Butterfly - BTS

Chapter Thirteen

Our leader died next.

Namjoon was strong. Whenever he got upset, he just raged inside and threw himself into writing. It was a non-destructive way of handling emotions, and it worked. He didn't talk to us about his emotions much, and he spent his off days alone. He never showed weakness, and he was always cordial no matter what.

But Hoseok's death had left us with three members, and we had become a mess. If people weren't suspicious before, they became suspicious after Hoseok died. Why was over half of one boy group dead?

With suspicion, uncertainty, and fear came rumors.

It was all directed to Namjoon, since he was the leader and the easiest target. Who would pin it on the parental figure of the group or the endearingly weird little kid? No, they chose the brilliant leader, because surely someone that intelligent could figure out how to kill four people and get away with it.

People started rumors on how Namjoon plotted their deaths because they didn't like him as a leader. People gossiped that they all got into arguments with Namjoon, and since he was the leader, the company helped kill them. Horrible things were said, and Namjoon knew it.

BigHit forcing him to withdraw from the public eye didn't help a bit. People started a frenzy over the speculation that he felt too guilty to face the public, and the hate increased tenfold.

Namjoon read every single rumor, every single post, and every single comment.

When he locked himself in the study, it was usually to write songs, but now, it was to go on his computer and read all the things about him--and smoke. It had started out as a cigarette when he had just read a terribly cruel comment, but then it had escalated to continuously swapping out cigarettes in his mouth as hours passed. He went through packs of cigarettes like how I went through packs of Banana Kick. Soon, the study was stained with the odor of smoke, and it had started to seep into the other rooms as well.

Despite that, when we were out, he had his best face on. He was always nice to the reporters and fans, and even when they accused him of being a murderer, he shut them down firmly. He was calm and collected, the very definition of being a leader.

When we were alone, however, Namjoon became sullen and standoffish. Taehyung and I knew that he was hurting, so we tried to console him, but whenever we brought it up, he shut us down as quickly as he did with the accusers.

He was trying to be a strong leader, for all of us, but what kind of leader deserts the remaining two followers?