"I say we flat out don't speak about the issue at all," Taehyung said, but Jimin groaned and slapped the desk in front of him.

"This is far too big to ignore, she's already given a full on interview to E! and millions of people have seen it. People have made connections between [Y/N] and the scandals last year - it's clear that Rachel is telling the truth," Jimin yelled, and this only sparked more conversation.

Everyone was sat around a round desk for an emergency meeting. Ideas about what to do next were floating around, and every few minutes one of the assistants would update the group on new developments in the press about the story. It felt like the world had been waiting to see them fail, and now they had their chance to dig their claws into the band and tear them apart.

Namjoon watched the group argue with weary eyes, not even bothering to try and break up the disputes.

"Why don't I give an interview?" I say meekly, and everyone seems to quieten as they stare at me, "If Rachel already has, why shouldn't I? I can clear up the conclusions people are jumping to, try and make the situation look better than it sounds."

"How can you even sugarcoat a scandal like this? There's no coming back from it," Yoongi snapped, not directly at me but just the situation itself.

"Don't be so negative," Hoseok said with a forced smile on his face which he was clearly keeping up in order to try and bring some positivity, "I think perhaps that could work."

I felt my stomach drop at the prospect despite the fact that I had been the one to suggest the idea. The notion of me going in front of a camera, millions of people watching me, was terrifying. But I knew that I would do whatever I could to stop the train wreck that was happening.

"How can we change the slant of this story? Blame it on the restrictive expectations placed on idols? Say it was just a bit of fun? Normalise the sex industry?" Jungkook offered up, trying his best to lift the mood of the room.

"All of those routes lead us down even more tricky paths. I just don't understand why this is such a big deal - every band in history has had groupies and no one has batted an eyelid. At least we paid her for it," Yoongi added to the conversation, clearly taking a very pessimistic route towards the situation which made Namjoon narrow his eyes.

"We shouldn't lie about the situation - [Y/N] wasn't a groupie. We employed her for the sole purpose of fulfilling our sexual desires. Just like we employed Rachel. While not exactly ethical, it also shouldn't be condemned. Every action was consensual, and it's not like sex industry doesn't exist," Namjoon finally spoke up with silenced the room.

"We will hold a press conference where [Y/N] will be able to speak her truth - whatever she wants to answer. And the press can ask whatever questions they want, as long as they're respectful. We will just have to hope that the fans forgive us," and with that, Namjoon adjourned the meeting and began to run his hands through his hair.

He looked so tired. So stressed. I couldn't imagine what he was going through. He looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Every second he had free, he would be scrolling through Twitter to see what people were saying. Some fans didn't seem too concerned with it, saying that it was the boy's business what they did in their own time. But the large majority of people wanted answers.

It didn't help that Rachel had given such a biased account. She was clearly bitter about being let off by the group. While she didn't lie about any of the process, she also didn't place the boys in the most flattering light. She portrayed them as sex-crazed men, which while not wholly inaccurate was also a gross exaggeration.

As the members left the room one by one, I tried my best to smile at them. Jin came over to hug me tightly, kissing my forehead and rubbing small circles on my back.

"It will be okay," he whispered, and I felt my eyes well up with tears.

And as he stood there hugging me, I allowed myself to break down. I had been holding it for too long; I had tried to be strong for everyone around me but I couldn't suppress my own emotions anymore. I was scared. Fucking scared for myself. For the boys. For the future.

Walking with Namjoon back to our room in silence, he went to the shower without speaking to me. I listened as he cried in the shower, and I was conflicted about whether I should go in to comfort him. Deciding against it, I wrapped myself in the blanket and allowed myself to continue crying silently.

When he finally came out, he still didn't speak but held me close to him. We stayed like that for hours, both of us wondering about where we would go from here. I felt a ball of nerves fill me at the thought of giving a press conference. All by myself. I was placing myself on a podium for the world to judge me.

But I needed to do it. It seemed like the only way to save the boys from their doomed fate.

-

the more I write this, the more I'm realising that if this happened in real life the scandal would be unparalleled in magnitude.

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