Chapter Text
Shin Seon-ah walked up to the gallery in Seoul, South Korea buzzing with nervous energy. After several weeks of grueling interviews with an increasing level of scrutiny, Seon-ah had finally signed a contract to be the curator of a private art collection for someone famous enough not be disclosed. The NDA suggested not just a wealthy, but well-known person and all the security surrounding their identity was more than a little unnerving. Still, the opportunity was an incredible one and the types of pieces that would be in her care fell directly in her wheelhouse of expertise. She was beyond excited to begin working with the collection, she just hoped her new boss would prove to be a good one, as she had agreed to a five-year contract.
Security stopped her at the door, took her ID and cut her a decidedly permanent-looking visitors tag before allowing her inside. A member of a different security team bowed pleasantly to her and led her through the main floor to a gallery marked 'Closed for Private Viewing.' This was how she was meant to meet her new boss? She took a shaky breath in an attempt to calm her nerves, then she saw him- the head of the most famous K-pop group's security detail, Mr. Lee. She stopped dead in her tracks and had to snap her mouth shut after a moment of pure shock. He noticed her and waved her forward, all business, motioning for her to follow him into the gallery. She stepped forward, her ears tinted pink with embarrassment and borderline panic, her mind absolutely racing. If Mr. Lee was here, in an art gallery, then the only person her new boss could be is-
Her eyes came up as they rounded the corner and there he was, standing in front of a small landscape painting in a gilded frame. He wore a white T-shirt and blue basketball shorts, his jacket draped over his arm, a fishing had low over his ears, long black hair just peeking out from under it.
"Kim Namjoonssi!" Mr. Lee called aloud. Kim Namjoon of BTS turned, eyebrows raised in expectation, then his eyes slid over to Seon-ah and her heart skipped violently.
"Hello sir," she swallowed briefly, determined not to let her nerves derail her. After all, this was work, god damn it! "I'm Shin Seon-ah, your new curator. It's a pleasure to meet you. Sir." She spoke as formally as possible, then bowed deeply before offering her hand. He smiled and bowed before gently grasping her hand with equal formality. For a brief moment Seon-ah was sure she was still in bed dreaming and would wake up at any moment.
"Thank you for meeting me here," he said, maintaining the formality of speech she had opened with, "I was hoping it would be more comfortable for you." She bowed her thanks.
"Thank you. I appreciate it, sir."
He nodded and turned back to the piece he was studying. She stepped up next to him for a better look, desperately hoping he couldn't hear her heartbeat. It felt as though her heart was trying to leap out of her chest with adrenaline and she was really wishing someone had warned her about Namjoon. They stood side by side in silence for a moment, then Namjoon smiled over at her.
"Breathe, Ms. Shin. I promise it's normal." She let out a quick breath and turned pink with embarrassment.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Kim, I didn't know it was going to be you. I promise I'm normally more poised than this!"
He chuckled in his deep baritone and shook his head. "Please don't feel bad, everyone reacts more or less the same way." He turned back to the painting. "What can you tell me about this one?"
Seon-ah looked harder at the piece in front of them, already knowing about it but wanting to impress her new boss, before launching into an explanation of the artist and their time, the composition, the style of brush strokes and influences on its final form. Namjoon occasionally nodded, tilting his head this way and that to change his perspective as she spoke, never once interrupting her.
Namjoon found he had to fight not to stare at her as she spoke. The passion she had for the medium radiated off of her and her face flushed with excitement as she began to relax. It made her look so beautiful that he didn’t dare glance at her even when he felt her eyes on him. When she finished her critique, he stepped silently down the gallery to a large moon jar on a pedestal and again asked her to tell him about it.
“Pottery is my real love,” she exclaimed, nearly glowing as she talked excitedly about the piece. Namjoon couldn’t help the grin that slowly spread across his face, but she immediately stopped upon seeing it and her face fell. “I’m sorry, am I talking too much? I’m always being told I’m too passionate-”
“No!” Namjoon interjected a little too forcefully, “No, no, you could never be too passionate. Not about art, anyway. Not with me.” He paused to gather himself. “I’m very happy to have you here. You’re extremely knowledgeable and your enthusiasm is contagious. It was just really exciting to hear you talk about this particular piece because it’s mine. It’s on loan to the gallery right now.”
Seon-ah desperately wanted to play it cool and be professional, but Namjoon could tell from the way her eyes grew nearly to moons themselves that he’d surprised her.
“I-” she hesitated, “I hope my critique did it justice.”
Namjoon smiled wide, his dimples pinching at his cheeks. “You did it justice and more.” He finally looked directly at her, “I think we’re going to work very well together, Ms. Shin.” Seon-ah beamed with pleasure.
“Thank you, sir.”