Love Maze | BTS Poly

Mikrokosmos

There's so much crystal in this place that I'm afraid if I make one wrong move, the entire restaurant will shatter into a million pieces. White tablecloths adorn the round tables with large red flower arrangements as centerpieces. The chairs, too, are draped in white. I just hope there aren't any messy foods on the menu tonight.

Our group arrives at the party about twenty minutes before it's set to start. The restaurant is already packed with nearly a hundred people. My original belief of it being a close-knit gathering was incorrect.

We wander around the restaurant in search of our place cards. The building is swarming with unfamiliar faces. We have to squeeze passed guests who are busy standing and chatting with people at other tables.

Eventually, we come across an empty table and locate our names. We sit down in our assigned seats, and Gyeongtaek inspects who else will be joining us. He observes that Youngmi, Jaehwa, and Seoyun are sitting here too. Because of the crowd, we didn't notice that we have been placed at the head table.

No pressure though.

The closer it draws to eight o'clock, the more the tables fill up. The table directly beside us becomes the only one that's left empty. Being the nosy person I am, I walk over to it, sneaking a peek at the place cards to see if I would happen to know who will be sitting there.

The names are written in a small, cursive font. I'm not wearing my glasses, so I'm forced to pick up a place card. Squinting at it, I finally discern the name of one of our neighbors.

Kim Seokjin (BTS).

Boy, I hope there's another Kim Seokjin here who, by a whacky twist of fate, happens to be a part of a group called BTS.

But, of course, that's not how the world works, and the members enter the restaurant at 7:55. Every person stops what they are doing to bow to them as they walk by. I guess I'm accustomed to fan culture now or something because I was expecting loud cheers from the attendees. However, this is an upscale restaurant. It would be inappropriate if they hooted and hollered for the band.

The esteemed guests reciprocate the greetings, bowing respectively to attendees while they head to their table. Their eyes lock on me when they spot that our group is right next to their own. The boys' discomfort becomes evident. Their complexions run pale and a few of them nervously adjust their ties.

To avoid being the odd one out, I rise to my feet and bow to them. The others at my table shortly follow. The members return the formality before taking a seat in their chairs.

As I'm sitting down again, Misun grabs my hand and exclaims, "You didn't tell me BTS was gonna be here!"

I shrug. "You didn't ask."

Her expression drops in annoyance. "Seriously?"

"I mean, I work for them. So is it really a surprise?"

"Yes! A huge one!"

Gyeongtaek laughs. "Youngmi is the style director at Big Hit. She's been styling BTS since the beginning."

"They've been friends for years," Sungmin adds.

"I almost passed out when I saw them in concert," she imparts. "How am I gonna get through a dinner with them sitting right there?"

"Just pretend they're a nobody like us," I suggest.

"I can try, but no promises."

My phone then dings with a text. I remove my hand from Misun's in order to retrieve it from my clutch. The message was sent in the group chat for all the members to see.