Music in Me

It was a simple Sunday morning as the sound of the music floated throughout the elegant penthouse. This is peace, I thought as I played on my baby grand piano. Not on a stage, not for a crowd, but simply for myself. I was playing a classical piece as it has been so long since I’ve had the opportunity which heightened my joy. My hands danced across the keys as I closed my eyes, playing from memory. As the last note faded, the sound of the doorbell replaced it.

It was nice while it lasted.

“There is my girl!” My mom/manager said once I opened the door. We hugged in greeting and walked into the living room, where my cat was sleeping on his favorite pillow, not bothering to look at us as we sat down. This was the time that we normally went over my weekly schedule. Then we would go out for breakfast if we had nothing to do. There are times that our mother-daughter relationship takes a more business tone, but we always find a way to bring it back. “Tuesday we’re meeting with Shawn and his team. His manager said the track is complete, and they want the ok from you both to discuss the music video. You have interviews to advertise the charity event. I will let your styling team know. They will send some looks to your email, and you can pick what you like best.”

“Who are the interviews with?” I asked, feeling the previous calm leave me. Mentally, I waved goodbye.

“Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday and a couple of YouTube-based shows on Thursday. You will only be performing for Jimmy’s show.” She explained, reading from her tablet. I always had fun with Jimmy, so I was looking forward to that one.

“Which song?”

“Your latest song is still high up on the charts, so I suggest that one. There is another group from the event that will be there with you too. Apparently, their fanbase knows of you and wanted to see you guys in interviews together.”

“Really? Who?” I asked in surprise.

“A boyband from South Korea called BTS. That is the shortened version, I’m not sure how to pronounce the-”

“Wait, do you mean Bangtan Sonyeondan?” I asked and reached for my phone. I had heard of the group but noticed that name was showing up in my comments a lot lately. “I have seen a lot of comments about them in my videos.”

“Once their fans found out you would be performing at the same event, they were excited to see videos of you interacting. Which is unusual, from what I’ve been told, as many K-pop fans are very protective of their idols when it comes to members of the opposite sex.”

“What do they need to protect them from?” I asked. My mom shrugged in response. My knowledge of the K-pop industry was limited but I have heard some of BTS’s songs. They were very impressive as were their performances.

“Since you will have a couple of interviews with them, their management team has reached out to us. They suggested a lunch or dinner for you to meet the boys. That way you were more comfortable with each other before meeting in front of a camera.”

“That is a good idea,” I said with a nervous laugh. “They are very popular.”

“You are selling yourself short. There are many artists that reach out to work with you and the audience can see how talented you are. They might be nervous to meet you!” She said, looking up at me with a small smile. I smiled back as I took in what she said. I had a huge following throughout my social media and was known in many of circles of musicians as an accomplished songwriter and composer. Not to mention my skills on the piano. It was how I became known in the first place. Plus, all the other instruments I can play. Once I nodded, she returned to her tablet and my schedule. I continued scrolling on my phone to see my comments and looked up videos that my fans suggested. They were a group of good-looking men.

“They are free tonight for dinner or tomorrow for lunch. You have nothing scheduled at either time so when do you prefer?” My mom asked. Her phone had magically appeared in her hand ready to text their team my answer.

“Tonight. If we get along then we have more time to talk and if we don’t, I can say I have an early morning.”

“My daughter is a genius!” She exclaimed and started typing away. I laughed at her reaction. We grew quiet, doing our own thing, as we waited for a response. It wasn’t that much longer until they answered with a place and time for dinner.

Unknown POV

“She agreed to meet for dinner tonight. I want you ready to leave by 5:30.” Our manager announced as he walked into the room.

“Who?” Hyung asked from across the room.

“Y/F/N, she will be performing at the charity in LA and will be part of your interview with Jimmy Fallon.” At that, I straightened in my seat, trying to hide how eager I was at the news. Ignoring the two members who saw through my facade. There were so many things rushing through my mind, and I didn’t know where to start.

What am I going to wear?

Y/N POV

I smoothed down my dress as I handed my keys to the valet and thanked him. From what I saw, these guys were known for their fashion sense and the restaurant was nice, so I took the opportunity to dress up a bit. I had on a velvet emerald dress with a sweetheart neckline and long sleeves. It hugged my curves and stopped halfway down my thighs. As soon as I walked in a host came up to me.

“Hello, Ms Y/L/N. Your party is already here and waiting in one of our private rooms. If you could please follow me?” He said and led me upstairs and down a hallway before stopping at the farthest door. We could hear laughter which made me smile. Once I opened the door, the laughter died down, and seven pairs of eyes were on me.

“Annyeonghaseyo,” I said with a bow and a smile. They all quickly stood up to bow and greeted me in return.

“You have great pronunciation.” The one closest to me said. I had looked up their names but stupid me couldn’t remember which one he was. In most pictures, they had varying hair colors and I had tried to use that, but they were not the same. They must not have been recent pictures.

“Thank you. I have performed in Korea once and learned some simple phrases.” I answered. One pulled out a chair for me with a sweet smile and once I sat, the others returned to their seats. “I guess we should introduce ourselves.”

“We know who you are! You are so talented!” The one that I recognized to be the youngest exclaimed. As soon as I looked at him, his cheeks turned pink, and he tried to hide behind another member. It didn’t work as well as he had hoped as the latter threw his arm over his shoulder with a loud laugh.

“Our Jungkookie is very excited to meet you.” He told me with a bright smile.

“Are you saying you’re not excited?” I asked with a fake pout. Turned out to be real enough for his face to turn to horror as he quickly shook his head no.

“No, no! That’s not what I meant at all! We are all excited to-” I couldn’t hold back any longer and burst out laughing.

“I’m sorry but you made that too easy,” I said and they all laughed, effectively breaking the ice. “I am very excited to meet you all as well. Just so Jungkook isn’t the only one to know my name, I’m Y/N.”

“I am RM but you can call me Namjoon.” He was the one who had complimented my pronunciation earlier. He sat tall with his dimples popping out with his smile. RM? That makes him the leader. This guy must hit the gym as his shirt was fitted enough to show how built he was. Currently, his hair was cut short, and dyed a blueish gray with an undercut.

“I’m Jin.” A board-shouldered man spoke up next. Before he could continue, I jumped in, “Worldwide handsome, right?” He blushed while the others laughed at his reaction. This man was blessed with the most luscious lips I have ever seen on a man.

“My name is Jimin!” The one that pulled out my chair for me exclaimed. The smile was still on his face. While his smile was sweet, the was a hint of a mischievous look in his eyes. I gave him a smile, but I knew there was more behind the sweet act. Most pictures I had seen of him showed him with blonde hair but now he had his hair dyed dark brown.

“I’m known as J-hope but please call me Hobi.” Spoke the guy that sat next to Jungkook. His bright smile was back. The smile really showed the heart shape of his lips and the blonde, basically white, hair was working for him in my opinion.

“Thanks to hyung, you know my name is Jungkook.” He flicked back his black hair that was slightly in his eyes. He seemed like an interesting person with his pierced eyebrow and lip plus the tattoos but the sweet smile and adorable doe eyes shining at me.

“I’m Taehyung. Nice to meet you.” He had a much deeper tone when he spoke. His dark hair was curly and stopped above his eyes. His tan skin looked as though it would be soft to the touch. Though he sounded calm, his smile almost seemed shy, there was excitement in his eyes. “I enjoyed your latest song.” I felt my body relax and gave him a gentle smile. His deep tone seemingly pulled me in.

“I’m Yoongi.” The last guy spoke which sparked a memory for me.

“Wait, as in Suga?” I asked and he nodded. “You’re the one that plays the piano, right?”

“Uh, yeah I do. How did you know?” He asked causing Namjoon to elbow him in the side. Yoongi sent him a look as the hit must have been harder than Namjoon intended. His body language was more laid back than the others, but there was a contrast in his eyes. There was a sharpness to them as if he was analyzing everything and everyone in the room.

“You have no idea how many of our fans have sent me the clip of you playing one of your songs on the piano. I think you were in white.” I explained. He nodded in understanding. “Your fans were also hyping you up, saying that we need to collaborate on a song.”

“If our fans are asking for it, then I think there is a high chance of them asking during the interviews,” Namjoon said with a thoughtful expression. He had on glasses, and it gave him college professor vibes. Once that thought ran through my head, I smiled but forced myself from laughing out loud.

“I have to admit, I did look up some of your work,” I said, looking back to Yoongi.

“Oh, really?” He asked. While his face gave nothing away, his eyes held a bit of surprise with a blush threatening his cheeks. “What did you think?”

“You have a wide range of songs you’ve written which is very impressive,” I said with more of a professional tone which stiffened his relaxed posture. “That is understandable considering the variety in your group's music. Though it also explains how you are able to write for other artists which, I know from experience, is not always easy. The thing I find impressive is how you are able to create such powerful emotions from the beat of your music. That is so crucial since a huge part of your fanbase doesn’t speak Korean.”

“Thank you. That is kind of you to say.” Yoongi answered, trying to keep his cool persona. If it wasn’t for the now prominent blush on his cheeks, he might have gotten away with it.

“He’s just being modest!” Jimin suddenly exclaimed. “Yoongi-hyung, Hobi-hyung, and Namjoon-hyung are incredible writers! They are also known as our rap line.”

“It’s not just us, Jiminie.” Hobi interjected, “You guys have made some amazing songs as well.”

“Maybe, but it's thanks to you three that we even got-”

“Are we really going to do this again? All of us are talented. Now what are we going to eat?” Jin asked as he picked up the menu. I laughed at his way of stopping the “argument”. This was definitely an interesting group of guys.

Don’t forget to smile at least once a day :)