"If you want to spend the evening chatting and complaining, that's up to you, but my day is over and I refuse to listen to any more of your complaints now," Lee replied as he got up, bowed to Si-Hyuk and left the room. 

      Before leaving, he shot Jungkook a threatening look that made him nod almost imperceptibly and instinctively. Namjoon and Taehyung had no trouble understanding: Lee was forbidding Jungkook to reveal anything compromising for him during his absence. 

     But if Jungkook didn't want to speak first, and if Taehyung also refused to oppose Lee, Namjoon knew it was up to him only to take the lead. He knew it for a long time now because he refused to remain silent now that he knew and above all, now that he could finally tell everything for their own good.

     "I'm listening," the CEO resumed after the exit of the manager he had not tried to retain because indeed, the manager was allowed to go home after all this time spent abroad supervising the group, and even if he was the subject of conversation what the group wanted to address.

     "Since you are finally giving us the chance to talk," Yoongi interjected, "first let's talk about the violence of our manager, who was unable to protect us but nevertheless gave himself the freedom to hit some of us and threat us from the beginning."

     Following Yoongi's words, Bang Si Hyuk remained unmoved .

     "You knew it?!" Jimin exclaimed, shocked. "So our managers were right the first day when they said there was no point complaining to you?!"

     "Of course he knew, and maybe he even the one who asked them to do it," Yoongi replied, who didn't look surprised at this discovery.

     "I didn't ask them to hit you. I learned it very quickly, but insofar as your managers allowed you to seriously get back to work and to be more productive after your little period of rebellion, I concluded that your managers had a way of working efficient so I couldn't fault them for doing their job properly."

     "Efficiency? Productivity?!" Hoseok protested, banging his fist on the table, "did you ever think of us as humans at any time? How can you consider having us work under threat as 'proper'? Wow, this is despicable!"

     "Don't get mad Hoseok, you know I consider you as my children. If I let that happen, it was because I felt that you needed a reminder about your rigor in your work. I wanted to leave the management of your group to someone competent who would instill it in you, but I can see that these methods have hurt you."

     "Hurt us?" Yoongi repeated, "it destroyed us! It destroyed our freedom of thought! They controlled us like puppets by threatening us with violence at the slightest misconduct, made all the decisions without caring about what we wanted, and broke our creative freedom. Finally, you placed your trust in them rather than in us, that's all I can see." 

      "So that means you think..." Jungkook said slowly in turn in a calm voice unlike that of the others and everyone turned to him, "you think our success is tied to our managers? We were successful before their arrival, but you still think that it is thanks to them that we did a good job?"

     "Jungkook, you are naive to think that your radiance is only due to your fact and your talent alone. Many other idols are equally if not more talented than you and yet their reach does not exceed that of Korea. Why is that? Because it is the management of your company, it is the people who take care of you that have allowed you to exist as artists of such great renown. This should answer your question."

     They were all shocked, disappointed and deeply disgusted, unable to answer anything for a short while. The CEO of this small company in which they had arrived 10 years ago and which they had made shine and grow until it became the most important company of entertainment in the country, had he just told them that they were not responsible for their own success? That everything they had achieved in recent years by their hard work, they owed to others? Moreover to those who had made their life hell? 

     The seven of them had all come together as artists to bring joy to people through their passion, not to have their merits ripped away from them and given to people who exploited them. The man's words were painful and they hoped their fans didn't feel the same way.

      "You know, your managers explained to me that they only needed to resort to violence at the very beginning of your work with them and then you very quickly understood how to work seriously alongside them," Bang Si-hyuk continued as if that could excuse everything. "The results were there, so why would I dig any further?"

     "If you had "dug any further" as you said, you might have saved us a lot of pain," Namjoon said through gritted teeth, barely hiding his contempt for the man he had always seen as a father figure but who had just been disappointing as no one had ever disappointed him. "When I think I told them to obey orders and endure the pain for the good of the company and for their own good, I disgust myself! It was really just about protecting our managers and protecting your bank account, I am probably as guilty as you for these sufferings..."

     "No you're not, you did your best for our group as our leader, don't associate you with them, they are the only culprits!" Yoongi replied, glaring at the CEO.

     "You mean your managers lied to me?" the man asked in an impassive voice.

     "Does it surprise you that violent people are also liars?" Yoongi questioned fiercely.

     "Do you think they would have told you the real horrors they committed?" Namjoon questioned, earning Yoongi, Jimin and Hoseok surprised gaze, Taehyung's nervous gaze and Jungkook's wide gaze as he thought he knew what his leader meant but Lee's threat hovered over his head and terrified him despite all the resolutions he might have made, despite the fact that all the conditions are met to finally bring the truth to light. Because his mind had too often been forced into submission to this man.

     The CEO remained silent, no doubt considering how ill-advised he had been to ask his last question. He could well sense the animosity that had filled the room and that was directed against him. He knew everything the boys had been through since the concert in France and he didn't blame them for getting mad at him now they were finally back.

     He hadn't wanted to hurt them by telling them that their success belonged to the company and not completely to them: he wanted to make them realize that alone, they didn't have the ability to shine as artists because it was the truth. He knew this from having been a young producer himself and having had to partner with an agency to exist before he could build his own company. 

     It was a fact, he had been in the music industry long enough to know that and he had to teach his protégés. It probably wasn't the best time to do it, but he had to prevent a war from breaking out between the artists and their managers now that the eyes of the whole world were on them.

     Still, he sensed there was something else they desperately wanted to tell him. There was too much pain in this resentment they were expressing. What had he done? What had he missed so badly? He had to get the answer to this question. 

      So, when Taehyung cleared his throat to add something, he gave him his full attention. In front of the courage of his hyungs to tell the CEO everything they had on their hearts, Taehyung had decided he had no right to keep quiet no matter the consequences for him. It was his duty to end the cycle of suffering that Jin and Jungkook had been living for too long.

      "You trusted them fully and you even agreed when they told you they were hitting us, probably thinking that if they told you that, it would mean they wouldn't hide anything from you. But you think Lee would have told you what he has done ? You think he would told you that he has... he has... he has... shit! I can't tell! Why can't I say one damn word?! Why..."

     After his screams, his voice broke. He had just sworn in front of the CEO while everyone in the room was hanging on his lips but he didn't care, he wanted to cry: the horror of what he wanted to say was such that he couldn't verbalize it in front of everyone. He was ashamed, so ashamed of himself. And he knew that after the horror of the revelation, after the horrible pain in their heart, everyone else would be ashamed too.

     "What Taehyung? What did he do?" asked the CEO with unusual gentleness, understanding that what the singer was going to say was extremely serious and that he would have to react immediately.

     "He badly hurt Seokjin-hyung beyond anything you can imagine. And he raped him."

     It was Namjoon who had answered, seeing that Taehyung was starting to cry and that Jungkook had his jaw clenched to prevent himself from saying anything, in particular to refrain from preventing him from making this revelation: it was no longer time to to hide, it was time to say everything. Seeing that stupor and maybe doubt prevented everyone from reacting, he repeated, louder:

     "Lee raped Seokjin hyung."

     He had to be direct and had not chosen to wrap his words in understatement or a poor choice of words. Everyone should know by now. 

     All heads turned away from Taehyung and abruptly returned to the leader of BTS who had just made this revelation with pain and scrutinized his face in the hope of detecting the slightest trace of doubt or to make sure that he had heard correctly. But there was no doubt: Namjoon had announced it so confidently that they immediately knew it was the truth. And knowing Lee, they had no doubt that he was guilty of what Namjoon accused him of. 

     Still, it was hard to accept that dark truth.

     Jimin fell from his chair and did not get up, preferring to remain on the ground, almost under the table, to cry more freely, frantically repeating "no, no, no, no..." in a broken voice, while beside him, Taehyung massaged his back with one hand in an attempt to ease his pain while he still squeezed Jungkook's hand with his other one.

     Jungkook's anxious face had given way to that of relief. Still holding Taehyung's hand on the table, he buried his face in it and began to cry very loudly, screaming out his relief and his pain and breaking everyone's hearts in more pieces than they already were. 

     The youngest was relieved that someone had finally realized and verbalized the horror loud and clear for him, because he had ended up wondering over the course of the conversation if he would really be able to do it himself. But he had remembered the words of Namjoon who had told him that from now on, they would lead the fight with him, and he had forced himself to let them say everything for him.

     But it was hard to hear from their mouths the horrible reality he was the only to know and which suddenly made him feel even guiltier. So, Namjoon and Taehyung really found out everything : then they necessarily found out that he was unable to protect Jin, hence Taehyung's words earlier. Taehyung already resented him, everyone else was soon to follow this move. He squeezed Taehyung's hand very tightly and, his face still hidden in it, wetting it with tears and saliva, as he shouted until his throat hurt, the same words used by Jin:

      "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry..."

      Taehyung was so ashamed of himself that he couldn't answer him. And himself, what was he waiting for to apologize?

        Namjoon came to sit next to Jungkook and rested his head on his, putting a hand on his shoulders:

       "Shhhh! It's not your fault, it's mine for not realizing it and not reacting in time."

       "No, it's all my fault not yours!" Jungkook cried, under the pained gaze of the CEO whose mouth was open in shock.

      Who had never seen the boys in such a state of heartbreak. If he was particularly affected by this macabre discovery, he knew that it was nothing compared to what these boys felt because he was aware that they adored each other, with a sincere affection that he had never seen in another group.

       In front of Namjoon and Jungkook, Hoseok and Yoongi had lost all color on their faces.

     "R- raped?" Hoseok repeated in a flat voice aftr a few minutes, as if he thought Namjoon got the word wrong.

     "Namjoon, are you sure of what you are saying? This is a very serious accusation," the CEO ended up saying gravely, his eyebrows furrowed in concern, regaining a semblance of lucidity following Hoseok's intervention, once the first shock of the revelation had passed.

     "Yes, I'm sure even if I would prefer to tell you the opposite," Namjoon replied, leaning down to rummage through his bag. "And Taehyung can confirm that."

     As if he had forgotten that he was visible to others, Taehyung jumped.

     "Eh, what?"

     "Taehyung, I don't know what's stopping you from talking freely, there's nothing to hide now," Namjoon told him softly.

    "Y-you're wrong hyung," Taehyung said in a shaky voice and so softly that Namjoon had trouble hearing him, "there are still things you don't know."

    That, Namjoon had already suspected it and waited, along with all the others including Jungkook, for Taehyung to speak but he didn't.  

     The rapper sighed and went to take out of his bag a pouch containing Jin's medical report and handed it to the CEO. The latter opened it and began to consult it with the attention of a business manager who consults a contract before giving his approval. 

     His face changed in an instant from that of a CEO worried about the future of his company to that of a man who discovered the horror of humanity and finally to that of a father who realized the atrocities experienced by his child because of his blindness. Suddenly, he understood Jin's frightened behavior better and cursed himself for being so rude to him.

     "How long?" Yoongi asked aggressively to Namjoon.

     "What?" his leader asked, lost, as he stroked Jungkook's head to comfort him.

     "How long have you known that?" Yoongi was suddenly seeming to turn his resentment away from someone other than the CEO.

     Jungkook froze upon hearing this question addressed to Namjoon. If Yoongi knew that he had himself  known for months, it was towards him that this aggressivity was going to turn, he knew it. He didn't dare look at anyone but Taehyung felt his hand twitch in his and understood how Jungkook must be feeling while hearing Yoongi's angry question.

     "For a week. It was the doctor who examined him at the hospital who told us," Namjoon answerd. "To me and Taehyung."

     "But why only say it now?!" Hoseok asked, as tormented as Yoongi, "Why didn't you tell us beforehand so that we could act together instead of let lee staying with us, with Jin hyung?"

     "Do you assume we didn't do everything we could to protect Jin hyung?!" Taehyung replied, with the same aggressiveness that Yoongi was spreading among them alarmingly. 

    "Calm down Taehyung, don't forget how you too felt when you heard about it," Namjoon said, understanding towards those who were just discovering the horror.

     "Did you really know too, Taehyung?!" Jimin asked in shock, rising to his feet, refusing to wipe away his profusely flowing tears. " Why? Why didn't you tell me?! You didn't trust me?!"

     "Excuse-me?!! Do you have so little trust in me to believe that?! If it was up to me, I would have killed Lee and then immediately told you but Namjoon hyung said it was best to act like we didn't know until we get back. But then I couldn't because he-"

    Namjoon thought he was finally going to find out what happened and why Taehyung then changed his attitude towards Lee but Taehyung couldn't finish his sentence.

     "Kill Lee?!" Jimin cut him, stunned, "Are you crazy Tae?! Do you want to go to jail?!"

     "If that's not at least what you want to do now, maybe you're not revolted enough?!" Taehyung replied, "Maybe you don't love hyung enough?! Anyway, it proves that you wouldn't have done nothing more than what Namjoon  hyung and I did, even if I had told you everything, so stop complaining that we didn't do it!"

     Taehyung had said that with great bitterness and hardness and Jimin let go of his sobs again :

     "Why are you saying such mean things? That's unfair..." he whined, burying his face in his hands.

     "Hey, Taehyung, why are you like this?!" Hoseok shouted at him, scandalized by his behavior. He had never seen him behave like that with Jimin.

     "He's blaming it on Jimin because he feels guilty," Yoongi explained with the same bitterness as Taehyung. "And if he feels so responsible like that, it's probably because he really did something. What did you do Taehyung?"

     Taehyung froze.

     "N-nothing! I did n-nothing..."

     Even though he was dying to know what happened between Jin, Lee and Taehyung, Namjoon couldn't stand Yoongi picking on the two of them for not saying anything. After all, he was the one who had made what he felt was the best decision as a leader. So he got carried away:

     "Don't take it out on Taehyung because he feels guilty while you yourself act like a jerk for the same reason!"

     "What?!" Yoongi asked, incredulous.

     "Throwing it back on Taehyung and me, isn't it the same thing?!" Namjoon yelled, angry in his turn.

     There was too much suffering in the room and that suffering was turning into anger. An anger that everyone turned first towards themselves before rejecting it on others. 

     The CEO would have liked to intervene, but he had the feeling that if he did, he was just going to receive everyone's wrath and that the situation was not going to improve. He knew he had to recover quickly for the sake of the boys but he fell from the clouds. When he was finally about to speak, someone preceded him.

     "Please, all of you..." a small voice said.

     All heads turned to Jungkook who suddenly looked tiny in the middle of them.

     "Don't be mad at Namjoon hyung and V hyung... they only knew about it for a week and they did everything to protect Jin hyung during this time. And you, V hyung, don't be mad at Jimin hyung, it was neither his nor yours to kill Lee. It was up to me to do it. Be angry with me and no one else because on my side, not only did I not tell you anything but also I failed to protect Jin hyung. I am the most guilty of all of us." 

     He paused and finished: 

     "I... I've known this for months."