"He called you 'hoobae'!"
"Is that a good thing?" I ask Jaehwa.
"Yes, it means he considers you a part of the team!" they comment excitedly. "And he considers you a friend."
I smile warmly at their words.
"You're lucky," Jaehwa goes on. "It took him almost six months to consider me his hoobae."
"Did he not like you or something?" I chuckle.
"No, because when I joined, it was an all-male team. They hadn't had a woman in ages and never a non-binary person. It was a while before they accepted me as a member of the team."
My face drops. "Oh, I'm sorry."
"It's alright. I was able to prove how tough I am. Plus, nothing feels better than showing up a bunch of men in a pull-up competition."
"That's amazing," I laugh. "Remind me to never compete against you."
"You don't need to worry about that. You're my partner now."
"Well, partner," I begin, "shall we head out?"
They nod. "We shall."
***
Jaehwa knocks loudly on the dance studio door. The music stops and someone responds with, "Nae?" Jaehwa swings it open.
"Good evening," they begin in formal Korean, paired with a deep bow.
The seven members bow in return. I lock eyes with Jungkook who is biting back a grin. I know he wants to run up and hug me, but he can't. I'm just a member of his staff at the moment.
"Audaire and I are here to accompany Jimin at the doctor's," Jaehwa continues. "Are you ready to go, Jimin-ssi?"
"I am," Jimin answers. "Let me grab my bag."
He goes to the back of the room, gets his stuff, and joins us where we're standing. Jimin says goodbye to the guys, telling them he'll see them at home.
The three of us get into one of the black company cars and take Jimin to his doctor. Jimin hates going to the doctor. That's why he was pretending his finger was healed. The dull pain is bothersome and he decided to finally get it checked out. We tried calming him down while he waited his turn. It seemed to have worked a bit.
Jaehwa and I sit in the waiting room while he gets seen, and we discuss the award show most of the time. "Oh, and afterward, there's a huge idol afterparty at this underground club!" Jaehwa squeals. "It's gonna be so much fun!"
"You're going?"
"We're going," they correct me.
"But we're staff. Aren't we supposed to be working?"
"I worked last year's afterparty. This year, I'll be there solely to dance and drink."
"You're not an idol though," I chuckle.
"Some of the staff go to celebrate their idols' wins. This includes us since it's obvious BTS will sweep the awards."
"Are you sure they'll let us in?"
"Of course. We just show our Big Hit ID, get it verified, and boom, we're in."
"I have a strong feeling that this will be a night to remember," I divulge. "And maybe not in a good way."
They wave their hand in dismissal. "Don't be so paranoid. You'll have a great time."
I raise my eyebrow at them.
"I swear," Jaehwa affirms, holding out their pinky.
I interlock my pinky with theirs.
***
Jimin has a small fracture and needs to wear a splint for about a month. When we get into the car, his finger is troubling him, so I pull some pain killers out of my bag and hand them to him.
"Thank you, Audaire," says Jimin.
"You're welcome, Jim-I mean, Mr. Park."
I hear him giggle to himself in the backseat.
For the remainder of the ride back to the company, we don't talk; we just listen to music at a low volume. Jaehwa drops Jimin off at the front of the building and then parks the car in the big garage. The two of us clean up the security room a tad before meeting Youngmi in her office. Apparently, she's the style director. She doesn't seem old enough to have such a high position. But by the way Youngmi presents herself, her experience doesn't go unnoticed; her makeup and hair are perfect, and her fashion sense is top tier.
"MAMA is going to be the death of me," Youngmi groans.
Jaehwa snickers. "You say that every year."
"I'm serious this time though," she proclaims. "But BTS taking home that daesang will make all the stress worth it."
The corners of my mouth turn up. The boys have an overwhelming amount of support from their staff, and it has me feeling warm and fuzzy inside. "They'll win every category they're in, I know it."
"Of course they will," Jaehwa assures. "They're BTS. No one does it like them."
Youngmi throws her feet up on her desk, crossing them at the ankles. "We're coloring their hair later this week and I still haven't decided what look we're going for."
"What're the options?" I inquire.
"Option one is keeping it classy with every member having black hair. Option two is a monochromatic look. Like, some members with black hair, some with grey, and some with white hair. Option three is just to go fucking crazy with colors—bright colors."
"Those are really good ideas!"
"My wife's a genius," Jaehwa indicates. "What can I say?"
Youngmi rolls her eyes. "You're only saying that to butter me up."
"What? I am not!"
"Yes, you are," she asserts. "You just want me to get you a designer outfit for the afterparty."
"How dare you accuse me of that!" Jaehwa feigns being offended. "But will you?"
She points to the door. "Get out of my office."
I chuckle at the exchange.
Jaehwa turns their attention to me after playfully flipping Youngmi off. "What're you gonna wear?"
"I figured we were staying in uniform."
"Gross!" Youngmi exclaims. "You can't wear that to an idol party!"
"She's right," Jaehwa agrees. "We're not working the afterparty, remember?"
"Do you have something to wear?" she asks me. "If not, I can help."
"Oh, so you'll help her but not me?"
"Yes, now hush."
"I doubt I have anything idol party-worthy," I answer Youngmi.
She reveals a tape measure seemingly out of thin air. "Stand up."
I get off her leather couch and hold my arms out at my sides. She takes a bunch of measurements, saying them aloud for Jaehwa to jot down for her. When she's done, Youngmi places the tape measure around her neck. "I'll have the perfect outfit for you. Don't worry about a thing."
"Thank you for doing this."
She smiles. "What're friends for?"
"What about wives?" Jaehwa pipes up.
Youngmi sighs. "Fine. I'll get something for you too."
A wide grin appears on their face. "Saranghae."
***
"How did your first day go?" asks Taehyung, flopping down onto the sofa next to me. Rehearsal ran really late tonight, so I've been home alone for quite a few hours. I hung out with Jaehwa and Youngmi in her office until eight. They offered to drive me home, but I couldn't have them knowing where I lived. Instead, I told a small lie, saying I was going to hit the gym nearby and that they could go ahead and leave. I hid out in the building for fifteen minutes to make sure the coast was clear before texting Sejin that I was ready. "Did you make any friends?"
"You're questioning her like it was her first day of kindergarten," Yoongi comments. "But seriously, did you make friends?"
I giggle. "Yeah, I think I did."
"Who?" Jungkook wonders, his big eyes filled with curiosity.
"Sim Jaehwa. I met their wife Youngmi too."
"Don't tell anyone, but Jae is my favorite bodyguard," Jimin discloses.
"They're really cool and super nice."
"You guys seemed to get along well," he imparts. "You looked comfortable with them."
"Yeah, I felt comfortable with both Jae and Youngmi."
"Did Youngmi say anything about what we're wearing to MAMA?" Namjoon inquires.
"No, but she did mention doing your hair this week."
"If she tries cutting my hair," Jungkook begins, "I'm running away."