ARROGANCE | m.yg

t w e n t y s e v e n - r i n

   I watch with amusement and intrigue as Namjoon does his speech, finishing up the Simply K-pop stage. I've never been particularly good at English, so watching Namjoon up there speaking the language he taught himself is genuinely really interesting. As I catch a final "thank you," the boys bow and turn to walk offstage, where they're going to encounter me and their manager.

   Jungkook is the first person to make it all the way backstage, and also the first person to get his mic off. I smile and wave brightly to all of them, beaming at Jungkook and congratulating him in a soft voice. I hear a quiet word of thanks from him as he hands his mic to a staff member, all of his bandmates in tow. From next to me, Bangtan's manager rolls his eyes and smirks. Yeah, I guess I would too if I were him. I mean, who'd expect me to act like a kid in a candy store seeing idols, of all people?

   When Yoongi comes into my direct line of sight, I can see that he looks a little off. He tenses up when he sees me, but still smiles at me anyway. I wave again and he waves back, revealing that the palms of his hands are red and raw. Confused, but not wanting to make a scene, I come over to him and pretend I don't notice.

   "Nice job," I say brightly. "You all did great out there."

   "Thanks," Yoongi replies with a soft smile. "We're trying."

   "It's paying off," I say. Then, addressing everyone, I add a little more. "Now, hurry up and get changed, okay? I'm sure you all want to go home sooner rather than later."

   "Yeah, gotcha," replies Hoseok, nodding dutifully. He then proceeds to herd everyone else further backstage to the dressing rooms.

   "You're doing my job for me, y'know," states the manager, still in his position beside the door.

   "Sorry, Manager-nim," I reply, bowing a little. "I didn't mean to."

   "Hey, I don't mind. Less for me to do, after all. And they seem to listen to you pretty well, all things considered. Maybe even better than they listen to me sometimes."

   "That's a little surprising, actually. I mean, I don't know them all that well."

   "A friend of Yoongi's is a friend of theirs," is his response. Then he pauses, collecting his thoughts before speaking again. "Speaking of Yoongi, when will you two be back at the dorm?"

   "Probably no later than 9:30, if we can get out of here soon. And then we'll be up storyboarding until God knows how late, but we'll be back."

   "Okay, that works. I'll go hurry them up, then. Here." He tosses me a ring of keys that I barely end up catching.

   "If you want, you can grab Yoongi's stuff out of the van, make things move a little faster. I don't mind, just make sure you lock it back up and that the keys get back to me."

   Surprised by the manager's act of kindness, I nod quickly. "Yeah, will do. Thank you, Manager-nim."

   "Anytime, Rin-ssi," he replies. Then he disappears through the door and leaves me to find the company van.

   I make my way through the winding hallways of the Simply K-pop building and finally emerge in the parking lot. The weather today has gotten a lot better. Despite my work with Sangmi being done inside today, everyone was aware of the thunderstorm that had hit earlier. Now, though, the sky's started to clear up and the wet asphalt reflects back small areas of patchy sunlight. Taking a deep breath and relishing in the scent of the post-rain air, I click the keys a few times to get the headlights in the van to go on. Once I've distinguished it from similar others parked nearby, I open up the vehicle and find a duffel bag with a tag displaying Yoongi's name. I grab it and put it in my car before relocking the van and heading back inside. I make it all the way back to the dressing room, and I'm about to knock on the door when it opens and the members of Bangtan spill out one after the other.