Seoulmates

Seoulmates

BTS x Reader

Series Masterlist

Chapter Six: Designer Choice

Mason and BigHit had managed to get it arranged for you to be at the designer label shoot, since the clothing line would launch before the magazine issue. It would be great publicity, they had argued, and the designer had agreed. She’s Korean; new and up-and-coming in the fashion world, but already sought-after and heavily recognizable. Her work is phenomenal.

“You’ll be going on your own, but the company has offered to let you arrive with the boys,” Mason informs you over breakfast in your hotel’s dinning room. “There’s not really anything to ask about concerning the clothing that I can’t ask some other time...” You can tell he’s disappointed, but don’t mention it. “We’ll start doing the individual spreads after this. I just have to figure out who’s available first, and go from there. I have most of my questions already worked out, and I’m sure more will come to me in time—“

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a workaholic, Mason?” you interrupt, before biting into your breakfast croissant. “Relax. Everything is coming along great. You’re one of the magazine’s top writer’s, and you’re so dedicated to this story it can’t help but be amazing.”

He smiles at you, rubbing at his soulmark. “I guess I’m trying to distract myself...my wife, Avery, is expecting, and I’m not there, so I’m antsy I guess.”

Your eyes widen, and you smile. “Congratulations! I had no idea. How long?”

He smiles, looking down at the star on his wrist. “Three months. We haven’t told many people yet, but I like you. You’re...you’re good, and she wants me to ask about a maternity shoot once she’s further along-“

“Consider it my gift to both of you,” you say, winking at him. “I’d be honored.”

He sighs in relief. “Thank God, because she’s already a nightmare when she doesn’t get what she wants with this baby. I had no idea how I was going to tell her if you had said no.”

You hum. “Maybe I should change my mind, just to see that.”

His eyes widen with fear. “Don’t even joke.” You laugh. “I don’t think there would be anywhere on Earth for me to safely hide. She would blame it on me, you know.”

“Of course.”

~*~

Joon: We’re in the parking garage. Black van, tinted windows.

Yoongi: Don’t keep us waiting, doll

You groan, not quite ready for the agonizingly sweet torture of being around your soulmates all at once. Hell, you could barely handle being around one at a time. Why fate or whoever was in charge decided to give you seven, you’ll never know.

You quickly make your way out of your hotel suite and down the hallway to the elevator, greeting the elderly woman you pass on your way. She smiles at you in return, before going into her own room. You’re pretty sure she lives in the hotel, having seen her bringing in groceries twice now. She had declined your help when you had offered the first time, saying it was good for her old bones, but that she appreciated the thoughtfulness.

You check over your camera bag for the hundredth time as the elevator descends, making sure you have everything you need. You’re nervous, but you’re not entirely sure why. You check your wrist again as well to see that every last dot of black from your soulmark is covered with the concealing cream. It’s a warm day, so you’re wearing a sleeveless cream top and long, fitted black shorts with simple white flats that are comfortable. You’re not trying to impress anyone; in fact, you sincerely hope you’re able to fade to the background and disappear.

The elevator doors open, and you walk over to the black van parked in the same spot Jimin’s car had been a few days prior. The sliding door opens, and you smile at the boys poking there heads through the opening.

“Noona!” Jungkook exclaims from the back row.

“Hey, Kookie,” you greet. “Good morning, guys,” you add to the other pouting faces, chuckling.

“You can sit beside me,” Jimin offers, moving over closer to Taehyung, who has his head laying on Jimin’s shoulder, nodding off. You smile at the image, climbing into the van and taking your seat as the door slides shut behind you.

Namjoon is sat in the passenger’s seat, and he turns to look give you a dimpled smile. “Hey, lovely. It’s good to see you again.” You blush as he turns back around, buckling up as he gives the driver—a manager—the okay to head out.

Jimin wraps his arm around Taehyung’s shoulders, and you smile. Jungkook, seated behind you, begins playing with your hair, and you feel your nerves start fading away the longer he does. He’s careful not to touch your skin, but you wouldn’t mind if he did massage your scalp.

The ride to Choi Haeun’s studio is fairly quick, or either you doze off from the attention to your hair one, for it seems like no time at all before the van is stopping and the door is sliding open once again. Namjoon hurries to disembark, holding his hand out to you as you step down. The gesture has your heart flipping, but you remain calm on the outside, simply thanking him politely. The others follow after you, Taehyung teasingly complaining when no one chivalrously offers him their hand. You almost do, but remember in time that it would result in a new, exposed part of your soulmarks, and wait to the side for Yoongi, the last to exit, to join your group instead.

“Welcome, welcome!” an assistant behind a desk says as the nine of you enter the building. “Right this way, please!” She motions you down a hall, and you follow after her. The walls are decorated with framed sketches of designs you recognize from your research, as well as featured covers of fashion magazines. You pass by the cover of your own company’s fashion magazine, smiling. That could be your photo, one day.

“Miss Choi, they are here,” the assistant announces when she enters the vast studio at the end of the hallway after knocking on the door. The beautiful, statuesque woman in the center of the room, directing everyone, turns, and your breath catches at her beauty. The pictures of her online did not do her any justice. At all.

Choi Haeun is as stunningly beautiful as her designs.

“Welcome, Bangtan Sonyeondan! It is a pleasure to have such significant figures model my creations.” She smiles at each of them, returning their bows. She pauses when her eyes settle on you. “You must be the magazine photographer. Welcome to you, as well.”

“Thank you for allowing me to be here, Miss Choi,” you bow. “I look forward to seeing your new designs, and I can assure you they are safe with me.”

She smiles at you. “I like you; you’re honest and rather blunt.” Her eyes go to your wrist. “Your soulmate will appreciate that, when you find them.”

You return her smile. “Thank you.”

“Now,” she turn back to the guys, and you step aside, “Bong-Cha will show you to the first outfits, as well as the changing rooms. Our photographer is running a little late, so take your time. Hair and makeup is to the right over there,” she motions to the right of the room, where seven lit vanities have been set up, their countertops strewn with products and tools, “and feel free to help yourselves to food and refreshments over here to the left between takes.”

She turns back to you. “You may stow your things next to the vanities, if you like. They will not be touched, or I will personally replace anything that is damaged.”

You nod, smiling. “Thank you.” You glance around the boys as you pass by, making your way over to set your bag down beside the last vanity. You run through all of your settings, snap on your favorite lens, and wait.

The boys finish getting dressed, and you snap a few shots of them at the vanities getting their makeup and hair done, then all of you are waiting for the photographer.

And waiting.

Finally, he shows up, very clearly hungover, and stumbles through setting up the equipment as you inconspicuously watch on, cringing. Hoseok notices, and stands beside you.

“What has you making that face?”

“Nothing, just—his lighting is going to be really harsh with how he has it set up. I don’t think it’s going to showcase the fabrics of these first outfits very well...it’s going to wash you guys out so much, and not in a good way, either. And his camera is placed at the wrong angle to salvage it in editing. He’s going to get glares and flares—“

“Are you saying you could do better than my photographer?” a voice asks from behind you, and you stiffen. You hadn’t noticed Haeun walking up behind the two of you, but she had heard everything you had said. None of it was very flattering of the poor man who was over two hours late, and in obvious pain from a rough night out. “What makes you think so?”

“N-no, I was just making observations—“

“She’s a fantastic photographer,” Hoseok speaks up, defending you. “She knows what she’s talking about.”

“She does,” Yoongi agrees, walking over. “One of the best we’ve ever worked with. Our company can vouch for that.”

Haeun cocks one perfectly manicured brow, crossing her arms. “Is that so?” She looks you over, before glancing over your shoulder at her photographer. “Show me, then. How would you do it?”

Your eyes widen. “I really don’t think—“

“Even I can tell he’s not at his best today,” she cuts in. “So I will get shoddy work. If you can give me better, I will pay you what I promised him for the same job.” She snaps her fingers, and the assistant from earlier, Bong-Cha, hurries forward with a notepad, which Haeun scratches out a number on, before handing you. “What do you say?”

You read the amount, your eyes going even wider. “I—“ You turn back around, pointing out various pieces of equipment. “For the silken material of the first outfits, I would arrange those lights there, there, and there to accentuate them better, as well as not throw too much of a shine on them for editing trouble. I would also move my tripod over there—if I used it. I would want more freedom of movement, so I don’t have to move my models as much to get the shots I want, and so I can get various angles on the same poses and different shots of the same lighting because it has different effects from different angles as well.” You turn back to Haeun. “I would also choose a different backdrop color for the color scheme of these designs. You want them to stand out, but not clash.”

She’s tucked her chin between two fingers, thinking as she envisions the changes you’ve suggested. After a long stretch of silence, she slowly smiles. Her eyes meet yours, and she nods. “Bong-Cha,” her eyes never leave yours, “inform Mr. Lee that he is not needed today, and that if he shows up to my studio inebriated again, I will no longer use him, would you dear?”

“Yes, Miss Choi.” She walks with purpose past you, giving you a smile, towards the male photographer who’s tripping over his own feet.

“Take whoever you need, and tell them where to put the lights. I have a whole room of backdrops; allow me to show you so you may select a better one.” Haeun’s eyes are sparkling as she links her arm with yours, patting it with her other hand. “If you ever tire of working for a magazine, I’ve been in the hunting for a permanent photographer of my own...”

~*~

“If the pose doesn’t feel natural, don’t take it,” you instruct. “It comes across in the pictures.”

“You are phenomenal,” Haeun comments right behind you as Jin and Yoongi adjust, looking at the photos on the preview screen. “These haven’t even went to editing yet...how—how wonderful.” You can feel her eyes on you as you move positions. “My offer will always stand, for talent such as yours.”

You’re on the last change of clothing, on the group shots to showcase this entire set, and have received nothing but praise from the designer. Between takes, a couple of the crew informed you that she has never been so pleased with a photographer before, and your ego can’t take much more bolstering.

“Last one—give me your best ‘Bangtan’ pose!”

The boys smile, arranging themselves with their arms around each other’s shoulders, and you take the shot. This one is for the magazine, as it’s more of the boys than the clothes really, but you find yourself wanting to keep it as a personal memento of today. You just might.

“I should be able to separate the photos for the magazine from the shoot photos tonight and send them to your office immediately,” you say as you turn, reviewing your last several takes.

“Thank you so much, darling. You’ve saved my name, really,” Haeun says. “You can be the best designer in the world, but if the photos are bad, no one will know it.”

You snort. “I doubt anyone would think you’re less than amazing, but thank you for your words.”

“Miss Choi—your dinner appointment is in half an hour,” Bong-Cha reminds her boss.

“Ah, yes. I had almost forgotten,” she turns back to you. “I must go, but I look forward to hearing from you, hopefully?” She leaves without an answer, leaving you flabbergasted.

“Everything okay, angel?” Taehyung asks, coming up beside you. You shake yourself, nodding. He smiles. “Good. I was wondering if you’re busy two days from now? I have a free schedule all day, and I believe it’s my turn to spend a day with you next.”

Your heart beats harder. “Yes, I’m free.” You narrow your eyes. “I don’t suppose you’ll tell me what you have planned, will you?”

He just smiles broader, backing towards the changing rooms. You roll your eyes.

Your soulmates are insufferable.

~*~

You: How should I dress?

Tae: Comfortably, but however you want

Tae: Nicer than roller skating and bowling though

You: I’m telling Jimin you’re dissing our date

Tae: I thought he said it wasn’t a date?

You smile down at you phone as you fix yourself some stir-fry in your suite’s kitchen, already excitedly looking forward to tomorrow’s day with Taehyung. You wonder what the man has planned, but like Jimin he has been decidedly tight-lipped. Your phone chimes again.

Mason: Looked over edited pics you sent. Perfect. Keep it up 👍

You hum satisfactorily to yourself.

You: Should have the ones from the designer shoot done by Tuesday. I’m glad you like them so far

Mason: Don’t work too hard. Remember to take time for yourself. Don’t want you to burn out

Mason was quickly becoming a big brother to you, looking out for you and always concerned you were working too much. He had even encouraged you to seek out your soulmate if you could. If only he knew he had introduced you to them—all seven of them.

Your phone rings, playing the chorus of your favorite BTS song while Skyler’s name lights up the screen. You don’t even get a word in once you’ve accepted the call.

“Girl, I am in a dream. I must be, because no way is real life this fucking amazing,” your roommate rushes out. “You better not wake me up or I’ll find a new roomie.”

You laugh. “Things with Michelle are going well, I take it?”

“She’s everything I never knew I wanted.” She sighs dreamily. “She’s a trauma nurse, you know. Well, she’s still in the last of her training or whatever, but that’s the end goal. She’s on the night shift at the hospital, and I’ve already arranged my schedule for next semester to fit with hers so we have more time together without eating away at her sleep.” You add some sesame oil to the wok, smiling to yourself at the fondness in her voice. “She was going to arrange her schedule, but I’m like ‘babe, it’s your actual job. No. My classes aren’t set yet, let me do the arranging’ and she’s as stubborn as you are but I made so much sense—and bribed her with the good sushi from that place on Kingston—so she agreed!”

Her excitement warms your heart, glad to know your best friend has found her happiness. That you both have, even if she doesn’t know it yet.

“Girl, I’m telling you, just wait until you find your—oh shit!” She lowers her voice. “Weiss is totally giving me the evil eye right now—fuck, he’s coming—no sir, I’m talking to myself-“

The call cuts off, and you break out laughing at her being caught by the ancient librarian as you plate your food and go to the living room. With semester finals coming up, Skyler spends every spare moment not with her soulmate at the campus library, studying her ass off to pass her marine biology courses, lamenting to you whenever she thought it was safe to sneak in a call, whether between classes or during study sessions.

Your heart flutters, wondering if she’ll smile at you the same way when you finally tell her about your own soulmates.

~*~

You arrive at the boys’ dorm the next day, fifteen minutes early, wearing a deep purple blouse with three-quarter sleeves and hangs off one shoulder, as well as black skinny jeans and flats. You’re comfortable, but dressy, with your hair styled is wavy that frame your face nicely.

You knock on the door, and after a few moments it opens to reveal a surprised Namjoon.

“What—what are you doing here?”

You frown. “Today is Tae’s day to take me out, and he gave me the address to meet him here...was I not supposed to know where you live?”

His eyes widen more, before he shakes his head quickly. “No, that’s not the issue. It’s just—we told Taehyung to cancel your plans yesterday, and we thought he had. He should have,” he mutters, scratching the back of his neck, glancing over his shoulder into the apartment.

Your heart beats hard. Once. Twice. “Oh.”

“Yah! You’re giving the wrong impression, Namjoon!” Jin exclaims, pushing the leader aside. “No one is rejecting anyone, sweetheart. I promise.”

Namjoon chokes on his breath, eyes searching your face. “Oh God, did I make you think—“

“Shhh, Joon,” Seokjin says, holding a finger up. Namjoon’s mouth snaps shut as he ushers you inside, closing the door behind you. “What my clueless genius failed to say, is Taehyung is sick, and unable to take you out. He’ll have to reschedule.”

You blink.

Taehyung’s sick?

“It’s okay that he’s sick. I’m not upset.” They relax, nodding appreciatively at you, as though they feared you would be mad or something. “It just means I get to stay with him here, instead.”

Ask

Want to ask the characters in Seoulmates, A Song In The Blood, or My Head On Your Shoulder a question? Send an ask!

Ask me, the boys, OC side characters, or OC!Readers a question and I’ll answer it to the best of my ability (without giving future plot points and twists away 🤫)! We would love to interact more with our followers!

Also, the next chapter of Seoulmates with be up as soon as sick Taehyung cooperates with me writing 😊 and A Song In The Blood is pending.

Hey guys,

Unfortunately life has been hitting me hard since this past Thursday (5-27-2021), with 2 deaths of people I know (one a suicide) and an accident involving my grandfather (he’s okay, just had us really scared), I’m not in the headspace to write atm. Everything I have written seems lackluster and forced, because it is, and I don’t want it to be.

So, I’m taking a break for a bit. Maybe just a week, maybe longer. I’m not sure yet. I’m doing okay, considering. I’m really glad and thankful for my support system and my antidepressants, because I don’t know where I’d be if I hadn’t already taken that step before the past few months (since Thanksgiving, really) hit. I’ve lost a lot of close people, and am hanging on to prayers right now concerning a couple more (if you’re the praying type, send some my family’s way please).

Anyway, Seoulmates and A Song In The Blood will be on a temporary hiatus until my head, soul, and emotions are sorted (and not into Hogwarts Houses either) (humor is a coping mechanism, I will not apologize for it).

Thanks for your understanding,

Jess

My Head On Your Shoulder

Kim Taehyung x Reader

Word Count: 1.2k

Summary: A song in a moment brings back memories with a common theme: your head on Taehyung’s shoulder.

A/N: Inspiration for this struck while listening to Michael Bublé’s Put Your Head On My Shoulder

The soft notes of the song start up, and Taehyung leads you out onto the empty dance floor, ivory dress rustling quietly around your legs. He stops, turning to face you as he wraps his arms around your waist, yours coming up around his neck as you look into each other’s eyes, and begin to sway to the music. All eyes are on the two of you, but the world beyond his warm, love-filled eyes and fond smile has faded away. Your head starts to lower, dipping down towards his shoulder, bringing with it numerous memories of the past that swim behind you closing eyelids:

At your grandfather’s funeral when you were seven, tears streaking down your face as you hide out back on the steps away from everyone else for a moment, tired of being strong for your mother and father, for your siblings and other relatives. You didn’t have to be, but you wanted to be. The door opens, and you hastily wipe at your eyes with the back of your hand before turning to see who’s found you. It’s the grandson of your grandmother’s best friend, the one who has the strawberries.

“It’s okay to cry, you know,” he says.

So you do, as he sits beside you and hugs you, letting you lay your head on his shoulder as your sobs wrack your small body.

~*~

The next summer, as you’re staying with your grandmother to give her company and help around her house, laughing under the old oak tree in the front yard with the swing tied to its lowest branch as he tells you his latest adventures in the city with his siblings.

“You have a pretty laugh,” he tells you, smiling.

“Not as pretty as your smile,” you assure him.

He smiles around you all the time after that, especially when you laugh so hard you lean into him, forehead pressing into his shoulder as you hold onto your stomach that clenches with the sounds bubbling up from your lips.

~*~

Your thirteenth birthday, when he plays the saxophone for you and you can’t help but smile, not so much at his performance, but at the passion he has for music. He tells you he practiced even harder, just for you, and you blush over a boy for the first time, hiding your red cheeks with his shoulder as you hug him in thanks. He sings you Happy Birthday, and it’s the best birthday you’ve had.

~*~

When he comes back from accompanying a friend to an audition and tells you he auditioned as well, and passed, you feel several things. Excitement and pride, because of course your Taehyung is uniquely talented, but scared you’re about to start losing him. He’s talking about Seoul, and being an idol, and all you hear is him leaving you. You rest your head on his shoulder as he talks, so he can’t see the growing dread in your eyes.

~*~

At eighteen, when the storm of the century comes through, and you had driven your grandmother over to his grandparents’ house to huddle in their storm shelter. He was there visiting, and you were surprised to see him, but happy. He held you as the wind howled and thunder boomed, your head tucked into his shoulder as your grandmothers looked at each other knowingly, but didn’t say a word as the boy distracted you with tales of stages and his band mates. His grandfather was too busy worrying over the harvest of strawberries being battered to notice what’s happening right in front of him.

~*~

When you had opened what you thought was just another silly letter passed “like our grandparents did”, and had found front-row tickets, backstage passes, and first-class round-trip tickets instead, with a simple “see you there ;)” on a sticky note. You had scared your roommate half to death with your sudden squeal at finally getting to see the other half of your heart again after so long, and had apologized profusely afterward.

The next week, standing backstage at the sold-out concert of Korea’s largest stadium, meeting the six brothers-in-arms of the Kim Taehyung, V of BTS, you had been slightly overwhelmed. Until he had wrapped his arm around your waist, pulling you into his side and smiling down at you with that beautiful smile you’ve loved most all your life. You had rested your head on his firm shoulder, letting him reassure you. Everything had righted itself then, and a place had been made for you among the seven.

~*~

The day you realized you were hopelessly in love with Kim Taehyung, your heart broken, because he was in love with some other girl. A girl who loved his boxy smile, and his silly ways. Who fit in with his friends, and was the missing piece of his heart. A girl who—

“—who has been my friend since I first saw her, crying on the back steps of a funeral home when she was seven,” he had said, noticing the look in your eyes as you had misunderstood his confession. “A girl standing right in front of me, and whose tears had better turn happy or the guys will beat me up.”

You had stood there, shocked, before launching yourself at him, wrapping your arms around his neck and laughing happy tears into his shoulder.

“I love you too, Tae.”

~*~

Your first date, where he had taken you to the nicest restaurant in Seoul and all you could focus on was him, not the ridiculously overpriced food and drink, but the boy who you had watched grow into a charming man as sickeningly in love as you are.

Until the next morning, when your picture was everywhere on social media. Fans were split in their opinions of the obvious date: most seemed happy that your friendship took the (rather obvious) next step. Others where outraged, and wanted you gone.

You had secretly feared Taehyung would listen, but then knew him better than that. He’s his own person, and when you had let their words get to you, had tucked you into his shoulder and let you cry a bit before assuring you he wasn’t going anywhere.

“I’ll quit before I give you up, now that I have you.”

You wouldn’t let him, but it had made you laugh and eased your mind.

Over the next few months, support for your relationship grew, with haters outvoiced greatly and quieted quickly by ARMY. They adopted you like an extension of Taehyung, and you are grateful.

~*~

Then, your last date with your boyfriend, when Taehyung had proposed to you in front of all of your friends and family at the end of the night, in your shared apartment. It had produced your favorite photo of the two of you: but not of you, hand covering your mouth as your eyes water with the happiest tears you had cried up to that point, him on his knee with an open ring box; no, of you and him hugging, your head on his shoulder, smile on your face as you look down at your engagement ring, his eyes alighted above you as he looks at you with fond love.

All of these memories flash by in the time it takes your head to meet his shoulder once again, branding another memory in a string with a single commonality: your head on his shoulder, this time as you dance to the perfect song on the day that you have both said “I do” to forever and always, together, as husband and wife, surrounded by the people who have watched your story unfold like a love song.

AHHHHH CANT WAIT FOR MORE OF SONG IN THE BLOOD, it look so freaking good already

I’m really excited to write this story! Fantasy is something I really enjoy as both a reader and a writer, and this will be my first time posting in the genre! I love the attention it’s already getting, as it encourages me more and more, so thank you!

Never mind, Bias firmly reestablished with that BBMAs performance. All is well.