"Well, during this time of great hardship, we are actively supporting our dearest member." Casper replied stiffly.
"I'm sure our viewers would love to know more about MinJae's soulmate. What is she like?"
"I'm afraid, I'm not in the position to answer that."
"Aw, come on. Where is she from? Is she a celebrity as well? Korean?"
"I cannot expose any information until we discuss this with our company." Casper's voice was wrung thin, a tremble of warning in his deep voice.
"It's alright, live a little!" The interviewer chuckled, somehow he remained oblivious to the rising anger in the air and Ezra was almost convinced that he had an ass for a brain. "I'm sure all of MinJae's fans are curious to know. The IDOL members are the only senior idol group with no news on their soulmates after so many years. With those flower bonds and the way he reacted, rumours are that he's only just found his soulmate!"
"I have already told you-"
"And it's interesting how she experienced soul related injuries, knowing their bond. It must be ripped flowers, perhaps from an angry fan?" The interviewer continued with his speculation. "Or perhaps MinJae has angered her, maybe a fight over money? Is she poor? Someone unworthy of your status?"
What. The. Fuck.
Ezra would have punched the bastard in the gut already if Oliver's hand wasn't pressed against his arm. But even Oliver looked livid, ready to kick the guy in the nuts with one of his infamous dance moves. Someone must have exposed something in their expression, maybe Hikaru, maybe Sieon. Ezra couldn't tell from this angle, but it sent a ripple of glee through the interviewer. The bastard grinned, rubbing his hands together.
"I see! It's alright if she's ugly, as long as she has big tits-"
Ezra saw red. His chest bubbled with fire as anger flooded his system, hot and heavy. It held him in its clutches, tightening its claws on his skin. He was going to rip that bastard's head off. He was going to kick him in the balls and make sure he could never have children ever again. He was going to pulverise his face until his already ugly mug became even uglier. Ezra rose, fist clenched, pulling viciously out of Oliver's hold.
He was going to make sure that bastard's nose tore out from his head-
"I'm afraid we're cutting this interview short." Kangmin, their manager, stepped in before the interviewer continued. Behind him, the staff members of Airsound Entertainment were cutting the live interview, severing the connection as quickly as they could. The minute Kangmin stopped the asshole, the members of IDOL were out of their seats heading for the door. Oliver pulled Ezra along, dragging him out of the studio.
It was cold outside the studio. The icy wind slapped at their faces, turning pale cheeks red and pink. Normally, Ezra would grumble and groan about the temperature. He would become a ball of buzzing discontent, weak when faced with cold, but not today.
"That fucker. Let me punch that assh-" Ezra hissed roughly only to be muffled by a hand to his lips. Oliver held him back, his fingers tightening over his wrists. He growled, pulling his hand out of his friend's hold to glare at him.
"I'm angry as well, but we cannot make a scene." Oliver snapped back. "You know that! For her!" Ezra sobered at his words, although his expression remained stiff with his frustration. His best friend was right as always, making a scene would only bring more attention to the interview, and that was what the interviewer wanted.
Exposure.
"He was so mean! How could he-He!" Hikaru cried, rubbing his temples as he paced back and forth. "That was too much!" His eyes watered as his voice peaked.
"Don't cry Karu." Casper sighed, taking out a tissue to wipe at his tears. "Thankfully, Kangmin stopped him before he could continue." The leader smiled, an attempt to appease the situation. "Since the interview has been cut short, we can head back to see her earlier than expected. Isn't that good news?"
"Good news is Amber waking up!" Sieon snapped, crossing his arms. "Everything else is just bad fucking news."
"Sieon, don't be rude." Oliver replied, irked. "You think we don't feel the same way? Come on." The younger boy turned, looking down at his feet as he shifted about. Ezra could tell he was still a little angry and he wanted to take out that anger on someone. He didn't have the best of controls over his emotions, not that Ezra had a better one.
"Not JieMi." Sieon grumbled, his eyes shifting to the youngest. "JieMi doesn't feel a fucking thing!"
JieMi was quiet. He had been quiet the entire time, the entire day, the entire damn week. It was unlike him, to be this silent. Ezra could tell that he was trapped in his own inner turmoil, but not one of the members of IDOL wanted to deal with his crap. They were all more than just a little angry at him, more than just frustrated, for he was the catalyst of all their problems.
Usually, they gave in to the youngest, their baby, they would dry his tears and protect him. But not this time. No one was willing to really bring him out of his shell and so he remained, quiet and stuck within his little ball of unhappiness.
Too stubborn to make his own move to apologise to everyone.
JieMi looked startled at the sudden shift in attention to his person and he just shrugged. A pathetic little jerk of his shoulders that sent Ezra's blood boiling. Ezra didn't like how JieMi treated the situation. Even if JieMi wanted to be with Ha-eun, he should at least follow them when they visited Amber instead of camping out at his girlfriend's. He should at least wait until she was better before he left. Then again maybe it was better if he stayed out of their way.
End things before he could break Amber's heart.
"Your attitude," this time Oliver was the one to speak. He scoffed, looking indignant. "Seriously, JieMi?"
" This isn't the time for us to fight." Casper raised his hands, an attempt to bring their attention away from the youngest.
"I...Seriously, sometimes I just want to-" Oliver shook his head, unable to continue.
"I'm with you Liv." Ezra stated his own displeasure. He had enough of JieMi's bullshit. It was time the youngest got his own taste of medicine-
"Guys!" Casper bellowed and his voice rang, loud and clear across the carpark. The guys glanced at him, their lips downturned but they remained quiet. Casper always did hold a sort of authoritative power over the group, and he was always the one to break off fights whenever it got bad. "We've known each other for more than seven years, fought over thousands of dumb things. Our fights won't hurt us as much, because we're brothers, but things with her are different." He cleared his throat.
Casper glanced at the rest of the guys, his eyes sweeping over the group to meet their eyes. He spoke, "we cannot fuck this up. You hear me? We cannot fuck things up with her again. There is no second fucking time." This time, his voice trembled with his rage, but he swallowed his anger back, schooling his features into a more neutral look. His anger seemed to influence the group because immediately the tension dissipated, changing from one of anger and discontent to one of guilt and regret.
Casper continued. "A bond broken like this can only mean one thing." His voice was solemn. "She's thinking of breaking off this relationship, and I think we all don't want that. When she wakes up, and I have faith that she will, we will need to work to convince her that this will work, okay?" Casper's eyes shifted to JieMi. "Even if you don't want this, you can at least do that for us, right?"
The youngest blinked, his eyes widened as he shifted his weight. He opened his mouth looking as if he wanted to say something before snapping it shut to look down at his feet. He nodded jerkily, his actions a tad marionette-like.
"Yeah." He mumbled. "Fine."
Ezra shot him a look which JieMi did not return. Seriously, he didn't know whether JieMi wanted her or not. Sometimes, he spotted the younger boy crying to himself in the hallway of the hospital. His eyes would go teary whenever the doctor talked about her situation. Yet, he refused to see her. He refused to enter her room. He did not want any part in their skin touching sessions.
"Good." Casper's voice broke Ezra out of his thoughts. "Then let's wait for Kangmin-"