Earphone Buddies | J.J.K (Complete)

The Boys, Part 1 (ep 23)

Jimin's POV

This is the last interview we have to do here in the United States. Monday morning. We're all a bit tired, although we're trying not to show it on camera. We have to show our energy for the fans. It gets easier when we see their smiling faces in the crowd though. They give us the energy we have, to do what we do. But we still get tired. Yoongi-hyung and Jungkook, especially, can't wait to go back to Korea. They miss their girlfriends. They try not to let it impact their schedules, but they both check their texts more often, and they'll disappear into their rooms for hours at a time if they manage to get Y/N or Kat on the phone, ignoring everyone else. We haven't had a group call since last Friday night.

Jungkookie has seemed unnaturally stressed the last couple of days. More than everyone else in the group, which is a little strange. We've been gone only a few days, and he sends videos of himself to Y/N all the time, and vice versa. He's been acting strange since Y/N came to see him on Sunday night. He seems stressed about something besides just the distance and our work, and I don't know what it is.

Nobody does, except him.

We walk onto the stage, smiling at fans in the audience. They scream our names excitedly. I've heard that some think breathing the same air as us is a privilege. That seems a little overkill. We're still only human.

The whole interview, Jungkook seems on edge. The fans won't notice, but I think all of the members have realized something's up by now. I don't think he's told anyone what's weighing him down, though. Then the last question comes.

"Do you have any messages for ARMY?" the lady asks. Aigooo. How similar some of these interviewers are really makes me sad. Can they not come up with some more interesting and relevant questions? I mean, we don't know yet who the next collaboration will be. How about asking about how it felt to work with Lauv, or Sia? What it feels like to record your own voice over and over? Something like that would be nice.

Jungkook speaks up to answer the question. "Yes, I have a message and request for ARMY. As you all know, I recently started dating my wonderful girlfriend, Y/N." He takes a breath. Where is he going with this? "She mentioned to me that last week on the street she was recognised by some of our 'fans'." He puts quotations around it. "These particular fans were being extremely rude to her and called her ugly and fat. She was very hurt by these acts of verbal violence and, honestly, so am I. I expect better from our wonderful ARMY. So please, ARMY, you may think you know us and you may think you're behaving in a way we'd approve of, but I know all of Y/N's wonderful qualities and know she is the perfect match for me. So, please stop being rude to my dear Y/N. I know that most of you will be angry on our behalf, but please, just be nice. To each other. To Y/N. To everyone. There's enough hate in the world. We need our ARMY to spread love and respect. Thank you."

Well, that explains why he was stressed. Not only did he have to answer the rest of the questions with us, but he also had this weighing him down. All of the other members are shaken as well, but they don't show it much. The fans are going crazy in the crowd. I think most of ARMY wants to support us, but there are a few bad apples. I guess that's the same in all fan bases. Jungkook is just sitting with his eyes closed, and I don't know what's going on in his head. I guess he's a little overwhelmed by all of the noise and what just happened. He must've been screaming inside to get this off his chest. The interviewer doesn't know what to say. She can tell that he said something important, but she doesn't speak Korean. Poor girl.

"Alright!" She finally finds her voice and the audience quiets down. I can't tell if her smile is forced, but her voice seems to have gotten lighter and more chipper in the time since she last spoke. "That's all for this segment, please tune in later and don't forget to stay in the know!" She winks at the cameras while we wave, and they cut. We then exit the stage, with girls screaming our names on either side. Mostly, they're trying to get Jungkook's attention as he walks, looking at ARMY and smiling. Of course, none of us talk to them. It's too loud for that. The moment we leave the stage and we've made sure our mics are turned off, we all turn to Jungkook.