"Nari, what's your favorite BTS song?"

The girl shrugged, "I don't know. I don't really listen to their music."

A week passed and nothing had changed. The same group of girls surrounded her at every chance they got and asked questions until her head began to spin. There wasn't much that Nari missed from her life before the boys, but a sense of privacy was one of them. She missed feeling invisible as she walked down the halls, she missed eating her lunch by herself while reading a book, and she missed being alone to her thoughts most of all.

Nari never had many friends and she was okay with that. People drained her energy faster than the battery on an iPhone, and besides, she was used to being alone. Not having friends made Nari's life simple. Making friends was so difficult anyway, and the fear of abandonment lurking in the back of her mind didn't help either. The best choice was to just stay to herself.

"You don't know any of their songs?" The girl sitting across from Nari persisted, snapping her back to reality, "Not even one?"

Nari shook her head, "I don't think so. They don't sing that much when they're not working, and when they do, it's not songs that are already released." She didn't mention how Taehyung would sing her to sleep when she was sad, or how when he was in a good mood he made up silly songs to whatever it was that he was doing. Those moments were special. It wouldn't feel right sharing them.

The bell rang and Nari had never felt more relieved. She shoved the rest of her lunch into her backpack and hastily said goodbye as she headed out the door. The next two periods were study halls, which meant she could spend them wherever she wanted, and what better place to go than to the library?

"Hey there!" Ms. Bradley waved to the girl from the front desk as soon as she opened the doors, "I have a job for you today."

Nari nodded excitedly as she dropped her backpack on the floor, "What is it?"

"We're getting some new books in, so it's time to get rid of the old ones." The woman pushed a thick stack of dusty books across the counter, "I need you to take the check out cards out of them and use the discard stamp on the first and last pages."

The girl eagerly accepted and opened the first one, "Sounds good." She took them to a small table next to the front desk and quickly got to work. Nothing made her happier than books.

"So, how are you?" The librarian slid into the seat across from her, "Did you eat today?"

"Uh huh."

"How are your parents?"

"Good."

"And the boys?"

"Also good," Nari paused for a second before continuing, "Jimin sent me a picture of Las Vegas this morning and he said that they might be able to make it for my birthday."

Ms. Bradley grinned, "Hey that's awesome! It's in like two weeks right?"

"Yep. I'll be twelve." The girl sighed and put down the book she was holding, "I really hope that they can come. I miss them so much."

"I see," Her older companion answered sympathetically, "You don't really have many friends here, do you?"

Nari swallowed the lump in her throat and looked to the ground, "No, not really."

"Do you want friends?"

"I don't know." She shrugged, "No one wants to be friends with me, you know? They just want to get to BTS."

Ms. Bradley nodded understandingly, "Yeah. I know. But I can help you make some friends, if you want."

She looked up at the woman in surprise. From their interaction on the first day of school, Nari had attached herself to Ms. Bradley like glue. Out of everyone, she was the easiest to talk to because she treated her as just Nari. Not Nari from BTS, but just Nari.

"I'm the advisor for the school's anime club," The woman continued, "There's a meeting today after school and I think you should come. There's some people there that you would like."

Nari froze, her red stamp halfway to the faded ink as she remembered Suga's words. "Join a club" his soft voice echoed in her mind, "No matter how many fake people there are, there will always be real ones too. You will find real friends."

"Alright," She let out a deep breath and pressed her stamp firmly on the page, "I'll come."

Ms. Bradley beamed, "Thank you, Nari. You won't regret it."

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After the final bell rang, Nari politely excused herself from the girls that flocked around her and headed to the library. She took a deep breath as her slightly shaking hand gripped the doorknob.

Everything is going to be okay, She reassured herself, The boys want you to make friends. They want you to be happy. Namjoon doesn't want you to be lonely.

And so, with a sudden burst of courage, Nari opened the door and stepped into the library. Luckily, Ms. Bradley saw her and waved. The girl breathed out a sigh of relief and headed over to the table she was at with a few other kids.

"I'm so glad you could make it!" The librarian greeted her warmly and turned to the other members, "Guys, this is Kim Nari. She's joining us today so please be sure to make her feel comfortable."

Nari bowed, "I'm happy to be here too. It's nice to meet you all."

"You're in my English class," A tall girl with glasses spoke up, "I'm Aera I'm the president." She gestured to the empty chair beside her, "Welcome!"

A boy waved cheerfully from the other side of the table, "And I'm Bora."

"Bora," Nari repeated and sat down beside Aera, "Like purple?"

The boy sighed, "Yeah, like purple. Everybody says that."

"It's okay, purple is my favorite color."

"You're the kid that BTS adopted, right?" A different boy asked excitedly, "That's so cool-"

Ms. Bradley cleared her throat, "Euji, remember that Nari is a person too. I think that you should get to know her instead of the people she's connected to."

"Oh, you're right," He apologized and brushed his floppy brown hair to the side, "I'm Euji. What's your favorite anime?"

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Nari sighed happily and laid back on her bed, hugging Jin's Super Mario blanket to her chest. Anime club went well and for the first time in a few weeks the girl felt like she belonged. Aera's bright smile flashed through her mind, "I'm so glad there's another girl," She had said, "The boys are nice and all, but it'll be so much more fun with you here."

The girl grabbed her phone and typed three letters into the search bar. B. T. S. Nari tried not to think about it, but the constant questioning from her classmates had started to get to her. They saw the boys in such a different way and she couldn't help but feel a little dumb sometimes when they all seemed to know something that she didn't.

Nari clicked on the first result she saw, which was a music video for a song called DNA. She grinned as she watched her boys doing what they love. It was like watching the pieces of a puzzle come together. All those nights where they stayed up until 2 AM in the dance studio practicing their choreography, the days where Nari would come downstairs to see Suga passed out with a pencil in hand and his notebook on the floor, the afternoons filled with hours of singing the same words over and over again, and the early mornings that turned into tiring nights: It all went towards this.

And they were so good at it!

So for hours Nari closed her eyes and listened to all of their songs that she could. She had never really paid a lot of attention to music, but the girl found herself loving every word. They worked so hard.

Suddenly, the music pulsing through her headphones changed. A quieter, more serious, sound played. She looked at her phone screen. There was no music video, no dancing or anything, just the album art and the title. Reflection.

Nari's breath hitched when she heard Namjoon's voice. Somehow she knew that this was his song.

"I find this movie very amusing. Everyday, I want to shoot it well. To be honest, quite often, I really hate myself. When I really hate myself, I go to Dduksum."

The girl's mind raced, Dduksum, isn't that their special place? The one that overlooks the Han river? Wait, did Namjoon just say that he hates himself?

"Everyone else knows where they're supposed to be, but only I walk without purpose. But still, blending in with them is more comfortable."

Nari's eyes filled up with tears. She never knew that Namjoon felt this way, that he was holding so much pain inside of him. As the outro of "I wish I could love myself" echoed throughout her head, the girl let her tears fall. He held in so much. She buried herself under Jin's blanket and decided then and there that the next time she talked to Namjoon she would let him know how much he meant to her.

Almost as if it was on cue, Nari's phone rang. It was just the person that she wanted to hear.

"Hey, Namjoon."

"Hi Nari!" The boy's bright voice cheerfully replied from the other side of the phone, "I'm sorry, I know it's been a while since I've called, but I promise that I love you. Things have just been hella busy and I keep forgetting about time zones and I don't want to wake you up at night and-"

The girl interrupted, "Namjoon, it's okay. I don't mind. And I listened to your song."

"Oh, cool! Which one?"

"The one about Dduksum. Reflection." Nari took a deep breath, "Namjoon, do you still hurt like that? Like in the song?"

He paused, "Well, it's complicated. Some days are better than others. But I wrote that song years ago, I was different then." His voice softened, "Were you worried about me, darling? Don't be, I promise that things are better now."

"Okay," The girl replied and let out a deep breath, "I just...love you a lot and I miss you more than anything. When they call attendance at school I always feel so proud knowing that my last name is the same as yours. You always make sure that I feel happy, I want to help you be happy too."

"You're the sweetest," Namjoon chuckled, "You probably already figured it out, but you know the place I mentioned in that song, the one by the Han river? That's our special place. I've never shared it with anyone but you. And besides, you make me happier than you could ever know."

"I love you."

The boy laughed, "I love you more, my Nari. How is school?"

"A little better," She admitted, "I went to anime club today."

"How was it? Did you have fun?"

"Yeah, I did. It was really nice." The girl smiled and relaxed.

Namjoon breathed a sigh of relief, "I'm so happy to hear that. You know we love you and all, but it's important to have friends your own age."

"I guess," Nari hesitantly agreed, "But I'll always love you the most. And Namjoon, do you think that you'll be able to be here for my birthday?"

"Is that what you want, Nari?"

"More than anything in the whole world," She answered earnestly, "I don't care about presents or cake or whatever else people do on birthdays, I just want you to be here."

Namjoon chuckled, "If that's what you want, I'll try my best to make it happen. It'll be a little tough because we're supposed to be in Los Angeles by noon on the 10th, but I'll do everything I can to be there."

"Really? You mean it?" Nari sat up, her energy suddenly returning, "You'll be there?"

"It might not be for very long-"

"It's okay!" The girl interrupted, overflowing with excitement, "I don't care if it's for an hour or for like 5 minutes, I just want you to be here. I love you so much!"

Namjoon smiled softly on the other side of the phone. She didn't know it, but he'd already made arrangements and talked it over with Rika. He was going to be there no matter what.

"I love you too, darling." The boy answered tenderly, "I miss you more and more every day. Just hold on a little while longer, okay?"

"I'll try," Nari replied, "How is everyone else? Are they doing okay?"

"They're doing great, there's no need to worry," Namjoon said, "They miss you a lot though. A couple weeks ago we passed a big bookstore and Hobi instantly asked Suga what you guys were planning to read next." His voice dropped to a whisper, "He doesn't know that I saw this, so you gotta keep it a secret, but he asked a few staff members to pick out some books for you while we were at the photoshoot."

Her heart grew warm, "Really? Hobi did that for me?"

"Of course he did. He loves you a lot, you know." He changed the subject, not wanting to accidentally spoil any more surprises, "So, Nari, tell me about your new friends!"

"Well, I don't really have friends yet," She admitted, "At least, not real ones. Oh, wait, I actually do have one friend! She's a teacher though."

Namjoon chuckled, "A teacher, huh? What's she like?"

"Her name is Ms. Bradley and she's super nice!" Nari excitedly rambled, "She's a librarian and she lets me hang out in the library during study halls and help her with the books. On the first day of school she made me tea when I was sad. She's really kind."

"I'm so happy to hear that, darling," The boy smiled, "It's important to have people like that in your life. I hope that I get to meet her someday."

"Me too," She agreed, "Ms. Bradley moved here from America so she knows English too. She's really smart and I think that you guys would get along. But hey, Namjoon?"

"Hm? What is it, baby girl?"

"You're really...good at your job," Nari's voice softened, "All of you work so hard and you're so talented. Do you think that maybe I could watch you guys sometime, or come to a concert?"

Namjoon's answer was immediate, "You can come to all the concerts you want, my darling. It means so much to me that you even want to be there." He sighed, "Ugh, you have no idea how much it's killing me that I can't hug you right now."

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good morning everyone! how are you guys today? i hope you're doing well!

namjoon with purple hair > literally everything else. idk about yall, but the pastel pink and purple hair era rlly got me feelin some kinda way. also Flowers2030 made this cover and i love it sm shes a literal angel 💗💗💗