Beyond Repair (Min Yoongi)

21. Persona

The deafening roar of screaming fans and questioning reporters, coupled with the nearly blinding spotlights and flashing cameras the second Bangtan Sonyeondan emerged from the curtains, almost made Suga break character. He kept his cool, though, walking with his head held high to his assigned spot at the table in the middle of the stage. Bang Si Hyuk was already standing off to the side, and Suga and the other members collectively bowed in greeting to the CEO, then to the audience, before taking their seats.

Suga's back was already starting to ache from sitting on a stool with no back support, but the members of BTS already sat so close together during interviews and the like, he was sure he could be inconspicuous enough that no one would think twice about him leaning on Jimin to remain upright.

"Hello," Si Hyuk started the conference exactly on time. He smiled out at the crowd from his place next to the table. Everything about his demeanour radiated confidence, from his posture to his clothing to the way he held his microphone. "Thank you all for coming. I know a week isn't much time to put together such a large conference as this, and I want to thank the owners of this conference hall for being such gracious hosts."

Suga respectfully nodded along to show he was listening and agreeing with everything Si Hyuk was saying. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that the other members were doing the same, and it made him glad to know that, even after everything that had happened, he and his friends still mirrored one another as if all sharing one soul.

"As I made you all aware when I invited you here, this is not going to be an ordinary press conference," Si Hyuk continued. "It will be quite a bit shorter than usual. There are a lot of misunderstandings and quite a few rumours circulating out there and we just need to clear the air a bit. But the members of BTS, as well as I, have our own lives to get back to. We thank you in advance for understanding this and allowing the conference to end at its scheduled time. With that, I turn this over to the leader of Bangtan Sonyeondan, Kim Namjoon."

Namjoon smiled at the applause he received, nodding to signal that he had accepted his role as the main speaker. Namjoon was fidgeting with a couple of notecards in his hands. They weren't nearly large enough to contain his entire speech, even if he'd used both sides of the cards (which he hadn't). With a surge of admiration, Suga realised that the leader was going to give his speech largely from memory.

"Hello," Namjoon said, adjusting his microphone. "It's been a long time. Like Bang PD, I want to start by thanking you all for being here. I also want to thank our fans for standing with us during our hiatus. Your love and support have not gone unnoticed, and we deeply appreciate your understanding. I also want to reiterate what Bang PD said and make it clear that this is not going to be a long press conference; we just need to resolve some misunderstandings. I know there are a lot of questions. However, despite how open we usually are about our lives, I ask you all to understand that there are details about the past months that we simply don't feel comfortable sharing with the public."

Suga hoped his relief didn't show—it would be awkward for him to suddenly visibly relax on camera. He was glad Namjoon wasn't going to tell the whole story. He had requested that the leader be as vague as possible, but until now, he hadn't known how much Namjoon was going to say. Suga let his eyes skim over the audience before looking back at Namjoon, who cleared his throat before continuing.

"About five and a half months ago, Bang PD announced a hiatus for BTS. This was because one of our members, Min Suga, went missing."

A collective gasp rippled through the room. There were so many exclamations of surprise, Namjoon had to stop talking for a moment to let the shock run its course. As all eyes turned to him, Suga once again found himself struggling to maintain his persona, uncomfortably squirming in place. Luckily, as if reading his mind, Jimin grabbed his hand under the table, giving it a light squeeze to help steady him.