“(Y/N), do you have any popcorn?”

“Yeah, it’s in the cupboard next to the--”

“Found it!” It was a nice night. Since all of your friends were back at school after break, you’d decided to have a BTS sleepover, as you often did. This meant popcorn, episodes of Run, and as many BTS music videos as you could watch in one sitting. Of course, when you’d told your friends about the gift your aunt got you for Christmas, they’d wanted to see them too.

“Wow, like, I know Mattel must have tried, but...Tae’s hair…” Luna trailed off, gently combing through said doll’s hair with her fingers.

“I know, I was thinking about trying to fix it, but I was afraid I’d just make it worse.”

“Nothing is worse than whatever that Nickelback abomination is.” Ella chuckled sympathetically. “I feel so bad for Tae. They did him so dirty.”

“Who are we kidding, the only one they did RIGHT is Namjoon.” You held up the little plastic version of your bias.

“Wow, how lucky for you, your BIAS is the only one that looks anything like the real deal.” Melody rolled her eyes, Jin in her hands as she looked him over. “You’ll never know the Jin Stan pain…”

“Or the Yoongi Stan pain!” Luna called on her way back from the kitchen, a bowl of popcorn tucked under her arm.

“Right, that either.” Melody agreed.

“Listen, is it my fault my man is always looking like a snack even in doll form? No. Moving on.” You scrolled through YouTube on your TV. “What are we watching first, ladies?”

“I don’t know, just put on a playlist.”

“Okay.” You found one that had all of their music videos in it, right from the beginning, which meant that the first one was No More Dream. Oh, memories…

“LOOK AT THEIR LITTLE FACES HOLY SHIT!” Ella squealed, kicking her legs. “Little baby Jimin!!!”

“Oh my god, the mask...Hobi, I’m so sorry.”

“YOU’RE so sorry?? Look at Joon’s hair oh my God.” You cringed, laughing so hard you nearly dropped Namjoon. You set the doll on the table before you could do any further damage. There, he was safe from your clumsy hands. “Oh sweetheart, what did they do to you?”

“Yoongi literally has not aged a day.” Luna chuckled. “But holy shit, look at those chains. What a badass.”

“God, they’ve come so far…” You shook your head. How was it that these bad-boy underdogs from the company who was beyond broke risen to where they stood today with sold-out world tours and dolls and best-selling albums, not to mention millions of dollars? It seemed impossible. And yet, Bangtan always seemed to be defying expectations, learning and growing and changing. That was part of why you loved them so much.

The other reason was just how much they’d helped you love yourself.

“OH MY GOD SHIELD YOUR EYES FROM THEIR BABY ABS.” You’d moved on from No More Dream to We Are Bulletproof Pt2, and you had to admit you’d forgotten about that one part of the video. And then before you knew it, Joon was front and center, mohawk, sunglasses, chains and all.

Even back then, when you’d been stanning freshman year of high school, you’d been a Joon stan, loyal to the very end. That wasn’t to say you didn’t love the other boys; you did. You loved them all a ton. But Joonie held a special piece of your heart. He’d helped you through a lot over the years, even if he’d never know you existed, he meant a lot to you and he always would.

The four of you watched as the budget of the videos increased, the songs shifted in style and meaning, a metamorphosis of kinds unfolding before your very eyes as seven scrappy boys from Seoul turned into seven world-renowned artists. It was enough to make you emotional to say the very least.

“Wow, they really did That, huh?” You asked quietly. The other girls were in awe too, watching and smiling and remembering when you’d all been in high school and had banded together over your love for the obscure group. You’d gotten lucky to find each other then, and were even luckier when you’d all chosen the same university, which had a club dedicated to not only BTS, but all of K-Pop.

“Yeah. They really did.” Luna nodded. “They changed the world.”

***

Namjoon figured the last girl had fallen asleep around the time they’d watched the third or fourth interview in a new playlist you’d started. You were passed out on the couch, slow breaths entering and leaving you. He watched you for a few seconds, smiling softly to himself. He tried not to let it go to his head, he really did...but you’d said he was your favorite and he couldn’t stop replaying the moment over and over.

Technically, he reminded himself, the human Kim Namjoon that was actually a real person was your favorite. He was a doll. He was made of plastic. He was not RM no matter how much he looked like him. And yet, he was still warm and bubbly inside.

Namjoon wasn’t sure what to call this emotion. He’d never felt it before. He’d never felt a lot of things, he supposed, but since moving in with you, he’d felt all kinds of new feelings. It was odd, but he was pretty sure he liked it.

“Joon.” Yoongi whispered from his spot a little further down the table. Though they were both pretty sure all of the fangirls were fast asleep, moving and exposing themselves was not a risk they were willing to take. “You okay?”

“I’m fine.” He whispered back, smiling softly to himself. “I’m...I’m actually great.”

“You look like you’re thinking about something.”

“Yeah. I don’t know. Being here, it’s just...different than I thought it would be, you know? But like not in a bad way or anything. I just...I feel weird all the time but in a really good way, if that makes any sense.”

“It doesn’t, but I understand.” Yoongi nodded to himself. He was sure he hadn’t been feeling what Namjoon had as strongly as the dimpled doll, but he had indeed been feeling...things that he didn’t know how to explain. This had been a learning experience for all of them, he was sure, and he knew that they would only learn more about themselves and each other the longer they stayed in (Y/N)’s care. “She’s different, isn’t she? She’s...she’s our girl, after all.”

“She’s our girl.” Namjoon agreed, a sentiment he was sure all seven of them shared. The bond between a toy and their child was unlike anything else. He’d always known it would be that way, and yet, he could have never predicted just how deep that connection would run. As he laid on that coffee table, there was one thing Namjoon was absolutely sure of: he wouldn’t trade you for anyone in the world.

when you got home from your night class, iced coffee in hand, you knew you were in for a long night. You were only half a page into a four page paper and the rough draft was due tomorrow. You groaned and set your backpack on your bed, tugging your earbuds out of your ears. You adjusted your BTS coaster, which had a picture of Tae sipping tea on Ellen, before setting your drink on it.

You knew that no amount of caffeine could save you now.

“Ughhhhhhhh,” the groan came from the depths of your very soul as you collapsed into your (admittedly comfy) desk chair and opened your computer. God, you didn’t want to write this paper. You didn’t want to write this paperrrrrrr. Ughhhhh. Who had convinced you that going to college was such a good idea in the first place? Why hadn’t they told you there were so many papers involved? That had to be illegal.

Scrolling through your laptop, you were half-tempted to just watch BTS videos into the evening and call it a night, but you knew you couldn’t, not if you wanted to pass your writing class. “Come on, (Y/N), make Namjoon proud.” You muttered to yourself, opening up your school files instead of giving into temptation and watching BTS be the adorable dorks they were.

Sighing, you pulled on your headphones and put on your chill studying playlist, which consisted mostly of instrumental music and Mono. You took a long sip of your coffee and read over the little bit of your paper that you already wrote, trying to get back into it as best as you could, and then, with as much energy as you could muster, you dove in.

You were proud of yourself. You’d written a few pages and had only wanted to die a little bit. Of course, you’d had to lock up your phone to prevent yourself from getting distracted. Maybe it helped that every time you looked up at your shelf, there were seven idols sitting there...all those little eyes. It was hard to focus when you felt like you were being watched. Little did you know that statement actually held a little bit of truth…

Eventually, your iced coffee ran out, so you knew you’d need to turn to another source of caffeine quick if you had any hope of finishing this paper, so you took your empty cup and walked to the kitchen, closing the bedroom door behind you.

“She shouldn’t be up this late working on homework.” Namjoon sighed, looking at the door after you. “She has a morning class tomorrow.”

“You have her schedule memorized?” Jimin asked, looking at the group’s official unofficial leader.

“You don’t? We’ve been here for three weeks. It’s not like we have anything else to do in here.” Yoongi pointed out. It was true. In the three weeks since you’d gotten back from break, they’d found that you had very few activities to keep them occupied while you were gone and it wasn’t like they were in any position to ask you for more.

“I just worry about her is all...” Namjoon rationalized, mostly for his own sake. If he was being completely honest with himself, he knew there was no logical explanation for the warm feelings you made bubble up in his chest. He hadn’t explained it to the others just yet, but he was pretty sure there was no way they felt the same. Or maybe they did and he wasn’t as special as he thought he was.

“We all do.” Jin nodded. “But it’s her life, you know. It’s not like we can--”

Jin and the others all sat at attention in the position they were last in before you’d left once the door creaked open again. Perhaps their greatest blessing living in your bedroom was the fact that the hinges of your door were so squeaky they had a long warning before you ever came back in. If not, they were sure they would have been caught by now. It also helped that you still had your headphones on, so it was doubtful you would have heard anything anyway.

You slumped back into your chair with a cup of iced chai in your hand. By this point, the guys deduced you must have some cold brew in the fridge because there was no way you could have gone out and gotten some so fast.

When you got back into your rhythm, your fingers flew across your keyboard much faster. It was the home stretch now. Just a few more decently sized paragraphs and you’d be done with this blasted draft once and for all. Thank God it only had to be a rough draft, because the quality of your writing was...questionable to say the very least.

Half an hour later, you finally, finally finished, triple-saving your file before closing your computer. You exhaled a sigh of relief, turning off your music before grabbing some pajamas and going to the bathroom to shower for the night and go through your night routine.

The guys didn’t dare move or speak until they heard the shower come on in the other room, and even then, they didn’t budge until they heard your faint voice singing through the wall.

“Persona...who the hell am I? I just wanna go, I just wanna…”

Namjoon grinned. He was pretty sure the song you had playing was one of his. Well, he supposed it wasn’t HIS song. It was RM’s song. And once again, he had to remind himself that he and the real actual person Namjoon were two separate people and though you were infatuated with his real-life counterpart, that didn’t apply to him.

“We need to find some things to do around here when she’s gone.” Jungkook whined, laying back against the shelf. “I’m so booooored.”

“Well we’re plastic dolls that belong to a college girl. I didn’t think we’d be getting much playtime.” Yoongi chuckled, shrugging. It was what it was, he guessed. There was nothing any of them could do about it.

“I’m sure we could figure out a way to use her laptop while she’s gone. Watch some Netflix or something.” Hoseok began plotting, looking around the bedroom for other things to entertain them, but coming up pretty much empty. It didn’t make matters much better that they were the only toys or figures you owned. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if you had some other toys for them to play with, to talk to. That wasn’t likely to change any time soon, though.

“We’ll figure it out, guys, don’t worry.” Namjoon tried to be reassuring. “It could be a lot worse.”

“Well,” Yoongi chuckled, “you’re not wrong.”

You came back into the room about half an hour later, barefaced and beautiful, only plugging in your phone and setting your alarm before you got into bed.

“Goodnight, guys.” You murmured sleepily. It took every bone in Namjoon’s little plastic body not to say ‘Goodnight’ back.

It was another uneventful morning in your bedroom for Namjoon and the others. To pass the time, Hoseok, Jin, and the maknaes had raided your junk drawer and had found a pack of cards. Namjoon considered trying to read one of your books, but given that they were almost as tall as he was, it was easier said than done. So instead, he sat up with Yoongi on the shelf while the others played.

“Yoongi, can I ask you for some advice?”

“Of course. Shoot.”

“I don’t even know how to put this into words…” Namjoon shook his head, chuckling to himself. “I think I...Well, I know that this is...I’m...I’m just gonna say it. I--”

“You have a crush on (Y/N). We all know. We’re not blind.”

“Oh.”

“Listen, none of us think it’s...a BAD thing, per say. But I mean...Taehyung, how did you say it earlier?”

“It’s unrealistic.” Tae provided, looking up from his cards for ALMOST long enough for Jungkook to take a peek at them. Given that they were almost life size cards for them, it was almost impossible NOT to look at each other’s hands.

“Unrealistic.” Yoongi repeated. “Yeah, that. We’re your friends, Namjoon, we’re not trying to be mean and you know that.”

“Right, but--”

“Listen. I get it. She’s pretty, she’s smart, she’s kind, who wouldn’t want someone like that in their life?”

“Yoongi--”

“The problem is: Namjoon, you’re a foot tall and made of plastic.” Though Yoongi’s previous statements hadn’t been enough to get Namjoon to shut up, this one had. Maybe it shouldn’t have, but it hit a little too close to home. For someone who had never felt pain before, Namjoon imagined it must feel a little like this. “We just don’t want you to get hurt, alright? Having a crush on her is one thing, but we don’t want you to get so stuck up there on cloud nine that you come crashing down. Hard. We care about you, dude. You know we do.”

“Especially me.” Jimin pouted, looking up at the dimpled doll.

“Thanks guys.” Namjoon sighed. He supposed he shouldn’t be sad about the conversation. After all, he was the one who had asked for advice, so the fact that he’d been given actual constructive advice should have made him happy, not anything else. And yet, he was left with this bitter feeling eating away inside his plastic chest.

“Don’t be sad about it, Namjoon, just...pursue a realistic crush, like Tae’s on the Captain Marvel doll he saw on (Y/N)’s laptop screen that one time.”

Taehyung grinned a dazed rectangular grin. “She’s preeeetty~”

“We’re toys, Namjoon. We’re not idols.” Hoseok added. “Go fish, Jimin. Hell, I don’t even speak Korean. I don’t think any of us do.”

“Well, we were designed in the states, so why would we?” Jungkook asked. “I mean, besides the obvious reason, that we were modeled after Korean pop stars.”

Modeled after. That was the way Jungkook had chosen to describe it. Maybe he was handling his identity a little better than Namjoon was. He was a toy. He was made of plastic and his shirt had velcro on it instead of buttons, and he couldn’t even tie his shoes, given that they were slip-ons made of rubber. He’d never been anywhere except for your bedroom, your aunt’s closet, and a toy store. There was a whole world out there and he would never get to see it. At least if he had been given to a child for Christmas, maybe he’d get to travel a little bit more.

“Great, look what you’ve done. You’re giving him an existential crisis.” Yoongi shook his head, putting a hand on his friend’s shoulder in an attempt to snap him out of it. “We’re not telling you you have to stop liking her. That’s actually the opposite of what you should do. Just...remember what you are and who you are, alright? Be careful. For us.”

“Of course. I...I don’t know what I was thinking. Thank you for snapping me out of it. I needed that.”

“That’s what we’re here for. Taehyung, do you have any threes?”

“Go fish.”

Namjoon looked out the window at the sun shining through the ice on the branches of the tree outside your apartment. He couldn’t wait until it was spring and the trees were covered in pretty pink flowers.

Maybe he wasn’t meant to see the world like the real Namjoon was, but at least he got this window. Maybe he wouldn’t rap in front of millions of screaming girls, but at least he had this one. Maybe you didn’t listen to his songs in the shower, but at least he got to hear you sing them through the wall.

Dolls like him weren’t meant to experience the world, but he would make sure he made the most of this one room. After all, it was all he had.

***

You came home from class a little earlier than expected, and this meant that the boys had to scramble to get back up on their shelf before you opened the bedroom door. They heard you open the front door, stomping your snowy boots on the rug and they knew their moments were numbered.

“Namjoon, get up here!” Hoseok hissed, offering his hand. Namjoon took hold of it, and he was almost up onto the shelf by the time the bedroom door swung open. So, he did as any quick-thinking doll would and he let go, falling a foot or so onto the dresser below.

You were wearing your earbuds, thank God, so you didn’t hear the sound of his plastic back making contact with the wooden surface. You set your bag on the floor, leaning it up against the bed carefully before fetching your textbooks and notebooks from inside it. You had a stack of notecards to make if you had any chance of passing the test next week.

It wasn’t even until you clicked some lead out of your mechanical pencil and had your book spread out on your bed that you noticed one of your dolls was out of place. Eyebrows furrowing, you pushed your supplies off of your lap and walked over to him.

“Huh. Are you clumsy too?” You murmured, picking Namjoon up and gently guiding his limbs to a sitting position before putting him back in his place in the middle of the seven. “There you go, Joonie. Good as new.”

It was then, looking at the line of them that you noticed Jimin and Tae were in the wrong spots. Interesting. You wondered how long they had been out of order. Had you put them up wrong after your sleepover with Ella, Melody, and Luna? Potentially.

Not thinking much of it, you moved Tae and Jimin to their rightful spots before returning to your work again.

The boys sat there, wary and a bit scared. They’d have to be more careful from here on out if they didn’t want to get caught...