Day 4

     Plea by Mrs. Kim Ye-jun, mother of Kim Doo-Na

     "I'm Kim Doo-Na's mom. I know that after everything you heard, you probably think my daughter is a monster and I'm a bad mother, but please, in the name of your love for your children, don't be too harsh in your judgment of mine.

     Doo-Na is a very reserved person, you know? As a child, she didn't have many friends and it got worse in middle school and high school where she suffered violent bullying. She then closed in on herself a lot, limiting her social life to the bare minimum and being particularly depressed. It was very hard for me to see her like that.

     However, one day, everything began to change for her. She started getting into kpop and got attached to the BTS group, she started following them with a lot of passion and only thought of them. You should see her room, decorated with everything that can bring her closer to BTS!

     But it made her smile so I was not suspicious about the evolution of her behavior, on the contrary, I was happy to see her like this, radiant. And I was grateful to BTS: those boys had managed to dry her tears and restore her self-confidence, when I hadn't been able to. I'm sure many parents understand what I mean. 

     In addition, Doo-Na said she had found her family, a community of fans with whom she could share everything virtually. The Armys. She participated in all possible and imaginable events concerning the group, all her outings and her pocket money were linked to her passion.

     The trouble is that there was only that in her life, she only thought about that, spoke only about that, lived only for that. She sometimes got violently angry while reading certain articles or watching certain videos. And I ended up understanding that this passion had gone too far. But could I have taken away the one thing she loved?

      When she asked me permission to go to this concert in France, saying that she wanted to go with a group of friends, fans like her, I couldn't refuse, I wanted to give her this pleasure. Believe me, I never imagined what would happen there, or that she would be responsible! How could I have imagined my daughter capable of such horrors? But I'm here to try to explain them if you'll hear my apologies.

      This violence and this exclusion that she expressed towards you, Mr. Kim Seokjin, it is a form of revenge for this violence and this exclusion that she herself received, it is from where her hatred came from, you weren't responsible.

     I am so sorry for what she did, I am the first responsible, for the suffering of my daughter and that which she inflicted on others. Please forgive her and condemn me!"

      These were the words spoken by Doo-Na's mother who had ended her argument in tears and which had struck the resolve of many of those who had listened to him. The members of the jury seemed less certain of their verdict than before. 

     Jin himself, hearing from Mrs. Kim, had wondered if he could forgive her and support a lightening of the sentence for her because after all, she had already suffered a lot in life and he didn't want to break Doo-Na's mother's heart either.

     However, other moving pleas had followed this one and reminded him of what he must not forget, other sufferings that were not uniquely his and that Doo-Na's past did not make less cruel and condemnable.

     The words of Jimin and Hoseok which expressed their suffering caused by Doo-Na's actions, their difficult rehabilitation, their moments of despair and sadness, but their will to get back on their feet to find their fans and also, to carry out their lawsuit well and show the world the danger and suffering created by an extreme fan.

     The words of some fans present at the concert who saw Doo-Na raise her knife above Seokjin and who heard her scream in hatred without trying to leave the stadium while everyone ran away and tried to save his life. Lives she herself had threatened in general terror.

     Then the words of Namjoon, who had reminded that it was unthinkable to downplay Doo-Na's actions.

     Plea by Mr. Kim Namjoon, rapper and leader of BTS

     "Yes, it is Doo-Na's loneliness that is at the origin of the love she has had for us.

     Yes, we were the ones who made her dream when she needed to escape her reality.

      Yes, we were the ones who gave her back her self-confidence when she lacked it.

     And we are sincerely happy to have been able to represent all this for her as for many of our fans.

     So why make us pay for it by attacking us? Because when someone attacks one of us, he attacks the whole group. In doing so, despite the love she said she had for BTS, the hatred she had for Seokjin became a hatred for BTS. But why? Why this hatred and above all this violence?

     Yes, it is her suffering that is at the origin of the one she has inflicted to Seokjin.

     Yes, it was the hatred she received that made hers grow.

     Yes, it was the violence she received that made her heartless when she stabbed Seokjin.

     However, we do not have to respond to violence with violence.

     Moreover, you don't have to kill to make your dreams come true. Life is not a novel, when you kill someone, it's a loved one that you snatch from those who love him and you, Doo-Na, you didn't just attempt Seokjin's life and threaten to take him away from us forever. You have done worse. 

     Your hatred and your fantasies have blinded you to the point that you have terrorized, injured, and killed involuntarily many people.

      You may say that you are not responsible for all this and yet, you really are. It is said that sometimes all it takes is a simple spark to set a forest ablaze and you were the spark that set the Stade de France ablaze. By wanting to attack Seokjin, you threatened the lives of thousands of other people. Do you realize how far you've gone to fulfill your fantasies?

     You made us fear that we lost Seokjin forever but luckily Jungkook saved him and you could have killed him too but luckily you didn't. However, this is not the case with many other people who died because of you that night. Many people were bereaved that night and many more will be traumatized for a long time. Just to satisfy one of your fantasies.

     Life isn't a fairy tale Doo-Na, we don't play with people's lives as we please, removing people we don't like from the story we've created ourselves.

     The difference between a fan and a sasaeng, between a dreamer and a criminal, is our ability not to cross certain limits. And you, Doo-Na, you have more than crossed these limits, that's why we say you're a sasaeng and no longer a fan. 

      A lot of people have a hard life, even among our fans, you are not the only one, but them, they don't do what you did, they don't resort to violence to make innocent people pay for their own suffering. They don't make the choices you made. They get up and they fight. With help if possible.

      And this help, you said you found it in BTS, it's wonderful. But it was up to you to learn how to control your emotions and make them benefit you without hurting anyone, but you failed to do so and you became a criminal.

     I hope you realize that now, Doo-Na."

     Namjoon's eloquent testimony had not failed to convince even if afterwards, the psychologist who had been interviewed had mentioned the harmful effects of this entertainment industry on the morale of certain emotionally fragile young girls. The hearts of the jury seemed to recognize their wrongs while minimizing their responsibility. The judge remained impassive, and it was impossible to know the final verdict.

     If Namjoon's speech gave him strength, it was his mother's cross-examination that gave Jin the strength he lacked to fight with all his might. Indeed, it was in tears that his mother had finished.

     Cross-examination of  Mrs. Kim, mother of Kim Seokjin

     "Even though your son had already been the victim of death threats, didn't the company check the contents of the letters and gifts before forwarding them to you?" Doo-Na's lawyer had asked.

     "No," Mrs. Kim had denied.

     "And neither are you?" the other woman insisted

     "N-no, b-but if I had known..." Jin's mother stammered, "...I-I feel so guilty for not checking..."

     For Jin it was too painful a sight to see his mother feel guilty for what had happened to him. It wasn't her fault. It was his for taking the words of that letter to heart. And above all.... it was Doo-Na's fault. So why was it up to his mother to bear this guilt and suffer for it? 

     He then remembered how guilty Doo-Na's mother felt too. But at this precise moment, he didn't want to protect Doo-Na's mother, he wanted to protect and reassure his own.

     "In reality, sending this letter was obviously wrong on my client's part," the lawyer conceded, "but she is not responsible for opening the letter when he was not emotionally able to react properly to certain words. So it was you who was responsible for paying attention to this."

     "Are you accusing me?! Do you really think that if I could have guessed what was in this letter that I thought was written by a fan, I would have given it to my son to read?!!" Mrs. Kim yelled without being able to control her tears, "The letter written by this evil girl contained the worst horrors and made Seokjin try to end his life!"

     Jin wanted to run into his mother's arms to comfort her but since he couldn't, it was Jungkook who hugged him. But soon enough, the judge had to end this cross-examination, judging that Mrs. Kim was no longer emotionally able to do so and Jin was able to go and comfort her.

     However, suddenly, it was Jin's turn to take the witness stand.

     "Mr. Kim Seokjin, please come forward to the stand," the judge instructed.

      Jin's throat was dry and it was on wobbly legs that he straightened up.

      "It's going to be okay hyung," Jungkook whispered to him as he held his hand. "Speak with your heart to your fans and to the sasaengs, say everything you want to say to them, for everything they've done to you all these years. It's time to take away all these fears, this guilt and these doubts that they made you approve. This is your fight, hyung, remember our art of war : touch the hearts of your allies, and destroy your enemies." 

      "Don't be afraid hyung," Taehyung added, "Doo-Na  is the one who is afraid of you now. For her, you are the final boss of this lawsuit, you will win, not her, that's for sure!"

     The eldest nodded with a weak smile.

     "Thank you both."

      Then, reluctantly resolved, he let go of the maknae's hand and step forward to the witness box. He felt behind him the gaze of the whole room and behind the cameras, the gaze of the thousands of people who were following the trial live or who would review it by analyzing the slightest of his gestures. He could clearly feel people's gaze running along the scar on his face and whispering.

     As he sat down, he let his gaze drift to his affected parents, then to his members and drew his courage from them. They had all suffered to see him suffer or suffered themselves from the sasaengs, he was not the only one. And BTS weren't the only group to suffer from them. All he had to do was testify with his heart to everything he had been through and felt because of Doo-Na and the other sasaengs. His tongue seemed to loosen.

     So, after a last look exchanged with Jungkook to give himself courage and insurance, he began his testimony which immediately brought tears to all the people who carried Jin in their hearts and who could not bear the slightest evil, the slightest sorrow, the slightest pain to reach him.

     He recounted the constant cyberbullying.

     The sadness of constant reproaches.

     The humiliation of never feeling as good as the others or good enough to belong to his group, because of the reproaches addressed to him by these people.

     The fear during airport crossings when the compact crowd surrounded them even when their movements were kept secret.

     The horror of death threats.

     The despair of never seeing the end of this hatred towards him.

     The terror of having been attacked and chased by Doo-Na at the Stade de France.

     Then that of being trampled and asphyxiated by the fans who suddenly appeared to him as the enemies of a gigantic army which surrounded him from side to side.

     The immense pain when he felt the blade of the knife plunge into his back but his lack of strength and breath that kept him from screaming in pain.

     His sudden awareness that he was going to die, that he would not survive.

     The mad hope of being saved by Jungkook when he saw him as Doo-Na raised his knife above him a second time to finish him off but the guilt of realizing long after Jungkook had sacrificed for him and in his place had received the painful stab wound to save him.

     The waking up from a coma and the pain of recovery.

     The terror again seeing Doo-Na's eyes full of hate at the airport and her anger again, ready to stab him to kill him for good this time .

     The relief of getting away from all these crowds that now made him fear that someone would attack him.

     The happiness and gratitude of reading his birthday letters which reminded him how many people loved him and how lucky he was.

    This part of his speech brought smiles back to the crying people who were listening to him, but that smile quickly disappeared when they heard the rest.

     "Jungkook and Taehyung saved me from Doo-Na's attacks, they gave me a chance to live on and really find out how much I was loved. But then, and even though I know now that I shouldn't have paid her much attention, Doo-Na's cruel letter hurt me the most. What I read made me feel dead inside and I no longer felt like I deserved my place anywhere. I suffered too much. Dying seemed to me to be my only solution to escape the pain, grief and utter despair I was experiencing. I deeply regret today what I did and I apologize..."

     His voice cracked and he lowered his head to hide his tearful face even though everyone saw it and the room, aside from quiet sniffles, was immersed in a respectful silence, aware of the suffering experienced. Jungkook was also silently crying, alongside Jimin who was not getting better.

     He would have liked to end the testimony and run to take Jin in his arms. But he knew that Jin absolutely had to conclude and tell the ARMYs what was on his heart. It was part of his fight and part of the healing of his heart.

     "I'm so sorry..." Jin wailed as he lifted his tear-drenched face and sniffled loudly, "sorry for letting fear and despair overcome me, sorry for losing faith in myself and forgetting that I wasn't alone. That I had never been alone. It wasn't just Jungkook who saved me that night, or just the other members. You, our Army, also saved me. 

     Thank you for always being there for me and supporting me. Thank you for giving me breath when I lacked it, and a heartbeat when mine stopped beating. Thank you for this love you have for me, I hope that in the future I will be able to show myself more worthy of it. Thank you Army and please, forgive me..."

     Of course, it was Jungkook who gave him his breath and made his heart race again, but it was because Jungkook reminded him of how much he was loved that he decided to live on, get up and get back on his feet and fight.

     After his moving plea and apologies, Jin, the face still wet with tears, got up to bow very low and long in front of the room and the cameras were able to capture this scene and broadcast it to the thousands of people watching him and who shouted at him from a distance to raise his head because no one was angry with him, everyone wished him well and sent him all the love and support he deserved. 

     No one wanted him to apologize. It was up to Doo-Na to apologize for the hurt she had done him and all the tears she had made him shed, and she had better do it well.

     When Jin was finally allowed to leave the witness box, still in tears, he rushed into the arms of his dongsaengs who hugged him with great affection and everyone could see that indeed, a sincere love united all the members and that the group never intended to continue to exist without one of the seven.

    After this speech, when Doo-Na presented her own plea, no one had room in their heart to feel compassion for her. 

     In accordance with the strategy put in place with her lawyer to obtain a modified criminal sanction, she pleaded guilty, acknowledging all the facts, and even going as far as reveal the existence of a network of sasaengs where she illegally obtained information on the routes of the idols.

     She cried a lot too. She explained that she hadn't realized what she was doing was wrong, she didn't know where all her anger was coming from, and after all, she had simply wanted to experience reality as fiction without perceive the gravity of things.

     "Now I understand and I regret the wrong I have done." Then she turned to Jin still crying, "I am so sorry, Jin oppa, forgive me. And you too Jungkook oppa."

     These words of apology seemed empty compared to those presented by Jin to his fans. Did she think them? Or were these just the words of her lawyer? In any case, Jin didn't feel the compassion he had felt for her at the beginning of the trial nor the one he would have felt more in front of any young girl of that age in this state. No word of apology seemed sufficient to forgive her: she had to be punished before that.

     Even if the trial continued in the days that followed, with in particular the testimony of various specialists - mental health specialists either to have it recognized that Doo-Na was insane or to demonstrate that she was not, specialists security devices, specialists on the functioning of the entertainment industry and their effects on society - the verdict was finally in.

     "The court is about to render judgment, please stand up," someone announced.

      Everyone stood up, and the members of BTS joined hands to form one pounding heart. The judge spoke:

     "I recall the charges brought against Miss Kim Doo-Na:

     Physical attack on Mr. Kim Seokjin which triggered a panic that caused the disaster at the Stade de France which will be tried by another court, but which led to the endangerment of others, to the various injuries suffered in particular by all the members of BTS here present.

     Involuntary killings of fans who came to attend the concert.

     Double attempted murder with premeditated bladed weapon on Kim Seokjin.

     Unintentional assault on the person of Jeon Jungkook who was stabbed instead of Seokjin. 

      Moral harassment and cyberbullying against the group BTS and in particular the singer Kim Seokjin."

     The judge had two envelopes in front of her and grabbed the first one which she read aloud:

     "The jury has rendered its verdict and finds Miss Doo-Na guilty with mitigating circumstances due to her youth, her emotional fragility and her recognition of the gravity of the facts. The jurors therefore proposed a reduced prison sentence accompanied by psychiatric monitoring."

     The room immediately went noisy at the word "reduced", considering that Doo-Na didn't deserve it. But the judge silenced everyone.

     "Quiet in the room! I will now deliver the final judgment of the court. It is true that the family and school environment can seriously affect a person as young as Miss Doo-Na, but she has committed multiple crimes when she had the choice not to do them: we do not become a criminal only because of our environment, we does it by choice, particularly in her case.

     Miss Kim Doo-Na is guilty of the charges set forth above. I consider that the death of many people at the Stade de France that she did not hesitate to put in danger to achieve her goal, as well as the relentlessness she showed in wanting to kill Mr. Kim Seokjin are aggravating circumstances, which cancels out the mitigating circumstances perceived by the jury. 

     Korean justice therefore requires her to serve a twenty years prison sentence during which she will also have to receive psychological support adapted to her reintegration into society. The penalty applies immediately."

      As the judge was hitting the table with his gavel, Doo-Na's eyes widened in astonishment and along with her parents, burst into tears.

     "N-no, I apologised! I said I was sorry, I don't want to go to jail...!" She screamed, drawing everyone's attention, including BTS who had already united in a general hug to celebrate their victory in this lawsuit with relief. "JIN OPPA!"   

      Jin jumped when he heard Doo-Na call out to him, the same way she did in France before stabbing him. He felt his dongsaeng pressing against him as if to protect him from another tantrum from the girl:

      "Jin-oppa! Tell them you forgive me, tell them! If you tell them, they'll leave me and I promise to leave you alone, I won't say anymore that you don't belong in BTS anymore!"

      "Miss Kim Doo-Na, you no longer have the possibility of addressing Mr. Kim Seokjin."

      But Jin did not need this intervention from the judge because he was no longer afraid of Doo-Na, he had had his victory over her. And he had been able to see over the course of the trial, which had dragged on for days, that his fans supported him wholeheartedly in this case. He was confident now that the verdict had finally been made.

      In front of the girl's startled eyes, Jin grabbed Jungkook's hand on one side and Taehyung's on the other and looked at her with pride:

     "I don't need your permission to exist, or to be a member of BTS, or to be close to anyone," he replied, "I don't know what made me believe one day you had it. I'm a member of BTS and if you don't agree, then you're not a BTS fan, that's simple."

     Taehyung and Jungkook looked at him with astonishment tinged with admiration, then smiled at his assurance, and squeezing his hand back. They nodded and gave Doo-Na the same look of pride mixed with defiance.

      "None of us belong to you, Doo-Na," Jungkook said defiantly, "and we won't let anyone make us believe otherwise."

     "I totally agree," Taehyung chimed in.

     This did not seem to please the young girl but she had no time to reply because under the eyes of all, the security agents came to handcuff her then led her, screaming, towards the exit to lead immediately to prison. Her parents followed her crying. And the room became noisy again but the judge knocked her gavel to silence the assembly.

      "I ask you for a little more silence in order to bring this trial to an end. Miss Kim Doo-Na's psychiatric assessment established that she had no psychiatric history and that it was her excessive shift to the world of entertainment offered by the kpop industry that caused her to lose her sense of self reality. 

     Indeed, it seems obvious that entertainment companies are following  too much the dreams of fans to the detriment of artists and without taking into consideration the excessive emotional attachment of young people who adore them."

     The judge seemed to be addressing Bang Si-Hyuk in particular, who was in the room behind BTS.

     "It is therefore up to the entertainment companies to take measures to support young people whose relatives believe that they are in the process of falling into a dangerous form of fetishization. I do not have the power to force companies to do so, but I would submit a bill to deputies to send it back to the National Assembly.

     However, I believe that given the seriousness of what has happened to its artists, the Big Hit company should be the leader of this change so that other companies follow it and start this fight against the phenomenon of the rise of the sasaengs in our country which seems to be plagued by it."

     "It was the best thing for the judge to do, bring the problem to the real responsibles," objected Yoongi. "We can't do anything more at our level."

     They were back in their dorm and gathered in the living room together around an ordered meal. From the beginning of the preparations for the trial, they had indicated to their families their desire to return to live together to support each other. It was together that they felt stronger.

     And between their moments of preparation for the trials, they took advantage of their free time to continue writing and composing songs for their fans in view of their return which they hoped would be as soon as possible but which would only succeed with the support of their fans.

     Coming out of each trying day in court, their cars passed between the gatherings of people who had come to support them and as they leave court that evening, after the victory of their lawsuit against Doo-Na, people had been more present than ever to show them their support and their joy to see them obtain justice.

     "At least we paves the way for real change and that was what we wanted," Namjoon said in reply to Yoongi.

     The other members nodded.

     "It's the start of a fight but the end of this fight will not be our responsibility," Hoseok said. "Others than us will pursue it, starting with our company."

     "Yes, I think PD-nim understood that it was his duty to fight this fight now," Namjoon agreed.

     "Anyway, we won this case," Jungkook said while giving Jin, who sat next to him, a neck massage he was enjoying so much, "and Jin hyung finished off Doo-Na perfectly!"

     "I told you you were the final boss!" Taehyung added.

     "Thank you," Jin smiled, with a frank and assured smile this time.

      "And we always have the support of our fans," Jimin said, looking at his phone. "They defended us in an incredible way!"

     "If we had lost their support on this lawsuit, I don't know how we could have hoped to have it on Lee's," Yoongi remarked.

     His remark somewhat tarnished the positivity that reigned in the dormitory. Yes, they still had a lot to do to prepare for their case against Lee and they needed all the support they could get especially since it was the most difficult of their three trials which was coming at high speed. And they had a lot of discussion to lead, especially between Jin and Jungkook. 

     The others members turned to them.

     "What?" Jin and Jungkook asked in unison.

     But as they were just returning from a victory, it was not time to impose this discussion on them now. They had the right to rest before preparing for their last battle against Lee.

     "Nothing," Jimin smiled at them, "it's just that you both look happy, it's nice."

     Jin and Jungkook exchanged a look and smiled at each other.

     "It's probably because we are," Jin said, "I feel strong like I haven't been in a long time. Winning Doo-Na's case makes me feel like we can win against Lee." 

     "It's probably because we can," Hoseok quipped.

      "And we will," Taehyung added.

     "If we were able to defeat that sneaky lawyer Park, we can defeat the vile Lee," Jungkook assured.

      Even though everyone would have liked to nod, everyone also knew that Lee's deviousness was on a whole different level than that of the lawyer who they had faced in the last few days.

     "In the end, Mrs. Park was doing her job trying to protect Doo-Na and she only had to lose her reputation as a lawyer in this case but Lee... Lee has everything to lose and he will fight heart and soul to get away with it, even if it means manipulating us in court," Jimin said.

      "People will soon forget Attorney Park when they find out about BTS ex-manager Lee and what he did," Yoongi blurted out. "Let him show his true face to everyone."

     "You're right," Namjoon said suddenly, "he's always led the game as he saw fit by manipulating us. For this trial, it is up to us to  manipulate him and finally turn his own game against him."

     His eyes shone with intelligence and determination.

     "This is going to be interesting!" Taehyung shouted happily, in a rush to bring Lee down publicly. "We will humiliate him publicly, like we already did at Hanagae Beach!"

     "Yeah!" Hoseok and Jimin cried raising their glasses.

     Jin continued to smile in the face of this enthusiasm of his dongsaengs but deep down, he dreaded more than anything this reunion with Lee that he would have preferred never to see again. The same way he had been the final boss against Doo-Na, Jin feared that Lee would be his in this war, beause as the man's face flashed in his mind, he wasn't sure he could beat him metaphorically, he saw it as a giant, terrifying monster in front of him. 

     Immersed in his fears, he suddenly felt an arm go around his shoulders that made him turn.

     "Hyung, for the preparation of our strategy, I was thinking of a new chapter in our new Art of war, do you want to hear it?" Jungkook asked.

     "Which one?" Jin asked curiously.

     "'Final Chapter: The Destruction of the Fallen General'. What do you think hyung, that's class, right?

     Jin knew that Jungkook wanted to impart his strength to him. So he approved with a smile :

     "I love it, JK. Let's get ready to destroy Lee." 

_________________

A/N : This chapter was so long... 

But now, the battles against haters and sasaengs have been won by BTS even if they are only the initiators of a war that is beyond them for the redesign of an industry. 

Only the battle against the abusive manager remains to be fought.