72 My Secret

"Aaaand, CUT!" Iris chopped her hand down to indicate the end of filming.

Seeing this clapboard gesture, Rinah giggled. "You're so serious about this, Iris. Thank you so much for helping me! It definitely wouldn't have come out so great if it weren't for you!"

"Haha, well I can use this as practice for when I eventually want to direct my own music videos!" said Iris proudly with her hands on her hips for dramatic effect.

"Yes! I'm sure you'll be very good! My spike in subscribers was all because of you anyway. They're all asking why my view formats got so 'fancy' all of a sudden!" Rinah tittered with her hand over her smiling mouth.

"By the way," Rinah continued, "you only have a few weeks left of break right? How's debut preparation going? Did you rest enough, though? I appreciate all that you did for me, so don't worry, I've gotten the hang of how you format and edit the videos now!"

Iris huffed, blowing a strand of hair from her face with a side-smirk. "Oh yeah? But then where are you going to find someone who films as good as me?"

With a snort, Rinah waved her hand playfully. "I'll make do, miss 'professional'~~"

Iris grinned and swung her arm into the crook of Rinah's elbow. Leaning in, she intimately spoke. "The preparations are almost complete. I'll have to return to IZ*ONE soon. But you call me if you ever need me, okay?"

Rinah nodded with a grateful flush. "Yes, thank you, unnie~"

"And you can also ask the girls too." Iris was referring to Cindy, Jiyeon, and Ahreum. "Like I told you before, they've been wanting to see you again and get to know you better. So give them a call sometime, yes?"

Rinah smiled reluctantly; although, deep down, she secretly admired all of the Big Hit girls. Slowly, she was getting over the hurdle of self-shame for having indirectly manipulated them before.

"Well, I'll see you then! Take care, Riri~!"

The girl beamed like warm sunshine at the sound of her nickname given by Iris. "Yes, you take care too! Don't overwork yourself okay? Go to sleep earlier too! You respond too late at night!" Rinah couldn't help shouting more out as Iris walked away.

"Yes, 'mom'!" Iris teased with her back turned while waving.

Rinah watched the back of Iris disappear slowly over the horizon. She stood rooted to the spot for a few lingering moments before quietly turning in the direction of the bus home. One day soon, she promised to herself that she would be able to stand on her own with pride and confidence and without regret or misgivings.

When Iris returned to the Big Hit building in the middle-late afternoon, she crossed paths with a welcome face.

"Hey Iris-ah! How're you? You've been so busy, running all over the place, that I missed you every time I was able to visit and say hi."

She smiled brightly up at the friendly face of self-named Mr. Worldwide Handsome. His brown eyes seemed to sparkle a little more brilliantly today. Iris wondered if it was due to the reflection of the sun setting and the rays striking the polished floors and glass walls with a golden gleam.

"I'm doing well, haha, thank you! I'm sorry that I missed your visits, but we were at least able to meet today!"

Jin laughed. "Yes, it's fate maybe!"

"Oh." Iris uttered and hastily moved onto another subject before a blush crept in. "So, you're good too? You must be tired though from doing all of the Map of the Soul: 7 tours. Good thing you have a short breather in June and later in August. Touring for so many months takes a toil on your body, so be careful okay?"

Inwardly, Iris wanted to smack herself. She didn't mean to go back to the sentimental mood that had sprouted up at the start of their conversation and for which she purposely moved onto a different subject.

BTS needed to rest, but they also needed to stay focused on their work. She couldn't distract them, so that's why she hadn't been visiting them that much. Even though, she had a rare break after two years of not seeing them in person.

So to hear that Jin went out of his way to check up on her, Iris felt a little guilty. Some of the other members apparently too had come to say hi while Iris happened to be away. So Cindy, Jiyeon, and Ahreum made sure to be presentable, gracious hosts as well as possible in their shared dorm suite.

Due to Big Hit having a new, larger headquarters, this girl's dorm suite was built-into one of the company's occupied floors in order to make it both convenient and clandestine for the future girl group.

And as such, the girls often had staff and other Big Hit artists pop by. The entrance living room was a suitable place for welcoming guests. When it was just them alone, the girls often used this large space to practice dance moves at night.

Jin didn't want Iris to feel guilty—he knew her micro-expressions too well at this point. Despite their limited time together, he always noticed her subtle change in mood.

"Don't worry, I'm a 'professional'." He joked, patting his chest.

Iris snorted at his classic 'lame' dad jokes and was reminded of what Rinah said to her just earlier. She wondered if somehow, Jin was rubbing off on Big Hit and their fans. Certainly, it didn't personally bode well for her already lacking comedic skills.

"You still have to make one of the tour dates you know, or I'll be offended."

The black-haired girl scratched her head sheepishly at Jin's teasing words, making him smile at her with a fleeting wink. "Just kidding. The dates in Korea was the month before you came back, so I know it'll be hard pressed for you to attend one in Japan—" Jin halted in his words as he suddenly realized something.

Excitedly, he blurted, "I assumed you wouldn't be able to make any concert dates, but wait, are you going to promote at all in Japan with IZ*ONE? You just had a Korean comeback with BLOOM*IZ and Fiesta. By the way, you looked really good this concept."

Iris coughed and cleared her throat. This man was definitely a 'professional' at making one's heart calm and then nervous the next moment.

"That is…" She didn't want to let Jin win, so she closed one eye and raised a finger to her lips mischievously. "…a secret."