Moving Forward

21. Jungkook

I sat at the conference table at my office, suddenly nervous as I tried to comprehend what they were trying to tell me.

"You want our group to sign under my label?" Even I couldn't believe what I was saying. Bang PD-Nim, Jin and Namjoon hyungs were seated in front of me.

"Yes, Jungkook-ah. You have your own company now and who could take care of your brothers better than you?" Hitman Bang told me.

"We're just a small company. I'm the only artist for now. I do have trainees but it may take years before they're ready. Why me?"

"We don't want to go back to HYBE anymore, as we agreed. We don't need to have a big company. Yours is perfect. If you will allow all of us to invest in it, it will grow at a reasonable pace." Namjoon tried to explain. He knew me though. I may be the youngest but I'm far from being a pushover.

"All of you? Here?" I shook my head. I love these hyungs but they may just bully me for the rest of my life.

"This is a business proposal, Kook-ah." Jin spoke to me seriously. After our debut in 2013 and our success as a group up to 2022, we were all billionaires in our own right. "This is a way for us to go on as a group, beyond BTS."

"I'm sorry, you never mentioned anything while we were discussing at Jimin's. I am still learning the ropes of this business. I don't know if I can handle a group as large as ours." I said honestly. How can I manage BTS? Even HYBE encountered multiple issues while managing us in the past.

"I'm retired," Bang Si Hyuk assured me. "But I can join you in an advisory capacity. And more than just me, we have quite an illustrious legal counsel."

Namjoon had told me earlier about former President Moon Jae-in. I ran my hands through my hair, trying to take it all in.

"You won't be signing BTS, Jungkook. Just us, how we are now. BTS will remain with HYBE but we may strike an arrangement to use our BTS songs whenever we choose to. You will still be CEO, Jungkook-ah." Namjoon spoke carefully, knowing how overwhelming the task would now be.

"Hyung, this is too much." I never shied away from challenges, but our group was the biggest boyband in the world in 2022. It was now early 2033 and from how Taehyung and I tested the waters, our large ARMY was still out there, ready to be mustered by a single call. Although that meant sure success, I knew the tremendous amount of responsibility that our group's events and activities entailed. I didn't have the staff or the space for that. To secure each member alone would be quite costly.

"Breathe, Kook-ah." Jin tried to calm me down.

Bang Si Hyuk was smiling. "You won't be alone, Jungkook. All of us will support you. I know this business well, I'll guide you through everything I've learned from it."

A small cry escaped my throat as I stood up to pace the room. Could I do this?

Namjoon's eyes pleaded with me to take on the challenge. "Remember, we talked about the things we've learned from the accident, the things we want to change in the way we put ourselves forward as a group. I want us to have that chance to go out there with a more mature identity, and a new message. We can leave BTS in 2022 and move forward as Bulletproof."

"Our message will be more of an advocacy now. If we're successful, a large part of our income will go to those advocacies. And we'll encourage ARMY to also take part and help in their own areas," Jin reminded me of what we had discussed as part of our dreams if we were to continue. "We won't grow as large as HYBE, but I hope we'll bring more value."

I took a deep breath and tried to clear my head. "Can you give me time to think about this?" I'll have to ask our lawyers and my parents.

"Of course," Namjoon assured me. "You have until tomorrow. We have a muster to plan."

Jin laughed. Here we go, I could feel the panic rising to my throat.

After they left, I called Taehyung and told him everything. I was so overwhelmed, he could barely understand what I was saying.

"You're all grown up now, baby," he told me. I had always been the baby of the group, how could they put this responsibility on my shoulders?

"Jungkook-ah," Taetae-hyung said gently. "It's because you're the most capable among us. You've always been good at everything and I'm confident that you will also be an excellent PD-Nim to us now. I will not go for anyone else, Koo. It's you or nothing."

I held my head as I listened to him. Namjoon was my role model but Taehyung was my beacon of light. If this is what he wanted, what they all wanted, then I had no choice but to rise to the occasion. I would throw all my inadequacies away and jump in, blindly, not knowing where all this would take me, but trusting only in their faith in me and in my love for them.

Jeon PD-Nim, CEO of JK Ltd, Managing Company of Jeon Jungkook and Bulletproof.