"Can I hang out with Iris?" Nari asked the tall boy laying beside her on the bed, "Please? They're the only friend my age that I've ever had and I really really want to see them again."

"Hm? Iris?" Namjoon replied and looked up from his phone, "You mean the kid from yesterday at the skating rink? I don't know, darling. I don't want you going out with someone that we barely know, especially since we have a concert tonight."

"Please?" The girl begged, using the voice that she knew was irresistible to the boys, "I didn't get to talk to them at the interview this morning even though they were standing at the barrier. We're only going to be in New York for three more days and then I'll never be able to see them again."

Suga spoke up from the other side of the room, "You should let them, Joon. Iris can come to the hotel and hang out with us for a while so that way they can see eachother and you won't have to worry."

"Yeah! That's a great idea!" Nari responded excitedly, "Come on Namjoon, please? We'll be good! I promise!"

"I guess that's okay," Namjoon tentatively agreed, "But they can only stay for 2 hours. Ask Iris for their address and I'll have security pick them up and bring them here."

She grinned widely and wrapped him in a quick hug, "I love you!"

"I love you more," The boy replied with a chuckle, "You know, we were getting on Tae earlier for spoiling you, but now that I think about it, I'm not better at all. You really do have all of us wrapped around your finger." He placed a loving kiss on her head, "Not that I'm complaining, though. You deserve it all and nothing less."

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Nari paced restlessly in the hotel room, filled with a mixture of anxiety and pure euphoria. She barely had time to say hi after the interview in the morning but spent all her spare time engaged in twitter DMs. In just a short amount of time Nari learned so much; from their favorite color (green), to their biggest fear (drowning), and and everything inbetween. She had never felt so happy to get to know someone. Iris's bright smile replayed over and over in the girl's mind and Nari decided then and there that she would do anything to see it.

A short knock sounded and the door to the hotel room opened to reveal just the person that she was hoping to see. Iris smiled, "Hey Nari!"

"Hi!" Like always, her cheeks flushed bright red. They looked just as cute as before with their pastel hair and colorful beaded bracelets.

"Welcome!" Namjoon greeted them, "It's good to see you again, Iris."

Suga waved from the other bed, "Hi!"

"Hello Yoongi," Iris replied and waved back. They looked to Nari, "Oh, I hope you guys don't mind, I made some kandi for you."

The girl spoke slowly, unsure of what the word meant, "Kan-di? Like the food candy?"

"No, no, not like the food," Iris laughed, "Kandi, they're beaded bracelets like the ones that I have on. My sister is really into the punk and rave scene around here so we make them to trade at events. Here, I'll show you." They held up a peace sign, "Just do what I do, okay?"

Nari did as she was told and Iris touched the tips of their finger's to hers, making her heart skip a beat.

"Peace."

They made their hand into a heart, prompting her to do the same.

"Love."

Iris intertwined their fingers with Nari's, the final step.

"Unity."

They used their other hand to pull a lavender bracelet off their wrist and slip it on to Nari's before letting go.

"There we go!" Iris said proudly, "Your first kandi."

Nari smiled shyly, "Thank you."

"Dude, that's cool as hell!" Suga exclaimed and bounced off the bed in the hotel room, "Can I try?"

"Yeah, of course!" Iris cheerfully replied and went through the same motions, gifting him a shiny white and silver bracelet, "Peace, love, unity."

Namjoon playfully pushed the older boy aside, eagerly holding up a peace sign, "My turn! I want one!"

Iris laughed and connected their fingers, "Ready, Namjoon?"

He nodded seriously, "Yes."

"Peace." Iris began.

"Peace." Namjoon repeated.

"Love."

"Love."

"Unity."

"Unity."

Namjoon smiled widely as he admired the new black and violet bracelet, "This is so cool! Awe, look, there's even little moon beads. Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome," Iris replied, "I have some for the other members too, is it okay if I give them out?"

"That would be great, actually," Suga answered, "Nari, do you want to show them around?"

The girl nodded, "Yeah, I can do that." She opened the door, "Let's go!"

Suga chuckled as the two kids scampered out into the hallway, "They're so cute."

"I know, right?" Namjoon agreed, "I'm glad that Nari has a friend. Did you see her face though? I don't think I've ever seen her blush that hard."

"Hm? I didn't notice."

The older boy shook his head, "Suga, why do I have the feeling that you know something that I don't?"

Meanwhile, Nari and Iris stopped in front of J-Hope and Jimin's room. She knocked on the door.

"Nari-bun!" The energetic boy greeted her with a smile, "What's up? Do you need something?" He noticed the taller person by her side and spoke in English, "Oh, hi! Who's your friend?"

"This is Iris. I met them yesterday," Nari introduced them, "They're really nice and they brought gifts for us." She held up J-Hope's hand, "Here, make a peace sign."

The boy was a little confused, but did as he was told and Iris gently connected their fingers, "Peace."

"Now make a heart." She instructed.

"Love." Iris completed the heart and then combined their hands as they pulled a green and yellow bracelet on to the boy's wrist, "Unity."

J-Hope smiled widely, "Thank you, Iris. It says Hope World on it! I love it so much!" He shouted over his shoulder, "Jimin! Come here!"

"What do you want?" The younger boy yelled back as he came to the door, his voice softening when he saw the two kids, "Hey there. What's up, sweetheart? Who's this?"

"That's Iris. They're Nari's friend and they have a gift for you. Make a peace sign." J-Hope said as they shyly waved.

Jimin shrugged and complied. Iris swiftly went through the motions and gave him a light blue bracelet. He grinned and gave them a loving hug, "Thank you! I love it!"

Nari peeked into the room, "Are the rest of the boys here too?"

"I think they're at the gym," J-Hope replied, "At least, that's what I last heard. Do you have more presents to give?"

"Uh huh. Thanks Hobi!" The kids continued down the hallway, stopping in front of the elevator.

Iris spoke up as they pressed the down button, "Thank you for letting me come, Nari. This has legit been the best day of my life."

"You're welcome," Nari answered and stepped into the elevator, prompting them to follow, "Thank you for hanging out with me. I've never really had friends before."

"Really?" Iris ran a self conscious hand through their short hair, "You're so cool though! I love talking to you, and you're cute as hell."

Her face flushed bright red once again, "Not as cute as you."

"Suga said this morning that you're the sweetest person he knows," They started and flashed Nari a confident smile, "and I think that he's right. You're sweet, Nari. Like candy."

The elevator doors opened and the girl felt a burst of courage as she took Iris's hand. The touch of their skin made her senses tingle in the best possible way. She led them around the corner and into the gym where three familiar figures sat lifting hand weights. Taehyung saw them through the glass and stuck his tongue out as he playfully winked, making the two kids giggle.

"Hi Tae!" Nari opened the door with Iris following behind her.

"Hello there princess!" The boy scooped her up into his arms, "I didn't think I'd see you here, you hate exercise."

Nari laughed and wriggled out of his grasp, "I'm not here to work out. I brought my friend from the skating rink. They have something for you. Make a peace sign!"

"Okay!" Taehyung eagerly agreed and smiled as Iris connected their fingers, "Hi! I remember you! Iris, right?"

They nodded, "Uh huh. Iris. This is peace. Now, Tae, make a heart for love."

Taehyung followed their instructions and drew an excited breath when their hands connected for unity. His eyes lit up like a city skyline when Iris gave him his deep purple bracelet as the final step. He wrapped them in a hug, "Thank you thank you thank you! This is so cool!"

"Hey! What's going on?" Jungkook popped up from behind them, "Hi, little Nari! Who's this?"

Before long, Iris gave bracelets to the final two members. Jin gratefully embraced them after admiring his pink gift, "Thank you, Iris. You're very creative."

"Yeah! Thanks so much!" The youngest boy waved, "You even used all my favorite colors: Red, black, and white."

Iris beamed with pride, "You're welcome. By the way, Jungkook, I love your tattoos. I have one too." They pulled up their sleeve to reveal a simple black and white flower, an iris.

"It looks so good!" Jungkook exclaimed and then a puzzled look came across his face, "Wait, how old are you?"

"14."

His eyes widened, "I didn't know that you were allowed to get tattoos that young here."

"Um, that's the thing," Iris started sheepishly, "you're not. It's a stick and poke. I did it a couple months ago."

Jin playfully covered the younger girl's ears, "Don't tell Nari that. She'll be giving herself homeade tattoos before we even know it."

"I will not!" Nari smiled along with the rest of the boys while she pulled his hands away, "I want Jungkook to do my first tattoo. He said he'd draw a lily for me."

"Sorry, let me rephrase that then," Jin corrected himself, "Jungkook will be giving Nari homeade tattoos before we even know it."

Taehyung shook his head, "Namjoon would kill us if he knew we were even having this conversation."

Nari laughed and leaned against the older boy comfortably as Jin wrapped his arms around her shoulders. An idea suddenly flashed through her mind. She looked up to him, "Can I dye my hair?"

"Yeah, of course," The oldest boy replied, "Do you want to do it now? We can cut it too, I know you said you wanted short hair earlier today."

"Whoa, you can't do it now!" Jungkook exclaimed, "We have a concert tonight! Besides, Namjoon would beat you up."

Jin shrugged, "I don't care what he says. We've got 4 hours before we have to go to the venue, that's enough time."

"My sister is studying cosmetology. I'm sure she'd be willing to help you out," Iris offered, "She's only a few blocks away, actually, and she does my hair all the time."

"I'll keep Namjoon from asking questions for a couple hours," Taehyung said and gave the girl one last pat on the head, "Do what makes you happy, princess."

And with that, Nari, Jin, and Iris headed out the front door of the hotel and followed the teenager with lavender hair to their next destination. Nari shivered with anticipation. Today was the start of something new. She wasn't exactly sure where the path lead to, but she was more than ready to experience all it had to offer.

Finally, the group stopped in front of a simple one story house. "Hey! Nikki!" Iris called as they slammed open the screen door, "Come meet my new friend!"

A tall girl with a bright blue mullet, tattoos, multiple piercings, and oversized t-shirt entered the room, grumpily letting out a yawn, "What is it, Iris?" She noticed two new people in her living room, "Oh, uh, hello?"

"Nikki, these are my friends Nari and Jin." Iris said.

"Hi!" Jin introduced himself, "It's nice to meet you."

"I'm Nari," The girl waved shyly, "I like your lip ring."

Nikki smiled brightly, "Thanks!" She looked to Iris, "So, I assume she's here to get her hair done?"

Iris nodded sheepishly, "Yeah. Don't worry, I'll pay."

"Can you do a short haircut and dye it too?" The oldest boy asked hopefully, "Within the next four hours, maybe?"

"Yeah, I can do that." The older girl placed a hand on Nari's shoulder and studied her face intensly, "Alright. I think I've got it. Come to the bathroom and I'll get you started."

Nari shyly followed her into the back of the house, making sure to take notice of her surroundings. Posters for bands she'd never heard of covered the walls, along with artwork too. Some of it was intricately made, some of it was messy, and some didn't make any sense at all, but the girl could feel the heart and hard work that went into every single one of them.

"You can sit here." Nikki gestured towards a metal folding chair positioned in front of the stained bathroom sink, "Sorry about the mess." She put a towel around the girl's neck and pulled out a kit of what looked like hair cutting tools, "So, how do you know Iris?"

"We met yesterday," Nari answered and closed her eyes as the older girl began to work, "at the ice skating place. They're really nice and they made me kandi."

"Yeah?" She laughed, "Iris always was good at making friends. You're not from around here though, are you?"

The girl shook her head, "Nope. I'm from South Korea and Jin is too. He's in a band and they're going to do some concerts."

"BTS! That's it!" Nikki exclaimed, "I knew that you guys looked familiar. That's hella cool, I'm in a band too. We're not big though, we just do local shows here and there."

"What kind of music do you play?"

"Hm, well, it's a little hard to explain, but I think of it as feminist garage punk with a little bit of EDM and thrash metal thrown in there," She noticed the blank expression on the girl's face in the cracked mirror, "You don't know what any of those words mean, do you?"

Nari could feel her face turning red, "No, sorry. I'm not very good at english."

"It's alright," Nikki assured her, "Here, we can listen to some if you want." She picked up her phone and turned the volume all the way up as music unlike any other pumped out of the speakers. Nari couldn't understand a single word, but somehow it all made sense. The rough vocals, steady hum of the bass, and catchy guitar riffs touched a place deep in her heart that not even the boys's music could reach.

"I love it!" She answered excitedly, "You're really good!"

"You think so?" The older girl smiled, "Thank you, Nari. I'll send you home with a couple CDs, if that's okay with you." She carefully snipped away a piece of dark hair, "Oh, also, I have a question: What is the punk scene like in Korea? Does it even exist?"

"Punk scene?" The girl asked slowly, sounding out the unfamiliar words, "What does it mean, punk?"

"Well, that's the thing," Nikki answered, "There isn't a set definition of punk. It's more of a feeling or a collection of ideas. Being punk is about being yourself when the whole world is trying to fit you into a mold that they've already prepared, it's about standing up for people who have been silenced and showing that you won't take any more shit from a society that refuses to think critically about the attitudes it has created."

"What do I do to be punk?"

Nikki paused, "The most punk thing you can do is be yourself when everyone else is telling you not to. Take that power back from the people that hurt you and focus on living your life the way you want. Love yourself and help others, that's all you need to be punk."

"Love yourself and help others," Nari repeated as pieces of dark hair fell from her shoulders, "Is that it? Is that really all you need?"

"Yeah, that's it!" The older girl laughed, "Don't listen to anyone who tries to tell you different. Like I said, punk is a state of mind. The clothing and music are just optional." She stepped back, "Alright, your haircut is done. How does that look?"

Nari couldn't help but grin as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. She barely recognized her appearance, but the girl could feel her heart crying out in joy. The pixie cut gently framed her face in all the right ways.

I feel closer, She realized, Closer to the person that I want to be. I want to love myself and help others. I want to be punk.

"Alright, what color dye do you want?" Nikki asked. Nari smiled. There could be only one answer.

"Purple."

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kandi is pronounced "can-dee" like the food, which was why she was a little confused at first haha. they're super common in the scene and punk subcultures