Trigger warning : violence.

   "It's a nightmare, isn't it?" Jimin asked, distraught. 

     "I wish," Taehyung replied. But since they had all witnessed the same scene, it could only be reality. A dark reality.

     They were all on the sofas again, as if they were unable to stand after what they had just experienced, and Jungkook held an ice pack to his stomach to ease the pain. A red mark the size of a fist spread across his right side.

     "He hit hard, I hope you're okay," Namjoon worried.

     "I heard a crack when he hit you," Jin interjected, who seemed even more worried than Namjoon.

     "Yeah, me too," Taehyung added, grimacing at the mere memory.

      Hoseok blanched when he understood what that meant.

     "Yeah, I think I have a cracked rib," Jungkook moaned, removing the ice pack and feeling his wound.

     All the elders looked at the youngest with concern.

     "A cracked rib, a sprain that is unlikely to heal anytime soon and completely crazy managers," Yoongi summed up by raising fingers one after the other, "great. I guess one has to wonder who will be crippled next?"

      "Hey, we're not crippled," Jungkook protested in his name and in that of Jin who remained surprisingly silent. 

      "The situation was already delicate and our new managers are obviously not going to improve things..." Jimin said, letting fear appear in the tone of his voice.

      "It's a disaster," Taehyung concluded.

     "You definitely need to go to the hospital, to get your injury certified," Jimin said to Jungkook, as he knew that the only way to heal a broken rib was rest and maximum stillness.

     "And what would that be for?" Jungkook replied spitefully, "Han and Lee would make me work despite that, that's for sure, between the first who seems to feel no emotion like a robot and the other who looks to me like a wild beast in a costume. Considering how they force Jin hyung to work despite his injury, they'll do the same for me."

     He exchanged a pained look with Jin next to him who put a hand on his thigh in solidarity but stayed quiet.

       "No JK, we can't accept that," Hoseok said firmly, "Do you remember our first manager who mistreated you? We had to let it happen and we felt helpless and guilty because our group was in danger of not starting in the industry."

     "Yes I remember it but I don't blame you guys," Jungkook reassured him.

     "I know, that's not what I mean," Hoseok said, "What I mean is that we're not the same that at that time. We are famous now. Even if PD-nim doesn't support us anymore, we have a strong fandom supporting us. If we show them what manager Han and manager Lee are doing to us, they will revolt with us. Tomorrow your injury will look ugly", he added.

     "Thanks," Jungkook grimaced as Jimin gave Hoseok a reproachful look for his lack of tact.

     "Sorry, what I meant is that we'll take a picture of it and post it on the internet," Hoseok specified, "that should be enough to unleash the anger of our fans and get these two crazy managers fired."

     "No, we can't do that," sighed Namjoon, who hated what he was about to say. 

     "Why not?" Hoseok asked, surprised.

      "Because," Namjoon explained with a serious look, "if we disclose this information, we will get our company into trouble. And given our popularity, it will not only be a national scandal, but an international one and the world will have its eyes on the Kpop industry to speak out against its wrong practices. And I'm not saying it'll make things change for the better ; I absolutely don't know that. What I do know, however, is that no more companies will want to take over our group after such a scandal and we will most certainly have to disband. No matter how popular we are, we can't survive in our country without the support of a compagny, Lee remembered well to remind us of this before leaving." 

     The others looked at him, horrified by his words.

     "That's just a guess, isn't it?" Jimin asked, with a pleading face.

     "Yes," Yoongi agreed much to Jimin's relief before adding grimly, "however, this is a very likely scenario, Namjoon is right : we need our company as much as our compagny needs us to exist, maybe even more."

     "So, we'll have to put up with this?" Hoseok asked, who saw the glimmer of hope fading away from them again.

      "Sejin and Hyun advised us to be blameless first so that PD-nim's harshness towards us wears off and he regains his original indulgence," Namjoon said like it was their last hope.

     "When we spoke to Hyun on his return from the hospital, he said one thing," Jungkook suddenly remembered, "he said he had to remind us of the harshness of the Kpop industry and the demands of excellence as quickly as possible."

     "Yes," his leader agreed, "and PD-nim felt Hyun and Sejin had failed, that's why he sent these two bullies to us. It means that if we want to make things right, then for now, we have to meet his demands and get back to the level he expects of us. Even though it's painful, "he added, looking at Jin who was unusually quiet.

     This unusual silence in which Jin had been plunged since the departure of the two men weighed heavily on the group, even if it wasn't abnormal after the unpleasant experience he had just had. Indeed, it was always Jin who, the first and the last, managed to cheer up the younger ones and who transmitted his optimism to others. But seeing that he himself was at that moment the most depressed among them plunged them into a deep unease and only reinforced the feeling that everything was going wrong.

     Hearing Namjoon's words and meeting his gaze, Jin sighed, understanding what he had to do and ultimately said :

     "I'll do my best not to be a burden this time, and to avoid angering our managers again."

     "No hyung, that's totally not what I meant" Namjoon protested, "you have to do your best to take care of yourself no matter what they tell you to do. That is the most important. Tomorrow we will ask for a foam shoe so you can walk without crutches and dance without suffering too much, unfortunately that's the only thing we can do since they force you to dance."

     Jin nodded and everyone gave him an apologetic look.

    "Now let's go to bed," Namjoon ordered in a firm tone, "we better not be late tomorrow so that we don't have to find out what punishment they have in store for us if we don't."

     The others nodded and one by one they returned to their room to fall asleep restlessly.

      The next day they got up earlier than usual to get ready, except for Jungkook, who was a deep sleeper and always got up after the others.

      "I went to wake him up, but I think he's waiting for his fifth alarm clock to go off," Yoongi sighed, exchanging a bored look with Jin who was decidedly the only one who could patiently wake up a deeply sleeping Jungkook.

     Since Jin was already slower than the others to get ready due to his injury, Yoongi had wanted to spare him that task that morning, but he failed miserably.

     "He's still in a deep sleep phase, it's obvious he's had trouble sleeping, whether it's because he was thinking about what happened yesterday or because his injury was too painful and kept him from sleeping. But it won't move our managers, so he absolutely has to wake up."

     "He'll be on time, don't worry Yoongi, I'm going to take care of waking him up," Jin reassured him, getting ready to get up.

      "Thanks. And sorry," Yoongi said before jumping up at the same time as everyone else gathered around the table.

      Because suddenly, they were dragged out of their breakfast by the sound of the front door being unlocked and were unpleasantly surprised to see Lee appear with a key to their dorm in his hand: so, he could enter as he pleased. He smiled harshly at their crestfallen expression.

     "Hello boys, I see you're almost ready, that's good. You can take the time to finish your breakfast, I arrived early." 

     He suddenly stopped and and frowned, before starting counting them. Twice.

      "Well, well, well... You are only six, where is the seventh?" he finally asked. "Where's the little one?"

     "Jungkook is finishing getting ready, as you said yourself, you're early and he still has time," Jin said hastily, frightened at the idea of an other wave of anger unleashed against the maknae.

     "Yeah, I'll go get him," Taehyung added, rushing to get up, as frightened as the eldest.

      "All of you stay in your place and finish eating," the manager ordered.

     Terrified, the members watched helplessly as Lee made his way to the bedrooms.

     "Oh no, that's what I was afraid, that's why I told you-" Yoongi started.

     "Please, do not overdo it," cut Namjoon who nervously strained his ears in the direction of Jungkook's room and didn't need to be further stressed by Yoongi.

     "We-we can't just leave him alone with Jungkook, please, let's go too, all together," Jimin whispered urgently, looking at others and still having in mind the events of the day before. "Jungkook is already hurt, what if Lee hyung hurts him again? We need to protect him."

      But Namjoon shook his head:

     "If we do, we'll disobey and get off to a really bad start for our first day working together. Also, we don't know what manager Lee is up to. Maybe he'll just lecture Jungkook a bit?" 

     He was not very convinced himself but had to reassure the others to avoid them all gushing into Jungkook's room together and suffering the manager's wrath.

      Jungkook was abruptly woken from sleep when he felt the hard ground hit his cheek. 

     "Uhg..." he growled in pain, too dizzy with sleep to realize what had just happened.

      Half awake, he opened his eyes to understand what had roused him from sleep when he painfully felt a hand pull him by the collar of his pajamas to get him to his feet and slap him violently to wake him up. He let out a cry of pain mixed with surprise.

    "Ouch!"

     He opened his eyes wide when he met Lee's already familiar smile. 

     "Tsss, kids don't understand words these days, you need to be trained like the puppy you are!"

     The latter had turned the mattress to knock Jungkook off the bed with prodigious strength considering the weight of Jungkook and his mattress together. This military wake-up call didn't prompt him to open his mouth to protest when the manager started yelling, startling him:

     "WHY ARE YOU STILL IN BED INSTEAD OF GETTING READY LIKE THE OTHERS?!" 

    The scream had no doubt reached the ears of the other members but for the moment, Jungkook was completely alone in the face of the manager's fury and since he was still too dazed, he kept silent.

     "You're still trying to defy the rules you've been given, right?" Lee asked smoothly, as if he hadn't just yelled at him a second ago. 

     This made Jungkook extremely nervous, he didn't know if the manager was expecting an answer from him or if an answer would instead inflame his anger. Feeling himself gradually suffocating under Lee's grip who was still firmly pulling his collar, he knew he had to answer : 

     "N-no," Jungkook stammered painfully, tightening his hand around his bruised side which Lee had no regard for.

      "Liar," the manager replied with a cruel smile. 

     He tightened his grip on Jungkook's collar watching him be scared with an almost affectionate gaze that seemed contrary to what he was doing to him. 

     "It was really time for me to come to you to put things back in place and teach you the natural order of things, my boy. Do you think you can do your own thing with impunity because you're the most popular of the seven? Do you feel untouchable? The company and your six big brothers spoiled you way too much and now you think you can run the company?"

     "No, I swear, you are wrong!" Jungkook groaned.

     "Shut up, boy!" Lee screamed as he gave him a resounding slap who forced him into silence. "I know you think you're above the rest so I'm going to teach you the opposite. Know that you-are-nothing without the compagny who put you on this pedestal, so go back to your place. You are you're just a puppy who was told what to do and that's how you became who you are today. And you will continue to follow the directives that you are given, I don't want to have to repeat things to you again but I will gladly do so if you do not fall in line. Do you understand?"

     When Jungkook didn't answer, afraid of being abused again for an answer that would be perceived as a lie or as insolence, Lee thundered:

     "DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"

      "Y-yes, I understand," Jungkook stuttered, distraught. 

      "Good boy," Lee said softly, patting Jungkook on the head to congratulate him like a dog. "Now get ready in a hurry don't force me to come back or you'll regret it!"

     He released Jungkook by violently pushing the young singer to the ground and left the room. Jungkook remained paralyzed and with teary eyes for a few moments on the ground until His bruised flank, his burning cheek and his battered scalp throbbed painfully, but it was above all a feeling of total helplessness that tormented him. 

     Jimin and Taehyung entered his room to hurry him and help him get everything ready, comforting him at the same time.

     Lee settled down on the couch while waiting for the boys to finish getting ready to lead them to the practice room. When he saw them gathering by the front door,  he gave them an approving look and stopped at Jungkook  to whom he gave a mocking look:

     "You see? With proper training, you are able to be on time, it wasn't complicated, you just had to push yourself a little!"

     Still shaken by his brutal awakening, Jungkook carefully avoided meeting the gaze of the manager. The latter burst out laughing seeing the effect he now had on him, stroking his head in a demeaning manner, as if to humiliate him in front of his other members. 

     Yoongi gave Lee a dismayed look. Why was he making Jungkook go through this? To him, Lee looked like a school bully who had made the maknae his victim. He wondered if it was really the CEO who asked him to be particularly hard on Jungkook.

     But he understood from a look that Jungkook was not the only one who was going to suffer his wrath. Indeed, the manager had just lost his mocking smile and now sported a disapproving face while looking at Jin with particularly frowning eyebrows:

     "Seokjin, leave your crutches here. You have to relearn how to walk without it to be able to dance then."

     Seeing Jin retaliate, Yoongi sensed a catastrophe brewing.

     "But I must pick up my new splint and my new shoe from the studio, can I keep them until then?"

     "No," Lee refused, "you're starting to warm up right now, put them down and walk." 

     And it was obvious that like all the decisions he made, this one was final. However, that didn't stop Jin from protesting without being able to stop causing everyone else to swallow loudly:

     "But-"

     "Jin hyung, that's enough, do what he asks" Yoongi cut him off immediately. He remembered all too well what that single word of protest had made Lee do to Jin the night before. He stretched his hands towards the crutches that Jin held tightly. "Please?"

     Jin looked at Yoongi, then Lee's menacing gaze and he felt there was no point in arguing, then he complied. He let Yoongi take his crutches from him and lay them against the entrance wall. Satisfied, Lee left the dorm first to start the engine and as soon as he got out, Yoongi hurriedly said to Jin:

     "I'm sorry, hyung, but he was getting mad and you wouldn't stop."

      "No, you were right Yoongi, thank you for stopping me. I shouldn't have insisted, but it still hurt," Jin explained, patting his leg.

     The members felt sorry for Jin but they couldn't do anything so they came out of the dorm one by one following Lee. Jin put his foot on the ground and made a face as he started limping, his ankle still aching when his whole body rested on it. 

     "Let me help you hyung," Namjoon offered, swinging an arm of Jin over his own shoulder to lean on him and helped him walk.

     "Thanks, Namjoonie," Jin offered a grateful smile to Namjoon and they settled with the others in the van driven by Lee.

     The dance session was torture for Jin and Jungkook. 

     Jin had collected his new splint and foam shoe from the physiotherapist who had been alarmed to see him return to intensive practice so soon, his ligaments still not being sufficiently restored. But Jin insisted because such were the orders of his managers and he painfully resumed the practice with the others, trying to catch up. 

     Jungkook for his part had to face the pain of his cracked rib without having been able to consult a doctor to make a reliable diagnosis. The red mark he had the day before had turned into a purplish bruise that, as Hoseok had predicted, was ugly. When the end of the day came, he was glad that he could stop to rest. He promise to himself to go to bed early so he could wake up more easily the next day. 

     However, when leaving the room with Han who had come to pick the group up, a bad surprise awaited them. Indeed, the manager blocked the way for Jin and said in a voice devoid of warmth:

     "You have to train more to catch up, it is unthinkable that you leave the dance hall at the same time as the others. I'll pick you up later, so try to train hard with your dance teacher. You'll stay until he's satisfied with your progress."

     The group was outraged but refrained from responding. Jin was in despair; his leg was shaking violently from the heavy exertion imposed all day and he didn't feel able to go through that for several more. Jungkook was exhausted and his whole body was hurting him and Jin was in the same condition, how was he going to bear an extra work session especially if the next day and all the following ones were to be the same?

     Since he was dealing with Han and not Lee, he made a single attempt:

     "Hyung, is it really necessary to start the extra catch-up sessions tonight? Jin hyung is exhausted, can he start tomorrow instead?"

     "No, we don't postpone work, otherwise it's the door open to laxity," Han replied coldly. "However, we have already closed this door when we arrived, Lee and I. Seokjin, you stay here and practice, do you understand?"

     "I get it, I'll practive more," Jin sighed, however thanking Jungkook with a nod.

     He smiled sadly at the other members who left him as he joined his dance teacher on another cession.

     His manager picked him up three hours later to take him back to the dormitory. His ankle was making him suffer so much that he doubted he would be able to do it again the next day. Namjoon was the only one still awake to greet him when he returned. The rapper warmed up Jin's meal and sat down with him in the kitchen as he ate in silence. The leader broke the silence:

     "Jungkook fell asleep in your bed, he said he didn't want to sleep alone anymore and risk being woken up again by Lee. I think it traumatized him, it probably reminds him a little too much of the experience with our first manager. "

     Keeping silent, Jin nodded, still eating and fixing his plate.

     "He said you have to wake him up tomorrow morning no matter what. No matter what way you use," Namjoon added, allowing himself the semblance of a smile.

     Instead of supplementing the rapper's remark with a hint of humor like he used to, Jin nodded again, pushing his empty plate away. He had wolfed down his meal at high speed because he was in a hurry: to finally go and rest.

      "Thanks for the meal," he said.

     "Hyung, how's your ankle," Namjoon inquired, who had quickly lost his smile, worried to see Jin stand up and limp dangerously on his shaking leg.

     Then, Jin turned a tearful look at him:

     "I'm doing my best Namjoon, I swear, but I don't think I can continue."