It was amazing how quickly the South Korean government could move when it needed to. The news had arrived on the President's desk the moment the Grammy's had ended in Los Angeles, 17 hours behind them. It was all over other various media sites as Seoul and the rest of the nation were waking up to the news that BTS had secured two Grammy wins with their female member, Grace Chu.
She had won 7 Rings - Record of the Year and In My Head - Album of the Year, with Bang-PD & PDogg also receiving their own Grammy's as producers of the album. It was a huge accomplishment considering BTS had been up for similar awards so many times and had walked home empty handed every time. The fact that they had been even nominated was a huge accomplishment but now they could hold their heads up high and say their female member had won it for them.
The military had given Jimin, Jungkook, Yoongi & Namjoon an extra day of leave after the news had arrived so they could be part of Grace's welcome home party. The government had been quick to act - a hero's welcome home for opening the door to the rest of the world of idols and K-Pop that a Grammy could be won.
Of course, some said it was because her song was in English and that she was British had a hand in it. Her citizenship was always a bone of contention amongst some Koreans that she had never given up her British identity, preferring to be dual. And there were the anti-fans who thought their groups deserved it more than she did, that she hadn't done any hard work, hadn't done any of the lyrics (although Grace had her name on every song credit) and it just continued as the news was pumped around.
No one cared though.
It came down to one simple thing: Grace Chu had won two Grammys in a single night, for an album she had worked her bum off for with two of the men that had always been number one supporters of her solo career.
HYBE were already making plans to open a special display for the awards, her costumes, and her dress and hype it up even more.
For Grace, it had been a blur. From the moment her name had been called for the first award, then the second, and then backstage where everyone had congratulated her and there were sooo many celebrities clambering to get a photo with her, and the boys were on the phone sending their congratulations and by the time they got back to the hotel with a police escort, Grace had simply asked: "What the hell has just happened?"
There was champagne, expensive bottles of it, being popped and her father had drunk at least one bottle on his own. Her mother had been calling Korea, telling their friends and family about the night and Sejin had been updating HYBE, Big Hit and the boys with what was going on.
Grace sat down next to Bang-PD and he reached over, putting his hand on her knee to pat it. "Hell of a night?" he asked, laughing.
"You could say that again," she gently laughed and ran a hand over her face. She was more than ready to get the makeup off, get the dress off and have a long shower then crawl into bed. All the stress of the night had melted away the moment the hotel door opened.
"I'm proud of you though, Hea. You work exceedingly hard, double that of the boys and yet you never wanted anything at the end of the day. You simply go with the flow and if it happens, it happens. But look at what happened tonight - your performance and two awards in your name."
"Our name," Grace corrected with a grin. "Our name, PD-nim. You, me and PDogg. We each get our own in three months."
"Three months?" he asked, looking horrified. "Hang on, I need to make some calls."
She guessed he hadn't heard that part when they had gone backstage to do photos and they had taken the awards off them, explaining that these were simply props and they would receive the actual ones in the post in three months.
Sejin sat down next to her and let out a large breath, running a hand over his face, through his hair and slipped his glasses off. "Wonder if they're doing room service right now?" he asked, wiping the corner of his eye.
"I could do with a big greasy burger with extra pickles and a cola," Grace sighed. If there was going to be a cheat day, now would be it.
Bang-PD came back just as room service was bringing in trays of burgers and fries and cola, complimentary from the hotel for what she had won tonight. "Perfect timing," he said as he swiped his own burger and took a seat next to his artist and her manager.
"So, want to hear some good news?"
Grace and Sejin turned to look at him, eyebrows raised with matching expressions as their mouths were taking a bite out of their burgers. It made Bang-PD laugh and he waved a hand, letting them carry on eating.
"I spoke to the Grammys, we can pick up the awards on the way to the airport. They are going to rush-order them as it were. Took a bit of talking but we did it and the President has been on the phone."
"President of South Korea?" both Grace and Sejin asked.
"That one. He's got the information of our flight tomorrow and we're landing in Incheon around 5:30pm so he's going to roll out the red carpet as it were. It's going to be a big hero's welcome - press, photos, a little bit of a speech, and the boys are going to be there. They're off but they've been asked to come in their military dress for the day."
"Jin is going to hate that," Grace laughed as she threw the extra pickles in her mouth. "So is Yoongi."
"From what I've heard, they're planning their own celebration dinner for you, us, and their families. So be warned," Bang-PD said as he reached over to wipe some sauce from her chin.
"You always look after me," Grace grinned as she took a napkin and wiped at her chin anyway.
"You are his favourite after all," Sejin mentioned.
Their flight was leaving Los Angeles at 10:50am so everyone said their goodnights and went to bed. The next morning, it was a bit of a hurry to get the crew moving though Grace's parents had opted to stay an extra day to avoid the chaos that would be awaiting them when they got home.
The airport was chaotic anyway and they had managed to get to the first class lounge without much issue even though there were plenty of people with cameras and phones out. The Grammy Awards, which had arrived three hours ago as promised, were locked in a large briefcase which went on with Bang-PD and a bodyguard and had to have special clearance.
For Grace, it was still a bit of a blur. She hadn't fully processed what had happened and she hadn't fully realised the magnitude of winning such an award was going to bring to her, the boys, the company and the country.
BTS had always talked about how the goal was a Grammy and though they didn't need one to know their success, it would have been nice to point at it and say 'We won that.' No one had ever talked about what winning one would actually mean in the grander sense of things - it opened the doors for other artists out of South Korea to put forward for an award. That anything was now possible thanks to Grace opening up that opportunity.
When she settled in her seat and they had taken off, she had sent a message to the group chat with the boys, unsure if any of them would be awake or active with the time difference.
'On the flight home - it's a 14-hour flight so I'll see you at whatever time that is.'
Unsurprisingly, it was Yoongi who answered.
'We have to wear our military dress uniforms. I hate you so much.'
Grace grinned and took a screenshot of the moment when her name flashed up on the screen when she had won her first Grammy and sent it over with the message: 'Not my fault I won.'
He sent back a grumpy looking selfie but Grace knew underneath all that he was happy and excited and proud.
They were an hour away from landing when Sejin came over to her seat.
"So this is roughly how it's going to happen - everyone is going off the plane first and us last. And then we're going through like we normally do but they've laid out a red carpet and they're going to have military personnel lining the carpet. When we get to the doors, it's the usual cameras, photos, bow and wave. There's going to be a small stage with Bang-PD and we'll have one Grammy out so they can take photos, answer a few questions and then finish."
"All this because of the Grammys," Grace groaned and rubbed her eyes. "They're making it sound like I won every championship in every sport for South Korea. Rather than it just being a music award."
"They did this when Son Heung-min won his Golden Boot and they did this when the Parasite director, Bong Jun Ho came home after winning an Emmy," Sejin reminded her.
"God help them when someone wins an award worth winning then," Grace yawned as she stretched up her arms and started getting herself ready.
Her make up artist did a quick job of covering any eye bags and making her presentable, brushing out her long hair that had been tied up in a messy bun for the flight. It felt too much for something so little.
But then Grace had always been good at downplaying anything.
Even something as big as this.
She felt the nerves twist when the last passenger was off as was the rest of the team, leaving only Sejin, Bang-PD and three bodyguards left on the plane with Grace. The pilot bowed at her when she passed and thanked her for her contributions, to which she bowed back and thanked him for keeping her safe.
As predicted, there was a red carpet from where she stepped off the plane to the long hallway which would take her to arrivals. Her bags were already collected by the team that had got off before her.
Letting out a deep breath, Grace glanced towards Bang-PD who winked at her and gave her a gentle push forward so she would be the first one out of the doors with two bodyguards flanking her.
She bowed in thanks to those military personnel who lined the hallway for her and she could hear the noise the closer she got towards the doors though they had been closed and blocked off by military and police.
The moment they parted and the doors opened, the noise became overwhelming. Screams from fans, from the general public to ARMY, to the press as they all tried to get a picture as she stood there, bowing in thanks.
A hand on her back from Sejin gently pushed her towards a stand that was put up with a podium with a microphone on it, the backdrop a mix of big names like HYBE, Big Hit Entertainment, the Blue House, Korea Air and the Grammys. There Bang-PD pulled out one of the Grammys and handed it to her and for the first time, she could feel the proper weight of it.
The prop had been lighter, for obvious reasons, but this felt heavy with its full metal and she could see her name engraved on the plaque at the bottom - both in Korean and English.
Then the questions started.
Was she happy to be back home? 100%.
What did she think of her performance? She was very happy with it and happy it went to plan, there were no hiccups.
Did she wish the boys had been with her? Of course.
What did she think of the Grammys now she had won it?
The question made her pause and out of the corner of her eye, she could see her boys lined up at the side but at the back so they weren't in the crowd. They were all watching but waved the moment she looked over.
"It's a grand prize for a lot of hard work that myself, Bang-PD and PDogg have put into this. But I still think I'm undeserving of this when I know for a fact that Bangtan Sonyeondan is more deserving of it as a group rather than me as a solo artist. However, I'm proud and I'm proud that I've opened the door for others and that this brings honour to my family and to my country that I've called home since I was a child."
It seemed the appropriate response as the crowd cheered and she stepped back, handing the award to Bang-PD so he could answer his questions.
She kept her eyes on the boys though.
One lot of people pleasing to get through with photos and then she could be out of here, back at HYBE with her people and onto the next thing.
She was out in record time with a police escort driving her from the airport to the company building, the Grammy briefcase now with her rather than Bang-PD who had gone to see the President of Korea himself.
"Noona!"
That's all she needed to hear.
Her arms were trapped to her side as Jungkook rushed over, now in a t-shirt and shorts, wrapping his arms around her to hold her close. Jimin and Taehyung soon followed, Hobi followed straight after that with excited yells and finally, they were joined by Namjoon, Yoongi and Jin.
"Thank god," she sighed and leaned all her weight on her muscle bunny who happily accepted it. It felt good to be home, it felt good to be with her boys again. There was no need for more words even as the seven talked around her, mentioning the press conference.
"Hang on," Grace laughed as she pulled away. "Let me go and wash my face and wake up. That was a long flight and I don't even know what time it is."
They pulled away enough for her to grab the briefcase and hand it over to Namjoon, who blinked rapidly at her. "You can deal with that," she said and headed off to the bathroom, with Seokjin following.
"This is going to look really weird if someone comes in," Grace grinned as she watched him glance at the door as it closed behind him. She splashed cold water on her face and scrubbed at the make-up, splashing more water on her face.
Seokjin handed over a towel and leaned against the radiator, shrugging. "I'm sure the boys are betting on what we're actually doing but I just wanted to say hello and I'm proud of you."
The make up was off which made her skin felt a hundred times better and it felt like she could breathe for once as she used the towel to dry away the droplets. When it was all done, she walked over to her boyfriend and rested her head on his chest as he wrapped his arms around her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
"I wished you had been with me," she sighed.
"I know but your parents had a blast from the sounds of it and the night was meant to be about you and you only. Not me, not the rest of the guys, though wait till you hear the stories from when they were at mine - you'll laugh your socks off," he laughed and gave her a good squeeze, taking hold of her hand. "I'm very proud of you though."
"Our time will come," Grace nodded and smiled at the forehead kiss. "All eight of us."
Her boyfriend dragged her back to the room where the rest of the boys were looking at the Grammy award, Namjoon holding one and Jimin holding the other.
"It doesn't look like much, does it?" Taehyung mentioned. "All the prep, stress and everything else for something so small."
"So what's going to happen when they introduce us now? Is it going to be BTS with two time Grammy awarded singer, Grace Chu?" Yoongi asked, grinning over at his sister who glared at him and then gave him a good push on the other shoulder.
"Shut up. It doesn't change anything, not for me anyway," Grace sat down and shrugged. "If anything it's more work because they'll expect another album from me."
"I'm going to say this now," Namjoon started as he placed the award on the table. "We're all very proud of you and we were watching with big smiles on our faces, though the outfit and dance moves need to be talked about. But regardless, she's BTS. If anything, she's become more important than me because everyone will want to see her more than us."
Namjoon got a disgruntled look from his female member and he grinned in return. "Sorry noona, it's time for you to step up to the plate now. I've done my job."
"What job? I trained you, don't forget," Grace pointed out then pointed at each boy in return, especially Seokjin. "Don't start getting all lackadaisical now. ARMY is waiting for us and you've all got months to go before some of you are back."
"Yeah we need SK1," Jungkook pointed out.
"Exactly," Grace agreed.
"Anyway," Hobi clapped his hands as he stood, distracting Seokjin from trying to strangle the youngest. "Let's go and celebrate! Noona deserves to be wined and dined. And then sleepover?"
"Yeah Jin-hyung has plenty of space," Jimin agreed as he helped lock up the Grammy award.
"I do?" the man in question asked just as Jungkook said, "Yeah he does. We can all sleep on the couch."
Big Hit would later upload two photos from the boys to Grace - one with all of them together at the dinner, the Grammy Awards in the centre of the table and the second photo from Jungkook, taking a selfie with all of them fast asleep in the background.
The perfect welcome home for the two-time award winning singer, Grace Chu.