Echo Chorus

by Smiles

Persuasion AU. Five years ago, Seokjin was persuaded to break up with the only man he has loved, brilliant producer and adoring boyfriend Min Yoongi. Now, just as Seokjin's record company is failing, Yoongi returns, cold and seemingly indifferent. As they continue to circle around each other and navigate the idol world, Seokjin must determine his future, and if Yoongi has a place in it.

Words: 95746

664 pages, ebook

Published January 1, 2018

Reviews

[Rajasree Jayaram · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was absolutely amazing. I joined BTS ARMY only a few months ago, and as I watched more BTS videos I was charmed by how Yoongi and Seokjin have such different personalities but they just deal so well together. So I decided I wanted to see if someone's written a good fic about them and popped over to AO3. I was going through summaries when I saw the 'exes-to-lovers' trope and the words 'Persuasion AU', and my decision was made for me.

I loved everything about this fic - the characters, the setting, but most importantly, the language. Their thoughts and feelings were described so beautifully that I highlighted practically every other line. I haven't actually read Persuasion yet - P&P is the only Jane Austen I've read and loved so far - so I'm not familiar with the original plot, but it has been wonderfully integrated into the world of Korean idols and music producers (I don't know much about that either, tbh, so it's all from a layman's perspective). In the prologue, even as Yoongi and Seokjin are building up to their highest point, since it is all memories, each scene has that bittersweet edge to it, because Yoongi knows - we know - that it's inevitably going to come crashing down at some point in the near future and it's written so well it hurts. I would've loved to see more of goofy Seokjin, but I know it doesn't fit the narrative. The Seokjin we meet five years later is different, but inherently the same, just like Yoongi. Their feelings for each were so strong, so true, but they kept edging around each other; the misunderstandings, the secrets, the crossed wires - there was so much angst it was killing me and that is so not the way I want to die. I nearly cried (honestly I would've bawled, but was embarrassed to do so when my sister was around) because it was so poignant but I also wanted them to, in Hoseok's words, "...just. Tell him you love him already." I was so worked up by this point that by the ending, I couldn't quite believe that they did finally work it out and get back together and be the shining stars that they were always meant to be; I had to read the last part about five times before I was properly satisfied that they really got their happy ending.

While Seokjin and Yoongi took centre stage, Jungkook and Jimin definitely took their share of the limelight. The Jungkook of this fic will forever have a special place in my heart. I could empathize so much with his insecurities, especially about discovering his sense of self and where he belongs. Jimin used to be my bias (I can't really say I love any one member more than the other any more) and seeing Jungkook fall for him was like falling for him myself all over again. Jimin, of course, was his radiant, angelic self. I was so proud of him for being bold about his feelings, the same way Seokjin did five years ago. I love how there's a subtle parallel between the two love stories - in both cases one is a rising music producer star and the other is an idol, but it also shows how differently things can play out when you have a loving and caring support group. Also, their timing was right, I suppose, but when do you ever know that it wasn't your time until after you've lost it all?

Kris Wu was an interesting character, and I appreciated how he was a somewhat morally grey character. He was a little obsessed with Seokjin (honestly, who can blame him?) but unfortunately for him, Seokjin has been obsessed with someone else for far too long. The side hints of Namjoon and Hoseok were too cute for words. Hyosang was a real dick, and his possible feelings for Yoongi doesn't change that fact. Hoseok was an absolute gem of a character, so talented and so hardworking. I've heard quite a bit about how difficult things are in the idol industry, but reading about it here made it feel a little more serious because while these characters are fictional, there are probably so many real people out there who had to actually go through this stuff. I hope things change for the better.

I practically read the entire story in one setting, late into the night, and it took me quite some time (plus some goofy BTS videos) for me to finally fall asleep because whoa, this really packed a punch.

I saw that author has also written a marriage-of-convenience AU (heart eyes!) and it's calling my name, so I'm off to read that next.