Glow

New Things

After the phone call I turned to the Hyung line, narrowing my eyes.

'What are you keeping from me.' I did not ask, but rather insisted.

Namjoon hemmed, Hoseok looked around, Seokjin ducked and blushed.

Yoongi, rubbing the back of his neck, responded.

'I didn't want to keep it from you, but I was outvoted.' I nodded, keeping my gaze on him. 'There's another factor in this Soul Bond we have, one that no one expected, not even the experts...'

'With each concert we have had there has been an extreme uptick in Soul Bonds... after each and every one.' Namjoon continued. Turning my gaze to him I raised an eyebrow, waiting.

'At first there was just rumors. The USA suddenly getting a few Soul Bonded people could be written off as a curiosity, nothing to do with us. But then we went to Europe and...' he looked hopefully at Yoongi, obviously hoping he'd continue the dialog.

'It wasn't until Dubai that we were getting calls from management here that there had been conversations with top officials in several countries about us.' Hoseok chimed in, then ducked behind Namjoon, blushing.

'Yeah... at that point I was on call with the doctor you first met with us about this... several days in a row.' Namjoon continued.

'Wait,' I insist, putting up a hand to pause Yoongi who was about to speak. 'Does the Soul Bond only happen during the concerts, or even when we're at the hotel? Have even the hotel staff been affected?'

'The hotel staff too.' Yoongi admits. 'From what I can understand we, at least the seven of us, are something akin to Typhoid Mary... only we actually have the issue we are spreading.'

'Not Typhoid Mary, just patient zero.' Namjoon interjects. 'It's being tracked. Each concert there has been Soul Bondeds happening. And not just a few.' He pauses, concerned with my reaction. I just raise me eyebrow again, waiting.

'Everyone.' Seokjin admits. I can feel my face going cold, my blood leaving my head. Shock is what most would call what I feel.. it somehow seems so small a word to express this sensation.

Seeing me go pale makes them all head towards me to assist me in sitting on one of the couches. I don't remember standing up, but I know that I need to sit now.

'So... how many people is that?' I ask faintly.

'Millions.' Jungkook says shortly, looking up from the kitchen where the maknaes have huddled for safety during our conversation.

'And how many married couples, how many families, did we destroy...?' I almost whisper. No one responds, though I know they heard me. It takes a couple of breaths but I push the nausea threatening to happen to settle down. Taehyung offers me a cup of water from over my shoulder and I accept it gratefully, draining it quickly. 

After putting the empty cup on the coffee table in front of me I look around at the guys. The Maknae line has finally rejoined us in the living room setup, and with everyone there I consider what I want to say next.

'Look, I understand that there was a bit of need-to-know going on with not telling me. I even understand you wanting to protect me... to some degree.' Nods at my acceptance of what has been done. 'I will admit that if I had been made aware of this during the tour I might've had a much more debilitating response.' 

'If any of you decide to hide something from me again, in the name of "protecting me" I will not appreciate it. I have kept nothing from you, letting you and your needs drive what happens with this situation. I thought you were keeping me in the loop, but I guess not.' I look around, understanding and sadness glowing from their eyes.