= twenty =

You joined the group, choosing to stay at the back just like Sejin had told you. You pulled your mask up to your nose, closing your eyes and taking a deep breath.

And when you opened them, you realised that the group had reshuffled a bit with Seokjin now standing right beside you.

He looked at you with a certain softness in his eyes, and you could figure out that he was smiling under that mask of his.

You were really thankful for him choosing to stay with you, but you couldn't understand how he went from being dazed and nervous to happy and calm in just a matter of minutes.

This guy and his mood swings.

He then tugged at the sleeve of your shirt, a glint of playfulness barely visible in his eyes.

"I hope you'll protect me, Manager."

---

The burble of the people inside grew louder and louder as you kept moving ahead, with the paparazzi immediately rushing out to the group with their cameras ready.

In the distance, you could also see a bunch of girls holding posters and stuff, calling out for their 'oppas' and waving wildly, hoping for themselves to get noticed.

You sighed, realising how people thought of fangirls to always be those crazy kind of people who were madly obsessed with a bunch of men just because of girls like these.

All fans are obsessed in some or the other way. But it isn't really fun to take that obsession to dangerous extents and let yourself go completely berserk over that.

You forced your attention back to the huge obstacle in front of you, observing how the managers were trying there best to prevent the cameramen from getting to close to the boys.

And it took you a few seconds to realise that you were supposed to act as a manager too.

As if on cue, a few of the reporters on your right side went wild trying to catch a glimpse of Seokjin who was walking with his head low, avoiding the flashes of the cameras.

Your reflexes suddenly kicked up, and before you knew it, you were pushing them away, trying to create a barrier with your hands.

It wasn't a violent push, but that combined with the glare you have them was enough to make them back away a bit instead of jumping on Seokjin like hounds.

It wasn't long before the group was out of the reach of the media as all of you passed through the security check and into the waiting area.

[A/N: My knowledge of airports and planes is minimal cuz ya girl has never been to an airport and so of course has never got the chance to travel by air so bear with me lol]

Everyone heaved a sigh of relief on finally not being suffocated by people.

"Those people seriously went batshit crazy."
You mumbled to yourself, looking back at the people outside who were still trying to click pictures.

"I know, right." A voice behind you replied tiredly.

You turned around immediately to find Seokjin standing there. With his mask pulled down, he gave you a tired smile.

"You did well, Manager." He remarked with a wry smile.

"Uh huh.
But hey, you look really tired."

"So do you. I'll be okay, though." He replied, the smile never leaving his face.

But you couldn't stop yourself from getting concerned.
"Is there no way we can-"

"Good morning everyone. This is the boarding call for flight 372B to Los Angeles. Passengers are requested to proceed to departure gate 3 to board the plane. Please keep your boarding pass and identification proof handy."

The woman's voice blaring through the speakers cut you off as everyone started shuffling around again, getting read to leave.

"Hyung! Noona! Let's go!"

Taehyung almost yelled as he looked back at the both of you. You smiled, nodding at him as the both of you walked off to join the other boys.

---

The boys all walked off to the first class as soon as they got on the plane, while the other staff members scurried to their seats in the economy class.

"Y/n, I know you should have been with Seokjin throughout the journey, but it was a last-minute decision to include you on tour.
And we couldn't possibly get a first-class seat for you.

I'm really sorry about that. You'll have to sit with the make-up artists I think, because one of them couldn't join us due to some medical issues, and that leaves us with a spare seat."

Sejin and apologised to you for not being able to let you be with Jin, and you and brushed it off telling him that it wasn't that big an issue.

Even though, you couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.

God knows how he is going to keep up with his exhaustion until we reach there.

---

It wasn't long before you found yourself seated beside one of the make-up artists,

quite pretty, I must say. But clearly not so much without the make-up on.

None of you volunteered to talk to each other even after the plane took off, and you were pretty sure you would have to spend the journey awkwardly by yourself.

Being the socially awkward person you were, you decided to enjoy the scenery outside instead of making small talk with her.

But you knew she was staring at you.
Scrutinising you.

You still chose to stay quiet. You wanted to see for how long she would keep eyeing you, even though it was getting a bit uncomfortable.

"You're Y/n, right?"

Well, no shit Sherlock.

You turned to look at her, and her expressions weren't exactly welcoming. Nevertheless, you gave her a small smile.

"Yeah."

"I'm Hana.

You're- Jin's soulmate?"

She raised an eyebrow as she eyed you down yet again.

Excuse me? Why the heck is she looking at me like she doubts it?!

"Uhm...yes?"

She chuckled dryly.

"You're lucky. Millions of girls would die to be in your place."

Something about the indifference in her tone of voice made you uncomfortable. Not to mention the notable trace of malice.

What did I even do to her-

"I had really imagined his soulmate to be a pretty Korean girl.

But imaginations don't always come true, right?"

She had an obviously fake smile on, and you could feel yourself getting annoyed.

She's messing with you.

But again, you knew better than to be petty with her, and you gave her a genuine smile.

"People shouldn't always dwell on imaginations, though. Or else they tend to forget the reality of life."

---

[A/N: Ik the last few paragraphs are shitty, cuz I was pretty distracted while writing that :/

Thank you so much for 35k reads UwU]

IMPORTANT:

When I published this story, I was a below-average writer. And I feel like uptil now, I haven't exactly been able to depict the characters and situations properly hehe.

So, as some of you requested, I wanted to hold a Q & A for this story :)

If you have any questions about the characters, the plot uptil now, or any other stuff about this story,

Comment your questions HERE :D ☞

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Please stay at home, and stay safe ❤️