More than just Cake

At the sight of the BTS members, all of the girls fell speechless. LUXIA certainly didn't expect their sunbaes of eight years to visit a company rookies' first concert. And yet, here they were, with bright smiles that genuinely shone with pride and affection for their hardworking little sister group.

"Namjoon! Jimin! J-Hope, Jungkook, Taehyung!! You're all here!!?" Iris breathily blurted out with her hand up as if stopping herself from believing the sight before her.

"Yes haha, we're here to congratulate you on a sold out world tour! As well as the music show wins and chart tops of course~" Namjoon's characteristic dimple showed while speaking.

"And here," he continued, "we brought you all a little something to celebrate."

From behind the couch they had been hiding behind—and not all that well as five grown men can't exactly fit without being seen—Taehyung brought out a darling little cake with flower icing flourishes. Jimin assisted with utensils and handling.

"No way... you guys are too sweet," murmured Iris with arising emotion. "You planned this out all ahead? Thank you so much, that means a lot to have you support us out here!" Her eyes glistened with heartfelt gratitude as did the other members of LUXIA similarly touched by BTS's actions.

"You really shouldn't have, just having you all here is more than enough for us," said Cindy, becoming quieter than usual in her tone of speech due to being affected by the considerate gestures of BTS.

"Of course we had to bring something for such an important occasion!" V snapped back merrily.

"But—! Erghum~" Cindy couldn't protest more. She wanted to mention that not even TXT got this treatment when they debuted, so what made LUXIA more special? But that would not do any good to compare the two newest Big Hit idol groups.

Besides, it didn't necessarily make one group better than the other just because a world famous hoobae visited their concert. And, the two groups had entirely different situations and relationships with BTS.

However, more simply, perhaps it was just BTS themselves that had grown more sentimental and soft on their hoobaes. Recently, they had been spending more time with TXT.

Even though, TXT was now quite busy with promotions. The young boy group certainly had made their own name for themselves with unique concepts and relatable stories and emotions such as in their last comeback song, "Can't you see me?"

TXT included were inspirations to LUXIA. The girls had such amazing sunbaes in their company and industry to look up to. And now, the fourth generation idols were really taking off.

"What're you going to be doing after this?" asked Jimin to Ahreum and Jiyeon. "Rest up for next time?" He gave a light chuckle and megawatt smile that charmingly curved the corner of his eyes.

Ahreum nodded vigorously. "Yes, this is only the first day of our first leg of the tour! We need to preserve our energy and pace ourselves!" Her determined fist in the air made Jimin laugh.

Ahh~ the sparkling flame of youth. He too remembered when he was like this. But back then, they hadn't had such instant success like LUXIA.

However, Jimin nor any of the BTS members felt indignant about this, that LUXIA had it easy. For they knew just how strenuous these five girls worked their butts off, and the idol life was truly not an easy one for anyone at all.

"We'll definitely review the day, watch some film back, but also relax and discuss everything."

Jimin and Namjoon nearby furrowed their brows in mild concern while smiling. "Such workaholics, make sure to rest, can't have our little sister group collapsing in fatigue on us now." J-Hope remarked with a chuckle.

"So what're your plans now?" Rinah asked curiously.

"Oh, we're..."

While the three of the girls chatted with the three guys, Cindy and Iris were over with Jungkook and Taehyung with the cake. As the two biggest foodies in LUXIA, no sweet delight was ever spared from their grasp.

Although these four were grouped together, somewhat physically detached from the other six, Iris and Jungkook felt more like they were the ones left out by Cindy and V who huddled closer together to talk.

"Pssh~ look at them, basically hogging all the cake to themselves." Jungkook wrinkled his nose and then swooped in-between them to snag a few pieces of the cake. But his interruption hardly buffeted the two people's attention away from one another.

Iris shook her head in amusement, seeing Cindy and V's animated faces. "They look like two aliens conversing. Two peas in a pod in their own world."

Jungkook snorted. He turned to look at the alien couple again with playful disdain, but then his gaze suddenly softened. That carefree expression on his hyung's face was one he rarely saw. No, he wasn't sure if he even remembered it correctly.

It had been years since their debut, and while those early years were some of the toughest, they were also full of naive, bounding hope. Back then, the circumstances were different. And Taehyung was the 4D, lovable, alien goofball. Jungkook missed this unfettered, carefree side of V now missing in not just him, but some of the other members.

Perhaps this whole military thing was a necessary relief for them to unwind a bit from the expectations and glaring spotlight looming over them constantly.

And that's why, in this moment, Taehyung had that expression again after seeing it now within Cindy and all of LUXIA. In fact, this was true for all of them due to their current states of minds and situation as an 'incomplete' BTS.

Back at the dorms after their first concert in South Korea, LUXIA revisited their entire day down to BTS's surprise. In particular, poor Cindy was nagged mercilessly about V.

Shaking her head and waved her hands lightly, Cindy asserted, "No, no, we're just friends, haha. We get along really well is all and... I guess I am a little attracted to him if I'm being honest...

"But it's not anything huge! He's just a handsome guy, and I think because I've admired him so long as a fan, I— I'm not sure. It's still a bit mixed up for me."

Cindy sighed and scratched the back of her head. "I thought becoming an idol might help me see clearer into this ambiguous relationship with the tension we send off to one another..." "—and us—" Ahreum interjected. "We can sooo see it in the air around you guys." She giggled.

With a soft side-smile at Ahrie, Cindy finished. "I can say that I see more than ever now how tricky idol relationships are. There's no way we'll ever get into one. The public watches too closely, and I'm still such a rookie. Whatever I felt, I'm okay leaving it behind to move forward. I believe I can slowly clear up this fog."

Iris nodded, empathizing with her cousin. She too understood that unspoken and even spoken tension and unnerving gut feeling that gnawed and clenched, making you feel paranoid that you'd get caught.

Although there were compelling arguments to not feel this way as idols are people too, their job was still to remain professional and be focused, especially for rookies just laying their foundations. At least for a long time, love simply couldn't be in the picture.