Tension [JEONGMIN]

Chapter 17

Jimin

"Fuck this shit" he thought as he stared at some images sent to his phone.

They were of him and Seulgi. But none of them had been taken under their consent or knowledge.

He had just attended a private meeting with his manager and the CEO of Bighit Entertainment himself, Bang Si-Hyuk.

Jimin had met him a million times before, given the fact that they had started off very small, their relationship with their CEO was much closer than a professional work relationship would be.
However this meeting had been of quite unfamiliar and uncomfortable nature to him. It had left a sour taste in his mouth.
Not that the CEO had been harsh on him, in fact he had been very considerate. As artists under Bighit, him nor his members had ever been under dating restrictions.

Their creative and personal freedom was placed at a high value within the company.

But there was always two sides to achieving success. They were very much influential and well known public figures now. After the release of their studio album "Wings" their popularity, which had already been at a good height, had increased tremendously.

Even though this had been their goal from the start, he now felt that perhaps they had taken the repucussions too lightly.

They had next to no personal life. They rarely got to see their families and the workload they had to endure in order to maintain and further develop their status had become both physically and mentally draining.

They had continuously been on tour for the past few months, and it still wasn't over. They had travelled non stop and performed for their fans, trying to keep up their energy as much as possible.

On top of all this they had started preparing for a new album with an entirely new concept. This meant they also had to record and practice new songs, choreography while also contributing in the producing and songwriting process.

Their new album was about to be released in a few days and they were already out of energy.

At times he felt like the stress of it all was going to engulf him. The only comfort was knowing that he had six other people who were going through the exact same situation as him.
Some members were dealing with it better than others.

He was particularly concerned about Taehyung, who had to endure personal grievences amidst all this.
He was starting to sense a change within his bestfriend.

Their new concept was based on self love and acceptance, but right then he felt they were placed in a rather ironic situation, not being able to personally follow through with the message they would be preaching to their fans.

He got up from the chair he sat on and headed to their practice room where the rest of his members were wandering around.

They all looked nervous and apprehensive and looked up immediately as soon as he entered the door.
His heart warmed at their concerned expeessions.

"How did it go?" Namjoon inquired.

Besides him, Namjoon was the only other member in a relationship at that moment. However he was dating a non celebrity. She was a family friend, therefore his lovelife was guarded well unlike Jimin's.

The others went on dates once in awhile but they were nothing serious.
Jungkook and Yeri seemed to be stuck between friends and lovers, and he felt as if his head would explode everytime he tried to make sense of it.

Dispatch, the shameless organisation dedicated to sorting out "scandals and controversies" of Korean celebrities for cheap publicity, had set their target on Jimin.
And unfortunately according to the standards of Korean Pop Culture, dating was a crime.

"Fucking vultures " he thought, gritting his teeth.

He couldn't believe he had to deal with this bullshit with all the problems he already had.

"Well.." he started, sitting down on the floor while the other members copied his actions.

"He said he would pay them"

The others sighed in relief but he wasn't anywhere close to being happy.
He felt like a burden.
The members seemed to understand what he was feeling.

"Hey don't worry about it, you have a right to a private life. And if money is what it takes to keep that intact then so be it" said Yoongi reassuringly.

Jimin smiled slightly.

"Yeah I guess.."

"And that's money the group earned. Including you" pointed out Taehyung.

"I know I know...it's just that..they'll probably keep trying.
The amount they had asked for isn't even that big, so they'll probably come back for more" he tried to explain.

"What I'm saying is...I don't think I can deal with this right now" he let out the inevitable thought he had been holding in for days.

The others stared at him, sudden realisation hitting their faces simultaneously.
He felt it was rather amusing to watch.

"So.." Jungkook started, looking confused, "you wanna break up with her?"

"No!" he said automatically but then retracted his answer in a small voice.

"I don't know.."

"Do you..you know...are you in love with her?" asked Hoseok, an uncharacteristically serious expression on his face.

Jimin felt his face burn.

"Um...love is a strong word" he said looking down.

"So you DON'T?" Jungkook questioned looking even more confused.

"Look" Jin intervened, suddenly occupying his role as the eldest, "what matters is if you are willing to carry the burden along with your career.
To be honest there might come a time when this could actually be a danger to your career, I'm hoping it won't come to that, but if it does, are you ready to take on all of it?"

They all stared at Jin in awe of his sudden speech. Even though he was the oldest, he rarely forced his age on them. It was a rare occurrence for him to give an intense opinion such as this.

Jimin fell back and rested his head on the wall. Jin had a point. It was something he had been thinking about at the back of his mind.

Was Seulgi special to him? Of course.
She was sometimes his one escape, his one link to a normal life.
She was an amazing person.

But they rarely got to meet and whenever they did, he had started to feel the distance growing between them. He knew she was also under a lot of pressure. They liked eachother very much but were they committed enough to risk their careers?
Perhaps not.
He was in a team and so was she.
Despite the hardships, he wanted to climb higher and higher and he knew she did too.

💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

Sorry for the miserable chapter😪
Thanks for reading😊