Meraki | ᴋ.ᴛʜ & ᴊ.ᴊᴋ ✓

章32

【 Jungkook 】

The buzzing sound of the crowds awaiting you outside at this very moment made your stomach flip and twist— both out of excitement, but also anxiousness whilst you hid in the shielding comfort that the backstage area you currently were in provided you with.

It's not that you were anxious about meeting followers, after all, gratefully you were no stranger to having encounters with ones whom you ever so often would coincidentally run into– and get approached by in public spaces. However, this was the very first time you would be participating in a proper meet&greet— let alone one of this scale, as this one didn't hold just a couple of them; no, rather out there were 300 of them, which you had been told was the max limit of participants able to partake in this, all patiently waiting for none other than yourself.

A soft and shaky sigh escaped past your lips whilst your eyes yet again secretly stole a glance at the small glimpse one could see of the crowds outside; trying your best to shake off the nerves which currently made your hands tremble anxiously as you subconsciously nibbled at your bottom lip— which apparently didn't go unnoticed by your now so-called temporary manager as he suddenly placed his hand onto your shoulder, his gaze automatically following your own for a brief moment before letting it trail down to your doey brown orbs

Taehyung: Nervous?

Jungkook: Uhm— y-yeah kind of...

He then proceeded to hand you a bottle of water before gently giving your shoulder an encouraging nudge, a warm smile tugging at his lips as he spoke

Taehyung: It's okay to feel nervous Gguk, but I try to remember this— every single person out there is most likely just as nervous as you are, if not more. They're all out there waiting to meet a webcomic artist they love, and that said person is you. So focus on enjoying the moment, nothing less nothing more.

Something within his comforting words finally began to bring back that sparkle in your eyes which temporarily had been dimmed by apprehension, and you instantly felt how a soft smile began to paint your lips as you nodded whilst slowly finding yourself simultaneously getting lost in his deep gaze— only snapping out of it when one of the staff members suddenly came over to you; notifying you of how it was time to go out there and get started now

And so you timidly nodded to let her know you had acknowledged what she just said whilst slowly taking one final deep breath in and out, hoping to ease the last bits of your anxious nerves before slowly walking out through the backstage door; instantly being greeted by excited cheers and camera flashes as you waved hi to everyone present, finding comfort in the fact that Taehyung was trailing right behind you— leading you over to where you'd be seated before then remaining protectively stood a couple of steps behind you, attentively watching over you as the crowd one by one got their turns to come up

The warm smile tugging at your lips never faded— and possibly only grew brighter as you happily chatted with the fans whilst signing a variety of things ranging from hard copies of your comic, notebooks, and even a couple of shirts.

Some surprisingly even went the extra selfless measure by bringing you small gifts such as plushies, heartfelt letters you certainly would take your time thoroughly reading later, drinks, snacks, and even a rather adorable bunny ear headband; which you now wore whilst subtly bouncing in your seat from the sheer heartfelt joy and excitement you felt from being able to interact with such a huge variety of incredibly amazing people

Every now and then whilst waiting for another person to approach, Taehyung and you would briefly get to have moments where you'd giddily whisper and giggle softly amongst yourselves. And you would also automatically turn to excitedly show the older whenever someone had brought you something— always being met by a fond smile from him accompanied by a few subtle head pats as he would silently nod in an encouraging manner; whilst of course also safely helping you move the gifts off to the side so that the table wouldn't get too crowded

Needless to say, the whole experience ended up being nothing but an incredible time and future memory that you were sure you'd cherish for as long as you possibly could— and a small selfish part of you even dared to wish you'd get to experience something like this just one more time in the future; that's not to say you didn't feel beyond content with this experience, though one can dream at least? Not that you would actually dare to put faith in such dreams ever becoming reality in the first place.

| Later...

Once the meet&greet finally came to its end after a good long couple of hours that had consisted of pure joy, you now found yourself slowly pacing around backstage looking for your team— knowing they were going to meet you somewhere back here once the event had concluded.

However, your bubbly steps soon slowed down to a brief and silent halt as your eyes happened to trail over to what looked like Taehyung and another staff member whom happily seemed to be chatting amongst themselves off in a slightly more secluded area, soft giggles and chuckles leaving their lips as they spoke in a hushed manner which you couldn't pick up on. Nonetheless, a warm smile began to paint your lips once you were able to confirm it indeed was Taehyung that you were seeing over there, though just as you were about to call out his name whilst beginning to approach the two— your steps immediately came to another abrupt halt as you saw how Taehyung slowly leaned down to whisper something into his ear; a visible blush shortly after appearing onto the others cheeks as he covered his mouth in a seemingly flustered manner

Something about the unexpected interaction you accidentally had intruded on made your chest clench uncomfortably whilst an indescribable feeling washed over you at the sight; almost similar to how a deer caught in headlights as your feet unwillingly seemed to remain frozen in place, the smile whilst previously painted your lips subconsciously now having disappeared and instead been replaced by a very subtly pout

Once the older had pulled away from the seemingly intimate whisper just now, his gaze just so happened to accidentally meet your own— a somewhat startled look instantly beginning to paint his expression as he took a step back from his previous position

Taehyung: Gguk— when did you get here..?

And it was at that very moment it finally dawned on you; a certain feeling which you admittedly had been trying your best to suppress and brush off for a little while now— yet clearly to no avail

There's no way you could see Kim Taehyung as only a friend, at least not right now—
...not after evidently having grown feelings for the older.

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