Bittersweet

11

You stepped into the practice room and glanced around. You were a little early, but you intended on squeezing in a little bit of practice of songs of your choice before the BTS members came in to help you and Seo Yoon polish off your dancing. You had recently come across a choreography of Bang Bang by Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj that you thought was really cool. It wasn't too complicated, but you still really liked the choreography, so you had stayed after hours for a few days, teaching yourself.

You connected you phone to the speakers and played the song, moving easily to the choreography. Teaching yourself had actually been easier than you expected, but you could still use the practice. As you finished off the routine, you heard slow claps. You whipped around to see J-Hope, Jimin and Jungkook at the door. Jimin and Jungkook had their jaws hanging open while J-Hope was clapping, his expression admiring. J-Hope soon stopped clapping and walked towards you.

"You know, I don't even know why they wanted us to help you along when you're already clearly a top notch dancer."

You could feel the heat rise to your cheeks. You beamed at J-Hope.

"I could practice til I die and I still wouldn't be half as good as you, J-Hope-ssi."

J-Hope's face broke into a full on blinding smile.

"You're exaggerating. And also, forget stage names. You can call me Hobi. Or Hoseok. Either one is fine."

You smiled at him. Just then, Seo Yoon burst through the door, knocking over Jimin and Jungkook. She was out of breath, and her hair was uncharacteristically disheveled.

"Ya, Y/N-ah. Come quickly. It's Ji Woo."

You felt your blood freeze.

"What happened to Ji Woo?"

Seo Yoon shook her head.

"She won't talk to anyone. She wants to talk to you."

As if just realizing that the BTS members were there, Seo Yoon bowed and apologized to them. She turned back to you, the urgency clear in her eyes.

"Now, Y/N-ah. Please."

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You rested your head on Ji Woo's bleached one as she sobbed into your shoulder. You rubbed her back comfortingly, still confused. When you had shown up, Ji Woo had launched herself into your arms, letting loose a wave of fresh sobs. She'd been crying on your shoulder for a solid 40 minutes and still hadn't said anything.

What did strike you as strange, though, was the fact that all the members had been there except Soo Jin. It made you wonder if Soo Jin somehow had a role in Ji Woo's ordeal.

"Ya, Ji Woo-ya. What happened?"

Ji Woo sat up, still in her modeling clothes, her mascara dripping down her face.

"Ji Woo-ya. You can tell me what happened. It's okay. I'll help you out, whatever it is."

Ji Woo shook her head.

"No, unnie. You can't."

You frowned slightly.

"What happened?"

Ji Woo took a deep breath and started speaking, her voice trembling.

"I-I heard of this happening to other idols before, but I never thought it would happen to me."

Ji Woo looked up at you, her eyes watery.

"Unnie, you've heard of how some models and idols were forced into sleeping with the CEOs of their companies, right? I was sure it wouldn't happen here because Big Hit tries their best to ensure we stay out of trouble. It was in the contract when I signed it. B-but when I went to the modeling agency today, the male manager who was in charge of my contract told me that the contract was off unless I slept with him and the CEO and the dressmaker."

Your jaw dropped. Big Hit had strict rules when allowing other agencies to collaborate with their idols. They always ensured their idols safety especially in these cases.

"You refused, right?"

Ji Woo nodded.

"But that's not it, unnie. When I refused, he told me that Soo Jin unnie had promised him that I'd do it, and when I refused and told them that I'd tell Big Hit, they threatened to start rumors about me."

You froze.

"Soo Jin? Did you say Soo Jin?"

Ji Woo nodded.

"That's what he told me."

Your jaw clenched. You stood up and went to the door, opening it up a little. Jae Hwa rushed to the door, her expression worried.

"What happened? Is Ji Woo okay?"

You shook your head, your expression serious.

"Unnie. Get Soo Jin. Wherever she is. She has some explaining to do."

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Soo Jin scowled at Ji Woo.

"You should've just accepted, you b-"

"Shut up Soo Jin."

Soo Jin turned her glare onto you. Ji Woo was nestled between you and Jae Hwa, while Seo Yoon glared at Soo Jin.

"Soo Jin-ah. How dare you. How dare you endanger one of our group members, plotting to let 3 men exploit her. Why did you even do it?"

Soo Jin tossed her head and glared at the wall, not meeting Seo Yoon's eyes.

"I should've been the face of the group. Not Ji Woo. I deserved it. Not her. Look at her. She looks like a pole. She's not even visually pleasing. I deserved to be it but she took my title. If she slept with them, she'd be kicked out of the company. And then I'd get what I deserve."

You shook your head.

"No, Soo Jin. She didn't take your title. She was given that title. You weren't. Ji Woo is one of our most talented members. She's beautiful, she has a strong presence and she's a brilliant rapper. That's why she got the title."

Soo Jin sneered at you, opening her mouth to retaliate. But before she could get a word out, Seo Yoon cut in.

"Don't you dare say another word, Soo Jin-ah. You're the leader, a visual and the main vocalist. Be happy with your position. A leader is more vital to the group than any other member. And if you continue trying to bring your members down, nobody will ever get to debut. Why do you keep doing this to your own group members? You stole Y/N's song, you sabotaged Jae Hwa's recording, you put pollen in my make up to make me break out in allergy bumps and now you try ruining Ji Woo's life. We could report what you did to Big Hit and get you kicked out, you know. And then the rest of us could debut in peace without you trying to drag all of us down."

Soo Jin's jaw clenched.

"You don't understand. None of you ever will. I have to be the best. But I can't be can I? First Y/N was scouted, and everyone fell head over heels for her. She stole my spotlight. Whatever I've done was to get it back. I don't care what happens to you or anyone else. I have to be the best."

With that, Soo Jin turned on her heel and stormed out of the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Soo Jin's obsession with being the best has gone to new levels. But, the whole forcing female (sometimes even male if I'm not wrong) idols to sleep with CEOs, managers, and whoever else is pretty common in the K-Pop industry. I'm not actually sure if Big Hit has rules against other companies taking advantage of their idols during a collab, but I imagine they do, because Big Hit tries their best to actually care for their idols' safety.