Jungkook wakes up at the same time as the girls. At least, he's there when Jesstina is heating up a muffin in the microwave and Nabi is drinking her favorite vegan chocolate protein shake.

"Hello," he says, waving at me. If I didn't know any better, I'd think he's being shy.

I echo his greeting and then try to make small talk with the girls. But Jungkook is... distracting to say the least.

His cameraman is also doubling as a manager, making sure he's on schedule and attending to other needs. Even though his agenda will be lined up with ours during the next—

How long is this going to last?

Jungkook draws me out of my worrying when he yawns loudly, his head going so far back that I'm afraid he'll headbutt his cameraman. He doesn't take any breakfast. And I don't blame him, since it's not quite six am. If I wasn't so sleepy, maybe I'd have time to be angry. With Yuna leaving us, being pushed into this arrangement like a mad experiment by our CEO.

The first lesson of the day is dance with Heart Seonsaengnim. Even she seems a bit shy when going over the position that Jungkook will fill. It seems wrong, to look over and see Jungkook instead of Yuna. There's one moment in the choreography when I'm supposed to lean back and let Yuna spring me back up like a leaping frog. When Jungkook touches me, I flinch, rolling toward the floor.

"What's wrong?" Jungkook says, as Heart Seonsaengnim stops the music.

Everything I want to say. Instead, I just shake my head and signal the rest of the group that I'm good to go.

Dancing most definitely did not come easy for me. In fact, I struggled the most out of all of the members. With Jungkook here, it's almost an insult straight to my face. Not only is he a quick learner, but he executes the movements so well that I don't feel like a leader of the Fates anymore. I'm just someone in his shadow.

"I think we've got it, girls," Heart Seonsaengnim says. "Jungkook, you just need to put in the hours to master the new choreo. I'm sure it'll be no problem for someone of your caliber."

Anger wells within me, and I don't know why the prospect of working with Jungkook makes me see red. Nabi and Jesstina are cordial, and Jesstina even cracks a joke when Jungkook comments on her long, fluttery eyelashes. I'm not like the other girls. I think that's what she says, but there's too much steam coming out of my ears.

"Do you think you're confident enough for the choreo for 'Weavers'?" Jungkook asks while we take a break for water. Sweat annoyingly trickles down his throat.

I nod, even though it's clear to me that I won't appear so proficient next to the golden maknae. I can't let him see me stumble, and I can't let him find out that I was the only one who voted "no" when asked to add him to our group.

Next is our vocal class. When Jungkook enters the room, it's like Caren Seonsaengnim changes personas. All of a sudden, she is the most polite person alive. She comments on Jungkook's smooth tone, the way he drifts across all his vowels like the source of a waterfall. Even I can't focus on the notes I need to hit when Jungkook begins to take some of Yuna's rapping parts. I haven't heard him rap in... forever, and turns out he's still good at it despite straying from that route.

Although "Weavers" is the title track, pure synth pop, we have a ballad called "The Girl Who Flew," which is especially stunning when Jesstina hits her almost-over-the-top high runs.

She's overpowered by Jungkook, who belts so majestically that I almost careen into my music stand.

"Focus, Karma," Caren Seonsaengnim says. I can barely squeak out a note that is in the middle of my range.

Jungkook is studying the sheet music, holding it close to the light so that the lines appear faintly from behind. I ignore him when he asks me whether I need more water.

"Your voice is insanely good," Jesstina says, already comfortable enough to speak to him like a friend. "I would kill to have your voice."

"Yours is very unique," Jungkook says. "If I could go as high, I'd never stop singing. Make sure to take care of your vocal chords."

Jesstina giggles, and she never giggles.

Nabi, unsure as anyone would be in front of a superstar, slowly curves into Jungkook's line of sight. "Jungkook-sunbaenim, is it okay if we call you oppa?"

I want to scream. Oppa is a word only for a girl's older brother, or at least someone she sees as an older brother. Calling Jungkook "oppa" feels totally out of place—like I'm running through a funeral in my underwear.

"Sure," Jungkook says. "Since we're a team now, it's totally cool to call me oppa."

Gone are the days when he would scold girls who called him oppa. Now, he's in his twenties. And that shouldn't be so shocking to me—Nabi, Jesstina, and I are all twenty in Korean age. But it still is so far off from the boy I studied in the videos, when I was just an ARMY who was dreaming of making it in the K-pop industry.

"Why did your parents name you Karma?" Jungkook asks, when we're waiting for Caren Seonsaengnim to fetch some new sheet music that will include the harmonies for "The Girl Who Flew."

I can't ignore him much longer. That would make me a bad, maybe even horrible leader. "Oh." I recall the faces of my parents—I haven't seen them in ages. "My parents went on vacation to Mumbai, and I was conceived there."

"As if that explains everything," Jesstina jokes, as she usually does whenever I explain my name. "Isn't it kind of insensitive that your parents would give you that name?"

I glare at her. She visibly swallows when she sees the knives in my eyes.

She swallows. "Gosh, Karma. I actually think your name is cool, don't get me wrong."

Jungkook leans back, and for a second I think he's trying to escape the awkwardness. Then, he bursts out into laughter. His eyes are like crescent moons, and I think that I'm in deep, deep trouble.

He's so damn pretty.

*

After a week of practice, Jungkook is almost camera-ready.

Living with him is surprisingly uneventful, because he keeps to himself in my and Yuna's old room.

But sometimes, he joins us for dinner. He surprises us by ordering fancy pizzas and chicken so spicy that I almost melt a layer off my tongue. I eat and stay polite, but it feels like I'm going to start a fight with him at any moment. He senses the tension in me too, because at some point he only interacts with Nabi and Jesstina. Jesstina is an easy jokester, while Nabi asks all the right questions for him to start telling insane stories that he has with his members.

I would lie if I said I didn't lean in to listen.

One night, he's hovering over a pot in the kitchen. A spicy, tantalizing scent lingers in the air. I swallow down a blob of saliva. Gross. And then I realize that I'm getting hungry.

He turns around with a small smile. I try to focus on his baggy, black cargo pants and similarly-styled shirt. Because his smile is dangerous, his teeth so bright that they stand out against all the plainness of the dorm kitchen.

"Would you like some ramyeon, Karma?" Jungkook says. "I made it for you."

I know that this is a peace offering, and almost every part of me wants to trust him and give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, he didn't barge in on my team on his own accord. We were both set up in some way, and now it is what it is—he's part of the Fates.

"No thank you," I say after a beat.

Then, I turn and enter my current bedroom, where Nabi and Jesstina are fast asleep.

I know I'm being rude. But how can I just accept Jungkook as one of my sisters?

A/N: Things are getting pretty interesting in the Fates. The ramyeon scene was particularly fun to write. Now that "Seven" is topping charts all over the world, I wanted to ask you—are you a clean version or explicit version fan?

Each version has its own feel. I can't just pick one, lol! I will say though, the lo-fi version is a definite vibe.