"Let's not exaggerate it," Jin interjected to Jimin, defending Taehyung who gave him a grateful look, "talking about war seems a little excessive to me. "

      "Is not it?" Taehyung said, hoping the others would follow in the footsteps of the elder in his de-dramatization of the situation.

     "A war can take many forms" Jungkook contradicted them, shrugging his shoulders because he knew what he was talking about. But to Taehyung's surprise, Jungkook still proceeded to defend him: "nonetheless, I agree with hyung that it is too much to see these tensions between the shippers as dangerous. It's been around since our beginnings, hasn't it? And it remains was verbal jousting behind a screen. It will calm down quickly."

     "Yes, but on a large scale it can lead to a devaluation of the group too," Namjoon said. "If a surge of hatred between our fans hits the web, it will be up to us to step in and try to defuse the bomb that we ourselves have created."

     "But we are not responsible for their fantasies!" Jungkook protested. 

      "He's right," Taehyung agreed.

     However, Namjoon replied:

     "You are both sorely mistaken : it is probably the heart of our business to make people fantasize, Han hyung already told you a bit about that. Even if he was not tender in his way of making you understand Jungkook this morning, he is unfortunately right. These fantasies feed on what we have to offer: our voice, our physical appearence, our behavior, our relationships... We only exist as artists for and through them. If we stop making them dream, they will turn away from us. If the dream turns into a nightmare, it's up to us to turn ourselves into sandmen and bring them back to the dream."

     "We have to give them what they expect, basically," said Hoseok who, along with Jimin, was generally the one who generally had the best instincts for understanding Army and also knew how to turn aside paths not to take, unlike more oblivious members, like Jungkook and Taehyung. But these were lucky enough to be particularly appreciated by the fans. On the other hand, there was one who risked being hit head-on by this wave of hatred...

     As if he had read Hoseok's mind, Yoongi added, looking at Jin:

     "It's not just the fans or our reputation that we need to be concerned."

     "Do you think I made a lot of enemies today?" Jin quipped, giving him a bitter smile.

     "It's not funny hyung," Yoongi replied, simultaneously confronting Namjoon's mocking gaze that was too often the butt of Yoongi's irony. "You can't stop defending these two, but it's you who will end up paying the consequences of their behavior, it's time for you to realize : it's you who will receive the hatred of people much more than them but it is above all time that they realize it too." He glared at the two younger ones and they lowered their heads in shame.

     "But there are infinitely more people who support Jin than those who dislike him, in the order of 99% versus 1% hate," Jimin protested, trying to send a wave of affection to the eldest. 

     Jimin was more aware than the other members of the effects their fans' hatred could have on them, even though Jin had always been able, with his impressive mental toughness, to overcome it and that now he pretended that the situation was nothing dramatic.

     "We know that hatred, even when it has no basis and comes from a few, can be very dangerous but above all, really hard to bear morally, so we will need to be careful for a while and above all, we will have to stay more united than ever," Yoongi concluded, especially staring at Jungkook and Taehyung. "No matter what strategy we have to adopt in public, it does not mean that it is the reality of our relations so stop messing around like unconscious kids and think of others before acting foolishly and selfishly."

     "Namjin and Taekook's image needs to be boosted for now, then?" Hoseok asked, looking at the protagonists of this story.

     "Or shall we do nothing?" Jungkook offered, "eventually it will settle on its own, as always."

     "Didn't you hear what I just said Jungkook?!" Yoongi exploded.

     "Are you afraid of having to spend less time with Jin hyung and more time with me Jungkookie?" Taehyung mocked.

     "Taehyung, stop provoking Jungkook," Namjoon ordered seeing the younger one ready to reply. "How do we avoid a war outside if we are not able to maintain a peaceful framework inside our group?"

     Taehyung felt uneasy. He was  responsible for this situation and he was the one who attacked Jungkook.

     "I'm really sorry, I really acted like a kid and got everyone in trouble. Sorry for pushing you over the edge Jungkook, I don't know what got into me to do this in public, I must have lost my mind..."

     "I didn't behave better, I'm sorry too," Jungkook sighed, "so let's reinforce Taekook's image by first stopping our pointless war."

     Taehyung frowned because for him it was not a pointless war. He still hadn't resolved the issue between Jin and Jungkook so he didn't consider his actions for the day to be unnecessary. He would have to sort it out some other way. If he brought this up now in front of all the members, he would definitely come across as a troublemaker unable to ease tensions, only able to fan the fire by blowing on the embers.

   "Let's make a truce," he offered instead to the relief of the others, extending a friendly hand to the younger.

     Jungkook rolled his eyes but nodded and without hesitation took the hand he held out to him, unwilling to debate in front of everyone what Taehyung had seen behind the curtains that afternoon.

     Uncomfortably, Namjoon addressed Jin and Jungkook:

     "And... uh ... you should ..."

     "Gosh, now you're the one stuttering Namjoon," Jin scoffed gently. "We have to stop being always glued, right?" 

     He had tried to phrase it lightly but in reality the thought of being separated from Jungkook even a little scared him as he didn't know if he would collapse far from his pillar; after all, he had only found the strength to stand up because Jungkook was by his side and had promised not to give up on him.

     "Yes," the leader nodded, relieved that Jin had formulated his thought. "Only in public and we should do what Han asked, a publication to explain to the fans that there is a misunderstanding about your relationship"

     "But it's unfair!" Jungkook cried unsurprisingly, seeing his members starting to tire of his behavior which they deemed childish, although they were partly responsible for this capricious behavior developed by the youngest.

     "That's enough Jungkook," Yoongi replied in a tone that did not admit of discussion, "You have the responsibility to preserve your... no, our public image."

     Jungkook knew that was what had originally helped Lee threaten them: their public image. Without this fear, he and Jin would not be in such a difficult situation. The reaction of Yoongi, Namjoon, Han, and everyone else that day proved to him that he and Jin were stuck, that they could never reveal their secret to get help from their members. 

     Because for everyone, the reputation of the group came before everything else. They would never forgive him if Lee revealed what he had done. They would surely forgive Jin because the elder didn't do anything wrong but he would never forgive Jungkook for destroying the group's reputation and smashing all of their dreams. 

     However, one thing made him oddly even more unhappy:

     "What do you care if people think Jinkook is real, huh?" Jungkook resisted, especially looking at Namjoon, who seemed to be the most insistent on this need to establish a clear distance between Jin and him in public. "Does that make you angry? Why do you think it's less serious for people to believe Namjin exists?"

    "It doesn't make us angry, we know it's not your fault and you must also understand that this decision we are making is not personal and is not directed against you," Namjoon sighed in exasperation, "but it's necessary and you have to understand it."

     "We've already discussed this Jungkook," Jimin said, "we need to calm the spirits, what more do you want us to say?"

     "But does it really matter if people think Jinkook is real?" Jungkook insisted. 

     "And what if people think Jinkook isn't real?!" Yoongi exclaimed, exasperated.  "Everything is only fiction at the origin, so who cares!!" He turned to Jin for support, because the eldest had remained too silent so far when he was best able to reason with the youngest.

      "JK, right now that's what we're going to do to calm things down." The elder said calmly so as not to rush an already agitated Jungkook. "It doesn't mean that we separate or that we don't have the right to talk to each other, it just means that we have to limit our interactions in public before Lee and Han force things into their own ways, do you understand?"

    "I think talking about 'separation' is a bit strong, it's not like you're in a relationship," Yoongi said with annoyance, giving Jungkook a pointed look, wishing to jog his memory and make him understand that Jin didn't belong to him and that if he had to walk away from him, he would do it without the younger having anything to say.

     "Yes, this is inappropriate, you are right Yoongi!" Jin hurriedly apologized, who had Lee's photos and blackmail in mind and didn't want to be the one to ultimately let others go to what he and Jungkook was trying to hide. 

     "And how is that inappropriate?" Jungkook asked coldly.

     Jin tried to give him warning signals with his eyes. Didn't Jungkook understand that he risked revealing what happened in his room and thus opening Lee's path to their destruction?

     In any way, this was absolutely unthinkable and would be unacceptable to the group for a lot of reasons, even if it could exist in the minds of their fans and even if some people supported the idea of ​​a romantic relationship between them. He didn't know why Jungkook absolutely wanted to put Jinkook on the front of the stage, it had never determined their friendship so why did he dramatize the erasure of this ship in the eyes of their fans?

      Besides, he never thought again about the kiss they had exchanged briefly,  after what happened then during that awful night and now wasn't the best time to think about it because as soon as he thought back to that night, it was to see Lee again inflicting the worst horrors on him, he didn't want to relive that again and again and anyway, he had already forgiven Jungkook so what was the use of think about it? It was this kiss that had led them into a terrible situation then it was better to forget it and all this alleged romantic relationship, it was his conviction.

     "Let's forget this game about this Jingkook romantic relationship, Jungkook : we don't need it and it's not worth it, it brings us nothing but trouble, " he said much to the relief of Yoongi and the others.

     A game? Jin was oblivious to the hurt he had just done Jungkook with this sentence, however.  Seeing him agree to walk away from him without hesitation spoke volumes enough to him, even if it was to protect the group. He had barely promised himself to be each other's pillars and now Jin was already questioning his word and pushing it aside! 

     Moreover, Jin's hasty reaction to the word "relationship" and the negative tone used had not escaped him. A relationship with him, even kept secret, seemed an aberration to him.

     Why Jungkook was so hurt by Jin's reaction ? Well, because Jungkook had finally come to understand differents things. He understood now what was the strange feeling he had felt towards Jin today. He had been sincerely jealous of Namjoon and Taehyung. He wanted to protect Jin but he didn't want to repress his feelings, he loved him too much for that : he was seriously in love with his hyung.

     And it had completely changed his view of the threat from Lee. He would have liked to reverse the situation and have their relationship accepted in order to then free himself from the threat of revelations from their manager. He was ready to accept that his feelings were romantic, but if that wasn't how Jin felt, what was the point of exploring unrequited feelings?

      Seeing Jin reject him in front of all the others now when it could have been an opportunity to start changing things between them and in the eyes of the other members, it hurt him terribly and he resented Jin for being so insensitive and not to notice it.

     Angry tears escaped from him watery eyes, surprising everyone.

     "You really are the worst, hyung!" he shouted.

     "W-What?" Jin reacted, shaken.

     "Since being close to me makes you fear for your reputation, better to go away in private too, otherwise it won't work, right?" Jungkook replied angrily.

     "N-no, JK, I swear, you don't have to-" Jin tried to persuade him, though he knew the young man's stubbornness even though he rarely paid the price of it.

     "No, it's okay, I don't want to talk to you anymore anyway," Jungkook cut in before leaving the room muttering and everyone heard the word "namjin" distinctly.

     "I'll talk to him," Jimin said hastily before following him.

     Jin hoped things would calm down quickly. What was the point of things working out with the fans if it forced them to break their ties?

     That evening Jin was trying to sleep in his empty room. It had only been two days since Lee was assaulted and now he was on his own again. He hoped Jungkook would come back to him the next day when he calmed down. He lay down in his bed and curled up on himself. It didn't take long for him to realize that that night, he couldn't sleep.

     His dark thoughts and traumatic memories flooded his mind again and he thrashed about as what he didn't want to remember at all flooded his head. He would have liked to be prescribed antidepressants. 

     These drugs would have impaired his physical abilities and his managers would not have allowed it. Anyway, they hadn't even deigned to have him examined by a doctor after his panic attack, probably because that would necessarily have led to dubious discoveries about what Lee had done to him. 

     But now he would have liked to swallow a whole box of pills that night, to have the right to fall asleep an eternal sleep. Because that sleep at least would have been devoid of nightmares. 

      He got up and left his room, noticing in passing that all the doors were closed except for Taehyung's where a blue light was flashing. He was probably still playing video games with Jimin. It was late and the day had been long. With the next day also promising to be tiring, Jin thought he should go tell them to turn off and go to bed. 

     But his steps first led him past Jungkook's closed bedroom door, where he couldn't help but stop. He couldn't help wondering if the maknae had managed to fall asleep without him or if his fear of Lee was still too great to be able to do that. He could have gone to another room to sleep but he was so upset that he refused when Jimin offered to sleep with him, preferring to stay alone. 

      As Jin stood staring at the door, he also suddenly wondered if the youngest had ended up in the position he was in now, when the door had closed on himself and on Lee, two night before. Had he been tempted to enter despite Lee's ban? Had he stayed here a long time, imagining what was happening to his hyung? Probably. Just like Jin was currently trying to imagine if Jungkook was sleeping or curled up against that door, too upset to sleep.

     Thinking about Jungkook's distress, even though he didn't fully understand it, made him want to open the door and rush into that room to hug him and tell him everything was going to be okay, that nothing wouldn't change between them no matter what the fans thought, no matter what behavior they had chosen to adopt in front of them to calm their ardor.

      Jin placed a trembling hand above the doorknob, not daring to touch it. He would have liked to open the door, go see Jungkook, talk to him, make him understand that he couldn't sleep without him, make him come back to sleep in his room and above all, reconcile.

     But Jin was paralyzed, he couldn't get into that room, no matter how much he wanted to see Jungkook. In his tortured mind, at night, behind that door, he could get pulled and locked up by Lee who would then make him suffer right in front of everyone else, with no one coming to help him.

     "Why... Why did this happen?" Jin then sobbed as he slid down the door and fell heavily to the ground. 

     "Hyung, what are you doing here ?"

     This voice suddenly made him raise his head and meet Taehyung's gaze who, even in the darkness of the corridor, could clearly perceive Jin's face:

     "Hyung you... are you crying?"

     "No, I'm not crying," Jin lied, wiping his face and quickly getting up.

     "Jungkook refused to open the door?" Taehyung asked, "do you want me to shove him and make him apologize to you?"

     Jin laughed facing Taehyung's proposal and this reaction had the effect of reassuring the youngest. 

     "No, he must be sleeping, I'll talk to him tomorrow, it doesn't matter," Jin said.

     "Honestly, he doesn't deserve you to cry for him and make a sleepless night, he was hateful, it's up to him to cry for hurting you," Taehyung assured him.

     "No it's not true, he doesn't deserve to be sad," Jin contradicted him, "none of us deserve it. And if it was me who made him sad, then it's up to me to fix my mistakes."

     "If you say so, hyung... but if you can't sleep, you can come and play with us."

     "I was just going to tell you to turn off and go to bed," Jin chuckled.

    "Oh come on, just a little, it will do you good!" the younger said, knowing anyway that given Jin's love for video games, if we offered him to play it during a night when he couldn't sleep, he could play it all night and it would be even at the youngest to stop it in his excesses.

     Jin pretended to think, looking at his imaginary watch, before saying:

     "Alright, just a minute, let me go get my glasses."

     "Yeay!" the younger singer said triumphantly, making Jin smile.

      Jin let Taehyung go back to his room and went to get his glasses to avoid having to put his lenses back in at night. 

     Then, he joined Taehyung's room from which voices escaped. Strangely, it wasn't Jimin's voice that seemed to be talking to Taehyung. And indeed, when entering the room, Jin had a very bad surprise because it was not Jimin who was with Taehyung: 

     "Seokjin, what a pleasure to see you, close the door or you risk waking up the others with your cries of excitement!"

     It was Lee.