a succubi's problems - jjk x bts

chapter twenty-four

before we start this chapter I was thinking of changing the stories cover to this one ^^ but I also like the cover I already have so I'm not sure — let me know what you guys think!! okay onto the chapter <33

Jeongguk shifts uncomfortably. He was in a meeting about his hiatus, and the company had deemed it a big enough issue that practically everyone was in attendance. Which would be fine, except the fact that everyone apparently didn't mean the other members. They had been there for the first half of the meeting (almost two hours ago) but after they had been told all that they'd apparently needed to know, they'd been dismissed so they could finish their schedule for the rest of the day. So now Jeongguk was alone.

And without his friends Jeongguk was like a shell of the person he normally was. His shyness getting the better of him and making him feel small in this room full of big time  executives and other industry professionals. He supposed at this point in his career he was also considered an industry professional — but he didn't feel like it. Alone like this he felt no better than a little kid.

He'd lost track of what they'd been saying the minute Namjoon had left the room with a small thumbs up in Jeongguks direction, door clicking closed behind him. And to think Jeongguk had thought it would be a good day too — he'd woken up with taehyung next to him and Jimin above him, shaking the two awake with a smile so big and bright it was like a beacon. Hoseok had come out looking well rested, and they'd all enjoyed a good breakfast together at the table. Jeongguk had felt content and well rested and happy. The schedule was meant to be normal, too, with Jeongguk in vocals for most of the day and then dance practice in the afternoon, followed by free (gym) time in the evening. But now he wasn't lifting weights or doing sits ups until his middle ached in that nice burn kind of way, instead he was sitting awkwardly at the head of a too-long table as executives spoke about the impact his hiatus was going to cause and inadvertently trying to convince Jeongguk out of it, or have him give them an estimate on when he'll be back— like he had a fucking choice in the first place. Like he wanted to go back to hell. Like any of this was his choice at all.

He didn't think army would care too much, especially after finding out it was because of a 'sick relative' — so it all seemed a little unnecessary. Especially because this meeting has already gone on for two and a half hours now and Jeongguk was getting more and more restless as the time ticked by. He didn't even know why they wanted him there — they weren't even talking to him. This was hardly an open discussion.

"Jeongguk-ssi, what do you think?"

Jeongguk pulls his eyes towards the woman at the end of the table who's name Namjoon definitely knew but Jeongguk had no clue of, and sits up a little straighter. "S—Sorry, what?"

She looks at him with pity, Jeoongguk shrinks in on himself a little more. "We're thinking of releasing a statement on Twitter, and then a more final one on Weverse. We're trying to decide if you should film a video or if that would take away from the seriousness of the situation,"

Jeongguk didn't think it was that serious, but he doesn't get to say this aloud before the others at the table start to talk again. Jeongguk nibbles on his bottom lip as he watches the almost polite argument in front of him, the bad tastes in his mouth bursting and clinging to the back of his teeth like day old food.

"U—um, we could —uh, we um... could..." Jeongguk trails off when no one listens, snapping his mouth shut and falling back in his chair in exasperation. Not worth trying anyway, it was pointless. Jeongguk didn't have a way with words like Namjoon or Jin or yoongi or Hoseok did, even taehyung and Jimin were better at getting their points across more eloquently than Jeongguk was.

"No, wait — Jeongguk-ssi, you had something to add?"

Jeongguk jumps a little and then shrinks again when all eyes fall onto him. There was just something different about being on stage in front of thousands of people, feeling content with all the eyes and the screaming and everything else, and then being at the head of a table of ten and feeling like this. Like he was being suffocated. The woman smiles encouragingly at him, and Jeongguk feels a little bit of confidence return to him. He had very right to sit in this room with them. Every right to talk about his own life. "U—um, well," Jeongguk clears his throat. "I think that after the statement on Twitter and Weverse that instead of me filming a video that—that, maybe it'd be better for the other members to do a vlive, because it would distract the fans, maybe? And uh, make them feel more at ease especially if the others weren't too serious about me being gone, and answered questions and stuff about it. I think that that would, um, probably be better."