"Mommy, has Daddy called?"
Asked Yoona for the nth time. Ever since the news came out about his dating scandal, Yoongi refrained from calling again.
Can't he even call and talk to his daughter?
She annoyingly thought but then again, she reprimanded herself for saying it aloud. She's been trying to call his number on behalf of her daughter but he's always out of reach and every time it happens, her heart constricts for Yoona.
"Maybe we can call him again? Maybe he's not busy today?"
She asked, still buying the 'Daddy is busy at work' excuse.
"It's a little late now, honey. Maybe tomorrow?"
"But I can't sleep. I miss my Daddy."
"Yoona, don't make it so hard, please."
"But... my Daddy..."
Her tears start to brim in her eyes and made Jihyo feel guilty.
"Alright, alright. We will call but if he didn't pick up the phone, you will go to sleep without arguing with me, okay?"
Yoona sits up from the bed and immediately wiped her dampened eyes. She nods her head, yes, and smiles widely as if she's not about to cry a few seconds ago. Jihyo can only sigh and proceed to dial the 'Missing in Action Daddy' again.
~~
After creating new chaos, Yoongi feels more relieved but it is short-lived. Articles pop up on the internet faster than he expected, and as soon as he reached home, his members interrogated him by the front door.
"Can't I even come in first?"
"The hell with you, Yoongi!"
Namjoon was exasperated but allowed him to come inside for a private talk. All of them sits down on the couch and continued.
"The company won't help me, Joonie. I have no choice."
"Do you have to be a dimwit in this situation?! Yoongi Hyung! You could've done it better!"
"Tsk! Calling me Hyung after saying I'm a dimwit?"
"That's not the point! You acted recklessly and messes up the already messed-up situation you are in!"
Jin intervened.
"Hyung, sooner or later I will tell them about Yoona, so what's wrong with me giving them clues now? I'm just hinting about it."
"I know we agreed about it before but the situation isn't what we have expected-"
"So you're telling me you're against the plan now? (roams his eyes around his members) None of you is on my side now?!"
"(sigh) Yoongi Hyung..."
"It doesn't matter. I dropped the bomb and I will not take it back."
Yoongi stood up and was about to leave when his phone rang; it was Jihyo. He looked at his members before picking up the call.
"Jihyo..."
"About time you pick up your phone. Yoona's been looking for you for days."
"I'm sorry, things are hectic these days."
"I know, but can't you at least call once and gave her an excuse? (Mommy!). Talk to her nicely, okay?"
Yoongi sits down again and waited for Yoona to take over the conversation.
"Daddy?!"
"Yeah, it's me, Yoona. How have you been?"
His members are silently listening to his one-sided conversation.
"Are you okay? You didn't come to visit and didn't call for days."
"I'm okay, honey. I'm sorry, Daddy's been busy."
"I miss you, Daddy."
"..."
"Daddy?"
"I miss you too, Yoona."
"I will ask Mommy to call you every mealtime so make sure to answer the phone, okay? Mommy said busy people tend to forget to eat on time. Because I'm not busy, I will help remind you, Daddy."
"(smile) Are you worried that I'm not eating my meals?"
"(nods) Mmm, because no one will remind you, I'm afraid you'll get hungry and lose weight."
"Okay, please call and remind me to eat. I'll make sure to answer the phone every single time."
"That's a pinky promise?"
"(laugh) Yes, a pinky promise."
(Daddy said he'll answer the phone now, Mommy!)
"Daddy, rest well, okay? Mommy and I will sleep now. We'll call again tomorrow. Bye, bye!"
"Bye, Yoona. Sleep well."
BTS dorm went silent after the phone call ends.
"She's been patient and despite her age, she shows a remarkable understanding of the situation. She never once questioned my disappearance but instead always asked if I'm okay. Worry about me and care about me. She's f*cking five years old! (In his crack voice) How can I continue living like this, Jin Hyung? I can't keep hiding my child, I refused to. She's everything to me now and I want to be with her."
Yoongi heart-breakingly said after a while. No one has to say but Jin. Someone needs to break the news on Yoongi to keep him in his place.
"We talked about it before, didn't we? We will help you sort out the situation. We will condition our fans and slowly, you will tell them the truth. Together, we will protect our band while you will protect your family."
"That's what I'm doing, Hyung."
"No, Yoongi. You're just doing half of the bargain. Only protecting what's yours and not what's ours. This band, this name BTS... it seems less important to you now. Good for you, you have Yoona to keep you going but what about these people (members) and a lot more behind our group?"
"Hyung?"
"It's hard for me to say this too but you're acting selfishly now, Yoongi. Before you arrived, Hobeom Hyung is here. Bang PD called and told him he's fired."
He raised his head to meet his eyes and surely, Jin was in a lot of agonies too.
"He didn't intend to tell us but it took him by surprise and blurted out the words. Namjoon take over the conversation and begged Bang PD to take back his decision."
"Bang PD will lash out his anger to our staff, Yoongi Hyung. He cannot disband us but he can definitely fire everyone working with us. He's using them against you, against us."
Namjoon added, his tone is now a lot calmer. Manager Hobeom is their manager since day one. He's been with them when they are still rookies pleading for schedules and starving themselves while finding ways to work. He's the man who never gives up on them even when the management thought it's about time to disband them; he's there and argued that they can make it big. Surely, the CEO knows how to reprimand his rebellions.
"I'll talk to him."
"You cannot talk him out, Hyung unless you do what he says."
Namjoon said to stop him.
"I cannot let him continue with all this!"
"You know it will not work!"
They started raising their voice against each other again. The situation becomes heated in an instant and everyone is back in tip-toes. They ended up holding each other by the collar, in greeted teeth and glaring eyes. Taehyung and Jungkook came in the middle to stop them but to no avail. Yoongi ended up throwing his fist at Namjoon for the first time but it was Jungkook who received the hit. The maknae was in shock, both in pain and disbelief. Sure, he can understand Yoongi, and no matter how much he thinks of it, he knew he cannot bear to be in his hyung's place. Hence, he never once thought that Yoongi can throw a punch on him, regardless of whether it is unintentional or not. He is impatient but he was never been violent. Jungkook involuntarily cried and so does Taehyung.
The maknaes cannot bear to see their hyungs fighting against each other. They do have different opinions but they always resolve their indifferences by diplomatic conversations. Furthermore, Namjoon is their leader. He has always been the middleman, the peacemaker, the sole person who avoids getting his emotions to overpower him. But Namjoon had enough that day that he shouted at Yoongi and demanded him to stop but the latter didn't listen and instead challenged his patience. After the incident, Yoongi left without a word.
~~
The following days, Yoongi didn't skip a schedule but he refused to talk to anyone. He tries to be professional at work but he cannot conceal the eerie feeling he had between his members. They became awkward with each other. Jin tries to appeal and persuade him to return home but he just kept his silence. Jimin tries to approach him many times too but only experiences cold treatment. Jhope, on the other hand, ignores his cold temperament and treats him the way he usually does but his patient has limitations too. When he had enough, he stopped approaching Yoongi as well.
Their album making has been delayed too since none of the members are inspired enough to participate. Namjoon cannot make a satisfying song while Yoongi only makes mixtapes. Even the release of the collaboration between Yoongi and Rosé is put to a halt. The awkwardness between the members becomes more obvious as the days go by and their fanbase begins to notice too. A lot of people show concern create more news on top of what's already been circulating around their name. Now fans are demanding the label to address the unresolved rumors and explain the real situation.
The cold war continues between Bangtan members until Bang PD finally makes a move. When the situation goes out of hand, he called for an emergency meeting and gathered all the boys including their managers. Everyone is forced to attend to settle their issues once and for all.
"Now that everybody's here, shall we start? Do you know why I called you for?"
"..."
"We're here to discuss your disbandment."