"I get up and when I feel sore, I look out the window, as if it knows how my body feels, the rain is falling. As I look at the raindrops welling up in the window, I felt it. The tears that were flowing down my heart."

0:00 |───────── 4:25

|◁              II             ▷|

For the next day and a half, they were set to dance (and stare sexily into the camera from time to time) without almost any break. It was different than the states, where the shooting process was more casual, and Rein's needs were always put first. However, she quickly realized that everyone had the mentality of the quicker the better in the Korean pop industry, as they went from scene to scene at a breakneck pace.

The crew shot the low-energy shots first, which ranged from faraway stares to light choreography, which was also most of the music video, as it also included solo shots. The effect was serene, watching everyone in the cage or tied up to a post by their chains, pretending they were in unparalleled danger for the camera.

Jin was a funny one to observe, as he had many of the acting shots, and was far from modest about his qualifications for the part. She let her playful side come out, even bothering the maknaes alongside Hoseok sometimes.

Her favorite scene was when, at the last chorus, Namjoon had to "break" the shackle collar from behind her, leaving no room between them. She mildly wondered if the choreographers did it on purpose, to maybe stoke the fire of rumors between the two of them to generate more hype.

The hardest part came when they started filming the heavy choreography. Rein was not a dancer, that much was certain. The fact revealed itself even more so when half a dozen people were staring at her as she did her part.

It was peculiar because Bighit never had such a unique contributor who was as involved as her. The closest someone got to Rein's situation was Nicki Minaj, and she wasn't even on the set with the boys when she shot her part for the music video. No choreography and no contact.

Bighit is certainly turning over a new leaf, huh?

Rein was sweating like a pig before the second chorus was over.

"You good?" Taehyung asked with a laugh. She wiped the sweat from her neck as they walked off set toward girls with hand towels at the ready.

"That was way... more difficult than... I thought... It would be..." Rein said through gasps for breath. Taehyung went to pat her back but thought better of it as he saw how much sweat there was.

As they rested, she got her breathing back to normal, and the sweat that had shimmered on her body had been patted away by soft hands and towels.

"Jeez, you were having a hard time, weren't you?" Jin said with a guffaw. She felt her cheeks growing hot.

"Can you blame me?" she asked with another pant. "Though, I have to hand it to everyone. You guys barely broke a sweat through the first chorus." Rein vaguely noticed the cameras were now trained on her.

"I did, if that makes you feel any better," Yoongi piped.

"It does, thank you." He grunted, then went back to looking at his phone. Rein's gaze rose to the set, tranquility washing over her. She didn't want to be anywhere else in the world but there with her new friends, sharing in the intrinsically good moments in life.

However, the break was forcibly cut short after about 10 minutes, and they picked up the pace, ready to finish the music video. Rein noticed (with amusement) that, as the boys became increasingly exhausted, willpower replaced the lost energy.

The last move filled Rein with more accomplishment than she thought was possible. She hung in the air as she waited for the director to cue them to move.

"And that's a wrap! Good job, everyone!" the director exclaimed with a clap. The boys cheered, high fiving and hugging each other. In the span of five minutes, everything was said and done, including filming an outro for their Vlive vlog. They collapsed in their chairs, and Rein swore Yoongi was dead at one point.

"Oh god," Rein moaned as she pulled her stilettos off and massaged her feet. The boys looked at her with varying degrees of smirks on their faces.

"You did good," Namjoon said softly from behind her. She jumped and put a hand to her quickening heartbeat.

"Shit! You scared me... Oh. Er, thanks, you did, too," she said. Hoseok guffawed from the background, shaking his head.

Through chortles, he said, "Aren't Americans so polite? At least she can lie right to your face." He poked Jimin, who started laughing after a second, imitating Namjoon's dance moves. She would have said it was poorly imitated, but that would have been a lie, and Hoseok thought Americans were polite, so she wouldn't dispel the stereotype too easily.

"One moment," Namjoon said before going over to wrestle both of them to the ground. Jimin flailed under his grip, squealing for Jungkook to save him.

She wished she could take a snapshot of this moment. So trivial, yet one of the most wonderful things she had seen in a long time; it was a picture of happiness. As her gaze fell on Namjoon, she felt herself grow sad despite herself.

She realized now that his happiness would never be hers to cherish, never hers to feel every day, and it was wistful to think so. But she knew he would be okay, content, where he was now, and when she thought about it, that was enough for her.

Namjoon came back delightfully out of breath.

"Sorry. Where were we?" he asked, the corner of his mouth quirking up.

Rein steeled her resolve right then and there.

"We need to talk," she said simply, standing up to meet him. He swallowed, then nodded.

"Sure. About...?" He trailed off as she gave him a knowing look. "Oh."

"It's necessary."

"I just don't think..."

"Come on. It has to happen at some point," she said. Before he could object, she placed her hand on his elbow and led him away from the group. They situated themselves in a hidden part of the shoot where no one would think to go.

"Okay, you have my attention. Let's talk," he said with a nervous smile, anticipating the talk that was to come.

Don't worry. This is going to be much worse for me than it will be for you.

"So... I just wanted to apologize for my behavior the other night..." Namjoon chuckled.

"It's okay. Everyone gets drunk sometimes, right?" he asked. Rein shook her head.

"No, this was different, and you know it. I shouldn't have done... that... Especially at your place-"

"It-It's fine. What's done is done, and there's nothing you can do about that. I don't think there's anything else to say at this point," he said, interrupting her. A beat passed where neither one of them knew what to do.

Should I force it, or should I stand down?

Rein was the first one to speak.

"Fine, I get it. Just as long as you're fine with it, I'm fine with it." He eased up significantly as soon as the words were out of her mouth.

"Alright, cool. We're good now, right?" he said.

"Of course."

How could I lie so effortlessly?

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A/N: I feel like this chapter was a lil' boring/shorter than usual, but I hope you bear with me!

Also, if there was a way to personify finals just to kill it, I'd do that in a heartbeat.