Pop Star || Yoongi x Reader

2. Mr Rude and Ms Snob

You curse in your head. This time it was pretty damn unavoidable since you're sitting bang opposite one another - close enough to stamp on his foot if you unfold your feet fully. Who the hell is he, you think to yourself. You realize he and his companions are not talking in English, now that they're within earshot. Well, whatever. You sit cross-legged again, though this time your ankles hurt as they dig into the metal seat.

"Are we going to be here all night?" You ask Monica.

"I hope not," she replies.
"Yeah, I don't wanna be stuck with you that long," you playfully nudge her arm with your fist.
"Me neither," she says with such a tired shake of her head that you shut up with a scandalized 'ha ha'.

"Oh, I've got something that'll cheer you up, ma'am." Your other assistant - essentially Monica's assistant - Lily - leans across and hands you her phone. She's been with you for a good four months but still insists on being formal.

"Call me Y/N, Lily, ma'am is so weird," you say, "What am I looking at?"

It's a music chart but you don't recognize it.

"It's the Gaon digital chart for this week - Pink Diamond debuted at 97!"
"Wait - what chart - and how's my three-year-old single on it now?"

Monica's interest is piqued by now, and she snaps at you, "It's the Korean music chart - I've been telling you since forever to update yourself with K-pop - will you ever listen?"

"I will, I will - they just look so plastic, it puts me off," you crib. The guy in front of you clears his throat pointedly. You continue without paying it much thought, "But seriously, this is so cool. I didn't know we were targeting the Korean market!" You tie your hair up in a bun as you speak.

"You know better than to generalize music like that, Y/N," Monica says, "and no, we weren't targeting Korea at all. Pink Diamond went viral on TikTok last month."
"I'm not generalizing the music - but all those stick figure girls -"
"-are really good at what they do," Monica remarks.
"-of course they are - but it's toxic, ya. You've got to see that."

"-and you don't clinch your stomach for every Instagram photo that hundreds of thousands of girls see now, don't you? What was your diet plan again -"

You bury your face in embarrassment. "Don't listen to her, Lily!" you say half-laughing half-annoyed at the admiration with which Lily is looking at Monica for admonishing you like that. You're on the leaner side of the scale, and it does take more effort than you'd like to admit.

"There's more to K-pop than the beauty standards, ma'am," Lily says, the hurt in her voice catches you by surprise.

"Aw, yeah I know - there's that band of guys too right?"
"BTS - yes, but so many more -"

"-BTS? There's a band called Behind The Scenes?" you giggle.
"It's Bangtan Sonyeondan -" Lily explains with a hint of exasperation. It's the first time in months the girl is beginning to get out of her formal shell and you're in full mood to break it entirely.

"Bang the what now?"

"Bulletproof Boy Scouts!"

You giggle even more. "Sorry, Lily, I just - that's cute -"

"They're pretty dope, okay -"

"Yeah but haven't they got like a cult around them - I didn't think you were a part of it -"

"It's not a cult -"

Lily embarks on an in-depth presentation of the band, their brilliance, and the unity of their fandom - the ARMYs - while you listen, biting your lip to stop yourself from laughing at how you've managed to get her all worked up.

"Okay wait - so we've got Rap Monster, Hope person, V, Sugar was it? And the others and they all sing, rap and dance -"

"Suga, Y/N, SH-U-G-A -" Lily explains.

You're completely unaware of the unusually silent set of men seated opposite to you - and of how acutely you're being judged by the chestnut-haired guy from before.

You're a snob, he concludes. You giggle at something that Lily girl says.

A snob with a giggle worth melting for.

But a snob, he stubbornly concludes. He'd rather go back to sleep than pay attention to you.

Lily is pretty worked up by now so you decide to soothe her a bit.
"- and that whole concept of self-love, Y/N! The number of times I've got myself out of a terrible state of mind because of their songs, and compilations -"

"- Lily, I get it," you try to put forth a serious expression, "I know that if you like them so much, they must really be good -"

"- they're not just good, they're unique, talented, hardworking, game changing -!" she pauses, out of breath and out of words.

"- just like me, huh. I guess it is time for me to get into K-pop," you muse before turning back to her, "at least I got you to stop calling me "ma'am"!"

Lily blushes at that and becomes silent.

"But this is so cool, show the chart to me again, I want to let this sink in."

You take her phone excitedly and stare at the #97 - Pink Diamond - Y/N with immense pride. There are nearly 4 million streams. The next hour passes with snacking and more of you teasing Lily for her love of K-pop. Sadly, you're also off your phone as Monica wants everyone to save some battery.

"-I swear I'm just teasing you, Lily, why would I disrespect artists when I'm one myself -" you say by way of an explanation but it sounds so insincere that even Monica joins in Lily's sarcastic reply - "REALLY?"

The timing's so perfect that your key silent observer accidentally chuckles. But to his advantage, the power goes off right at that moment.

"Oh no," you mutter. The hall is plunged into darkness. The storm is howling outside. All around you, people are complaining, children are bawling - except for the men sitting across you - the rude guy's asleep, while the others are talking in low voices.

"Listen - Monica," you say after a while, "I'm going to the washroom, okay."

"Okay - do you want me to come?" she asks as you get up.

"No - it's okay," you reply as your eyes scan the hall, coming to a halt at a distant corner where there's a long line of people. Oh well.