Trusting (KTH)

Chapter 33

Clara and Taehyung were stunned into silence. Taehyung's mouth was moving but no words were coming out while Clara simply looked horrified, frozen like a statue. It was only a few moments before Clara quickly handed the infant to Taehyung and ran into their bedroom slamming the door shut behind her. Even with the distance they could both hear her retching into the toilet.

Taehyung remained immobilized, staring at Namjoon with a million questions but no words to articulate them.

Now that Namjoon had ripped the band aid off he suddenly felt like he could think again. Holding his hands out for the baby he told Taehyung that he should go and check on Clara to make sure she was ok. Taehyung sprung up and followed after Clara, certain she wasn't ok but not sure how to help. He also thought throwing up and hiding in the bathroom forever might be the best idea.

Clara was done purging by the time he got there but remained collapsed in front of the toilet, forehead resting on her arms which were supported on the toilet lid.

"Hey sweetheart, are you feeling ok?" Taehyung crouched down next to her so he could rub her back.

Clara shook her head no. Really what kind of question was that anyway? How could she possibly be ok?

"I know baby, I know." He tried to console the girl but didn't have many ideas. "Let's rinse your mouth and try to rest a bit. Do you want to go back to the bed?"

Clara shook her head no again but allowed Taehyung to help her up and assist her in rinsing her mouth. Supporting her weight he guided her to rejoin Namjoon in the living room, picking up the little cub on the way who was starting to move around in his crib and likely to get fussy at any moment.

Taehyung covered his little head with kisses and held him tight against his body. He knew he needed a diaper change and would be hungry but he didn't feel like he could leave Clara even for a minute. Further, he needed to find out what exactly Namjoon was talking about.

As soon as they started trying to talk again the cub began to fuss which caused the little tiger to begin crying too. Efforts to calm them just weren't working, the boys likely picking up on the tension in the room and irritated that they weren't experiencing their normal morning routine.

Namjoon gave Taehyung and Clara a sad smile. "Just a minute, let me get my parents so they can take the boys for a bit, ok?"

Namjoon slipped out of the room while Taehyung tried to comfort the boy in his arms to limited success. He breathed a sigh of relief when Namjoon returned almost immediately with his parents in tow. Wordlessly they took the two boys, they already had a few basic supplies in their room, and shushed them as they quietly slipped back out the door to their room.

The entire time Clara's face was hidden in her hands.

Taehyung hadn't even let Namjoon sit back down when he asked him to start from the beginning and then immediately began peppering him with questions before he could even respond.

Namjoon held up his hands, trying to get Taehyung to pause long enough so he could share the situation. "Well, I have good news and I have bad news. In good news the video isn't really circulating on the regular internet. Not surprisingly it was circulated on the dark web so it has had a more limited audience."

Clara made a small squeaking noise at the word "audience" but made no additional move to uncover her face.

Namjoon continued. "In bad news that means the company didn't find out about it for a while. When the first mentions of it began popping up on social media they weren't sure what it was even about. A few stills from the video began circulating very limitedly on social media which set off a frenzied search. So while it hasn't gone very far, unfortunately it's been online for much longer than we'd like and it has quite a few views."

Clara once again shook, still unwilling to uncover her face.

"Have you seen it?" Taehyung asked. "I mean, are you sure it is real?"

"No Tae, I haven't seen it. The manager offered but I declined. I trusted the company when they said it was authentic."

Each question brought Clara further into the dark reality of the situation at hand. The thought that Namjoon, who was basically a brother to her, might have seen this was a new type of torture. She wasn't sure how she could ever face the company staff or managers again. Humiliated didn't even begin to scratch the surface of where she was at.

"I want to see it," Taehyung demanded. Now Clara did look up. How could he possibly watch such a thing? Taehyung noted her shock and pulled her a bit closer while he spoke to her directly. "It's better to see it and know than to imagine the worst. You don't have to watch, I can do it myself, ok?"

Clara buried her face in his chest. Honestly she thought the idea of even Taehyung watching it was horrifying. How could she ever show her face again? With anyone?

Namjoon nodded and stood to get a manager who could show Taehyung the video. While he was gone Taehyung tried to talk to Clara about it but she refused to budge, face buried in his arm.

The manager walked in with a secured device to show the video and sat on the other side of Taehyung.

"Are you ready?"

Taehyung nodded in agreement and the video began. Sounds of the two of them coupling surrounded Clara even if she wasn't watching. She flinched and Taehyung immediately asked the manager to silence the video.

It was silent. Namjoon staring out the window in an effort to offer even a little bit of privacy, Clara scrunched closer into Taehyung's arm, and Taehyung watching the video. The manager similarly seemed focused on the wall in front of him, trying to maintain a modicum of the couple's dignity even though he'd already been forced to watch the entire thing.

Clara couldn't understand why it was silent for long. The video surely couldn't be that long could it? How much was there to see? Periodically she felt Taehyung tense next to her, often followed by a deep sigh.

The video played for what felt like ages before Taehyung closed the cover and handed it back to the manager, throwing his head back onto the couch, not yet ready to talk.

Namjoon looked at him with concern. "How is it?"

"Bad. It's just...bad."

After a brief pause the manager stood up to excuse himself. Namjoon caught him before he left.

"Please tell the rest of the guys at the meeting what happened. I expect we might be a while. I want a list of everyone at the company that has seen the video and absolutely nobody else watches it without my specific permission, got it? Nobody."

The manager bowed in acknowledgement before sliding out the door, making sure it latched softly behind him.

Namjoon turned back to Taehyung. "Do you have any doubts that it's real?"

Taehyung hung his head. "No Hyung. It's definitely real. It was the day we celebrated Clara's pregnancy. Someone must have hidden a camera in our hotel room."

Namjoon fell back in his chair deflating further. His one hope was ruled out. "I have never dreaded a conversation so much in my life but I think we need to talk about it."