XX. ARMY ENCOUNTER

The E in MOTS ON:E stood for emotional, especially at the near end of the show. Whenever one of the members' voices would crack or quiver, whenever they'd blink too much to keep their tears from falling, whenever their breathing would become irregular, the people behind the scenes and the people watching from their screens would cry with them.

Despite the situation, the concerts were a success. Since the heavy projects were through, work hours were more flexible. Gyeoul and Songyi took this opportunity to take a class. The performance director made the mistake of letting her friend choose which class they would go to and naturally, Songyi picked Stip-Step because of Yongsik.

"Songyi, I love you and all, but will you please stop mentioning his name every ten seconds?" Gyeoul sighed, leaning her back on the wall and running her fingers through her hair. "I think you're forgetting that I'm not interested in him. So, please stop pushing it."

He narrowed his eyes at her, "Who are you interested in then?"

Gyeoul didn't answer him.

She looked at the time on the receptionist's desk, waiting for the studio to finally start inviting people.

"Ahn Gyeoul, I asked you a question," Songyi demanded with the overdramatic tone commonly used in historical dramas. His lips parted into an open-mouthed smile as he noticed something flicker in her eyes. "Yah, subzero. Do I know this person?"

The dancer turned to her side as people started to pile inside the dance studio. She pushed herself off of the wall and followed, leaving Songyi to let out a bunch of gibberish. She placed her bag on the side and nodded her head at the choreographer who was waiting for the other dancers to come in.

A girl, ranging from about fifteen to seventeen years old, approached Gyeoul with small steps, her hands hidden behind her back. She stopped a few feet away from her. Gyeoul noticed her wearing a BT21 shirt and smiled, reminded of her co-workers that were likely at home base at that moment.

"Hello, eonnie," the girl whispered, tucking her hair behind her ear. She brought her hands in front of her, handing Gyeoul a piece of paper while she was still far away, her hair covering most of her face. "I made this for you, I hope you like it!"

Gyeoul's eyes widened at the loud tone of the girl and came closer, gently taking the piece of paper from her. "Thank you." The girl picked herself up, jumping slightly since the woman was now closer.

She flipped the paper over and saw that it was fanart. There was one of them in each part of the paper. On top was an image of her and Hoseok standing beside each other with their arms crossed, clad in bright neon colors commonly seen in street dance. She smiled and looked at the drawing under it. It was an image of her and Taehyung, both smiling widely as if they were laughing about something, they were both wearing thick brown jackets and bear ears. Winter Bear was written under it.

"This is really beautiful," Gyeoul breathed out, staring back at the girl in awe. "Did you make this yourself?"

"I did," the girl answered, the tips of her ears turning red. Her eyes widened as she realized something, "I didn't make it because I ship any of you! I just like the vibes you guys exude, especially with Taehyung-oppa since you both look like very good friends."

"Thank you."

"Will it be impolite if I ask you for a picture?"

"Not at all!" Gyeoul responded. The girl became excited and pulled out her phone, opening the camera and pointing it at the two of them. The older dancer smiled and bent down slightly, brandishing the girl's masterpiece in front of her.

"Oh my god! Thank you, eonnie!"

Gyeoul's smile grew bigger. She looked at the artwork once again and read the signature to determine the girl's name. "Hiromi, would you like me to introduce you to my friend?"

Hiromi's eyes grew wide and nodded her head eagerly. The older dancer smiled and led her over to the side where Songyi was fixing his bag. He picked his head up, his curious eyes following the girl beside his friend.

"Songyi, this is my new friend Hiromi, Hiromi this is Songyi," she introduced. She turned around to put the artwork in her bag, trying not to wrinkle it.

"Hello, Hiromi," Songyi greeted, raising his hand for a fist bump. When she reciprocated, he pointed at her shirt. "You're a fan of them?"

Hiromi tucked her hair behind her ear, "They're my favorite group."

"Mine too! You know, Gyeoul and I work for them."

"I do!" she nodded, her eyes bright and light. "You're also the former co-captain of the dance team at Namgung University! I think you're really cool!"

Songyi grinned, high-fiving the girl, "I like this one."

The class started and Gyeoul was slightly shocked at the chosen song. It was Love U Better by Victoria Monét. The song in its entirety was a whole vibe, however, the lyrics had no sugarcoating with how poetically sensual it was composed.

For the whole duration of the class, Gyeoul may not have noticed what she was doing, but she was looking out for Hiromi. She made sure that the girl wasn't uncomfortable with the song choice, if she was following along well with the choreographer's directions, she recalled the steps every time she was having a hard time. Hiromi noticed it all and she felt like she was living a dream.

"Alright, the key point of the choreography is on the last part," Semi spoke, clapping her hands. "All you have to do on the last part is to point somewhere, doesn't matter where, it can be me, your friend, the ceiling, or yourself. Just point and do it with intention."

After running the piece a few times, they wrapped up the choreography and Semi started to call groups to perform. Many of the dancers were picked to do solos and groups. Gyeoul was already one of the ones who were called for a solo so it was to her surprise to be called in again for another unit.

"Can I have Ahn Gyeoul and Do Yongsik on the dance floor?" the choreographer hollered, beckoning the two dancers who stood from opposite sides of the studio. "Come over here and tell us a story!"

Gyeoul bowed her head slightly at those who turned in her direction to cheer her on. As she walked to the middle of the dance floor, she fixed her ponytail, smiling at the other dancer she was paired with. She pursed her lips and bounced from side to side, smiling as she saw Yongsik mirroring her actions. The other dancers bounced along, shouting cheers at the duet as the music started blaring from the speakers.

'I just want to love you better, I just, I just want to love you better. Let me take you deeper, I'mma show you treasure. Baby, I'm gonna give you the best sex, the best sex ever.'

As they danced, the two dancers made eye contact, a small movement that furthered the chemistry. The small interactions between them made the other dancers go wild, their cheers growing louder when either Gyeoul or Yongsik changed up the choreography to turn it into a proper partner piece. The air was hype, the music was sensual, and the two dancers were just having fun, neither making the dance too sexy nor too lazy.

The piece the choreographer taught was ending, and they were supposed to point somewhere.

'Baby, I'm gonna give you the best sex, the best sex ever.'

Gyeoul pointed at herself in the mirror while Yongsik pointed at her.

The whole studio erupted into louder cheers at the man's bold move.

She pursed her lips, looking at him sideways. She took a few steps back to let the attention stay on Yongsik and cheered him on as he started to dance again. His freestyle was clean and interactive, looking at Gyeoul every once in a while to further the story they were telling. She silently bounced along to the music, making it obvious that she had no intention to take over the freestyle.

When he ended, Gyeoul clapped loudly. Yongsik smiled at her and raised his fist for a fist bump. She responded immediately, smiling at him before going back to her place beside Songyi and Hiromi.

"You took me to heaven, rockstar," Songyi whistled, making her laugh. "And you see Hiromi here? She almost fainted!"

"Eonnie, you deserve to go to jail for breaking into my heart like that."

Gyeoul breathed out a laugh, shaking her head and patting the short girl's head. She took a step to stand behind them, watching as Semi called other groups to perform.

While she was fully immersed in the dancers' performances, she felt eyes burn into the side of her head. She tore her gaze away from the dancers and turned to her left. Yongsik was fast to look away, but she noticed him staring at her. She pursed her lips into an awkward smile and looked back at the dancers.

Songyi hit her shoulder, raising an eyebrow at her. Gyeoul shook her head at him and gave him an exasperated look.

When the class finished, the dancers dispersed and made small conversations as they fixed their things.

"Eonnie," Hiromi called. Gyeoul turned to her with eyes so gentle that it made the girl's heart flutter. "Is it okay if I talk about my experience here with you on social media? Ever since everyone found out you were working with BTS, they've been hating on you, especially when you appeared on V Live with them. I've been a fan of yours ever since I was younger and I hate it when I see people put dirt on your name just for being around them."

Gyeoul jutted out her lower lip, touched by the girl's pure heart. "It's alright, but you don't have to do anything to protect me. Those comments don't affect me." She placed a hand over her heart, laughing slightly. "But thank you, I really really appreciate it."

Hiromi smiled and bowed at her, "Thank you for today. I'll never forget this!" Waving at her one last time, the girl walked off.

The performance director wiggled her shoulders in glee after that adorable interaction. She cooed and went back to Songyi, hitting his shoulder. "I can now die peacefully. Hiromi is such a sweetheart." She stomped little steps, unable to contain her warm feeling. She sighed, calming herself down and smiling dreamily at her friend. "She really made my day."

Songyi chuckled, "She's really nice." His eyes flickered to the choreographer by the mirror. "Semi-noona is calling you over."

Gyeoul nodded and turned around, approaching Semi and Yongsik who was standing beside her.

"Everything this baby touches turns to gold," Semi complimented as soon as the younger dancer approached them. "You were amazing today."

"Thank you."

"Have you ever danced together before?" Semi asked with a beaming smile on her face, high-fiving the two. Gyeoul and Yongsik turned to each other for a moment before shaking their heads at the older dancer. "Really? You're saying that I discovered a hidden gem that has more chemistry than a freaking chemistry book? Maybe I really am a genius."

Gyeoul chuckled awkwardly, adjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder, "That you are, eonnie." She looked between Semi and Yongsik, "Anyway, Songyi and I should get going. We enjoyed your class today, by the way."

Semi grinned and waved at her retreating figure, "I'll text you when I'm teaching next! I hope you'll make it!"

The younger dancer didn't respond verbally but turned back and made a heart over her head as she walked backward before walking away fully. Songyi followed her with an arm slung around her shoulders.

"I know you're getting annoyed when I tease you about him," Songyi started as they started to walk to Gyeoul's car. "But you should take a chance on Yongsik when the timing is right. Did you see the way he looked at you when he pointed at you at that specific lyric? Everybody went crazy!"

As she was about to respond to his statement, she was stopped by a voice.

"Gyeoul-ssi!"

She picked her head up in surprise, seeing Yongsik running up to them.

"Hi," he greeted the two friends as he stopped in front of her. Gyeoul smiled in return. He scratched the back of his neck, "I, uh, I enjoyed dancing with you today, and I was wondering if you can, you know, attend my class here next Friday? I'll pay for your fee." He turned to Songyi, "You can come as well, of course."

The woman hummed, tilting her head at Yongsik, "You don't need to pay my fee. I can't make any promises, but I'll try to make some time." She paused, "You danced very well back there."

"I just wanted to impress you."

Her eyes met his in surprise, the underlines of his statement evident in the look of his eyes. Very straightforward. She laughed awkwardly, "Alright, I'll see you around. Thank you for the invite to your class, though. I'll see if I can come."

Yongsik grinned, "Okay. I hope I'll see you." He nodded his head at them and walked off.

Songyi hit her shoulder, "Did you see that? That was him flirting with you! This is your chance!"

"Let's go home," Gyeoul said, ignoring what he said.

"Ahn Gyeoul, you better stop ignoring me, or I'll talk your ear off."

She grinned, "I have a ton of patience. Talk all you want."

❄

Gyeoul stretched her neck, quickly punching in the code and entering the house. When she was taking her shoes off, her ears perked up as she heard two voices in the living room. She figured that her mother must have a visitor. Lazily slipping her slippers on, she walked inside.

Upon reaching the living room, her eyes widened by a fraction as she saw Taehyung and her mother making gimbap on the dining table.

"Oh, you're here!" her mother greeted gleefully. "Come taste this! Taehyung did it all by himself!"

She gaped at him, "You made that?" She walked up to them and kissed her mother's cheek. "This actually looks very promising."

"Did you expect that I wouldn't have done well?" Taehyung smirked.

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

"No, ma'am," he replied, his smile growing bigger. He picked one up from the plate and lined it to her mouth. "Open."

Gyeoul opened her mouth, allowing her friend to feed her the slice. Gimbap was fairly easy to make so her expectations weren't very high. But the moment she got a full taste of it, she immediately started frowning, making Taehyung reveal a relieved smile. Her eyebrows were scrunched together as if she was angry.

"You can sell this," Gyeoul complimented, patting Taehyung's back. Once she gulped the food down, she smiled. "Can I get another bite before I wash up?"

"It was made for you anyway," Taehyung answered, picking another one up and feeding it to her.

"Thank you," she said with her mouth still full. "I'll be right back."

While she was gone, Taehyung and Mihyang made easy conversation, talking about Gyeoul and his parents to fill the air. The reason why it felt like Gyeoul didn't think much of him being in her house was because he's been coming over more often ever since their dinner together. Her mother would always encourage him to come over whenever he could. Just like when they were kids.

Around fifteen minutes later, Gyeoul came back to the dining room while holding the fanart Hiromi gave her earlier, her hair still wet. Taehyung perked up when he saw her.

"I met an ARMY today, she was really sweet and amazing. Her name is Hiromi, I bet you would have liked her a lot," Gyeoul recounted, picking one slice off of the plate and eating it. She handed the paper to Taehyung, "She took me by surprise and gave me this."

Taehyung's eyes widened in amazement. "This was drawn by hand?" Gyeoul nodded with the same enthusiasm before taking another slice of gimbap. He grinned in pride, "Our ARMY really is the best." Quickly pulling his phone out of his pocket, he took a picture of it. "Is it okay if I send this to Hobi-hyung?"

Gyeoul nodded, reaching to take another slice from the plate. Mihyang 'tsk'ed and smacked her hand.

"Leave some for Taehyung!" she scolded, pushing the plate closer in Taehyung's direction.

She pouted, "I'm sensing a pattern here." She moved to the seat beside her mother and clung to her side. "Eomma, you're starting to like him more than me!"

"How can I not? Your xiaolongbao is more polite."

"Don't be fooled, it's a facade. He's evil when he wants to be—"

"Am not!" Taehyung protested dramatically. He picked one slice off of the plate and leaned over the table, gently putting his fingers under her chin and making her face him. "See? I'm so good that I'm giving you my shares."

Gyeoul chuckled, "I'm kidding." Still, she opened her mouth and accepted his offer. The dancer leaned back on her mother to hug her again. "She loves me more."

"Do I?"

Now it was Gyeoul's turn to act dramatically. She stood up and pinched the bridge of her nose. "The betrayal. I'm so sick of this fake love. Where is my father to defend me?"

Mihyang raised an eyebrow, "Are you telling me that you prefer your father over me now?"

She quickly dropped the act and clung back to her mother's side, "Of course not. You're so easy to fool. I love you both equally."

Taehyung smiled at the interaction, finding it adorable how Gyeoul preferred to be babied when she was with her parents.

❄

Two days later, Namjoon was doing his regular screening on Twitter to see how the fandom was faring when he saw Taehyung and Gyeoul trending.

Immediately, the leader sprung up and dashed out of his studio. He swore he felt like he was in a Run BTS episode at how fast he ran. Barging into the artist reception room where he knew where Taehyung would be, he panted. All of them were already there. Good.

"Are you okay?" Yoongi asked, looking at his younger member weirdly.

"Taehyung and Gyeoul are both trending right now."

Everyone's eyes widened and pulled out their phones.

"I don't remember going out in public with her recently," Taehyung breathed out, already getting stressed. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself if he furthered the damage to Gyeoul's career. "Is it sasaeng pictures?"

They were indeed trending. But not for the reason they expected.

username1: ngl that duet with gia and yongsik? HOT
     |
     username2: I GOT BUTTERFLIES WHEN HE POINTED AT HER WHEN THAT LYRIC CAME

username3: taetae's punching the air right now

username4: i'm not surprised if i'd see tae crying in a corner somewhere HSHAKAHAHA

username5: i love how most armys went past the hating phase on gyeoul and started to joke around about her friendship with v XD

username6: tae is in his all too well era
     |
     username6: 'and i might be okay but im not fine at all' - taehyung probably

username5: kidding aside, i noticed how gia would always hold back when she's in groups and duets
     |
     username1: i noticed that too!! she was a step behind yongsik and she let him shine on the freestyle. she does this in other units also
     |
     username5: SHE STILL KILLED IT THO but in her solo i don't know to explain it haha she just went the full 100% with her sex appeal but when the duet rolled around she toned it down a lot

username7: i never thought id fall for a woman

username8: i will give up everything i have just to see tae's reaction

username9: imagining tae preparing to square up with yongsik is so funny to me y'all are so annoying HAHHAHHAHHA

hiromitanaka: i was in this class! i was in a cafe making fanart to post on my art acc before i went then BAM she's there in the flesh. i approached her and gave her the fanart and her reaction was just UGH she's such an easy person to admire
     |
     hiromitanaka: and she was so chill and nice that it actually melted my heart
     |
     hiromitanaka: after that she stuck by me and made sure i was catching on well to the choreography. she's really sweet i hope y'all stop bashing her for being friends with bts. she's so caring and nice that she felt like a big sister
     |
     hiromitanaka: then when the choreographer started to call names and she got a solo? SHE ATE THAT CHOREO LIKE IT WAS HER LAST MEAL!!! and when the choreographer called her again to do a duet? I ALMOST FAINTED!!! then she just laughed about it like it was nothing???
     |
     hiromitanaka: i will not tolerate any gia slander. do you realize pathetic youd look if your reason for hating her is her interactions with bts? this goes for their other friends of them as well. SPREAD LOVE

Taehyung smiled at the last thread, knowing it must be the girl Gyeoul told him about.

"The video is out already?" he voiced out loud.

"You haven't watched it?" Jungkook asked incredulously, looking at Taehyung as if he was crazy. "It released an hour ago and we've been on break for twenty minutes."

Hoseok leaned forward, clapping his hands. "Here we are witnessing a showdown between the first fan and the biggest fan, everyone!"

"Fight, fight, fight," Jin chanted.

Jungkook stood up, puffing out his chest. "Should we take this outside?"

Taehyung chuckled and shook his head. "I'll watch it now." He exited the Twitter app and opened Youtube.

Immediately, the first video in his recommended was the video itself. He clicked the video right away before anyone sitting by him would tease him about watching compilations of her dance videos. The video opened with Gyeoul's solo, he watched with a growing smile as the other dancers pushed her to the middle of the dance floor while she was laughing.

His smile dropped when she started to dance, his lips parting in amazement. The dance itself wasn't too much, it was fast and upbeat yet still remained sensual because of the prominent fem dance moves that accentuated the meaning of the song. Gyeoul's ability to blend into the music and truly understand the song never ceased to amaze him. Of course, it wasn't his first time seeing her dance like this. But he couldn't help but be stupefied.

Was this really the same person who was all pouty and cute with her mother?

"Is she human?" Taehyung wondered out loud, making his other members who were watching with him laugh. "I don't think she is."

"Hyung, I think you'll really like her performance at the end," Jungkook commented.

Taehyung hummed, "Does that have anything to do with people tweeting about me crying in a corner?"

Jungkook didn't answer and eagerly waited to see his older member's reaction.

When the last performance came along, everyone leaned closer to the phone in anticipation. The frame revealed Gyeoul and Yongsik coming to the middle of the dance floor. Unlike Gyeoul's solo, this performance was more playful than teasing. She didn't dance as full out, but she remained clean and didn't chord-cut any of the dance moves. The way she danced along to the music with a smile evident in her eyes made Taehyung smile.

"She did great, what's there to cry about?" he asked with furrowed eyebrows, looking at Jungkook in confusion.

"You're the one who invented your ship name so fans think you ship yourself with her, so they expected you to cry about it."

"I see the point," Taehyung chuckled, looking back at the phone. "But I couldn't even take my eyes off her to notice Yongsik."

Jimin hummed, "You should have looked at the full picture, their chemistry was really good." His soulmate's head whipped in his direction, eyebrows raised to express the betrayal he was feeling. "But your chemistry is better, trust me."

"You're the one giving me something to cry about," Taehyung sneered playfully and pinched his side to tickle him.

Yoongi sighed heavily, "Rest in peace, VGOVGO, you will be missed."

"I prefer Winter Bear," Seokjin countered.

"VGOVGO is better because Winter Bear could pertain to Taehyung's song."

Hoseok laughed, "And our unit name is something people use to clean themselves. Winter Bear is better."

"J-Ho!" Jin gasped dramatically, pointing at his heart and then at Hoseok's. He chuckled and started to speak in English, "Yeah, I knew I could count on you to side with me. We really are 2seok, man."

Taehyung could feel the embarrassment creeping in as he opened Twitter again. His cheeks burned red as he read through the humorous comments their fans left. 

NOTE

i wrote this while i was in class. if you ever feel guilty about using your phone for bts content, just remember the wise words of jeon jungkook.

❝oh! who's using their phone right now during class? oh? you should focus! ...on me. that's right, you're doing good.❞

if you're wondering which choreography i had in mind, it's brian friedman's choreography to love u better!

song(s) mentioned in this chapter — love u better by victoria monét

i hope you liked this one. the pre-daegu trip is coming next chapter :))