I put my right foot down on my left side and use my momentum to spin around so my back's to the audience. That has always been the hardest part of this choreography for me, but thankfully I've stuck it both nights I've performed it. My pair of backup dancers stand one on either side of me, making the same pose as the one I'm striking. The audience claps and cheers as the song ends and I turn around, bowing to them and smiling before walking offstage. Performance two checked off the list.

As I step back off the stage, I hear the announcer for the broadcast talk up the next act. "And now, coming back with their new single, Bangtan Sonyeondan with Blood Sweat & Tears!"

I turn my mic in to one of the staff members with a smile on my face, then make my way to the wings to watch the boys perform. It's kind of crazy that I got to "debut" under AOMG and start promoting right as Bangtan begins their bout of new promotions, but I couldn't be happier about it. Last night was my debut stage, and today we're all at MBC competing. Jay, as he's asked me to call him, wanted me to get out and promoting as soon as possible because I've still got name recognition from dating Yoongi, so we put together some of the demos I'd been working on and made a mini-album happen. It's nice to see Bangtan at shows and stuff right as I'm starting out; they certainly make me feel more comfortable.

And speaking of comfort, the boys look incredibly comfortable onstage as they give all they've got to their performance. I hear fanchants loud and clear and I can't help but speak along to them from the side of the stage. The boys all look amazing as usual in their fancy suits and scarves and such, and every single point of the choreo is executed flawlessly.

"They're really quite good, aren't they?" I hear a voice from beside me and turn on my heel to see a surprising face. It's SHINee's leader Onew, right there in the flesh.

"Hello," I stammer, totally caught off-guard by my senior's words. "Yes, I'd say they are pretty talented."

He smiles, putting a friendly hand on my shoulder. "You're very talented, too, Silver-ssi," he states. "AOMG is lucky to have you."

"Thank you," I stutter, still dumbfounded. "That really does mean a lot coming from someone as talented and experienced as you."

"Talented and experienced, sure, but currently wounded. I spent all that time learning the 1 of 1 choreography and now I can't even do it. Such a shame."

"Hey, you'll heal, right? You'll get to do it then."

"I suppose," he laughs. "Hey, we've gotta go prepare, but it was nice talking to you. Wish us luck, okay?"

"Yes, of course. Fighting!"

He pumps his fist in the air as he walks away. When I return my attention back to Bangtan, still reeling from my exchange with Onew, I realize that I've missed the majority of the song, and all of Yoongi's parts. I frown inwardly but watch the rest of the show well, wanting to be as good an audience member as I can be for my friends.

When the boys finish the song, they make their way offstage and turn their mics in. I make a point to hide myself a little as they come offstage, then sneak up behind Yoongi shortly after he's given his mic away. Using all the energy I have left, I jump onto Yoongi's back with a laugh. He yelps in response but quickly moves to hold me up, realizing just who it was that jumped on him.

"Get off me, Rin!" He exclaims with a laugh. "I'm tired enough from dancing already."

"You're no fun, you know that?" I reply, returning my feet to the ground. I then smile, though, and add a few more words. "You were great out there, I'm sure. I got sucked into a little conversation and I missed your parts, but you nailed all of the choreography."

He smiles, taking my hands in his. "You were great, too. I'm so proud of you. Who were you talking to?"

"Onew, from SHINee. He just popped over for a second to chat."

"What'd he say?"

"That you're all talented, and that I am, too."

"Hey, he's right, at least." Yoongi leads me offstage and into the green room where it's quieter.

"So," he begins, smiling at me and sitting down on the couch. "How did you like it? You were great out there."

"It's fun," I reply. "The choreography's not too difficult and all the music is my own, so what's not to like?"

"I'm glad you see it that way. I wouldn't want you to have joined AOMG only to realize you still hate idols or something like that."

I frown, thinking back on when I was that closed-minded. "No, I enjoy it. I still don't think I'd ever want to be in a girl group or anything like that, but this is nice."

"That's good, I'm happy for you."

"Thanks."

"Hey, so have you listened to my demos yet?" Yoongi asks, changing the subject.

"Yeah— just Agust D and Tony Montana, though. I haven't gotten a chance to hear them all."

"What did you think?"

"They're amazing, Yoongi! They're yours— how could they be anything else?"

"You like them?"

I roll my eyes and let the sarcasm drip from my voice. "No, Yoongi, they're the sorriest excuses for music I've ever had the displeasure of hearing. Of course I like them!"

"Okay, well there's no need to be that sassy. I just wanted to be sure." He laughs lightly and puts an arm around me. I rest my head on his shoulder and for a moment or two we sit in relative silence. However, a devious smile begins to form on my face and I decide to actually voice the thought that had settled in my mind.

"One thing, though," I begin.

"About the demos?"

"Yeah."

"What?"

"You keep talking up this tongue of yours, saying it can do all these things to people."

He blushes. "And?"

"So far I've only been partially satisfied."

Realization fully dawns on him then and a lewd smile crosses his lips. "Well that just won't do, will it? I guess I'll have to prove it to you."

"That's what I'm saying," I say with a laugh. "Hey, though— Dabin invited us out for dinner tonight after the showcase is over. All of Bangtan; he's buying. Juyoung might be there, too. Wanna come?"

"Sure," he replies, standing. "And I'll prove it to you after that." He winks and I roll my eyes. "C'mon, though— we've got to tell Namjoon."

"Right," I say, standing too. We make our way to backstage again and meet up with the six other members of Bangtan, who are currently speaking with their manager.

"Hey," Yoongi announces, getting their attention. "Dabin invited us out to eat after this— he's one of Rin's friends. Can we go?"

"Sure," Manager-nim says. "If I don't have to pay for it."

"He's buying," I interject.

"I'm in," Namjoon says immediately.

"Yeah, sounds good to me," Taehyung adds.

"For sure," Jimin says. "But we've got to get back out there now, yeah? It's almost time to announce a winner."

"Right!" Jungkook exclaims. "We have to go!"

"Well, it's a yes," Yoongi says, squeezing my hand with a smile. "You drove here, right? We could take you in the van if you need us to."

"No, I drove, but thank you," I respond. "Okay, let's go— Jungkook's right, we're going to be late."

He nods in affirmation and we walk to the other side of the stage. The emcees for tonight beckon us all on and we make our way once again into the blinding lights of the MBC Showcase's stage. I stand on my own off to the right of the stage, the boys of Bangtan are on stage left, and the five men of SHINee stand right next to the emcees in the middle. They start tallying the numbers slowly, category by category. I don't really pay attention— going up against SHINee and Bangtan, I know I won't win. It doesn't really matter to me anyway, but I have absolutely no idea who will win between the two of them. Their songs are so different, but the two groups are evenly matched overall. It's really a fifty-fifty chance for either group to win.

"And the winner is 1 of 1! Say a few words!" The emcees start talking and I clap and cheer respectfully as my seniors begin their speeches. The members of Bangtan do the same thing, and as the encore begins we all file offstage. Onew flashes me a smile as he picks up his microphone and I return it. Then, without another word, I reenter the wings.

"Okay, I'll meet you all at the restaurant," I say to Bangtan once they've gathered around me. "I just sent you the address, Yoongi."

"Yeah— got it," he replies. Be there in a few!"

We then run off to dressing rooms to change into more comfortable clothing. I put on a black t-shirt with potted plants on it and some distressed blue jeans. I then quickly make my way out to my car and get moving to the restaurant, hoping to leave the building before traffic gets too bad.

I arrive in about fifteen minutes to find both Dabin and Juyoung sitting at a large table. The duo is chatting idly and seemingly getting along quite well. Dabin and Juyoung were never particularly close, but nonetheless, it's nice to see them having fun together.

"Hey guys!" I announce, walking over to them with a bright smile on my face. I quickly embrace Dabin, then Juyoung. "How are you?"

"Good!" Juyoung says, beaming. "I just got a producing job with WM, so needless to say I could not be happier."

"That's great! I'm so proud of you, Juyoung." I take a seat across from him, peering out the window at the busy streets of Seoul framed against a setting sun.

"They're coming, right?" Dabin asks.

"Yeah, they're probably just running a bit late. Getting seven guys in the same place is difficult."

"I can imagine."

A waitress comes over to take our drink orders shortly after, and as she's putting in Dabin's order for a fancy martini of some kind, the door to the restaurant opens and the seven members of Bangtan Sonyeondan enter. Yoongi immediately takes the seat beside me and the other six boys file into the rest of the open spots. The poor waitress is suddenly overwhelmed by seven more unexpected drink orders, but once she has them she darts away to the bar to put them in. Juyoung, Jungkook, Taehyung and I are the only ones to not indulge in any alcohol tonight. I decide not to just because I'm not in the mood, but I'm incredibly proud of Juyoung for turning down the opportunity.

"So, who won?" Dabin asks, scanning Bangtan's end of the table.

"SHINee did," Jimin supplies. "Which is nice, I guess."

"Yeah, it's good that our first time going up against Rin neither of us won," Hoseok adds.

"Ah, I see. Starts you off on an equal playing field, right?"

I roll my eyes, laughing internally at the concept of our being on an "equal" playing field. I've still got a ton to learn— Bangtan is way more qualified than me and they have more fans. We're far from on an even level, but I don't mind. I'm really just in it to have more of my music heard, not to win. Pretty much everyone at AOMG feels that way.

Our actual meal is a blur. We indulge ourselves in drinks, bar food, and conversation, constantly reaching over each other and interrupting to tell stories. We laugh heartily and smile broadly only to quickly calm down to thank the waitress providing us with our meals. Dabin was right about the food— it's incredible. Once we start eating, various blanket statements are made about the food itself, but soon the loud and rambunctious conversations begin to pick back up. Juyoung and Yoongi lament together over the troubles of producing. Dabin and Jungkook talk about American music they like. A slightly tipsy Namjoon decides to insert English phrases here and there, "just to keep us on our toes." Hoseok slaps the pleather seat of the booth below him every time someone tells a joke he finds funny. Jimin and Taehyung take stabs at each other all night. Jin and I talk about the book I'd lent him— the YA mystery about the Baltimore band. The sun sets. The food is gone. Dabin pays the check, as promised. We all come together to leave a hearty tip for the poor waitress who's had to work her ass off tonight. Yoongi squeezes my hand under the table.

"Wanna take a walk?" He asks.

"Sure," I reply, smiling. Then, to the whole table, I announce our departure. "We'll be back in a little bit, okay?"

"Sure," Namjoon says. "Have fun, lovebirds."

"Not too much fun," Dabin says with a wink. I push him gently as I stand and Yoongi and I exit the restaurant. The air is cooler now, less humid, and the streets are far less crowded than they are during the day. Yoongi slinks his hand into mine, intertwining our fingers and swinging our arms back and forth lightly.

"This has been fun," he says, looking up at the sky above him. It's a rather clear night, with just a few white clouds turned gray from the darkness occupying the night sky. A few helicopters or airplanes momentarily get mistaken for stars, and have to prove they aren't by quickly flying away. I bring myself closer to Yoongi as I walk, feeling the thud of my Adidas sneakers against the whitish-gray sidewalk with each step I take. It's a beautiful evening, truly.

"Yeah, it has. I'm glad everything has finally started settling down."

"Me, too."

We just wander in silence for a minute or two, breathing in Seoul's heavy air. We turn a corner onto a sidestreet and Yoongi finds a place he's willing to stop at. There's a bus stop there, with a small bench, and we take a seat on it.

I take a deep breath as Yoongi puts his arm around me, pulling me closer while I prepare to speak. "Y'know how we wrote those stupid messages on the back of those photos from our underground days?"

"Silver & Gloss, soon-to-be stars. Don't act like you don't remember what it says."

"Right. I was just thinking that we did it. Like, we finally made it there. You were a little faster, I'll admit, but I caught up."

He laughs lightly, pulling me even closer to him. "Yeah, I guess you're right. That's pretty cool, don't you think? It's a good kind of self-fulfilling prophecy."

"For sure. Wow, I just— we've really changed a lot, haven't we?"

"We have. You know what, though?"

"What? Actually, I think I might already know—"

"Shh, let me say it. I'm never this cheesy, you should be excited."

"Okay, okay. Go ahead, control freak."

"Do you feel like it was destiny?"

I'm taken aback. "I actually didn't expect you to go there with that."

"Well, do you? Like, it seemed totally bleak for such a long time, and by some miracle, we ended up back together after all of it. Was it destiny?"

"All I can tell you is that that miracle's name was Juyoung."

"Not necessarily. I wouldn't have talked to him if I hadn't seen you at Underground, and I wouldn't have gone to Underground without Hoseok convincing me to. There are just so many circumstances— so many stars that had to align for us to end up where we are now, and I just want to know if it was destiny or not."

"Well, do you believe in destiny?"

"Do you?"

"I don't know."

"I don't, either."

"Well, Yoongi, what I do know is that I don't think it matters whether or not it was destiny. I don't know if it was or not, but I do know that I love you and that I'm happier than I have ever been in my whole life."

And as another airplane passes by overhead, as the faintest stars twinkle weakly, as cars rush past before us and as Yoongi presses his lips to mine, I know I mean it. It really doesn't matter if we were destined to be this way; if some god above planned all this out for us. All that's important is that I'm here, and I'm more glad to exist than I have ever been. If God did have this planned out, then He certainly did a great job— maybe even too good a job. By giving me this moment, this day, this life, He's accidentally screwed me over in the afterlife.

Because not even heaven can compare to this.

☽☼☾

i, um, wow.

lemme just start off with something totally unrelated to the emotionally-charged author's note that's about to follow. quick question, mostly of curiosity: whose solo song on WINGS is your favorite? mine is probably Stigma or MAMA.

okay, now on to our regularly-scheduled programming. this is over now, i guess. crazy, isn't it? i'm really at a crossroads here, i've got mixed emotions. on one hand, i'm extremely proud of this book and immensely excited to have finished it. on the other, though, it's going to be a work i miss writing because i'm so proud of it. it's bittersweet, to say the least.

but, it's over. no sequel, no spinoff, nothing like that. i'm a fan of stand-alone works, so no, there won't be anything else Arrogance-related coming. and i really do hope you enjoyed this book. like i've already said twice, i'm proud of this work, and i hope that it made you feel some things or at least gave you something to take you out of everyday life once in a while. i'm going to get into my seokjin fic shortly, so don't expect a huge hiatus from me or anything, but i guess you could say that 'arrogance era' is over.

so thank you for reading this far, and for supporting me all this way. this book has just recently hit 6k reads, and i'm incredibly excited about that and hope it continues to grow. all of your support means so so so much to me, i don't know where i'd be without it.

so, from the bottom of my heart, thank you,

sam

☽☼☾