Anonymous keyboard warriors that battled for justice would surge towards a single goal from just the slightest of motivations. They were all paired with a limited knowledge spurred from an inciteful headline, convinced merely by the voice of one they trusted, never, ever, truly, fully educated.
They stopped for no one, thought for no one except their own cause. And they were indestructible together. Any opposing voice would be washed down by critical thumbs eager to smash. Any opposing voice would be called demons and devils in support of sin. And they would rise and flood out the words of the kind.
No second chances would be given. No what ifs and no maybes.
Blood would be drawn.
Death was necessary.
It wouldn't be long before JieMi's situation would hit headline news and then everyone would see. Everyone. And everyone would judge him, and everyone would hate him…And no one would stop to think when they peltered eggs at their windows, no one would stop the question when they screamed and protested. No second thoughts would be made the moment Ha-Eun told the press her lies, and she could be convincing, more so than JieMi, with the unborn child heavy in her belly.
And JieMi would be utterly ruined.
And by default, his family, his friends, IDOL, the company, his school and Amber. And the people would dig as far as they can go. They would unearth everything, from the mean jabs that JieMi made as a kindergartener to the words of his peers from high school. And they would find too much and maybe even the situation of the seven. A broken soul bond. A young soulmate. The truth. And then…JieMi would be deemed unsalvageable.
No one would understand why he went to Ha-Eun, beat her, raped her, abused her when he already had a soulmate. What would happen then when JieMi's mental health was already so weak and tattered? What could he do? What would he do? Amber's mouth went dry at the thought and cold seeped into her bones, one that was all mental and not physical.
It wouldn't be any different to a witch's hunt. The loop on his neck would tighten and when he broke…The therapists, the psychologists, his friends, Amber…No one could recover spilt milk, no one could recover the water that boiled upon a stove, no one could save a man who had lost his soul.
He would die.
Physically, mentally. If they were too late, he would die. And if they tried hard enough maybe they could save a part of him, but never everything. He would lose himself and he would remain an empty shell of his once vibrant personality.
Amber wanted so desperately to call these thoughts lies, wished so damn hard that she was overthinking the situation. But this wasn't the first time something like that had happened, and the people online had always jumped to conclusions.
Always.
This wouldn't be the first one they had killed, for they had already killed hundreds and thousands. And they would be eager to kill more, mainly (perhaps) because the blood would never be on their hands but always the victim's. They could be wolves in sheep skin, devils using angel wings, people who were good when accountable and evil when not. It was terrifying. It was so damn fucking terrifying.
But this was life in stardom.
What if we ran away? Sieon had mumbled into her hair one night, MinJae curled by their side, and JieMi wrapped in her arms. The rain had been particularly heavy that day and the patter drowned out most of the sounds. Strangely, he was the only one asleep, the medicine taking him quickly and easily into the depths of peace. What if we just dropped everything and left for good?
It was a common topic in the group, running, leaving, escaping.
You know we can't. MinJae had turned over, propping his face up with his hands, voice a mire of sweet, sweet caramel as he stroked JieMi's cheeks. The younger one made a face, nose scrunching up before relaxing into her embrace. He was honest when asleep, his body naturally searching for hers, his face snuggling into her chest and searching for her scent. Where could we go?
We could buy an island. Sieon hummed in her hair, pressing smooth kisses down the nape of her neck. Affection brought him comfort, by holding her his world didn't feel just as suffocating and messy as it did before. We could live there together. He pressed his lips to the shell of her ear then. I could make you a princess. I could build you a castle. I could keep you safe, safe from them all.
She snorted. Please.
Idiot. MinJae had giggled then, a soft sound that Amber missed dearly. You know we can't just pack up and go. They'll find our families. The company would lose its shit. We have to face it all as we've always done with every one of our scandals and problems. Cultural appropriation, love scandals, sensitive topics, historical mistakes, uneducated racism, we've survived them all. We'll be fine.
Was he convincing her or himself, Amber didn't know.
With the blackmail in Ha-Eun's hands, there wasn't much the company could do without exposing the shit storm coiling thick and heavy in the air. Although, they did have the benefit of prior knowledge and preparation. And they had lawyers and professionals, a team working on what little evidence they could find for JieMi, and another team working on what they could find of Ha-Eun.
But as all companies were, they wanted their profits, wanted to continue with the performances and the tours. They wanted to milk the group dry while they still could. Something that Amber felt strongly against, because good God, her men weren't alright, but JieMi vehemently agreed.
He wanted things to be as normal as they could be.
And…He didn't want the child to be born with such a stain on its back. To be born with a google search history of hatred and detest, lawsuit and tears. It was a valid argument, one that none of them could deny. But they did try, Casper did take his hand, did a whole speech on how the team didn't give a fuck about their reputation—a speech that was as persuasive as always
We just want you to be happy.
JieMi didn't bulge.
And I will be. If Ha-Eun doesn't know…Don't you see? JieMi smiled then, stiff and broken. Nothing will happen if she doesn't know! He looked at her then, so pitiful that Amber didn't know what to do. I-I'm sorry, I can't. I can't leave her now. Not with the baby, not with our soulmate, not with everything on the line.
But there were somethings that couldn't be hidden, and Amber doubted his ability to hide that truth from his child. Especially with how much its mother seemed to abuse JieMi. Especially with how quickly its mother had shifted her gaze to Amber when things went to shit with JieMi. Ha-Eun knew there was something going on between JieMi and Amber, and it wouldn't take much for her to find out the truth.
And there was one thing that Amber was sure of. JieMi needed evidence, he needed blackmail. He needed footing. But as all victims of abuse were…JieMi was afraid. Install…Cameras? He'd blinked, wide eyes at her, the air about them a tad awkward after his confession. Amber didn't know what to do about the sexual tension that buzzed between their bodies too, begging, simpering, weeping for relief. I c-can't she'll notice. It's her home.
Amber had suggested then that he confronted her, that he tried to get her to admit to her wrongdoings on tape so that he would be safe from her accusations. JieMi had shook his head. I don't know…If I can do that.
He wasn't brave when it came to Ha-Eun, and she knew he continued to doubt his own situation sometimes. And she would occasionally catch the flicker of confusion in his eyes, questioning whether or not he was just escalating the situation, whether or not these things could be solved in the privacy of his relationship with Ha-Eun.
"They're thinking of disbandment."