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Jungkook arrived promptly at six o’clock, Jimin and Tae in tow.  He knocked on our door.  I took a deep breath and looked over at Sanduni as I prepared to open the door.  “Ready?”

Her eyes wide in her face, she nodded before sending me a shy smile.  I could tell she was nervous.  We both were.  Though, I couldn’t have explained why I was.  I had just spent more than an hour with them.  Of course, I hadn’t met Jin or rap line yet.  But honestly, the only one I really wanted to impress was Jungkook, and he liked me despite all my initial blundering.

Sanduni and I had had a little time to make ourselves look even prettier.  She was wearing a shade of blue that made her look beautiful.  Her long, brown hair was flowing all the way down her back to her hips.  Her dark brown eyes were large in her face.  She looked stunning.  She’s a little slip of a thing, and I couldn’t help but think that Jimin was in for a treat tonight.  Meeting such a gorgeous girl whose appearance was outshone only by the sweetness of her spirit would surely be the highlight of his evening.

Taking another deep breath, I swung the door open to reveal the maknae line waiting with bated breath for our unveiling.  Or rather, for Sanduni’s.  They’d already met me.  But as I opened the door, I briefly noticed that Jungkook had eyes only for me.  He seemed to be taking in my appearance with pleasure.  His face lit up when he saw me.  I smiled at him right before my eyes flew to Jimin’s face.  He was staring at Sanduni, and he looked like someone had rocked his world!  I grinned as I noticed his reaction.  Then I witnessed a look of such aching tenderness crossing his face that I felt breathless just watching him, but I had to speak anyway.

“Jimin, Tae, this is my friend Sanduni.”

Jimin never took his eyes off her.  He stepped forward, holding his hand out. 

I glanced at Sanduni.  She looked stunned.  Was she shocked to be meeting Jimin?  Or was she surprised by the kaleidoscope of color waving at her from the top of his head?  His hair was a flaming rainbow now.  All seven colors lighting up his head.  Red on the far-right side of his head gave way to orange which in turn blended into yellow.  Green crowned the very top of his head as blue, indigo, and purple descended the left side of his scalp.  

Sanduni stepped forward, slipping her hand into his.  They stood there staring into each other’s eyes while they clasped hands for several moments, oblivious to the rest of us.  I glanced at Jungkook.  His eyes were still on my face.  He sneaked a peek at Jimin and Sanduni and then looked at me once more, a gorgeous grin splitting his countenance.

Be still, my racing heart.  The man is so beautiful!

I glanced at Tae for a moment as his boxy smile flashed across his face.  He too was smiling at the couple.  He elbowed Jungkook and murmured, “Well, I guess I’m just invisible.”  Then he smirked at me as he questioned, “Do you have a friend for me too?”

I grinned ruefully at him, thinking of one friend in particular who would have loved to have been here but couldn’t make it.  “Yes, I do, actually.”

I watched as his face lit up with surprise before I continued, “But, I’m sorry, Tae, she couldn’t make it this time.”

His expectant face fell, and my heart hurt a little for him.  “But I could FaceTime her, and you could at least talk to her, if you’d like.”

His grin reappeared.  “Ok.  Sure.”  Then he glanced at Kookie and shrugged.

“Maybe next time, my friend,” Jungkook murmured to Tae.

Next time?

I looked over at Sanduni and Jimin, only to discover they were still holding hands and staring at each other.  They both looked like they’d been struck by lightning.  I smiled.  

Jungkook decided to break up the party. “Well, we should be going.  We’re meeting the other guys at six-thirty.”

I turned towards him.  “Where are we going?”

“Do you like pizza?  We’re going to get Chicago-style pizza.”

“Ooh!  Deep dish?  I love real Chicago pizza.  And I rarely get to eat it!”  Now I had two reasons to be happy.

I just hoped Sanduni liked it.  But as I turned to look at the wonder on her face as she gazed at Jimin, I realized she probably wouldn’t even taste her food anyway.  She was too taken with Jimin to notice anything else.

Jimin pulled her a little closer to him before he let go of her hand, albeit reluctantly if the look on his face was anything to judge by.  Finally, he spoke, “Hello, Sanduni.  It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

She smiled up at him as he gazed down at her.  “It’s wonderful to meet you, Jimin.  Far beyond my wildest dreams!”

He grinned.  “Do you like pizza?”

She nodded her head.  For Jimin she would like anything, even something as exotic as deep dish pizza.

We all exited our hotel room, rode the elevator downstairs, and headed for their car.  Once again, I remembered the CCTV cameras and Jungkook’s disastrous dinner with his friend.  I glanced at him, but he didn’t look at me.  He’d also moved a ways away from me, but he must have read my mind because he answered my unspoken question.  “We’re in a big group.  And I’m not going to sit near you at dinner.  It will be ok.”

I smiled, a little reassured.  But I was also disappointed.  He wasn’t going to sit with me?

Sanduni looked at me.  “What is he talking about?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.  I’ll tell you later.”  Not looking at Jungkook, I nonetheless directed my question at him.  “Should I drive my own car and meet you there separately?”

He shook his head.  “No.  You can ride with us.”

I was a little uneasy, but I gave in gracefully anyway. 

Jungkook drove the car.  Tae sat up front next to him.  Sanduni snagged a seat next to Jimin by sitting in the middle of the car.  I sat behind Jungkook, Jimin behind Tae.

Jimin smiled down at Sanduni and began to question her.  “Where are you from, Sanduni?”

“Sri Lanka.”

“Wow!  Really?”

She smiled and nodded.

“You came all the way to America just to come to our concert?”

“And to see Grace.”  She smiled shyly up at him.  “I was hoping to meet you too.”

I glanced over at Jimin.  “What she’s not telling you is that Monday is her birthday.  This trip is my birthday present to her.”

Surprise crossed Jimin’s face.  “Your birthday is in three days?  Happy early birthday, Sanduni!”  He leaned down and spoke confidentially to her in a whisper that tickled her ear, “What do you want for your birthday?”

You.

I know that’s what she was thinking.  It was written all over her face.  I hid a smile as I watched the two of them.  They were so cute together.  His rainbow head bent over her dark one.  She gazed longingly up at him.

“I don’t know,” she whispered.  

Cagey girl.

For a moment as I watched Jimin, I wondered if he was going to bend over just a little further and kiss Sanduni on the lips.  It wouldn’t take much.  If Jungkook took a turn too sharply, Jimin’s full lips would collide with her own, with or without his volition.

“Hmm…” Jimin responded.  “Would backstage passes and front row seats to tomorrow’s concert be good enough?”

My eyes nearly bugged out of my head.  “Really?” I asked as Sanduni just stared at him, wide-eyed.

He glanced up at me for a moment.  “I think you deserve a reward for giving your friend such a fabulous birthday gift.  And I want to give Sanduni something special too.” His eyes came back to rest on her upturned face.

I sat back, floored.  How on earth had any of this happened?  I’d had several special moments with Jungkook already, and now we had front row seats to their concert?  And backstage passes?  That meant we’d get to go to sound check too.  Although, really, that paled in comparison to tonight.  I closed my eyes and pinched myself.

“Ow!”  My eyes flew open.

Jungkook glanced at me in the rearview mirror.  “Are you ok?”

“Yes.  I was just pinching myself to see if this is all real.”

His face split into that earth-shattering grin once more.  And my world lit up with the flame of his humor.