Cora was starting to think about the idea of maybe waking up when she heard her phone vibrating on the nightstand. She grabbed it and got up as gently as she could, taking the phone out to the balcony before answering so that she wouldn't disturb Yoongi.

"Yo! What fresh hell is this?"

"Cora, is that you? I haven't heard from you in days!" Nana said.

"Yeah, it's me. What time is it?" she yawned.

"It's seven a.m. here, which means it's late out there on the east coast!"

"Ugh, 10:00? OK." Her eyes were drooping closed again.

"How was your first show? Did you rock it?"

Cora's eyelids flew open wide. "Ohmygod, Nana, it was... I can't even describe it. I was so overwhelmed that I was just spacing out, and sometimes crying, and sometimes screaming while I played. Yoongi is an absolute beast on stage, but also so sweet and funny and tender with his ARMY. I was just shook the whole time."

"How is my sweet bias? Are you taking good care of him?"

"He's amazing. Wanna see? But you have to promise not to shriek and wake him up, OK?"

"CORA!! He's in your room right now?!"

Cora gave her an evil cackle. "Yeah. OK, you got yourself buttoned down? I'm requesting to change to a video call now." She pulled the sliding door open quietly and snuck over to the bed, opening her eyes wide at Nana and putting a finger over her lips, then turning the camera to show her Yoongi's sleeping face for a long moment. Suppressing her giggles as best she could, she went back out to the balcony and looked down at the phone.

Nana's eyes were bugged out and she looked like she was screaming, but there was no sound.

"Did you mute yourself?!" Cora asked, laughing hard. She sat down at the little table.

Nana hit a button. "... my lord above, what the hell did my eyes just witness, holy shit, holy shit, how the HELL are you so lucky?" She stopped, her chest visibly heaving.

"Nana, be careful! Do you have your heart pills nearby?" Cora asked, grinning.

"Phew, phew. I'm OK now. I'm calm." Nana stared fixedly at Cora for an uncomfortably long moment. "So, I have to know... how is he?"

"How is... you mean how is the sex?" Cora asked. "Well, I couldn't say, you dirty old woman!!"

"Come on, I won't tell anyone else. Just let a poor old widowed lady live vicariously through you!"

"No, I really couldn't say. He's a perfect gentleman and we've only kissed, so far. I'm so horny, I'm losing my damn mind, not gonna lie! He's so goddamn Korean sometimes!" She fake-cried hard at Nana, and then started laughing. "This is only the second... no, I guess the third time that we've slept together, but I literally mean slept together." She sighed heavily, and pouted. "Oh, plus one nap."

"Well, maybe you should try brushing your hair, girl. It looks like an osprey's nest. Make an effort!"

Cora snarled and flipped Nana the bird, then laughed.

"When is your next show? Tomorrow?"

"No, it's tonight," Cora said, her heart skipping a beat. "Then we get one rest day, then the show over in Jersey."

Nana nodded.

"My goal for tonight is to try to be conscious and keep my soul inside my body for at least 50% of the concert!" Cora declared and they both laughed.

"Shoot for the stars, girlie! Was last night really that tough?"

"Yeah, it really was. 18,000 crazed people dancing and screaming and singing? Yoongi rapping, dancing, singing, playing piano, playing guitar, acting, joking, making speeches... Christ, it was just soooo too much, you know?"

"Well, you're definitely in the big leagues now! I'm so proud of you, have I mentioned that? You'll be such a pro by the time the tour is done."

"Aww, thanks, Nana. That's..." Suddenly the sliding door opened.

"Where did you go?" Yoongi grumbled in his growly just-woke-up voice, his eyes only half-open.

Cora smiled up at him. "Hey, D! I'm talking to Nana!" she said brightly, and turned the phone to face him.

"Oh!" Yoongi's face instantly clicked into idol mode, and he ran his hand quickly through his hair, then bowed low and said in his perfectly normal voice, "Annyeong hasimnikka! Ah, good morning, halmeoni!"

Silence from the phone.

Yoongi shot Cora a bemused look. She turned the phone to see Nana just gaping open-mouthed like a goldfish. She laughed her ass off, and Yoongi started laughing too.

"Nana? Are you OK?" Cora asked.

"NO I'M NOT FUCKING OK! GIVE ME BACK TO YOONGI!!"

Cora threw her head back and laughed so hard that she almost fell out of the little teak patio chair. "ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT!" She handed him the phone.

He gave Nana a huge gummy smile. "Are you well today, halmeoni?"

"I am, yes, I thank you, Suga," she said in her most dignified voice. "How are you this lovely morning?" Cora flailed her arms and pitched backward again, laughing so hard tears were streaming down her face.

"I'm so happy to meet you. I have heard many things from Cora!" he replied, grinning.

"It's nice to meet you, too," Nana continued in her fake-calm voice. "I have been a huge fan of yours for about six years."

Yoongi bowed again. "Ah, thank you, thank you! I appreciate your support!" He smiled over at Cora, who now had her head down on the table and was pounding the tabletop with her fist, hysterical. "Also, thank you for raising Cora-shi. She's... amazing." Cora stopped laughing and did a goofy aegyo face at him instead, making fish lips and poking her forefinger into her cheek.

"She is an odd young woman, but she has a heart of gold, Min Yoongi," Nana told him. Yoongi nodded and laughed again, then smirked at Cora. She kissed her middle fingers and then flipped both of them off, cracking him up even more.

"Halmeoni, I hope that you can come to the concerts in LA," he said. "I will prepare a good seat for you!"

"Are you serious?! Which concert? Can I bring my friend Annaliese? And Suga, you have to come over to the house while you're here. I'll make you my famous veal parmigiana!"

Yoongi glanced at Cora, who nodded and gave him a thumbs-up.

He bowed again. "I would be honored. Please choose one or more concert dates and let us know, so we can reserve the seats for you and your friend. I will give you back to Cora now! Annyeonghi geseyo!"

Cora heard Nana say "No!" as Yoongi handed her the phone. She scowled into the camera. "Oh, now that you know a global superstar, you're too fancy to talk to me? Is that it?"

"You're not as pretty as Min Yoongi," Nana said, giving her side-eye.

Yoongi made a heart above his head and pointed at Cora, then did a chef's kiss at her and a double thumbs up. "Are you agreeing with her, or arguing with her?" Cora asked, laughing.

"Polite disagree!" he said. She made a finger heart and blew him a kiss.

"I saw that," Nana said. "If you two are going to be all lovey-dovey, then I'm just going to go make myself some breakfast. But call me sometime, and I look forward to seeing you both in a few weeks!"

"Sounds good, Nana. Love you!" Cora said, waving. Yoongi leaned into the frame and grinned and waved, too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cora was still giggling as she opened the room service menu. "I've never seen Nana act that nutty. Never! That was hilarious."

Yoongi eye-smiled at her. "She is very kind and funny and sweet," he said. "She also..." He paused and studied Cora's face for a moment. "She also curses a lot for a grandmother, doesn't she?"

Cora laughed. "That was more than her usual amount of cursing I'd say. She doesn't often yell like that, either. You had her all flustered!"

Yoongi grinned and blushed, then changed the subject. "I'm hungry, and you must be starving. What are you going to have?"

"I am really hungry, yeah. I think I'll go for the two eggs, potatoes, and chicken apple sausage. What about you?"

"I'm going to try fatigue fighter smoothie," he said.

"Ew." Cora wrinkled her nose at him.

Yoongi chuckled fondly. "You're young, so maybe you're fine, but I feel fatigue this morning."

Cora laughed. "OK, grandpa. Go for it!" She leaned over and kissed his cheek, catching him off guard, then dialed the kitchen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Suga set his bright green smoothie down suddenly and got out his phone, typing quickly.

Cora cut him another bite of sausage and stuck it in his mouth, and he grinned at her. "Thanks, G!" he said with his mouth full.

"You look so official all of a sudden. Are you doing business stuff?" she asked.

"Yeah. I was supposed to record a vlog of me walking in New York today and tomorrow, but I decided to not do until Chicago, so I'm telling the vlog team."

Cora carefully squirted a single, pea-sized drop of ketchup onto the cube of potato that was impaled on one of her fork tines, and then popped it into her mouth. Yoongi watched her quizzically, laughing, as she repeated this procedure twice more.

"The perfect ratio!" she said, nodding decisively at him. He grinned, his tongue sticking out the corner of his mouth. "Does your smoothie need to be spiked?" she offered, holding out the ketchup.

"No thanks," he smirked, shaking his head at her. "Cora, how do you feel about helicopters?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yoongi nodded and gave the pilot a thumbs up that he could hear and understand the narration coming in through his headset. Cora had insisted on having the Korean version, claiming it was for her to practice her listening comprehension skills. 'She really is so kind,' he thought, smiling over at her.

"Have you been on a helicopter tour before, D?" she yelled over the sound of the rotors.

"Yes! Last time was Hawaii. No, New Zealand! I forgot the ride to the mountains in New Zealand. Have you?"

Cora shook her head, held up her index finger, and mouthed the words, "First time!" Then she grinned like a maniac and clapped her hands. "Let's go!!" she yelled.

The sleek black bird lifted off the pad and gained altitude, tilting to the right as the pilot guided it toward Ellis Island. A pleasant voice explained the island's past as an immigrant processing and quarantine point, and Yoongi raised his eyebrows at Cora, who nodded seriously. Next they buzzed the Statue of Liberty, which felt amazingly huge from the air. "She's green. Must be bronze!" he hollered to Cora, who laughed and nodded again.

The graceful expanse of the Brooklyn Bridge made Yoongi's heart happy. 'Normally I like more modern designs, like Incheon Bridge or Olympic Bridge, but this one is so iconic. Classic design.' He made eye-contact with Cora again and grinned. The helicopter banked and flew over the heart of Manhattan Island. Yoongi felt a little thrill as he looked down on the roof of Madison Square Gardens, and wondered if Cora liked basketball. 'How have I never asked her that?' he thought, shaking his head. 'I wonder if she wants to go to the game on Sunday? But I can't sit beside her.' He sighed. 'I'll be doing ambassador work. Still, it would be nice to be in the same place...'

The helicopter took a leisurely spin around the Empire State Building, and some tourists on the observation deck waved at them as they passed. They waved back, laughing. Next, the narrator announced that they would be passing over Times Square. Yoongi looked down at it and bit his lip. 'It just looks like any busy city street from here. How strange!' He thought back to being there with the members three years previously for the Rockin' New Years Eve show. 'I miss the guys,' he thought. 'Jin-hyung texted us a couple days ago, but I haven't heard from Hoba in too long!'

As if to salt his wound, the next site on the itinerary was the United Nations Headquarters. Cora looked over and gave him a sympathetic smile, her hand on his shoulder. "You miss your bros?" she asked. He tucked his lower lip in and nodded, and she gently massaged his deltoid for a moment.

They passed above Central Park, and Cora took his hand and smiled at him. He felt a wave of love washing through him. 'We are making some good memories together, too,' he thought, letting go of her hand so he could tuck a stray wisp of her hair under her headset. She grinned and gave him an air-kiss.

More bridges, rivers, Yankee Stadium, and the world-famous amusement park on Coney Island rounded out the tour. As they carefully stepped down from the helicopter, Cora remarked, "That went by fast! Was that really 40 minutes?"

Yoongi smiled. "Yes. It was fun, wasn't it?"

"It really was!" They both turned to thank the pilot again and shake his hand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cora expected to go back to the hotel after the sky tour, but Jiwon was driving toward the Garment District instead. "Where are we going, Yoongi?" she asked, putting her hand on his forearm.

He grinned at her. "I don't know."

She scoffed. "Jiwon-shi, where are we going?"

He looked at her in the rearview mirror. "I'm sorry, I don't remember!"

She rolled her eyes. "Wow, you are a terrible liar!" she laughed, and turned her head to look at Choi Kang-Dae. "Hey, my favorite bodyguard guy... Where are we going?"

He gave her a wide smile and said, "Sorry, no English!"

"You're all liars!!" she yelled, chuckling. She glared at Yoongi in side-eye, furrowing her brow. "And you are suspect number one for organizing this conspiracy, sir!"

He did his pretend shocked and offended face. "Me? ME?! How can you?! Me?! Never!!"

Cora slapped his arm and giggled at him just as Jiwon pulled to the curb in front of Sam Ash Music. She looked at Yoongi in amazement. "Oh, D! We're at the toy store!!"

He laughed and leaned in to kiss her, then said, "Let's go!"

Jiwo stayed with the car, while Jiwon and Kang-dae accompanied them inside. Cora was glad that the two employees in the shop didn't seem to recognize Yoongi.

He sat down at a pretty Kawai piano and started to play a raucous version of DNA, smiling over at her. Cora laughed and sent him two finger hearts, then beelined for the basses. An employee sidled up to her. "Hi, I'm Jeff. Can I show you anything in particular?"

"Oh, no, I'm just browsing. You have some really nice goods here!" she said, smiling at him.

"Feel free to try them out!" he said, nodding and returning to his post behind the counter.

Cora took down a Fender jazz bass with a lovely maple fretboard, and started to play Peaches by the Stranglers, hitting the heavy bass line and also interjecting the lead guitar riffs. Yoongi looked up with a proud smile from where he was browsing midis.

Jeff's head snapped up and he watched her play, wide-eyed, then scuttled over with an amp and plugged in the Fender for her.

Cora nodded her thanks, then grinned at Yoongi and started to play the bassline from Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes. He chuckled, bobbing his head to the beat of non-existent drums, and walked back to the piano to play the vocal line melody. Jeff went over to a drum kit to play Meg's part, and they rocked the whole song together, much to the amusement of Jiwon and Kang-dae.

Jeff approached and said, "OK, so you're a real bassist, for sure. Can I show you my bassist buddy's fav?"

"Sure!" she said, hanging her first choice back up on the pegs.

He took down a cream-colored Fender with a dark red pickguard and handed it reverently to her.

Cora stroked the alderwood body, exhaling noisily. "This is the Sean Hurley custom, isn't it?" she asked, and Jeff nodded. "Custom thumb mute," she said, clicking it on. "Oh my god..." She launched into Fleetwood Mac's The Chain, playing the lead guitar intro down an octave, and the descending bassline. Yoongi walked over and watched her play, his eyes a pair of happy crescent moons. Cora stopped and grinned at him. "I'm in love again, D!" she said laughing. "This is happening a lot lately!"

He blushed and laughed at her.

Cora turned to Jeff and said, "Dare I ask the price?"

He smiled. "Best price you find on it anywhere. $4,750."

She gulped, trying not to show her dismay, and hugged the Hurley to her chest. Then she sighed and reluctantly hung it back up on the pegs, petting it one final time before turning and walking out of the custom bass area and back to the stock instruments. She didn't notice Yoongi silently signaling Jiwon, or Jiwon snapping a quick picture of the Hurley.