【 Jungkook 】

Near instantly upon having arrived outside of the venue, you and your team were greeted by the somewhat surprising amount of media outlets and camera flashes present— all there to enthusiastically cover the annual event and all its participants this year; surely in the hopes of not only reporting on the exciting news within the community, but also whatever interesting inside scoop there potentially could be amongst the artists behind these immensely popular webcomics

So you made a mental note to yourself to watch your words extra carefully tonight, especially during the creator interview later on— but also the fan signing; knowing the media obviously would be on the lookout for the next trending topic tonight, which naturally meant an innocent slip of the tongue or simple miscommunication potentially could snowball into utter chaos far too fast

Nonetheless, you decided to not let the media's current high alert add too much to your already existing nerves about today, and instead let a warm smile paint your lips as the five of you walked down the red carpet together; happily greeting the big crowds of fans there to support their favorite artists whilst slowly making your way up to the very ''end'' of the red carpet where you and your team members lined up next to each other, posing in front of the backdrop whilst the endless camera flashes continued on for a bit longer

Once you finally got your creator badges and made it into the private venue space which was closed off from the fans, you finally let out a small breath of relief; enjoying the moment of peace as you never truly enjoyed being in front of the camera. And so you and your friends grabbed yourselves a glass of champagne from the table before looking around curiously— immediately being able to recognize many of the creators present inside that room, the majority of which have been at the very top of popularity for many years now; earning a soft and star-struck ''Woah...'' which escaped past your lips

Though the star-struck feeling was soon replaced by a sense of discomfort and hesitancy as it instead got overpowered by the inevitable sense of feeling entirely out of place when compared to them, making you question whether you truly deserved to be there as you watched them happily chat with each other from afar— which didn't seem to go unnoticed by your attentive friends who gave your shoulder a gentle nudge

Yoongi: You okay there Gguks?

You nodded slowly whilst flashing them a reassuring smile; taking another small sip out of your champagne glass before glancing over towards the buffet table— letting a breathy giggle escape past your lips as you nodded towards it

Jungkook: Mhm I'm peachy— you guys haven't eaten anything for a good while now, right? Go grab yourselves something from the buffet, I'm sure they have some delicious options you'll all like!

Hoseok: Honestly food sounds really good right now, I'm starting to get pretty hungry— won't you join us Gguk?

A warm smile painted your lips as you shook your head slowly, letting out a soft yet convincing''Maybe a bit later, I'll be just here for now'' before giving them all an encouraging and gentle push towards the direction of the buffet; a soft sigh escaping past your lips once they finally complied and walked off— you then walked over to one of the empty tables close by, swirling the alcohol in your glass lightly before stealing another hesitant glance over towards the other creators currently catching up with each other

However, a confused frown painted your expression as you suddenly noticed how Taehyung silently had remained by your side, taking a small sip out of his drink whilst calmly leaning against the table the two of you were standing at

Jungkook: Oh, didn't you want anything from the buffet Taehyung-sshi?

He shook his head before looking down into your eyes, letting a brief silence surround you both whilst flashing you a knowing look— evidently having been able to read you like an open book yet again as he tilted his head curiously before speaking up

Taehyung: Aren't you going to go say hi to them?

You timidly rubbed the back of your nape whilst automatically breaking the eye contact between you both— instead letting your gaze slowly trail back over to the group of creators whom were enjoying each other's company a bit further away from your table

Jungkook: N-no I uhm... I think I'm better off over here hyung

The older clearly didn't seem to buy it as he carefully scooted closer to you, nudging your shoulder gently as he kept looking down at you through such a genuinely caring gaze

Taehyung: Come on Gguk, what's the real reason?

A hum left your lips as you shrugged lightly, completely unaware of the subtle pout lingering on your lips— though as the older briefly placed his index finger under your chin to make you look back up at him, you finally gave in as you sighed softly

Jungkook: Okay fine... I just don't feel like I deserve to be here, especially in comparison to everyone else— don't get me wrong, I'm aware I too have made achievements which I never could've even dared to dream of, though even so, I still can't help but feel a bit insecure— l-like I'm not good enough?

The corners of his lips slowly lifted into a gentle smile as he nodded understandingly, giving your head a gentle pat which earned a soft giggle out of you; nose scrunching up slightly at the cute and mildly playful gesture

Taehyung: So you haven't been able to gather the courage to approach them, because you don't think you'll fit in— is that it?

You nodded slowly in confirmation to this spot-on guess, following it up by mumbling out a faint ''They all seem to be getting along so well, I'm just afraid I'll ruin it somehow if I suddenly interrupt them''— though before you knew it, the older had suddenly grabbed ahold of your wrist before carefully beginning to walk with you towards them; instantly making your doe eyes widen slightly in surprise

Jungkook: W-wait hyung what are you—

He briefly stopped in his tracks and turned towards you, the warm smile painting his lips never diminishing as he gave you a reassuring nod whilst speaking in a calm yet factual manner

Taehyung: Jungkook-ah listen to me, I've seen just how much hard work and effort you put into everything you make, there's no doubt in my mind that you deserve to be here just as much as they do, and no one should tell you otherwise either. I'll be right by your side, so let's make an honest attempt in approaching them first— whatever happens from there on is up to them, and we can walk away whenever you want to if so needed.

A brief and hesitant silence lingered between you both as you carefully let his words of encouragement process; eventually giving the older a small nod of approval before the two of you resumed your walk up to the mentioned group of fellow webcomic artists— their chatter slowly toning down when they noticed your presence, curiously eyeing you whilst you respectfully bowed lightly to greet them; pushing aside your nervousness as you spoke softly

Jungkook: H-hi, apologies for my sudden interruption but I don't think I've formally introduced myself to any of you yet— my name is Jeon Jungkook and this is my assistant Kim Taehyung, it's a pleasure to meet you all

To your surprise, near immediately upon having said your name, their eyes immediately began to brighten up whilst enthusiastically greeting you as well— even managing to pleasantly surprise you as it turned out they all knew about your work as well, even having read your work which was a mind-blowing discovery on its own; especially considering many of them were practically your role models in this field.

The conversation ended up flowing smoothly from there on forward, and at some point, you all even ended up exchanging contact information with the promise of meeting up and grabbing a drink together sometime again in the future. So it was safe to say that the nervousness you had felt earlier was long forgotten by now— and instead, you got to enjoy the company of your newfound friends

˜"°•.˜"°• - •°"˜.•°"˜