"TO LIVE IS THE RAREST THING IN THE WORLD.
MOST PEOPLE JUST EXIST, THAT IS ALL."

The BTS reunion comeback shattered the music industry. On the day the album was released, the music video gained millions of views within 10 minutes. It surpassed Butter, their highest record of the most streamed music video in 24 hours. And that wasn't the only record they broke that day. Every track from their album was trending and streaming on all music platforms. In one day, the music video reached the no.1 trending spot in every country.

In one week, the album charted no.1 in both Billboard 200 and Billboard Hot 100, half of their tracks taking their rightful spots in the latter. It sold more than 10M copies in the first week worldwide, becoming their highest-selling album. Many critics were already calling it one of the greatest pop albums of all time.

Following the successful response, BTS were once again dominating the music industry. They were breaking records, beating other global artists and ruling the world. Amid their promotions in Korea, such as performing in Mnet, Music Bank, etc and attending variety shows, they were also invited to perform overseas, in American shows and award ceremonies. So, just like before, they got swept up in a busy, tight schedule by their company, and after finishing their promotions in Korea, they arrived in America to do more promotional activities.

Seokjin lost count of the interviews they had to attend since they came here. He was used to it since their group had attended every show in America over the past decade. But he wasn't used to being the main topic in interviews. It seemed like his famous scandal and rejoining the group had thrust him into the spotlight. Now, every interviewer wanted to ask him about that scandal, and honestly, he didn't like the attention at all. He would rather sit quietly in the back and let Namjoon do all the English talking.

Thankfully, it wasn't only the scandal that caught the attention of the show hosts. His solo album will be out soon - this fact pretty much became a hot topic in every interview. They would ask about his feelings, his experience, what to expect from his album etc. He was starting to feel like the most popular member of BTS suddenly and he would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy the limelight in this case.

In the fourth week since their album release, BTS were invited to perform on The Tonight Show. They had been here before, especially Jimin, Yoongi and Jungkook came here all by themselves. So those three were not nervous at all. Meanwhile, Seokjin was going through his staged English lines in case he was asked about his album or scandal again. No matter how much he tried, his accent never improved.

Suddenly his phone rang so he pulled it out of his pocket and checked the number. To his joy, it was Yoon Min. He hadn't seen her for a long time since he was so busy with the comeback. They texted and talked on the phone sometimes.

Before he could pick up, Manager Yu Beom barged inside and announced, "Boys, you are up in 30 seconds! Come with me right now!"

Everyone was suddenly in a rush to follow their manager. They fixed their outfits, checked themselves in the mirror, and practised their smiles. Then they were heading out to the stage.

He contemplated answering the phone but it didn't last long.

"Seokjin!" Yu Beom shouted, reaching for him. "I can't believe you are on your phone when you're up in 15 seconds! Give me your phone and go stand with- who the heck is Scooby doo?"

The manager, along with his curious members, stared at him, waiting for an explanation. Hoseok even asked, "Scooby doo? Is that a nickname?"

Then Jungkook followed. "Who is Scooby doo, Hyung?"

Seokjin cursed himself for setting such a stupid nickname for Yoon Min. He blurted out, "M-my friend! My junior from military unit."

If they weren't 5 seconds away from their names being announced on stage, the members would've pressed the matter more. Thankfully it didn't happen. He had to leave his phone with his manager and go out on the stage to meet with Jimmy Fallon, hoping Yoon Min wouldn't mind waiting a little more.

Jimmy Fallon was super friendly with them. He talked about their latest comeback, asked him about his feelings about being back in the group, joked a lot and played fun games with them. After the interview, they performed their newly released song on the show. The audience went crazy over their mind-blowing dance moves and strong vocals. He loved the fanchants and screams from the people watching them.

The performance went very well. Jimmy gave them a huge shoutout at the end and danced a bit with the members. It took them about an hour to finally take their leave and return to backstage. Then it took another 30 minutes to return to their hotel.

✦✧✧ - ✧✧✦

After they returned, the members were asked to do a Weverse Live together in the evening. As always, they were very chaotic and funny in front of their fans. Halfway through the live, Seokjin realized his phone was still with his manager and decided to retrieve it after the end of the live. He had to speak with Yoon Min after all, who must be watching the current live. This simple thought created butterflies in his stomach.

The live continued for an hour. After ending it, the members were served delicious dinners and sweet desserts in their own rooms. Seokjin's roommate was Yoongi which was not a bad thing because after such an exhausting day, he just needed someone to listen to his nonstop blabbering.

"Can we eat in peace, Hyung? I don't like talking when eating," Yoongi said with a gruff.

"Who says you need to talk? Just keep listening to what I say. I'm older than you," he replied, eating another piece of steak. "So then my character glitched and got killed right before my eyes! I was about to win that level but the glitch won instead. Hah! How could they kill my character? I am undoubtedly one of the best players. Just check the scoreboard-"

Yoongi sighed and quietly ate his food.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door so Yoongi left to open it. It was Manager Yu Beom who sprinted inside and declared, "Seokjin, you need to listen to me. Something-"

"Ah, there you are, Manager-nim. Guess what? I think I can live without my phone for a day. But give it back now." Seokjin laughed by himself.

But something was wrong. Yu Beom looked like his soul was sucked out of his body by the way hints of panic were written all over his face. He pulled the phone out of his pocket and threw it to him distractedly before glancing at Yoongi.

"SUGA, can you give us some privacy? It's urgent please."

Both Seokjin and Yoongi were surprised by the request.

"Great! Now I have to finish my food in the maknae line's room. Well, if they don't finish my food first." Yoongi complained calmly before leaving with his plate and utensils, shutting the door.

Meanwhile, Seokjin checked his phone and to his utter surprise, there were 10 missed calls from Yoon Min. She had never called him so many times before; in fact, she usually didn't ring him up unless it was absolutely important.

Before he could process calling her back, Yu Beom started to explain, "Officer Cha Dong Man just called me a while ago. Remember we met him at the station?" his throat bobbed. "Officer Cha said that...Baek Heesung has escaped."

The words crashed over Seokjin like a wave, freezing him in place. He was barely breathing anymore, barely moving at all.

Yu Beom put his hands on his waist and sighed. "Baek Heesung was being transferred to the central prison today. He was in the police van when suddenly 3 cars slammed into the van, causing a huge accident. The police van rolled over the road, knocking the cops out. A rookie cop was barely awake when he witnessed several men rescuing Baek Heesung and taking him away with them. The police suspect those men are his, and they have been planning this attack ever since their leader was arrested."

He added, "The police are searching for him everywhere. They had no idea Baek Heesung was influential enough to have an army of men to save him. They are assuming he is not only a drug dealer but also a gangster. We underestimated him."

His insides twisted in fear. His manager was wrong. He never underestimated Baek Heesung. Though a long time had passed since he was arrested, the idol never forgot what his last words to him were. The memory tinted with his horrifying threat to Yoon Min was now leading him to this situation.

His eyes moved to his phone screen again; 10 missed calls from Yoon Min; Baek Heesung's escape...He didn't want to draw the connection. Didn't want his worst fear turn into reality.

Seokjin didn't say anything to Yu Beom. Instead, he pressed her number again. Each second during the return call was tearing his insides, heart pounding in his chest. The 10 seconds during the return call was one of the longest and worst times of his entire life. He prayed hard so that whatever he was thinking would turn out false.

"I was wondering what you would call her back, Kim."

Except the voice on the phone didn't belong to Yoon Min. It was Baek Heesung's wicked voice.

☆THE FAULT IN OUR STARS☆

THANK YOU FOR READING
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