"Nami-ah."

I turned around at the sound of someone calling my name. I frowned. "Go away, Chanyeol."

Chanyeol continued to tail me as I entered the bathroom.

"Are you going to follow me into the bathroom too?" I barked at him.

It had been three days since the photo shoot and I had been refusing to talk to Chanyeol ever since. Chanyeol didn't give up easily--he had been pestering me to forgive him but I had ignored him every single time he attempted to make conversation with me. I was furious at him. But above all, I was annoyed at myself for letting him see me cry.

"C'mon, Nami-ah. How long are you going to stay angry at me? I've already apologised a dozen times" he said, through the crack in the door. He had wedged his foot in between the door and the door frame so I couldn't shut it.

"It doesn't matter how many times you apologise, I won't forgive you!" I snarled at him.

Chanyeol pulled a face. I saw him search his pockets for his phone. "Not even if I got you the most awesome apology gift?" Chanyeol showed me his phone screen where his messages on KakaoTalk was open. It was all in Hangul and I had difficulty reading it but, all I needed to see was who they were from to convince me to open the bathroom door.

It was Chanyeol's conversation with Suga. Suga, from BTS!

I loosened my grip on the bathroom door and immediately started translating Suga's messages in my head. I didn't understand most of what they were talking about but, I did manage to decipher some of the characters.

My eyes darted across the small screen and then met Chanyeol's as I looked up at him. Chanyeol had a lopsided grin on his face.

"Suga wants us to come and visit them?" My voice was trembling with excitement.

"Yep. They have practice at Big Hit Entertainment today. We can go and visit them as soon as you're ready."

I was stunned speechless.

Chanyeol's grin grew wider. "So, am I forgiven?"

I stared up at him, unable to contain my excitement and joy. The only thing I was thinking about was how I was going to meet BTS today.

BTS. I was going to meet BTS!

For a brief moment, I'd forgotten I was angry at Chanyeol and I embraced him. I squealed, "Thank you, Chanyeol! Thank you! I'm so excited!"

Chanyeol was startled at my sudden embrace. He laughed. "I should have done this sooner if I knew how excited you'd be." I felt his arms wrap around my shoulders as if he was returning my embrace.

I pushed him away immediately, finally remembering that I was meant to be angry at him. I composed myself. "But, this doesn't excuse you from what you did before."

Chanyeol was perplexed, "But I said I was sorry."

"And I acknowledge that now," I told him. His face relaxed at my words. "But" I continued, I left him for a brief second and returned with a toilet brush in my hand. "If you ever do that to me again--"

"Woah, woah, woah," Chanyeol said alarmed as he backed away from me. "Put the toilet brush down, Nami-ah."

I inched closer towards him with the bristles of the toilet brush facing his direction. "Do that to me again," I told him threateningly, "and I'll make sure your mouth will be swimming in germs!"

Chanyeol leaned away from me as I hovered the toilet brush in front of him. He squeaked, "Okay, okay! I promise! I won't do anything like that again. Please, just put the toilet brush away! Don't you know how dirty that thing is?"

I smiled triumphantly at his response. "Good. It sounds like we have an understanding."

Chanyeol breathed a sigh of relief as I returned the toilet brush.

He will know better not to do anything like that to me ever again!

~*~

Chanyeol pulled his black cap lower to hide his eyes. He was wearing a black mask and casual clothing. I gaped at him. "Don't tell me you're going to be wearing that mask the whole time?"

He exchanged looks with me. "I have no choice," his voice sounded muffled, "it's the only way I can avoid attracting too much attention."

"It looks like you're attracting more attention with it on." I sighed.

We were on the bus to go to Big Hit Entertainment Headquarters. As Chanyeol didn't have permission to go on leave, he had snuck out of the dorm and skipped rehearsals just so that we can visit BTS at their studio. He didn't even let any of the managers or the other members know where we were going. And without our own private transportation, we had to result to using public transport. A.K.A the bus.

"You know, I wouldn't have agreed to go if you'd told me you were skipping rehearsals because of it," I told him.

He gave me a sideways glance. "What else could I do? It was the only way I could get you to forgive me."

I was quiet. "I would have forgiven you eventually."

He looked at me doubtfully. "No you wouldn't." I watched as his eyes crinkled to signal that he was smiling behind his mask. "And I won't regret doing this. Even if it gets me into trouble."

I looked at him curiously and saw that his eyes were twinkling. Something was a little different about Chanyeol today.

We were both quiet for a while as we listened to the humming of the bus. It was a long way to Big Hit Entertainment from the dorm so we had time to spare. There weren't many passengers on the bus so thankfully, no one had seemed to notice Chanyeol's peculiar appearance. We sat next to each other, at the back of the bus, away from prying eyes.

I stared out the window, not knowing what else to do or say to Chanyeol. We had never had a quiet moment alone with each other so, it felt awkward. If it wasn't Baekhyun, it would be Chanyeol teasing me. And if we weren't poking fun at each other, we would be arguing over something trivial so, sitting quietly next to each other was something I was unfamiliar with.

"So" Chanyeol suddenly said, breaking the silence. "What is it about BTS that you like so much?"

I peered up at him. "I like their songs a lot. They're very meaningful to me." I reminisced my year abroad in Seoul and how I exhausted my phone battery from listening to BTS non-stop. They were my first K-pop love.

"Then what about our music?"

I scrutinised his expression and saw that he was curious. Over the past month, I had heard EXO rehearse non-stop day after day. Some of their songs were good and I wasn't going to deny it. "I like some of yours too."

Chanyeol's eyes glittered. "Wah! I thought I'd never see the day when a BTS fan would admit that they liked EXO songs."

"Don't get ahead of yourself," I grinned at him, "it doesn't mean I'm your fan or anything."

"No, but it's a start." He looked smilingly at me. "In the beginning, I thought you were one of those anti-fans."

I pulled a face at him. "Yah, just because I like BTS doesn't automatically make me an EXO anti-fan."

He chuckled, "No, that's true. But you were very hard to get close to." His eyes focused on mine "You were always trying to distance yourself from me."

I stared deeply into Chanyeol's eyes. There really was something different about him today. Why was he being so earnest all of a sudden?

I shifted uncomfortably. "No I wasn't" I quickly replied.

He looked away for a moment. "I thought you hated me. Or maybe, you were my anti-fan or something because you were nice to everyone else apart from me."

"I don't hate you," I told him honestly. But I couldn't really tell him that the reason why I was avoiding him was because I knew about his flirting habit. "And I'm not your anti-fan either." I searched my mind for the right word, "I'm your fan-ah-in."

Chanyeol was puzzled, "Huh?"

"I'm not your fan but I acknowledge your skill" I explained.

Chanyeol smiled. "I see."

We were quiet for a while again. And then he asked, "What's your favourite song?"

I thought for a moment. There were so many BTS songs to choose from.

"And it can't be a BTS song" he added playfully.

I raised my brow at him. Apart from BTS, there was only one other artist that I listened to frequently. "'Perfect'" I told him. "The song 'Perfect' by Ed Sheeran."

Chanyeol furrowed his brow. "Who's Ed Sheeran?"

"You don't know who Ed Sheeran is?" I asked, surprised.

He shook his head.

"He's a British singer. He's got red hair and plays the guitar" I explained to him. "He sang one of my other favourite songs, 'Thinking Out Loud'" I searched his eyes for any sign of recognition but there was none. "I can't believe you've never heard of him!"

Chanyeol scoffed, "What's so good about him anyway?"

I was offended, was he seriously asking me that question? "Everything! He's a great singer and an amazing guitarist too!"

"I'm a great singer" he pointed out, "and I play the guitar too. All I need is to dye my hair red and voila! I'll be just as dashing as that Ed Sheeran guy."

I giggled, "You'd look like Ronald McDonald if you dyed your hair red."

"Really?" he asked as he took off his cap to run his hand through his dark hair. "I was considering dyeing my hair red for our comeback performance soon."

The bus came to a halt and we got off.

We were in front of Big Hit Entertainment building and, within half an hour, we were finally outside BTS' dance studio where, the sound of their soundtrack for 'Fire', could be heard blaring from the speakers.

Chanyeol and I hovered outside their door. He had taken off his cap and mask so that I could see that he was peering down at me. "You excited? You're just moments away from meeting them."

I couldn't help smiling, "I feel like I might pass out from excitement!"

Chanyeol pushed open the door and my eyes were instantly greeted by the profiles of seven godly-shaped men, wearing white shirts and ripped jeans. The dance studio had white walls and white flooring so that it was brightly lit and the seven BTS members looked dazzling. They all turned around at the sound of the door opening.

"Yoongi-ah" Chanyeol called out.

Upon hearing his name, Suga looked up and realising who it was, smiled as he walked over to us. "Chanyeol-ah, you're here, at last!" he greeted Chanyeol with a friendly handshake which consisted of bumping each other's right side against the other's chest as they leaned in for a semi-hug.

I was in awe at the sight of Suga standing so close to me. I had to remind myself to stop my jaw from hanging open.

Suga turned to look at me once his handshake with Chanyeol was over. "So you must be the fan Chanyeol was on about."

I was so shocked at finally being in the presence of BTS that I was tongue-tied.

Suga. Spoke. To. Me.

Chanyeol quickly intervened, "Yoongi-ah, this is Nami-ah, our little dorm mother."

Suga looked up at Chanyeol. "Your dorm mother?"

"Wah, EXO's got it good if they have a dorm mother." I heard a voice say. I glanced up and spotted that the other BTS members had come to join us. "Why couldn't we have a dorm mother?" I saw that the owner of the voice was V. He smiled as he greeted me, "Hi EXO's dorm mother!"

"Her name is Nami-ssi" Suga corrected V. "And why would we need a dorm mother? We have Jin already."

"I rather trade Jin and his cheesy dad jokes for a dorm mother any day" Jungkook interjected. He cocked his head at me. "Hello, Nami-ssi." He paused and turned to the other members, "She doesn't say much, does she?"

"I think she's gone into shock," Jin said while he waved a hand in front of my face. My eyes locked onto his as he zoomed in to inspect if I was still breathing. "Hello?" he asked as he leaned in closer.

I backed away, startled by his close proximity.

Jin screamed at my sudden movement. The others laughed.

"Stop crowding around her, you're making her uncomfortable" I heard a different voice say. I looked up and saw that Rapmon was ushering the other members to give me some space.

"Are you okay, Nami-ssi?" someone with a soft-spoken voice asked. It was Jimin. He peered at me from a distance with a concerned look on his face. "Maybe she's dehydrated and needs water?"

"I've got water right here!" answered a different voice. I turned to find the owner was J-hope. He was carrying a bottle of water in his hand. He offered it to me, "Here, drink some of this."

I took the bottle from J-hope and watched as he took a few steps back so that I had room to breathe.

I blinked. I still couldn't believe that BTS was right in front of me. In the flesh and blood.

They all returned my stare and watched me closely.

"Nami-ah?" I heard Chanyeol say. He was peering at me expectantly too.

I turned to face the rest of the BTS members and finally let the excitement, that I had bottled up, loose. I squealed, "Hello BTS, I'm so excited to finally get the opportunity to meet you!"

The BTS members let out a sound of relief at hearing my voice. It looked like they were worried that they hadn't lived up to my expectations.

They smiled and cheered as they huddled around me and started asking me questions one after the other.

"Who's your bias amongst us?"

"Which is your favourite BTS song?"

"When did you become our fan?"

"How come you're living with EXO?"

"Back up guys!" Suga shouted. "Give the poor girl some air." He turned to Chanyeol, "I haven't explained everything to the other members yet about why you guys are here. I thought maybe, you'd like to tell them."

Chanyeol nodded. He turned to face the BTS members who had formed a circle around me, "As you know, Nami-ah, our dorm mother, is a massive fan of yours." He gestured for me to come closer to him so that I could break free from BTS' captive circle. I stood next to him.

"And recently, I had done something wrong which made her angry at me." I exchanged looks with Chanyeol who was looking at me regretfully. He continued, "So knowing that Nami-ah is a massive fan of BTS, I decided to call on Yoongi for help."

"He asked if they could visit us for the day" Suga pitched in, "And I couldn't turn a friend down. He was only asking for a small favour, which is why they are with us now."

The BTS members nodded in acknowledgement.

"What did you do to make Nami-ssi so angry at you?" J-hope asked Chanyeol.

Chanyeol scratched his head awkwardly. "Just something I shouldn't have." He looked at me as if he was asking if he'd answered correctly. I gave him a brief nod.

"Well, since you guys are here, why don't you watch us practise our comebacks?" Rapmon suggested. "We can do something fun later on."

"Which songs are you performing?" I asked eagerly.

Rapmon smiled. "Is there one that you want to see?"

"Nami-ah knows all your songs" Chanyeol replied. I shot him a look and he grinned. "When we went to karaoke the other day, all she sang were BTS songs."

"Really?"

"Not to mention the fact that she also dances to your songs too" Chanyeol continued.

I stared at him, mortified. He wouldn't!

He saw me looking and stuck out his tongue. "Like one time, she was doing the laundry and I caught her dancing to--"

"La la la la la la!" I blurted, trying to stop Chanyeol from saying any more. "Don't listen to him, he likes to make stuff up!" I told Rapmon quickly.

Rapmon could only chuckle at us both. "Well, if you know the song, you're welcome to join in" Rapmon said as he left us to join the rest of BTS.

Once he was out of earshot, I glared at Chanyeol. "What was that for? You didn't have to tell them about my embarrassing singing or dancing!"

Chanyeol looked at me teasingly. "Oh c'mon it's not every day you get to meet your idols. You might as well have the full experience while you're here."

I thought for a moment. Chanyeol was right. I was lucky enough to actually be in the same room as them. And I'd regret it for the rest of my life if I didn't do everything I could while I was in their presence.

Once the BTS members were ready, the soundtrack for 'Fire' started playing. Chanyeol's eyes widened when he saw me run up to join them. "Wait up," I told the members, "I wanna join in too."

Rapmon smiled. "Sure."

"You know the moves?" J-hope asked from behind me.

I nodded. "I've practised it a couple of times."

The other members exchanged looks and moved further apart from each other to give me space.

"Which position did you practise?" Jungkook asked.

I replied timidly, "Rapmon's."

All the BTS members gave knowing nods and teasing looks at Rapmon. Rapmon chuckled, "Then you can dance beside me."

As the music started and I got into position, I watched as every BTS member put on their game face. The energy, when standing amongst them, was thrilling and electrifying. It was like they were channelling their focus to each other by communicating through subtle body movements as signals. The beats of the music gave me a surge of energy and determination to perform well. Rather than feeling embarrassed or nervous about making a mistake, I felt calm yet exhilarated. It was like I was dancing amongst my comrades and there was no need to be shy at all.

Surprisingly, I was able to keep up with their dance although, I did make a few mistakes here and there. I couldn't help smiling throughout the whole song and, once or twice I managed to catch a glimpse of Chanyeol, who was sitting at the mirrored end of the studio, jiving along to the music while never taking his eyes off me.

Once the song was done, I was panting for breath but adrenaline was still pumping through my body. The BTS members applauded me for my effort.

"That was amazing, Nami-ssi!" I heard V say.

Jimin offered me my bottle of water. "You did really well."

"I'm surprised you were able to follow us. You must have practised this song a lot!" Jin commented.

I blushed at the BTS members' compliments. I was so glad that I plucked up the courage to join in!

Rapmon went up to me and took off his black cap. I saw this forehead was glistening with sweat. "You looked great out there," he said as he smiled at me. He glanced down at his cap and then placed it over my head, "This is your reward."

"You're giving her your cap?" J-hope sounded astounded. "But isn't that your favourite cap?"

I felt the cap on my head and took it off, Rapmon's favourite cap? "Oh, I can't take this if this one is your favourite," I said, returning the cap to him.

But he just smiled and put it back on my head. "Keep it. You earned it!"

"You should have given her a better reward than that, hyung" I heard Jungkook say. "Who would want a cap worn by a sweaty guy?"

Rapmon glared at him.

"Thank you," I told Rapmon and he smiled at my beaming face.

This is the best day ever! I screamed internally.

As the BTS members took a short break, Chanyeol went up to me. "You've improved your dancing a lot," he commented. When I didn't say anything back, he bent down so that he could see my eyes since I had Rapmon's cap on my head. "Nami-ah?" I heard him call my name. He lowered himself so that we were on eye-level with each other.

I saw his eyes widen when he locked eyes with mine. "You've gone red!" he exclaimed. He snatched the cap from my head so that he could see my face better. "You're as red as a tomato!"

I turned around to face a mirror that was on the wall. I saw that he was right: I was blushing like mad. I felt my cheeks and they were warm.

"Do you have a fever from dancing?" Chanyeol asked, concerned.

I shook my head. "I'm fine. Just a little flustered." But I was starting to feel a little light-headed. Maybe I overdid it by going all out.

Without warning, Chanyeol placed his large hand on my forehead to feel my temperature. His hand was cool and comforting. "You don't feel fine" he mumbled. "It feels like you're" he paused and gave a small smile, "burning up."

I swatted his hand away. "I'm fine" I insisted.

But the truth was, I wasn't.

But I wasn't about to tell him that.

After all, if we left now, when will I ever get another opportunity to meet BTS again?

I just had to deal with it for the time being.

~*~

Author's Note:

Hey reader! Thanks for reading chapter 16 of Our Little Dorm Mother.

I was totally getting bias-wrecked by BTS while I was writing this chapter. Gahhhh! I hope I was able to portray Mirei's excitement pretty well.

My heart almost stopped when I was writing the part about Rapmon giving her his cap (I want one too!)

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you will stick around for more of the story.

*wink wink* There are more good bits to come!

I dedicate this to my good friend, DV, who provided some intel on BTS. Thank you for your input!

Please show your support by leaving some comments and votes.

Next time...