Testimony of doctor Park Young-Jae

     "Kim Seokjin absolutely refused his sick leave when I proposed to him. Still, he needed it with his injured finger and his particularly intense level of stress. But he was so insistent and even tearful that I ended up having second thoughts. Was the company pressuring him? I thought so. He even said that companionship was as important as his health and personal well-being.

     I don't know, maybe it's normal for an idol to think like that? In any case, I was a little shocked and saddened, I must say, because it's hard to see young people suffer like this and always come last. In any case, Seokjin has suffered more than is tolerable for anyone: the suffering inflicted on him is criminal.

     Indeed, by auscultating his broken finger, it was obvious that it had been brutally and intentionally broken, nothing to do with the excuse he gave me that it would be an accident between friends.

     Then, when I asked him if he wanted me to establish his complete health check to give him the legitimacy to accept his work stoppage, he had an extreme reaction, believing that I was going to touch him against his will. I realized that he was terrified, that he was afraid that I would force him to do things against his will. And that's when I started hypothesizing abuse within the company. It was the only explanation for me, because such anguish does not arise overnight.

     Between the abuse and the pressure on him, Seokjin was unable to talk about what was going on. I saw him hesitate to tell me everything, in the secrecy of my office, but he finally gave up and refused to tell me anything. He had to believe that he might get hurt again if he spoke, and that no one could protect him. This is often the case with victims of repeated abuse.

     If I had been able to listen to him at that time, knowing the rape he had just suffered, I could have analyzed the semen of his rapist and could have obtained undeniable proof of the identity of his assailant. Unfortunately, I couldn't convince Seokjin, I'm sorry.

     After he left, I had a discussion with my colleague Dr. Kim Jung-Hwa, and he told me that he too found Mr. Jeon's behavior strange. He didn't believe his story that he burned himself. According to him, it was obvious that someone had held a flame under his foot for a long time to hurt himself like this.

     We both thought of acts of torture thinking of the broken finger and the terrible burn. Everything Seokjin and Jungkook said was nonsense to us so knowing now that they were coerced into lying doesn't surprise me because that's what I thought.

     Honestly, I wanted to file a complaint for abuse by the company towards him. Or by a particular member of the company: their strange manager. Indeed, Mr. Lee wanted to keep this event secret and seemed indifferent to the suffering of the two boys. As their manager, he should have seemed more worried about their health, I was sure.

     But my colleague dissuaded me from speaking publicly about this matter because the production companies, Big Hit in particular, were too powerful in our current society and took care of their own internal problems by themselves.

     For my own good, it was better for me to keep quiet and anyway, that's what he made me understand. And I quickly came to agree. In fact, it seemed to us that if we talked about what was happening to them and they denied it, then the situation would become worse for Seokjin and Jungkook on the one hand, and on the other hand for us too. We shouldn't interfere in their business.

     So we didn't say anything. We were only sorry for them. But we were helpless. Or rather... we choose to be. And we deeply regret it."

    The doctor stood up and turned to Jungkook before bowing.

     "On behalf of the hospital staff, I am truly sorry... Please forgive us and pass on our sincere apologies to Seokjin."

     Jungkook nodded gratefully, thanking Doctor Kim for his testimony which brought a breath of fresh air to the BTS camps after being so roughed up by attorney Ho.

     He didn't blame the doctors at the hospital. Jin and him were the ones who had chosen to lie to them, to obey Lee and not to report him. Doctors Kim and Park were the ones who had given in to fear, the doctors had nothing to do with it, they who had tried to help them by making them tell the truth.

     Ho and Lee could not dispute the opinions of medical professionals. Unfortunately, the doctors had no real proof of Lee's guilt. Jungkook hoped that other testimonies could precede his in order to appease people's opinion of him a little and allow his testimony to be heard...

     Cross-examination of Han, ex-manager of BTS

     "You wanted to give your testimony despite the doubts of Mr. Lee AND BTS about you. Why Mr. Han?

     "To do justice."

     "Still, it didn't cross your mind until BTS decided on their own to take this lawsuit," Ho pointed out. "You could have done it earlier if you really wanted to speak out against an injustice, don't you think? It feels strange, like a strategy prepared with BTS."

     "Yes, I'm very late, but that doesn't mean I made it all up," Han replied. "I only hid the truth for too long, and I'm ready to pay the price now."

     "Are you ready, by your testimony, to be judged guilty alongside the other culprits?" Ho wondered. Lee had told him about Han and his character of integrity, but suddenly it seemed difficult to face an opponent who was not afraid of being condemned.

     Quite the opposite of Lee who absolutely refused to be incriminated despite his obvious guilt and who asked the lawyer to show all his talent. He gazed at the cold-faced man in front of him and told himself that if he had wanted to, he could have stood against Lee easily to prevent him from acting. He was therefore going to bet on this strategy there: pointing out this inconsistency.

    "Not culprits. Culprit. Singular," Han corrected. "There is only one guilty and you know for sure who knows. And my answer is yes: I have some responsibility for what happened, so if I'm to be found guilty as an accomplice, so be it."

     "Because you failed to prevent Jeon Jungkook's actions? Because you are Jungkook's accomplice?" Ho insisted, more to trap the jurors than his interlocutor who seemed imperturbable.

     "Because I couldn't prevent Lee's actions," Han contradicted flatly. "I saw him as a partner I could rely on as the manager of a group as large but as close-knit, free and difficult to control as BTS. Lee did what I couldn't do and it worked, so I let him do everything he wanted, without trying to stop it, quite the contrary."

     "That is to say?"

      "The corporal punishments. The constant violence in words and actions. I also used it to threaten the boys and force them into total obedience without the possibility of speaking to anyone. In this, I am also guilty of their inability to talk about their suffering and therefore to put an end to it. In short, I am responsible for their suffering."

     What a snake this man, Ho thought. He has nothing to gain, so why is he doing this? He pulled himself together and asked:

     "You say you knew everything? Do you know what Kim Seokjin went through under your responsibility?"

      But Han was not one of Jin's dongsaeng and he did not allow himself to be weakened by a sense of guilt and remained impassive.

     "I didn't know everything. I thought I did but I was wrong. However, I am no less guilty. Seeing Seokjin and Jungkook's docility, as well as the growing closeness between Lee and Seokjin, I suspected that he had found a way to make himself obeyed and prevent them from going off the rails like they had by the past. And since it worked, I didn't bother to dig. In fact, after the scene Jungkook had made at the company and the threats he had waved at me, I was rather relieved and even happy to see that."

     Jungkook glared at him but Han didn't turn his gaze in his direction.

     "Is that your only argument?" Ho retorted. "You didn't try to find out the truth behind what was happening because they were obedient? Do you think we're going to give credence to that? The only thing we can say after that is that you're-"

     "Despicable. Disgusting," Han answered, with disconcerting simplicity. "You can choose the best adjective to describe me."

     The surprise plunged the room into incomprehension. The witness was convicting himself of a crime against BTS, it was absolutely stunning. And BTS themselves, who had already been surprised by Han during the previous trial, were again surprised by his way of presenting himself to the public.

     "Yes, I'm a disgusting man. Just like Lee, I obviously do not forget him."

     "You can't carry your faults over-" Ho began before getting cut off again by Han and his commanding voice.

     "I don't blame my faults on him. I have mine and he has his. And I dare to hope that mine are not as horrible as his. But I would be lying if I said that I didn't end up seeing that I no longer had the right to silence about what he was doing."

      "And when did you supposedly notice something?" the lawyer quipped.

     "The night Lee brought Seokjin and Jungkook home from the hospital and I saw their condition, I understood how serious what he was doing to them suddenly had become. But I did not do anything."

     "Why?" asked Ho aggressively, "why didn't you do anything when you saw Seokjin coming back from the hospital with a broken finger and Jungkook limping after getting burned? Shouldn't you have tried to find out what happened, in order to finally settle the problems between Seokjin and Jungkook?"

     "Not between them. Between them and Lee," Han retorted without being discouraged. "Well, I argued with Lee because I knew very well he was the one who did it, but he insisted that he was not responsible, giving me the same excuse as the others: Jungkook was the responsible for this mess. I was not fooled of course, but I let this thing pass anyway."

     "I ask my question again, why did you not do anything to manage this situation and expose the culprit? If it really was Lee, given your responsibility to Seokjin, shouldn't you have acted immediately to protect him from what was threatening him so brutally?"

     "Because I didn't want to spoil the tour that was coming. of course I know now that it seems like a paltry excuse. But at that time, I was only thinking of the success of this tour, of the culmination of the work I had provided as their new manager.

      I thought about fixing it, either by restoring Lee's sanity or by exposing him for his excessive violence. But I wanted to postpone it until we got back from the tour. I wanted to be responsible for this success and for that, I was insensitive and I showed myself blind to the suffering, however clearly visible.

     I never wanted this. But I allowed it to happen. And never, never would I have postponed this denunciation if I had known the extent of the horrors that Lee was committing. Yes, I swear, I didn't know anything about the sexual assaults that were taking place in the dorm and elsewhere."

     Saying that, for the first time, he turned to BTS and finally stared at Jungkook. Jungkook couldn't manage to be grateful to him. Not after his inaction when he could have turned things around. Not after his silence when he suspected that Lee was extremely violent with Jin and him. Not after he put his personal reputation ahead of their safety.

     However, Jungkook seemed to believe in the sincerity of his former manager and to understand that Han had nothing to do with the rapes. If he had known, he probably would have been able to prevent the rest from happening.

     Jungkook remembered his attitude after saving him and finding him in the hospital. Han sincerely cared about them in his own way and even though he had made mistakes, he was nothing like Lee. This, Jungkook hoped that Jin, from the dorm where he was, had also understood. It was important to turn the page.

     And that was all Han wanted. He accepted being condemned and hated. But he wanted Jungkook and BTS to know that he didn't know what Lee did to Jin. He wanted to have Jin's forgiveness.

     "Mr. Han, if you didn't know about the rapes, you can't prove that it wasn't Jungkook who was responsible, am I right?" counter-attacked Ho who had no other solution but to return to his initial strategy.

     "It wasn't Jungkook," Han retorted immediately.

     "That's what you're saying now..."

      "That's what I know. It wasn't Jungkook. Jungkook only looked away from the scoundrel who was committing his abuses. And that heartless scoundrel is Lee. And since you keep repeating that no evidence proves Jungkook's innocence, remember that nothing proves Lee's. But in the end, the culprit will eventually be exposed and punished. This is justice. And if Jungkook is punished for him, then there is no justice..."

     Lee had warned Ho, Han was good with words. The jurors seemed won over by what they had just heard and were preparing to listen with a more attentive ear to the testimonies of the witnesses in favor of BTS.

     Indeed, under the tearful eyes of the members of BTS who had felt so alone, abandoned and hated like never before in the past few days, and under the eyes of the whole world, witnesses arrived to lend a hand and support them.

      Some hand-picked fans but above all, people who rubbed shoulders with BTS and who was legitimate, despite Ho's words that kept repeating the opposite, to talk about the real face of BTS, off camera.

     It was also time for those responsible to assume their share of responsibility for the suffering experienced by the group, and offer them their most sincere apologies. Thus, the witnesses presented themselves to the bar one after the other, under the moved eyes of the jurors and the public...

      Testimonial from a BTS dance teacher

     "BTS managers had requested that Seokjin perform a choreography that was more complicated than the others and more dangerous than anything he had ever performed in the past. Besides, he was exhausted at that time because of his busy schedule and I remember thinking that it was inhumane to do that to him.

     But we had to respect the deadlines imposed for the release of their MV because it was what the fans expected, and the philosophy of the entertainment companies is always to put the well-being of the artists after the goodwill of the fans unfortunately. Even if I'm nobody to say it, I hope that can change in the future because what I witnessed makes me think and say that this is really unacceptable.

      Anyway, it was obvious Seokjin would struggle and it wasn't a lack of my trust in him and his abilities but rather my knowledge of his abilities that made me think that. Even Jungkook, who is a better dancer than him and who learns very quickly did not succeed and hurt himself as soon as he tried Seokjin's choreography!

      However, I had to be absolutely intransigent with Seokjin because that was the desire of the company. He did what he could without complaining because that's how he is, he's a hard worker who will do what is asked of him even if it requires him to spend his days and nights there until until he achieves it.

      In reaction to this, it was normal for the other boys to rebel because it was unfair. They saw their mathyung doing his best but failing and being snubbed for it like he was incompetent, which was totally wrong. They were all the more right rebel since Seokjin was indeed seriously injured as a result of this error in the management of the company.

      If I had known that all this would be the begining of the the descent into hell for them, I would have rebelled against these treatments myself, because it lead to Sejin and Hyun being replaced by these two dreadful managers.

     It pains me to know what these boys went through, they always did their best so blaming them for not giving their best or not being good enough, it was lying to them to push them to the limit and keep them under control, if you ask me.

     I am very sorry for all this boys, and for my share of responsibility in what happened, but be sure that I was only obeying the instructions given by the company, even if I did not try to question them.

     Doesn't our silence, to us, who work alongside them and who have seen everything, make us accomplices in the abuse they suffered? I would like to think not, but as a staff member of the company, I tell myself that if anyone could have made everything better, it was us."

     Testimony of Sejin, manager of the BTS group

     "The kpop environment is a difficult environment where we have to fight to be among the best, today more than ever since kpop has achieved worldwide fame, this is something everyone knows. But then, what people know less about, is that you have to keep fighting hard to stay on top.

     BTS has reached the top first, before all other groups, and more than the top, a position never reached before them, with an extraordinary national and international influence. It seems incredible and it is, for us the first, who have witnessed and participated in this meteoric rise. However, after all these year at the top, we had to do what was necessary to stay at this level and not stop pleasing the fans so that they remained faithful to the group.

     For this reason, seeing the recurring criticism towards Seokjin from some fans, we were tough on him. Very tough, even though he was doing his best, like always. In order not to be held responsible for the criticism by the management of the company, we made him work so hard that I can say today that it was a form of abuse.

     At the time, however, we did not accept the group's complaints and on their side - they were perfectly right to do so - they did not let it go and judged that managers who did not listen to them and did not respect them had to change their attitude.

     We therefore had a discussion with our CEO, Bang Si-Hyuk, who felt that it was better, in response to our incompetence, to replace us. We accepted this decision without flinching, as something necessary, as if the relationship we had established with BTS over several years, a relationship of trust and affection, believe me, did not mean much.

     How I regret now!

     This is something I deeply regret, I should have fought and challenged this decision in order to stay and right my wrongs with them instead of abandoning them and letting some monsters taking care of them.

     And there is something else that I regret and that I must say today: it is, in the same way that I underestimated the bond between BTS and us, their managers, that I underestimated the relationship between BTS and their fans, thinking that they would abandon BTS at the slightest mistake. It was wrong. It is still wrong.

     BTS fans are very special people: they are people deeply and unconditionally attached to them, who support them both when they accomplish feats and when they make mistakes, both when they are at their best. and also when they are not. They consider them perfect in their eyes, whatever they do because they have realized that these seven boys are incredible people, with sincere values and personalities, not just talents.

     Even today, when BTS is going through a serious crisis, a terrible time for them, when they have been through nameless horrors but are blamed for the worst, when most people stand against them by judging them liars and guilty, the fans, the ARMYs, the real ones, are always there, to support them.

     I am deeply grateful to them. And it's because I know they sincerely and very much care about BTS that I want to apologize to them as much as to the boys. The fans deserve my apologies too. Here they are :

     I apologize for not being up to BTS.

     I apologize for having been one of the people responsible for their suffering.

     I apologize for downplaying Seokjin's efforts and belittling him and hurting him.

     I apologize for having minimized the bond that united you, Army, to them, for having thought it right to put you before their well-being, for having forgotten how much the bond that united you to them was so precious that you would never have accepted to see them suffer to give you what you wanted.

     I beg your pardon and present to you and to them my most sincere apologies...

     I will end by telling you this because I find it essential that someone says it: in reality, what made BTS so successful was not their perfection in the literal and artistic sense of the word. It was a mistake to try to push them to technical perfection thinking that was what the fans expected.

      Because behind their success, it is rather that they were able to give a different image of Kpop which was not that of perfect Idols like the other groups who preceded them but of humans with their weaknesses, their sincerity, being able to transmit powerful messages through their songs which were not dictated by any company but arose from their hearts. A human heart and not a robotic heart created by the kpop industry in search of entertainment, popularity, money and profits.

      It was they who were right to want to protect themselves from the bad influence of their company and it is by denying them this that we have made them suffer cruelly. They deserved the best and they suffered the worst things. It's unacceptable to me and to you, I know that.

     Today, I am their manager again because they have generously agreed to forgive me and want me by their side again. I am deeply grateful to them and I want you to be assured of one thing : I would not make the same mistakes as in the past: they were right all the way and I was wrong. The company was wrong. The CEO was wrong..."

     Testimonial from Bang Si-Hyuk, CEO of Big Hit Entertainment Company

      "As CEO of a company hiring such young artists, I have a double responsibility, being both the leader of a company and the father of a large family in a way. Sometimes the business manager makes decisions that the father does not accept, but it is often difficult to reconcile these two functions and this has sometimes led me to make terrible mistakes.

     Refusing to listen to BTS members' requests and complaints, firing Sejin and Hyun from their managerial roles, hiring Han and Lee as their replacements, maintaining the world tour despite all the risks involved, and having been blind and deaf to the suffering endured by Seokjin, are part of those terrible mistales I made.

      I knew Han and Lee's reputation for intransigence and at the time, I was only thinking about preserving the company, its prestige and its reputation. I even accepted the physical violence they inflicted on Seokjin and Jungkook to make them understand that they no longer had their decision-making freedom and that they were subject to the decisions of the company. I know it's hard to hear, I realize it by telling you.

     But all I wanted to make sure that BTS stays on top, even if it means making them suffer to get there, even if it means ignoring their feelings and wishes. I was insensitive and I deeply regret it. I agree to be held guilty of this suffering they experienced because it is a reality and they would be right to no longer trust me in the rest of their careers. And I'm ready to step down as CEO even though Bit Hit means everything to me. This loss would be a deserved punishment after putting my company ahead of my artists.

     However, before that, I want to see with my own eyes this criminal whom I brought into my house and to whom I entrusted my children to be punished as it should be. I therefore hope that you will hear and take into account my testimony as a truth and not as opportunism on my part because it is not at all.

     I saw with my own eyes this man trying to assassinate Seokjin. He grabbed him by the throat and hung above the void before letting him go : he really wanted to get rid of him for revenge on the one hand there is no doubt about it but above all, to prevent him from talking about what he had done to him. Then, Lee told me that there was no proof of what he had just done despite all the witnesses gathered around him.

     I thought he was crazy to say that but this trial proves to me that he knew perfectly well how to use that to manipulate judicial opinion. Indeed, he was convinced that without proof, his lies could be received by a judge.

     I sincerely hope that he was wrong because he is so deceitful that he had everything prepared and that he made sure that there was no evidence and that the main witness in this case, the victim if I can say, Seokjin, be in no condition to testify against him, because of the terrible threats he addressed to him. And you have now understood, Seokjin is indeed no longer in a state to stand up against him after being threatened with death on so many occasions.

      Please don't be fooled like this man has been fooling me all this time. If you don't take my word for it and think I'm greedy enough to invent such a lie, believe these boys who have always been sincere in their relationship with their fans. They're not lying, I assure you, and I am ready to risk what little respect you still have for me, what little honor I have left despite all your doubts about me.

     Believe me, if I first preferred to pay Lee than to report him immediately, it was to give Seokjin time to heal and get better, so that I could bring this despicable man to justice with all the necessary force. But Seokjin didn't recover and worse, he was nearly killed by his abuser once again, away from the company's protection in an icy sea where Lee wanted to drown him in the middle of the night. Do you realize what I'm saying?!

     Again, my decision to postpone the trial was a big mistake. I didn't do anything right...

     Even when I tried to do right and right my wrongs, I failed miserably. In fact, I did try to talk with Seokjin before he left for the tour. I knew that large sums of money were disappearing from his bank account. But I spoke to him with too much suspicion, he felt that I was against him and because of that he refused to talk to me about his problems even though I could have solved them. But I probably gave him the impression that I wouldn't have done it, that I would have been against him and on Lee's side in order to preserve the reputation of the company.

      If only I had been more attentive and more caring, he would have trusted me and he would have told me everything. So many terrible things could have been avoided. I wanted to act as a good leader, and I failed as a father, that's the truth.

      In the end, what's the point of being a good company manager if your children are unhappy and suffering? This is the lesson that all of this will have taught me: I don't want my children to suffer anymore, I want to right my wrongs.

      And I want more than anything that Lee be condemned for his crimes and never come near them again!"

     Testimony of Kand-Dae, technician who participated in the BTS tour

      "I had always seen Mr. Lee behave in a very proper manner and from what I saw, I thought he got along well with the boys and respected them. However, when I saw his attitude during the world tour, I understood that he hid a darker and even dangerous side.

     For the simple reason that Seokjin and Jungkook, absorbed in their problem - in this case Jungkook's sickness due to his diet imposed by Mr. Lee himself - their manager got into a particularly excessive anger and is shown violently kicking a chair and yelling.

     He was particularly frightening to see and everyone in the room, myself included, was scared of this disproportionate behavior.

     Now that I've heard everything that happened to them, I'm sure M. Lee wasn't used to the two boys disobeying him and because of that, forgetting that he was in the presence of many witnesses, he allowed his true nature to be seen: that of a tyrant towards them, a tyrant who in no way accepted being ignored by the people he had subjected to his will.

     And because we are so attached to these nice boys, we were all absolutely horrified to find out what he did to them and we really blame him, there are no words to express it.

     You must believe BTS, they are not lying to you: the liar is this despicable man."

     Testimony of Soobin, leader of the group TXT

     "I appreciate all the members of BTS, they are amazing people and I am proud to be so close to them.

     However, Seokjin sunbae-nim has always been a particular role model for me as an artist and as a person. I have always deeply respected and appreciated him and when I saw his condition on his return from the world tour, I was very saddened. He had been attacked by people he worked hard for and loved deeply, then he was attacked by the haters and I later learned what his manager had put him through.

     Since the CEO asked me to stay with him while waiting for others to tell him everything that happened, and Seokjin didn't want to talk to others anymore, I tried to talk to him and put him in confidence by thinking that I could help him. It was something close to my heart.

     He then explained to me why he no longer wanted to talk to Jungkook sunbae-nim and the CEO. He claimed that his manager, Mr. Lee, had cruelly threatened him in France before he fell into a coma and was taken to hospital: if he dared spoke to them, if he confessed everything that this man had inflicted, then he would... kill him.

     Mr. Lee even threatened not to save his life at the Stade de France and to let him die if he did not promise that he would be silent! Isn't that... Isn't that awful?! Don't you agree, you, people who keep defending this infamous man and believing his lies?!

     It is... It is so... so...."

     Soobin paused as his sore throat prevented him from continuing and he somehow tried to resume as his tears flowed.

     "It is so horrible... I-I was horrified to hear that. Who would have thought that such an evil man, a monster could have stood by BTS for so long without anyone knowing?

     It's horrible... who could do that to someone as kind as Seokjin sunbae-nim? Nothing could have justified what he suffered, no one and especially not him deserves to be treated like this!

     Make him suffer and then make him understand that his life did not belong to him and that he deserved to die? Shame on you Mr. Lee, you're just a freak!"

     Lee continued to look at Soobin with the same look of outrage, pretending that it was all a lie. But the courtroom was absolutely touched by Soobin's testimony and began to drift away from Lee's version of the story, as Soobin's was vibrant with sincerity.

     His tears had hit them right in the heart. Some people in the room began to cry and outside the courtroom, among the huge crowd gathered outside the courthouse, loud and heartbreaking sobs were heard. It was the cries of fans who sympathized with his pain and painfully felt every step of his story. Everyone thought of Seokjin despite his absence. Finally, through this young man who was not a member of BTS, they imagined the pain BTS's eldest had really been through.

     "When I found out about all this, I didn't know what to do. What could I have done on my own learned something that seemed so unreal and so nightmarish? That's probably what sunbae-nim said to himself for a long time, but I had no right to leave him like this without doing anything, I had to act to finally put an end to his suffering.

     So I wanted to go and tell everything to the CEO and other BTS members but then Mr. Lee came and he was so furious with what Seokjin had just revealed to me that he told him that he was going to take revenge on Jungkook and on me. But before that, he told him he was going to kill him. He grabbed him by the throat and tried to strangle him right before my eyes!

     Seokjin sunbae-nim was so scared! He knew that these were not empty threats and that Mr. Lee was really going to kill him: he was not only a rapist and a torturer I understood it quickly, but also a possible murderer. Everything he said to him at the Stade de France was not empty words, he really intended to kill him! I did everything to stop him but he hit me until I was half knocked out. He was too physically imposing compared to me. That's why Jungkook sunbae-nim was no match for him.

     After that, he said I was as reckless just as Jungkook and Seokjin sunbae-nim were before he re-educated them, these are his own words to talk about the torture he inflicted on them. He even called them obedient cowards and said he would do the same to me as he did to them.

     I was scared because I felt helpless, I understood what Seokjin and Jungkook sunbae-nim had felt in front of this man: I felt like a little boy unable to resist him. I was going to be crushed by him. But do you know who intervened to protect me from this terrifying person? Seokjin sunbae-nim !

     He was, however, terrified of Mr. Lee after everything he had done to him and it would have been normal for him to let him take care of me and try to run away from him. But he did not do it. Because he was more terrified of what his manager told me than of what was happening to him. He was more afraid for me than of dying himself!

     And you dare think Jungkook sunbae-nim is lying when he tells you everything Seokjin sunbae-nim has done for him?!

     Seokjin sunbae-nim really did everything to protect him and suffered alone and silently for this! This is the truth, the real one, and not the lies that come out of this man's mouth!"

     Soobin paused to catch his breath. He spoke with anger now: people had to believe him, had to believe BTS, they had to stop believing the lies of this psychopath who had manipulated them all. He concluded :

     "This man is a real monster, you have to believe me! You must not let him go free and find his victims guilty. You must allay Seokjin's fears, he deserves to be finally protected! He must never live in fear of this monster's punishments again. I implore you : allow him to get better and punish the one who made him suffer so much!"

     Testimony of Mrs. Kim, mother of Kim Seokjin

     "My son was no longer the same when he returned from France. He was... broken. Physically and mentally.

     I thought at first that it was only linked to the various violent attacks he had suffered at the Stade de France and then at Incheon airport. And that was already enough. It was more pain than he should have suffered. After all, he had just been stabbed to death, he had to face hatred, fear of dying, coma, then again fear and violence back in South Korea... couldn't he finally to be freed from all his fears and sufferings? I wanted to extract it from all this.

     But when I finally found him on his return, Seokjin was mute and in shock. He no longer had any spark of life in his eyes, he was totally extinguished. He was plunged into an indescribable suffering, I immediately felt it. After all, I am his mother and his extreme suffering immediately invaded me completely...

     So when the CEO told my husband and I everything, told us everything that this man had d-done to him, then we - his father and I - fell apart. It was like a nightmare, nothing seemed real, how could all this have happened to m-my child?

     It's every parent's worst nightmare, whether our children are young or not so young, nothing is more difficult than to know the suffering experienced by our flesh and blood, the child we raised, without us we knew of anything, without being able to do anything to ease his s-suffering...

      As the days went by, looking at him, caring for him, looking him in the eyes, I became fully aware of all this... this torture and these horrors he had suffered.

      The person who did this to him couldn't have been Jungkook or any of his younger brothers! I know each of these boys and the bond of love between them and Seokjin and I know Jungkook even more than the others, he is a sweetheart who adores Seokjin like a big brother!

     Please believe my words : if you think the company is lying to protect its reputation, then believe the words of a mother who has nothing in mind but the protection and well-being of her son! I'm not lying to you, I just want my son to get better and be able to live free from all fear.

     I know that for days Mr. Lee and his lawyer have been doing everything to make you believe that it was Jungkook who made Seokjin suffer and if it was the truth, I would have done everything to keep Jungkook away from Seokjin too. But this is not the case, on the contrary!

     All these horrors experienced by Seokjin and which shocked our country, it could only be the work of a monster. A monster that had previously presented itself to me with the face of a human who had to take care of my child.

     But now that I see him again today, I had a hard time not going to hit him because I know that behind that face and that smile hides an abject monster capable of threatening, torturing, raping, and killing... He's not a man anymore in my eyes. He's a beast, and I never want to see him around Seokjin, my family, and other BTS members ever again. Never again!

     Please finally see him as I see him, hate him as I hate him and punish him as I want him to be punished and more!

      No mother should find out what I found out about my son or what Mrs. Jeon found out about her son. I refuse to let this happen to anyone else, it has to stop... So lock that monster up forever, I beseech you, don't let him go after anyone like he went after my Seokjin and Jungkook, that would be inhuman. It's your responsibility!"

     "Eommoni..." Jungkook whispered after hearing Mrs. Kim's moving words. He turned to his own mother who had as many tears as Seokjin's mother. "Eomma..."

     Both women had suffered terribly to learn what their sons had been through and being able to verbalize it in front of the whole world must have been a relief for both mothers.

     The people, including the judges and jurors, seemed equally moved by Mrs. Kim's heartfelt testimony. Who could dispute the testimony of a mother whose son had suffered so much? Who had more legitimacy and interest than her in telling the truth.

     Jungkook then turned to Lee, wondering if he was going to see his confidence crack but knowing him, he doubted it. Like him, everyone was starting to looked at Lee in absolute disgust, but Lee seemed very unconcerned about it, as if he felt protected and untouchable.

     Even though he expected it, it annoyed Jungkook. He had been patient and even if it wasn't all over, he would have liked to see this arrogant man lose his smugness and show how pathetic he was. But, true to himself, Lee remained calm. If he weren't in public and being filmed, he probably would have smirked, as usual.

     This attitude, however, was not found in his his lawyer who didn't have Lee's insurance. Indeed, Ho had ended up losing his luster, visibly less confident in his strategy than at the start. He knew that everything had changed after Seokjin's mother's testimony that concluded all other testimony from BTS supporters.

     Thanks to those people who supported them and rekindled the lost love for BTS, hope had returned for BTS.

     Hundreds of thousands of messages of support and love from their fans started pouring in on the internet starting a media war to compete with all the hostile messages BTS had received during their smear campaign. For all the messages that made the BTS members cry, fans sent even more messages that must have made them smile.

      As soon as they were able to leave the courtroom, the members of BTS isolated themselves in one of the court's inner courtyards. There, they were able to turn their phones back on and from where they could hear the passionate roar of the crowd supporting them outside the court and chanting their names as before - Kim Namjoon, Kim Seokjin, Min Yoongi, Jung Hoseok, Park Jimin, Kim Taehyun, Jeon Jungkook, BTS!!!.

     This brought bright smiles to the BTS members' faces that they hadn't seen on them for several weeks. Even though the lawsuit wasn't over and they were still unsure of winning it due to a lack of hard evidence, they were genuinely happy to have the love of their fans, their families and the people they had spent the past few years as idols.

     "We did it, I can't believe it after everything that happened..." Jimin whispered, moved to tears. "we ended up overturning this lawsuit..."

     "That's true, everything has changed, finally, but we can be sure now that we could never have done it alone," Yoongi said glancing at Jungkook.

     "I-it's true," Jungkook stammered, with a smile on his face.

     He couldn't wait to share this happiness with Jin. He was sure that Jin was smiling right now just like him and he wanted to see him as soon as possible.

     "I'm sure Jin hyung is more than fine now that we were finally heard by justice," Taehyung said as if reading his mind, hugging him affectionately.

     "Yeah, me too," Jungkook nodded as he hugged him back before feeling crushed by Hoseok's embrace from behind, soon joined by all the others.

    As the BTS members hugged each other affectionately, Namjoon told them:

     "We were right to trust our fans, they have been with us since the beginning and they will always be. Now that everything has changed in people's opinion, Jungkook can give his testimony without prior preconceptions, people will agree to listen to him, that's for sure!"

     Namjoon was so relieved, having been so scared of the turn of the whole trial so far, that he cried. He had feared that his group would not recover from this ordeal and that he had completely failed in his role as leader. By now he was confident in his upcoming strategy and he said to Jungkook, hugging him:

     "Jungkook, don't worry about tomorrow, even if Jin hyung is not there with you, you won't be alone against Lee and Ho. I will give you unexpected support that will win us this lawsuit, I promise you. That will be my contribution as the leader of this group."

    And in Jungkook's head, the military metaphor came back, as vividly as when it started. Thus, he whispered to his leader, hugging him too:

     "I'm not afraid, captain. I trust you completely and I know everything will be fine. From the beginning, you were right in your strategy, we always have allies ready to support us when things go wrong, and we always have our army of millions of fans behind us..."

     Namjoon chuckled softly upon hearing the mention of captain and allies.

     "You're also not bad at crafting your strategies, JK, but you're better when you fight with others rather than on your own. You know that now, right?"

     "Yeah, I know," Jungkook laughed back. "Besides, I'm thinking now that we really have a great army, so why leave it behind and fight without it?"

     And what an incredible army, the young soldier thought, stars in his eyes at the idea of ​​the immensity of the planetary power of this army which fought for them out of love...

________

A/N: This is not the end. But almost.