NOT SO SUBTLE

Chapter 3

Trigger warning.

This chapter contains death threats, if it makes you uncomfortable, please don’t read.

“Sunbae, what are you rambling about?” Gerald whines, he didn’t mean to be rude but he was upset.

“Calm down. Whenever it’s something concerning San, you become this way, stupidly over protective” Yuta says and he’s the only one who dares challenge Gerald.

“So are you saying what he’s suggesting is okay? a dating rumour with a girl always ends up with the girl getting all the hate and the guy gets nothing most times. Now a dating rumour with a guy? that’s too much. San will suffer a lot from it, he’s not a punching bag you know” Gerald says and Daniel nods, he’s right.

“Gerald hyung is right, the company is trying to use San as bait, a company isn’t supposed to use their employees that way” Daniel speaks, intelligence seeping out of his words.

“I know but it’s to promote your group, your last album sales didn’t do exactly well” Sehun says and Gerald scoffs

“That’s because you let Chan write majority of the song when we have San, he’s a good songwriter” Gerald says and Chan snorts.

“Don’t throw shade at me like that, i agree that San is the best song writer amongst us but i’m good too y’know” Chan says and Yuta pats his back.

“That’s not the point, it’s been agreed already and the rumour will start next tomorrow” Sehun says conclusively.

“Who’s the guy, the other guy involved in this supposed rumour?” Daniel asks and they all looked at Sehun.

“Jisung” Sehun answers and Yuta gasps, maybe too dramatically and Chan hits him to keep him quiet.

“Jisung, the leader of CUBE group?” Chan asks and Sehun nods

“Oh god, Sunbae!!!. All the hate will go to San, everyone loves Jisung”

“He’s the most popular idol and if San is involved in a dating rumour with him, we’ll gain a lot from it, the company will gain a lot. San, you understand right?” Sehun says, eyes on San to get an answer from him.

San hasn’t said anything, he’s just there, laughing inside and screaming at how much these people just deem him the perfect bait to catch whatever fish they wanted.


He looks up at Sehun, then at his members and he nods at Sehun. He’ll do anything for his members and if it meant getting more hate over a rumour their company will start, then he can handle that much. It’s nothing new anyway, he’s used to the hate.

“I understand hyung” San says and Gerald groans, his hand punching the table and they all flinch

“Yahhhh, are you out of your mind? Gerald asks and San sighs.

“Hyung, it’s fine and it’s for the group. I can handle that much, i’m used to the hate anyway” San says in a low voice and Daniel shakes his head at the nonsense going on around the table.

“Used to it? you shouldn’t get used to hate San!! this is all bullshit, why does it have to be San? don’t you guys even consider his feeling and how much this whole thing will weigh him down mentally, physically and emotionally?” Gerald says, his voice rising.

“It’s okay, it’s fine Sehun sunbae. I’ll be fine, go ahead with it”

Sehun nods at San, getting up and leaving the boys to talk about it and San takes the opportunity to try and slip away and Chan pulls him back to the seat.

“Are you stupid, or do you just love seeing people worry about you? do you love attention that much that you agree to stupid things like this? Why do you always let them use you that way? were you born to be used?!! don’t just sit there and answer me you moron!!” Chan says harshly, tugging at San’s collar and Gerald pushes him off.

“Don’t say things like that to him” Gerald warns and Chan scoffs

“Hyungggg, how long will you keep doing this? speaking for him and he just sits there like a f*****g child?”

“Watch your language” Gerald warns

“We really can’t get along in this stupid dorm” Yuta says walking into his room and slamming the door shut that the Kitchen sink vibrates at the action.

San gets up, walking away from the scene and into his own room, locking it immediately because he knows Gerald will attempt to walk in and scold him again.

San knows he agreed to something so stupid and dangerous, risky too but he knows it’s going to be the same old thing. He receives name callings, death threats, gets eggs and other kinds of food thrown at him whenever he’s seen anywhere with the other members.

One time, his number was leaked and nobody knew how it happened, imagine receiving more than eight thousand messages and it’s filled with hate and death threats, people wishing you should just jump off a cliff and die.

That’s the dark side of k-pop that badly few people know about. Then they’re supposed to come out in public all smiles when most of them are dying inside, suffocating too and just want to run off somewhere and cry their eyes out.

San doesn’t want to cry, he doesn’t have the strength too so he lets himself fall asleep.

*

The day the rumour starts and everything is chaotic just like the company wanted. They’re getting calls from reporters seeking for an interview from the two boys, San and Jisung.

The company hasn’t even tried to deny the rumours like most companies do and that makes the reporters feel that there’s something there.

San hasn’t even been in the same place with jisung for long, they’ve never spoken or stood face to face to study each other’s features.

They don’t know each other so it’s kinda funny how they’re the ones involved in the rumour and not San and Gerald like everyone expected it to be because they were awfully too close.

Three hours later, people are camping outside the company asking around for San. More like teenagers with their school uniforms roaming around the entrance of the building with horrible things written on the banners they’re holding.

“Die San!!”

“Leave Jisung alone”

“Such a lowlife San, die!!”

“Such an ugly guy can’t be with my Jisung hyung”

“Why is he even an idol?”

These were most of the things written on the banners and as San and the rest of the members drive into the parking lot, getting out of the car. The mob notices immediately and attacks them, the security men holding most of them back and just like that.

Voices are cursing at San, throwing him anything they could find.

San grunts in pain when something hard hits the side of his eye, a rock. He whimpers, holding that part of his face. He felt a sticky liquid on his hand and his eyes widen when he sees blood, his own blood on his hands.

The members notice and they rush to him, Gerald faster as he holds the boy up, observing his face while the back of San’s eyes burns, tears threatening to fall down his face but he didn’t want to cry, not in front of all these people who despise him.

Gerald shrugs his coat off, pulling San to his chest, his arms around the boy as he throws his jacket over San, covering him up from the eyes eager to look at San.

The crowd gasp at the gesture, Gerald holding San so close to his body as San responds by holding him too and Gerald leads them inside the company. Gerald doesn’t let him go until they’re inside the elevator, the other members scanning San’s face and cursing under their breath.

The whole thing is getting out of hand because as they walk out of the elevator, San gets mobbed immediately by a group of girls and the members push them off lightly before they could touch him.

San backs away from them, speed walking into the elevator and pressing any button quickly and the door closes.

He doesn’t know the button he pressed but he was determined to just go anywhere, away from the chaos and so he’s on the fifteenth floor, nobody really notices him as he walks past the office area and down the hallways where he could grab a drink and just sit alone and chug the alcohol down even if it ends up burning his throat.

He’s about to turn when he collides with someone and he holds his head, writhing in pain and the person he collided with helps him up and their eyes meet.

Jisung.