I had just checked into my hotel after my overnight flight from Portland, so I really wanted to get to my room and shower, then rest before I had to go to work that afternoon. I was in the elevator, telling my mum about how I had made it safely to the hotel, when a random guy got in and the doors closed. I quickly ended the conversation and told her I loved her, then hung up. The guy asked me if it was my boyfriend, but I giggled and politely answered that no, it was actually my mum- I don’t have a boyfriend. He smiled and whatever he had planned to reply probably would have been good, but just then the elevator screeched and halted, then dropped a couple of inches and stopped- blaring that annoying emergency siren noise repeatedly. I called the front office of the hotel and let them know what had happened, so they could call the right people to rescue us. He just stared and covered his ears while I was on the phone.

As soon as I hung up, I started searching in my small carry-on bag for something that would help, him watching me like a hawk, curious why I wasn’t even panicking about the noise. I held up two little black cases triumphantly and grinned, then stood right in front of him as I explained loudly, “These are concert earplugs I just bought for work. They will block out the noise, so we don’t hurt our ears.” As I yelled, I put mine in quickly, then handed him the other pair, assuming he would know what to do. He just stared at me and stood there, so I asked if he wanted help, he nodded, so I stood on my tippy toes to reach his ears, carefully putting the left one in, then the right one. My hair was very long and very crazy at the moment, so while I was focused on his earplugs, he was having my hair swinging in front of his face, tickling his nose and making him laugh silently. When I finished, the noise was far away and I could hear his words clearly, so I asked how he was doing and he gave me a smile, which I figured was a good sign.

He then pointed to the floor, motioning for us to sit down next to each other, so I waited for him to sit, then I copied, on his left side. My hair kept creating a curtain every time I would lean down to show him something, or answer a question, since I’m very dramatic when telling stories, so he had to keep tucking it behind my ear, then it would fall again; repeat over and over again. He finally must have been frustrated because he turned my face towards him and asked me clearly to sit a different way, so he could actually tell what I was saying and so he could see my expressions without my hair blocking his view. I laughed but agreed-then asked him to sit with his legs like a V, so I could sit crisscross in the middle, facing the other wall, my left side towards him this time. He did not understand at first, so I had to physically move his giant long legs and then sit how I wanted, which surprisingly worked. He could see my face clearly now and every time I leaned down or laughed and my hair fell forward, he didn’t have to move it.

We were there for about an hour when the hotel called to say the elevator company and the fire department were deciding how best to get us out. I reminded them that I had my two carry-ons with me, so I could not leave them behind- I needed them for work. They hung up and I told him what was happening, which made him frown, confusing me. “Why are you so disappointed we will be rescued soon? Don’t you want to escape?” He shook his head and replied, “I like being in here with you, just being myself and not having any pressure to be someone others think I am. I don’t want it to end.”

I nodded and patted his leg, then assured him that even when we were rescued, I would be happy to treat him the same as I was now, which made him laugh loudly, for some unknown reason. The front desk called back again, asking me if I could see what was above the elevator, but of course we couldn’t, so they asked if I could climb up to see what was above us, to find which floor we might be closest to. I saw the corner panel that would easily pop off, then pointed to explain what I was going to attempt to do. I tried climbing and balancing on the railing by myself, but because they were round metal, my shoes slipped every time.

Once he realized what I was attempting to do, he quickly lifted me and steadied me, his hands on my hips, so I could reach up high and remove the ceiling tile, then find the floor number. Turns out, we were just inches away from floor 3, the giant white label was easy for even me to read, so I tried to climb back down gracefully, but of course my shoe slipped, so I ended up sliding right into his arms, facing him, inches away, my hair blocking half my face again. He gently moved my hair, then smiled down at me, saying how cute I was when I was bravely trying to get us rescued. I was not fully aware of his compliment since I was focused on my mission of letting the front desk know, so I ignored him and reached for my phone that was still in my pocket.

He did not let go even as I called them and used this moment of distraction to further confuse me- he leaned his forehead against mine and just stared at me, not saying anything, but keeping a tight hold of me while I talked. Turns out, the fire department and elevator operators had decided that the best course of action would be to turn off the power to this specific elevator, then have us exit through the roof and go through the door they were planning to pry open, so they could then begin to work on the elevator while it was empty, just in case it had major issues.

I had put the phone on speaker, so he heard the plan as well, then when I hung up, he whispered, “I really don’t want to leave this elevator and go back to reality. I like who I am here, with you.” I did not understand, but smiled up at him and assured him, “You know we can actually hang out in the real world as well, right? There is a whole life outside this elevator if you want to share some time with me.” He sighed, then moved away and let go, clearly upset, so I reached for his hand and asked, “What did I say wrong? Are you mad at me now?”

He squeezed my hand and shook his head, not ready to explain yet, which I accepted. I did not replace the ceiling tile, knowing we were going to have to exit through it eventually, but the fire department and elevator operators were clearly not in a hurry because another half an hour went by and nothing had changed. The guy in the elevator had returned to his happy mood again and was now attempting to make me laugh by asking the most random and ridiculous questions I had ever heard. Soon, I was also cracking up, and when I laugh, I tend to laugh with my whole body, so I can’t stay standing most of the time… I ended up sitting on the floor again, this time closer to the door, trying to take deep breaths so when we were rescued, I could speak normally. He followed me like a magnet, sliding down the wall to join me, resting his head on mine, smelling my hair for the hundredth time and reaching for my hand to squeeze, once again. This hadn’t bothered me, since I knew he was just being sweet because we were trapped together and assumed once we were free, I would most likely never see him again. I was very wrong about that!

Finally, I heard the sound of screeching metal and peaked out of the hole in the ceiling, where a firefighter was peering back at me, saying they were getting the rescue harnesses ready for us. I reminded them about my luggage, which I would not be leaving behind, and they said it would not be an issue. The blaring alarm suddenly stopped, so we were able to take the concert earplugs out and hear normally for once. About ten minutes later, the elevator guy helped me shove my two carry-ons through the hole, then watch them be hoisted up by a rescuer, and set down on the third floor, next to the now propped open elevator doors. We were then given two harnesses to put on, but I swear it was the most complicated system of straps and clips I have ever seen, which made elevator guy burst into laughter every time I attempted to step into mine correctly. After the third failed attempt, he finally took it from me, held open the leg holes, then told me to stand directly in front of him, so he could help me.

I obeyed quickly, fitting perfectly into the space he left me, then allowed him to guide my legs into the holes and pull up the harness, so he could also help me with the torso and arm holes. He spun me around and told me to hold my arms out straight, which I did, allowing him to move the harness up my back and around to the front, where he connected the straps and double-checked all the clips were tightened.

I was so thankful he knew exactly what to do that I threw my arms around his neck and exclaimed, “Thank you so much for helping me! I am so lucky to know you!” He hugged me back and whispered in my ear, “Trust me, I am the lucky one. One day I will explain how you actually saved me.” I saw his face and his burning cheeks, which is when I finally realized he may have been flirting the whole time, but I was too clueless to see it. Oops. 

The firefighter sent down a long rope with a clip attached and asked me to put it on the front of my harness, which the elevator guy did for me, then kissed the top of my head and told the rescuers I was ready to be lifted. I was quickly raised right through the hole in the ceiling, much faster than I had anticipated, and swung wildly from side to side, hitting the cement hard with my left side multiple times until someone finally grabbed me from the third floor and pulled me to safety and began unstrapping me. They repeated the process for the elevator guy as well, but he barely swung at all. Once we were free, they began checking us for injuries, but I thought I was fine and told them so. Even so, they gave me their info and told me to let them know, or call an ambulance, if either one of us noticed any pain/injuries. I was still in shock/full of adrenaline, so I picked up my carry-ons and looked for the elevator guy, planning to ask him which floor he was on, which room number, etc. but he was literally gone, nowhere to be seen.

Since I was only on the fourth floor, I just walked and carried my two items, got to my room, showered as planned, then fell asleep, taking some Tylenol to help with the pain that was now radiating from my left side. Two hours later, my alarm went off and I woke up feeling like I had been crushed by a garbage compactor, then remembered I had been rescued by a harness and assumed it was the cause of my discomfort. I got up and dressed for my job, then packed my essentials in my purse/backpack, including some extra Tylenol and ibuprofen, which I was clearly going to need. The pain was making me nauseous, so the entire time I was riding the train to the stadium for work, I took tiny sips of water to avoid throwing up in front of other people.

Once I reached the stadium, the fresh air helped me as I walked from the train station to the actual entrance I needed to go into for work. I met my manager for the night, was shown where the employee lockers and breakroom were, then was given my assignment- the entrance barricade where the BTS members and dancers would enter and exit the stage. Perfect, since I had seen the concert multiple times before and knew most of the cues already. I met the other employees who would be working near me and tried to focus on being friendly, then finally took more pain meds when the other ones wore off. I needed food, but the pain on my left side was still causing me to be dizzy/nauseous, so I was too scared to actually eat anything major. Instead, I munched on some crackers another employee had, since I figured it would be soothing to my stomach and help me survive.

There was a medical room on the floor level where I was working, so if things got really bad, I knew I could go in there to rest, which was my plan after the soundcheck part was done. Everything was fine when the soundcheck started- the members came out of the tunnel, hyped up the crowd, sang a few bits, then came back through the curtain and began to prepare for their first outfits. What changed was that I saw the elevator guy at the exact time he saw me, both exchanging extremely shocked looks, as he walked past, him actually being one of the members of BTS, which he had neglected to tell me in the elevator.

I guess I should have known, since it explained his reluctance to want to be rescued, but in his defense, I had also not mentioned I was working at the stadium where BTS was performing, so we both had no clue we actually had a pretty good chance of seeing each other again. Anyway, he continued walking past me, glancing back multiple times to see if he was hallucinating, still completely surprised, then disappeared into one of the changing rooms.

I took this opportunity to go to the medical area, explained what had happened that morning, how much medicine I had already taken, and how I was still dizzy/nauseous. They did a quick check to make sure I didn’t have a fever, heart problem, etc. and once I was deemed “medically sound” they decided an IV would be the best option, so they could add some extra vitamins and nutrients to help me get through the next six hours of my shift, plus the train ride home. I wanted pain meds too, but they didn’t want me to fall or get hurt while working, so they said they couldn’t give me anything right now.

I had only been resting on their little cot for about ten minutes, when I heard a voice ask to see me. The medical staff denied them, then after a few more statements from the mystery person, they agreed and the door to the cot area was opened, revealing the elevator guy, who was not pleased to see me lying on my side, an IV in my left hand, looking pale and lethargic at the moment. He crossed the room quickly, knelt down next to me, brushed some wild hairs away from my face, then explained, “I am sorry for not telling you my name in the elevator, but I was worried how you would react. I can see now that you are extremely trustworthy and can be trusted with my life. So please, let me introduce myself now, properly. Hello sweetheart, I am Seokjin, but you can call me Jin.”

I was in a lot of pain by this point, so I just gave him a half smile, which he did not accept and asked, “What is bothering you? Why are you in this medical area?” I quickly whispered, “Remember when I hit the wall with my left side Jin? Now it hurts so badly that I’m dizzy and nauseous, but these guys can’t give me any pain medicine. I don’t know what I am going to do.” He frowned and leaned down to kiss my forehead, then walked over to one of the medics and began asking a lot of questions. He returned, clearly frustrated, then told me, “I want you to have an X-Ray done because I think you have a broken bone, but they don’t have one and that is annoying. How can a medical area not have an X-Ray machine available?” I could hear the tone of his voice change as he got more and more irritated with the situation, which caused me to worry I was causing him stress, so a few tears slipped out.

I was hoping he wouldn’t notice but should have known better because after you spend several hours trapped in an elevator with someone I feel like you know each other pretty well by that point. Anyway, he did very much notice and did very much kneel down right in front of my face to whisper, “Honey, I think we can both agree you need actual doctors at this point. Look how you are suffering because you have been brave for too long. Please let me find a way to help you. I promise to do my best.” As he gently wiped my tears and kissed my forehead again, I nodded, allowing him to give me his happiest smile again, then he went straight back to the medics and demanded they call an ambulance.

Soon, I was loaded up, on the way to the hospital, with Jin’s promise to come visit when the concert was done to make sure I got the care I needed and deserved. Turns out, he was right to be so worried- I had broken both the lower and upper bones in my left arm, which explained the radiating pain. Luckily, they were hairline fractures, so I didn’t need surgery, but I was placed in a giant brace from my shoulder to my wrist, until the swelling went down and they could put a cast on the following day.

I was now receiving actual pain meds, so the events of that evening are a bit fuzzy, but from what I remember, I was just lying in the hospital bed, unable to move, when Jin marched in, loudly (like his usual), saw me, and began rattling off a bunch of things in Korean because he was so frustrated about how it had taken me so long to get actual good care. The doctor was able to calm him down quickly, once he saw the X-Rays and heard about the plan to give me a cast the next day. Jin was so happy he thanked the doctor and shook their hand multiple times, grinning because he was right and couldn’t wait to share it with anyone who would listen. Unfortunately, I was in and out of awareness, so I heard his loudness, smiled because of it, then tried desperately to focus on his beautiful face when he came to talk to me, but everything was so fuzzy, I could only see a fluffy cloud, which he thought was adorable when I described it to him later.

He stayed for several hours, sitting next to me, on my good side, just holding my good hand and telling me random things, while I stared up at him, wondering who this amazing creature was. He knew I was not going to remember anything he said, so he spoke in Korean and English, purposely mixing things up, talking about how he was so glad we met, he loved being in the elevator with me, how he was mad I had gotten hurt, he had already spoken to the hotel staff and they were going to handle all my medical bills, since it was the rescuers’ faults I had been hurt in the first place. They were also going to refund my room and when Jin returned to the hotel around 1am, he personally got all my carry-ons (I hadn’t even had time to unpack anything) and brought them straight to his room.

The next morning, visiting hours started at 8am, so guess who showed up right on time, with breakfast, flowers, and balloons? Yes, it was definitely Jin, followed by JK, who absolutely also “needed” to be involved. I was so happy to see them I tried clapping, then realized I couldn’t, so JK ran over and clapped his giant hands right on top of my good one (very gently), which made me giggle. He grinned and exclaimed, “She is happy like us. I love her too. She is good for us!” Jin laughed and set the items down he had been carrying, then came over to check on me. I was obviously doing better because I was sitting up this time and able to speak clearly, plus everything didn’t appear fuzzy to me, so I was in a great mood. He asked the nurse for a table, which they had down the hall and JK went to collect, giving Jin time to sneak me a quick kiss on the cheek and a whispered, “Good morning sweetheart. I am so happy to see you smiling today. I will do everything to make you feel better. Please let me be myself around you like before.”

I was blushing when I replied, “Of course Jin. Why wouldn’t I want the actual you anyway? I don’t want someone who is fake to just break my heart.” He looked surprised at my response but couldn’t answer because JK appeared just then and began attempting to set up the square folding table next to my bed. Between him and Jin, it was the funniest thing I have ever seen in my life. Once they got the table set up, they realized the hospital bed was too high, so they had to ask a nurse how to lower it, then once that was fine, they found two random chairs in the hallway and brought them in, both being different heights, so Jin was actually sitting the lowest of us all, with JK being the highest, even though he’s the youngest and the way he kept pointing it out while grinning and bragging and teasing us was hilarious.

I laughed way more than I ate, while I thought I was being ignored because of JK, but should have known Jin would be watching me like a hawk and continued to put random items on my plate, which was incredibly sweet and thoughtful, especially since he was pre-cutting them for me. I had no idea how my plate was always covered in little food bites, but I loved it and happily munched on whatever was there, finally not feeling dizzy or nauseous anymore. I kept doing little happy dances when I ate something yummy, which confused both of them and they kept whispering about it in Korean, purposely excluding me, until finally JK asked what was happening and began copying me. I paused, just staring back at him, since I wasn’t doing it on purpose, which made both of them laugh and then it was my turn to be confused. I finally explained that when I am happy and the food tastes good, I have to dance because it’s just so great. JK said something to Jin that made him blush and I wanted to know what it was, but Jin just told me he’d tell me later, so then I had to be dramatic and give them both a fake pout, which set JK off with laughter and Jin started scrambling to explain why he didn’t want me to know what JK had said.

All in all, it was one of the most chaotic breakfasts I’ve ever been a part of, and it was amazing. When we finally finished, I tried to help clean up, leaned a little too far forward, started to fall off the bed, and JK had to catch me, so I didn’t land on the floor. Jin sighed, then gave JK orders to stand guard while he cleaned up- Jin did not trust me to be on my own yet, for good reason. I was just about to argue when JK came right in front of me and pulled me into a giant hug, then said, “I am so happy to see you making Jin-hyung so happy. Please keep loving his smile.” I nodded, now distracted by his genuine kindness and knew I had to behave for JK, so Jin could worry less about me and just enjoy life for once. With us out of the way, it took less than ten minutes for Jin to have everything back to normal, including the table returned, the chairs back in the hallway, and my bed back a little higher so the nurses could access me easier.

Once I had food, I was good for about an hour, with them both talking and making me laugh, then Jin noticed my eyes getting heavy and my answers becoming quieter, so he came to sit next to me on my good side and just waited for me to fall asleep, which didn’t take long. Once I was asleep, just resting on his shoulder, holding his hand, he kissed my hair and told JK why he was so worried about me at the concert the night before, since JK didn’t know the whole story yet. I didn’t sleep long because the pain came back, plus it was time for me to get my cast put on, so the nurses came in to deliver the meds to my IV, then wheeled me right out of the room and when I returned an hour later, my arm was covered in purple from my shoulder to my fingers, as planned. I was not asleep, but also not very aware of anything that was happening because of the pain meds, so when JK ran over and tried to pick me up, I was going to let him. Jin’s voice was the one I remember the most, how he immediately stepped in the way to prevent me from getting more injuries, then explained to JK how I could not be picked up yet- I needed to rest for a little while longer before the doctor would come to talk about sending me home with them.

Once JK understood, he came over and sat next to me instead, copying what Jin had done earlier, holding my good hand, kissing the top of my head, and saying sweet random things. Jin smiled, proud of JK for being so calm around me, knowing he would get plenty of time to be near me once I was out of the hospital later. Instead, he focused his energy on planning what to do about me while they were performing the concert that night- since I clearly could not be alone, but he didn’t want me to be here anymore either. JK suggested I just stay backstage, where the entire staff would be able to spy on me and make sure I didn’t try anything wild. Jin didn’t want to burden them with more work, but then JK pointed out that watching me while I slept wouldn’t be more work, so when the doctor came in to go over everything with them, Jin asked if they could bring home the meds that made me sleepy, to use one last time while they performed.

The doctor said he could release it to the medical staff, since it needed to be added to an IV, and their medical staff was very knowledgeable about IVs, as the members received them all the time while on tour. Jin made a quick phone call to make sure that when the driver came to pick us up, a medical staff member would be there as well, to receive the meds for later. Within an hour, the release paperwork had been signed, the medical staff member had gotten the vial of medicine to use later, and I was somehow loaded into the SUV without any of my own strength at all.

I sat squished between Jin and JK, which was fine by me, alternating getting gentle hand squeezes and kisses on my head from both of them. It wasn’t bad at all, actually, so I had no complaints. When we reached the hotel, I was carried by JK, who insisted he could be extremely gentle, while Jin continuously monitored him and literally hovered so close to me, I felt like I was sandwiched in between them both.

Jin opened the hotel room and JK carefully passed through the doorway, kicking off his shoes, and then realizing I hadn’t had shoes on the entire time, so he continued down the hall while Jin followed within inches, constantly mumbling reminders to watch my feet, arm, etc. I was finally set down on the couch, where Tae and Hobi seemed to be waiting, which made me super happy, so I tried to clap, but failed, frowning, causing everyone surrounding me to laugh and reach over to touch me somehow. Over the next hour, I received a LOT of pats on my head and legs, never on my arms, plus a few random kisses, which always surprised me, but when I asked Jimin why it kept happening, he just said, “You are cute. You are nice. We like you.” That did not clarify anything, so I was hoping someone else could elaborate, but then it was time to head to the stadium for them to do their soundcheck, so I was swooped up again, this time by Tae, who was grinning and clearly trying to prove how responsible he could be.

JK mimicked Jin this time and kept giving Tae warnings, which made everyone laugh, Jin went into one of his chaotic explosions in Korean and even though I didn’t catch all the words, I knew he was just irritated about being mocked while still genuinely worrying about my safety, but he loves them too much to really be mad, so yelling at the universe seemed like the best choice. We got into the SUV again, this time I was squished in between Jin and Jimin, with Joon and Yoongi behind us, which made for a much quieter ride. They all just whispered to each other, then glanced at me, or patted my head or leg. When the SUV door opened, both Tae and JK were eagerly waiting for their chance to grab me, but Jin pulled rank and said nope, this time it was his turn, shocking us all. I was so worried because my cast was really heavy, but he’s actually super strong, just not as boastful about it as the younger members and had no issue carrying me right into the stadium to set me down on a couch in one of their changing rooms.

They did their soundcheck while I looked at one of the screens, making friends with some of the regular staff members, who were asking me about the clothes I was wearing, still my work clothes from the previous day. I mentioned how amazing it would be to get a change of clothes, but all of mine were at the hotel. Which got me thinking about how I was ever going to shower alone again, which made me worry about being clean and smelling good for Jin, which made me really upset, which started the tears, and by the time the soundcheck was done, I was in tears and the poor staff member was trying to calm me down. The members walked in, saw my face, looked super confused, but then Jin saw me and rushed over to pick me up, squeezing me and asking what was wrong. JK is basically a mini-Jin, so he immediately followed, sitting on my left side, rubbing one of my legs, echoing everything Jin asked me. It was really sweet, but at that moment, I was too upset to notice.

When Jin finally got me to admit what was wrong, he chuckled a little, then quickly told me, “Sweetheart, you can wear any of the clothes we have here. You can have anyone from the staff help you wash your face and hair. You can get help with anything you want. All you have to do is ask and we will gladly help. Please don’t be afraid to speak your mind with me. I want to make you happy. This includes when you are injured or healthy. Please let me prove my devotion to you. Please give me a chance to win your love.”

He should not have said the last parts because I was already feeling very guilty for wasting so much of his time as it was, then for him to say that HE should be the one proving his devotion, when clearly it was ME who needed to do such a thing, well, that just set me off more, confusing both JK and Jin, until Jimin, who obviously deserves way more credit for his emotional intuition that he ever gets, stepped in and told them his thoughts. Once Jin understood, he was then able to work on solving the problem, but since my hygiene was clearly my biggest concern, he made sure to focus on that to begin with. There were showers at the stadium, but since I didn’t have anything to cover my cast with, we decided to wait until the hotel to handle that particular issue. Jin knew it would be easy to wash my face and hair, since the staff made them do it all the time, so when he asked for help, they were more than willing to show him.

I have never wanted to watch my life from an outside perspective, but for that time, with Jin and JK completely covered in shampoo bubbles, most of it dripping down my face and back, all of us laughing, water everywhere, I truly wish I could have. Turns out, neither one of them had ever washed someone else’s long hair before, so it was absolute chaos, with almost everyone else just watching the struggle from the other side of the room, avoiding the splashing zone. A few brave staff members stepped in to help actually get the shampoo and conditioner out, then gave us a towel for my soaking wet hair, then JK and Jin needed complete changes of clothes, since they were then soaking wet.

Unfortunately, so was I, excluding the cast we had wrapped in extra towels, so Jin brought me a pair of his pants, his hoodie, and a t-shirt, just so I could also dry. One of the female staff members helped me to a changing room and with a few moments of laughter, we eventually got my new clothes on. I was happy to be warm again, so I was then handed off to Joon and Yoongi, who calmly escorted me to another, dry room where they could help me dry my hair and brush it for me, very carefully.

By the time Jin and JK returned, my hair was combed and I was much calmer- I love having my hair brushed, so when lots of people offered to help, I instantly said yes. I was sitting on a cushion on the floor in front of a chair, where Jimin was currently brushing my long hair, my head resting on his knee, me totally relaxed and falling asleep, which is what made Jin smile so wide when he first entered the room. The fact that I was accepting and fully trusting the other members automatically gave me bonus points in his eyes, since they were a huge part of his life and anyone he liked must like them too. Clearly, this would not be an issue for me.

Jin came over and knelt in front of me, tilting my head up so I could look into his eyes, where I blinked, then smiled, and confessed, “I think they put something magic in that shampoo because I feel so fluffy like a cloud right now and my heart is so lovely.” He kissed my cheeks and laughed, then replied, “I don’t think it’s the shampoo that makes your heart so lovely- I think it’s you who does that all on your own.” I was too sleepy to argue, so I just stared up at him, blinking slowly, accepting whatever he said as the truth. I had no idea, but at that moment he decided that no matter what, he had to tell me how he was feeling after the concert that night, so I could decide what I wanted to do about it. I allowed JK to pick me up and carry me over to one of their makeup areas, where they used a face mask and then some cleanser, plus lotion to help me feel fresh and ready, which I greatly appreciated.

When it was an hour until the concert, they had to start changing, so that’s when the medical staff started my IV, making sure to add the pain meds from the hospital, which completely knocked me out. I remember getting kisses, hugs, pats, and gentle feet squeezes from lots of people, then being covered by a blanket, but I do not remember them leaving in one outfit, returning, changing, giving me more affection, returning again, changing, giving me another round of affection, and finally returning for the night, changing once again, then coming to congregate around me to make a plan. The pain meds were just wearing off, so I was talking nonsense, which they found hilarious, since I was answering their ridiculous questions as if I was serious. For example, Jimin asked me what the clouds tasted like, so I told him they were blueberry and raspberry, which made everyone laugh. Then Tae wanted to know who had the cutest heart, so I squinted and pretended that I could see inside their bodies, then told Tae it wasn’t the same, since they all had different qualities of cuteness within them. JK asked me where the bubbles went after they popped, so I told him they went to live in another universe where the Pokémon were. By the time Jin had changed and made it over to me, everyone was laughing and I was looking rather confused, but not annoyed, since I truly did not know they were joking.

Joon carried me to the SUV this time, setting me between himself and Jin, then waiting for Tae and JK to climb behind us. I was becoming more and more aware as we drove back to the hotel, so I noticed how Jin and Joon seemed to be discussing things about me because they were only using Korean and kept glancing down at me, or gesturing to my arm, which should have annoyed me, but with JK and Tae behind me, it was impossible to focus- they kept attempting to braid my hair, just making it more tangled and wild-looking, so by the time we reached the hotel, it looked terrible. Luckily, Yoongi is incredibly patient and as soon as I was upstairs, he saw the problem, knew how to solve it, and came right over to help, while everyone else helped with food or went to shower then returned.

While Yoongi helped me untangle my hair, he spoke calmly about how happy he was I could accept them as they were, not pretending to be something else or expecting them to be perfect in real life. I was finally myself again, so I was able to respond how I care more about how people treat others and animals with kindness and I don’t care about money or material items or fame because a person’s character stays with them in old age- many other things do not. He smiled and said he liked how straight forward I was when answering- many people do not speak their minds to BTS because they are intimidated or worried about what they will think or how they will react. I told Yoongi I didn’t care. When I was stuck in the elevator with Jin, he could have been a poor bus driver, or the richest prince on the planet- I would still have helped him without a second thought, not caring what he was thinking about me.

Jin being part of BTS has nothing to do with why I was attracted to him in the first place, therefore it has nothing to do with my feelings currently. I paused for a second, realizing what I had just confessed to Yoongi, turning around to face him, seeing shock on his face as well. “Oh my gosh! Yoongi! You cannot tell Jin what I just said! He will think I am crazy and never want to be near me again!” He shrugged, then answered, “It’s not my place to tell him anything, but in my opinion, you definitely should tell him how you feel because I’m pretty sure he feels the same.” I turned back around, completely embarrassed now, so glad it was just Yoongi in the room at that time.

Little did I know, Jin was just outside the door, about to enter, and had heard everything, which made him smile, but he knew he had to pretend to be ignorant, so he took a deep breath and entered the room loudly, like usual, commenting on something random to distract us both. I had my face covered with my hands, my hair hanging loosely, helping me hide my burning cheeks, which he ignored and pretended not to notice, much to my relief. Yoongi stood up and acted like he was going to hug Jin, but it was all for show- he didn’t want me to hear him whisper to Jin, “Don’t mess this up.”

Suddenly, Jin felt nervous, unsure of how to proceed for the first time in his life. Usually, he has tons of self-confidence and pretends to know exactly what to say in all situations, but this time, having only us in the room, knowing what I was thinking, made him worried about the right words to use. He stood in front of me, then held out his hands, so I could stand up, which we soon realized is impossible when using only one arm, so he changed tactics and went behind me, hooking his arms under my armpits, and hoisting me up from the back, which was much more effective. Once I was standing, I wobbled, giving him a chance to jump in front of me and catch me in a giant hug, where I could bury my face in his neck and just hide for a minute or two. He just stood there, frozen, wanting so desperately to speak his mind, but being so afraid of how I would react.

I could sense his hesitation, so I asked, “Jin, are you ok? Did I do something wrong to make you so quiet?” He buried his face in my hair and sighed, making me think something was actually wrong, but then he answered, “Sweetie, nothing is wrong. I just need to tell you something that I’ve been avoiding for a while and I’m not sure how you will react. I am nervous even though I care deeply about you.” I squeezed him with my good arm, gripping his shirt with my fingers, saying, “Jin, whatever you are thinking, whatever you are feeling, please always share it with me. I want to be the one you can rely on and trust. I want to be the one who sees the real you and loves the real you, like in the elevator yesterday. I don’t want you to ever be afraid of sharing things with me.”

He stood silently for a second, scaring me, before responding, “You want to love the real me?” I was hoping he would not catch that part, but somehow knew he would, so I took a deep breath and replied, “Yes, I do. For some unknown reason I am really attracted to you, the person I met in the elevator yesterday, who was funny and kind and didn’t care who I was- the real you that accepted me just for being myself. That is who I have somehow developed feelings for, and I know it’s crazy because it’s been such a short time and I will understand if you say it could never work out between us, but please don’t be mad. It’s not my fault I want to love you- with your caring nature and amazing member family support, I am just too happy to not take a chance on winning your affection in return.”

I was afraid of his reaction, but after a few seconds, I had to know the truth, so I leaned back to see his face, looking right into his eyes, where I saw something completely unexpected- tears on his cheeks. I was so shocked it took me a couple seconds to reach up and wipe them away, then balance on my tippy toes so I could touch his forehead to mine and say, “Jin, please trust me.”

He blinked and stared back, then kissed me, completely shocking me. To say it was unexpected would be an understatement. I felt like I had been teleported to an alternate universe, where the impossible was actually reality and anything could happen at any moment, without warning, as it just had.

He was the one to break the connection first, gently pulling away, then whispering, “I didn’t know how else to explain what I was thinking. I hope it was ok for me to show you instead.” I could only stare up at him, my cheeks on fire, my breathing rapidly out of control for the moment. He chuckled when he saw my cheeks, then kissed each one, saying, “I love it when you blush because of me. I hope that never changes.” Again, I was frozen, completely in denial that my life was this extraordinary.