As usual, they arrived at the court very early but were still greeted by the national and international press but also by a large crowd of fans who came to assure them of their support.  Many cried after discovering the truth and blamed themselves for not noticing the suffering of their idols. 

     The signs they held warmed the hearts of BTS members who, passing by, rolled down their car windows to greet and thank them, also taking the time to read some of the messages they were waving and some were chanting forcefully.

Justice for BTS!

BTS we believe you!

Managers should take care of artists, not hurt them!

Big Hit we trusted you so why?!

Sorry BTS, we didn't know anything!

Let's protect BTS!

Sorry for being blind to your suffering!

Death penalty for rapists and abusers!

Manager Lee, you will pay for your crimes!

We want BTS to be happy before they make us happy!

BTS we love you forever!

Without justice, Army will declare war! 

BANGTAN, ARMY is with you whatever happens!

     The artists were praying that last sentence was true. The fans had discovered thanks to the press conference and in a very general way the horrors inflicted by the manager. 

      Namjoon told them about threats and intimidation, extortion, physical violence and sexual assault, and attempted murders without telling them precisely who had been the main victims. Because he wanted to give all the members of BTS the legitimacy to speak and not to let rest on the shoulders of Jin and Jungkook alone the responsibility to speak up to explain themselves.

     All these revelations had seemed unthinkable for the fans who saw their idols smile and have fun in front of the cameras. But they had complete faith in Namjoon, and if the BTS leader told them with tears in their eyes all that his group had to go through in the past few months, then they believed him without hesitation and blamed themselves for having noticed anything. 

     Now they resented Big Hit for failing to protect the boys, they resented this demonic manager they trusted. The net was filled with the worst threats of torture and death against the man and his lawyer had denounced a slanderous campaign on the part of the Army which did not give the accused the right to defend himself against these charges.

     The Minister of Justice had to remind his fellow citizens of one of the fundamental laws of the Republic of South Korea: everyone has the right to the presumption of innocence as long as justice has not found him guilty. 

     In fact, just because BTS were the nation's treasures and loved by the masses, didn't mean they were above the legal laws of this country and their words made law. Lee would be judged fairly and fans of the group should calm down and stop their threats against him or face heavy penalties. 

     The authorities also asked Big Hit and BTS to intervene to reason with fans and encourage them to be more measured in their support. And that's what the company and Namjoon personally did, even though Jungkook opposed it, telling him that Lee deserved all these threats and intimidation from fans around the world.

     "If it continues like this, he might appear to the general public as the victim and us as the bullies," Namjoon had told him.

     "A great turnaround," Jungkook grumbled. who had however understood that this would play in favor of Lee who would pass for the one who had been intimidated by BTS. "What a snake this man, I'm sure he knew it was going to be like this..." 

     Indeed, Lee played with the emotions of the general public. He had not spoken publicly, leaving his lawyer to do so and claimed to have been too intimidated to dare to speak up, knowing that he would be considered guilty even without defending himself.

      But if BTS had the support of their fans, especially international ones, they were strongly criticized on many national TV sets, radio stations and newspapers. Because they disturbed an order that had always been established and because of their notoriety, they risked harming their country and the economy. It was BTS and their fans against powerful political and economic opposition forces who wanted to see Lee win his case and who, for some of them, gave Lee a rather flattering image through the media in order to de-demonize him and blame it on BTS. 

       Never had BTS felt so isolated and so little supported by their country. It was a frightening feeling to know that some were suddenly considered an enemy of the nation, even though some time earlier they had been the heroes who had helped attract the whole world to the little-known culture of their small nation. 

     Yesterday's hero, today's enemy. They realized more than ever that you should never take anything for granted, even when you were at the height of your glory. Or rather, especially when you were at the top. Because the higher you were, the harder the fall. 

      And even their fan support could be taken away from them at any time during the trial. Indeed, they still didn't know what they were going to discover, because BTS knew that Lee was going to make sure to reveal the secrets of the dorm as well, it was unavoidable. 

      Would fans continue to support them then after that? Would they consider Lee less guilty and the idols less worthy of their love?

    The courtroom where was the trial going to take place  was still empty except for the members of BTS who were seated in their assigned seats on the plaintiffs' bench. Their lawyers were talking with some of their colleagues outside and their families had not yet arrived.

      This empty room was even more distressing for Jin than when it was full. Each of his stressed feet tapping on the floor, each of his irregular breathing, each of his swallowing seemed deafening to the ears of the other members as he tried to be as discreet as possible so as not to disturb them. Everyone respected his silence, and when they wanted to speak, the others would step back and whisper to avoid disturbing his train of thought.

    To stop the tremors in his leg, Jin instead attacked his thumbnails which he bit and attacked the skin without realizing it until a metallic taste made him wince of disgust.

     "Hyung, don't do this," Jungkook interjected grabbing his hand and pulling it away from his mouth.

     "I can't help myself, I can't wait for people to arrive and for the trial to begin, this wait is unbearable," Jin explained as he mechanically resumed bouncing his foot on the floor.

     Jungkook put his free hand on his thigh to stop him.

     "Hyung, breathe calmly, remember you don't want to show your fear."

     "You're right, I'll control myself," Jin said as he began to breathe more slowly and deeply to calm himself down.

     "If you wan't, we can go outside for a walk, it will help calm you down."

     Jin nodded convinced that he needed to stretch his legs to evacuate the stress that was accumulating throughout his body.  But as he was about to get up, he heard the two swinging doors of the courtroom open with a familiar creak. Horribly familiar. 

     The noise startled him but he was unable to turn around for fear of knowing if the person who had just pushed open these doors was the same as the one in his nightmare. He was seized with a horrible feeling of deja vu that ran through his whole being. 

    He heard footsteps but the gait was different from his nightmare, as if the person was limping. So it couldn't be Lee, could it? But very much alive, Jin remembered that Lee had had his frozen toes amputated. That's why his approach was different from the one before. But it was definitely his, Jin was sure of it, he had been on the lookout for footsteps behind his door too long when he waited for Lee to come and punish him. He couldn't be mistaken. 

      It was really Lee. 

     However, that wasn't the only difference from his nightmare understood Jin as he strained his ears, still unable to mobilize his sight. Indeed, Lee wasn't handcuffed or accompanied by a policeman, he was alone, as he was a free man for now, until the trial, BTS hoped, landed him in jail.

      As Lee's footsteps slowly and menacingly approached the front row bench where BTS was standing, every member except Jin  turned in his direction and tensed upon discovering the identity of whoever was coming to meet them.

      Then, immediately, their eyes turned to Jin to scrutinize his reaction. They then saw that Jin had discovered the identity of the newcomer without even turning around because he was petrified and hadn't even turned around. And his eyes, fixed on the judge's desk at the opposite, expressed nothing but fear.

      Jungkook's hand that was holding him tightly squeezed it even tighter and Jin heard the maknae whispered eagerly in his ear:

      "Hyung, I know you don't want to show Lee you're scared, you told me this morning, remember? But in order to do that, you have to face him.  You have to watch him. Your fight begins now. Don't forger that I'm here with you and I won't let anything happen to you."

      While he expected Jin to nod and proudly stand in front of Lee like he did with Doo-Na during the trial verdict, Jungkook quickly became disillusioned. In his hand, he suddenly felt Jin's hand shake, and when Jin met his gaze, he realized that it had been a mistake to take him to court. 

      Like in his nightmare, Jin couldn't look at Lee. He couldn't turn to face him. He realized with shame that after insisting so much on coming and standing up to Jungkook, the maknae was finally going to think that he was truly a coward after all. He had thought he could, but the mere idea of ​​looking into Lee's eyes terrified him. He had lost his personal fight before I even started it...

     "I'm... I'm sorry, JK," he stuttered in an almost inaudible whisper, "I can't look at him, I feel like I'm scared to death if I look him in the eye."

    His bright eyes threatened to shed tears. He didn't want to cry. Neither in front of Jungkook in front of whom he had proclaimed that he would be strong, nor in front of Lee who was going to make fun of him, he was convinced. 

      "I'm sorry for being so weak, you were right, I shouldn't have come, I don't belong here with you on the front line. I came to show Lee that he was right to consider me a coward, that's all I did, I'm sorry..."

      "Hyung, stop apologizing, you did nothing wrong," Jungkook said, "if you don't want to watch him, then don't watch him. You have every right not to want after what he did to you. And I'm going to do like you: I won't look at him either." 

     "Huh?" Jin stopped shaking immediately when he realized that Jungkook didn't blame him and wasn't mad at him for breaking his word. 

     Jungkook felt that Jin had stopped shaking and he was relieved to have succeeded in reassuring him. He added :

      "Lee doesn't deserve our eyes on him, let's keep our backs turned, show him we're not interested in him."

       Reassured that he was not blamed, Jin nodded, relieved. Seeing that they had their backs to Lee, the other members rushed to imitate them  and they didn't turn around when an unpleasant, familiar voice trumpeted:

     "What ill-bred kids, you don't greet me after such a long separation? I can't believe I brought you up so badly."

     It was only when he arrived in front of the first row of seats to face them that the seven boys raised their heads mechanically to look at him disdainfully.

     Unwittingly, Jin's gaze landed on the new shoes probably bought especially for the trial, then went up along the body of the colossus who wore a badly tailored suit, before finally landing on his face whose nose broken by Jungkook had changed the face. 

     He hadn't had surgery to fix his nose before the trial even though he had had plenty of time and money since that infamous January night, probably to prove to the court that he was indeed a victim and BTS violent attackers.

      Without even seeing him, Jin would have easily guessed that Lee was smiling. However, that smirk, he would have preferred to see again in his nightmares because at least Jungkook could have told him again that he wasn't real. But Jungkook said nothing and it was proof for him that he would not chase this odious image in front of him.

      "Hello boys, I've missed you so much!"

     Since none of the boys answered him, refusing to speak to him as their lawyers had recommended if they saw him before the trial, Lee let his gaze travel each of their hateful faces.

      "Wow, the press was right, you really hate me, you only show your true colors to me. Your fans are going to be disappointed to discover that."

     Again, the members didn't respond and just stared at him with a hatred they couldn't hide and Lee smirked as he continued to stare at them. When he arrived in front of Jin's face, he winked at him.

      "The last time I saw you, you were dead," he remarked, enjoying seeing Jin's face fall then letting his gaze fall on the joined hands of Jin and Jungkook. "I wonder if you made it back to the world of the living unscathed."

   Hearing that, Jin immediately froze. Before Lee could talk to Jin more and remind him of what he did to him to further weaken him before the trial, Namjoon hurriedly came to his rescue :

     "We haven't missed you even a bit. You're not our manager anymore, so stay away from us and don't talk to us, you have no right to talk to us," he said, "Jimin, go get our lawyers, quickly."

     Jimin nodded and hurriedly left the room, running to fetch Kim Ja and Kim Yun.

     "Speak for yourself Namjoon, I'm sure Seokjin missed me at least, look, he's got tears of joy in his eyes," Lee sneered, staring at Jin with no concern for stopping Jimin. "Do you want to tell me something, Seokjin?"

      Everyone turned to Jin who had his eyes fixed on Lee's face and who, as the man had said, had his eyes glistening with tears that hadn't been shed yet. His half-open mouth with quivering lips seemed to indicate that he wanted to say something but still didn't let out a sound, as if he couldn't.

    "What's the matter?" Lee continued, "are your evil manipulative dongsaengs stopping you?"

     "What are you saying?!" Taehyung snarled, "Don't play smart after what we did to you at Hanagae, you're not credible anymore. Do you still think your manipulations are working on him, you psycho?! Jin hyung is long ago freed himself from your demonic influence!"

     "Taehyung, don't talk to him," Namjoon hurriedly stopped him, who didn't want to reveal anything about their strengths and weaknesses to Lee.

     Lee's eyes flashed with fury remembering how Taehyung humiliated him on the beach. He gave him a cruel smile:

     "Do you think you've suddenly outsmarted me? Look better at Seokjin, idiot, and tell me again what you just said if you still dare to be proud."

     Again, everyone's eyes turned away from Lee to rest on Jin who stared at Lee with an expression of pure terror. He had in front of him the last face he had seen before drowning in an icy sea. The face of his torturer, the one who would have been his murderer if Jungkook had not saved him. 

     The memory of that night when Lee had kept his head under water invaded him and he was suddenly seized with a feeling of suffocation and with a shiver of cold. He felt salty, icy water fill his lungs again and up his trachea and began to cough violently, clutching his chest. He heard the worried voice of his dongsaengs around him.

     "Jin-hyung?!"

     But he also heard a mocking laugh.

     "I knew you didn't come back unscathed. You're just a shadow of yourself. What a pity!"

     Jin continued to cough without being able to catch his breath as laughter echoed in his ears. A very real laugh that had nothing to do with a nightmare. And suddenly, he felt himself falling but someone caught him.

     "I got you, hyung."

     Panting, Jin couldn't answer anything. All he wanted was for that choking feeling to stop.

    "That's enough, get him out of here, Jungkook," Yoongi said to Jungkook who was holding Jin, not wanting Lee to see any more how bad Jin was.

     Jungkook nodded. He slung Jin's arm over his shoulder and grabbed him by the waist to support him. 

     "Let's go, hyung," he said to Jin who let himself be dragged away.

     "Oh, so Seokjin and Jungkook won't be attending the trial?" Lee said with a smile on his face, "Looks like you're calling yourself losers before you even start. I should thank you, it's almost too easy."

     Jungkook glared at him and as he passed Lee, he said to him:

     "You can dream of it, but reality will hit you hard because I will be there to bring you down."

      Lee suddenly grabbed him by his tie and forced him to stop, as Seokjin who was too close to Lee, continued to gasp, having a panic attack and being absolutely unable to stop Lee from going after Jungkook.

     "With a pitiful coward like Seokjin as your ultimate weapon, I can guarantee that won't happen. I will make you pay for what you did to me, you can count on me, Jungkook."

       "Who are you calling a coward?!" Jungkook shot back with anger., without being able to get rid of Lee's grip because his two hands were holding Jin

      Hoseok and Namjoon immediately grabbed Lee's arm to make him let go of Jungkook.

      "Gone are the days of letting you lay your hands on them as you wished," Hoseok growled.

      "You are so cruel: several of you attacking me? You really are bullies,"  Lee scoffed. "Should I yell to call security? I advise you to let go of me quickly. If anyone walks in here and witnesses this scene, you're finished, and my lawyer is due to arrive shortly. I'm paying him handsomely with the money Seokjin so kindly offered me so he'll do anything to bring you down."

     Eyes widening, Namjoon and Hoseok hurriedly let go of Lee who smirked at them and rubbed his arms melodramatically.

     "On the other hand, if it is you who attacks me Seokjin, I will not say anything, it is promised. So, are you ready to raise your hands on me to protect Jungkook? Are you ready to betray me or betray Jungkook again?"

     Instead of stopping Lee from talking to Jin, Jungkook couldn't help but watch his elder's reaction, as everyone else.

     Jin felt taken aback by Lee's proposal and he felt Jungkook's gaze land on him. It reminded him of that time when he could have had Lee arrested immediately by reporting him when they returned from Incheon. But he had betrayed Jungkook, letting Lee make him look like an aggressor without being able to tell the truth.

     But he wasn't the same impotent as before, now he was able to talk and oppose Lee. He wouldn't betray Jungkook again...

      "I..." he began, breathless.

     "Yes? What do you want to tell me?" Lee said with a sweet voice. "I listen to you carefully."

      "I... I..." Jin stuttered before stopping.

     He looked at Jungkook who was waiting to hear him speak, not doubting that he would choose to defend him. When he realized that no words was coming out of his mouth and that he betrayed Jungkook again, he let out the tears he was holding back

     "Hyung-" Jungkook started.

     "You haven't changed an inch, you're still the same, Seokjin," Lee chuckled. "It is a relief."

      "Jungkook, get out of here," Namjoon ordered the younger one.

      But Jungkook never took his eyes off Lee and looked set to kill Lee in the middle of court, which scared the other members. The youngest said with hostility:

     "You are wrong to be relieved, don't forget that you created a monster and that monster is not Jin hyung: it's me. It's not for Jin to beat you, I'm the one who will make you pay a hundredfold, and faster than you think if you keep insulting him in front of me."

     "Oh yeah? am I wrong?" Lee replied, "didn't he want to end his life because he was afraid of a little girl who threatened him? How could you believe he was brave enough to stand against me, tsss!"

     Jin's eyes widened and Jungkook felt his blood boiling in his veins.

     "This time it's too much, you signed your end!" he spat with hatred as Jin shuddered to see him oppose Lee like this without precaution.

     "Jungkook!" Taehyung shouted stopping him from letting go of Jin to throw himself at Lee.

     "Oh, I'm scared," Lee scoffed.

     "You should," Jungkook replied fiercely over Taehyung's shoulder who stood between him and Lee, "'cause I'll do everything I can to wipe definitively that that smug smile off your face, everything, you hear me?"

     "Jungkook, stop, don't talk to him anymore, he's trying to provoke you because he knows he's going to lose if he doesn't, he's the criminal, not you, don't forget that," urged Yoongi who felt that Jungkook was ready to do battle with the man here and now. "And don't forget your primary responsibility. You haven't forgotten what you told me, have you?"

     "I haven't."

       Jungkook wanted to retort to Lee but Yoongi was right, his responsibility was to protect Jin first and foremost. That was the only reason he hadn't killed Lee in Hanagae. And even now, he was the only reason he was going to walk out of this room without hitting Lee. 

     He  didn't want Jin to continue listening to Lee's words and get sick. So, after a final staring duel with Lee, he hurriedly led Jin outside, much to the relief of the others.

     "He should never have spoken to you, I'm sorry we weren't there when he arrived," apologized Kim Yun who had joined the group in the hallway with Kim Ja.

      All the other members had left the courtroom when their attorneys arrived. Indeed, they did not want yet another lie from Lee about what had happened during his private interaction with the group to further complicate their strategy to win the lawsuit.

     Lee's lawyer, Maître Ho, had joined him in the courtroom which had started to fill up awaiting judge Jung's arrival.

     "Yes but now that he has done it, there is no going back and Jin hyung is terrified. He had a panic attack and I don't think he's in any condition to come back to the courtroom today or in the days to come," Taehyung said.

     "Where is he?" Ja asked looking at the members one by one with concern, "and where is Jungkook?"

     "They're in the restroom, Jin hyung threw up his guts," Jimin informed them who had gone to check on them, "he's not well at all."

     "It's bad," Yun said, "we could win the haters' and Doo-Na's trial without him, but we'll have a hard time getting Lee's serious conviction without Jin's testimony and worse, without his presence."

      "We still have to try, that's what we decided together, that we would never force him and that we would go without him if necessary," Namjoon said. "However, don't assume we're going to fail, we have to keep faith if we want to win, okay? Let's have faith in our strategy and besides, I have a backup plan."

     "What are you talking about?" Hoseok asked, perplexed.

     "I thought of something," Namjoon explained, "but I can't tell you about it until I'm sure it works. If it works, we might not need Jin hyung's testimony to win."

      "That would be great, but why only talk about it now?" Ja wondered.

      "Like I said, nothing is certain as I still have to work on it and I don't want to give us false hope," Namjoon said. "Jin hyung is not the only one who is afraid of Lee, other people are."

     Namjoon's words were too obscure to understand but his band members trusted him enough not to doubt him.

       "I don't understand anything," Taehyung said, "but I pray that you succeed."

      Namjoon nodded.

     "And how is Jungkook? Is he okay after seeing Jin collapse?" Yun asked.

     "He seems to be fine but it's a facade. I believe he wants to be strong and fight for Jin hyung," Jimin said sadly. 

     "You have to make sure it doesn't crack. We can't lose both Jin and Jungkook in this case or we'll have nothing left."

    "And our testimony?" Hoseok asked.

     "It is insufficient. You can talk about the violence you witnessed but since Bang Si-Hyuk knew about it and tolerated it, then the court will not convict him. It is for this reason that you must make sure that Jungkook does not crack in turn. Perhaps it would be better if he did not attend the first hearing."

     "No, I will attend."

      Everyone turned to Jungkook who had appeared in the hallway with a determined gaze.

      "Jungkook!" Taehyung exclaimed, "are you okay?"

     "Yes, I'm okay," Jungkook replied simply.

     "Where is Jin hyung?" Namjoon asked.

     "Outside with his parents, they just arrived. But his mother will come to attend the hearing, she wants to be there to destroy Lee for what he has done to Jin hyung. And me too. I will not run away. I told Jin hyung that everything will be better soon and I have to keep my promise this time."

     "Are you sure you'll be okay?" Jimin asked. "It's okay to feel bad after what happened last time at Hanagae, and everything he did, you know?"

     "I said I'm okay," Jungkook said bluntly, "the hearing is about to start, we have to go now."

    Without waiting for their reaction, he walked to the audience hall which was already full and entered alone.

     "He's lying, he's not well," Hoseok said.

     "Of course he's lying," Yoongi nodded, remembering how he felt the morning after his discussion with Jungkook. "He already seemed on edge before we left the dorm but seeing Jin hyung break down so quickly must have hurt him a lot. He is so angry with himself for not having been able to protect him during all this time... Now he wants to finish Lee at all costs once and for all and I am afraid that he will be thoughtless during this trial. Even more than we feared anyway."

     "That's my fear too," Namjoon said, "anger and guilt are not a good mix, especially in front of a viper who will take advantage of the slightest of our mistakes to turn it against us. Better watch Jungkook closely."

______________

A/N: The trial really begins in the next chapter. Without Jin.