Archive of Our Own ^beta

Minhyuk didn’t know how he got here. Well, he did. But he truly had no idea how he let it get this far. It wasn’t supposed to be that big a deal. But now the safety of his members was being threatened and they didn’t seem to care, didn’t seem to care as long as he was all right. Okay, he was kind of at the center of the whole ordeal, but still.

Some time ago he was chilling in the dorm by himself. Everyone else had gone out earlier than he woke up. How they managed to wrestle Hyungwon out of bed and out of the dorm, he had no idea. Adding to the list of things he was clueless about, he also had no idea why they went out in the first place. When he walked out into the living area of their dorm, senses still faintly fogged from sleep, it took him a moment to register that there was no one already there. That wasn’t that out of the ordinary. He checked each member’s room to see if they were awake; once he got to Changkyun’s room and there was no one present he could feel himself start to assume the worst. He leaned up against a wall and forced himself to calm down. Let’s think about this rationally. Check to see if they left a note or anything. There wasn’t one in the kitchen, so go check your phone.

Lo and behold, Jooheon had texted the groupchat saying that the six of them went out for the morning and probably wouldn’t be back until that afternoon. They would have woken him up but they knew how late he stayed up last night. 

He made himself breakfast. It was a smaller meal than he normally ate as they were still promoting the latest comeback and the stylists would not be happy if he put on too much weight. After promotions ended they could all lessen up on the dieting a bit. Now, though, they were being very strict with it. 

After watching a few episodes of a drama that Changkyun recommended to him, he dragged himself off of the couch. Just because they had a rare day off didn’t mean that he could laze about all day. He changed out of his pajamas into a tank top and basketball shorts. He was quite proud of the fact that he worked out every day that it was not absolutely impossible for him to do so, no matter how little time was available. Sometimes he did a few pushups backstage at a music show just to feel like he was keeping up with the routine. Today he didn’t feel like going to the gym; it felt more like a stay indoors kind of day. The sky through the window was starting to get darker with clouds. So, he would do his workout inside the dorm. He followed a very basic program: warmup stretching, followed by sit ups, pushups, jumping jacks, planking, and other various exercises. It was by no means the most difficult thing he’d ever done, but he had still worked up a sweat by the end of it. He flopped on the couch once it was over and pressed his arms over his face, grimacing at the damp stickiness that was there. As much as he disliked showers in general, he didn’t mind them as much after physically draining activities like this one, if only because they removed the gross feeling that inevitably came as a result.

He hopped in the shower but didn’t spend much time in there, wanting to get it over with as quickly as possible. He put on a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt that probably belonged to Hoseok at one point, but had made its rounds and was now basically a community hoodie. Blow drying his hair was a tedious but essential task if he didn’t want to drip water everywhere in his wake.

For lunch it was a bigger meal than breakfast, which he figured he could afford. What the stylists didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them, after all. Lightly blowing on the ramen to cool it off, he made his way back to the living room to continue the drama. He had a feeling that the two main leads were going to get together soon. Minhyuk sat criss-cross on the couch, juggling the remote in one hand to unpause the TV while holding the noodles in the other. The show was successfully resumed, even though there was a close call with dropping the noodles right onto his lap. He slurped them as delicately as he could so he could still hear the TV.

His phone buzzed. He almost choked in his excitement to finish his food so he could check the notification. Surely it’s one of the members texting to update me. Maybe they’re going to bring something home for me.

Much to his dismay, the text was not from one of his members. It wasn’t from a number that he recognized at all, actually. He clicked on it. Who knew? It might be a dramatic breakup text that just got the wrong number. In that case he would need to get all the details so he could decide which side he was taking. But the first words made him pause. He could feel his heart sinking down to his stomach.

hi minhyuk!! i’m a really big fan of yours and i’m so excited that i got your number. i get to see all of monsta x at the fansign next month but i’m most excited about seeing you. can you text me back and tell me you saw this?

While it was sadly not an uncommon thing to have “fans” who couldn’t handle boundaries, it was still alarming when it was made so blatantly obvious. It had been at least a year since this last happened to him specifically so he was especially nervous. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, thinking about what the company briefed them on in case of situations like this.

Step 1: screenshot the message

Step 2: write down the number the message came from

Step 3: block the number

Step 4: report the incident to the company or group leader

With shaking hands he completed the first three steps. He had to write the number down a second time because his handwriting was almost illegible the first. He double-checked that he did, in fact, actually take the screenshot before he blocked the number. When it came time for step four, he hesitated. That one message was the end of it, right? After he didn’t respond the person on the other end would either assume they got the number wrong or be discouraged enough to stop. If you really thought about it, there was no legitimate need to tell anyone. God knew that both their manager and Hyunwoo deserved a break. 

This was a one-time thing, he reassured himself. There’s no need to worry about it.

Satisfied, he turned off his phone (after tucking the slip of paper with the phone number on it into his phone case) and went back to watching the drama. He was correct; they had finally started dating. A few episodes later, however, they were on the verge of splitting up. He idly wished he had popcorn or something of the sort that he could shovel into his mouth. Captivated by the plot, he promptly forgot about the incident.

Until the next day, that was.

The whole group was at dance practice. By this stage in promotions they all knew the dance well, but a few extra hours of practice never hurt. In the middle of the title track, Minhyuk’s phone started buzzing. It went off once, and then again a few minutes later, and then finally a third time. Everyone noticed it but finished the song before they told Minhyuk to go see who wanted to contact him that badly. He walked over to where his phone and bag were sitting. Like yesterday, all of the messages were from an unknown number. His suspicions were raised. There’s no way.

He unlocked his phone and opened the messages, scared of what he might find.

it’s me again :))

i know that you saw the messages yesterday. it really hurt my feelings when you ignored me tbh. i can’t believe you would do that to a fan, and you blocked me on top of it!! that’s why it must’ve been a mistake. one of your staff made you do it, i just know it.

i got a new number so that you can finally respond to me. you don’t have to listen if they tell you to ignore me, alright? please say hi, it would really make my day. can’t wait to see you next month. i love you!!

His palms suddenly felt clammy, and not just from the choreo. He thought back to the checklist yet again. Screenshot - check. Write down the number - not until we get back to the dorm. Block - after I write it down. Tell someone - I’ll have to think on that one.

“Minhyuk-hyung! Are you feeling alright?”

He jumped. The members were staring at him in concern, seemingly sensing his growing distress. Never before had he cursed their perceptiveness. His eyes darted around the room as if an excuse was hiding somewhere.

“Ah… yeah, I’m good. It’s sweet of you to worry though, Hyungwon,” he cooed in an attempt to take the attention off of himself. Thankfully, it worked. Hyungwon crossed his arms over his chest, refusing to meet any of their gazes.

“Let’s just move on to the next song.”

The rest of practice went smoothly if you didn’t count the times Minhyuk stumbled because his mind was elsewhere. Whenever that happened the others would give him questioning looks but they never called him on it. Minhyuk was grateful.

Back at the dorm, they had all gotten ready for bed. Minhyuk was sitting in his room contemplating. He already wrote down the second number and stashed that one in the same place as the first. He blocked the new number as soon as he could. Even though this had proved to be slightly worse than he originally thought, he still couldn’t bring himself to want to tell anyone about it.

So the mystery person was a little more persistent than he expected. So what? Whoever it was, they couldn’t be that determined. He would hear nothing else from them, he was sure.

The day afterwards they had another free day. The company was being oddly generous with those lately and all of them were slightly nervous for whatever Starship was buttering them up for. 

Minhyuk and Kihyun were going shopping at a store that was just down the road from the dorms. They all liked going there since it was within walking distance and provided a good excuse to get out for a while. It was just a small one, on the corner of two streets, and had a moderate amount of patronage. Right now it was the middle of the afternoon rush hour, so the store was nearing its capacity. There were so many people that the two were fairly confident that they wouldn’t be recognized, especially given the fact that most people would be wearing masks, but Minhyuk still put on a beanie to cover his brightly colored hair.

They quickly paid for everything they needed and got out. The walk back was nothing remarkable. The September air was a bit chilly. With the sun getting lower and lower in the sky, they made sure to hurry back. Who knew what kind of creeps were wandering around the streets after dark?

Kihyun made them all a really good dinner. The food was hot and it warmed their bodies from the fall weather. It was Hoseok’s turn to do the dishes. The only one that wasn’t on the rotation was Kihyun, and that was only because he cooked most days. Minhyuk saw everyone go their separate ways for the evening. Hyunwoo and Kihyun each retreated to their own respective rooms; Hyungwon elected to wait on the counter, sitting cross-legged, to keep Hoseok company; Jooheon and Changkyun both went to Jooheon’s room to watch a movie (and most likely discuss new songs ideas. Sometimes it scared Minhyuk, how inclined those two seemed to work themselves into the ground); in order to prevent that from happening he decided to join them a few minutes later. They appeared surprised to see him. He took a running leap, landing on Jooheon’s bed on his front, and knocking the two youngest to opposite ends of the bed.

“What are we watching?” he asked, flipping over and sitting up on his elbows.

The two looked at him, amused. “Avengers.”

Minhyuk grinned. “Good choice.”

They finished the movie with Minhyuk having successfully staved off any talk of lyrics. Changkyun yawned, wished them a good night, and left.

“You better get going too. I’m tired,” Jooheon said to him.

“Are you sure you won’t miss me too bad?”

In response he got shoved off the bed by the younger. He chuckled and started walking out. Just before he exited the room he turned back around and hung off the door frame. “I love you,” he said, waggling his fingers.

“Yeah, yeah. I love you too. You are making it harder nowadays, though,” Jooheon whispered the last part under his breath. He gave a proud smile to himself in the dark once the door shut. Minhyuk must not have heard him.

The last thing Minhyuk himself felt before he drifted off just an hour later was relief. He got no texts from the mystery person today. It was over, at last.

Everyone had plain wheaties with milk for breakfast the following morning. Certainly not the most enjoyable thing to wake up to, but it was better than nothing. They were lucky enough to live in a dorm with two bathrooms as opposed to only one, so two people could shower at once. Each was preparing themself for the music show in just a few hours.

It went well. While it was a bit discouraging that they still weren’t allowed to have fans physically present, they put their all in for the recording. 

Because there were an uneven number of them, one person had to ride alone in a third car. Today that person just happened to be Minhyuk. It was no big deal; they had all done it plenty of times. The worst part about it was the awkwardness with being the only person in there with the driver. Most of the group’s drivers were kind people who they enjoyed talking with on the occasions that they got to. There was one of them that wasn’t the most talkative, and as such, got the car with the single member most often.

Minhyuk sat in the passenger seat, looking down at his phone. The driver hadn’t glanced at him once since he sat down, nor had he said a word. Still, Minhyuk was content. The silence was a good way to wind down after a performance.

The plus side to getting this specific driver was that he seemed to have little concern for road laws. He still paid attention and followed the rules, sure, but he also had no qualms with bending them a little. The company had no idea, or they pretended not to, because they would’ve done something if they found out he was intentionally being… dismissive , when it came to traffic laws. That could be considered a bad thing, but it also had the potential to be a very positive thing. If the driver took some shortcuts, or went a little faster than he was maybe supposed to, whoever was with him could very well be the first back to the dorm. And in the situation that as soon as the crowd got back it would be a free-for-all for the showers, being first back was a great advantage.

When they pulled in front of the building, Minhyuk stepped out, casting a cautious look around. The coast was clear. He was, indeed, the first to arrive. As soon as Minhyuk gave the driver a nod he drove off, mouth shut tight.

Tucked into a potted plant on one side of the entrance, resting delicately on a thick layer of branches and leaves, was an average looking envelope. The clean white of it stood out against the dark green foliage and Minhyuk was clueless as to how he was the first one to spot it.

His first instinct was to leave it be. His second, and ultimately more powerful, instinct was to pick it up. So he did, looking around to see if anyone was watching. If this turned out to be something sketchy he didn’t want anyone around to get the wrong idea.

There, on the front of it, was his name. Yes, his name. As in, Minhyuk. Not the address of the building, or even the name of one of the staff, his name. It was rather small, in a neat print on the precise center of the envelope, as if whoever had sent it had taken the time and extra effort to measure it out. 

For the life of him, he couldn’t come up with an explanation. The only people who knew that he lived there were the staff who could contact him very easily. They would have no reason to go to this length.

After darting his eyes around one more time, he put the envelope in his sweatshirt pocket and took the elevator back up to the dorm. He shucked off his clothes and showered. He was curious about the contents of the envelope, but he also knew that the other members couldn’t be very far behind him. There was something foreboding about it, he just couldn’t quite place his finger on what. It gave him a bad feeling.

Over the sound of the water he could hear the door open and close, and then the voices that he recognized as his members. He had had the foresight to hide the envelope in his room so that none of them would stumble across it and ask questions, at least not until he knew what it contained.

No less than twenty minutes later he found himself on his bed, staring at the envelope in his lap. He locked his door just to be sure no one would barge in. He opened it slowly so he wouldn’t rip the envelope, which always annoyed him. Inside was a sheet of lined notebook paper, folded in half.

Minhyuk

You didn’t respond to my last message so I had to go for the next best thing. I know that you aren’t ignoring me voluntarily, because I know you the best of everyone. I know everything about you. I know that you wouldn’t ignore your fans. I know you wouldn’t tell someone about my messages, which means that whoever is controlling you is close enough to find out by accident. You should just know that you can talk to me any time, okay? We even go to the same store! I saw you there yesterday, but I couldn’t talk to you because Kihyun was with you. I wanted to more than anything, believe me. I’m sorry that I couldn’t. You can respond to this by putting another envelope under the bench next to where you found this one. 

Counting down the days till I can finally talk to you in person!

He felt his blood run cold. There was no way that this person would know that he was there with Kihyun unless they actually saw the pair. He shivered at the thought of being within that close of a radius to this… god, could they be considered a stalker at this point? He didn’t know and he wasn’t sure he wanted to. The answer would just make him even more uneasy. This person knew where they lived. Now he needed to talk to Hyunwoo about it. There was no other option anymore.

And yet, when he found himself standing outside of Hyunwoo’s bedroom door, hand poised to knock, he was frozen. 

It’s already eleven, he’s probably sleeping anyway, he rationalized. He was stalling and he knew it. I’ll just tell him in the morning.

He turned to walk back to his room. The door opened behind him.

“Minhyuk? What are you doing?”

He spun back around, laughing nervously. “Nothing. I had a joke that I was going to tell you but then I realized that it was really bad. Like, really bad.” The man before him looked unconvinced. “It’s fine, hyung, I promise.”

Hyunwoo didn’t look like he believed Minhyuk, but he knew from years of knowing each other that pressing wasn’t how you got Minhyuk to open up. It was how you got Jooheon to, but not Minhyuk. 

“Alright then.” Hyunwoo gave him one last look up and down, and then went closed the door behind him, presumably to sleep.

Minhyuk sighed. Part of him, a part he wasn’t proud of, had hoped that Hyunwoo would make him talk about it. Alas, his leader was too kind sometimes, even if it was unknowingly hurting someone. 

If this person “loves” me as much as they say they do, they wouldn’t do anything to hurt me. For right now we’re still safe in the dorms. As soon as that changes, I’ll speak up. And then: Hyunwoo has so much on his plate anyway. This would only stress him out more. It’s for the best.

For an entire week he would continue to receive a letter everyday. The details inside varied, but all of them included the author being absolutely certain that it was someone else’s fault Minhyuk hadn’t said anything back. They all declared their love for Minhyuk and mentioned that they couldn’t wait until they could go to the fansign scheduled in half a month’s time. He half-wished that the event would get cancelled.

Exactly seven days since the first letter he went through his daily routine of checking the plant. Sure enough, there was an envelope that was identical to each one before it. He felt nervous taking it into the dorm with him. When he left the other six were seated in the living room together. He forgot to bring a jacket, or anything with big enough pockets while we’re at it. So what did he do? He opened it in the elevator. That way he could dispose of it in a garbage can in the hallway and no one would ever have to know it existed.

He ripped it open. At this point he was kind of numb to it. All of them contained the same thing. Its effect had worn off. Not being careful with the envelope was his own form of rebellion. The person didn’t know they were being rebelled against, yeah, but it worked. It helped.

Except this letter didn’t have the same template as all of its predecessors.

I’ve had enough of people keeping you away from me. It’s an offense to all of your fans. I can’t believe how dumb I’ve been. It’s obvious now that the other members are the only ones who could possibly be doing this. I will do anything I need to to rescue you. I will do anything I need to do to get them out of the picture. You’ll thank me eventually. This is all for you. I love you so, so much.

Tears were brimming his eyes. What if something had already happened? His family was in danger thanks to how stupid he’s been. Why hadn’t he just sucked it up and told someone, anyone? Stupid, stupid, stupid stupidstupidstu- 

The elevator dinged and tugged him out of his spiral. His hands tightened without him noticing and his nails had torn through the paper into his palms. Blood wasn’t drawn but there were clear imprints. 

He opened the door, his hand taking a moment to actually twist the knob. All of the members looked at the door when they heard it rattle. They were laughing and joking about. The TV was on the game that they were taking turns playing. They stared at him. He sniffled and that snapped them out of their stupor. Kihyun and Hoseok in particular rushed at him. 

“Min? What’s wrong? Are you okay? Did something happen?” He could only shake his head helplessly.

On either side they steered him towards the couch. Jooheon and Hyunwoo made room for Kihyun and him to sit next to each other.

Hoseok crouched in front of him. “Min? Can you tell us what’s wrong, please?”

In response he shook his head once again. Changkyun noticed something.

“What’s that in your hand, hyung?”

Minhyuk shook his head again, but he shoved the paper into Hoseok’s hands and then turned his face into Kihyun’s neck. Vaguely he heard Hoseok reading the letter to the group. He heard their gasps of shock. He heard the rush of words. He heard but he didn’t really register any of it.

Kihyun gently removed Minhyuk’s face and looked him in the eye, hands cradling his face.

“Calm down. It’s okay, we’re all fine. No one is hurt, I promise. Take your time.”

Minhyuk did just that. He closed his eyes and basked in the knowledge that none of his family was hurt because of him. They were all safe, for the time being, at least. He looked at each of them. They looked confused, and nervous, but most of all worried about him.

“There you are.” Kihyun smiled. “Are you able to tell us what this is about?”

“I- someone texted me, and I didn’t know who it was, but they knew who I was. I followed the steps, but they still texted again. And then they put a letter in front of the building. They- they know we live here!” He straightened up, eyes wide.

“Shh, it’s okay,” soothed Hoseok. “We’re fine. What happened next?” he encouraged.

“They’ve been sending letters for a week now and I just got this one today and- and now whoever this is,” he spat, “wants to hurt you guys and it’s all my fault!” The brief moment of bitterness was gone, replaced by the previous distress.

“It’s not your fault, hyung,” Changkyun tried to comfort. Jooheon, on the other hand, looked angry.

“This has been going on for two weeks and you haven’t told us?” he shouted, pacing the room with his hands in his hair. Minhyuk flinched.

“I… I know. I’m so stupid! So stupid, stupid, stupid…” he murmured back. He couldn’t yell back, wouldn’t, because he knew that he deserved whatever he got. His nails dug into his palms unconsciously.

  Jooheon looked taken aback. “No, hyung, that wasn’t what I-”

“Happy with yourself?” hissed Hyungwon, finally speaking up. “Kihyun-hyung, can you hold Minhyuk-hyung’s hands?”

“Why would I…” he looked down. “None of that, now. We wouldn’t want to hurt ourselves.” He grabbed one of his hands, Hoseok grabbing the other.

“About it being your fault…” he glanced around the room, begging for assistance. Hyunwoo took mercy on him.

“If something did end up happening to us, it would be no one’s fault but the person who did it. You did nothing wrong.” Minhyuk wasn’t convinced.

“He’s right, you know. None of us blame you. I don’t think we would do any different if we were in your place.. Would it be our fault if it were us instead?” Changkyun asked.

“...No.”

“Then why is it yours?”

Minhyuk shrugged. Hyunwoo exhaled, hand on his forehead.

“Here’s what we’re going to do. Min, we’re going to take all of your screenshots and letters and we’re going to talk to our manager about moving dorms. No one is to go anywhere alone.” He got up and pulled Minhyuk into his arms. Minhyuk melted. “I love you, Min. We all love you.”

They all took their turns hugging him, each whispering their own words of comfort. Finally Jooheon came around. He hesitated before gripping Minhyuk even harder than the rest. “I’m sorry for yelling,” he whispered. “It’s not your fault.” And maybe that helped Minhyuk more than he thought.

The following weeks were some of the most stressful of Minhyuk’s life. The manager had tried to scold him for keeping this to himself, but Hyunwoo stopped it before it could start. “I don’t think you need to say anything more on the matter, sir. We, as a group, have already decided that Minhyuk isn’t at fault whatsoever, and as far as I’m concerned, that’s more important than what your opinion is.” He tilted his head forward slightly. “We would greatly appreciate it if you could get us into a new dorm as soon as possible.”

Their manager wasn’t shocked by the blatantly uncaring nature of the leader. It wasn’t the first time he had spoken like that in the defence of one or more of his members and it probably wasn’t the last. The man waved his hand in defeat. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Minhyuk’s heart warmed. He knew that any of his members would do that for him and he would do the same for any of them, but it meant everything all the same.

They were all moved out by the next evening. The new dorm wasn’t nearly as comfortable as their old one. It would get there eventually, Minhyuk supposed. It would have to.

Attempts to trace the numbers from the text messages had led to two different burner phones, both of which had been dumped in dumpsters in the middle of a large city. When that news was delivered the whole group couldn’t help the crushing disappointment that rippled through them.

A staff member informed them that the letters kept showing up after they moved out. The person who was sending them obviously wasn’t aware that the group had moved, which was quite the relief, and they did nothing to dissuade them of the notion. One thing that was worrying, though, was that the aggression towards the other members increased with each letter. The longer the person went without receiving anything in return the more certain they were that the other members were the root of the problem.

Strangely enough, the members in question didn’t get mad at Minhyuk at all. He thought they should’ve. They should’ve shouted at him, told him how it’s all his fault, how he just did the biggest fuck up of his life. He completely deserved it, after all. He expressed this sentiment at dinner one night.

“Why aren’t you guys mad at me?” he suddenly said during a lull in the conversation.

Hyungwon raised his eyebrows. “Why would we be?”

“Well- because I put you all in danger, of course,” he spluttered. “I should just move out until this dies down.”

“I think not,” Jooheon hit the table with his hand. “First of all, you didn’t put us in danger, your stalker did. Second of all, you are absolutely not moving out. That would do nothing for us and just put you even more at risk.”

“And even if that would make things more safe for us,” continued Hyungwon, “we wouldn’t risk bet your safety on that. You matter just as much as us.” He looked around, as if daring someone to argue. No one did.

They went back to dinner.

One week from the fansign Minhyuk started getting increasingly anxious. The person had stated consistently that they would be at the fansign. Based on everything else Minhyuk had no doubt that they actually were going to attend. What if they told him that they were the person? Minhyuk might have a panic attack right then and there. He felt like it would be worse if the person didn’t say anything, He would be nervous right from the beginning. Any of them could be the one and he would have no idea. Would that affect his interactions with the fans? Yes, it would. He knew it. Fans who he acted differently towards would say something about it online, and it might cause a scandal. Maybe it would be that something was happening within the group or the company that caused the tension, or maybe it would simply be that he didn’t care about the fans at all. That would suck, but he would feel even worse that he disappointed innocent fans who had nothing to do with what was going on.

Three days till the fansign and their manager called them in for a meeting. All of them. The seven of them piled into their manager’s office. There were only chairs for two of them and the rest had to stand. After much protest, Minhyuk and Hyunwoo were the ones who were sitting. The five remaining stood behind them protectively. Their manager shook hands with each of them before sitting across from them on the other side of his desk.

“As you all know, the person of interest is most likely going to be in attendance at the fansign later this week. We think this may be our chance to catch them once and for all.” He looked them over and let his eyes rest on Minhyuk. “We expect the person to try to identify themselves to Minhyuk in some way. Minhyuk, when or if that happens you’re going to signal to one of the guards behind you using a predetermined word or phrase.” He paused to gauge their reactions. “Minhyuk will be placed at the end of the line so that when the suspect is done they can be escorted away immediately and with as little disruption as possible.”

“But if all of the guys are in front of me then won’t the person have an easier time going through with it and hurting one of them?” objected Minhyuk.

“We thought about that. Of course we want to keep all of you out of harm’s way, but we don’t want to cause a scene either. There will be many more guards stationed around you all than normal and hopefully that will be enough.”

Hoseok scoffed internally. Leave it to the company to care more about public appearance than the safety of its idols.

As if sensing his thoughts, the manager sighed, taking off his glasses and rubbing at his eyes. “I don’t like this either, but unfortunately I’m not the one who has authority over this.” He smiled wryly. “For what it’s worth, I tried to make the higher-ups see sense. Don’t tell them I said that,” he tacked on.

“Well, Minhyuk, what do you think about this? Are you okay with it?” Kihyun asked.

“I don’t think I have a choice.”

D-Day finally arrived. Everyone was nervous, more for Minhyuk than themselves (other than Minhyuk). Minhyuk had to be forced to eat.

“Please, hyung,” Changkyun pleaded. “I’ll make anything you want. Hell, Kihyun-hyung will make anything. Just eat something , please.” That was what got Minhyuk to give in. Changkyun didn’t plead, period. 

They got their makeup done and got dressed up by the stylists. Minhyuk could hear the fans talking among themselves outside. His heart was racing. Was the person out there right now, waiting for them? Him ? 

Before they walked out Jooheon stopped them. They stood in a circle so everyone could see each other.

“Anything could happen today. The best outcome is that we catch whoever’s been terrorising Minhyuk-hyung. The worst case scenario… we don’t need to focus on that. Whatever happens out there- I love you guys. I love all of you.”

“Me too.”

“Me three.”

It went through all the numbers up to seven. They put their hands in the center, ready to do a chant of some sort, but Kihyun decided that something else would suit the situation better. He wrapped his arms around Minhyuk and then motioned for the others to join. They did so willingly.

Minhyuk allowed himself to relax into the embrace of his family and, for one fleeting moment, felt like there was nothing amiss in the world.

The lights outside in the stage and auditorium area were dimmer than the ones backstage and, though still bright, were a blessing to Minhyuk’s eyes. All of his senses were elevated by the stress. He could hear the buzzing of the rectangular lights dangling from the ceiling, could feel the heat they were radiating. The fans in the chairs cheered as they walked out onto stage, yelling greetings and “I love you”s. Kihyun scanned the rows of people, seeing if anyone stood out to him as a dodgy individual.

Minhyuk had been intentionally arranged to exit onto stage first so that he could go to the end of the table without arousing suspicion. He sat down and said hello to the crowd. He asked generic questions, like how they were doing and the like. A staff member announced that people could start getting in line in two minutes. The members looked at each other and settled in for the long haul.

The long haul didn’t turn out to be that long, after all. The members kept an eye on Minhyuk the whole time as surreptitiously as they could. None of them would ever forgive themselves if something happened to him after all the pressure he’s been under. In the back of their minds lingered the understanding that their own wellbeing was at risk, probably even more so than Minhyuk’s. And that did scare them, as much as they tried to hide that fact from Minhyuk. They didn’t want to add to the unwarranted guilt that he was already harboring. 

After Minhyuk went to bed last night, the six of them met up in the living room. It weighed heavily on their consciences. Gathering purposefully behind his back, that is. But there was no other way for them to vent about their own personal concerns without making their mood-maker feel worse. They stayed up until the early hours of the morning, airing their worries and anxieties for what was to come just half a day from then. They offered support and advice although most everyone had the same thoughts on the matter. 

“If any of us get an uneasy feeling about anyone that we meet, remember that we’re allowed to use the code word, too. All of the guards that will be on stage with us were briefed and know what to do. So please, for the love of all things holy, use it. I would rather you use it and be wrong than not use it and get hurt,” said Hoseok. The code word had been beaten into their memories.

Hoseok looked at them. “We can do this. It can’t be harder than what we’ve done before. You know how dance practice is,” he attempted to joke. Jooheon chuckled weakly.

“Stay safe out there. All of us.”

There was one girl. She was only the third person to go through the line. She introduced herself as Hyekyung. There was something in the way she looked at and talked to them that made them feel like she was barely restraining herself. She smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. They looked cold, and they kept darting towards the end of the table. Her voice was soft but sounded like there was a thin layer of passive aggressiveness covering something else. All of them noticed this, and some were tempted to say the code word, but figured that she could’ve just been a rude fan. The kind that would ask where another member was on VLive. Still, they kept watch on her just in case she tried something.

Minhyuk could tell from the way the members were glancing at her that he should be expecting something different from this girl. Sure enough, when she sat in front of him, a chill ran down his spine. He scolded himself. She hadn’t done anything yet. What if she was just eccentric?

But when she spoke he knew that he was right in being very ill at ease when faced with her.

“Minhyuk, it’s me! The one who you’ve been talking to! My name is Hyekyung,” she leaned in and whispered it, conscious of the people surrounding them on every side. His eyes widened and he visibly paled. His gaze shifted from her to his groupmates, and finally to the guards standing around them. She misread the gesture.

“Don’t worry about them finding out it’s me. I know they’ve been keeping you from speaking back to me. It’s been frustrating for me too, believe me. But now that we can finally meet face to face… Minhyuk? Are you okay?” she asked, eyebrows furrowed. 

The idol was frozen, had been since the first sentence escaped from her lips. His thoughts caught up to him, tearing him out of the blissful seconds of unawareness. As soon as he fully processed what was happening his mind was sent into a panic. He started sweating significantly more. He hid his palms on his lap. His mind raced to come up with a way to mention the code word without letting her know something was up.

The members detected the change in atmosphere at the end of the line. Changkyun and Hyungwon, sat next to each other, looked to their sides, trying to communicate with their eyes what they should do. Should they say the code word? They were almost certain that the girl was the one. Judging by Minhyuk’s body language, he was having a pretty hard time taking action. Should they do it instead?

Minhyuk’s eyes, wide and agitated, shot up to look at Hyekyung at the question. He realized that he had to act now.

“Pineapples!” he blurted. He heard the guards shift behind him and saw the guys stiffen out of the corner of his eye.

“...What?”

“Pineapples… are what I was eating when I got the first text from you. I’ll never forget any details about that day,” he improvised, crossing his fingers.

It seemed to work. “Oh, Minhyuk, that’s so sweet! I knew that you wanted to talk to me. What should we do?”

He looked from side to side, not meeting her eyes. “You need to leave right now.” She frowned. “Not like that!” he backtracked. “The others are onto us, you see. Wait for me outside the building when the event is over. I’ll talk to you then, I promise.”

She smiled, pacified. She stood up and walked down the steps off of the stage, fully expecting to go right back to her seat. Instead, one of the guards blocked her path. Her smile fell.

“What’s going on?”

“Ma’am, we’re gonna have to ask you to follow us,” the guard said.

“And why would I do that?”

“Ma’am, this’ll be a lot easier if you just do as we say.”

“I’ve done nothing wrong!” She tried to shove past him. He grabbed her arm roughly. “Let go of me!”

“Ma’am, please.” A second guard came up.

“The police are waiting outside,” he whispered in the first one’s ear. It didn’t do any good, because she heard it.

“Police!” she shrieked. By now she attracted the attention of everyone present. Minhyuk was watching nervously. Kihyun abandoned his post to rub him on the shoulders.

The two guards fairly dragged her out of the room. She was fighting it the whole way, scratching and hitting them with balled up fists. The room stared after them with wide eyes. They could hardly believe it. 

A guard came up and escorted all seven backstage again. The fans in the audience chattered about what they just witnessed. They made posts including pictures they had managed to snap of the showdown. Within minutes the whole ordeal was trending on Twitter. Theories were being made already.

Once completely out of view Minhyuk collapsed into Hyunwoo, who held him tightly, a hand on the back of his head.

“You did so good,” the leader consoled. “We’re all so proud of you.”

Finally Minhyuk let the severity of the situation wash over him. He hadn’t let that happen since the very beginning, always downplaying it in an, admittedly feeble, attempt to deceive himself. He sank down to the ground on his knees, taking Hyunwoo with him. And then he cried. He bawled his eyes out like a toddler who dropped their ice cream cone. 

The other members let tears slip down their eyes, in part from seeing their family in such a state, in part from relief that it was, at long last, over. They sat down with the two of them, holding each other. No one spoke, not even soothing words. God knew that they all deserved to let it all out.

Minhyuk didn’t know how much time had passed when he regained his (relative) composure. He lifted his face out of Hyunwoo’s shirt, the spot dark and wet from tears and snot.

“Sorry about that.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Hyunwoo waved him off.

The crowd must’ve been told to exit the premises. There was silence, in the room and in his head, for the first time in a month. Minhyuk reveled in it.

The police came to talk to them the next day. They asked the standard questions, had him hand over the evidence he had collected: screenshots, letters, phone numbers, etc. And then they answered the members’ own questions.

Kim Hyekyung had been obsessed with Minhyuk ever since she first discovered the group in 2019. Her friends and family could attest to that, but even they never imagined that she was capable of something like this. She took it as a lucky break when she found out Minhyuk’s phone number. After his clear rejection of her advances she had deluded herself into thinking he was being borderline held hostage by the company and the rest of the group.

“A switchblade was found and subsequently confiscated from her purse. We can only assume that she was prepared to attack one or more of the members.”

That part chilled them all to the core. They thanked all their lucky stars that for whatever unknown reason, she hadn’t decided to pull that blade.

Needless to say, pretty much every K-Pop fan, regardless of if they were a Monbebe or not, had heard of the situation. Starship was yet to release an official statement but one was being eagerly awaited. 

When they did, it explained the situation very vaguely, but told no lies. At the end it was announced that Minhyuk would be taking a break from promotions and group activities for at least a month to heal from the mental strain he underwent. 

He had been on hiatus for just a week. Changkyun came into his room and collapsed down onto his bed.

“Fans were asking about you on my and Hoseok-hyung’s VLive.”

“What did you say?”

“I told them that you were doing well. That they shouldn’t worry.”

“How have you been dealing? I know that you’re going through some shit regarding this too.”

Changkyun chuckled. “We all are. For me it’s mostly been reminding myself over and over again that it’s done.” He rolled over to face the ceiling. “It’ll take some time, but we’ll get through this. We always do.”

Minhyuk laid down with him. “We do, don’t we?”

“Mhmm.”

They drifted off, wrapped in each other. Minhyuk awoke the next morning to everyone surrounding them. They all brought pillows and blankets and laid them out on the floor. His hand, which dangled off the bed, was being loosely held by Hyungwon’s.

He gazed in muted awe at the six amazing, wonderful people that were sleeping peacefully. He pondered just how he got so lucky to have such a group as this one. Jooheon squirmed a bit. Kihyun, barely asleep next to him, pulled him closer and shushed him. Minhyuk almost giggled. (Laughed, he would say. Lee Minhyuk did not giggle.)