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

STF 26

The video dropped at 6:02 AM.

A compilation.

Three clips.

Each worse than the last.

---

By 8 AM, the fandom was feral.

"He needs to be in prison."

"They better press charges."

"Jisung deserved better."

"Than deserved to live without fear."

"Minho is the strongest person alive. I'd be in a coma."

The #ProtectMinsung tag re-trended.

A new one appeared: #FreeThan.

And Homin? Gone.

Vanished. His socials locked. His name blacklisted.

The director called a crisis meeting.

"We're pulling the show," he said flatly.

Minho stood up first.

"No, we're not." Everyone turned.

Jisung stepped forward, right behind him.

"People still want the story," he said. "But they want it told the right way."

Chan backed him.

Then Hyunjin.

Then two other cast members.

Even Than, silent at the edge of the room, nodded.

The director rubbed his temples. "Do you have any idea what a lawsuit like this could do-"

Jisung cut in. "Do you have any idea what silence already did?"

They continued filming.

Without Homin.

---

The atmosphere changed overnight.

Scripts were revised. Scenes re-checked. Consent emphasized.

Than kept to himself... until he didn't.

It was at the press event.

A small crowd of reporters. No fans. Just press, production, and pain.

The cast lined up. Cameras clicked.

Minho was about to speak- When Than stepped forward.

Voice shaking.

"I need to say something."

Everyone looked at him. Even Minho.

"I know there's nothing I can say that will undo what I did. Or what I let happen."

He took a breath.

"I wronged Jisung. I hurt Minho. And I betrayed the trust of people who believed in this story."

Silence.

"But I wasn't acting alone."

"I was being manipulated. Threatened. Everyone has seen- well everything... But-"

"My mother is sick. Homin - He is- he is my uncle- but he married her for money, and when the debts caught up, he took over."

Than swallowed hard.

"Everything I did, every boundary I crossed, was because I was scared of what he'd do to her. Or me. Or both."

"He had blackmail. He had control. And I let myself believe that if I just did what he said, it would be okay."

A tear fell. He didn't wipe it.

"It wasn't okay."

He looked at Minho. Eyes red. Broken.

"I admire you more than anyone I've ever met. And I have said this so many times- I do not know how to explain it but I sincerely apologize."

"I should've protected that. But I didn't."

He looked down.

"I just needed you to know the truth."

A silence fell across the room like fog.

Minho stepped forward. Jisung's breath caught.

Minho walked to Than.

Paused.

Then... He put a hand on his shoulder.

"I forgive you."

Than broke. Literally.

Collapsed into Minho's arms, sobbing. Shoulders shaking. Hands gripping Minho's jacket like a lifeline. Minho held him.

Held him with the strength of someone who knew what it meant to be hurt. And what it meant to still choose healing.

The press conference ended in tears. But it was real. And real mattered more than perfect.

Later, in the parking lot, Jisung and Minho sat in Minho's car.

Jisung stared out the windshield. Quiet.

Minho looked at him.

"You okay?"

"I think I just... hate how much I understand him now."

Minho nodded. "Yeah."

"He could've said no."

"He could've said a lot of things."

"But he didn't."

Minho leaned back in his seat.

"He didn't."

A pause.

"But maybe now he will."

Jisung sighed. "I hope so."

Outside, a small group of fans gathered. Holding signs. Waving softly. No screaming. No cameras.

Just quiet support.

Jisung read one out loud. "It wasn't your fault. Any of you."

Minho smiled, tired and grateful.

"Guess we're still standing."

Jisung looked at him. "Guess we are."