parking lot
kasteye 7th member au
when Isa and RM finally met each other
WARNINGS: this is set right after RM's discharge. enjoy it!
masterlist 🔥requests are open feedback is always important to me!
The HYBE building felt strange for Isabelí that week, specifically.
Not in a busy way, because it was always busy, but charged, somehow. Staff walked faster through the hallways, managers whispered in elevators, old employees who had worked there since the BIGHIT days looked emotional every five minutes.
Isa knew it had a reason: BTS was slowly coming back.
Actually, she noticed the whole mood shift as soon as she landed in Korea. The greetings were more formal, securities doubled around the company, cameras waited outside the building almost every day now. Meanwhile, she was drowning in preparations for the Beautiful Chaos Tour coming up. She barely remembered what day it was anymore.
By the time she finally stepped out of the dancing studio that night, it was nearly midnight.
Everything hurt. The oversized black hoodie hanging from her shoulders belonged to one of the stylists after she'd spent hours complaining about how freezing the studio had been. Her dark hair had been tied into a messy ponytail sometime around dinner, though half of it had already escaped the elastic.
Still, the artist floor was surprisingly quieter than usual. Most lights had already dimmed automatically into nighttime mode, the polished floors reflecting soft gold from the ceiling lamps.
Isa walked slowly toward the elevators while scrolling mindlessly through messages from the girls. Sophia asked if she was alive, while Megan replied she last saw her at the studio and Yoonchae asked for some chocolate milk.
Isa snorted to herself, before hearing someone approaching from around the corner. The girl’s eyes widened immediately and she whispered a desperate ‘fuck’.
There he was. Kim Namjoon.
Ironically, out of all seven BTS members, he was the only one she'd never actually spoken to. She'd met the others in passing over the years. Some recognized her from the company cafeteria back when she'd worked there during her trainee days while others had offered polite greetings in the hallways or backstage at HYBE events.
She'd even spent a few hours in a writing session with Yoongi once, when the company unexpectedly invited her to contribute ideas for a KATSEYE track. She still remembered walking out of that room convinced she'd imagined the whole thing.
But, somehow, despite working in the same building for years and crossing paths more times than she could count, Namjoon and Isa never exchanged anything beyond a polite nod from opposite ends of a corridor.
As if feeling her desperation, he looked up.
"Oh, hi!" he was the first one to speak.
Isa blinked, then hurriedly bowed.
"Hello, sunbaenim." she said.
Namjoon laughed lightly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"There’s no need for that."
Isa smiled at him, pressing the elevator buttons more times than she’d like, as if that would get there faster.
"I’m sorry." she said. "Habit."
"I know." he smiled, looking around the deserted hallway before looking at her again. "But we’re the only ones here. Isa, right?"
She nodded.
"Yes."
Her mind, meanwhile, had completely abandoned her. What was she supposed to say? She was freaking out.
"I don't think we've actually introduced ourselves." he said, holding out his hand. "I'm Kim Namjoon."
Isa stared at his hand for a split second before letting out an involuntary laugh and shook it.
"I absolutely know that." she let out.
He laughed too, dimples appearing immediately.
"I figured."
Isa felt like she was an idot.
"I’m so sorry." she groaned. "That sounded so stupid."
"No," he tsked, waving it off. "don’t worry about it."
A comfortable silence settled between them as they waited for the elevator. Why was it taking that long?
Isa's eyes immediately dropped back to her phone, scrolling through the same three messages she'd already read twice. Anything to avoid looking at the man standing beside her.
She vaguely remembered seeing him countless times in the old BigHit building, but standing next to him now… It was different.
Somehow, he seemed much taller than she'd imagined. Calmer, too. There was none of the intimidating aura she'd unconsciously built around Kim Namjoon over the years. Just a tired man in a hoodie, quietly waiting for an elevator after what had probably been an equally long day.
A soft ding echoed through the hallway and the elevator doors slid open. Isa instinctively stepped aside to let him in first. Instead, Namjoon extended a hand toward the open elevator, holding the doors with the other.
"After you."
She couldn’t help smiling back, completely off guard.
As they stepped inside the elevator, an almost instinctive formality settled between them. They stood side by side, leaving a respectful amount of space, both with their hands loosely folded in front of them as the doors slid shut.
The soft hum of the elevator filled the silence.
Namjoon's gaze drifted to the oversized black hoodie hanging off Isa's shoulders. It was at least two sizes too big, the sleeves swallowing half her hands.
"Long day?" he asked, breaking the silence once again.
Isa looked down at herself before letting out an exaggerated sigh.
"I've been in Studio B since..." she glanced at the clock on her phone. "Nine this morning."
Namjoon winced.
"Ouch."
"We're getting ready for tour. Suddenly, everything is an emergency." she explained.
"I heard! What’s it called again?" he asked, genuinely curious.
"Beautiful Chaos Tour." she answered. "It’s exciting, though."
"I know!" he agreed. "And exhausting too, right?"
Isa gave a weak laugh, nodding.
"If you're the one saying that," Isa continued. "who am I to complain? You're the expert one."
Namjoon shook his head immediately, giggling.
"I don't know about expert."
"Oh, come on!" she said.
"I’ve survived a few of them." he said, shrugging.
"A few?" she repeated, joking.
"Yeah, maybe like… Four? Five?" he shrugged, almost sheepishly. "But when you say it out loud, it sounds like I’ve been doing this forever."
"But you kind of have!"
"Yeah, I have!"
They said it at the same time, and for a second, they simply looked at each other before laughing.
The elevator continued its slow descent.
Neither of them spoke again, though the silence no longer felt awkward. It was comfortable, unexpectedly so.
Namjoon glanced at Isa from the corner of his eye. She laughed easily and there was nothing calculated about her reactions. No carefully rehearsed idol answers, no perfectly polished smile for the cameras. She simply said whatever came to mind, then laughed at herself whenever it came out wrong. It was refreshing.
He'd expected someone far more guarded. Instead, she felt remarkably easy to talk to. His lips curled into the smallest smile before he looked back at the glowing floor numbers.
Across the elevator, Isa was trying very hard not to look at him again. She'd spent years unconsciously building an image of Kim Namjoon in her head. Brilliant, intimidating, probably the kind of person who made everyone think twice before speaking. Instead, he was warm and funny in an effortless sort of way.
The elevator slowed to a stop with the doors sliding open with a soft chime and, for a brief second, neither of them moved. However, Isa stepped out first and, surprisingly enough, Namjoon stepped out too.
"So," Namjoon said as they started walking through the quiet underground hallway. "how long are you in Korea this time?"
"I honestly have no idea anymore. Our schedule changes every other day." she nervously giggled. "I came here thinking it’d be two weeks. Now I’ve just stopped asked."
Namjoon laughed at her honesty.
After passing through the security gates with the building's facial recognition and fingerprint scanners, Isa offered a quick goodbye to the doorman and the security guards on duty, earning a chorus of tired 'good nights' in return.
She started toward the section of the underground garage where she'd parked, but as they reached the heavy glass door separating the lobby from the parking area, Namjoon stepped ahead of her. Without saying a word, he pulled the door open and held it there, again.
Isa glanced up at him, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
"Again?"
One of his shoulders lifted in a casual shrug.
"Old habit."
She couldn't help but smile as she walked through.
The parking garage was nearly empty, illuminated only by rows of white fluorescent lights reflecting off the polished concrete floor. Their footsteps echoed softly as they walked side by side. By the time they reached the row where Isa had left the company car, she instinctively started patting the pockets of her oversized hoodie.
"My keys are..." she checked one pocket, then another. "...somewhere."
A second later, she pulled the key fob free with a triumphant grin.
"Ha!"
The headlights of a gray car blinked twice a few spaces ahead and they kept walking. She took two more steps before stopping so abruptly that Namjoon almost walked past her.
"Wait a minute." Isa stopped and Namjoon looked at her, a few steps behind him. "Your car isn’t even here."
He glanced toward the elevators leading to the executive parking level. "I know. It’s upstairs."
"Oh, my!" Isa said, nervously laughing. "Why did you come all the way down here?"
For the first time that night, Namjoon looked almost embarrassed. He rubbed the back of his neck.
"It was late. I just wanted to make sure you got here." he answered her, shrugging.
There was nothing dramatic about it. Actually, he said it so matter-of-factly that it took Isa a second to process it.
"It just felt like the right thing to do." he answered.
Isa smiled, warmth spreading through her chest.
"I think that’s very sweet, actually.”
By the time they get in the driver's door, Isa unlocked it and turned back to him.
"Well, thank you for walking me." she said, smiling at him.
Namjoon smiled back.
"My pleasure. Drive safely, okay?"
"I will, sir." she answered. She turned around to get in the car, but then turned around again. "It was nice finally meeting you."
He nodded, his smile softening.
"It was."
"So… I'll see you around?" she said, not wanting to sound strange, but how could she not sound strange when that was THE Kim Namjoon?
"I hope so."
Isa climbed into the driver's seat, closed the door and started the engine while Namjoon waited until the headlights came on. Only then did he turn and walk back toward the VIP garage. She watched him disappear in the rearview mirror until he rounded the corner.
The second he was out of sight, Isa let out a completely silent scream.
"Oh my God..." she covered her face with both hands. "Sophia is going to lose her mind."
