Chapter Text
Jin was moving slowly through the hallway leading to the fan sign. His feet were shuffling across the floor and his palms were slowly getting sweaty. He smiled at himself as he saw all the other members already at their table setting up. He always loved seeing all the unfamiliar faces in the crowd - eager eyes crinkling with love and happiness. How could he not smile to himself when he thought about their gentle souls? Meeting them up close was the best part of him being in a band, he will admit it in a heartbeat. It's not the love he receives, but the feeling of good vibes and the gratitude he feels for everything they do for him.
"Jin-hyung I thought you got lost on the way from the bathroom," Jimin says smiling at him. His smile is so wide and broad, just so charming in every single way. Of course, all the fans had their hearts melting just at the sight of his soft cheeks and sharp eyes.
Jin nodded slowly, shining a smile bright enough to melt the sun. In the corner of his eye, as he was sitting down on the wobbly chair he saw Namjoon's disapproving look. He knew on the spot that Joon will have a short talk with him after about punctuality and discipline. Jin swallowed at the thought. He really did love fan meets but lately he felt a stirring in his heart, doubt and shadows creeping in, giving him anxiety. Delaying events by a few seconds did not help alleviate the pain, on the contrary. But he just accepted this vicious cycle he created.
"Oppa, could you sign my album please?" a shy trembling voice snapped him from his thoughts. "You are so stunning in real life. Even better than pictures. They don't do you justice" a small girl kneeling behind the table was smiling shyly, tear forming in the corner of her eyes. Jin's mouth curved into his Hollywood smile and gently took the girl's album in his hands. His heart melted every time an army would tear up with emotion, he just wanted to hug them all. "What is your name, sweetheart?" he puts his charming voice on. The idol mask slowly forming around him, settling in his veins. He was used to the big smiles, the playful jokes, gentle touches and brightness on display. Everything that Jin was and SeokJin aspired to become.
"You know the secret to my handsomeness?" he asks the girl cheekily. A familiar scoff from his right side startles him for a second. The young girl looks to see the source of the incredulous noise. Taehyung rolls his eyes and just goes back to taking the hand of the pink-haired girl in front of him, flashing her a playful boxy smile. Jin brushes a golden lock to the side and squeezes the girl's hand, and she goes back to watching Jin in awe. "I was born on handsome island," he says softly and starts laughing obnoxiously loud. The high-pitched laughter filling in the room. Jimin joins in the laughter, always a victim of his dad jokes.
Taehyung always hated how Jin always seemed to put on a show for people to maintain attention on him. He saw right through Jin's charade. The fake smiles, the dad jokes he knew he always researched, the hyper dances and self-important model poses. He hated them all. Tae always saw Jin as the son of a CEO with his career laid out in front of him. A pretty face with a perfect future, all girls at his feet, and his heart colder than ice. He hated to admit that he spent more than half of the fan meet watching his eldest hyung flirting with fans, being loud and entertaining a whole crowd. His long red bangs were covering the slightly furrowed brow he was sporting with his boxy smile. Yes, he is beautiful - with plump red lips, a long neck that any human would love to bite, and the most gentle eyes. It was hard to deny that, even more so since he got the stupid blonde undercut. Tae couldn't make up his mind if it made him look like an angel or a demon now, both sickeningly attractive of course. The second that the pictures came in the media, for two weeks straight that's all the tabloids talked about and even the fan cafe was flooded with messages praising his beauty.
Both Tae and Jin stood there for an hour hearing dozens of girls complimenting Jin's visuals, eyes beaming with lust and awe, hearts thumping with the speed of light. His ego is growing by the second probably, the red haired boy thinks to himself as a fan boy approaches his hyung and Jin lets him touch his face. He has all genders wrapped around his finger, there is no one in the world that could resist SeokJin's charms. Outside of Taehyung, of course.
The meeting came to an end soon enough. Jin felt drained from all the smiles, his mask was becoming a bit of a burden to him lately. He got up and looked at the crowd cheering him on. His heart was doing somersaults, as his eyes were skipping from one face to another taking them all in. His hand automatically went to his mouth and before he knew it hand kisses were distributed throughout the room to every army with a camera. Girls and boys swooning at his trademark gesture, screams of love intensifying by the second. Jungkook started chuckling at him as he was gathering all the small trinkets he got during the meet. The boys were used to Jin's fan service which he mastered in no time.
Jimin put his hand on Jin's broad shoulders, a signal meaning it's time to go. "I hope you were all enchanted by my handsome face!" Jin says with a serious model face on. His furrowed brow and parted lips looked as if ripped off the pages of Vogue. Tae knew his hyung was handsome, he was just over his ego.
Once in the backroom as they got ready to go, the boys were loud. Hoseok and Jimin in a corner dancing to some girl group song, making silly faces for the camera crew, Jungkook filming them both on his phone and snickering. Yoongi and Namjoon were talking about highlights from the fan meet when Taehyung joined in loudly.
"Who am I?" he asks smiling devilishly. With broad exaggerated gesticulations, Taehyung was blowing loud, sloppy kisses left and right. "You are blessed with my face," he belts out even louder, eyes shooting directly at Jin. Jimin and Hobi start laughing in unison at the caricature. Jungkook puts his index finger and thumb in a V under his chin - an iconic Jin pose.
"Worldwide handsome", JK says joining the loud laughter.
"Obviously you are trying to replicate the best looking person in the group but if I were you, I'd work on it." Jin's voice was cold coming from behind the phone he kept texting on, only his red ears betraying his true feelings. Tae laughs as if brushing this all off as a joke, his heart pounding with anger. "This", the blonde model adds getting up slowly and straightening his button up, "cannot be replicated." A daring wink flies off in V's direction, and with that both Jimin and Jungkook roar with laughter. Yoongi and Namjoon looked bemused at Taehyung seeking a reaction. They have been bickering like this for a good 6 months and by now they are just waiting to see more of the cat and mouse game they have going on. The red haired maknae stands there struck by other's boldness as the camera crew follows the boys closely to the elevator.
As long as the red light is on, Tae and Jin will seem playful friends teasing each other out of love. The maknae could not wait for it to be off, the filters disintegrating. They all cram into the elevator together screaming goodbyes at the camera as the doors close slowly. Seokjin is on the other side of it, left behind by his members. His ears go red and his eyes get big watching the closed door, then shifting to the moving digits on the panel next to it indicating that the elevator is truly leaving without him. He scratches the back of his head, beads of nervous sweat accumulating at his temples, and turns to face the camera with his Hollywood smile on.
"It seems that they left me behind. Sometimes it feels like they forget I am a member," he chuckles at the camera. The stirring in his heart now spreading to his stomach, his windshield wiper laugh trying to swallow those shadows but only succeeding in masking them.
The red light goes off.