~In which two worlds collide~
A squeal, followed by raucous laughter, sounded from the living room. The noises made the various members of BTS scattered around the backyard perk their heads, eyes pointed towards the door where they were sure a group of rowdy men were to soon enter (exit?).
Not that they could say much, being a group of rowdy men–and one woman–themselves.
Sure enough, through the door they came, though much more mild-mannered then they seemed moments before.
It was almost funny–no, it was hilarious, Nana decided–the way the two groups appeared at that moment. It was straight out of a cheap mobster movie: two rival gangs, head to head, with one neutral party that happened to befriend both, eventually bringing them closer together...
She shook her head slightly, clearing out the movie in her head. Obviously, they weren't gangs, and they definitely weren't enemies. Well, perhaps with the exception of Jimin.
Namjoon stood up from the grass, where he had been peacefully reading another philosophy book under the shade of a tree, prompting the others to arrange themselves around him. Ah, the duties of a leader are endless. Taehyung joined them, if only by walking a few steps away and turning to face the actors he had walked in with.
"Hi, we are BTS," they announced, all too used to the introduction. At least Minho understood.
The actors, left without an introduction, settled for offering their names one by one and bowing respectfully. There was hardly even time for any awkward silence before Tae excitedly began trying to draw them all together, not wanting anyone to feel left out.
After a while, things settled down, and a few were able to branch off into smaller groups. Take for example, Jimin, Hoseok, and Minho. Jimin and Minho were already acquainted with each other given Jimin's friendship with Taemin, Minho's Shinee groupmate.
Seojoon had gravitated towards Namjoon, both discussing upcoming events in their respective careers. The two knew, arguably better than most, the pressures of being leaders in their fields. Also, they sort of bonded over the egg-like haircut they shared in the past.
Seokjin and Yoongi had grouped up with the quietest of the bunch, actors Ji-Han and Yoon-woo. Jin acted as the primary moodmaker, helping them all feel comfortable. Though the actors weren't as close to Taehyung as Seojoon and Hyungsik were, they had still forged a nice friendship with the maknae.
As luck would have it, Jungkook, Nana, Taehyung, and Hyungsik ended up chatting. Nana wasn't an idiot, and she certainly wasn't blind, so they sly-but-actually-rather-obvious looks her members were giving her didn't escape her notice. While Hyungsik was busy speaking to Kook, her eyes locked with Tae's.
With the power of her glare, she mentally communicated to him that yes, she knew what he was doing, and no, I am never telling you guys anything ever again.
He responded with his puppy-dog eyes, counteracted by his shit-eating grin, I know exactly what I'm doing, trust me.
Her glare intensified, nearly yelling inside her head, you are so going to pay for this Kim Taehyung. He simply looked away, laughing at something his friend said although he had probably heard nothing, ending their conversation.
After a while of getting to know each other, each group having fluidly switched up a little until everyone had made the rounds, the doorbell suddenly rang. Nana, being closest to the door, announced, "I'll get it!" and made to leave.
"It's probably one of the staff with food," Jin noted. Though they were on break, meaning no cameras and no work (technically, though everyone knew BTS tended to work even on off-days), Bighit protected the privacy of their artists wholeheartedly. This meant that anytime BTS ordered food, one of various staff would handle the exchange, rather than risk some crazy fan knowing their address and invading under the guise of food delivery.
"Ah, then I'll help," Hyunsik offered, knowing the sheer amount of food to feed thirteen people, not to mention hungry people, would be a bit much to carry.
"Oh, you really don't have to do that, Hyunsik-ssi," Nana waved him off politely. "What kind of hosts would we be to let guests do the work?"
"It's really nothing, I have more than enough practice carrying food," Hyungsik insisted humorously.
Eyes narrowed, Jimin looked at him, and then rose himself. Patting Hyungsik on the back, he joked, "I mean, if you really want to, we won't stop you. I'll come with, though, and lend another pair of hands." With that, he walked up to join Nana, and the two headed towards the front door, Hyungsik a few steps behind them.
Everyone else shrugged it off, and waited eagerly for their fried chicken and beer, a classic well-loved among all of them.
Minutes later, the trio arrived with a victorious cheer as they held up the many bags in their hands.
As the sun began to dip lower and they gradually turned darker, the merged groups bonded over their experiences in the entertainment industry and their love of one Kim Taehyung, who had the incredible idea of bringing them all together. Contacts were exchanged, friendships were made, and most importantly, Tae got his way.
Jimin still had his reservations, though, and became even clingier after the actors parted ways, which no one minded.
~
"You know, Minnie, we can still be friends with other people, right? And still be us afterwards?" Nana pointed at him with her ice-cream spoon, which she then used to promptly dig out some more cookies and cream from the small tub in her hand.
He pouted from his place curled up between-and-also-sort-of-on-top-of Taehyung and Jin. "It's not the same, though."
BTS was used to this. In fact, they all dealt with it themselves to some degree. The fear that they'd be somehow replaced in the other members' lives. It was ridiculous, yes, but a fear nonetheless. Jimin just had a habit of verbalizing it more often.
"Min-min," Tae frowned, "you know I'd never replace you. Any of you. No matter how well I get along with others, you guys are my family. Nothing could ever split us apart."
Sniffing slightly, Jimin turned his head into Tae's tummy to hide his moistening eyes. "Promise?" came his muffled voice.
Giggling a little, Tae affirmed, "promise." His long fingers ran their way soothingly through the boy's soft hair.
Shifting a little, Jimin managed to free the arm pinned under him to raise a pinkie. Wordlessly, Taehyung used his other hand to twist his own pinkie around the raised one in a binding vow (the most solemn one in existence).
Out of the blue, Yoongi interrupted, "yah, Kim Taehyung, speaking of your friends, don't think we didn't notice what you were doing with Park Hyungsik and our maknae, here."
Nana's head dropped onto the arm of the sofa, where she hoped someone, somewhere, would take her away from this.
"I should've never answered that interview question," she muttered to herself.
Apparently not quietly enough, as Jungkook leaned over and whispered, "I feel the same way, bro. The same way."
~~~
ayo back from the dead. i honestly really liked this chapter, although that might have to do with the fact that it's currently 4:30 in the morning and i'm extremely tired. i'm sorry if you wanted me to do more in-depth character interactions, but i felt like that was a bit too much for one chapter, though now that they've been introduced, it would be easier to do in the future.
i added a few references, both to this book's background info and to real-life stuff. like, for example, Nana's "crush" on Park Hyungsik, which i have now decided is going to be an "ideal-type" situation. (you know how JK answered that ideal-type question with IU, and no one lets him live it down? like that, but with Nana and Hyungsik.)
also, even though i'm not too sure on the timeline myself, i thought a good way to wrap up the chapter was with a pinkie-promise, a BIG reference to Jimin's song (duh lol) i sort of want this to be before he released the song, but i'm not sure how that would fit in with the timeline(?) although, to be fair, this is a made up book and time has no effect here and also i can do whatever i want so...
anyway, thank you all for reading, i love each and every one of you very dearly 🥰❤️
p.s. what do you guys think about all this melanie drama? personally, i never like it when someone tries to take credit, ESPECIALLY when it comes to the boys. like, c'mon, is it that hard to just respect other people? they're like the equivalent of the kids that make the title slide and 'thanks" slide in a presentation and then claim all of the work in a group project. colonizers lmao