A Year to Change Your Lives

Chapter 17

Landing in Europe for the first time since leaving last year was a pleasant shock. Although France is very different from the UK, Reader found there a sea of familiar faces, lettering and even snippets of language that she could speak.

Despite her more familiar surroundings, Reader found she couldn't concentrate or keep the requisite smile on her face. Between the flight time, the conversations she'd had with Laura over the last two days and a drop in contact from Jungkook, she was losing confidence in their reunion.

Laura got off her phone as they left the baggage claim, under the watchful eyes of their bodyguards and headed for the exit. "Put your sunglasses on. Apparently, there's a crowd and you look like shit." She directed Reader who did as she was told with a chuckle.

"Where are we going now?" Asked reader as they passed through customs and a final Duty free before rounding the corner to see the greeting line where it seemed a separate area had been set up for fans hoping for a glimpse of anyone from BTS. Reader smiled and waved at the little but loud crowd but kept her distance, flanked by her bodyguards as they made their way through to the car. The attention she received was nothing compared to the boys but still warranted caution.

"To the stadium." Said Laura, clambering in behind her. "They'll get you ready for the European press. Then the conference. Then the boys do their show and then back to the AirB&B for sleeping."

Although it was approaching rush hour in the famously undrivable city, the journey was little more than an hour and took them into the centre of Paris, along the bank of the Sein where they were dropped at the VIP garage of a huge stadium complex that had a sandstone look of pyramids about it.

Reader was taken immediately to a hair and makeup chair and was given a red and yellow oversized jumper to wear with leather leggings.

In the mirror, she saw the doors opening and a small crowd of people coming in one by one. Some of the crew fresh from their sound check and then the boys. They all greeted Laura and waved at Reader in the mirror but knew better than to disturb the stylists at work. Trying to keep herself steady, Reader saw Jungkook, flickering her eyes across to him when she thought it wouldn't show and lingering on his form as he sat and began eating. Once or twice his own eyes shot across to hers but they both looked away for fear of being noticed.

Their touring manager came over accompanied by Laura who started speaking on his behalf.

"The boys will kick off the press conference, then they'll call you in just for photos. You won't have to say anything, but they might ask a couple of questions. Depends on how they behave before you get there."

"That sounds ominous!" Said Reader, holding still again her pull of the straighteners in her hair.

"It's because we're not in Korea. The press here ask more intrusive questions so the whole team's a bit edgy." Replied Laura, seeming to circumvent the manager who was now starting to drift away from them.

"Then why have the conference at all. They don't normally when they tour, do they?" Reader asked.

"Because of you, I think. You're getting a bunch of interest in Europe and HYBE like addressing the international ARMY when they can."

Reader shrugged, feeling like she was a strange ambassador but happy to sit in front of a few cameras if they would make anyone feel better.

She was still in the chair when the boys were ushered out of the room. There wasn't space for them all to be dressed in there so they were taken to a different part of the building and then would go straight into the conference room.