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It was truly strange the way things would work out sometimes. The way small decisions or choices made early in life had a roundabout way of showing back up later on. The way seemingly innocuous introductions to certain people transformed into lasting bonds or friendships. The way he had chosen to be an underground rapper at one point in his life, ended up in an idol group, and then ended up back in his initial roots of being underground once the days of BTS had ended.
Though really, their existence as BTS had been cut short by the way the world had gone to shit. The planet’s health had taken a nosedive, and suddenly the world was paying attention but it came too late in the game. The entire world floundered to reorganize things, and restructure to fit the broken world they were now living in. Music and entertainment had been given the label of non essential to life, and were cut from everyone worldwide.
Yoongi had heard the rumors building for a long time before the axe fell. BTS had been in action for almost 12 years by that point, and while he dedicated much of his time and effort to the group, he had been preparing for the worst. He had been buying any and all instruments he could think of and had access to, he had bought and stored hundreds of different types of recording equipment, he had downloaded all of his and BTS’s work onto external harddrives and squirreled them away, he had amassed a huge library of music and movies in all forms - digital, physical albums and records, DVDs, written sheet music and scripts, etc.
So when the ban on music and entertainment production had fallen, he was ready. He had his secret home completely off the radar with extensive digital protection. When the government had seized all of the assets of BTS and left them with little more than their names, living space, and memories of what was, Yoongi had quietly assured his members that he had prepared for such a thing and acted accordingly.
They were all left without their very way of life, but at least they still had each other.
Yoongi became more reclusive than ever, only emerging when the boys would plead with him. He would always go when they called. They never asked what he was doing, or why he was always acting secretive and mysterious, but they trusted him to be safe and responsible.
He didn’t have the heart to tell them that he could very well be sentenced to prison for the laws he was breaking.
When the worldwide ban on music and entertainment had come down, governments had seized any and all related items. Most of the physical instruments were used for fires or repurposed into foreign entities so far from their intended forms. The digital side of things were put under government control and became a rare commodity for the rich to spend their money on.
In a way, the digital market had become a perverse sort of black market that only wealthy people could tap into.
Yoongi despised it. It went against everything he believed in as a long time musician. So he had gone back to his roots and he had single handedly formed a new underground scene where artists, performers, musicians, and actors could come together and do what they loved without fear of the laws now restricting such activities.
They operated in the dark of night, in an undisclosed location; and it was their safe place. Yoongi had also made sure to share some of his wares there, free of course. There were movies and television shows aired on projectors, computers full to the brim with digital files, instruments and microphones for those wanting to sing or perform. He had even worked with people to form an online network that operated much the same, and kept quiet but shared digital resources with people from around the world who longed for the same things.
He became known as a dark knight to the underground world - their supplier and guardian. They gave him the nickname of Apollo.
The entire underground scene came to know the name, online and across the globe. Yoongi was humbled, but felt it a bit too much credit for what he had actually done. With the name came the message, if Apollo’s true identity was ever discovered that there would be a sure way to tell and that everyone would need to be ready for something to happen.
But no one knew what would happen should their idol be found out. They could only continue as they were and hope that the worst never came to pass.
“Hey Joon-ah, how do you feel about breaking the law tonight?”
From across the way, Namjoon froze and stared at him in what could only be distinguished as mild horror. “Uhhhhh I would ask you to specify what kind of laws…?”
Yoongi tossed him a coy little grin. “Yah, so little faith in your hyung.”
He snorted, “No, I just have some concerns as a law-abiding citizen.”
Though he knew the other didn’t mean to set off his anger, the words sent a spark of fire down his spine. The world had failed him where it mattered most, and given that most of his days were spent being an illegal musician and producer, he didn’t care much for certain parts of the law.
“Fine,” Yoongi relented, “the laws that led to the ruin of our careers.”
That seemed to catch Namjoon’s attention. “...So, by extension, you’re asking me to go into the Underground with you?”
He scratched lightly at his neck for the sudden bout of nervousness he felt. “More of less, I tried to convince the others to come too, but I’m not sure that they will.”
His dongsaeng appeared to consider it for a long while.
But Yoongi knew what his answer would be before he could even decide. The sparkle in his eyes, that he had always seen when they were on stage, flickered to life and said so much more than words ever could. So instead of waiting for an answer, he smiled. “I set the meeting place to be just outside the old dorm come 7pm,” he told him.
Namjoon still said nothing but the small grin on his face said everything.
To his complete and utter surprise, when he arrived to the meeting point around seven, he found all six of them there. The kick of nostalgia he got seeing them all together as a group made his throat feel tight.
It wasn’t that they didn’t see each other much, or even that they didn’t hang out altogether. It was just for the simple fact that seeing them was his reminder that at the end of the day, he had a family who loved and cared for him like no other. They had seen and done so much as the seven of them, and that would never fail to make him emotional.
“Hyungie!” Jimin called, quickly lurching forward to hug him.
He patted the other’s back gently, “Hey Jiminie, long few hours no see.”
The former dancer laughed brightly and shoved his shoulder softly. “Yeah yeah, I’m clingy and we all know it.”
“Your words, not ours,” Seokjin declared from behind them. “What are we doing here, Yoongi-ah?”
He approached them with a small grin. “We’re going to break the law, obviously. Which is something I do on a regular basis, whether you know it or not.”
Hoseok looked nervous about such a bold announcement, “Okay but… we’re not going to end up jailed or something by going with you, right? Kyunnie and Haeyunnie are waiting for me to get back from whatever ‘bro night’ we have going on.”
Jungkook wrinkled his nose off to the side, “Please never call it a ‘bro night’ ever again, hyung.”
Namjoon, apparently being the only one who knew what was going on, stepped over to Yoongi’s side. “We’re going to go into the Underground.”
Silence fell over them all. All of them knew the potential repercussions that came with being caught in such a place.
Yoongi knew it was no small ask he was putting forth. But he also knew that the six of them missed performing just as much, if not more, than he did. He knew it was something they needed, even if they were scared to admit it.
“I won’t ask you to stay if you get uncomfortable,” he said, “but I just want you guys to see that the life we once lived is still alive, even if it’s not as visible anymore.”
Taehyung, who had been quietly observing until then, smiled knowingly.
Yoongi caught his eye and returned his own smaller version of that secret smile. Taehyung was the only one that had managed to find his way to the Underground without any of his input or guidance. It was definitely true that his large eyes could take it more than what would seem. So going into the Underground was really nothing new for Tae, even if they were the only two that knew it.
Seokjin cleared his throat a bit and tossed a look around their group. “I’m sure I’m not the only one wondering why we’re still pondering. This is an easy choice and we all know it.” His beautiful browns were sparkling somewhat. “Lead the way, Yoongi-ah.”
Getting them all there was ridiculously easy, but that might just have been because he knew where every access point was in the city. He could tell from the expressions he caught that it was nicer than whatever they had been expecting. It made him want to investigate further out of sheer curiosity, because what exactly had they been expecting to see?
As soon as the distinctive thumping bass reached their ears, Yoongi was pleased to see his brothers rush forward to the sound.
He stood back and watched. The six of them all but threw themselves into the music with vibrant smiles on their faces. A tender smile slipped onto his own, his heart feeling impossibly endeared by the sight of them all losing themselves to music once more.
It was a perfect image, one he committed to memory. He couldn’t offer much to his family, mainly due to his outlaw way of life, but at least he could take them back through time in this way. He could offer a step into the past, and apparently reawaken their performer spirits. That was a privilege and it was one he didn’t take lightly.
One of the stage hands approached him, offering a mic. “Feel up to a show tonight, Apollo?”
Yoongi’s smile turned into a smirk as he snuck backstage with the microphone in hand.
After another couple of songs, he heard one of his distinctive beats. The crowd present easily recognized it and began chanting his new nickname.
With a brief intro from one of the announcers, Yoongi emerged from behind the curtains and threw himself into the rap track.
There was a very raw and primal energy that came from and Underground performance, he had always thought so. He was never sure what exactly fed such energy but it didn’t matter that much anyways. Whatever the components making up the tone of the space were, they meshed well together and made everything feel like an experience.
Yoongi could vaguely hear his brothers cheering him on loudly from the crowd. That too fed his drive to perform. The energy of the entire Underground seemed to have ramped up with his performances. He did a few of his hits and then bowed deeply, disappearing behind stage and rejoining his family who were beaming at him.
He had to pause momentarily when he saw them. Suddenly they seemed so much younger. Their steps and shoulders seemed light, their eyes were bright with adrenaline and excitement, even their skin seemed to be glowing. It made his poor heart thump heavily in his chest.
“Hyung! You did so amazing! The crowd was so energetic!!” Jungkook was bubbly again, his cheeks and nose scrunched up cutely. He had become more reserved and quiet with the abrupt ending to BTS and music in general. It was all he had grown up knowing, so the change had sent him back into that shell they had fought so hard to get him out of once upon a time. “I can’t believe I knew about this place and never came! What’s the matter with me?”
“Yahhh this place really is amazing, it makes me want to be riskier and try and come down to dance,” Hobi commented with a bright laugh.
“Me too!” Jimin gushed with a dazzling smile.
Seokjin was giggling, looking ten years younger than usual. “I don’t know that anything I might perform would fit in this atmosphere, but it could be fun.”
“Man it really took me back to all of our concerts… I wish we still had footage from those times,” Namjoon commented wistfully.
Taehyung sidled up to him and offered a grin to the rest. “Well, luckily we have someone in our family that thoroughly prepared for this kind of thing.”
They all turned to him, various stages of surprise and awe showing on their faces.
Yoongi shrugged a bit sheepishly. “I just did my best, it wasn’t anything much really. I had been hearing rumors for months and saved as much as I could before the axe came down.”
“....You saved the footage from our concerts?” Jungkook asked quietly.
Taehyung huffed, “Give him more credit than that, Kookie, he saved everything we ever did.”
Suddenly, Yoongi found himself being dragged into tight group hug with murmured thanks being passed around from all sides. He laughed, a slightly wet sound, and hugged them back just as fiercely.
The rest of that first trip to the Underground was spent relieving their glory days.
There was not a single dry eye.
The Underground flourished in silence. Gradually more former k-idols began showing up. Yoongi was glad to see each of them. Though really, he was thrilled to see his brothers doing their best to frequent the scene.
He was glad to know his previous hunch, of music being exactly what they needed, was true. He found himself regularly in awe over the sudden youth that settled upon them all when in the Underground.
It was all he had ever wanted when he had just begun work on amassing his collection - his secrets as the Underground community liked to call them.
Time passed, their quiet existence continued. Everything was fine…. Until it wasn’t.
The letter mocked him from its innocuous position on his countertop. In another scenario, the amount of emotion he felt for a simple piece of paper would have been laughable. But not this particular sheet of paper.
The official seal and signatures made it seem more imposing. Though it was within the large and firm lettering that the problem lie. The words ‘cease and desist’, and ‘notice of asset acquisition’, sticking out with particular bias.
It had been almost three years since the law had been made. The Underground had been up and running for two. Maybe he had fallen into a false sense of security during that time. He had gotten too comfortable.
He had fallen into a dangerous routine. Perhaps everyone in the Underground had. Even his six brothers had slowly made it a habit to go down and perform and dazzle the stage just like they used to when the world was their stage.
Routine was dangerous. Yoongi knew he should’ve been able to avoid it.
Now, the government had seemingly discovered enough of his role in things to know that he in fact had many illegal assets that could be seized. And they were coming for every last one of them.
It was daunting. He just had so much in his safe house that the mere thought of the government getting their grubby hands on it was a tragedy. So much would be lost, including his end goal of having music and entertainment reinstated as a public commodity.
Yoongi knew it was time.
He had played the role of protector long enough. Now the worldwide community he had helped build would have to help him.
With his special encryption key handy, Yoongi logged into his internet database and changed the permissions. It was step one of his plan. Editing the permissions meant that anyone with pre existing access to the online dominion could download and keep the vast array of files he had available.
From the front page, Yoongi arranged for a notification to go out to anyone and everyone active. It included a link to a live chat room. In only a minute, he had thousands in the chat, many wondering what was going on that Apollo was doing a call to action.
With leaden fingers, he set his emergency plan into action with a few short sentences:
The secrets of Apollo are set free. Save it all from those who would abuse access. Continue towards the end goal and keep fighting. Light up the night with rebellion.
The community reacted swiftly. He quickly began getting notifications of downloads in progress, and files being copied.
Part of him wanted to weep for the loss of such a collection. But the bigger, more important part of him, was overwhelmed by the response. So many downloads, so much was being saved and duplicated.
He stood up from his computer chair, hands pushing his hair back.
The chat blew up with messages of love and support. Thanks flooded in from every available avenue. He even noticed offers to take care of physical secrets should the need be there.
Yoongi felt so impossibly overwhelmed.
Tears flooded his eyes and cascaded down his cheeks. He knew it was the end of an era. His time as Apollo of the Underground was over. The government would be on his doorstep within a few days and he knew by the time they arrived that there would be nothing left.
A loud laugh broke from his lips, interrupted by his choked cries.
He had worked so hard for so long, and despite the realization that he had lost in the end, it was pure relief that all of his labor had not been for nothing. His massive collection and legacy would live on in the hearts, minds, and digital databases of the Underground world.
In a way, he had achieved his goal. He had wanted to create a safe place and make music and entertainment a commodity. And it was, for those who knew where to find it.
Now, all of the digital resources were duplicated and saved all over the world. The government could chase it all they wished, people would still have it somewhere.
The looming threat of punishment and a potential prison stay seemed minuscule.
For he had triumphed.
The following day, the leading story was depicting how people across the world had somehow procured music players and had been blasting music, dancing proudly to it, and generally revolting the law of the land. A new cause was born to bring back the days of entertainment and music, even if nonessential to some. The resources to bring everything back were waiting in dark places, waiting for their time to see the light of day again.
Yoongi knew it was only a matter of time.
When the police and soldiers had showed up on his doorstep a few days later, Yoongi sat in an empty house with a large smirk on his face. They read his charges and handcuffed him. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his rather lengthy list of crimes. Though, oddly, there was a large bail posted too. Perhaps it was enough to satiate the government for the losses they had suffered by not getting their hands on his collection.
It only took a couple of hours for six familiar faces to appear, each with their own type of relief showing. They hugged fiercely as he was released - apparently his full bail had been posted in a record amount of time.
He spent the following months living quietly. He had done his part for the Underground community, it was time to see what they would do with the foundation he and others had built for them.
In the course of a few days, the legendary Apollo had spilled his secrets and retreated from the Underground.
But, according to some, there were times when the legend rose from the depths long enough to spit fire into the bloodstream of the entire community, and then retreat once more.
Apollo’s days in the sun might be few and far in between, but still the secrets shone brightly in the wake of his radiant efforts.