The stage lights were blinding. The cameras rolled. The studio audience was small, but loud. It was officially The Trinity's first ever variety show appearance—and no one warned them that they'd basically be thrown to the wolves.
The host grinned. "Please welcome the hot new trio under BIGHIT Entertainment... THE TRINITY!"
Cheers erupted. Taehyung threw his arms up like he'd just won an Olympic gold. Jungkook offered a small wave and smile, but his knee was bouncing. Jimin bowed deeply, then accidentally knocked the mic off its stand.
"Ah—ah! Sorry, sorry!" he said, scrambling to fix it.
The host laughed. "Well, they're new, everyone. Let's start with introductions!"
Jungkook went first, voice shy but solid. "Hello, I'm Jungkook... from Busan. I sing, dance... and sometimes accidentally kick speakers during rehearsal."
Audience: Awww.
Jimin smirked. "Hi, I'm Jimin. I'm also from Busan. I dance contemporary and... correct Jungkook when he forgets choreography."
"Ouch," Jungkook whispered, mock-wounded.
Taehyung grinned wide. "I'm Taehyung! I... sing, act, model in my sleep, and collect antique telephones!"
The host blinked. "Wait, seriously?"
"Yeah. Wanna see a photo?" Taehyung reached for his phone mid-show.
Cue chaos.
The rest of the segment didn't go any smoother. They were asked to show their 'variety talents' and things went downhill—fast.
Jimin attempted a sexy dance but slipped slightly and turned it into a spin. Jungkook did impressions, one of which included an oddly accurate pigeon sound. Taehyung tried to juggle three mandarins and accidentally hit the cameraman.
There were bloopers. There was unfiltered dialect. There was, at one point, a game involving whipped cream that ended with Jungkook nearly choking on laughter as Jimin screamed, "TAEHYUNG STOP LICKING THAT!"
But somehow... the crowd loved it. Their unpredictable energy, sarcasm, and insane chemistry bounced like a pinball machine. They weren't polished—but they were real.
As the show wrapped and the director yelled "cut!", the three collapsed backstage, half-laughing, half-crying.
"I think I broke my pride," Jimin groaned.
"Your pride?" Jungkook said, wiping whipped cream off his sleeve. "I nearly broke that light stand."
Taehyung looked serene. "I feel alive."
Suddenly, a familiar voice boomed from behind. "Wow. That was... something."
They turned.
Kim Seokjin stood there, in all his Worldwide Handsome glory, clapping slowly with his signature dazzling smile.
"Hyung!" they chorused.
"You guys were chaotic, but good chaotic. Raw. Memorable." Jin grinned, tossing a car key into the air and catching it. "And for surviving your first show... I'm treating you. Come on."
Taehyung gasped. "To food?!"
Jimin looked like he saw heaven. "Hyung, I haven't eaten since 9 a.m."
Jungkook clutched his stomach. "I was hallucinating grilled pork halfway through the interview."
Jin raised an eyebrow. "Get in the car before I change my mind."
They didn't even hesitate.
As they ran out of the building like grade schoolers at recess, giggling and tripping over each other, Jin chuckled to himself.
Yep. The kids were alright.
The scent of sizzling meat greeted them like a warm hug. Jin had chosen a tucked-away samgyeopsal place, nothing too flashy—but it was clearly his haunt, based on how the ahjumma immediately smiled and called him "handsome son-in-law."
They sat at a low table, laughter already bubbling as Jin expertly worked the grill like a man on a mission. The Trinity hovered like hungry wolves.
"Hyung," Jungkook whispered, eyes wide as pork belly hit the hot plate. "You're... incredible."
"I know," Jin said, flipping a slice with exaggerated flair. "Worldwide Handsome and King of Meat. Multi-talented."
Jimin blinked. "Wait. You cook and act?"
"I grill and act," Jin corrected, gesturing dramatically. "Subtle difference. And don't crowd the lettuce wraps. You're folding it wrong."
Taehyung whispered to Jungkook, "This man could sell me water and I'd say thank you."
"You should thank me," Jin said, overhearing. "You three looked like you were dying on that show. What was that juggling?"
"I was experimenting," Taehyung mumbled through a lettuce wrap.
Just then, the sliding door opened with a creak.
In walked Yoongi, Hobi, and Namjoon—each in casual hoodies and ball caps, but unmistakable.
"Whoa," Jimin whispered.
"You made it!" Jin beamed. "Guys—this is The Trinity. Or The Try-Hards, depending on the day. Still, you've met them before."
Namjoon smiled warmly. "Hey, that show clip is already on Twitter."
Jungkook nearly choked on a leaf.
They all shuffled to make space. Yoongi took the corner seat like a cat picking a sunbeam. Hobi sat between Jimin and Jungkook and immediately greeted them with a sunshine-bright, "Hi babies!"
"Hi—Hyung," Jungkook and Jimin said in unison, slightly thrown by the sparkling energy.
"He's... always like this?" Jimin asked softly.
"He gets scarier when he teaches dance," Yoongi mumbled.
Hoseok just giggled. "True."
The table filled quickly with banchan, laughter, and shared stories. The Trinity listened, eyes wide, as the older ones talked about their trainee years—how they lived on ramyeon, how Namjoon used to write lyrics on bus rides, how Hoseok once fell asleep mid-choreo and got scolded.
Then Jin dropped the bomb.
"And one time," he said, sipping his drink, "Yoongi and I had a fist fight."
The table froze.
"WHAT?!" Taehyung blurted.
Jimin's chopsticks clattered.
Jungkook gasped so loud a nearby ahjumma turned.
Yoongi didn't even look up. "It was nothing."
Jin leaned back smugly. "It was something."
"Who won?!" the Trinity asked in unison.
No one answered.
Jin just winked in Yoongi's direction.
Yoongi only rolled his eyes.
Hoseok, giggling now, leaned closer to the younger ones. "They were like cats in a sack that day. It was legendary."
"But it never happened again," Namjoon added, serious. "Because after that, we realized... we were stuck together. Might as well rise together."
It went quiet for a beat. A good kind of quiet.
Then Jin broke it. "Anyway, back to the important question. Who ate all the grilled mushrooms?"
Everyone pointed at Jungkook.
Jungkook blinked, mouth full. "...I blacked out. I didn't know I was doing it."
They erupted into laughter. Jimin leaned on Taehyung's shoulder, tears in his eyes. Yoongi was smiling softly. Namjoon was nodding like a proud uncle. Jin reached for another round of meat, still beaming.
That night, something changed.
The Trinity stopped feeling like rookies. They felt like part of something bigger—like they'd stepped into a long hallway full of open doors, with big brothers already waiting inside.
The plates were mostly empty now, only a few grilled garlic slices and wilted lettuce leaves scattered across the table. Everyone leaned back, full and a little drowsy from the warmth of food and stories.
Jin raised his glass, filled with cider. "A toast," he said, and the rest followed suit.
"To what?" Taehyung asked, holding his glass in both hands like a child at his first grown-up dinner.
Jin glanced at the others. Namjoon smiled, Yoongi gave the smallest of nods, and Hobi's smile softened.
"To you three," Jin said. "To your beginning."
Namjoon added, "This company... it's different. Bang Si Hyuk, our CEO, he's not just a businessman. He's our father in all but name. He believed in us when no one else did. He fought for us."
Yoongi looked up, voice calm. "We were nobodies when we started. But he made sure we had a shot."
Hoseok leaned forward, grinning at them. "You have that shot now. Take it. Mess up. Grow. But whatever happens... we've got you."
Jimin swallowed hard, the weight of those words hitting different. Jungkook looked at Taehyung, who looked right back at him with wide, sparkling eyes.
Jin pointed a chopstick at them, mock-stern. "This is a family. Don't forget it."
Taehyung raised his pinky. "Let's promise."
"Promise what?" Jimin asked, blinking.
"That even if we fight someday," Taehyung said, "it'll never be over something stupid."
"Like... a girl," Jungkook finished, a little too quickly.
They all laughed.
"Especially not over a girl," Jin muttered under his breath.
Yoongi cleared his throat but said nothing.
That night, the stars were pale and soft, scattered across the Seoul sky like breath on glass.
Back in their company dorm, the Trinity dropped onto the floor, limbs sprawled like discarded socks.
Jimin lay on his back, arms over his eyes. "Today was... insane."
"I can still smell samgyeopsal in my shirt," Taehyung mumbled into a pillow.
Jungkook hugged his knees to his chest, gazing out the small window. "Do you think we'll make it?"
Silence for a beat.
Then Jimin said, firm and low, "We will. We have to."
And so they slept—bellies full, hearts fuller, dreams chasing the edges of the dark.
The next day smelled like black coffee and nerves.
They arrived at the building's basement level, where Bang PD-nim had told them to report for pre-debut recording. A name was scribbled on the door:
Min Yoongi
Do Not Enter Without Permission (Or Snacks)
Taehyung knocked dramatically.
Yoongi opened the door halfway, eyes squinting like a cat just pulled from a nap.
"You're early," he said. "Gross."
"You said 10 a.m.," Jungkook said, confused.
"It's 9:47. Don't be ambitious. Come in."
The studio was cozy chaos—papers, wires, and speakers stacked with surgical precision. And in the middle, Yoongi, hair tousled, hoodie drowning his frame, looked like he lived there. He probably did.
Jimin braced himself. He expected another Hoseok. Stern. Loud. A taskmaster.
But Yoongi only handed him a bottle of water. "Take your time. Warm up. Sing it like it matters to you. Doesn't have to be perfect. Just be you."
Taehyung gaped. "Hyung... you're so... calm."
"I'm not calm," Yoongi said, adjusting a mic. "I'm tired."
"But you're a genius!" Jungkook blurted.
Yoongi stared at him for a long second.
"Flattery is disgusting," he said, then muttered, "Do it more."
Laughter filled the booth.
That day, they recorded until their voices cracked and their hearts overflowed.
It was their first real track. A song about chasing dreams, falling down, and getting back up.
And behind the glass, Min Yoongi—quiet, sleepy-eyed, eternal cat energy—nodded slowly with every note.
"You'll make it," he said under his breath. "You really will."
If the Trinity thought Min Yoongi's studio was intense, they hadn't met Jung Hoseok, a.k.a. Dance Dad in full choreographer mode.
The moment they stepped into the rehearsal room, the mood shifted. Hoseok stood in front of the mirrors, hair slicked back, wearing a black sleeveless shirt and joggers. Bright as always—but his smile didn't quite reach his eyes.
"You're five minutes late," he said, in a voice that could melt concrete.
Jimin blinked. "But—"
"Stretch."
They obeyed instantly.
Ten minutes later, sweat was dripping. The track blared. Hoseok wasn't yelling—he didn't have to. His eyes did all the yelling.
"Taehyung, you're a beat late."
"I thought it was—"
"No thinking. Feel it."
"Sorry, hyung."
"Jungkook, that arm pop? It's giving injured bird."
"...Noted."
"Jimin, you're good. Fix their lives."
Hoseok clapped once. "Again. From the top!"
By the third hour, the trio were soaked, breathless, and dying for a break.
Hobi paused, finally smiling. "Good. That's better."
They collapsed on the floor.
Jimin groaned. "I thought you were sunshine."
"I am." Hoseok beamed. "Just... with a sunburn."
Later That Week: Debut Showcase
Backstage was chaos. Staff rushing. Mics taped. Wardrobe malfunctions narrowly avoided. The three stood huddled near the curtain, dressed in sleek black stagewear, in-ears on, hearts racing.
Taehyung shook his hands out. "Do we look cool?"
Jimin adjusted Jungkook's collar. "You look like anxiety in designer pants."
Jungkook was quiet, then suddenly, "What if I fall?"
"Then fall hotly," Jimin said. "You're too pretty not to."
A staff member called, "Trinity! You're up!"
They stepped onto the stage—blinded by lights, swallowed by screams.
Their track blasted.
They moved.
They conquered.
Their debut was explosive.