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❝ ᴀɴᴏɴ ❞
The breakout plan is in action.
Seowoo prepares for her debut as a soloist instead of a comeback as a backstage singer, while Yoomi busies herself with more acting and commercial gigs, and being a seasonal cast member of a popular variety show.
Until the day comes, Seowoo has been asked to temporarily vanish from all social media platforms and to stay away from the paparazzi wherever they are.
Jimin's perfect plan comprises dropping a full-length audio clip with no prior teaser or promotion so that it reaches a niche group of viewers who are committed enough to forge their own theories as to who the unknown singer with a voice strikingly similar to Yoomi's.
He imagines that with their expertise, the public will eventually be able to piece together the dropped hints and clues to create a plausible theory. However, the plan is for Yoomi and Seowoo to beat them to it by releasing an official statement during an unexpected midnight V Live.
It might be scandalous and even more disastrous for Yoomi's career but with a pitiful sob story to back her up, most of the blame will go to the management, which will dissipate into nothing because people's declining favour towards them has no effect on their idols' sales.
Jungkook calls Seowoo every night leading up to the day of the surprise reveal. He tells her he has a song ready to be dropped as a diversion if ever the netizens go ballistic with hate. Admittedly, it does not sound romantic at all, but Seowoo finds it the sweetest thing to ever cross his mind.
When the day finally comes, the company staff are running through the entire plan once again. Five minutes after the release of the audio clip, Yoomi will start a V Live, where Seowoo would be hidden behind somewhere. Yoomi would perform as she would, seemingly sounding more realistic — catching her breath as she dances and as imperfect as a voice without autotune can be.
"Ten minutes to midnight," Jimin announces loudly as a cue for the engineers to get all the necessary files and sites ready.
Supportive staff members huddle together, cheering Seowoo on as she overlooks the release process. She's shivering in anticipation and anxiety, and Jungkook finds it difficult to see anything when the phone she is holding is vibrating so vigorously, but he refuses to raise any complaints, especially since Seowoo is already dejected over Yoomi and Seokjin's lack of attendance on such an important day.
"One minute to midnight," the head engineer says, signalling his colleagues to follow his lead while he prepares the audio file.
"It's midnight!" Jimin shrieks happily, lunging at Seowoo to engulf her in a big bear hug. The staff members squeal and scream in relief and excitement, already discussing what to have as a celebration dinner.
"...Jimin-ssi," the head engineer rasps.
The manager turns his head to look and his smile falls faster than anything. He rushes to the computers, tripping over chairs and boxes, causing a ruckus that silences everyone in the room.
Seowoo simply exhales in acceptance. The higher authority or whoever is up there has her fate in their hands and she knows they have never and definitely will not make life easy for her.
She quietly retreats into the silent company hallways while everyone else busies themselves with trying to resolve the technical issue. In short and slow strides, she travels from one end to another, revelling in the comforting silence.
Jungkook is still on the other end of the line, patiently waiting for his noona to speak before he can even attempt to. His manager softly calls out to him, sounding faint in the background, but he remains quiet to let Seowoo know that he's there for her but still respects her need for some alone time.
Whoosh.
Seowoo startles, alerted by a sudden black figure rushing past in her peripheral view. She turns and tries to chase after them but is met with nothing but another empty hallway.
There's a faint scent that lingers in the air — something nice, something familiar, something that she is sure is from somewhere but the answer is stuck on the tip of her tongue.
"Did you see that?" Seowoo gasps out.
Jungkook hesitates to reply, "yeah."
Seowoo frowns for a bit before deciding to attempt retracing the odd figure's probable steps. It led her to rows of rooms; production and practice. Thinking about it, each of them have at least one device that is connected to a single system, which means they could be the cause of her demise.
She keeps her mouth shut as she lifts her phone up to her face and gives a tight-lipped smile to the boy behind the screen. A heavy sigh resonates through the empty hallway, echoing back and forth like a call — a call for Jimin to come rushing over.
"There you are," he tiredly groans, squishing his drained face in his sweaty palms. He had been running around the company building, trying to look for the backstage singer. Now he is crouched on his knees, wondering why he scavenged everywhere but the obvious silent hallways.
The walk back is tense, awkward and surprisingly long. Seowoo feels like there is something lodged way up in her throat, stopping her from telling what she saw.
"Jimin-ssi! Someone ran past us earlier!".
The manager jumps at the shout and realises that it came from Jungkook. "What do you mean?" He asks, snatching Seowoo's phone from her jean pocket.
"Someone in black ran out of the rooms just now," Jungkook angrily yells, "they're definitely suspicious!".
Jimin gulps and lifts his gaze to look Seowoo in the eye, "there's something I need to tell you.".
"We've been getting anonymous calls from burner phones," he confesses with his head tilted downwards, "all warnings against letting you debut, which means they're coming from someone within the industry, particularly our company.".
Before Seowoo could utter a word, Jimin knowingly nods and says, "I couldn't tell you because I didn't want you to feel discouraged by something I thought I could resolve.".
Seowoo wraps her slender arms around Jimin and pats his back in a rhythmic pattern. "It's okay. Thank you," she gently whispers.
"Let's try something," Jimin perks up, "I did something but I'm not sure if it's gonna help.".
He drags the backstage singer to the nearest room from which the unknown figure could have been in and thoroughly analyses the files.
"I left every device on recording yesterday, in case something like this happens, and it did, but let's see if it's of any help at all.".
In a snap, a video file appears, showcasing the disguised figure fiddling with the computer, mischievously tapping at the keys. Footsteps from along the hallway reverberate and as the figure pauses and turns to check its safety, their hood falls a little, revealing their precious identity.
