"I thought that love was in the drugs
But the more I took, the more it took away
And I could never get enough
I thought that love was on the stage
You give yourself to strangers
You don't have to be afraid
And then it tries to find a home with people, oh, and I'm alone
Picking it apart and staring at your phone
We all have a hunger"

"Hello! We are-" Namjoon begins.

"BTS!" The whole group continued, bowing down as we did so. The crowd cheered loudly, making us all smile brightly and cheerfully. Our fans were truly incredible.

We had finished our first track, and now it was time for our welcoming speeches. I was the third to go, right after Yoongi. I managed to contain my tears, Hoseok's hand on my lower back providing me comfort, but it proved to be a tough feat.

I bowed after my speech, listening to the rest of the group give theirs. I frowned slightly when Taehyung's seemed forced. He was more breathless than normal, making me concerned. He caught me staring and gave me a small nod with a slight smile as he finished his speech, making the crowd gush over his words. I cried during their speeches at the concert y'all.

After our speeches, we ran off stage to get ready for our next few songs, the solos. Taehyung went first with Singularity, absolutely killing it.

I was too lazy to find the setlist from when I saw them to copy it so we're just going with the flow lol

I was after Hoseok with Just Dance, my white suit making me sweat more than usual. I saw Taehyung sitting down backstage, already dressed in his next outfit. I smiled at him and sent him a little wave before I got on the platform that would raise me up to the stage.

•••

The concert was almost over, we had just started our encore stage with So What, and now we were moving onto Anpanman. I watched Taehyung stumble over his feet as we got into position. He smiled and gave a small nod at the concern in my eyes, but I chose to watch him carefully. Instead of messing with him, I decided to stick to the script, using his shirt and flap it like a cape.

He started singing, his beautiful voice erupting through the microphone. The crowd started cheering, the ARMY Bombs igniting in many different colors, making me smile as I took it all in.

During the chorus, Taehyung took center stage, his breathing heavy. I nudged him, watching for a response, but nothing came back. His movements were getting sluggish, making the concern in me grow even more.

I continued the choreography, not wanting to screw anything up. Suddenly, the crowd erupted into shouts and screams, making me raise an eyebrow in confusion until I turned around to find Taehyung collapsed on the grimey stage.

•••

"Everyone move!" The managers shouted, instantly rushing onto stage with a gurney.

I didn't even have time to process what was going on, even as I blindly followed the health professionals off of the stage as they transported him.

The rest of the group followed after giving a quick speech to the crowd.

They brought him to the back room where they lay him on the medical bed. They checked his pulse, his heart, for a fever, everything.

"What the hell happened to him?" I shouted in frustration. Seeing him like this terrified me.

I felt hands pull me back. "Jungkook, let them work." I recognized the voice as Hoseok's. I wanted to fight back, but knew that it would end with me being pinned to the wall or ground.

I scoffed. "How the hell can I let them work when my best friend just collapsed on fucking stage, Hobi!?"

"Honorifics, Kook. And they can't figure out what happened unless you give them space."

I rolled my eyes, but decided that he was right. I watched as they took his shirt off, as well as his shoes and socks. I'm glad the crew hid Taehyung's torso from the group, not wanting Taehyung to lose his privacy.

"He's so pale," Jimin whispered from beside me.

I swallowed hard as I nodded.

"Do any of you know why the hell he is so skinny?" One of the crew faced us, worry etched in his eyebrows.

The group all shook their heads except for me. I took a small step forward, watching as all of the eyes fell on me. I opened my mouth to speak when Taehyung's eyes fluttered open. I gasped, running to him and holding his hand. I moved his bangs out of his eyes as I smiled down at him.

"Hey Tae."

He gave me a weak smile. "Hi. W-Where...?"

"You, uh, collapsed on stage."

He tried to sit up, groaning in pain. The crew and I tried to keep him from getting up, slowly settling him back down in a laying down position.

"Tae, you need to relax."

"The concert, we need to get out there!"

"We took care of it. You're more important, Taehyung." Namjoon spoke.

He sighed audibly, still seeming to be tense. He glanced down at his bare chest and looked at me with wide, panicked eyes.

I shook my head with a wink. "They didn't see," I whispered, only for him to hear.

"Okay boys, we need privacy now. Please move out of the room!" The managers ushered the group out, earning whines and pouts.

I kissed the back of Taehyung's hand and gave it a squeeze before I went to leave, earning a loud cry from Taehyung.

"K-Kookie, please stay!"

I nodded, pulling up a chair to sit by Taehyung's head, out of the way of the crew.

••••

The crew had just finished examining him, deciding to give us a minute alone while they discussed options.

"D-Did everyone see?" He chewed on his bottom lip. I pulled the chair around to face him better, cupping his cheeks.

"Y-Yes, but they all understand. They all love you so much Taehyung."

He relaxed slightly, tension still resting in his eyebrows and forehead. Then, he gripped my hand as tightly as his weak self could muster. He motioned for me to lean closer to him. I did just that, positioning my ear to be by his mouth.

"D-Did you say anything?"

I shook my head, moving his bangs away once more. "Of course not. Do you want me to?"

His eyes grew wide and he shook his head. "No! No. They would make me stop and I'm, uh, not where I want to be just yet."

A lump formed in my throat. "Tae, you're beautiful how you were and are. You don't need to change yourself and your appearance."

Taehyung opened his mouth to respond, a single tear falling down his cheek, when the crew entered the room again.

"Taehyung, have you been eating and drinking enough?"

My eyes met Taehyung's fearful ones. He cleared his throat but nodded at me to speak. I gave a small nod and turned to our crew.

"He, uh, hasn't really been eating a whole lot."

Taehyung's manager scowled as he stepped closer. "And why not? You boys need to eat more than the normal person since you all exert so much energy and burn so many calories!"

Taehyung, with my help, sat up, leaning his head against the wall as he was still quite dizzy. I jumped onto the bed next to him, scooting back and letting him rest his head on my shoulder. "I just felt fat. I wanted to lose weight and help me look better." I noticed how his hands laced themselves together over his stomach. I , without thinking, reached over and grabbed his hand, interlocking our fingers together instead, making sure not to cover his stomach. I saw him swallow hard, although his cheeks had a light red tint to them.

"Jungkook-ah! You knew about his problem?"

I nodded sheepishly. "I recently found out."

"You should have said something! That is irresponsible of you!" The management scolded me, making me bow my head.

Taehyung cleared his throat. "It's okay! He's been helping me ever since he found out. He's not sitting on his ass doing nothing about it."

The management rolled their eyes and left the room, cell phones being pulled up to their ears.

I faced Taehyung. "Thank you, Tae. You-You didn't have to lie for me."

He gave me a small smile, squeezing my hand. "I didn't lie."

•••••

*shrugs*
I don't know where I'm going to take this story yet so hold on to your britches and enjoy the ride.