teddy bear

chapter thirteen

Kaia stood behind the long table BTS was sitting at, standing still. Her legs were just over shoulder-width apart, Jeju sitting between them, on alert. He wore his vest that stated he was a protection dog (Kaia thought the vest was absolutely adorable), his fur looking magnificent.

Kaia spent about 30 minutes this morning grooming her lovely dog. Saying German Shepherds shedded a lot was an understatement. They shedded a sea of fur. Especially Jeju. Kaia was covered in fur by the time she was done brushing Jeju. Even then, she needed to trim the fur around his paws, tail, and face. She just wanted him to look neat for his first (ish) public appearance.

And after a battle with his fur, she got him all neat.

Kaia, naturally, had to change afterwards. She wore loose fitting jeans with a total of two holes in them, both located at her knees. She wore black boots, a white shirt, and an oversized black zip up jacket. Nothing about her outfit was flashy; she needed to remain as unnoticeable as possible. The boys needed to be the center of attention and their flashy outfits definitely help with that.

"ARMY # 48 is on deck, 34 to go until break." One of the staff members reported into her ear piece, Kaia giving a small nod as she continued watching ARMYs meet with the boys. Kaia herself was wearing two masks, an attempt to keep the boys and others healthy while they were around her. It benefitted her as well because then no one could see her face except for her eyes. Her cheeks got so much more full after last night's meal, she hated it.

'Mom?' Jeju looked up at Kaia, feeling her legs against his side. 'Why are you moving?'

Kaia swallowed and blinked several times, her body unwillingly swaying. "Sorry Buddy." She spoke quietly, adjusting her footing. 'I should sit down.'

"OWWWWWW!" Taehyung leaned back, holding his hand, wailing and wailing as the ARMY in front of him freaked out.

"What?!" Kaia ran over to him, putting her hand on his shoulder as she leaned forward to see...

Nothing?

"What's wrong??" Kaia asked, Taehyung fake-crying.

"I got a paper cut!" Taehyung held up his finger, Kaia having to squint to see the red line on his finger. "ARMYYYYY." Taehyung whined into the microphone, holding out his finger. "I've been slain by a dragon."

"Hold on, I'll grab you a bandaid." Kaia patted his shoulder and walked off the stage, Jeju trotting right beside her. She walked over to her bag that sat on the chair, knowing Mr. Lee was glaring at her behind her back. "I'm getting a bandaid."

"You shouldn't have left the boys on the stage for a stupid cut you probably made on yourself."

Kaia froze, anger boiling inside of her. How dare he say such a thing? How dare he turn such a painful experience many go through into an insult? How dare he!

Kaia closed her bag and turned towards Mr. Lee, reminding herself not to make a huge scene. "You can count on losing your job in the morning." Kaia didn't let her eyes stay on him for any longer, her words powerful enough.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean??" Mr. Lee called out to her, but couldn't do anything else. She was already on stage again.

"Let me see, Taehyung." Kaia stood behind him, unwrapping the bandaid.

"I'm going to bleed out Kaia." Taehyung fanned himself, leaning his head back, eyes closed. "Please save me."

Kaia only smiled beneath her masks, careful to use the sticky covers to put the bandaid on, not wanting her fingers to be on it. "There you go." Kaia smoothed out the bandaid, pulling Taehyung up right. "I think you'll live."