Prepared To Hate You

The Master

She was working in her studio when she got the email. She was to meet up with Namjoon in his studio that afternoon to work on the lyrics of one of her chosen songs. On one hand, she was very excited to get to work with him and have him work on the lyrics for her song, but on the other, she was nervous.

So nervous in fact, that she couldn't concentrate after reading the email. Realising she wasn't going to get any work done, she decided to go for a wander. She ended up in the garden. As she sat on a bench looking over Seoul, she thought about how much her life had changed.

There was one person she hadn't heard from since she joined BTS. It was the person she had to thank for her being able to keep up with BTS's choreography. The person who had taught her to dance. He may have been her mentor during the competition she took part in, but she had also hoped that they had become friends.

Deciding she needed to take the first step, she sent him a message asking how he was. She didn't expect a reply anytime soon, if at all. A part of her wondered why he hadn't contacted her since she left. She knew he must have heard from Lay or Tao about her.

She was about to leave the garden when her phone rang. When she saw the name of the caller, she panicked for a second wondering whether she should pick up and what she would say if she did.

"Hello?"

"I decided to call because I know your Chinese isn't up to texting level."

"Ha ha, that's true. Hello, how are you, is about my limit."

"How are you?"

"I'm good."

"You know you don't need to do that with me."

"Do what?"

"Pretend everything's okay when it's not."

"So, you've spoken to Lay and Tao."

"Has it gotten better?"

"I think so... They invited me over for a game night recently, asked me questions about myself. It was nice."

"I'm glad to hear they're not still icing you out. Group dynamics are important and can affect your work."

"They had a perfect group before I joined. You can't blame them for not wanting things to change."

"There's no excuse for treating someone badly. You did nothing to deserve that."

"Yes, well... In other news, two of my songs have been chosen for our album."

"What? That's great! Congratulations!"

"Thanks. I've got a meeting with Namjoon soon to work on my lyrics."

"Namjoon? The leader?"

"Yep."

"Hmm. Good. Nothing but the best for you. As long as he treats you well?"

"He's been nothing but professional."

"Professional? Sounds warm and friendly."

"Kind of like you when we first met."

"Hey!"

She smiled. Talking to him like this, it was like no time had passed.

"I should get going. We'll speak again soon?"

"Yes."

She didn't hang up straight away, holding on, hoping that he would say something else.

"I miss you."

"I miss you too, Yibo."

When it was time for her meeting with Namjoon, she knocked on his studio door. She took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves while she waited for him to open the door. She was startled when she heard the sound of things being knocked over, but then the door opened.

"Hi, um, come in."

"Are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah, I just tripped over my chair..."

He mumbled the last part, obviously not wanting her to hear about his bout of clumsiness.

They both sat down and Namjoon opened a notebook on his desk.

"I've been listening to the song and I've made some notes on improvements that could be made. I thought we could start by going through them one by one."

She gulped.

"Great."

The next few hours went nothing like she had imagined they would. Though she shouldn't have been surprised. The leader had been nothing but professional towards her so far, so why had she expected this would be any different.

She was in awe as she listened to him. As he explained his suggestions, it was like an insight into how his brain worked, to his way of making music.

He was inspiring.