Chapter Text
Late April, 2022 Los Angeles, CA
It would be difficult to list all the reasons that BTS had to celebrate today, the morning of the day before their world tour kickoff. Awards season was finally over in the western world, and their surprise win for best Duo/Group at the Grammys last night had them reeling. As if that weren’t enough, right after their award was presented, word arrived that the Korean government had issued an exemption from full military service to the Bangtan Boys. They recognized that the contributions BTS make to Korean culture abroad, let alone the economic windfall they bring to the country, far outweigh eighteen months of military service for seven individual guys. Of course they would have to complete a few weeks of basic training, but then they were free. Now everybody, especially the two oldest, Jin and Yoongi, could finally breathe, not to mention make plans past the end of the year. So for sure, this morning everyone was floating on cloud nine as they gathered around the table in a private conference room on the top floor of the LA Ritz Carlton for breakfast and their daily briefing from their management team.
Leader Namjoon arrived first. He was probably the most disciplined member, preferring to lead by example, and had been gradually adjusting his sleep schedule since arriving in the States two weeks ago so that the 17 hour time difference had minimal impact on his body. A few minutes later the others started trickling in. Every member knew how important this first meal was to regroup and figure out their schedule for the day, plus they didn’t mess around when it came to food. Eldest member Jin, Mr. WorldWide Handsome himself, rolled in shortly after Namjoon. Surprisingly Suga came next, still looking and feeling half asleep as usual. One by one, they all filed in- Jimin and Taehyung, Hobi, then finally Jungkook bringing up the rear until all of BTS was present and accounted for, as they dove into the generous breakfast laid out on the large table.
Their manager Seijin began. <”Other than the final costume fitting after breakfast, today is mostly a free day. That said, the company has decided that all seven of you must regularly workout with a trainer throughout the entirety of this tour. It’s good for your energy levels and your stamina, and the trainer will help with your nutrition so that you can give your best to ARMY every night. By regularly, I mean three days a week at a minimum.”> The last sentence was said with a pointed look at Taehyung and Yoongi, both known for not wanting much to do with the gym. <”You can figure out your scheduled times with the trainer on your own, and if you’d like more sessions per week, you can arrange that as well.”> This time he looked at Jungkook, Bangtan’s resident gym junkie.
<”What’s all the fuss about? We’ve all been working with Daehyun for years now, and we all know we have to step it up more to stay strong and healthy. Do they want us to look like Jungkook by the end of the tour?”> Jimin retorted, not seeing why this tour was different from any other. Jungkook, however, made a boastful gesture when he was mentioned and even flexed a bit.
<”Well, that’s the part I was getting to. Daehyun has been called home to Korea. His mother is very sick and he needed to leave immediately to tend to her. At such short notice, we were unable to contract a Korean trainer that was both available for a six month tour and that also had the right travel documents ready. We’ve hired an American trainer with a very impressive resume that includes several big name band’s tours, not to mention a few actors from the Marvel movies. So forget looking like Jungkook. This trainer may have you looking like Iron Man before the end of tour”>
With that piece of information, most of the dark eyes in the room went wide. They were going to be trained by the same guy that may have trained Captain America? Or Thor? Jungkook, in particular, thought he might die of excitement. He was still a little nervous though. Oftentimes things happened on tour to change their routine and they had to adjust, but Jungkook was very shy and wasn’t particularly good with new people. It had taken a while for him to build a rapport and sense of trust with their old trainer. Daehyun had been with them for almost six years and now they would have to start over again with someone new, who wasn’t even Korean? That was a little anxiety-inducing for Jungkook.
<”Obviously, the trainer does not speak or understand Korean, so you may schedule a translator to go with you for your sessions if you need to. We’ve worked out your first appointment to get you assessed, but after that the trainer will manage your weekly sessions according to all of your schedules. The trainer’s name is River Evans. Namjoon, your appointment is first at 11 this morning, followed by Jin at 1, right after lunch. Suga is at 2, Hobi at 3, Jimin at 4, Taehyung at 5 and Jungkook at 8 after dinner. It’s not likely that you’ll all train on the same day like this going forward, but you will work that out with River on your own.”>
<”River?”> Namjoon, the group’s only truly fluent English speaker, wondered to himself about their new trainer’s name. The way Americans named their children always confused him, but this was California afterall, and people seemed even weirder here. Names were so much less complicated in Korea. Most of the guys knew the word “river” in English to mean a flowing, snake-like body of water. He wondered why someone would name their baby that, though he guessed it might sound peaceful. Well, maybe he would find out in time. He had 2 hours to eat, go to his fitting, and get ready for his first session, so he stuffed a donut in his mouth, just in case the trainer cut them off all junk food.
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River Evans was currently in her white Honda Accord on her way to the hotel to meet her new clients, BTS…the biggest band in the world, and she would be damned if she was late on her first day. Fuck this traffic! Once she got there though, she knew there would be no going home again for a long time. This contract was six months long, and their management was insistent that she remain at the hotel with them, even while still in her hometown of LA.
Apparently, security needed to be extra strict and the protocols that she needed to follow were very specific. She had a lot of experience with famous clients, and had even toured with the Jonas Brothers before, so she had a good idea about crazy fangirls and the lengths they would go to to meet their obsessions, but the scale of this tour was on a whole other level. Aside from the full rundown of rules and regulations she’s already been briefed on, as well as the iron-clad non-disclosure agreement she had to sign, there would also be a significant language and cultural barrier to face on this particular job. River shook her head to stop this impending anxiety in its tracks so as to not get overwhelmed before she even started then took a deep breath to center herself. She definitely had the education, experience, and the knowledge. She knew she could do this and she was committed to seeing it through. This contract couldn’t have come at a better time, since getting out of LA for a while was super appealing, for a number of reasons she’d rather not think about right now. She just had to get there in one piece and on time. Damn traffic.
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Miraculously, traffic finally got moving and River finally arrived at the Ritz Carlton a full two hours before her first appointment. The extra time she had hoped for was helpful, if for no other reason than to get through the tightest security she’d ever seen, check in with management, meet some of the other staff, and get settled in her room. Deciding what to wear was another issue. Ordinarily, she would wear typical fitness attire of high-waisted leggings and a sports bra, but she wondered if clients from such a conservative country would find that offensive. In the end, though, she could only be who she was. She had built her practice on the foundation of body positivity and there was no shame in the female form. So she decided on her usual, but with a track jacket for a little more coverage, at least for now. Then she took a few minutes to become familiar with the hotel gym they would be using, something she would repeat at each tour stop.
Their previous trainer graciously left detailed notes on each member of BTS, with what she assumed were their metrics, what kind of program they were following, and probably lots of other useful information. Except… it was all in Korean. So she was truly starting from scratch, and from a trainer’s perspective that really was probably for the best. It was important to establish your own methods and best practices early on, rather than try to emulate someone else. She had no idea how Korean personal trainers worked or how their culture influenced their way of training, but she could only be herself and use the arsenal she had under her belt to make the most of her time with these guys.
She was restlessly evaluating the hotel weight lifting equipment for the umpteenth time (high-end, well-maintained, up to the expectations of a 5-star hotel) while waiting for her first appointment to arrive. She planned to do as detailed of an assessment she could fit in one hour to see where they were individually and to find out their preferences. It was a huge challenge doing 8 evaluations in one day but they were under a significant time crunch so she had to make it happen. She needed to not only get to know them but come up with their individual plans and complicated schedules as well. It was also very important to her that her clients enjoyed their sessions, or at least didn't dread them. So once she learned what their goals were and discovered their strengths as well as areas of opportunity, she would start her own file on each of them. In English.
To be honest, River wasn’t quite sure how the language barrier would play into the sessions. That was probably her own personal area of opportunity given that was the one thing she hadn’t dealt with in her time as a personal trainer so far. Would everything feel disjointed if speaking through a translator? Would there be misunderstanding without one? The band manager who hired her spoke perfect English, but he did say that the 7 of them were all in vastly different places not only in their fitness journey, but in their English journey as well. Apparently, their fluency levels ranged from “near perfect” to “only basic words and phrases”. She decided she would let them call the shots as far as the language barrier was concerned. She knew they were very used to being in English-speaking countries and figured they knew best their own individual comfort levels with language.
The first member walked in solo so she guessed he must feel confident about his English. River also knew Korean culture could be a bit old fashioned by American standards, so she wondered if this meant he wasn’t nervous to be alone with her as well. She certainly hoped so, not wanting to add this as another factor that might complicate things. She just kept finding more things to worry about! He was very tall, but everyone was tall compared to her petite 5’2””. He had shiny dark hair and was wearing just a basic t-shirt and basketball shorts and seemed very laid back, just like a normal guy. When he came in he immediately looked around and was smiling slightly, showing off a killer pair of dimples, but when they locked eyes his face took on a look of surprise and he stopped cold in his tracks. The smile slowly faded from his face before he seemed to remember himself and he quickly pasted it back on in full force.
He continued his way over and reached out to shake her hand. “So you must be River Evans?” he asked curiously. She reached out and shook his hand and smiled up at him. “Yes, you can just call me River. And you are Namjoon?” she asked in return, referring to her schedule on a clipboard. She could already tell his English was exceptional. “Yes, Kim Namjoon, or, uh, Namjoon Kim, as they say in the US. I’m the band’s leader” he stuttered, noticeably flustered by the stunning blonde woman. “When they told us about a new trainer this morning they didn’t mention you were a woman. Not that it’s a problem or anything…um…it’s not. At all. It’s just that your name is interesting and we couldn’t tell. I’m so sorry, I sound like an idiot…” he trailed off, face red and palms sweaty.
River was taken aback for a second. She knew her name was very ambiguous but it never occurred to her that while she was concerned that they would not feel comfortable with a woman trainer, that they didn’t even know. Now she was very concerned. “Are you sure it’s not a problem?”
“Definitely not a problem, just…unexpected.” he insisted, a blush still peeking through his olive skin tone. “But it's lucky for us that you were available”, he added with a confident wink. She liked how forthcoming he was about all this, even if she wasn’t exactly sure he was being completely truthful. But trust was important in a trainer/client relationship, and she could only take his word for it until she had reason to think otherwise. It would be wrong to stereotype these men as either misogynists or prudes right off the bat. They were Korean, yes, but they also have traveled the world and experienced many different cultures. She just hoped the others were as open-minded as Namjoon seemed to be.
They had to get right down to it so she asked him if he would be fine if she could take his measurements. He readily complied and they quickly got to work, despite the initial awkwardness. As clinical as she tried to be about it, it was always a little awkward measuring a man’s inseam and thigh circumference. Afterwards, she directed him to just start with his standard routine and she would take some notes. He seemed to focus pretty well and pushed himself a moderate amount. He even went out of his way to make small talk with her and they fell into an easy conversation. “So, your manager said that all of you are in very different places with English. Did they send you first to give me a false sense of security?” she joked. Namjoon was charming and easy to talk to. His smile was infectious, with the cutest dimples she’d ever seen. He was also in relatively good shape. Strong, broad and naturally powerful, if not just a little uncoordinated. He would definitely be a star client.
“Um, no. I’m first because I’m the band’s leader, and part of the reason for that is because I speak English. The others…it really varies. I can fill you in if you’d like.” Namjoon offered.
“I’ll take any advantage you are willing to give me at this point.” River practically begged, wanting to get a sense of what the rest of her day would be like.
“Well, your next appointment, Jin…he probably won’t understand most of what you say, but will probably try to make himself understood with limited English. He’s friendly and polite and will try his best, and isn’t afraid to use the translator if he needs to. But he doesn’t love the gym, that’s for sure. And it might be best to prepare yourself for some lame dad jokes.”
River jotted a few notes on her paperwork as Namjoon continued. “Suga, or Yoongi, understands English as well as I do. He can read and write perfectly, but just isn’t comfortable speaking for whatever reason, which is odd, because he sounds fine to me when he does. But he isn’t much of a talker anyway, so he will probably just listen to you and do the bare minimum. He wants to come back in his next life as a rock, if that’s any indication of his desire to workout” Namjoon laughed, but she figured he was probably being serious.
“J-hope, or Hobi as he might ask you to call him, is doing really well with English. He can speak pretty well and understand a lot too. He’s also really really outgoing and he isn’t afraid to make a mistake. I expect he will come alone, just for the practice.
Jimin doesn’t seem to be very interested in learning English. He tries, and can say enough to get by, but he won’t understand the complicated stuff. Same with Taehyung. His pronunciation is rough and he doesn’t understand all that much. They will probably use the translator. Our youngest, Jungkook, spends a lot of time studying English. He can understand pretty well, and when he gets up the courage, he speaks very well. But he’s extremely shy, and terrified of making mistakes. He will probably come alone anyways, but won’t say much unless he really has to, at least until he is comfortable with you.”
River had written all this down as best she could, and the information both made her feel better and oddly, at the same time, worse.
As they were wrapping up in the cool down phase, River figured she could ask him some questions since he seemed so straightforward and sincere. She started with an easy question that was relevant to their training. “How do you feel about changing up your routine?”
He seemed to think about this for a minute before replying. “You are the expert. In Korea, and especially in this industry, the goal is building stamina and not muscle. They like us to be wiry and thin. But I'm open to whatever.” She understood that immediately. In the past she had trained as a ballerina and that was their ideal as well. She knew she could relate to them through her own experience.
She nodded her head and said she was going to take time to plan based on their goals and everyone’s assessment from today. She hesitated a second before asking her next question. “Do you think anyone is going to be uncomfortable because I am a woman?” she asked, holding her breath for the answer. He thought about it again before answering. “We just don’t have a lot of experience with western women. Don’t be surprised if they act a little formal. Some of them are more likely to be annoyed about the training than your gender. Especially if you are planning to step it up. Some of them just want to sleep all day. It’ll be a bit of a culture shock but they’ll get over it. Give them a chance and I’m sure they will warm to you.”
River met his eyes and gave a soft smile. She considered his very thoughtful answer and hoped he was right. They were all going to have to adjust. She just would go with the flow now and think about it more after she met all the guys. If all her appointments went as smoothly as this one, she knew she had nothing to worry about. She continued asking Namjoon some more questions, mainly about his schedule and how often he would like to train before wrapping up the session.
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Namjoon took a quick shower after the gym so he was the last to arrive for lunch. He heard a lot of chatter as he walked in and went to sit down, but before his ass even touched the seat he was getting lots of curious looks and even a <"So?"> from Hobi. Namjoon anticipated this and had already decided he was going to keep as much information to himself as he could. He knew how each guy would react and it would be fine for River, so he figured what was the harm in keeping a little secret? It wasn’t often he got the upper hand like this and it was his turn to have some entertainment for a change.
But he also knew the guys would be relentless so he had to give them something so as to not seem suspicious. He wasn’t going to outright lie though, just be purposefully vague. <“The trainer is very knowledgeable. You have nothing to worry about, in fact I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.”> Namjoon almost laughed to himself. He knew he was pleased by the hot, young female trainer. <”It was just a brief meeting and some measurements and then I just did my usual workout. Super quick.”> He started to help himself to some food, thinking they would just continue on like before but he should’ve known they would have more questions. <“Did he look like Iron Man?”> Jin asked, puffing out his chest and sitting up straighter.
Namjoon thought about how to answer, secretly thinking that River was definitely more like a little Captain Marvel. <“This trainer was certainly as intimidating as Iron Man.”> Luckily no one questioned him more on this and instead they were busy quoting the Avengers movies. So Namjoon knew he had successfully gotten through their interrogation for now. He was wondering if any of them would break the news after their appointments, but he doubted it. They all loved to be involved in some insider info, and the only ones who might break were the younger ones who weren’t going until later in the day. Namjoon couldn’t have planned this schedule better himself.
He did notice that next to him Jungkook was smiling and looking at the others goofing off, but he knew the youngest well enough to know he was definitely feeling some nerves as well. He was paying extra close attention to Namjoon’s response about the appointment. That was tugging on Namjoon’s heartstrings enough that he wanted to reassure their shyest member just a little. He nudged him slightly and leaned in close to whisper <”Don’t worry. I think this is going to be fine.”> Jungkook just glanced up at Namjoon with thoughtful eyes and a single nod. Namjoon hoped that helped, but he knew that JK would have the most difficult time out of all of the members.
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After lunch it was Jin’s turn to meet River. Jin came strutting into the hotel gym, another man following close behind. They seemed to be in a pleasant conversation but that died down quickly when they spotted River across the room. Jin seemed puzzled and looked around before hesitantly heading in her direction, the assumed translator following closely behind him.
As they approached, both bowed slightly, hands clasped. Jin seemed about to say something before he must have changed his mind and glanced at the translator. He seemed to understand the hint and asked “Excuse me, we are looking for the trainer. We have reserved this gym for the day.”
River paused for a minute before awkwardly bowing back. “That would be me. I’m River Evans. Sorry there must have been some confusion.” She was worried because this was already very different from her earlier session with Namjoon. She could see Jin was listening intently to her and didn’t even turn to the translator to hear him repeat what she had said.
Jin was looking down at her before suddenly, and a bit loudly, asking “You are the one who train Iron Man?” Now it was River’s turn to be surprised. She was only caught off guard for a moment though before slowly smiling. “Oh yeah, that’s me.” Jin must have loved that since he smiled wide and looked excitedly at the translator while speaking rapid-fire Korean. “Jin says he is very excited to train with you. He says he is like a real life superhero so you will know how best to train him. He says Thor is the best Avenger.” River didn’t know what to make of this until she turned to face Jin again and he was close to laughing. She couldn't hold back and they both were laughing together. River was glad because this immediately broke the ice. Jin was delightful. Funny, charming, if not particularly interested in training. That was ok though. Not everyone was a gym rat. She planned to have Jin work on circuits, having quickly identified some hypermobility that might cause him some issues later in life. And circuits were active and fun and could be varied. Perfect for a guy like Jin.
The next client that came through the door, just as Jin was leaving, was Suga. Yoongi was his real name but it was getting confusing separating their stage names and their real names. Namjoon had already warned her that he wasn’t much of an active person in general, or much of a talker. The translator that had come with Jin stayed with Yoongi, though if she remembered correctly, Namjoon also said Yoongi understood English perfectly but chose not to speak much. That fact was immediately evident. Everything she asked Yoongi to do, he did right away, not waiting for the translator. The only time that the other man spoke was when Yoongi himself wanted to speak to her, which wasn’t often. His voice was very deep and rich, and he had a very sweet, shy smile. He wasn’t nearly as disinterested as Namjoon made him sound, just a little lazy and wanting a lot of direction. His frame was very small, which she could relate to. He wasn’t weak, just underdeveloped, seemingly by choice. She would work on building stamina and energizing him. His translator explained that he had an old, recently-repaired shoulder injury that she made a note of to include in planning out his routines.
Nothing could have prepared River for the next man to come through her door, though. J-hope, or Hobi as he immediately asked her to call him, was a ray of sunshine. His beautiful smile was infectious. He spoke stilted, heavily accented English, and like Namjoon said, he wasn’t shy or afraid to make mistakes, meaning the previous third-wheel translator got to slip away. He was able to make himself understood, and didn’t seem to have a problem understanding what she was saying, though she found herself speaking just a little slower to him. He was such a special human being, that much was instantly evident. The world needed more Hobi’s. As far as training went, he was in great shape. Slender, lanky and incredibly flexible. He didn’t love working out, but he was fun and playful. River could easily create sessions around that.
Before she knew it, over half the guys had been in for their assessments, and River was feeling better about this contract. Checking her clipboard, she saw that the next to arrive should be Jimin Park. And a second later, she saw the translator come back through the door followed by a small, very beautiful young man. Jimin gave her a cheeky smile, like he knew a secret, and the charm just oozed out of his whole body. They introduced themselves through the translator, though Jimin tried to say some basic words in English. The assessment went well, and she could tell that Jimin was very conscious of his body. To be honest, when talking about diet, a few things he said concerned her a little. He was very petite, very thin, and seemed to equate training in the gym with getting thinner. During the session she could see signs of him pushing himself to exhaustion. She made some notes and would revisit this later. But Jimin was a gem and she hoped she could help him see the joys of training as a celebration of what your body can do, not as a punishment for what you ate.
He stayed behind for a bit to meet up with the next young man that River was introduced to as Taehyung or V. The two seemed very close and were shooting each other secret smiles and glances. Taehyung was insanely good-looking, and seemed to be very at ease with the situation, even reaching out to shake River’s hand which was a surprise since all previous members besides Namjoon had kept their distance, preferring a polite bow. River eventually had to send Jimin out so they could start the assessment and even then Taehyung seemed more interested in chatting with her rather than exercising. At the end though, he seemed to do well, clearly trying to actively try to impress her and keeping up fairly well. He did work a bit lazily through the routine, talking up a storm both through the translator and even attempting some roughly-pronounced English. River sensed that he was just super-social, so they would work on focusing and good technique.
Taehyung didn’t seem to want to leave at the end of their session. He surprised her by asking if she had dinner plans and if she wanted to come eat with the rest of the guys. River immediately turned him down, as she had planned to just run out and quickly grab something while going over their notes. She had a ton of work to do to get a plan in place but she assured Taehyung that she would take a rain check. He seemed disappointed but understood and got over it by the time he was walking out the door.
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This time Tae was the last one to come to dinner, having stopped to shower and take time to dress up for the hotel dining room. When he walked in most of the guys looked up and shared knowing looks. The secret of River Evans was only kept from Jungkook at this point and they wanted it to stay that way, not only out of a bit of playful fun but they all knew it would make JK incredibly nervous if he went in with the information that River was actually a beautiful blonde American woman.
Tae sat at the open seat between Jungkook and Jimin and immediately got to work catching up on eating dinner. The conversation at one point turned to their individual sessions and they all had said about the same vague answer of how it went well and the trainer was very nice. Jimin couldn’t help but talk about how fit the trainer was which in turn made Tae talk about how he had a hard time concentrating. A stern look from Namjoon had them abruptly stopping that talk and instead, they started discussing how they thought the first concert would go, especially since it had been so long.
JK was barely looking up at the other members, but he was still listening intently to their conversation. Unusual for him, he was just pushing his food around on his plate, not only deep in thought, but he thought it might be a bad idea to fill up his stomach just to go work out after. He thought he was unlucky to be the only one scheduled after dinner but he knew they made the schedule like that on purpose and he usually preferred to work out in the evenings as he was used to being up late into the night. The all day waiting and anxiously anticipating meeting what he now expected to be a very intimidating trainer was just really weighing on his mind.
Dinner did go quick though, as there was plenty of food and the other guys to try and distract him. Before he knew it he had to head to his assessment. JK had already changed before dinner because he knew their dinners usually ran over so he was ready to head to the hotel gym without having to stop by his room first. He thought about whether to bring a translator with him all day and had a hard time deciding, going back and forth before he stubbornly decided not to bring one since he was doing pretty well in English lately and they would probably just be using simple words and instructions. Namjoon hyung was always telling him that all the lessons in the world wouldn’t help him nearly as much as practicing speaking, and not being afraid to make mistakes. He would try.
Jungkook kept his eyes down towards the floor as he entered the hotel gym, before slowly bringing them around to seek out the trainer. The room was definitely empty. He moved around puzzled before just giving up and sitting on the middle of the floor mat. He wasn’t used to being early and he definitely wasn’t when he pulled out his phone to check the time. But he didn’t have long to dwell, because moments later, the door flew open and a small, very out of breath woman came in, causing JK to tense up. He slowly got up thinking about how he hated confrontation and wasn’t looking forward to telling this woman in awkward English that the gym was closed.
However, before he got the chance, she was apologizing and even bowing as she introduced herself as River Evans. He stopped all movement and just stared wide at her, a million thoughts racing in his mind. He was contemplating if this could be true while in his head aiming every curse word he could think of, in both Korean and English, at the other members. He put the pieces together and knew this was the reality of the situation. He wanted to run but he knew he couldn’t and it wouldn’t change anything anyway.
His body moved without thought, so used to being polite, and returned the bow. He remained silent and just listened as she explained slowly how her dinner ran over since she had gone out. She was talking slowly and clearly and JK was following but she must have been making sure since she looked uncertain and glanced around for a translator. Jungkook wished he had brought one now, if only to ease this awkward tension. He was nodding along to try to let her know he understood. She hesitated for a bit but moved on and JK breathed a sigh of relief. He could get through this without talking as much as possible. Screw practicing.
When next she asked to take measurements, Jungkook internally panicked. He knew this was standard but he was hoping to keep some distance. She seemed very nice and professional but he was worried for himself because he was trying desperately not to notice how beautiful she was. She was exactly his type: blonde, athletic, and petite with a hard edge. When she shed her track jacket and stood there, sweaty and breathless in a cropped sports bra, he nearly swallowed his tongue. She had tattoos down her upper arm, shoulder, and back, plus at least ten piercings in her ears. This woman was like him, thinking about his own intricate tattoo sleeve down his right arm to his fingers that was currently hidden by a typically oversized black shirt. She wasn’t afraid to push boundaries, test societal limits and express herself. He also knew from experience with other trainers that she would have to get very close to him, and probably frequently touch him. Shit.
But, it wasn’t like he wasn’t used to beautiful women touching him. He wasn’t the innocent virgin the fans believed, hoped and prayed he was, forever the maknae, never aging beyond 16 years old. He’s had a few significant relationships, but mainly short-term flings. Probably too many, really, for his twenty-four years. All the members had and they and their team were better than the Korean Secret Service at keeping things discreet. They knew they had to be very careful and had made an informal rule amongst themselves not to fraternize with the staff so things would not get messy, thus affecting their jobs and the company. And unfortunately, River Evans was definitely considered staff, even if for only the length of this tour. JK was sure all the members realized instantly that she was entirely Jungkook's type and that this would be incredibly difficult for him. Namjoon and Tae would also be attracted to a girl like River, and absolutely everyone was Jimin’s type. Those guys, JK knew, were outgoing, funny, flirty and not at all introverted like he was. Being BTS Jungkook, he could charm, and easily bed any Korean girl he wanted, but this woman felt way out of his league. It was good that she was staff, because the more he thought about it, the more he saw his chances with her shrink, especially when comparing himself to his hyungs.
Before he could decide if he would, or even could flirt, he realized he hadn’t even answered her, so he just nodded and awkwardly spread his arms out for her to begin the measurements, and his opportunity was gone. She seemed to want an actual verbal consent before she started, so she hesitated and looked at him until he nodded and looked away, unable to utter a word let alone hold eye contact. She figured that was as close as she would get to agreement from this extraordinarily shy, but exceptionally beautiful man, so she tried to get to work. His clothing was ridiculously oversized, the long-sleeved t-shirt alone almost reached his mid-thigh. Add to that a super-baggy pair of gray sweats, and she knew she could never see muscle contraction or proper form with him dressed like this. As it was, the measurements were going to be inaccurate with so much fabric bunched up. “Jungkook?” He looked at her with huge, round doe eyes at the sound of her voice calling his name. “You can call me JK.” Her surprise mirrored his when he answered her in perfect, accented English.
“Your clothes are very very big. There is a lot of cloth here. From now on, I’m going to ask you to dress so that I can see how your body moves and how your muscles contract. I feel like your measurements will be off if I take them today, so we will revisit that next time.” She looked at him, hopeful that he understood. He was internally flustered but slightly relieved to skip the measuring for the moment. He knew he would be thinking about that later. More anxiety, yay.
She then asked him to do his normal routine. He felt a swell of confidence come over him as he was really proud of his athletic ability. Combined with a very competitive nature, he pushed himself hard, even though she had told him to take it easy. She was taking notes and watching him carefully. He hoped she was impressed. As focused on his strenuous routine as he was, it felt like only seconds until she was telling him they were almost done and instructing him to begin his cool down. He didn't usually cool down in his own routine, despite his long-time trainer always harping on it, so he just stopped and did some stretches. This meant though that he was finally focused on her again and now she was asking him questions that he just couldn’t nod along too.
“So what’s your goal with exercising?” She asked first.
Jungkook thought about it for a minute before simply answering “To be strong and look good?”
River slightly smiled at this before jotting something down in her notes. She then asked “When and how much do you like to exercise?”
Jk easily answered that. “Every day, sometimes two times, morning and night.” He thought his English sounded pretty good and he was hardly nervous at this point since she was mainly looking at her clipboard and she was the one asking the questions. He did notice he was pretty sweaty though. Damn.
Finally she said something that completely stunned him into silence. Their session was just ending and she was leading him towards the door before she said “Jungkook…”
“You can call me JK,” he quickly reminded her with a smile.
“JK, can I be honest?” She asked.
He gave her a curious look before pausing and nodding, anxiously awaiting her question. She stopped too and turned to face him, speaking very slow and direct.
“You seem very powerful and have great stamina but I’m a little concerned about your form and how much you push yourself.” His smile fell. “You could really hurt yourself and I really want to focus on correcting that moving forward.” Now he was holding back a frown, trying to keep his face neutral. “You really focused on high reps of relatively low weight, and if this is what you’ve been following all this time, there will be no progression. I want to develop a different plan and I hope you will be open to that.” He was standing there shocked and unable to speak. “Let’s give it some thought and start fresh tomorrow, ok?” She finished and opened the door for him. He stood for a moment deep in thought before his body drove him out of the gym and didn’t stop until he was safely in his room.