It is 2015 and Kim Taehyung had just experienced the pressures of being a K-pop idol. His group, BTS, broke through the Korean mainstream media and was enjoying commercial prosperity. But with that success came with a price. To escape the overwhelmi...
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"I'm such a loser," the brown-haired plaid-shirted boy muttered to himself while he inserted three Canadian quarters into the coin-activated machine and picked a song by Sam Smith.
Taehyung was sitting alone in a personal booth at a goddamn karaoke bar in the heart of Koreatown. It was a pleasant neighbourhood. He felt he was among the locals who paid him no attention after he had his hair dyed in a random salon with relatively no customers.
Is this what I really wanted? Taehyung thought to himself, being solitary and devoid of human interaction except for the occasional question from the server to see if he needed anything to eat or drink.
At least it was quiet, a description one would not use in a place like a karaoke bar, but in Taehyung's mind, it was relatively peaceful compared to the hustle and bustle of life as a K-pop idol, and the only noise he picked up was his own.
After downing a few bottles of Molson Canadian, Taehyung felt the urgent need to piss and headed to the washroom where he passed through other rooms. He paused as he heard an almost angelic voice singing "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You."
The man's rendition of Michael Bolton's despair song was very moving despite the cracks here and there. Poor guy, Taehyung thought, he's probably going through a break-up. But he cleared that image in his head as he remembered what he came out to do.
Taehyung quickly relieved himself, washed his hands and was about to exit the washroom when two Asian men opened the door, one of them stumbling in while the other struggling to hold up the entrance.
"Hey, watch it dude!" the man who was drunk shouted at Taehyung in his native tongue.
"Excuse my friend sir," the other, more sober male said, nodding his bowed head towards Taehyung in apology.
"Ummm.... it's okay... ah.... do you... need help?" Taehyung offered the guy who seemed to have trouble getting his companion on his feet.
"That's really kind of you, sir." The man looked up at the speaker and a look of recognition flashed across his face. "You... you're.... Ta..." he stopped after seeing the K-pop idol motioning his fingers to his lips.
"Shhh... I'm not technically here," Taehyung replied. "Pretend you don't know me."
Min-woo didn't have to say more because he understood that celebrities needed their privacy.
