Chapter Text
Seijin’s face was slack, his eyes flitting between your soulmates and you as your group of eight stood in front of his desk. No one spoke as the manager continued to stare. You shifted uncomfortably, unsure if you should check on him or let Seijin process in silence.
“Seijin?” You asked, the worry winning out as you noticed a vein throb in his forehead.
“Are you fucking with me now?” Seijin asked, irate.
You couldn’t remember Seijin swearing before, and, by the shocked sound Jimin let out next to you, the vulgar language was unusual behavior.
“We’re not.”
Seijin made a noise that sounded like a combination of a sigh, groan, and prayer. He ran his hands through his hair before putting them back on his desk with a thud. Looking back up at your group, he took a deep, calming breath.
“Did we, or did we not, have this conversation two months ago?” Seijin asked slowly, staring down the group.
Your soulmates and you answered in a mumble of affirmations.
“During that conversation, did you, or did you not, make it explicitly clear that you had no desire to pursue any interviews or media events?”
Another round of affirmations.
Seijin rubbed his hand over his forehead. You knew, if you were in his position, you would have a migraine forming as well.
“Then can someone please explain to me what is going on now?”
Back when Ally and you were eight, you spent the summer giving each other uneven, shoddy haircuts, hacking at each other’s hair with whatever pair of scissors you could find. And, while the two of you were as careful as two eight year olds could be, Ally’s mother spent the entire summer worried and stressed that she’d walk away for a minute and return to find someone mortally wounded. One afternoon, while trying to trim the terrible bangs she gave you weeks earlier, Ally nicked your ear with the scissors. The wound was shallow, but when her mother returned from the bathroom to find you bleeding and a scared Ally crying while clutching the scissors, she’d lost what little calm she had. It was the only time Ally’s mom ever raised her voice with you as she reprimanded both of you, and it was one of the few times you could remember being in trouble for something that you specifically had done.
And, meeting Seijin’s exhausted stare, you felt like you were eight again.
“I’m sorry.” You knew your reasons made sense, but you felt guilty for the back and forth you put Seijin through. Yoongi’s hand slid into yours and he gave it an encouraging squeeze. Someone put their hand on your back in reassurance and, judging just by the feel, it was Hoseok. “I was very strong in my desire not to do an interview the last time we talked about this. And I still don’t want to talk to the press, but I want to control some of the narrative about me.” Seijin’s head fell back against his chair as if he were praying for patience. “It’s why we think going live on WeVerse would be best.”
Seijin jerked at the mention of WeVerse lives. Though you’d already mentioned your desire, not only to make a public appearance, but to do it on a live, it seemed that Seijin forgot the later part of your plan in his shock. He jerked his head to look at Jungkook.
“This is your idea, then?” Seijin asked.
“Why-Why would you think that?” Jungkook stammered.
“Because your lives create more headaches for me than anyone else’s. And this is giving me a headache.”
“I’m sorry,” you started, but Seijin stopped your apology with a raised hand.
“I need to think about this,” he said, “and speak with some other people. I’ll call you back by the end of the day. You’re dismissed.” You were the first to move, more than ready to leave the tense awkwardness of the office. And, though Seijin’s tone left no room for further question, Taehyung cleared his throat as if he was getting ready to speak. “Get out of my office, Kim Taehyung.”
Something in the tone of his last sentence stirred your soulmates and they all moved, quickly following you out of the room. When you heard the door close behind your group, you let out a long-held sigh.
“Did that go as poorly as I think it did?” You asked.
Namjoon’s hand was taking yours before you finished asking the question. He smiled at you calmly.
“It wasn’t that bad,” he said. “Seijin just has executives he needs to answer to, and I’m sure he’s dreading having to explain the change.” He squeezed your hand tighter. “But I think the proposal of you going public on a live will be received well. It’s a fair compromise between keeping your anonymity and going on a television show.”
“Seijin doesn’t always express himself the best when he’s stressed,” Yoongi added. “And we’ve been stressing him out a lot lately.”
“I feel like he deserves a month-long vacation, just to try and recharge,” Jin sighed.
“You know he’d never unplug from his responsibilities,” Taehyung chuckled.
As they continued to debate the merits of Seijin’s hypothetical sabbatical, you quietly inched closer to Namjoon, until you were pressed against his side. It was a bit closer than you should’ve been in public, let alone at their job, but you didn’t mind. And, judging by the smile he gave you when you gripped his bicep, Namjoon didn’t mind either.
“You okay?” He whispered.
“Yeah,” you whispered back. “Can I hang out with you in your studio for the rest of the afternoon?”
“Absolutely.” A flirtatious smirk spread across his face. “Are you planning on hanging out or hanging out ?”
“Seriously, you guys?” Jimin groaned, bursting the small bubble that had developed around Namjoon and you. The other six stared at you both. “How much longer are you gonna be like this?”
After New Year’s Eve, Namjoon and you entered into what you could only describe as a honeymoon phase. Jungkook was the first to notice something had changed when, at the first dinner of the year, he declared that Namjoon and you were staring at each other with “heart eyes.” The need to cling to Namjoon’s side that you’d felt on New Year’s Eve lingered, and you both sought each other out throughout the day for the simplest of touches. On their first day back to work, three full days of annoyingly sappy behavior later, Namjoon had called from his studio while you were painting your nails.
“I miss you,” he’d admitted. “Which probably seems silly since we’ve barely been apart for five hours.”
“I don’t think it’s silly,” you’d reassured him, “especially because I miss you too.”
“Do you think that this is some type of soulmate hangover?” He’d pondered. “Maybe things are hitting us harder now to make up for all the months spent separated?”
“No, Joon,” you’d told him gently. “I think it’s because we’re in love.”
But, as you blushed at Jimin’s comment, Namjoon just rolled his eyes.
“That’s harsh criticism coming from the guy who is basically sentient velcro,” Namjoon teased.
He tugged at your hand and pulled you away towards his studio, leaving the others to laugh alone.
***
The next morning you spent in Yoongi’s studio, splitting your attention between a new book, watching Yoongi work, and trying to figure out the WeVerse app on your phone. TXT was releasing a new music video in a few hours, and you wanted to watch their post-release live. Though you’d watched your soulmates do their video streams several times, you’d never actually seen the layout and wanted to prepare.
“I was texting with Jay last night,” Yoongi announced suddenly, pulling you from your phone.
“I still don’t know when you two became best friends,” you said. While you were happy that Ally and Jay got along with all of your soulmates, you’d never learned how Yoongi’s friendship with Jay became its own, independent relationship. “Did you just bond that much while building the bed?”
Yoongi threw his head back, laughing. “That helped. While we were working, I gave him my number, and asked for his – “
“Very romantic,” you teased.
“And for Ally’s!” He shot you a look. “I wanted to have another line of communication with you in case of any emergency. Jay respected that thought process. He followed me on Instagram a few weeks later, liked something I posted about basketball, and the friendship grew naturally from there.”
“So that’s how you became BballKitty69?” You asked, dropping the ludicrous name Yoongi used in the fantasy basketball league Jay hosted.
Your soulmate groaned. “I should never have asked Tae, Jimin, and you to come up with a username.” He scowled at you while you laughed. “Anyway, Jay said Ally didn’t know that the live is scheduled for Friday. Why didn’t you tell her?”
“The time difference will be hard for her to join. She’s still trying to get into a morning routine now that she’s back at work. And Emmy’s teething, so she’s barely sleeping. I don’t want to bother her with it.”
“Well, I told Jay and he told Ally. So they’ll both be on and watching.”
Abandoning your phone on the couch, you walked over to Yoongi. Pulling his chair back, you settled into his lap and, just as his arms wrapped around your waist to pull you closer, you wrapped your arms around his neck. You kissed him sweetly and, as you pulled back, his cheeks flushed.
“Thank you, Yoongi.”
He just smiled in response. Cupping the back of your head, he pulled you closer until he kissed you again. The kiss was slow and languid, and you let the feel of Yoongi’s mouth against yours calm all your nerves about the upcoming livestream. You leaned closer to him, slipping your tongue into his mouth as Yoongi’s hands slid under your shirt. When a notification on his computer sounded, you broke the kiss.
“I should let you get back to work,” you said softly.
Yoongi didn’t move though, his lips trailing down your neck as his hands moved further up until they cupped your breasts.
“I think I deserve a break. Don’t you?”
***
You heard Jimin turn off the shower from the living room. When the sound of a door closing echoed through the apartment, you left Hoseok and Taehyung to finish the show and went to find Jimin. Noticing that the door to your shared room was closed, you sat on the floor outside and waited. Eventually, with both Taehyung and you watching television, you knew he’d leave the room to find you. But you wanted to catch him alone first.
“Holy crap!” Jimin jumped when he opened the door to find you outside. “How long have you been there?”
“Just a few minutes,” you said, slowly rising from the floor. Jimin was quiet as you made your way to him, but slid an arm around your waist when you pecked his cheek. “Wanted to talk to you alone.”
He gave you a soft smile and followed you back into the room, closing the door for privacy. You sat on the bed and smoothed your hand over the comforter, trying to encourage Jimin to join you. He did, sitting right next to you so your bodies were pressed close. Taking a final moment to think over what you wanted to say, you took his hand in both of yours.
“I know you're still not the biggest fan of this plan,” you started. He had tried to hide his hesitation about the idea since you changed your mind, but Jimin wore his heart on his sleeve. “But I want to make sure you're okay with me doing the livestream. I don't want to hurt you by doing this and I won't go through with it if you don't want me to.”
Jimin let out a low chuckle. “I think Seijin will murder you if you change your mind again.”
“I can deal with an angry Seijin. I can't deal with hurting you.”
“I know, and I love you for it.” He leaned into you, capturing your lips in a soft kiss. “You going on a live won't hurt me. You've just been through a lot and I don't want to see you get hurt again.”
“You've gone through a lot too,” you reminded him, “and I don't want to put you through more.”
With a sigh, Jimin pulled you closer to him and buried his face in your hair. You waited for him in silence, feeling the slow rise and fall of his chest as he took several deep breaths.
“I understand why you changed your mind, and I want to support you,” Jimin said finally. “But I also want to be there to protect you. Can I sit next to you when you go on?”
You weren't going to deny him, but the look he gave you, eyes wide with love and hope, would've eroded any protest you did have. Besides, you'd always felt safe when Jimin was near.
“I'd like that.”
***
“So the webcam is right here,” Jungkook said slowly, pointing out the small, embedded webcam at the top of his laptop.
“Kook, I know how video calls work,” you reminded him. “We spent a year on video calls to each other.”
“Oh yeah,” he mumbled, blushing a bit in embarrassment.
Earlier that morning, you'd asked Jungkook for a tutorial on WeVerse and the livestream. Though your soulmates would be sitting with you the entire, you wanted to have some familiarity with the layout. At some point, though, Jungkook spiraled and simply started teaching you how to use a laptop.
But you knew that look in his eyes, the same faraway stare he got when he was lost in his head and trying to swim out. So you waited for him to process, just placing a hand on his arm to center him as he thought.
“I want this to go perfectly,” he said finally, looking at you with his big beautiful stare. He put his hand over yours. “And I know that's unrealistic and that nothing is perfect, so I'm just stressing myself out worrying over nothing.”
“What would Dr. Lee say right now?”
While all eight of you started therapy following the run in with your father, Jungkook stuck with it, attending weekly sessions and being very open about his conversations in it with you and his brothers. All of you were proud of him and the work he put in, but, just as you did, Jungkook occasionally needed help walking through his tools.
“He would tell me to think of the realistic, worst case scenario, and then the best case scenario.”
“Realistic, worst case?” You repeated.
“Yeah,” Jungkook shrugged, a smile pulling at his lips. “The first time he asked me that, he just asked for the worst case scenario. I talked about how the sun could burn out, we'd only have about ten minutes before everything went to hell and whether or not I would want that to be the last normal thing I did before life on earth ended.” You wanted to laugh, but held back as your soulmate sighed. “And apparently there are wrong answers in therapy. So Dr. Lee rephrased the question.”
Jungkook’s smirk and sarcastic remark gave you the permission to laugh. When your laughter died down, Jungkook cupped the back of your head and pulled you in for a kiss. And, though his lips were hungry, you both pulled back, knowing there were more pressing tasks.
“So what's the realistic, worst case scenario?”
“That people are mean to you,” he said solemnly. “But I don't think that will happen. This is WeVerse, not Twitter or Instagram, so it's really tailored to our fans.”
“And what's the best case scenario?” Just as you made him walk through the bad, you also wanted to walk him through the good. And, maybe that question was a bit for your reassurance as well.
The thought brought a bright smile to his face.
“The best case is that they see how wonderful you are and love you just like we do.”
***
You stared at the pile of clothes on the bed and sighed. Taehyung was pressed against your back, hands tangled in your hair as he practiced braiding your hair. He’d caught you French braiding your hair one morning over their break and became focused on learning the technique. Which you didn’t mind, typically enjoying the soft touches as he practiced, except for when you were trying to get him to focus.
“You’re supposed to be helping me choose an outfit,” you reminded him, voice bordering on a whine.
“You know my opinion,” he said, pressing a quick kiss to the back of your head. “You’ll look pretty in anything you wear.”
Groaning, you attempted to turn to look at him, but Taehyung stopped you and gently guided your head back so he could keep braiding. “I know you guys feel that way, but I want to wear something that will look nice and impress ARMY. So I would really appreciate your input.”
Taehyung paused his work and slid his arms around your shoulders to hug you.
“I think you should wear the skirt I bought for you,” he finally said. Letting you go, he went to search through the pile of clothing. “We’re all going to be dressed casually, so there’s no need to look for something too fancy.” He kept searching through the pile, as if he knew what he was looking for. Then, with a wide smile, Taehyung found your lavender cardigan and held it out to you. “You can never go wrong with ARMY and purple. Borahae .”
“ Borahae ,” you repeated, then kissed him.
***
Hoseok tended to shift in his sleep, nothing drastic or disruptive, but you were used to falling asleep in his arms and waking up with him rolled away, his back turned to you or him splayed out on his stomach. But when you woke up on the day of your livestream, you were held safely in Hoseok’s arms as he laid on his back. Somehow you two found each other during your sleep and your soulmate, as if knowing you would need him immediately, had pulled you to him. Shifting as you tried to wake further, Hoseok’s arms tightened and pulled you back against him.
“Finally up?” He asked. Despite the question, Hoseok sounded like he was barely awake himself, voice low and raspy from sleep.
“Yeah,” you mumbled, face still buried in his shirt.
“Really? Or are you just talking in your sleep again?”
You sat up, staring at him. “I don’t talk in my sleep.”
“You do.” He pecked your lips. “At least you do when you’re stressed. And you talked a bit last night.”
“No one’s ever told me that before. I’m sorry if I kept you up.”
“You didn’t.”
“What did I say?”
“Mostly it’s nonsense, a random word here or there.” Hoseok paused and smiled at you. “Though you did ask Yoongi to get the ducks out of the toilet last night, so there’s that to unpack.”
Giggling, you settled back against him, happy to be awake and distracted from the day’s event, but not ready to leave the warmth and comfort of his bed. “Well did he?”
“No clue, you’ll have to check with him.”
“Later,” you murmured.
Hoseok’s hands ran over your back in soothing strokes and you let the sensation, along with the slow rise of his chest, calm you. Outside of his room, you could hear music playing softly and voices in the kitchen. It wouldn’t be long before someone came to grab you both for breakfast, but you wanted to stay in your bubble.
“You okay?” Hoseok asked after a stretch of silence.
“I will be.” You tightened your grip on him. “I think I’ll feel better once the livestream is over.”
“I get that,” He said, kissing you. His hands moved, the soft traces on your back turning into needy grasps at your hips. Hoseok looked down at you with a flirtatious glint in his eyes. “But until then, and until someone forces us to go eat breakfast, how about I provide some distraction?”
***
“ Jagi !” Jin called through the bathroom door. “Are you almost done? Everything’s set up and we need to get on the livestream soon.”
“I need another minute!”
You hoped your voice sounded less panicked to Jin than it did to you. But, as he gently called your name, you knew you failed.
“I want to come in,” Jin said, his voice softer this time. “Is that okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh, jagiya ” Jin sighed once he was in the bathroom and the door was closed behind him. He stared at the mess on the counter, then to you. “I didn’t realize you robbed a beauty store.”
You knew that he was trying to get you to laugh and lighten the mood, but Jin’s joke didn’t help. Every piece of makeup you owned, which wasn’t a lot, was combined with what you snatched from your soulmates’ collections.
“Want to talk about it?”
“The panic set in about twenty-five minutes ago,” you explained. “I was just going to put on a little mascara, but I saw a pimple. And everything spiraled from there.”
Jin hummed in understanding and moved closer to you. He gently took the eyeshadow palette and brush from your hands, laying them on the counter before pulling you into his arms. Secure in his grasp, you drew slow breaths, trying to calm yourself.
“I don’t know why I freaked out,” you admitted. “I want to make this announcement. Something just hit me and –” Your voice caught in your throat.
“It’s okay to be scared even if you want to go forward,” Jin said, voice calm as his hands traced circles on your back. “This is so far outside of your comfort zone that I would be surprised if you weren’t scared.” He cupped your chin and tilted your face til you were looking at him. Jin stared at you with the same look he always had, as if you were some blessing in his life. “Besides, Hobi told me you talked in your sleep all night, so I was expecting a little panic today.”
“I can’t believe that none of you told me about the sleep talking before,” you said with a soft laugh.
Jin just smiled, letting go of you to open a cabinet and pull out a pack of makeup wipes.
“Well,” he smiled, pulling one out, “in honor of our continued candor, I have to tell you that you have two different shades of foundation on. Also, none of us are wearing makeup today. You don’t have to either, but you can if it makes you feel more comfortable.”
“I really just want the pimple covered,” you said with a shrug.
You reached for the makeup wipes, but Jin pulled the pack away, drawing one himself. “Let me help then.”
Deep inside you, there were dying embers of your hyper-independence, screaming for you to pull away, to deny Jin’s help on a simple task that you could easily do yourself. But you loved the way Jin cared for you, had cared for you since your first day together, and you knew that he wanted to show his love through his actions. So you let him wipe away the makeup you caked on your face, gently leaning into his touches. Neither of you talked, but Jin hummed quietly as he worked.
“There,” he said softly, tossing the wipes away. He leaned down, pressing a sweet kiss to your lips. “My favorite sight.”
You blushed at the compliment and started over, this time simply working to conceal the blemish. Jin stayed with you, leaned against the counter as he watched you work.
“You know, no matter what happens today, nothing will change for us?” Jin said when you finished and turned to him. You nodded, arms wrapping around his waist and pulling your bodies together. “We’re going to be right by your side, today, and for the rest of our lives.”
“I know,” you said, trying not to let his words move you to tears. “I’ll be by yours, too.”
“Good.” He smiled, the humor returning to his eyes as he teased you. “Because I’m far too handsome to have a broken heart.”
Jin pulled you from the bathroom while you laughed and dragged you down the hall and toward the living room. There, Jungkook and Namjoon fiddled with the laptop and the others watched in varying degrees of calmness. Jimin’s hand, you noticed, tightly clutched Taehyung’s for reassurance.
“We were starting to worry that you two ran away on us,” Yoongi teased.
“I’m not eloping to Vegas unless all of you are with me,” you replied, leaning over to kiss his cheek.
“I would be fine going to Las Vegas again,” Taehyung added.
“I’ll call Seijin and arrange for it then,” you said. Then, feeling Jimin’s eyes on you, you went to his side and held his hand. “So what’s the final plan?”
“On the couch it’ll be JK, Namjoon, you and then Jimin,” Hoseok said. His face seemed sharper as he spoke, as if setting the shot up was just another dance for him to choreograph. “We borrowed some stools, so the rest of us will sit behind the couch. Tae will sit behind Jimin, Jin behind you, then Yoongi and I behind Jungkook and Namjoon.”
“It’ll be easier to see the screen if we’re all close together,” Jungkook added. “And sitting close together will help present us as a unit – tight knit and close.”
“Which we are,” Namjoon said, “which ARMY knows. But seeing us all together for the first time, sitting close together, will hopefully also convey the message.”
You nodded. “Sounds like I need a lot more lessons from the media trainers.”
“We’ve had over a decade of this, so don’t worry,” Namjoon said.
Squeezing Jimin’s hand, you looked up at him. “Ready?” You asked. He nodded and gave you a smile. You knew Jimin enough to know all of his smiles – joyful, flirtatious, mischievous, content, and a dozen others – but his smile sat too tightly on his lips and you knew it was forced. “We don’t have to do this,” you remind him, your voice a whisper. “I only want this if you’re okay.”
Nodding again, Jimin pulled your hand up and kissed it. “I’m okay,” he reassured you. Then, with a true smile, he added, “I love you.”
“Love you too,” you reminded him and kissed his cheek.
Once everyone settled into their seats, the apartment fell quiet as Namjoon and Jungkook started the livestream. Jungkook spoke in Korean first, excitement filling his voice as he spoke to the fans you knew he loved so dearly. When he finished, he glanced at Namjoon.
“Like Jungkook said, we’re all here today with a surprise,” Namjoon started in English. He began speaking again, but then paused, his eyes fixed on the screen. “Nope, we’re not announcing another album already,” he chuckled, and you realized that he was reading the scroll of comments. Out of view of the camera, he squeezed your knee. “Everyone wanted to be together to share this moment and,” he paused, reading another comment, “yes I mean everyone.”
Then, with a final, quick glance to see you were ready, Namjoon shifted the laptop so that the other half of the group was on screen.
“Annyeonghaseyo,” you said, voice steadier than you anticipated. You tried to ignore the rapid stream of comments as you introduced yourself, giving your name with a soft smile. “And I am BTS’s soulmate.”