The boys play a prank on Seulki, but she doesn't think it's that funny
Seulki took a deep breath as she entered into the small studio space. Her eyes widened a little bit at their boss sitting in there with quite a serious look on his face. She noticed Yoongi and Namjoon sitting off to the side, eyes trained on the ground. She started trembling a little, bowing to their boss and sitting in the chair next to him. "W-what's going on?" She asked quietly and Bang sighed, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back in the chair. "We've heard some things about you wanting to go solo."
Seulki looked at him with wide eyes. "No! I don't want too." She said. Her anxiety was building up, the trembling in her body becoming more apparent and Yoongi almost ruined the prank, wanting nothing more than to calm her down. He trained his eyes back on his feet, trying his best to keep up his acting. "It wouldn't be too bad. We could support you going solo," Bang said and Seulki looked down. "Is it something you want?" Seulki took a breath, meeting his eyes. "Maybe, in the far future, but not right now. I'm happy where I'm at." Namjoon hid his smirk as best he could.
"I think it would be better for you. You wouldn't always be compared to the boys. And you could work more with your own concepts. You could still stay in the dorm if you wanted. You have to choose though. Solo or Bangtan?" Bang asked, smirking a little. Seulki felt the tears in her eyes and she looked towards Namjoon and Yoongi. "D-do you feel that I'm not doing enough?" She asked quietly and Yoongi nearly lost it. This wasn't meant to make her cry and now he felt they were just playing into her insecurities. "Seulki, solo or Bangtan?" Bang asked again, lips in a thin line. "Bangtan." She answered without hesitation.
It was silent for a few moments before Namjoon and Yoongi broke out into fits of laughter and their boss pointed towards the camera. "It was a hidden camera!" Hoseok, Jin, Jungkook, Taehyung and Jimin all ran in the room behind her, wrapping their arms around her. She was shocked; still trying to process what the hell had just happened. "We always knew you'd choose us," Jimin said lovingly, ruffling her hair. "I-it was a joke?" She asked, now feeling the irritation building up in her. The others nodded, still laughing but she didn't find it very funny.
She stood up, pushing the others away. Tears were in her eyes and her hands were still trembling. "You think this is funny?" She asked and the room went silent immediately, all boys looking at her with concern. "S, it was just a joke. You've been so down lately; we just wanted to cheer you up. Make you laugh a little." Taehyung said hesitantly. She shook her head, hazel eyes narrowed. "Playing on my insecurities is funny to you all?"
"That's not what this was," Namjoon said, standing up and reaching for her, but she stepped back. "I already know I'm not good enough to be a part of this group! Don't you think that thought runs through my head every damn day?! That you all need to carry me through just to get by?! That I'm not good enough in general?! Why do you think I work so hard?! And this is funny to you?!" Some tears had spilled over and Yoongi moved toward her, almost reaching her before she slapped his hand away and stormed out of the small space.
"Well, I don't think that worked the way we intended it too." Hoseok said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I think you all should go find her and afterwards, Namjoon, we need to talk." Bang said. Namjoon sighed, nodding his head and the 7 boys ran out to find her. Thankfully, she hadn't gone far; just down the other hall to the practice room. Her head was buried in her knees and all of them could see her body shaking. "Seulki-ah," Jimin cooed softly, kneeling down in front of her. "We didn't mean it that way. It was just supposed to be a joke." She shook her head, lifting it up.
"It wasn't funny." Namjoon sighed, sitting down next to Jimin. "I'm sorry, baby. We just wanted to try and cheer you up." She nodded, knowing they never meant to intentionally hurt her. "I have a question." Jin asked and Seulki looked at him. "Do you really think you're not good enough to be a part of us?" Seulki averted her gaze to the floor, fidgeting with her hands. She nodded her head, not trusting her voice right now. "You know that's not true, right?" Jimin said, grabbing her hands and squeezing them gently. "Seulki, we wouldn't be where we were if it wasn't for you. I've said it before, but you are truly our diamond maknae. You shine, everywhere you go." Namjoon said.
"Seriously, S. We wouldn't be half a what we are today if it wasn't for you. You're more than good enough to be a part of Bangtan. You're more than good enough to go solo and be successful." She sniffed, smiling at Jungkook. "You know it's real when Kookie starts getting serious," Yoongi joked and she chuckled a little, sniffling. "I'd much rather stay with you all; I don't want to go solo." Namjoon smiled, ruffling her hair. "We know that, pabo. We're just saying you're good enough too, if you ever wanted too. And you'd have our full support." She smiled, feeling a little better. "When you're all old and wrinkly like raisins, I'll still be in my youth and solo. Just rubbing it in your faces." The others laughed, shaking their head. "C'mon. Let's get lunch then practice." She said, jumping up. The youngest members of the group all walked out with her, leaving the four oldest watching them with frowns.
"Something's up with her." Yoongi said and Hoseok nodded. "If we ever did that before, she would never have gotten that angry. Or upset. She would have laughed it off." Namjoon hummed, starting to get a headache at trying to figure out what was going on with his youngest member. "Namjoon-ah," Jin said, gripping his shoulder. "I think we need to talk to Bang." Namjoon nodded, allowing Jin to come with him. None of them knew what was going on with Seulki and she was so good at hiding it they couldn't even start to make a guess. "What're we going to do?" Jin asked quietly, not really expecting an answer but he got one anyone. Even though it was one he didn't really want to hear.
"I don't know."