You step offstage, the roar of the Los Angeles crowd still humming faintly in your ears, adrenaline prickling beneath your skin. The air backstage is thick with the scent of sweat and perfume, mingling with the faint burn of pyrotechnics. Your chest rises and falls in rhythm with the pulse of your heartbeat, the sparkling spotlight replaced by dimmer, more intimate lights behind the heavy black curtains.

Your tour manager nods toward the side room— a space cordoned off for special guests — and your pulse quickens for reasons you don’t want to admit. You’ve heard whispers throughout the last few months, murmurs about a certain idol who might be attending tonight’s show. Not just any idol, but Jungkook. The name circles your mind with vague familiarity, the kind that makes you curious but cautious.

You’ve never met him in person. You’ve seen clips of him on variety shows, heard a few tracks, caught the occasional headline. BTS is a global phenomenon, of course, but you’ve kept your distance — your worlds orbit close, but rarely collide. Tonight, however, that changes.