The remaining BTS members greeted their boss. Yunji greeted him directly afterward, but didn't say much and squished herself into the corner of the room to stay out of their personal business. Namjoon pulled out a chair for Bang-nim to sit down in and Yunji listened carefully.

"The media is going crazy," Bang-nim said as he sat down and let out a heavy sigh. "We can't stall them for much longer. I've already sent out apologies to the world and have canceled the comeback next week. I've been dealing with the media the whole day. But the fans are just as anxious as you all are. We're going to have to tell them."
"Sir, I understand, but..there are complications with Jungkook that you don't know about," Namjoon said. "He's really not doing well. He was taken away by a swarm of doctors and nurses a little while ago."
"I thought it was just malnutrition and stress. Something easily fixable. Maybe a little over-working and too much pressure by the company and me."

V was shocked. Bang-nim was even more oblivious than they were. He really didn't know that Jungkook's life could be easily lost any minute.

"It's not," Namjoon continued. "It turns out that...he may have had some eating issues... Because of that, his organs aren't working properly. With the overdose, Dr. Mun doesn't know if Jungkook will make it."

Bang-nim kept a solid poker-face. He became so still, statue-like, and silent that the band began to worry if he was having a heart attack. It's not like Bang-nim to succumb to such silence. He was the kind of person to get things done quick. Bang-nim just realized that this was out of his control. Bang-nim's hands curled into tight fists and his jaw clenched together.

"Okay then," Bang-nim struggled to say. "Okay..."

Bang-nim's mind was racing. Jungkook was so valuable to BTS. All of the members were, but Jungkook was the Golden Maknae and was the triple threat. He was a singer, rapper, and dancer. Imagining BTS without Jungkook or any of the members was painful to think about, but it may be a reality.

The question that was torturing Bang-nim the most was: would the members even want to continue if Jungkook were to die?

Namjoon shifted his weight from foot to foot. He was trying to desperately burn off the nervous energy building up inside of him. His heart was beating slowly, but every time it contracted, Namjoon could feel it. Waiting for Bang-nim to say something was agonizing to him.

"How are all of you doing?" Bang-nim stammered. "This all happened so fast. I want to make sure everyone else is okay."
"It's...we're still struggling to accept everything that has happened," Namjoon admitted. "There are so many things that Jungkook didn't tell us. We're trying to understand why he did this."

Bang-nim nodded slowly and rubbed his hands together. He looked around the room and noticed a petite, young girl silently standing in the corner of the room.

"Who are you?" he asked.
"Sir, I'm Im Yunji. I'm Jungkook's cousin," she replied. "I attend SOPA."

Yunji studied the man's face and noticed a wave of sadness wash over. His eyes kind of drooped, as well as his mouth.

"And are you doing okay?"
"I knew something like this would happen, but, it's hard for me to understand."

Bang-nim continued to converse with Yunji, trying to find some answers. She explained how Jungkook's happiness and well-being deteriorated throughout his years at SOPA, but she merely touched on the subject of Daesul because she, herself, didn't know what really happened. She talked about family situations that may have caused Jungkook to slowly fall apart.

****

After forty minutes of discussion, the doctor brought Jungkook back into the room. Nurses hooked up Jungkook to more machines and monitored the machines for a few minutes before telling Dr. Mun that he was stable again.

Bang-nim looked at Jungkook, all wrapped up in the whiteness of the hotel. He didn't dare to touch Jungkook's hand or brush the maknae's baby hairs out of his shut eyes. He just carefully watched over him. Then, he looked at Namjoon.

"W-would you all be interested in continuing your careers without Jungkook?" Bang-nim finally asked.

Namjoon could feel all the eyes in the room stare at him. He was put on the spot. He was almost certain that everyone had different opinions.

"I don't think I could answer that for all of us," Namjoon said. "As for me, I think I would need some time before making a comeback. Jin-hyung, what do you think?"

He softly cleared his throat and then stepped forward.

"I...I don't think I could go on," Jin confessed. "Bangtan won't be the same. I wouldn't be the same."

Suga went stiff and took a deep breath.

"I'm kind of undecided," he said, eyes moving all over the room. "I think I would need a break for a little while, then I'll decide whether or not I would like to continue. But I want to keep making music. I just might not want to perform it myself. Maybe help others compose. Maybe every now and then release an EP or full mixtape."

Showing emotions wasn't really a Suga thing to do, so no one could tell if he was dealing with everything well. But deep down, Suga knew he was falling apart too.

J-Hope said that he might need some time, but would want to continue. Jimin admitted that he couldn't move on without Jungkook. V said that he would need some time, but he would like to keep making music. However, he would like to focus more on acting rather than music.

Bang-nim nodded his head and then left to continue dealing with the media.

He is waiting for you...
Unknown Caller — Friday, September 31, 2016