When Death Calls - BTS / Kim Namjoon Fanfic

Chapter 2

Kim Namjoon stretched his arms as he walked out of his studio. It had been a long day and he knew that the next few days weren’t going to be any less hectic.

The producers, including him and Yoongi, had a few songs to run through and they had to draft a schedule for their upcoming fan meeting. Their age had not dimmed their excitement to interact with fans who had stuck with them for almost a decade now.

Namjoon was prone to pondering over how far they had come and how much they had grown, both mentally and physically. Lost in thought, he didn’t notice Jungkook, their maknae, bounding down the hallway, breathless and eager.

“Did you hear? We’re being covered by ‘ILLUMINAI’ this time!” he said in a rush, straightening his recently-dyed brown hair which was ruffled from all his running. Namjoon looked at him quizzically and raised his eyebrow at the maknae’s sudden outburst.

Jungkook sighed. "You need to step out of that studio more often Hyung.” he chastised.

Namjoon was surprised at his tone, his brown eyes widening in amusement. “It must be a big deal if you’re so hyped about it.” he finally said.

“Of course! They’ve got the highest readership number in Seoul and the statistics regarding the number of viewers of their video diaries is no joke,” Jungkook replied. “Not to mention, we’ve never done anything like it before.” 

Namjoon knew how crucial this fan meet was for all of them. It had been a while since they had had any interaction with ARMY and the guys were itching for contact with their fans which extended beyond the realms of social media. “Believe me, I’m as excited as you are. It’s just been a tiring couple of days.” he said.

Jungkook patted his hyung’s shoulder and began dragging him towards the exit. “The hyungs are waiting for us in the car. Since you didn’t show up for rehearsal, Seokjin hyung took the liberty of eating all your gummy bears.” Jungkook said, a hint of a grin on his face.

Namjoon frowned. “Not the bears!” he complained. He wasn’t going to let Seokjin hear the end of this.
                               ***

As the guys made their way into the dormitory, Hoseok handed an envelope to Namjoon. “This was delivered for you today while you were in the studio.” he said. He looked tired, his black hair disheveled from the harrowing practice.

Namjoon instantly felt guilty for bailing on the rehearsal, mentally conjuring ways in which he could make it up to the members.

“Are you going to stand in the doorway all night?” Yoongi drawled, maneuvering around Namjoon and Hoseok and slipping into the room he now shared with the latter.

Namjoon took the envelope, moving to sit on the couch which Taehyung was currently sprawled on.

“If you want to sleep on the couch, you’re welcome to do so. But don’t expect me to carry you into our room again." Jimin said, giving Tae a light kick as he and Jungkook turned in for the night.

Taehyung merely mumbled something about the next cypher, causing Namjoon to smile as he studied the envelope which was devoid of any kind of stamp or lettering except for his name. It was certainly strange. The agency would never have allowed an unmarked letter to be delivered to any of them.

But this had.

An ominous feeling took over Namjoon as he slit open the envelope, a small piece of paper slipping out. There was only a single sentence printed on it. But it was enough to send chills down Namjoon’s spine.
                                                       
   “YOU CAN ONLY LIVE SO LONG”

Not knowing what to make of it, Namjoon slid the paper back into the envelope, attempting to calm his nerves. It was obviously just a prank. It had to be.

The question was, how had it managed to find a way into their studio and who had sent it? Was it one of the members? But none of them looked in any shape to be playing jokes. Then who? And why?

                              ***
In Ha and Sung Na exited their offices and decided to hit a bar. In Ha knew she badly needed a drink and Sung Na was the best sounding board she had. As she drove them towards their destination, Sung Na finally broached the topic In Ha had tried to avoid all day.

“So I know this is immensely uncomfortable for you. Talk about bad timing.” she said, shaking her hair loose and taking a deep breath.

Sung Na was aware of In Ha’s tremulous past and tried to be sensitive about it. In Ha was grateful for it, because it was something she preferred to avoid talking about.

“Its work so there’s no choice,” In Ha answered. “Besides, how bad could it be? It’s just one day, one fan meet. I’ll get through it.”

Sung Na looked skeptical but wisely decided to change the subject. Unfortunately, what she asked her next wasn’t exactly what In Ha wanted to talk about.

“You were saying something about a phone call, weren’t you?” she asked.

In Ha decided against lying and told her friend about the jarring call she had received. “It was Ji Kang. He called to say that he’s moving back to Seoul. “

“Ji Kang? The same Ji Kang who accused you of slandering him for misbehaving with fans? That ass?” Sung Na sounded incredulous.

In Ha sighed. This wasn’t going to be easy.

“He called to offer his sincerest apologies, asking me if we could do a spread about him returning to Korea.” she continued as she thought back over to Ji Kang’s shenanigans which had almost cost her her job.

He had been a rising star in his prime, attracting female fans from all over the world. Very few people knew the truth that lurked beneath his charismatic exterior.

ILLUMINAI had been tasked with his promotions and for some inexplicable reason,  Ji Kang had tried to make a move on her. In Ha had resisted all his advances, injuring his ego, and leading him to harangue her in every way possible. Requesting her as his promotion manager, calling her at odd hours of the day and leaving inappropriate gifts which drove her insane. 

She had then uncovered a scandal involving his mistreatment of fans which she had laid bare before the world, exposing him for who he really was.

Ji Kang had retaliated in kind, threatening to sue her for slander but had backed down at the behest of his agency. In Ha too, had been asked to gloss over his mistakes to salvage what little reputation he had left
And now he was returning, hoping to start from scratch.

“It’s obviously a publicity gimmick. What did you say?” Sung Na asked.

“Well, I realized his apology was bull and decided to tell him so but then he put his manager on and I had to agree to at least a meeting.” In Ha sighed.

Sung Na looked like she had something to say but In Ha cut her off. “Not tonight. The next few days are going to be tough so let’s just not discuss anything tonight.”

Sung Na didn’t look convinced but decided not to push her. In Ha was disturbed enough as it was and just a little distance away, lay another perturbed young man, unable to sleep and consumed with apprehension he couldn’t shake off.