Jungkook's Love • JJK

Seventy One

Jungkook's heart beat furiously in his chest staring at the camera, only the knowledge that he somehow had to salvage the situation, and three of his hyungs at his back kept him from bailing. They'd arranged themselves in the kitchen, the camera on the counter nestled into it's tripod, his chair directly in front, their three chairs off to the sides but visible.

The plan was for Jungkook to say what they'd agreed upon, and then Namjoon would repeat it in English. They'd take a little break where he planned to talk about their concert, Jin had a few things he planned to say, Jimin as well. Then for anyone who'd joined late he'd explain his boundaries again, Namjoon would translate a second time. After that they'd decided to just monitor chat, see how things were going, maybe sing karaoke, talk more about the tour, whatever felt natural.

They'd taken a long time writing out the script, but Jungkook knew in the moment he'd probably just say what was on his heart. What mattered now was defusing the bomb Mina had set for detonation, and he could do that by rallying the truly faithful Army.

He didn't really think it would relieve all the issues, but at least for those that supported and loved him unconditionally it would give him a chance to explain. Jungkook watched the viewer count surpass three million, something they'd counted on happening quickly with the drama so fresh and he smiled halfheartedly into the camera lens.

"Hello, Hi, welcome." The number kept growing and he took a deep breath silently reminding himself to strike the right balance, keep his voice and tone appropriate.

"I wanted to come here with all of you tonight because there's some very harmful and personal things going around about me right now. I wanted to show you my face and let everyone know that I'm not going to apologize for having a private life." Jungkook said the words carefully, his intention wasn't to admonish Army or to seem as if he felt superior or appear condescending.

"BTS and Army are there for each other, but with us as performers, as your idols, and you as our fans. We love and support each other, entertain each other, inspire each other. It doesn't entitle either of us to tell the other how to live. My private life has been invaded in one of the worst ways, and people are saying things about me and people around me that they don't even know that are very disrespectful and unhealthy." He felt like he was getting the hang of it, his chest loosening as he said the words that were true. Words he hoped that the majority of Army was listening and agreeing with as he spoke.

"I love Army." As he said this he held up his hand, his tattoos dedicated to Army a visible reminder of how grateful and warm he felt toward them.

"I want to be your idol for as long as I'm capable of singing. We've promised to love each other for as long as we can. But I also want to be Jungkook, the person, with friends, family, and a life that isn't in the public eye unless I choose to put it there." He looked into the camera, waiting, he'd almost said 'relationships' instead of family but that might have added fuel to the blazing fire.

Jungkook looked over his shoulder at Namjoon and nodded, his hyung scooted his chair forward and started talking. He admired the easy way his leader communicated, his words said in a deep tone that asked for seriousness but also felt like he was speaking to friends. He didn't recognize every English word, but what he did seemed as close to what he'd intended to say as Namjoon probably knew how to translate. He glanced down at his phone where he'd logged into the live with a staff account to read comments.

'Finally speaking up!', 'Thank you Joonie for the translation', 'I still hate the girl with the lingerie', 'Support Jungkookie', 'I love Gukkie', 'Everyone better leave our bunny alone!', 'He better not have a girlfriend', 'Jimin!!!', 'Jin is so handsome',  'Kookie should at least apologize for those pics, gross', 'We support you Kook!'