For You, I Could Pretend To Be...

Enough

Deep down, they had always known that they wouldn't be exempt from the 2 years of military service. Jimin had hoped, they all had, but it wasn't enough.

Hadn't they given their all to their culture and country already? Integrating it into their videos, songs, dances. Their entire motto was not to forget their roots and where they came from, and they managed to succeed while keeping their values. Wasn't it enough that Korea was more respected now? That hundreds of people would fly to Korea whenever there was a concert or fansign? That there were so many more people learning Korean?

No. Apparently not.

Them leaving would do more harm than good. What would the government do if something were to happen to them?

Jimin wasn't trying to sound arrogant, he really wasn't, but he knew they were important figures. It's not like he flaunted it at every opportunity, though if he did, he would be swarmed in seconds. They had almost triple the amount of fans as South Korea's population alone. People were watching them now, scrutinizing them.

They'd talked about military service a few times, the other members and him. It always seemed too far away, but here it was. Looming in front of them like an impassable wall.

Jimin didn't want to cry. He shouldn't cry about the inevitable. There was no point.

He still felt his eyes tearing up anyway. He wanted to hug Jungkook and cry about how they weren't going to see each other for 2 years. Sure, there would be breaks, but it wasn't the same.

Jimin wasn't built for the military. He had great stamina and he was pretty strong– not Jungkook strong, no one other than Jungkook could manage that– but he knew that if he went into the military, and they pushed their ideals, their imagery, and their stereotypes onto him, he might not be able to take it.

He'd seen plenty of idols walk into their military service and never come out the same.

He was scared.

Deep down, Jimin had always known that they were idols. Just idols. They had international fans, but they couldn't change tradition. Jimin had hoped, they all had, but it wasn't enough. It was never enough.