BigHit sends me an email on my way back to the dorm. They want me to meet in their office, regarding the issue with the online bullying. Even though I'm halfway back home, I have to take the line back to Gangnam. My plans to meet with Beomgyu and talk with him about Naomi and Joyce turns to naught.

I take the elevator to the tenth floor, and from there I traverse a carpeted corridor with paneled mirrors that reflect my nervous expression back to me. The last door on the right reads "1032," which is the number that was given to me in the email. I open the door with a slight tremor.

I'm met with a sight that almost halts my heartbeat. Four executives in business suits and ties sit around a round table, their gazes immediately glued to me as I enter.

"Jayden," one of them says. "Please sit down. We have quite a lot to discuss."

I'm sandwiched between people that are worth way more money and time that I am. I am inundated with several rounds of Korean, until the first man who welcomed me explains. "I'll translate for you," he says. "We're basically going back and forth with what can be done about the Twitter account @NJTXT."

I nod. "I'm so sorry for the trouble."

The man translates for me, which succeeds in garnering an even louder response—several shakes of the head and murmurs of dissent.

"We aren't blaming you for anything," says the first executive. "I'm Joon Hong, by the way. All the boys call me Mr. Hong."

I nod as the table proceeds into a deeper discussion. Mr. Hong translates and claims that BigHit will be taking legal action against the two girls. They check up on me, asking me how I'm handling the bullying. I lie and say, "I'm doing okay for the most part." Mr. Hong translates back my words without much confidence.

Mr. Hong speaks after a long pause. "Jayden, we want to ask you this. Would you like to stop being Beomgyu's roommate? We theorize that the online bullying will stop if you aren't seen around him or the rest of the members."

I am taken aback. Of course, maybe that should be the best approach. I'll no longer be Beomgyu's roommate, and the fans will stop targeting me because I won't be close enough to take advantage of Beomgyu. "If that's the best option... I'll do it for the sake of the TXT members."

Then, the door behind me swings open. I look behind my shoulder, finding Beomgyu with his mouth set into a grim line.

He exchanges a few words with Mr. Hong in Korean, which leads to silence among the whole table. Looking around, I realize the executives all have doubt plastered between their eyebrows. Whatever Beomgyu just said, it can't be good.

"Jayden," Beomgyu starts, pulling up a chair next to me, "you don't have to stop being my roommate to try to fix things. If anything, I want to be next to you instead of you having to face the bullying alone."

I nod, taking in Beomgyu's heartfelt words. "But I just want the best for you and the rest of the boys. If I have to stay away from you for a while, or even for the rest of my trip in Korea, I'll do it."

Beomgyu looks at me with the same overtone of a wounded puppy. "Jayden...."

I realize my mistake again. I'm pushing him away instead of allowing him to help me. I'm being an ass of a friend because I'm hiding my pain from him, when all he clearly wants to do is be an aid.

"Okay, Beomgyu," I say. "I'll stay with you. But promise me you won't take all the responsibility. I don't want to see you get hurt because of me."

The room erupts in more discussion, most of which I don't understand. Beomgyu's face goes through multiple rounds of emotion. It's only when Mr. Hong translates for me that I can understand.

"They want you two not to respond to the girls at all," he says. "If you see them in public, call Beomgyu's manager immediately. We don't want you guys to confront them or anything like that. Leave it to us to handle."

Beomgyu grits his teeth. "They hurt my friend. They should know that, even if I have to tell it to their face."

"No!" Mr. Hong sets his fist against the table. "That's exactly what they want from you, Beomgyu. Those girls want your attention, whether it be positive or negative. That's why they targeted Jayden in the first place."

Beomgyu sulks in his seat. He stays silent as Mr. Hong translates more protocol for me, which mostly involves staying passive as the company deals with the girls behind the scenes. Not much can be done about the hate already festering toward me, and the only real thing I can do is wait it out and let the fans' anger fade away.

Beomgyu doesn't seem happy about the directions. As we exit out into the hallway together, he stops and faces me. "This is what I hate about being an idol," he says.

"What?" I'm clueless as I turn to meet his strong brows and set jaw.

"I hurt people that I'm close to," Beomgyu says. "Even my family was the subject of some harassment last month. I can't do anything about it but wait and let the company handle it. But a lot of the time, nothing can be done. Even though Korea has strict laws on defamation, it's hard to stop any sort of combined effort of bullying. I'm really sorry, Jayden."

I shake my head, almost violently. "You have nothing to be sorry about. You're still my friend, even though you're famous and have a small batch of toxic followers."

"It's that small community that ruins everything," Beomgyu says. He sighs, and his whole body seems to deflate. "Jayden, I didn't mean to force you to continue to be my roommate. If you really do want to separate, I won't stop you."

For the first time in a while, I allow myself to dig into my own wants. It's been too long since I was allowed to be a little bit selfish. I realize what I need immediately. "Beomgyu, there's not a cell in my body that doesn't want to be your roommate. I guess we just... have to be more careful outside. Now that we know that weirdos are always watching."

Beomgyu lets out a strained laugh. "Weirdos. That's one word to describe those girls."

I think ahead. There's still two weeks more of the summer program. Two weeks to heal and make amends with Beomgyu, hopefully becoming someone he can remember in a positive light. "Beomgyu, are you ready for our second field trip?"

Beomgyu shocks me with a genuine smile. "More ready than I've ever been."

I smile back. "Good."