought remained.

Tomorrow.

After lunch, the seven members eventually headed to bed.

Everyone was exhausted from their packed schedule.

Tomorrow was another busy day.

A mini concert.

Rehearsals.

Work.

The usual chaos.

The dorm slowly became quiet.

Everyone fell asleep.

Well...

Almost everyone.

Because somewhere in the darkness, one particular person was still awake.

Jimin stared at the ceiling.

He couldn't quite understand why his mind kept returning to the brief encounter in the hallway.

It had lasted barely a few minutes.

Maybe less.

Yet somehow, it had left him unusually curious about the person who would be joining their team the next day.

He turned over and closed his eyes.

Tomorrow.

For the first time in a while, he found himself looking forward to a workday.

And he had absolutely no idea why.