Byeol let's Yugyeom tell the boys
Byeol sighed as she laid on the couch. The rest of the members were supposed to be coming over soon too talk. She was finally getting back to her old self and she felt more at ease talking about this with her members. But she did give Yugyeom permission to tell them beforehand, so they didn't have to waste time.
In her mind, they needed an action plan. This was negative press caused by her and she needed to find a way to counteract it. Yugyeom had assured her a million times over that it wasn't negative press—just something that came out that wasn't necessarily happy. She had scoffed, not listening and still trying to come up with a game plan.
"MOON!" She let out an 'oompf' as Jackson jumped on top of her. "You're crushing me!" She said, trying to push him off and Jackson scoffed, feigning offense. "I can't believe you would say such a thing to me." She chuckled, rolling her eyes and playfully punching his shoulder. "If you squish her then I'll be pissed I spent all this money on food," Jaebeom muttered.
Byeol couldn't look at him. She felt like she had somehow let him down. She kept a secret and it caused their group to be shrouded in negative press. It caused the group to have unnecessary stress. It caused drama for the company and the group. She hated that she was the cause of more stress lines on his face and frowning. "Thanks," she said quietly, not making eye contact.
Youngjae crawled behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her back into his chest. She patted his arms, half-looking at him with a large smile. "Happy belated birthday, oppa. Sorry I missed dinner." He chuckled, patting her stomach. "It's fine, Moon. Don't worry about it. Besides, you sent me a fruit basket."
Mark sat in front of them, offering her a warm smile. She started playing with his hair and he sighed, leaning his head back on the couch. "I missed that." He said, already half asleep and Byeol laughed. "I'm more than happy to massage your head anytime." She said and he grunted in response.
"So," Jaebeom said and everyone quieted down. BamBam sat by Byeol's feet and she happily laid them over his lap. She was still refusing to make eye contact with their leader, shame and guilt starting to consume her. "Yugyeom-ssi told us about what you two talked about the other day."
She stiffened a little and Youngjae grabbed her hand, rubbing small circles on the back of it to try and ease her. "Why didn't you tell us?" Jinyoung asked and she looked at him, not sure how to answer. "I—I don't have an answer." She said quietly and Jinyoung sighed. "I just can't believe that we were all that stupid and didn't realize way back then."
She shook her head, sitting up a little. "I didn't want to cause you guys extra stress. Or worry. It was over and done with and I just didn't want something like this to happen." Jaebeom raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean something like this?" She bit her bottom lip, not saying anything.
"Moon-ah, look at me." He said with a stern voice and she gulped before looking up at him. "What did you mean something like this?" She shrugged, leaning her head back on Youngjae's chest who only nodded at her in encouragement. "I just—I feel like I've brought so much negativity to our group the past two months and I never wanted that. It's why I never said anything in the first place."
Jaebeom opened his mouth to speak but closed it again. He wasn't sure quite what to say. Obviously, none of them thought that she had brought any bad press. And honestly, there wasn't any bad press. It was just reporters looking for the next best story. It didn't reflect anything on her or them as a group. Why she thought that he had no idea.
"Moon, you can't honestly believe that?" He asked and she shrugged, biting her bottom lip again. He shook his head. "You've brought no bad press to any of us or you even before we debuted. This isn't bad press, it's just a story someone pushed out. It hasn't caused any issues. Except for issues with yourself."
She sighed, nodding her head. "I don't mean that in a bad way, Moon." He said gently and she offered him a small smile. "We just need to game plan how to fix it." She said and Jaebeom chuckled, shaking his head. "The only game plan we need is figuring out how to help you get through this." She cocked her head, confused.
BamBam smacked her shin and she glared at him. "Don't go an act all confused, princess. You know that you've been weird the past two months. We need the old Moon back because it's boring just to annoy Yugyeom." Yugyeom rolled his eyes and Byeol laughed.
"I'm getting better, little by little. There's not much to do. Just be patient with me?" They all said a course of agreements before Jackson jumped up, running to the kitchen and coming back with bottles of beer and soju. "Yah! Some of us have things to do tomorrow." Jinyoung scolded him but Jackson just waived him off.
"Not all of us are famous actors. Which means we can get drunk on a Wednesday night." Byeol grinned, sitting up and grabbing a bottle of beer and opening it, chugging it down. "Yes! My girl is back!" Jackson said, opening his own, but he only sipped it. Yugyeom and BamBam quickly took a few shots of soju before grabbing their own beer.
Jaebeom and Youngjae grabbed theirs and were just enjoying watching the younger ones enjoy themselves. "I'm glad to see my little troublemaker making an appearance." Jaebeom said and Byeol stuck her tongue out at him before taking a shot of soju. Jinyoung sighed, picking up his own bottle of alcohol before sitting next to Jaebeom and Youngjae.
Mark raised an eyebrow. "Don't you have filming tomorrow?" Jinyoung shrugged, taking a sip of his drink. Jaebeom only smirked. "Everyone calls in sick now and then."
