Not a single word had been uttered the entire twenty minute car ride. All eight of the members either sat on their phones or closed their eyes to get some more rest. Chan-woo used this time to distract himself from his anxiety by scrolling through twitter. Although, it wasn't that helpful in the end, as his timeline had been filled with many different posts about the upcoming fanmeet. He only grew more nervous as he saw how many fans had been able to purchase tickets and were going to attend.

Crowds, especially big loud ones, had never been Chan-woo's favourite thing. It was one of the only obstacles he knew he'd have to overcome as an idol. That and his anxiety about being accepted and liked. He looked at today as kind of a test. He knew he wouldn't be up on stage in front of the fans, but, off to the side. He could still use this as an opportunity to see if he could handle the noise and size of the fans without having a full on nervous breakdown in front of them.

"Five minutes," the driver suddenly spoke as he turned the radio down slightly.

"Alright, everyone mask up," Namjoon said with a small sigh, softly patting Chan-woo's leg who sat beside him. Everyone put their phones away and grabbed their face masks - except for Chan-woo who already had his under his chin. "Listen up. It's been a while since we last attended one of these events so let's go over some basic rules."

"No spoilers," continued Namjoon as his eyes scanned over all the boys behind him. "No mention about any of our upcoming content since the company hasn't released anything yet. Not even our Japanese album. Understood?"

"Understood," Jungkook said on behalf of the rest of the group.

"Same goes for Chan-woo, do not mention anything about him. No one knows he has joined our group as a new member," said Namjoon as he sent a reassuring smile down to the youngest boy. "Not even to staff members or our makeup and wardrobe team. Understood?"

"What is he going to be doing today?" Hoseok interrupted with a frown. "You know, since we'll all be on stage."

"Just chilling," shrugged Namjoon with a smile. "He has a staff badge and will just stay off to the side. We can't interact with him while we are onstage. But, when we are backstage and away from any eyes of fans, we will be fine to interact with him."

Chan-woo saw everyone nod in acknowledgement out the corner of his eyes as he stared down at his lap. He doubted any of them except for Namjoon -and possibly Jin - would want to interact with him anyway. He was slightly surprised that Hoseok had asked about what he would be doing and it seemed like the older was genuinely curious to find out. He hadn't expected any of them to care if he was being honest with himself. Not with the way things had been between them all as of late.

"As you all know, the marketing team decided to add on a special surprise VIP package for today and tomorrow. We haven't done one of these in many years, so this is your one and only reminder to be on your best behaviour during the photo sessions," Namjoon said and gave a stern look around the van.

"Now there will probably be fans waiting for the van both when we arrive and when we leave. So Channie I need you to keep your hoodie low and face mask up while we walk to our designated room. Once we are in there, I'll tell you when it's safe to take it off," Namjoon said while at the same time he placed a reassuring hand on the younger's thigh. "Same goes for when we are about to leave for the day."

"Would you like me to go in first or last when we pull up?" asked Chan-woo quietly without looking up.

"Last. That way you can follow us around and not get lost," he smiled and looked up just as the van started to slow down and pull into a concealed driveway at the back of a large building. "Alright I hope everyone is ready."

"Yes sir," Jungkook saluted Namjoon which caused the rest - except Chan-woo who was caught up in his mind - to chuckle.

The driver of the van put the vehicle into park before he shut off the engine and got out. The second he opened the back door, the loud screams from the fans filled all their ears. Chan-woo felt his heart rate accelerate and his mouth go dry as he watched the boys exit the van one at a time. He rubbed his clammy palms on his pants before he made sure his face mask was secured over his face.

"Chan-woo? Are you okay?" Namjoon asked, still seated beside him since he had to wait for the younger to get out first.

"Hmm? Yeah. Just nervous I guess," he whispered as he adjusted his hoodie and mask one last time, threw on his backpack and forced himself to exit the van.

Namjoon was quick to follow and placed a comforting arm around the younger's shoulders. Chan-woo allowed himself to be guided into the building by the older with his head down the whole time. The fans screamed and chanted while all eight boys walked from the van to back door. Even once a staff member had securely closed the door behind them, they could still hear the faint yells from the fans outside.

"You okay?" whispered Namjoon, his arm still around Chan-woo's shoulders as the group walked through the semi-busy hallways.

"Y-Yeah," Chan-woo nodded in response.

"That's good. I know it can be a bit overwhelming at first. It's okay to be nervous or scared," he quietly reassured the younger as they rounded the corner together and followed the rest of the group into a secluded room.

"I feel okay when I'm with you all," Chan-woo confessed quietly. He looked up at Namjoon as the pair stopped just inside the room, still connected by the arm around the Chan-woo's shoulder. "I'm not good with large crowds. Kind of a big fear of mine. So today will be interesting for me."

"Oh really? I didn't know that," said Namjoon with both of his eyebrows raised.

"Well now you do. So if you see me having a silent panic attack, you'll know why," he couldn't help but chuckle while he shyly rubbed the back of his neck.

"I hope you don't," pouted Namjoon as he eventually removed his arm and walked over to a spare spot on one of the three couches in the room. "It'll be kind of hard to be there for you with us being on stage today."

"I'm sure I'll be fine, Hyung," Chan-woo nodded as he sat down next to the leader and pulled his bag off his back. He placed the bag on the floor between his legs and nervously clasped his hands together. "I'll look after myself like I always do."

"Ah Chan-woo, you got this. You do. And you can always come back here if you need some space to calm yourself," he patted the younger's thigh while he sat back comfortably on the couch.

"Thanks Joonie Hyung," whispered Chan-woo with a slight nod as he lent back too.

"By the way, you can take off your mask if you want," Namjoon mentioned after a few seconds of silence.

Chan-woo didn't hesitate and tucked the mask underneath his chin. The pair then sat in silence as they watched the rest of the members, one in fondness and one with hesitancy. The younger of the two gazed adoringly - unbeknownst to him - upon the sight that was Min Yoongi fast asleep already. The other had his head tilted back against the couch with his mouth hung open slightly. The group hadn't even been in the room for more than two minutes and yet the second eldest of them had already seemed to have settled in. It was an impressive feat to say the least.

Although he would be rather surprised if the older was actually getting any form of rest as the three that sat on the other couch were energetically bouncing off the walls. Hoseok, Jimin and Taehyung were all talking loudly and playfully shoving each other in an attempt to have more personal space on the cramped couch. Chan-woo unconsciously smiled as he watched the three of them. It briefly hurt him to see them so carefree around each other. He'd be lying if he said he didn't feel himself craving the same bond with them.

Chan-woo looked back over to the other couch to find next to the asleep Yoongi was Jin preoccupied by his phone. Judging by the look in his eyes, the eldest of the group looked rather tired. He frowned to himself as he wondered if Jin hadn't slept well the night before after they separated on the balcony. He had the slightest of bags under his eyes and it almost looked like the other could easily doze off any second by the way his blinks became longer with each second that passed.

On the other side of the quiet Jin was Jungkook. The other boy seemed completely lost in thought, staring off into space without blinking at all. Chan-woo couldn't help but remember all of the meme compilations of Jungkook whenever he did that on camera. An unconscious smile crossed his face without his knowledge. It just so happened to be the worst timing as Jungkook snapped out of his blank stare and looked over at him.

All of Chan-woo's breath left him as two intense, dark brown eyes stared back at him. His heart immediately sped up. It felt as if the rest of the room faded away until it was just Jungkook and him. He gulped nervously under the powerful gaze. He didn't need to be told, but he knew his face was beginning to glow a light red blush.

The silence between the pair continued as they simple sat and stared at one another. Chan-woo wondered what was going on in Jungkook's mind. He couldn't read him. His face and his eyes gave away nothing. He wondered if the other was annoyed by their little staring contest. Or if his mere presences as a whole annoyed Jungkook. With the other, he simply couldn't tell what he thought about him.

"If you'd like to follow me, we'll get you ready before the VIP session starts," a staff member suddenly interrupted all of the different commotion within the room.

"Yoongi-ah, time to wake up," Jin said as he reached over and shook Yoongi's shoulder.

"Don't touch me," Yoongi practically growled as his angry eyes shot open. He shrugged off the offending hand, stoop up and walked off without another word.

The others laughed at the attitude from the grumpy Yoongi as they all followed the staff member out of the room. Chan-woo didn't know whether he should get up and follow them. Would there be enough room for him in the other space while they got prepared for the day ahead? Perhaps it would be better for them all if he just stayed where he was. He really didn't want to be a bother to them.

The last person in the room to stand up was Namjoon. He looked down at Chan-woo who had been silently chewing on his bottom lip as he watched the others move. He knew exactly what the younger had been thinking, almost as if he could read his mind. A small smile graced his lips as he observed the anxious boy beside him. He couldn't help himself as he reached out and ruffled the soft hair.

"Just stay here, okay?" Namjoon said before he withdrew his hand and smiled as the attention was turned to him. "We'll only be one door down if you need anything. After we get our make-up done and changed, we'll come back here."

"Okay, Joonie Hyung," nodded Chan-woo with big eyes, anxiety swimming clearly within them.

In a matter of seconds, Chan-woo was all alone in the room. The door had been closed behind Namjoon which he was thankful for. A lot of the noise that had been made by the staff suddenly disappeared. He took a second to calm his heartrate and unclench his clenched fists. He laid back into the comfortable couch and settled in, phone in his grasp.

To distract him from his loud thoughts in the quiet room, he got on his twitter account. Of course his timeline had been flooded once more by Army's who were ecstatic about the fanmeet. Chan-woo scrolled through post after post. It all seemed to blur into one. Until, that was, he came across a photo of a very familiar scene. He gulped nervously as his brain took a second to remember how to function properly.

There, right in front of his eyes, was a photo of himself and Namjoon mid-step on their way to the back door of the building. Chan-woo's face was obviously well hidden under the mask and hoodie. Not even his hair colour could be seen from that angle. He looked at the caption of the photo and became even more nervous. 

'Namjoon spotted walking into the fanmeet with his arm around an unknown male. Who do you think it is? A family member? A friend?'

Even if Chan-woo had walked in without the physical guidance of Namjoon, the fans still would have posted about him. It's not often the members are seen walking into venues with other people outside of their staff and bodyguards. Although Chan-woo was grateful that from the angle the photo had been taken and with the cover from Namjoon's much larger body, nothing could be seen of him that could possibly give away his identity. He would have hated for someone to track him down based off of one photo.

But now came the issue of people knowing exactly what he was wearing. And soon he would be in a room with fans as they took vip photos with the boys. Obviously there was a strict 'no photo or videos' rule as they met the idols up close, but he knew just how sneaky some fans could be. Perhaps if he took off his hoodie, which definitely would stand out, he would have more chance of blending in with the rest of the staff. Thankfully he had planned ahead and brought a spare plain black jumper with him - he assumed he'd end up using it as a make shift pillow.

Chan-woo took off his hoodie without a second thought and pulled out his spare jumper from his backpack. After switching his clothes around, he settled back on the couch and continued to scroll through twitter. He went into the comment section of the post he had seen. He read through many comments speculating about him, and thankfully never saw anything that was close to guessing he was a new member. A lot of the fans just assumed he was a friend who had come to support Namjoon. And of course there were a few fans who wished it was them instead.

Chan-woo had lost count of how long he had been waiting in the private room for. He had become fully engrossed in his phone, spotting even more posts about the mysterious man next to Namjoon. With his entire attention locked on his phone, he had failed to notice the door to the room being opened as well as the person who had entered a few seconds later. It wasn't until a pair of legs entered his peripheral vision that he looked up.

"Come on my little shadow," Namjoon said as he held out his hand for Chan-woo.

"Did you just really call me that?" asked Chan-woo with wide eyes, too stunned to grab the outstretched hand, unconsciously he locked the screen to his phone.

"Yep. You've been sticking close to me today. Hence the nickname little shadow. Unless you don't like it? Then I won't call you that anymore," he said as he nervously scratched his neck with his other hand.

"No, no. It's okay. It's... Cute. I just didn't expect it," he replied as he stood up finally with help from the offered hand and pulled his mask back over his face. He quickly put his backpack on the couch so it wouldn't be a tripping hazard. "Are we going to the vip fanmeet now?"

"Yeah, some of the other's are already there. I just came to grab you on my way," Namjoon shot him a smile as he led the way out of the room.

"The stylist did a good job, Hyung," said Chan-woo as he looked over the new outfit the older had been given - tight, black, leather pants, a black sweater with a large skull as the design, and a matching black, leather jacket. He could also see that a light layer of makeup had been applied that made the other's eyes pop. Not to mention his hair had been styled and clearly a lot of product had been used.

"Ah, thank you Channie-ah!" beamed Namjoon. "I see you also had a wardrobe change."

Chan-woo looked down at his plain black jumper before he looked back over to Namjoon with a slight smile on his face. He didn't know if the other was aware of the reason behind why he had changed. Perhaps he should explain. It would be good if they were kept in the loop, especially with something as important as that.

"Well, you see, uh there are already photos circling social media," he scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Not that you can see my face in them. But I thought that if a fan was to somehow spot me backstage or in the vip, and if I had my mask off, things wouldn't end well. That hoodie stood out a lot, you know? So I changed it."

"Wow, already thinking smart. You're going to make my job as a leader very simple," he chuckled as he patted the younger's shoulder before he led them into a large room. "Honestly, Channie, good thinking. Luckily you checked your twitter and saw that before your face could be leaked."

"Huh?" interrupted Yoongi as he walked over. "Why are you talking about his face being leaked?"

Two confused eyes roamed Chan-woo's face which caused him to look at the ground. It wasn't the intensity in the pair of eyes that had made him turn away, it was the fact of who said eyes belonged to. Chan-woo couldn't even remember the last time Yoongi had been this close to him, let alone the last time his attention had been on him. He felt his throat close up from the nervousness that overtook him.

"Oh," said Namjoon but didn't speak any further. He had seen the panic in the younger's eyes and reached over to try soothe him. Although he was conscious of who was in the room, but he really wanted to comfort Chan-woo. So he settled for a simple touch on the shoulder that wouldn't rouse too much suspicion. "Well, Chan-woo saw his photo circling on twitter already. And if he didn't have his mask on backstage and if people recognised the same hoodie, it could have easily led to a photo of his face being leaked."

"Oh," replied Yoongi with a frown.

"It's okay though. He had the smart thought to change his clothes," proudly explained Namjoon, briefly squeezing his shoulder.

"That's good," Yoongi said quietly. There was a brief pause between the trio, definitely filled with a mixture of awkwardness and hesitancy. "Uh, well good job, Channie-ah."

"Thanks," whispered Chan-woo as he nodded his head which was still faced towards the ground.

A few seconds passed before the eldest of the three walked away. Chan-woo released a small puff of air he hadn't realised he had been holding in. A small chuckle from beside him made him look up. Namjoon looked down at him with dimples on full display once more. An amused twinkle were brightly glistening in his eyes. He squeezed Chan-woo's shoulder once more before he led the younger over to an empty chair that had been setup near a table full of small snacks and water bottles.

"Here, you can stay here while we are busy," said Namjoon as he lightly pushed the younger to sit. "I doubt we will get any time in between this and the start of the fanmeet to talk. But you know where the room is if you need a break. And only if it's an emergency should you come and get me, okay? I'll have my phone on me but it'll most likely stay in my pocket the whole time."

"Yes Hyung," Chan-woo nodded his head in understanding.

"If I was you, I'd use this time to observe how everything works. Because soon this will be you," he lowered his voice to ensure no staff overheard their conversation before he winked and walked away.

The last thing they needed was for any staff to breach the privacy form they had signed and leak any spoilers to the fans. It was more likely to occur than one would think. And that had been exactly why Chan-woo had the idea to switch clothes. As he sat and silently observed, he couldn't help the pride that filled him when he thought back on the praises from both Namjoon and Yoongi. It felt nice to know he had already started to do a good job. He swore he'd do anything in his powers to be able to hear more praise from the others. It would be a nice change.

All seven boys had gathered in a single line in front of a black backdrop after a staff member had ordered them to. They adjusted their hair and clothing as they patiently awaited for the first of the vip's to filter through. Chan-woo smiled as he sat and watched them, slightly taken aback that this was his life and what he was seeing was indeed real. His moment of self-reflection was broken as a female staff member came to stop in front of where he sat.

"Why aren't you doing any work? Huh? Who told you that you could have a break?" the female staff member said distractedly as she fiddled with the settings of the camera that was in her grasp.

"Oh," said Chan-woo with a nervous gulp. "I'm not meant to be doing any work. I'm not staff like you are."

"Ah. Wait are you the kid PD-nim warned me about?" she said as she finally looked up and studied what she could of his face.

"Possibly? I don't know what he said," he was very apprehensive about admitting who he was, in case it was to someone who wasn't meant to know.

"Chan-woo? Right?" she asked and then lowered her voice. "You're the new trainee at the company."

Ah. A trainee. So she doesn't know he is the new member of BTS. Interesting. Obviously Bang PD-nim only gave her the most vital information, keeping as much under wraps as he could. He looked at her with less apprehension, his shoulders subconsciously relaxing.

"Yeah, that's me," he nodded his head with a shy smile that reached his eyes in the most adorable way.

"I'm Momo, the head of staff for this event. It's nice to meet you. I'm also the only one that knows about your presence. He trusted me to keep an eye out for you. Did no one tell you to come find me sooner?" asked Momo with a small tilt of her head.

It made sense that he only told one person. If more people knew, then the risk of information leaking out about him would be greater since all of the staff - outside of the makeup artists and wardrobe department - were hired externally. Even though he knew they all signed a NDA and had rules they needed to follow, that wouldn't stop someone from leaking such secretive details about his debut. But no one had told him about finding Momo at the event. He wondered if he had missed a text from Band PD-nim or something.

"Uh, no. No one told me about you, I'm sorry," Chan-woo stood up from his seat and bowed to the female staff member.

"That's okay," she smiled kindly and bowed slightly back at him before she looked back down at the camera. "PD-nim wanted me to-."

"Everything okay?" interrupted Namjoon as he suddenly appeared out of thin air.

"Yes Hyung. Out of curiosity, were you meant to tell me about going to find the head of staff once I had arrived?" Chan-woo asked with a soft smile.

"Oh yes! I was. What was her name? Uh, I think it was Momo," Namjoon scratched the back of his neck as he thought hard before he turned to the staff member - who just so happened to be Momo unbeknownst to him. "Do you know her?"

"I am she," Momo said with a bright smile. "Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on him backstage."

"Thank you," bowed Namjoon. "Sorry I completely forgot to let Chan-woo know about meeting you."

"It's okay," she dismissed and turned her attention back to her camera. "Back in line you get. We start in a minute."

"Bye, Channie-ah!" waved Namjoon as he walked back over to his spot and held a thumbs up to Hoseok who was beside him.

Chan-woo frowned as Hoseok nodded at Namjoon and seemed to flash a relieved smile his way. He looked down at his shoes after he sat back down on the chair. Had Hoseok noticed Momo talking with him and sent Namjoon over to check on him? His heart skipped a beat at the thoughtfulness in the action. But he didn't want to overthink it and read into something that potentially wasn't even true.

"As I was saying, PD-nim wanted me to keep you close by. You can just follow me around. For now, my job is to take photos for this part of the event. After that I'll just be floating around for the rest of the day making sure everything is running smoothly. But right now, just stay here, okay?" said Momo without taking her eyes off of the camera.

"Yes noona," nodded Chan-woo.

"Alright, I will come get you soon," she nodded more to herself as she walked to the tripod, that had already been setup, and attached the camera to it.

Not even half a minute later, the first of the fans arrived. Barely contained squeals and excited whispers amongst the group of girls filled the room. Chan-woo cringed internally. Was this what he had to look forward to? Maybe not straight away but eventually he would have to deal with the fans up close. He wondered what the reaction of fans would be like. Would he receive the same excitement straight away? Would he be met with some negativity but mostly positive support? Would he only have negative reactions? Would he have fans lining up to get his autograph too?

It gave him anxiety as he watched the boys interact with the girls briefly before they posed for the camera. He watched the girls barely able to contain themselves near the idols, almost combusting with joy, before they were instructed by Momo to collect any food or drinks they wanted and proceed to the main area of the venue. He could see the looks in their eyes and that had him wondering. If he hadn't been introduced to BTS the way that he had, how would he have reacted? How would he have behaved if angry eyes weren't directed at him? Probably the same as these fangirls but on a much tamer level.

He sat on the chair and watched the boys as they bowed each time a person or a small cluster of people walked towards them. He watched those kind smiles stay on their faces the whole time. He watched the boys and was in utter awe at their professionalism during the entire ordeal. Their soft nature on full display for the fans. If only they knew that it wasn't all true. If only they knew their idols had a cold side to them. If only they knew how cruel they could act.

Chan-woo adverted his eyes from the group. Instead, he looked at his hands in his lap. He tried his hardest to divert his attention from those negative thoughts. He knew he'd get stuck in a loop if he allowed them to continue. The last thing he wanted was to jeopardise his relationship with Namjoon or any of the others that may be warming up to him. But at the same time, he couldn't help but suddenly be reminded of how terribly he had been treated the last few weeks.

Thankfully he was pulled out of his thoughts, before they could go down a dark path, by the ending of the VIP event. The boys were ushered back into the makeup and wardrobe room for touch-ups before they were to go on stage. Chan-woo watched as Momo packed up the camera and tripod she had been using. He briefly thought about offering her a hand but decided he didn't want to accidentally damage anything. So he waited patiently like he had been instructed.

"Ready?" Momo asked as she came over to him.

"Ready," replied Chan-woo with a nod of his head.

The pair walked out of the room and Momo led the way to the right side of the stage. Chan-woo slowly approached the curtains that hid him from view. He peaked around slightly to look out at the crowd. He gulped as his eyes wandered over hundreds of people excitedly talking amongst themselves. A wave of anxiety hit him and he backed away immediately. He took a deep breath and reminded himself that he was okay, that he was safe, that he wasn't going anywhere near them.

Chan-woo turned around to find Momo had pulled two chairs from nearby and set them up so she could have a clear view of the stage where the boys would be seated. She silently motioned for him to sit down beside her as she pulled out a clipboard and pen from her bag. Chan-woo complied with the demand and quietly watched her flip through some pages, occasionally scribbling things down, and wondered how long until the main event would begin.

Just as he thought that, he saw the boys round the corner and head towards the stage. The only members to acknowledge his presence as they walked passed were Namjoon and Jin. Both of them smiled at him. Although Namjoon diverted from the line quickly to tussle his hair, a cheeky smile on his face and his eyes twinkled from mischief. Chan-woo couldn't help the wide smile he gave back. He tried to tame his hair once Namjoon had continued to walk away. He appreciated the small gesture, knowing it was full of support and fondness. He wished he could embrace Namjoon instead but he'd settle for the small touch for now.

The second the boys had stepped on stage, the room full of fans erupted in screams. Chan-woo flinched slightly but took control of his reflexes. He nervously played with his hands as he listened to the noise. From where he sat, he could see most of the stage, and therefore, he could see most of the boys. A small smile crept up on his face as he watched them introduce themselves to the screaming crowd.

He watched with fond eyes as the boys interacted on stage, talking, laughing, singing a couple of songs. Chan-woo couldn't help the tiny laugh that would leave him as they joked around. He hoped that he'd be able to easily display his personality without getting stage fright. He hoped he'd be able to interact with the boys as naturally as he could, despite any tension in their relationships currently. At least he knew he had Namjoon and Jin who didn't absolutely hate him, so that would make things easier.

After a while, the seven of them were seated behind the table and the fans were allowed to slowly trickle their way along to meet their idols. Chan-woo's eyes almost bugged out of his head at the countless gifts they were receiving. Staff members were situated behind them to take the gifts and place them into boxes labelled with each person's name. There was toys, stuffed animals, cards, small pieces of jewellery, headbands, homemade items. It was endless.

"Unnie," a female staff member walked off stage and over to the pair, sweat built up on her forehead, making it shine. "Do you have an extra set of hands from a different department? We really need the help packing everything away. There's way more than there was last time."

"Would you like to help?" asked Momo as she turned to the silent Chan-woo.

"Huh? Who me?" nervously asked Chan-woo, already feeling his hands sweat.

"Yeah you," chuckled Momo with a kind smile.

"What?" he whispered with wide eyes. "Uh. I don't know."

"Hey, you don't have to," Momo turned to him with a frown on her face, taking in the nervous expression. "I can easily find someone else to help out."

Chan-woo looked between Momo and the staff member. Could he do it? Could he face his fears today? It's not like he would be interacting with the crowd. He'd simply be behind the table with no one paying attention to him. No one would notice him. No one would care for him. He saw it as an opportunity to try to face his fear of loud, crowded places before he was eventually thrown into the deep end. His eyes flickered out towards the stage again. He took a deep breath in. He could do it. He would do it.

"What do I do?" he asked in a small voice as he stood up, adjusting his mask one more time.

"After the boys have placed the gifts to their left side, that's your signal to take it and place it in their designated box," said Momo with a smile. "If they put it down on the floor, just leave it for now. That's really all there is to it. Very simple."

Chan-woo nodded his head before he followed the waiting female staff out onto the back of the stage. He felt his stomach in his throat and his heartbeat over take his hearing for a few seconds as his eyes scanned the room before him. Being behind a curtain sure was different from being on the stage. Even though he knew no one was paying any attention to him, he could still feel his nerves take over. He reminded himself that he could do this.

Looking at the other four staff on the stage, all spread out in a line behind the boys, he noticed their eyes were trained on the table. They were clearly waiting to take any gifts placed to the left. Chan-woo ended up behind the space near Namjoon and Jimin. The pair were at the end of the table that were closest to backstage. He guessed he'd help them out. Just as he made up his mind, Namjoon had placed a stuffed animal to the left of him. Taking a hesitant step forward, Chan-woo reached forward and grabbed the koala bear.

"What are you doing up here, hmm?" amusedly asked Namjoon in a hushed tone.

"Helping out?" Chan-woo replied as he took the toy and moved away just as the next fan came up to Namjoon.

Chan-woo placed the stuffed animal in the box behind him labbled with Namjoon's name. His eyes managed to catch sight of Momo observing him. She held a thumbs up to him and gave him an encouraging smile. He gave a small nod back, partly to her, and partly to himself. His brown eyes wandered the large crowd that all stared up at the seven boys. See, he could do it. He would do it. He was immensely proud of himself as he crouched down and patiently waited to take anything else from Jimin or Namjoon.

"You're okay though?" Namjoon asked quietly at the first opportunity he had in between fans moving along the table.

"Yeah," Chan-woo nodded, talking equally as quiet from where he was squatting down behind the pair. "Honestly I'm doing much better than I thought I would be. I'm just taking deep breaths and reminding myself I'm safe."

"I'm proud of you," whispered Namjoon with a wide smile as he turned back just in time as the next young lady appeared in front of him.

Butterflies swarm Chan-woo's stomach at the compliment. Namjoon's words kept him grounded and encouraged him to continue. He adjusted his mask out of habit as he patiently waited. He realised his heart rate had returned to a semi-normal level. He could gradually feel his anxieties lowering. If he could do this, then he was sure he could be in the main spotlight on stage eventually. All it took was a few minutes of adjusting for him to get used to the new environment.

Moments later, Jimin placed a handmade card to his left, breaking him out of his thoughts. Taking the cue, Chan-woo moved forward to grab the item. As he reached for it, Jimin turned his head to look up at him. Chan-woo froze for a second as he looked down at the other. He looked deep into the brown eyes that stared back at him. That was until he realised they were in front of all the fans with many cameras pointed at them. He went to move away but froze again as he felt Jimin pat his shoulder gently.

"Thanks," Jimin whispered and gave him a small smile.

"It's okay," Chan-woo nodded as he fought to keep the blush off of his face. Oh how he hoped no one would post about their interaction online.