Soongyu - For All To See

:: New Beginnings ::

   The lights of cameras flickered across their faces, bright bursts of white feeling temporarily blinding. Seungcheol, Soonyoung and Mingyu sat in a row with Seungcheol in the center, their postures straight on the rigid chairs they were seated upon. Hands clasped neatly in their laps whilst reporter after reporter probed them with questions.
   Two days had passed since all the members had come together to agree they'd help Mingyu and Soonyoung in any way they could. At first Seungcheol had declined, saying they couldn't do something so recklessly. However it was eventually Jihoon and Jeonghan who brought him around to the idea.

   He finally had a whole team, a family on his side, so now the task of protecting a relationship didn't feel as daunting as it had initially been. It was agreed that a press conference would be held the moment news outlets started approaching PLEDIS Entertainment. Their producers and management teams had also quizzed them on what was going on, taking member after member into different rooms one by one. Making sure all answers matched up.
   Their management still seemed suspicious however all thirteen members had planned perfectly thanks to Jihoon's brains and Seungkwan's deviousness. Although Soonyoung didn't feel so confident with the excuse they'd made - it at least worked.

   "So as you see, after fans had chased and harassed both Mingyu and Soonyoung, they went to hide and await their management team to bring them home. However, the whole situation was very straining for Soonyoung. He has been under a lot of pressure with work lately and perfecting choreography - as you know, he is essential to our team just like all our members, but Soonyoung here is perhaps one of the ones who works the hardest. After the incident, the stress of it all caused Soonyoung to have a panic attack of sorts in which Mingyu was the only person available to offer comfort and keep him grounded throughout the episode." Seungcheol spoke with such firmness and authority, not allowing a single pause in which any reporter could try and break the story apart.

   A member of their staff moved in front of the table the three were seated at and addressed the reporters. "There's nothing more to it than that. I ask that reporters and fans please respect the member's privacy to avoid incidents of this caliber in the future. Thank you." 

   Everyone knew how hard it would be to rip that story apart; Seungkwan used this to his advantage. Soonyoung watched as Seungcheol stood from his seat and both Mingyu and Soonyoung followed suit, bowing forward before departing alongside their managers whilst cameras continued to flash, the flurry of questions from reporters asking if Soonyoung was alright now began drowning out as they left the room.

   Soonyoung let out a sigh of relief as they entered their waiting room near to the conference room they'd just been inside of. Mingyu seemed to mimic Soonyoung's relief, his back pressing against their closed door, head tilted up to look at the ceiling as he groaned.
   "I thought that'd never end." Mingyu muttered softly.

   Seungcheol loosened the tie around his neck and leaned back against a desk, eyeing the two members in front of him. "This was just the start I'm afraid. You both know you can't slip up from now on or this whole story falls apart. It took a lot of convincing to even make our producers believe this story, since Soonyoung has had no history of anxiety attacks or anything of the like."

   Soonyoung grazed his teeth over his lower lip and sat down at the chair to the side of where Seungcheol was stood. This was the part of the story Soonyoung hadn't liked; using something like anxiety as a lie, when so many people genuinely suffered with such an issue. Yes idols had stressful lives and many fell into the grasps of depression. Sure, Soonyoung also had days of feeling overworked with a lot of pressure resting on his shoulders; he played a large part in every single one of their song's choreographies. Everything had to be perfect and in that regards, he was quite the perfectionist. So there were plenty of times when he would feel down and dejected - yet he'd never had a panic attack of any sort, so he truly felt bad using such a reason as a lie. But Seungkwan's argument in favour of the excuse truly was flawless.