"This movie is really interesting."
"When did you watch it?"
"I watched the movie on Tuesday."
"Where did you watch it?"
"I watched the movie at home."
Anna was at her Korean lesson and they were testing her ability to understand simple questions and respond with an answer. After she finished saying her last sentence, she looked expectantly at her teacher.
"Good! Well done Anna. Your Korean is really coming along. You've being doing a lot of studying recently haven't you?"
"Really? You really think so? I have had a lot of time to myself these past few weeks."
"Well all that extra studying is paying off. You'll be fluent in no time!"
"I think that's jumping the gun a little."
"Yeah, maybe. Okay! Let's move on to something a little harder."
They had both been laughing, but now Anna was groaning.
"No! Nothing harder yet please!"
This is how Anna spent her days. She had her Korean lessons in the mornings. At home, she would make herself lunch, do some studying or any work she still had left to do. Then she cooked herself dinner before watching a movie and hoping that at least one of her soulmates would make it back home before she fell asleep.
When they first went back to work after their break, the boys didn't really notice anything. To them, it was like going back into a routine that they were used to. However, as the weeks passed by and their schedule continued to take up every minute of their day, it got to a point where a group meeting was in order.
"I'm not sure how much longer we can keep this up Namjoon."
"I agree with Hyung. I feel like I only go home to sleep."
Hoseok laid his head on Jin's shoulder, snuggling into his soulmate's side when the older boy wrapped his arm around him.
"I don't even bother going home. I've been sleeping in my studio."
"But that's not exactly new for you is it Yoongi Hyung."
Jimin grinned cheekily as he said it.
"Hey! I've never spent consecutive nights there!"
Taking control, their leader raised his hands and motioned for everyone to calm down.
"Okay, okay. We all feel the same. Our schedule has been a little jam packed recently. I will talk to management and get them to ease it up. Okay?"
"Thank you Namjoon."
"Thank you to our wonderful leader!"
Everyone laughed as the maknae line start bowing to Namjoon, but the light-hearted atmosphere disappeared quickly when Taehyung asked a question.
"Has anyone spoke to Anna recently?"
"Kookie?"
They turned to their youngest, figuring since he shared a room with her, he must have gotten to spend some time with Anna, but Jungkook shook his head.
"Most nights she's already asleep when I get in."
"Anyone else?"
They all looked around at each other, but no one spoke up apart from Namjoon.
"I spoke to her to her the other week. I wanted to ask her about her work."
"How was she? Did she feel lonely? I feel neglectful. Why can't I do anything right with her!"
"Jimin sweetie, come on. Don't talk like that."
Taehyung wrapped his arms around his fellow 95er and gave him a kiss on the head.
"Yeah, Jiminie. Listen to Hobi Hyung. You've done nothing wrong."
"Anna said she understands what our life is life because of our work. She doesn't blame us for it."
"Namjoon Hyung, why did you ask her about work?"
"I know when we first met, she said she could take her work anywhere, but I wanted to see how it was going because I have a plan."
The others perked up at their leader's words.
"A plan? For Anna?"
"I knew our busy schedule would mean we would hardly see her, and I wanted to change that."
Jin stared at Namjoon thoughtfully.
"You're planning to get her a job at the company."
"Really?!"
The younger ones were excited while Yoongi frowned.
"As what? Our assistant? Anna deserves better than fetching us water and snacks."
"Anna's going to be our assistant?!"
"Umm, yeah, I admit that was my first thought, but Yoongi Hyung is right and after I talked with Anna, I got another idea."
"What's that?"
"Tell us Hyung! What idea?"
The leader looked amused at his younger soulmates' enthusiasm.
"Well, I'm still working out the details, but I think she would enjoy working with our content creators, working on our YouTube video and social media stuff. I thought she could help with the international side of it and, once her Korean has improved, with translations."
"You think she will enjoy that?"
"When I spoke to her she said something about helping new ARMYs navigate all our content and discover old videos and she seemed really passionate about it. This could be a steppingstone to doing something like that."
"I'm not sure I want new ARMYs to find our old videos."
"I think Namjoon should be worried about that more than you Jimin. He was hil-hair-ious back then."
Jin and Jimin giggle amongst themselves while the others rolled their eyes at Jin's joke.
"That's sounds really cool Namjoon. So, I'm guessing Anna does actually need a job, right?"
"Yeah, she said she had finished all the work she had brought with her but hadn't gotten anything new since. Although, she didn't seem that upset about it."
"I don't know how people do jobs they're not passionate about. I couldn't do it."
"Same, but we're lucky in that regard. Most people don't have a choice."
"Noona deserves to do something she loves!"
"I agree, which is where the second part of my plan comes in."
"There's a second part?"
"Yes. The job would just be part time because the rest of the day she would be with the trainees and taking classes."
There was almost a full minute of silence while the rest of the members processed what Namjoon had just said. A range of expressions passed over their faces, from surprised, to excited, to worried.
"You mean...?"
"Yes! Noona's going to become a singer!"
"Dibs on working with her first!"
"Wow, that's... is that what she wants?"
"Are you sure she can handle it? Don't get me wrong. She has an amazing voice, but there's a lot more to being an idol than that. The publicity for one, and I'm not sure she could handle it."
"Hyung! How could you say that?"
"No, I understand what he means. She's shy and awkward, but I believe with training that she can be strong enough. Do you know why? Because when I asked her what she would do, if she could do anything, do you know what she said?"
"Singing."
"Correct. Anna said that singing makes her feel alive. Sound familiar?"
"That's what we say performing feels like for us!"
"She's like me when I started. Shy, but passionate. If I can do it then she can too. Don't you think Yoongi Hyung?"
"Yes. I'm sorry Kookie. I'm just worried about her. It's a brutal world."
Taehyung took Yoongi's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.
"And we will be there to protect her and encourage her."
"Great! Now that we're all on board, we just need to convince Anna."
"Anna needs convincing?"
"I thought this is what she wants?"
"It is, but she doesn't think it's possible, that's she not good enough."
"Well I think becoming a trainee should prove that's she good enough."
"Exactly. So, when does she start?"
"About that..."
"They haven't agreed to take her on as trainee, have they?"
"Not exactly. Obviously, they want to see what she can do first."
"So, she's got an audition?"
"The process is going to be a little different to a normal audition."
"Different? How?"
"Just spit it out already."
"Umm, Anna won't know she's being auditioned?"