Set to Fail // Minsung (BOOK 1 OF 2 'SET SERIES')

STF 24

The uncut footage leaked on a Tuesday.
No one knows who did it.

Some say it was a fed-up intern.

Others say it was someone on the lighting team who couldn't sleep at night anymore.

Some fans even claimed Jisung did it, fed up with the silence.

Whoever it was-

They saved Minho.

---

The full tent scene, raw and unedited, hit the internet at midnight.

No background music. No filtered colours. No post-production smoothing.

Just reality.

Than gripping Minho's arms.

Forcing his head back.

Whispering unscripted, revolting lines.

The bite.

Minho flinching.

The push.

Than trying to keep touching him.

And Minho snapping: "That wasn't in the fucking script!"

Then silence.

Then-

"Cut."

The reaction was immediate.

Fan forums went into meltdown.

"This was not acting. This was assault."

"I can't believe I used to ship this."

"Minho's face in the raw clip... he looked scared."

"This is unforgivable."

"This scene should've never aired."

"Where was the director? The crew? ANYONE???"

#ProtectMinho trended globally in four languages.

And Than? He disappeared for three days.

Then the press conference happened.

Everyone expected silence.

But Than walked in. No makeup. No stylist. No filter. He bowed 90 degrees.

"I apologize to the entire production, to the viewers, and most of all-to Lee Minho. I crossed boundaries. I abused my role. I acted with no professionalism. I will not make excuses. I'm sorry."

He bowed again.

Reporters screamed questions.

He only answered one, "Why did you do it?"

Than closed his eyes.

"I was a fan of Minho-hyung. A huge one. I grew up watching him in dance competitions, ever since he was like ten. His early web dramas. His debut work."

He swallowed hard.

"When I got cast in this project, I thought... I thought I was lucky. That I deserved him. That I was finally meeting someone I'd admired for years. I let that delusion twist into entitlement. I thought I could make him love me on screen. And maybe off screen too."

Another pause.

"I was wrong."

Minho watched the broadcast in silence.

Chan sat beside him, one hand on his shoulder.

Jisung stood in the hallway, biting his lip.

"I'm sorry," Than said again. "To anyone who saw that scene and believed that was real passion. It wasn't. It was me hurting someone I looked up to. And I'll carry that forever."

The crew was divided.

Many pushed for his removal.

The director was too cowardly.

But Homin?

Homin defended him.

"Art is messy," he said in a staff meeting. "He apologized. He's talented. Let's not throw that away."

People nearly walked out.

Only contracts and chain-of-command kept it civil.

Minho didn't say a word.

He just stopped attending meetings.

But Than stayed.

He came to set.

Never looked Minho in the eye.

Didn't try to speak to Jisung.

He did his lines. Went home. Ate alone.

Even the staff avoided him.

Until one night.

---

Beer cans.

Pizza boxes.

Soft music in the background.

They weren't done shooting - but everyone needed a breather.

Than showed up uninvited. People turned when he walked in. Tension. Heavy and cold.

He held a bottle of soju and a 6-pack. Walked in quietly. Sat down.

No one spoke. Until he did.

"I'm sorry."

Everyone froze and looked at him. He took a long drink.

"I know you all hate me. And I don't blame you."

Minho looked up - first time in days. Than chuckled bitterly. "I shouldn't have come."

He looked at Minho.

"You were- are my favourite person, you know?" he said, voice cracked. "Since I was i have no idea."

"When you debuted in dramas- I thought you were untouchable."

"Then we were cast together and I thought... maybe this is fate. Maybe I earned you."

He laughed again. Drunk, but not sloppy. Just broken.

"I wanted to be your equal. And I thought if I made the scene good enough... if I made people see us..."

He wiped his eyes.

"I thought maybe you'd see me too."

He looked down.

"And now all I see is that I was never worthy of you."

Jisung stood by the kitchen counter, arms crossed. Chan reached to take the bottle from Than, but he held it tight.

"I'm not asking to be forgiven," Than whispered. "I'm just saying I was wrong."

A pause.

"And I wish it didn't take hurting you to figure that out."

He got up.

Bowed to the group.

And left.

Minho didn't follow.

No one did.

But that night, Jisung messaged Minho just one word.

"Sleep?"

Minho replied.

"Not yet."

Five minutes later, there was a knock on the door.

Jisung stood there with ice cream and a blanket.