92 First Concert

"Hey! Quit pushing!" A man with charming, soft cat eyes grumbled to the taller man by his side.

"Pushing? You're the one pushing!" The other man with a unique pair of mono-lid and double-lidded eyes nudged him right back in mock exasperation.

"Um, guys, stop with the role-play, the show's about to start." Namjoon announced with a mirthful roll of his eyes, as if watching his two sons or younger brothers play.

Although indeed, as BTS was a family, Jimin and Taehyung were in fact RM's younger brothers.

"Aww Joonie," chuckled Jimin with eyes glittering in playfulness. He looked over at Taehyung and shared a knowing look. These two besties often fooled around like this. And at LUXIA's first concert it was no different.

"Shhh~ look! The video's playing!" J-Hope exclaimed excitedly and lifted his arms up to gesture them to be quiet.

Always the mischievous maknae, Jungkook couldn't help saying one last thing. "From our angle, you can almost see behind the curtain on the opposite side."

"Eh?" Distracted, Hooseok leaned forward against the glass to peer closely at the spot Jungkook mentioned.

"Well, you can't actually see anything though. That would be a poor stage design if viewers could see from this seating spot."

Caught in Jungkook's ploy, Hooseok turned to give the maknae a chastising yet good-natured slap on the leg. Jungkook grinned with a small laugh, and the other members just shook their heads with wide smiles.

While watching LUXIA's show, the five BTS members intermittently remarked on aspects that wowed them like truly proud sunbaes. LUXIA were the definition of monster rookies having sold out a concert with a venue in the five digits. And their blistering energy and presence on the stage demonstrated their prowess.

"I don't remember Iris being THIS good," said J-Hope, opening his mouth in an o shape of surprise. "I mean she's super talented, but wow, she really stands out on stage here more than when she was in IZ*ONE!"

RM laughed. "Of course she stands out more now that there's less than half of the number of girls on stage than before!"

"But she was really good back then too!" Protested Jimin and then adding, "However, she's definitely improved since then. She shines more brightly because she seems more determined and in her element."

"Yeah!" Cheered V in agreement. "Don't forget the others though! Look at Cindy! I hardly can believe she used to have difficulty keeping up with the choreography previously."

Jimin was speechless. "....Hyung, that sounds like you've been spying on her!" This best friend of his still only had eyes for Cindy even after distancing himself from her. And even now, he acted like she was his bias in a group he stanned.

"Huh? What?" Taehyung innocently demurred. "I only peeked at their dance practices once in a while."

"...So you WERE creeping on them!" Jimin smacked V's back with a mirthful expression that countered his action of disdain.

Taehyung laughed and returned to watching the concert with the members.

Soon enough, the concert came to a close. The time was over two hours, and yet, it felt like they went by in a flash. LUXIA surely didn't act like months-old rookies as they completely dominated the stage, hooking their audience into every masterful performance.

"Amazing! They made a story out of it!" J-Hope gasped in wonder.

Namjoon nodded his head. "We've been telling stories too through our music, but they way they performed and handled the stage settings really make it feel like a story come to life through song."

"Yeah, I heard that Iris and others all had a hand in setting up the stages and lighting for the whole show." Jungkook added.

"They're really taking this to new heights, huh?" Jimin murmured. "We better take notes and learn from our hoobaes, haha!"

Taehyung smiled. "But I heard they got inspiration from us? Especially during the Fake Love era and Dionysus stages."

"Oh?" Namjoon smiled and suddenly thought back to Iris's first words to him. BTS had been her inspiration in music. And now, was it coming full circle? He grinned to himself. Life sure worked in mysterious, wonderful ways.

"Okay," said Namjoon getting up from his seat, "let's go visit them backstage."

"Whoo! Surprise time!" Jimin and J-Hope couldn't help exclaiming.

Sneakily, the BTS members crept backstage to the waiting room that LUXIA would have to go through eventually. And like kids, the grown men all decided to hide in the room.

Or rather, it was the four members convincing their dad, Namjoon, to play along with them. And as the doting father, he did.

Girlish giggles and chatter were soon heard coming near the closed door from the direction of the stage.

"Did you see that standing ovation?" Ahreum flapped her arms. "I bawled my eyes out so much that I'm glad we left when we did after the encore."

"Uh-huh." Jiyeon smirked gently and dabbed a little away from Ahrie's puffy red eyes as if to wipe a tear without being close enough to accidentally poke her eyeball. Even now, their youngest member was still brightly shining with the exhilaration of the stage and audience despite her overwhelmingly emotion as such a rapturous reception.

"It's true, I didn't think that the audience would be this wild considering we're still so new! I guess all the videos and TV appearances helped a lot of fans feel close to us!" Cheered Iris with a brilliant smile of satisfaction and achievement.

"Although.." Cindy nudged her elbow against her cousin's side with a sly grin. "I'm convinced that at least half of the fans are Queen Iris's."

"Huh?! Shush cuz! They are not!"

"Pssh! Stop being so modest! Please bring in more fans of yours to us, I'll turn them all into my bias! Hahaha!!"

"Waah! So scheming!" Iris scrunched her face and landed small whacks on Cindy's shoulder while she snickered.

"Pft!" Rinah tittered with a hand over her mouth. Such a lively bunch they were. Joining this group was surely the best decision of her life. If she had known how amazing it was to live as sisters and perform together like this, she would've never hesitated and joined in a heartbeat.

"So then after this, let's all go—"

Jiyeon's words got cut off as they entered the waiting room.