Early in the morning, the Bantans returned home from Japan.
Exhausted from the long flight and several-hour delay, they unloaded their suitcases from the car together in front of their dorm. The sun rose over sleepy Seoul, painting the sky a delicate pink. The spring chill was pleasantly invigorating and kept them awake.
Only a few minutes remained before they could open the door to their home, rest, and, most importantly, sleep all day because their manager, Nam, had allowed them to take a two-day break. However, the guys didn't have the energy to celebrate this news. They just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep.
The car drove down the empty street. BTS, with suitcases and bags in hand, slowly made their way to the main entrance of their dormitory. Suddenly, something flashed by like a bullet, whistling as it grazed Jimin's shoulder. He shuffled along behind Namjoon, his eyes downcast. At first, he didn't understand what it was, but when he saw long, jet-black hair, he immediately remembered the beautiful girl who had recently stood at their doorstep.
Wearing high heels, the girl rushed headlong to the bus stop, not noticing the obstacles in her path. Jimin turned around once, then again, and again. On his tenth turn, he felt his heart beating heavily and slowly and his breath catch in his throat. Goosebumps ran down his arms, sweat appeared on his forehead, and his cheeks flushed when he saw his neighbor's face in the morning sunlight. It was like a scene from a drama: a girl turning around with her hair blowing in the wind, the sun's rays falling perfectly on her face, and everything happening in slow motion.
He couldn't take his eyes off the beauty before him for long, but he suddenly felt his face bump into something soft and wide.
It was Namjoon's back. He had stopped behind Yoongi, who paused for a second to type a message on his phone.
The leader slowly turned to one of the maknaes and stared at him.
"Why aren't you watching where you're going?" he asked wearily, his face devoid of emotion.
"Oh, sorry, hyung. I'm just tired. All I can think about is sleep," Jim replied, equally emotionless. In reality, something incredible was happening in his heart, causing his cheeks to turn red and his palms to sweat.
"Be more careful next time," Joon muttered.
"Okay, Hyung," Jimin replied with a slight smile.
Joon turned around and continued on his way. Jimin hung his head in shame but searched for the charming neighbor who had made his heart race for the third time. But she was already gone. She seemed to have vanished into thin air—become a ghost or something like that.
Jimin woke up first. The other members were still sleeping soundly when he climbed out from under the blanket and headed to the kitchen. His stomach growled with hunger, but he didn't have the energy to cook. He found the leftovers from today's breakfast, which Jin had prepared, in the refrigerator. He heated them up in the microwave and sat at the table to eat.
It was already dark outside, and the house was quiet and peaceful. Usually, when the guys returned from the studio, the dorm became noisy, and the neighbors knew they were home. It would be impossible to spend the evening in peace.
Before bedtime, the Bantans loved to fool around and film videos of how they spent their evenings. They had dinner together and teased each other. They also organized intellectual evenings where they played interesting games, developed their logic skills, and recalled song lyrics by various artists. But not today. Today, the active young people were finally overcome with fatigue and slept all day and, apparently, all night.
After a hearty dinner, Jim could no longer sleep. After lying in bed for over an hour, he realized sleep would come late at night when everyone else was awake. He sat up in bed and looked around the room, thinking of something to do to pass the time. But no ideas came to mind. He quietly left the room so as not to wake the others and headed back to the kitchen. He washed the dishes left over from breakfast. He folded the clothes he had washed on Monday. He didn't notice that it was late at night outside until the clock struck midnight.
None of the other members woke up, even though Jim was making loud noises while cleaning. He was still full of energy, but the only thing left to do was take out the trash. He put on a sweatshirt and a cap, gathered all the bags, and trudged down the stairs to the backyard, where the trash cans were located.
As he descended the stairs, he began to hum the melody of a new Bantan song from their latest album. Lost in thought, he didn't notice someone approaching him. He slowed down abruptly and almost fell but managed to keep his balance.
The boy's eyes widened when he saw a familiar face. A dark-haired beauty stood in front of him, holding a phone and batting her long eyelashes. He was startled by what he saw. His heart beat heavily and his chest ached sharply as if pricked by a needle. His breath caught, and his palms sweated.
"Good evening!" The girl bowed and greeted her neighbor wearily.
Jimin froze in place, silent. His thoughts screamed at him, begging him to respond. He wanted to take a step or smile, but his body did not obey him. He stood on the stairs with his mouth open and two garbage bags in his hands.
The girl walked past him, not noticing his shocked expression. She didn't even glance at him. Her shoulder lightly touched his hand, sending a jolt through his body. His fingers went numb, and his eyelids fluttered rapidly. What was happening to him? He had never felt anything like this before. He often talked to fans, acquaintances, and school friends, but this was the first time his brain had completely shut down from the outside world. He felt helpless and lonely.
At that moment, he envied Yoongi because he was the first to experience these feelings. At the same time, he felt sorry for his friend because he felt terrible when he was not with his beloved.
Returning to the dormitory made Jim feel much better. The numbness in his fingers had passed, and his heart was beating at its usual rhythm. However, at the mere mention of the girl, his palms immediately became sweaty, and his cheeks flushed. The light was on in the kitchen. Jim hurried there and saw Jin, looking sleepy, standing at the stove cooking dinner. Any minute now, the other members would wake up and complain about being hungry.
"Oh, you're awake already?" he said in surprise, noticing Jimin at the door.
"I've been awake for a while," he muttered, sitting down at the table.
"Why are you so sad? Did something happen?" Hyung asked anxiously, realizing that something was wrong with the little one. After all, Jimin usually acted like a little boy and made everyone around him happy. But now, he was silent and pouting. That was the main sign that something was bothering him.
"Not at all," he smiled, pretending that everything was fine. "Really?" Jin asked again to make sure. "You can always share your concerns with me. I'll be happy to help."
"Thank you, Hyung," he said, looking away toward the window. Then, a question popped into his head. "Hyung..."
"Yes?"
"Do you know our neighbor?"
"Subin? Yes, I do. She just moved here. She used to live in Busan. She now works at the BigHit headquarters. Technically, she's still an intern, but she's doing well with her duties." I ran into her there a few times, and then we met here," said Jin, working his magic over the frying pan.
"Subin..." Jim whispered, repeating her name several times in his mind.
"By the way, Taehyung often asks about her," said Jin.
These words filled Jim's heart with a new feeling unlike anything he had ever experienced before. What was happening to him these last few days? His heart raced and his palms sweated. He often felt hot. Maybe he had a cold? But he knew the symptoms of a cold very well, and this was completely different. It's not so easy to explain in words.
Finally, Jin prepared a delicacy he had spent an hour sweating over. He woke up the sleepy members, and they all sat down to dinner together. Only Jim remained silent, glancing sideways at the happy Taehyung.
After two days of rest, it was difficult to return to the usual daily routine: Training, Japanese and English lessons, rehearsals, and singing lessons. His body had not yet recovered from the trip when he had to exhaust himself with work again. Jim was the last to return from the studio again. His eyes were closing, and he could barely read the text on his phone; the letters were merging into one ink stain.
The bus arrived at the stop on schedule. Jim put his phone in his jacket pocket and wearily entered the bus. He sat down and put on his headphones. He was ready to close his eyes and sleep through a few stops to the dormitory when he suddenly noticed her.
Subin was sitting by the window, also listening to music on her headphones. She tapped her fingers on the sensor as she typed a message. The boy didn't want to sleep anymore. He only wanted to fully enjoy her beauty.
He settled into his seat more comfortably, determined not to fall asleep, and first glanced around the cabin. There weren't many people on the bus: There were two women in the front, an old man in the side seat, and a young man wearing a black leather jacket, a cap, and a mask. But none of that mattered because Subin was there, and he would follow her to the dormitory.
She was chatting on social media. She smiled from time to time and fixed her hair, which had fallen out of place. She tapped her foot to the rhythm of the music playing in her headphones. Her lips barely moved, but Jim figured out the song she was humming: "BTS — Young Forever." He found it funny because, at that very moment, he was listening to it, too. Recently, this song from their album had stirred incredible emotions in his heart. Now, this strange coincidence had occurred. It was as if fate itself was predicting a future together for them.
Jim began to smile, but his mask hid the expression from view. In a second, however, the smile disappeared when the girl jumped up from her seat and stood by the door. The boy didn't notice that the bus had passed the second to last stop and that it was time to get off. He hurriedly prepared to exit but was in no hurry to get up from his seat. A young man in a mask standing behind Subin forced him to do so, watching her suspiciously.
In a few seconds, it was time to get off. Jim slowly stood up behind the girl, but on the other side. He raised his head proudly, as if he were going to protect the beauty from the criminal. He looked at the young man with a confident gaze, then at the girl's back. The stranger timidly looked at the man standing next to him but continued to stand and watch the girl. Jim glanced at him, then again, and again. After the tenth time, he realized there was something painfully familiar about the boy's features: Big eyes, white skin, light hair, and a mole on his nose.
"Taehyung?" Jim asked the young man opposite him in surprise.
"Jimin?" The young man took off his mask in response.
"What are you doing here?" Jimin asked his friend, taking off his mask.
"What are you doing here?" TaeTae asked, his eyes wide.
The bus stopped at the bus stop. Subin calmly got off, not noticing the commotion behind her. She continued on her way home, listening to music. The boys remained standing in front of the door, staring at each other in surprise. Only a few seconds later, when the bus started moving, they realized the girl they had been watching had long since gotten off, leaving them to figure out the situation.