DreamScape

PART 3: THE WAY GEMSTONES ARE MADE - X

Taehyung stared down at his hands. The car slowed to a stop, the door on his left sliding open.

"Tae?" Jin asked gently. "You ready?"

He looked up at one of the most important people in his life, and smiled. It was a poor attempt at pretending to be okay, but Jin knew that. How could he not? He'd been with him this whole time, at his side every day since the fire. He knew him too well.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I was just thinking."

"It's okay," his manager answered softly, knowingly. "We're here."

Taehyung sighed, bracing himself; tightened his hands into fists, as if it would help. He stepped out and made his way around the car. As soon as he came into sight, hundreds of cameras flashed their lights at him, blinding him.

Together, the pair made their way to the outside stage. Namjoon was already there, stood with two microphones in his hand, waiting. Taehyung left Jin's side and stepped up, then he and Namjoon turned to face the press. The words they had prepared burned into their minds, hours of preparing culminating to this moment.

They had had enough. And the world was going to know.

"Hello," Namjoon started. "Thank you for coming. We realise this is unusual, you don't know why you're here yet, but you will not regret it. We politely request you keep your questions until the very end."

Taehyung grit his teeth, eyes darkening under the emotions which had tormented him for the last three weeks. Namjoon's voice was firm, grounding, so he listened and waited.

"You might have heard from us in the news recently, for multiple reasons. The first thing we will address however, is the fire."

Flashes kept going here and there, but mostly the crowd fell silent. The entirety of South Korea had been kept in the dark until now, the police reluctant to spread any information. But it was their company's right to divulge it, if they so chose.

And they had decided. They had had enough.

"It was not an accident. After investigation, it became clear that a bomb was set up inside our offices, and as it was set off, it started the blaze. Although we may not reveal their names, we can say that on the day of the fire which tore down Big Hit Entertainment, two people had broken into the building. They are now in police custody awaiting trial, and our lawyers will be making sure they each pay for the lives they stole. We will show them no mercy under the full strength of judicial law."

Shouts and questions erupted from the press corps, but Namjoon silenced them with one withering glare.

"There were four hundred and eighty-two people in the building on that day. Forty-six people did not make it out. A hundred and three needed medical care which may follow them into future years. Twelve people are still in an ICU ward."

He let that sink in, no one brave enough to interrupt the silence this time, as the death toll burrowed into their minds. This was the most up-to-date figure, the gravest. They'd known it was bad, but still... Forty-six people, some still teetering on the edge...

"I take this time to think about those lost souls. I knew every single one of them, had worked with some for years, and even now, after this conference, I will go back to the hospital and pray for my colleagues who are still fighting for their lives."

Taehyung felt his nails try to sink into the flesh of his palms under the pressure of his shaking fists, but he didn't care. Focussed on the pain instead of the thought of the tall white building he had only just left.

Then Namjoon read out those forty-six names, one by one, his voice wavering as he struggled and forced himself to continue. Of those deceased, one had been their boss, another had worked with him, right there in the editing department. But Namjoon had always been incredibly strong when it mattered, and he was intent on getting his message through.