Faltering Steps • J-Hope

xxii.

"What?" Namjoon asked, his eyes widening.

"Say that again?" Jin asked.

The producer gave a small smile. "S.M. Entertainment has given BigHit to make a basic statement that Hoseok was injured recently. We can't incriminate EXO or SME in any way, of course, but at least the fans will be able to understand what Hoseok is going through."

Namjoon just stood there with his mouth open.

Yoongi, though, wasn't satisfied. "Why now? And what does SME get out of it?"

The producer scratched the back of his neck. "Well, that's the thing. I can't see it benefitting them in anyway. But it'll help BTS for sure, as we've taken a bit of negative feedback on Hobi's lack of performance."

Yoongi frowned. "Was it one of the EXO members who requested this?"

The producer hesitated before nodding. "How did you know?"

Yoongi just smiled. He'd told Sehun that apologizing wasn't enough, and it looked like Sehun had pulled through for them.

***

A statement was released to the press the next morning, reading as follows:

Within the past several months, BTS member Jung Hoseok was injured during a car accident. He has been working for a full recovery, but as of yet, he is still struggling to perform choreography and will likely never be able to perform it perfectly. That said, Hoseok will continue on with BTS as a full member despite the possibility of being removed from live performances.

***

And by that afternoon, thousands of fans had commented on the statement:

[☀️☀️☀️]: IS MY SUNSHINE OKAY?!

[Hobi-t]: i had no idea!! why wasn't this released sooner?!

[hobihobihobi]: all them haters should feel awful about themselves. J-Hope has been working to recover this whole time and hasn't said anything and people have him sh*t about his performance while he was injured 😡

[btsunshine]: keep working hard Hobi!!! We support you!!

[hardcorearmy]: jhoooooope we love you, don't stop performing!!!

[hobihubby]: sorry for changing my bias after your last performance!! ;-; forgive me!! (you're my bias again and I swear I'll never change it)

[boymeetsevil]: we're here for you Hobi! don't give up! you're our hope, you're our angel!! 😇

[btsBOI]: HOBI GET BACK UP ON THAT STAGE! I'M BUYING TICKETS RN AND I WANT TO SEE YOU!!! ❤️❤️❤️

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***

Hobi looked up. "What?"

Tae shoved his phone into Hobi's hands. "Here. Look."

Hobi briefly glanced down to see that it was the same chat room from earlier. The last time he'd seen it had been the morning after his last performance, where all the BTS fans were complaining about how poorly he'd done.

Hobi pushed the phone away, not looking at the screen. "Tae, I really don't want to-"

"Read them," Tae interrupted as he kept shoving the phone at Hobi.

"Fine! Jeez," Hobi mumbled, directing his eyes down to the screen and reading the comments. He was hesitant at first, but then he kept going, faster and faster, until he looked up at Tae, shocked. "What? How did they find out? Won't BigHit take negative publicity over this?"

Tae grinned, shaking his head. "EXO's entertainment group gave permission, as long as they aren't specifically named. But look, Hobi. All the ARMY's are supporting you. And they want you to keep performing. So it looks like you're going to be dancing again."

Hobi bit his lip. "But, I'll mess up...and I'll make you guys look bad...I can't," he mumbled, but Tae chopped him on the head.

"Shut up and just say yes," Tae commanded.

"...Yes."

aaaaand that's all folks. hope you enjoyed!
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