Let Me Take Care Of You

let me take care of you

Summary: Jimin is upset that you’re not taking care of yourself and snaps at you when you don’t listen to him.

Jimin x f!reader

Genre: angst to fluff, hurt/comfort

WC: 3.3k

Worried eyes followed your figure as J-Hope went over the IDOL dance with you. Your feet felt as heavy as bricks and your lungs were on fire, but you kept going in fear that you would hold the group back.

About one year ago, you and Jimin met in the elevator one morning at Big Hit and it was love at first sight. He was even more beautiful up close, if that was even possible. He could say the same about you; He truly believed he had seen an angel the day he met you. You found yourself looking forward to those daily 30 second elevator trips, and soon enough, you guys started meeting outside of the elevator, like walking to practice rooms together or going to a nearby cafe. Armys were very supportive of your relationship when it was revealed to the public, and as an exceptional trainee, you often filled in for the members of BTS when needed.

The company had asked you to fill in for Jin who was extremely sick and unable to perform on Sunday. It was currently Thursday and you were feeling the pressure of perfecting four performances in three days. Jimin had already tried to get you to take a break, but you simply took a sip of water and went back to practicing. As tired as you were, you were set on perfecting the performances and no one could stop you.

Because of this, Jimin was becoming frustrated.

He knew you were a hard worker, and he was starting to see how others felt when he pushed himself too hard, but he was upset because you were completely brushing him off. He understood that you just wanted to do well, but you weren’t even listening to what he was saying. He knew you guys couldn’t agree on everything, but usually you would at least listen to each other.

Practice was finally over, and as everyone started to gather their things, you stood in front of the mirrors breathing heavily. You nearly fell to the floor, your body absolutely exhausted. But you weren’t satisfied.

You took a minute to catch your breath. “One more time,” you said, walking up to the laptop. As you started the music once again, Jimin was fuming. He stomped over to the laptop and slammed it shut before you could start.

Too tired to argue, you simply glared at Jimin. He stared back at you just as intensely, crossing his arms over his chest. “You’re not practicing anymore, you need to rest,” he said, towering over you. You started, “I’m fine Jim-“ but he quickly interrupted you, “You’re clearly not. Look at yourself, you look like you’re about to faint.”

You felt frustrated because you couldn’t perfect the dances, and you were so close to exploding on Jimin, but you just sighed deeply, “Jimin, I’m telling you I feel fine. I just want to go over it a few more times.” The rest of the members quickly make their way to the door, wanting to give you guys some privacy. But the volume of Jimin’s voice made them freeze as he yelled,

“Can you stop being so stubborn?!” Everyone was shocked, eyes wide since Jimin rarely ever raised his voice,

“You think we like taking care of you?! You’re a burden to all of us!”

His words hit you like a bucket of cold water. You always tried your hardest for others, and you didn’t realize you were dragging them down. Your heart sank at the realization.

He saw the hurt flash in your eyes, but his anger took over.

“You’re an adult. Start acting like one,” he said before he stormed past you and out of the room. You stared at the now empty spot that Jimin once stood in, tightly gripping the sleeves of your sweater.

The other members looked at you, eyes filled with concern and pity; Jimin was one of the scariest when angry. Taehyung and Jungkook move to comfort you as Suga says, “You know he didn’t mean it. He’s just been stressed.” You quickly nod and force a smile, “Yeah I know,” and you curse yourself as your voice cracks.

As Taehyung reaches out for you, you quickly move back and say, “I need to go over the dance a bit more. You guys should go rest.” They want to tell you that you’re not a burden to them, but Namjoon understands that you want to be alone and quickly ushers them out of the room before he turns back to you, “Don’t push yourself too hard okay?”

You nod as you stare at the floor, biting your lip hard trying to hold back your tears. As the door closes, your heart sinks, thinking about all the times the boys checked on you to make sure you were eating and sleeping properly. Realizing how annoying that must’ve been, you take a few deep breaths and run a hand through your hair as you push down the tears that were building up inside of you.

You make your way over to the laptop and start the music once again, trying to distract yourself from Jimin’s harsh words. But no matter how hard you try, you can’t focus on the dance and mess up the steps as his words keep repeating in your head. You collapse on the floor and stare at the ceiling, wishing you were better for them; for him.

Jimin remains silent on the way home. The rest of the members decide it’s best to give him some space for now.

As soon as he enters the apartment, Jimin immediately heads to your shared room, sitting on the bed, his head in his hands. Frustrated with everything, he sighs deeply, roughly brushing his hair out of his face. After taking a minute to calm down, he decides to take a shower to help clear his mind.

Once Jimin’s in the shower, he realizes the harshness of his words. He knows that being a burden is one of your biggest insecurities and he feels guilty for using it against you, but he just wanted you to care for yourself like he did; he wanted you to let him help you.

As you enter the apartment about an hour later, you find Suga in the kitchen making dinner, the rest of them in the living room or the dining room. Namjoon notices you and welcomes you back with a smile, “Go take a shower,” he says, “Dinner should be ready by the time you’re done.” You simply nod and quickly make your way to the bathroom.

You pass Jimin as you enter the bathroom, staring at the floor as he brushes past you.

The hot water helps you relax, releasing all the tension in your muscles. But you still feel a heavy weight on your shoulders, now knowing how the members truly felt about you. With a sigh, you turn the water off and make your way out of the shower.

You feel relieved when you enter your shared room and find that Jimin’s still in the living room. You put your pyjamas on and grab your paper with all of Jin’s lyrics.

Along with the three other performances, you were also performing The Truth Untold, and you haven’t had a chance to go over Jin’s parts. You were hoping that Jungkook and Taehyung could help you after dance practice.

As you entered the dining room, they were just about to finish setting the table. You take your usual seat and everyone starts eating. You take occasional bites, focusing more on learning the lyrics than eating.

You fail to notice Jimin’s eyes practically glaring holes into your paper, wanting nothing more than burn it so you could relax and simply enjoy your dinner.

Suddenly the paper is snatched out of your hands, and you look up to see Namjoon holding the paper out of your reach. “No reading at the table. Eat,” he says. You simply frown, knowing better than to argue with dad the leader, and you playfully stick your tongue out at him.

You remain mostly silent throughout dinner, speaking only when spoken to and laughing once in a while as to not raise any concerns.

Meanwhile, Jimin watches you carefully from across the table, making sure that you’re eating properly.

Once everyone has finished, you offer to clean up since they cooked and set up the table. By the time you’re done, everyone has already retreated to their rooms.

You grab your paper off the counter and make your way to Jungkook’s room where you can hear him and Taehyung yelling while playing video games. You’re about to knock on the door to ask them for help, but you hesitate.

Jimin’s words repeat in your head once again,“you’re a burden to all of us!” Your hand drops back down to your side and you decide against asking for their help, not wanting to bother them anymore.

You go back to the table with your laptop, and listen to their previous performances to learn Jin’s parts.

A couple hours later, the exhaustion of dance practice starts to catch up to you. You think about going to the bedroom, but you know Jimin probably doesn’t want to see you right now. You opt for sleeping at the dining table, too tired to move elsewhere. You know that your neck’s gonna hurt like a bitch the next morning but you don’t really care.

Meanwhile Jimin is laying in your shared bed staring at the ceiling. The bed feels cold without you there, and he replays the conversation from earlier in his head. Out of everyone, he should understand what it feels like to be under such immense pressure. But you should also understand. He would need both of his hands and feet to count how many times you had to practically drag him out of the studio because he was overworking himself and you cared for his well-being, why couldn’t you understand that he was trying to do the same for you?

The next morning, Suga enters the kitchen with a yawn, brows furrowing when he notices your form at the table.

As he gently shakes you awake, you groan and turn your head the other way thinking that if you ignore him, he’ll go away. He shakes his head and scolds you for falling asleep at the table, “C’mon get up.” You groan again, swatting his hands away, “Okay I’m up, I’m up.”

You continue to lay your head on the table, watching Suga’s back as he starts to prepare breakfast before deciding to get up and help him cook and set the table.

After breakfast, everyone gets ready to go to the studio and practice the performances. Since yesterday was dedicated to just teaching you the movements, today was for the whole performance, including the formations and singing while dancing.

To say that you were struggling would be an understatement. You still hadn’t perfected any of the dances, and you couldn’t remember the lyrics while trying to execute the dance.

By the end of practice, you were sitting on the floor trying to catch your breath. Not only was your body exhausted, running on 3 hours of sleep, but your mind was burnt out as well.

But you didn’t have time to rest. You, Jungkook, Taehyung, and Jimin had to practice The Truth Untold.

While rehearsing the song, you wracked your brain to remember the lyrics and melody of the song. Afraid of messing up, you hesitated, which caused you to be off beat. The vocal coach stopped the music and you got extremely flustered and apologized while staring at the ground, too embarrassed to meet their eyes.

The three boys looked to each other, concerned for you. Jungkook placed his hand on your shoulder and said, “Hey, it’s okay. Do you need another day to go over the song?” You nodded while staring at the floor ashamed. Taehyung ruffled your hair, “Don’t worry about it okay? Take your time.” He knew you didn’t have time, but panicking would only make it worse. If anyone could learn four performances in three days and execute it perfectly, it was you; and he knew that quite well. He also knew that the only thing holding you back was yourself, you just lacked the confidence.

Jimin clenched and unclenched his hands. He wanted to comfort you so badly, wrap you in his arms and tell you that you were doing a great job and help you calm down, but his pride stopped him from reaching out for you.

Laying on the couch back at the apartment, you felt like shit. You just couldn’t seem to get anything right today, and you wanted to cry so badly but you were just so exhausted and anxious.

It was a common occurrence for you to have trouble sleeping before performances, but usually Jimin was there to hold you and comfort you.

You missed him. A lot.

But you were afraid to go back to him. You guys could never stay angry at each other for long, but he hasn’t said a word to you. What if he didn’t want to be with you anymore because he was tired of taking care of you?

Your mind was filled with destructive thoughts and insecurities, by the time you fell asleep it was 4am, and you guys were leaving at 6am.

You woke up at sunrise and just stared out the window, allowing yourself to relax for once. The moment doesn’t last long though, soon everyone is making their way out of their rooms.

You all get into the car, heading to the stage rehearsal. The whole ride there, you stare out the window. Your mind running wild with all the things that could go wrong.

Eventually you let your head thunk against the window, allowing yourself another hour of rest before the long rehearsal.

Once you arrived at the venue, rehearsal started right away. Although you managed to remember everything, your performance was far from perfect. You simply did all the proper movements and sang all the correct lyrics, but you weren’t truly performing. You knew that wasn’t good enough for the boys or for you, and you wanted to do your best for them and for Jin.

You were so anxious for tomorrow’s performance, insecurities and worries filling your head. You all went backstage to rest, but the pressure was really getting to you. You quickly excused yourself and hid among all the equipment below the stage.

Crouched down, you bit your lip to contain your sobs as silent tears rolled down your face. You wrapped your arms around yourself, wishing that it was Jimin’s arms comforting you.

When you rushed out of the room, you failed to notice the concerned eyes following your form. Jimin wanted to follow you but he knew that he would only make it worse. He sat there feeling conflicted.

As Jimin’s best friend and your close friend, Taehyung took it upon himself to go search for you.

When you heard footsteps growing near, you tried to quiet down your sniffles. But when you heard them stop behind you, you knew they found you.

Taehyung wraps his arms around you and pulls you back up to your feet. He then turns you around to face him and pulls you into his embrace. No words are needed as you crumble in his arms and find yourself unable to contain your sobs anymore as Taehyung comfortingly rubs your back. “I-I can’t do it Tae. I don’t know the dance,” you cry.

It hurts Taehyung to see you like this. You’re one of the strongest people he knows, and you definitely don’t cry easily. He also knows that you know the dance, you just don’t believe in yourself. To see you breaking down and trying to hide away from everyone makes his heart shatter.

When your cries die down, you wipe your eyes and stare at the ground. “Please don’t tell them. I don’t want to worry them,” you beg, but a voice comes from behind Taehyung. “Too late,” Namjoon says. You peak around Taehyung’s frame to see the rest of the members staring at you with nothing but concern in their eyes. You meet Jimin’s eyes for a second, but you shrink under his gaze, afraid of what he’ll think of you after seeing you like this.

Taehyung releases you so you can go over the rest of them, but your knees buckle beneath you, your body still exhausted. Before you can hit the ground, Jungkook catches you and lifts you up. You wrap your arms and legs around him like a koala as he starts to carry you back to the resting room, the rest of the members trailing behind.

Behind you, Suga takes in your tired features, “When’s the last time you slept?” You’re about to tell him you slept on the ride here but he speaks again, “I mean actually got a good night’s sleep.” You grip onto Jungkook tighter and mumble “2 days ago,” into his shoulder.

Hearing this, Jimin can’t help but curse himself and his stupid pride. He could’ve prevented all your pain if he stopped being stubborn and talked to you sooner.

Afraid to meet their eyes, you close your own, letting sleep take over as you lay your head on Jungkook’s shoulder.

Jungkook takes a seat on the couch, holding you close.

Jimin lays down on the same couch and calls Jungkook’s name as he motions for him to bring you over. Jungkook brings your sleeping form over to Jimin and he lays you on his chest.

Unconsciously, you wrap your arms around Jimin, nuzzling your face into the crook of his neck. He smiles down at you, lovingly stroking your hair.

The rest of the members smile at the two of you, happy that you’re back in his arms. They make small conversation about tomorrow’s performance while allowing you to get some well deserved rest.

About an hour later, Jimin gently shakes you awake. “Wake up sleeping beauty,” he says sweetly. You stir and rub the sleep out of your eyes, surprised to see Jimin smiling down at you.

“Let’s get you something to eat, okay?” He says with a gentle smile. You nod as you sit up. The rest of the members return holding several bowls of instant noodles, and you smile at the sight before remembering all the work you still have to do.

Jimin frowns when you stand up and say, “Actually, I’m not really hungry. And I need to go practice so-“ you stop when a pair of arms wrap around your waist and you’re brought back into Jimin’s lap. He mumbles into your hair, “Please eat. I promise I’ll help you practice after.” Hearing the desperation in his voice, you can’t help but nod at his request.

Namjoon adds in, “You need to rest more. Your brain won’t be able to remember everything if you never give it a break-“

“And your brain needs instant noodles!” Jungkook interrupts with a mouthful of noodles.

You can’t help but laugh at him, which causes Jimin to hug you tighter and place a kiss on your neck. “I’m sorry for raising my voice at you angel. I didn’t mean what I said, I was just so worried about you,” he says while hiding his face in your hair.

You turn around and gently hold his face, “It’s okay,” you say while you smile apologetically, “I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you.”

He hums while rubbing your noses together before whispering, “Let me take care of you.”

He places a short and sweet kiss on your lips before you whisper back,

“Okay.”

my dumbass forgot to add tags for thought you were different and I was like

does no one like my writing? 🥲

© kookiesbuckethat 2022. All rights reserved. ⏤ Do not copy. Do not translate. Do not repost.

O T 7

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🌺

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you sleep on the couch because of an argument masterlist

Genre: angst to fluff, hurt/comfort

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03. hoseok

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05. jimin | 1.7k

06. taehyung

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you flinch during an argument

Jungkook x f!reader

Genre: angst to fluff, hurt/comfort

WC: 1.1k

<series masterlist>

You peak around the door frame, watching Jungkook’s shoulders rise and fall as he breathes heavily. 

You had stopped by their dorm to bring them dinner, and when you asked where Jungkook was, they gave you that look. The look they gave you every time Jungkook refused to listen to them and wouldn’t stop practicing until he collapsed. You sighed deeply before grabbing your keys and heading to the company building.

It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence when one of the members, usually Namjoon, would call you and ask you to knock some sense into your boyfriend. 

His hardworking nature was something you all admired greatly, but sometimes he didn’t know his own limits.

And that’s what led you to be standing outside the practice room, waiting for the song to finish as Jungkook takes a seat on the floor. You gently knock on the door, making him aware of your presence.

He turns to look at you over his shoulder. You give him a warm smile, but it drops a little when he doesn’t return it. Normally he’d welcome you with his adorable bunny smile, but he only gives you a small glance before turning back to the mirror.

“What are you doing here?” he asks monotonously.

“I heard you were practicing late again, so I came to get you. Come on, they’re waiting for you to eat dinner,” you answer cheerfully.

Without even looking at you, he makes a shooing motion with his hand as he stands up. “Tell them to eat without me,” he says, “I need to practice more.”

You frown at his words. “But it’s already 10 pm. Haven’t you practiced enough?” you try to convince him.

Knowing you can’t see his face, he rolls his eyes at you as he gets up to replay the music.

His performance had to be perfect, and you were just getting in his way.

Seeing that he wasn’t listening to you, you quickly make your way in front of Jungkook, blocking his path to the laptop that controls the music.

He glares down at you, but you stare back just as intensely.

“Kookie, you’ve been practicing for 3 hours. You’re human, not some machine, you need to rest,” you stare desperately into his eyes, hoping that he would listen to you.

He simply scoffs at you before moving back to the middle of the room, deciding to practice without the music.

Your brows furrow as he completely brushes you off. You were worried about him, everyone was. Sometimes Jungkook was so hardworking that he would forget to take care of himself, so it was your job to take care of him when he couldn’t. 

But how could you take care of him if he wouldn’t let you?

“Are you even listening to me?” you try again.

He simply chooses to ignore you once. He had been practicing hard and it was starting to take its toll on him. His patience was running thin and he knew that if he opened his mouth, he might say some things he doesn’t mean.

Growing frustrated with him, you quickly walk up to him. He tries to sidestep you but you keep moving in front of him.

“Get out of my way y/n,” he says coldly.

You stand your ground as you cross your arms over your chest. “I know how much this means to you, but you have to rest too! Please Jungkook I’m worried about you-”

“What do you know?!” he explodes as he takes a step closer to you.

You flinch at his sudden movement and the volume of his voice, and you take a step back in fear.

Jungkook was always kind and gentle towards others, so you weren’t used to this side of him.

Jungkook wasn’t very familiar with this side of himself either. He rarely ever raised his voice at others because he knew he would regret it, but all his stress has been building up and he didn’t even realize he was taking it out on you.

“You wouldn’t know what it’s like to have all this pressure on you!” He clenches his fists tightly as he stares at the floor.

You bite your lip, trying to hold back your tears. You knew that he was just stressed and he didn’t mean it, but his words still stung.

Trying to calm himself down, he takes a few deep breaths as he focuses on the floor, but a quiet sniffle from you makes him look over to you.

The sight of you staring up at him with fear and tears forming in your eyes made his heart sink to his stomach. He was your boyfriend; he was supposed to make you feel safe and loved, but he hurt you.

He slowly lifts his hand as a tear escapes and rolls down your cheek. He gently wipes it away as he looks at you.

He gave you a look that was filled with guilt, and his eyes were also starting to gloss over at the thought of hurting you.

“I’m sorry y/n, I didn’t mean anything I said I just-”

“I know Kookie,” you interrupt him as you softly place your hand over his hand that was still on your cheek.

You stare at him with pleading eyes, “But please take care of yourself. I hate seeing you like this and we’re all just worried about you.”

He just nods eagerly before pulling you into his chest. He rests his chin on top of your head, and he stares at himself in the mirror as he instantly regrets yelling at you.

“Thank you for taking care of me, and everyone else,” he starts. “I don’t know what I would do without you,” he tells you as he buries his face in your hair.

“Of course. I’ll always be here for you Kookie,” you tell him as you look up at him with a smile.

He smiles back at you before placing his hands beneath your legs and lifting you off the ground. You make a sound of surprise as you wrap your arms and legs around him, afraid you were going to fall.

He chuckles as he wraps his arms around you tightly.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you,” he tells you, and he means it with all his heart. No matter what, he’d always be there to protect you. You nod and relax in his arms.

You close your eyes and rest your chin on his shoulder as he carries you to the car, knowing that you’re safe as long as you’re in Jungkook’s arms.

dancing with a stranger

Summary: You’re introduced as Jimin’s duet partner for the school recital, and Hoseok already doesn’t like you. When he discovers that you were the same person he’s been dancing with underground, what happens when he realizes he’s been dancing with a stranger all along?

Hoseok x f!reader

Genre: fluff + angst

WC: 14.6k

Author’s note: for legal reasons reader is in her last year of high school but is already 18.

You nervously tap your foot on the ground as you watch the floor number slowly come to a stop above the elevator doors. The elevator opens with a ding before you step out into the hallway that leads to BTS’ practice room. You were a student at Seoul’s School of Performing Arts, specializing in ballet and contemporary dance. Your mother was a talented ballerina when she was younger, and your parents wanted you to follow in her footsteps. They raised you to be a professional, and it showed in your dance as well as your daily behaviour.

For the school’s annual recital, you were assigned a contemporary duet with your classmate, Park Jimin. While he was an excellent contemporary dancer, he was also a newly debuted idol, which is why you were currently at BigHit Entertainment after school to accommodate his busy schedule. You were actually quite lucky to get partnered with Jimin out of all people. You dedicated your whole life to dance, and as a result, you didn’t have much time for friends. Jimin and Taehyung were the only ones in your class who went out of their way to try and befriend you, and although you were still far from being friends, acquaintances at most, you were glad to be partners with Jimin.

Standing outside their practice room, you can hear muffled music through the door and you can feel the beats through the floor. Not wanting to interrupt their practice, you wait for the song to finish before knocking on the door. An out of breath Jimin answers the door as he welcomes you with a big smile. “Y/n!” he exclaims, “You’re here! Come in,” he says as he opens the door wider for you. You give him a stiff smile as you slightly bow your head and enter the room. There were six other boys in the room, one who you recognized was Taehyung, breathing heavily as they sat on the floor, recovering from their practice.

You look back at Jimin over your shoulder, “Am I interrupting something?” you ask. He shakes his head as he walks past you to grab a cup of water, “Not at all! We just finished,” he assures you, but you find it hard to believe as you look at the six other heavily panting boys. “You must be tired. I can come back another time-” you start, but Jimin quickly shuts you down. “No, no! It’s okay, I’m ready to go!” he says energetically. You give him a skeptical look, but he shows no signs of being tired. If anything, he seems eager to get started. Nodding, you give in, placing your bag on the floor. “Oh! I almost forgot, let me introduce you guys,” he says as he grabs your hand and pulls you towards the rest of the boys. Your cheeks flush slightly, not used to the contact. “You already know Tae, but these are my Hyungs and the maknae of our group,” he says as he motions to all the boys. Each one introduces themselves, giving you a smile or a wave as they tell you their names.

“Guys, this is y/n, she’s a classmate of mine and Tae’s and she’s the best dancer in our year!” Jimin introduces you proudly. You don’t acknowledge his compliment as you just bow towards them. “Do you mind if we watch you practice?” Taehyung asks, to which you respond with a shake of your head. Taehyung raises a small fist in victory, taking a seat in front of the mirror and leaning back to watch you and Jimin practice. The rest of the boys sit next to Taehyung, interested in watching your practice as well.

After hearing from Jimin and Taehyung about how amazing of a dancer you were, they were excited to meet you, and they couldn’t take their eyes off of you. You were just as they said: perfect. Your timing was exact and your technique was impeccable, but your face was blank and your eyes were empty as you went through the motions. Just from watching your expression, or rather your lack of expression while dancing, one would think that you hated dance. But your lack of emotions didn’t take away from your dance. It added a dark, almost sad beauty to your almost robotic but flawless performance.

“What do you think?” Jimin asks once the song ends, and all the boys clap for the two of you. “It was great,” Namjoon says as he smiles and nods approvingly. Hoseok stands with a huge smile, clapping excitedly before patting Jimin on the back, “Woah Jimin! Great job!” he says proudly. Jimin’s face lights up as he hugs Hoseok and turns to the boys. “Hobi Hyung said I did good!” he says with shining eyes. After all, Hoseok was their dance leader and all the boys admired him greatly. There was no better feeling than getting praise from him. “You did well too, y/n,” Namjoon compliments you, “It was perfect.” You simply nod in thanks before calling Jimin over, going over small details you wanted to change or correct. Hoseok frowns at how you brushed off Namjoon’s compliment. They all knew you were good, but you could’ve at least shown some gratitude, he thought. He didn’t know how much you despised the word “perfect,” or how much pressure it put on you because that was all that was expected from you.

After about two hours of practice, you notice Jimin’s movements were starting to grow sloppy due to fatigue, so you decide to call it a day. Taehyung hands you a cup of water with his boxy smile. “Thank you,” you mumble as you take the cup from his hands. “Are you going now?” Taehyung asks. You simply nod as you throw away the now empty paper cup. “Are your parents here to pick you up?” Namjoon asks. “I take the bus,” you answer shortly.

Jin grabs his keys before getting up from his spot on the floor, “I’ll drive you home. We can’t have you walking alone this late.” You shake your head as you thank him for the offer but politely decline. “I can manage,” you say. They frown as you step out into the hallway. They didn’t want you to walk alone when it was already dark, and they were worried for your safety. “Are you sure? It’s really no big deal,” Yoongi tries once more. “I’m sure,” you say with a nod, “Thank you for the offer, and thank you for having me,” you say politely. “Alright, good night y/n. Stay safe,” Namjoon waves you off with a small smile.

“At least let us walk you to the bus stop then,” Taehyung insists as he and Jimin follow you into the elevator. “Why couldn’t you just let Jin Hyung drive you? Then we wouldn’t have to worry about you getting home safely,” Jimin asks with a small pout. “I didn’t want to be a bother. It’s alright,” you say with a shrug as you brush off his concerns. “You’re not a bother!” Taehyung insists as they walk with you towards the bus stop. The corners of his lips were slightly downturned, upset that you thought of yourself that way. When you’re about to respond, you see the bus coming down the street. Following your gaze, Jimin spots the bus as well. “Text me when you get home, okay?” Jimin says as the bus comes to a stop in front of you. You nod before you climb into the bus, taking a seat by the window as you put your earphones in. They wave goodbye to you through the window and you wave back with a small smile. 

As the bus pulls away, they remain frozen on the sidewalk, staring at each other with wide eyes. They’ve never seen you smile before. With giddy smiles on their faces, they walk back to the company together, glad that you were starting to warm up to them even if it was just a little bit. And upon reaching home, you also find yourself smiling as you send a quick text to Jimin.

You: I’m home.

The older ones watch from the window of the practice room as Jimin and Taehyung walk you to the bus stop. Hoseok stares at the three of you with a small frown. “What’s wrong?” Yoongi asks him as it was unusual to see Hoseok without a smile plastered on his face. “I don’t like her,” he mumbles as he narrows his eyes, searching for anything off about you. The way you acted was forced and he could tell you weren’t who you pretended to be. He was wary of you because he didn’t know what your intentions were and he didn’t want the younger ones to get hurt by you.

You’re surprised when you find Jimin, Taehyung and Jungkook waiting for you by the school’s gates the next morning. “Good morning y/n!” they greet you brightly. “Good morning,” you wave back with a shy smile. Jimin and Taehyung walk with you to your classroom, telling you funny stories about them and their Hyungs. During your lunch break, they drag their chairs over to your desk. “Can we sit with you?” Jimin asks, holding his lunch in hand. You’re slightly surprised by their request, but you agree nonetheless. You nod as you clear your desk to create enough space for them. “Nice!” Taehyung says with a smile as he high fives Jimin before taking a seat around your desk.

You notice them staring at your lunch as you eat silently, and you raise an eyebrow at them. “Do you want some?” you ask as you point at your food. They both nod fervently as you take a piece and place one in each of their lunches. “Did you make this?” Taehyung asks you with wide eyes as you nod. “It’s good!” he compliments you. “Thank you,” you say with a giggle as you use your thumb to wipe away a few stray crumbs near the corner of his mouth. Jimin says something inaudible as his mouth was still full of food. You smile at how cute he looks with his cheeks puffed out with food. After chewing and swallowing, Jimin takes a piece from his lunch and places it in yours. “Here, try it. Jin Hyung made it for us, he’s a great cook too!” They stare at you, awaiting your reaction as you chew the food. “It’s good,” you say with an approving smile. They smile back at you, and you wordlessly place more of your food in their lunches as they do the same for you.

Jimin and Taehyung stay at your desk even after you’ve all finished eating as they wait for the next period to start. Jimin places his elbow on your desk as he leans his chin on his hand. “You don’t talk much, do you?” he asks, studying you closely. You shrug as you move your gaze to your desk, feeling a little self conscious under his intense gaze. “You should talk more. Namjoon Hyung always tells us how important it is to speak yourself. Jungkook used to be super shy too, but Tae helped him break out of his shell,” he tells you as he wraps an arm around Taehyung’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll get you to talk more too!” Taehyung promises with a smile. You nod, trying to follow their advice as you mumble a small, “Okay.”

At the end of the day, you part ways with the three maknaes by the school gate. “See you later y/n!” Jimin waves to you as they start walking towards Big Hit. You wave back before walking in the opposite direction towards your home. Unlocking the door, you drop your bag onto the floor as you head into the kitchen to grab a snack. As you munch on your snack, you think about the last time you went to practice with Jimin at his company building. All the boys had just finished their own practice and they stayed hours later to practice again once you left. With that in mind, you start preparing some snacks for them as well, placing them in the fridge for later. Around 5 pm, you put your homework away, changing into some loose and comfortable clothing to dance in. Packing the snacks into your bag, you lock the door and make your way to the bus stop. 

“Hey y/n!” Jimin greets you with a smile as he opens the door for you. You let out a small, almost inaudible, “Hey,” as you step into the practice room. Just like before, they had just finished their own practice. Offering everyone a wave and a small smile, you place your bag down to take out all the snacks. “I brought some snacks for you guys,” you say as you reach into your bag. As soon as you mention snacks, they all seem to suddenly regain energy, shooting up from their spots on the floor and surrounding you. “Aw, y/n, you’re so sweet!” Jimin says, causing your cheeks to flush slightly. You act nonchalant, telling them you just had a lot of extra snacks at home that you needed to get rid of, but they know that’s far from the truth. They were still a long way from getting you to open up to them, but Jimin and Taehyung could tell that you were already starting to warm up to them. They didn’t know what you had been through to build your walls up so high, but they would be patient with you and take it one step at a time.

You didn’t want to admit it, but they had already wormed their way into your heart a lot faster than you expected, and your resolve was slowly starting to crumble as you let them in more. You give Jimin some time to eat and take a break while you stretch and loosen up. As you diligently warm up in the corner, Namjoon leans over to Jimin. “Is she always like this?” he asks, referring to your silent but caring ways. “She’s like Yoongi Hyung!” Taehyung says with a laugh. “Yah, what’s that supposed to mean,” Yoongi asks accusingly, but everyone knew what Taehyung meant. You acted cold and nonchalant, but you worried for them and took care of them. “It’s okay,” Jimin says as he finishes his last bite, standing from his spot on the floor. “We’ll get her to open up soon,” he says confidently before walking over to you and playfully pulling you to the centre of the practice room. 

“Bye y/n! Get home safe!” the boys bid you goodbye as you head home for the weekend. It was finally Friday, and that meant you would be going out tonight. For the past three years, you’ve been frequenting Hope World, an underground dance club in your area, every Friday night. You loved how wild and free underground dancing was, and despite the risk of getting caught, you found yourself returning to Hope World again and again. It was quite easy to sneak out, as your parents worked until the late hours of the night. As long as you were back before they got home, you would never get caught.

Putting on your bucket hat and a surgical mask, you get on the bus heading to Hope World. You chose to keep your identity hidden, as your parents surely wouldn’t approve if they knew of your whereabouts. But in the underground, no one cared about your background as long as you loved to dance. Arriving at the club, it was loud and energetic as usual, but that was what you loved about the place. The walls were brick, giving a rustic feeling of the underground, and the room was dark with flashing lights, reminding you of a party. A large crowd was formed in the middle of the room, surrounding a pair of dancers who were currently battling it out. You quickly make your way into the crowd, eager to find an opponent and jump into a battle yourself. A while after you leave, Hoseok starts gathering his things as well. “I heard about an underground dance club nearby, I’m going to check it out,” he informs Namjoon. “Alright, have fun,” Namjoon says with a wave. 

As soon as Hoseok steps foot into the club, he’s blown back by the loud music and the wild atmosphere. It was everything you’d expect of an underground dance club and more, and he didn’t realize how much he missed this until now. Spotting the big group of people gathered near the centre of the room, Hoseok moves to the edge of the crowd. He spots two people battling it out, although it wasn’t much of a battle because the two dancers weren’t anywhere near the same level. He couldn’t take his eyes off of the girl with a bucket hat. She was definitely great at hip hop and her popping was good enough to rival his own, but the way she moved was graceful and elegant, the exact opposite of what you expect to find in a place like this.

When the music ends and the crowd cheers, you bow before pulling your opponent in for a hug, patting them on the back and praising their dance. They do the same to you before you step out of the circle and into the crowd, receiving many pats on the shoulder or praises and congratulations. It was your third battle of the night and you had to get back before your parents got home. Your path towards the door is suddenly blocked when a boy around your age stands in front of you. You peer at him from under the rim of your bucket hat, but you can’t see his face as he’s wearing a hat and mask similar to yours. Your interest is already peaked by the mysterious boy, and you pause and wait for him to speak.

“You’re really good at dancing,” he suddenly blurts out. He approached you so confidently, you were surprised by how nervous he sounded. “Thank you,” you say with a laugh. “Are you new here?” you ask him curiously. “Yeah, it’s actually my first time here,” he tells you, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m y/n,” you introduce yourself, holding your hand out for him to shake. “I’m Hope,” he says as he shakes your hand. “Well Hope, I’m sure you’ll fit in fine judging by your name,” you say with a chuckle. “Unfortunately, I have somewhere to be, but I’d love to see what you’ve got. Will you be here next week?” you ask him. He hadn’t decided whether he would be returning or not, but now that you were asking him to, there was no way he wasn’t coming back. “Yeah, of course. I’ll see you next week then?” he asks. “Yup! See you!” you say cheerfully as you wave at him over your shoulder. He raises his hand to wave back, but he doesn’t even get the chance to say goodbye as you’re already out the door.

Your mind wanders back to Hope as you lean your head on the bus window, staring at the passing scenery. You didn’t know much about him, actually, you only knew his name and you didn’t even see him dance, yet there was something familiar about him. You brush it off, thinking it must just be the fact that you two could relate to having to hide your face and identity.

“How was it?” Namjoon asks as Hoseok walks in through the door. “It was cool,” he says as he places his bag down. “Just cool?” Namjoon asks with a raised eyebrow, giving him a knowing look. “Actually,” Hoseok says while running a hand through his hair, “there was this girl. Her name’s y/n, and she’s an amazing dancer. I’ve never seen someone dance like her before,” he tells him. “Y/n?” Namjoon repeats, his mind immediately going to you. Hoseok nods in confirmation. The possibility of you being the same y/n he met at Hope World flashed through his mind for a second, but he simply brushed it off as a coincidence. There was no way the bright, bubbly girl he met at Hope World was the same cold, stoic girl who was Jimin’s duet partner, even your style of dance was completely different. It was impossible, right?

A week ago, they would have never even thought of patting your head or hugging you in fear that they would make you uncomfortable, but you were already starting to warp up to the seven boys. Sometimes you would playfully shove Jungkook’s shoulder, and you didn’t tense up whenever Jimin or Taehyung would randomly hug you or cling to you. You were starting to open up to them, and they couldn’t be more proud of the progress you made.

After practice, you would often stay to do your homework with Jimin and Taehyung. As Jimin was explaining something to Taehyung, your eyes wandered to the mirror. You watch as Hoseok dances freestyle, popping smoothly to the beat and doing a few cool b-boying moves. You were so mesmerized by his dancing that you didn’t notice him staring back at you through the mirror. When your eyes meet his in the mirror, he gives you a cold stare. Intimidated and embarrassed from getting caught staring, you look back down at your papers on the floor.

Ever since you were young, you always yearned for people’s approval, your parents, your teachers, even your peers. Hoseok’s obvious distaste for you bothered you more than you let on. You didn’t know him well, but the way all the members talked about him showed how much they admired him. And it was deserved. From the little dancing you’ve seen from him, during and after your practice with Jimin, you could tell he was a very detailed and seasoned dancer. The more respected a person was, the more you wanted their approval and praise, and the more respected a person was, the more it wounded your confidence when they seemed repulsed by you and only you.

After a long week of school, practicing with Jimin and enduring Hoseok’s glares, you finally made it to Friday once again. You subconsciously find yourself picking out a nice outfit since you know Hope will be there. You mentally scold yourself for trying to impress a boy you just met, but that doesn’t stop you from putting on your best outfit. You see no sign of Hope when you arrive at the club, causing you to deflate slightly. You know that you shouldn’t be this affected by him, but you can’t help the disappointment that sets in.  

Stepping out of the circle after your second battle, you move away from the crowd to catch your breath. A cup of water is suddenly shoved into your hands as you look up to find Hope smiling down at you apologetically. “Sorry I’m late. I got a little caught up with my brothers,” he says sheepishly. You can’t find it in yourself to be upset with him, the disappointment in your chest suddenly replaced by joy and excitement. “No problem, I’m glad you’re here now,” you tell him as you accept the water.

You notice him watching the battle going on within the circle, and you look at him curiously. “Will I get to see you dance today?” you ask him. He was a little nervous to dance in front of you because of how much he admired you, but he was also excited to show you what he’s got. Confidently stepping into the circle, you watch as he battles. He was light on his feet and his isolations were out of this world, and you could tell he was very comfortable with freestyle. Squinting at him, you furrow your brows as you watch him dance. You were sure you’ve seen someone else who danced just like him, but you couldn’t place your finger on it. Before you know it, his battle was over with Hope announced as the winner. Stepping out of the circle, he approaches you proudly, and even though you can’t see his face under his mask you can tell how big his smile is by the way his eyes crinkle at the sides.

Noticing the unimpressed look on your face, his smile drops and his steps falter as he approaches you. “Was it that bad?” he asks jokingly to cover up how nervous you make him. Snapping out of your thoughts, you stare back at him with wide eyes, trying to remember where you’ve seen him before. “Oh, no!” you wave your hands in front of you frantically at the misunderstanding. “You were great, really. I was just thinking,” you explain. He nods, but you can tell he doesn’t really believe you. “You’re amazing at freestyling, I can tell you practice a lot. How long have you been dancing?” you ask curiously. 

Poking his cheek with his finger, he tilts his head to the side as he looks up to the ceiling, trying to remember. “Maybe eight years now?” he says. “How about you?” he asks. “Almost three years,” you lie. It wasn’t a complete lie, you started street dancing three years ago, but you’ve been dancing for nearly all your life. “Wow only three? I would’ve thought you’ve been dancing for longer,” he says, amazed, “Where did you learn to dance like that? I’ve never seen someone who dances like you.” You feel guilty for not telling him the complete truth, but you want to keep your personal life separate from your life here. “I just learned from watching the people here dance and picking up a few things from my opponents,” you say with a shrug. “You’re incredible,” he breathes out. You’re glad your mask covers your blushing face as you look away from his eyes, “T-thanks, you’re really great too.”

Your relationship with Hope was still fresh, but it progressed a lot faster than you would’ve expected in just two hours. You both respected each other as dancers and admired each other greatly, but you still teased and poked at each other playfully to push the other to their limits. You two also had a deeper, unspoken connection from keeping hidden your identities hidden. It didn’t matter whether you knew each other’s names or faces because you got to know each other for who you really were inside. You didn’t feel like you had to put up a wall around him, and he didn’t feel like he had to act happy around you all the time because he was truly happy whenever he was with you.

You didn’t want the night to end, but alas, your parents were going to be home soon and you didn’t want to get caught. Especially when being caught meant you wouldn’t be able to see Hope anymore. With the promise to meet next week, you leave the club with a smile on your face as you wave to Hope, wishing him good night.

Back in BTS’ practice room Monday evening, you let out a yawn as you lean back, stretching your arms out. You had tuned out the music as background noise while you were doing homework with the three maknaes, but you could hear it clearly now that you were done. Turning around, you find Hoseok freestyling near the back of the room once again. You watch him pop, doing his signature move of dropping to the floor, only to smoothly rise back up. Your eyes widen when you realize you’ve seen that move before. Watching him more closely, he looks exactly like Hope, and their moves were way too similar to be a coincidence. You connect the dots in your mind: Hoseok, J-Hope, was Hope.

You break out into a nervous sweat at the realization. Did he already know who you were? Did he tell the rest of the boys? Surely they would hate you for lying to all of them. Abruptly, you stand from your spot on the floor with a panicked look on your face. “Y/n? What’s wrong?” Jimin asks in concern. You shake your head as you quickly gather your things, “N-nothing, I have to get home.” All the boys, except Hoseok, give you a worried look. “Is everything okay?” Namjoon asks. “Yeah, I just,” you pause as you try to think of a believable excuse. “I forgot to feed my fish! See you tomorrow!” you say hurriedly as you rush out the door, wanting to be anywhere but here. 

“Y/n doesn’t have a fish,” Taehyung mumbles with a frown. Why were you lying to them? And what seemed to have you so frazzled? During the whole bus ride home, your thoughts were running wild. Hoseok must not know you are, or else why would he be so cold to you here but so friendly at Hope World? And why the fuck did you ever think it would be a good idea to tell anyone at the club your real name? Taking deep breathes to calm yourself down, you come to a conclusion that Hoseok doesn’t know, and you just have to keep it that way. 

The next day, you sheepishly apologize for your odd behaviour last night. “Sorry, I forgot that my parents would be home early yesterday. They would’ve grounded me if they knew I was out this late,” you lie, but they’re quick to believe you and reassure you it’s okay. “Next time, you don’t have to lie,” Namjoon says gently, “We were worried about you, you know.” You felt guilty for lying to them when they were so understanding, but you thought it was for the best. You were glad they didn’t seem suspicious at all, but Hoseok was. From the first day they met you, he sensed something off about you and now you were acting even more strange.

“I’ll see you guys next week!” you say as you wave goodbye to them. It’s been a couple of weeks since you first started practicing at Big Hit with Jimin, and the recital was only two weeks away. You and Jimin had been practicing hard and the duet was going well. Despite your initial cold attitude, you guys had good chemistry, and your colourless dancing mixed well with Jimin’s ability to emote through his faces and movements.

Walking towards the elevator, you flinch when the door to their practice rooms suddenly bursts open. Turning around, you find Hoseok stomping down the hall towards you. You stare at him nervously, wracking your brain to try and remember what you did to anger him. You didn’t know why he didn’t like you, but you never thought to ask. You thought you could just keep your distance, but it seemed that was no longer good enough for Hoseok. He gets closer until he’s standing right in front of you, and you could feel his hot breath fan over your face as he stares down at you with angry eyes. You shrink under his gaze, taking a step back to try and create some distance between you two. “Listen. I don’t know what the hell you’re trying to do, but you won’t get away with it,” he says, pointing an accusing finger at you. “You think they’re your friends?” he asks mockingly, “They don’t like you, they’re just acting nice to you for Jimin. And as soon as your duet is done, I want you out.”

Your whole world seems to freeze as Hoseok’s words sink in. They don’t like you. You were wary of letting people close because you were afraid of depending on people and getting hurt, but you thought they were different. Of course you were wrong, you should’ve expected this. But that didn’t make it hurt any less. Your eyes start to burn as tears start to form in your eyes but you hold them back. Acting as if you don’t care, you let a blank expression settle over your features because after all, it was what you do best. “I understand,” you say with a nod before entering the elevator, bidding Hoseok goodbye with an empty “goodnight.”

Hoseok didn’t like you, but for some reason, your reaction was unsettling to him. Maybe it was because he was expecting you to lash out or at least try to deny that you had other intentions, but instead, you seemed defeated. That night, you didn’t show up at Hope World like you usually would every Friday night. Hoseok was worried for you because, in the short span of time that he’s known you, neither of you have ever missed Friday night until now. He can’t shake this feeling in his chest that something was terribly wrong, but he had no way of contacting you outside of Hope World. Leaving the club with a heavy heart, he hopes that you’re okay and that you’ll be back next week.

Laying in bed, you stare up at the ceiling as a tear streams down your face and falls onto your pillow. You press the palms of your hands to your eyes, unable to stop the flow of tears. Hoseok’s words constantly echo through your mind as a picture of each boy’s smile appears behind your eyelids. You tried so hard to push them away, but they were so patient and understanding, slowly breaking down your walls until you let them in. Why were they so persistent if they didn’t like you anyway? Why did they have to make it harder for you? You cry over all your regrets, wishing you could go back in time and build your walls up ten times stronger than they were before. Maybe then, you wouldn’t have let them in. And maybe you wouldn’t be lying in bed, crying yourself to sleep with a broken heart.

The next day, you spend more than half the day moping around the house. It was strange for you to waste so much of your day doing nothing. You were always a hard worker, just like your parents raised you to be, but you no longer had any motivation to do anything. You were almost always home alone, but you got used to the boys’ company as they became part of your daily routine, and you started to rely on them. But you couldn’t even bear to think about them anymore, not after Hoseok told you the truth. You realize that it was Saturday, and you didn’t go to Hope World last night. It was the first Friday you’ve ever missed in your three years of going to Hope World. Your mind wanders to Hope, or Hoseok, you should say. How could you face him at the club now that you knew how much he hated your guts?

Not wanting to think about it anymore, you resort to the only thing you’ve ever been able to rely on: dance. A short bus ride later, you enter the school’s studio, which is empty because it’s the weekend. Placing your bag down, you start the music before you head straight into dancing. You were always diligent with your warm up to prevent injury, and it was reckless of you to jump in without stretching but you couldn’t care less. All you wanted to do was dance so that you could get seven certain boys off of your mind. You could deal with the pain of a pulled or sore muscle later, but you weren’t sure how much longer you could endure the aching pain in your chest. You dance until you collapse, and until your body and mind are so exhausted you can’t think of them anymore. You knew that this was in no way healthy, but you needed these few peaceful moments where your mind was just empty and you could breathe if only for a moment.

For the rest of the week, you avoid the boys at all costs. You text Jimin, coming up with various excuses as to why you can’t make it to practice, and during lunchtime, you would leave your bag at your desk and spend the whole lunch period on the roof to avoid him and Taehyung. You felt guilty every time you walked by their desk and saw the sadness and confusion in their eyes. They wanted to reach out to you and demand answers for your distant behaviour, but they respected you and gave you your space. You wanted so badly to go back to them, explain everything to them and apologize, but every time, Hoseok’s words echo in your mind and keep you from going back to them. They don’t like you.

Watching you walk out of the classroom for the fifth day in a row this week, Jimin looks at Taehyung. “I think y/n’s avoiding us,” he says defeatedly. They made so much progress in getting you to open up to them, but now you were going back to your old ways, maybe even a little more distant than before. “I don’t understand why though. Did something happen?” Taehyung asks, completely at a loss. Jimin just shrugs as he looks back at your desk sadly. Your seat was empty besides your bag that you left on your chair. “I haven’t seen her eat lunch at all this week,” Jimin mumbles, “I’m worried about her.”

When Jimin and Taehyung come back from school alone for the fifth time this week, everyone knows something’s up. “Where’s y/n?” Jin worriedly asks, “Is she sick or something?” They had all gotten used to your presence and they missed your seemingly nonchalant but actually caring personality. You always made sure they were taking care of themselves, and if their health wasn’t up to your standards, you would bring them snacks and force them to rest. They wanted to do the same for you, but they couldn’t do that if you didn’t allow them to even see you.

“I think she’s mad at us Hyung,” Jimin says as he looks at Namjoon like a lost puppy, “Did we do something wrong?” Namjoon’s brows furrow as he tries to recall the last time they saw you. “Y/n seemed fine when we saw her last Friday, and we haven’t seen her since. Maybe something else is going on in her life right now,” he says as he tries to ease Jimin’s worries. They all truly loved and cared for you, but the 95′s were the closest to you. And it was harder for them to see you every day at school knowing that you needed them, but they couldn’t, or rather you wouldn’t let them help you.

Hoseok didn’t understand why they were all so upset by your absence. You clearly weren’t who you pretended to be, didn’t they notice? Maybe only he saw it because he was used to having to act a certain way all the time. It takes one to know one, I guess. “I’m going to Hope World. I’ll see you guys later,” Hoseok says as he makes his way out. The boys wave goodbye to him, staring at the door as it closes behind him. “Is it just me or does Hobi Hyung always seem to get in a bitter mood whenever we talk about y/n?” Jimin asks. “I don’t know, he says there’s something off about her and he doesn’t trust her,” Yoongi mumbles. “Did something happen between them?” Jimin wonders with furrowed brows.

Although you didn’t show up for practice with Jimin, you were still practicing on your own. You stayed late after school, practicing the duet for hours and making sure everything was perfect. One time, the janitor had to ask you to leave because of how late it was. And because your parents were never home, no one was there to tell you to rest when you started growing sick, and no one was there to take care of you when you couldn’t take care of yourself.

Even though you were starting to develop a fever, you still went to Hope World on Friday night. Dancing helped you relieve stress and pent up emotions, but your duet practice wasn’t giving you that satisfaction. If anything, it was only adding more stress because it was your duet with Jimin, and it made you think about all the boys. As soon as you arrived at the club, you jumped into the circle, eager to dance and distract yourself from all your worries. You were already on your fourth battle of the night when you started to feel the fatigue from all the battles as well as your worsening fever. As soon as Hoseok arrived at the club, he was immediately searching for you. He found you in the circle during your second battle, but he never got to talk to you since you jumped into battle after battle. He could already tell something was off from the moment he saw you. Your dancing was sloppy which was extremely usual for you and you never danced four battles in one night, three at most.

You were starting to feel lightheaded from the combination of all the dancing, your fever and the loud, hot room. You emerge from the circle, hiding in one of the empty storage closets to get away from all the noise and take a moment to find your bearings. Collapsing onto the floor of the closet, you pull your hat and mask off as your whole body felt like it was on fire and it was getting hard to breathe. You close your eyes as you lean your head against the wall, trying to fight off your fever.

Worried eyes followed your form as you crossed the room to get to the back, and without a moment’s hesitation, Hoseok followed you to the storage closet. He forgoes knocking, his need to make sure you’re okay taking first priority over privacy. Barging into the closet, he finds you sitting against the back wall, breathing heavily as you try to catch your breath. You didn’t have enough time to cover your face as you didn’t receive much of a warning before he burst into the room. It felt like someone threw a bucket of ice water at him as soon as he laid his eyes on your face. It was you.

Opening your eyes at the sound of the door opening, you look up to find Hoseok staring at you. Ah shit, you think as you look down at your hat and mask in your hand. A heavy silence settles over the both of you as he stares at you, trying to process everything. When he doesn’t move or say a word, you take the opportunity to escape. You rush past him, hurriedly putting your hat and mask back on as you cross the club, making a beeline for the door. Hoseok remains frozen as you walk by him, leaving him standing all alone in the storage room.

All this time, you, y/n, the girl that was Jimin’s contemporary duet partner, was the same y/n that he met at Hope World. He couldn’t recognize you by your dance because he’s only ever seen you dance contemporary with Jimin, but you must have known it was him all this time. How long were you going to act like you didn’t know him as Hope? Comparing the y/n he knew as Jimin’s duet partner and the y/n he met at Hope World, he starts to see the similarities. Deep down you were a sweet and caring girl. From the first night he came to Hope World, you’re bright and bubbly personality never failed to brighten his day. And even though you tried to act cold and distant around the boys, you still took care of them by bringing them snacks and making sure they got enough rest. The reason he got weird vibes from you was because you were acting like somebody else. But it wasn’t because you had ulterior motives to hurt or use the boys, it was because you were forced to be someone else.

Fuck. He thinks as he remembers the way he treated you and the things he said to you. He remembers how confused he was when you didn’t show up at Hope World last Friday, how you’ve been avoiding all the members like the plague, and that you were sick. He curses as he runs out of the storage closet, bursting out the front doors. He frantically looks around for you, but he can’t find you anywhere. It’s too late. He was worried that you were walking home alone at night, especially since you were sick.

Dialling Jin’s number, he climbs into his car as the phone rings in his ear. On the third ring, Jin picks up. “Hello?” he answers. “Hyung!” Hoseok says urgently, “What’s y/n’s address?” He knew Jin knew where you lived because he would often drive you home whenever you stayed late at Big Hit to practice or just hang out with the boys. Jin was confused as to why Hoseok was suddenly asking for your address, especially after you’ve been absent for a week, but he could tell by the urgency in Hoseok’s voice that whatever the reason was, it was important. “I’ll send it to you,” Jin says, already typing your address to him. As soon as he receives a text notification from Jin, Hoseok starts the car up. “Thanks,” he breathes out, tightly gripping and releasing the steering wheel. “You owe us an explanation when you get back,” Jin says finally before hanging up the phone.

Pulling up your address on his phone, Hoseok starts driving to your house. He runs a frustrated hand through his hair as he keeps on the lookout for you. Turning onto your street, he still hasn’t seen any sign of you and he hopes that you’ve already arrived home safely. Parking on the side of the road, he quickly climbs out of his car and rings your doorbell. He didn’t think about the possibility of your parents or someone else answering the door, all he could think about was seeing you, making sure you were okay, and sorting this mess out. You answer the door and attempt to shut it as soon as you see Hoseok’s face, but he stops you as he sticks his foot between the door before you can close it. “Y/n, please,” he desperately pleads, “We need to talk.” Too weak and exhausted to fight him, you turn around, retreating into your home. He quickly follows you inside, closing the door behind him as he keeps his eyes on your back.

He grabs your wrist to stop you from walking away from him, turning you back around to face him. “What do you want?” you ask as you stare at the floor instead of his eyes. Hoseok’s heart breaks a little when he hears how weak you sound. You never let yourself be vulnerable in front of them, always putting up a strong front and speaking and presenting yourself confidently. The fact that you had completely given up caused a sharp pain in his chest, especially when he knows he caused this. He keeps a firm hold on your wrist as he stares at you, silently begging for you to look up at him. When you show no signs of moving, he sighs in defeat.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asks quietly, just above a whisper. You probably wouldn’t have heard him if it wasn’t for your close proximity. You look up at him in disbelief. From the beginning, he made it very clear that he didn’t like you. Why would you have told someone who hated you one of your biggest secrets? The image of Hoseok’s face starts to blur as tears form in your eyes. “I-” you try to speak but a sob comes out instead. As soon as the first tear falls from your eyes, Hoseok pulls you into a hug. You hate that you were crying in front of him, but you can’t help but bury your face in his chest. “I thought you hated me,” you manage to choke out. 

“I could never hate you-” he starts but you cut him off. “But you did. They all do,” you say with a sniffle. “That’s not true. I...” he pauses, sighing as he deeply regrets what he did, “I lied. I told you they didn’t like you because I wanted you gone.” You try to pull away but he doesn’t let you, holding you tight until he finishes. “I thought you were acting strange and I was worried you had other intentions. I was trying to protect them and I just-I’m so sorry y/n” he says sounding absolutely heartbroken. You feel relieved now that you know the truth behind Hoseok’s cold words and actions, and you allow yourself to melt into him further. When you move closer to him, he takes it as a sign of forgiveness, gently combing a hand through your hair to comfort you.

”Why...” he hesitates, not sure if this was a sensitive topic. “Why do you act so differently at school and with the boys? Why do you hold yourself back?” he asks. “My parents,” you answer shortly as you pull away. He lets you pull back, but he takes your hands in his, giving them a comforting squeeze. “You shouldn’t have to live this way, y/n,” he says with a frown, “Let us help you.” His heart feels heavy as he sees your eyes reddened from crying. Even though he apologized now, he couldn’t take away all the pain you’ve been through, the pain caused by him.

His eyes widen in surprise when you smile at him as you wipe at your runny nose. “Thank you, Hoseok,” you tell him with a closed eye smile. “T-Thank you?” he repeats, confused. You nod, laughing slightly at his confusion. “Even if you didn’t know it was me, you were a good friend to me at Hope World. If it wasn’t for you, I probably never would have allowed myself to get that close with all of you.” He smiles softly at your confession, but he feels undeserving of your thanks. “Are your parents home?” he asks a bit belatedly, peaking down the hallway behind you. You shake your head no as you tell him, “They work from early in the morning until late at night. I’m usually home alone.” He nods in understanding, starting to see where you get your work ethic from. “They’ll be home soon though,” you mention. He nods as he brings his hand up to place it on your forehead, checking your temperature. “Your fever’s gone down. I’ll come check on you tomorrow morning,” he tells you. “You don’t have to,” you’re about to protest but he gives you a look that says otherwise. “Of course I do. Clearly you can’t take care of yourself, and if your parents aren’t home, who’s going to look after you?” he says with a raised eyebrow. You simply shrug. 

He wonders how you’ve gotten this far living the way you were. You had no one to take care of you, yet you were so caring towards the boys. It must be lonely, but he was determined to be the one to care for you. “You always worried about us and took care of us. Let us worry about you for once,” he says as he opens the door. “Good night y/n,” he says before walking out. “Good night,” you say as he walks towards his car. Once he drives off, you close the front, heading straight to bed.

The next morning, you’re woken up by the sound of your doorbell being rung. When you answer the door, Hoseok greets you with a smile as bright as the sun. “Good morning,” you say to him with a small smile, opening the door wider for him to come in. He brings a hand up to your forehead, checking your temperature again. He nods in silent approval when he feels your temperature is back to normal. “Have you eaten anything?” he asks. You shake your head no, having just gotten out of bed. “Great, Jin Hyung made some soup for you,” he says with a smile as he gestures to the plastic bag in his hand. You lead him to the kitchen, taking a seat at the table as he warms up the soup in the microwave.

He places a bowl in front of you as he sits across from you with a bowl for himself. Once you two finish eating breakfast, he takes both of your bowls to wash them in the sink. You insist that you could do it and that you should be doing it because he was your guest, but he tells you to sit back down because you were sick and should be resting. “I’m not sick anymore,” you whine, but he simply ignores you. You pout as you lay your head on the table, staring at him as he puts a pair of gloves on. But your frown soon disappears as the corners of your lips lift at the sight of Hoseok humming and dancing as he washes the dishes.

Drying his hands on a towel, he turns to you with a serious look on his face. “Let’s go see the boys,” he suggests suddenly. He can see the fear and insecurity in your eyes as soon as he mentions them, and even though he told you it was all a lie, the damage has already been done. “They’re worried about you y/n. And they miss you,” he tells you, remembering how sad and quiet the practice room was without you. You were afraid of facing the boys after you ran away because things were getting hard. But one look at Hoseok’s pleading eyes was enough to convince you. You knew he still felt guilty for lying to you, but you also knew that he was trying his best to make it up to you and you didn’t want him to feel guilty over a misunderstanding when you’ve already forgiven him.

You quickly head upstairs to wash up and change out of your pajamas, changing into comfy dancewear since that was what most of your closet consisted of. Sitting in the passenger seat of Hoseok’s car, you stare out the window as you get closer to Big Hit. You missed the boys too, but how could you face them after you abandoned them because you were a coward? You’re pulled out of your thoughts when Hoseok moves one hand from the wheel and places it over your knee. No words are needed as his touch comforts you, and he reassures you that the boys will be just as understanding as he was.

While they were all sitting around in the practice room waiting for their dance leader to arrive, Jin tells them about how Hobi asked him to make soup for you and that he went to your house because you were sick. “Wait, how did Hobi Hyung know she was sick?” Jimin asks since you didn’t answer anyone’s texts or calls. Jin just shrugs, acting as if that phone call with Hobi on Friday night didn’t happen. He was sure Hobi would explain himself once he was ready, and it was easier if he could explain it to everyone just once.

Parking at the company building, Hoseok waits for you to get out of the car before holding your hand and leading you into the building. He gives your hand a reassuring squeeze as you take the elevator up to the floor of their practice room. Hearing the ding of the elevator, all of the boys rush out of the practice room, demanding an explanation from Hoseok. “Hobi how the hell did you-” 

“Y/n!” Yoongi is suddenly cut off as Jimin spots you standing next to Hoseok. Taehyung and Jungkook tumble out the door as soon as they hear your name, and all three of the maknaes engulf you in a hug as soon as you step out of the elevator. Hoseok lets go of your hand, letting them have their moment with you. “We missed you!” Jungkook says as he stares up at you with his big, doe eyes. “I missed you guys too,” you say as you pat his head. “Why did you leave us?” Jimin asks sadly. Out of the corner of your eye, you see Hoseok visibly stiffen at the mention of your reason for leaving. “I’m sorry,” you apologize, although you know an apology is not what they want. “I was just scared. But I promise I’m here to stay now if you want me to-”

“Of course we want you to!” Taehyung affirms, not letting you think for a second that you were anything but wanted here. Hoseok was grateful that you didn’t tell them about what he did, but he still feels guilty for causing this whole mess. He opens his mouth, about to confess but you give him a look saying that he doesn’t have to tell them if he doesn’t want to. You’ve already forgiven him and all that was left now was to move forward. He looks at you with a small smile and a shake of his head, reassuring you that he wanted to. “You guys know how I felt about y/n,” Hoseok says as he awkwardly clears his throat before continuing. “I said some things to her that I shouldn’t have and I scared her away,” he admits, head hanging in shame. You reach for his hand, giving him a comforting squeeze to which he gives you a grateful smile. “But it turns out that y/n was the same y/n that I met at Hope World, so we were able to sort things out,” he says with a sheepish smile. He keeps his eyes on the floor as he waits for their reactions. He wouldn’t blame them if they weren’t so quick to forgive him. What he did to you was terrible and unfair, and he was the reason you were gone for so long. 

“As long as everything’s okay now and y/n’s forgiven you, we forgive you too,” Namjoon says with a smile, patting his on the shoulder. Jimin separates from you and moves to hug Hoseok. He was always so hard on himself, and he was always the last to forgive himself even if he was already forgiven by the one who he wronged. Hoseok lets out a breath of relief, although he wasn’t surprised. His brothers were always so understanding and forgiving, and they were always there to help him get back on his feet. They clearly weren’t happy that he didn’t talk to them about how he felt about you and what was going on, but they understood where he was coming from. “Next time, you don’t have to handle everything on your own. Don’t forget that we’re here for you no matter what,” Yoongi tells him. 

Hoseok nods and gives them all a look of thanks for understanding. “You owe me ten bucks,” Namjoon says as he holds his hand out expectantly to Yoongi. Yoongi rolls his eyes as he pulls out his wallet and digs through it, slapping a few bills into Namjoon’s palm. “Ten bucks for what?” Jin asks curiously. “I bet that the y/n Hobi met at Hope World was the same y/n we knew,” Namjoon says smugly. “You bet on that?” Hoseok asks in disbelief. “You get ten bucks for believing in fate and shit, I lose ten bucks for being realistic,” Yoongi complains as he stalks back into the practice room. “Come on y/n!” Jimin says as he starts dragging you to the practice room after his Hyungs, “We need to practice, the recital is in less than a week!” You quickly agree, feeling a little guilty about the stress you must have caused him from missing out on a whole week of practice. But despite a whole week of not practicing together, the condition of your duet was still good. If anything, you felt closer and more connected with Jimin than before.

As you dance with Jimin, you can feel Hoseok’s concentrated gaze on you, watching intently. His eyes were nowhere near as cold as they used to be, but they were still sharp and intimidating, paying attention to every little detail. Breathing heavily, you turn to him with a raised eyebrow. “Well?” you ask expectantly. “What?” he asks, suddenly snapping out of his strict dance teacher mode and turning back into the carefree Hoseok you knew. “I know you have something to say,” you tell him, crossing your arms. He shakes his head as he holds his hands up in defence, “I’m not a contemporary dancer. It was great as far as I know.” 

You deadpan at him, knowing full well he was lying. He sighs when you give him an unimpressed look. “Fine,” he says defeatedly, “I wasn’t lying when I said I have nothing to correct you on, you’re dancing really is perfect,” you raise your eyebrow at him, confused at what he was getting at, “But it’s almost too perfect. I think that you could sacrifice a little bit of technique or a be half a beat late so you could emote more and get the story across to the audience.”

You take in Hoseok’s advice, trying to think of how you can emote with your face or body. You nod determinedly before turning to Jimin, asking if you can go over the dance once again. He agrees immediately, standing up to start the music once again. Hoseok continues to watch you two as you go through the dance with Jimin, this time, applying his advice. Your faces and movements weren’t perfect yet, but he could see the improvement. You were already a force to be reckoned with, with your absolute technique and perfect timing. Once you learned how to emote through your face and body, you would be unstoppable.

You and Jimin hold the ending pose for a few seconds, both your chests rising and falling harshly from the many times you went over the dance. It was Thursday night, and it was your last practice before the recital. Turning to Hoseok, you give him a closed eye smile as you laugh breathily. You could feel how much better the dance was now that you were more in tune with your emotions while dancing, and it was much more enjoyable now. He smiles back as he claps for the both of you, proud of your rapid improvement.

Normally, you would be a nervous wreck the day before a performance, going through the dance over and over again and stressing over each little detail. But now, you were excited to do it well and show everyone how you’ve grown as a dancer. You didn’t want to impress them with your perfect technique anymore, you wanted to impress them with your ability to tell a story and show your passion through your dance. “The duet looks great, now you just need to rest,” Hoseok says as he hands both of your a cup of water, “You guys are going to do great tomorrow!” You and Jimin just smile proudly at each other, giddy at getting praise from Hoseok.

It was finally the night of the concert, and you were standing with all the boys in the hall while waiting for the recital to start. You didn’t seem nervous yesterday, you seemed excited even, but now you had a terrified look on your face as you nervously chewed on your bottom lip. “You okay?” Hoseok asks as he rubs your back to relax your tense muscles. “My parents are here,” you tell him quietly. “Do they make you that nervous?” he asks with furrowed brows. They were your parents, they were supposed to make you feel loved and supported, not nervous and afraid. “They just have such high expectations. I don’t want to let them down,” you admit, your voice a little watery. 

Hearing the slight waver in your voice, Hoseok holds his arms out to offer you a hug, which you gladly take. He pats your back as he exhales slowly to help you calm down. You take a few deep breaths, following his breathing and trying to stop yourself from getting too emotional. “You won’t let them down. I’ve watched you guys rehearse all week, you guys look amazing. You’re amazing,” he promises you. “Just have fun,” he tells you with a bright smile and a slight ruffle of your hair. It felt like all your worries were washed away whenever you saw Hoseok’s smile. 

You nod and return his smile, silently thanking him before you and Jimin head backstage while the rest of the boys head to their seats. Peeking out of the wings, you scan the audience while the number before you performs. As soon as you find Hoseok in the audience, it feels like you can breathe again. You can picture his bright smile as his words ring in your head. Just have fun. And that’s exactly what you did. You didn’t try to impress your parents or try to make everything so perfect to the point where it was more stressful than enjoyable. You just let the music take over and danced freely to your heart’s content. You danced like it was only you and Jimin, and the boys were the only ones watching. Bowing in front of the audience as your hand was intertwined with Jimin’s, you smiled proudly. Not because you didn’t mess up or because you danced up to your parent’s expectations, but because you truly enjoyed it. Your light was back.

The boys were the first ones backstage to congratulate you two as soon as the recital was over. Even though Jimin was like his little brother, Hoseok’s first instinct was to run to you. He’s the first one to reach you, pulling you into a hug and whispering into your hair, “I’m so proud of you.” You wrap your arms tightly around his waist as you whisper back, “It’s all thanks to you.” Everyone smiles at the two of you fondly before the Taehyung and Jungkook start fooling around, trying to recreate your duet with Jimin.

“Y/n l/n!” you suddenly hear your name being called by your mother. You visibly stiffen, standing upright as you turn to face your parents. “What was that sorry excuse of a performance?” your fuming mother asks as they approach you. “That was the sloppiest technique I’ve ever seen,” your father says disappointedly with the shake of his head. Suddenly feeling ashamed, you keep your head down and stare at your feet as you get scolded by your parents. Everyone else stands behind you, unsure what to do as they watch the exchange between you and your parents.

Hoseok felt guilty knowing that you were getting scolded because you followed his advice, but he didn’t regret it at all. For once, you looked happy on stage, and that’s what mattered the most to him. He’s pulled out of his thoughts when he hears your mother’s raised voice directed towards them. “It’s because all you do is waste your time with these boys!” she says as she points towards them. “Mother!” you exclaim, in disbelief that she would say such as thing, especially right in front of their faces. Your parents believed in strict ballet training and prestigious dance academies, and they looked down on hip hop and idol dance. You didn’t share their beliefs though, you thought the exact opposite despite the way they raised you. “Look what they’ve done to you!” Your mother cries out, not caring about how rude she sounded. 

The boys just keep their mouths shut, not wanting to get you into any more trouble, but Hoseok could no longer stand down and watch as your parents looked down on them as well as the dance that you loved to do. “With all due respect, Mr. and Mrs. l/n, I think you’re wrong,” he says through gritted teeth. “Surely not, young man. Hip hop is absolutely disgraceful,” your father reiterates, although he was surprised that Hoseok was brave enough to stand up to them. “Well your daughter is a well known and respected hip hop dancer in the underground. She’s anything but disgraceful,” Hoseok argues, refusing to back down.

Your eyes widen as you weren’t expecting Hoseok to tell your parents, but you feel Hoseok’s hand snake into yours, grounding you and providing you with a sense of comfort. Your father was speechless, turning away from Hoseok and to you. “Y/n,” your father says in a warning tone, “Is this true?” You remain frozen, afraid to answer your parents but Hoseok squeezes your hand as he gives you a reassuring smile, encouraging you to tell your parents the truth. You nod as you stare at the ground, unable to meet your parents’ eyes. “Young lady we have a lot to talk about when we get home,” your mother says sternly, not wanting to cause any more of a scene than they already have.

But the boys wouldn’t let you face your parents’ wrath alone, not when you didn’t deserve it. Namjoon steps up, placing a hand on Hoseok’s shoulder to tell him he’s got his back. “I understand how you feel about hip hop and underground dance,” Namjoon starts respectfully, “But I think if you saw y/n dance in the underground, she would change your mind.” Your mother scoffs at Namjoon’s suggestion. “I would never even think of setting foot in such a place,” your mother says distastefully. 

“You’ll like hip hop if you watch without prejudice,” Yoongi insists, albeit a bit less respectfully as he moves to stand on Hoseok’s other side. Hoseok gives a grateful nod to both his fellow rappers before turning back to your parents. “Y/n belongs on that stage. You’ll regret it if you don’t come to see her,” Hoseok says adamantly. More than proving himself and the rest of BTS to your parents, he wants them to see and appreciate all you are as a dancer and as a person.

Your parents were stubborn and stuck in their old ways, but there was a fire in the boys’ eyes as they spoke about you that intrigued your parents. It was obvious how much they cared for you, and your parents wanted to see exactly what these boys saw in you. “Fine. This is your only chance,” your mother threatens before turning to leave. “Thank you, you won’t be disappointed,” Namjoon says, bowing politely to your parents as they walk away. As soon as your parents disappear through the doors, everyone lets out a breath of relief while Hoseok immediately moves in front of you. “Are you okay?” he asks, gently cradling your face in his hands. 

You let out a shaky breath, nodding at him. “Thank you guys. I’m so sorry about what they said, they’re wrong about you. They just-” Yoongi raises his hand to stop you, reassuring you that you don’t have to apologize on behalf of your parents. “It’s fine, we know you’re not like them. I guess we’ll just have to prove them wrong next comeback,” he says with a cocky grin. You feel relieved knowing that they weren’t offended by your parents, although it saddens you to know that this sort of thing is something they have to deal with often. 

“If you don’t want to dance for them you don’t have to. I don’t know why I said that, it just...” Hoseok pauses and takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. You pull him in for a hug, trying to soothe his anger and show him that it’s okay. “It just makes me so mad that they don’t appreciate your passion and talent for hip hop. It’s not fair that they get to decide what you can and can’t do,” he admits as he rests his chin on your shoulder. “It’s okay Hobi,” you tell him as you pull away enough to look him in the eye. “No matter how they react, I’m glad I have the chance to show them what I love to do at least once,” you tell him with a smile.

Hoseok could see through your facade though. You tried to be positive and optimistic, but he could see the uncertainty swimming around in your eyes. He pulls you back into his chest knowing you were the one who needed to be comforted right now, not him. Staring over your shoulder, he nods at Namjoon and Yoongi in thanks. Yoongi didn’t feel the need to be thanked, he just hated when people were prejudiced, and Namjoon just smiles back, knowing full well you won’t fail to prove your parents wrong for all of them.

To try and take your mind off of your parents, Jin suggests going out for dinner. They didn’t want your parents to ruin your day, especially after your duet with Jimin. All those hours of practice paid off, and you both deserved to celebrate a very successful performance.

After dinner, you went back with them to their dorm because Hoseok wanted to help you pick an outfit. He insisted that the colour of clothes you wear while popping is important if you want your movements to be seen. Borrowing a few pieces of clothing from him, you look at yourself in the mirror. They were oversized, but not too oversized that it was suffocating or would hide your movements. It was street style oversized and it was comfy, you loved it. You abandoned your hat and mask since it was no longer necessary to hide your identity now that your parents knew. Walking into their living room, everyone else was dressed casually while Hoseok was also dressed like he was ready to dance. He still had his hat and mask like everyone else because they still had to hide their identities. “Y/n! You look so cool!” Jungkook says from the couch. You just smile at him, thanking Hoseok for the clothes he picked out. 

Climbing into the car, Hoseok sits down next to you. “You look great! Maybe you should wear my clothes more often!” he says playfully, but there’s truth behind his words. He thought you looked great. His clothes fit you better than they fit him, and there was a warm feeling blooming in his chest when he saw you in his clothes. Your cheeks flush as you smile and mumble a small “thank you.” His clothes smelled like him, and it comforted you despite how nervous you were. You bounce your leg anxiously as you stare out the window, getting closer and closer to the club. “You okay?” Hoseok asks, placing a comforting hand on your knee. “Yeah,” you say with a small smile even though you know it isn’t very convincing. You stay silent for about five seconds, building up the courage to finally ask, “Can you dance with me?”

His eyes widen at your request, and you’re about to apologize for asking when he breaks out into an even bigger smile, “Of course!” It was his fault that you had to dance in front of your parents in the first place and he admired you greatly. He feels honoured to dance beside you and he missed those Friday nights where you two would dance together at Hope World without a care in the world. “Thank you,” you breathe out, leaning your head on his shoulder for the rest of the ride. He would never know how much it meant to you, but you truly appreciated his presence. Just having him by your side was comforting, and you felt like you could face the world as long as you had Hoseok by your side.

You walk into Hope World hand in hand with Hoseok as the rest of the boys trail behind you two. Looking around the room, It’s not hard to spot your formally dressed parents in a club full of dancers wearing streetwear and casual clothes. They were keeping their distance from the circle as they watch the dancers with an obvious distaste. Without even greeting your parents, Hoseok starts dragging you towards the circle. “Let’s go!” he says excitedly as if today was just an ordinary Friday night. Even though you were surrounded by a cheering crowd and you knew your parents were watching, all you could focus on was Hoseok. Letting the beat take over, you dance as if you and Hoseok are the only ones in the room. Although it was supposed to be a dance battle, it was anything but. If you thought you had good chemistry with Jimin, your chemistry with Hoseok was on another level. He brought out the best in you, and you couldn’t help the warm feeling that spread through your whole body as you two flowed together.

You were only snapped out of Hoseok’s trance when the music ended and you were slowly brought back by the sound of the crowd screaming loudly for you two. You were well known in the club, but today, you showed a whole new side of you. Along with finally showing your face after nearly three years of keeping your identity hidden, you danced like you never danced before. A new fire was ignited in you, and it was burning brighter than ever. Stepping out of the circle, the boys engulf you two in a big group hug. You all jump around in a big circle, celebrating as if you were all in your own little world.

“You guys looked so cool!” Jimin says with sparkling eyes. You and Hoseok just smiled and laughed as the maknaes tried to imitate your moves. You feel Yoongi tap you on the shoulder, motioning to something behind you. Everyone suddenly goes silent as you turn to find your parents approaching your group. Taking a deep breath, you look back to find all the boys giving you encouraging and supportive smiles. You knew that whatever happened, they would have your back. You return their smiles before turning to face your parents proudly. Whether they liked it or not, this is what you loved to do and these are the people who you loved. No matter what they say, you’re proud of what you’ve done and who you are, and nothing could change that. 

When your parents stop in front of you, you waver slightly under their intense gazes, but you step up confidently. Your strong front shatters as soon as they do the unexpected: they pull you into a hug. You were prepared for them to yell at you, to scold you or give you disapproving looks. But you didn’t expect them to accept you. Having missed your parents’ affection, you melt into their arms as your eyes start to burn with unshed tears. “We’re so proud of you,” your mother whispers. You longed for nothing more than your parents’ approval, and a choked sob makes its way out of your throat at your mother’s words. Your parents were also getting emotional, regretting all the suffering you must have gone through because of them, but they were so proud of you. Proud of how talented you were and proud of how strong you were. 

The boys smile happily, watching the little reunion between your family. Jungkook even shed a tear, but he’s quick to wipe it away. “Are you crying Jungkook?” Jin asks with his windshield wiper laugh. Jungkook stubbornly tries to deny it, but his runny nose says otherwise. Your father lifts his head, meeting eyes with Hoseok. “Thank you,” he says with watery eyes, “Thank you for bringing back my little girl. I haven’t seen her smile like that in ages.” Hoseok wasn’t expecting his thanks, but he quickly overcomes the shock, bowing respectfully to your father.

Your mother’s hand suddenly shoots out, pulling Hoseok into the hug. His eyes widen as he feels your parents wrap their arms around him, but he soon relaxes into the hug. A few tears shed later, you finally pull away, although Hoseok doesn’t let go of you. Your parents bow deeply to all the boys as they apologize. “We were so wrong about you boys. I sincerely apologize for everything we said about you,” your mother says. The boys stiffen when your parents bow down to them. “It’s alright,” Namjoon says slightly panicked, “Please lift your heads up.” Your father smiles at all of them as he stands up straight. “Thank you all for taking care of our daughter. I’m glad she has such wonderful friends like you,” he tells all of them. They simply smile back at your parents, happy to have a friend like you as well.

Standing outside the entrance of Hope World, you all say goodbye to your parents. “Don’t break my daughter’s heart, got it?” your father points to Hoseok. Hoseok suddenly sputters, choking on air as your face turns bright red. “Dad! It’s not like that!” you say a bit too quickly. Everyone laughs at your reactions, both of your faces burning bright red. Even if nothing was official yet, everyone could tell there was something going on between you and Hoseok. “I’m kidding son,” your father says as he pats Hoseok on the shoulder, “I’m sure you won’t.” 

Regaining his composure, Hoseok gives your father a knowing look. He made the mistake of hurting you once, and he never wanted to see you sad ever again. He suddenly puffs his chest out and salutes your father jokingly. Your father gives a hearty chuckle at Hoseok’s goofiness before turning to head home with your mother. “You guys are welcome to come over for dinner anytime!” your mother yells across the parking lot as she climbs into the car. The boys all smile and thank her as they watch your parents’ car drive away and disappear down the road.

“1, 2, 3!” you all smile brightly as your mother counts down to take a group photo of all of you. It’s been a couple of months since that night at Hope World, and you were finally graduating alongside Jimin and Taehyung. Your parents took all of you out for a celebratory dinner, and you were all chatting away happily as you ate. You’ve never seen your parents talk so animately before, but the boys managed to win them over, especially Hoseok. Ever since he stood up to your parents that night of the concert, your father had a certain respect for him, and your mother couldn’t get enough of his bright and bubbly personality. She’s made it clear on several occasions that she thinks he’s a keeper and she’s already started calling him her son-in-law. But your parents cared for all of them like their own, and they were forever grateful for everything the boys did for you.

“So what are you boys going to be doing now that you’ve graduated?” your father asks the two 95′s. “We’re probably going to enroll in Global Cyber University so we can balance school and our work schedule,” Jimin answers your dad as Taehyung nods in agreement. “What about you y/n?” Hoseok asks you curiously. You grow a bit nervous as everyone turns to you expectantly. “I’m not sure yet,” you say with an awkward laugh. To be honest, you didn’t want to think about life after high school. You went through most of high school alone until you were assigned a duet with Jimin, and now that they were in your life, you didn’t want to let them go. You wanted to stay in high school forever if it meant you could stay with them. “No worries,” Namjoon reassures you with a smile, sensing your unease, “We actually have an offer for you.” You raise an eyebrow at him, looking around the table in confusion when everyone seems to be trying to hide their smiles. “An offer?” you repeat. Namjoon nods as he gestures to Hoseok to reveal the surprise.

You turn to Hoseok, asking for answers as to why everyone seemed to know what was going on except for you, even your parents seemed to be in on it. “I talked to our choreographer and I showed him some of our dance videos,” you stare at Hoseok dumbly, confused at what he was getting at. “And if you want, Big Hit would like to offer you a job as assistant choreographer,” he reveals excitedly. You stare at him with wide eyes, trying to process the information. You look around the table to find everyone staring at you, on the edge of their seats as they wait for your answer. “Are you for real?” you ask in disbelief. He just nods at you with a bright smile. It took a bit of convincing since you were still young, but with Hoseok vouching for you, they decided to give you a chance.

“Can I?” you ask your parents, desperately hoping they say yes. They smile happily as they nod their heads, “The boys brought it up with us a few days ago. If you’d like to, you’re more than welcome to go work for these boys.” You turn back to Hoseok, and before he even gets the chance to ask what your answer is, you jump into his arms and engulf him in a hug. He laughs as he wraps his arms around you, patting you on the back as he asks, “So I guess that’s a yes?” You pull away just enough to flash him a bright smile, nodding excitedly. 

Everyone cheers loudly, glad to have you as part of their team. They all get up, piling onto you and Hoseok as they give you a big welcome hug. “Why are you crying?” Hoseok laughs as he gently wipes at the tears that you didn’t even know were falling from your eyes. “I’m just so happy,” you sob loudly, which only causes him to laugh harder. Your parents take a picture of all of you, capturing your crying face while all the boys surrounding you are laughing. It was a moment you wanted to remember forever, and it would be a great picture to laugh at when you’re old. “Thank you,” you say as you try to wrap your arms around all of them, “I love you guys so much.”

To say you loved your job at Big Hit was an understatement. It didn’t even feel like a job. You got to spend time with the people you loved while doing what you loved. You were assistant choreographer, working alongside Son Sung Deuk and Hoseok, but you also worked on their dance breaks since you could do both contemporary and hip hop. You specialized in both styles of the two main dancers, so you knew how to let each member shine. And at this point you could also be their manager because of the amount of time you spend with them, always making sure they were taking care of themselves.

You and Hoseok still went to Hope World whenever your schedules allowed it, and sometimes the three maknaes would tag along to watch or improve their freestyle and popping. You were also a regular guest on Hope on the Street, often having freestyle battles or dancing small combos with Hoseok. All this time, you felt so far away and Hoseok didn’t know how to reach you, but he was no longer dancing with a stranger. Even when you weren’t at Hope World, you two were in your own little world, dancing in the studio where your bodies were in sync and your hearts beat together.