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Third POV
Now... it was no secret to anyone, fans or members alike, Jungkook had a very strong admiration for Namjoon. Hell, Namjoon was the main reason the maknae joined BTS in the first place.
The maknae always made sure to show appreciation for their leader. I mean, Namjoon was his main role model and still is. Because of this, Jungkook would fight tooth and nail for the leader. Granted, he'd do it for any of his hyungs, but Namjoon... without any hesitation... he'd do absolutely anything for.
In 2017-2018, BTS was starting to hit global stardom. ARMYs got them to the BBMAs and AMAs and many other crazy things. Because of this, they had many interviews to do with Americans. It was obvious that most interviewers did this for the views not because they were genuinely interested in the Korean band. Of course, there were a select few who were actually fans of BTS like Jimmy Fallon, Liam, and Zach Sang, but they were the very few. More often than not, though, the interviewers were very rude and just didn't care. The members were frustrated because they were passionate about their work, but it was clear the Americans were not or didn't care enough to.
So when the members entered the interview they had to do live, they could tell immediately this interview was for the views. Their moods were already low due to the fact they were all exhausted. At least it was their last interview of the day.
Namjoon immediately went into leader mode, figuring out whether there was a translator there already or not. Apparently, there wasn't, but luckily the band had their own travel translator. It was the end of the day, and Namjoon was getting a little tired of translating everything on his own. Joon led guided and organized the members into their sitting positions.
"Alrighty, are we ready to start?" The interviewer named Andrew asked, clearly impatient.
Namjoon was settling down the members before he answered.
Rolling his eyes, the interviewer cleared his throat rather loudly, "Are you ready?"
Namjoon turned to the interviewer and gave a tight smile, "Yes. Yes, we are."
"Alright. Roll the cameras."
Once the camera light came on the interviewer began his fake voice, "Hello! Welcome back, everyone! Today, I'm here Korean boyband, BTS!"
On cue, the members began their intro.
"Hello! We are BTS!"
"Why don't you introduce yourselves."
The members nodded.
"Hello, I'm RM. I'm the leader and translator of the group," Namjoon replied, giving another tight smile.
"Hello, I'm Worldwide Handsome, Jin," the said person greeted the camera with a thumbs up.
"Hi, I'm SUGA," Yoongi said with a wave.
"I'm your hope, your my hope, I'm Jhope!" Hoseok smiled.
"I'm Jimin!" Jimin said lifting his hand.
"Hello, I'm V," Taehyung replied, giving a peace sign.
"Hello, I'm Jungkook. Nice to meet you!" Jungkook waved.
The interviewer asked questions that were unrelated to their music or message. Namjoon was the one doing most of the talking at that point since it was just like every other interview they were at that day. That was the case until the tone shifted.
"So, you all are obviously not from here," Andrew began slightly condescendingly. "Who was the first member of the group?"
Namjoon raised his hand as the other members verbally stated or pointed to him after the translation was finished.
"I was, yes," Namjoon replied casually.
"How come you became the first member?"
The members looked confused. They were never really asked that question before.
"I'm sorry?" The leader asked not unkindly.
"How did you become the first member?" Andrew repeated with an underlying snide in his voice.
The six members took notice immediately, their facial expressions tightening just slightly. Namjoon pretended to not notice the snide.
"Well, I completed the audition and showed my skills to Mr. Bang, the person who created the team. He signed me nearly right away," Namjoon explained slowly, still trying to comprehend what this interviewer's motive was.
"Interesting. Now, you're the leader RM, did the members have any say on who became the leader?" Andrew asked with a condescending eyebrow raise.
Namjoon could tell the guy was clearly indicating something else. He wasn't sure what to say. Luckily he didn't have to say anything.
Hoseok took the opportunity to speak, clearly recognizing the intentions, "We didn't need to have a say. We all knew he was the fittest for the job. Everyone knew. No one needed that much convincing."
Andrew turned to the translator as she translated as the members nodded their heads in agreement with what Hobi said.
"Right. And does he do a good job? I mean, there's a lot of chaos in this group from what I've seen," Andrew continued, clearly trying to get a rise out of someone.
Namjoon visually looked confused at the questions. Why was this interviewer asking these, and why were they directed at and about him only?
This time Jimin spoke, "He does everything he can. Sometimes we can get out of hand, but he knows the right words to say to get us rounded up. There are six of us. Honestly, I'm surprised he knows how to handle us so well," Jimin replied with a fake laugh. "He's the best leader ever. I don't think anyone could do what he does any better than him."
Jimin sent an almost threatening smile to the interviewer; however, one had to know Jimin well to see the smile for what it was. The members, once again, visually showed agreement with what the oldest maknae said.
"Now, clearly you have the youngest over here," the interview pointed to Jungkook as he said this. "He looks up to you a lot. What do you think he sees in you to admire you so much?"
The leader was speechless. What was this guy playing at?
"Well... I- uh..."
Taehyung decided to take the reigns on this one, "Our maknae has said multiple times that RM was the main reason he joined our company. That in itself should be an indicator of how amazing our leader is."
The maknae nodded in approval as he spoke, "I think the fact he accepted the leader role is a show of assertiveness. Whether he was comfortable or not, he took the role and did and still does it very well. That's not to mention his phenomenal writing skills, rapping ability, and personality. There are many reasons he's my role model."
Jungkook's exhaustion left him, and he was wide awake now. He did not like this interviewer. Even without the translations and his little knowledge of English, he could tell by the interviewer's posture and tone of voice- he was not friendly whatsoever. The maknae could not stand to see his hyung be blasted like this- on a LIVE, in fucking AMERICA.
"Jin over there is the oldest, yes?" Andrew began.
Everyone nodded.
"Do the members listen to him more than you? I mean, he's the oldest. What he says goes, yeah?"
Namjoon shook his head and went to speak, but Jin beat him to it.
"I don't like to flaunt my oldest member status. Actually, the members listen to RM better than me which makes sense and is fine by me," Jin replied with an underlying snark.
The leader looked at the older with a grateful smile while the others silently glared at the interviewer. Jin gave a pat on the shoulder to Namjoon in comfort.
"Do you ever wish someone else was the leader?"
The members' postures clearly shifted. Everyone growled under their breaths.
"As I said before, RM is the best equipped for this role," Hoseok snapped lightly.
"And as I said before, no one could do it better than him," Jimin growled lowly, glaring daggers at the guy.
The guy deliberately ignored the underlying snark behind the comments.
"I see. RM, you've been in quite a few scandals. One with that one song you wrote and some about plagiarism. What do you have to say about that?"
Yoongi cleared his throat, indicating he was gonna talk before anyone could begin to do anything, "RM has already apologized for any mistakes he made as well as the members of BTS. We've all made mistakes that we had to apologize for. I think... it's best we leave the past in the past, thank you."
"Perhaps he deserved it?" the interviewer inquired innocently.
The members shared looks of fury. What was with this guy?
"RM apologized and hasn't made the same mistakes. I don't think it's necessary to continue talking about this," Yoongi replied casually but with clear sternness.
"Have there ever been times when RM's leading failed?"
Namjoon was about to reply but Jungkook swiftly took his mic and lifted his own to answer.
"Everyone makes mistakes. It's part of being human; however, there's no reason to capitalize on people's mistakes when they've clearly learned from them," Jungkook explained sternly. "If RM's leading, quote-on-quote, failed- as you said- he's learned from those failures. Even then, though, that's none of your business, please and thank you."
Jungkook finished, jaw clenched as his tongue grazed the inside of his cheek. He handed Namjoon's mic to Hoseok which Hoseok held on to. The members firmly nodded their heads in agreement with Jungkook.
The interview continued like this with Namjoon replying to the questions that seemed the most appropriate for him to answer. Otherwise, the members came to the leader's defense, shooting down any backhanded questions that were clearly asked to stir up controversy, drama, and scandals.
As the interview continued, the members were clearly getting agitated with the questions being asked.
How could anyone ask such things about their leader? It was disgusting.
Once the camera turned off, the group all sighed in relief. The six weren't sure how much more they'd be able to endure before they went off on that Andrew guy.
Yoongi muttered, "I was about to blow fire on him, I swear. The audacity."
"I was gonna be right behind you, hyung," Jimin admitted with a quiet growl.
Hoseok rolled his eyes in agreement, "What an asshole."
Taehyung and Jungkook nodded.
"I wanted to use my boxing skills on his ass," Jungkook said to lighten the mood.
The others laughed. Luckily, they spoke Korean so none of the Americans knew what they were saying.
"Shush, shut up. It's done and over with. Stop talking about it, please," Namjoon ordered.
No one had time to respond before there were gasps heard. The members turned around to see Andrew pointing a gun straight at Namjoon.
Everyone froze. And of course, the security was OUTSIDE, not inside. Why did America do it so much more difficult?
"Nobody move or I shoot RM!" Andrew shouted as he took hold of said person.
Everyone froze in shock. Jungkook was behind his hyungs and off to the side where Andrew couldn't see him. Quietly, JK disappeared from Taehyung's side which went unnoticed by the said person.
"The fact you guys defend this disgusting bastard," Andrew spit with disgust. "Y'all can do so much better than him."
The members growled in response. Before they could even say anything, the guy continued.
"I mean, look at him. He's not even handsome. All he knows is English. I'm sure all his songs are shit too. Haha, y'all are so talented. This piece of shit just brings you down."
"I don't understand what-" Namjoon began before being smacked by the handle of the gun.
"Shut the fuck up, shithead," Andrew snapped.
Namjoon silenced immediately, cheek burning.
"You're so useless. I don't get how you became the first member or how you became the leader. You're so shitty at your job. It's hilarious."
Before anything else could happen, someone came from the side and quite literally ripped Andrew's hold on Namjoon as they tackled the guy.
Namjoon stumbled over to the others. The hyungs gasped when they realized who tackled him.
Jungkook.
"How dare you! How could you say and do those things to him?!" Jungkook shouted as he wrestled for the gun. "You are a sick human being, asshole!"
"Jungkookie! Stop!" Jimin and Jin shouted anxiously.
"Kook-ah! Please, let it be!" Yoongi shouted.
Taehyung was biting his nails as Hobi hugged him.
Jungkook almost had hold of the gun, but before anything else could happen... a loud bang rang through the room. Everyone froze.
Someone was shot and unfortunately... it wasn't the interviewer.
"Jungkook!" Namjoon cried.
Jin and Yoongi growled as they immediately went after the interviewer once they saw he was perfectly fine. Jin grabbed the maknae as Yoongi ripped the gun out of Andrew's hand.
"Don't you fucking move," Yoongi threatened in English and his deadliest voice.
Security, finally hearing all the commotion, came bursting in. The translator explained what happened and the interviewer was taken into custody while the medics on sight looked over Jungkook. Jin held onto Jungkook as if his life depended on it even while the medics looked him over. The other hyungs watched in horror as they saw their maknae bleed out.
"He's gonna need to be taken to the hospital. Get the emergency car ready, now!" a medic yelled at another. "Only one can come with."
Namjoon quickly translated and decided Jin would go while the others followed in the company car.
"Hurry up! He's losing blood!"
Swiftly, the medics and Jin carried the maknae to the car. The members waited until the others were completely out before racing to their company's car.
"I can't believe this!" Namjoon exclaimed, pacing around the waiting room of the hospital.
"You can't blame yourself, Joon-ah," Yoongi reasoned. "Jungkook and the interviewer made their own choices. There is nothing you could've done to prevent this."
"Aish, I know, I know... aish, that maknae. I'm supposed to protect him, not the other way around."
Taehyung and Jimin were hugging each other. The two were hit the hardest watching their maknae wrestle the guy while Namjoon was overcome with guilt since Jungkook saved him.
The group's manager was off talking to the CEO about how to handle the situation. They were likely gonna sue the interviewer and asked for the interview to not be posted.
"This is why I hate American interviews," Hoseok grumbled harshly. "Namjoon is left translating everything, and we're taken advantage of because most of us don't understand English. Now, one of our members got hurt because of these selfish, greedy assholes."
Everyone wholeheartedly agreed. Of course, this didn't include the interviewers who were actually nice and cared about the band.
After about two hours of waiting, the doctor came out and told them the consensus.
"He'll be just fine. We got the bullet out and did a few minor stitches. Luckily, it didn't damage any organs or get lodged too deep. He'll be healed in the next few days. Just watch the stitches and make sure he doesn't do intense physical activity for a week. I prescribed pain meds if needed," the doctor handed Namjoon the note for the medicine. "Any questions or concerns?"
The members shook their heads.
"Can we see him?" Taehyung asked.
Namjoon translated for the doctor.
"Of course. He should be awake by now."
"Thank you, doctor," the leader bowed.
The members rushed to their maknae's room after getting the room number. When the door opened, the members saw Jungkook sitting on the hospital bed, looking through his phone.
"Jungkookie!" Tae and Jimin exclaimed, going to hug the maknae and being careful with the stitches.
"Hi, hyungs," Jungkook chuckled, giving his bunny smile.
"Aish! Why would you do that?" Namjoon pouted. "I'm supposed to protect you. Not the other way around."
JK laughed, "I couldn't just leave it be, hyung. I love you too much to just stand by and watch you get threatened like that."
"Aish, you're too pure for this world, Jaykay," Hosoek chuckled.
"Ah, I love you, JK," Namjoon hugged the maknae as he said this.
"Are you all okay?" the maknae asked after a moment, looking over at everyone as if making sure they weren't hurt.
"Hyungs are okay, don't worry, maknae," Yoongi assured with a rub on the shoulder.
"Okay, but does this mean we don't have to do any American interviews again?" Jin joked with his windshield wiper laugh.
Everyone else laughed too. This circumstance would definitely make the CEO and manager watch who was allowed to interview BTS.
Bonus scene:
The group was finally done with promotions in America and were on their way back to South Korea. They were currently in the process of suing the company and interviewer; however, unknown to the members, it was all about to be taken care of.
Now... Jungkook... was a Gen Z; therefore, he was as petty as BTS' Gen Z ARMY which was why he created a fake ARMY account. One, to interact with ARMY without being seen as a celebrity, and two, for things like this.
Oh, and oops! He leaked what Andrew and his company did to the group, pretending to be a staff member who was an ARMY in the room where it happened.
And, oh no... the hackers of ARMY leaked the video, and it went viral, trending #AndrewisOverParty.
And uh-oh... ARMY dug up some dirt on Andrew... dirt full of sketchy behavior and criminal charges.
Jungkook could not confirm nor deny, but ARMY may have also sent this information to BigHit Music which gave them further proof and more reasons to sue.
And Jungkook also couldn't confirm nor deny whether Andrew could no longer get jobs due to the lawsuit and information revealed by Twitter ARMY.
Let's just say... #justiceforNamjoon, #NamjoonBestLeader, #Namjoonisthebest, #Andrewlawsuit, #AndrewisOverParty, #suetheasshole, and #AndrewisanAsshole were trended for quite a while.
"Huh..." Namjoon said out loud as he looked through Twitter. "How did ARMY find out what happened with Andrew? I thought Bang-Hyung asked the company to not post the video?"
"Me too," the other hyungs agreed.
Jungkook was silent before replying, "Hey, it's ARMY. They're capable of a lot."
The hyungs couldn't argue with that and scrolled through the hashtags and posts against Andrew. They laughed their asses off. They couldn't believe ARMY could find so much information on him. Hell, the lawyers and police officers who were ARMY came together and got Andrew arrested because his criminal charges were enough evidence.
The power of ARMY was a scary thing, and Jungkook clearly knew that, using it to his advantage.
As the hyungs continued laughing at all the posts about Andrew's arrest, the youngest smirked to himself.
He could always count on ARMY to have his back when someone messed with his hyungs. Turning to his phone, Jungkook logged into his fake account.
OT7_BTSlover_0613 posted!
Hey, thanks ARMY for your help and for getting Andrew arrested! #JusticeforNamjoon
Y'all are the best! I didn't expect this to happen when I posted the story, haha!
ARMY and BTS have each other's back no matter what. That was just proven even more with this incident.
So... Andrew learned 1.) don't mess with ARMY and 2.) don't mess with Jungkook's hyungs. Jungkook's Gen Z wrath is not one to mess with.