My Idol

Chapter 23

Taehyung nervously rubbed his sweaty hands on his pants, looking around the makeup room, hoping something would ease his nervousness, but nothing did.

Namjoon was sitting a few feet away, looking relaxed as ever, while reading a book, while a makeup artist fixed his hair and another dabs powder on his face.

The idol looks at the mirror, taking in his appearance. He looked great.

HYBE's makeup artists had expressed their concerns over his thin and worn-out face and had done their best to hide all his dark circles, and they had done a great job. His face looked flawless, and he looked like a healthy person for once.

He sighs, wondering when he would be able to do this again? Would this really be his last performance? Will he really be able to leave this music industry after this? But the biggest question was, Was this really what he wanted?

Does he really want to leave this life for which he worked day and night? Would he even be able to move on?

Today morning, Jimin barged into his house and gave him a brief detail on everything with the information that he would be filing a lawsuit against CUBE tomorrow. He had listened attentively and somewhat grimly to his best friend and hyung, who showed him all the papers and proof they had kept with them throughout these years.

It included the bank details, the transactions, and the times when the company made him pay for the loss, which, ideally, the company should bear.

Everything was written in great detail about it, along with his health reports and the name of the doctor who had agreed to talk on his side and given his written statement about everything the company had said. There were some recordings, which Taehyung doesn't know how Yoongi got, but he believes it must be Jimin's work.

They had spent 5 hours going through every detail, and Yoongi had said that he had more and would submit them later when the time would come for witnesses to speak.

Taehyung sighed, eyes brimming with tears, wondering if he was making a mistake and maybe if he waited a little longer and everything would become bearable? What if he does one more concert for his fans to thank them for supporting him loyally? Will he be able to do it?

Just one more concert and one last song for them as a goodbye? Can he do this?

The pain in his head and back was the answer. He can't. He's broken, no longer the healthy, strong, and independent idol he was used to. In the place of his old self, only a part of him is left, a broken piece that would collapse with a gentle breeze.

"Taehyung-ssi, are you alright? Can you perform while standing, or should we add chairs on the stage?" Taehyung looked up, surprised to see Yujin standing while Namjoon was looking at him, concern flooding his eyes.

Taehyung shakes his head, passing her a small smile. "It's alright, I can stand. " The idol says and gets up from the seat to prove his point. Yujin smiles and nods before signaling the other staff to open the doors for them.

With a sigh, Taehyung grabbed the mic and exited the makeup room, following the staff members among the narrow path to the stage. As they got closer, he could listen to the loud cheers and shouts of the crowd. Would this really be the last time he got to hear this?

But Taehyung holds back his tears and goes to the stage, hearing the loud cheers of his and Namjoon's names. There weren't many familiar faces, but he saw Jungkook holding the lightstick with the TXT group.

He almost laughed when he saw Yoongi holding a banner with his and Namjoon's name written in bold letters decorated with purple hearts. He could barely keep his laughter, but then he focused on Namjoon, hoping not to break his character.