"Make me," the girl crossed her arms, giving way too much attitude toward an unknown stylist who had just joined Young-Jin Unnie's team.
"I'm sorry, but can you-" the girl tried to convince Na-Rae.
"What's going on here?" Young-Jin interrupted Na-rae before she could speak, fully aware that the 17-year-old wasn't afraid to speak her mind these days. Puberty was great, she thought. "Nara, why haven't you changed yet? You have exactly five minutes to get into these clothes, or I'll send you on that stage naked."
Groaning, the girl roughly grabbed the clothes. "I don't like these. Why can't I wear pants like Jungkook?" She pushed Jungkook with her shoulder on her way toward one of the curtains. Behind the curtains, the girl continued to complain about the outfit the new stylist had chosen. Young-Jin snickered while styling Jimin's hair, who looked confused. "What's so funny, Noona?"
Shrugging her shoulders, she shook her head. "Our little one has quite the attitude today, and she's finally wearing skirts again. I just have a happy feeling. I know it's partly our fault that she's used to wearing pants all the time, but I think our new stylist will change that habit of hers."
"You know I can hear you," Na-rae made a disgusted face at Young-Jin, which made both Jimin and her laugh.
"Look at this cute picture," Jimin said, holding a picture of Na-Rae he had taken seconds ago, which made the girl groan.
In an annoyed whine, she wrapped her arms around Young-Jin's torso. "Unnie, I don't like this. My legs feel so cold, and what if fans can see my underwear-"
"Nara, those skirts come with shorts under them, end of discussion. Mimi is going to do your hair now; go. I need to finish up here too."
"You look great in those." Jimin winked in the mirror, looking at Nara from head to toe, which made her stick out her tongue and move away toward her new stylist. The girl sat down, pouting, letting her hair be styled into a straight, sleek ponytail.
After Young-Jin finished with Jimin, she came over to the two girls. "Put some extra extensions in that ponytail for more volume. If you're finished, you can call me over. I'll do her makeup." The girl nodded her head and continued working.
°°°
"And with this, you're ready to go," she turned Na-rae around in the chair so they were facing each other. "Still upset?" The girl gave her a pouty face and nodded. "You're still a baby, aren't you? All pouty and grumpy." She tapped Na-rae's cheek gently, trying not to mess up her work.
"There's a difference between grumpy and not happy," before the girl could say more, Manager Sejin entered the room, signaling that it was time for the fan meeting. All the boys, followed by some bodyguards, gathered outside.
"Nara, you're looking-" From the corner of her eye, Na-rae saw Young-Jin shaking her head, signaling to Manager Sejin to stop talking.
"I know, I know. Skirts and girls are always a match. I don't want to be looked at, but I don't have a choice now." Without giving anyone another look, she followed Taehyung outside and grabbed his hand. He greeted her with a small smile and led her toward the other boys.
"Okay, boys, Nara, you know your order?" Everyone gave a nod.
Na-rae leaned a little closer to Taehyung, holding both of her hands around his bigger one. She was sitting between him and Hoseok, which boosted her self-confidence a bit. She was more aware of how people looked at her or judged her. She believed that showing less meant giving others less to talk about, the spotlight for being judged wasn't her favorite thing.
It was clear how uncomfortable the girl was on stage. Jimin, Namjoon, and Jin greeted ARMY, but all she could focus on was pulling down her skirt to show less skin. Taehyung, who stood next to her, tried to block her legs a bit, as he had overheard her concerns in the changing room. Hoseok understood what was going on and subtly blocked her figure too.
After the initial greetings, the girl almost sprinted back to her seat, ready to hide her legs under the table. Her mood shifted almost 360 degrees when she saw a blanket laid out on her chair. Sejin-oppa knew her all too well. She looked around for him and met his eyes. Before she could even give him a finger heart, he winked at her, displaying a full-toothed smile. "Thank you," she mouthed and sat down, wrapping the blanket around her legs.
"Feeling better now?" Taehyung asked her, to which she nodded. "You know, you don't need to hide anything. You're good-looking, just like me," he said
"Oppa!" she shyly said, bumping her shoulder into his, which made him flash his famous boxy smile.
"Ooooh!" Both Taehyung and Nara looked up at the ARMY's reaction, causing them both to blush.
The fan meeting was, as always, fun. There were ARMY members who adored one member more than the others, but Na-rae was used to that. What she didn't appreciate were ARMY members who were rude to her oppas. Hoseok had one of those girls in front of them, an obvious Taehyung fan. She wore a headband with two Tata's pinned on it, her T-shirt featured Tae's face, and her notebook and pen were both covered in stickers of him and Tata.
Nara didn't mind such fans; she admired their passion. However, she did mind when they were rude. "You can sign it there, not too big. Just in that corner. Can you do it a bit faster?" Na-rae had no one in front of her at the moment, so she leaned back in her seat, watching how the girl was speaking to Hoseok. Who didn't show any signs of annoyance, but she huffed next to him.
"Pretty rude, don't you think?" she said, not too loudly, but loud enough for Hoseok to hear. In response, Hoseok nudged her feet with his, subtly trying to control the girl's temper, knowing that when this ARMY reached Na-rae, she wouldn't give her the lovely treatment.
"Let it go, okay," he said after he finished signing the girl's notebook, accepting a sticker from her. Notably, it was a sticker of Taehyung. If the girl wasn't that rude, Na-rae would have liked the idea.
"Hey, can you-" Nara, who was still leaning back in her seat, crossed her arms. The girl didn't even look at her; she was just repeating what she had said to Hoseok. "Sign it in the corner, not too big, and do it fast..." When Nara didn't respond the girl looked up confused probably thinking Na-rae didn't hear her.
Still, in her position, Nara looked her straight in the eye. "Sorry, which corner? I cannot see that well."
The girl mimicked Na-rae's attitude, "Here," she pointed to the spot where she needed to sign, rolling her eyes. Na-rae knew she couldn't say or do anything without being ticked on her fingers by Hoseok later, so she did as the girl asked. However, when her pen hit the paper, she had a better idea. Instead of doing what the girl asked, Na-rae signed her name a bit too big. It wasn't even that big but yeah, the girl groaned loudly when she saw what Na-rae did and took her notebook roughly off the table. "Why did you do that!" she said loudly enough that the boys all gave her a look. Na-rae being Na-rae, shrugged her shoulders, signaling to the others that she had done nothing. The girl groaned and walked over to Taehyung, who had no clue what was going on and tried to cheer up the girl in front of him. He asked what was wrong, and she explained what Na-rae did, which made him shake his head. "I will sign it even bigger. Okay?"
"Ugh, you can't like everyone, right?" Na-rae said to Hoseok, who just said bye to the ARMY in front of him.
"It wasn't nice what you did, but thank you!" he whispered to her, grabbing her hand and squeezing it a little.
"Oh, you two are so cute," the girl in front of them said, which made Na-rae blush again. Yet she wasn't used to ARMY calling them cute.
"Oh wait, I didn't get my Tae sticker," Nara pouted, but the girl in front of Taehyung completely ignored her, which made Hoseok laugh.
"Here," he gave her the Tae sticker, which made the girl smile.
"Oh, look, Taetae is so cute here. Should I stick it on my shirt?" She asked the girl in front of her, who nodded.
"Okay, sorry, what's your name?"
"Ji-eun, Hwang Ji-eun."
"Oh, I like that name. How old are you?" The girl blushed a bit, which made Na-rae's smile even bigger. She had to admit that she liked that kind of power. Only blinking at ARMY could make some of them melt. A little wave made them go crazy, but best of all, when she did her popular hand kiss and handwave, the crowd went nuts.
"24. I'm 24 years old."
"Oh, that means you're my Unnie?" Nara looked up after signing her CD. "You are so pretty, Unnie. Your skin looks so perfect. How did you do your makeup? It's so beautiful. You should do something with it." Na-Rea started to blather.
Ji-Eun covered her cheeks with her hands. "Thank you. I-" She paused for a bit, and Na-rae could tell the girl was debating on something. She was a bit surprised when the girl took out her phone. "Oh, she wants a selfie?" Leaning a bit forward, she was even more surprised to see her opening her Instagram.
"I try to be a makeup artist. My account has quite a few followers by now. I only started like 5 months ago." Ji-Eun was a good talker. If Na-rae was conducting interviews by now, she definitely had a weak spot for her smooth talking. Both girls scrolled down her IG. Not dazed anymore, Na-rae even found out that she also posted full outfits on her account. Some were a bit revealing but still classy. A bit of showing off, but not more than needed, just enough to make people look up and think, 'Wow.'
"Unnie, you are really good. I wished you could be my stylist." Na-rae's words flew out of her mouth without thinking.
"That can only be a dream, but thank you. I liked our little chat. Thank you for being so nice." Ji-Eun said, which made Na-rae and her look at each other. Giving her a small smile, Nara waved her goodbye, knowing how 'patient' Taehyung was waiting to meet another ARMY.
"Oh wait, here. Sorry, it's on a napkin, I didn't get notes with me this morning. I wrote a little pep talk quote on there. You look really beautiful today." A bit confused, Na-Rae took the paper napkin in her hand but couldn't read it right away because another ARMY was waiting.
She couldn't count how many faces she saw today. It was probably more than one hundred. But the last ARMYs were greeting Jin, Jimin, and Yoongi, who were sitting last in line.
"I'm so tired. Do we really need to rehearse after this?" she turned her body to Hoseok a bit, while Taehyung was sitting closer to her, leaning his head on her shoulder and looking at him too.
"Yes, hyung, can we just not grab a snack and take a nap?"
"I didn't make up this schedule, and even if I did, we can't sit still now. We have a concert in a few months, and we need to be prepared, don't you think?"
Both of the youngsters whined and leaned back in their seats. "Sometimes he's no fun at all, right?" Hoseok ignored the youngsters agreeing with each other, knowing they were only teasing him.
°°°
"I wanna go home," both Taehyung and Nara said, still hanging on Hoseok, who tried to ignore his younger siblings. Even off stage, they were hanging around him, trying to convince him to talk to the elders. Everyone listened to Hobi-hyung when it came to practice.
"Are we going home?" Jungkook joined the group, confused, not knowing what was going on.
"No, we are not, and here, take care of these two. I have had enough for now," he said jokingly, which made Taehyung and Na-rae look shocked at him.
"Hey, that's not nice, hyung," Taehyung tried to stand up, but Hoseok only laughed and pushed the boy back into the seat.
"Instead of trying to convince me to go home and take a nap, just do it now. We are not leaving for another hour, I think." The youngsters looked at each other and back at him, only nodding.
"My pillow," Jungkook yelled, smashing the pillow on Taehyung's legs, laying full out on the couch. Nara, who was sitting on the other side of Taehyung, laid her head on his shoulder and covered her and half of his body with her blanket.
°°° Half an hour later °°°
"And yet another one who quits," Young-jin almost yelled out loud, which made Taehyung jump a bit, waking up the girl next to him.
"Oppa, not yet," she said half asleep.
"Why? Can you give me an explanation? We really needed those extra hands. Can you at least not try one more time?" Young-jin's desperate voice made Na-rae alert, her eyes shot open, and she looked over to where they were discussing, listening carefully to what the new stylist was saying.
"I just think it's not for me. I tried to give it a go, but the stress before and after... I don't think my body can handle it. I know it's just my first day, but I always follow my feelings, and it doesn't feel good at all."
"So you are saying that after one try, you're already giving up?" Young-jin was known for being a funny, happy, always hard-working unnie/noona for the members. If you needed some advice or help, she was always there. She was a bit of the older sister who told everyone off when things went too far. Seeing Young-jin so desperate now made Na-rae feel guilty. Her behavior earlier wasn't optimal and could be one of the factors. "I'm sorry, but I'm not a person to beg or push people into choices, but after our interview, I really thought I found—"
Nara couldn't hear her unnie being upset anymore, and the poor newbie. She had a rough start, not only was she acting like a child earlier, but the boys also gave her a hard time because they were nervous. Namjoon was complaining about his hair, and Hoseok about his makeup. Jungkook was moving to the beat of his music, which made it difficult to apply his makeup, and she almost burned his ear with a straightening iron. Yoongi did not even speak to her... only Taehyung and Jimin were sweet and kind-hearted towards her.
Na-rae left her cozy spot next to Taehyung and stood next to Young-jin, holding her arm, knowing it would calm her down. "I'm sorry too. My behavior before the fan meeting wasn't acceptable. I saw that skirt, and my emotions went over the top. I gave you a hard time when I knew you were only doing your job. I hope you can accept my apologies for being rude towards you. You did a great job with my hair. Thank you for that."
Minnie smiled at her, shaking her head a bit. "Apology accepted, but that's not the reason why I quit." She patted Na-rae's shoulder and held her hand there when her gaze went back to Young-jin. "It's not about stress or giving up. It's just that I feel this is not for me. I gave it a try, and maybe it seemed all dreamy and lovely working for those adorable, though quietly feisty people, but no. I'm sorry, I hope you will accept my letter." With that, she gave the letter to Young-jin and waved goodbye to everyone, leaving the room.
"Is it because of us?" Namjoon came running towards them, not knowing what had happened.
Young-jin shook her head no and sat down in one of the styling seats. "It's always the same; once they feel too much pressure, they quit." She sighed. "What do we do? Our week is fully planned with photoshoots and interviews. No, why now? I thought she was a stayer, but it seems I'm bad at estimating people." She sighed even louder, hanging her head back, and another groan escaped her lips, making the two members jump up a bit, surprised.
"If we can help?" Namjoon asked, making her shake her head.
"Do you know any stylists who can start immediately?" Scratching the back of his neck with his hand, Namjoon said no.
Only if we could help her... Wait... only if we could help her.
"Where is it?" Na-rae shouted, making everyone startle in the room.
"Where is what?" Manager Sejin-nim asked, not knowing what the girl wanted.
"Our presents, the gifts ARMY gave."
"Gifts aren't going to help us, Nara," Young-jin said, making the girl shake her head.
"Yes, it will!"
"They are in the room next to the toilets, but you can't go there; guards are inspecting them."
"No, I had it with me when I came here."
"What? Nara!" Sighing, he shook his head, while his hand went through his hair. "How many times do I need to explain not to bring anything into the changing room? No gifts, no food or drinks from outside. You never know what the person who gave it to you is up to." Not listening to Sejin-oppa, she searched further for the napkin she got from Ji-Eun.
"I know where it is." She jumped over the couch, waking Jungkook up in progress. "Sorry, Koo." Ignoring the protest, she ran outside the first changing room.
"Nara, you are not allowed to go somewhere alone." Sejin followed behind her.
"But I need to; I know where it is." Opening the other changing room door, she ran up towards the skirt she had thrown on the ground an hour ago. Going through the pockets, she found the paper napkin. "Found it!"
"And thank you!" He took the napkin out of her hand.
"Oppa, no, give it back." Sejin held the paper in the air, trying to ignore the attempts the girl was making to take it back.
"I will give it after inspecting it." What do you need to inspect? It is just a napkin... Okay, people can find everything to hurt other people, but not Ji-Eun. Na-rae had a good feeling about her.
"Oppa, please." After turning it around, trying not to read what was written on the paper, Sejin gave it back to her.
"Here," before giving it to her, he held it back. "Wait, I don't know how many times I need to remind you, but next time I will not give it back to you. What if there was some powder inside this napkin that could make you or the other members sick? This is not a joke, Nara; think about it. Do you want to hurt the others or yourself?" Na-rae's eyes were pinned on the ground, feeling a bit guilty knowing that it could be true.
"I know, I'm sorry, Oppa, but this time you need to trust me."
Sighing, he gave the napkin to her. "It's not about trust; I believe and trust in you. I just don't want to see you or the others getting hurt." Nodding her head, she gave him a quick hug, but before he could even pat her back, she was already running out of the room. "That girl."
"Unnie! Unnie!" Not taking the time to go around the couch, she jumped over it again, this time hitting Jungkook's foot, making the boy groan again. "NARA!" he shouted, but this time she only laughed, ignoring his complaints.
"Do you have Instagram?" she asked Young-jin, who looked a bit confused but nodded her head.
"Can you open the app, please, and search for this name?"
"Jiji_flowers?" a bit suspicious, she typed the name in the search bar. "There are a few flowers here..."
"No, her name is Ji-Eun... maybe you can find her name..."
"Do you know how many Ji-Euns there are on this planet?" Young-jin rolled her eyes but did what the girl asked.
"See there, that's her." Na-Rae pointed to the photo she saw earlier this afternoon.
"Okay," Young-jin said as she opened the profile and scrolled down "Do you know her?"
Na-rae nodded. "I met her today," she said proudly, but Young-jin didn't share her enthusiasm.
"I'm not sure. It seems a bit too good to be true. At least you made an effort to help—" Young-jin said.
"No!" the girl shouted, causing everyone in the room to look up. "Why do you say no? Why! Why don't you give her a chance? You can meet her, talk to her. Ji-Eun Unnie is very talented, incredibly beautiful, and kind. I met her today, and she's lovely. Give her a chance, Unnie."
Young-jin didn't know how to react. Na-rae had always been skeptical when meeting a new stylist. She had never taken a liking to anyone before but had tried to warm up to them. Unfortunately, they usually decided to quit before forming a connection. If Ji-Eun was as good as Na-rae claimed and if Na-rae liked her, she could help Na-rae out with her styling, who often took the longest to get ready.
"What if Ji-Eun styles you like in this photo?" Young-jin asked, showing Nara a picture with a deep cut-out neckline.
"I'll try it."
"What about this dress?" Young-jin tried another photo.
"I'll try it."
"What about this?" Young-jin couldn't help but find it amusing that Na-rae was agreeing to everything to convince her.
"Unnie, please..." Na-rae was almost begging by this point.
Young-jin shrugged. "I'll send her a message on KaTalk. Her profile has a link to her account. Let's see if she's interested; maybe she doesn't even like the idea."
"Yeah, she will. She's a big fan of ours," Na-rae said confidently.
"Not all fans can work with their idols; often, they end up regretting it because they discover how challenging they can be."
The girl was shocked, standing still as Young-jin walked away while sticking her tongue out, a playful sign that she was joking. Na-rae, being Na-rae, couldn't resist shouting, "Yah!"
°°° A few days later °°°
"Here's my favorite brat," Young-jin smiled as she stood behind the styling chair where Na-rae was sitting.
"Unnie, why are you calling me that? I thought I was your favorite now for finding you an awesome stylist, didn't I?" Na-Rae said looking in the mirror straight into Young-jin's eyes.
"I don't play favorites, but I must thank you. You really saved our team this time, and I think you've found the perfect one." Young-jin combed Na-rae's hair and looked in Ji-Eun's direction, a few chairs away, as she styled Yoongi's hair. "She's truly remarkable in the way she handles things, and I have to admit she's doing a fantastic job. I hope she stays, and I believe she can even handle you."
"Yah!" Nara shouted, pushing herself forward, turning her body to Young-jin, and crossing her arms over her chest. "Why did I even help you?"
"Because you love me," Young-jin said with a smile, pushing Nara back into the chair and starting to braid her hair.