(Guide Us to) A Million Stars

32🎇

When Tae opened the door to his dorm, I was met with uproarious laughter and different male voices talking in Korean. The aroma of barbequed meats hit my nose and the clinking of glasses could be heard. Tae gestured for me to put my things on the floor of the hallway.

"I thought you said you weren't doing anything for your birthday today," I said quietly as I placed the boxes down and he rolled my suitcases against the wall.

"That was part of the surprise," he explained with a twinkle in his eyes. He took my hand and led me down the hallway to an open area. The kitchen, the dining room, and living room were one great room. And there sitting at a 12 piece dining set, sat the members of BTS. They all paused to look at me.

"Suni! You're here!" Jungkook exclaimed.

I cowered slightly behind Tae. I had a feeling some of the members would not be happy to see me in their dorm. "Hi, guys," I said shyly.

"What is she doing here?" Yoongi, predictably said. He was wearing a shoulder mobilizer because of his recent surgery.

"Yeah, doesn't she have COVID?" Namjoon asked. The way they weren't even talking to me directly made me pull my hand away from Tae, but he held on and didn't let me go.

"Her quarantine is over. So I invited her to my birthday party," Tae answered.

"No girls in the dorm. That's the rule," Namjoon continued. Surprisingly, he was the most vocal at the moment. The others seemed to look to him to make the final decision.

"Please, hyung. We lost time together because of being sick. She leaves in one month. This is on her bucket list."

"To come in my dorm and crash our party?"

Tae looked at me with an apologetic look. But he didn't back down. "Well, it's my birthday party and some of you don't even live here anyway. She's staying."

Namjoon glanced at the others who all acted nonchalantly, sipping their drinks and eating noodles from their bowls. "Fine. But for our safety she has to take a COVID test first."

"I took one yesterday. It was negative," I informed him.

"Take another one." Surprisingly that came from Jin.

As Tae and I turned back into the hallway, I followed him to a bathroom where he entered and then appeared with a small white box with Korean writing on it. "Take this back to your place and text me."

"Tae, I don't want to cause any trouble. Why don't you just come over tonight when the party's done?"

"Because I want you to be a part of my special day. It's worth it."

I took the box from him and gave him a quick kiss. He made me feel special and I wanted to do this for him. I saw myself out and returned to my apartment. Twenty minutes later, it was Jimin who opened the door of the dorm for me and welcomed me with a big smile. I waved the test with a negative result in front of me, then did it again when Namjoon appeared in the hallway.

"Sorry about that, Suni. The company just wants to keep us safe. But if Tae trusts you in here, then welcome. I would be a terrible friend if I didn't let his girlfriend attend his own birthday party."

"I understand. Don't worry. You won't have to deal with me for much longer." I raised my eyebrows at him as I walked past him into the great room. There I found Tae refilling Yoongi's glass. It almost overflowed.

"Drink up, drink up," Tae said with a smirk. His eyes met mine and he waved at me excitedly. "Hi, foreigner!"

I waved back, playing along. "Hi, Korean!"