"Run, run, run again. it's okay to fall. Run, run. Run, again, it's okay to get hurt. I'm alright, even if I can't have you. Pitiful destiny, point your finger at me."

0:00 |───────── 3:56

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"OK, I think we're all done now, right? Does anyone need more takes?" Yoongi asked after Jungkook exited the booth. He looked to the producer, who gave the affirmative that they were all good to go.

"I personally think we were fantastic today." Rein said, smiling.

Jimin and Hoseok put an arm around her shoulder, putting her in the middle. She felt uncomfortable at the sudden affectionate gesture at first but eased into it as she remembered the cultural difference.

"We should take the rest of the day off. You know, to celebrate a new song. Well, almost a song," Hoseok said. Rein laughed.

"Man, I wish. Unfortunately, the rappers need to do their verses a-"

"It's already 2:30 though..." Hoseok said with a disappointed expression.

"I... um... " Rein looked at Yoongi and Namjoon, who were in a deep discussion about something she couldn't hear. She poked Namjoon's shoulder, and he turned around, irritated, but softened his expression when he realized it wasn't one of the boys.

"The guys want to rest early and wanted me to come with them, but I don't think I have that authority to let them go..." He did a shooing motion with his hand.

"I didn't expect them to stick around for the whole thing anyway. Hoseok, you sure you want to take off early now? You'll just have more work to do tomorrow," he said. If Rein didn't know any better, she would have thought he had a look on his face that said he already knew the answer to that question. Hoseok seemed to consider this prospect for a while, then shrugged.

"What the hell. You only live once, right?" He looked to Rein, then laughed.

"No skin off my back," she said, then bit her lip. She suddenly felt too big in this little room, full of people that suddenly felt right up against her, though they weren't, and her rational mind knew that.

All she knew was that she couldn't stay there any longer, especially next to Namjoon. Something about him didn't make her feel quite right. Every time she saw him, she felt a sickness of some kind. She couldn't explain it, but she also couldn't say she hadn't felt it once during her lifetime.

But Rein couldn't remember where or when she felt this exact feeling before.

"Okey-doke. Let's go then," she said to everyone, then turned to Yoongi and Namjoon. "You guys coming?" 

Namjoon shook his head, then said, "Agust D's in the zone right now. I can't let him get too crazy without me." She nodded, waving at the pair before walking out with the others.

Rein intended to have fun whether she liked it or not.

And that she did. She bonded with Jimin, who listened to her ramble about her lyrics like a broken record, except in broken Korean. (her second language abilities became poor when she had a few drinks.)

"Hey... You're really fun," Taehyung had slurred, giving her head a pat that was a bit too hard. Hoseok wiggled his finger at her, which she could only take as an agreement.

"Mhm..." she had responded back, or that's what she thought she said. When she woke up the next morning, she just shook her head and wondered if she had a legitimate problem. She thought she was a bit more fun when she got buzzed, though. She loosened up and let herself be a normal human being. The fire in her eyes burned through her worry and into the skies above.

It seemed like almost every night these days ended with a drink or two, but she shook it off as the (loneliness) stress getting to her.

Rein looked at the planner and marked off the tenth day with relish. She couldn't believe it had been so long already, but, including the weekend, it made sense.

When she stepped into the studio behind the glass, she was pleased to find Yoongi already recording his verse in the recording booth with Namjoon and the producer to oversee the mixing. She had never heard the verse, only seen it, so she listened carefully to pick up every nuance she could.

When he finished, he spotted her and nodded in a gesture of recognition. Namjoon was concentrated on Yoongi, but when he saw where Yoongi's gaze fell, he looked beside him to see Rein.

"Oh, hey!" he said, his features brightening.

"Hey. He's pretty talented, huh?" she said in a hushed tone, gesturing to the rapper in the recording booth. Namjoon's face fell slightly, but he regained his composure.

"It's really an honor to work with him," he said, then cleared his throat to speak into the mic. "I think that was pretty good. You wanna go at it again?"

"Yeah, just one more time." She let herself tune out Yoongi's voice as he began recording again, thinking about the day ahead. The other members would most likely arrive in the next twenty minutes and would get started on the experimental parts Yoongi talked about, but she already had an idea of what that was going to entail: when she listened to their songs before, Jimin belted out dog-whistle high harmonious notes in the background of the alternate chorus and bridge. In others, there were chorus pieces in the bridge. So, doing one of those or even a mix of these options was a safe bet.

The door to the studio opened.

"Your turn," he said. Namjoon stood up, walked out of the studio and entered the recording booth.

"Good luck," she called, giving him a soft smile.

"Rap Monster doesn't need luck," he said in a lighthearted tone, winked, then exited.

When the track started, it felt like a dream. Namjoon looking directly at the glass, (looking at her, for God's sake) tapping to the foot of the beat before he started, head swaying.

It felt surreal somehow.

Yoongi looked over at her to find an impressed smile forming on her lips, but she took care not to say anything.

"Like it?" he asked.

"It's... Yes. I like it. A lot."

"That's good," Yoongi said slowly, his eyes searching for something, but she refused to give him another unedited reaction to go by.

"I think I'm done," Namjoon said through the speakers once the track ran out. Yoongi nodded to confirm, and he left the booth.

"Doesn't Hoseok have to record his verse, too?" she asked when the two rappers were both behind the glass, a guilty tinge infecting her voice. Yoongi groaned.

"Goddamnit, I forgot about that..." He sighed. "Alright, you kids go play. Mr. Shin and I'll hold down the fort here, just until he's finished recording." Namjoon raised his eyebrows.

"You sure? We're really going to take you up on that offer," he said, glancing at Rein briefly.

"Let's go before his generosity runs out," she teased, pretending to run away. Yoongi gave them a stern look.

"Just be back in forty minutes." They nodded and stepped out of the studio. She turned to him, maybe a bit too excited.

"Where do you wanna go now?" Rein asked as she looked up at him.

"Let's hang out in the lounge area," he said, motioning to the hallway to her left.

"Sounds good." They got to the couches and sat down, keeping a good distance between themselves.

"So... I have a question," she said as casually as possible, when in fact, the question had been in her mind for almost the whole time she worked with Bighit.

"Ask away," he said, reaching for the pitcher on the coffee table. He poured both of them some water.

"Uh... Why me?" Rein asked, feeling smaller as she spoke. When Namjoon looked like he didn't understand, she tried again. "Y'all have a lot of resources. There are producers and directors here at your whim. So, why haven't I seen any except for Mr. Shin?" Namjoon scratched his head.

"We wanted a fresh take for this album," he said. She raised her eyebrow as she felt her confidence go up.

"I've heard that one before. You have the formula. Whatever you guys have been doing's been working, so why switch it up now?" He shrugged.

"I think Mr. Bang wanted more international influence in the music for this album. We're starting to appeal to more westerners, especially Americans, so we thought having an American pop star to collaborate with us on a more... extensive level would be beneficial in even more sales," he said, speaking carefully and casting his eyes down every once in a while.

"You could have picked anyone," she said, "I don't understand-" Namjoon laughed.

"Not really. You're a talented musician, enough star power to lift us up in the states, and, like said before, we needed that international touch to our music. You were even in the area when we were deciding on this collaboration, which was a big part of it... I guess you could say the stars aligned," he said.

Rein nodded; until then, she hadn't felt worthy enough to work with a big name like BTS, but she supposed she was more famous in the U.S. than she thought.

"I noticed that a lot of the musical process for this album is independent. What are those other producers exactly doing during this time?" she asked. He smiled.

"We haven't put them on hold or anything. They're just working more in the background. Did you notice how Yoongi produced that track in almost one day? Impossible. Adora helped with the last parts," he said with a faint shrug. "We wanted a more independent sound. You know, back to the basics to give a more vulnerable feel to it."

"I see. Well, that's brave of Bighit to do. What if something backfires?" she asked.

"That's a risk we're all taking, isn't it, Ms. Jones?" The cryptic voice he used sent chills down her spine. Genuine disconcertment, something she hadn't felt in a long time.

"I'm glad you were the one to work with us," Namjoon continued, his voice full of a feeling that was perhaps unfamiliar to him.

"Me too," Rein replied. She blinked, then moved away, as she noticed the distance between them had closed just a bit. He too seemed to realize the change and quickly moved on to another subject.

"Uh, the recording process is really something..." he said rather lamely. She looked at him with an amused smile.

"Do you really wanna talk about work right now?" she asked, earning a surprised look from Namjoon.

"Not particularly," he responded, flashing her a grin. She grinned back.

"That's what I thought. Well, then, tell me your plans for the weekend." She felt bolder than before as if her fears had melted off of her on the couch and the weight lifted from her shoulders.

It was like her personal epiphany.

"Nothing special," he said with a sigh, "Probably going into the studio to talk to the producers. Well, I guess that's Yoongi in this case. After that, I hope I can finish my book and start on a new one."

She smiled. She liked that he spent his free time doing intellectually enlightening things. It was a fresh change from the artists in LA, (and most artists, for that matter) who spent their time smoking their days away, drowning themselves in parties and chicks. Not to say that was bad, but it certainly didn't appeal to her.

"I'm pretty boring," he added. Rein shook her head furiously.

"What are you talking about?" she said, then shook her head in disbelief. "When did I ever say that?"

A shy smile formed on his face as he said, "Come on, it's really okay. All I can do is apologize for my lack of intuitiveness."

"Oh, so you're calling me a liar now?" She smirked.

"I would never! I'm simply stating what you're thinking."

"Mr. Kim, I didn't know you could read minds! Aside from that fact, I'm sorry to tell you that you read my mind incorrectly."

"Is that so?"

"Of course," she said with a nod, "It's logic. If I didn't think you were interesting, would I be sitting here talking to you? Now, let's talk about something productive before I have to convince you of your interestingness again." Namjoon reached for his cup and took a sip of water.

"Well then, what would you like to talk about?" he asked, eyes trained on her.

"Uh..." She bit her lip. "I... don't know almost anything about you," Rein said.

That was a bit of a fib, but not by much. Though they had discussed many things in the past days, she mostly knew his camera-self, but that didn't seem fair. He undoubtedly knew nothing about her person, either. Why would he have a reason to? All anyone had to go by were radio talk shows, a few runs of the Late Night Show, and interviews.

She wore a mask, and he wore one, too.

Something within her gave her an undeniable urge to be the one to remove that mask.

"What's your favorite color?" she asked sheepishly. Namjoon laughed.

"Very creative."

"Don't tell me you don't have a favorite color!" He put his hands up defensively.

"It's black," he said, "how about you?" She didn't expect black to be a favorite color. It was so.... Dark.

Gee, Captain Obvious, you don't say?

"Electric blue," she replied, motioning to her shoes. He smiled.

"See? Now we know one more thing about each other," Namjoon said.

"I suppose we do." She thought for a moment. "What do you want to do? You know, after BTS." He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again.

"I... Haven't really thought about it," he admitted, and she swore he was going red. "I've been thinking about moving to LA to sign with an American record label. All I know is I wanna get out of here. This city suffocates me sometimes..." He looked out the window and said no more.

"Like there's no room to breathe?" she asked timidly, shifting in her seat. He turned his head with a dazed look.

"Exactly like that."

"Can I tell you something, as someone that's moved around a few times for music?" She didn't wait for him to say yes before continuing. "The change in setting doesn't help much. It does for a little, of course, but in the long run, you'll still have that feeling of not being able to have your own space. That is if you stay in music, which is what you said you wanted to.

"I thought LA would change things, you know? It was fun for a bit, being in a new place with entirely new people around me. It felt like a breath of fresh air for someone cooped up in Austin for her whole life. But... I don't know. Things started to look the same after a while. Everything blended together..."

Rein trailed off, noticing how intensely Namjoon was looking at her while she was speaking. She cleared her throat. "Um, but you should try it out for a bit. It works out for a lot of people." He shook his head.

"I feel like I'm gonna go crazy if I stay in this city for any longer. This place... It chokes out creativity sometimes. All I need is a change in scenery, somewhere new with someone new," he said. The expression on his face pained her, an expression of helplessness, and something he perhaps didn't intend to be feeling at the beginning of all this. After a pause, she spoke.

"Well, if you're ever in town, contact me. I'll give you a grand tour of the place, and if you're serious about moving there after... this, let me know," she said with a little laugh. She said the first part like an empty promise because almost every invitation into one's home was simply an act of courtesy, not an actual invite, but she really meant it, and she hoped he knew that.

It was getting harder to regard the members as just partners, especially someone in particular. They treated her almost like their own.

"Thank you," Namjoon said. He stood up, looking at his watch. "Anyway, should we go? We don't want to keep Yoongi waiting." He extended his hand, and she took it, getting up herself.

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