"Thank you for your hard work!"
Everyone just came back to the dressing room after the pre-recording, and the members' faces are drenched in sweat.
"Wow, our performance was seriously amazing today. We got a lot of reactions." Yunki sips on his bottle of water, feeling proud.
Namjun smiles, his dimples showing off, "I heard the cheers even though I wasn't trying to focus on them. It sounded like they really enjoyed us, and it felt great."
"Me too! I feel so confident it's like I'm floating!" Jeongguk shouts out.
"Hey, I know I'm part of the group but Hoseok's dance solo looked really cool today!" Seokjin compliments.
Hoseok's ears heat up, "Come on, you're embarrassing me..."
(Y/N) pokes his cheeks from behind, "You say that, Hoseok, but I see you smiling!"
Namjun turns to (Y/N), "What did you think, Manager? Do you think our recording went well?"
(Y/N) nods vigorously, "Yeah, you were scary-good. I thought you were going to swallow the camera whole! You've practically lived in the practice room lately, so I'm glad it was definitely worth it!"
"Oh! I heard some studio staff in the hallway saying something something Boys were really good!" Taehyung announces.
"As soon as Taehyung heard that he ran over and said, "Hello we're the Bangtan Boys!" Seriously..." Jimin shakes his head at Taehyung's playful nature.
Taehyung points at Jimin accusedly, "Hey, Park Jimin! Don't act like you didn't do it, too!"
"Of course I did! I'm part of Bangtan Boys, too!"
(Y/N) just felt her heart fill up with such positive energy, "What an amazing experience! It must've felt awesome!"
"...It did feel pretty good. They told us we were full of energy and that's how rookies should behave." Jimin tells her.
"They said it's great how precise our choreography is, even though it's complicated. They asked us what Hoseok hyung's name was, but Jimin was too nervous..." Taehyung says.
"I couldn't remember J-hope so I told them it was Hobi hyung. Ah, I'm so embarrassed."
"Okay, focus! Focus! The broadcast of our performance is starting. We should watch this." Hoseok says, getting everyone's attention.
Namjun agrees, "Yeah. Hoseok spent all night choreographing this, so let's pay attention."
Something about the way the members gather around the monitor fills (Y/N) up with pride. All the stations staffers are talking about Bangtan Boys' songs and impressive performance.
(Y/N) just smiles through the whole thing, 'Can we ride this momentum all the way to the Rookie of the Year award? Oh! It's the PD of the music program! Time to make a lasting impression.'
She speed walks her way to the hall when her phone dings with a text notification.
President:
[Why did only 6 of the members
perform today?]
(Y/N) grits her teeth at the text, 'I can't believe this guy! He never answers when I need him, and now he's making ridiculous complaints.'
(Y/N):
[I think you need an eye exam,
All 7 were there on stage.]
President:
[You're their manager. You should
watch more closely... lol]
'I know he's my boss, but the president's is seriously getting on my nerves!' She clenches her fists so hard that they sting the center of her palms.
After reading that last message, (Y/N) thinks about the performance earlier and triumphantly replays the video on the tablet. But...
'There really are only 6 members on stage!' (Y/N)'s face morphs into fear and disbelief.
Hoseok's dance solo's been cut out entirely. Worse, he doesn't appear on camera again, making it look like only 6 members performed.
After watching the video, (Y/N) speed walks straight to the staff with a frustrated look and asks about the performance shooting.
"Oh, that? The performance went over the time limit, so we cut out the part after the first verse." A staff member explains.
(Y/N) feels her blood boil, "Why did you cut our performance? Is it because we're new? Or because we're not famous?" She argues furiously, but nothing changes.
Back in the dressing room...
"Manager... Do you think Hoseok will be alright?" Jimin asks, clearly worried about his hyung.
Taehyung frowns, "He worked the hardest to prepare, but his face doesn't even show up."
"He said he had to take a phone call and walked out, but I'm worried about him." Seokjin's eyes show signs of hurt for Hoseok.
"I'll look for him. You guys just wait here. And don't worry." (Y/N) heads out the room in search for Hoseok.
She wanders around the building for a while before she spots Hoseok on the phone in the corner of a staircase.
"Nothing's wrong. I'll definitely show up next week. Don't worry about it, mom, or I'm going to be upset!"
Hoseok's voice is bright, but his disappointment is clear on his face as he sits there on the stairs.
(Y/N) feels her heart ache seeing her sunshine Hobi in this state. 'I'm so upset! Hoseok worked harder than anyone to get this ready. I can't have Hoseok go through this alone. I'm going to go cheer him up.' She quietly walks down the stairs towards Hoseok's direction, "Hey, Hoseok..."
Hoseok turns around to see (Y/N), "Manager?"
All traces of disappointment vanish from his face when he greets her. He offers her a radiant, hopeful smile.
'Right, I forgot... This is Hoseok. He's obviously going to say he's alright when I ask. What can I say to make him feel better?'
"Did you come out here looking for me?" Hoseok asks.
(Y/N) quietly presses play on a video on her phone and holds it out to Hoseok. "I filmed your performance today. How do you like it?"
"It's great. Um... This... Haha, Manager! You should film me dancing! Why did you take so many closeups of my face?" Hoseok laughs at the video, his smile rising.
(Y/N) chuckles along with him, "It wasn't my intention, but you looked so happy up there on stage. It was only that I realized I spent so much time filming your face."
Hoseok is at a loss for words. He watches silently as he shines on screen.
The (H/C) haired female places her hand on top of his shoulder, "You were seriously so, so cool today."
Hoseok's smile shines brighter as he looks over and stares at her. He brings his arms around her shoulders and rests his head on top of her collarbone. "Thanks, Manager."
(Y/N) can tell from his simple thank you that he's feeling better. She brings her hands upon his back, returning the hug.
Hoseok pulls her deeper in the hug and starts playing with some locks of her hair, "Hmmm, I'm really happy you appreciate my work so much. It really takes me back to when we first met. You were the only one who was watching me the whole time."
"Yeah, I remember clearly." (Y/N) relaxes under his touch. "You did your best and I honestly couldn't look away."
Hoseok chuckles at her compliment and picks his head up to where he sees her (E/C) orbs, but is still close to her face. His eyelids lower down to half open as he is staring at them. It felt like everything around him disappeared, there was nothing else, there was no one else. It was just the two of them, alone. He unwraps his arms around her and slowly cups her face, leaning in slowly as he feels her hot breath tickling his lips and his nose is inches away from hers.
(Y/N)'s whole face blushes hard from the close contact, "U-Uhm, Hoseok?"
Hoseok snaps out of it and realizes what he's doing. He tries to play it off by ruffling her hair playfully.
'How many times has that happened to me...?' (Y/N) thinks for a second as she is still confused on what just happened, but gives in to the playfulness of Hoseok. She gets up from her spot, "Ah, everyone's probably waiting. We should hurry back! Okay, focus! Focus!"
Hoseok laughs at her mocking, "What the- are you trying to copy me?"
She playfully shoves Hoseok into the hallway and starts to follow, when-
She spots a CD someone's carelessly left on a waiting room table.
'What the? That CD is full of priceless songs! Ugh!!' (Y/N) grips her hair as she is feeling frustrated.
"Well, that's a pity. Their performance today was great." A staff member is heard.
"I heard someone say they have Rookie of the Year potential if they keep this up." Another comments.
"Aww. The winners for that are predetermined, though, right? It'll be hard for them to even get an invite."
'Predetermined? How is that even possible?' (Y/N)'s heart quickens at a fast pace as she overhears the conversation. She stews her anger while she rounded up the abandoned CDs scattered around the empty waiting room. 'I shouldn't have been eavesdropping. Now I'm seriously bothered!'
It's not easy turning away, even though she's already collected the CDs. (Y/N) felt like she's overheard some kind of ominous prophecy.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
A/N: Alright! Another chapter done😊 I know lately I've been gone but that's because my first college year just ended for me and I had final exams. But I'm glad I'm back to share an update with you all. As always, I purple all you beautiful ARMY and have a safe and happy day 💜🌸🦋
P.S: if you'd like to join the discord, ask for a link and I'll send one!🤗