Begin (JJK) BTS 2026 series Book 3 (COMPLETED)

The Verdict

As the video finishes playing for the group, Jungkook looks up to his brothers and sees that each of them are smiling at the screen, and he notices that the staff breaking down equipment have stopped working and are all watching the monitor as well. He smiles privately at getting so much of the attention in the room. He turns to look at Bang PD who is smiling, but is still staring at the frozen image on the screen of the end of the video, as if he's deep in thought still. He stands awkwardly in front of him, unsure if he should speak. He looks around the table and Jimin winks at him, making his smile grow. Namjoon turns away from the screen to look at the others around the table and judge their reactions. No one has spoken. It's as if they are all waiting for Bang PD to pronounce his verdict before they are brave enough to react.

Yoongi stands up quickly, surprising Jungkook.

"I loved it," he says calmly, reaching to shake Jungkook's hand. "It suits the melody perfectly." He smiles at him. Jungkook bows his head, grateful.

"Thank you Hyung." He thanks him, not just for his compliment, but for being the first to offer his opinion. Hoseok looks at the two of them and nods.

"It is good, the edit is tighter than the one you showed me before. I like it." All eyes turn to Bang PD who has just made a little involuntary sound, it's unclear what kind of sound it is, and they wonder what he will say. He makes the noise again, although he's still smiling slightly, no one can be sure what the noise means. He nods.

"You have worked very hard to get this together so quickly Jungkook, and you have made some good choices. I hadn't thought of using old footage for this song," Jungkook wants to correct his point.

"I would like to shoot some new footage, to insert into it, I know the song deserves that, but it would be similar in the feel of what I've included here." Bang PD turns and speaks softly to the CEO for a brief moment, leaving them all to stare at them.

"I think the music video is essentially made, which is perfect for the timing. How quickly would you envision shooting the new footage?"

"It should be very soon," Jin interjects, and Jungkook nods, understanding his reasons.

"I would like to spend some time with each member, on their own, to show something about them as individuals, now, and intercut that with the images I've already used of us, all together, throughout our history. It's a sort of document to where we came from, and where we are now," he explains. The others look between each other and Bang PD nods as he takes it in.

"Jungkook, I would like to use you as the music video director," he begins. Jungkook's face brightens and a huge smile of relief appears. "But, I do not want this to be public knowledge yet. I have been in talks with other Directors about the shoot, and I would like to be the one to tell them the direction I have decided on. Is that clear?" He nods, quickly, bowing his head.

"Yes, very clear. Thank you!" he says excited. He looks over at Namjoon who is smiling broadly at him. Jungkook realizes that his work has paid off, and he's impressed Bang Si-Hyuk enough to get this second opportunity to direct the video. Although, he hasn't said anything about the tour documentary. He knows he may still have to prove himself, maybe by completing this MV in the time they need it done.

"Shall we get back to the business of the tour dates?" Bang PD swivels back to the paperwork in front of him on the table. Jungkook sits down, feeling Jin's hand reach over and pat his, reassuringly. He's so glad to have this chance, and he knows the next few weeks are going to be filled with working with the other members schedules to try to get footage. He will need to book the crew, the additional crew, maybe he can operate one of the cameras himself. He will need to decide the best place for each member to be pictured, to be captured, what sort of setting is most appropriate. He already has some ideas, some jotted down notes. He probably needs to get the footage of Jin done before any of the others since his wife is due to give birth in a few weeks time.

He stops a moment to think about how this will impact their comeback recording sessions. He looks up at Yoongi, as Bang PD speaks, looking over his papers, Yoongi seems to be fidgeting nervously, probably deep in his own thoughts. Yoongi and Namjoon created a large portion of the music for previous albums, and he expects they will again, but, as far as he knows, no one has more than rough ideas for songs, none of them have actually sat down to record anything real for the Comeback. If this new producer steps in, he wonders if this will slow them down, having to work in a new way with an untested person. He frowns a little thinking about Yoongi making such a bold choice, without discussing it with the rest of them first. There was a time when nothing got decided before all of them sat together and talked it over. Everyone had to agree or it wouldn't happen. Those days are long gone, and everyone seems to have their own agenda, their own individual needs.

He's ready to head home, and spend some time figuring out how quickly he can get started on this new footage for the video. He bows 'goodbye' to the crew who have finished their breakdown, and the room is nearly empty. He walks out of their dorm, toward the elevator and he sees the doors are just about to close.

"Hold the elevator!" he shouts, but the doors continue to close. He runs to slide his body inside the closing door. He smiles, broadly, at having caught the elevator, and, at getting this opportunity to prove himself in a new way. He's so busy smiling, he hasn't noticed that he isn't alone on the elevator.

"You look pleased with yourself." He hears a female voice from behind him. He turns, still smiling and sees the face of a woman who looks familiar. He drops his smile a little, as he studies her face, wondering if she is a crew member he's seen before.

"Yes, it's been a good day," he says, still trying to work out where he's seen her. He looks down over her all black clothing and he knows she is on the staff, but, he can't quite place her. She's pretty enough that he thinks that he should definitely recognize her. His eyes grow wide as it suddenly comes to him. "Noona?" he says, without meaning to. She narrows her gaze, pursing her lips. His eyes get wider when he remembers how much she did not want him to call her that. "I'm sorry, I- I didn't recognize you in clothes," he says without meaning to. Her lip curls up at the implication. He panics. "I mean, I didn't recognize you outside of the gym, in - you were on the crew?" he asks, hoping to deflect from his obvious blundering. She eyes him, arching an eyebrow as if she's trying to work out his real intentions.

"Yes, I was called to fill in for someone on camera." She looks up at the floor indicator lights to see where they are and the elevator stops, making a loud 'ding' just before the doors open to the lobby. She begins to step out to walk away and in that instant, he has the idea he should stop her, and try to find some way to change her bad opinion of him.

"You are a Camera Operator? That's great, maybe I could use you, I'm going to be directing the new music video for the song we just played," he calls after her. She stops walking and turns to him, looking even more annoyed.

"You what?" she asks, unsure. He smiles and shrugs.

"I just made a pitch to Bang PD nim and he told me I could direct the video for the song. I'll need camera operators," he offers, trying to be friendly.

"Huh," she says looking down, as if she isn't surprised by this news. He is unsure what her frown means. "I was up for that job," she says and looks back up at him with an icy glare. "But I guess it's easier to just give the job to one of the members, regardless of their qualifications," she sneers as she looks outside to a car that has just pulled up.

His mouth drops open. He feels a little bit like she's insulting him, but he's so unaccustomed to people insulting him directly that he still can't be sure. She turns and walks away from him. He stares at her, walking away, not looking back. The front doors close behind her and he sees a company car outside waiting. He realizes he's told her something Bang PD expressly told him not to, and that she thinks he only got the job because of who he is. He's filled with a panic of needing to be understood, and he chases after her, toward the waiting car.