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bts-weverse-trans · 3 years

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201127 Weverse Magazine ‘BE’ Comeback Interview - Jungkook

Jung Kook: “I hope this feeling never fades” BTS BE comeback interview 2020.11.27

I had a chance to interview BTS before, when they debuted. During that interview, Jung Kook had one small habit; when I met him again a while later, he had corrected it. He makes a conscious effort to change himself. And after seven years, I met Jung Kook again.

You directed the music video for “Life Goes On,” BE’s title song. Jung Kook: I was really eager to direct the music video from the outset. My plan was to organize the synopsis, discuss it with the music video director I was working with, shoot and edit them, but we were short on time. So I worked on it while sharing ideas with the director. Originally there were a lot of scenes with lip synching in them, but we took some of them out and put in more scenes that conveyed the members’ emotions better. It wasn’t easy to combine scenes, but I think now I know more about how much of everything is needed when shooting a music video.

You had shot the Golden Closet Films and uploaded them to the BTS YouTube channel, and now you shot a music video. Jung Kook: Once we were on location, we had directions for everything we needed to shoot prepared in advance, so I took candid shots of the members here and there with a camera during the shoot. We were filming in a beautiful place so when they asked me to take pictures of them as they wanted to be presented, I did.

What kind of pictures did you take of yourself? Jung Kook: I was just, in them. (laughs) I’m not in the shot for the Golden Closet Films either. I kind of take a back seat. The director had to shoot my parts for the music video, since I couldn’t film myself, so I relaxed a bit. I tried to make the other members look really good when I recorded them. Since this was a BTS music video and not my own, I wanted to show what was happening with every member and the team, not just one individual’s thoughts. Each person who watches the video might feel different, but I wanted to show that we feel what other people feel, that we’re in the same situation.

You get your picture taken a lot, but you don’t pay much attention to the ones you’re in. Jung Kook: I never really liked having my picture taken. (laughs) And I’m usually with the others when we’re working, obviously, but it’s hard to take a camera and take selfies. So I take pictures and videos of the other members every chance I get.

Do you still find it difficult to have your picture taken? Jung Kook: I put my best face forward when it’s for something I have to do, like for photo books, but it’s still not easy. Videos are okay, though. And even though I’m not nervous at all when I sing in front of tens of thousands of people, if I have to sing or talk in front of a small group, I get super nervous. I never feel that way on stage, but maybe I have a hard time doing things that are a little bit awkward for me.

It seems like you draw a distinction between work you enjoy and work you find difficult. Jung Kook: Work related to music, like recording, composing, writing lyrics, filming music videos and things like that, are all fine. But anything outside of that is probably a challenge for me.

On BE, you each explained your feelings about work in the song “Dis-ease.” You must have experienced a cycle of enjoyable and difficult work over seven years, so how did you get through the hard times? Jung Kook: I actually understand my own problems well, so most of the time it’s okay. I can figure things out one at a time through experience instead of just looking for answers. I’m always growing and my personality changes, depending on my environment. I think I’ve learned to do things I used to find difficult by experiencing it little by little.

Speaking of growth, “Skit” was very memorable. You recorded it the day after “Dynamite” reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and you, who talked about what you did before you became trainees in “Skit” in your debut album,talked about being first place on the Billboard Hot 100 this time around. Jung Kook: When I was a trainee, I saw the older members rapping and thought, “Wow, they’re so cool!” But now, after having spent everyday together, I’ve forgotten about all that. (laughs) Sometimes I see the lyrics they wrote, see them dancing and hearing the things they say on stage, and think, “Oh, right. That is the kind of person they are. They’re a lot different now.” You know how you don’t feel it when you live with your family, but if you can’t see them for a long time, you miss them. You might even cry. We’re a real family. Like, legit! (laughs)

Your “legit family” (laughs) each put their own songs on BE and came up with units spontaneously. What was it like making the album that way? Jung Kook: We talked with the company over the outline of the album and organized our ideas together. That was our process for making songs. Then we’d listen to them together, and if we thought they weren’t great, we’d go back and work on them some more. The members would get together and say, “Hey, how about so and so do a unit song this time?” or, “What should it be about?” and share a lot of ideas that way.

How did the others respond to your song, “Stay”? Jung Kook: That song was originally meant to be on my mixtape. We planned to put a different song on the album, but after V heard it, he said, “This song that Jung Kook wrote is really good,” and then the other members all listened, said it was better than the other one, and somehow (laughs) “Stay” made it into the album. The message for the other song was also, “Even though we’re far apart, stay just where you are.” I wrote my song with the same theme so I loved that it was included in BE. At first, I wanted to talk about how we’re always together, using the English word “wherever.” I wanted to express how we’re always together no matter where we are, but Namjoon heard that and said “Stay” might be better. I liked his suggestion, so I changed it. He really helped me to organize my thoughts, since I’m not always good at writing everything I want to express.

One might go as far as to say the lyrics sound heartbreaking, but it’s arranged in EDM. Jung Kook: We imagined we were performing for the fans while we made it, jumping up and down with them.

It sounds like you really miss your fans. Jung Kook: This album really hit us in a different way, with this situation being what it is. Because the world is struggling with COVID-19, we have to keep our heads up and convey our messages to our fans.

What can your fans expect from you when you finally meet again? Jung Kook: There’s nothing specific, but when I watched our old performances, my facial expressions were awkward and my dance moves weren’t always perfect. I keep working to improve myself, so I hope when the fans see me, they think my performance is amazing and that my aura fills the stage.

Are you happy with how you look in your latest work? Jung Kook: I’m not 100% satisfied, no. When we did performances for “Dynamite” recently I kept seeing my imperfections.

Your acting in the intro to your “Dynamite” performance was really impressive. Even in COVID-19 times, you captured a feeling of liveliness and being cool, as though to explain what the song is all about. Jung Kook: Actually, on the first day of filming the music video, I was supposed to film my parts first, but I was so bad that it had to be pushed to the end of the shoot. So,I was a bit more relaxed when the camera rolled.

So that’s what you get when you’re relaxed! (laughs) Jung Kook: Yes, I relaxed, and something went “pop!” and “boom!” inside me, and then I did it however I wanted. (laughs)

It’s fascinating how someone who performs the way you do during stadium tours can feel nervous while filming and yet still do so well in it. Jung Kook: I can be a shy person. When people used to ask me to sing, I couldn’t always do it—like in front of adults or teachers. And I’m still a bit like that. If I start thinking, “Oh, I can’t do this,” then I really end up not being able to do it. Even when I could have done well.

Why do you think that is? Jung Kook: I feel the same way about my dancing and my singing, and I can’t compose a really amazing melody either. I feel like I’m always somewhere in the middle. But then I also think I have my own colors, so I like to quietly, slowly open up to people, and let them know what kind of person I am. Yeah, something like that. (laughs)

But, when you review your songs and performances objectively, you see all of your changes, don’t you? Jung Kook: There’s a lot of change. My voice has changed a lot; I grew taller and my frame and facial structure have changed, too. I could tell how awkward I looked at the beginning, but after a while, I think, “My gestures look better now, but I feel like my dance is too rigid.” And again after a while, “Now my dance is fine and my gestures are good, but I’m making awkward facial expressions.” And later, I say, “Now I got the facial expressions down, but, hmm, there’s no killer move.” (laughs) That’s how I slowly changed. And then my actions, thoughts, dreams, goals, what I value, what I want to do—all these things will change depending on the situation.

You had some changes in BE, too. Throughout “Life Goes On,” you lightly carry your voice and tone throughout the whole song, like they’re flowing. Jung Kook: Right. I think that’s very important. My general feeling was my voice should be woven into the song, rather than bringing out my individual voice. The lyrics say the world stopped, but I can’t keep on being sad, and life continues and flows on. I wanted to mix a little bit of my own colors into that complex, subtle sadness. I listened to how the other members recorded their parts for the song, and I sang while thinking about how I could do it in a way that it would all blend together well. I kept changing my voice exploring how to make it sound better, cleaner. I kept trying new things while I was recording, performing, and practicing.

When you look back after all that change, don’t you feel like you accomplished a lot? Jung Kook: I don’t really pay attention to things that have already happened. I think more about what it is I need right now, so I rarely think, “I got a lot better from how I used to be,” or, “I did a good job.”

You sound insatiable, in a good way. Jung Kook: Yes. This is how I want to keep living, and I hope this feeling never fades.

You’ve found immense success with BTS. What makes you want to keep doing more and keep improving yourself? Jung Kook: I want to show people who I am: how I talk, how I act, how I sing, and so on. And after that, I want to be acknowledged for doing what I like to do, and for people to see what an amazing guy I am. I want to do these things step by step. I want to be appreciated as Jung Kook, as the real me.

What do you think is the source of that energy—the energy to keep proving yourself, even though you’ve already achieved so much with BTS? Jung Kook: I think my heart’s telling me to. BTS was able to climb this high thanks to the group members, the company and our fans. But there’s always the question of whether I could receive that kind of recognition by myself, so I have this feeling of wanting to throw myself at some challenge alone. There’s a lot I want to do, and a lot I want to achieve.

By gradually improving yourself, what kind of person would you ideally want to become? Jung Kook: A person who’s crazy awesome in their field. (laughs) Those kinds of people look cool even when they do something different. I still have a long way to go. I feel like I could be more captivating and draw more out of people by improving any number of things, by trying hard to be confident about my singing, or the way I dance and perform. BTS is way more important and meaningful to me than I am to myself, so I’m not saying I want to do anything alone. But I hope I get to the point where I can perform alone for three or four hours in a venue full of people.

It’s clear that your job, music, is very important to you. Jung Kook: I must never let it go. That’s what I always think. I have to keep it close to me, even if I get bored, or I don’t want to hear it, or it feels like a hassle. I want to keep on making music. It may be a long ways down the road, but I want to prove myself with my music.

You said before that your MBTI is ISFP, so I looked it up. Obviously, MBTI can’t sum up a person perfectly, but it says ISFPs tend to be “curious artists.” Your answer reminds me of that. Jung Kook: That sounds about right. I looked up the personality traits for ISFP too, and it was interesting. (laughs)

Maybe that’s the reason you set your goals so high. You seem like you have high standards and want to keep growing. Jung Kook: It’s like a foggy mountain top. (laughs) I can’t even see it yet.

You’ve been climbing for seven years, staying curious. Is there anything you want to say to the people who have been watching you all this time? Jung Kook: Umm … Well, there are seven of us, and the seven of us keep running ahead. So it’s possible we could get tired, one by one, and drop out, right? But if more people join us, one by one, and run with us, we can support each other and pull each other up if someone falls down. That’s kind of how I feel. There are people who supported us from the beginning who have been watching us the whole time since, and because of them our follower count keeps going up, and they all keep us on track. So the only thing I can say is—thank you. We were nothing special, really (laughs) but they keep on liking us and supporting us, and the best way we can repay them is to give them our all through our music and our performances. They push me to work hard, even on things I find difficult. (laughs) I’m eternally grateful.

Just like in the last line of “Stay.” Jung Kook: “We are together.”

Trans © Weverse

#bangtan #jungkook #weverse #weverse magazine #be album #comeback interview #201127 #2020

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fyeah-bangtan7 · 3 years

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Jung Kook: “I hope this feeling never fades”

One might go as far as to say the lyrics sound heartbreaking, but it’s arranged in EDM. Jung Kook: We imagined we were performing for the fans while we made it, jumping up and down with them.

Are you happy with how you look in your latest work? Jung Kook: I’m not 100% satisfied, no. When we did performances for “Dynamite” recently I kept seeing my imperfections.

So that’s what you get when you’re relaxed! (laughs) Jung Kook: Yes, I relaxed, and something went “pop!” and “boom!” inside me, and then I did it however I wanted. (laughs)

You sound insatiable, in a good way. Jung Kook: Yes. This is how I want to keep living, and I hope this feeling never fades.

Maybe that’s the reason you set your goals so high. You seem like you have high standards and want to keep growing. Jung Kook: It’s like a foggy mountain top. (laughs) I can’t even see it yet.

Just like in the last line of “Stay.” Jung Kook: “We are together.”

#bangtan #jungkook #m:weverse magazine #o:interview #201127

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miraculousandbts · 3 years

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Jungkook | Best Fansign Ever

Summary: You decide to surprise your boyfriend by going to his Fansign.

Pairing: Jungkook X Reader

Genre: Fluff

Word Count: 1.5k

Warnings: None

You were ready. Wallet? Check. Phone? Check. Purse? Check. Album? Check. Fansign ticket? Check. You were being a little too serious about this.

No, you weren't some fan who finally got the chance to go to a Fansign. You were dating one of the boys. Who? The youngest of them. It all started two years ago when you bumped into a stranger on the road. It weird enough that he was wearing a full-sleeved shirt on such a hot day, but on top of that, he had a mask, a pair of sunglasses, and a bucket hat. And a few tufts of blue hair were visible.

'Blue hair? Weird. He must be a die-heart fan of k-pop...or he just really wanted to dye his hair? Why do I care anyway? People can do what they want to.' you thought, as you bent down to pick up the papers which had fallen down from your hand. You had been sitting in a café where you had suddenly gotten an idea for a new comic, and you just had to scribble it down— more like roughly draw it down— on the small pieces of paper you carried around with you for such occasions.

He bent down as the same time as you with the same intentions as you, and picked up the other papers. "You drew these?" He just couldn't help asking, after seeing your rough sketches. They were pretty as it is, and he could imagine how beautiful they would be with touch ups.

"Uh, yeah." You awkwardly replied. "These are good." He didn't know what else to say. "Thank you." You gave him a grin. "I'll just go."

He moved past you, but something pulled you both back. You glanced at your wrist, and saw that a thread from his shirt was stuck in your bracelet. "Oh, sorry." You apologised and proceeded to try to take the thread out. Keyword: tried. He came closer so it would be easy, but you just couldn't figure out what to do. You didn't notice him move his hand to help you.

Instead, you thought how it was a thread, so you could just snap it. Without thinking twice, you wrapped your finger around the length of the thread and broke it. And that's when you noticed his hand mid air, frozen. He clearly wasn't expecting you to do so, that much you could tell, but because his whole face was covered up, you couldn't see his expression.

It took him a couple of seconds to register what happened. Then he gently placed his fingers on your bracelet and untangled the now cut-off thread from it, throwing it away after he was done.

"Thanks...?" You trailed off, indicating to him that you wanted to know his name. Without thinking, he said, "Jeon Jungkook." And then he proceeded to freak out. "No, no, no. Jung Jungkook, Jung Jungkook. Shit, hyung will kill me." He muttered the last part under his breath.

All of this was enough for you to figure out he was Jungkook from BTS. You wouldn't call yourself a die-heart fan, but you liked their music, and respected them a lot. He let out a noise sounding similar to 'nnnng' (I'm not good with describing noises...), and flattened his bucket hat against the sides of his face in frustration. At this point, he could only hope you weren't a fan or a netizen who would be able to recognise him.

His very noisy way of showing his exasperation was attracting a lot of attention. You subtly glanced around, and made a decision. You grabbed his wrist unintentionally hard, and pulled him with you to your house which was a five minute walk away. All this time, he kept following you without showing any signs of resisting. You only left his hand as you searched for your keys in your bag, and pulled him in after you opened the door.

After making sure the door was securely locked, you threw yourself on the sofa. Your one bedroom apartment wasn't anything extravagant, but it was yours. It was cozy, pretty, warm in winters, and cool in summer. And you had a balcony, as an added bonus. You glanced at the frozen boy still standing near the door, and patted the space next to you, where he timidly came and sat down.

"You can take off all this stuff now. I can only imagine how much you're sweating." You moved your arm gesturing to his head. He cautiously took off the mask, the sunglasses, and the hat. "I don't bite. Chill." You raised an amused eyebrow in his direction when you saw how hesitant he was.

"S-sorry. Why did you bring me here?"

"Well, you were freaking out cuz you told me your real name, and it was noisy enough to attract attention. Now, we wouldn't want paparazzi to trample either of us, would we?

"No." He silently agreed. "Thank you." He added as an afterthought. "It's okay. Make yourself at home. You hungry?" You finally got motivation enough to get up and do something. He nodded while pink dusted his cheeks.

'Adorable' was the only thing you could think in that moment. You changed and made both of you a little snack. To repay your kindness, he gave you his number and left. And well, the rest of it is history.

*****

You reached the event venue, and went in. It was easy for you to mingle in the crowd; you had to make sure you were not visible to Jungkook.

Sitting on the farthest chair from the main table as possible, you kept your head low, and glanced up every once in a while. Jungkook was the first person sitting there, which coincidentally just helped your plan. "Hey, you're y/n, right?" You turned your head towards the origin of the sound.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm y/n."

"Then what are you doing here?"

"Just wanted to surprise Kookie. He came back from the tour, but didn't go to Seoul, so I just thought I'd come here."

"Aw, that's so sweet of you!"

You lightly chuckled at her awing. You both made small talk while your chance came. She went ahead of you after some time of chatting.

You got up, still making sure not a single boy could see you. It was easy, considering there were so many fans there. You saw the girl you were talking to earlier come your way and raised your eyebrows. She silently came and stood in front of you, showing you her back, muttering one word. "Cover." You could practically hear the wink in her voice.

You smiled to yourself and whispered a grateful thanks.

It was finally your turn. When you sat down in front of Jungkook, he was looking down reading something, smiling at the book, while in his hand he held a cute rabbit plushie. 'Of course they'd give Kookie a bunny plushie.' you subconsciously smiled at the thought.

He looked up, and his eyes widened, while his jaw dropped. He was definitely not expecting that. Seriously.

"Hello, Jungkook oppa."

His expression went from shocked to deadpan in less than a fraction of a second. "Seriously? We see each other for the first time in months and that's what you call me?" He raised his eyebrows. "Why are you getting mad at me, oppa," you pouted. "I just wanted to get this album I bought some time ago signed."

He sighed and played along. He knew you, inside out. Which meant he also knew that you wouldn't acknowledge him as your boyfriend as long as he didn't play along. He took the album and smiled a small smile while signing it. He had missed you. You and your super annoying but kinda cute antics. He finished signing it, and passed it to Taehyung and then leaned forward a little.

"So, miss y/n, how have you been?" He did his cute lil head tilt and almost melted your heart.

"I've been good, thanks bun bun."

You had never seen him smile so big. He got up and so did you, attracting almost everyone's attention. The boys and the fans started recognising you, and cheered as you both moved towards each other for a big tight hug. "I missed you." He sighed. "I missed you too, Kook."

You pecked his lips and heard the members making sounds of disgust, which, by the way, only made both of you grin harder. You looked towards the crowd and saw that girl again, grinning and giving you a thumbs up. She winked as you gave her a slight grateful nod.

The rest of your day was spent with him and the other boys, enjoying the warmth you got when you were with your boyfriend and your closest friends.

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artbysarah98 · 4 years

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Part 12 Uncle, who is Ethan?

When we're young...series

Masterlist

Part 11 Why is it so f*cking hectic?

Ella

Ella stirred awake as the sunlight hit her eyes. She was not ready to get up and turned around onto her right side away from the window to sleep a few hours more. Although something didn't exactly feel right, she couldn't remember what. Lazily Ella rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Her vision became better, and her eyes focused on the side that Tae should have been on. It was empty. Then she bolted upright, 'Where is Taehyung?'

Confused and somewhat disappointed, she thought that he left without notifying her. Ella looked around the room for any signs that said that he was still in here with her. The fear she felt at that moment made her forget that she could just search for his heartbeat by concentrating and directing her vampire hearing to this room only. If she would have done that, then she would have noticed that the beating of his heart was in the bathroom.

'His phone is on the table,' though Ella as she had got up. She walked around the hotel room, searching for a sign that Taehyung was still in the hotel room. When she was about to go to the kitchen part of the room as noise alerted her,

'Wait, what is that?'

Ella followed the source of the noise and ended up in front of the bathroom. It was then that she discovered that the sound she heard was actually her man. He was quietly singing his first part in Boy With Luv going over into the chorus. It was then that Ella realized that she completely forgot that she is who she is, scolding herself in her mind, 'Stupid, stupid! Ella, you're 50% vampire! Why didn't I use my vampire hearing? That would have given me peace of mind much sooner!' Outside of the door, she leaned against it. She kept on listening to the sweet and alluring sounds he was producing in the shower.

"Your every picture Nae meorimate dugo sipeo oh bae"

"Come be my teacher Ne modeun geol da gareuchyeojwo Your one, your two"

"Listen, my, my baby naneun Jeo habeureul nopi nalgo isseo (Geuttae niga naege jwossdeon du nalgaero) Ije yeogin neomu nopa Nan nan nune neol majchugo sipe Yeah, you makin' me a boy with luv"

"Oh my, my, my (uh) oh my, my, my I've waited all my life"

As Taehyung's sweet voice continued singing the rest of the song, Ella decided to get changed as she didn't want to disturb him to freshen up. She grabbed her blue suitcase, that she had rolled into the corner opposite of the bed last night, and carefully threw it onto the bed. Opening her trunk, her original ARMY Bomb Ver. 3 - back in July, she had gotten it as an apology from the members when Taehyung got her involved in their infamous scandal - rolled out and onto the ground with a rather loud thump.

'Shit, I hope it isn't damaged,' though Ella, as she crouched down to pick it up to inspect the damage letting out a relieved sigh as she saw both functions still worked, 'Oh god, I'm glad it still works. If I had broken it, I wouldn't have gotten the experience tonight that every other ARMYs would have.'

To ensure that it wouldn't fall on the ground again, Ella placed it on the bedside table near Taehyung's side of the bed. Her calm feeling returned to her as Ella walked back to her suitcase and picked out her outfit of the day. She doesn't know what started her routine in picking out what she was going to wear, but it always started with the shoes. Always! For today she picked out her black leather-look ankle-boots and coördinated her outfit from there.

After ten minutes, she stood in front of the mirror and inspected her outfit. In the end, she decided on a white T-shirt with the text 'BTS World Tour - Love Yourself, Speak Yourself' on the front in black letters that she had knotted up at the bottom showing off her bellybutton. Underneath that, she wore a dark denim pair of ripped shorts giving the look something edgy and, of course, at her feet the black ankle-boots.

She topped her outfit off with a bandana that she had 'borrowed' from Tae's suitcase to keep her pony out of her face. It had stuck to her face the entire day yesterday due to the hot weather in Saudi Arabia, even though it is already the middle of October. Stuffing her other potential outfits back into her suitcase, Ella decided she really had to interrupt Taehyung's shower time as she still needed to brush her teeth. Honestly, she didn't want to, but her toiletries were in the bathroom, including her toothbrush and toothpaste.

Just as her hand touched the doorknob, there was a knock on their hotel door, and she heard Jung Kook's voice calling out, "Hey, are you two still in here?"

As Ella made her way to the front door, there was more impatient knocking, "V-hyung, Ella-dongsaeng, I know you're still in here as bodyguard Young said that you haven't called for breakfast yet."

"Calm down! Calm down!" said Ella frustratingly as she swung the door open, "Has your mother never told you to wait patiently for the inhabitant to open the door? Haven't your hyungs taught you some manners?"

Ella could see that Kook was not expecting her to explode like that on him as his eyes went wide in surprise while bowing his head the apologies rapidly falling from his mouth for being unthoughtful. She let out a deep sigh starting to feel bad for reacting in the way she did.

"Sorry, Kookie. I didn't mean it in that way. I just got kinda frustrated from your rapid knocking. It's still rather early after getting back so late last night. Combine that with me not being a morning person, and you get me frustrated very fast."

"No, Ella-dongsaeng, it's my fault. I should have waited for Tae or you to answer the door. Instead, I got impatient as I'm starving from hunger. Anyways, I had to ask from Jin-hyung if you two wanted to join us for breakfast."

"Oi, what did I tell you about calling me dongsaeng? We've been besties for three months now, and you still call me that after I told you not too. Just call me Ella or El, but not dongsaeng."

Ella was so caught up in voicing her frustration about being called dongsaeng even though he wasn't much older than her, just 9 months to be exact, that she didn't see Jung Kook's face change from apologetic to mischievous as he looked over her shoulder. During their conversation at the door, Taehyung had emerged from the bathroom dressed and ready for the day. He was still drying the last parts of his hair dry as his eye had fallen on them at the door. He had overheard something about breakfast. He threw his towel on the bed and tip-toed to the pair at the front door. Taehyung placed a finger on his lips to tell Kook he had to stay silent now that he had almost reached Ella in hopes of surprising her.

Ella noticed that she had lost Jung Kook's attention to something behind her, so she decided to close her eyes and concentrate on Taehyung's whereabouts. Unsurprisingly, he was directly behind her, so she decided to play along with whatever Taehyung had planned for her. She felt his arms sneak around her waist. He pulled her into his warm chest, resting his head on top of hers.

"Did ya miss?" said Taehyung in a loud and exciting voice.

Ella shot Kook a piercing glare, unbeknownst showing her true colors as her offended emotion got the better of her, as she heard him snicker at her 'surprised' yelp. She was more surprised at hearing his voice so loud in her ear.

She saw his eyes go wide as his face morphed into a 'Jungshook' one causing her to look into the mirror, which was conveniently placed on the left wall next to the door and was greeted with glowing yellow eyes with veins underneath.

Somewhat uncertain as to what happened Jung Kook rubbed his eyes and blinking a few times before starting to speak, "What is wrong -"

"Nothing, there is not a thing wrong, Kook!" cut Ella him off panicky, showing him a pair of pleading eyes not to say anything as her face had morphed back.

"Okay, then, I guess...," faded Kook's hesitant voice away while Ella could clearly read on his mind, 'She needs to explain what happened. I did not imagine that just now.' Ella gave him a subtle nod of the head and freed herself from Tae's arms, walking back to the bed, "Do you want to come in? Taehyung missed you last night. He said something about going to you for cuddles."

A silence fell over the duo at the door. JK started laughing very loudly, probably waking everybody on the floor, as Tae let out a displeased response. She stuck out her tongue playfully before picking up Tae's towel and retreating into the bathroom.

Quickly locking it behind her as she heard rapid footsteps coming to the door trying to open it.

"Yeah, sure, hide!"

"Calm down V-hyung. If it makes you feel better. I also wanted to cuddle with you last night or any member, really. That last interview gave me an upsetting feeling."

"Oh, don't start about that interview. I'm still trying to forget it. Why do the interviewers always ask such questions?"

"I don't know, Tae, I don't," said Kookie before going over into a quieter voice, "Did you see how hot Ella looked? I barely survived it. I don't think the other members will. How do you get through one day with her looking like that?"

"Okay, don't call my girl hot. It sounds strange coming from you," said Taehyung in a disgusting voice, probably showing a face just as disgusted, before continuing in a more amused voice, "Get used to it, Kookie, as I'm not planning on letting her go. The boys will have to as well. Actually, I don't know either, but I do. I know one thing for sure though she will always look smoking."

By now, Ella was as red as a tomato while showing a very bright smile. 'What did I do to deserve such a man as my boyfriend? What did I do to deserve such a group of loving friends?' said the voice in her head. Honestly, she still doesn't know, but she does know that she loves hearing the boys talk like that. Casual and without a care in the world away from prying cameras. Shaking her head, Ella tried to focus on what she should be doing. Brushing her teeth. She grabbed her toothbrush and -paste from where she left it last night. She thoroughly brushed her teeth, especially her canines.

Ella had learned from her dad to take extra good care of them as they are to most important weapon for a vampire. On top of that, when she reveals her true colors, the attention goes to her teeth first half of the time, so she has to make sure they leave a lasting impression.

As Ella was almost done flossing her teeth when she heard a knock on the door and to her surprise, heard RM ask, "Slowpoke, are you almost done?"

"Yes, I just have to put my toiletries back into the toiletry bag, then I'll be out. When did you get here?"

"Owh, it's not just Namjoon-hyung. We're all hungry and waiting for Tae and you to come to join us. If you couldn't, that Jung Kook would come back. We sent him here about 25 minutes ago, so we decided to see what is taking so long," said Jimin in response.

Ella threw her toothpick away and opened the door with an enthusiastic swing revealing the waiting boys. All their heads turned in her direction as they stopped their chat. She heard a few good mornings coming her way, so she wished them the same. From her right side, she saw Taehyung flash her a boxy smile while extending his hand to her. However, before she could take it, Jimin grabbed her wrist and dragged her to the elevator leaving the door open for his bandmates, "Come on, boys. She's finally done. Let's go to the restaurant."

"Jimin, I could have walked here myself. My legs are in perfect condition."

"I know, but it was fun to drag you away from Taehyung-ah," said Jimin in a fit of giggles as the others reached the elevator.

"Jiminie," said Hobi in a hushed voice, "you better stop laughing. Taehyung is upset with you for taking his girl away."

"Jimin-ah," heard Ella coming from a pissed-off Taehyung as she looked to the direction of the voice. Jimin's giggles were immediately cut off as he started looking pretty pale. He thought that Tae was actually pissed off at him. Ella leaned against the back of the elevator and watched the scene unfold, sensing that Taehyung was playing a game with him.

Amused Ella pulled the right corner of her mouth up into a grin. She saw Tae trying to maintain his pissed attitude across Jimin, but after a minute, he started cracking up, letting out a few giggles. He placed a hand on Jimin's shoulder, "Next time, please, alert me when you want to kidnap my girl. I could have played along with you. Duh."

This threw all the boys into a joyful laugh. Ella, however, pulled up her eyebrows in annoyance and let out a cough getting the Hyung-line's attention. The makneas were still in a fit of laughter and didn't see the look on Ella's face that had silenced the hyungs. Starting to get pissed off, she pursed her lips together into a thin line.

"Ahem," let Ella out now louder than the previous time, gaining the attention of the remaining members paling when they saw her expression, "Glad that I've got your attention. One, Jimin didn't kidnap me. If he did, then I'd have kicked him so hard in his jewels that he wouldn't be standing now." The ding of the elevator reaching the lobby came in between her words. Jimin grabbed his private zone while grimacing as he thought about how much it would have hurt. Unconsciously, all the others did so too. Ella saw her uncle's face appearing outside of the doors, "Two, at the moment, I think you have to be more worried about getting on time then about kidnapping me," pointing towards her uncle.

She saw all of the boys gulp when they turned their heads to where she was pointing. Her uncle looked rather displeased, "You're supposed to be eating already. We're behind on schedule, get a move on."

Vince turned around, taking off towards the restaurant. The boys slowly started taking off after him. The previous conversation was entirely forgotten. Jung Kook was the last one off the elevator. Ella followed behind, calling out to him, "Kook? Do you got a minute?"

Jung Kook turned around, and she directed with her head towards the corner left of the restaurant entrance. "What is it? Didn't you hear what your uncle said?"

"Yes, I did. I promise it won't take long."

She saw JK look judgingly at her as if he knew it was about what he saw upstairs at the front door. Ella couldn't let them in just yet. They aren't ready yet to know about their world, referring to both her and her uncle. It's too dangerous, especially when she, herself, still has unanswered questions. So she decided to do what she does every time somebody saw something they shouldn't. She had to compel him to think he saw something else this morning.

Ella's eyes slowly turned golden, and veins started showing up underneath them. Again she saw his eyes go 'Jungshook,' "I knew it. I didn't imagine it." His eyes started twinkling with curiosity as he opened his mouth again, "How do you do that? Are you a -"

She didn't, well, couldn't let him finish his sentence as her pupils dilated and took him into a trance. She let out a heavy breath, knowing that she might come to regret this decision. Ella opened her mouth, ready to compel him to forget what he saw this morning, but the guilt she felt for needing to take away his choice started eating at her. He is her best friend. They share everything together. So why not this?

"I want you to stay calm. You will not discuss anything we talk about with the others. You will only bring this up when it's only you and me in a room together. Oh, and uncle Vince. Can you out loud agree to this?"

She saw that Kook's mind was in conflict. She did not know if it was because he didn't agree to the terms or because it would mean that he would have to lie to his best friends. It amazed her how long he able to resist her compulsion. After a minute, he looked like he made up his mind. The curiosity must have taken over as she didn't expect him to say his next words.

"Yes," let Kook out, shakily, "Yes, I agree."

She slowly let Kook out of her compulsion, but still, the heavy feeling was on her shoulders. The guilt ebbed away, but she knew that it would be a heavy conversation to get through. Jung Kook shook his head as he got out of his hazy state of mind, "What just happened? How did you do that? What's going on?"

"Remember what you just promised. Calm. I can still make you forget everything. Don't push it," said Ella as she held him up by his throat against the wall. Once again, her real face shined through her facade.

"Yeah, I remember. Can you please put me down?," said Kook rubbing his throat as she put him back on his feet, "I do, however, still I have questions, and you said we would talk. So talk, please."

"Okay," said Ella, still slightly irritated at JK's pushy behavior, but let it slide as she saw he genuinely wanted to know more. Ella let out a heavy sigh, 'Better fast, than never at all,' so she blurted out her secret, "I'm a hybrid."

"You're a what?" let JK out in a rather loud voice. His face morphed into confusion.

"Quiet, we don't want everybody to know what we're talking about know, do we?"

Kook quickly shook his head, slightly fearing she would push him against the wall again, "No!"

"Great. To answer your question, I'm a hybrid. I'm a part vampire and a part werewolf. What you saw earlier this morning and just know is part of my true face. Truthfully, this morning was a slip-up. I never intended you to find out like this, but I couldn't take away your choice to about this."

The pair was so caught up in their conversation that they didn't see Vince nearing them. He started listening in on them as soon as they fell behind. Despite knowing that Ella can handle herself, Vince was still protective over her and wanted to make sure that she was okay after yesterday. He, even now, wondered if those events were what she wanted to talk about to him. When he heard Jung Kook said that he didn't imagine it, he started to slowly walk over to them. Fearing that she might do something that she would regret.

"Ella," came her uncle's voice for behind them, "What are you doing? Why did you tell him your secret?"

Their heads turned in his direction and saw him waiting for an answer. Ella froze up, not knowing what to tell him. Before she could speak up, Jung Kook opened up speaking his sincere thoughts, "Please, don't be mad with her. I found out this morning, and she gave me my choice in this matter. If you feel conflicted about this, she already made me promise not to tell the others."

Uncle Vince looked from Jung Kook to Ella and back, letting out a heavy sigh, "Okay, I don't know how it happened, but we'll talk about this later, Ella, alone!"

"Okay."

"Now, come on, the others are already eating. Go grab your food. Jung Kook, if you want to talk about it now, then tell me so. That way, I can say that you two are having a heart to heart conversation and need a little more time therefor joining us later at the venue."

"I'd appreciate that. Thank you for not taking away my choice. Do I have it right that you aren't normal as well?"

"I'll let Ella tell you that. Kid, you're really too curious for your age," shaking his head as he left towards the others to inform them of the situation.

JK and Ella looked at each other. "That ended somewhat well," said Kook. Ella shook her head, "Go get your breakfast. I'll look for a more private location."

Jung Kook quickly left toward the walking buffet, and Ella looked around for a secluded table. In the far right corner, she found an empty table with fewer people around and started heading towards it. On her way there, Ella passed the others, who were seated at a large table against the left wall. Stuffing their mouths with food and talking amongst each other. Like any other group of people in the restaurant.

Ella was somewhat surprised that they hadn't encountered any fans in the lobby while heading toward the dining area. She felt relieved that she could at least have a quiet breakfast, before heading to the venue, which meant meeting the Riyad ARMY again.

She shook the thoughts away. From the corner of her eye, she saw her uncle stopping Taehyung from calling out to her, saying something about her talk with Jung Kook not being over yet. They just located it here as Jung Kook still had to eat. Otherwise, they would arrive even later.

She felt her phone - a purple Samsung Galaxy S20 with BTS logo on the back - vibrate, indicating that she got a text. Samsung and BTS are currently working on a collaboration for the newest generation of Samsung phones that are coming out in 2020. Her old S7 decided to take a swim, and through Taehyung talking about it to the representative from Samsung, they gave her a collaboration S20 to replace it. Gave, not for a special prize. Entirely for free. In her opinion, the company did it to have her test the device thoroughly before it would arrive on the market. It also came with a limited edition pair of Galaxy Buds and a charging pad. Both in BTS purple style. The phone, however, was so new that Taehyung had to give her a speed course on how to use it.

Tae-Tae: Since Jimin dragged you out the room earlier, I took your ARMY Bomb with me. It's in my bag when you need it. Your uncle said that you and Kookie are having a heart to heart. Is everything okay? Should I be worried?

Ella: Thank you! You're the best boyfriend in the world!

Ella: Everything is okay. I just needed Jung Kook's opinion about something we've talked about a few weeks back. It's nothing to worry about.

Tae-Tae: I know I am. If you say so. You know that you can always talk to me, right?

Ella: I know! I will, next time, okay? I love you!

Tae-Tae: Okay! I love you more!

Ella put her phone away as Jung Kook took place at the table with a plate to the edges filled with food, "Have a nice meal!"

"Thank you," said Jung Kook after he swallowed his first bite. He tilted his head to the left side clearly debated whether he should ask it and went for it anyway, "Don't you have to eat?"

"Not necessarily. It doesn't feed me in the same way it does you. I only eat to keep up my cover or when I truly want to eat it," said Ella earnestly, looking him straight in the eye. Jung Kook continued eating, not looking away for even a second. Well, only when he grabbed a new piece of food to stuff in his mouth, "The only food supply that truly satisfies my hunger is, well, blood. It can be any kind of blood. Bunny, deer, fox and... human."

The last word hesitantly fell from her lips. From JK's face, Ella couldn't quite read what he was thinking. Jung Kook tilted his head to the other side as another question fell from his lips. One that she didn't expect to come first.

"How does it taste? Human blood, I mean?"

"Uhm, it tastes different for every vampire and per human. I don't necessarily have a preference, but my uncle has an entire stash of A+ in a cooler at your company. So yes, Vince is a vampire."

"Now I know why he didn't want me to touch his cooler. He was very strict about his cooler at the company. Nobody is allowed to touch it. Well, I guess nobody but you," stated Jung Kook calmly despite what they're talking about, "Have you ever bitten one of us? Or wanted to bite us?"

"The very first day we met. That was the only time that my hunger tried to take over. I would never do anything to hurt all of you. That includes biting one of you. I don't think my emotions could survive that."

"Hmm," nodded Kook in acknowledgment, "That finally explains why you suddenly had to go to the 'ladies room' without announcing it yourself."

They both let out a laugh remembering how Ella reacted when her uncle told them that as an excuse. A message notification came from Jung Kook's pocket. Ella scanned the restaurant realizing that the others were already gone. They probably were already busy practicing for tonight.

"So that was bodyguard Young. He said we really have to go to the venue now. The staff is getting worried about the soundcheck and everything else they need to get ready for tonight and need me for."

"I can understand. Well, let's go then."

"Before we go, Ella, when are you going to tell the others? More importantly, when are you going to tell Taehyung? If you can't tell everyone at once, as it is a critical and big secret to take in, then you should start by telling him."

"Err, I first need to talk to my uncle about something important. I promised Tae I would talk to him about the events from yesterday so I'll tell him then. The others, well, I don't know yet."

"At least, you don't have to worry about me telling them. Not because I can't, but because I also wouldn't betray your trust. I hope you know that."

"I do, Kook, I do. That's why you're my best friend. At least I hope we still are?"

Ella looked at him with an expectant look on her face. Jung Kook showed her his bunny smile, "Of course, we are. What you are doesn't change who you are."

"Great," said Ella as she smiled a smile that reached to her eyes.

The boys were going through the entire show before the fans that bought VIP soundcheck tickets would be allowed into the stadium. Ella sat a few rows away from the stadium watching them goof off from time to time, but definitely working as, well, the professionals they are. They listened to hints and tips from their staff just as their crew listened to what they had to say. It showed the mutual respect they had for each other as artists and employees. It was impressive to see.

Ella happily swayed her head along to the tunes off Boy With Luv that the boys were at now. Taehyung flashed her a wink as he sang bae. She shook her head. She didn't want to believe that he was flirting with her, especially with so many people around. He had been at it ever since Jung Kook and her arrived at the venue. His concern from earlier nowhere to be seen.

"I hope for you that he won't be openly flirting with you during the concert. I don't think the ARMYs will survive that," said uncle Vince shaking his head as he took place next to her.

"Don't even start. Taehyung has been at it ever since I got here."

"Must be those racing hormones in his body. I can sense his arousal from here, and I don't have your sense of smell."

"Luckily, he smells even better when he is aroused. Otherwise, I really needed to find a solution to this problem."

"Speaking of solutions, how did everything with Jung Kook go?"

"Okay, I guess," said Ella as she scratched the back of her head and looked at the said man, "He took it in really well. Better than I thought, he would take it. I answered as many of his questions before we had to leave, but I'm sure he has more."

"Okay, okay," said her uncle while following the boys with his eyes. The protectiveness for them shining through. If anything were to happen, then he would be there in the blink of an eye.

"Uncle, who is Ethan?" said Ella gaining her uncle's full attention. He whipped his head in her direction. It showed an emotion although she couldn't decipher which.

"Where did you hear that name?"

"I didn't hear it. I remembered it. To be more exact, the entire memory of... of my parents' death flashed back into my head yesterday when I collapsed. In that memory, I heard that name. The attacker from that day said that Ethan would keep sending people after us until all the members of the Young family are dead. What happened that this man, Ethan, wants all of us dead?"

Vince let out a deep sigh and sunk his head onto his folded hand deep in thought. He tilted his head to the side to look into Ella's eyes, "I guess you deserve to know."

Straightening himself up and shifted in his seat so he could look directly at Ella without having to turn his head.

"Ahem," coughed her uncle awkwardly before starting to talk, "The news of your mother being pregnant with you traveled around the world faster than we liked. That news also reached somebody who we thought we got rid of a long time ago. That somebody was Ethan. We, Bekha, your father and I, met Ethan Montgomery somewhere in 1506 about 500 years before your father met your mother. Ethan was at that time a knight serving a lord who resided in Lille, France, and we were members of a noble family, which was our cover at the time, staying at his mansion before continuing our journey back to the Netherlands."

Ella was attentively listening to her uncle's story wanting to know everything about this Ethan Montgomery. Vince turned his head to the boys who were taking a break. When they saw the pair looking at them, they gave them a wave, except for Yoongi. He settled that a nod was good enough. Ella saw Tae and Kook whisper to each other. Probably about the fact that she was finally talking with her uncle. Meaning that she was going to talk to Tae about yesterday's events. The two of them gave a wave back before uncle Vince continued his story.

"The evening before we planned to leave in November 1506 that a group of local robbers attacked the place. They probably hoped to get some quick money. We were woken up by the heavy smell of blood in the air and joined the ongoing fight with the guards. Nik, however, couldn't control his hunger, as it was a long time ago since he fed, and attacked one of the robbers drinking him completely dry. Ethan witnessed that entire event, and when they locked eyes, the disgust, anger, and fear were clear on his face. He probably thought that be would be next. Your father wanted to compel him to forget about what he saw. However, Ethan got pierced in his stomach by a sword and fell to the ground. Nik told me that he seemed dead on impact, only faint breathing and pumping of the heart was hearable. So faint that he would die within a few minutes. Your father continued to keep up the facade taking out the remaining robbers left in the mansion."

"Well, he clearly isn't dead, otherwise that vampire wouldn't have mentioned him."

"You're right, Ella. He survived that attack, but only because your aunt, Bekha, took pity on him and fed him her blood, not knowing what had transpired before that. She had hoped to heal him, but he had lost to much blood already and turned into a vampire. When we discovered what Bekha did, we wanted to guide him, hoping that he would accept our help, but his turning only fueled his disgust and anger, blaming all three of us for what happened to him. He said that if we never stayed at that place, then he could have at least died with some honor. We stripped his choice away from him. He swore that day that he would find a way to get rid of us. The entire Young family. Once and for all. After that day we hadn't seen him for years. We started thinking at some point that he was able to let go of his anger."

"So then how did he find you again?"

"Ethan showed his face in 1970, six years before your mother was born. He tried several attempts to take out one of us but failed as he was on his own while we worked together to save our lives. The last time Ethan tried was in 1976. This time he had gathered a large group of followers who wanted the same thing as him, revenge for what happened to them or their family. Or see the extinction of the Young family and all vampires. I still don't know how, but we managed to survive that attack. So did he and some of his followers. I think he learned that time and started building his larger army of followers so he could slowly plot the ultimate plan to kill us all off. I think you can guess how he took the news of your birth."

"Not too well if he sent somebody to kill on my 16th birthday."

"No, he did not. He was furious and started sending out more of his lackeys to take us out. I think he desperately wanted to get rid of you as you were the most vulnerable. One of the reasons that your parents created the Boarding School was to keep you safe, and it did until 2014. The rest of that day is now history, but the reason that we also left you on your own was so that Ethan didn't know you survived the attack. So we went to different places on the planet so that he would have to divide his attention and completely missed anything regarding you."

"Then what is he doing now? You're the bodyguard of the world's most famous boyband. Why hasn't he come after you yet? Why hasn't he come after me yet? I've made world news several times now."

Her uncle shook his head, "I truly don't know, but always watch your back. It might not take long before he shows his face again. For all, we know he might already be plotting his next move against me. You have aged much since 2014, so he might not recognize you."

Ella nodded her head in agreement, "You might be right, and you know I always watch my back."

Her uncle stood up, shaking his head in disbelief at her words.

"Uncle, thank you. For clearing up and answering my questions."

"You're welcome. You can come to me if you have any other questions, okay?"

She nodded her head. This time he truly walked away, leaving her alone with her thoughts. It seems that the story had taken up quite some time as the boys were not on stage anymore, and one of the staff members alerted her to follow him backstage. The VIP fans were about to be let into the venue. So she had to be out of eyesight. Ella attracted just as much attention from the fans just as much as the members did.

Ella was greeted by a pair of arms engulfing her into a massive hug as she entered the backstage area. The person was still sweaty from the recently finished practice, but she didn't mind as she recognized the scent. He nuzzled into her hair and mumbled something in it.

"Care to repeat that?"

"I missed you."

"I was here the entire time," said Ella while looking up to him and seeing his boxy smile drop from his face, "But if it makes you feel better, I missed you too."

His smile returned just as fast as it had disappeared upon hearing her words. Ella tried to free herself from her boyfriend's arms that pulled her even closer. She let out a desperate huff as he didn't let go, but stopped moving when she saw the serious look on his face.

"What's wrong?" asked Ella worriedly.

Tae left out a sigh as he let her go slightly, firmly placing his hands on her shoulders. He looked her directly in the eye, "I saw you talking with your uncle during our last walkthrough. Did you manage to get answers to your questions?"

"I did," nodded Ella, "He cleared up some things about some old memories that I remember during yesterday's events."

"So, are you going to tell me now what happened yesterday?"

"I will, but it's not easy for me to talk about as the memory is a big part of the reason why it happened," said Ella straight into his eyes, "To clearly tell you all the details of the story, I think that it's the best to talk about it when we've reached the hotel."

She saw Taehyung's serious look falter into a sad look. He looked somewhat hurt as he tore his gaze away. Ella carefully took his head in both her hands and directed his attention back to her. She stood on her toes, placing her forehead against his, "I made a promise yesterday and intend to keep it. You know that, right?"

He nodded in confirmation as he lost his ability to speak. "Great," said Ella while showing him a sad smile, "I just don't want to ruin your mood for today's concert."

Ella saw open his mouth to respond, but was cut off by J-Hope placing a hand on his shoulder, "I hate to cut your conversation, but duty calls Taehyung. We have to go out for the VIP soundcheck. The fans are waiting for us."

Taehyung nodded while Hobi let go of his shoulder, "I'll be right there." He directed his attention to Ella, "You'll have to let go of my face. I'm needed on stage. Time to entertain our fans!"

"I won't until you show me how excited you are instead of this glum look."

"Pfft," let Taehyung out as he tried to contain his laughter, "Okay, okay, I give in. I feel pumped. Mark my words, my girl, I'll make sure you know how much I love you. You won't be able to look away. You'll be begging for my attention tonight, after our talk."

Ella shook her head as she let his go. "We'll see about that," called Ella out, watching his figure retreat and disappearing behind the curtain leading to the stage. She could hear the fans scream in excitement. Ella was about to walk to manager Sejin for instructions on where she could watch the concert after the soundcheck was over when flashes of yesterday's events shot into her mind due to the screams she heard now. Her pupils dilated in fear, and her heart was beating over time due to the stress. She placed a hand on her chest as she recognized the upcoming panic attack. She's been having them since the day she lost her parents.

A few meters away, her uncle saw the signs as well and called his team over to instruct them to watch over her tonight. He feared that if she already got triggered by this. That she might go into a full one during the concert. Not that Ella noticed anything of that happening. She was too caught up in trying to calm herself down.

'It's okay. You're safe. Nothing will happen to you. The security team showed that yesterday and the team will do so now.'

Now that she was calm enough not to be shaking while standing on her legs, she walked over to Sejin. When he noticed her presence next to him, he looked up from his paperwork.

"Can I help you with something, Ella?"

"I was hoping you could," said she nervously tapping on the table that he was sitting at. Sejin placed a hand over hers to stop her hand movements, "You don't have to be nervous around me. You can ask me anything. I hope you know that."

"Okay," said Ella let go of a breath that she didn't know that she was holding, "You said I had to follow either your or my uncle's instruction while on tour, but neither you nor my uncle has given me instruction of where I can watch the concert tonight. Taehyung said that you had already approved that I could watch from the venue instead of from the backstage to let met experience the real deal."

She took in a breath afterward because she said everything in on breath as she tried to get it out of her mouth as fast as possible.

"Inhale Ella," said Sejin, "You have to keep breathing. Don't have to talk so fast. To answer your question, we've reserved a chair for you in the VIP section. The section of which the fans are now enjoying the soundcheck. You'll join them later on. We decided to place you there so that you can enjoy the show in a somewhat less crowded part of the audience, but also has the smallest chance of getting recognized by fans."

Ella nodded to show her understanding as Sejin continued, "The fans in that section have been asked to sign as form regarding no leaking of information like seeing you there or asking you personal questions or take photographs. If any of them don't follow those rules, please notify the security around. They know what action to take."

"I will do that if necessary, but I hope not," said Ella in a hopeful tone, "Is someone going to escort me to my seat before the concert starts?"

"Yes, your uncle will take you there himself."

"Okay, thank you for the information," said Ella walking off to the dressing room. In search of her ARMY Bomb and to get some rest before the concert starts. She wished Sejin good luck with his paperwork.

Part 13 Taehyung, I'm not the girl you think I am

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bts-weverse-trans · 3 years

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201128 Weverse Magazine ‘BE’ Comeback Interview - Namjoon

RM: “I spend a lot of time thinking about where I am now” BTS BE comeback interview 2020.11.28

The story of BTS’ new album BE started on April 17, 2020 when group member RM announced its production on the BANGTANTV YouTube channel. In the seven months that followed until the album’s release, RM’s mind was full, his thoughts flowing in and out of his head.

How do you feel about the unique approach you took to making your new album, BE? RM: The other members were a ton of help to me. My lyrics made it on the album, but the music I composed didn’t, so I’m really thankful to the group for the music. How should I say this? I feel like everyone is doing a great job. There are so many parts in these songs that I’m indebted to them for. “Stay” was originally going to be the title song on Jung Kook’s mixtape, but everyone liked it so much, and they all agreed to put that on our album. That’s how much influence they had. I’m really happy my room idea was chosen to be the album photos. Since we’re spending a lot of time in our rooms because of COVID-19, we laid out the idea of each of us decorating a room in our own style. I can’t remember for sure (laughs) but I think I’m the one who came up with that. I made a comfortable room, one that’s modern and warm because that’s what I like.

There’s a painting in the middle, and symmetrically arranged figurines. RM: The figures are from my own collection. I wanted to show one of my paintings, but that didn’t pan out. But still, those are the things I hold most dear to me right now, so I let the room embody the things I wish I had, too.

It’s well known that you like art and frequent exhibitions, but how do you feel when you look at art in your home or another space where there are no people, like in the album art? RM: Someone said, “You don’t have to buy this painting; it’s yours so long as you’re looking at it.” That’s my favorite sound bite these days. What I most envied about painters was that, even after they died, their work would be hanging up somewhere, maybe even in another country, still defining that space. Musicians leave behind their songs and videos, too, but it’s only through fine art that viewers in the future are able to completely meet artists from the past. I’m envious that this is only possible for painters. These days I’m trying to find spaces where I can have more relaxed viewing experiences.

There’s a full experience involved, from the time you get ready to leave your house until the time you’re actually looking at artwork in the gallery. RM: That’s perfect to me. There’s art you can keep at home, and then there’s art that should always be viewed in museums.

What effect do you think that type of experience has on your music? You didn’t compose any of the songs but instead participated in writing the lyrics to all of the tracks. Did that experience affect your lyric writing in any way? RM: I think it’s helped me develop a way of thinking using all the senses. I used to be attuned to speech and focus on language and auditory textures, but now I can look at my thoughts from many different angles. That’s why I spend more time studying art now. I’m waiting for the day that it all comes to the surface, like when you paint the base on a canvas over and over so the colors pop. It’s hard to answer in one word if it has a direct influence on my work, but I think people who create music develop a way of seeing the world through their personal experience and their creative process. Painters naturally exhibit their art over a very long period of time. I think it gave me an eye for looking at the world in one long, continuous stroke. So now it’s become a little challenging for me to write lyrics these days. I’ve become more cautious.

Why is it so challenging? RM: I used to have so many ideas pouring out that it was hard to pluck one out. So I would stack them up like a Jenga tower and ponder over which one to remove. But now, it’s hard to even add a block to the stack. I’m not sure why but, when I look at these artists whose works span their entire lives, I sense that the rhythm of my creativity is slowing down more and more. That’s the source of my dilemma. I’m only 27 years old. I still need to wander around and get tripped up a little. But am I just trying to imitate what the fine artists are doing? Or maybe BTS experienced so much in the past seven years, that now it’s time for us to take a breather? I’ve got so many questions, I feel like my hair’s turning white. That’s why none of my songs are on the album. I wrote some, but they were too personal to use there. I don’t exactly like myself like this, but I have to see through to the end in this direction and find the answer.

Maybe for that reason, your rapping has shifted focus to the lyrics more so than trend or musicality. It emphasizes the feeling of the words over a particular format or beat. RM: Exactly. In—was it 2017? Pdogg was talking to Yoongi, Hobi and me about our style, and said, “Namjoon, it feels like you’re becoming a lyricist,” and it really stuck with me. I have a lot of thoughts lately when I watch Show Me the Money or listen to hip hop songs from the Billboard chart. My music started out all about my life as a rapper, so I spend a lot of time thinking about where I am now.

So you’ve started to ask yourself who you are as a musician? RM: I listened to Lee So-ra’s seventh album again today. I keep changing my mind but, if I had to pick between her sixth and seventh album, I like her seventh a little more. And then I listen to the most popular songs on Billboard, and I feel kind of thrown off. Um … There’s something Whanki Kim said that’s been running around in my head lately: After moving to New York, he embraced the style of artists like Mark Rothko and Adolf Gottlieb, but then he said, “I’m Korean, and I can’t do anything not Korean. I can’t do anything apart from this, because I am an outsider.” And I keep thinking that way, too. That’s my main concern lately.

You can feel that on BE. As the members take on more prominent roles as songwriters and producers, characteristics of old Korean music—the kind of music you likely listened to in middle and high school—gradually entered your sound. But your music isn’t from that era, and it sounds like pop, but not quite. RM: The sound has to fit with the whole album so I couldn’t incorporate that feel into BTS songs, but the songs I’m listening to most lately have been Korean. Songs like P-Type’s “Don Quixote,” Dead’P’s “Spread My Wings,” Soul Company’s album The Bangerz. The impressions the songs from back then have left on me, the lyrics from back then and the lyrics from now, they’re different. So BE is both Korean and pop; it’s very unique, in my view.

I think that’s especially true for “Life Goes On.” It’s got a pop melody, but compared to “Dynamite,” it has a very different feel. It doesn’t slip deep into the sentimental, instead allowing the melody to flow naturally. RM: Exactly. The chorus is totally pop, and one of the writers was also American. But the song doesn’t really follow American music trends, weirdly. So I don’t know how “Life Goes On” is going to be received. It’s really calm, almost contemplative. So there’s lyrics, like, “Like an echo in the forest,” and, “Like an arrow in the blue sky.” The song kind of feels like that: It could just float off and disappear. It might even come off as bland next to “Dynamite.”

If nothing else, it seems the song will stick around for a long time. Maybe kids now will listen to it later on in the future. RM: I hope so. That’s the one thing I really hope for, people in the future, thinking back and saying, “Oh, right! Remember that one song?” That’s what my favorite artists and other people who leave a lasting impression on me have in common. One thing common among the songs that have affected me a lot, like Lee So-ra’s seventh album, is that the lyrics they utter in their voice along with the overall sound stick with me. I hope when people look back, my words uttered with the sound of my voice, echoes for a long time in an auditory or visual way, or even throughout their entire lives. But that’s the dilemma: We have all these bling-bling symbols of our success, but we’re not that kind of team.

And yet, BTS’s career path is even more “bling-bling” than ever. “Dynamite” was the top song on the Billboard Hot 100. RM: I was the first one to check our position (laughs) but I didn’t want to get too excited about it. I was scared of facing disappointment so I put the brakes on out of habit, and restrained myself. But on the other hand, I feel like I should relish this moment. This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing; shouldn’t I enjoy myself a bit? But I disliked that sensation of only feeling elated so I tried to be as objective as possible. I was just one small part of everything that made this happen.

It reminds me of that part, “Running faster than that cloud of rain / Thought that would be enough / Guess I’m only human after all,” from “Life Goes On.” RM: “Only human” sounds so appropriate for me right now. One time, I saw a dark cloud over the N Seoul Tower while I was walking along the Han River. I was with a friend and we talked about where the border between where it’s raining and where it’s not might be, and suddenly, we came up with the idea to run and find that spot. But after running for 10 minutes, the cloud was even further away than it had been. At that moment, the puzzle pieces snapped into place. You think you can go faster than that dark cloud? No. That’s what I realized then. And I just like what Whanki Kim said, that maybe I can’t do anything not Korean, because that’s what I am. I used to work late and then stay up all night when things weren’t working out, sometimes walking from Samseong to Sinsa station, thinking everything through. But now, like the saying, I realize that maybe I can’t do more than what I am.

On Weverse, you said that you gained some muscle from working out. Could the change to your body improve your creativity in the long term? RM: I started to think I better change myself a little, physically or mentally. I’m talking about being steady. I used to bombard myself with challenges and worries and just get over them, but now I think it’s time to find that one sturdy thing and plant myself there. The best choice was working out, and I think it’s changing my behavior a lot. I’m hoping that, if I keep working out for a year or two, I’ll become a different person.

Music is your job, but also your life. Like you expressed in “Dis-ease,” how would you say you feel about your work? RM: This is my job and my calling and I feel a great sense of responsibility. I think I’m lucky and happy that I can solely worry about my creative process. And I feel very responsible to those people who put their trust in me, so I try not to cross any lines, judge myself honestly, and always be professional. Those are the responsibilities that come with the job—the things I have to do and the promises I won’t betray. But if I’m going to do it, I’m going to be happy while I do it. That’s not always going to be possible, but that’s generally how I feel.

Well then, how do you feel about BTS at the moment? RM: BTS is … Well, it’s really hard to tell. (laughs) When BTS started out, I thought, “I know everything there is to know about BTS,” but now it’s, “I don’t know a single thing about BTS.” In the past, I felt like I knew everything, and that anything was possible. Call it childish or ambitious. But if I were to ask myself, “What is BTS to me?” I would say, we’re just people who met each other because we were meant to. But it feels like the stars aligned and a startup company became a unicorn, with perfect timing and lots of smart people. Looking back, there were a lot of ironies and contradictions in this industry. I thought I figured them out one by one, and then finally understood the whole thing. But now I feel like I don’t know anything at all. Anyway, to sum up: My young, reckless twenties. The events of my twenties. There were a lot of contradictions, people, fame, and conflict all tangled together, but it was my choice and I got a lot out of it, so my twenties were an intense but also happy time.

And what about you, as one individual person? RM: I’m a real Korean person. (laughs) A person who wants to do something in Korea. I think millennials are charging into society stuck between the analog and digital generations, and what I chose is BTS. So I try to integrate myself into our generation, try to understand what people like me are thinking, and try to work hard to capture that feeling without being a burden on them. This might be another kind of irony itself, but this is who I am. I’m a 27-year-old Korean. That’s what I think.

Trans © Weverse

#bangtan #namjoon #weverse #weverse magazine #comeback interview #be album #201128 #2020

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fyeah-bangtan7 · 3 years

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RM: “I spend a lot of time thinking about where I am now”

#bangtan #rm #m:weverse magazine #o:interview #201128

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artbysarah98 · 4 years

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Part 13 Taehyung, I’m not the girl you think I am

Masterlist

Uncle, who is Ethan?

Ella

When Ella arrived at the dressing room to ready herself for the concert and fetching her ARMY Bomb, an alert got her attention. Her phone gave off a WhatsApp sound. She grabbed her phone and that she was added to a new group chat. The chat was named 'When are we going to meet again' with 7 question marks. She pursed her lips in suspicion when she saw the name having a feeling that one of the VAV members made that chat. At the moment of opening the conversation, Ella saw that her name was mentioned several times in the chat.

After some reading through the messages, she discovered that she was in a chat that included VAV and BTS. Well, at the time, more VAV since BTS was on the stage 'performing' for the VIP fans. The boys of VAV had been asking her questions. How she was doing, what she was doing right now, and when they could meet again, etc.

Ella: I'm doing fine in comparison to the circumstances. Yesterday's arrival at the airport send me into a small panic attack, but I'm all alright now.

Ella: Now I'm waiting in the dressing room for the members to be done with their VIP soundcheck part of the concert, then I can take place in the audience near that section to see the real performance myself. I even got my ARMY Bomb with me. Although I almost damaged it this morning. I think I'm just going to relax until then.

St. Van the Man: We've seen some photos of the arrival you speak off, but if you really when into a panic attack after leaving the camera sight, then you did an outstanding job. The nerves were visible on your face, but you followed Taehyung's lead and stayed true to yourself. That's the most important thing.

Ayno Yoo Know: Relaxing is good after going through that for the first time after becoming a, well, celebrity. Even though it might not feel like you're a celeb, you are. Baron-hyung looked up just now if you are, and sources like Billboard and Melon say you are.

Ziu-piu: Congratulations, Miss Celebrity!!

Ella: Thanks Ziu, but no thanks. I never intended to get famous and don't feel like a celebrity should.

Lou: Ziu says he's sorry if he offended you, but as you can see from the chat topic. The one who made the chat *chough* Baron *chough* wants to know when we can meet up again. Can you give him some sort of information about this?

Ella: At the moment, as he knows, I'm on tour with the boys. So I guess it will be sometime around the end of their concert tour. After the Seoul concerts as well. My uncle wants to keep me close, and I want to support my boyfriend until the end. *Nods confidently* I'm a dedicated girlfriend who comes true to her promises.

Ella: I can't decide on that my own either. It wouldn't be fair to the ones who're on stage now.

ACE: We understand. We'll think of something and let you all know our plan when we've got it. Is that okay?

Ella: Absolutely!

After that, she put her phone on silent, as she knows that they will keep messaging her, and put it away. She shifted her position on the couch that she took place on to interact with VAV and closed her eyes for a little bit. Shaken awake by a hand pressing lightly on her shoulder, woke Ella up from her unintended nap. Blinking a few times against the light and registered the energetic voices in the dressing room.

"Tired?" asked the voice belonging to the person whose hand is on her shoulder. Ella rubbed her eyes and sat up, turning to the source of the question, "Joonie, how was the soundcheck? The new groupchat with VAV tired me out more than I thought. They're not even here and are already as tiring as you all can be, sometimes."

Namjoon let out a chuckle and pulled her on her feet up by the hand she extended to him, "The soundcheck went okay. The fans are hyped up. It's our first time performing in Saudi Arabia, after all."

"Of course, they're hyped up," said an equally hyped J-Hope, "We did not perform in the Middle East since Dubai in 2015, and they've been worried that we're going to cancel due to the human rights abuses going on right now."

"You defended your decision, more than once, during the interviews the other day. You're here for your fans and not as some publicity stunt."

"Ella, I'm glad you think of it that way," said Tae, who swung an arm over her left shoulder, letting it rest there, "However, they're a lot of people who don't think of it that way."

"We've been getting criticized for our decision to play here tonight. Since other artists, like Nicki Minaj, have canceled their performances due to the ongoing problems," said Jimin in a frustrated voice as he let himself fall on the couch where Ella just had been pulled up from.

"Let's not talk about this topic anymore. We've got a performance to get ready for," said Jin in hopes of cheering Jimin up as Jung Kook brought a significant fact to their attention, "Don't forget that Ella will also be watching us live tonight. For. The. First. Time. EVER!"

Jung Kook smiled his famous bunny smile as he emphasized every word from the last part of the sentence.

"Oi Jung Kook," said Yoongi covering his ears, "I get you're excited to show off in front of your best friend, who is also Tae's girl, but please keep the volume down. We can hear you just fine."

"Sorry, Yoongi-hyung, I'll try to keep my voice down next time I'm excited about something."

Ella shook her head at Kook's enthusiasm. Their bond hasn't really changed much since he figured out her secret. The same secret she promised him to tell her boyfriend who pulled her down on the chair, which Taehyung dragged from under the table to sit on. As he secured her safely in his lap, he put his head on her right shoulder, noticing her thoughtful expression. 'How am I going to tell him I am who I am?' thought Ella when she heard the person she was thinking about ask, "A penny for your thoughts."

She shuddered at his sudden husky voice earning a satisfied chuckle from Taehyung. Ella could feel his chest moving behind her as he chuckled. A little displeased, Ella punched him with her right elbow. "Okay, I guess I deserved that one," said Taehyung in a painful voice as multiple sniggers could be heard across the room when they heard him speak.

"You guess?" questioned Ella pulling up an eyebrow while turning her head to look him into the eyes.

"I deserved that one."

"Yes, yes, you did."

"I still would like to know what is on your thoughts, though."

"There is not much on my mind, though. Just wondering about how to start our important talk tonight, more specifically when. I bet you will be tired after you are done, but I made a promise to tell, so I will."

Taehyung rubbed her sides comfortably as he said, "I don't care if I'm tired. We made a promise to each other. So I'll see up to my part of the promise just as much as you do to yours. I'll try my best to stay awake until you're done talking."

Ella leaned into him comfortably as his kind words, and Tae moved his arms to rest around her waist. Something warm exploded around her birthmark, but she missed it due to catching Jung Kook watching them. Kookie stuck up his thumb when he was caught looking, as a show of good fate in the promise Ella made with him. She wanted to give him a thumbs-up back, but Jin's abrupt voice turned the attention in the room to him. Everyone looked in his direction and stopped what they're doing.

"Why do I have over 600 messages in a WhatsApp group chat?"

Ella let out a scoff as she knew, exactly, which group he was talking about, "You can thank the maker of the group chat for that. I had over 300 messages when I saw the chat. We're all joined in a group chat with all the members of VAV. Baron would like all of us to meet up again, but I already said that it would have to wait until after your tour is over."

Jin looked at her with a stoic face, "You have to be kidding."

Ella shook her head as the chat was proof that she was not.

"He saw you a few days before we left and wants to meet up again," stated a suspicious Taehyung from underneath her, "Does he have no-one else to hang out with?"

"Tae, don't be so suspicious," said RM before she could, "The chat clearly states that all of them want to meet up with all of us again. So not just with Ella."

"I'd love to meet up with them again," said Jimin excitedly as he remembered how much fun it was the last time, "I never thought that they would become such good friends as they looked like they were impressed by us the first time we met."

"I think everybody, these days, is impressed by all of you," stated manager Sejin in a 'matter-of-fact' voice as he entered the room, before going over into business, cutting the original conversation off, "Are you all rested up? If so, get a move on. The noonas still have to get your hair, make-up, and outfits done before the show starts in 45 minutes."

Reluctantly the boys stood up and headed towards the working station of the noona's. Ella tried to stand up and let Tae go over to the place he was needed. However, when she tried to get up, his arms tightened around her waist, not wanting to let her go. Ella shot a pleading glance toward Sejin, who was still in the door-opening waiting for Taehyung to go as well.

Sejin let out a sigh, "Taehyung, go now before I have bodyguard Young carry you there like the last time you didn't go willingly."

Ella heard a frustrated sound coming from her boyfriend as he let her go and stood up. She expected him to listen to his manager and go immediately, but instead, he took her hand and interlaced their fingers. She looked from their hands to his face, meeting a pair of pleading eyes.

"Hmpf," sighed Ella giving into his pleading face, "If you let me grab my bag, then I'll come with you. I have to go in that direction anyway before my uncle accompanies me to my seat."

Taehyung looked a little upset, but let her go. She quickly grabbed her bag with ARMY Bomb, a fully charged phone, and a bottle of water. Ella had prepared it before she had gotten the first WhatsApp notification. She put her phone on the charger before her little nap. To ensure it would be full when she needs it during the concert. Ella extended her hand again, and Taehyung laced them once more as soon as his hand found hers. He showed her a boxy smile as she looked at him when he guided, more like dragged, her to the working station.

An unnie quickly whisked him away to a make-up table to get him ready for the performance. Ella watched the members getting ready for the live show. Some were still in make-up like Tae, others were getting dressed or having their hair done while Jin looked to be done first. Ella decided to let him get ready for the performance in his own way and sat on one of the empty make-up chairs. She saw that one of the unnies was cleaning up her equipment already. That unnie was one of the hairstylists. 'She could cut my hair,' thought Ella as she debated to call out to her, 'I just don't know if she has the time or not.'

"I can see the question burning in your head," said Jimin, who took place on her left, "You just have to ask her. I'm sure she would do it."

"How do you know that?"

"Because she is one of the noonas we heard talking about your hair. I'm certain that she was the most excited one. If trust is the issue, don't worry. I trust her and rarely trust anyone with my hair."

"Trust is not what causes the problem."

"Then what is?"

"I just don't want to disturb her so soon before the concert when she needs to be here to get all of you ready."

Jimin looked as if he was about to burst out laughing as Ella answered him truthfully. Instead of doing so, he called out to the noona, who quickly walked over to him. Ella looked embarrassed as Jimin explained the situation and wanted to sink into the ground. However, when she heard that the noona would gladly do it for her, she perked up.

"I don't have time now, but I can make some space in my schedule for tomorrow before we have to go back to South-Korea."

"You can? I don't want to be a burden."

"Of course, miss Young. You're not a burden at all. I would be honored if you let me cut your hair and do whatever you want to get done with it. All the hairstylists are jealous of your hair. It looks so soft and silky. On top of that, it's a natural hair color we don't see here often. And I get to be the first one of us to touch it," said the hairstylist as she gestured to her black hair.

"See Ella? Nothing to it. You just had to ask," said Jimin as the noona returned to continue packing up after decided tomorrow at 11.00 in Tae and Ella's shared room to do it.

"You're right," said Ella knowing that she was boosting his ego. She wanted to continue talking when their attention was turned to a loud yell, "10 minutes to go. Get ready, everyone."

After that yell, the staff started working twice as hard. The members were getting their last touch-ups before they were about to go on stage.

"I guess that's my cue," said Ella and Jimin at the same time as her uncle walked up to them. They laughed, and Jimin started going over to the others. When he reached them, Ella saw Namjoon giving them their pep talk and good luck wishes.

"Are you ready to be escorted to your seat?" asked her uncle, turning her attention to him. She grabbed her bag that hung on the armrest of the chair and stood up, "Show the way."

They exited the backstage together and headed for the VIP area of the stage. Ella heard the fans singing along the music video that was being played on the big screen on the main stage. From the sounds of it, the song was Make it Right. She nodded her head to the staff they passed. In the meantime, her uncle told her that the ticket for her seat had already been scanned. Therefor ready for connection to the ARMY Bomb. He opened the crush barriers to the VIP section to let her in and closed it as soon as she passed. Just as Ella wanted to ask her uncle how to connect her ARMY Bomb to the ticket, he already walked away. Ella sighed and dropped her head.

'Okay, this is not the time to be sad about this,' thought Ella as her eye fell on the empty seat on the front row two chairs from the left corner. She could feel the eyes of the other ARMYs on her as she walked over to it. Ella didn't expect to be so intimidated by them. She had faced far worse situations than this one. Cautiously she took place on the seat and put her bag on her lap. She took out her ARMY Bomb and looked at the ticket, 'How the hell do I connect this piece of paper to the ARMY Bomb?'

She looked to her left as she saw two girls enthusiastically talk to one another. Deciding against interrupting their talk, she looked over to her right for help. Luckily for her in the seat immediately right of her seemed to be her salvation. There was a girl around her age on her phone scanning the ticket that she purchased for the show. The young girl, presumably, connecting the concert ticket to her ARMY Bomb. Ella nervously tapped the girl on her shoulder. Long brown hair flipped over the girl's shoulder, and a pair of brown eyes met Ella's blue-grey ones.

"Excuse me, can you help me?" asked Ella slowly in case the girl didn't speak English very well. The brunette nodded, and her face morphed into question but was soon overthrown by realization, "Sure, with what?"

Although the brunette probably recognized her, Ella was glad she was blessed with a fan who could speak English.

"Well, this is my first BTS concert, and my uncle told me that I had to connect the ticket to the lightstick for it to work. The only problem is I don't know how to connect it. Can you help me?"

The brunette's face softened as she overcame the realization, "Of course! Do you have the BTS lightstick app on your phone?"

"Of course, it's an app. Why didn't I think of that?"

Ella heard the girl giggled at her somewhat devastated reaction when she grabbed her phone from her jeans pocket. She unlocked the phone and checked all the apps on it. Even in the complete menu and on the pre-last page, she found it.

"Is this it?" asked Ella as she showed the app to the girl.

"Yes, that is it. Now the first thing you want to do is turn Bluetooth on for both the phone as the ARMY Bomb," said the brunette as Ella did what she was told, "Great, now open the app and go to concert mode. Click on the concert on today's date."

Ella opened the concert mode and pressed on the concert listed on October 11th. She then came on a page to select her seat number. She turned her head to the girl in a complete panic.

"Stay calm. Press the camera option. This will allow you to scan your ticket. After that is done, confirm the information that is shown on the screen to the information on the ticket. If that's all okay, then just follow the instructions on the screen to connect the ARMY Bomb."

Ella checked the information on the ticket and compared it to the screen. When she saw that was the same, Ella continued, and as the brunette said, the screen showed precisely how to connect the ARMY Bomb. The phone changed to the same color as the ARMY Bomb, so she tapped yes. After that, a ticket entry completion message showed up wishing her fun during the concert. Ella smiled as she turned to the brunette to thank her for her help.

The brunette smiled just a bright, "You're welcome. Have fun, Ella."

That sentence confirmed her suspicion. The excited talk that followed after the brunette to her friend next to her containing 'Kim Taehyung' and 'Ella Young' only amplified that suspicion. She felt a sting in her birthmark as she heard them talk. Something about hearing her boyfriend's name fall from another girl's lips so smoothly felt unpleasant. Ella shook her head at the reaction and tried to relax into her chair. She looked on her watch and saw there was still 1 minute left of the 10 that the staff member said there were left when her uncle brought her here. 'I'm surprised I managed to get ready within these 10 minutes,' thought Ella as the familiar notes of Dionysus started playing, indicating that the concert was really about to start.

About an hour and a half into the concert, Ella could hear the familiar sounds of Singularity playing. She wanted to sit up straighter in excitement and sink into her seat in embarrassment at the same time. She knows very well that this was the song that he would use to make sure that her attention wouldn't be leaving him.

Per usual, Ella's intuition was right. From the moment, Taehyung laid in that bed on stage until the moment he disappeared of the podium for the next group song to start shortly after with him in a completely different outfit. Her attention didn't leave her man for a moment. She had a small smile on her face as she thought about the wink he threw to her side of the VIP section. Ella knew that wink was only meant for her, but it still sends the entire stadium into a fit of excited screams. She even smelled the arousal in the stadium going up more than that Jung Kook had done during Euphoria. Ella shook her head as she remembered that, 'I finally understand why Taehyung is the one that the media in South-Korea call the 'Visual Representative of K-Pop.' Fuck me, he was right when he said it to me earlier.'

She didn't have much time to reminisce on her thoughts as the tunes of 'Fake Love' started playing, and the boys appeared on stage again. Not that Ella expected any different, the crowd went wild for the millionth time that night, and the ARMY Bombs started lighting in their colorful pre-programmed lighting. For this song, they were on the small stage between the first rows and the VIP section, so all she saw was their backs, but she didn't mind. It's part of going to a concert. Just as the screams of excited fans and the deaf feeling in one's ears. What she was most happy about was that she hadn't gone into a state of panic yet, as not only Ella had feared she would.

Now was really the last time of the night that she saw BTS on the stage as they closed off their encore. Ella laughed as Jimin screamed very loudly that he loved ARMY. Then again, that is typically Jimin. Many ARMYs yelled back that they loved him, and then the concert was truly over. Ella hadn't seen the time her watch showed when the performance started, but it was now around 22.30. So that meant that they were entertained for about two and a half hours. She was about to stand up as she saw a staff member motioning her to follow him to the backstage when she felt a hand on her right shoulder.

"Thank you, Ella," said the brunette who helped her with her ARMY Bomb issue as she followed the hand on her shoulder to the person it belonged to, "I've not been to many BTS concerts before. This one will probably remain the most memorable. This was their first concert in Saudi Arabia, which makes it memorable, but the thing that I loved the most was that the boys goofed off in front of us so many times. Probably more than that they have done during any other concert of this tour. That is thanks to you."

Ella laughed somewhat uncomfortably, "I don't know if it was thanks to me. Then again, I don't have much experience with concerts in general and can't compare it to anything."

"It really is thanks to you," said the brunette with an equally thankful expression, "If you don't believe me, then believe the social media that is going to start trending as I believe that I'm not the only one who recognized you."

Ella followed the hand of the brunette as she gestured to the fans of the seating area behind the VIP section and saw then whispering amongst each other, pointing not too subtle in her direction. She was the faces of the fans morph into shock when they realized that she was looking in their direction and started screaming her name, which caused more remaining fans in nearby sections watching to see what was going on.

"See what I mean?" said the brunette who had a doubtful look on her face, "I was wondering if there might be a way for us to keep in contact."

"Why?" asked Ella surprised as she didn't expect the question. The face of the brunette fell into disappointment, which caused Ella to continue, "It's not that I don't want to, but it's just that I don't understand. I'm not that interesting."

"I don't really have a reason aside from learning that you're a genuine person. I saw your reactions and interactions during the concert, and I'd like somebody like you to have as a friend."

An offended scream could be heard through the stadium. Somebody stated that they just wanted to talk to Ella. That interrupted what Ella wanted to say. The pair saw some fans from the seating section being escorted by the staff toward the exit. From the corner of her eye, she saw the staff member coming up to them and saying that she had to go now as more fans wanted to break the rules and try to meet and talk to her.

"As much as I want to finish this conversation, I'm afraid that I have to go know. I don't know how to we're going to stay in contact, but we will. I promise," said Ella as she thought of something very quickly, "Texting or emailing might be difficult, but we can write to one another until BigHit had made some kind of agreement that you would have to sign to get my contact information. Here's the address that you can send me letters to. As long as you address it to Ella Young, I'll get it."

"I understand," said the brunette as she took the paper with the mailing information from her, "Thank you that you want to say in contact. Do you think you can say hi to the members for me?"

"Of course," said Ella as the staff member started pulling her to the exit of the VIP area, and she called over her shoulder, "What's your name? Oh, don't forget to put your address in the first letter. Otherwise, I can't send something back to you."

Ella heard the brunette scream her name as well as promising to include her address. She memorized the name quickly as she was whisked away by the staff member toward the excited fans. A member of her uncle's security team came up on her right as she passed the fans who tried to reach for her shielding her from their reach.

"You did very well," said the woman reassuringly. Ella looked surprised as she assumed all the members of the security team were males, "It'd be a shame if you go into a panic attack now. I think it would be best to remember this concert on a high note with the gaining of a new friend."

The woman flashed her a wink as they finally passed the backstage curtains. Ella felt a weight falling off her shoulders as she let go of the panic she felt from moving past the fans. The security member was right the concert experience was marvelous, and it would be a shame to let it be destroyed by a couple of fans and her PTSD that causes her panic attacks.

She didn't have much time to linger in her thoughts as a very enthusiastic voice could be heard from miles away. Ella giggled as the excitement as she wondered if the last fans in the venue had apprehended his voice as well.

"Calm down, Hobi! How do you still have so much energy left after this concert?"

"He always has an energy level this high after a concert," heard Ella from a tired Yoongi behind him.

"I can't help it. I just really really want to know what our good friend, who just saw a BTS concert for the first time, thought about it."

Yoongi perked up slightly at this as he now also looked curiously at her waiting for her opinion.

"May I first take a moment to calm down? I just had an interaction with your fans cause they recognized me after you left the stage."

Ella saw their excited faces fall and hear her boyfriend's voice laced with concern as he walked up to her pulling her into a comforting hug, "Are you okay? They didn't try anything, did they?"

"I'm okay. Heck, I was amazing. I felt energized during the entire concert. I did feel a little intimidated when going back to the backstage as I needed security to pass some excited fans, but I'll live," said Ella while taking in Tae's hug as she felt that she needed the comfort.

"We saw that you enjoyed yourself," said Jung Kook, who came up to the group standing just behind the curtain of the backstage. If the remaining fans only knew how close the boys were, then they would probably start a roid, "You're dancing, singing, and screaming just as excited as the other fans during the concert."

"I guess that is just a little bit of magic you guys have," said uncle Vince with an all-knowing grin on his face that pulled out Jimin's curiosity, "What are you not telling us, Young-hyung?"

"Yeah, what is it?" said an equally curious Jung Kook, although his eyes showed something mischievous.

"Wouldn't you like to know," grinned Vince in a musing voice, "As much as I'd like to tell you I can't. If looks could kill, then I'd be dead already."

This caused all the boys present in the room to turn their heads. Well, all except for Taehyung, who pictured the look on her face and decided not too. They all turned pale and gulped at her glare from over Tae's shoulder.

Jung Kook gulped the hardest as he knew what uncle Vince meant when he said it and excused himself very fast after seeing her face.

"Should we head to the dressing room? Get changed. Then we can go back to the hotel, perhaps take a shower, and rest up for tomorrow."

Everybody nodded at his idea, and Taehyung changed his full hug into a side hug as he pressed her into his right side. Together they followed the other to the dressing room.

It was already 23.45 as Taehyung swiped their keycard into the door and let Ella go in first as the gentleman he was. She walked in and let herself fall onto the bed, mumbling into the sheets. She heard Taehyung walking up to her and felt the place next to her dip under his weight.

"Care to say that again?"

"I'm exhausted."

"Really? You didn't look that exhausted during my solo," said Tae in a low husky voice laced with some arousal as he remembered how she looked at him during his entire solo, "I told you that you wouldn't be able to look away."

Ella trembled when she heard his voice. She didn't dare to look up from the sheets, so she didn't. That was a big mistake as she felt Taehyung blow into her left ear to gain her attention. Ella let out a small moan.

She knew that Taehyung was totally turned on as she felt him place a hand on her right shoulder and turned her around to lay on her bed. Her face flushed red when her eyes locked with Tae's lust-blown dark ones. For a few seconds, nothing happened. He was just looming over her with an expression that made Ella feel heated up.

Taehyung looked at her like how she usually looks at her next meal before thrusting her teeth into the neck of whatever became that meal. In the way that a predator looks at his prey. For Taehyung, at that moment, Ella was his next meal. As much as Ella wanted to look away in embarrassment, she couldn't. She was too fascinated by his face. Taehyung finally took his chance.

Ella felt his lips mold with hers as they have so many times already since they started dating. However, this one felt for needy and lustful. The situation was right. Both of them were turned on and in need of each other's attention.

'Oh, his lips are just divine. I'll never get enough of this,' thought Ella as she opened her mouth for Tae's tongue, who asked permission, 'Wait if this continues, then I'll break my promise to talk. We'll break our promise.'

His left hand waved itself into her hair as she felt him slightly change the position of his face to deepen their kiss. Ella could feel his right hand traveling from her cheek over her breast, making her gasp when he squeezed it. He smirked into the kiss as his palm went further down the exposed skin due to how she made a knot in the shirt she wore.

Ella let out small gasps as felt Taehyung leaving open-mouthed kisses along the right side of her neck until he found the spot that made her moan. She placed her hands, which were formerly gripping onto the sheets, on his upper arms squeezing as she begged him to stop knowing that this way would lead to something else than having their talk.

It's not that Ella wanted to stop. She wanted to continue just as much as he did, but knew that it would be more challenging to open up him after they would have had, well, sex. It's already hard to tell now, but then it'd be impossible. Jung Kook might have accepted her, but her boyfriend might not.

"Stop? I've just begun."

Ella firmly places her left hand on his chest, pushing him up a little. This time Tae pulled away enough to look into her eyes and let out a sigh as he saw her grave yet aroused face.

"You know that our talk would only be more difficult if this had continued."

"You're right," said Taehyung as he rolled himself of her back to his original place, "I can't believe I almost forgot about our talk."

Ella sat up against the headboard of the bed. Soon after, Taehyung pulled himself up as well to sit next to her. He placed a hand over her right knee as she had pulled her legs off to hug them. She felt very petite at that moment. Ella was afraid of what he might think about her, her past, and the fact that she lied about him. She felt him place his other head on her left cheek as he made her face him.

"You know that you can tell me everything, right?" said Taehyung with a loving glance in his eyes. Ella felt her heart hurt as she saw his look, knowing that he might not look at her that way ever again after tonight.

"I know I can," said Ella as she left out a heavy breath, "I just don't know if you want to hear it."

"Ella, jagi, if you're not ready. You don't have to tell me. I don't want to pressure you. I, we, all of the members just want to be able to help next time something like what happened the other day happens again."

Ella smiled lovingly at him, grateful for his concern, but it soon fell as she remembered that she promised Jung Kook to tell him everything. Everything means everything. No half-bend truths. Nor little white lies to ensure that her boyfriend might not break up with her. She watched his thumb lovingly move over her knee as he tried to comfort her.

"I'll tell you, but for that, I've to tell everything. The entire truth," said Ella as she let out a sigh looking up to his face again. His face held multiple emotions, love, concern, and some confusion, "Taehyung, I'm not the girl you think I am."

She saw Taehyung opening his mouth to say something, but she placed her right finger over his lips to stop him from starting. She took one more deep breath and started talking.

"To start at the very beginning and explain why I'm not the girl you think I am, then I first need to explain my birth and legacy that I'm a part of. It might sound strange and unbelievable, but I assure you it's all true. I was born into a family with a strange legacy. My mother, Rose Waters, was an orphan moving from foster home to foster home until she was old enough by the Dutch system to be called an adult. In the Netherlands, you're officially an adult when you're 18 years old. She left her last foster home on her registered birthday at the orphanage was in the information about her when she was left behind. When she was 22, she met my dad. Somewhere between those years, my mom discovered what she really was. A werewolf."

Ella didn't dare to look at Taehyung anymore as she continued her story, afraid of the emotions that would travel to his face. Although her right shoulder gave off an intrigued feeling. Was Taehyung the one who caused that feeling? Could her mom's theories on soulmates be true?

"I don't know how, but she did. The only thing I know it has something to do with killing a person. If you're a carrier of the gene and kill someone, then you turn during the next full moon after that moment. My dad, Nik Young, however, is a different story. My father was born about a thousand years earlier."

She heard him gasp, but he didn't stop her as he probably wanted to know everything she wanted to tell him whether or not he believed it.

"Like my mom, he was also born a werewolf, but that is not all that he was. When my dad was 29, his youngest sister was brutally murdered, and this caused my grandparents to take some really drastic measures. My grandmother, a witch, magically turned his other siblings and him into vampires. After killing his first victim, he activated his gene and became the first-ever hybrid or the Original Hybrid."

She felt Tae's hand wipe away a tear on her right cheek. One that she didn't even know was there as she relived her parents' past knowing what is still to come.

"Please continue," said Tae in a voice not higher than a whisper. Yet she could hear it flawlessly, one of the perks of having a heightened hearing.

"The pull between them was so strong that when they met that they had a one-night stand. My mom, in that way, was just like you. She strongly believed that fate brought them together. Perhaps even made them soulmates," said Ella through a strangled laugh, "Aside from that, nine months later, I was born. I inherited both their werewolf side as well as my father's vampire side, making me the first-ever natural-born hybrid. We're doing alright until the day that I turned 16."

She couldn't control her tears anymore and burst out crying. Ella was shaking as she was pulled against Taehyung's chest, who whispered sweet nothings. Against his chest, she continued her story, "O-on my birthday fi-five years ago there was a huge ma-massacre on the Boarding School founded by my parents. The maniac responsible for that mass murder wanted to take my life as well as my parents' lives. I've seen that monster kill so many of my friends and classmates in front of my eyes. F-for a short time, I managed to get away and met up with my parents. Instead of listening to my mom and ran away like I should have done, hearing her painful cry stopped me in my tracks. When I turned around, my mother was lying in a pool of her own blood."

She hiccuped very loudly, and frantic knocks were heard on their hotel room door.

"Everything all right in there?"

They looked at the door and to each other as they knew all the members were at the door. She nodded to him as his look asked her if it was okay to let them in. Ella heard Taehyung tell her to continue as he got up from the bed and walked to the door. She heard him quietly say that she was telling him about what happened the other day and her past, but that she couldn't start over again and had to believe her word for it as he also still had to decide whether it was true. The only thing heard was the shuffling of footsteps and seats being taken. Taehyung took place next to her again. Once again, pulling her into his chest.

"I stood there frozen as I watched my mom die. I don't remember much of the conversation the attacker and my dad had, but I do remember seeing a birch stake, the only thing that can kill an Original, flying towards my head. However, I was never hit by it as my dad shielded me from it, but killing him. Somehow he also managed to kill the attacker, or else, I wasn't here right now. In the first days after the massacre, I woke up screaming in total panic and shaking as I relived the attack every night. My uncle, your bodyguard, was there for me the first days. After a month, I was left alone by the only people that I cared about in the entire world. Struggling with the loss of my parents, suffering from panic attacks, which was diagnosed as PTSD on my 17th birthday. An entire f*cking year later. Going through being bullied and blamed for the death of my parents. Blaming myself for it as well."

Ella blinked her tears away, looking everywhere but at the boys. She didn't even dare to look at Jung Kook, who knows her secret. Too afraid of what they're thinking.

"Yesterday was the first time in two years that my PTSD was triggered again, and I lived through that memory again. A memory that I had long forgotten, but that recalled questions that I didn't dare to ask sooner. I guess I'm still not over it. You probably think I'm lying, but I'm not. I can show you I'm not."

She looked at the boys for the first time since they entered. Their expressions held so much pain as they listened to her story, but they didn't dare to open their mouth to ask what she meant. Ella took a deep breath as she let the mask fall showing them with full intention her real face. Dark veins appeared under her eyes. Her blue-greyish eyes turned bright yellow. So bright that they might be glowing. She opened her mouth to clearly show them her growing canines. She could hear multiple gasps and a loud thud.

She looked at the source of the thud and saw that Jin and J-Hope had fainted. That would be a lot of explaining when they would regain consciousness. Ella felt their stares on her and looked away quickly. She felt ashamed and scared of their opinions. A pair of hands found her cheeks and made her look in the direction the person wanted her to look. Her still yellow eyes met Taehyung's dark ones. Instead of being afraid or disgusting like she expected, he looked intrigued and interested.

"You must think I'm a monster."

"Don't you dare to say that. You're not a monster. You're real, true, genuine, and perfect."

"I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

She wanted to disagree again when Jimin spoke up for the first time since entering, "Would a monster tell her friends this?"

"Uhm, I guess not."

"Exactly," said Yoongi, "Taehyung is right. You're genuine and true. That alone makes you real."

"So, you're not afraid, disgusted, or mad for the facts that I tell you months after meeting each other?"

"It might take some getting used to," said Jung Kook, who smiled proudly at her, "I'm sure that even Jin and J-Hope will understand why you didn't tell us right away."

Ella smiled back at him and let out a startled yelp making her face turn back as well when Taehyung pulled her into his chest, "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"You can't do anything about it. It happened and can't be undone."

"Do your parents have a special resting place?"

Ella pulled herself out of the hug and looked at Namjoon, slightly confused, "I'd like to pay my respects to them. For raising you to be strong and protecting you when you needed it most."

"They do," said Ella, who had tears welling up in her eyes again, which Tae quickly wiped away caused her to smile, "We do have to go to my home country for it. So the only possibility would be when you all have a long time off again, or it has to be scheduled in by your manager."

"We'll make it work," said Taehyung, Namjoon, and Jung Kook at the same time, causing everybody to burst out laughing.

After an hour, Jin and J-Hope had finally regained consciousness and were bombarding Ella with questions. She tried to answer most of them but had to repeat herself more than she can count on her hands. It was Namjoon who cut the boys off and suggested to return to their own rooms. Slowly all the boy stood up and started heading for the door. Ella, however, stopped them in their tracks.

"As much as I want to trust that none of you will talk about what we discussed in this room, I know better than to just let you walk out of that door like this."

The boys slowly turned around, and Ella saw Jung Kook realize what she meant, "It's okay, hyungs. What she is going to do won't hurt." She saw the boys relax a little at his words but were still a little tense because they didn't know what to expect as Kookie continued, "This is for our, but most importantly her, safety."

"He's right," said Ella as she dilated her eyes and started her compulsion. The boys slowly fell into a hazy state of mind, "You will not discuss anything we talk about with anybody. You will only bring this up when it's only all of us or individually one of you and me in a room together. Oh, and uncle Vince. Can you out loud agree to this?"

"Yes," said all of them very quickly. Ella smiled as she let them come out of it, "Perfect. Have a good night, everybody."

After that, she walked off the bathroom to get ready for bed. She heard the boys say goodnight and footsteps come over to her location after the door was closed. Ella smiled into the mirror, happy about how the talk went.

Part 14 - You won't get any sleep tonight

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