Underlined = English
Author's Note:
Because I am not a fan of American Hustle Life and I honestly don't want to put myself through having to watch it fully again, and it would take literally forever for me to write it if I were to write it like I've been writing the variety shows, I've decided to write it in kind of like snapshots of different times throughout the show. There will still be an obvious timeline and the normal amount of detail and interaction, it just won't be a day-to-day description. I'm probably not describing it very well, but I promise it won't be weird or badly written/incorporated into this story. You might not even notice the slight tweak in story writing (hopefully lmao).
I just thought that that was the best of both worlds since you guys really wanted me to write about AHL and I personally don't want to put that much time on it and move on lol.
April 29th, 2014:
I was sitting in front of two cameras to film a pre-interview for American Hustle Life, a Mnet show we were filming where we would learn more about hip hop while we were in LA.
"Did you know a lot about hip hop before joining the group?" asks the producer.
"Honestly? No. But I've learned a lot through the boys. The dancing, the rhythm, the lyrics, the lifestyle... they've all taught me about it, especially Suga and Rap Monster-oppa," I answer honestly.
"So, what do you think hip hop is?" continues the producer.
"Wow... um... that's such a deep question," I chuckle, "I think hip hop is something different from every person that performs it. It's a way for someone to express themselves freely, how they want, and kind of go against the system... It's not just about music or dance, like I said before it's a lifestyle, even a culture in a way I think," I respond sincerely.
"Wow, was not expecting that kind of response," laughs the producer impressed, "what are you hoping to learn from being on this show?"
"I'm not sure honestly," I laugh, "I'm not quite sure what to expect. I just hope that I grow and learn to become a more mature and experienced artist since I will be truly living the lifestyle. I don't think I have an excuse to not understand hip hop after this," I answer.
"What do you think will be the hardest part of this show?" asks the producer.
I pause to think. Should I say the obvious? That being a girl in the hip-hop world, even the idol one, is quite hard and emotionally draining. Or should I say the easy thing, non-controversial thing, like having to translate everything for the boys?
"I think the hardest thing about this show is... it's probably going to be proving myself I think. Proving to the mentors in the U.S., but also to the other members and myself that I can be a hip-hop artist... And translating for the boys," I add laughing, lightening the mood.
"Onto an easier question," the producer says smiling, "what do you want to do in America?"
"Oooo, I want to go to the beach! I love water and swimming," I say excitedly.
"Ok, great, that's it. Thanks," the producer finishes the interview somewhat abruptly after my response.
Since my interview ended earlier than I expected it to, I went to the Big Hit lobby to finish some homework with Jungkook before we had our group practice.
"How did your interview go?" he asks, seeing me sitting down.
"I don't know, the producer seemed happy," I answer unsure, "but I think I go too deep in my answers".
"You go too deep with everything," I laugh, "we're literally 18, live a little Y/N," he jokes.
"I am!" I reply defensively, "you know what, I will act exactly like you on this show, will that make you happy?"
"And what do I act like," he questions, erasing one of his answers after seeing what I had written down.
"I don't know... you live free, non-caring, you have fun. I'm jealous of that sometimes, but I just can't seem to not be serious about stuff. It's annoying," I say pouting.
"It's not annoying, it's you," he says, patting my leg, "you just see life from a different angle and that's okay, especially when your angle is filled with a lot more obstacles than mine. But you should relax more from time to time," he says.
"Wow, who gave you that line?" I chuckle.
"Rap-monster-hyung," he laughs with me, "after we had that mega argument at ISAC".
"Ah, I see," I nod my head, reading the instructions for my next assignment.
April 29th, 2014:
We were on the plane going to LA to shoot American Hustle Life. Bang PD had gathered us before we left and informed us this was quite a big deal, we would be meeting some big names, we were spending a lot of money, and this opportunity was one we could not mess up.
I was sitting next to Seokjin and Sejin, away from the other 6 boys on the plane. I could hear Hoseok and the others talking about the US to the camera they had given him. It was quite amusing to listen to, and I knew what they were talking about. It must have been even funnier and weirder if someone didn't. Seokjin had also been given a camera and had just turned it on.
"So we're on the plane to the U.S. now," he says first after starting to record, "as you can see, Y/N and I are far away from the others," he says pointing the camera and zooming in on the boys farther up the isle joking around, "but we can make our own fun right Y/N?"
"Yes, of course!" I say confidently.
"Why don't you teach me some English since we're going to the USA?" Seokjin suggests.
"Sure, what do you want to learn?" I ask.
"What do you think I'll need to know?" he questions back.
I think, "ok what about 'do you speak Korean'" I laugh, "it's do you speak Korean"
"Ahhh, so 'do you speak Korean?'" he repeats a little unsure.
"Yeah, that was actually pretty good!" I say, " you could also use 'it's an honour to meet you' which means it's an honour to meet you, on people that we meet that might be more experienced in the industry," I add.
He repeats the sentence after me and after a few tweaks says it quite well.
"Ok, well with that, the plane is actually about to take off, so see you in America!" Seokjin says to the camera before turning it off.
"Do you actually remember anything I just taught you?" I ask him.
"I do now, but I'll probably forget it by the time we land," he laughs.
"Of course, of course," I say rolling my eyes.
"Why would I need to remember it when we have you and Namjoon," he says, getting his headphones out of his bag.
"Urgh, you're so lazy," I say jokingly.
"No, I'm smart. I don't work more than I need to. Work smarter, not harder," Seokjin corrects me laughing.
"Whatever," I laugh with him, getting my science assignments out of my bag.
While the others might sleep or listen to movies or music on the flight, I thought it would be smart to use this time to catch up on some of my assignments. As much as I hated having to do schoolwork on the plane, with this more rigorous schedule Sejin and my homeroom teacher had made a few months ago I had to do it to be able to keep up with my peers and graduate from school on time.
We were 6 hours into the flight, and I was still working on schoolwork. I had finished all my science assignments for the week, as well as my history work. I was now working on math. I was keeping Korean and English for last since they were my easiest subjects.
"You're still working?" says Taehyung surprised as he walked by coming back from the bathroom. He had seen me 3 hours ago the last time he had gone.
"Yeah..." I respond tiredly, "I want to get it done so I can enjoy and totally focus on the show".
"You're something else," he says, "I would never be able to focus this long on schoolwork... good luck," he adds walking away to his seat.
I was getting really tired. We were 30 minutes into hour 7 and the lights in the cabin were still turned off and everyone was asleep. All this work was frying my brain and I was already tired from our schedule over the past couple of months. I kept having to widen my eyes so they wouldn't keep closing, but finally, my body and mind gave in and I fell asleep.
Not sure how many hours later, I feel someone nudging my arm and I wake up.
"Y/N, do you want food? They're giving out snacks," I hear Seokjin say, still poking my arm.
I rustle a bit and then sit up.
"I should probably eat," I admit, rubbing my eyes awake.
"Oh my god," Seokjin says laughing.
"What?" I ask puzzled.
"Your pencil... it made a mark," he points laughing at my face.
I feel my cheek and can feel an indent from where I had fallen asleep on my tray table where I had put my pencil. I just roll my eyes as Seokjin keeps laughing at me.
The flight attendant gets to our aisle and I ask for water and accept the pretzels they were giving out. My diet Yoona made for me was working and I was slowly increasing my intake of food. Even if I cheated on some days because I was truly scared of gaining weight, overall, it was going well.
After eating the snack, I finished my math assignments and did half of my Korean work before falling asleep again. The next time Seokjin woke me up, we were landing, and I had to put my things away.
"You excited?" asks Seokjin leaning over to me as we were preparing for landing.
"Yeah... and nervous," I respond.
"Yeah, me too," he nods, "I'm a little scared actually".
"Why?" I ask, half surprised he was opening up right now and half surprised the confident Seokjin was scared.
"Well, I don't speak English and we're going to be living in the US... I don't fit hip hop at all, and we'll be learning how to be hip hop artists... and I'm the weakest link and will probably have to work the hardest to fit in," he says honestly.
I'm a little surprised by all of this. His reasoning all made sense, but Seokjin rarely opened up and always wanted us to be happy and if he had issues, he dealt with them on his own.
"I understand what you're saying," I say, still thinking about how I should answer, "I even relate a bit. I don't fit hip-hop at all either, but I think with your confidence your already halfway there," I chuckle, "and you aren't the weakest link. No one in this group is a weak link."
"You know all of that confidence is fake right?" he questions, ignoring my comment about the weak link.
"Yeah, I do," I admit, a little sadly, "but it's only fake because you don't think it's a part of you. Right? If you were to truly believe in it, wouldn't it no longer be fake?" I question back.
"Wow, who knew you were this old wise woman," he laughs.
"Whatever," I say slapping his arm, "We can struggle and be scared together Jin-oppa. Fake it till we make it,' I laugh.
"You just called me Jin-oppa," he points at me surprised.
"Did I?" I respond, surprised myself, "I guess I'm believing in this fake confident Seokjin-oppa myself then," I point back.
He laughs, patting my head.
"Stop that! Would you pat the head of an old wise woman?" I say jokingly upset.
"If her name was Lee Y/N and a member of BTS, I would," he chuckles as we land on American soil.
~1888 words~