A "Little" Surprise

What Really Matters

if you haven't already- PLEASE READ THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER. It has been UPDATED since the first time it was posted, and it is no longer one sentence long. this chapter will not make sense if you haven't read the NEW VERSION. thank you <3

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"Before you begin," Jungkook interrupted their manager. "I'd like to know- are we in any danger at our dorm? There's no way someone could trace my old phone number to our address, right?"

"That is impossible," Sejin assured him. "I promise you boys are completely safe. If I had even the slightest suspicion your address could be leaked, I'd be there with the security team myself."

"Okay," Jungkook nodded to himself. "Thank you. Sorry for cutting you off."

"Not a problem, Jungkook ah." Sejin's voice was fond as he spoke. "As I was saying, after much prying, the police gave me a brief summary of the investigation so far. The phone number that was threatening you, Jungkook, is listed as belonging to an elderly woman who had reported her phone stolen two weeks prior to the night at the mall. The same number was also recorded calling into the Kye at the mall, and the call records show a computerized voice asking for store hours."

"So the theft was obviously pre-planned at least two weeks in advance," Namjoon heaved a sigh of relief. "And the person wasn't planning on targeting Taehyung and Jungkook. That's good. That means they weren't being stalked unaware."

"Yes, and proof of premeditation means more jail time for the criminal once he's caught," Yoongi pointed out. "Extra time rotting in prison is just what he deserves after what he did to Kook and Tae."

"About that," Sejin's voice pinched, sounding resigned, like he knew what he was about to say wouldn't go over well. "I suppose now is as good a time as any to tell you - assuming I'm on speaker and they can hear me - Jungkook, Taehyung, Sihyuk has just ordered that we do not press stalking or harassment charges on this man."

"What?!" Surprisingly, it was Jimin who scoffed disbelievingly and ripped the phone out of Hoseok's hand. "With all due respect, surely he can't expect us to follow that order?" Jimin spat into the receiver, swatting Hoseok's arm away as the rapper tried to take his phone back. "That's absurd! Sihyuk nim cannot expect us to do nothing and allow this man to get away with his crime! After everything he's put Jungkook and Taehyung through? Absolutely not. I refuse."

"Jimin," Taehyung lightly grabbed hold of Jimin's elbow and tugged him closer, the comforting touch calming Jimin enough for Hoseok to snatch his phone back. "Let's hear Sejin nim out before we jump to hysterics. I'm sure Sihyuk nim has a good reason behind this."

"Did he say why we're not allowed to press charges?" Jungkook asked tersely, his lips pressed tightly in a thin line of displeasure.

"Yes," Sejin sounded apologetic. "Firstly, if you pressed charges, the photo would be brought up in court as evidence. Taehyung ah, do you really want that many people seeing such a private photo of yourself? This would involve attorneys, the judge, a possible jury, and so on."

Taehyung nodded slowly, his lips twisted in a frown. "No, I wouldn't want that."

"Secondly, there would be no way for us to keep this from the media. Even if we had a private trial, there will always be records that journalists can access. Do you and Jungkook want the media to know about this? Isn't that why we went to such lengths to hide it to begin with? It would be a scandal."

"Yeah... it would be humiliating if word got out to the public," Jungkook admitted. "And most importantly, if we press charges, we're admitting that the photo is real. We worked so hard to make it seem fake in case the photo was leaked- it'd be really dumb to press charges now," he chuckled humorlessly. "We really shot ourselves in the foot, didn't we? If we don't press charges he gets away with a crime, but if we press charges then we out ourselves for him. Either way, he wins."