Chapter Text
It's a dumb idea. You've lost count of the number of times you laughed with your friends about it. Is it supposed to be a variety show? A dating game? A reality game show? It's Hybe's way of making fun of fans, you're convinced. Surely, the boys don't need this kind of publicity to go viral or whatever; they're the biggest musical act in the world, for crying out loud.
The premise is fairly, weirdly simple: Fans will enter a lottery, and one lucky winner will get to spend a ten-day vacation with BTS. The Weverse announcement didn't say exactly how the ten days will be spent, but they vaguely mentioned that the fan will engage in various activities with each member that will let them 'get to know each other' (dates? that means dates, right?), 'activities to relax,' as well as 'group activities.' ("So basically In the SOOP on crack?" was your initial reaction.)
The twist: Throughout the vacation period, the fan cannot, under any circumstances, reveal who their bias is. And on the final day, the members will each take a guess on who the fan's bias is, ideally taking into account everyone's interactions and behaviors that they have observed for the past week. If a member guesses right, he gets ten million Won of the prize money. For every member who guesses incorrectly, the fan wins ten million Won instead. Fool all of them into guessing wrong and the fan gets a total of seventy million Korean Won.
There's no telling how the members will play the game. You have seen them endanger their friendships over snacks on Run BTS, so you have a pretty good idea of how competitive they can be. But they don't actually need to convince the fan to like them; they just need to guess who the secret bias is. Now that you think about their personalities, sure, it sounds a bit fun.
So. You put your name in. As a joke. You laugh about it with your friends (who have also put in their names!), and you do wish the best for whomever gets picked, because, holy shit, a ten-day, all-expenses-paid vacation with Bangtan Sonyeondan? Forget the seventy million Won; that vacation is a prize in itself. You would likely get a heart attack if it were you.
And so, when you scroll through your email inbox this morning, what you find in there doesn't immediately sink in:
Hello, Y/N.
This is your BTS fanclub manager.
We are pleased to inform that you have been selected to participate in the new show, 'Guess the Bias! with BTS'. As previously announced, should you agree to participate, you will spend ten (10) days on location in South Korea with all seven members of BTS, on an all-expenses-paid vacation. Please note that, excluding designated personal time, most activities across all days will be shot by a professional camera crew.
In the meantime, we kindly ask that you reply to this email and write back your acceptance or rejection of the selection no later than 15 October 20xx. Upon your acceptance, we will be happy to disclose the planned location, detailed activity schedules, and other logistical matters. Should you reject the selection or fail to respond by the date stated above, the production team will re-run the random selection process and contact another fan instead.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact us. We look forward to your response.
Thank you.
You stare at your laptop screen, still not quite comprehending it. Is that a phishing email? It can't possibly be you, right? But there's actually no embedded links in the email, and the sender domain name is the real thing. You even check the original lottery announcement – yep, the winner is supposed to hear from them today.
Huh. Did you really just luck out? With somewhat numb and trembling fingers (you feel like you're having an out of body experience at this point), you click on 'Reply' and start typing your acceptance. You even read your email maybe ten times over to make sure everything's clear. This is really happening.
It is, in fact, not a phishing email, because a few hours after you send your reply, you receive an email with the meticulous time table (they're even giving you a fully paid spa day, what) for the next couple weeks leading up to the vacation. A few days later, you receive more details: your transportation arrangements, your clothing allowances, staff numbers you can call from now until the end of the vacation. It suddenly feels like you're a celebrity, and you know it's because everything is carefully planned for BTS just like this. It's the experience of a lifetime, and you can't believe it's happening to you.
You kind of get wrapped up in the activities leading up to the first 'vacation' day (now it doesn't feel so much like a vacation but more of a celebrity stint) so that a day before your departure, you're panicking over what to pack for the trip. Hybe is providing you some outfits, but they also asked you to bring some of your own stuff and make sure that you show your own style on the show. You do manage to get a luggage together, full of comfy sweats and shorts among others, and by 9 in the evening, you're done with your skincare routine and lying in bed.
Wide awake.
Tomorrow, you're meeting all of them, and going off on probably the best, most memorable vacation you will ever take in your entire life. You realize that, in all the guidance and assistance that the staff has provided you in the past days, not once did they mention how you should behave and interact with the members. What if one of them doesn't like small talk? What if one of them hates being approached out of nowhere? You actually don't know if you know them well enough – of course, you can't claim that you know even your bias' entire personality. Then again, BTS are the most down to earth celebrities you've ever seen. That's probably why the staff don't have any such guidelines; they just aren't necessary.
But still. You wonder if the clothes you chose for tomorrow are fine. What if they don't like you? What if they find you weird? Your brain can't seem to shut up, so that two hours later, your ideas are still bouncing between excitement and dread. All your thoughts go down the drain when your phone beeps, though, making you sit up in bed and grip your phone tightly.
11:23 PM: [Kim Seokjin has created a group chat with you and 6 others.]
Yoongi, 11:23 PM: ???
Namjoon, 11:24 PM: Hyung, what's up?
Seokjin, 11:24 PM: Can't sleep.
Jimin, 11:25 PM: You're that excited for tomorrow, huh?
Hoseok, 11:25 PM: I'm excited to meet Y/N, too 🌞
Jeongguk, 11:26 PM: What happened to the old group chat?
Jeongguk, 11:26 PM: Do we still have food at the dorm? I just finished working out, I'm starving.
Yoongi, 11:27 PM: Yeah you can reheat the budaejjigae in the fridge.
Jimin, 11:28 PM: Had to stop Taetae from cleaning up the entire thing hehe
Taehyung, 11:28 PM: I don't even like spicy food 🙄 No offense, @Yoongi hyung
Yoongi, 11:29 PM: None taken 👍🏻
Taehyung, 11:29 PM: Wait why are there 8 people in this chat
Hoseok, 11:29 PM: ?????
Seokjin, 11:30 PM: I was going to tell you guys before you hi-jacked the chat
Jeongguk, 11:30 PM: Sorry, I'm just so hungry 😞
Taehyung, 11:30 PM: Didn't you do an impromptu workout session because you're nervous about tomorrow lol
Jimin, 11:31 PM: @Seokjin now you made the baby sad!
Namjoon, 11:31 PM: Guys, wait. The 8th person.
Namjoon, 11:31 PM: Y/N? Like... the person we're meeting tomorrow?? @Seokjin hyung???
Seokjin, 11:32 PM: Yeah I got her number from the staff earlier
Hoseok, 11:32 PM: So that's why you said you needed to ask the staff something
Yoongi, 11:33 PM: She's probably asleep @Seokjin ffs
Taehyung, 11:34 PM: No she's reading the messages
Jimin, 11:34 PM: @Yoongi hyung do you still not know how this app works
Yoongi, 11:34 PM: Shut it
Jeongguk, 11:34 PM: @Y/N, hi...?
You stare at your phone screen, yet in another situation that you find absolutely hard to believe. Kim Seokjin made a group chat with you and all members. Jeon Jeongguk directly addressed you in said group chat. What. The. Fuck. Is. Happening.
You, 11:36 PM: Hi...?
Taehyung, 11:36 PM: You've all scared her!!
Hoseok, 11:36 PM: Nooo @Y/N we're nice I promise 🥺
Namjoon, 11:37 PM: @Seokjin hyung why would you do this 😩
Namjoon, 11:37 PM: @Y/N sorry, we're not usually like this
Yoongi, 11:37 PM: Hi @Y/N as you can see, we're all USUALLY like this
Jimin, 11:38 PM: @Yoongi hyung 😂
Jimin, 11:38 PM: Hello @Y/N, I'm excited to meet you tomorrow!
Seokjin, 11:38 PM: @Y/N sorry to bother you so late. Just tell everyone I'm your bias and we can just enjoy the 10 day vacation without problems ok?
Jeongguk, 11:39 PM: @Seokjin hyung did you just threaten her?!? 😨
Taehyung, 11:39 PM: @Y/N I'm sorry for everything they will say and do in advance. I'm also excited to see you tomorrow! 😊
Namjoon, 11:40 PM: I think we should end the conversation here. Let's not keep Y/N up. I'm sure the staff have a long to do list for her before we actually meet her tomorrow.
Seokjin, 11:40 PM: Fine. Sorry again @Y/N, I can't sleep and everyone's been curious about you but of course I have to do everything around here
Jimin, 11:40 PM: Hyung!!
Jeongguk, 11:40 PM: Hyung 😠
Taehyung, 11:40 PM: Wtf hyung
Yoongi, 11:41 PM: Good night @Y/N, you'll be seeing shit like this for 10 days. In person.
Hoseok, 11:42 PM: Good night @Y/N! See you tomorrow 🤩
Namjoon, 11:42 PM: Good night, Y/N. Looking forward to meeting you :)
Jimin, 11:42 PM: Y/N didn't even get to say anything except for hi 😭 But yes you should sleep and wake up refreshed and ready for us tomorrow!! Good night~
Seokjin, 11:42 PM: Haha everyone's so active in this group chat I wonder why 🙄 See you tomorrow @Y/N
Taehyung, 11:42 PM: @Y/N see you tomorrow 🤗
Jeongguk, 11:43 PM: Good night @Y/N can't wait to meet you!!!
You're still processing their messages, unable to believe what just happened, but because of this, it's slowly feeling real that tomorrow will actually happen. You're really doing this. You take a deep breath and type out a nice, succint reply.
You, 11:45 PM: Good night, everyone! I'm so excited to meet all of you, too!
That should be good enough, right? You don't want to come across as cold, but you also don't want to sound creepily overexcited. You have your friends' group chat for that. Where you're now typing random characters in a keysmash for the history books because holy shit you just got added to the BTS group chat?!
You, 11:46 PM: GUYS OMFG IM IN A GROUP CHAT WITH THEM HSJSKALDHDLALSLDLSKSLJSJSKSLL
You, 11:46 PM: I CANT AHDHWKLQLALZXNCNLZJSKSOS
You, 11:46 PM: IM REALLY MEETING THEM TOMORROW HELP IMLDLAJAKALSLXJDDKKS
You briefly put your phone down and lie on your stomach to bury your face in your pillow, cheeks unbelievably hot which could only mean you're gonna pass out when you finally meet them tomorrow. Your phone vibrates, once, twice, and five times more, and you suppose it's a couple of your friends who are still awake and willing to humor your nerves. You pick up your phone again and you feel like you've been doused with ice cold water when you see that the notifications are from the group chat with BTS. You want to crawl under your bed and hide from the world when you read the messages.
Namjoon, 11:47 PM: Oh.
Seokjin, 11:47 PM: Hmm
Jimin, 11:47 PM: Good to know you're just as excited as we are, Y/N 🤭
Jeongguk, 11:47 PM: Cute 😆
Taehyung, 11:47 PM: So cute
Hoseok, 11:47 PM: What happened to getting some sleep 😂
Yoongi, 11:47 PM: She needed to get that out of her system, lol. @Y/N we're really excited to meet you, too
End of Prologue / Day 0