Jin and Jungkook's real first mission was to reassure the other members. Indeed, they must absolutely not learn the truth about that night if not, Lee would certainly make them pay by denouncing them to the tabloids. So they must completely follow Lee's instructions: everything that happened in the room would stay in the room. 

     They couldn't tell the truth about what had caused the panic attack and they had mutually decided to blame the sudden stress of realizing he was going to leave the band and Jungkook's anger for which the maknae had flatly apologized. In many ways, it seemed like a good excuse to give to others.

     When they left the bedroom at the end of the afternoon when others had returned except for Jimin and Hoseok, Namjoon asked them to join him in the living room where Yoongi was already. It was time for them to have a discussion. When Jin and Jungkook appeared in the room, Yoongi came forward to meet them and to everyone's surprise he, who hated displays of affection, hugged Jin.

     "Don't ever do that again," he muttered into his ear before releasing him.

   "Thanks for saving my life, Yoongichi!" Jin told him warmly, hugging him back with all his strength and holding him back from leaving too quickly.

    Embarrassed, Yoongi sniffed in response then take back his place on the sofa. Jin had regained his usual good nature and, smiling, addressed the members present:

    "I'm sorry to have worried you, I'm fine now."

     Taehyung, who had just left his room to join them, replied:

    "Hyung, you've never had an anxiety attack, so you can be better now but don't say you're fine, you won't cheat us with your smile and we want to know what happened to put you in such a state."

    The tone used was drier than he would have liked but he was aware that he had to force things to get more than a reassuring smile from his hyung. This had an immediately visible effect on Jin who lost his smile.

    "Hyung, don't be so harsh, Jin hyung just wanted to reassure you," Jungkook interjected, who however felt particularly hypocritical.

    Taehyung glared at him, obviously not wanting the younger one to intervene. Jungkook knew Tahyung was right, something was really wrong with Jin and he just wanted to protect him. But now he, who knew the whole truth, had to prevented Taehyung from protecting Jin in order to be able to... protect him. It was to get a headache but Jungkook wondered if it wouldn't have been better to finally abandon their whole strategy and confide in the other members for their help.

    "Taehyung, calm down, we'll take it step by step and not rush anyone," Namjoon tempered, cutting off Jungkook in the middle of his thoughts. "Jin hyung, maybe start by telling us where these injuries on your face are coming from. Or maybe you want to hear my theory? Last night Lee hyung was with you in the bedroom, I think he hit you. What I don't understand is why."

    "No, it's not him," Jin hastily denied, cursing himself for forgetting that Yoongi and Namjoon must have noticed his facial injuries when he was unconscious before he could hide them. 

    He and Jungkook had planned to remove Lee's suspicions to keep the members from getting too close to the truth. 

    "Lee hyung was here yesterday, that's right, and things got a little heated, but it has nothing to do with what happened to my face. I cut my lips biting myself because of the stress that's all. And I bumped into the wall going to the bathroom last night, nothing serious."

    He realized seeing the others looking at him with wide eyes that he had spoken too eagerly.

     "Why are you so quick to defend him, hyung?" Namjoon asked, intrigued.

    Namjoon was too shrewd, Jin thought and deep down, Jin was burning to tell the truth instead of defending the manager, but he stammered anyway:

    "B-because he will g-get up-p-upset if y-you m-m-make f-false ac-c-c-cusations ag-gainst him."

    The others looked at him surprised and Jin himself didn't understand what had just happened. He had always been very articulate, and his self-confidence made him an outstanding speaker. Seeing him stutter was almost as amazing as seeing him have an anxiety attack. His legendary self-assurance seemed to have given up on him that day.

    Jungkook sensed his nervousness and instinctively slipped his hand on the back of his neck to relax him:

    "Hyung, are you okay?"

     "Y-Yeah, I don't know what just happened." He seemed to have regained his composure already, but the others still looked at him worriedly.

    "Okay, if you say so. Then, tell us : why have minds 'heated up' with Lee hyung?" Yoongi asked quietly after a few seconds, echoing Jin's words. 

    "Because of me," Jungkook replied for Jin. "Yesterday I went to the agency and got too pushy, Lee hated it and let me know."

    "Lee explained that Jungkook threatened them," Jin continued with more confidence thanks to the intervention of Jungkook, according to their plan. "It made me angry, and you know Lee, he didn't do anything to calm things down."

    "You played a dangerous game by threatening the company, Jungkook ," Namjoon scolded him.

    "Sorry," Jungkook mumbled.

    "How did you threaten them Jungkook?" Yoongi asked, curious to know and nervous at the same time. 

     "I told them I would go with hyung for military service if they didn't stop him."

    Jin himself didn't know this detail of the story and turned sharply to Jungkook as the others exploded:

    "How could you say that?" Taehyung exclaimed, dumbfounded.

  "Were you sincerely ready to abandon the group?" Namjoon wore the same shocked expression as Taehyung, and Yoongi's disapproving look was no less eloquent.

   "I was not being sincere, I was trying to force their hand," Jungkook explained before adding, annoyed : "But why all of a sudden you talk about abandon when it comes to my leaving, while you did everything to make me accept the departure of Jin hyung?"

    An awkward silence settled in and Jin then said out loud what the others had been thinking at the time:

    "Because they realize that you are the pillar of the group and that without you the group would fall apart. And they are right."

    "No hyung, you are the pillar of the group, not me," the maknae retorted instantly, suddenly recovering his anger from the day before "and it is incredible that they didn't realize it and did nothing to stop you from leaving. "

    Jungkook stood up abruptly, suddenly annoyed to realize that he was the only one who recognized Jin's true worth. He grabbed the eldest by his hand and pulled him after him, without looking at the others.

    "Where are you going?!" Namjoon asked seeing them head for the door to enter and that Jin himself seemed surprised by the maknae's reaction.

    "Out," Jungkook replied coldly, "I need to get some air otherwise I'm going to explode again and you won't like it."

   "We were talking, what's the matter with you Jungkook?!" Taehyung yelled as Jungkook royally ignored him.

    Jin gave him a sorry look, not knowing what to say. Once their shoes and their jackets put on at full speed in the most absolute silence, they left the dormitory without an explanation of their destination or any form of greeting.

    "What just happened?" Namjoon asked, stunned as the door had just closed with a thudding noise.

    "Either Jungkook is really pissed off or he really wants to keep certain truths out of our grasp and has fled," Yoongi asserted, still shaken by what had just happened.

    "Clearly they haven't said it all," Taehyung remarked. "We're going to have to be strategic if we want to know what really happened. " 

    "Let's be patient," Namjoon decided instead, "they'll talk to us when they're ready."

    "Yeah," Yoongi snorted, unconvinced. "Until then, we'll have to calm Jungkook down, he gets too angry when it comes to Jin hyung and it's starting to cause serious problems of group cohesion. I have a little too much of the feeling that he's starting to see us as enemies and he will drag hyung with him in this conviction considering the way things are going."

     "Yes, that's my impression too," Namjoon nodded.

    "Come to think of it..." Taehyung mused, a thumb on his chin, "Wasn't Jungkook more protective of Jin hyung than usual?"

     "He's always like that with hyung so it's hard to tell," Namjoon objected, "on the other hand,  what bothers me more is the attitude of Jin hyung: since when he stutters like that?"

    "It's the first time I've seen it too," Yoongi replied thoughtfully.

    "It was also the first time he had been seen having a panic attack," Taehyung reminded him. "Why does it look like he's really scared of something?"

    "He suddenly seems so fragile, it's baffling to me," admitted the leader who had always been able to rely on the mental strength of the eldest to lead the group. Jin had never failed to be strong for others, to be very assertive even when everyone knew he was naturally an introvert.

    "But nothing has been learned about the reasons that led to this strange behavior," Yoongi sighed. "The most plausible hypothesis would be that for some reason hyung lie and Lee is really responsible, but... the more I look at Jin hyung and Jungkook's behavior, the more I think to myself that it is entirely possible that the problem is with Jungkook."

   "Impossible," Namjoon retorted, "did you see how Jin calmed down when Jungkook arrived this morning? Or how he stopped stuttering when Jungkook massaged his neck? How could it be both the source and the solution to the problem? "

    "Stockholm Syndrome!" Taehyung suddenly exclaimed after a quick thought.

    "What?" Namjoon asked, suprised.

    "You know, it's when a hostage becomes close to their captor and ends up loving and protecting them," Taehyung explained.

    "I know what Stockholm syndrome is," Namjoon retorted, exasperated, "but what connection could you possibly make with Jin hyung and Jungkook? Jungkook didn't kindnap hyung as far as I know."

    "Yeah but think about it hyung : Jin hyung and Jungkook are close, like really close, so, will Jin hyung report Jungkook if he made him suffer one way or another? Or would he protect him to keep him out of trouble?"

    "Do you have so little faith in Jungkook to consider him an abuser, Tae?" Namjoon reproached.

    "Because you want me to believe that it hasn't crossed your mind?" The younger protested, "They're always glued to each other and the day Jungkook has a temper tantrum, we find Jin injured and having a panic attack? I'm not saying we should stand up against Jungkook, I'm saying maybe we should protect Jin hyung from Jungkook and prevent the doors from staying closed for too long on them: who knows what's going on behind?"

    Yoongi and Namjoon gave each other a knowing look. Taehyung agreed with their original assumptions and that didn't bode well. They were going to have to be careful about Jin and Jungkook's relationship.